How To Marry a Rake. Deb Marlowe

she continued, ‘but he’s my dunderhead.’ The smile that crossed her face was tender. ‘Just as I am his addlepate. I confess, I am quite fond of him.’

      ‘Then I am supremely happy for you.’ And a tad envious, too. Mae could only hope that she found someone as willing to overlook her own flaws. ‘Is your husband here tonight? I should love to meet him.’

      ‘Oh, yes. He’s likely slunk off to the card room. We’ll go and drag him out of there in a moment.’ She frowned. The surrounding crowd had grown steadily larger and was pressing ever closer. ‘But first, I have to hear everything. There were rumours, you know, about you and a young man, but no one seemed to know who he might be—and then you were gone! Come. Let’s go sit in the chaperons’ chairs. We can put our heads together and gossip like a couple of old biddies.’

      She pulled Mae through the glittering spectacle and over to a row of straight-backed chairs. She chose a pair well away from the closest, capped matrons. ‘Were the whispers true, then?’ Addy leaned in close. ‘Was there a completely ineligible young man ready to cart you away to Gretna Green? Did your parents whisk you to Europe in order to keep you from his clutches?’

      ‘Of course not!’ There had been nothing ineligible about the young man in question. And while Mae would gladly have travelled with him to the ends of the earth, he hadn’t been interested enough to walk her in to dinner, let alone willing to run off to get married.

      ‘Oh.’ Addy sounded vastly disappointed. ‘Well, it was a long time ago, in any case.’ She cocked her head. ‘How long have you been abroad?’

      ‘Nearly two years.’

      ‘So long? You must have been pining to come home.’

      Mae laughed. ‘Not at all, actually.’ She smiled in reminiscence. ‘I had the making of all the travel arrangements to myself. My father cared not where we went, as long as there was an opportunity for business or a reputable horse breeder nearby. My mother only worried over the comfort of our rooms. So I was free to indulge myself.’ She shot a conspirator’s grin at her friend. ‘And I did. I simply wallowed in great churches and grand palaces and large estates. I explored battlefields and boated in lakes and rivers all over Europe. I attended theatres and salons in every great city and met scores of interesting people.’

      None, however, who could completely erase the image of the man she’d left behind. Such a man did exist, however. He was out there—and Mae fully intended to find him.

      ‘But now you are back,’ Addy said with satisfaction. A crafty look descended over her pretty face. ‘And I’d wager you’re here because your father decided it was time to find you a husband.’ Her eyes rounded suddenly in horror. ‘But the Season is nearly half over! There’s no time to waste! You should have gone straight to London! Whatever are you doing in Newmarket, when there are husbands to be hunted?’

      Laughing, Mae agreed. ‘We have left it a bit late, haven’t we?’ She leaned in, as Addy had done before. ‘We are in Newmarket, dear, because my father has brought home a most promising new filly. He means to race her in the Guineas—and he expects her to make a name for herself. He has grand plans to let her win a few important races and then pull in a fortune breeding future champions off of her.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Truthfully, although Father says it’s time I had a husband, I believe he is at least as concerned about searching out a stud to cover that filly as he is about finding one for me.’

      Addy gasped. Then she let out a peal of shocked laughter. ‘You haven’t changed a bit, Mae Halford!’

      ‘Oh, but I have. I’ve grown up—and I’ve had the value of being circumspect forced down my gullet.’ She smirked. ‘I’m still me. I still analyse and organise and plan, but now I know how to make it look socially acceptable.’

      Addy stared. ‘Oh! I know that look. You had the exact same gleam in your eye when you organised Miss Trippet’s girls to boycott the painting master.’

      ‘Something had to be done,’ Mae protested. ‘He was beyond appalling—coming in from behind to critique our work and sneaking unnecessary touches. The last straw was when he tried to convince poor Esther that posing nude was the only way to prove her dedication to art.’

      ‘And now you are trying to distract me! You are scheming something.’ Addy nearly glowed with mischief. ‘You must allow me to help. It’ll be as if we were girls again.’

      ‘This is no girl’s crusade. It’s far more important.’ Mae knew enough now to tamp down the enthusiasm in her voice. ‘I’m just as happy to be in Newmarket, for while my father is distracted with his horses, I intend to map out a plan for my future.’ She cocked her head at Addy’s surprised expression. ‘And why should I not? Should I leave it to my father? He used to say he wished me to be a lady, but I think he’s given it up. He’s determined to fire me off, and of course, he’s correct—if I were a man I would be using my talents learning the family business.’ She sighed. ‘Such is not my fate—and as marriage is, then I’m determined to have a say in it.’

      Addy nodded, impressed.

      ‘What frightens me is that Papa spends more time poring over the Stud Book than his Debrett’s. I’m afraid he’ll hand me right over to the first man to come along and offer land with a good ore vein or a favourable shipping contract.’

      ‘Or the owner of the best-blooded stallion.’ Addy giggled.

      ‘Exactly.’ Except that this was no laughing matter. This was Mae’s life’s happiness at stake. She had to at least try to find someone who could accept her as she was. She’d been battling her whole life, fighting to keep from being squeezed into a stultifying society mould. She didn’t want to spend a lifetime fighting her husband as well.

      There must be at least one gentleman in England who would not be offended or threatened by her … abilities. Mae was determined to find him.

      ‘What do you mean to do?’

      ‘What I do best. Careful planning and brilliant manoeuvring.’

      ‘You sound like a general.’ Addy sounded awed.

      ‘I am a general. Make no mistake, Addy. This is war. And this …’ she gestured to the brilliant, seething scene in front of them ‘… this is merely the first skirmish. Tonight I begin to gather intelligence. There can be no strategy without sufficient information.’

      ‘I never thought I would feel sorry for society’s single gentlemen. They can have no idea what is about to hit them.’ Abruptly Addy reached out and grasped her hand. ‘You’ll do brilliantly.’ The warmth and reassurance in her voice touched Mae. ‘You’ve never failed to accomplish what you set out to do.’ She stood. ‘You shall command the campaign and I will be your loyal assistant.’ Her eyes sparkled. ‘Now, let’s go and find my husband. He can be our first source of information.’

      Willingly, Mae followed, glad that Addy had turned away to search out a path through the crowd. For she was wrong. Mae had indeed known failure—and in the one chase that had meant more than all the others together.

      Unbidden, her mind’s eye turned inwards, to where she’d locked away her remembrances like a horde of treasure. Laughing blue eyes slipped out. A heated embrace, incredibly soft lips. She made a small sound and gathered her determination, closing her eyes against a flood of similarly wistful recollections. Stephen Manning hadn’t wanted her. He was her past. And tonight was only about her future.

      ‘This way,’ Addy called. Smiling over her shoulder, she added, ‘Corbet has a great many friends that he rides and drinks and plays cards with. We’ll convince him to take you out for a dance and then they will all have the chance to become intrigued.’ She paused to wait for Mae to catch up. ‘We’ll have you in the first stare of fashion before you can blink!’

      ‘I admit, I’m anxious to meet your new husband, but I don’t wish to be a bother.’

      ‘Oh—not to worry! Corbet