From the moment Mary Smithson stepped foot into the house, Emily knew that she would not like her. And this was only proved over tea, when she had done all she could to flirt with Nate.
At first, Nate had gone along with it and that had infuriated Emily. It had also hurt beyond compare to consider the thought that she wasn't as important to him as he had made her seem. Only a few days ago he'd been ready to marry her and marriage was a lifelong commitment.
Then, much later, it had hit her that he was trying to punish her for her rejection of his proposal. She could not help what had happened but he was clearly bitter about it. There were things that neither of them could give up, and she had made the right choice for both of them. If, a year or so down the line, they began to regret their choice to be together, it would be much worse than never having been together at all.
Fortunately, Nate had stopped flirting with the girl after that. He'd become distant towards her and displayed a complete lack of interest. Unfortunately for Emily, however, Mary Smithson had noticed the glances she and Nate were constantly exchanging and kept shooting Emily the nastiest glares she had ever been on the receiving end of. Needless to say, neither of the two was fond of the other.
It had been three days since Mary's arrival, and the entire household had been flung into preparation for another ball, which would serve as both an informal coming out ball for Allie as well as a ball that would welcome the odious Mary into local society.
It was then revealed that Miss Mary did not come with a ball gown in her possession and that someone would have to take her to the seamstress in the village to be fitted for a new gown.
To Emily's complete displeasure, she was the one who was charged with this unpleasant task. To make matters worse, Nate had also been ordered by his sisters to get out of their way and escort the two ladies to the village. Kit had weaselled his way out of it by saying that he would look after Juliette while Cassandra was busy getting things ready for the ball. Allie had appeared exceptionally pleased at the thought of being free of Mary for a few hours.
Alexandra had also shown Emily the gown she was planning on wearing and had ordered Emily not to allow Mary to get a prettier gown. It was extremely petty of her and Emily secretly loved it, even if she'd appeared slightly disapproving to Allie when she'd first told her.
"Shall we go, then?" Nate asked, clearing his throat as he tried to look anywhere but at Emily. The atmosphere between them had been exceedingly awkward the past week or so and Emily hated it. She missed their conversations and their laughter and the anecdotes they'd shared. She probably knew more about him than he himself did and vice versa, but there was nothing she could do with all of that information now.
It wasn't anyone's fault that things had turned out the way that they had, but Emily couldn't help but blame herself for everything that was happening.
"Yes!" Mary exclaimed with a beam, moving forward to take Nate's arm, but he dodged it before she could, instead choosing to walk in front of both Emily and Mary, leaving them no choice but to walk beside each other. And, when Nate turned around to glance at them and his eyes met Emily's, they shared a long look that did not go unnoticed by Mary, who stepped on Emily's feet and apologised gleefully after.
When the carriage driver opened the door for them, Nate got in first and Mary rushed to take the seat directly beside him, leaving not even an inch of space between them, while Emily sat across from them, rolling her eyes as she did. Nate discreetly attempted to shift closer to the edge of his seat, but Mary followed his movements and stuck just as close as before.
"Don't we usually walk to the village?" Emily wondered aloud, before cursing herself in her mind as she and Nate weren't talking and she'd forgotten entirely about that.
Awkwardly, Nate cleared his throat again and answered, "It is a long walk and I didn't think that, with Miss Smithson here, it was a very good idea to walk." Thinly veiled, under his words, was his true meaning. He didn't think that they could handle a long walk with Mary and wanted to get back home as quickly as possible. Mary, dense as she was, preened at the thought that he was considering her.
The carriage ride was quick, and they were in front of the seamstress's shop within ten minutes. Nate helped Emily out of the carriage, but stopped short at Mary, who was helped out by the driver. At the sudden feel of his skin against hers, Emily was hit by the weight of a hundred memories of the two of them. Hastily, she dropped his hand before glancing at him furtively. There was a sense of something wistful and reminiscent in his eyes that filled her stomach with a heavy feeling.
Nate conversed quickly with the carriage driver and then turned to the both of them before speaking, "An order of mine just came in at the bookshop, so I must go and pick it up. I'll return in half an hour. Ladies, please continue without me."
If looks could kill, the glare Emily sent Nate's way would surely have struck him down. She was furious at him for leaving her to deal with Mary alone, especially after the other girl had made her dislike for Emily abundantly clear.
Once they were inside, Mary chose the gown she wanted within five minutes. It was the gaudiest dress in the catalogue and she chose for it to be made entirely in gold fabric, with gold gauze covering it. Even Emily, who wasn't exactly the best when it came to fashion, knew that it was bound to be a bit of a disaster.
Her fitting was finished in fifteen minutes, as it was well known that she was the Duke's guest. Neither Emily nor Mary made an effort at conversing with one another until, finally, she'd finished and had wasted no time in telling them to add it to Nate's account. This made Emily's blood boil, but she kept herself from saying something.
They waited outside for Nate in silence, but this peaceful calm was broken by Mary, who decided to take the level of her awfulness to entirely new heights. "How exactly do you know the Duke's family?"
"Cassie and I have been friends for years." Emily answered, bristling at Mary's tone.
"How?" Mary sneered. "She's a proper lady, just like Alexandra. I can't believe you have connections that would allow such a meeting."
Emily's eyes widened, taken aback. Until now, Mary had simply been bordering on rude while still maintaining some semblance of politeness. Now, she had simply transitioned fully into being outright rude.
"My parents are the Marquess and Marchioness of Hampstead." Emily said haughtily. She hated to bring that up into conversation, but Mary had infuriated her to the extent that she felt she had to.
"That may have warranted the introduction, but how have you maintained the relationship?" Mary asked, "Haven't your parents disowned you for your wild behaviour? And, now, to set your eyes on a Duke, hoping that he'll notice you. You mustn't set your sights so high, there's a long way down for you to fall. Do you not have any pride? You're clearly just desperate for a connection to someone as important as the Duke."
"I am the one without pride?" Emily scoffed, raising her brows. "It is you that is making such obscene accusations against someone who has done nothing to deserve them. I have maintained the connection as you call it simply because Cassandra is a very dear friend to me, and a good person who does not allow silly things such as parents affect a friendship between two individuals. You are stepping very much out of line, Mary Smithson, and you had better take care. I have not 'set my sights' on the Duke. He too has been a good friend to me and I value his friendship. What you classify as wild behaviour is what I classify as being my right."
If Emily wasn't afraid of taking it too far, she'd accuse Mary of having a stick up her arse, but the last thing she wanted was for Mary to complain to Nate. Nate would certainly side with Emily and not Mary, but she didn't want him to think of her as being rude or bitter to his guest, for he had promised Mary's parents that he would look after her for the rest of the summer.
"You are a hoyden, Lady Emily!" Mary sneered accusingly, stepping forward until she was directly in Emily's face. Emily met her gaze dead on. She was not afraid of Mary, who had continually proved that she was nothing more than just a silly child who thought she knew everything about the world. "All of London knows about you and everything you have done. You abandoned all sense of propriety for nothing but the life of a vagrant. Now, you have returned and want to re-enter polite society, thinking that the Duke would be the perfect chance to do so. I know exactly how you think."
"You couldn't be further from the truth! At least I still have my dignity, you insufferable brat!" Emily exclaimed, losing all the patience she had left.
"Oh, how can you say such a thing to me?" Mary asked tearfully, covering her mouth with her hand as her eyes fell on something behind them. Emily was about to respond, when another voice interrupted.
"Emily?" Nate said from behind, sounding confused. "What is going on?"
Emily whirled around to face him, shocked. She hadn't meant for him to hear that and, from the smug look in Mary's eyes, he had only come in time for Emily's words, and hadn't caught any of the awful things Mary had said to her.
"Nate, I swear I can explain my words." She said desperately, and he wordlessly looked to Mary, who schooled her features into demureness.
"Mary, why don't you go wait for us in the carriage? I must speak with Lady Emily." He said tonelessly, and Emily wondered if he was angry with her. Mary nodded, smiling at Nate sweetly. When her gaze landed on Emily, however, she turned it into something much more superior and self-satisfied.
Once Mary had been helped in by the driver, Nate looked at Emily and sighed. "Look, Em, I'm sure words were exchanged between you and Mary and I doubt she's anywhere near as innocent as she has made herself seem, but she's still our guest. I don't doubt that she needed to be put in her place, for I know that you would never have said anything unless she had provoked you, but if she says anything about this to her parents, then it spells trouble for all of us. I'm not angry with you— not at all— but, in the future, I really would prefer it if you could be less loquacious about your dislike for her."
Emily found herself nodding without even wanting to. She knew he was at least partially right, but a less rational part of her mind insisted that he had betrayed her by not being on her side. Although he had said nearly the exact opposite, to her, it had felt like he was siding with Mary. The mere thought of that was enough to make her bones quake in annoyance.
As she sat in the carriage, still in a huff, there was complete silence amongst the three of them, punctuated by Mary's constant complacent smirks that made Emily want to slap her soundly across the face. She hated girls like Mary and she was angry with Nate for taking her side. Wasn't he in love with her? Didn't that mean he was supposed to side with her?
It was foolish and entirely irrational of her, but it felt almost like a betrayal and she wanted to scream.