He did not return her smile, however.
And for a moment he looked so bleak that Mariah almost reached for him. Almost. "Mr. Haverton, is everything alright?" she asked, unsure of herself.
He started at her question, as if he had forgotten she was there. "I have treated you abominably, have I not?" he said quietly.
Mariah felt sorry for him, her heart ached for him. But she wouldn't lie. "Yes, you have really. Not all the time, but yes."
"You are refreshingly honest, Mariah."
Her name again. She didn't correct him. She liked hearing it too much.
"I was not always so ham-fisted when dealing with the opposite sex," he said with a self-deprecating shrug which she found rather adorable. "In fact, I was quite the rake in my time."
She could well believe it. Anyone who looked like him and kissed like him was sure to have been the heartbreaker of many. "You miss it? The life you had in London?"
"I miss how carefree my life was before—"
"Before?"
He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, looking suddenly older. "You asked the other day who the gown you wore belonged to."
Mariah's heart hammered in her chest. Was he going to admit that actually, yes he was married? The thought made her feel queasy, and she placed her glass untouched on the coffee table.
"You should know, you looked enchanting in it."
"Thank you," she said dismissively, refusing to be sidetracked from the conversation by his pretty compliments.
"The dress is my sister's. Was my sister's, rather."
Mariah felt a surge of relief so intense it took her by surprise. But as the words sank in, she realised their meaning.
"Was?" she asked quietly.
"She died two years ago," he said, his voice emotionless but that ticking in his jaw gave him away again.
"What happened?"
Abruptly, he stood, almost as though he could no longer bear to sit still. He walked to the fireplace then stopped, his back to her.
"My sister was beautiful, sweet and incredibly na?ve." The words came out so quiet, she strained to hear. "She was the apple of my parents' eyes, and mine too. She was younger than me by some years, and I doted on her as did everyone who knew her."
Mariah stood and went to stand by him, feeling suddenly cold and uneasy though not knowing why.
"We knew that when she eventually came out she would be the toast of the ton. And incomparable, of the highest order. I worried, as overprotective brothers do, that she would be pursued by the very worst sorts of rakes as well as men of good character, and I was determined to stick by her side for the entirety of her Season."
"It turned out that while we were all preparing for her catching the eye of a disreputable gentleman during the Season, she had already caught the eye of one much closer to home. "
"She was seduced by the son of a neighbouring earl, who was significantly older and married. We none of us guessed it. We only found out when she came to me, utterly distraught. He — he had gotten her with child, and when she went to him and told him, he told her of his wife and children. Told her to stay away from him and swore that he would deny any knowledge of their supposed affair."
Mariah gasped, feeling the pain radiating from him as he told his sorry tale.
He went on as though she had not spoken. "I was murderous. I wanted to kill him with my bare hands. But Father convinced me to stay home while he went to the earl. I did not know what good he thought he could do. She was ruined. Her life destroyed at fifteen years old.
"Father returned, as I knew he would, with the news that the earl had threatened to use all of his power to keep my family quiet about what had happened." His lips pressed into a thin line, and the vein in his temple throbbed.
"Daphne was inconsolable. She became a shadow. Her belly grew with her child, but her soul withered more and more every day." He ran a hand through his hair, pulling slightly at the strands, his face a picture of helplessness and despair. "We none of us knew how to help her. We kept quiet about it as best we could. Servants were bribed, visitors were sent away. People gossiped of course, but we ignored it."
Mariah felt herself trembling with rage, with sympathy, with a myriad of emotions that wouldn't help him now so she bit her tongue to keep from speaking.
"I took over the estate and began to build my various business ventures. I had thought if I made enough money I could give her and the child a peaceful life in the country, away from prying eyes and vicious tongues." He sighed wearily and it sounded as though it came from the very depth of his soul.
"When word came that she had had the child, a little girl, I returned home."
His eyes closed but not before Mariah saw a flash of pain so raw that her eyes filled with tears.