Prologue
July 14, 1804 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mary stood on the top step of the fashionable Society Hill townhouse looking down the busy cobblestone street as she twisted her fingers anxiously in the folds of her skirt. Horses, carriages, wagons, and pedestrians all created a cacophony of sound and activity that swirled around her. This morning was still pleasant, but she knew that in a few hours the summer heat and humidity would make things unbearable. Everyone went about their business as if it were just another ordinary day. As if her world hadn't suddenly stopped when she heard the news.
She felt disconnected from this city she had made her home, like she was standing on the outside looking in through a dirty window that distorted things once so familiar. This city where everything began all those years ago.
She scanned the streets, trying to catch sight of the young boy she had sent to buy a copy of today's paper. She had already heard the news, of course, but she needed to see it in print.
If it’s not in writing, perhaps it didn’t really happen.
The boy returned quickly, and Mary wiped her sweaty palms on her crisp white apron. She tucked an errant blonde curl back under her linen cap before taking the paper from his hands with shaking fingers, handed him a small coin from her pocket, and sent him on his way. She clutched the paper to her chest without looking at it, opened the front door, and stepped across the threshold into the elegantly appointed reception area.
Mary heard footsteps on the staircase and quickly ducked into the empty parlor, closing the door softly behind her. It was early Friday morning, and Dr. Mathew would begin seeing patients soon, but right now she needed a moment alone before she was forced to face the busy day ahead. Knowing she couldn't put it off any longer, she took a deep breath, pulled the paper away from her chest, and stared down at the headline.
The words swam in front of her, and Mary felt slightly queasy. She sat down on the sofa and sank back into the velvet upholstery, feeling like a wilted flower among the green and gilt finery. A soft knock at the door made her jump.
"Mrs. Clement, is everything all right?"
"Yes, Abby, everything is fine. I'll be out in a moment." Her voice sounded distant, as if she were watching the scene from outside her body.
Mary heard a slight pause before the click of the maid's shoes retreated down the polished marble entryway. Even at the age of thirty-six, somehow people still felt the need to worry about her, as if she were some fragile little thing. If they only knew, they would realize she was far stronger than she appeared.
Alone once again, Mary looked back down at the newspaper on her lap. Two men, both so tightly woven into the fabric of her life. Each had played the parts of both hero and villain in her story. Both had betrayed her, and both she had betrayed. But only one had she loved.
Now, that one was dead, killed by the other.
She felt like she was going to retch.
Mary took a deep breath and lifted a shaking hand to her chest, her fingers outlining the slight bulge of the silver locket she had worn over her heart, pinned to her stays, and hidden under her gown for the past twelve years. A lock of auburn hair rested safely inside. That's all she had left now.
She anticipated tears, but none came. Perhaps she was still in shock, and those would come later. Or perhaps the tears were Maria's to shed, not Mary's, and the wall she had built around her heart was truly impenetrable. Even after all these years, Mary wore Maria's pain and disgrace around her like a protective cloak, visceral and ever-present.
The shame and public humiliation had almost destroyed her, but somehow, she survived. She returned to Philadelphia four years ago and reinvented herself once again. A new name and a new life, her scandalous past hidden beneath a thin veneer of respectability. Her daughter was grown now and had moved away, lost to her own vices- a constant ache that Mary was unable to soothe.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the couch. A sob escaped her lips as the memories hit her all at once, a swirl of images and sensations... love, loss, revenge, betrayal, and scandal.
She knew rampant speculation would rear its ugly head in the coming days concerning the origin of the long-standing feud between those two powerful men. And now, she was one of two remaining who knew the whole truth behind it. And heaven help her, she intended to take her secret with her to the grave.
