Having two husbands on a shoot was decidedly awkward, Mary realized quickly. A wife's role was to stand with her husband but with two, it made for uncomfortable looks from everyone as she walked amongst the shooters. She smiled at both men as they prepared their guns and shot looks at each other. "I thought," she said carefully, loud enough for all the men to hear, "That I would stand with Matthew during the morning shoot and then this afternoon, I would be with Henry. Does that sound fair to both of you?"

She didn't want a fight over it. She couldn't be with both and she doubted that they wanted to shoot together. Matthew nodded and smiled pleasantly at her words, he and Tom were examining their shotguns. Henry also nodded, but there was no smile. He looked like he was covering his anger by clenching his jaw and making a show of fiddling with his gun. Oh drat, Mary thought, he thinks this is some sort of competition. She had told him once that Matthew had grown to like shooting and while Henry wasn't a terrible shot, like a lot of younger men raised on smaller estates, he was out of practice and worried that he'd be bested by her first husband. Made all the funnier because while Matthew had grown to like shooting, he had never been particularly good at it. Matthew liked walking around in the woods, having snacks and drinks with the other men, sharing jokes and stories and even occasionally a cigar. As far as killing birds went, Matthew often joked the birds flocked around him because they knew they were safe.

She walked over to Henry, to sooth his bruised ego. "If you're upset about not being first, please don't be." She looked back at Matthew, who was yawning as he made a joking remark to Tom, and his friend Jeremy. "Matthew is putting on a good show, but he's still recovering from yesterday. He'll shoot this morning, have lunch with everyone in the field, and then his friend Jeremy, the police inspector, plans to talk him into heading back to the house so they can do something quiet in the afternoon."

Henry made a scoffing noise. "Does Matthew know this?"

"Of course not." Matthew was falling into the old habit of pleasing everyone but himself. She suspected he was gutting it out instead of asking for quieter activities, just gritting his teeth and going along with all the plans because he knew he'd be back in Chepstow in a week. Jeremy had suggested the subterfuge, and she had agreed since if Isobel saw Matthew looking as tired at the evening dinner as he had looked the night before, the older woman was likely to send him to bed like a child. And since Matthew tended to snap when he was tired, that meant Isobel and Matthew having a fight—which no one wanted or needed to see. "I wanted to be fair, and spend time equally with you both."

He smiled and nodded. "I accept your gentle chiding, Mary. I have no reason to be jealous, you're being very fair. And Matthew does look a bit peaked. For all this is a vacation for him, I wonder if his mother might not have the right of it. Perhaps this has been a little too much for him." He glanced up at the cloudy, overcast sky. "Speaking of being ill, it looks like it could rain. If you were with me, I'd send you to the house as soon as the rain started so that you don't catch your death. I suspect that Matthew agrees with me on this."

And are you being nice in your concern, Mary wondered, or are you planting the seed in my head that Matthew's health is tenuous. She was sorely tired of wondering what Henry meant with his remarks. "As if I would want to stand out in the rain for no apparent reason, Henry."

"Well, you do baffle me at times, Mary," Henry said, his tone teasing but light. More seriously he added, "I just worry about you and the baby."

He was at his charming best, she couldn't deny it and she leaned in and kissed his cheek, forgetting herself. She regretted it, and didn't, all at once. She regretted it because Matthew likely saw it, her back was to him but he would know she kissed Henry, and she didn't like rubbing it in his face that she was with another man. She didn't regret it because she did love Henry and she was carrying his child and she had lived with Henry for over six months as his wife. There was no reason to deny that they were physically affectionate.

Matthew did look annoyed and so did Tom. Tom actually glowered. Oh good lord, Tom, she thought darkly as she walked over to them, you're not my third husband in this. Matthew for his part covered his annoyance easily. He smiled at her. "I don't… mind if you want to be with Henry," he said as she approached. "For the shoot." His eyes sparkled with amusement. "I otherwise d-don't concede."

"For a gardener, you're still such a lawyer, Matthew." She gave Tom a look and hoped he got the message. She wanted to talk to Matthew alone, and being with him on the shoot was an easy way to do it. She had wanted to talk to him the day before, she had almost made the decision and then she had witnessed his seizure and it had stayed her hand. It also made her think, that she didn't want to be entirely hasty. There were things that needed to be discussed. Outside, in the woods with guns going off, they could even argue without anyone noticing.

Tom nodded slightly. "I promised Evans I'd shoot with him. He's not very good either so we can talk about cars." He gave her a knowing look. Matthew was distracted by her father, and Tom stepped over to her side. "You need to be alone to talk, don't you? About your decision?"

"I need to be certain," she said quietly, "that I'm not deciding to make him miserable. I won't have that, Tom."

"Then be certain," Tom said, "but remember that he's been back a few days now and might be more willing to bend. He's been under a lot of stress but he's also been enjoying himself."

"Are you choosing a side? I thought you were neutral." It intrigued her. Tom had been the man who she had gone to for advice on all sorts of things over the last five years, but she had felt honor bound to not press him when he made it clear he didn't want to choose between two men he considered friends.

Tom looked down at his feet and then over at Henry. "I thought it was an even fight. After seeing you, with Matthew again… I want you to be certain too. So that we can all start considering what the future will look like. And so people can start moving on." He smiled at her. "I know you'll choose wisely."

"Thank you, Tom," she said, meaning it dearly. Just then, Matthew strode back from talking with her father. "Has Papa assigned us an area?"

"Yes… Although I… don't know why…" Matthew shrugged good-naturedly. "We both know I'm terrible at this." He waited until they stepped away from the main group to say, "If Henry is angry, I… don't mind waiting."

"Henry isn't going to be happy until I make a decision." she said as they began walking in the woods, "Which means I must make a decision soon." She looked around, making sure the other shooters and their attendants were a distance away. She saw Bertie and Edith off in the distance, Edith was looking radiant as she laughed at something Bertie said. Matthew followed her gaze.

"Marriage s-suits Edith," he said carefully. "I… always suspected that. I thought… that marriage suited you and I…" He took aim on a bird and fired, making her jump. "I got it."

"You've gotten better despite no practice," Mary said. She hesitated. "Marriage does suit you and I, Matthew." She walked alongside him, quiet for the longest time, hoping she said it the right way. "I… want to stay married to you."

That stopped him dead in his tracks. He spun around and stared at her, his expression both joy filled and wary. "Don't toy with me, Mary. Have you… decided?"

"We have to talk." Mary crossed her arms, struggling to phrase it correctly. "I won't… I refuse to take away the things that make you happy."

Matthew blushed. "You… make me happy. You and George." Thunder rumbled all around them. She hoped it wasn't an omen.

"I know," she said easily, covering how it warmed her heart, "and you make me happy and I can't even describe to you what it was like to see you again or how seeing you and George together heals everything inside of me that I didn't even realize was still broken. But, I never really thought about how you were… stuck in a role you didn't want, that you still don't want. I refuse to make you give up a life you've made for yourself, a life you're proud of."

He cocked his head, obviously curious. "Do I… have to? Mary… Our lives aren't b-black and white. We're n-not who we were. Compromise… is p-possible." He grinned, a certain relief coming to his eyes. "We're… negotiating t-terms. Both sides have to g-give. I will… give first." He took a deep breath. "I can write here. I have… already." He looked suddenly shy.

"Edith showed me your poems." Her voice caught. "I knew you loved me, I always knew that, but your sonnets… it's like you were missing me even though you couldn't remember me, as though I was haunting you." It was more than that, it was as though he knew he'd given his heart and was living in a sort of torment, knowing there was a life, a love, that he was missing. The rain clouds that had been threatening began to gently mist down on them. "I betrayed you while you were loyal despite your injuries. I don't deserve any concessions to you, no terms." She began to cry.

He stepped in and pulled her into a hug. "No," he whispered into her ear, "you n-never betrayed me, Mary. You thought… That I was dead. You mourned me d-decently. There is no reason for you to blame yourself." He kissed her on the lips, and for the longest moment, she lost herself in the joy of being in his arms. Reluctantly, she pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"I won't let you sacrifice everything you've built in Cornwall. You have a life there, and friends." She held her ground. They were beyond petty things like parties and attending social functions, she had already seen him forcing himself to fill the role he didn't like. "Do you want to live in Cornwall?"

"Yes but… Mary…" He grinned in that way he had when he knew he was about to pleasantly surprise her. "It's… a f-few hours on the train. Or you c-could learn to drive. There's m-money. Money I make on m-my own. I could have electricity and a phone put in if you w-want that. There's bedrooms… for George and a nanny. He l-loves the ocean and m-maybe… we could split our time." He smiled more broadly. "The gardens here are dr-dreadful and the storms off the ocean can be c-cold. I wouldn't mind fall and w-winter here. Or weekends? You w-will be m-managing the estate… after all. I w-won't take you entirely from y-your home."

It made her laugh, despite the rain that was beginning to fall more heavily. "I really don't care what we arrange as long as you're happy and we're together." She looked up at the sky, the rain clouds growing ever darker. "We should head back to the start, there was a tent there. Papa thought it might rain and Henry…" The thought of Henry stopped her in her tracks. "I have to tell Henry."

"I will be at your side, if you n-need me," Matthew began, but Mary shook her head.

"It's my duty to him, Matthew, and you being there would just make things ugly and accusatory." In fact, as the rain started to grow heavier, it occurred to her that if she didn't want to humiliate Henry, she would need to wait until the shooting party was over to break it to him that he wasn't going to remain her husband. "He deserves to hear it from me, and me alone."

"That's f-fair," Matthew said, his joy still plain on his face. Then, as the thunder rumbled all around them, almost shaking the leaves from the trees, his expression changed to a frown. "I must… warn you. Murray told Henry… a l-legality that could be exploited." She could see he was struggling to find the right words. "Ep-epilepsy is grounds for… a marriage annulment. I d-didn't mention it and Henry… feels I am man-manipulating you." He took a deep breath. "I didn't mention it… because it d-disinherits George, and would m-mean I would have to…. Remarry and have another son and… I d-don't have any wish to do that. Henry thinks I d-didn't mention it because such a l-legal issue puts me at risk for… involuntary committal." He shook his head. "That was n-not a concern. I didn't mention it because of George's future. Henry d-doesn't realize how… difficult it would be, and that he'd drag us all through the m-mud for n-nothing." He smiled suddenly. "If nothing else… my m-mother would take off her gloves and… reveal how protective she r-really is."

It made her laugh because it was so true. Isobel would rip Henry limb from limb. "I believe you, Matthew. But do you think he'd do such a thing? As if I'd stay with him after he tried something so spiteful."

"I think… He was more c-concerned that I was f-forcing you to insist I lie to let you divorce me when you c-could… just use this other option. But…" Matthew cradled the shotgun in his arms. "He seems a d-decent man but this… will touch his pride. It could get… ugly. Especially if… Murray assists him."

She took his free hand and squeezed it firmly. "Then we shall face that together. I think though, that once his initial anger passes, he will accept my decision." If she understood the law, she thought as they walked through the increasingly wet woods, Henry had to accept her decision. He could raise the specter of Matthew's health, and she could see where it worried Matthew, but she could also tell that he wasn't fearful of being locked away. He was fearful of the family being dragged into the spotlight even more than it already had. She was more concerned about the baby. It would be a Talbot, she wasn't going to break her promise to Henry, but the law favored Henry in that he could insist on taking the child away from her. That is a problem for months from now, she chided herself as she slipped on the wet path.

The thunder cracked overhead, as loud as she'd ever heard it, and she startled Matthew and let go of his arm, only to realize she was on the edge of a small, steep, creek bed. The thunder sounded again, she felt the sound as much as she heard it and she grabbed a small sapling to steady herself, only for it to snap in her hand. "Oh!"

Matthew dropped the shotgun and grabbed for her. For a second, she thought she had his hand but then she slipped back and tumbled down the steep incline towards the water. The last thing she saw was the wet rocks that lined the stream rushing towards her. Then she saw no more.