Rated NC-17 – smutty content
My Darling Love
Chapter 4 – Out the Bedroom Window
"Marriages are made in heaven and consummated on Earth."
-John Lyly
Just as George's father had told him, Mary was to be married to "a bigger fish" -- a wealthy lawyer from old money whose name was not important to George. All he could think about was that perfect kiss and Mary and all that he could have been as her husband.
Mary was trapped in her home and had the same problem, thinking of the many happy years she should have spent as George's wife. She met the "bigger fish" on Sunday and he asked permission of her father on Monday, swearing to him the undying loyalty of the wallet, "I've never seen a more attractive young lady, yes I think she will do rather nicely for my wife. I must have her, Mr. Baker, and to show you how sincere I am, let me pay you a dowry for her hand. Now, would you prefer one lump sum or monthly payments after the wedding?"
She had never spoken a word to George and loved him; the bigger fish never spoke a word to Mary, but her emotion was very different. She hated him. She hated everything about him, even his moustache. She hated the feeling of being a piece of property that was to be bought and sold, complete with haggling the amount Mr. Baker had written on his notepad listing the asking price of her hand. Mary had overheard their whispering, the bigger fish regarding her broken engagement as reason she should be marked as "clearance" or "cash and carry," and her father, with the help of Aunt Millicent, reassuring the other man that she was "as pure as freshly fallen snow."
"Oh no, she is still intact as young unmarried lady should be," holding firm on his price.
Miserable and strong-minded, Mary locked herself in her room and refused to come out. Her mother cried, her Aunt Millicent threatened, and her father sat at the kitchen table hanging his head. Aunt Millicent suggested the couple be married as quickly as possible. "Once she is married, she will see we were correct, and once she sees what the comfort living in wealth and riches can provide, she will go back to being our Mary Elizabeth once again."
Therefore, instead of having a three-month engagement, as polite society requested, it was only a month. Aunt Millicent met with the bigger fish's mother and went over the plan for the blessed day. They picked the most expensive flowers and gowns, the cuisine was just as fancy as the cake selected and the date was set. It was to be the grandest event in all of London, and everyone who was anyone -- at least to Millicent -- was invited.
The postman dispatched the invitations, and just to be cruel, Aunt Millicent addressed and sent one to George Darling at his work. "Do not worry over a scene Joseph," Millicent told her brother as she licked the stamp herself, "I just want to make sure he knows she is completely off the market. That fool let a fine lady slip through his fingers, and he deserves to suffer the heartbreak." It was a nasty trick, and it was to backfire on her, for when George read the date, instead of kicking himself silly; he marked his calendar and packed his suitcase.
So there Mary Elizabeth Baker stood, not in her mother's dress, but another purchased just for this occasion, gazing at her reflection in the mirror. The wedding dress worthy of royalty, it had all the beadwork and intricate embroidery complete with a long flowing train that ran out her bedroom door and down the stairs fit for the princess her parents and aunt believed she was, on the brink of being married to a prince in society's circle.
She cried everyday in preparation for her wedding, and today was no different. As her bridesmaids danced around her humming and giggling, she stared into her full length mirror, wondering, if she slit her wrists, how long it would take her Aunt to remove the dress unbuttoning at least one thousand tiny pearls that ran down from neck to back. In her imagination, she could hear her Aunt Millicent gasp in terror, "Quickly, or the blood will ruin that dress!"
Her parents beamed with pride at the choice of groom, so much more appropriate than her previous fiancé, for the bigger fish was very wealthy, and "money was very important."
Her Aunt Millicent and all her bridesmaids that had been called to morning tea left Mary alone when they shouldn't have, for just as her bedroom door closed, pebbles hit the window.
Mary went to window, curious as to which caller was so rude, throwing up the shades. She slid the windowpane up and shifted her body halfway out to get her best look at the street below. There was George Darling, suitcase packed, standing there! He had prepared a speech and memorized it, something to the tune of, "Mary Elizabeth Baker, I love you and I want to marry you. I'm sorry I never asked for your hand formally, and if you like, I will get on my knees in this street and beg for it. I'm not rich but I have enough money saved to get a small flat and make you mostly comfortable. I'll give you as many children as you like, and I promise you will always be a proper lady who need not work. I know it is not a lot to offer a lady such as yourself, and if you want to marry the other man, I will understand and leave. But I will never able to sleep again if I didn't at least ask you to reconsider...."
George had written down his speech, and held the paper out in front of him to begin his address. But seeing Mary so stunning in white, he could not make his mouth work. So instead, he remained silent only offering her, his eyes open to his soul and his heart, out on his sleeve.
Silence was always golden where they were concerned. George didn't even have to say her name. She fled the window and raced to her bed to gather her own suitcase, already packed for a honeymoon in Paris. Returning to the window, she saw a defeated George slowly walking away down the street. Knowing she couldn't shout to get his attention, she did the only thing she could think of, she threw down her suitcase, letting it splat out onto the street below. Just as she had hoped, it gained George's attention and he came running in time to see her, without reserve and quite unladylike, swing her legs over the ledge and climb down the rose trellis to her darling love, sans her wedding gown. It took seven bridesmaids, her mother and Aunt Millicent from well before sunrise to only a moment before George arrived to get her completed dressed in the glorious gown. It took Mary only a second to rip it off in her haste. She discarded it a crumpled ruin on her bedroom floor. The only things Mary wore as she landed in George's embrace right outside her parent's house were her slip and undergarments, stockings and shoes.
George hailed a carriage, put the suitcases in after Mary and jumped in. "Where to sir and...Miss?" the driver asked, dumbfounded, seeing a young lady so scantily dressed in the middle of the morning. "Anywhere but here," George replied, then turned to the kiss that sealed them together forever.
Aunt Millicent returned to Mary's room accompanied by the young lady she herself had deemed fit to be maid of honor, along with all the other bridesmaids, to complete the last minute alterations to Mary's wedding dress and fit her with crown and veil. She found the room empty and Mary's suitcase missing, which made her raise her hand to her head, "Oh dearest Lord in heaven and all the angels and all the saints -- someone search the entire house from top to bottom and lock all the doors!" The gown for which she had paid a fortune was now nothing more than ripped, mangled and utterly unfixable by even the best tailors in London. Aunt Millicent collapsed onto the bed.
"She won't get far in her bloomers, Millicent," Mr. Baker sneered, after he raced into his daughter's room to see what all the shouting was about. What sent Aunt Millicent into unconsciousness and her brother down the stairs to the front door in one swift movement was the open window and the discovery of a torn piece of Mary's slip caught on the top of the rose trellis. Mrs. Baker screamed in horror, Mr. Baker cursed under his breath while yelling for a constable and, just before she fainted, Aunt Millicent howled, "What will the neighbors think!"
George and Mary directed the carriage to Penny's humble home in London. "We can stay there today and think of someplace else to go tomorrow George. Penny is my best friend, she will understand our dilemma." Mary suggested, and George agreed, having no good plan for what would happen if Mary broke her engagement and actually wanted to escape.
Penny was just as shocked as the cab driver by Mary in her undergarments, covered only by George's coat, when they arrived. She helped Mary pick something normal to wear out of the fancy outfits and extravagant ensembles her Aunt Millicent chose for Mary's honeymoon attire. Once Mary was dressed in a simple blouse and skirt, they spent the morning and afternoon hidden away in the kitchen. "If the constables come calling for you, Mary, we will all acted shocked and appalled and worry after you, while you and George hide in the closet."
Penny and her husband lightened the mood by telling jokes and keeping the awkward conversation alive and thriving, as Mary and George both held their eyes to the clock, not feeling truly comfortable and at ease until over an hour past the time Mary should have been standing at the altar, and not a runaway hiding out.
Soon, the sun began to set and Mary and George joined the newlyweds -- expecting their first child in winter -- at their dinner table. They had a fine meal with all of the trimmings, a last supper, so to speak, for Mary and George, who held hands as they ate.
While George and Penny's husband retired to the parlor for an after dinner drink, Penny and Mary cleaned the supper dishes, Mary still anxiously watching the clock and the front door. "I don't think they are coming for you, Mary. They would have been here by now. For tonight, at least, you are safe. I think you and George should spend the night. I just wonder whatever will happen tomorrow? What is to happen when you go home?" Penny asked concerned.
Mary did not answer only shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe tomorrow will never come, or better yet maybe George and I won't go home. Maybe we will run away to a better place and get married there and live happily ever after." Mary delighted drying dish after dish as Penny washed.
"That's baby talk, Mary, you are not a child anymore, you know. You have to go home, you will want your parents' blessing to marry George, it's just not right any other way. And think of George, for in the eyes of the law he's now a criminal. You're not married and because of him stealing you away, your father could lie and say he raped you, or worse."
Mary held her tongue, Penny was right. But there was no way, especially now, that her parents would allow a marriage to George. Penny, seeing the defeat on Mary's face, offered, "God helps those who help themselves. You have tonight with him. Enjoy it as if it was your last night on earth. Tomorrow, go home to your parents, explain how you feel. If they make you marry someone you do not love, then, at the very least, you had tonight."
Mary held a serious expression, too serious, as far as Penny was concerned, she leaned into Mary's ear and doing her very best Aunt Millicent impression she joked, "This evening, Mary Elizabeth, you will allow George to consummate you," which made Mary giggle just as hard as Penny.
And so she took Penny's advice. Penny and her husband slept in the parlor on the floor and gave George and Mary their bedroom. Mary dressed in the nightgown her mother gave her especially for her wedding night as George dressed in his pajamas. They both got into bed at the same time and blew out the lamp, but not before George complimented her. "You look splendid in silk Mary, your nightgown is very flattering." Truth be told, he was already excited to the point of ecstasy just looking at her, and so he jumped into bed first and rolled on his side, facing away from her to hide his condition. They lay under the covers without moving, Mary on her back, George on his side.
"Shall we consummate now George?" Mary asked gleefully.
George stuttered, choking on his tongue, "Consummate Mary? Have you done that before with others?"
George slowly turned his head to see her sitting up in bed smiling. He on the other hand had a shocked expression on his face in the moonlight.
"No George. To be completely honest, I'm not even sure what the word means." She chuckled at her silliness, completely innocent of such grown up things. Her face suddenly turned dismal as she took notice that she was the only one who found humor in her naiveté
George turned on his back and gave her his full attention, reaffixing the spectacles he removed when he laid down. In a rather confused but more annoyed voice he asked, "What do you think it means Mary?"
Mary gazed upon George's face. She slowly pulled the blanket up over her head, beyond embarrassed and completely humiliated to have said something foolish and ruin their one and only night together. She mumbled, "Sleep?"
George knew what the word meant, and he was still taken aback that a lady such as herself would dare say it aloud, let alone ask him if he wanted to. In his mind, he heard his mother's voice cackling, "Only whores ask a man for his favor." The combination of Mrs. Darling's voice and Mary's unbelievable ingenuousness created a look of disgust on George's face which caused him to inadvertently sneer, "That is not what that word means, Mary, and a young lady of good breeding who expects marriage from a gentleman should never ask him or any man for his favor, not ever."
Mary pulled the blanket from her face and peeked at George who was now angrily glaring at her, only now he had relit the lamp on the bedside table and was sitting with his arms crossed. Mary slowly hid her face and asked, "What does favor mean, George?"
He sighed loudly and shook his head, rising from the bed with his hands on his hips, "Mary Elizabeth, either you are a woman of loose virtue, only playing dumb, or you really are a very foolish child who is playing a unkind game with my heart. Which one is it?"
Mary was NOT a woman of "loose virtue" -- she knew what that meant. Nor was she engaging George in some foolish children's game. Because of his harsh words, she suddenly became quite uneasy, and decided it was time to run away again. This time, Mary decided to runaway from him.
She wrapped herself from head to toe in the blanket with her face still covered and leapt up from the bed, banging into the door in her blinded state. George jumped up from the bed as well and gave chase, but Mary was quick, even with her head and body wrapped in a blanket. She made it all the way into the parlor before tripping over Penny and her husband who were still awake arguing over finances.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Mary, where are you going?" Penny exclaimed, helping her best friend up.
"Sleepwalking, Mary?" Penny's husband joked, glancing over her silky sheath that barely left anything to the imagination.
Penny smacked her husband in the head and walked Mary into the kitchen, asking George for a few moments alone with Mary. "What happened?" Penny asked, "You can't be that frightened of making love, are you?" she continued in a lower whisper.
"He said I was either a woman of loose virtue or a child for not knowing what consummate and favor means! What do they mean?" Mary responded as the first tears since the morning fled her eyes.
"Consummate means making love, like I told you, his parts and your parts. Favor means pretty much the same thing."
Mary shook her head with her eyes closed, "I'm not to do that until I am married."
Penny nodded her head biting her lip, "I know, Mary, you are such a good girl, and it was just a suggestion and a bad one at that. I forget George is already a man, being seven years older than you and all. I'm sorry."
Penny brought Mary back to her bedroom and took George aside for a word. "I was the one who told her to flirt, so don't think badly of her, George, she is still just a child in some senses, and she loves you and just wanted to please you."
George returned to the room, finding Mary already in bed with the blankets again pulled up over her head. He could hear her weeping, even though it was muffled. "I'm sorry to have insulted you Mary, I don't think ill of you. I was just a little shocked to hear you offer yourself so freely to me. I understand now." He rubbed her back and asked for a kiss adding, "I cannot kiss you goodnight with a blanket between your lips and mine."
Mary lowered the blankets and gave him a kiss, not just any kiss, the kiss she kept only for him in the corner of her mouth. "That was very nice Mary, can I kiss you again?" George asked politely, and she did, willingly giving her lips to him without question.
They both took their place in bed under the blanket, both on their backs and once again George blew out the lamp. With the only the moon to light the room, George looked to Mary and she to him. They both rolled over on their sides to face each other and held hands. George moved closer to Mary and Mary moved closer to George and soon they met again in a kiss. They moved back to their original positions on their backs and began again, first by looking to the other, then by moving closer ending with a kiss. Each time, they kissed longer and deeper, and soon their lips parted and their tongues moved around the other's exploring. George's hand moved to cup her breast, curious of what they felt like, but he thought better of it, and removed his hand down to his side to alleviate the temptation.
After an hour of staying interlocked by mouth, George, consumed with passion, moved his hand up and onto her breast, and she allowed the contact. He only touched her over the blanket, and then he eased the blanket down and cupped her with just the sheath of silk keeping him from her skin. He moved his hand once again; this time to unlace the thin strap of fabric that tied on her shoulder, and gingerly laid his palm over her exposed flesh.
George felt her soft breast and hard nipple, becoming very aroused, and very embarrassed to think she would find what stood erect beneath the covers. Thus he pulled away from her ever so slightly. Mary also became aroused and lubricated by his gentle movements across her breast and lips, and was scared the drippings of her womanhood would soak the sheets. Still neither one wanted to stop kissing or the touching that made them both tingle, so they continued on.
Completely clothed in his pajamas, George moved for a better position to continue the foreplay, moving his upper body over her, very conscious of his throbbing manhood restrained in his pajama bottoms. George had now unlaced both of the straps holding Mary's nightgown up, and her breasts were showing which made her somewhat uncomfortable that she was the only one uncovered. "Would you take off your pajama shirt, George?" Mary asked him.
"I'm not sure if I should, I think in order to do that, or go any further then we already have we should be married," he responded, helping her fix her gown back on.
Mary and George lay back down in bed under the blankets on their backs and gazed adoringly to one another holding hands. "I wish we could get married right now, here, in this very bed," Mary giggled, looking past George out the window to the star-filled sky.
George looked to her with a serious face; he fixed his spectacles straight on his nose and kissed Mary's hand to gain her attention. With her looking at him, he began, "I, George, take you, Mary, to be my wife..."
In the bed, in the moonlight, with God looking down, George and Mary recited their wedding vows to each other. "God is listening, and in His eyes, with our love we are already married," Mary said when they had finished their sentiments of husband and wife. They kissed once more to seal the deal, and then George stood up and away from the bed, clutching his pillow to his waist to hide his condition. "We are to take off our clothes." George went first while Mary hid her eyes. Then Mary disrobed, while George looked the other way. Once naked and back under the safety of the blankets, they reached for each other.
Soon George was between her legs above her, he and Mary engaged in a kiss. He was concerned he would not be able to find the point of entry inside of her, but as wet as she was, it was almost like her womanhood pulled him in. He gently pressed into her, and she accepted his access gladly, shifting underneath him to make it easier.
It was a piercing pain, a strange sensation, like nothing she had ever felt before. The pain ended and then began again as he moved deeper into her. Indescribable at the moment (if Mary had to) the sensation was of something rock hard yet not jagged nor sharp, attempting to enter a space too small to fit. Another pain, this time all encompassing was felt, causing her to cry out into his mouth. George quickly withdrew and apologized for causing her harm.
The roadblock to heaven, Mary's virginity, would need to be broken through for George to progress further on his adventure. They kissed for quite awhile moving about on the bed before George gathered enough courage to place Mary back underneath him in the position where he was sure they would connect. And they did, causing Mary to moan in agony as he forced himself back to the place of impasse deep within her. Mary opened her eyes to see George with his head on her shoulder wanting desperately to move forward, but in torment over her ache. Even though it hurt considerably more than she imagined she told him, "Just keep going George, I'll be alright," and so he went.
George was so kind and tender with Mary, "Are you sure? I don't want to ever damage you." She answered him with her eyes and kissed his lips. "Mary, you must promise to forgive me for any hurt this causes you."
Mary nodded, "I promise George."
With one quick thrust, as if pulling off a bandage, George shoved his entire length into his wife, taking her virginity. Mary sucked in a limitless amount of breath as she felt George fill her whole, and groaned softly, exhaling as he pulled out to the head of his member and filled her once more. He continued on in a slow rhythm much unlike what his father had suggested. He felt more pleasure moving unhurried, this being his first time too, he wanted to enjoy the unfamiliar sensations of their interactions.
Once her virginity was banished and the pain subsided, all Mary felt was George plunging in and out, in and out, in and out. She listened to his breathing, exhaling and inhaling, exhaling and inhaling, on her neck at the same pace as his thrusting. The more he moved within her, the quicker both his thrusting and panting became.
So it was, at least, that for the first time, Mary performed her "wifely duty," and although it was not an utterly unpleasant experience, poor Mary did not understand why anyone would think a woman could ever receive pleasure from it. George seemed to be having a grand old time, once or twice he moved too hard into her and she gasped, but he took no notice of her discomfort as he walked in heaven.
It did not last very long, which was just as surprising to Mary as the pain of his entry. She felt the end was near when instead of his steady in and out, the movement changed to an erratic jerking forward into her. He held his breath and the released it heavily hot on her shoulder with one final grunt. George fell on top of her and took rest there, sweaty and gulping for air. She, on the other hand, was calm, well winded with an unusual soreness that throbbed from her womanhood. He suddenly rolled off of her and immediately dressed in his pajamas, advising her to do the same.
Mary excused herself to the bathroom with her night robe fastened shut to check the mirror for any noticeable difference in her appearance. The only thing different was the small amount of blood that was dried to her leg, which she made a mental note to ask Penny about in the morning. By the time she returned to ask George what adventures and treasures were found on the other side of the door she had hidden within her, her new husband was already asleep. Mary soon drifted into her slumber; the worry of her parents catching her was gone as well as the tenderness she felt between her legs that had abated.
In the morning, when she awoke, George was already bare under the blankets, waiting. He wasted no time asking her politely to undress, wanting to "unlock" her once again. She obliged, being his wife and feeling it her duty, and soon they began their routine of kissing and touching. She felt cheated their first night, as if there was something else that was to happen that didn't. If she loved him so much why was it not wonderful? And if that was what it was to be like with George, whom she felt so much for, then what would it be like with a man she hated?
George must have seen the puzzlement on her face, for he stopped just as he was about to enter her. Mary would never have to worry after that night, for in the morning sun, everything was about to become different.
"I want you to enjoy this just as much as I do," he told her. "I want you to be eager about it, I don't think something this marvelous should ever be thought of as a chore for someone like you. I love you, and I love to feel you around me when we make love, and I really want you to feel the same way about me," he told her, looking down at her below him. "You love me in that way don't you? You want me to make love to you?" he asked her.
She shrugged her shoulders beneath him and mumbled, "I'll never refuse you if you want to..."
George pulled his head up just a little surprised; as that was not the response he expected or wanted. "I know it hurt you at first, but after that, did it not feel good?"
She begrudgingly told him nothing felt good about him slipping in and out of her like she was not there.
He went over the scenario in his mind. "Nothing? What about the kissing, before I started on you?" he queried, shaking his head, angry with himself for using that impolite terminology for their act. He sat up, as did Mary.
"Oh yes George, I loved the kissing. I could kiss you like that forever. But the other part, not that I didn't enjoy the fact that it made you feel good, I just won't lie to you and tell you I am eager for you. But, as I said, I will never ever refuse you. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, I don't mean to be selfish. My mother told me it was more important for you to like it than me, and you do, so maybe this is the right way it should be. Am I supposed to pretend I enjoy it? If I am George, I will pretend for you..."
George gave it more thought and then put his best foot forward with her. "No Mary, please don't pretend. I truly want you to feel good. I truly want you to want me. Please promise me you will never act as if you are having fun when you are not. Be honest with me." He held her hands in his own as he spoke from his heart. Once again, Mary nodded and sincerely replied, "I promise George."
George leaned his head into hers and in all seriousness began, "I'm going to kiss you again Mary, and I want you to tell me how it feels, and if what I'm doing feels bad or unpleasant stop me. But if it feels good, you have to tell me that too."
Mary assented, and so George kissed. After she rested back on the bed, he kissed her face and down her neck. He kissed her breasts and around her nipples. It sent chills up her spine and she declared that, thus far, he was doing a fine job. He moved down her stomach to her navel and progressed further to her womanhood. There she stopped him out of fear. "You are my wife, and as far as I am concerned, and there is not one part of your body that I don't think is as beautiful as your face." Remembering the words of her best friend, "What you do in the privacy of your marriage is your business and no one else's..." that echoed through her mind, she nodded, allowing him to proceed.
He moved his lips to a sensitive part of her body that she did not even know existed. "Yes, right there, right there! I think, oh yes that's it! Please don't stop George!" Instead of his lips, he now explored with his tongue, licking and tasting her.
"Yes, yes, that's rather lovely." It was now Mary that was out of breath. She felt an odd feeling in her belly, as if something was trying to get out. The chills that ran down her spine, now gave her goose bumps as George entered her using his finger. "Please George, keep doing whatever it is you are doing there..." Not knowing what was better, his tongue on her clitoris or his finger at work, she begged him for a kiss. He complied and when he did, he moved the right way to replace his finger with his manhood.
Where his movements were slow and gentle, she urged him to move quicker and harder. He did and soon she felt the same pleasure he did. She had lain still the night before, but now as if beyond her own control, moved and shifted with his strokes. And just as he erratically jerked forward into her, so did she and both at the same time they reached completion and fell against one another out of breath and sweaty.
Involved in their own passion and pleasure, they could not hear Penny and her husband sitting at the kitchen table laughing like school children. It was not the bed hitting the wall that made them break into hysterics, nor was it the heavy breathing and moaning going on within the room. It was the laughter of two people in love who witnessed two others just the same experiencing love being made as is should be.
When they were finished with their passions, they did not hurriedly get dressed, as the elder Mr. Darling had suggested. Instead, they remained naked and intertwined well into the afternoon. "I have all the money from my savings, and we can run away to wherever you want to go, Mary. Where do you want to go?" They spooned against one another in the bed, with Mary's back facing George.
He ran his fingers through her long hair as he asked his question, and before she gave her response, she clutched tightly to his hand that held her around the waist. "I want to go home."
George, feeling proud of his victorious defeat of Mr. and Mrs. Baker as well as his own parents and Aunt Millicent, queried further, "And where would you like to make our home?"
Now Mary turned to him, "I want to go home to my parents."
George lowered his head and rolled over on his back. He wasted no time in sitting up and beginning to dress. "Fine, I'll take you home. My brother told me this was just a baby game for you. Well, I hope you had a jolly good time Mary. Now you can go and get married to the other man with my broken heart as your trophy." His tone was discourteous, dare I say annoyed with his wife, and he further showed his irritation by not waiting for her to put her clothes on completely before fleeing the room and storming out of the house.
"What's wrong with George? He left without even saying goodbye or offering his thanks for putting you two up," Penny asked as Mary who cried while tying her bootlaces.
"I'm sorry, Penny, thank you for letting us stay in your home. I think George is mad at me because I want to go home to my parents. He told me I was playing a game with him, but I'm not."
Mary dried her tears and fixed her hair, chasing after George who was hailing a carriage.
His expression was hostile, but before he could open his mouth, she spoke, "I want to go home to my parents for no other reason than that they deserve to know how I truly feel about you. I don't want us to have to hide away in order to be together. I want them accept us and accept our choice to be man and wife. Believe me, George, there is no other place in the entire world I would rather be than with you. Every moment we are not together will feel like an eternity for me. Please let me do right by you, George, I don't want to shame you or your family's name. I'm sure there are plenty of rumors and evil gossip being spread about me right now. I don't want your name added to the list by any means. It was my choice to run away. Let me tell them that, please." Mary clutched his face with her hands and pulled him face to face with her, "George, I would rather cut my heart out of my chest then offend yours, I swear to you that this is no game. Remember our vows, till death parts us..."