The Byron house was not big, but Mary had also not expected it to be. She knew the Byrons were not of a title – although Eli's father was always called lord Byrons. But if she was honest, she liked the small house. It was very snug. A big different from the house she lived in.

"Lady Mary?" Ada's mother said surprised.

Mary smiled and curtsied for the lady of the house. "You may call me Mary."

"Mary," lord Byron repeated as he walked closer. He bowed in front of her. "It is an honour to meet you, my lady."

"Please," Mary begged, "not so formal. I am here as a friend, not as a lady."

"You are very similar to your sister, if I may say that," he said.

"In looks, my lord. But not in character."

"Are you not a lover of theatre, my lady?" Eli suddenly asked. His brown eyes were intent on hers, but no one seemed to see it. Twas obvious he was hiding the fact that he knew her from his parents, and if that was the game he wanted to play, than she would play it better than him.

"I am, Mr. ...?"

"Eli," he said with a satisfying glimmer in his eyes. "But I am no Mr. yet."

"Eli," Mary said with a nod. "I do love the theatre. But not as much as my sister, or your father, I am afraid."

"We all have our own preferences, do we not?" lord Byron said. "And we should not judge one over one's likings."

"Please, take a seat," lady Byron. "Would you like some tea?"

"I would love some," Mary responded before siting down. While she was glad Ada came to sit next to her, Eli made her quite uncomfortable by taking a seat on the chair in front of her and keeping his eyes on her. He had a challenging look, and she copied it. Whatever game he wanted to play, she would join.

"Mary, allow me to introduce my children," lady Byron said. She pointed at Eli, who was sitting next to her. "You have already been introduced to Eli, Ada's twin brother." Her hand moved to the woman sitting next to Eli. "This is Ivy, our third child."

"We have met," Ivy reminded Mary, "at the market a few days ago."

"Yes, I remember," Mary responded. "But it is nice to officially meet you."

Lady Byron pointed at the last woman in the room. "And that is Cora, the youngest."

"Nice to meet you, my lady," Miss Cora kindly said.

"Please, do not call me a lady. I do not wish to be regarded as more import than you, for I do not feel that way."

Lady Byron nodded. "You are too kind, Mary."

The door suddenly opened and two similar looking boys entered. Jim and Lee, Mary remembered, but she did not say. She was not supposed to know, for Eli had told her and they pretended they had not yet met.

"Ah, Mary," lady Byron said satisfied. "These are our last two boys, Jim and Lee. Also a twin, as you can see."

"Yes, indeed. Tis quite obvious," Mary said, making the people in the room laugh. Jim and Lee both had the same hair colour, but twas different than Eli and their sisters'. While everyone was blonde, their hair was browner. But their nose, mouth and eyes were the same as every Byron child.

"This is lady Mary Brompton," lady Byron announced to the two boys, "Ada's friend."

Jim and Lee stiffened upon the word lady. They both bowed and said: "good day, my lady."

"Please, no formalities," Mary repeated once more. "I came as a friend, not as a lady."

The two boys took a seat on two chair, then lady Byron started another conversation.

"So, Mary, how have you met Ada?"

"We met at the Birmingham ball," she easily lied. "And a few days later, we saw each other at the market."

"Today Mary invited me," Ada added, "and when the sun was too warm, I invited her inside the house."

Mary smiled at Ada, but twas not an untrue smile she would often give people. Twas a true one, for she saw Ada as her friend. They had spend quite a few hours together today, and Mary had liked it. Not only because the woman had many great things to tell her about Eli, but also because she was so kind. How could a person not love Ada?

"Tis quite unlikely for a lady to befriend a woman with no title," Eli suddenly said.

While everyone was startled, Mary gave him a bittersweet smile. "I do not bother about status. I live my life the way I want to, despite my mother's complains."

That received her another round of laughter in the room. These people were easy to please, Mary found, and she liked it.

"And your family?" Eli asked when everyone had silenced. "Do they have the same lack of honour?"

"Tis not a lack of honour, sir," Mary said, looking sternly at him. "Tis respect for other people."

"Do you believe that by not calling yourself a lady, you show respect to people with no title?" he asked sceptically.

Mary was starting to doubt if this was still a game, or if Eli was truly wondering these things. Anyhow, she would not bow down, so she told him: "tis much better than flaunting with my title and money."

"Does your family feel the same way about it? I have heard they all carry titles. Some even married people with titles."

Mary saw lady Byron turn her head toward Eli, but Mary responded before the lady could comment. "Is it a bother to you that I can think of my own, sir? Do you think it wrong that I, a lone woman, have an opinion and that I voice it? Do you believe I should blindly follow my family's opinion?"

"Tis not a worry to me," Eli admitted. "But if my family would voice a different from mine about a belief like that, I would certainly not like it."

"Then your family is much different from mine," was all Mary said.

"Mary," lady Byron said before Eli could comment. "Do like a piece of cake?"

She gave the woman her best smile and ignored Eli's look. "I would love to."

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Mary had had a great talk with lord and lady Byron. They were very kind people, and also Ivy and Cora were very sweet. Mary understood the love Ada and Eli had for their siblings.

Suddenly, Eli stood up. "Mary, can persuade you for a walk in the garden?"

"I would love to see you garden," she said with a smile, while both knew she had already seen the garden. Twice, even. The first time by night, and the second time when she came to pick up her bag. But she would like to speak to Eli without having to watch her tongue. She wanted to know why he had been asking the questions he had asked.

Once they were finally outside, she could not wait to ask her question. So when she was walking next to him, she asked: "are you alright?"

Surprised, he looked at her. "Do you have reason to believe I am not?"

"You were asking odd question in the parlour," she told him. "Asking about the honour I have for my family."

"Not for your family," he corrected, "but to your title."

"I do not have a title," she told him. "I am the youngest, and a woman. For some reason that does not qualify me to inherit a title."

"But you do not care to earn one and continue your family's influence?"

"Of course not," she answered, surprised about his implications. Was that what he thought of her? That all she wanted was to live with a title and money?

She did not, and it had never been her dream. In fact, she would not mind not having a title, for a title came with many obligations. There were balls she did not want to go to, formalities she did not like, and being friends with people who only were your friends because of your name.

Many people wanted to be rich and notorious. They wanted their name to be remembered. But Mary only wanted the people she cared about to know her name. Only the people who were truly kind to her, had the right to call her their friend.

"Where is your father?" Eli suddenly asked.

Mary was startled, but the shock quickly disappeared at the thought of Francis Brompton. "He passed away a few years ago," she admitted. "I was only twelve years old."

"Was he a great man?"

"Not like your father." She looked at him. "But he was a great father and a kind man. His biggest achievements were finding his perfect wife and caring for his children. His work was not important to him. And he made important decisions for the good of our family."

"Like what?" Eli wanted to know.

Mary shook her head. "There was only one, but I do not want to talk about it. Time has changed things, and his decisions seems to have lost its weight. We still appreciate it, but we also have proof of the destruction."

She knew Eli was confused, for he did not know what she was talking about. But some things were too hard for her to talk about, like Arthur. She did not want to tell a man she did not fully trust about the struggle their family had gone through.

She did not even know the details of it, and she did not know how to explain her lack of care for them. The fear of the horrible truth was one thing, but the doubt about whether it was a good decision or not, also played a part.

"Who is Joseph?" Eli suddenly asked, suddenly changing not only the subject of their conversation, but also the mood. It made Mary laugh.

"Joseph," she repeated laughing. "That is quite the story. My mother complained about me not having a husband. Soon I will be too old to attract a husband, so I must find one soon." She scoffed at the absurdity of it. "So I told her that I considered courting Joseph. I hoped it would render her satisfied and make her shut up. But unfortunately, it made her exciting. Now she asks me every day how Joseph is and when I will start my courtship. She obeys me to dance with him at every ball. And when I visit Grace, I am doomed, because he is her brother and he always at home."

"So your plan backfired?" Eli concluded.

"Enormously. He and his family has also heard of the rumour and deem it to be true. Grace knows it is a lie, but she quite likes the idea of having me as a sister-in-law."

"And thus she pushed you toward Joseph."

"Have you met the man?" she asked. "Joseph Kipling."

"I have not," he said. "But I have met John Kipling, the actor. Are they related?"

"Yes, they are cousins somehow. And from the stories I have heard of the actor, I can confirm that they are quite similar." And that was not a compliment.

Both men – and the women too – were very strict and did not want things to change. Men were more important than women, and they did not want things to change. The men always saw themselves as stronger and the protectors of women, while the women were submissive and passive.

But Mary was not like that. She was not submissive, nor passive, and she did not feel like she needed to be protected by a man. She was strong enough to fight a bad man if needed, and she was verbally not weak at all.

Eli took a breath through his teeth. "Those must be awful family parties."

Mary laughed at the comment and bumped her arm against his. "Much different from our family parties. Those are sometimes too joyful."

"Yes," Eli agreed with a smile. "And that might make it awful."

Her laughter returned, and as she moved her arms, her hand suddenly touched his. In the corner of her eye, she saw him stiffen, but he did not move back. Neither did she, for she did not want to give in. She was stronger, and she would not move away because of a mere touch.

That was the true reason, yes?