Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

T he next day, Madeleine and her family attended a garden tea party that Emily and her husband were hosting, along with the Viscount’s sister. Emily greeted them all with smiles and warm hugs. It was a delight to see her in her own atmosphere as a wife and lady in her own right. She practically glowed with happiness. She was very talented at making her guests feel welcome and brought her husband great pride.

As she was otherwise occupied with her guests, Emily was too busy to spend much time with her family, so they were left to their own devices. Cecil and Madeleine moved about the garden together, leaving their parents to find their own associates with whom to converse. “A game of nine pins?” Cecil invited her with a smile as they came out onto a grassy expanse of lawn where outdoor games had been set up for the Viscount’s guests.

Madeleine smiled and nodded. “Shall we wager upon it?”

Cecil laughed in delight. “If I win, you feign ill tomorrow so that I do not have to sit through another boring afternoon of chaperoning your callers.”

Madeleine laughed. “We both win in that scenario, but you know that mother and father would not stand for it.”

Cecil chuckled. “I know, but it was worth a try.” He shrugged. “No wager then. Let us simply play for the fun of it.”

Madeleine nodded in agreement. Their manner towards one another had been much lighter since their conversation about the pain of the past, and she had forgiven him. It had done Madeleine a great deal of good to forgive Cecil, and Cecil now had a better understanding of his sister’s previous behaviors towards him. It had helped to clear the air and heal a rift that had kept them at an emotional distance from one another.

For the moment, they were mostly alone, aside from the various scattered servants. It was a blessed relief from the crush of humanity that they endured during balls and larger society dinners. She and Cecil took the quiet moment together as an opportunity to rebuild their sibling relationship on a new foundation of mutual love and respect.

“I have taken to the business of our country estate with fervor, working closely with our steward, James Stuart. Since arriving in London, he and I have maintained a consistent correspondence. As you know, I have also taken to managing the family’s interests in the slate industry. I do not wish to boast, but I can safely say that it is going well. We may even have a new investor in one of our ventures.”

“That is good,” Madeleine smiled encouragingly at him. “You have kept yourself quite busy, much to the disappointment of the unwed ladies of the ton.”

Cecil chuckled, shaking his head. “I do not presently wish to wed as I prefer to spend my days on affairs of business. There will be time enough for marriage in the future. I will not shirk my duty when the time comes to produce an heir.”

“I admire your goals, Cecil. I am proud of you for putting the family first and ensuring our financial future for generations to come. Father has a steadfast and worthy heir in you, brother. You are his dream son. Not all men are so fortunate. You will make an excellent earl when the time comes.”

Cecil flushed with pleasure at her compliment. “I am equally blessed to have such a patient and instructive father. I am a firm believer that my destiny should not be solely aligned with our father’s passing as is the case with so many heirs. I see it as my duty to be the best nobleman that I can be now. The future is just that, in the future. I am interested in making our lives better today. Father has been most understanding and supportive of my goals.”

Madeleine’s experience with their father was a bit different than Cecil’s. As a young, unwed female of marriageable age, the Earl was not as patient with her as he was with his son. Cecil would be allowed to wed when he chose to do so unless an heir was suddenly needed to secure inheritance succession. Madeleine was not given that freedom. She had been born to wed a man of worth. In the eyes of society, that was her sole purpose. As if he could read her thoughts, Cecil asked her about her own dreams.

“How about you, sister? What is it that you desire?”

Madeleine was caught off guard. It was the first time that anyone in their family had ever bothered to ask her such a question. Unfortunately, she could not answer honestly. Cecil was too good of a son to be able to tell him the truth about her wish to remain unwed. His conscience would lead him to tell their father. He would think that he was doing it for her own good, but the result would be the same. She did not believe that he would understand her fear of childbirth either.

“I do not know,” she answered as honestly as she could. She knew that she did not wish to have her fate determined by marriage to a man that she did not know or love. “If I had my way, I would spend my life reading and traveling the world. I would love to be able to go on a Grand Tour.”

Cecil nodded. “That suits you. You always seem to have a book in your hand. Perhaps you will be fortunate, and your future husband will have a large library and take you on a tour of the continent for your honeymoon.”

Madeleine stopped herself from correcting him. She did not wish to argue with him when they were getting along so well. He was a man bound by the thoughts and beliefs of his time with no real understanding of women or their desires. He was not alone in that. Most of the ton felt as he did.

A larger library truly was a lovely thought—but it was not all she wanted from a marriage. She wanted more than a room; she wanted a man’s heart. And she wanted to feel safe enough to give him hers in return.

She almost laughed aloud at such a thought of a man existing, but her laughter turned bitter in her throat, and the brief moment of amusement did not even make it to her lips.

“Perhaps,” she murmured to her brother instead and turned to bowl her ball at the nine pins standing in wait.

“Ah, here comes Percy,” Cecil remarked. His voice held a tone of disapproval towards his friend that he had not used until Percy and Madeleine had started courting.

Madeleine’s breath caught in her throat, causing her to suddenly feel as if she were having trouble breathing. Her thoughts and feelings pertaining to Percy had been tormenting her since their passionate exchange at the last ball. She did not know how to be with him now. Their interlude at the cricket match had only served to make things worse. She was afraid her lust for him would show on her face and in her eyes. She was clearly not very good at hiding her own thoughts and feelings where he was concerned as her own mother had noticed his effect upon her person.

Her body ached for him to do what he had done at the ball once more. She longed to feel his hands and mouth upon her body. Just thinking about it caused a feverish sensation to course through her nervous system, but it did not absent the reminders of past pain.

But the wounds of her heart had not fully healed. Where Percy was concerned, she knew desire could not exist. He was beyond her in many ways, and his and Cecil’s constant teasing had ensured that she retain the knowledge.

So, last night, in order to save herself from drowning in her own desire for him, she had chosen to turn her anger towards him into the power to resist him. It did nothing to aid her in sleep, however, and this morning she woke up agitated. She had been successful in hiding from her family, but the question was: would she be able to hide it from Percy?

“Percy,” Cecil greeted as the Duke approached.

Hearing his name as she thought nearly had Madeleine jumping out of her very skin, and she had to feign a sudden sneeze to hide it. She glanced quickly back at her brother and was relieved that neither he nor Percy had seemed to notice.

“Cecil,” Percy greeted in kind. Their tones were measured, as if there was something going on between them that Madeleine did not quite understand.

In spite of her curiosity, Madeleine refused to turn around and pretended that she was concentrating very hard on her bowling.

“Monkey,” Percy’s voice met her ears fueling her internal flame.

“I told you not to call me that when we are in public!”

Gritting her teeth, Madeleine whipped around in fury, ready to reprimand him for his use of her undesired nickname since she had explicitly asked him not to use it in public anymore. As she turned, her feet caught in her skirts, and she started to fall, plummeting quickly towards the ground.

The moment that he realized what was happening, Percy reacted immediately and reached out to scoop Madeleine up into his arms. She had seemed to be ignoring him, so he had poked at her by using her nickname. He had never intended to cause her to react with such vehemence.

The feel of Madeleine in his arms enflamed the desire that had not dissipated since their time together in the evergreens. Those dreams, like the one he’d had that first night, had plagued him ever since, rendering his body oversensitive and pent up with need.

Had Cecil not been standing beside them, Percy would have dragged her off to the stables and had his wicked way with her once more. Their eyes locked, and he felt his heart stutter.

“Madeleine,” he murmured seductively, his eyes tracing the features of her face, devouring every exquisitely beautiful detail. “Does that sound better to you?”

Madeleine’s eyes only glinted with hurt and embarrassment, but she clung to him for support.

“Must you be so wretched?” she hissed so low that only he could hear.

“Must you be so beautiful?” he teased back.

Madeleine balked in his arms at the compliment, as if that was somehow worse than calling her Monkey.

Cecil cleared his throat, and Percy stood, setting Madeleine back onto her feet. “Are you well?” Cecil asked his sister, coming to inspect her for damage.

She waved away his concern then proceeded to smooth her hands down her skirts. “I am well, brother. Do not fear. I simply tripped on my own dress.”

Cecil gave Percy a censorious look as if the entire thing had been his fault.

“Careful,” he warned under his breath.

Percy straightened his shoulders. The reaction that Madeleine caused within him was becoming more evident to an astute observer like Cecil. He is right. I need to be more careful. She is causing me to act in ways that are not safe for her. I cannot allow her to be ruined by my curse. He took a step back, putting more space between them.

“I will go and see if Emily needs my aid with anything,” Madeleine dismissed herself and headed back towards the house.

Percy looked after her with regret at her departure in spite of his resolution to put more space between them. She is most certainly avoiding me. She is intelligent to do so. It is the best thing for her. If I were truly a man of honor, I would do the same.

“You have feelings for her,” Cecil observed, displeased.

Percy shook his head in denial. “Do not fear for her. She is safe from my curse.”

Cecil looked at him in doubt. Percy met his eyes. Cecil sighed. “It is not that I do not wish for you to be happy, my friend. I do very much wish all of the happiness in the world for you, but if there is even a sliver of truth to this notion of a curse, I cannot risk my sister to it.”

“I understand. As I said, she is safe. I will not allow myself to love her.” Percy silently prayed that his words were true.

Cecil gave Percy a sympathetic look. “That could be easier said than done, my friend. You clearly do not know Madeleine as well as you think. She incites love and devotion simply by existing. What makes you so certain that you are exempt?”

Percy shook his head. He was not so certain that he was exempt, but he was not about to admit that to himself, let alone Cecil. “If I find myself falling in love with her, I will leave England. I will put distance between us.”

Cecil met his eyes. “Then let us pray that you do not have to. I would hate to have to bid my dearest friend to leave England and never return.”