There were spots of color on her cheeks, tracing out the line of her cheekbones. There was a spray of freckles there, standing out against her pale skin. Freckles were not, of course, fashionable and were considered rather ugly.
Tristan disagreed with such ideas. Freckles, like other unusual marks and beauty spots, could be very endearing. They could be very attractive. They certainly suited Madeline very well.
She met his gaze and scowled, a stark reminder that Madeline Huxley certainly did not find anything abouthimendearing.
Fine. I can live with that,Tristan told himself firmly. The baby began to cry faintly in the carriage, and he heard Lord Beaufort gently hushing the child. The cries faded away gently.
Sleep well, little one,Tristan thought grimly.I hope you’ll understand one day just how hard we fought over you.
“I daresay the next business to discuss will be where the child should live for now, until our marriage,” Tristan said aloud. “I shall forestall that conversation by inviting you and your father to stay with me at once. My people will pack up your things. Youcan have a suite of rooms to yourselves if sitting in the drawing room with me proves too unpleasant for you. Will that suit?”
“I suppose so,” Madeline huffed, turning toward the carriage and placing her foot on the step. “It’s unavoidable, isn’t it?”
“Yes, rather,” Tristan agreed. “And once news of our engagement gets out, I suggest you avoid reading the gossip columns for a while. They’ll be rather cruel about the whole thing, I imagine.”
“Gossip columns? Cruel? No change there, then,” Madeline shot back, and climbed into the carriage.
Smothering a smile, Tristan climbed in after her.
CHAPTER 5
Madeline could not remember at what point she’d fallen asleep. It was a miracle that shecouldfall asleep at all. To be sure, the duke’s carriage rode along a lot more smoothly than Papa’s, and the seatswerevery nicely upholstered.
Papa held the baby, who slumbered cheerfully in his arms. The duke had wedged himself into the corner, and she suspected that he was at leasttryingto take up less space. It was not working, of course. His long legs refused to fold up neatly, and his broad shoulders took up over half of the seat anyway.
“Almost there,” he remarked, staring out of the window. Madeline felt as though he were aiming that remark toward her, since she had just woken. She had fallen asleep with her forehead pressed against the window. There was undoubtedly a circular red mark there. Had she been drooling out of the corner of her mouth? Perhaps.
Maybe he’ll change his mind about marrying me,Madeline thought sourly.I wish he would.
The words itched in her mind. She told herself once more that the idea of marriage—tothisman, of all men—was frankly repulsive.
Yes, that was the word. Itrepelledher, which of course was the natural response. Was the duke handsome? Yes, he was, and there was something thrilling about the sheer size of him. Perhaps it was her imagination, but he seemed so much larger in places like the Devil’s clubhouse, in comparison to, say, Almack’s. She couldn’t evenimaginethe duke at Almack’s. Did he even have vouchers to go there? Surely he must. Surelyeverybodywent to Almack’s.
“You are staring very intently at me, my dear,” the duke drawled. “Dare I ask what I have done to incur your ire?”
Before Madeline could respond, Papa spoke up, giving a nervous little laugh.
“Ire?Ire? Oh, Your Grace, you are quite mistaken. My Madeline is the sweetest girl you could imagine. There’s not a bit ofirein her. Why, it seems only a little while ago that I held her in my arms just like this babe here.” Papa paused, glancing down misty-eyed at the sleeping Adam. “It goes by quickly, Your Grace. More quickly than you might think possible, believe me. Never let a moment go by without your noticing; that’s the advice I’d give.”
The duke paused, glancing over at Papa. Papa wasn’t looking at him, on account of watching the baby. Madeline bit her lower lip hard, watching the duke’s expression soften, just a little.
She hadn’t known his grim, steely expressioncouldsoften.
Abruptly, the look vanished, and he glanced out of the window again.
“Ah, we’re here,” he remarked. “You’ll see my house up ahead, Lady Madeline. Or should I say,ourhouse?”
When he said things like that, Madeline almost believed that theyweregetting married. After her short nap, however, she felt invigorated and clear-headed and could see quite clearly that they wouldnotmarry. Perhaps the duke would go so far as announcing an engagement, while he worked on prying Adam away from her.
A gentleman, of course, would never jilt a woman, but the Duke of Tolford wasnota gentleman. He was a devil, and he would cut her loose the moment he had gotten what he wanted from her.
She couldn’t lethimknow that she’d figured it out, of course. So Madeline only smiled politely in response to his remark and peered out of the window.
Sure enough, they were trotting up a wide drive of well-raked gravel, hurrying toward a huge house that looked haunted. Shewould not have been surprised to see a white and ghostly face at the window, its gaping mouth stuttering out a warning.
Perhaps Idoread too many novels,Madeline thought wryly.
As they approached, the huge, rounded doorway swung open, and a woman came hurrying out. She was a tall woman with a headful of gray-white hair and an elegant black velvet gown.
