“If you have a moment after breakfast,” he said at last, “I should like to walk with you in the gardens, Lady Madeline. My mother and your father can watch the baby. What do you say?”
Was there anything shecouldsay?
“Very well,” Madeline managed.
He gave a brisk nod, his eyes still boring into her.
“Good,” was all he said. “Good.”
Half an hour later, they both stepped out onto the terrace. It was a fine, fresh day, with a distinct chill in the air. Madeline found herself glad that she’d put on a shawl, as Papa had suggested.
She let out a long, slow breath and glanced nervously up at the man at her side. In the unforgiving morning light, the duke seemed even larger than usual. He wasn’t looking at her, but instead staring across at the lawn where a couple of gardeners worked.
Beside the lawn was a neat little woodland area, and Madeline spotted a gravel path winding through it. It was an open enough walkway, so they wouldn’t go through anywhere secluded. Probably not, at least.
“We’ll go this way,” the duke remarked, gesturing. He set off at a long stride, leaving Madeline to scurry after him. She saw at once that she would end up running if he did not slow down.
“Have a care, Your Grace!” she yelped, already out of breath. “I cannot keep up with you.”
He glanced down at her, visibly surprised, and slowed his gait.
“I am sorry,” he murmured. “I do forget what a long stride I have. And you had better call me Tristan, you know. Since we are getting married.” Pausing, he glanced down at her, his amber eyes glinting in the sun. “You didn’t think wewouldget married, did you?”
She lifted her chin. “We are not married yet. But I might as well say no, I did not. I assumed it was all a ploy.”
He gave a short nod. “Isaac said that you might. I can assure you that I plan to go through with the wedding. You’ll see in time. The only discussion on the subject is how we shall go about our married life.”
Madeline tensed a little, glancing uncertainly up at him. Surely he didn’t mean to discussthe great matterthat went on between men and women! Peopledidtalk about it among their friends; she knew that. Even the most proper little lady in society had indulged in a panicked, whispered conversation about it in a quiet corner with her friends. Some ladies discussed it more openly. Nottooopenly, of course.
And then there were women like the infamous Mrs. Blackett, Lady Davenport, and, of course, opera singers like Miss Juliana Bolt and Mrs. Rushworth, who had the audacity to be as open and frank about their private activities, and even claimed that they ought to have the same rights and openness about the matter asmen. Bold thoughts indeed. It was hard not to admire them.
Quietly, of course.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Madeline managed at last, as flatly as she could.
They crossed the lawn, the damp grass soaking Madeline’s slippers. No sooner had her toes begun to feel cold and damp than they reached the crunching gravel. The air was cooler here, and greener somehow, if that was possible.
“I am not concerned about producing an heir,” the duke—Tristan—said bluntly. He did not look at her when he spoke. “You need not worry about sharing my bed if the idea does not appeal to you.”
A flush stole over Madeline’s cheeks, growing hotter and hotter until she was sure that her face would explode.
Of course, he doesn’t want me to share his bed,she thought furiously.A thin, short little thing like me? I can’t even get my hair to stay in ringlets for long. I haven’t even got much in the way of bosoms. Ugh.
It was a relief, or so she told herself, vigorously. It meant that she did not have to worry about the details of the… theact. It was a weight off her mind—or at least itshould be.
“Very well,” Madeline heard herself say, more evenly than she might have hoped for herself. “I am glad that you do not have any expectations of me in that regard.”
Well, that was bolder than she’d intended. The duke—Tristan—stopped dead, turning to face her.
“Why, I’ll be,” he remarked, chuckling. “You needn’t sound so relieved.”
She folded her hands demurely in front of her. “Any respectable lady would be relieved.”
“Relieved at being spared marital duties altogether, or relieved at being spared marital duties with me?”
Madeline narrowed her eyes at him. “I shall let you decide which answer suits you better.”
He gave a bark of laughter. “Clever, Madeline, very clever! However, I feel obliged—for the sake of my own pride—to remind you that you might find my, ahem,companyenjoyable regardless of producing an heir.”
