“You should do so then.”
“Perhaps I should.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
Tearing her gaze away from his, Madeline turned on her heel and stamped away, quietly seething.
Oh, he was insufferable.
I am going to spend the entirety of my married life avoiding my husband.
CHAPTER 7
EXACTLY ONE WEEK LATER
“You don’t have to do this, Madeline,” Charlotte murmured, twisting the very last tiny glass flower into Madeline’s hair. “If you don’t want to marry him, you don’t have to. Just because you’ve stayed in his house for the past week doesn’t mean you’re bound to the man. And your father will side with you, whatever you decide.”
Madeline clenched her jaw, staring at her reflection.
“I thought you liked him, Charlotte. Isn’t he Isaac’s friend?”
“I do like Tristan. But that doesn’t mean I want to see my closest friend marry him.”
She swallowed. “Do you think that I shouldn’t marry him?”
“I think that you should be sure of what you want,” Charlotte responded evenly, never missing a beat.
Madeline was quiet for a moment.
Had a full seven days really gone by so quickly? Was it possible? She hadn’t seen Tristan at all, not since their little disagreement in the gardens. She had thought of that conversation over and over again, turning over every word in her mind.
Sometimes, when she thought of his slow, languid grin, a heat would spread through her middle. It was a strange sensation; not an unpleasant one, but a sensation which Madeline wasquitesure she ought not to be feeling. What did it mean? What did any of it mean?
“He’s avoiding me, I think,” Madeline said at last. Charlotte’s eyes met hers in the mirror.
“Oh?” she asked carefully, clearly hoping to hear more.
“Or perhaps he’s just busy,” Madeline continued, half to herself. “I don’t know what sort of man he is, after all. We agreed upon a sort of friendship marriage, if such a thing exists. A marriage of convenience.”
“They certainly do exist,” Charlotte responded firmly, taking a step back to admire Madeline’s hair. A fleet of hairdressers had been hired to get Madeline ready for her wedding, but none of them had produced a hairstyle that suited her taste. None of them could fathom the fact that Madeline preferred a simpler style, even on her wedding day.
“Isaac and I planned to have a marriage of convenience,” Charlotte added, almost off-handedly.
Madeline flinched. “Well, this marriage is different from yours.”
Charlotte chuckled. “Are you so sure?”
“Yes, of course I am sure,” Madeline responded, faintly offended. “It’s an entirely different situation.”
This latest news needed a bit of thinking over. Madeline was not pleased at Charlotte drawing parallels between her wedding and Madeline’s. Madeline’s marriage wouldnotend in a love-match, and expecting otherwise seemed thoroughly foolish. To be sure, the circumstances of their wedding were a little unusual, but it was clear to anybody with eyes that they adored each other. When their eyes met, the air between them seemed to crackle with heat.
“I’m only afraid that…” Charlotte began, only to close her mouth with a snap when footsteps echoed outside.
“Only me, girls!” chirped Dorothea, letting herself in. She paused, taking in Madeline’s gown, and gave an exclamation of delight, clapping her hands together. “Oh, mydarling! You look beautiful, Madeline. Your papa is going to burst into tears when he sees you.”
Madeline gave a weak smile. “I hope not.”
