“Well, you should have thought of that before you made a scene in front of half of London at the opera last night,” Dorothea insisted. “I have an outing all planned, and it will not take up too much time.”
“I am beginning to feel as though I do not have much of a choice,” Tristan muttered, catching Madeline’s eye and lifting his eyebrow. She flushed, giving him a tentative smile in return.
“Now, there is supposed to be a truly wonderful firework display down at Vauxhall tonight,” Dorothea explained, her face lighting up in excitement. “You know how I adore Vauxhall. When was the last time you were there, Madeline?”
“We rarely go,” she confessed. “Papa does not enjoy late nights, and he gets so cold. Besides, the noise and chaos unsettle him.”
“Oh, what a pity, I meant to invite him. Well, I shall invite him anyway. We have seen too little of him since you married, and here I thought he might be moving into our house! We should all like that very much, I think. At any rate, James was the one who invited us to go and look at the fireworks with him. We can take a boat trip down the Thames to get to Vauxhall, watch the fireworks, have a glass of punch—youmusthave punch at Vauxhall, my dear—and we’ll be home before you can saysnap. You’ll enjoy it, Madeline, I think. And Tristan, my grumpy little fellow, I can promise you we won’t be out for too long.”
Madeline nodded. “I should like to see the fireworks.”
They both glanced in unison at Tristan. He heaved a long, tired sigh.
“CanI say no?” he wondered aloud.
Dorothea sniffed. “I suppose you could try.”
He gave a snort of laughter, shaking his head. “Mother, you are a trial, I can tell you that much.”
“It would be nice for poor James, you see,” Dorothea added. “He did so want to spend time with you two, but of course, you left so early.”
“I should like to get to know James better,” Madeline confessed. “He seems like a decent man.”
“Then we’re agreed,” Dorothea said, beaming. “We’ll leave at six o’clock. Oh, do say yes, Tristan!”
Tristan looked as if he very much wanted to say no. Madeline said nothing, simply watching him. She noticed, for the first time, lines of exhaustion around her husband’s eyes. There was a paleness in his skin that she had not seen before.
Their situation, whatevertheir situationwas, had clearly begun to affect him. Perhaps her behavior hurt him, too. After all, she had accused him of being unfaithful to her the very morning after they had agreed to trust each other.
She had kissed him and let him touch her, then stormed away and refused to listen to his explanations on anything. She had not believed, not for a moment, that he would do something so kind as patronize a place like St. Naomi’s.
Was that fair? No, she had to confess, it was not.
Somewhat abashed, Madeline glanced away.
He was afraid that I had fled,she thought, guilt stabbing her afresh.This morning, when he found me gone and Adam gone, he might have thought that I had run off and left him, taking his nephew and leaving him a laughingstock.
That is not fair. That is not fair at all.
She cleared her throat and glanced up, meeting Tristan’s eyes.
“I should like you to come, Tristan,” she said clearly. “If you can, that is.”
He held her gaze and nodded slowly.
“Very well,” he said at last, with a dry smile. “Fireworks and punch it is.”
CHAPTER 24
Vauxhall was full.Full. Madeline had never quite understood how an outdoor spacecouldbe full, but she understood now. There were grand terraces, dotted with gazebos designed for outdoor eating and drinking, and each terrace was thick with stalls. There were jugglers, tightrope walkers, fortune-tellers—these kept hidden in the corners or beside shadowy pathways—and of course food and drink sellers.
James, who seemed thrilled that his family had joined him, insisted on buying mugs of cider for everybody. He came hurrying back from a stall, a smile on his face, with four mugs awkwardly carried in his hands.
“Pity your Papa couldn’t join us, Madeline,” he remarked, handing over her mug.
“Yes, I feel as though I have not seen him in an age,” Madeline remarked with a sigh. She took her mug and took a long, refreshing gulp. It seemed to warm her from the inside out. A chuckle drew her attention, and she glanced over at Tristan.
“Are you laughing at me?” she whispered.
