She sucked in a breath, eyes widening. “Do you truly mean it? You won’t… won’t get tired of me?”
“Tired of you? Never. I know that such assurances might be a little hard to believe, coming from a man with a reputation like mine, but give me a little time, and I will prove myself to you. I will, Madeline.”
She nodded, swallowing. “I… I find myself thinking of you often, you know.”
His eyes darkened, and he lifted a hand, knuckles grazing her cheek.
“Ever since that poetry night, I have thought of nothing but you,” he confessed. Madeline stared up at him and found that she believed him.
“If we were to becomeproperhusband and wife, you must not share your bed with any other woman,” she said cautiously.
He chuckled. “I couldn’t even if I tried. Did I not tell you that you have possessed my whole being? But there is another matter to discuss. You are afraid of bearing children, is that right?”
A cold sensation rushed through Madeline’s limbs. She nodded tightly.
“My grandmother died in childbirth, and my mother was made very ill, as I told you.”
“Do you resemble them very much?”
She shook her head. “I did not know my grandmother, of course, but she was a very small, petite woman, and it was said that the difficulty came there. My mother, too, was much smaller than I.”
“My suggestion is this, Madeline. I will do my best to prevent you from getting with child until you are ready for it, but I fear that once we are truly intimate, I may not be able to control myself. So, you must visit a doctor. I know an excellent physician who is most discreet.”
“A physician? What will he do?”
“He will examine you and determine how much danger you would be in,” Tristan answered firmly. “Beyond the usual danger, of course. If he deems it too risky to try, then we shall take further precautions. Would you feel better then, my dear little duchess?”
Madeline mulled it over for a moment, and Tristan waited patiently for her response.
“Since we have had Adam,” she confessed, “I have felt a strange sort of… I suppose it could be called a yearning. I would like a baby of my own, I think—a sibling for Adam. But I am still afraid. Childbirth is such a frightening thing.”
He nodded, putting his arms around her and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
“I understand. I would never put you in danger, Madeline, and I would do nothing without your consent, do you understand?”
She closed her eyes, letting her head rest against his forehead, and wound her arms around his waist.
“I know,” she whispered, and found to her surprise that she believed it. They stood there for a minute, arms wrapped around each other, and it occurred to Madeline then that she was… she was happy. She could not imagine being happier.
“I am glad we have reached an accord in this,” Tristan murmured.
“I did not think you would ever let us grow close together,” Madeline confessed. “Nor did James, I think.”
He tutted. “James had no faith in me? The wretch.”
Madeline opened her eyes, nibbling her lower lip. “He said something strange, something that I cannot understand. It has been bothering me since he said it.”
“Hmph, James says odd things all the time; I should not let it concern you. What was it?”
“He said… he said that blood will out. What on earth does that mean?”
Tristan went very still. He stayed quiet for so long that Madeline was entirely sure that he had not heard. She was wondering if she should repeat it when he abruptly pulled back, his arms loosening.
“What did he say?” Tristan asked, his voice hard and tight. “Madeline?”
“J-Just that,” she stammered. “That blood will out. I thought it a strange thing to say, as I said.”
She had misstepped somewhere; that was clear. Anger was blazing in Tristan’s eyes. She was not sure that it was aimed ather, but it was clear that the mood had shifted between them.
