CHAPTER 29
“There, there, my love, don’t cry,” Papa soothed. “Here, a nice cup of tea will soothe your nerves.”
Madeline was not quite so convinced of the healing properties of tea, but she obediently accepted the cup anyway and took a long sip. They were talking in her room, which had a small sofa and armchair set in front of the fire. It was a far cry from the private parlor she had at Tristan’s home, but this did very much feel like her own. Or something like that, at any rate.
“I am glad that you came here, at any rate,” Papa added, settling down on the sofa beside her. “Instead of rushing off to the country. Marriages are tricky things, and it often does us some good to sit down and puzzle it all out before we throw up our hands and give up. Andyou,my dear, are not the type that gives up. Nor was your Mama, ha ha. I recall once, shortly before we discovered that we were about to be blessed with a child, your mother throwing a teacup at my head and declaring that…”
“Mama threw a teacup at your head?” Madeline interrupted, amazed. “Mama?”
“Why yes, your Mama. We loved each other deeply, and always did, but sometimes we did not alwayslikeeach other, especially in the early days.” Papa sighed nostalgically. “We disagreed about something. Now, I cannot even remember what it was, but at the time it seemed like a huge thing indeed. She had terrible aim, of course. The cup went wide and shattered on the door, and we just burst into laughter. The anger was gone after that, of course. But I suppose if we were the kind of people who bore grudges andhadto be right in all things, the argument might not have ended there.”
Madeline drew in a breath. “I had no idea that you and Mama ever argued.”
“Every married couple argues,” Papa explained kindly. “If you love somebody and spend time with them, moderate disagreements are almost inevitable. You and I have argued, have we not?”
“Yes, but…”
“There you are, you see. It is unavoidable that disagreements and misunderstandings will arise. What matters, however, is how we deal with them. Do you understand?”
Madeline swallowed thickly and nodded. “I think so, Papa. But truly, I mean it when I say I can no longer live with Tristan as hiswife. There is too much he is keeping from me, and he… he loves another, Papa.”
Papa’s face tightened. “Then perhaps he is not worthy of you. But I find that difficult to believe, sweetheart. Tristan acts differently when he is around you. If I did not know better, I would swear that hewasmadly in love with you.”
Madeline sniffed. “I wish I could believe it, but no, Papa. No.”
At that moment, carriage wheels echoed on the pavement outside. Madeline thought nothing of it, as the street outside their house was a fairly busy one. Then, a knock echoed on the door, loud enough to make them jump.
“Who on earth is banging on my door with such anger?” Papa muttered peevishly, getting to his feet and placing his hands on his hips. “If it is a tradesman, I hope that the butler sends him away with a flea in his ear.”
There was a mild commotion downstairs, and Madeline rose to her feet too, frowning.
“Papa,” she said carefully, “that sounds a good deal like…”
There was no time to finish her sentence, because at that moment, running feet and an outraged cry echoed from below. A moment later, the door flew open.
Tristan stood there. He was red in the face, out of breath, and his hair was disheveled. There was a tear in the shoulder of his cloak, as though somebody had grabbed at the material as he ran by.
“Madeline,” he gasped, breathless. “I must speak with you.”
She pressed her lips together. “I have nothing to say to you, sir.”
“It’s rather urgent. Please, just a few moments of your time. There has been a terrible misunderstanding, but I have not told you the truth about something.”
“About the fact that you have kept your mistress during our marriage? Yes, you have not told me. I read the letter from her, the one you meant to destroy. I know that you kept her. You must love her, then?”
He shook his head. “No. I never did, Madeline, please believe me. Juliana is on her way to the Americas; you’ll read of her departure in the papers soon. She never loved me; she only wanted to stay my mistress to keep her status. That was what she wanted. She intended to blackmail me.”
Madeline frowned. “Blackmail you?”
Tristan hesitated, glancing over at Papa.
“I think you two had better speak alone,” Papa said after a moment of awkwardness. “I shall go and check on Adam. He is sleeping peacefully in the nursery with his nursemaid.”
He glanced at Madeline, lifting his eyebrows almost questioningly. Madeline knew that if she asked him to stay, he would.
She, however, found that she wanted to hear what Tristan had to say.
“Go on, Papa,” she said aloud. “We won’t be long.”
