But to Maddie, it might as well have been the sweep of an orchestra’s strings. The joy of it pulsed through her veins, carrying her intothe house as though on the wings of a cloud. Over the threshold she floated, past the butler with his polite nod, past the scurrying maids chattering as they rushed toward the dining room. Every step forward wrapped her tightly in the warmth of Sebastian’s presence—even as he stayed behind. She barely noticed…
Until she stopped dead.
“Oh no!” she whispered, one gloved hand flying to her mouth.
Her mother’s voice rang out like the crack of a pistol. “Darling, there you are, finally!” The cloyingly sweet tone struck dread deeper than any shouted reprimand could. Maddie turned slowly, and there she was, standing framed in the grand entryway of the dining room. Lady Elizabeth Hunt, perfectly coiffed and radiant in a lavender gown, was flanked on either side by her brother and—Maddie swallowed hard—her father.
Ashley, who followed, sent her an apologetic look.
Maddie’s heart sank lower with each growing detail of the arrival of her family. Her brother, stoic but quiet, met her gaze first, his assessing eyes flicking over her disheveled state. Her father’s gaze lingered on the wrinkled bodice of her gown and the smudge of dirt on her hem. But it was her mother’s face that drained Maddie of all joy. It lit with a pleased smile at finding her missing daughter… only to freeze with what could only be called horror.
“Madeleine Sophie Charlotte Hunt!” The full weight of Maddie’s name fell with a crushing thud, her mother’s voice rising into notes that almost shattered the crystal chandelier above. “Where have you been?!”
“In…” Maddie stumbled over her words, her mouth dry as panic loosened its vines in her chest. “I was… caught in an avalanche.”
Her father’s brows furrowed, his sharpness cutting through the chaos of her mother’s shrill tone. Maddie saw the way his eyes fastened on her wrinkled cloak, the state of her boots, and the streak of mud across the hem of her gown. He saidnothing, but the silence was somehow worse.
“You almost died?” her father asked.
“Not almost. But close.” Maddie winced as she spoke.
She clutched the folds of her cloak tighter, her cheeks burning as figures began emerging from the nearby halls, lingering just out of direct sight but close enough to witness. Worse still was the silhouette behind her father.
The Duke of Paisley.
“Oh no,” Maddie croaked under her breath, the discomfort washing over her like a tidal wave. Her shoulders drew inward as Paisley’s familiar, yet detached expression appeared. His dark hair was perfectly groomed, and his polished presence made her feel even more bedraggled. He glanced at her, his gaze flickering briefly to her tangled state before it returned to her father.
Ashley stepped forward just as Maddie felt her knees begin to buckle. Her brother reached for her elbow in a move so swift, she could hardly believe he wasn’t chastising her. “If you’ll excuse us,” Ashley said quickly, her calm voice slicing through their mother’s outrage. “Maddie needs rest. She’s had an ordeal.”
“An ordeal?” Their mother’s mouth hung open, aghast, as Ashley began leading Maddie up the grand staircase. “Ashley, what do you mean, an ordeal? We are not finished! Do you know how this looks?”
Maddie caught one last glimpse of her mother’s wide, pale face, her father exchanging terse words with Paisley, before she was ushered out of sight and into the quieter upper floors.
She exhaled shakily, attempting to regain a hint of composure, but every inch of her screamed the truth she could no longer bury. The truth her appearance had likely given away without a word. She was well and truly ruined, and no amount of skipping steps on the stairs could lift the horror of it.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sebastian clutched thereins of his horse, helpless as he watched the scene unfold before him. He wanted to reach for Maddie, but he couldn’t. He could only clutch the reins tighter.
His knuckles blanched beneath his gloves. Swan shifted beside him, sensing his agitation. But he barely registered it. All he saw was Maddie, her shoulders drawn inward, her face going pale, her mother’s voice slicing through the winter air like a blade polished in scorn.
Darling, there you are, finally!
It should’ve been a relief. It sounded like relief. To anyone else, it might have even passed for maternal joy.
But not to him.
Not when he saw Maddie’s body jolt, as if struck. Not when her chin dipped the slightest inch and her hand, saints, her hand, flew to her mouth in a gesture of dread so pure it nearly gutted him.
He couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
Each time she brushed her skirts down with a nervous energy that scraped something raw in his chest.
She didn’t look at him. Not once. And Sebastian had the nagging thought that his mother might just be a harridan of the worst sort. Still, he had promised Maddie he would stay, and he would.
He should’ve blocked her from her family. Should’ve taken the lash of her mother’s tongue himself if it spared Maddie even a secondof humiliation. But he knew she wouldn’t appreciate that in this moment.
Saints, even the way her mother blasted her name made his skin crawl.
