Thomas’s pause was pointed. The words that followed even more so.
“Allow me to do you a favor then and forbid it. Ashley will see to her comfort. You and I need a word.”
A thousand things surged behind Sebastian’s ribs. Irritation. Defensiveness. Resentment. But also understanding. With a muttered curse, and a nod to her family, he followed Thomas toward the stables.
Thomas shook his head. “Are you mad?”
“Define mad.”
“Mad as in unthinking. Reckless. Impulsive. Stupid. Shall I continue? Did you see the look on her mother’s face when you said that?”
He hadn’t been thinking about her mother. “Sadly, I missed it.”
Thomas barked out a note of laughter. “What am I going to do with you?”
Sebastian wondered that himself.
*
Maddie collapsed ontothe plush bed, the familiar silk coverlets cool against her back. She stretched her arms above her head, letting out a long, satisfied sigh as the scent of leather and horse drifted up from her wrinkled cloak. Swan, not Sebastian. A stab of disappointment knifed through her. Still, her smile refused to fade at the memory of Sebastian’s body pressed on hers.
And horror.
Still lots of horror.
What was her mother doing here? Her whole family, for that matter? This was not good. Not good at all! Embarrassment aside, she should look like a woman fully loved, right? There was no way hermother missed that?
Ashley crossed the room briskly, her skirts brushing over the polished floor as she rang the small bell near the door. “What, exactly, happened to you?” she asked, her voice sharp with equal parts concern and exasperation.
Maddie pushed thoughts of her mother aside for now and sighed. “Oh, it was wonderful!” She flopped onto her side, her head propped on her palm, and gazed up at her wide-eyed friend. “He’s wonderful.”
Ashley’s brow creased with suspicion. “Have you been hit on the head?” she asked bluntly. “He’s not at all wonderful!” Ashley sniffed. “You were in an avalanche, weren’t you?”
“Oh yes.” Maddie kicked her feet lazily, her boots swinging just above the floor. “It fell right on me. On us. And do you know what he did?” Her voice fell into a dreamy lilt. “He threw himself over me, Ashley. To save my life. To shield me from the snow. Making sure I could breathe. Isn’t he marvelous?”
Ashley’s lips parted in disbelief, but before she could respond, there was a soft knock at the door. A maid entered, curtsying swiftly before waiting for instructions.
“She needs a hot bath,” Ashley ordered, her voice clipped but polite. “And something to eat, please.”
The maid nodded and disappeared through the adjoining door that led to the shared bath. Maddie’s gaze followed her absently because she still felt as though Sebastian’s arms were holding her on top of Swan in a cocoon of love.
“Where are Charlene and Sera?”
“Oh, they are with Rotheworth in town. They don’t know yet.” Ashley’s cool hand pressed against Maddie’s forehead, pulling her back to the present. “You sound feverish,” Ashley said, frowning. “Are you quite well?”
“I’ve never been better,” Maddie sang, brushing Ashley’s hand away. She sat up with enthusiastic energy andclapped her hands like a child anticipating a great treat. Her fingers found the buttons of her cloak, and she fumbled with them, too lightheaded with happiness to bother with her usual grace.
Ashley watched her friend, her expression tight, as if she were examining the edges of a precariously hung painting. “Your mother is settling things downstairs. It’s chaos,” she said, eyes narrowing. “I don’t understand how you can be so calm.”
Maddie shrugged, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. “I’m calm because everything will be all right. Even better than all right.” So long as she didn’t think about her mother bellowing up a storm downstairs.
Ashley folded her arms, clearly unconvinced. “What do you mean?”
“Sebastian went to school with the nephew of the Archbishop of Canterbury,” Maddie said, a half-mischievous glint in her eye. “It will take virtually no time at all to get a special license.”
Ashley’s frown deepened. “For whom?”
Maddie blinked, momentarily thrown by the question, before shaking her head with an indulgent smile. “For us, of course.”
