She turned and nearly collapsed.
There, seated primly in the shadows of the chapel, was her mother. Wrapped in her usual furs, expression unreadable.
“Mother?” Maddie whispered. “What are you doing here?”
She half-stepped toward her, disbelief buzzing under her skin. “You know what this is. He’s kidnapping me. Forcing me to marry him. And you’re just… sitting there?”
Her mother stood, moving toward her slowly. “My darling girl,” she said, gently taking Maddie’s hands. “Paisley is steady. Responsible. He’s willing to pick up the pieces that man dropped.”
“No.” Maddie’s voice cracked. “There were no pieces to pick up.”
Her mother frowned slightly. “You’re already in love. And ruined. This is… a formality.”
“Ruined?” Maddie recoiled. “Mother, I never let Paisley even so much kiss me, or touch me, for that matter, and you know it.”
Maddie pulled herself free. “I won’t let you sell me off like a spare bonnet.”
The chapel swayed slightly as the wind howled outside. Or maybe that was just the storm inside her.
She turned back to Paisley, voice low and sharp. “You may think you have power. But you’ll never haveme.”
“Now, now,” her mother said, calm but clipped. “You’re confused. Likely feverish.”
“I’m furious. That’s the heat you feel.” Maddie stepped away from both of them. “And I will not be cornered. Not by him. Not by you.”
Her mother stiffened. “Your father’s orders—”
“I don’t care about orders,” Maddie said, breath trembling. “I’m in love.”
“With me,” Paisley said smoothly.
Maddie turned slowly. “No. With the Marquess of Cambridge.”
“What?” her mother gasped.
“She doesn’t know what she wants,” Paisley barked. “The girl’s dramatic.”
Before anyone could speak again, the chapel door creaked open.
A man in clerical robes poked his head in. “Are we ready then?”
“Yes,” Paisley said at once.
“No!” Maddie shouted. “We are not having a wedding!”
“You fell in love with amarquess?” Her mother’s voice was almost a whisper. “Maddie…”
“What’s so wrong with a marquess? With even a farmer? I can’t demand my heart to follow your desires, mother,” Maddie cried out. “I didn’t even mean for any of this to happen, but it did. And I’m not ruined, mother. I’m in love.”
Her mother’s eyes glistened. “How could this be…” she whispered. “How could you… I…”
Paisley stepped in before her mother could finish her sentence, voice cold and final. “She’s here. The vicar is here. We begin.”
“No,” Maddie snapped. “I’ll scream. I’ll run. I’ll claw your eyes out before I say a word to bind me to you!”
“I own every thread holding you together,” Paisley snarled. “Say the words, Madeleine. Or watch everything unravel.”
Her lip curled. “Then unravel it.”
