*
My sweet!Maddiefrowned at the closed door. Hart’s lovemaking had swept her away. She’d been in a fog of bliss until he’d used that name for her. As if she was his mistress. She moaned softly. Did it matter so much if he didn’t love her? He desired and liked her. Did she expect too much too soon? She supposed he’d used that endearment before. Had those women yearned like her to hear him declare his love for them? She narrowed her eyes. Perhaps he said that to all his mistresses? Could someone have broken his heart? Such sentimental nonsense. She laughed at herself.
“I won’t allow this to spoil my happiness,” she said firmly to her reflection in the mirror. She imagined she looked different. A more mature expression in her eyes. Well, she was a married lady and no longer a girl. And she must hurry to ready herself for the journey ahead. But where was Jane? The maid usually came immediately after she was summoned.
Maddie poured water into the bowl on the washstand and took up a washer and soap for a quick but thorough wash. Then in her peignoir, sorted through her poor selection of clothes. The scent of their lovemaking lingered in the air, and despite her misgivings, she wished he was here with her.
There was a knock at the door and Jane opened it. “I’m sorry I’ve kept you waiting, milady.”
Maddie gave up her musings. “I’ll wear the carriage dress, Jane.”
Not her usual neat self. Her maid’s hair looked hastily arranged and her cheeks had a heightened color. She had been slow to come to attend her. Might something be amiss? If it was, it couldn’t be a bad thing, for Jane smiled as she went to the wardrobe, looking as happy as a lark. Henry, Maddie supposed. “Did you and Henry enjoy dinner last night?”
Jane turned to Maddie, the dress in her hands, and her smile fell away. “We did, ever so much, milady.”
Maddie gazed at her, perplexed, then hurriedly dressed.
When she entered the dining room, Hart rose, smiling, from his chair. Her heart did a strange little flip. One day, he would tell her he loved her. Even if it was after a long marriage and several children before he realized it. She would wait patiently.Ha!She didn’t believe it. She knew herself too well.
While the coach ate up the miles to the next coaching inn on the Great North Road, Maddie leaned against her husband’s shoulder, their night together lingering in her mind. It still made her blush. While she understood what occurred between a couple when they made love, she had not known the many ways a man might pleasure a woman. She snuck a glance at Hart. His eyes were closed, his body relaxed. He had a noble profile, and she itched to trace it with her finger. Did he enjoy their night together as much as she did? She must learn how to please him. Become more skillful in the bedchamber than any mistress if she was to keep him from looking elsewhere.That is the way to keep a rake, Aunt Gabby. That made her smile, thinking of what her aunt’s response might be if she were still above ground.
“Why the smile?” Hart’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. She hid her fiery face, wanting to say,thinking of you, my love. But she made some reference to the dog that chased after them farther back on the road. She searched for a suitable topic of conversation to hide her embarrassment. “Do you have a dog you favor above the others, Hart?”
“Yes. He is called Rasputin.”
“Rasputin?” She laughed.
“He’s a devil. Funnily enough, the one dog I’ve failed to train, and I have grown most fond of him.”
“You admire his spirit.”
“Yes, I suppose I do. I’ll introduce you to him when we arrive at Pembury.”
Pembury. A shabby old Elizabethan house in a riot of gardens. She’d noticed cobwebs in the corners of the hall and a smell of dust when she and her uncle called on Hart. Something else to get her teeth into. And Lilybrook cottage, she would miss it. Would they ever go back there? Just for a holiday, perhaps. Would Hart laugh at her if she suggested it?
But now, she must concentrate on what lay ahead in London.London!Everything she feared and was reluctant to face seemed to suddenly gallop toward her with each mile they passed.
Hart’s arm came around her as if he sensed her thoughts. But he couldn’t, could he?
Still tired, she snuggled against him, and closed her eyes, directing her mind to more pleasurable things. Diane’s company. The two of them shopping together. With that, she slept.
When she woke still resting against Hart, the coach had pulled into the inn forecourt, the ostler darting out to grab the horses, the innkeeper on the doorstep, eager to welcome them into the ivy-covered brick building. The footman put down the step and opened the door. Jane edged forward, ready to disembark directly after Maddie and Hart. As the maid followed her out, Henry jumped down from the box with a big grin. Glancing at her maid thoughtfully, Maddie realized she’d been so caught up in her own affairs she’d barely noticed the change in Jane. Not until this morning. It seemed as if Jane kept a secret from her. Maddie would endeavor to find out what it was when she had time to address it. Right now, she looked ahead to the evening spent with Hart. And their time alone.
Chapter Sixteen
Montford Court, Mayfair
In the lateafternoon, their long journey ended. Hart introduced Maddie to his butler, Crispin, in the black-and-white marble tiled hall and requested a footman escort her to the marchioness suite. As Maddie and Jane followed the footman upstairs, Hart went to the library, where his secretary awaited him.
An hour later, Maddie came into the library where Hart sat alone reading his post. She wore the green gown he liked. She smiled and came to rest her hand on his shoulder.
“Diane has replied to my letter.” Hart gazed up at her. “By return post. She is keen to come and stay. But she must first make arrangements for the children.” He held up the letter. “Two crossed pages. I’ll leave it for you to read. I doubt I’m mentioned once.”
“Oh, she’s coming! What good news.” Maddie took the letter from him and scanned it. “Diane has recommended a dressmaker. I’ll go to see her tomorrow.” She looked up and smiled. “She mentions the Bond Street Bazaar, and Harding Howell & Co in Pall Mall, where I might purchase lace and fans.” Maddie sighed. “I have missed shopping so much.”
Hart turned with a laugh and drew her down onto his lap. His arms around her, he said, “It would be entirely unnatural should you not have. Something all women seem to enjoy.”
She brushed his dark hair back from his brow. “You don’t like to shop?” She shook her head. “Men and women are so different.”
