Page 71 of Maid for the Marquess

CHAPTER 19

MADELEINE

Ipaced the floor of Alexander’s bedchamber, fretful and terrified. I knew I should be in my own chamber, but this room smelled of him. I inhaled, long, greedy breaths, desperate to calm the swelling panic.

A duel. My father wanted a duel with my husband.

He intended to do him harm. I knew this as strongly as I knew my husband would refuse to ignore the challenge. His honor was very important to him.

I needed him to be alive more than I needed the memory of an honorable man.

Suddenly, the room began closing in on me. It was too hot, too confining. My clothing was too tight, my hair bothersome. My hands felt caged in the light gloves I wore.

I yanked off the gloves, discarding them, then I pulled at the pins in my hair, casting them to the floor, uncaring. My hair fell down my back, the length heavy but feeling better not wrapped around my head. I wished I could easily reach the tapes on the back of my dress and rid myself of the fabric that stifled me.

I needed air.

I needed Alexander.

How would I survive without him?

“Maddie mine.” His smooth voice interrupted my panicked thoughts. I looked up, seeing him approaching me. He held out his hands. “Please stop tearing at your gown, my love. Let me help you.”

“I cannot breathe.”

He reached me, pulling me into his arms. He ran his hands up and down my back in soothing passes, and I felt his nimble fingers untie my tapes. The air felt good on my skin as he helped me undress, peeling away the layers until I was only in my chemise.

He rested his hands on my shoulders, his gaze tender and his voice low and comforting. “Breathe, Maddie mine. I am here, and all is well.”

I shook my head, my anxiety choking my reply. “It is not. He is here.”

“He is close but not here. Never here. He will never be near you again. He will have his moment, then be dispatched tomorrow, and you will never see him again. I swear it to you.”

“I cannot go on without you, Alexander. I am not strong enough.”

“Maddie mine, look at me.”

I lifted my gaze and met his dark, warm eyes. “You are the strongest woman I know. If I died right now, you would carry on for the sake of our babe. You would find a life.”

“No,” I sobbed.

“Yes,” he insisted gently. “After how you persevered all those years, I know this.” He paused. “You would do it, because I would ask you to.”

“Alexander,” I pleaded. “No.”

“But you will not have to, my love. I promise you.”

He pulled me into his arms, cradling me and whispering reassurances. He bent and lifted me, carrying me to the bed where our most intimate of moments occurred. Where our love was consummated and blossomed. It held our secrets and our story. He lay down, still holding me, whispering stories of our future. How our family would start and grow. How the years would slowly pass for us.

How we would forge our life together for years to come.

I let his words wash over me. Clung to them in desperate belief.

I needed to believe him now more than ever.

ALEXANDER

“No, my lord. No matter what occurs, Madeleine’s father cannot get access to those funds.”