Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
“ W here on earth have you been, Sister?”
Augusta’s voice blared like a foghorn into the quiet, dark room. Maddie started, almost shouting in alarm.
Augusta was sitting at Maddie’s dressing table, dressed in her night attire. She looked cross and irritable.
The house had been as quiet as a churchyard as Maddie had tiptoed through it, before reaching her room. Clearly, it had lulled her into a false sense of security.
“Ah, I went to see Selina,” Maddie lied, her color deepening. “You will not tell our parents, will you?”
Augusta was silent, staring at her sharply. Maddie tried to look as innocent as a lamb. Her heart was thudding so heavily that she was certain her sister could hear it.
“Why?” Augusta demanded. “What did you need to do with Selina at this time of night? It is most odd.”
“We were playing cards,” Maddie replied, thinking quickly. “She taught me how to play piquet. That is all! We were just having a lark.”
She couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t all a tall tale, at least. She had been playing cards. Just not with Selina.
Augusta shook her head sorrowfully. “Maddie, you take too many risks. If our mother had discovered you missing, instead of me, she would have locked you in this room for a month! Promise me you will not do such a thing again.”
“I promise,” Maddie said in a faint voice, almost passing out with relief. “What are you doing in my room at this hour, anyway?”
“I could not sleep,” Augusta huffed in a grim voice. “My mind was whirring like the insides of a clock.”
Maddie sat down on the edge of her bed, gazing at her sister. “What is the matter?”
Augusta sighed heavily. “I have a bad feeling about Mama. I just know she is up to something. I think she is planning to marry me off to the Duke of Everly.”
Maddie’s heart stopped beating for a moment. “And what if she was? Would you think it a bad thing?”
Augusta rolled her eyes in disgust. “What do you think? I told you, I have no interest in marriage at all!” She shook her head incredulously. “Besides, the Duke of Everly is a handsome devil, and he knows it. I do not think I have ever met such an arrogant man. I am not fooled, and I am not susceptible to his charms.”
Maddie almost slumped with relief. Her sister wasn’t interested in the Duke at all. It would have been a terrible thing indeed if Augusta was truly interested in him… after what Maddie had done with him.
It didn’t bear thinking about at all. If their mother was still determined to match him with Augusta, of course. But she thought her sister’s instinct was correct—as did Selina. They couldn’t all be wrong.
“If I did wish to marry,” Augusta continued in a pensive voice, “which I do not, of course, the Duke of Everly would not be the type of man I would be interested in the least.” She drew in a sharp breath. “But if Mama is determined to match him with me, I fear I must relent. I cannot cause another scandal. Our parents would never forgive me for it.”
Maddie’s heart constricted. This was the last thing she had imagined Augusta saying. Only yesterday, her sister had told her that she would rather run away than submit to the yoke of marriage. This wasn’t like her firebrand sister at all.
“I see,” Maddie murmured in a faint voice. “Of course, you do not wish to cause another scandal. Who would ever want to do that?”
Augusta looked sad. “They barely forgave me the last time, and I have had to live with Mama harping at me constantly ever since.” She blinked back tears. “And perhaps there is a grain of truth in what Mama says—if I married, then I would not have to put up with that harping any longer. It would only be swapping cages, perhaps, but at least I would be its mistress.”
“You could still find a gentleman you like,” Maddie urged, feeling a bit desperate. “Yes, marriage would mean you will escape Mama, but it is for life, Augusta. Would you not wish to submit to someone you can share that life with easily?”
Augusta frowned. “There is no gentleman I like, Maddie. They are all fatally flawed, in my opinion. Either they are shockingly arrogant like this Duke or simpering fools like the two gentlemen I chased away in Hyde Park the other day. There does not seem to be any middle ground with them.” She sighed heavily.
Maddie was silent. She felt upset but was trying hard to fight it. She knew she had no right to feel this way. She barely knew the Duke, and he wasn’t a marriage prospect at all.
The man was a rake who was playing a game with her. He didn’t take her seriously. To him, she was just another conquest, from which he would move on, as easily as if he were exchanging dice.
She had no real justification for objecting to her sister’s contemplating marriage with him. Or none that she could easily share with her, at any rate.
“Is there something wrong, Sister?” Augusta asked, her frown deepening. “Do you have any reason why I should reject the prospect?”
Maddie shook her head vigorously. “Oh, no, indeed! I would only say that he has the reputation of a rake. Selina told me. I would hate for you to be hurt by him.”
To her surprise, Augusta laughed outright. “That is all for the better! It would mean I would not need to suffer his advances, as he would be trawling for finer fish in the sea than me.” She paused. “We could lead quite separate lives, which would suit me admirably.”
Maddie nodded, not knowing what to say to that. The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed midnight. Suddenly, a wave of weariness washed over her. She just wanted to go to bed and put this troublesome day behind her.
“I wish you well, Sister,” she said, yawning discreetly behind her hand. “But if you do not mind, I think I need to go to sleep now.”
“Of course,” Augusta said, standing up. She walked over to Maddie, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. “Sleep well, dearest.”
After Augusta left the room, Maddie struggled out of her gown, hastily pulling on her nightgown. She hung the gown in the wardrobe, making sure it was straight. She didn’t want Jane to question anything about it. Her lady’s maid had an eagle eye.
She crawled into bed, pulling the covers high, trying not to think about the Duke and the kisses he had given her that day. Her body was still throbbing from them, but she knew she had made the right decision by pushing him away this evening. Who knows where it might have led? She had been alone with him in that building. Anything was possible.
Her breath caught in her throat. She knew she must put a stop to this dangerous game they were playing. She had let herself be swept away by it because she was so fatally attracted to him—but it must end. Not only because Augusta was seriously contemplating letting their mama lead her into marriage with the gentleman.
It was also because she had no idea how she could endure getting closer to him, letting him do the things on her list to her, when he clearly did not care to get to know her as a person at all.
It was all a big game to him. The Duke of Everly was peril. And that was the end of that.
Daniel walked into the drawing room in Stansgate Manor, gazing around, feeling intensely irritable. To his relief, Selina and his cousin Christopher were the only people in the room. His mother had gone out to call on some neighbors.
He walked to the drinks cabinet, pouring himself a generous amount of brandy. The family had been in residence at Stansgate for four long days. After the initial burst of pleasure at seeing his old home again after so long, Daniel had felt cooped up and extremely bored. There wasn’t much to do at Stansgate besides walking, fishing, and shooting, in that order. And it wasn’t even hunting season. Although, he reflected, it was good to get away from all the simpering fools and dandies in London.
He took a long sip of the brandy. But leaving London had also meant leaving the delectable Lady Madeline and the delicious game they started to play. That was hard. Harder than he had imagined it would be.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her, and his body was literally aching for her. He really couldn’t remember when he had last been so consumed by lust for a woman.
“What the deuce is the matter with you, Daniel?” Christopher asked in a mild voice, watching him. “You have been walking around with a hangdog expression almost the entire time since we’ve been here.”
Daniel shrugged, distracted. “Brandy, Cousin?”
“Always,” Christopher said, grinning.
Daniel poured his cousin a drink, then topped up his own glass. He sat down, passing Chris his drink, before staring into the flickering flames of the fire, feeling disconsolate.
“Are you on edge about the house party, which starts tomorrow?” Christopher asked. “The horde that shall soon descend upon the house?”
Daniel glanced at his cousin. He couldn’t tell Chris what was really bothering him. For starters, Selina was in the room, and he couldn’t speak of his unconsummated lust for any lady, never mind her best friend.
But even if Selina wasn’t here, he probably wouldn’t mention it, anyway. Chris would probably be highly uncomfortable with the topic. His cousin wasn’t a ladies’ man. Daniel didn’t know if he had ever experienced high lust in his life. Christopher never talked about such things, anyway. He was a cold fish in that way.
“Yes, that is it, exactly,” Daniel replied dryly. “You have hit the nail on the head, Cousin.” He paused. “It would appear I have been away from the delights of the English ton for far too long.”
“Are you a trifle worried that the ladies will not flock around you like they used to?” Chris teased, grinning widely.
Daniel laughed shortly. “Hardly. Besides, I do not believe there are any ladies of particular interest attending.”
He tried to keep a straight face as he uttered the bald-faced lie. For, of course, there would be one lady of particular interest attending the house party. At least, he prayed that she was still going to attend.
She had rushed off the other night after the luscious kiss they had shared, fleeing into the night, claiming it was all a mistake. He was starting to get worried that she might make an excuse and stay behind in London.
“The ladies had better not flock around him,” Selina said, looking impish, as she threaded her embroidery needle. She turned to Christopher. “Did you not know, Cousin, that our mother is planning to marry him off to my best friend’s sister? I will not tolerate him embarrassing Maddie’s family like that at all.”
Christopher raised his eyebrows. “Really? You mean the formidable Lady Augusta, the bluestocking, who eats gentlemen for breakfast?”
Selina giggled. “You are awful, Chris! Lady Augusta may be a bluestocking, but she is also kind and clever. She just does not suffer fools—particularly when those fools are men—gladly.”
Daniel was silent, trying to digest what Selina had just said. He knew his sister’s instinct was probably correct. Their mother had fawned over Lady Augusta when they had called on the Coles, practically pushing him towards the lady in an embarrassingly obvious manner. And what was worse, Lady Ollerton, the lady’s mother, had been doing the same thing.
He had dismissed it from his mind, being so occupied with Maddie, but now, he contemplated it seriously. Lady Augusta was attending the house party, along with her sister.
It was going to be tedious, fending off his mother’s efforts to push him towards the lady. For while Lady Augusta was beautiful, in her own way, he didn’t think of her like that at all.
Madeline was the one he wanted. Madeline was the one who set his blood on fire. He couldn’t even think about any other woman at the moment, and certainly not her rather frightening sister.
Selina put down her embroidery patch, standing up. “Well, it is probably time to start getting dressed for dinner. Mama will be furious with me if I am not ready when the gong sounds.” She left the room.
“Is Selina right?” Christopher asked, sipping his brandy. “Is the Dowager Duchess set on the fearsome bluestocking as a potential bride for you?”
“How should I know?” Daniel huffed irritably. “You know my mother. She is determined to find me a bride, no matter how much I protest. But I shan’t let her push me. I am just as determined as she is.”
Christopher sighed heavily. “Why do you fight your destiny so much, Cousin? Why can’t you just marry someone, secure your heir, and be done with it? You can lead separate lives if you must. It happens all the time in the ton. Marriages of convenience are a dime a dozen. It would get your mother off your back, you know that.”
Daniel turned away, staring into the fire again. He couldn’t be bothered arguing with his cousin about it. When he turned back, he started. Chris was staring at him, an inscrutable look on his face that, if he didn’t know any better, could be construed as disdain. But then it was quickly gone. Perhaps his imagination was getting the better of him.
He turned his mind back to the distasteful subject of marriage. His mother wasn’t going to succeed, no matter how much she tried. He wasn’t going to be pushed into a marriage with Lady Augusta—or any other lady, for that matter.
But it was dawning on him now that his mother’s machinations might affect his chances with Maddie. He didn’t want her to think he was seriously pursuing her sister. That would not do at all.
How was he going to handle it?