Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
“ W elcome to Stansgate,” the Dowager Duchess of Everly intoned, smiling imperiously.
Maddie glanced around anxiously as her family stepped into the large, ornate foyer of Stansgate Manor, the seat of the great Huxley family. She couldn’t even take in the splendor of the grand, sprawling manor. All she could think about was the Duke and whether he might suddenly spring from some corner.
But, to her relief, the only people in the foyer standing to greet them were the Dowager Duchess and Selina.
Maddie exhaled slowly. She was safe, for now. But she knew there was no possible way she could avoid him for the entirety of this house party.
I will just have to find a way . I cannot let him take advantage of this situation any longer. I simply must find a way to get the list back before this progresses any further.
“I trust you had a smooth journey from London, Lady Ollerton?” the Dowager Duchess asked.
“It was tolerable, Your Grace,” Lady Ollerton replied, sighing heavily. “A trifle bumpy, but here we are, in one piece.” She gazed around the foyer, blinking owlishly. “Your home is spectacular. We are so honored to be here.”
Maddie’s heart did a cartwheel. Two gentlemen were striding into the foyer. One was Selina’s older cousin, Lord Christopher Huxley, whom she had only met on one occasion, shortly after becoming friends with Selina. And the other gentleman was the Duke of Everly himself.
Maddie could barely breathe. It had been four days since she had last laid eyes on him, when he had sent her off in his carriage, after playing with her in his private garden pad. She had hoped that the irresistible attraction she felt towards him might have dimmed in that time.
It seemed she may as well have wished for the moon to crash down on Earth. For the attraction hadn’t dimmed during the time they had spent apart. If anything, it felt stronger than ever. God help her.
Their eyes locked. Maddie felt a tingle all the way down her spine.
As the others talked, the Duke managed to sidle up to her, standing by her side in a seemingly perfectly correct manner. The Dowager Duchess and Lady Ollerton were walking away, talking animatedly, with Augusta trailing behind them, looking painfully bored already.
“It has been a while since we last saw each other, My Lady,” the Duke whispered. “I confess that while I have been pining for you, it seems I had forgotten how beautiful you actually are.”
Maddie’s cheeks turned pink. “You are a shameless flirt, Your Grace. But you must stop, for I am immune to it.”
“You lie,” he whispered, his eyes flickering towards her. “You know that you do.”
Her color deepened. But before she could respond, Lord Christopher and Selina approached them.
“You remember my cousin, do you not, Maddie?” Selina asked, smiling widely. “Christopher, this is my very best friend in the world, Lady Madeline Cole.”
Christopher bowed slightly. “I remember Lady Madeline, Selina. We were introduced at your last birthday party.” His eyes lingered on Maddie. “Do you like croquet, My Lady?”
“I do, Lord Christopher,” Maddie replied, feeling enormously relieved by the interruption. She tried not to look at the Duke.
Christopher smiled at her. “Well, you are very lucky, then, as a game has just started in the gardens.” He held out his arm to her. “Would you do me the honor of accompanying me there?”
“Certainly, My Lord,” Maddie murmured, taking his arm.
She was highly conscious that Selina and her brother were just behind them, following them out to the gardens. Firmly, she tried to suppress her feelings. But her heart was still racing from her brief encounter with the Duke, and she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that ignoring him entirely was going to be far harder than she had even anticipated.
And this was only the beginning of the party. She had days to endure.
How on earth was she going to manage it?
Daniel took a glass of champagne from a passing footman, trying not to make it obvious that he couldn’t stop looking at Maddie. But it was hard. Very hard.
She was looking particularly lovely today in a salmon pink muslin dress with cream lace embellishment on the bodice and short sleeves. But it wasn’t the gown. Lady Madeline Cole could be wearing a potato sack, and he would still think her the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.
He took a long sip of champagne. He had spoken the utter truth to her—he had forgotten how beautiful she was in the few short days since he had last seen her. It was as if the force of her beauty hit him anew, square in the face.
A game of croquet was underway, just as Christopher said. The Coles were the last of the guests to arrive. At least a dozen or more people were milling around the gardens, some of them playing croquet, some chatting, sipping champagne, or nibbling on the mille-feuilles that his mother had specially ordered for the garden party.
Daniel watched the game. Maddie was playing alongside her sister. She hit the ball with her croquet stick, managing to send it cleanly through the hoop. She laughed at her victory, her honey-brown eyes sparkling with joy, her cheeks flushed. Daniel felt an arrow of desire shoot straight through him, making him tingle all over.
“Well done, Lady Madeline!” Christopher called, clapping. “You are quite the skilled croquet player.” He raised a glass of champagne in the air towards her. “A short break to crow over your triumph, perhaps?”
Maddie laughed again, handing her mallet to her sister, then made her way to Christopher. Daniel edged closer to them. His cousin was paying a lot of attention to Maddie, and he had noticed him staring at her in a speculative manner.
Hound’s teeth . Is Chris interested in her?
He watched as his cousin handed Maddie a glass of champagne, raising his own and clinking it against hers. She took a long sip, gazing around the grounds. Daniel edged a little closer so he could hear their conversation.
“It is quite delightful here,” she said, smiling. “The gardens are magnificent.”
Christopher laughed. “Indeed they are, My Lady. That is thanks to an enormous army of gardeners. I would wager that Stansgate employs more servants than even St. James’s Palace.”
Maddie laughed, raising her eyebrows. “Surely you exaggerate, My Lord?”
He grimaced in a mocking way. “Only just. I have been running this estate for five years, as well as the residence in Grosvenor Square. Staying on top of the servants’ wages and the maintenance required on both properties is a full-time job in itself.”
“How noble of you to step in to run the duchy,” Maddie praised, gazing at him. “I am certain the Dowager Duchess could not have managed without you, My Lord.”
“I do my best,” Christopher said, puffing up his chest a bit. “Lord knows that someone had to do it. But truth be told, I have always had a head for business, so it was no hardship.” He paused. “I am afraid my cousin was too busy gallivanting around Europe to attend to it. But then, he has always had a tendency to shirk his responsibilities.”
Daniel tensed. It was still a sore point for him, hearing how well his cousin had run the duchy in his absence, even though he was very grateful for it. He was just a bit tired of his mother constantly alluding to it. And did Chris really have to run him down in such a way? Was that what he had been telling everyone in his absence?
“But enough about the duchy,” Christopher continued, gazing at Maddie warmly. “Tell me more about yourself, Lady Madeline. Perhaps how such a strikingly beautiful lady as yourself is still unmarried. I know you were the Diamond of the last two London Seasons.”
Daniel smiled to himself. He wasn’t surprised to hear that Maddie had been the Diamond of her Seasons at all. He leaned closer to hear her reply to his cousin’s question.
“I suppose I have never met anyone who has swept me off my feet,” she said, looking wistful. “Many have tried, but they all seem to be cut from the same cloth. It is so very hard to find a gentleman who I find appealing in that way, My Lord.”
Daniel’s heart constricted. She sounded so sincere that he didn’t doubt her innocence. Clearly, she wasn’t a wildly flirtatious type. His assumption that she was an ingenue who didn’t have much experience with men was confirmed.
The things she had written, so shockingly, on that list had been conjured by her imagination. And her desire to explore that side of herself, which was unusual for such a well-brought-up young lady.
She has untapped passion . I felt it when we kissed.
Daniel couldn’t wait to stir that whirlpool again. Already, he was dying of impatience. He must find a way to get her alone again, as quickly as possible, or surely die.
“Would you care to take a stroll?” Christopher asked casually. “There is a lake which is quite appealing at this time of year with the bird life.” He paused. “A pair of white swans have just arrived. They come to the lake at the same time every year. I believe they are life mates.”
Maddie’s eyes gleamed. “Oh, I adore swans! Yes, please, thank you. I would enjoy that very much, My Lord.”
To Daniel’s chagrin, they wandered away from the main party and towards the lake, side by side, their heads bent towards each other in conversation.
His heart tightened just watching them. He was certain, now, that his cousin was interested in Maddie. He had never seen Chris target a lady so quickly or exclusively.
It should be me taking her to see those swans , not him.
Immediately, he felt ashamed of himself. Chris was his cousin, and he had run the duchy when Daniel should have been doing it. He had taken care of his family as well.
While Daniel had been rambling around the Continent, indulging in countless love affairs, his quiet, steadfast cousin had stepped in to manage the estate. He shouldn’t feel resentful towards him because he was showing a preference towards the woman that Daniel happened to be infatuated with at the moment. The infatuation would pass soon enough, as it always did.
Daniel ran a hand through his hair, watching them disappear further into the distance. He felt a little ill. Despite his best efforts, he was resentful, and jealous, which was such an alien emotion for him that he almost didn’t recognize it.
It will pass after I have her . Then, I shall not care either way if Chris wants to squire her around.
Or so he kept telling himself as he drained his glass of champagne, waiting on tenterhooks for them to return.
Maddie was a little breathless by the time Lord Christopher brought her back to the party. And hot. It was such a glorious day and even hotter around the lake, which had sparkled as if a thousand diamonds were strewn across the surface.
“Madeline!” Her mother’s voice was imperious. “You forgot your parasol. Your cheeks are quite pink.”
“Sorry, Mama,” Maddie mumbled, not paying much attention, her eyes seeking out the Duke immediately.
Her mother gazed at Lord Christopher with a curious expression on her face. Suddenly, she smiled at him, in a quite dazzling way.
“Oh, never mind,” she said. “As long as you remember in the future. You must protect your complexion.” A pause. “Did you enjoy the stroll with my daughter, Lord Christopher?”
“Indeed, Lady Ollerton,” he replied, inclining his head. “Your daughter is charming. I could not ask for a better walking companion.”
Maddie smiled vaguely, inching away. She was thirsty.
When her mother started engaging Selina’s cousin in conversation, she took the opportunity, slipping away from them in search of some lemonade. She couldn’t drink any more champagne—it had made her head throb slightly in this heat.
As she searched for a footman, heading further away from the party, she noticed that Augusta and Selina were both still playing croquet, seemingly absorbed in the game. Her sister smashed the ball through a hoop with her mallet, looking triumphant. But she couldn’t see the Duke at all.
Her heart plummeted with disappointment, which she quickly tried to ignore. It was good that he had seemingly left the garden party. It meant that she didn’t have to keep ducking and dodging him, although he had managed to keep his distance while his cousin was entertaining her—which was something.
She found a footman coming from the house, and she snatched a tall glass of lemonade, which she drank thirstily. The walk around the lake had been wonderful, and she had even spotted the two white swans swimming placidly side by side, their long necks bent towards each other, as if in silent communion. That had been a thrill. How majestic they were.
But the whole time, she hadn’t been able to stop herself from wishing it was the Duke squiring her around, instead of his cousin. Lord Christopher was a pleasant enough conversationalist, but her senses seemed attuned only to the Duke. He was the only man she wanted by her side. Her eyes could only see him.
She was still holding her empty glass, thinking about him, when she felt a warm breath on her ear. She stiffened, instinctively trying to turn around, but a firm hand on her shoulder rooted her to the spot.
Her heart leaped. It was him. It could only be him.
“Look over to the west,” a deep voice whispered in her ear. “Do you see those quarters, on the other side of the lake?”
She turned in the direction he indicated. A frisson of sensation ran down her spine. “Yes.”
“You will find me there in ten minutes,” the voice said in a slightly imperious tone. “Meet me there. Make sure that no one sees you slip away. Do you understand?”
Maddie’s eyes widened in alarm. “I… I cannot do it,” she whispered. “It is far too risky…”
“Then make an excuse,” the voice purred seductively. “Tell them that you have a headache and need to lie down. Or some such thing.”
Maddie hesitated. The hand tightened on her shoulder. She felt as if her entire body was on fire now.
She swallowed painfully, before nodding. He withdrew quickly. She didn’t turn around. She was trembling from head to toe. She felt sick and excited in equal measure.
It was happening again. She hadn’t even been able to resist him for even a day. And at that moment, she didn’t care in the slightest.