Chapter 17
“The god of love stood before her, radiant and divine, yet humbled by the strength of his love for her.”
Lucius Apuleius, Metamorphoses
Her lady’s maid unbuttoned her bodice while Madeline huffed in impatience. Simon was in the next room, and he was sure to be disrobed far sooner than she. Finally, the gown was loose, and she wiggled out of it so that it dropped to the floor. It was quickly retrieved to be rehung.
Banking her frustration, she waited for her stays to be loosened, leaning down to untie her garters and remove her stockings.
Miss Moreau brought over her best night rail and helped her put it on.
Soon, the servant brushed her hair out and cleared all her things away, departing the bedchamber to leave Madeline fidgeting nervously as she tried to decide what to do next.
Downstairs, Mama, Henri, and Uncle Reginald lingered over tea, granting her and Simon the privacy newlyweds required. Even so, the thought of being alone with him filled her with an odd mixture of joy and fear.
A knock on the door made her flinch, startled at the loud interruption. She licked her lips, realizing the moment of truth had arrived and discovering she was unexpectedly reluctant to take this final step.
“Madeline?” His deep voice sent a shivering thrill chasing along her nerve endings to settle as a quivering sensation in her lower belly.
“One moment, please?” She winced at the alarm evident in her shrill tone. She had imagined this moment for longer than she could remember, but now that the moment had arrived, she—
A low chuckle emitted from the other side of the door. “Let me in, fair Psyche. This will be easier if we are in the same room.”
Madeline bit her lip. She had not anticipated how nervous she would be. But Simon was her best friend, so perhaps she should let him in.
She crossed over, reaching out to turn the handle, then flinched at the crack of the latch disengaging.
Cracking the door open, she peered up at him.
He was dressed in a colorful banyan with loose-fitting trousers.
Simon’s gaze softened as it swept over her before finding her eyes again.
The blueness of his irises drew her in as she drowned in their depths.
How was it he had his mother’s eyes, but his were so warm while Isla’s had been as icy as a glacier?
Madeline shoved the memory of the murderous baroness aside. The terror of Lady Blackwood had passed, and she was determined to be present in this moment with Simon, as soon as she recovered her courage.
“I have dreamt of marrying you.”
It took a moment for Madeline to realize it was not her own thought, but something Simon had declared out loud in a mellifluous baritone.
“Me, too …,” she admitted in a tremulous voice.
“Then … may I come in?”
She swallowed hard and stepped back to allow him in before shutting the door. “I was not expecting to be so shy.”
Simon flashed a wide smile, revealing a pearly slash of teeth. “So am I, if that comforts you.”
He reached for her hand. The warmth of his palm chased away her fear as he drew her closer, lowering his head to kiss her softly—once, then again, until the world seemed to melt away.
He drew back, his eyes filled with such devotion that it stole her breath.
“Is this real? Am I dreaming? Will I wake up to learn you are still in Scotland?”
Simon gave a crooked smile. “I am here, and I am never leaving again. I regret how much time I wasted.”
Madeline reached up, her amber eyes luminous despite the tears gathering there. Her fingers brushed his cheek, the touch light as a sigh. “You are here now. We are together.”
“Thank you for waiting for me. I thought I could let you go. Watch you marry another man, but I think … I think it would have killed me.”
It was the truth. Madeline had always been his dearest friend, the only soul who had truly seen him. How could he have imagined a lifetime of estrangement? He was a fool to have allowed his parents to convince him to leave her behind.
She rested her head against his chest and he held her close, breathing in her fragrance and savoring this moment together in the soft glow of the candlelight. “It is in the past,” she whispered.
Simon kissed her then—slowly, reverently—as though memorizing the taste of her forgiveness.
The world beyond that moment faded away.
All the years of regret, the grief and the fear, melted into warmth and quiet wonder.
When he drew back a little, he framed her face between his hands, feeling the tremor of her sigh against his lips.
“You are more beautiful than I ever imagined,” he murmured.
Madeline’s only answer was a soft, breathless laugh that melted into another kiss. The world fell away—no titles, no sorrow, no shadow of the past—only the two of them, hearts entwined, love finally unbound.
Her hands found their way about his shoulders, drawing him closer until every thought dissolved into the simple miracle of belonging.
Time ceased to matter. Candlelight flickered over them like a benediction, and the hush between their heartbeats deepened into peace as they embraced.
Whatever scars the years had left upon them, love healed them in its quiet, sacred way until, eventually, Simon whispered, “My heart is yours, now and always.”
Madeline’s eyes fluttered open, soft and shining. “And I am yours.”
Much later, Madeline nestled her head beneath Simon’s chin, listening to the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath the rise of his chest.
“Will there be a scandal, do you think? Your mother expired a few weeks ago, and now you have wed in the middle of the night.”
“That is probable, but I think news of one of the renowned Bigsbys marrying a Scottish viscount will be the bigger event. The other will fade away.”
Madeline considered this, trying to determine what she thought of it. “I suppose I do not care as long as we are together.”
“Forever, fair Psyche.”
It was at that moment when Madeline caught sight of a small sculpture of Eros sitting on a side table, positioned to watch over the garden.
Their garden. It was the very one she had carved for him all those years ago.
The sight of it steadied her heart, realizing he had kept it all these many years.
This was no dream. They had found their way back to one another at last, and he was here to stay.
Simon’s arm tightened around her. The candle burned low, casting a tender glow across their joined hands.
They drifted into sleep wrapped in each other’s embrace, the world hushed around them.
All the troubles of the past receded into nothing, and the long-awaited future of her dreams finally began.