Chapter Twenty-Five
Sebastian stood tall, despite the ache in his shoulders and the lingering chill in his limbs.
His gaze rested on Maddie as she adjusted the blankets around herself, her cheeks still rosy with the remnants of her earlier embarrassment.
The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile he didn’t bother to hide.
She was beautiful, even more so when flustered. Especially when she was his.
“So,” Thomas said, breaking Sebastian’s thoughts. His boots creaked against the wooden floor as he crossed his arms. “This is serious, then?”
Sebastian didn’t hesitate, his voice steady and firm. “Most certainly so.”
Thomas studied him for a moment before nodding, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he turned toward the door. Outside, the snow shimmered in the early morning light, the aftermath of the storm sparkling like softened diamonds.
“You’ve never looked at anyone like that,” Thomas said finally. “Not even food when you’re starved.”
Sebastian’s mouth twitched. “Are you comparing my woman to food?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.
“Don’t forget you are the one who suggested the use of the lodge.”
“Yes, yes, this is all my fault. You can thank me by naming your firstborn after me.”
Sebastian snorted. “Don’t hold your breath.”
He turned back briefly, his gaze flicking to Maddie as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. A firstborn… the word brought a burn to his chest. A good burn. A burn that he refused to let go now that it settled there.
Thomas followed his gaze, then elbowed him lightly. “You’re gone.”
He didn’t argue. “It appears so.”
Thomas’s voice lowered. “Just… don’t break her. And don’t let her break you.”
“She’s not the one I need to worry about.”
Don’t break her. Don’t let her break you.
The words clung to him like mist, seeping into the cracks he hadn’t known still existed. He hadn’t broken her, in fact, he felt as though she’d been the one to piece him back together.
He hadn’t been prepared for that.
Nothing had readied him for Maddie.
And he—saints help him—had fallen for her just as completely.
What if she changed her mind?
What if the world got to her first?
Sebastian exhaled, the thought cutting swift and clean. If she asked him to walk away for her sake, he didn’t know if he’d be strong enough to do it.
But he’d never let her face the aftermath alone.
That much, he could promise.
Sebastian stepped into the crisp air while Thomas busied himself with mounting his horse. His attention was immediately drawn to another familiar figure, one that stirred something warm in his chest.
“Swan,” he said gently, his voice carrying across the snow-dappled clearing. The horse perked up at the sound of her name, and Sebastian’s smile deepened. “I’m glad you got away safely, old friend.”
Behind him, Maddie stepped into the doorway, pulling her cloak tighter as she watched the exchange. He turned, catching the faint arch of her brows, her expression curious and just a touch amused.
“Ready?” he asked, brushing her hair from her face as she stepped closer.
Her gaze flicked up to his, uncertain. “Not even slightly.”
He leaned in, their faces nearly level. “Then I’ll hold on tighter.”
A vow.
Without a word, he set a hand lightly on her waist. His touch lingered, warm and deliberate, before he wrapped both hands around her and effortlessly lifted her onto Swan’s saddle.
It wasn’t like before, when he’d been careful, distancing himself from her as much as propriety would allow.
There was no reason for pretense now. Not when her safety and trust rested so completely in his hands.
She settled on the saddle, looking down at him with a mix of bewilderment and something he very much hoped was admiration.
He mounted behind her, his arms loose but steady as they framed her on either side.
Swan shifted under their combined weight, but Sebastian whispered a soft word to the horse, calming her instantly.
She looked straight ahead as they set off, Thomas leading the way at a leisurely pace. Yet, Sebastian couldn’t miss the way her back stiffened, her thoughts obvious in the tension she carried. He suspected he knew where her mind had gone.
“Why are you not more concerned?” she asked suddenly, her voice breaking the spell of the silent morning.
“The Earl of Linsey caught us. I should…” She trailed off, her words heavy with unspoken consequences.
“I should feel embarrassed. Scandal awaits. There’s surely some significance to that, but you act as if all were in order. ”
Sebastian’s lips tilted into a faint smirk. “Caught?” His arms tightened slightly around her as Swan picked up a steadier rhythm against the snow. “You aren’t caught, Maddie,” he said, the warmth of his words brushing against her ear, “unless you believe you are.”
“Whatever do you mean?” He had lost his mind. Of course, they were caught. Scandalized. She was compromised most thoroughly.
She shifted within his hold, glancing back at him, her eyes searching for something he couldn’t entirely define. But instead of holding her gaze, he simply leaned forward the barest amount, adjusting the way the cloak settled against her shoulders.
“Are you sure you’re warm?” he murmured, his tone soft, almost tender.
“Sebastian? What are we going to do?”
“A hot bath, I hope. Fresh clothes. Or perhaps no clothes, and we share the hot bath?”
“Seb—”
But before she could continue, he gave her that smile—the one that melted her heart. She had no chance.
“Maddie, there won’t be any scandal if we merely announce our engagement. I need no more than a ride to London to get a special license.”
“It has to come from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Surely it’s not that easy!”
“His nephew was in my class at Eton. And then at Oxford.” Sebastian smiled. “It won’t take long if I tell him I found the woman I love, and she agreed to marry me.”
The color rose in her cheeks again as she quickly turned away, leaving him with a view of the curve of her neck, her face tipped toward the horizon.
His own expression softened as they rode behind Thomas, Maddie resting against him, her warmth melding seamlessly with his.
To Sebastian, there was nothing to be concerned with.
Nothing at all. Because as far as he was concerned, he already had everything that mattered pressed close against him.
*
Maddie’s heart fluttered as they approached the sprawling silhouette of the castle, its grand spires piercing the grayish-blue sky like sentinels of a world she didn’t feel worthy of reentering.
It stood proud and unchanging, its stone facade glowing faintly in the morning light.
And yet, every clop of Swan’s hooves against the gravel path sent a pang of unease through her, pulling her further from the cocoon of warmth she’d felt just minutes ago with Sebastian’s arms around her.
At the castle gates, she tried to hold her head high as Thomas and Sebastian flanked her, their presence as steady as it was commanding.
They escorted her like she was a princess in some gilded tale, but Maddie couldn’t shake the weight settling in her belly.
The closer they came to the reality of the grand estate, the smaller, less deserving, she felt.
She smoothed her skirts absently, as though wrinkled fabric could undo what had already been done.
“I’ll bring the horses to the stables,” Thomas declared, drawing his horse to a stop. He looked across to Sebastian. “A beer?”
Sebastian shook his head. “Not now. I want to see to Maddie’s comfort.”
Thomas tilted his head, the faintest trace of a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth before he dismounted.
“Allow me to be clear, then. Ashley will see to her comfort.” His tone hardened just slightly, the weight of authority unmistakable.
“You and I—we need a word.” He gestured toward the stables, his meaning sharp and impossible to argue.
Maddie glanced toward Sebastian, her chest tightening at the tension threading between the two men.
She gave him a small, reassuring look, doing her best to convey gratitude and understanding without saying a word.
For a moment, his expression softened, the strong planes of his face easing.
Then, in a move so gentle it stole her breath, he leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to her cheek. Just a peck.
But to Maddie, it might as well have been the sweep of an orchestra’s strings.
The joy of it pulsed through her veins, carrying her into the house as though on the wings of a cloud.
Over the threshold she floated, past the butler with his polite nod, past the scurrying maids chattering as they rushed toward the dining room.
Every step forward wrapped her tightly in the warmth of Sebastian’s presence—even as he stayed behind. She barely noticed…
Until she stopped dead.
“Oh no!” she whispered, one gloved hand flying to her mouth.
Her mother’s voice rang out like the crack of a pistol.
“Darling, there you are, finally!” The cloyingly sweet tone struck dread deeper than any shouted reprimand could.
Maddie turned slowly, and there she was, standing framed in the grand entryway of the dining room.
Lady Elizabeth Hunt, perfectly coiffed and radiant in a lavender gown, was flanked on either side by her brother and—Maddie swallowed hard—her father.
Ashley, who followed, sent her an apologetic look.
Maddie’s heart sank lower with each growing detail of the arrival of her family.
Her brother, stoic but quiet, met her gaze first, his assessing eyes flicking over her disheveled state.
Her father’s gaze lingered on the wrinkled bodice of her gown and the smudge of dirt on her hem.
But it was her mother’s face that drained Maddie of all joy.
It lit with a pleased smile at finding her missing daughter…
only to freeze with what could only be called horror.
“Madeleine Sophie Charlotte Hunt!” The full weight of Maddie’s name fell with a crushing thud, her mother’s voice rising into notes that almost shattered the crystal chandelier above. “Where have you been?!”
“In…” Maddie stumbled over her words, her mouth dry as panic loosened its vines in her chest. “I was… caught in an avalanche.”
Her father’s brows furrowed, his sharpness cutting through the chaos of her mother’s shrill tone. Maddie saw the way his eyes fastened on her wrinkled cloak, the state of her boots, and the streak of mud across the hem of her gown. He said nothing, but the silence was somehow worse.
“You almost died?” her father asked.
“Not almost. But close.” Maddie winced as she spoke.
She clutched the folds of her cloak tighter, her cheeks burning as figures began emerging from the nearby halls, lingering just out of direct sight but close enough to witness. Worse still was the silhouette behind her father.
The Duke of Paisley.
“Oh no,” Maddie croaked under her breath, the discomfort washing over her like a tidal wave.
Her shoulders drew inward as Paisley’s familiar, yet detached expression appeared.
His dark hair was perfectly groomed, and his polished presence made her feel even more bedraggled.
He glanced at her, his gaze flickering briefly to her tangled state before it returned to her father.
Ashley stepped forward just as Maddie felt her knees begin to buckle.
Her brother reached for her elbow in a move so swift, she could hardly believe he wasn’t chastising her.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Ashley said quickly, her calm voice slicing through their mother’s outrage.
“Maddie needs rest. She’s had an ordeal. ”
“An ordeal?” Their mother’s mouth hung open, aghast, as Ashley began leading Maddie up the grand staircase. “Ashley, what do you mean, an ordeal? We are not finished! Do you know how this looks?”
Maddie caught one last glimpse of her mother’s wide, pale face, her father exchanging terse words with Paisley, before she was ushered out of sight and into the quieter upper floors.
She exhaled shakily, attempting to regain a hint of composure, but every inch of her screamed the truth she could no longer bury. The truth her appearance had likely given away without a word. She was well and truly ruined, and no amount of skipping steps on the stairs could lift the horror of it.