Chapter Twenty-Six #2
Maddie shook her head, confusion clouding her features. “What are you talking about?” The words felt hollow, dread curdling her stomach.
Ashley’s voice dropped as she leaned in close enough that only Maddie could hear her.
“The Duke of Paisley. He agreed to it, Maddie. Your mother and father finalized everything. The dowry is being transferred… I thought—” she trailed off briefly, swallowing hard.
“I thought it was what you wanted. To be the Duchess of Paisley.”
Maddie’s world narrowed to just her spinning thoughts and the words that seemed to echo too loudly in her ears.
The light-headed giddiness she’d been basking in dissipated like smoke, replaced with the sharp, cold sting of reality.
Her chest ached, her lungs struggling to draw in air as the full weight of what Ashley had just revealed sank in.
“No.” The word was barely audible, a hollow whisper spoken more to herself than her friend. “No, no, no.”
Ashley reached out, but Maddie recoiled, sliding quickly off the bed to put the weight on her still-wobbling feet.
Her back pressed against the post nearest the bed, her knuckles going white where they clutched it.
The warmth Sebastian had wrapped her in earlier was gone now, stolen by the knowledge of what her family had done.
What they thought they’d done to secure her future.
What they’d done to ruin her luck.
*
Sebastian led the horses to the stable yard, his grip tight on the reins, each step deliberate as if holding back a storm.
The air stung with the bite of leftover frost, and the horses’ breath puffed in little clouds as they snorted and tossed their heads.
Stableboys rushed forward to take the reins.
He handed them over with a brief nod, but the tension pulling at his shoulders didn’t ease.
“In there,” Thomas commanded abruptly, jerking his head toward the brewery door. His voice carried the unyielding edge of authority, adding weight to an order that wasn’t open for debate.
Sebastian followed, the crack of his boots against the stone loud in the cold quiet.
Inside, the faint, earthy scent of hops mingled with the woodsmoke from the nearby hearth.
Thomas shut the door behind them with more force than necessary before whirling to face him, his face tight with simmering frustration.
“What did you think you were doing?” Thomas snapped, his glare as sharp as flint.
Sebastian straightened, drawing himself up to his full height. His gaze didn’t waver. “You hardly have to ask me that, do you?” he replied, his voice even, low, and raw with conviction.
“It’s absolutely absurd,” Thomas growled as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. The gesture did little to tame his frustration. “I can’t believe you could be so stupid!”
“You’ve put your entire future at risk,” he continued, voice rising. “You interfered with the duke’s arrangement. Paisley’s not just some spoiled heir—he has ties to Whitehall. Influence that reaches into Parliament. If this blows up, it won’t be her reputation that’s ruined—it’ll be yours.”
Sebastian took a step forward, the composure in his expression cracking just enough for a brief flicker of anger to show.
“Stupid, you say?” His words rolled out steady but firm, layered with restrained heat.
“Why? Because I found the woman who makes me happy? Because I did what needed to be done to save her under that vicious avalanche?”
“That’s not what I’m saying!” Thomas snapped, exasperation flaring in his voice.
“Well, what are you saying?” Sebastian demanded, his voice cutting through the air like steel slicing wood.
“The avalanche buried us so deep I didn’t think we’d come out of it alive.
And you have the gall to criticize me now?
” He stopped, drawing in a deep breath as the memory clawed at him.
“You don’t know what it’s like until you’re under there. You don’t know how to crawl out.”
Thomas’s jaw tightened, but his voice dropped in volume, tinged with a shaky restraint. “Oh, I remember. I was fourteen, not stupid,” he said, grabbing a pint glass and filling it from a barrel. He took a long, hard swig, his throat working as he swallowed. “You saved us then, too.”
Sebastian’s shoulders relaxed a fraction as the memory washed over him.
He crossed his arms, his gaze steady on Thomas.
“And when I saved you, something changed. I realized you’d be my best friend forever.
My brother. My family. It was no different with Maddie.
” His voice softened—not weak but weighted with something unshakable.
“I want her to be my family. My everything.”
Thomas lowered his mug, though his hand stayed firm on the handle. “Maddie, hm?” he said, though his tone was quieter now. He took another swig, tilting the pint glass back further than before.
“Yes,” Sebastian said. His voice was clear, steady as stone. “I love her. And you should know that.” He hesitated, a rare flicker of vulnerability appearing before he continued with a brow raised. “You and Ashley… you didn’t wait, either.”
At that, Thomas froze. His shoulders squared, though he didn’t immediately respond. The words hung in the air until he finally said, “Yes. Ashley and I… before the wedding. Fine. Obviously.” He glanced away for a moment, his jaw tightening. “But you shouldn’t have!”
“Why not me?” Sebastian shot back. The heat in his voice didn’t crest to shouting, but the force behind his words made it clear he wasn’t holding himself back.
He crossed the room in a few long strides, grabbing his own pint and filling it quickly.
“I’ll get a special license. We’ll be wed.
” Releasing a sudden breath, he dropped down onto a wooden bench, the worn corner of his pint clinking against the table.
“I can’t wait. Never thought I’d say that.
Never thought I’d be so… eager for a wedding. ”
Thomas slammed his pint down on the table. It wasn’t hard enough to break it, but the impact was sharp enough to make Sebastian’s head whip up.
“Well, the problem isn’t you or her,” Thomas said, his words colder now, as if rehearsed. “The problem is, it’s already a done deal.”
Sebastian stiffened, the warmth of his thoughts snapping into cold focus. “A done deal?”
Thomas’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “Her parents transferred the dowry. They’ve promised her to Paisley.”
The words struck like a blow to the ribs—unexpected and breath-stealing. For a brief moment, he didn’t move. The pint sat idle in his hand, forgotten. When he finally moved, it was slow, deliberate. He set the glass down gently, the scrape of it against the table breaking the heavy silence.
“To Paisley,” Sebastian repeated, his voice a half-growl of disbelief. He stood, the movement fluid but carrying a weight that seemed to pull the air out of the room. His brows pulled together, and his chest rose as he inhaled deeply, his fists relaxing and clenching in rhythm.
“Yes, to Paisley,” Thomas said, equally slow but firm. “That’s how these things work.”
Sebastian shook his head, his jaw set tight.
“Not for us. Not for Maddie,” he said, his voice dropping lower, conviction anchoring every syllable.
“I don’t care about their arrangements. Their dowry.
” He stepped toward Thomas, no more anger than before, but plenty of unrelenting resolve.
“If Paisley thinks she’s his, he’ll have to go through me. ”
The corner of his mouth lifted faintly, but there was no humor in it. His next words came like a thunderclap. “And he’ll regret it.”
“Or you will.”
Thomas didn’t say it like a threat. Just a truth. And that made it worse.
*
“I cannot believe your mother betrothed you to Paisley!”
Sera’s outrage exploded through the room, sharp and immediate, making Maddie wince.
She couldn’t believe it either. “I think,” Maddie said faintly, lowering herself to sit on the edge of the bed, newly changed into warmer clothes, “I am still in shock.”
Her sleeves were thick, but her fingers remained stiff and numb.
The chill that had left her while wrapped in Sebastian’s arms had returned the moment they’d stepped into the castle.
Her whole body was cold, in fact. A cold no fire could shake.
But even so, “shock” felt too small a word.
It was disbelief wrapped in betrayal, wrapped in helpless fury.
“Dear,” Charlene said, gliding to her side and taking her hand, “you are more than in shock. You are in a state of emotional ruin. Has anyone brought you sweet milk?”
“I’m not pregnant, Charlene.”
“No, but you’re promised to Paisley, which is far worse.”
“I resent that comment,” Ashley muttered from the side.
Charlene shook her head. “You know I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I’m not promised. I didn’t say yes. I will not marry Paisley,” Maddie declared, the words low but unshakable—as much for herself as for anyone else. No matter what.
“Well, your mother can’t very well engage you to the duke, right? Not without the permission of your father.”
Charlene sat back, visibly impressed. “That’s… actually rather brilliant, Sera.”
Sera preened. “Thank you. I do have moments.”
Maddie let the thought settle in her mind. Her father. Right. His mother’s word usually held supreme. He rarely raised his voice—rarer still did he raise objections—but he had always, always, wanted Maddie to be happy.
“He’ll side with you,” Ashley said softly, nodding. “You are his favorite child.”
Maddie swallowed around the lump forming in her throat. “He might. If he’s not already been flattened beneath Mother’s momentum.”
“He is a man,” Sera said. “He has rights. And opinions. Somewhere. Likely buried beneath a stack of botanical journals, but they’re there.”
That earned a reluctant curve of Maddie’s lips. Just barely, but it counted.
Charlene leaned in, eyes imploring. “You can’t let your mother steamroll you into this. Not when your heart—and your body—are already somewhere else.”
Her cheeks warmed. “I didn’t say it was.”
“You didn’t need to,” Charlene replied knowingly.
Sera waggled her brows. “Speaking of your heart and body’s current residence… have you told Sebastian any of this?”
Maddie hesitated.
Sera groaned. “Maddie.”
“I haven’t left the room yet, and even if I did, what would I say to him? How do I face him?” Her voice caught. Especially after that humiliation when they arrived back at the castle.
“Well, I hate to say it, he might already know.”
Maddie’s eyes whipped to Ashley. “What?”
“Thomas knows as well, and he might have already warned him.”
Oh, no. Even though they’d already confessed their love and intentions, what if he decided it was too much? Too messy? Too public? What if he walked away?
I’ll stay.
He’d said that. But still—what if he left?
No. She had to trust him.
She had to trust them.
Still, her stomach twisted into a dozen cold little knots.
“What if he doesn’t?” Maddie whispered. “What if he thinks it’s all too much? Too messy? He didn’t even say anything when we arrived. He was there, right beside me, and he just stood there.”
Which was unfair. She hadn’t wanted him to speak. Not then. But the silence echoed now in all the worst ways.
“Because he didn’t want to make a scene,” Ashley said gently. “He was with you, Maddie. That means something.”
“He might have been holding back.”
Charlene nodded. “Which is exactly what a man like Sebastian does when he’s furious and trying to hold himself together. Do you want him to punch Paisley in front of everyone, get entangled in a duel, and maybe die?”
Maddie blinked. Saints! “No. Char, come on. That is rather brutal.”
And an image she could have done without.
They all laughed softly.
“Dear,” Charlene said, sitting on the bed beside her, “Sebastian is not a rake or a romantic hero in a novel, but he didn’t leave when things got uncomfortable. That’s his version of shouting.”
He didn’t leave…
Ashley offered her a faint smile. “He didn’t speak, no. But he didn’t flinch either. He looked at you. Like you were the only thing keeping him from throttling people.”
Maddie’s eyes stung. The kind of ache that sat behind the lids and refused to fall.
“Speak to him as soon as you can,” Charlene said. “Don’t let doubt take root.”
“But what if he—”
“No,” Ashley interrupted softly, but firmly. “What if he doesn’t walk away? What if he fights? What if this is the moment everything changes, and you almost let it slip past you because you were afraid? What if he already has a solution?”
Maddie swallowed the ache rising in her throat. Every word felt like a step toward something she’d tried not to hope for.
They were right.
Sebastian had stood beside her. Now she needed to stand beside him.
“All right.”
Sera grinned. “To love. And to not marrying Paisley.”
Ashley chuckled. “The world rejoices.”
And for the first time all evening, the cold inside Maddie began to thaw.
She didn’t feel helpless.
She felt ready.
Ready to fight. Ready to hope.
Ready to choose love, even if it meant choosing it loudly.
Ready to stand by her man no matter what.