But then she sighed. “I suppose I can understand it,” she said. “You’ve always been like this. Thoughtful. Kind. Of course, you would want to help someone who once helped you.”
“You still don’t think I should do it.”
“No, I don’t. I know it’s just superstition—I hope it is—but I can’t help feeling that you’re taking an unnecessary risk. I just hope we all don’t end up paying the price.”
“Don’t be silly, Mother.” Rachel clearly had no fear when it came to curses. “I can’t believe you’re going to be married, Thomas! And I’m going to have a new sister.”
His mother sighed. “She hasn’t accepted the proposal yet.”
It was clear to Thomas that his mother hoped the proposal would be rejected.
Well, that was fine. If Lady Madeleine didn’twantto marry him, he certainly wasn’t going to press the issue. He owed it to her to give her the choice, but if she didn’t like the option, he wouldn’t mind. He would walk away and supposed everyone would be happy with that outcome.
He probably should have hoped for that.
But for some reason, he found that he wasn’t.
He thought of that morning four years ago, asking her uncle where she might be found and looking for her out on the grounds. He thought about how badly he had wanted to thank her for what she had done for him.
He hadn’t realized it until just now, but that desire had never gone away. It had always been unresolved for him, and he had spent the last four years with a feeling of something unfinished. Now, at last, he would be able to show her his gratitude for the service she had rendered him.
He had never thought to repay her for her service in this fashion, of course. He’d always imagined that simply telling her he was grateful would suffice. But this made sense to him. She had helped him when he needed it most. Now he would help her when she needed it most. It was that simple. The debt would be paid.
And as for his fears about marriage…
Well, even an unhappy marriage would be better than leaving her to ruin and disgrace. And there was always the chance that he would be, as his mother said, nothing like his father. He would take the risk for Lady Madeleine’s sake.
His mother continued to worry throughout the rest of breakfast, wondering what people would say when they learned the Duke was to marry the cursed lady, hinting a few more times that she held out hope that the proposal wouldn’t be accepted. Thomas ignored these comments and settled to his food, though he found it difficult to eat. He was too nervous about the task ahead—the conversation he would have to have with the Viscount of Keenward. He had no doubt that the gentleman would be displeased with him after the misfortune that had befallen his niece.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Madeleine lay on her bed. The sun was up, and she was expected at breakfast, but she had no interest in getting up. She didn’t want to face the world. She didn’t want to see anybody today.
After the way her conversation with her uncle had ended last night, she was afraid of how he might receive her. Would he show his disappointment? She didn’t think she could bear it if he looked at her and reassured her, again, that he wasn’t angry.
It wasn’t anger she was worried about anymore.
There was a knock at her door. “Come in,” she said listlessly, and her lady’s maid, Horatia, entered.
Horatia was the closest thing to a mother that Madeleine had. When her own mother died, she had come to her uncle’s estate frightened and lonely, and her uncle had seen the need for the presence of a motherly figure in her life. Unmarried himself, he had chosen as her lady’s maid a woman old enough to be Madeleine’s mother, and Horatia had been with Madeleine ever since.
She’d brought breakfast and put the tray down on Madeleine’s bed. “You’re going to stay in your room all day, then?” she chided gently.
“I can’t come down.”
“I know what happened last night,” Horatia said gently. “Your uncle isn’t angry with you, you know.”
“But this isn’t what he hoped for. It can’t have been.”
“It’s not what you hoped for either, though, is it?”
Madeleine knew Horatia was right but didn’t want to admit it. She turned her face to the wall.
“Don’t sulk,” Horatia said rather sharply. “Sit up now, and eat your breakfast. You’ll need your strength for the days ahead, you know.”
“I’m fine.”
“You are not fine. If you were, you wouldn’t have sequestered yourself in your room! I may be old, but I’m not a fool.”
