“Should I be?”
“As a duchess, you’ll be on display quite often. Your attendance will be expected at parties and balls. There will be no opportunity for you to flee the way you did the other night. You won’t be able to withdraw from the public eye because you’re having a bad day, or you don’t like the way things are going.”
Madeleine held Henrietta’s gaze. “That’s not something I intend to do,” she said.
Henrietta watched her for a moment. Madeleine could tell that the suggestion that she might flee again had been brought up to try to provoke her, but she wouldn’t be provoked. Henrietta would soon learn that it wasn’t that easy to upset Madeleine.
And indeed, the surprise registered on her face, and she gave a little nod. “Very well,” she said. “I’ve seen what I hoped to see here, Madeleine. You’ve impressed me. I think you’ll be a good match for my son after all.”
“I’m pleased you think so,” Madeleine said.
“I’m going to speak to your father and get his permission to take you for some gown fittings,” Henrietta said. “We must ensure you’re outfitted to the standard expected of a duchess.”
Madeleine nodded. If this was a slight upon the garments she currently wore, it did not affect her. Clothing was not a matter of importance to Madeleine. She would wear whatever Henrietta thought best.
“I know Thomas looks forward to seeing you again,” Henrietta said. “We’ll arrange something very soon. It was lovely to meet you today, Madeleine. Thank you for visiting with me.”
“I appreciate your coming by,” Madeleine said. “And I look forward to seeing the Duke again soon as well.”
After Henrietta left, Madeleine remained in the sitting room, thinking over the conversation they had.
It had been a great surprise to her to find that Henrietta had been able to talk about her scar so openly. No one had ever done that in the past. Not even Uncle Joseph had managed it—he always pretended the scar simply didn’t exist. They had been living together long enough now that Madeleine could believe he honestly didn’t see it when he looked at her. As for the cruel ladies of theton, the ones who mocked her, they never actually went so far as to mention her appearance to her face. She was not surprised to learn she was called ugly behind her back, but no one had ever said that to her directly. They called her cursed and let that stand in for everything else that even they were too polite to say.
By pointing out her scar, Henrietta had not been polite.
But she had been honest.
She had been honest about what she was seeing and ended the conversation by telling Madeleine that she was impressed with her.
It made it possible for Madeleine to believe that Henrietta really was impressed. She had proven she didn’t lie.
Madeleine found she was eager to see Henrietta again too.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
Three days after the engagement had been officially arranged, Thomas found himself walking downtown alongside his mother and Lady Madeleine.
He had agreed to escort them downtown for some gown fittings. The story he told his mother was that he needed to go downtown anyway in order to obtain the marriage license—and this was the truth. But there was more to it. He wanted to see Lady Madeleine again. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind.
He wasn’t sure what it was about her. Taken separately, her features could be found in dozens of different ladies. It wasn’t as if she was the first he’d ever seen with an appealing figure. It wasn’t as if no one else had hair that shade of brown—although hair that shone like a polished chestnut was rare. And he had certainly seen blue eyes before, though perhaps not blue eyes that blazed when their owner was telling him that she had no need of him.
That shouldn’t be so appealing to me at all. I don’t know what it is about her!
He had hoped that seeing her again might answer that question, but so far, it hadn’t. Though he had found himself unable to take his eyes off her, he was still at a loss to understand why that was. She was beautiful, but lots of ladies were beautiful.
“Do you want to get the license first?” his mother asked. “Or shall we go for the gown fittings and deal with the license afterward?”
“We can do the fittings first,” Thomas said. “It makes sense to do that while we’ve all got plenty of energy.”
“I agree,” his mother said. “Is that all right with you, Madeleine?”
Lady Madeleine had been quiet throughout the journey from her house. At first, Thomas had worried that she was distressed or upset, but he had noticed a small smile on her face as she gazed out the carriage window.
How he longed to know what she was thinking!
“It’s all right with me,” Lady Madeleine said. “Whatever the two of you prefer will be fine.”
Thomas was dumbfounded.Whatever I prefer will be fine? That was so unlike the young lady he’d met when he had come to ask for her hand in marriage. It actually made him wonder whether she was all right. Was this some sort of way of distancing herself from the proceedings? Was she trying to pretend she wasn’t getting married after all?
