“I suppose that’s noble of him,” Madeleine said.
“Thomas isn’t concerned with being noble,” Rachel said. “At least, he’s not concerned withappearingnoble. That’s never been his way. He just wants to do the right thing. He hated that about our father—Father was always more concerned with looking good than withbeinga good person. Thomas is just the opposite. Sometimes he doesn’t impress people because he can be a bit of a grump. Mother says he needs to learn how to be more social. But he’s very kindhearted.”
“You really seem to care for him.”
“He’s the best brother in the world. I know once you get to know him, you’ll love him just as much as I do.”
Madeleine knew that wasn’t true. She would ensure she didn’t fall into the trap of loving Thomas. But it did set her mind at ease—at least a little—to know that Rachel loved him so dearly. If he was the kind of man who could inspire this devotion in his younger sister, he was someone she could feel safe with.
“I’m so glad I had the chance to meet you today,” she told Rachel, surprised to find that she really meant it.
“I’m glad too!” Rachel said. “You know, Mother told me we would have to wait a while to meet one another. She said we didn’t want to overwhelm you and that you had enough to think about without adding me into the picture.”
“That’s not true,” Madeleine said. “I like knowing that you’re going to be around. It will make all this much easier on me.”
“Oh, thank you,” Rachel said. “That’s nice of you to say, and I hope it’s true! I want this to be easy on you.”
Madeleine adjusted the neckpiece of her gown, trying to stop it from pressing into her ears.
“I can help you with that.” Rachel stood up, stepped behind her, and folded the collar down carefully. Now it fanned out along Madeleine’s shoulders and across her back like a decorative addition to the gown. “There,” Rachel said happily. “I like it better like that anyway. Now you can actually see your face.”
“I think the idea was to prevent people from seeing my face,” Madeleine said.
“I don’t see why,” Rachel said. “You’re lovely.”
“Well…because of my scar.”
“You don’t want people to see it?”
“I don’t mind very much,” Madeleine said. “But I think the Duke probably doesn’t want people to know that his wife is scarred.”
“That’s silly,” Rachel said. “Thomas has a scar of his own, after all.”
Madeleine blinked. Of course he would have a scar—anyone would, after an injury like the one he’d suffered. But she’d never really thought about it before.
Of course, it was very different because his would be in a place no one could see. It would always be covered up by his clothes. But, just like Madeleine, when he stood in front of his own looking glass at night, he would see it.
She wondered if it had come to feel like a part of him—if he had started expecting to see it when he looked at his reflection in the way she never had with her own scar.
She wished she could ask him about it, but the two of them simply weren’t that close, and they probably never would be.
“Lady Madeleine?” Rachel said.
“You can just call me Madeleine.” After all, Henrietta already did.
Rachel nodded. “Since we’re going to be sisters…do you think we could be friends?”
Madeleine felt warm inside. “I’d love to be your friend, Rachel,” she said.
Surely the curse wouldn’t prevent her from having a friend. Surely that much would be safe. Nothing would happen to Rachel if the two of them were close.
It did feel like a bit of a risk, and it made Madeleine nervous—but she pushed that feeling to the back of her mind. Nothing would happen to Rachel. And having someone here that she could actually talk to—even someone much younger than herself—would make the future a little easier to tolerate.
Suddenly, coming to live at Westcourt no longer felt like the end of her life. It was simply a new adventure for her to embark upon, and she began to feel as if she might actually enjoy her time here.
She smiled at Rachel. “I’m sure Sally will want to be your friend, too,” she said. It was easy to imagine it—the three of them spending time together out here on the grounds. Ever since she had come to live with Uncle Joseph, Madeleine had spent most of her free time with only her dog for company. It would be wonderful to have someone to talk to who could actually answer her—and it would be wonderful to share her love of Sally with someone else who was just as eager to get to know a pet dog as Madeleine had always been.
She would have to deal with the challenges of becoming a wife and a duchess when she moved here, and those things would be difficult and stressful. But there was a part that would simply be fun and exciting, and Madeleine found herself genuinely looking forward to that part. Something about life here was going to be good after all.
