Page 52

“You read too much into things,” he said dismissively, taking a step back.

“Our ruse is in no danger of being found out.” He was going to stop there, but a hint of the truth came out as he added, “However, I do wonder if it is giving you the effect you hoped for.”

Madeleine narrowed her eyes at him as she put her fists to her hips.

“And pray tell, what does that mean?” she asked.

“I am merely pointing out that your desired effect of having the freedom of a spinster after this is done is becoming unlikely. The attention shown to you is not from green young boys nor is it from stout old men looking for a halfway decent wife to put forth an heir. The company you are surrounded by seems to be infatuated with you, and even after I “break your heart,” I doubt that any will give you the grace you think they will to recover. They want you too much.”

Madeleine stepped back from him, as if his words were a strike across her face.

“That- that is not true,” she replied.

Percy detected a hint of desperation in her voice, and it only made her want her more.

“Christ, Madeleine, stop pretending as if you are blind!” he growled in a harsh whisper.

“I am not!” She shot back, a sneer forming on her beautiful lips.

“I know how they look at you,” he pressed on, his anger and lust mixing into a dangerous culmination. “I see how you take their breath away, how you stimulate their person as well as their mind.”

“Stop it!” she hissed, her cheeks flooding with that blush he now loved.

“You stop it,” he growled, snatching her up by the shoulders, unable to help himself. “Stop thinking of yourself as this ugly duckling and accept who you are. This plan is not going to work, Madeleine; you are too good of a woman for it.”

Madeleine’s eyes widened as she looked up at him.

“I…” she breathed, shaking her head.

“Damn you, woman,” he growled, unable to hold back any longer.

He hauled her into him, wrapping his arms about her sweet curves the way he had wanted to all night, and kissed her. Her lips still tasted of the sweet red wine she’d had earlier, and the whisper of his name only made her more delectable.

His lips meshed into hers fully, possessively, as if he was trying to prove something to himself. He tore away from the kiss as quickly as he had delivered, panting as his entire body trembled with need. It had been a mistake, a grave one.

“Percy, do not go,” Madeleine insisted as he turned away from her. “We need to speak. Not just about us, but there’s something I must ask you?—”

“It will need to wait,” he snarled, whirling back on her. Voices from outside the alley became his saving grace, and he grabbed Madeleine’s arm once more as he walked her to the side door.

“Get back inside,” he commanded, all but shoving her through the door, “before someone sees you. We will discuss the future of our ruse later.”

Madeleine’s pleading look broke Percy’s heart as he shut the door in her face, and he balled his fists in frustration as he stomped out of the alley and into the street alone. Swinging up into his saddle, horse and rider moved through the night together, allowing the darkened silence to soothe their souls.I cannot love her,his heart whispered into the night.I cannot…

“What do you know about Francis?” Several days had passed before Madeleine had summoned the courage to ask Cecil about Percy’s deceased betrothed. She had needed some time first to process Percy’s reaction to her at the opera house. It had left her feeling confused, worried, and…to her shame, highly arousedby not just his kiss but the way he had spoken of her. Such compliments never hit her such a way before, but now, his words were resting heavy on her soul.

You are a good woman, Madeleine; how can you not see that?

Cecil’s head shot up in surprise, and he examined her face for a moment as if weighing whether to answer her or not. They were sitting in the library, each buried in their own book, or at least she was pretending to be when she lifted her head and blurted out the question.

“What makes you ask about Francis?”

His question of her question immediately put her on alert, and she snapped her book shut.

“I heard her name mentioned in conjunction with Percy. It is said that she was his betrothed, that he loved her very much, and then she died terribly in a carriage accident,” she explained. “I was told that she was quite ill and should not have been attempting to visit the Duke’s estate.”

She paused, letting the news sink even deeper.

“I must confess that I am confused about it all,” she said in a much softer voice. “He has not mentioned it to me once.”