Page 17 of The Marquess’s Stolen Bride (Dukes Gone Dirty #3)

17

M adeline answered the front door herself, even though the sun hadn’t even yet begun to rise.

Why rouse any of the servants when she’d never gone to sleep?

For hours she’d paced the lower floor waiting for her husband to return.

She threw open the door, expecting…what? She wasn’t certain. Her husband wouldn’t knock on his own door.

But she hadn’t expected to find Vivian on her doorstep, unkempt and visibly exhausted like she, too, hadn’t slept a wink.

“Vivian?”

“I’m sorry to intrude, dear, it’s just…”

Madeline didn’t give her a chance to finish before she pulled her inside and wrapped her arms around her friend. “Oh, Vivian, I’m so grateful you’re here.”

“I’m afraid you won’t be once you hear my news,” Vivian warned.

When Madeline backed away with a sniff, her blood ran cold with fear. “What is it? Is it Hayden? Is he hurt?”

“No. Or…not yet, at least.”

Madeline’s hands were shaking when she went to cover her mouth a moment later after Vivian stopped speaking.

“A duel? When? Where?” She was already rushing toward the door. “I must stop him.”

“Madeline, you can’t. Malcolm tried. As did I when they got to our house to prepare.”

“To prepare. But…” Her stomach dropped as her head swam. “Oh, Vivian, he mustn’t.”

Vivian shook her head, looking nearly as distressed as Madeline felt. “I’m afraid he feels he must. He says that this man was telling lies about you.”

“Who? Foley?” She could only imagine what that man had said. But she feared none of it was lies.

“Mr. Percer.” Vivian shrugged. “I’ve never heard of him.”

Madeline stilled but the world seemed to spin around her. Her hands went to her belly as her insides heaved. “Oh Lord, what did he say?”

She could imagine. And with what Foley had said to her before… The way he’d made it sound like she’d wanted to be touched…

A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she swayed.

Hayden must despise her.

A searing pain struck her behind her ribcage as if her heart were being pierced in two. It had been too good to last. Deep down she’d known it would end. But the thought of something happening to Hayden. Of him being hurt or worse, and all because of her lies and secrets…

“Here. Have a seat.” Vivian took Madeline by the arm and guided her to the parlor.

“My lady!” The housekeeper entered, looking startled. “Whyever are you awake? And you have guests. Oh, dear me?—”

“It’s quite all right,” Vivian said. “I showed up unannounced at an ungodly hour. But I wonder, could you make some tea for us? I’m afraid Lady Hayden is not feeling well.”

“Why, yes, of course,” she said, hurrying out the way she’d come in.

Both women were quiet until she was out of earshot.

“I take it you’re familiar with this man,” Vivian said slowly, her tone gentle.

“Yes, but it’s not…it’s not what he says. It’s not…oh, what must Hayden think of me.”

Vivian gave her a sympathetic wince. “Dear, it seems all Hayden is thinking about is you. He believes he’s protecting you from whatever vile accusations this man made.”

“But that’s just it…” Madeline plucked at the fabric of her night-rail, her eyes too wet with tears to see her own hands. “It’s not all lies. And…and…I should have told him.” She broke down crying then, and when the housekeeper returned with tea, she found Madeline curled up weeping in Vivian’s lap like a child.

“There now,” Vivian said when the housekeeper quietly departed again. “He’ll be fine, and you and Hayden will sort it all out.”

“But you don’t know what I’ve done.” She sniffed, sitting up.

“Did you have a tryst with this man?” Vivian asked.

“No. No, of course not.”

Vivian’s brows drew together with sympathy. “Was there a man before Hayden? One you loved, perhaps?”

“No! There was never anyone for me but Hayden. He is everything to me. He’s…” She stopped short. These were words she ought to say to her husband. This was what she should have said last night when he’d confronted her. “Oh, Vivian, I’ve made such a mess of everything.”

“There, there,” Vivian said as she stroked her back. “It will all come out right in the end. Duels these days aren’t what they used to be, you know. No one will come to any real harm, I guarantee it.”

Madeline nodded. But until she had Hayden back here safe and sound in her arms, she couldn’t bring herself to believe it. They sat in silence for a long while. “So now we just…wait?”

Vivian sighed. “I’m afraid so.”

“You do not have to…that is, you must be tired and?—”

Vivian’s snort of rueful amusement cut her off. “Madeline, I am not leaving you until Hayden walks through those doors and apologizes for scaring you so.”

Madeline sniffled, gratitude swelling in her chest.

“You and the others, you’ve all been so kind to me,” she said quietly as she reached for Vivian’s hands. “Thank you.”

Vivian smiled gently. “It’s called being a friend. And we are happy to count you as one.”

Madeline’s throat grew tight with another wave of emotion. “I’ve never had friends, but also…I’ve never felt this before. What I feel for my husband.”

Vivian’s lips quirked. “It’s called love, dear.”

Madeline’s eyes welled up all over again. “It’s dreadful.”

Vivian burst out laughing. “It can be. But it can also be the most wonderful thing in the world.”

Madeline nodded. “Yes. I’ve experienced that as well, I suppose.” She felt warmth surge through her at the memory of her husband’s arms around her. Of that tender gleam in his eyes when he was smiling down at her.

“He’s been so patient and so kind,” she said. “I never imagined there was a man like William out there in the world. At first, he’d seemed too good to be true. I think some part of me was waiting for something bad to happen. To discover that he wasn’t as good as he seemed.”

“But that never happened,” Vivian guessed.

Madeline sniffed. “Time and again he’s proved that he’s even better than I’d first imagined. He’s human, of course. He has his flaws and mistakes, but his heart is so very good.”

Her throat grew choked as she stared out the window, watching the sky grow brighter. “The only person I’ve ever trusted and relied on was my brother, Albert. But he’s been gone for so long now.” She turned to Vivian. “It’s not his fault. Whenever he returns to London, he visits me and he’s wonderful, but… I suppose what I’m trying to say is… I don’t know how to rely on others. All my husband wanted was for me to trust him and…and I didn’t.”

“Oh Madeline,” Vivian said as she squeezed her hand. “Trust doesn’t come easily for anyone, but for those of us who’ve been mistreated…”

Madeline glanced over in surprise. “You?”

Vivian nodded. “My first husband wasn’t nearly as kind and wonderful as my Malcolm.”

Madeline felt a wave of emotion on her friend’s behalf. “I’m glad you found him.”

“We found each other,” she corrected. “And it took time and work on both our parts to overcome our pasts and to begin to forge our future.”

Madeline nodded. “I just hope that I have time with William. I hope…” She bit her lip as her mind rushed to call up her worst fear. “I hope I have the chance to explain.”

“Explain what, my dear?” William’s voice in the doorway had her gasping with surprise before she shot up out of her seat to race over to her husband.

He held his arms out and caught her when she threw herself against him. Tears trailed down her cheeks as his arms wrapped around her waist, so tightly that when he straightened, she was lifted off the ground, her toes dangling above the floor as she burrowed her face in his neck.

“You’re here,” she sobbed against his chest. “You’re all right.”

“Shh,” he hushed. “There’s no need to cry, my love. I’m fit as a fiddle.”

“And the other man?” Vivian asked.

Malcolm responded as he crossed the room to join her. “Never showed. The coward sent a servant to tell us he was en route to the continent.”

“For business,” Hayden said, his tone dry as he rubbed Madeline’s back.

She couldn’t tear herself away from him. His scent, his warmth, his voice…it was all so wonderfully dear.

And she could have lost him.

“Darling, please don’t cry,” he murmured. “I’m well, and that bastard Percer is gone from the country.”

“Never to return if he knows what’s good for him,” Malcolm said.

“Come, my dear,” Vivian said as she tucked her hand in Malcolm’s elbow. “We should both get some rest, and let these two have their privacy.”

Malcolm clapped Hayden on the back on his way out, and Vivian called her farewells, but Madeline couldn’t bring herself to lift her head from her husband’s shoulder.

They could hear the front door close behind them, and even still, she stayed where she was, burrowing into him as if sheer proximity could keep him in her life and out of danger.

With a sigh, he readjusted her, bending down so he could scoop her up into his arms. “Love, have you been awake and fretting all night?”

She nodded. She was shaking now. Trembling like a leaf as she realized just how easily she could have lost him.

“And it would have been my fault,” she babbled aloud.

He sank down onto the settee and arranged her on his lap, still holding her close and comforting her. “What was your fault?”

She pulled back finally to look at him. “It’s all my fault, William. I should have told you everything. I should have trusted you.”

He nodded slowly, his gaze more serious than she’d ever seen it. “Perhaps. And perhaps I should have trusted you, too. Maybe I should have given you more time or?—”

“No,” she said with a sniff. “You were right. How could I expect you to believe in me when I didn’t trust you and…”

He leaned forward when she trailed off, pressing his forehead to hers as he gave her a gentle smile. “And perhaps we’re both to blame, hmm? Or, better yet, perhaps we can both just learn from this and move forward.” He leaned back to arch his brows. “What do you say?”

Happiness hit her in the chest like a cannonball, slamming into her so hard she was temporarily breathless. A noise escaped her that was somewhere between a sob and a laugh.

He smiled in response.

“You are wonderful, do you know that?” she asked.

His grin broadened. “I have my moments.”

She choked on a laugh as she leaned forward to kiss him. He caught her close, his lips hungry as they met hers. His tongue flicked out to taste her, and she opened for him with a moan.

“My wife,” he growled as he held her close, their bodies melting into one another as if they were made to be joined.

She could feel his member swelling beneath her bottom, and her whole body grew tight and heavy in response. She wanted nothing more than to take him inside her. To lose herself in the feel of him.

“Wait,” she said. “You…we…we must talk first. I don’t want any more time to pass with secrets between us.”

His head fell back with a groan. “You’re right, of course.”

He reached for her hands and squeezed as he gazed up at her from beneath heavy lids. “And I don’t want another moment to pass in this marriage in which we are anything less than honest with one another.”

She nodded. “Yes, William.”

He shifted her to his side, allaying temptation. “Tell me,” he said. “Tell me everything. I will not judge you, Madeline. I believe that what you tell me is the truth. But I need you to trust me with that truth.”

She pressed her lips together, overcome with emotion at the pleading in his eyes. “You…you’ll believe me even though…”

His brows drew down, and she caught a hint of his anguish. “The things he said, love.” He glanced down at her body. “The things he knew…” He drew in a deep breath. “It killed me to hear him speak of you like that. It hurt even more that you didn’t tell me your secrets yourself. But, sweetheart…”

He reached out and touched her cheek. “I knew right then and there how much I do trust you. It took that man’s filthy lies for me to see the truth. I didn’t need your explanations to know that whatever your history with that man, and Foley, and your mother—you are my wonderful, sweet, loyal wife.”

She started to cry again, swiping at the tears as her heart melted.

“I know you. Even if I don’t know your secrets, I know you ,” he said. “I know you…and I love you.”