Chapter 12

The only way to make this right was to marry her. Though he had not been ready to sacrifice his freedom when he had first noticed Maddy, he recognized now he didn’t mind overly much. Marrying would settle her into her role that much sooner, and it was unlikely anyone would ever connect Madeline to the young actress Maddy, since her stepbrother had provided a convenient cover for her being out of society.

For a moment, he was tempted just to keep her at the estate, for no one was looking for her, but as he perused the report, he realized that wasn’t entirely accurate. There was an entire section devoted to Miss Isabella Darling’s attempts to find her friend, and the woman was clearly frantic though it had only been four days since Maddy’s disappearance.

He didn’t doubt he could pay her to stop looking, and he would most certainly have to offer a payout for her silence if he returned to London with Maddy as his wife. His coffers could easily absorb the blow, and he dismissed it as a non-issue.

Resigned to his fate, and in fact surprisingly accepting of it, he stood up from the chair and left the library, rushing up the stairs to return to his wing. He unlocked the door before entering, feeling nervous to confront her after three days, though he was confident in the solution he was about to offer. He found her sitting on a chair as far away from the bed as possible. His lips twitched at that, and he sounded indulgent when he said, “You may cease your theatrics, Madeline.”

“I had hoped you had shuffled off your mortal coil since I have been left alone for three blissful days.” Her eyes widened, and she suddenly paled as she swayed in her chair. “What did you call me?”

“Madeline Chastain. That is your name, is it not?” He would’ve thought it was impossible, but she managed to go even paler, and he rushed forward as she seemed like she might topple from the chair. He hovered near her, but when he reached out, she pulled away from him. He sighed impatiently. “Do not be so alarmed. Your connection to the Ton has offered an unexpected solution. We shall wed.”

Her eyes widened, and she glared up at him. “I shall do no such thing.”

He scowled at her. “Why must you be so contrary? I am offering the solution for having deflowered you. I did not realize you would be inexperienced and saving your virginity for a husband. It is incumbent upon me to be your husband now that I have stolen your innocence.”

She snorted. “You have stolen me, so what does my innocence matter? I have no intention of marrying anyone ever. I shall most certainly not yield to you, especially since I am so close to freedom.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

She looked away from him, nose tilted haughtily in the air. “When I am twenty-one, I will control my own fate. Until then, I simply have to bide my time.”

He made a mental note to further investigate that, wanting to catch Tolley before he returned to London in the morning to put his man on the task as well. “You act like being married to me will be a prison sentence. You should be thanking me for offering. Even as the daughter of a baron, you are far below me. From what I have gleaned, your stepfather earned his money in trade, and he did not even have lands of his own until he married your mother and assumed the portion she inherited as a widow to buy Spencerville Park. There will be talk about me lowering my standards, but I am willing to endure that for you, and to make the situation right.”

Her face turned scarlet, and she seemed to be working herself into a rage, so he was almost surprised when her voice emerged cool and level. “If you wish to make this right, return me to London immediately and forget I exist. I shall happily do the same for you.”

He was too angry to reason with her, and he rushed forward, twining his hand in her fall of hair, the red-gold strands he’d longed to stroke for so long clinging to his skin. He maintained a firm grasp as he tugged her head back, but he didn’t want to hurt her. “You will be my wife. Resign yourself to that.”

Tears swam in her brown eyes for a moment, but she blinked rapidly before it became a glare. “Why are you doing this? You have what you wanted, so let me go.”

“I cannot.” Just the thought of parting with her made it difficult to breathe, and he was certain he couldn’t go through with it. “I do not know how long this obsession will take to burn out, but I must have you with me until it does.”

She closed her eyes, looking weak for a moment. Then her shoulders straightened, and she opened them again to glare at him. “You do not need to marry me to indulge your sick lust.”

“I must marry you.” It was a compulsion he couldn’t completely explain, and it wasn’t strictly to right the wrong of taking her innocence followed by three days of being mired in misery and hiding from her. He spoke of his obsession burning out, but the intensity of it left him wondering if that would ever happen.

He simply must possess her and keep her at his side until he could bear to part with her. He wasn’t convinced that would be ever, so marriage was the ideal solution. Besides, she could be carrying his child. “You shall be the mother of my heirs, and you will be my wife. You will learn to accommodate yourself to that and behave as you should before we return to London.”

With those angry words, he turned and exited his own bedchamber, locking the door again, and returned to the library. He was furious at her lack of gratitude for his actions. She acted as though he were enslaving her rather than honoring her by making her a marchioness. The woman truly seemed mad, but even that possibility wasn’t enough to deter him from the course he’d set.

***

Colin briefly considered the idea of going back to London to meet with the archbishop to obtain a special license to wed Maddy as soon as possible, but he discarded the notion. He wasn’t certain he could trust the servants that worked here now, since they allowed his mother to roam the house, and Maddy might be able to persuade them she was being held captive. That he was about to make her his wife might not be enough to satisfy a servant with a staunch sense of morality, and he or she might free Maddy.

He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her, so he opted to meet with the local vicar instead and decided to take the option of getting a normal marriage license. The vicar had explained it would take seven days, the banns would be published once, and then they could marry. He paid the fee for the license and the banns, and he arranged the date of his wedding before leaving the church to return to Coventry Park.

He was tired, having spent the last four nights fitfully dozing in the library, reluctant to return to the bedchamber Maddy occupied. It seemed disrespectful to want to make love with her again until they married, since he now knew she was a daughter of the peerage. He was dying to know how she’d become an actress though, so he sent for her to join him for an early dinner after his return from the vicarage.

She came down walking beside Mrs. Harris, and he remembered he needed to speak with the woman, but he waited until she’d entered the room, assisting the cold and stiff Maddy into a seat before turning to the housekeeper. “Why is my mother allowed to run freely around the estate, Mrs. Harris?” He kept his tone cold and disapproving.

The older woman flinched under the force of it, but she didn’t look away. “Your mother is not insane, Lord Kressley. If you spend some time with her, you shall realize that.”

He scowled. “Are you taking me to task for not spending a sufficient amount of time with my mother?”

The housekeeper looked horrified at the idea. “Of course not, sir. I was simply explaining that whatever malady plagued your mother while your father lived seems to have resolved itself. I assure you: she is no danger to anyone or herself. It would be a great injustice to lock her way again.”

He realized Mrs. Harris’s loyalties were to his mother, and though she was perfectly deferential, there was certainly a note of challenge in her tone, and she looked him boldly in the face for a moment before glancing away. He thought about instantly dismissing her, but he realized that would be foolish. The woman knew all the inner workings of Coventry Park, and it would be bothersome trying to find a new housekeeper on such short notice.

Rather, he would simply keep an eye on her, and perhaps he would meet with his mother again to get a better sense of the severity of her illness these days. Could a madwoman recover, or at least diminish her insanity with the passage of years? It seemed possible, particularly if it had been linked to hormones in some fashion.

Surely, his mother was past all that womanly business, and it might have settled her. If he recalled correctly, some doctors were suggesting hysterectomies might be the cure for female hysteria anyway, so it made sense. With one nod at the housekeeper, he said “Thank you for your time. You may serve lunch.”

Her eyes widened, and she seemed surprised at his leniency, but she immediately curtsied and rushed from the room, likely wanting to flee before he could change his mind.

He moved across the table and sat down again, staring at Maddy. She seemed even lovelier than she had yesterday, and he looked forward to having the right to claim her whenever he wished. He could do that now, since their wedding was approaching, but he wanted to be honorable with her, however belatedly.

“Our wedding is in a sennight. If you would like a new gown, I am certain we still have your measurements somewhere, or you may choose some of the garments that are waiting for you upstairs. I shall arrange for you to have a bath after our meal, and you can rest.”

Her jaw was set, but she reached for the glass of wine and drank it quickly. Then she looked at him and said, “I will not marry you.”

He huffed a sigh, trying to hang on to his patience. She was a defiant woman, but she must know there was little she could do to change the outcome he had determined. “It is my intention to act honorably toward you until our marriage, so you may have the next few days to prepare yourself.”

She glared at him. “You have given me even further incentive not to accept your proposal.”

He scowled at her. “Do not pretend you did not enjoy coming apart in my arms, Maddy.”

She instantly looked away as her cheeks flushed with color. He was unable to resist the picture she presented, and he stood up and crossed the dining room, coming to stand behind her. Her hair was down, likely since she hadn’t had a lady’s maid to help her tend to it, and she’d had no reason to expect he would be summoning her for a meal outside the room.

He pushed it aside now, revealing the column of her throat and the sight of her shoulder. He could see the hollow of her collarbone, and he bent his head to kiss her there. She remained stiff against him, so he lightened his touch further, just gently nibbling along the section before focusing on the bend of her neck.

She let out a little squeak when he nipped her harder, and when he started to suck vigorously, suddenly desiring to leave a love mark on her, her body shivered, and her neck dropped voluntarily to the side, offering him greater access. He could’ve laughed in victory, but he was too focused on the taste of her skin and her intoxicating scent. He devoted himself to exploring every inch of her neck, and he was certain if he reached between her thighs when he was finished, he would find her wet and waiting for him.

The thought made his groin pulse with need, and he suppressed a groan as he stepped back, trying to appear as though the last few minutes hadn’t occurred when he returned to his chair at the table. “You can lie to yourself, but you cannot lie to me. Your body betrays your reaction.”

The pleasure was slow to fade from her gaze, and when it did, she looked stricken. “That is strictly physical. I want nothing to do with you. You are yet another man who would impose his will upon me, and I cannot imagine anything more distasteful than accepting you as my husband.”

“You will nonetheless.” With an angry roar, he swept his plate from the table, uncaring at the crashing sound of breaking dishes around him. “Resign yourself to that and stop playing the martyr.”