Page 36 of A Deal with her Forbidden Duke
The moment the Duke’s eyes met hers at the end of it had her jolting.
“I will be in the carriage,” he told her. “Make your goodbyes swift.”
She nodded, understanding. This was to be an arrangement devoid of emotion, as if everything they had done together in the search for her late husband, every look they had shared, every step closer to one another, was gone.
And so it should be, she reminded herself.
Madeleine tugged herself away from her thoughts when a soft hand grasped hers. Tessa’s face entered her vision.
“Thank you,” Madeleine whispered, flinging herself at the woman, her dearest friend, her anchor among such outrageous events. “Thank you for everything, Tessa. You and Colin both—you have been the very best of friends.”
“We will always be by your side,” Tessa swore, clasping her right back. “Always. I am always a letter away, Madeleine. Besides, I am sure you will visit us soon enough.”
Colin laughed softly. “I hardly believe His Grace will allow anybody into Silverton Hall without him deciding first and foremost. Therefore youmustvisit us, otherwise I fear we might not see you at all.”
Madeleine’s chest tightened. “Of course you will see me.”
Tessa gave her a withering smile before hugging her once more. Her lips were close to Madeleine’s ear, and even though the Duke had left the church, her whisper was no more than a breath.
“Be wary of your husband, Madeleine, and remember that you are never, ever alone.”
Madeleine trembled but nodded. Her mind flashed with the reminder of how he had acted in front of those hehad interrogated. He had handled them all so effortlessly, intimidating easily.
She steadied her heart before bidding them a last goodbye.
But as she turned, she found the eyes of a gray-haired man on her. He gave her a curious look before he nodded in a silent greeting. Madeleine lifted her chin, smiled back, and strode out of the church.
Silence wrapped itself coldly through the carriage on the way to Silverton after the ceremony.
Madeleine kept waiting for the Duke to say something—anything. The silence unnerved her; it made her think too hard, and she wished to not endure the weight of her thoughts.
The journey stretched on, no matter how hard she tried to focus on the landscape rolling past, the streets of London fading into countryside.
I am being carried away from everything, she thought.Focus on that.
But that unbearable silence grew heavier until she could endure it no longer. Her thoughts lingered on the man who had been a witness.
“The man you had as your witness,” she began, “who was he?”
The Duke startled, as if he had been lost in the silence, as she had, not expecting her to break it.
“He is an associate.”
“Who is he, though?” she pressed, curious. “His name, I mean. And an associate of what, exactly?”
“His name should not be important to you.”
His curt answer shut down her further questions about the man, but she only sighed. “Will you make me linger in this awful silence for the whole carriage ride, then?”
“It is not so long a journey.”
Madeleine glared at the side of his face. “Very well. Have you informed my brother of our—our marriage?”
The word got stuck in her throat, and part of her still was so unsure of how it had happened.
“Of course I have.” The Duke gave her a curt nod, his eyes flicking to glance at her from the corner of his eye. “I sent him a letter.”
“And did you detail the whole story?”
