Page 58 of A Deal with her Forbidden Duke
“Sorry?” he asked. “I was distracted only a moment.”
“I asked how you are finding marriage.”
Alexander tried not to flinch. When he had offered marriage to Madeleine he had not considered that it would not be a private matter.
“It has been pleasant enough.”
“I was at your wedding,” Colin reminded him. “I saw that you and Madeleine barely looked at one another. Of course, the circumstances were strange, so nobody could blame the nerves?—”
“I would never miss the opportunity to look at my wife.” The confession slipped out without him meaning to.
He stopped, biting back other words. Colin made a face, cocking his head.
He knows, Alexander thought.He knows I care more than I let on.
But how could he hold himself back from proclaiming how weak he was to admire his wife? Madeleine was so beautiful, and Lord Kinsfeld had all but tried to leave her to collect dust.
She should have been worshiped, adored every moment of the day, lavished with pleasure so strongly she could drown in it.
Alexander knew that as soon as he had set eyes on her in that darkened parlor that very first night.
“I see you, Your Grace,” Colin slowly. “I see you. And it is perfectly acceptable to care.”
“I do not?—”
Before he could finish his words, Lord Banbury and the Duke of Kingswell finally joined them, breaking off from their discussion with their hosts.
“Silverton. Lord Easthall.,” the Duke of Kingswell greeted, shaking his hand. “I have heard of your recent betting streak. It is quite a success.”
Alexander let himself get lost in the sound of the conversation for a moment or two before he grew too impatient.
His eyes swept the ballroom in search of his wife. He tried to ignore it, to let herself remain with her friend, but Tessa was alone near the wine table.
Madeleine was nowhere to be seen.
She is fine, he told himself, but she struggled so much in these scenarios. But he could not quell that protective instinct within him to find her, to have her in his sight.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” he said, leaving their circle quickly.
Madeleine was on the balcony overlooking the Hartfords’ expansive gardens.
In the evening, glass-encased candles flickered along the driveway where carriages were parked, awaiting their patrons once again. Around the side of the garden, hedges were trimmed neatly, pristine.
The stars above her twinkled, and the moonlight set a peaceful glow throughout the night.
Madeleine inhaled a breath of cool evening air.
“Duchess of Silverton.”
The voice was only recently familiar, and Madeleine turned at the sound of Lady Rowthern’s voice.
“Lady Rowthern,” she greeted. “How… nice to see you again. You are seeking a moment to breathe, too?”
“Me? Oh, no.” The lady gave a short, almost condescending laugh. “Why would I need some fresh air? I am not the target of dreadful gossip. You, however…” She joined her at the balcony’s balustrade. “One cannot blame thetonfor speculating, though, Your Grace.”
Madeleine flinched back. “You speak boldly, Lady Rowthern.”
“Do I truly?”
