Page 52 of The Heir's Fortune
“The adventure was worth it,” Ferrington added.
“I will do something for all of you,” Gideon insisted. “I promise. At the very least, I will give you each a small piece of the treasure to remember all of this.”
“As if we could ever forget,” Percy said with a laugh. “This is something that we will remember forever.”
Gideon looked over at Madeline, his eyes hard and glinting, his mouth in a firm line. “Forever.”
Somehow that seemed like a promise. She just had to wait and see how he meant to fulfill it – or perhaps she would have to take this into her own hands and be the savior for the two of them.
A few hours later,the ten of them had done a remarkable job of making the brandy disappear, although Gideon had made sure to keep his portion to a couple of glasses, slowly nursing them. He couldn’t help but note that Madeline had done the same, and he wondered if that was usual for her or if she had a reason for wanting a clear head.
“Let’s play a game!” Cassandra called out just when Gideon had begun to consider going upstairs to bed. Whether he would go alone or not remained to be seen.
“Have we not had enough games?” he couldn’t help but ask, catching the amused smile Madeline cast his way. He had sensed more than seen her watching him all evening, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she could feel the same tension that he did – the wanting, the waiting, the wondering if this would all be leading to something now that the obstacle that had been present between them had been cleared.
When she drew close to him, her drink at her mouth, a seductive smile playing behind it, however, he knew that she was as invested in this as he was.
“You do not enjoy games, Gideon?” she asked in a low voice for his ears alone, and he turned to her, giving in to the desire to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, the tendril silky beneath his fingers.
“Depends on the game,” he said huskily with a meaningful stare.
“Looks as though Gideon is playing a game of his own,” Cassandra called out, and he turned to glare at her.
“Very well, Casandra,” he said, baiting his sister. “What game would you like us all to play?”
“Blindman’s Bluff, of course!” she said, and Gideon sighed, for he had always hated that game, especially when he was the one blindfolded.
“Not to worry,” came Madeline’s low whisper in his ear, “we shall make it fun.”
That had his senses stirring, and soon enough Cassandra, due to the game being her idea, was blindfolded and ready to find the rest of the players.
Gideon had no care who his sister caught or how. He had another game of chase in mind.
As Cassandra began to call out, reaching in front of her to try to catch anyone foolish enough to be within reach – such as her husband, of course, who had no issues in being caught – Madeline began to back away. Gideon kept his eyes locked on her as he followed her through the room and into the front foyer beyond, uncaring if any of them noticed the two of them leaving together. By this point, the ten of them trusted one another enough to keep any secrets, and if this ended the way he wanted it to, it wouldn’t much matter anyway.
Gideon had no idea where Madeline was going or what she wanted to do, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to help but follow her wherever she went and in whatever she wanted to do.
She crooked a finger at him as she stepped through the doorway, across the foyer, and into the small front parlor on the other side. It was a small room, hardly ever used, and the fire in the grate wasn’t even lit despite the house party. The door was always kept closed as the absence of many servants meant one less room to attend to.
Gideon walked over to a side table and lit a few candles to provide some light, the hiss of the dust on the oft-unused candle wicks a reminder of how rarely they utilized many of Castleton’s rooms out of necessity.
He might have to go to work to begin filling them, he supposed, as he turned to watch Madeline through hooded eyes.
“I do not think this is how we are supposed to play the game,” he said, taking unhurried yet urgent steps toward her, reaching out a hand and running his fingertips down her arm. “I believe one person is supposed to be blindfolded.”
Madeline reached out, surprising him when she unfastened his cravat and ran it through her fingers before standing on her toes and lifting it to his head.
“Then blindfolded you shall be.”
“Are we not supposed to play with all of the others?” he asked.
“I like when I’m the only one here for you to catch,” she said, and, once his eyes were covered, she leaned up and pressed her lips against his. After a moment of surprise, he reached a hand out until he found her and wrapped it around the base of her skull, holding her tight as he leaned in and kissed her back with even more passion, his tongue teasing through her lips as he stroked her mouth in a possessive love play.
Gideon could tell that as much as Madeline always presented herself as unaffected, her pulse was racing beneath his fingertips as he leaned back, his lack of sight heightening his other senses as her warm breath on his cheek had him on edge.
She pressed her cheek into his hand and he splayed his fingers outward, holding the back of her head while his thumbs ran over her defined cheekbones, her slightly upturned nose, the bow of her plush lips.
It was not his first exploration of her, but he could never imagine a more intimate one.
