Page 9 of The Heir's Fortune
“As… unconventional as you were,” he said, and Madeline started slightly, not liking his description, “you have always been sure of yourself and what you believed. I, however, was not at all.”
She waited as she brushed her horse, knowing that a man like Lord Ashford needed the space to speak more than to be berated with questions.
“I was born to assume a title with no guidance from the man who should have been able to provide it,” he said, not needing to explain his father, for Madeline was well aware that the duke was afflicted with an illness of the mind that left him coherent some days, stuck in the past on others, and often did not allow him to identify even those who were closest to him. “Yet the people who had been put in place to take care of everything ended up betraying us worse than anyone else.”
“Those bastards,” Madeline muttered, which earned her a sharp look from Gideon before his face dissolved into one of his rare smiles, as wry as it was.
“Bastards, yes,” he said. “It left me uncertain of how I was to go about my life. Was I to assume the role of a child who would one day become a duke? Was I to make friends and go to school? Or was I to live as though I already held the responsibility?”
“No child should have to take on such a role,” Madeline said quietly, but Gideon didn’t seem to be listening to her any longer as he ran the brush over his horse absentmindedly.
“I was lost. In my own shell. Not able to speak with others, hiding from both my family and my peers. Then a friend – a good friend, one I didn’t deserve – went out of his way to bring me back to where I was supposed to be. Where I belonged.”
“Lord Covington.”
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “Devon was the one who taught me what it meant to be my true self. I know I will never be as daring nor as outspoken as he, and that is completely fine. He spoke for me when I couldn’t seem to find my voice. He advocated for me, and eventually, he was the one who brought us all together, if only to have a bit of fun. I couldn’t say no to him.”
“Do you regret it?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Not at all. These men have been the closest of friends as I could ever ask for and have been there for me in ways that I never thought possible. And they haveshown me some fun that I would never have otherwise sought out myself. So no, I have no regrets.”
“Not even now that they are all married, Lord Covington to your sister?”
He laughed humorlessly. “That did take some getting used to, especially when I learned about their past. But they are happy and that is all that matters.”
“And you?” she said as she finished brushing Lady before seeing her back into her stall. “What will you do now?”
Why she was asking, she had no idea. Perhaps she had allowed her conversation with Cassandra earlier to get too much into her head.
“Now,” he said, putting away all of the instruments he had used, carefully and meticulously, “I am going in to change.”
This was exactlywhy he tried to avoid this woman.
She asked questions that he had no desire to answer, and then once he started speaking to her, there was no stopping him. Why she wanted to know such things about him, he wasn’t sure, but it was like she stored her secrets in some deep, dark vault, and any he got a taste of only left him wanting more.
Now their clothing was plastered to them, water running in rivulets from their hair, and he had spilled out some of his deepest thoughts in an effort to ignore the way that her blue riding habit formed to every curve in her body, showcasing her generous hips and bosom and her tight waist.
They were standing at the door of the stables now, peering out toward the house, both of them wondering just when the rain might stop.
“I cannot see a rain this sudden keeping up for long,” Gideon said as the house loomed so close, yet so far at the same time. He didn’t have much desire to return to the elements, nor did he want to remain and answer Madeline’s pressing questions. He had a feeling that she would have more to come. The woman was relentless.
“We are wet enough already,” she said with a shrug. “What difference does it make?”
Without waiting for his response, she stepped out the doors, dashing toward the house as fast as she could.
Gideon cursed under his breath before he started forward, following her at a run as he untied his cloak. Once he reached her, he placed a hand on her arm, pulling her toward him as he lifted the cloak over her head.
“What are you doing?” she asked, turning her bright brown eyes toward him.
“Shielding you from the rain,” he said, wondering why it wasn’t obvious.
“I’m fine,” she called back, although she made no move to remove his cloak, which told him that she had only been trying to be polite. The strange truth was that he rather liked looking after her, even in a small way.
The servant’s entrance was closest to them, and they burst through the door, surprising a housemaid, who dropped a bucket which, thankfully, landed upright.
“My lord, my lady,” she said, immediately dropping into a curtsy. “My apologies.”
“Nothing to apologize for, Rose,” Gideon said, waving a hand. “We were caught in the rain while riding. Continue as you were.”
