Page 72 of Bound to a Wicked Duke

Percy shook his head, cradling her face sweetly. “My darling, all that I need in this life is you. There has never been another who has made me feel as you have. I can live without an heir. I cannot live without you.” He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. “Marry me,” he whispered against her skin.

Madeleine’s heart was full to the point that it felt like it might burst. Every part of her being loved him. The idea of wedding another man and never knowing Percy’s touch again had been more than she could bear. Now, here he was standing before her, offering her everything she had never known that she wanted. “Are you certain?” she breathed, afraid to hope. “What about your love for Francis?”

“I am certain. I do not love Francis. I lied to protect you from the curse. A curse that I now know does not exist.” Percy smiled, kissing her hands gently. “Marry me,” he murmured against the sensitive flesh, causing shivers of delight and longing to pass over Madeleine’s entire being. “Be my wife. Say yes.”

“Yes,” she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Yes!” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Stonefield, a word?” Percy requested.

The Earl cleared his throat. “Indeed,” he replied, clearly uncomfortable with such a public display of affection towards his daughter.

Percy smiled at Madeleine. “Go and rest. I will find you after.”

Madeleine nodded.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you,” she breathed.

Percy took a step back and turned a stern eye on Mowbray. “You come with us.”

“I do not believe that I am needed here,” Mowbray protested, taking a step backward.

Cecil walked up behind Mowbray to ensure that he did not run. “Move,” he commanded, and all three men entered the house together.

“Madeleine,” the Countess’ voice called to her from the kitchen doorway. “I believe that we should talk.”

Sighing, Madeleine nodded and followed her mother into the house. “Mother, I am sorry.” Her mother raised a hand to quiet her.

“Did the Duke compromise your virtue?” Her mother stared her straight in the eyes as if to gage the honesty of her answer.

Madeleine shook her head. “He did not.”

Nodding, her mother motioned for her to sit at the table where the cook had prepared her a meal from the night’s leftovers. Madeleine steeled herself for a long lecture about what she had done to the family and how she had nearly ruined them all. She prepared herself for the worst. Instead, when the Countess sat down opposite her, she had a knowing smile on her face. “Then there are some things that you need to know about married life. There are things that you need to know about your future.”

Percy, Cecil, and the Earl stood in the study drinking. They had interrogated Herbert Mowbray within an inch of his sanity then, once they were satisfied that he had never meant anyoneany harm, they let him go. Before they had released him, they had made him swear upon the memory of his ancestors that he would never breathe a word of what had transpired pertaining to Madeleine to another living soul upon forfeit of his life.

“The lad looked as if he might soil himself,” the Earl snorted. “You can be an intimidating foe, Greyhall.”

“He has nothing to fear from me as long as he holds to his word,” Percy reassured the Earl.

“He had better keep to his word. Honestly, I believe that he will. You put the fear of God in the man,” Cecil noted with amusement.

“In spite of the foolishness of his actions, it appears that he meant well,” the Earl pointed out. “I misjudged the lad as a match for my Madeleine, but I do believe that his motives were honorable.”

Percy nodded at the acknowledgement of the Earl’s mistake. “As we have established, I am also to blame.”

“Were you any other man, I would have challenged you to a duel for my sister’s honor,” Cecil stated pointedly.

“Love makes fools of us all,” the Earl acknowledged. “I remember all too well how it was when I courted the Countess.”

Cecil’s brows rose in surprise then he shook his head. “I do not wish to know, Father, what transpired between you and my mother before you were wed.”

The Earl chuckled, shrugged his shoulders, and sat down in one of the chairs that scattered the room. “We were all young, once.”

“I will say that I would much rather have you as a brother, Percy, than to have Mowbray in the family,” Cecil admitted.

“We have always been brothers, my friend, and we always will be,” Percy replied, lifting his drink in a toast before downing it and setting his empty glass down on a side table. “I must go and speak with Madeleine. She should know that she is now safe from scandal. Once I have spoken with her, I must return to Greyhall to speak with the magistrate about Laura Knight.”

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