Page 47 of Bound to a Wicked Duke

“No, it is not that; it is just that I had never thought…” She let her words hang between them, heavy with uncertainty.

She could feel Emily studying her closer, and she welcomed it. Perhaps she could finally find what exactly it was that was wrong with her.

“Perhaps you should,” Emily suggested quietly.

“Aside from the anger that you have been harboring, it is evident that you care for him as well. The way you speak about him has changed since the beginning of your courtship. You speak of himwith more fondness and respect. Your heart has been affected by him whether you see it or not.”

Madeleine shook her head, denying it to herself and her sister. “I do not wish it to be so. This was not the pla?—”

She paused, her nerves running rampant as she realized how close she had just been to telling her secret.

“I just mean, no,” she finished.

Emily studied Madeleine’s face intently for a moment longer, and Madeleine could feel herself blushing.

“You have shared something, the two of you,” Emily murmured. She cocked her head to the side in concern. “Something intimate. Has he taken advantage of you?”

Startled, Madeleine shook her head. Percy could be a dolt regarding feelings, but he would never do anything like that.

“No!” she exclaimed.

Emily looked back at her patiently, waiting for her to keep talking.

“We have kissed, that is all,” she confessed. Madeleine did not feel guilty for the lie. In truth, it was not an actual lie. She just did not specify which part of her body he had kissed.

Thinking about it made her insides begin to quiver; she shifted on the bed as the vividly seductive memory came back to haunt her.

Emily nodded. “Make certain to protect yourself. There are men who take what they want and leave the woman they have enjoyed to deal with the consequences alone. Many a young woman has been ruined by such men.”

“Do you think Percy is such a man?” Madeleine asked.

“Do you?” Emily replied quickly. “That is the more important question here. If so, simply tell us now. I shall go downstairs, nightgown and all, to have him thrown out. We do not have to wait for a tragedy; we can prevent it.”

A strong surge of affection for Emily bloomed in Madeleine’s heart. She so appreciated how willing her sister was to protect her.

“I do not believe Percy to be such a man,” she answered, laying a calming hand over Emily’s, “but I will certainly heed your warning.”

“See that you do.” Emily gave one last final warning look before launching herself up from the bed, whereupon she emptied her guts into the chamber pot once more.

“I believe that the garden party is over,” Madeleine remarked. “I will go and inform the Viscount.”

“Perhaps that is best,” Emily agreed then lurched forward as another bout overtook her.

After ordering Emily’s handmaid to bring up some mint tea with honey, Madeleine returned to the garden party to find her brother-in-law and inform him of his wife’s condition. The moment that she told Charles of Emily’s state, his face grew pale, and he took off at a run, not waiting to bid farewell to his guests. Madeleine smiled at the evidence of his affection for her sister.

“Love makes fools of us all,” Percy’s voice murmured from behind her.

Turning around, Madeleine met his eyes. The dark green depths pulled her in making her feel lightheaded. “Have you ever been in love?” she asked, unable to stop herself.

Percy stiffened for a moment then shook his head. “I try to avoid it at all costs. Love is dangerous. Not to mention foolish.”

In spite of herself, Madeleine felt disappointment at his words. “I never believed you to be a coward, Your Grace.” She knew better than to poke the bear, but she could not stop herself. The memory of his arms around her, his tongue upon her most private parts, was still fresh upon her mind.

His eyes flashed with fire. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, his hot breath rousing her further. “Believe me, My Lady, it is for your own good. This sort of danger you would not survive. It would burn you alive, and I would be the one responsible. I could not live with that.”

Madeleine leaned back, meeting his eyes once more. “Then I would simply have to take you with me.”

She turned to walk away from him, determined to leave him a state of shock as he had done with her so many times, but his hand was quick in catching her wrist, and she was whirled back around to face him.

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