Page 76 of Maid for the Marquess

ALEXANDER

Edward stopped his pacing, facing me and gripping the back of the chair.

“You cannot face him.”

“I must, Edward.”

“He will kill you.”

I had told Edward the contents of the journals. He agreed with me on the fact that Barnett wished me silent. That Maddie be under his rule once again. I had no plans on divulging this information to anyone other than Maddie and Edward. And I knew she would never breathe a word of it, in order to protect her mother’s reputation. Barnett was not thinking clearly—that was evident to me.

I shook my head. “Surely even in his addled mind, he knows killing me would bring down hardship on him. Jail. Possible hanging.”

Edward leaned forward. “Perhaps to him, that is better than a debtor’s prison—which is where he will end up, given how his funds have vanished. You did not offer him funds to leave Maddie and depart. I believe he was certain that you would. He is grasping at thin air for another way to come up with the coin.”

I huffed a laugh. “I offered him a solution—an honest one—to purchase Milton Manor. He refused it. He wants blood.” I drummed my fingers on the desktop. “I must carry through with this.”

“No!” A gasp came from behind Edward. Maddie stood in the doorway, grasping the frame, her eyes wide, her face pale. “If he is determined to kill you, you cannot!”

I rose from the chair, making haste toward her. “Hush, Maddie mine. All will be well.” I drew her trembling form into my arms, cursing myself for not making sure the door had shut behind us.

She gripped my waistcoat, staring up at me. “You cannot,” she repeated. “Please, Alexander. Our child.” A sob caught in her throat. “Do not leave me alone again!”

I hastened to reassure her. “I will not.”

I carried her to the large wing chair I liked to sit in, settling her on my lap. “Edward and I will make sure all is well.”

“Of course we will, my lady,” he assured her, his voice firm, although his eyes were filled with doubt.

“I must do this, Maddie—for my honor.”

“I don’t care a whit about that. I know how honorable you are.”

“Your father will label me a coward, and we will be ostracized. You will suffer. Our child will suffer because of my cowardice.”

“He wishes to destroy me.”

“His wishes will be denied.”

I met Edward’s worried gaze over her bent head, stroking along her soft curls gently. How, I did not know, but I had to survive this.

“I will do everything in my power to bring your husband back to you safely,” Edward assured her.

“You saw the state of your father,” I said, tilting up her chin. “He was barely able to stand upright. He does not have the fortitude to hold a pistol straight and shoot me. I doubt he will even try,” I lied. “He will aim for the sky, and we will part ways.”

She didn’t respond, her alarm a living, breathing thing that surrounded us.

I cupped her face. “I will return to you.”

She dropped her head to my shoulder and cried, and I realized nothing would comfort her. We both had to suffer the worry until the morning.

And that made my hate for the baron burn even hotter.

MADELEINE

The hour was late, and I was beyond weary, but there was no hope of sleep tonight.

Curled on my side, I faced the windows that framed the gently twinkling stars of the night sky. It was a sky I had admired many nights before. A sky that had borne witness to the hideousness of the day. A sky that would also bear witness to the wretched spectacle of tomorrow.