Page 75 of Unbound Duchess

“And he has been staring at you so strangely,” Madalene pushed on. “Ever since that night he went out with Solomon last week. It’s as if he is fearful of you and hungry for you at the same time. It is most disturbing and annoying. Whatever is wrong with him, I wish he would just sort it out!”

Ellen bit her bottom lip, worrying the plush flesh with her teeth.

“It is not just him,” she said quietly.

Madalene’s brows furrowed.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Ellen felt the weight of her secret weighing on her now more than ever. She had hoped that she and Madalene would get along, but now their relationship was much more than that. She was the sister Ellen never had, and because of that, she decided that Madalene deserved to know the truth of how she and Laurence had married.

So she told her, wanting to get the full burden of their secret off of her chest. She talked more about Benedict, filling her in on the details she’d so carefully left out when they had first talked about Judith; the threats, the physical abuse. She told all. As she spoke, she watched as Madalene’s face shifted from one emotion to another. Anger. Worry. Fear. Rage.

“So when Laurence confessed he did not love me,” Ellen said as she drew to the end of her confession. “I was…well, I was relieved, because after Benedict, I was not sure if I could actually love someone again. However, your brother and I, we found pleasure in one another’s company, and we decided, as a married couple, that we could make our own rules about our relationship. Our feelings got complicated, though. We started wanting things. Some would say depraved things. Found pleasure in moments that might disturb others. I was upset at first when your brother decided to end that part of our relationship, but now that I have thought about it, I believe he is right. The things we like…they are not healthy. For him or me.”

She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly.

“So that is why he has been acting strangely, and why I have not done anything to stop such behavior. We are at an impasse, and now, the only thing we need to do is ensure that my cousin is found guilty of his crimes and sent to prison, where he belongs,” Ellen said, ending the story.

Madalene sat quietly beside her for a long time after that, the evidence of her churning thoughts clear in her eyes. Finally, she looked at Ellen again, her gaze surprisingly calm.

“Thank you. For telling me,” Madalene said softly.

Ellen’s brows flew up in surprise. With all the passion that Madalene could normally muster, she had expected a rather different reaction.

“I have known for a while that my brother and Solomon were up to something. And though I had no clear proof, I had a hunch that it had something to do with our late sister’s death. And I am so sorry that you were brought to the same place that brought Annabel to her end. By a man you loved and trusted no less. I cannot imagine how gravely that has affected you.”

Relief and affection surged through Ellen’s veins.

“Thank you,” she rasped out.

Madalene gave her a sad smile as she reached for Ellen’s hand and gave it a warm squeeze.

“As for you and my brother,” she sighed. “You are right, I suppose. I do not fully understand what is going on between you two, or what you could be doing that is so disturbing and alluring at the same time.”

Ellen blushed deeply at her words, suddenly not at all sure if she should have shared that part.

“However,” Madalene pushed on, “I do think you are both wrong. About love, I mean. I think you do love each other. You are just too traumatized to admit it. Both of you. Laurence, out of fear of losing another woman he loves, and you for fearing that a man you trust will hurt you.”

A lump formed in Ellen’s throat, suddenly making it hard for her to breathe as tears stung at her eyes.

“I want to help from now on,” Madalene pressed on. “In some small manner or other. I want your cousin to go to prison as well. Not just for his involvement with this despicable auction, but for what he has done to you. Perhaps, once this monster is dealt with, you and my brother can finally sort things out.”

Ellen’s lips trembled as she pulled them into a smile, a tear escaping down her cheek. In truth, she had no idea what was going to happen after Benedict was dealt with, but she doubted it would result in her continuing to live with Laurence and Madalene in the beautiful Blackford Estate.

“I am so…grateful,” Ellen choked out, the words thick on her tongue, “For how Laurence saved me at the auction. But I am also grateful for you, Madalene. I have never had a friend like you, and I cannot express how much you mean to me.”

Madalene shifted in her seat until she faced Ellen fully, then pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I am not your friend,” she whispered in Ellen’s ear as she choked out a sob. “I am your sister. For now and forever, no matter what happens between you and my brother. Never forget that.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“Ihope we were not interrupting anything,” Solomon said.

Laurence hid his scowl as he made to shut his study door.

“You actually arrived at the perfect time,” he replied, schooling his expression into an unfeeling one as he turned to face his guests. “What, may I ask, brings you here?”