“My lady, there’s a rider approaching!” The coachman called from the box.
Glancing out the window, Madeline noticed that they were not slowing down, grateful that the man was heeding her instructions so diligently. “Where?” Madeline called back when she could not make out anyone approaching from behind them.
“Up ahead.”
Turning her head, Madeline leaned out the window…and the breath caught in her throat.
Although he was still a small distance away, she would have recognised him anywhere.
Her husband.
Swallowing, Madeline felt her heart do a little jump as she looked closer, taking note of his tense posture as well as the storm cloud that seemed to hang over his head. The horse she recognised as old Brutus, surprised that the old farm horse had made it that far as well as that her husband had taken him in the first place.
You didn’t leave him a choice, a small voice in the back of her head reminded her.
“I never thought he would follow me,” Madeline whispered, a touch of awe in her voice as she watched her husband approach.
“Who is it?” Dr. Rosen asked, concern in his voice.
“Do not worry, Doctor,” Madeline replied, a soft smile coming to her face as she all but glanced at the man sitting across from her. “It’s my husband.”
Pulling up Brutus, her husband turned the old horse around as the carriage approached, then urged him on to keep up. His gaze slid from her father’s crest on the door upward and met her eyes. As their gazes locked, her husband inhaled a relieved breath and for a moment closed his eyes, all the tension falling from his face.
Stunned into speechlessness, Madeline stared at him, unable to believe the depth of his emotions as he found her unharmed and well. Certainly, she had been worried, and so must he have been. However, after everything she had witnessed the day before, she had not allowed herself to hope that her departure would affect him thus.
But it had, and Madeline could not deny that it warmed her heart in the most wonderful way.
Chapter Twenty-Nine ? In the Nick of Time
Sitting in the carriage after they’d stopped to change horses at midday, Derek stared across at the doctor, whose head was resting against the backseat, his mouth slightly open, snoring loudly. He could only hope the man’s skill would save Collin’s life and justify the risk his wife had taken in going to London and bringing him back.
Turning his head, Derek shifted his gaze to his wife. She, too, was asleep after riding through the night, her head having come to rest on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his as she sighed softly. She still wore the same dress as the day before, her hair wild and unkempt, her cheeks flushed, a dirt stain on her forehead.
And still, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
Although he had never doubted her heart, her strength or her commitment, Derek had to admit that her devotion and loyalty to Collin had surprised him. He had always been certain that she would come to the aid of her family if need be…only he had not expected her to think of his family as her own quite so soon. Had it only been a few months since that fateful night at the ball? How much had changed since then?
Gazing down at her, Derek smiled, enjoying the warmth of her body against his own, a part of him wishing she were awake, afraid that if he had to wait any longer, he would lose his nerve and not tell her how he felt.
But she had to know.
Still, he could not bring himself to wake her, and so he settled down as well and closed his eyes, praying that his nephew would hold on and had not slipped away during the night.
A restless sleep claimed him, one that made him feel all the bumps and turns of the road. And yet, he enjoyed having his wife by his side, feeling her arms wrapped around his, holding on as though even in sleep she was afraid he would disappear.
“Huntington House!” the coachman called, and Derek’s eyes snapped open, noting the dimness of the late afternoon sky.
“Have we arrived?” his wife asked, brushing the sleep from her face as she sat up and stretched her tired limbs.
“It would seem so,” Derek replied after leaning out the window. Then he nudged the sleeping doctor. “Dr. Rosen, wake up!”
As the carriage drew to a halt in front of the front entrance, Derek burst through the door, quickly turning back to assist his wife and then the middle-aged doctor outside.
“This way, Dr. Rosen!” Madeline called as she sprinted up the few steps to the door and then threw it open. “Quickly!”
Although the good doctor was far from able to move quickly, he still made an admirable effort to keep up despite the red spots that came to decorate his cheeks.
As they hastened up the stairs, Derek heard footsteps approaching and lifted his head in time to see his mother step onto the landing. For a moment, his heart stopped as he searched her face.
Staring at them for but a moment, his mother sighed in relief, her shoulders slackening. “Thank goodness, ye’re back. Please, Doctor, come quickly!” Rushing back down the corridor she had come, his mother guided Dr. Rosen to Collin’s room.
Reaching for his wife’s hand, Derek looked down at her, feeling his body ache as the tension fell from him. “He’s still alive,” he whispered, seeing Madeline’s eyes fill with tears.
Nodding, she threw herself into his arms and buried her head against his shoulder. “I was so afraid he wouldn’t be. I didn’t dare think about it.” Lifting her head, she looked up at him. “Now, we can only hope that Dr. Rosen can help him.”
Derek nodded. “Thank you,” he whispered, holding her gaze. “Thank you for what you’ve done. For what you’ve risked.”
Madeline shook her head, her eyes determined. “No, do not thank me. You would have done the same. Do not deny it.”
“I do not deny it,” Derek agreed, holding her close as she tried to step away. “All I’m saying is thank you.”
Again, she shook her head, her jaw tense as she held his gaze. “I do not want it.”
“Why?”
“Because…” Searching for words, she licked her lips. “Because it means that there was a choice involved. Because it means that I could have chosen not to. Because it means that…I’m not a part of this family the way you are.” As she tried to blink back her tears, they spilled over and ran down her cheeks. “I may not be his mother, but I love him. And letting him die would have been far worse than anything that could have happened to me.” Again, she shook her head. “Don’t treat me as though I don’t belong.”
“Of course, you belong,” Derek insisted, his eyes wide as he stared down at her. “You belong with me,” he whispered, wishing he could simply tell her how he felt. However, at his words, doubt had come to his wife’s eyes as though she was not certain she could trust him. And right then and there, Derek could not bear to see her look at him like that. He needed to hold her. Feel her. Convince her that she belonged with him, not only with his family.
Grasping her chin, he pulled her into a kiss, smothering all doubts and uncertainties. Passion flared into life, and he could feel her respond with the same desperate need that fuelled him as well.
If only they could remain like this.
“We should see to Collin,” his wife stated as she stepped out of his embrace, her gaze distant, unwilling to meet his.
Derek nodded. “You’re right.” Then he escorted his wife down the corridor and to his nephew’s room, wondering about the seemingly insurmountable chasm that had suddenly opened between them. For some reason, she had taken a step back, retreated from him, and he did not know what to do about that.