And even though he knew almost nothing about Lady Madeline, Derek knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she did not want him.
Had there ever been a couple more ill-matched than them?
If he could cry off without ruining her reputation…and her life, Derek knew he would not hesitate to do so.
And yet, somewhere deep inside a voice whispered that if he did so, he would come to regret it.
For the rest of his life.
***
After spending the morning pacing her bedchamber, unwilling to meet anyone and see the pity in their eyes at her misfortune, Madeline now almost raced downstairs, willing herself not to trip over her own feet. That indeed would have been the crowning moment to the farce that had become her life!
As she approached, the footmen hurried to open the doors, and she rushed into the drawing room without a single thought for decorum. “My dear Elsbeth, how glad I am to see you!” she exclaimed, almost throwing herself into her friend’s arms.
“Oh!” Slightly taken aback, Elsbeth Lancaster, Marchioness of Elmridge, slightly swayed on her feet before she gently wrapped her arms around her friend’s shoulders. “I heard the good news,” she mumbled into Madeline’s hair, “and came to offer my congratulations.” Then she stepped back, and her pale blue eyes searched Madeline’s face. “You don’t look happy,” she observed, a touch of confusion in her voice. “What happened? I was so delighted when I heard you had finally chosen a husband. Admittedly, I felt a bit irked when you didn’t inform me yourself but?”
Madeline rolled her eyes. “Chosen?” she snapped, instantly regretting the harshness of her tone when she saw her friend flinch. “I assure you I did not choose. I would never have chosen…” Groaning, she shook her head, staring at Elsbeth with wide eyes. “I don’t even know his name!”
“What?” Elsbeth’s eyes widened in utter shock.
Madeline snorted. “Isn’t it ironic how after all my careful planning I am now betrothed to a man I don’t even know?”
Grabbing Madeline’s hand, Elsbeth pulled her down onto the settee. “Tell me what happened. I thought you’d finally fallen in love. How can you be betrothed to a man you don’t know?”
“He compromised me!” Madeline almost yelled as her heart hammered in her chest.
For the past few days, she had done her utmost to ignore the unexpected and highly undesirable turn her life had taken. Upon awakening each morning, there had been a moment?utterly too short?when the truth of those recent developments had still been absent from her mind and she had found herself smiling. However, within seconds, reality had come rushing back, and she had groaned into her pillows at the thought of marrying…a no one.
After all, this was the definition of utter failure, was it not?
In today’s world, there were many things women could not do to distinguish themselves. The one thing they could do, though, was marry a high achieving gentleman and share his title, his fortune and his standing in society. However, despite all her assets, Madeline had failed.
Utterly.
Completely.
Devastatingly.
“He compromised you?”
Drawing in a deep breath, Madeline did her best to calm her rattled nerves as she related the events at Lord Kingsley’s ball. “Father insists that I marry him as he fears my reputation would be undeniably ruined.”
Elsbeth nodded, an apologetic look in her eyes. “His reasoning is sound.”
“I know!” Madeline snapped yet again before the muscles in her jaw tensed, and she forced a deep breath down her lungs. “I do not fault him. He only does what he thinks best for me, but….” Closing her eyes briefly, Madeline felt her anger flare up once more. “I blame him. I blame….” Her voice trailed off, and once more she groaned in annoyance. “I blame whatever-his-name-is!”
“How can you not know his name?” Elsbeth asked, a touch of incredulity in her kind eyes. “Even if you didn’t know it that night, your father surely must have mentioned it.”
Madeline rolled her eyes, huffing, “I’m certain he did, and I’m equally certain I was not listening at the time.”
“Well, here at least I can help.”
Turning a confused gaze to her friend, Madeline frowned. “What do you mean?”
Giving Madeline’s hand a gentle squeeze, Elsbeth said, “His name is Derek McKnight, Baron Ainsworth.”
Madeline groaned, “He’s only a baron?” This was far worse than she had expected. “Wait! How do you know this?” After all, Elsbeth had never been one to gossip. Quite on the contrary. “And why don’t I?”
Elsbeth shrugged. “Considering your rather popular attitude regarding your future husband, this development has spread through town like nothing I’ve ever seen. Everyone knows his name.”
Madeline’s shoulders slumped. Would this keep getting worse?
“I also asked Frederick if he had heard of him,” Elsbeth said, a gentle question in her voice as she watched Madeline expectantly.
Madeline sighed, uncertain if she truly wanted to know more about the man she was to marry. “And what did your husband say?”
“Well,” Elsbeth began, “as far as he knew Lord Ainsworth is a simple-born man, who returned rather gloriously from the war and was awarded the title of a baron.”
All blood left Madeline’s face as she listened to her friend. “He’s a commoner?” she asked, almost breathless.
“He was,” Elsbeth corrected, a touch of a challenge in her pale blue eyes. “He’s a baron now, remember?”
Burying her face in her hands, Madeline closed her eyes. “Instead of a countess, now I’ll be a lowly baroness. Barely even a peer. The wife of a butcher or farmer or?”
“A soldier,” Elsbeth corrected once again, a hint of a reproach in her voice now.
“As though there’s a difference!” Madeline snapped as she jerked up her head, staring at her friend. “Everything I’ve worked for my whole life is now lost. Thanks to that…that soldier!”
With brows drawn down, Elsbeth looked at her, almost imperceptibly shaking her head. “I have to admit I’m rather disappointed in you, Madeline. Before, I always thought of your insistence not to marry anyone below the rank of an earl as an eccentric peculiarity of yours, hoping that once the time came, you would allow your heart to sway you.” Now, shaking her head for certain, Elsbeth held her gaze. “How can you discount him for his own achievements? You don’t even know the kind of man he is. Allow me to remind you that you were the one to leave the ballroom unchaperoned.”
“But he followed me!” Madeline hissed stubbornly, hating how this made her feel like an insolent child.
“Did you ask him why?”
“I did!”
“And pray tell, what did he say?” Elsbeth demanded, her watchful eyes trained on Madeline’s face.
Opening her mouth, Madeline realised that she could not recall what he had said. Had he even replied at all? He had hardly said a word that night.
Unable to keep still any longer, Madeline surged to her feet, resuming her pacing with vigour. “I don’t remember,” she finally admitted in a small voice, unable to meet her friend’s gaze.
After a long moment of silence, Elsbeth rose to her feet, holding out her hand to Madeline. “Come, a little fresh air will do you good.”
Although tempted to refuse out of fear to be subjected to the stares and whispers of London society, one glance in Elsbeth’s determined eyes told Madeline that such an attempt would be futile. And so, she found herself strolling through Hyde Park not half an hour later, welcoming the sun’s warmth on her skin, her lungs filling with fresh air.
“Better?” Elsbeth asked, tightening her hold on Madeline’s arm.
Madeline shrugged. “A little. Unfortunately, this doesn’t change anything.”
“No, but?”
“Good day, Lady Elmridge, Lady Madeline.”