The Six Month Marriage (29 page)

Authors: Amanda Grange

‘To being
a
wife,’ she corrected him. ‘Not to
being
your
wife.’

‘And then I had to go away.’

Madeline turned to him curiously. ‘Why
did
you go
away. You have never explained.’

Briefly, Philip told her about Jack’s message. ‘And so I
wrote you a note explaining my absence —’

‘Which was never delivered, because Danson was in
Letitia’s pay,’ said Madeline. ‘I should have given more credence to my
suspicions. Jenny had warned me about his inquisitiveness, and I myself had
found him kneeling outside a door. But at the time I believed what he had
wanted me to believe, that he had been searching for a button, instead of
realising that he had been spying on us and trying to gauge how far our
relationship had gone.’

‘Yes. Danson was in Letitia’s pay. As was Mr Greer. But
you need not be afraid of seeing them again, they have both of them been
dismissed. At the time, however, I didn’t know that Danson was in Letitia’s pay
and I assumed you would get the note, and that you would understand why I had
had to leave. And so I went to help Jack.’

He told her of everything that had happened at the
cottage behind
The King’s Head
.

‘Was Jack badly hurt?’ asked Madeline. She was concerned
for the man who had saved Philip’s life.

‘He was, but I sent for the doctor and stayed with him
until he was out of danger.’

‘Then it really is over,’ said Madeline.

‘Yes. It is. Jack has completed his mission. There will
be no more mysterious break-ins or masked men holding us up on the highway; no
more shots in the grounds or vicious horsemen; and my debt to Jack is paid.’

‘And what of Letitia? Will she return to plague us?’

‘No. She has accepted the hand of the old Duke of
Garton. She wanted a title and a fortune, and by her marriage she will have
both. She will become a Duchess, and as the Duke is over seventy years old I
have no doubt she is hoping she will soon be a wealthy widow.’

Madeline sighed. It would be useless to try to bring
Letitia to book for what she had done, as there was no proof, but at least,
married to the Duke of Garton, Letitia would never try something so heinous
again. She would have a reputation and a position in society to protect.

‘The Duke should suit Letitia,’ said Madeline.

‘On the face of it, yes, but not underneath.’ Philip
laughed. ‘The Duke is notoriously tight-fisted, and never spends a penny of his
money if he can help it! And although he is over seventy, if he takes after his
father he will live until he is almost a hundred years old! But that is not our
problem. The Duke lives in
Edinburgh
, and Letitia will live there with him. Our paths will not cross
again.’

Madeline rested her head on Philip’s shoulder. ‘It’s
strange. Letitia sought to hurt me, but in the end she did quite the opposite.
She told me that you loved me, thinking to mock me as I was about to die. But instead
of crushing my spirit with the news she only strengthened it. If not for that,
I might not have had the courage to struggle as hard as I did, but once she had
told me I knew I must do everything I could in order to save myself. Because at
that time I didn’t know —’ She stopped abruptly and sat up.

‘Didn’t know?’ he asked her.

‘At that time, I didn’t know that I was with child.’

A broad smile crossed his face. ‘A baby?’ he asked in
delight.

‘Yes. I didn’t want to tell you before I was sure, in
case anything bad happened because of my ordeal, but now that I am well on the
road to recovery the doctor says there is nothing to fear.’

Philip placed his hand gently on her stomach. ‘A child,’
he said.

Madeline put her hand over his, and felt a warm feeling
of love and happiness flood her whole being.
So this is marriage
, she
thought.
A real marriage. Not one based on cruelty and power. Not one based
on the need for an inheritance. But one based on love
.

If only my mother’s marriage had had the same base
, thought Madeline,
she need never have suffered as she did. It
was not marriage that undid my mother, but a marriage without love
.

And as she realised that, she finally laid her past to
rest.

‘I offered you my hand once before, for six months,’
said Philip. ‘Now I offer it to you for life. Will you accept it, Madeline?’

‘Oh, yes, Philip,’ she said. ‘I will.’

Their six-month marriage was over. And as Madeline
nestled into Philip’s arms she looked forward to all the joys and challenges
their lifelong marriage would bring.

For
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click the links to individual titles below

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Jane Austen retellings (also available in
hardback and paperback)

Darcy’s
Diary

(Pride and Prejudice)

Mr
Knightley’s Diary