To Tame a Dangerous Lord (Courtship Wars)

Freddie’s eyebrows shot up. “Do you mean you might seriously consider my idea?”

“I might. Where can I find her?”

Freddie pointed toward the far end of the ballroom. “A moment ago she had secreted herself over there by those palms, but I don’t see her now.”

Had she escaped the ballroom? Rayne wondered. If so, he would go in search of her. “A proposal is certainly worth contemplating, but I should first like to speak to her.”

Rayne turned toward the row of palms, leaving Freddie to stare after him in incredulous wonder.

His cousin had catalogued the advantages of wedding Madeline Ellis quite accurately, Rayne decided as he traversed the length and breadth of the ballroom in search of her. A marriage between them would achieve several goals: He would fulfill his duty to his title and his promise to his grandmother, in addition to satisfying the personal obligation he still felt toward Madeline’s late father for saving his life. As his countess, she would no longer have to scrabble for her living, or be vulnerable to lechers such as Baron Ackerby. And naturally, he would provide financial support for her younger brother.

Of course, judging by his grandmother’s standards, Madeline was not the ideal wife for him. She would never move in elite circles the way Roslyn Loring could, for instance. Yet the qualities he sought in a wife were different from those his grandmother wished for him.

Rayne agreed that Madeline’s plain appearance was not necessarily a drawback, since beauty was often accompanied by cruelty or vapidness. He prized intelligence and wit far more than appearance, attributes that Madeline had in abundance. And she was spirited enough to keep him challenged.

That, perhaps, was the chief reason the idea was so amenable to him, Rayne realized. Because he’d been looking for a woman who challenged him. With her refreshingly frank manner and provocative wit, Madeline would keep him on his toes. He enjoyed sparring with her, despite her outsized pride and prickly independence—or even because of them.

Another point in her favor was that he could be fairly honest with her, Rayne conceded, since she knew of his past occupation. He wouldn’t have to mince words around her, or pretend to be anything but what and who he was.

Her genuine warmth attracted him as well, and he even liked that she was stubbornly self-sufficient. In short, he found Madeline Ellis more interesting and appealing than any of the other obsequious matrimonial candidates he’d been exposed to thus far, and he enjoyed her company significantly more. Moreover, the male fantasies he’d had about bedding her were certainly hotter than any he’d had for other prospective brides.

The thought of taking Madeline to their nuptial bed stirred a distinct surge of pleasure in Rayne’s loins. He wanted to see her lovely eyes soft and hazy with passion. He had little doubt that she would welcome his love-making with an earthy ardor or that she would make a fiery lover once he taught her whatever skills she currently lacked.

Yet their relationship would be purely physical, he would see to it. There was little danger of his falling in love with Madeline, since she was far from the alluring femme fatale who had once betrayed him.

Betrayal had a way of making a man wary, while having his heart cut out had made Rayne determined to shun love. He was older and wiser now, though, and he was not about to suffer that pain again.

In truth, he was glad that Madeline was no beauty, as Camille Juzet had been, since she was less likely to have another lover waiting in the wings.

A decade ago, during his early career with British Intelligence, Rayne had fallen in love with an alluring French aristocrat who needed his fortune and associations to save her family from danger and bring them all safely from France to England. Camille had used his seduction for her own ends, and afterward, sorrowfully confessed that she was in love with another man, that she’d had no choice but to use Rayne to protect her family.

He no longer felt much anger or bitterness at letting himself be duped like a callow youth, Rayne acknowledged. But he had no desire ever to repeat his folly or risk his heart again. Therefore, he hadn’t balked when his grandmother had pressed him to wed and sire an heir. He was perfectly willing to make a union of convenience with a genteel bride as long as he chose the lady he would be shackled to for life.

But do you want to wear those shackles with Madeline

Ellis?

Rayne tried to imagine himself wed to her, testing the idea in his mind like a tongue probing a sore tooth. She was certainly the best alternative thus far. And if he settled on her, he could immediately cease looking for a bride.

But could you live with that irrevocable decision?

Concluding that he could, Rayne left the ballroom, intent on finding Madeline Ellis and making her a proposal of marriage.

Chapter Five

I do not know what is more shocking, Maman. Haviland’s pursuit of me … or my yearning to surrender to his seduction.

Madeline found refuge from her bout of melancholy in an unusual place: the children’s nursery.

The largest room was obviously used for teaching, judging by the small desks and the smattering of books and primers for young readers on the shelves, while next door were bedchambers, including one for an adult—probably a nanny or governess or nursemaid. The rooms all were freshly renovated and one had a new wooden cradle, Madeline saw, recalling that Arabella had said she was expecting her first child next spring.

Returning to the schoolroom, Madeline set her candle on a table and went to the window, cracking it open to let in a whiff of fresh air. The room was rather chilly but stuffy from disuse.

Even so, this nursery brought back wistful memories of her own childhood when her mother was still alive. They’d had so many wonderful times together … Maman teaching her and Gerard to read and do sums and locate on the globe the latest countries where Papa was serving.

Now, however, both her parents were gone, and her brother had married and moved on to a brand-new life without her. She had to make her own future now, all on her own.

Sinking onto the cushioned window seat, Madeline gazed out at the moonlit night. The Thames was down there beyond the terraced gardens, she knew. The scents reminded her of home as well, since their farm was situated on the Chelmer River. However, she could hear faint strains of music from the musicians in the ballroom below, which was strikingly different from home.