“So you mean to continue your spy career?”
“The Foreign Office has little need for diplomatic intelligence at present, but I’m considering working for the Home Office. I haven’t decided yet. I may be occupied enough keeping Freddie out of trouble.” A fond smile curved Rayne’s mouth. “I suppose we do owe our marriage to Freddie after all. If not for him, I never would have encountered you that night at the inn.”
The tender laughter in his eyes made her heart swell. “We owe Lord Ackerby as well,” Madeline pointed out. “Although I loathe giving him any credit.”
Rayne’s expression turned pained. “As do I. I still think you should have let me shoot him during our duel. I would have, had I known he was blackmailing you.”
Choked laughter stirred in her throat. “Then I am glad you didn’t know.”
“Actually, I’m surprised he had the nerve to tangle with you. But you should have come to me at once when you found your brother in difficulty.”
“I realize that now. I promise I will in the future.”
“I trust so. You are too independent for your own good, dearest Madeline.” Lifting her hand to his lips, Rayne brushed a caressing kiss on her knuckles. “See, I am not enamored of everything about you. You have your faults as well as your good qualities … as do I. And then there is my grandmother.”
Rayne’s amusement suddenly disappeared. “I still must apologize for her abominable proposition. I don’t expect you to forgive her.”
“It won’t be easy, but I mean to try. I don’t want to create a permanent rift between the two of you.”
“Any rift is of her own making, and she well knows how to mend it. If she won’t, I will cut her from our lives.”
“She is your family, Rayne. And she is of an age where it is difficult for her to change her ways.”
He shook his head at her generosity. “You never cease to amaze me.”
It thrilled Madeline to hear Rayne offer her such praise, but he gave her no time to dwell on it.
“Speaking of family …” With a hand, he motioned toward his massive desk. “Do you see the case over there? Those are the Haviland jewels, and they are rightfully yours now.”
Madeline felt touched by the significance of his gesture; Rayne was fully acknowledging her as his countess. Yet being his countess had negligible importance compared to being his wife. “I never wanted your jewels, Rayne. I only wanted your love.”
He brought the back of his hand softly down the side of her face. “That means more to me than you can possibly imagine, sweetheart. And I want your love … more than anything in the world. I want your loyalty and your trust, also. I envied your brother for the loyalty you showed him this past week. But I know I must earn those things for myself.”
Madeline held his gaze solemnly. “Do you know what else I want, Rayne? I want a real marriage with you, not one of convenience. I know you only wed me to gain an heir, but I want to be a true wife to you.”
“I have every intention of having a real marriage. What do you say that we make a fresh start, sweetheart?”
“I would like that above all things.”
“Then it is settled. From this moment on, we begin our marriage anew.”
“And I will sleep in your bed tonight?” she asked hopefully.
“Absolutely. As you said, I never gave you a proper wedding night. But I warn you, love, I intend to do the seducing tonight.”
Reaching up, Madeline wrapped her arms around his neck to invite her husband’s enchanting kiss. “I won’t give you any argument for now. You know my resistance to you has always been impossibly weak.”
With a husky laugh, Rayne bent his head to claim her lips.
* * *
Their second wedding night was blessedly different from their first, Madeline noted thankfully—beginning with an intimate dinner for just the two of them. Then Rayne led her upstairs to the lord’s apartments rather than to hers.
His bedchamber was elegant but clearly masculine, done in accents of dark greens and golds, while the massive bed no doubt had been built to accommodate Rayne’s large body. True, the quiet hearth fire and candles cast a warm glow similar to the one she’d arranged for their most recent tryst. But this time the desire vibrating between them was rife with affection and love, not suspicion and doubt.
Moreover, Madeline reflected, glancing up at Rayne as he ushered her into the room, she was no longer an innocent, inexperienced virgin as on her wedding night. She knew precisely what ecstasy lay in store for her this evening. And as their gazes touched, she realized her husband was having the same thoughts.
Expectation quivered through her when Rayne shut the door behind them, locking them in together. His eyes were the color of midnight sapphires as he moved toward her. With just one glance from those incredible eyes, Madeline could feel herself growing warm and liquid with arousal. She felt soft and swollen inside, weak with need for him. Her heart fluttering with excitement, she started to undress.