“There you are, Nathan! I’ve been looking for you all over and-”

Lord Fulton came to a sudden stop as he entered the neat, tidy quarters that Nathan had resided in since he began his employment. Marcus tilted his head and leaned in closer, his dark eyes taking in the half-empty whiskey bottle on the table and Nathan’s disheveled appearance.

“Great God, are you drunk?”

Nathan bit back a humorless laugh. “Not quite. I’m still working on it.” Then he shook his head. Despite his inebriated state, he knew better than to behave in such a way. He had to be respectful, he had to be-

“Oh bugger it,” he murmured before he swept the bottle up and took another long swig.

Fulton shut the door without asking leave. Turning one of Nathan’s plain, wooden chairs around, he sank down onto its seat and draped his arms over the back. One fine brow arched and he said, “Out with it.”

“Out with what?” Nathan asked, not daring to look at the man who probably knew him better than anyone else, despite all of Nathan’s attempts to stave off a friendship over the years.

“When you stormed in here this morning and announced to Heatherton that his wife was in early labor, you must have known that you would have a hero’s reception later. You were the one who found the husband and sent him off to save the day. The baby was born, by the way and is healthy and doing well, as is Lady Heatherton.”

Nathan shut his eyes briefly as relief washed over him. He couldn’t imagine the pain Maddie… no, Lady Madeline, would have felt had her aunt’s pregnancy ended poorly. And though he realized they could never see each other again, he certainly would not have wished that agony on her or her family.

Fulton shook his head. “Great God, man. You realize you’ll probably receive some monetary thanks from Heatherton. You should be celebrating your windfall, not drinking yourself into a stupor and looking like you lost your only friend.”

Again, Nathan held back a bark of laughter. That was exactly how he felt. Like he’d lost his best friend and his future.

“I don’t want Heatheron’s money,” he said softly, the words leaving a bad taste in his mouth. How humiliating to be paid by Maddie… Lady Madeline’s family. “I only did what any decent person would have done. I don’t want anything more.”

After all, he’d taken so much already. It didn’t matter that it hadn’t been his fault. He had still risen up above his station.

“Did something happen between you and that young woman you spoke of the other day?” Marcus asked.

Nathan stiffened. “Why do you ask that?”

Fulton smiled a little. “Because this long face you are exhibiting seems more related to trouble with a woman than anything else.”

Nathan hesitated. This was not an appropriate subject to broach with his employer, especially now that Nathan knew the truth about Maddie’s identity, but he couldn’t exactly ignore Fulton’s question.

“She-she wasn’t who I thought she was,” he finally stammered. Just the words made his heart ache and memories rush back to assault him. Memories of Maddie’s mouth coming open beneath his. Of her body shaking when he touched her intimately. Of the shining trust in her eyes.

And of the pale horror when the servant called her ‘Lady Madeline’ and destroyed the house of lies she had so carefully crafted over the weeks since they met.

“Ah,” Marcus nodded before he reached out and plucked the nearly empty bottle from Nathan’s fingers. He downed a swig for himself as he pondered what Nathan had said. “But then, they rarely are, are they?”

“Sir?” Nathan repeated, his mind spinning from alcohol and disappointment.

“Women. They are rarely who you think they are. One day they are light and playful, the next they are a tempest. One day a shameless flirt, the next a proper lady.” Marcus shrugged. “It is what makes them interesting. I’m sure your lady will return to whatever form you liked best soon enough. No reason to get sauced.”

“I’m afraid it isn’t that simple.” Nathan dragged his hands over his face with a long sigh.

“Care to explain?”

He stared at the other man again. Fulton was always pressing him to accept a little friendship. To trust him. To allow himself to be ‘human’, as Marcus had called it so many times. And Nathan so desperately needed advice on the strange events that had brought him to this place. Fulton understood the world Maddie-Lady Madeline-inhabited. He also knew exactly why Nathan couldn’t cross into that world, beyond the obvious differences in station.

Right now, Nathan needed reminding.

“I-” Nathan began. Then, stammering, he found himself recounting the entire story, from the moment he met Maddie to that morning when he realized her true identity. The only thing he left out was how much further than a kiss they had progressed. That was not anyone’s affair but theirs and he wouldn’t sully Maddie-Lady Madeline’s- honor by spreading tales.

It was amazing. When he finished his tale, he already felt lighter. As if just saying the words out loud made them less bitter. Less troubling.

Fulton stared at him, eyes wide and mouth slightly gaping. He grabbed for the bottle between them and took the final swig before he said, “Well. That certainly was not the story I was expecting. Madeline Reynolds, I never would have guessed. She always seemed so mousy and bookish.”

Nathan wrinkled his brow. “Mousy? Bookish?” He shook his head. He had never seen her in those terms. What was wrong with the men of the ton?

Nathan shrugged. “But now you see my dilemma. I have become overly familiar with the daughter of one of the Empire’s most powerful Dukes. Everything I believed about her was a lie. I am the biggest fool imaginable.” He shuddered. “Probably the lady has been laughing at me the whole time.”

Fulton shook he head immediately. “No, that I don’t believe. Lady Madeline has never been cruel. And after everything she has suffered at the hands of love, I doubt she would purposefully inflict pain on someone else.”

Nathan fisted his hands beneath the table. For a brief, powerful moment, he had been jealous of his employer. Fulton knew Maddie, perhaps not in the physical way Nathan had, but he knew the truth about her past, had every right to speak to her if he desired to do so… hell, the man had probably danced with her and no one had thought anything of it.

“What do you mean, what she suffered at the hands of love?” Nathan found himself asking, despite the fact that he shouldn’t pry. But he found himself desperate for any shred of fact about the woman who had moved him in such a short period of time.

Fulton shrugged. “She was engaged for a time two years ago to a man… an idiot named David Langston. But it ended badly. I’m not sure of all the particulars, but I’ve heard rumors that he intended to pay for a mistress, along with other things, with Lady Madeline’s dowry. Her father overheard his plans and broke off the union. Poor girl had never had much standing socially before that, but afterward she suffered greatly.”

Nathan shut his eyes. “And she loved this ass?” he said softly, trying not to picture Madeline in some other man’s arms.

“Don’t all women fancy themselves in love with every man who gives them a side glance?” Fulton asked, his tone incredulous.

Nathan opened his eyes and looked at his employer evenly. “I cannot picture Lady Madeline being so foolish.”

Marcus folded his arms as he leaned away from the chair back. Finally, he smiled just a fraction. “Perhaps you are correct. She has always been a very steady young woman. She might not have loved him.”

Nathan pushed to his feet with a self-directed grunt of disgust. His employer was an observant man, and it was clear he had guessed how deep Nathan’s feelings for Maddie went.

“None of it matters now,” he muttered, almost as much for his own benefit as for Fulton. “The truth has been revealed. Lady Madeline will return to her life and I shall return to mine. It is over.”

Fulton got up with a clatter that drew Nathan’s attention. His employer was staring at him, eyes wide. “So, you will just give up, just like that? Even though you are in love with the woman?”

Nathan’s shoulders ached from the tension that stiffened them. So his feelings were that clear, were they?

“My feelings, whatever they may be, matter very little now. You know the difference in our stations, a…” He swallowed. “A love affair, a marriage, between us could never be. I will simply avoid seeing her again.”

Fulton shook his head. “That may not be possible. The Heathertons will likely invite you to their home to thank you within a week or two.”

Nathan pursed his lips, trying desperately to ignore the jolt of pleasure that accompanied his employer’s words. He did not want to see Maddie again. Or be invited to her uncle’s home. Or be celebrated as the hero of the day while she watched, beaming.

“Then I shall decline the invitation,” he growled. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have some matters to attend to that were neglected while I indulged in my own foolishness.”

Normally, he would have waited for Fulton to excuse him, but this time Nathan simply left the room. If only he could leave the pain behind so easily.

#

Maddie stared at her reflection in the mirror, turning from side to side as she examined her face and looked for any difference she could determine. There weren’t any. Yet inside, she felt changed. Forever altered.

Others had noticed, as well. In the past two weeks, her aunt and uncle’s home had been flooded with well-wishers, visitors who wanted to celebrate the new baby boy who had made his presence known in such dramatic fashion. Of course, all the dramatics had been for nothing, once the doctor sheepishly admitted that he had miscalculated how far along in her term Serena was. It turned out baby boy Simon had been right on time, not early in the slightest and he was completely healthy.

Maddie’s father and mother had arrived just five days before. The moment the Duke saw her, he had declared that the country air had changed her, done her good. And all Maddie had been able to do was blush as she hugged her father and prayed he would never discover her deception. He would not be proud of her for playing another person for a fool as she had Nathan.

Not that it had been her intention to do so, but in the end she had done just that. What was worse was that Nathan could not forgive her for it. In the two weeks since they had parted under such trying and unexpected terms, he had made no attempt to contact her. When she could, she had even slipped away, making the rounds of all the places they had spent time together in the hopes she would stumble upon him and have a chance to explain… or at least apologize.

But all her wanderings had left her with nothing but painful memories and a heavy sense of guilt. And loneliness.

There was joy, of course. How could one not feel joy when those around her were so joyful? But Maddie felt separate from it all, watching from a distance as her own pain sat heavy in her chest.

“My lady?”

Maddie jumped as a voice echoed from the door across the room. Smoothing the lines of emotion from her face, she turned toward the maid who had interrupted her reverie.

“Yes, Loralei?”

“I beg your pardon, my lady, but your father and uncle have requested your presence in the Sapphire Room. There are more guests to receive since your aunt is still above stairs recovering and your mother is in the village.”

Maddie bobbed out a quick nod. “I shall be down directly.”

Once the young lady had slipped from the room, Maddie faced herself again. She had to break loose of these maudlin thoughts and out-of-control memories. She had known from the very beginning that the lies she had told would ultimately end whatever relationship she had formed with Nathan.

Of course, she hadn’t predicted falling in love with him.

“No,” she hissed to her reflection through clenched teeth before she turned on her heel and made for the door.

She was not in love with Nathan Blackstone. She couldn’t be or else the rest of her life was going to be bleak, indeed. Even if he could overcome what she had done, there was no way he would allow himself to overcome the difference in their stations. He had made that clear more than once.

Maddie stepped from the last stair and moved toward the Sapphire Parlor. She could hear voices within and stopped for a moment to calm herself. She didn’t want to come inside looking like she’d lost her only friend the world or she would draw unwanted questions and attention to herself.

No, she had to remain calm. She had to remain focused. She had to remain resigned, as she had been for so long, to the way things were in her life.

Forcing a smile, she opened the parlor door and stepped inside. But what she saw before her drew her up sharp and made her smile melt away.

Nathan sat on a coach across from her father and her Uncle John, the Earl of Heatherton. His expression was utterly miserable as they leaned forward, speaking to him in low tones.

Maddie clenched her fists to her chest. Dear God, her secret had been uncovered. They knew what had happened between her and Nathan and now he was paying for her selfishness.

In one brief moment, several thoughts rushed through Maddie’s mind. The first was that she did, indeed, love the man who sat just feet away. The second was that she wasn’t going to allow him to suffer for her lies, nor allow anyone else to dictate her destiny ever again.

So she stepped forward and said, “Father, Uncle, stop! What happened between us was not Nathan’s fault. I allowed him to believe I was someone I was not. If you want to blame someone, blame me.”

A startled silence followed her abrupt outburst. Slowly, both her father and uncle got to their feet and turned to face her. And just as slowly, Nathan got up from his place on the settee, his expression more sick than ever. It was only then that Maddie noticed Lord Fulton standing by the window, taking in the scene with wide eyes and a slightly bemused expression.

“Good afternoon, Madeline,” her father said evenly, though she saw emotion light up in his eyes. “Your uncle and I were just thanking Mr. Blackstone for his part in returning John to your aunt’s side during her labor.” He arched a brow as he slowly let his gaze fall back on Nathan. “However, it seems there was much more going on here than met the eye. Would either of you care to explain Madeline’s outburst? What happened between you and my daughter that she is trying to protect you from my, until now, nonexistent rage, Mr. Blackstone?”

#

Nathan shut his eyes for an all-too-brief moment, but when he opened them nothing had changed. The Duke of Kincaid and the Earl of Heatherton were still staring at him expectantly, the deferential attitudes they had displayed earlier when thanking him now replaced by wary anger and accusation.

And behind then stood Maddie… Lady Madeline. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, though her fine dress was a reminder of why his thoughts about her beauty were so inappropriate. Somehow it didn’t matter. He stared at her, drinking her in like a man kept from water for a fortnight. It had been more than that since he last saw her and he was parched with desire to hear her say his name, to touch just her hand.

It was clear by the way she stared at him, horror and apology in her eyes, that she had thought she was saving him when she blurted out her confession to her family. Yet, behind that, there was something more. Something deeper. She looked at him with the same sense of longing that he felt.

She had missed him. And it made him want to push past her father and just touch her face, kiss her, consequences and stations be damned.

Instead, he straightened his spine and prepared to face those consequences.

“Your Grace,” he said with a nod to her father. “I met your daughter a little over a month ago while riding in the shire. We grew to be friends and I… I did court her, not knowing her true identity.”

Maddie stepped forward.

“It was my fault,” she repeated, the words directed toward her father even though she never took her eyes from Nathan. “I allowed Nathan to believe I was a servant in John and Serena’s house. It was never supposed to go so far, but-”

“And just how far did it go?” her father asked, his eyebrows both arching. “Mr. Blackstone, do we need to have words?”

Nathan opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Maddie jumped into the fray. “If you need to have words, father, have them with me. I am the one who lied, I am the one who misled Mr. Blackstone.”

“And why did you do that?” the Earl of Heatherton said, tilting his head as he glanced from Nathan to Maddie in confusion.

“Yes, a good question,” her father said.

Nathan found himself leaning forward. It was the answer he longed for, as well. To know why Madeline had misled him. Lied to him. Playing him for a fool.

She blushed, putting him to mind of her flushed skin the afternoon he had kissed her, more than kissed her. He blinked to forced the image from his mind and waited for Maddie’s reply.

“My entire life,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I have done what was right, what I was told to do. I allowed everyone around me to protect me like I was a china doll, not to be played with, only looked at. When I stumbled, someone always caught me. When I made a mistake, someone else cleaned up the mess behind me.” She blinked back tears as she looked up at her father. “It was done out of love, I know, but I was smothered by it all. Smothered by your title and my dowry and the knowledge that you would always ‘fix’ things’, Papa.”

“So you lied to me?” Nathan asked, still angry though he understood the idea of living under a father’s thumb. He had certainly done the same. “How did that give you the freedom you so craved?”

“It didn’t,” Maddie gasped, focusing her attention on him now. “And it wasn’t my intention. When we talked it was so natural, so easy. That first afternoon that we met, when you assumed I was a lady’s maid, I was so surprised that I didn’t correct you. I intended to the next day, but you truly liked me. Not for the money, not for the title, not because my father pressed you to pursue me, but because of me. It was a heady feeling.”

She reached out and suddenly her warm, soft skin brushed his hand. Nathan sucked in a breath as lightening bolts of awareness rushed through him, despite their proximity to so many others. Despite the fact that he now knew her to be a peer who did not belong in his world. Nor he in hers.

When she touched him, she was just Maddie. His Maddie. And he wanted her and loved her just as he had since the first moment he laid eyes on her.

“Nathan,” she continued, completely oblivious to anything or anyone else. “I didn’t think that continuing just for a little while in the fantasy world would hurt anyone. And then I wanted to tell you but I couldn’t. The day Serena gave birth to Simon, I did intend to confess everything. But the servant came and blurted out my title to you before I could. But I never did any of it to hurt you or mock you. I just wanted…” She caught her breath. “I just wanted to be with you. And I knew that once you knew who I was, you would never allow it. Your pride would separate us and I didn’t want what we shared to end.”

Color flooded her cheeks again and she looked around, as if she had only just recalled that others were in the room with them. She stepped back.

“I’m sorry, Nathan. I’m sorry that I lied. But what we shared was not a lie, I wanted you to know that.”

Nathan stared at her, too stunned to say anything in response. All he knew was that his heart was pounding for love for this woman, with desire to keep her near him always.

And yet he couldn’t.

The Duke slowly cleared his throat, the sound like a shot in the silent room. “Madeline, I would like a word alone with Mr. Blackstone.”

Maddie spun on her father with a gasp. “Papa!”

He looked at her with a frown that could freeze water. “Maddie,” he barked out, sharp. “Step outside with your uncle and Lord Fulton. I will call for you when I’m ready.”

Maddie sent one brief glance in Nathan’s direction. She mouthed, “I’m sorry,” before she followed her uncle out and Fulton closed the door behind them.

Nathan widened his stance and slowly met the Duke’s stare. He had promised himself long ago never to cower before any man. And he didn’t intend to start with the Duke of Kincaid.

Even though he realized that he was about to have one of the most uncomfortable conversations in his life with one of the most powerful men in the Empire.

# 

Scroll down to see which option won or go on to Chapter 6

Nathan now will face off with Maddie’s father. Will the Duke:

A. Be as angry as Nathan expects.

B. Be far more understanding than Nathan thinks he will be. **WINNER**

C. Apologize for Maddie’s behavior.

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