Shayla Black (43 page)

Gavin held up a protesting finger. “Oh, but it is. If Brock is going to sacrifice the fortune we all could make on the railroad because he loves you, I think it’s fair to know if his love is misplaced.”

The man might as well have been speaking Greek.
Because he loves you...
Shock yawned. Hope began to bloom in her tightening stomach. Shaking her head, she quickly squelched the sentiment. Likely, her cousin was mistaken.

Maddie peered at Gavin, beyond confused.

“
I-I’m sorry, but I do not understand... Brock will never sacrifice anything with regard to the railroad. The land is his now, through marriage, so he may complete the track. The project has already broken ground. Most of his entire fortune is involved in this—”

“
Apparently, he is willing to lose it.” Gavin regarded her with a direct black gaze, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Impossible
! Still, Maddie’s stomach jolted with shock.

Gavin went on. “He wrote me yesterday to inform me that he is ceasing production of the T & S Railroad. He returned my investment money.”

Maddie sat up, more confused now than ever. “You’re certain?” At Gavin’s nod, she asked, “Did he say why?”

“
He said that because the Warwickshire land was yours, you should be allowed to decide how it would be used.”

Maddie leaned forward, mouth agape. “He wrote that?”

Hope curled in her belly.

Gavin nodded. “He also wrote that he loved you more than his fortune.”

He was willing to prove in the most expensive way possible that he valued her more than all the money he had once left her for? Stunned and joyful, Maddie bounced to her feet. Tears wet her eyes, stung her nose, tightened her throat. She covered her face with her hands, ecstatic.

“
He loves me!” she whispered.

“
Yes, he wrote that,” Gavin said impatiently. “What does that have to do with giving up the railroad?”

“
Everything!” Her voice shook as happiness multiplied.

He loved her, more than his ambition. More than money. And he’d proven it beyond a doubt.

Why, then, had he abandoned her again? If he loved her, how could he want this civilized separation?

Perhaps he did not want it, but rather thought that she did. After all, she had been trying to break free of him for months.

She had to find Brock now. Sooner than now. Maddie rose and raced for the door.

“
Wait!”

She turned back to her cousin.

“
Madeline, you both are speaking in riddles!” Gavin sighed in frustration. “Why should he imagine that giving up a bloody fortune would have any impact on whether he loved you?”

Maddie found she could not wipe the wide smile off her face. “Perhaps someday you will understand that love does not always make sense.”

With Gavin’s snort of disbelief in her ears, Maddie ran out of the parlor, making plans.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Come midnight, I will lie in Paddington and wait for you.

Madeline

Brock read the missive again, doing his best to ignore the drumbeat of his heart. He glanced up at the young messenger. “Is she awaiting a reply?”

“
No, sir. She said you would understand.”

Indeed, he believed he did—or at least he hoped he did. Maddie, upon learning that he valued her more than money, had freed her heart to love him. Could it be true?

He smiled, hope infusing him.

After pressing a groat into the youth’s hand, Brock withdrew his pocket watch. Eleven o’clock. Just enough time.

He raced toward his townhouse’s front door just as Jack walked in. “In a hurry?”

Brock grinned. “Now that we no longer have a railroad to build, I’m going to woo my wife. I have plenty of time...”

Rolling his eyes, Jack stepped inside. “Did you hear from the investors?”

“
Indeed. Most are angry as hell.” Brock shrugged. “They will recover, I’m certain. Some have asked to purchase my Royal assent...and Maddie’s land.”

“
Are you selling?”

“
That’s up to Maddie. But generally I’d say, not a chance.” He smiled. “She is too important to me to ever risk losing again.”

In one of the few fatherly actions of his life, Jack hugged his son. Brock was grateful for his sire’s understanding.

“
Go claim her. And hold on tight. I lost your mother so soon, before I learned the importance of living every day for such love. Now that you know—”

Brock clapped his father on the shoulder, “I’ll be sure to hold her forever.”

If she would truly have him.

The next hour was a blur of night, stars, wind, and wishes. They all passed his consciousness, danced along his senses, along with utter impatience. He could scarcely wait to see Maddie, to hold her. It had been weeks since he’d made love to her...

Forcing his mind down another path, Brock was relieved when he and his winded mount finally arrived in front of the darkened Paddington cottage. He withdrew his pocket watch. Two minutes past midnight. God willing, Maddie would still be lying here, waiting for him.

Brock bolted to the door and thrust his way inside, shoving the door out of his path. A look down the foyer into the breakfast nook proved empty. Charging across the empty space, Brock sprinted around the corner, into the parlor.

And there lay Maddie, draped on the plush rose settee wearing her wedding ring, her stockings—and nothing else.

Brock felt his mouth go dry and his body spring to attention.

“
I see you received my missive,” Maddie all but purred.

“
Indeed,” he choked. “I have a hundred things to say to you, but I can hardly think with you looking so enticing.”

Maddie smiled. “Must we talk now?”

The seductive note in Maddie’s voice nearly undid Brock’s good intentions. He sighed. “Unfortunately, yes.”

Vowing he would soon deal with the disappointment on Maddie’s face, Brock scanned the room and found a woolen lap blanket. He grabbed it and shook it flat before draping it over Maddie, concealing the vanilla and jasmine scented skin that was quickly driving rational thought from his brain.

His lovely wife pouted. “And here I thought, perhaps, that you wanted me.”

He groaned. “Without a doubt, I do.”

Maddie sat up, her face serious now. “I also thought, perhaps, that you...loved me.”

Erasing the empty space between them with two steps, Brock sank to the settee and swept his arms around Maddie. “You should have no doubts upon that score, my darling wife. I love you more than...anything. More than I thought possible.” He squeezed her shoulders. “More than I ever realized.”

Maddie smiled, the expression so beautiful, so luminous with happiness, Brock’s breath caught in his throat. He wanted to see her this happy each and every day. The fact that his love made her happy...well, he swelled with pride and need—and sublime devotion.

“
And I love you,” she murmured.

The happiness he had hoped for, had been saving forever it seemed, burst inside of him. Brock grinned so widely, he felt sure his smile matched hers. “Yes, but have you always loved me?”

Slowly, Maddie nodded. “Even when I wished I didn’t.”

He brought his palm up to cradle her cheek. “I’ve loved you from the day I met you.”

At his simple words, Maddie’s face fell into a mass of tears. “Why did we waste so many years apart?”

Brock hugged her, doing his best to soothe her with a soft hand at her nape. “I never should have left you at Ashdown after making love to you that first time. I should have insisted we marry and brought you to London with me.”

Brock could see the questions hovering in her eyes, but she did not give them voice. She trusted him now and wanted to put the past behind them! God, he felt like the luckiest man alive.

But he also wanted to explain.

“
It was me, Maddie. I left you with your father because I had nothing. I knew I was going to live in squalor. I was too ashamed to take you with me, and I’m so damned sorry,” he whispered. “My pride came between us. I believed I was not good enough for you as I was.”

Maddie gasped, and more tears fell. She curled her arms around his neck and squeezed him. “I never cared where you were born, or to whom. It did not matter where you lived. I only wanted the wonderful man I fell in love with to love me in return.”

“
Instead, I made you believe I’d betrayed you by accepting your father’s money, and I hate that. I bloody wish I had refused his insulting offer. I wanted to. But I wanted the money so badly. With it, I knew I could soon amass a fortune you could be proud of.”

“
And you did.” Her eyes were a soft gray, full of pride.

“
At a terrible cost. I spent five years without you, without Aimee—”

At his words, Maddie sobbed harder, gray eyes like a rainstorm, intense and vivid. “I should have told you about her long ago. I was so afraid, but I did you both a terrible disservice—”

“
When you conceived, you did not know where to find me in London. I realize that now,” he assured her, voice soft.

“
But later, when we became lovers again...”

“
I threatened you.”

“
Yes, but even after I knew you would not send us to Fleet, I kept my secret. I-I…” Maddie shook her head as if looking for words, “I feared you had the same contempt for me as Colin had. I was angry with you as well for not realizing that I married him because I had no choice.” She sighed. “That seems foolish, I realize—”

“
I was too blinded by jealousy and revenge to do so.”

“
Brock, please let me apologize. Aimee is your daughter, and you had the right to know. I denied you that, and I am sorry.” She peered up at him, gray eyes drenched with new tears, no longer a siren, but a woman—with a woman’s heart. “I was afraid to tell you about Aimee. Afraid of your wealth, of your anger, that you would take Aimee from me or use her against me—”

“
Shhh.” He held her close, soothing her. “We made some poor choices. Can you forgive me?”

“
Of course. I only hope you find it within you to do the same for me.”

“
It’s done,” he vowed. “And we have nothing but the future ahead of us.”

Maddie frowned. “Yes, a future without a railroad, if I’m to understand Gavin correctly.”

Brock shrugged. “I no longer need to build it. I realized that building it may make me wealthier, but it will never change who I am or where I came from. The only respect I need in business is that I give myself.” He grimaced sheepishly. “That is something I have never done.”

“
You’re right.” She held him tighter. “How clever you are!”

“
No. It took me far too long to realize that I could not force the
ton
to accept me. Now, I no longer care if they do. I know my ability to make money. And wherever there is a nobleman desperate for new funds, I will be there. I shall make us a new fortune doing it.”

“
Your money is truly gone?”

“
Most of it, yes.” He cocked a teasing brow at her. “Are you disturbed by that fact?”

“
Indeed!” she sat up, clutching the blanket above her breasts. “Have we not both had enough of poverty?”

Suddenly, Brock was reminded of her nakedness. His concentration strayed. “If you say.” He leaned down to plant a string of kisses on her neck, her shoulders.

Maddie softened under his ministration. “This is serious,” she protested weakly. “You should build the railroad.”

“
There will always be other opportunities to make money. It would be a crime, however,” he brushed a kiss over her waiting mouth, “to allow an opportunity to make love to my wife to slip away.”

“
Perhaps what we need is a wager.”

Brock paused, assessing her sultry smile. “Are you challenging me again?”

“
Indeed.” She smiled wickedly. Then she dropped one corner of the blanket to reveal a perfect breast.

His mouth went dry.

She laughed. “Here are my terms: If you can resist me,” she dropped the other corner of her blanket to reveal her other pink-tipped breast, “you may return us to poverty as you see fit. We will always have one another, is that not so?”

Brock could do nothing more than nod dumbly and reach for the perfection of Maddie’s creamy skin.

“
If you cannot resist me, however,” she purred, throwing the blanket to the ground, leaving the long length of her legs and everything between breath-stoppingly visible, “then you will build this railroad, continue your dream, and be happy by my side.”