Free The Six Month Marriage by Amanda Grange Page A

the house. There had been a spate of robberies recently, and her uncle had
taken extra precautions against the malcontents who roamed the streets of the
capital. Had one such broken into the Earl’s house?
    Slipping a shawl around her shoulders Madeline left her
room and, by the light of the moon, made her way cautiously along the landing.
    She heard the sound of voices coming from below.
    Taking her courage in both hands she crept downstairs,
meaning to find out what was happening before rousing the house. She did not
want to raise the alarm, only to find that the crash had been caused by a
drunken footman, or a maid who could not sleep.
    As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she followed
the muted sound of voices and saw there was light spilling out of Philip’s
study. She went forward then stopped just outside the door, looking in.
    The first thing she saw was Crump over by the window,
picking up the pieces of a smashed vase.
    So that was what had made the noise.
    Madeline hesitated. Now that she knew the cause of the
crash had been nothing more serious than a broken vase, should she go in, or
should she go back to bed?
    Then she saw Philip. He was looking strong and virile.
He had evidently just been getting undressed when he had heard the noise, and
his clothes were in disarray. He wore no coat or waistcoat, but was in shirt
and breeches, the clothes defining the muscular contours of his lean body. His
shirt was open, revealing a glimpse of powerful chest.
    Madeline looked away in confusion. She had seen a number
of men in a state of partial undress in her uncle’s house, during their many
drinking sessions, but they had filled her with nothing but disgust. Why, then,
did the sight of Philip provoke such a startlingly different reaction?
    At that moment Philip looked up and saw her. An intense
light lit his eyes, and an unreadable expression crossed his face. Was he
angry? Madeline wondered. Pleased? Or simply surprised to see her there?
    He crossed the room in two strides until he was standing
just in front of her.
    ‘What happened?’ she asked, fighting down the tingling
sensations that threatened to engulf her. There was something about Philip that
set her skin on fire, but what it was she dared not think. Instead, she turned
her attention back to the room. Something had happened, and she knew she would
not sleep until she had discovered what it was.
    ‘There is nothing to worry about,’ he said, lifting his
hands as though he was about to put them on her shoulders, and then, thinking
better of it, dropping them again. ‘Go back to bed.’
    ‘Was it burglars?’ she asked.
    He hesitated. As he did so his eyes fell to her
night-gown and she felt a sudden tension in him. ‘You should not be down here
like that,’ he said.
    ‘I did not have time to dress,’ she returned, pulling
her shawl more tightly about her.
    He turned away abruptly.
    ‘How did they get in?’ she asked.
    ‘Through the window,’ he remarked.
    Madeline looked over to the windows, expecting to see
that one of them was broken, but they were all intact.
    ‘It isn’t broken,’ she said, puzzled.
    Philip hesitated, as though wondering how much to tell
her. Then, seeming to decide to tell her something, at least, he sat on the
edge of the desk and faced her. ‘They were professionals,’ he said. ‘They
prised the window open until the gap was wide enough for them to slip a wire
inside and undo the catch.’
    ‘Then, if they hadn’t broken the vase, we would not have
known they were here,’ said Madeline with a shudder.
    Philip nodded. ‘That was careless. But they were in a
hurry.’
    ‘Have they taken anything of value?’ she asked.
    ‘That’s just it, my lady,’ said Crump, entering the
conversation for the first time. ‘They don’t seem to have taken anything at
all.’ He looked from Madeline to Philip, perplexed.
    ‘Then we are lucky,’ said Philip smoothly. But something
in his tone of voice made Madeline aware