Song of the Heart - Alexa Aston Page 0,72
smiled wistfully at the retreating figure, knowing she’d never see him again.
*
Garrett stepped into the doorway. Madeleine’s face was buried in her hands. He watched her shoulders jerk with spasms as if she were sobbing but the absence of noise was eerie. The room remained absolutely silent.
As he headed toward the bed, he heard her murmur, “You’re my own little love, Evan, the only child I’ll ever have. I will love you always.”
“What do you mean by that?” he demanded.
She lifted a reddened, tearstained face to him. “What?” she asked, obviously startled to see him.
“You are a young woman, Madeleine, not more than three and twenty. Surely you’ll have many children.”
She shook her head vehemently. “No, no, I haven’t been good enough to deserve children.”
Puzzled by her strange comment, Garrett eased down on the bed next to her and took her hands in his. “You are one of the kindest souls I know, Madeleine.”
She squared her shoulders. “No, my lord, you don’t really know me at all. I’ve done things I could tell no one about, especially you. But God knows—and I will make it up to Him.” She slipped her hands from his and brushed the tears from her cheeks.
He shrugged. “All you need to do is confess, Madeleine, and then get on with your life.” He thought of the scars she bore, sure that she’d been the one sinned against.
“No, my lord. I have thought of a way that will please God and solve all my problems.”
He waited patiently for her to elaborate.
“I intend to enter a convent.”
Garrett grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, as if to knock some sense into her. “What? You can’t. I won’t let you.”
“Don’t you see you are one of the reasons I must do this?” she asked him, the pain evident in her voice.
“I won’t let you go, Madeleine.” He took a deep breath. “I love you.”
Chapter Nineteen
Madeleine froze at his words. No man had ever told her this. She was stunned at the depth of emotion that raced through her trembling body.
Garrett released his grip on her shoulders and loomed over her, inches away, his eyes intense, willing her to keep looking at him, only at him, and nothing else.
“I love you,” he repeated softly, his large palms cradling her face as he brought his mouth down on hers.
She had thought their kiss atop the rock in the meadow was earth-shattering but it paled in comparison to this one. The first had started gently and built, while this one began possessively and became more so. She could feel the passion pouring from Garrett into her—and she responded to his call. His assault on her mouth was rough and tender at the same time, savage yet sweet. Emotions unfamiliar to her came in wave after wave, as an invading army would, never letting up. She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t imagine being anywhere, except in his arms.
How could something so wrong feel so right? Why had she been denied these feelings her entire life? Why had God so cruelly coupled her with an old man full of spite and hate when there were good men like Garrett to be found?
He finally released her and she instinctively moved back toward him. He chuckled, a low, soft laugh, one that held satisfaction even as his eyes glowed with triumph.
“You will not enter a convent, Madeleine.” He cupped her face again in his strong hands, as if the need to touch her superseded all others. “Where do you think I’ve been these last two weeks?” he asked softly. “I went to see the bishop. He knows Lynnette deserted me years ago. I have petitioned for a divorce on grounds of abandonment.”
His words shattered Madeleine to her core. Divorce? The notion was almost unheard of, and only then used by men who locked barren wives away in a convent and sought freedom from their vows in order to marry a fertile woman. Then understanding struck her with great force.
He did this for her. For them. Garrett wanted a life with her. With her!
He rubbed his callused thumb across her smooth cheek. “It will take much time and more than a healthy donation to the bishop’s coffers but then we’ll marry, sweetheart. No convent for you. You were made to be loved . . . by me alone.”
Garrett kissed her again, this time a sweet, tender kiss, sealing his pledge to her. “I’ve never truly loved another, Madeleine,” he said, his voice raw with emotion.