Chapter Twenty-Three
"I missed you so much, Benedict." Madeleine whispered, curling up against his chest. He kissed her forehead and held her tighter, gently rocking her to soothe her nerves.
"I missed you too, darling. Every day I counted down the moments until I might be able to see that beautiful smile once again." She giggled softly at this and he smiled down at her, glad to see that she was feeling a bit better.
She could not fathom the effect that the Bridgerton boy had on her. Just an hour ago she was in nearly the worst pain of her life, all hope seemingly vanished, but with a simple touch of his hand, she felt completely safe and at peace. She lifted her head and looked up at him, gently placing her hand on his cheek.
"Thank you for being here for me." She whispered softly and he lifted his own hand, placing it over hers before pressing a gentle kiss to her palm.
"I will always be here for you." He kissed her forehead and she smiled, a knock at the door interrupting the two. Anthony soon entered, followed by the doctor.
"Madeleine, this is Doctor Phillips. He is going to take care of your injuries, all right?" Anthony's voice was gentle and she nodded up at him, sitting up. Benedict helped her to reposition so that the doctor could examine her, watching her with worried eyes to make sure she wasn't in pain.
"Hello, Madeleine. It is nice to meet you. Let's take a look, shall we? That's quite the cut you've got there." He seemed friendly and he gently took Madeleine's face in his gloved hands, bringing a disinfectant up to the cut.
Anthony watched closely as Madeleine winced in pain at the antiseptic, Benedict taking her hand in his and stroking it with his thumb to comfort her. His concerned eyes did not move from her face. Anthony smiled just slightly, it was nice to see that his younger brother had somebody to care for. He was glad the two had each other.
The doctor carefully placed an ointment and a bandage on the cut after cleaning it before moving to her wrist. He wrapped it delicately, followed by her ankle.
"Well, I am glad to inform you that the sprains are minor, and you should be as good as new in no time." He smiled at the girl, which she returned, before finishing the tape on the wrapping around her ankle.
"I will give you something to help with the pain for tonight, but it should be much better in a few days' time." He handed her a small pouch holding two pills and she thanked him, setting them on the nightstand.
"Thank you, Doctor Phillips. Benedict and I will keep an eye on her. Let me walk you out." Anthony walked over to the door, the doctor wishing a good night to the two before following the eldest out of the room.
As they approached the door, Anthony cleared his throat. "Doctor Phillips, I must ask you a favor." The older man turned toward him and nodded, urging him to continue.
"These injuries.. Madeleine's injuries were caused by her great uncle. The Queen ordered that she remain under his custody and I would like documentation of the extent of the injuries to provide The Queen with. I think it might change her mind."
Doctor Phillips sighed and nodded. "How terrible, of course. I will send over official documentation straight away in the morning." Anthony nodded and shook his hand, thanking the man as he left.
Benedict helped Madeleine to lay back down, handing her the pills with a glass of water. She took them and watched as he fluffed the pillows for her and pulled the duvet around her shoulders, wanting her to be as comfortable as possible.
"Benedict, I want to marry you." Madeleine suddenly blurted out, turning to him. "I know you know that, but I want to do it now. I do not want anything else getting in our way. We could do it this week, we could run away before anybody can stop us." She whispered, looking up at him with desperate eyes. He smiled adoringly at her and gently brushed her hair back with his hand.
"Mads, you deserve a wonderful wedding with flowers, guests, the dress, everything that comes with such a celebration. A beautiful reception hall, a night full of laughter and dancing. I do not want you to throw that away in a rush to marry me. We have our whole lives." He stroked her cheek gently and she took his hand in hers.
"I do not care about any of that. All I need is you and nothing more. My uncle has made an arrangement with Lord Ambrose and I do not know what he plans to do when he finds out I have left, but I do not want to wait around to find out. Your family can come of course, but I do not want to wait to make this official. I want to marry you, I want to start our future together." She smiled up at him, reassuring him with her eyes that she truly wanted this.
"Fine, but I have three conditions." Benedict smirked and she raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.
"First, we will wait until you are completely healed. Second, we will have a real wedding. We we will run away as soon as you are healed and we will get married, but when we return we will have a ceremony. I want you to have the night of your dreams, you deserve a night to feel like an absolute princess." He looked at her with stern eyes, letting her know that it was not up for discussion. She giggled softly and nodded, squeezing his hand.
"And the third?" She watched him, waiting to hear his final condition.
"You said 'your family', none of that anymore. This is as much your family as it is mine, got it?" She blushed softly and nodded, agreeing.
"You've got yourself a deal. Huh, who knew you were such a softie for weddings?" She teased, making him laugh loudly. She missed his laugh. She grinned up at him and he leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. She smiled softly into the kiss, returning it.
"God, I missed doing that." He whispered, pulling away. She laughed softly and moved to snuggle into his arms.
"So did I. I missed everything about you." She whispered as he placed a kiss on the top of her head, gently wrapping his arms around her and pulling the blanket closer over her. She closed her eyes and, feeling truly at home for the first time in a while, drifted off to sleep.
Madeleine woke up the next morning to Benedict carefully rewrapping her wrist which had come a bit undone during the night. She smiled softly and whispered a sleepy 'good morning' to him. He glanced up at her with a frown and stroked her cheek.
"I'm sorry, love, I was trying not to wake you. You need as much rest as you can get." She placed her hand over his and shook her head.
"You did not wake me, Ben. I feel very well-rested, trust me." It was true, the combination of being back home and being in Benedict's arms led her to have the best sleep she had had in a long time. He kissed the tip of her nose before finishing wrapping up her wrist.
"Are you feeling up for some breakfast?" He looked back up at her, quirking an eyebrow, and she nodded eagerly.
"I'm absolutely starving." He laughed at this and helped her up, assisting her in changing into her dress from the day before which had been washed. He helped her down the stairs, a strong arm around her waist to keep her from putting too much weight on her ankle.
Violet smiled brightly as the two walked into the dining room, getting up and pulling Madeleine into a tight hug.
"I am so glad you are back in our home, dear. We all missed you terribly." She held her cheeks and Madeleine returned her smile.
"You should have heard the mouthful Mother gave your uncle." Colin chimed in, his mouth full of food. Madeleine looked at him with wide eyes and laughed softly, turning back to Violet.
"You went over to talk to my uncle? When?" Violet smirked softly and returned to her own chair, Benedict helping Madeleine to sit between him and Anthony.
"I went over with Anthony and Colin early this morning to gather your belongings. I was not planning on speaking to the disgusting man but it appears I could not help myself." Madeleine giggled at this.
"She went crazy on him, Mads. I have never seen Mother that angry." Colin laughed and Madeleine grinned.
"She did not '', Col. She simply gave him a lecture he deserved." Anthony said in his stern father-like voice, before leaning over to Madeleine and smirking softly. "He looked like a five year old who had just been yelled at for coloring on the walls."
Madeleine let out a loud laugh at this, before covering her mouth and giggling softly.
"I had Colin put your belongings in the guest room, which I would like you to stay in. Now that you and Benedict plan to marry, it is not appropriate that you two stay in the same room." Violet chimed in, giving Benedict a stern look. He rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to object but Madeleine quickly placed a hand on his thigh under the table, smiling at his mother.
"Of course, thank you for doing that, Violet. I truly appreciate it. I appreciate all of you." She gave them a warm smile, all returning it. Benedict squeezed her hand under the table and she scrunched her nose at him before beginning to eat.
"Madeleine, could I help you pick out your wedding dress?" Hyacinth asked, eyes wide and eager.
"If she's helping then I want to help!" Gregory chimed in, making Hyacinth roll her eyes at him.
"You can not help Madeleine pick out her dress, Gregory, that is a lady's job." She said in a matter-of-fact tone, making him roll his eyes this time.
"You can help me pick out my suit if you would like, Greg." Benedict winked at him and the boy grinned, nodding excitedly. Violet chuckled and shook her head at her children's antics.
"Huh, would you look at that? Benedict is getting married before you, Brother." Eloise smirked at Anthony, Colin immediately joining in on the teasing.
"I wonder if that makes him the man of the house." Colin raised his eyebrows at his oldest brother, a playful grin on his face. Anthony gave him a look, before glancing at his mother, who gave him a quick nod of approval. Anthony cleared his throat.
"Actually, Col, since Benedict is the first of us to marry, I thought he and Madeleine might like to move in to Aubrey Hall."
Benedict nearly choked on his food, looking up at his brother with wide eyes. Madeleine's expression mirrored his, both very surprised at this.
"Brother, are you being serious? Aubrey Hall?" Benedict narrowed his eyebrows, glancing between Anthony and his mother. Aubrey Hall was one of the most beautiful homes in the Ton, it was their childhood home, and all of them had assumed Anthony would take it over once he found his bride.
"Anthony and I talked it over and we think it is a great idea for the two of you to live there. I will be rather upset if you do not fill that spacious home with grandchildren, though." Violet gave them a stern look, a playful gleam in her eyes. Madeleine blushed a deep pink at her statement, squeezing Benedict's hand under the table.
"That is, of course, if you two would like to live there. Otherwise, I'm sure we could figure something out-"
"! We would love to live there, Mother, absolutely!" Benedict interrupted her, grinning at Madeleine. She smiled brightly and nodded in agreement.
"That is truly a most gracious offer, thank you both." She smiled at Anthony and Violet, both returning it. Benedict grinned at the girl, intertwining their hands under the table. He could not wait to move into Aubrey Hall with her and finally start the future he had been imagining.