Now I must pay the price. Rayne avoided reflecting on the future of his marriage for the time being, since there were more immediate matters to settle—namely reuniting Gerard Ellis with his young bride and convincing Ackerby not to pursue criminal charges against him. Yet Rayne’s conscience was smiting him ruthlessly. Not only had Madeline told him the truth, not only had her motives been entirely innocent, but far from betraying him, she had actually been attempting to protect him. To shield him and his family from scandal by preventing her brother from carrying out his idealistic, love-struck schemes. How could he have been so blind to her true nature? Rayne wondered as his coach trundled along a country road toward the farmhouse where Ellis’s wife was concealed. How could he have misjudged Madeline so egregiously? So willfully? Rayne watched her now as she sat on the opposite seat, beside her brother, listening as Ellis recounted the details of his recent elopement and effused about newly married life.
