An hour later, Apollo walked into his study, where he'd been told Maddie had gone to await him to take her to lunch with his children.

He found she was indeed there, standing at the side of his window, for some reason peering around the opened curtains as if she was using them to hide.

Whatever she was watching had her full attention. He knew this because she did not sense his presence and thus turn to greet him.

As he approached, he took her in wearing her dress that was nearly the color of the deep green of Valentine's. But hers was knit, covering her from its rolled neck that went up to her jaw and down to the tips of her boots. Her extraordinary hair was mostly down, but the front and sides had been pulled away from her face and arranged in soft curls at the back of her head. The dress hugged her upper body magnificently, down to her waist where it flared into the skirt. But even the skirt clung to her figure, specifically her hips and a.r.s.e, and it did this in alluring ways that brought to mind the fact that he needed to order a mirror to be installed in his bedroom.

Or hers should she elect to remain in the dower house for longer.

They could move it to his when she moved in.

But he wanted her to watch herself as he was taking her a.r.s.e, something he greatly enjoyed but enjoyed more as she'd clearly enjoyed it.

Indeed, they could do much with a mirror.

And they would.

On these thoughts, he got close to her back and felt her jump when he slid his hands along her ribs.

She twisted her neck to look up at him and he smiled down at her.

"h.e.l.lo, my dove," he greeted.

Her hand cut to her face, her finger extended over her lips, and she hissed, "Shh!" before she turned to look back outside.

He felt his brows draw together as he moved his gaze to the window. Then he felt his lips curve up when he saw Hans speaking with Loretta out in the snow at the side of the house.

Hans was standing very close to the maid.

Loretta didn't like this and was pulling back.

Thus Hans had an arm around her waist, plastering her to his side, just as he had his neck bent so he could bring his face close to hers.

"They can hardly hear us, poppy," Apollo pointed out, still looking out the window.

"I'm concentrating," she told him.

"On what?" he asked.

"Reading Hans's lips."

This surprised him so much he cast his gaze to the top of her hair.

"You can read lips?"

"No!" she snapped impatiently, not tearing her eyes from the window. "That's why you have to shush so I can concentrate."

His body shook with his laughter as he turned her resisting frame in his arms.

"Lo! I'm missing it," she bit out irritably when he had her front to his.

"Perhaps we should let whatever-that-is play out without an audience," he suggested.

"If we do, how can I report back to Finnie, Meeta and Bella?"

"You'll just have to ask Loretta what occurred when you have that opportunity."

Her expression changed to frustration when she shared, "She's being closed-lipped about the whole thing."

He was again surprised.

"I thought you women nattered about these things freely," he remarked and watched her eyes narrow.

"We women are vast in number, Apollo. Some do. And some, like Loretta, don't."

He grinned down at her. "All right. Then perhaps you should allow her to share, or not, as she wishes."

"What's the fun in that?"

She had him there, so he didn't answer.

Instead he changed the subject. "How's her injury?"

He felt as well as heard her deep sigh as she gave into his demand that she leave his man and her woman alone, something she had no choice but to do with the hold he had on her, and she knew it.

Then she answered, "Healing nicely."

"And has she recovered from the incident?"

Her eyes slid to his shoulder as she replied, "That maybe isn't healing so nicely."

"It frightened her," Apollo deduced, and her gaze came back to him.

"It would anyone, Lo," she noted. "Those things were creepy and there were a lot of them."

He did not need the reminder of Maddie and her women out in the snow with a lot of "creepy" things.

Alas, he had it and they were discussing it, as they should. Avoiding it was not healthy.

Therefore, he pointed out, "She went to that forest of her own accord, poppy."

"She did," she agreed. "But that s.h.i.t was extreme."

This was terminology he'd never heard, not even from Maddie.

He still understood it.

"Then let's hope Hans can get through to her. If anyone understands s.h.i.t that's extreme, it's Hans."

"Good point," she murmured, her gaze now moving over her shoulder as she twisted somewhat in his arms to look back out the window. "I'll have to mention that to her."

"I would allow Hans to try to break through, Madeleine," he advised.

She looked back to him, her eyes wide. "Are you nuts?"

"No," he pointed out the obvious.

"I have to meddle. It's my sisterly duty."

He was further surprised at another reference to the heretofore unknown sisterhood of women.

Then again, he'd seen it at work the night Loretta and Meeta forged into the cold, heavily armed, doing so on the dubious, but eventually proved correct knowledge that Maddie might need them.

And the knowledge of a sisterhood of women was far from unwelcome in times like these.

"Before going to lunch, we have things to discuss," he told her.

Her eyes moved over his face before they caught his and she settled into his embrace, giving him some of her weight and lifting her hands to place them light on his biceps.

"What do we need to discuss?" she asked.

"After lunch with the children, I'd like you to remain at the house so we can talk."

"We're talking now," she noted.

"We need time, my poppy, and privacy. I would delay until later when we go back to the dower house this evening after dinner, but it's important."

Her body stiffened slightly in his arms when she asked, "What are we going to talk about?"

"Amongst other things, the timing of your moving into this house," he told her and her body stiffened more.

"Apollo-"

He spoke over her. "And after our talk, we'll speak to Christophe together about his continued distance."

At this, her body relaxed and he knew what that meant.

"I take it you agree it's time we confront him about it," he remarked.

"Yes," she replied. "Though, I'm not sure I should be there."

He shook his head. "In future, if there are issues that need discussion, outside of those that need to be dealt with man to man, you will be there. He must learn to get used to that and it's best he do it now."

Her head tipped to the side, her gaze went unfocused and her teeth came out to worry her lip.

He gave her a squeeze and she again focused on him.

"Do you disagree?"

Hesitantly, she said, "Not exactly. It's just that I think my presence at this particular discussion may not be a good thing."

"Explain," he demanded.

"I can't," she returned. "I'm not a young boy who lost his mother and faces another woman in his life who looks exactly like her but is not her. I don't know what he's feeling. I just know it's me who's making him feel it." She pressed closer and got up on her toes. "And although I agree wholeheartedly that this has to be discussed, I think you, particularly you, Lo, need to be sensitive to all that. It causes me pain to cause others pain, the others being people who knew and loved Ilsa. It causes me more doing it to Chris and I'd rather not do it and instead, give him my company when he wants it, not when it's pressed on him."

Listening to her, allowing her words to penetrate, he studied her exquisite face, the adorable freckles that danced on her nose, freckles that became more p.r.o.nounced if she spent time outside, and he hoped they created a daughter that she bestowed those freckles on.

As well as her hair.

And those remarkable eyes.

Not to mention her sense of humor. Her bravery. Her fighting spirit. Her quick wit. Her loyalty. And her drive never to give up even when the odds were against her.

To communicate all this, when she'd finished speaking, he pulled her deeper into his arms, dipped his face closer to hers and whispered, "You'll make a wonderful mother."

Distractedly, he felt her entire body stiffen as her face froze.

And it was distractedly he noted both because Bella ran into the room and said on a near shout, "Lord Apollo!"

He turned, still holding Maddie in his arms, but it was Apollo who grew still as a stone when he looked into Bella's face.

"He's gone!" she cried.

He dropped one arm but held Madeleine's tense body tight to his side as he turned fully to the children's maid.

"Explain, Bella," he barked, the words harsh and abrasive as they scored through his throat.

"Chris!" she exclaimed and Apollo's chest got tight as he felt Maddie's hand come up and curl into his sweater at his stomach. "The tutor said he left to go answer the call of nature and when I went up to get them for lunch, he'd not returned." She shook her head frantically from side-to-side and lifted her hands in a helpless gesture that made every inch of skin on Apollo's frame feel like toxin was burning into it. "It's been some time since he left the school room. We've looked everywhere and we can't find him."

"Oh my G.o.d," Maddie breathed.

But Apollo moved.

He broke away from her but turned to her, leaned in and lifted a finger to within an inch of her face.

"You do not leave this house," he commanded.

"Okay, honey," she agreed instantly.

"Not for any reason, Madeleine," he clipped.

"Okay," she repeated. "Go," she whispered, her heart in her throat making it croaky, her eyes bright with fear.

He turned and moved to the door as he ordered Bella, "Send a man to the dower house. Get Cristiana and Meeta here at once. And get Hans to bring Loretta inside."

"Yes, sir," she replied and he felt her dashing out of the study behind him.

But he didn't look to see where she'd gone. He didn't look back to Madeleine.