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Chapter 21

Levi couldn't stop smiling the entire next morning.

As much as it was possible for him to actually smile.

It wasn't only because he had spent the night with Siena. It was that she had sought him out. She had needed him. He couldn't remember the last time someone had needed him, and not just for what he could provide but for who he was.

He still avoided his little makeshift house party – the one that he had no desire to be hosting – but he found himself seeking Siena out that afternoon, eager for time alone with her.

He discovered her in the front parlor with Lady Eliza and Lady Willoughby, looking out over the front drive beyond them as they took tea together.

"My apologies for the interruption," he said gruffly, not enjoying the way they were all staring at him, although rationally he understood that he was the one speaking, standing in the doorway as he was, although as far from their scrutiny as possible. "Lady Siena, I was wondering if you might join me for a walk in the gardens?"

The beam that lit her face was worth his discomfort. "I would love to," she said. "That is, Lady Willoughby and Eliza, if you do not mind."

"Of course not, dear," Lady Willoughby said, patting her hand. "We shall see you afterward. Enjoy yourself."

Siena collected her hat before joining him, smiling up at Levi and slipping her arm through his as they stepped out into the sunshine. When she closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky, he realized that it wasn't the sun that was warming him. It was her.

She was changing something within him, lifting the weight that had been sitting on his shoulders for far too long.

He was so caught up in her that he didn't notice the commotion far up the drive until it was too late.

Siena's head snapped forward at the noise of the horse's hooves against the gravel, and she stiffened as she turned and looked up at him frantically.

"Levi," she said, "who is that?"

The alarm in her voice mirrored his own unease, but her fear was much more justified than his own discomfort. If these new visitors were here for her, then it could mean that everything she had worked so hard to overcome could come crashing down around her, sending her right back to the prison she had escaped.

He could not allow that to happen.

"I do not recognize them," he said, lifting a hand to shield his eyes to try to make them out, having to fight all that was within him to stop himself from turning around and running backward into the house. "They are all on horseback."

"There are three of them," she noted, and then gasped, her panic a squeeze around his heart.

"What is it?"

"The man in front… is my father."

Levi wrapped his arm around her protectively, holding her close against him, wishing that he could hide her away to keep her safe and away from any harm.

But it was too late for that.

The arrival of these men was a reminder of one thing he'd had no choice but to learn – there was no hiding. For eventually, all truth came to light, and it was better to face it head on and address it rather than live in fear.

Levi had tried to fight before – for the life of his brother, for everything that he had held dear. He had failed then, and he vowed that he would do everything he could to be strong for Siena, to keep her safe from the harm that threatened, even if it was from her own family.

"I cannot go back, Levi," she said, her voice just above a whisper. "Please, don't let me go back."

"I won't," he vowed, keeping her tucked into his side while they walked together to meet her father at the front of the drive. He wished that instead of just enjoying his time with her and forgetting all that could threaten, that he had done this the right way and had made her his wife in reality and not just in his dreams.

"There he is!" came the cry of her father, his arm outstretched toward the two of them as the men thundered up the drive. "Unhand my daughter!"

He rode stiffly, almost fighting his horse, his chin raised, exuding an air of superiority. His thin lips were pinched together, his gaze accusatory. Levi instantly hated him.

He came to a stop in fromt of them, and Levi took the moment to stand on the bottom stair and tower above him, showing him that he was not afraid and would not back down.

The men behind Lord Sterling appeared less confident, and Levi reminded himself that no matter what else was true, his title was higher than any of those before him could be.

"You," Siena's father said as he climbed the stairs toward the two of them. "You… beast. Killing your own brother wasn't enough? You also had to kidnap my daughter?"

"Father, he did no such thing," Siena said, trying to step in front of Levi, but he held her back. He wasn't going to have her put herself in any danger, and he was certainly going to make sure that she stayed safe.

"I would never kidnap a woman," Levi said, his voice low and steely, hoping that this man would understand that he was not a man to cross. "Nor would I ever take the life of anyone in my family."

"No?" Lord Sterling sneered. "I have heard many things about you. The Duke of Death, they call you."

"I did my duty in war," Levi returned. "That has no bearing on my life now that I have returned."

"You should be thanking him, Father," Siena intervened. "Not only did he fight for our country, but he fought for me. If it wasn't for him?—"

"Then you would be married to Lord Mulberry right now, where you belong," her father finished.

"I most certainly do not!" Siena exclaimed, and as much as he hated this entire situation, Levi was proud of her for voicing her opinion, for standing up for herself.

"I will see you tried, and I will see you hanged," Lord Sterling said, pointing a finger in Levi's face. "The magistrate has accompanied me to see that all is returned as it should be and that you face the consequences you deserve. Grant, take him into custody."

Levi reached up and wrapped his hand around Lord Sterling's finger, squeezing it as he pushed it down between them.

"Show some respect," Levi said, before turning to challenge the magistrate. "Well?"

The rather portly man stood behind Sterling, shifting from one foot to the other nervously. "My lord, you never told me the man in question was a duke."

"He kidnapped my daughter!"

"Perhaps, but he is a duke. This is not a case for me. This is for the House of Lords."

"But until then?—"

The magistrate was shaking his head. "You will have to take this to them, my lord. There is nothing I can do."

Lord Sterling was so upset he was practically shaking in anger, but he finally bit out, "Fine. I will do just that. And once this goes through the other lords who learn the story, then I'm sure they will see what must be done. You know the rumors about you, Your Grace. They will know the truth about what has happened here."

"You have no idea of the truth," Levi said.

"Siena, the carriage is just a short distance behind us as we rode ahead," her father said. "When it arrives, we will return to London. Lord Mulberry is waiting. I'm sure we can explain all of this away. When you return from this ordeal that you have faced after being snatched away from your wedding, we will make sure you are seen as the darling of London, that you had no participation in this and that you were only waiting to be rescued."

"Absolutely not," Siena said, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning into Levi. "I will not marry that man."

"You will," her father said, leaning in toward her. "You have no choice. The dowry — a significant one —has been paid and he is waiting for his rights as a husband. His rights meaning you. He has threatened to bring a breach of promise lawsuit upon us."

"While he wanders about London nightclubs and finds other ‘rights'?" she returned, which only caused her father to glower in anger. If there wasn't an audience, Levi had no doubt that Sterling would have struck her right then.

"A man can do as he wishes. Now?—"

"Lord Sterling, what do you think you are doing?"

Lady Willoughby appeared in the doorway behind them, and as much as Levi had regretted her arrival, he now had a change of heart, most thankful that she was here to provide a buffer between Lord Sterling and him and Siena.

"Lady Willoughby, what in the hell are you doing here?"

"That's no way to speak to a lady," Levi growled, causing Lady Willoughby to look at him in surprise. In truth, he was sure that she had heard far worse in her life, but he would take any opportunity to oppose Lord Sterling.

"Thank you, Your Grace," she said with a nod in Levi's direction. "Now, perhaps we should move this conversation inside? This is all rather untoward, standing on the front step and shouting at one another. You should know better, Lord Sterling."

She turned around and continued into the house, not accepting any argument. Siena looked up at Levi, a touch of hope lighting her face.

"I will be going, then," the magistrate said, backing his horse away. "Sorry to have disturbed you, Your Grace."

He rode off while Collins appeared behind them, looking to Levi for guidance as to whether he should see to the other two horses.

Levi nodded, figuring that the men were going to be here for a time, then he followed the rest of them into the house. As they made for the drawing room, he couldn't help but consider how much he had grown to hate this room, which had become the place where he was hosting all of his uninvited guests.

"Well," said Lord Fitzroy, who stood in the doorway. "This is a most unfortunate surprise. Lord Hanson," he said in greeting, identifying the second man who must have been a colleague of Lord Sterling's. Levi didn't altogether care as long as they left his house as quickly as they had appeared – without Siena.

Lord Sterling had seemed to calm somewhat with the appearance of Lady Willoughby, although he was still tapping his foot on the floor impatiently.

Siena and Levi sat together on the sofa, a united front against her father.

"How did you know I was here?" Siena asked once they sat, and her father scowled.

"Servants. Isn't that how we always learn everything?"

Levi inwardly sighed. He had hoped he could trust everyone in his staff, but obviously there was someone who wasn't as trustworthy as he would have liked.

"I came as soon as I learned that you were with this… man," her father said, nearly shivering in disgust. "I wasn't sure if I would find you alive or not."

"Did you really care about my health, or were you more concerned about whether or not you could return me to Lord Mulberry?" she asked, tilting her head, studying him as she awaited his answer.

"Does it matter?"

"I suppose not," she said, sadness in her voice, "although I wish it was the former. Be that as it may, all you need to know, Father, is that His Grace saved me from a disastrous fate when I was accosted by highwaymen. He has been most accommodating to me and to Eliza and Lady Willoughby. You can see there is no scandal as I have a chaperone."

"But there is scandal," Levi said, surprising even himself. As Siena had spoken, he had seen only one solution. One that, he must admit, he was actually happier to offer than he would have guessed. "Siena will not marry Lord Mulberry."

"Why the hell not?" Lord Sterling burst out.

"Because she is going to marry me instead."

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