Chapter 27

CHAPTER27

Leah allowed Edward to take her upstairs cautiously. They moved like two mice, trying to make as little noise as possible. Then, when they were at the last stair, they saw an open door leading into one of the rooms on the ground floor. There were voices coming from inside.

"There are at least three voices I hear," Edward whispered, as they crouched behind the door. "I can’t make out what they are saying. They are probably those three men that captured us. We have to take them by surprise if we want to have any chance of overpowering them."

Leah nodded. "What do we do?"

"I’ll rush in first. I’ll try to take out all three. You come inside only if I call you. Only. Do you understand?" He sounded grave. The little lines on his forehead were more visible than ever. His voice ordered her, but his eyes pleaded.

"But... what if–"

"No," he cut her off. "If you hear that they overpowered me, you try to find a way out of this house."

"I won’t leave you!" she almost exclaimed aloud, but quickly pressed her hand over her lips.

"You have to," he urged. "You have a chance to save yourself. I will keep them distracted long enough."

"But Edward–" Before she could continue with her statement, he pressed his lips onto hers once more. She knew that she would not be able to change his mind. All she could do was agree.

"You stay here," he said again. "I’m going."

It was hard letting him go, but she knew this was the only way they could do this. She remained hiding, watching him go inside. She heard him shout, then silence.

"What are you doing here!?" Edward exclaimed.

She gasped silently. He told her to go and save herself. She should listen to him. She promised him that she would. He sacrificed himself for her. She should just turn around and find a way out. She should have done all of that. She knew it. Yet, she did exactly the opposite.

She rushed into the room, gripping at that chair leg as if her life depended on it, because it did. She was ready to break it against anyone’s head and even risk killing someone. She would do anything to keep Edward safe.

But the moment she rushed into the room, she was shocked to her very core to see that Edward was alive and well, standing next to three men, all of whom were turned with their backs to her. However, that was enough for her to recognize at least one of them.

"Father?" her voice trembled as she called out to her father. He turned around, his eyes widening in shock and relief. He rushed over to her, hugging her tightly.

"I feared we lost you," he murmured against her hair, clutching her into his arms. "Both of you."

"Edward saved us," she revealed once they released each other from their embrace. Only then did she see that the other two men were Andrew and Willoughby. "But... why are you here?"

"Willoughby gathered us," her father explained, as the five of them all gathered around to explain what had happened. "He became worried ever since your talk and then you mentioned going to see who lived on this address. You didn’t return, and this was when everything escalated. Fortunately for everyone, Andrew came to visit Edward, and didn’t find him there. But Willoughby seized the chance and shared his concerns. Together, they searched the Manor and found the note in the library, along with the address. Then, they came to fetch me, and we all rushed over here, to see whether you two were all right."

"It’s a good thing you did that," Edward commented.

"Absolutely," Leah said with a smile.

Then, her father continued, "The moment we arrived, we realized something fishy was going on. It seems that the Marquess had purchased this house just for the purposes of doing his murky business here. Other than you and his henchmen, there was no one else here. No servants, nothing."

"He obviously needed a place that no one would think to look into," Edward thought about it for a moment. "This is a well-respected part of town. I doubt anyone would ever think that anything criminal was happening here."

"He is a clever man, that Marquess," Leah’s father noticed. "Such a waste that he was using all that intellect for evil."

"He sold his soul for money," Leah shook her head.

"Now, he will be able to think about all his money while being locked up for the rest of his life," Edward pointed out.

"Speaking of which, someone ought to go and inform the Constable of what transpired here," Andrew suggested. "I might as well go. You stay here and make sure that neither the Marquess nor one of his henchmen leave the premises."

"I doubt the Marquess will be going anywhere," Edward assured them. "He is well taken care of down in the cellar. That is where the Constables can pick him up once they arrive."

"And the other men are also tied up in one of the other rooms," Leah’s father was equally certain of their own actions.

"In that case, why don’t we wait for the Constables out in the garden?" Leah suggested, feeling claustrophobic in this house that almost became her coffin. "I don’t think I can stand being in here a moment longer."

"I agree," Edward nodded, taking her by the hand and leading her outside.

Once they were all out in the fresh air, Andrew jumped into the carriage and went to fetch the Constable, leaving the rest of them behind. Leah’s father suddenly turned to his daughter.

"I am so sorry that I didn’t believe you," he stated. She could hear all the concealed pain and anguish that he had been carrying deep inside of him all this time. "I was just too frightened of losing you, like I did your mother. Of course, I love your curiosity about the world, just like I loved hers, but I also know that there are wicked people out there, like the Marquess, who would do anything for their own personal gain. Lives hold no value for him."

Leah took her father by the hand. "That is why it is so important that there are people like Mother in this world, to prove that there can be a counterbalance. We cannot allow these people to think that they rule the world. That isn’t true. Goodness rules the world. Evil is here trying to take over, but we cannot turn a blind eye to it. We cannot pretend not to see all the bad things that are happening around us. We have to help as much as we can. That is how we are fighting evil every single day and that is also how we keep the world in balance."

She could see a stray tear in her father’s eye. "I feel like I am listening to your mother. You have so much of hers in you, and it is so wonderful to see. I was wrong to try and force this out of you."

"You could never do that," Leah smiled. "It is who I am. I am your daughter, but I am also hers. I will always be."

"And I wouldn’t have it any other way," he whispered, taking her into his arms again. They remained like that for a long time. Leah felt loved more than ever, and finally, she was again close with her father. Now, she felt that all the obstacles between them had been removed, and they could go back to being a father and daughter, what they were always meant to be.

When he released her from his embrace, he addressed the duke. "And you... I have no words to thank you for taking such good care of my daughter. I cannot imagine a finer husband for her."

Edward seemed taken aback for a moment by the words he was just told. Then, he replied, "You do not know what your words mean to me. I know that our marriage did not start off as most marriages do."

Everyone laughed at those words.

"I still remember you running out of that mansion," Leah’s father said.

"You were so enraged," Leah chuckled, then her voice turned grave. "It turned out that the Marquess kidnapped me from my own home and brought me there, trying to murder us both."

"I figured something like that happened when we came here and realized who this house belonged to," her father nodded. "Again... I am sorry I didn’t believe you. I should have."

"In your defense, our version did not seem all that plausible," Edward tried to lighten up the mood, and everyone appreciated it.

"All’s well that ends well," Leah’s father said what they were all thinking. "And I believe we have much reason to celebrate now."

They remained there, until the Constables arrived, taking everyone to prison. They were assured that even though the Marquess had many connections, they would do him no good. There was enough proof regarding his misdeeds, and he would rot in prison for the rest of his days. That was all Leah wanted to hear. Nothing else would bring her so much joy... well, almost nothing else.

"I love you," Edward murmured into her ear that night, just after they finished making love, exhausted and filled with pleasure.

"I love you, too," she whispered back, snuggling up next to him, allowing him to wrap his arms around her and pull her even closer to him. She closed her eyes and inhaled his intoxicating scent.

"For a moment there, I thought all was lost... while we were in that house," he admitted. "The thought of losing you... I couldn’t bear it."

She smiled looking up at him. "I didn’t doubt you for a moment," she revealed. "Like I said, I trusted you fully. I knew you would get us out, one way or another."

"You did?" he wondered, sounding surprised.

"Of course, silly," she chuckled. "You are my knight in shining armor."

"And you are my princess," he said, kissing the tip of her nose.

"I think I would prefer to be a queen," she giggled.

"Of course," he laughed. "Whatever her royal highness wishes."

"The queen of your heart," she added.

"That you already are," he murmured into her ear, landing soft, butterfly kisses on her neck, making her giggle. "I could listen to you laugh all day and all night long."

"If you continue to tickle me, you will," she laughed, cupping his face with her hands and making him look at her straight in the eyes. "I owe you my everything, Edward. You are my everything. I could not possibly love anyone more than I love you."

With those words, she placed a loving kiss on his lips. Neither of them had anything else to say. Words were superfluous. Everything had already been said. Now, they had the rest of their lives to spend together... but before that, there were still a few things left undone.