Page 84 of Her Wolf of a Duke

He blinked, not knowing what to say to her. She was crying again, looking at him with fury, as if he had not been talking about himself.

“My husband is not a broken man. He is not a bad man, and he is not one that does not know how to change. My husband is a good man, a protecting and caring and wonderful man, in spite of everything that has happened to him, and I refuse to hear a bad word said of him. I may not know how to be the man of a household, but I know how to be a wife, and I know that it is my role to never allow a word to be said against my husband, for he is the man that I love.”

It was Levi’s turn to think about what he was hearing. It did not make any sense in his mind that anyone could ever love him, as nobody ever had. His mother was being kinder to him, but that did not mean she loved him at all. It simply meant that she was trying to put on a good showing for herself in front of his wife. He had spent the entirety of his life being unloved and unwanted, and the thought of someone as lovely as Emma loving him did not make any sense. He was a bad man, and even if he was not already, he would be eventually. He couldn’t trust himself to be good, let alone good enough for her.

He wanted to turn cold, to tell her to leave again and force her aside and do what he had set out to do, but he could no longer do it. He did not want any harm to come to Emma, and if that meant protecting the husband she cared for so much, then he would have to do it, even if it meant doing the difficult thing and saving himself.

Reluctantly, he returned his pistol to its holster.

He heard the audible gasp of relief from Sarah, and saw Emma crumble before him. It was then that he realized that she had followed him immediately. She couldn’t even have eaten before she rode in pursuit!. He had at least had his meal at the inn before confronting Rosendale, but she was unfed and exhausted, and he had given her no choice but to follow him out into the middle of a duel. He had left because he loved her, and she had followed him because, as she claimed, she truly did love him too.

She tumbled forward, and he caught her in his arms, cradling her gently. She was worn from the day, but even so she was so beautiful that he fell apart. He would fall apart, he swore to himself, and rebuild himself again over and over if it meant that he might one day become a man that deserved someone so wonderful.

He carried her wordlessly over the hill, Sarah following desperately behind them and Rosendale not leaving Sarah’s side. The younger sister was still in tears, her white gown stained with grass and dirt at the bottom from her furious attempts to be released. She looked at her sister with fear in her eyes, and Levi realized that she was more afraid than was truly necessary.

“Fear not,” he explained kindly. “She is tired, that is all. I will have a meal prepared for her, and then she will sleep, and then all will be well again, I assure you. She will be fine.”

She softened at that, and he admired how trusting she was of him, for had he been in her position he was not so certain he would have believed it. Emma stirred as they arrived, and so he placed her down onto her feet and took her inside. They seated her at a table, and she sleepily ate a large meal. He noticed how she slowly came back to her usual self as she ate, though something was still amiss. It was nothing that sleep could not fix, he hoped.

“Shall we leave them be?” Rosendale asked suddenly, and Sarah gave him a look of disgust.

“I am not leaving her side,” she said firmly. “Our wedding can wait. I will not go anywhere without her until I know she is safe.”

At once, Rosendale seemed to regret his suggestion.

“I do not mean that we should go to Gretna Green, not after all that has happened. I only mean that they might like to speak to one another.”

“I would prefer to stay with her,” Sarah nodded, her tone softening. “If that is alright with you, Your Grace?”

“Of course. I will be having rooms arranged. I assume you would like to share with her?”

“If it is not too much trouble, Your Grace, yes. I know that you are husband and wife, but I must speak with her once she is recovered. I have so much to apologize for.”

Levi did not mention that they had never shared a room in spite of their marriage. He was simply pleased that Sarah seemed to regret her decision, and had realized her mistake and wanted to make up for it. He arranged for the rooms as Sarah watched over Emma, Rosendale sitting beside her in case she fell asleep again, and once she had eaten they all made their way to their rooms. He helped Emma into hers, laying her in her bed, and as he pulled away she weakly took hold of his sleeve.

“Where are we?” she mumbled.

“In the inn.”

“Did you duel?”

“No,” he chuckled in spite of himself. “No, you stopped it.”

“Good,” she yawned, and fell asleep in an instant.

He kissed her forehead gently before turning and leaving the room, Sarah sitting on her own bed and staring at her sister. He scolded himself until he fell asleep himself.

All he could think about was how much pain he almost caused the lady he loved.

CHAPTER 29

Emma felt quite foolish when she awoke.

Her body ached all over, and though she had been sleeping for a long time she was still exhausted. She sat up, wincing at the pain she felt, and suddenly she was facing her sister, who did not seem much better than she was.

“At last,” she said gently. “You are awake.”

“What happened?” Emma asked wearily. “Did the duel–”

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