Page 34 of Her Runaway Duke
“Five,” the stablehand called out as he was already returning to the wooden structure.
Levi knew he should follow him. He had no wish to leave innocent horses to die. And yet, his feet refused to move, as much as he was shouting internally at them to race into the stables and save the horses.
Siena would believe him a coward forever. A scarred, simple coward.
Before he had time to consider the ramifications of that, however, a flash of lilac caught his eye, and it took him a few moments before he realized that Siena had run past him – and was heading right into the stables.
“Siena!” he yelled out. “No!”
This time he didn’t give himself any time to think.
He didn’t have to tell his feet what to do, because they acted of their own accord, moving toward the stables, chasing after Siena, desperate to stop her before she entered and put herself in danger.
He had just made it to the stable doors when there was a crash from within, and the smoke came billowing out. He came to a halt, as he fought with himself, torn between turning around and running away as fast as he could, and racing inside to save Siena.
Another servant ran by him – a footman, although he couldn’t make out which – and Levi felt even more foolish that he couldn’t enter to save a woman in his care as well as his own horseflesh.
Him, a soldier. An officer.
“Siena!” he called again, much more desperately this time, and his heart seemed to burst with relief when she reappeared from the smoke, leading one of his horses out, the stablehandfollowing behind with two more and the footman with the last of them.
They all appeared unharmed although were coughing from the smoke. Siena’s dress, previously a beautiful lilac, was covered in soot and smudges.
“Your Grace, quickly!” the stablehand said as he urged the horses out in front of him, and as he did so there was a huge crack from within as one of the stable supports must have given out.
Siena’s horse bolted into the air, its front legs pawing desperately for support, and Levi finally moved, jumping toward her, wrapping his arms around her and knocking her out of the way and onto the ground as she let go of the reins and the horse ran free.
She landed with an “oof,” but Levi took the brunt of the fall.
Wincing in pain, he didn’t want to risk them being caught in any further fallout from the fire, and he bent down, ignoring the twinging on his right side as he lifted Siena, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her away from the stable. When they were a fair distance away, he set her down as gently as he could, crashing to the ground beside her as they watched the flames take over the stable.
“Oh, Levi,” she said, a hand over her mouth. “I am so sorry.”
He was still catching his breath as the rushing through his veins began to ebb away, leaving him feeling empty and shallow instead.
“You’re sorry?” he asked incredulously. “For what?”
“For the loss of your stable,” she said. “Are you all right?”
Her eyes ran over him, and he could tell that she was not asking about his physical ailments, forshewas the one who had entered the stables, who had put herself in danger, and saved a horse who wouldn’t have otherwise made it.
Never before had he felt like less of a man.
And that was saying something.
CHAPTER 12
Siena wasn’t sure if it was her words that distressed him or the burning stable.
Perhaps both.
But she certainly wasn’t helping.
They sat there together in the overgrown grass, watching flames lick at the wooden walls of the stable while black smoke billowed out into the air, the smell of burnt hay and smoke mixed with the sharp tang of wet wood and the musky scent of the horses blanketing them.
Just when it appeared the fire was threatening to spread, however, it seemed to quickly die out, struggling to catch on the wet wood of the stable’s exterior. Being contained to the flammable contents inside muffled the crackling of the fire, creating a dampened and almost eerie sound.
The servants had arrived with buckets, but they weren’t needed. The rain from the previous days had done its job and stifled the fire – although not before destroying the stable. Most of it stood, but Siena guessed it would have to be torn down and rebuilt.
