Page 40 of Her Runaway Duke
Which she hoped would be very soon.
Buoyed by Siena,Levi carried the bliss of their encounter through the rest of the day as he faced the destroyed stable and directed his staff to find makeshift shelter for the horses in the barn until they could rebuild enough of the stable to make them comfortable once more.
Levi stood beside Collins, the stablemaster, as they watched the footmen help lead the horses away while the smoke still trickled up from the burned building.
“I must apologize, Your Grace,” Collins said, rubbing his forehead, which was thickly streaked with soot. “I have no idea how the fire started. There was enough light from the windows that we didn’t have any lanterns lit, and as far as I know, no one was smoking inside. I shall have to ask and see if anyone can think of a cause, but?—”
“It’s not your fault, Collins,” Levi said, stopping him and then catching the stablemaster’s surprised expression. Levi supposed that his staff was not accustomed to him being so forgiving, but he was in a different mood than usual today.
“Once the smoke clears and the embers burn out and we can go inside, I’m sure we can determine what happened, but it willonly be to prevent it from taking place again. No blame will be laid.” Levi pursed his lips together, deciding that he’d had more than enough experience with fires than most people should ever have.
He clapped the stablemaster on the shoulder and was returning to the house when McGregor caught up to him.
“Your Grace,” he said with a nod, as he always referred to him by his proper title when they were in public settings. “How are you doing? I can imagine that the fire must have been very traumatic for you.”
“It was, in a way, yes,” he said, letting out a breath. “It brought back memories that I would prefer to leave in the past. At least, however, no one was hurt.”
“I heard Lady Siena was rather close.”
“Yes,” Levi said, rubbing his forehead as he tried to push the new memory away as well. “Far too close.” McGregor appeared troubled, and Levi remembered then that he was not the only one involved in a previous fire. McGregor had lost his own father – a baker – to a fire, and then had witnessed the same fire Levi had endured.
“This must be difficult for you as well, McGregor.”
“Never mind me,” the valet said, but before Levi could ask anything further, he squinted when he saw a line of people walking around the building and flinched in response, although he didn’t run – not yet.
It took him a moment to realize that not all of the people around the barn and stables were his staff, but rather people he had never seen before. An uneasy ball began to roll around his stomach, although he wasn’t nearly as on edge as he usually was at the thought of someone seeing him for the first time. He supposed it was because he was used to it at this point and no matter what the people here thought, he was still their duke.
“Who are these people? I do not recognize many of them.”
“They are tenants from nearby as well as people from the town,” McGregor explained. “They have come to see what they can do to help. There is already talk of coming together to build a new stable.”
“How much would I pay them for that?” he asked.
“They would never agree to take payment,” Thornbury said, joining them. “This is what they do – help one another in times of need.”
Levi was already shaking his head as he took some steps back. For one, he didn’t want to allow anyone to take a close look at his face. He wasn’t sure that he could stand that kind of scrutiny at the moment, especially not after he was beginning to hope that maybe if Siena could handle what he looked like, others might be able to see past his visage as well.
He couldn’t have those hopes dashed.
Not today.
Siena had spentthe rest of the day after the fire by herself. By the time she had finished her bath, evening had already descended, and Siena readied for bed and took dinner in her chamber, as exhaustion had set in from the events of the day – the terror of the fire and the elation with Levi that followed.
She had hoped that he hadn’t waited for her for dinner, but Mary had informed her that he had been so busy with the staff as they looked after the horses and stable that he had missed dinner altogether. Siena wasn’t keen on that news, but she supposed that he was a grown man and didn’t need her to tell him when to eat or not.
She hadn’t seen him at all the next day either, although she had spied him through the windows from time to time. She hadbeen very pleased when she had received a message from him, telling her that he looked forward to seeing her at dinner that night.
This meant that now she was looking rather forlornly at her wardrobe, devoid of her favorite of the gowns Eliza had packed for her now that it was ruined. None of the rest seemed to be appropriate for this evening.
At some point, she was going to have to buy new dresses, although she wasn’t certain how to do so when she had no wish to return to London and she doubted that Levi would welcome a seamstress into his home.
Which was why she was greatly surprised when Mary knocked on the door and walked in with her arms full of beautiful golden fabric.
“What’s this?” Siena asked as Mary practically beamed while laying out what appeared to be a gown upon the bed.
“The duke asked that I bring this to you to wear tonight.”
“Where is it from?” she asked as she brought a hand to her throat, aghast at the beauty of the gown. From its style, she guessed that it was created decades ago, but still, it didn’t appear worn, and it practically glittered in the candlelight.
