Page 59 of Her Runaway Duke
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.”
