Page 60 of Her Runaway Duke
CHAPTER 22
The room was silent for only a moment, stunned into silence, until Lord Fitzroy pushed himself off of the wall and called out, “Congratulations!”
Eliza was the next to offer her excitement, stepping over and wrapping Siena in a hug. “Are you sure?” she whispered in her ear, to which Siena could only nod, so overwhelmed was she by these sudden turns of events.
“You most certainly are not!” Lord Sterling burst out. “I will not have my daughter married to a—to a?—”
“To a duke?” Lady Willoughby supplied, arching an eyebrow and causing Lord Sterling to curse.
“It is too late. You have a marriage contract with Lord Mulberry. To break it would be of great offense.”
Siena stood, staring her father in the eye. She was done with this, with being told what to do, being used as a pawn in these games between men.
“I love Levi, and if he will have me, then I will marry him,” she said, lifting her chin. “You cannot tell me what to do any longer.”
Lord Sterling began to chuckle lowly, in such a sinister manner that terror began to creep down Siena’s spine.
“You think you know everything, but you have no say in this, Siena,” he said. “You will see.”
With that, he turned and left the room, Lord Hanson following behind him sheepishly. Siena and Eliza exchanged a look, both of them knowing her father far too well to trust that he was done with them.
Siena could tell that Levi’s silence was an uncomfortable one, and she took a step toward him, placing a hand on his. “Levi, are you all right?” she asked, to which he gave a terse nod and said, “Fine,” although he most certainly was not.
She tugged on his hand, leading him away from the others. Eliza and her mother were murmuring in low voices to one another while Lord Fitzroy watched them all with concern on his normally smiling face.
“I’m so sorry, Levi,” she said hoarsely. “The last thing you wanted was company or attention and I have brought both upon you. I feel that all I have done since I arrived is place a burden upon you. Yes, there have been good moments, but overall?—”
Despite the others in the room, Levi leaned forward and cupped her cheeks in his hands.
“The good moments kept me going through any trying ones,” he said. “I will do anything for you, Siena. Whatever you need.”
Siena realized belatedly that she had just announced to everyone that she loved him. He had agreed to marry her, but he had yet to tell her how he felt about her in return. Would he think her foolish for saying so? Did he feel the same?
“Are you sure about this?” she asked. “About m-marriage? If you aren’t, I understand. We –Iwill find another way. Eliza and Lady Willoughby will help as well. The last thing I want to do is to subject you to a life that you have no wish for.”
He looked away from her for a moment, and she knew then that he had doubts.
“Tell me how you truly feel,” she implored. “Now, before it is too late.”
“Do I have concerns?” he said, his brow furrowing. “Of course I do. If we have children, are they going to fear me? Will you be able to live the life that you deserve, a life full of love, light, and people? I’m not sure that I will ever be able to give you that.”
He took a ragged breath as Siena tried to calm her pulse, which had begun to beat quickly at Levi’s mention of children. “If your other option was someone worthy of you, I would tell you to go to him. But I will not have you return to the life you left, nor a man like Lord Mulberry.”
“So…” she took a breath, trying not to allow him to see how affected she was, “you would marry me only to protect me?”
His hands rose again to cup her face, as he stared at her intently, as though wishing that he could tell her exactly what he was thinking without actually saying anything. “Siena?—"
“I hate to break up this moment,” Eliza said, her voice cutting through the circle of calm that had surrounded Siena, “but just where do you think your father went? It isn’t like him to leave without the last word. What do you think he will do now?”
“I hate to think of it,” Siena said, biting her lip, before looking up at Levi, wondering what he had been about to say to her, wishing Eliza hadn’t interrupted them.
“He will try to coerce you to return to London with him, I would suspect,” Lady Willoughby said, walking over to join them. “As much as it pains me to say this, he has a point. Your Grace might rank above him, but when it comes to you, Siena, you might have little recourse if your father has already agreed with Lord Mulberry.”
Her eyes flicked over to Levi.
“There is one man who would be able to prevent him from doing as he wished with her — her husband.”
Levi smiled grimly. “Well. How fortunate that we are so close to Canterbury.”
