Page 62 of Her Runaway Duke
Fitz, of course, was not affected by his surly mood as he simply grinned even wider and planted the license in his hand. “Is the vicar here?”
“He is.”
“Where is your bride?”
Fitz looked around the foyer as though expecting her to appear, but Levi hadn’t seen her since she had gone to her chamber with Lady Eliza.
“Coming soon,” he said instead, even though a large part of him was worried that she might not appear. She had run away from a wedding once before. What was stopping her now? Lady Eliza, the escape artist, was here with her. What if she convinced Siena to run away again, this time to follow through on her plan to meet this friend of hers or to run even farther?
He didn’t want to think of it. For the first time, he was actually considering what his future might look like, and therewas no other option than to have Siena in it. He’d had a taste of her love and now he wasn’t sure that he could live without it any longer.
He heard a noise on the landing above him and he turned to see Siena walking along the railing, Lady Eliza at her side. He released a long breath that he hadn’t even realized he had been holding.
“There she is,” Fitz said, clapping his hands together, but Levi didn’t say anything, for he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She wasn’t wearing anything extravagant. It was a dress he had seen her in before, a light rose muslin, and yet with the blush in her cheeks, the glimmering of the chandelier off of her hair and the way her brown eyes stared at him with trepidation yet trust, she was more beautiful than anyone he had ever seen.
A nudge pushed him forward slightly, and he turned to find Fitz waving him on, which finally sprang him into action as he walked over to the bottom of the landing and held his arm out to her.
“Siena,” he murmured, and a smile touched her lips as she placed her hand on his arm.
She looked up at him, worry in her expression. “Are you sure about this?” she said. “If you are not, we can find another way. I promise.”
He knew he hadn’t exactly asked in the way he should have, so caught up he had been in ensuring her safety, but now he took both of his hands in hers, forgetting Fitz, Lady Eliza, that anyone was threatening them as he brought them close to his chest and leaned in so that they were sharing the air between them.
“I want nothing more than to be married to you,” he said in a low voice. “I know that there might be obstacles along the way, but I have never been happier than when I am with you. I promise I shall be as good of a husband as I can be. That mightnot mean much, but it is all I am capable of. If that is enough for you, then of course I will marry you.”
“That is more than enough,” she said, a sheen of tears covering her eyes, and he leaned in and kissed her nose, wishing he could rid her of all of her sadness. “We will find a way forward; however you choose.”
He nodded, uncertain exactly of what he should say at the moment, but one thing he knew – of any woman in the world, he would choose her. Again and again.
“Well, then,” he said with what he hoped was an encouraging smile, “are you ready to become a duchess?”
“Oh, goodness,” she said, appearing so shocked that he nearly laughed. “I hadn’t even considered the duchess part.”
“Not to worry, I do not take the role of duke too seriously,” he said, beginning to lead her back to the drawing room.
“You should,” she insisted. “The dukedom plays an important role to a great many people.”
Levi had no wish to have this conversation at the moment, but he was glad, at least, that it had distracted her from her worry over what was to come.
He still wasn’t certain if he was doing the right thing. The right thing probably would have been to find another place for her, to help her escape and find the life that she wanted to live. But selfishly, he couldn’t let her go. He wasn’t sure if he loved her. He had never truly felt love before, so how could he know? But he did know that he had a fierce need to protect her, a need that overcame all other emotion, and he couldn’t trust anyone but himself to properly look after her.
So, marry her he would.
As they stepped into the drawing room, Lady Eliza pressed a bouquet of freshly cut roses into Siena’s arms. Siena’s mouth parted in surprise. Levi had asked Thornbury to make sure that they were prepared for her. Another sat in a vase near the frontof the hearth, which had become a makeshift altar of sorts. The fire burned low in the grate, although far enough away from them that it wouldn’t distract him.
With Lady Willoughby, Lady Eliza, Fitz, Thornbury, and McGregor in attendance, it was all becoming rather too real.
But it was too late to question his decision now.
The vicar appeared both perplexed and curious, which was natural since no one had known that the duke who lived so close to their town was even interested in marrying, let alone had a woman in mind – and one who was here, at his estate. There was also the entire business of the special license, although Levi was hoping the man wouldn’t question their marriage and its validity.
Luckily, being a duke did come with a few advantages as the vicar simply began to read from the text.
And in just a few minutes, Levi was a married man.
Siena wasboth freezing and flushed throughout her body as she and Levi were pronounced husband and wife. Had that truly just happened? She, the woman who had run from a wedding just weeks ago, was now married to a different man?
