Page 47 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
“And you are worried the same fate will befall you if you do not obey?”
Leo was starting to get a much better idea of her fear. But he needed her to know that she was under his protection now.
“My father made me promise,” she whispered. “I promised I would never let him find me. I failed.”
“The Earl of Riley is a coward and a murderer,” Leo growled.
“He wants to use me just as he wanted to use my mother.” Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks at the prospect of having to go with her grandfather, but Leo could not understand her dilemma.
“Just do not go to him. You are under my protection. He cannot hurt you while you are with me.” He tried to take her hand, but she shrank back from his touch in a way she never had before.
“You do not understand. He is more dangerous than you think. I cannot let him hurt any of you in an attempt to get to me.” A sob wracked her whole body. “My father told me to hide, and I failed, all because I wanted to be free of the convent. I wanted to see the world, and now…”
“And now what?” Leo pressed, refusing to pull away.
“Now, it will cost me my life one way or the other.”
She looked beyond him, and he remembered that they were not alone in Hyde Park. The girls were mere feet away, looking in their direction. Aaron and Theresa were not very far either.
“I cannot do this,” Margaret sobbed.
She rose abruptly from the bench and ran back to the entrance of the park. Leo could not allow her to remain alone in the park, nor could he chase after her.
He resolved to follow behind her at a brisk walk. As long as she did not leave his sight, he could give her some privacy. If anyone thought he was chasing her, they would not stop him. He was a duke, after all. The best he could hope for was that no one would recognize him and stop him to talk.
Leo watched as Margaret leapt into the carriage where the servants awaited their return. He hesitated for a moment, wanting to stay and shield her, but the most protection he could offer was within the walls of his estate.
He turned back to the park to ask Joan to collect Annie and Kitty. Aaron and Theresa were just coming back from their stroll around the clearing. He gestured to Aaron that he would be waiting in the carriage.
Theresa looked worried when she did not see Margaret, and the couple began to walk faster toward Leo. It took only moments before their party was back in the carriage, but it felt like a lifetime to Leo.
The ride to Devishire Mansion was silent and tense. Theresa sat beside Margaret and held her hand, stroking her arm the entire time. She glared at Leo, as if he were the cause of Margaret’stear-streaked cheeks. But if Theresa did not know the story, he would not be the one to tell it.
Even Annie and Kitty behaved themselves on the way home.
Kitty watched Margaret with wide eyes. She had never seen Margaret even the least bit upset—not when they were hiding, not when she was chastising them.
She patted Margaret’s knee, which prompted Margaret to look up for the first time. Though her face was red and blotchy, she managed to smile at the girl, reassuring her that all was well.
“Why is Margaret upset?” Annie asked Leo. It was perhaps the first time she had ever addressed him directly.
“She ran into someone she used to know,” he said, hoping that it was enough information to quell any more questions.
“But why would that upset her?” Annie pressed.
Leo bit his tongue, remembering that Margaret had said he should spend more time talking to the girls.
She was right. All he ever did was scold them, and he was tempted to do so now.
“It was not someone she was particularly fond of,” he explained.
Annie nodded as if she understood this. She, too, reached out and patted Margaret on the arm before settling in beside her sister. Annie and Kitty clasped hands and did not speak again until they were back at the mansion.
They tumbled out of the carriage and raced into the house, Joan trailing behind them. Aaron helped Theresa and Margaret down from the carriage as Leo looked on.
“Dear husband, I believe I will go with my friend to her room,” Theresa said as they left the stables. She was supporting Margaret as the two of them walked through the garden.
Aaron nodded. “We will be in the study, should you need us.”
