Page 80 of Her Wolf of a Duke

“We should,” he replied, “but I do not wish to stand.”

She laughed softly, placing her head on his chest with a soft sigh of relaxation. Levi stretched across the settee, pulling her onto him and listening to her as she fell asleep. Not wanting to awaken her, he closed his eyes and felt himself fall asleep with her.

It was morning when they awoke, her head still pressed into him. Levi hardly noticed the butler entering with a letter, which had been addressed to Emma, in a strangely scratched form.

“Emma?” he said gently, nudging her awake. “It is for you.”

CHAPTER 27

Nothing could have prepared Emma for what she read.

Emma,

This is goodbye.

Father has summoned me to his study to inform me that not only am I no longer to speak with Lord Rosendale, but I am to marry the Viscount tomorrow. Father had this planned since that awful ball at the party, when I danced with the Baron all night. He told me that I had insulted his friend, and that the consequences would be swift, but they had never come. I had thought at the time that he had changed his mind, or that your situation made him forget about mine, but I was wrong. He simply did not want to give me any chance to escape it.

But he has been mistaken. I will not marry that man, not for anything in the world. I suppose he expects to drag me down that aisle tomorrow, and that I will follow him without protest,but if that is what he wants then he shall have to find me first. The Baron and I are going to Gretna Green, and he and I will run away together. I will be safe, Emma, and very happy, but I know the consequences that this decision will bring. It will mean that I will be an outcast from society, and unable to see you again, and for that I truly am sorry, but I know you will understand that this is how it must be. I cannot be the Viscountess. You know as well as I do that I cannot.

I love you. You have been the truest sister that anyone could ever ask for, and I wish there was another way. I will miss you endlessly.

Yours Faithfully,

Sarah

Emma’s hands trembled, and her first instinct was to tear the letter in two and scream. She restrained herself with difficult, the scream she wished to voice dying in her throat. She simply remained still, clutching the paper and hoping, praying, that it was a forgery.

“Emma?” Levi asked. “What is it?”

“It is… read it.”

She thrusted the letter to him, and he scanned it quickly. When he was done, he dropped it to the floor and stormed out of the room. At last, Emma felt herself become able to move.

“Levi, where are you going?”

“I am going to do what I must,” he explained, running into his room and slamming the door behind him.

“What are you talking about? You cannot do anything about this.”

“You cannot, but if your father does not want to be the head of a household then I certainly will. I will find Sarah, and I will issue my challenge to Rosendale. It is what must be done. I will return as soon as it is done.”

She wished that she could see his face, but she was on the other side of the door. She pounded her fist against it, willing him to open it, but when he eventually did he walked past her, dressed in black.

“I will be back soon,” he repeated not looking at her.

Emma chased after him, pulling on his arm and demanding that he stopped, and when he did turn back to her she saw that there was no emotion in his face. It pained her to see him so resolved about what he was doing.

“I am coming with you,” she ordered, but he rolled his eyes and shook her off.

“You are not. It is dangerous. It frightens me enough that Sarah is there without putting you in harm’s way too. This is a matterfor gentlemen, and so it must be gentlemen that resolve it. You will stay here.”

“I will do no such thing. You cannot force me to.”

“I can and I will. Do not be a fool, Emma. You are better than that. You are not some hero that can resolve this in any way that does not involve bloodshed, and to see a life taken is something that you cannot unsee. Sit here, and wait. If I come back with Sarah, we will think of something together then.”

She swore her heart stopped for a moment.

“And if– if you do not?”

---