Page 82 of Her Wolf of a Duke

“Evening,” one slurred. “You come to see the duel?”

The word rang in her ears.

“What duel?” she demanded. “Who is dueling?”

“Two lords or something. An affair of honor, one of them said, but the other was laughing at him. It’s all very odd, isn’t it, John?”

“Extremely,” another man nodded, stumbling slightly. “But it will be entertaining all the same. We don’t see many of these, do we?”

“Where is it happening?” Emma asked, wishing she could have found gentlemen that were capable of speaking and understanding, but grateful that she could now at least know something.

“Come with us, Miss. We can take you.”

“What are you saying, Thomas?” the third man said, hitting his shoulder gently. “We can’t take a lady with us. It’s no place for her.”

Emma groaned, and it was so loud and graveled that the three men actually appeared quite frightened of her. The first man pointed to a nearby hill, his eyes wide and his mouth closed.

“We reckon it will be over there,” another man explained. “Over that hill in the woods. It is no place for you, though. You will see something that you do not want to see.”

“I would rather see what I do not want to see than hear of it. Thank you for your assistance.”

She ran without a moment’s breath. She climbed the hill clumsily, her tiredness taking over, and as she reached the top she at last saw them. Rosendale and Levi were not yet in position, but they were arguing, and Sarah stood close by, a man she did not recognize holding her back as she fought against him, trying to break free.

Emma, suddenly, could not bring herself to move. The sight of it made her miserable, terrified that something would soon happen and there was nothing that she could do to prevent it if she remained where she was, yet her feet would not move to run. She wished she had never opened her sister’s letter and instead lived in blissful ignorance, or never shown it to her husband and allowed Sarah to do what she wanted and disappear. That way, she would have been having dinner with her husband and then spending the evening together and hopefully find a way through their new marriage, rather than standing out in a cold night watching as two men prepared to kill each other.

Suddenly, Sarah turned and saw her.

“Emma!” she screamed, and both men turned to her. “Emma, help me! Tell this man to release me at once!”

Emma’s strength found her again, and she pushed herself forward, running down to where they were. She could hear the men telling her to get back, but she ignore their pleas and continued on her way. She watched her sister’s face as she approached, clearly expecting her to force the man to let her go, but in actuality she was pleased that Sarah was being held back. At least, that way, she was safe.

Instead, she walked directly between the two men, standing in the way of what would become the firing line. Both men looked furious with her, but it was a fury she met. At last, there was silence, and it gave her the chance to think for a moment. She was exhausted, and angry with them for doing what they had done, but her voice came out barely above a whisper.

“What do the two of you think you are doing?”

CHAPTER 28

Levi had thought he was doing what was right.

Emma was his wife, and regardless of the circumstances, that made her his family. He would have done anything for her, and he told himself that was because she was his wife but he knew that it was more than that. He was falling for her, and no amount of pulling away could bring a stop to it, When she looked up at him, giving him the letter with such fear in her eyes, he realized then and there that he loved her, and he would give anything to make her happy, no matter the sacrifice.

And so, to protect Sarah’s honor, he did what he had to do. She meant everything to Emma, and had been her very reason for being for many years, and Levi could not stand by and watch her disappear when there was something that he could do about it. It angered Emma, but he knew that she would one day understand. If he died, at least she would not have to suffer a husband like him anymore. There was no loss in it, not as far as he cared.

But he did not want her to see it.

When he saw her, alerted to her presence by her sister’s screams, he was taken aback by just how beautiful she was. Wild, untamed, and unbelievably fierce, she ran towards them and stood in their way. Rosendale almost seemed grateful for the intrusion, as he had been unwilling to enter into the duel in the first place. He had refused to let Sarah leave with Levi, however, and so he decided that he had no other choice but to also engage in the duel. Levi hated the pain he could see in Sarah’s eyes, but it had to be done, and so he asked a gentleman that was hoping to watch the duel if he could hold her back. She had insisted on not keeping away, much like her sister, who was now standing before him with a fury in her eyes unlike anything else he had ever seen.

“Stop this,” she commanded. “Now.”

“Emma, stand back. This far too dangerous for you to be involved in.”

“It is no less dangerous for the two of you, so if you want me to leave you ought to do the same.”

“It is different and you know it.”

“Beyond my lack of a pistol, I do not honestly see any difference at all. I would actually argue that I am very safe here, as neither of you will shoot me. I know that much.”

She was right, of course, but it did not mean he wanted her near them. He wanted her far away, where she would not have to see any of the ensuing chaos and all of the memories of it that shewould be left with. It terrified him that she might have to see something so horrific, and he refused to do it in front of her. In that respect, she was indeed safe, but that did not help anything at all and she needed to go.

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