Page 107 of Wedded to the Duke of Seduction

The shift in her tone from calculated calm to frenzied rage sent chills down Marina’s spine. She twisted in Felicity’s grip, fighting to break free, but the woman’s fingers only dug deeper into her flesh.

“Give me the pistol, William,” Felicity demanded, her free hand extended.

William looked from Felicity to Marina, uncertainty plain on his features. “This isn’t what we agreed?—”

“The pistol!” Felicity shrieked. “Now!”

William’s face contorted with indecision, his grip on the weapon tightening even as his eyes betrayed his uncertainty. “This isn’t what we agreed?—”

Leo seized the moment, lunging across the stage toward his brother. William flinched as Felicity grabbed for the gun, but Leo reached them first, knocking the weapon from their hands.The pistol skittered across the wooden floor, coming to rest near the edge of the stage.

Marina scrambled away from the struggle, putting distance between herself and Felicity’s clawing hands. William stood frozen for a heartbeat, then, as if waking from a trance, he grabbed Felicity’s arms, restraining her as she thrashed against his hold.

“Let me go!” Felicity screamed, her carefully cultivated composure shattered completely. “William, you weak fool! Let me go!”

“It’s over, Felicity,” William said, his voice steady despite the strain evident on his face. “No more running. No more schemes.”

Leo retrieved a length of rope from where stage curtains had once been tied, returning to find his brother still struggling with the furious woman.

“Hold her still,” he instructed, moving to bind Felicity’s wrists.

Between them, they secured her hands then her ankles. William tore a strip from his own cravat, using it to gag Felicity when her screams turned to vicious threats.

“I never wanted it to come to this,” William said quietly when Felicity was finally subdued, her eyes burning with hatred abovethe makeshift gag. “I thought I was choosing love over duty, freedom over obligation. I was a fool.”

Leo straightened, studying his brother’s face—the face he’d searched for across a thousand miles, a face both achingly familiar and changed by the decade that separated them. “We were both fools in our own ways.”

William’s eyes filled with tears. “I stole from you. I betrayed you. I let her convince me you were the villain.” He glanced toward Felicity then back to his brother. “The things we did, the money we took… I have no right to ask your forgiveness.”

“Yet you have it all the same,” Leo replied, the words coming easier than he would have expected. Ten years of anger and pain seemed to dissolve in the face of his brother’s genuine remorse. “You’re my brother, William. Despite everything.”

William’s composure broke. He stepped forward, reaching hesitantly toward Leo as if uncertain of his welcome. “I want to make amends. Whatever it takes. I’ll repay everything, face whatever consequences?—”

Leo closed the distance between them, pulling his brother into a fierce embrace. William stiffened in surprise then clutched Leo’s coat, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

“Welcome home, little brother,” Leo murmured, his own throat tight with emotion.

When they finally separated, both men turned to Marina, who stood watching their reunion with quiet dignity.

“Your wife is remarkable,” William said, wiping his eyes. “I’m sorry for what we put her through.”

Leo crossed to Marina’s side, noticing the fine tremor in her hands despite her composed expression. “Are you all right?”

Marina nodded. “I will be.” Her gaze shifted to Felicity, who had ceased struggling and now watched them with cold, calculating eyes. “What happens now?”

“Now,” Leo said, “we go home.”

With William’s help, they carried Felicity to Leo’s waiting carriage. The streets were empty at this late hour, allowing them to depart unseen. Marina sat across from the bound woman, her face betraying nothing of her thoughts.

Leo watched his wife, seeing the strength that had carried her through this ordeal and so many others. The same strength she’d shown when he had rejected her love, choosing fear over vulnerability. The knowledge that he might have lost her tonight, not to Felicity and William but to his own cowardice, settled like a weight in his chest.

When they reached Berkeley Square, Henderson opened the door, his usually impassive face showing shock at the sight thatgreeted him. To his credit, he recovered quickly, helping them bring Felicity inside without waking the entire household.

“Prepare the small guest room at the back of the house,” Leo instructed. “Make sure the windows are secured. And send for Dr. Fielding. And Henderson, discretion is essential.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” Henderson replied, already moving to carry out his orders.

In the library, Leo poured brandy for himself and William while Marina sank into a chair, exhaustion finally claiming her now that the immediate danger had passed.

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