Page 108 of Wedded to the Duke of Seduction

“You should rest,” Leo told her gently. “It’s been a long night.”

Marina looked as if she might argue then nodded. “What will happen to her?” she asked, gesturing toward the door through which Felicity had been taken.

“She’ll be sent to France under supervision,” Leo replied. “I have connections who can ensure she remains there. If she ever returns to England, she’ll face imprisonment.”

“And William?”

Leo glanced at his brother, who stood by the fireplace looking lost. “William will stay here where he belongs.”

William shook his head. “I can’t impose?—”

“You’re not imposing,” Leo cut him off. “You’re family. This is your home too.”

Marina rose, swaying slightly with fatigue. “I’ll leave you two to talk.”

Leo wanted to follow her, to ensure she truly was unharmed, to say all the things that crowded his mind and heart, but he recognized her need for solitude after the night’s events. There would be time for words tomorrow.

“Goodnight, Marina,” he said softly.

She paused at the door, her eyes meeting his. “Goodnight, Leo.”

After she left, Leo turned back to his brother. William stared into his brandy, shame apparent in every line of his body.

“I’ve been a fool,” William said again. “I let my jealousy blind me. Father always favored you, and I resented it. When Felicity turned to me after you ended things with her, it felt like finally winning something that was yours.”

“Father was wrong to show such favoritism,” Leo acknowledged. “And I was wrong to let his opinions dictate my choices. If I’d stood up to him about Felicity, perhaps none of this would have happened.”

William shook his head. “She would have found another way to manipulate us. I see that now. She never loved either of us. We were just a means to an end.”

Leo couldn’t disagree with his brother’s assessment. He had recognized Felicity’s calculated nature too late, after she had already set her sights on William. His rejection had made his brother an easier target, ripe for manipulation through his insecurities.

“What matters now is moving forward,” Leo said, pouring more brandy for them both. “You’re home. The rest can be sorted out in time.”

They talked long into the night, filling in the gaps of the past decade. William described their flight across Europe, the gradual depletion of their stolen funds, and Felicity’s growing desperation as Leo’s agents came ever closer to finding them.

“She was obsessed with you,” William admitted. “Even after all these years. Every time your name appeared in a newspaper or we heard rumors of your whereabouts, she would fly into a rage. I think part of her never accepted that you had truly chosen duty over her.”

“And now, she’s trying to destroy my marriage,” Leo mused, the pieces falling into place. “The blackmail was never about money. It was about separating me from Marina.”

William nodded. “When we learned you had married, she became fixated on the idea that your wife must be punished asshe had been. I tried to talk her out of it, but…” He spread his hands helplessly. “I’ve never been strong enough to deny her.”

“Until tonight,” Leo pointed out. “When it mattered most, you stood with me rather than her.”

“Your wife helped me see the truth,” William said quietly. “Even with a gun at her back, she defended you. That kind of loyalty… it made me question everything Felicity had told me about you.”

Dawn was breaking by the time their conversation wound down. A maid entered to stoke the fire and inform them that Dr. Fielding had seen to Felicity, pronouncing her physically well but recommending sedation for the journey to come.

“We should both get some rest,” Leo suggested, noting the dark circles beneath his brother’s eyes. “Henderson will show you to a room.”

William hesitated. “Leo, I truly am sorry. For everything.”

“I know,” Leo replied, clasping his brother’s shoulder. “So am I.”

As William departed with Henderson, Leo remained in the library, watching the sunrise through the windows. The night’s events had changed everything—not just the recovery of his brother but the undeniable truth that he had nearly lost Marina through his own fear.

He had spent a decade searching for William, never realizing that the real danger lay not in the past but in his refusal to embrace the future. Marina had offered him her heart, and he had rejected it out of fear that history would repeat itself.

Now, with the dawn of a new day, he knew what he had to do. It was time to stop running from his feelings. Time to be as brave as the remarkable woman who had faced down her captors without flinching. Time to fight for what truly mattered.

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