Page 66 of A Wicked Duke's Redemption
“What is the meaning of this?” Leo shouted.
“Your Grace!” Lord Preston exclaimed. “Oh, thank God you are unharmed!
Lady Priscilla lunged towards Violet, but a footman seized her arm and pulled her back. The lady screamed and struggled, but it was as if her attempted attack had awakened something within the staff. Emma grabbed the lady’s other arm, and they managed to restrain the screaming and struggling woman.
“I discovered that Priscilla escaped from my townhouse,” Lord Preston explained, his voice shaking. “I guessed that she must have come here, and I rode hard for days, hoping to catch her before she reached Groveswood.”
Violet put a hand to her chest. She looked so frightened that a surge of protectiveness rose within Leo. He wrapped his arms around Violet and drew her close, drawing an angered shriek from Lady Priscilla. “You assured us that she would haunt us no longer!” Leo snapped. “Yet here she is—in our bedchamber and threatening my wife once more!”
Lord Preston bowed his head. “I know. Although I am reluctant to admit it, Priscilla needs more help than I can offer. I had hoped to spare my family the harm her actions would cause and have put you in danger.”
There were more footsteps, and two unfamiliar men emerged. “Lord Preston?” one asked.
Lord Preston turned to them. “Take my daughter.”
“No!” Lady Priscilla shrieked. “How dare you? Unhand me at once!”
Her protests fell on deaf ears as the two men seized Lady Priscilla and took her, struggling and wailing, from the room.
“You have my sincerest apologies, Your Grace,” Lord Preston said. “I see no choice now but to have Priscilla institutionalized. Perhaps they can manage to cure her of this obsession with you.”
“Perhaps,” Leo replied.
“I will…I will ensure that the ton all know she was responsible for the late duchess’s death,” Lord Preston continued. Leo felt a spark of pity for the man, who looked suddenly so old. “I do not know why Priscilla is like this. She has always been a little…unusual. Her moods were strange, even as a girl, but she could usually hide them.”
“What do you mean?” Leo asked.
“She was kind and cruel, and it was often impossible to predict which she would be,” Lord Preston replied. “Her mother and I were concerned about that, but Priscilla—as she grew older—learned to be kind and pleasant when around others, like the ton. I suppose we had convinced ourselves that we were only imagining her behavior. I am sorry that we erred.”
“She is ill,” Violet said softly, “and deserving of our sympathy.”
“You are very kind, Your Grace,” Lord Preston said, bowing his head. “I apologize for our intrusion.”
Leo nodded. He squeezed Violet’s shoulder, partly to comfort her and partly to reassure himself that she was still with him, still breathing and unharmed. “You are forgiven. In truth, I appreciate that you arrived so quickly to retrieve Lady Priscilla. You have saved us a great deal of trouble.”
Lord Preston bowed deeply. “I shall take my leave, then. When we cross paths again, I hope it will be on better terms.”
“Indeed.”
The servants parted, allowing Lord Preston to pass, and Leo sighed deeply. He was fine. Violet and the baby were fine. He forced down the lump that rose in his throat. Perhaps the nightmare would finally be over now. He forced a smile, trying to portray strength for Violet.
“Everyone will know that you are innocent of any wrongdoing now,” Violet said quietly.
“Yes.”
He wished that his innocence could have been revealed in any other way. But at long last, everyone—the villagers and the ton—would know that his poor wife Lydia had been the victim of Lady Priscilla, an ill woman who needed care. And maybe, just maybe, Leo could finally have peace.
Epilogue
A Few Months Later
Violet held Frederick, her baby boy, in her arms. He was robust and perfect, the barest hint of blond-gold hair gracing his tiny head. She had given the dukedom a proper heir. “He is perfect,” Leo said.
Violet and Leo sat together with Violet’s parents. They had spread a blanket over the ground behind the hunting cottage, which looked as if it were newly built. Spring had arrived, and the gardens behind the cottage were in full bloom. “May I see him?” Violet’s mother asked.
Violet carefully handed Frederick to her mother, who smiled brightly. Through his tonics and medicine, Mr. Johnson had managed to cure her illness, and Violet’s mother now moved freely through the cottage and the village. She came frequently to Groveswood, along with Violet’s father, to visit and play with the baby.
“I am glad that he is healthy,” Violet’s father said. “When I heard of the whole affair with Lady Priscilla, I was dreadfully worried.”
