Chapter 3 #2
“It means…” He considered the situation as quickly as he could.
“Even if I were to help. Let us say that I found something to use against Lord Ellingham that might change his mind. To do so…” He clicked his tongue.
“It would be quite the scandal you are asking me to bring upon myself, Lady Madeline. You ask for me to dirty my name and ruin my reputation, yet you offer me nothing in return.”
For the first time, her bravery faltered.
She leaned back, shied away, only to force herself to look at him again. In her eyes, he saw the doubt creeping in. “Wh – what do you want?”
And that right there is the question, isn’t it?
He knew enough about Lord Ellingham to know that he could likely find something to blackmail the man out of this marriage – if for no other reason than the very real fact that Lord Ellingham owed him a small fortune as a result of his gambling addiction.
To do so would be the easy bit. Not something he aspired to do, but certainly possible. Again, it all came down to what Levi wanted in return.
Levi looked down at Lady Madeline. He studied her closely. Past the beauty. Past the tempestuous personality. He looked to who she was… a lady of the ton… a member of the peerage… exactly what he hated about himself… while also knowing that he could use it to his advantage.
An idea came to mind. An idea that was dangerous and a little too clever and might just solve all his problems in one fell swoop.
And it might ruin me just as quickly.
“Let me think on it,” he said.
“What does that mean?” she demanded.
“Exactly as I said…” He had a final sip of his drink and smacked his lips. “I cannot promise you anything. I do not know if I can even help. But if I can help you, and if I do this for you, you will owe me a favor. Is that understood?”
Uncertainty passed behind her green eyes. “Wh – what favor?”
“That, I cannot say. But seeing how desperate you are, I imagine it might be any number of things. So, before we go any further, tell me truly, how much do you want this?”
“I want it,” she said. “I would not be here otherwise.”
“You say the words, but I wonder if you mean them. If you are…” He chuckled. “If you are truly as brave as you pretend to be.”
He tried again to meet her eyes, wanting to see the truth of her bravery. But she looked away, and he sighed at the sudden cowardice. She had been doing so well until that point.
With a deep sigh, Levi reached down, touched under her chin, and lifted her eyes to look up at him. She gasped at the action, and he felt a pulse ripple through his fingers…
Their eyes held. His hand trembled. And he glanced at her full lips… an unspoken desire surging through his body unlike anything he had ever felt.
“Promise me,” he said. “If I do this, that you will not renege. That you will do whatever I ask of you. Promise me, now.” He spoke those last words so sharp that he saw them cut right through her.
Her eyes turned wide. “I promise.”
“Good.” He continued to stare, letting that desire bubble away inside of him until he could hardly take it. “As I said, I cannot make any promises yet. All I can do is my best, and hope that is enough.”
“Th – thank you,” she said. She did not move to buck away his hand but held his eyes.
Although Levi doubted it was the case, it felt as if she was daring him.
But daring him to do what? His eyes flicked to her lips, he licked his own, and he felt an energy spark between them…
a sensation that almost felt as if he was being pulled toward her.
Surely she did not expect a kiss? That was absurd!
And yet, the longer she held his gaze, the more he wanted it… .
“We are done here.” Levi dropped his hand, gasped at the sensation of loss that ran him through, and turned away so that she would not see it on his face. “Mr. White will show you out.”
“But –”
“Mr. White will show you out,” he said again.
He kept his back to her, expecting a final rebuke. He could sense that she wanted too, that argumentative nature of hers. But she held her tongue and he listened as she slunk from the room.
The moment that she was gone, Levi poured himself a drink and threw it back in one mouthful. His mind spun with what had just happened, the randomness, the utter absurdity. But through it all, he focused on what had been promised to him…
Anything I want… and there is only one thing that I can think of.
Madeline watched the scene unfold before her with a sense of dread that steadily built as the seconds stretched on. She could feel it in her stomach, attacking her insides, screaming at her not to do this, even though she had no choice.
Not yet, Madeline… not yet…
She sat with her two best friends, Rose and Josephine, on either side of her, and they held her hands in their lap as if they knew what she meant to do, just as they meant to keep her from doing it. But they wouldn’t be able to stop her. Nothing could stop her.
In front stood her sister, Nerissa. She was dressed in a gown of silvery blue, her hair was worn in ringlets, and her face glowed from the make-up which covered it. She looked beautiful… just as she looked as sad as Madeline had ever seen her.
Their father was there too, linking his arm with Nerissa’s, and he wore a stern expression which he fixed on Madeline. He too seemed to know that she had something planned. At the very least, he suspected it.
Then there was Lord Ellingham. He stood beside Nerissa but faced the pastor who was readying to officiate the wedding.
Today was Nerissa and Lord Ellingham's wedding day, and the Duke was nowhere in sight.
Not that this surprised Madeline. In truth, she had not really expected him to help her – not after their conversation and how dismissive he had been toward the end. She still could not believe that she had gone to see him, as if he might be able to help. As if he might want to!
For days, she had agonized over that evening, running the conversation through her head, trying to determine if he would save Nerissa. But as the days wore on, and as the wedding came closer, she knew that it was hopeless. She had tried, she had failed, and now her sister’s fate was up to her.
Not yet…
The pastor started the ceremony, and Nerissa let forth a low whimper. Lord Ellingham stepped forward, closer to his bride. The church was silent, save for the pastor’s preachings, and barring any unforeseen outcome, this marriage would go ahead.
Or it might, was Madeline not planning to stop it. She waited for her moment, preparing to leap to her feet and scream that the ceremony had to stop. The scandal would ruin her. It might well ruin her father. But this was his doing, and she had no choice.
“… it brings me untold pleasure to be here before you today,” the pastor preached to the church. “Love is a most wonderful thing, and we are each blessed to be found in its bosom…”
Madeline’s body shook. She could hardly breathe. But she steadied herself, she forced a breath, and then she leapt to her –
The door to the church crashed open behind her.
Madeline’s eyes widened in surprise, and, along with the rest of the church, she turned just in time to see His Grace, the Duke of Hawcrest, stride down the aisle.
He walked as if he owned the church. He walked as if he owned the world. The sun shone brightly behind, lighting him in a glorious halo, and he radiated righteous authority and power like nothing that Madeline had ever seen before.
Her heart started to pound away in her chest… he came… he kept his word… I cannot believe it!
“Your Grace?” It was Madeline’s father. “What is the meaning of this?” He started down the aisle in a flurry. “Explain yourself!”
The Duke looked unperturbed. His dark eyes scanned the crowd, he found Madeline gaping, and a smirk curled up his lips before he was back on her father and Lord Ellingham.
“I came to stop this wedding,” he said simply. “For which, I think, you will be thanking me shortly.”
“How dare you!” Lord Ellingham strode down the aisle. “You… you upstart! You beggar in a suit! How dare you think that you can do this! I ought to have you arrested!”
“And so you shall,” the Duke said simply, no need to raise his voice. “But not until I say what I have come here for. This marriage, it was built on a lie.”
“Enough!” Lord Ellingham screeched.
“Lord Hollington, tell me true, did you know that Lord Ellingham is up to his eyeballs in debt? That he owes half the ton a small fortune, myself included. Somehow, I doubt he bothered telling you such things.”
“Lies!”
“It strikes me as the only reason he wished to marry your daughter was to use her. I have no doubt that once the marriage is done, he will conspire to force an annulment of some kind, based on lies toward your daughter, allowing him to keep the dowry and use its funds –”
“This is madness! Lord Hollington!” Lord Ellingham spun on Madeline’s father, and his face was demented with rage. “Tell me that you are not listening to this! This… madness!”
“Anyone who knows you, Lord Ellingham, knows I speak the truth. Your gambling debts have caught up with you, and you seek to take advantage of this poor woman…” He gestured toward Nerissa, who could not have looked more surprised… and hopeful. “But I will not allow it.”
“And who are you to stop me?” Lord Ellingham spat. “I… I ought to…” He shook with venomous anger and rage. “Lord Hollington, tell me that you do not believe this man. Tell him so!”
Madeline had a moment of panic.
While the thrill of seeing the Duke appear like this had her wanting to stand up and start screaming with victory, she was still hesitant. What he said of Lord Ellingham was damming, and she could not believe that the Duke had found this out – and chosen to act upon it!
Would it be enough?
She looked at her father; she saw the rage in his eyes, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, it will be enough. More than enough, by the looks of things
“Lord Ellingham…” Her father sneered at Lord Ellingham in contempt. “You and I need to have a little chat.”
The next few minutes passed with a cacophony of screaming and shouting.
Lord Ellingham tried to defend himself. Her father demanded that he apologize to both himself and Nerissa.
Lord Ellingham refused to do so, even calling on the pastor to finish the ceremony.
Her father then snatched Nerissa’s hand and dragged her away from the altar.
Through it all, the Duke stayed right where he was, but he did not watch Lord Ellingham or her father. Rather, he watched her. And when she met his eyes, he raised a single eyebrow, and she knew what she must do.
Madeline slipped from her seat and made her way down the aisle, able to do so because the crowd had since stood up; some hurried from the church, others simply stood there in states of shock.
While Madeline wanted to go to her sister, to take her away from this place once and for all, she had to do this first.
“Your Grace…” She approached him, her knees shaking. “Thank you. I… I can’t begin to –”
“Did you mean what you said to me?” he cut her off.
She blinked. “Concerning what, exactly?”
“The favor that you owe me,” he said. “Do you intend to keep your promise?”
“Of course I do.” She hardened her expression, as if the idea that she might break her promise offended her. “What do you take me for?”
“That is all I wanted to hear.” With that, he turned, and he walked from the church, happy to leave the chaos in his rear.
And there Madeline stood, caught in two worlds.
One was a world of joy and relief. She found her sister, beamed at her, and just to see how happy Nerissa was, told her that it was enough. Whatever the cost, she would pay it.
As to that other world… it simmered below the surface, a sense of dread and foreboding steadily building deep within. Madeline owed the Duke everything, and she would make good on whatever he asked of her. But what might he ask? What could a man like that possibly want?
I guess I am about to find out… heaven help me.