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“You wish, you bastard!”

She opened her eyes to see Percival lunge at Eli, making the man lose his grip on the knife. She noticed him wince in pain, and a bright red spot appeared on his arm. Somehow the dagger had cut him, even though he had moved quickly.

Eli stumbled back, his eyes wild with anger. He tried to fight back but fell to the floor. Percival raised his fists, but she didn’t want him to have Eli’s death on his conscience.

“No!” she cried out. “Please, don’t kill him. You do not want to have this haunting you.”

“He deserves to die!” Percival snarled, swinging back his fists.

“I understand, but let him be tried by the court.”

Percival looked almost wild with anger. His fists shook, but then he stepped back, his body vibrating with repressed energy.

“I do not need you to fight my battles!” Eli snapped at her, attempting to rise to his feet.

Percival pushed him back down, glaring at him. “Do not tempt me to hurt you, Eli,” he growled. “I just might kill you.”

“You would be doing me a favour,” Eli jeered. “You do not deserve the title, and I would rather die than see you take what is rightfully mine.”

“Percival, ignore him.”

Louisa’s words seemed to resonate deep inside him because he moved closer to her and wrapped a protective arm around her.

“I feel sorry for you,” he hissed, looking down at Eli.

The man staggered to his feet, looking close to tears. “Fight me, Percival!” he yelled. “Damn you, fight me!”

“You’re not worth the effort,” Percival spat. His entire body shook with rage and grief, and Louisa longed to comfort him. She could tell Eli’s betrayal hurt even more than the grief of losing Michael.

“You can come in now,” he called loudly, before turning to her. “Are you all right, Louisa?”

Worry flickered in his eyes, and she knew that even though he put on a brave front, he had been frightened by the entire ordeal. His arm was still around her back.

Louisa nodded, letting her eyes run over him. She too had been frightened, but not because her life had been in danger. The thought of never seeing him again had scared her even more than she could admit.

He worked quickly to free her from her bonds as the constables came in to arrest a struggling Eli.

“The title is mine!” he yelled as he was dragged out. “I deserve it! This isn’t over, Percival! You will never keep the title!”

“Perc—”

“Louisa!” Diana cried, running to hug her.

The force with which her sister had slammed into her winded her, but she wrapped her arms around her nonetheless.

“You’re hurting me, Diana,” Louisa complained when Diana’s arms pressed against her sore ribs.

“I’m sorry, Louisa.” Diana pouted, releasing her. “I was so worried that you were harmed. Did that man hurt you in any way? I was so happy that His Grace came to Isabella’s estate. If I hadn’t seen him there, we might have never been able to save you so quickly.”

“It was indeed a fortunate thing that you came to visit.” Louisa smiled at her sister, ruffling her hair. “You’ve finally had some adventure. How does it feel?”

“Not as exciting as I thought,” Diana scoffed. “I was so scared. I thought I would never see you again.”

“I don’t intend to disappear any time soon.” Louisa smiled and turned to Percival. “Thank you for?—”

He pulled her into his arms suddenly, hugging her tightly. She hugged him back, burying her face in his chest and breathing in his warm, spicy scent. He breathed her in too, cradling her head, and any bit of residual fear dissipated.

He was so warm and solid that she couldn’t help but burrow further into him. Her body grew warm at his proximity, and she wished he would tilt her head up and kiss her like she had dreamed of since she had met him.