Page 23

Felix

Devonford Castle.

Eight months later…

This ride was getting to be all too familiar.

Felix’s gaze traveled up the massive Devonford Castle entrance surrounded by yellow and red tulips as his carriage slowly rolled into the inner bailey.

But this time, instead of arguing with an exasperating younger sister, Felix was coming to collect an exasperating younger sister.

One he was going to murder. Bring back to life. And then murder again.

At least the highwaymen had given him an outlet for all this tightly coiled anxiety.

Poor fools had picked the wrong fucking nob on the wrong fucking day.

Felix had enough pent-up fear and worry raging through his veins, he could have torn them apart bare-handed.

The pistol scaring them off had been too easy.

Jesus bloody Christ. He scrubbed his hands down his face. Felix wasn’t sure if he was going to burst into tears of relief when he set eyes on his sister…or scream at her.

Running away. No note. No indication of her whereabouts.

Christ, what if she’d been set upon by highwaymen?

He’d scoured London—not an easy feat when one needed to be as discreet as possible.

Hell, the scandal if this was found out…

And the bloody panic it’d caused. What if she were hurt?

Worse. His heart gave a sharp jolt, his pulse stumbling even though he knew his sister was safe now.

He wouldn’t be able to breathe until he saw her with his own two eyes.

He’d been about to hire Bow Street Runners when Felicity’s best friend, Lady Camoys, had hinted Felicity was just fine.

Then Gigi, Felix’s sister-in-law, became very tight-lipped while also assuring Felicity was just fine.

And that’s when Felix became even more nervous.

Because his sister coming into harm’s way was nerve-wracking, yes, but his sister scheming?

Terrifying.

That was when the note arrived. The Duke of Devonford wrote that Felicity had shown up at his castle, and he’d have her escorted home.

The thing was, Felix knew Felicity inside and out.

She had run off to Devonford Castle—God knew why—but there was a reason.

She was plotting something. And Felicity was calculated.

The Duke didn’t stand a chance of sending her home if she didn’t want to.

So, Felix had departed immediately. Mother waited at home in case the Duke somehow managed some sort of unholy magic that made Felicity do as told.

But Felix knew not even sorcery would work on his sister.

The carriage rolled to a stop. Felix shifted to the edge of the seat, his rattled nerves bouncing through his knees. The door swung open.

And there she was.

Thank all that was bloody holy. He jumped from his carriage—just in time to catch the slight form barreling into his arms. He squeezed his arms around his sister, bone-crushing, but Lord and Heaven, that’s what the little hellion deserved.

She was warm and alive and safe. Maybe he was the one who was going to die.

Because he swore his heart was going to burst from relief.

“Bloody hell, Flick. You cannot run off like that. If I weren’t so happy you’re safe, I would kill you right now.

” Even with his scolding, he smiled down at his sister.

Her eyes glowed, cheeks flushed. She looked the picture of health.

His frame sagged, the tension that had settled there like a steel band finally melting away.

“I’m still not counting it out,” he said, arching a brow.

Felicity shot him a cheeky smile. “I’d like to see you try, brother.”

“You have no idea, sister,” he growled. “Running off to the country on your own? Do you know how bloody dangerous that was? You could have been set upon by highwaymen. People have died.” He swore the whole ordeal had prematurely aged him at least a decade.

Every single one of his grey hairs would be an ode to Felicity.

He led them toward the stairs where the Duke awaited, his sister’s hand tucked in his arm, and their playful back-and-forth bickering had his world tilting back into place. His lungs took the first full breath they had in a sennight. All was right again.

“I’m shocked you heard about the broken betrothal already.”

She was shocked about a-bloody-what now? He stopped dead in his tracks, Felicity jerking backward. He steadied her before she fell, but his mind wasn’t processing what he just heard. “Broken betrothal?” he said dumbly. “What are you speaking of, sister?”

Of course, Flick had the gall to try to turn the questions on him. Not going to work, Flick.

He infused as much big-brother authoritativeness into his tone as possible. “I believe I’m the one asking the questions here.”

Flick patted his arm condescendingly. “Yes, yes, sure you are, Felix.”

He gritted his teeth. All right. He was back to wanting to murder her. Papa, please forgive me . How did anyone survive daughters and younger sisters?

They followed the Duke to his study.

Time to get to the bottom of this.

The thing was, Felix feared what he’d find when they finally got there.