Page 137 of Never Besmirch a Wallflower: Dukes and Wallflowers

“What did you hear?” Her heart squeezed.

“My fiancée intends to depart Wiltshire without me.”

“She’s my fiancée,” Humphrey murmured, his eyes opening.

Pointing the gun at Humphrey’s chest, the Duke of Lennox strode forward, bringing Eveline with him.

“She is my fiancée. Either you acknowledge this, leave, and never return, or I shoot you right now and remove the issue. Decide.”

Humphrey scowled at them both. “I’ll leave. With Ernest in prison, she’ll need someone to keep her company, that is, until you tire of her ridiculousness.”

“That will never happen,” the Duke of Lennox murmured against her ear.

Swallowing, Eveline nodded, unable to look into his eyes.

“Mr. Drummond, you are not welcome in Wiltshire or any location that contains myself and my lovely fiancée.” The Duke of Lennox pointed to the street with the pistol. “I’ll offer your regrets to your uncle.”

Slowly getting to his feet, Humphrey brushed the snow from his clothing and combed his hair into place. “Had I known how much trouble it would cause, I would have beaten this willful streak out of you the day we first met.”

“Do not make me regret allowing you to live, Mr. Drummond.” The Duke of Lennox released Eveline and took a step forward. “My title allows for a few missteps outside the law.”

Humphrey’s hands tightened, but he kept his fists at his sides.

“Your Grace,” he said, inclining his head.

Then he strode past Eveline as though she were a ghost, turned to the left when he reached the street, and vanished.

Eveline exhaled the shaky breath she’d been holding. “Is he truly gone?”

The Duke of Lennox didn’t answer.

She turned around, and her heart dropped. Unconscious in the snow, his legs draped over the stone bench, the Duke of Lennox lay face up, still gripping the pistol. Dropping to her knees, she pushed on his chest, but he didn’t respond.

“Your Grace?” She pulled up his eyelid. “We can’t stay outside in the cold.”

Again, the Duke of Lennox offered no response.

Chewing on her lower lip, Eveline glanced at the door leading to her house, then back at the Duke of Lennox. The distance didn’t appear far, but she wasn’t certain how much he weighed.

She collected his jacket, shoved her arms through the sleeves, then scooted around his body to his head. Bending, she slipped her hands beneath his arms and jerked. He slid an inch.

Muttering a slew of inappropriate words, Eveline repositioned her feet and yanked again; he moved another two inches. In this fashion, she tugged the Duke of Lennox down the pathway leading to her house.

When she reached her doorstep, she paused and straightened, scraping the loose strands of hair from her sweaty forehead. Mercifully, Mrs. Hawkins hadn’t locked the front door. However, Eveline couldn’t determine why the woman hadn’t heard the commotion outside the residence.

She opened the door, then grasped the Duke of Lennox again and heaved, grunting as she dragged his limp body onto the doorstep and into the house. Depositing him in the center of the foyer, she gently laid the Duke of Lennox on his back, then darted across the floor and closed the door, locking it.

Uncertain if Humphrey would return, she debated pushing a table in front of the door for an added level of protection, but when the Duke of Lennox moaned, she left off the idea in favor of moving him to a more comfortable location.

Eveline shoved her hands under his arms and lifted, groaning as she dragged him into the parlor. She placed him beside the sofa but didn’t possess the strength to lift him from the floor. Instead, she grabbed a pillow from the sofa and positioned the cushion beneath his head.

Lifting his hand, she peeled open his fingers, extricating the pistol from his grip and discarding the weapon on a table beside the sofa. Her gaze slid over his body.

Dried blood coated his face and clothing, and she couldn’t decipher which wounds were in most need of treatment. Rising, she stripped his jacket from her shoulders and covered him with the heavy material, then retreated to the kitchen in search of water, bandages, and Mrs. Hawkins.

Peeking her head into the dim kitchen, Eveline’s gaze slid across the empty room.

Where was Mrs. Hawkins?