Page 39 of Stolen By the Rakish Duke

“To one of my properties,” Leo replied with calm authority. “I own several houses in London that are unknown to Society at large. You’ll be safe there, with servants I trust and men to guard you.”

Beatrice’s eyebrows shot up.

“You would do that?” Anna asked, her expression wavering between hope and disbelief. “For me?”

“For Philip,” Leo corrected, though his gaze settled briefly on Beatrice as he spoke. “And because it’s the right thing to do.”

Beatrice felt an unexpected warmth spread through her chest at his words.

For all his rakish reputation and carefully maintained facade of perfect detachment, Leo possessed a core of genuine honor that manifested in moments like these.

“Pack whatever you need,” he instructed. “We’ll depart immediately.”

As Anna hastily gathered her meager belongings, Beatrice found herself studying her husband with newfound curiosity.

The man who had married her out of duty and honor now extended the same protection to a commoner whose only connection to him was through his wayward cousin.

There was far more depth to him than she would have ever guessed.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, moving to stand beside him.

Leo glanced down at her, his expression inscrutable in the dim light. “For what, exactly?”

“For this.” She gestured toward Anna. “For showing kindness, when many men of your station would have shown only contempt.”

His gaze softened for a moment, transforming his severe features into something altogether more approachable.

“Anna may be our best chance of locating Philip,” he said simply.

But Beatrice was not deceived by his attempt at emotional distance. She had glimpsed something genuine beneath the carefully constructed facade of ducal indifference—a capacity for compassion that he seemed determined to conceal even from himself.

As Anna approached with her small bundle of possessions, tears still damp on her cheeks, Beatrice moved to comfort her once more.

“She’ll need proper clothes,” Leo remarked as Anna was led away by the staff of Leo’s Chelsea property.

His gaze followed her retreating figure, noting the threadbare quality of her garments and the tense set of her shoulders despite Beatrice’s reassurance.

“Something befitting her station, but of sufficient quality to maintain appearances, should inquiries be made.”

Adrian raised an eyebrow, his usual levity momentarily abandoned in favor of genuine surprise. “My friend, I believe matrimony has brought a transformation more profound than even I anticipated. Next, you’ll be building orphanages and championing parliamentary reform.”

Leo ignored his friend’s needling and instead focused his attention on their current predicament.

The discovery of Lord Westbury’s involvement in criminal enterprise changed the nature of Philip’s disappearance entirely, elevating it from mere social impropriety to genuine peril.

Despite this more pressing concern, Leo found his thoughts repeatedly returning to his wife’s gentle competence as she comforted the distraught Anna. It was a glimpse of characterthat disturbed his carefully maintained emotional equilibrium more than he cared to admit.

“Peters,” he addressed the waiting footman, “arrange for suitable clothes to be delivered discreetly. Nothing ostentatious, but of good quality. And send for Blackwood immediately. The situation requires his particular talents.”

“At once, Your Grace,” the footman replied, before scurrying away.

“Blackwood?” Adrian echoed, his expression suggesting both recognition and mild concern. “The former pugilist with a rather colorful military background? I have wondered where he’d disappeared to after that unpleasantness at Lord Carroway’s country estate.”

“He serves as my head of security when circumstances warrant additional… protection,” Leo replied, deliberately vague about the precise nature of Blackwood’s duties.

The man’s skills, honed in the Peninsula War and refined in less formal conflicts since, had proven invaluable on the rare occasions when authority required more direct enforcement.

Beatrice approached, her expression thoughtful as she rejoined their small circle.