Page 22 of The Duke’s Replacement Bride (The Wild Brides #6)

“ T his is where she is?” Caroline looked up at the manor house before her. It was smaller than Mowbray and a newer home. “Whose house is this?”

“It belongs to Lord and Lady Sheffield,” Levi said. “According to the rumors, your sister was seen walking with Lady Sheffield, and they left together in a carriage.”

“So, we don’t know that she’s actually here.”

“We don’t, but it’s the best lead anyone has been able to find so far,” Levi said. “And what we do know is that Lady Sheffield has the most recent information about Prudence. If she isn’t here, it’s likely that Lady Sheffield will be able to tell us where she is.”

“I hope you’re right,” Caroline said.

“I feel sure that I am. Now, remember, you promised to do exactly as I asked.”

“You don’t need to keep reminding me of that,” Caroline told him. “I’m not going to forget our agreement.”

“Good. Follow me, then, and don’t say a word to anyone we might encounter,” he told her firmly.

“Let me do all the talking. Stay right with me—no wandering off. If you see something you think is worth looking into, you may bring it to my attention, but otherwise, I expect to have you quiet and by my side.”

She scowled, but she nodded, and the two of them made their way up the path to the front door.

Levi lifted the knocker and let it fall.

He looked over at Caroline. He could see the nervousness—the anxiety—etched on her face, and he knew that she was worried about what they were about to find. He wished he could reassure her that the news would be good, but of course, there was no way of knowing that.

The door creaked open slowly. A man stood on the other side, dressed in a servant's uniform. He frowned at the two of them. “Good afternoon,” he said. “Are you expected, sir?”

“My name is Levi Richards,” Levi said. “I am the Duke of Mowbray. I’m here to see Lord Sheffield.”

“My master is not currently available,” the servant said.

“And if he doesn’t know that the two of you were coming, I’m afraid I must tell you that he doesn’t welcome visitors unannounced.

I shall have to ask you to take your leave.

I will be happy to let him know that you were here, and he may choose to get back in contact with you at his convenience. ”

“I’m afraid that isn’t good enough,” Levi said, feeling Caroline grow tense next to him. “We’ve traveled a long way. We insist on seeing Lord Sheffield before we go. We will wait as long as is necessary, but we aren’t going to leave until we have spoken to him.”

The servant looked very bothered. “You are going to get me into terrible trouble, Your Grace,” he said.

“My wife and I will take full responsibility for whatever happens,” Levi said. “I feel confident that no trouble will come your way, my good man. And if it does, I guarantee you that Mowbray will take care of you.”

“I suppose you leave me no choice,” the man said. “But you’ll have to wait here. It’s bad enough that I’m allowing you to stay. I can’t show you any further into the house without permission.”

“We quite understand,” Levi assured him. “The Duchess and I are happy to wait right here until Lord Sheffield returns.”

Caroline bit her lip, and for a moment, Levi was afraid that she was going to speak. But she must’ve remembered his instructions, for she said nothing. She took a step back as if trying to blend in with the wall and waited.

Levi moved to stand beside her. “It’s all right,” he murmured. “This is what we wanted. We’ll have a chance to speak with them. We’ll find out whatever it is that they know.”

Caroline nodded.

The two of them stood there awkwardly for several minutes.

Levi did his best not to allow his discomfort to show on his face.

He knew that if he gave the servants an inch, they would take it as an opportunity to tell him to leave and come back later.

He wasn’t going to allow that to happen.

He wasn’t going to walk out this door until he had answers.

Hopefully, he wouldn’t be leaving without Prudence.

Caroline had waited long enough for answers about where her sister had been all this time.

Levi intended to get those answers for her today.

Then the door opened. A gentleman and a lady came in arm in arm. They were laughing together, but at the sight of two strangers in their foyer, they froze.

The gentleman turned to his staff. “What is this?” He gestured to Levi and Caroline. “You know that I don’t except unplanned visitors.” He faced Levi directly. “Who are you people?”

Levi stepped forward. “Lord Sheffield, my name is Levi Richards. This is my wife, Caroline.”

“The Duke and Duchess of Mowbray, my lord,” the servant spoke up.

“That’s right,” Levi agreed.

“I see.” Lord Sheffield’s face had gone rigid. Levi was sure he recognized the name. “What can I do for you, Your Grace?”

“I suspect you already know, to be perfectly honest,” Levi said.

“My wife here is searching for her sister. Lady Prudence has been missing for several weeks, and we have reason to believe she may be here in your home. If that’s the case, I advise you to bring her out to us as quickly as possible so that we don’t need to involve the authorities. ”

“You have no justification for bringing the authorities onto our property,” Lady Sheffield began, glaring at them.

But a small voice spoke up from another part of the room. “Meredith, Daniel, you don’t need to do this. It’s all right. I’ll speak with them.”

They turned toward the new voice. There stood Prudence. She looked well. She had color in her cheeks and even a smile on her face, although her eyes betrayed some concern at what might be about to happen. She stepped forward, more fully into the room.

“You don’t have to, Prudence.” Lady Sheffield said, her voice sharp.

Levi had the impression Lady Sheffield thought she was defending Prudence from himself or Caroline—possibly from both of them.

The implication offended him. Did they really believe he would have come all this way, done all this work, to bring harm or inconvenience to the young lady’s life?

And could they possibly think that Caroline meant her sister any harm?

Whatever it was that had driven Prudence to flee the life she was living—whether it was Levi or something else—surely Caroline’s presence here was enough to provide reassurance that they had her best interests in mind.

At that moment, everything seemed to become too much for Caroline.

Levi couldn’t blame her for what happened next, even though it went against what they had agreed upon.

She broke from her place beside him, ran across the foyer, and flung herself upon her sister.

“Prudence!” She embraced Prudence with a noise that sounded to Levi’s ears a little bit like a sob. He found himself aching to comfort her.

Prudence wrapped her arms around Caroline. “It’s all right,” she said quietly. “Everything is all right, Caroline.”

“You don’t know how worried we’ve been,” Caroline said, her voice breaking. “You can’t imagine, Prudence. How could you do this to us? How could you do this to your family? We care about you —”

“You may care about me, but you know that mother and father don’t,” Prudence said evenly.

“Of course they care,” Caroline argued. “They have a bad way of showing it, but they love you.”

The sisters stood back from one another so that they could look each other in the eyes. Levi moved up to stand beside Caroline, sensing that she might need his support right now.

“Why did you do this?” Caroline whispered. “Why did you leave, Prudence?”

“You know why I left.” Prudence’s eyes cut to Levi. “I couldn’t marry him. I’m sorry, Your Grace,” she added. “It was nothing personal. I never meant it to be. But I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t ready to marry.”

Levi nodded. All his anger at her seemed to have disappeared now that he was face-to-face with her. “There’s no need to apologize,” he assured her.

“No—I treated you abominably. I do apologize,” she said. “I shouldn’t have run out on you the way I did, and I am very sorry for it. I should have simply told you I didn’t wish to marry.”

“I don’t know if I would have listened to you if you had.

My arrangement was with your father.” It felt funny saying those words now, because he knew that if this conversation had taken place back then, he would have felt completely justified and in the right.

He would have staked his claim to Lady Prudence without question.

But standing before her now and seeing how distressed she was, seeing for himself how she had felt the need to flee from him rather than face him, he could only feel ashamed of that.

“You married him in my place,” Prudence said, turning to Caroline.

“When we saw the announcement…I’ve never been so ashamed of anything in my life.

I knew I ought to come home, but I didn’t know what good it would do because the marriage had already taken place. It was too late to save you from it.”

“You don’t need to feel guilty,” Caroline assured her. “I’m perfectly happy with my fate, Prudence.”

“I know this wasn’t what you wanted either.”

“I didn’t think it was. I did marry him for your sake,” Caroline said.

“But I’m content with the way things turned out.

Please don’t torment yourself about it. You’re safe and well, and Levi and I are all right, and that’s all that matters.

Will you please come home? Everyone has missed you terribly. ”

Prudence nodded. “I will,” she said, and smiled.

Prudence agreed to return home in the days that followed. That night, though, Caroline and Levi went back without her.

They lingered together in the foyer of their home. Levi couldn’t help feeling as though there was something unsaid between the two of them; he just couldn’t put his finger on what it was. But it was Caroline who spoke first.

“Thank you,” she told him quietly.

“For what?”

“For letting me come along. I know how stubborn I was—and I know you didn’t have to do it. You could have stopped me.”

“You’ve been tormented by her absence,” Levi said quietly. “You deserved to be there when she was found.” He hesitated. “Did you mean what you said?”

“Which part?”

“The part about being happy in this marriage.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks colored. “I wouldn’t let it go to your head.”

“Oh, no?”

“I’m happy most of the time. I was happy before I married you as well.”

“But that wasn’t my question,” he said. He found himself leaning closer to her and shivered a little at the sudden proximity. He could smell her familiar aroma. He could feel the warmth of her. What was he doing? “What I asked you was whether you’re happy being married to me?”

“Yes,” she breathed, her eyes locking with his. “Yes, I’m happy. I like being married to you.”

It felt as if the sun was rising inside his chest. He was filled with warmth and heat. How could a simple yes affect him so powerfully?

He didn’t know.

And he didn’t care.

He closed the distance between the two of them, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her at long last.

She stiffened for just a moment, but then sank into the kiss.

Her arms wrapped around him, her lips parted ever so slightly, and she let out a soft little humming noise that made his insides melt.

He thought he might stand here with Caroline in his arms, indulging in his kiss, until the day death claimed him.

As it was, he couldn’t have said how long he stayed there with her.

He only knew that the moment they were in was one he would remember for the rest of his life. And when they finally broke apart, it felt as if it had happened far too soon.