Page 30 of The Duke’s Replacement Bride (The Wild Brides #6)

T he sunlight coming through the window woke Levi.

He was aware, for the first time in years, of a deep sense of comfort upon waking It was as though all was right with the world.

For a moment, he didn’t understand where that feeling was coming from—and then he became aware of the presence of a warm body beside him. Pressed up against him. In his arms.

The memories came flooding back.

Caroline .

He lay there for a moment, allowing the night before to play through his thoughts.

After their argument and their kiss, they had gone up to his chambers to be away from her family—in particular, her mother, who had seemed very strained and upset by the fact that Caroline had gone missing.

They had discussed whether perhaps she had learned the right lesson from Prudence’s running away and meant to watch her daughters more closely from now on.

They’d talked about what it had been like for Caroline to see her father and to speak with him about the troubled state of his marriage.

And then, eventually, they had stopped talking altogether.

He had wondered, at the time, how far things might go between them.

Whether it was about to become a different kind of night.

But he hadn’t wanted to force things in that direction, and when she had begun to nod off, he’d decided to simply lie down and keep her here with him. In his arms, by his side.

She was his wife, after all, and simple pleasures like this were a thing to which they were entitled.

She stirred slightly in his arms now, and he knew she was about to wake up.

He half wished she wouldn’t let this go on a little longer.

Let the night last. Who knew whether there would be another once she awoke and remembered everything that had happened?

She might decide that she didn’t want things to be like this between them.

She might think they’d taken it all too quickly.

Even if she was willing to consider coming to his bed again in the future, who knew how long it might be before that happened?

Her eyes opened. She stared up at him.

“Good morning,” he said gently.

She sat up slowly. She was fully clothed in yesterday’s wear—they both were, for neither had undressed last night before falling into bed. She looked around slowly, and he watched understanding dawn on her face.

“Oh,” she said.

“Good morning.” Levi kept his voice gentle, in case she was startled to find herself here.

“Good morning.” She gave him a soft smile that made his heart miss a beat.

It was so different from any expression he had ever seen on her face before.

Ordinarily, her smiles were either guarded or—at best—full of mirth.

This was something else altogether. It was as if she was seeing him, truly seeing him, for the very first time.

Levi sat up as well. “I hope you had a good night,” he said.

“It was very restful,” she said. “But I feel as if I may have imposed on you by falling asleep in here.”

“No. Not at all. It was…” he paused, choosing his next word carefully. “Comforting,” he settled. “It was very reassuring to have you with me.”

“I can’t believe we did that,” she said.

They hadn’t done anything much, of course, so the thought of it made him smile. “We only slept.”

“Not that part. Although it does surprise me that we both got so comfortable that we were able to fall asleep next to one another! Had you asked me even a few days ago, I would have said I would never feel so at ease in your presence. I liked you, I wanted you to like me, but comfort has always eluded us until now.”

Their voices now, intruding on their conversation, echoing up from below. Levi frowned in consternation at being interrupted. “Are you hearing this?”

“Yes,” she said. “Someone is speaking…and in that cadence, I would almost say they must be reading poetry.”

“Who would do that at this hour?”

“I don’t know, but it can’t be Bridget,” Caroline said. “That’s a man’s voice. I’m sure of it.”

She was right. Levi got out of bed and straightened his clothes, hoping they didn’t look too slept in. “Wait here,” he instructed her. “I’ll deal with this.”

Of course, she didn’t do as he had asked. He wasn’t even surprised when she got to her feet and followed him from the room. Of course she would. He had never been able to impact her actions, and it was foolish to think she would obey him even now.

He hurried to stay ahead of her, hoping to confront whatever was going on before she could get close to it, just in case it was some kind of threat.

But when he reached the foyer, he stopped, startled by what he saw.

Baron Highgate stood there, a book in his hands. It was he who was reciting poetry at this early hour of the morning. Levi could hardly believe what he was seeing.

He turned to his butler. “I thought I told you,” he said, his voice dark, “that this man was not to be allowed on the property again. Was I unclear in some way?”

“Forgive me, Your Grace,” the butler said. “But the lady asked for him to be admitted. He was standing out on the street at sunrise, you see, and begged us to carry a message to her letting her know of his presence. We did so, and after some thought, she asked us to bring him in.”

“And you listened to her instructions over mine?”

“No, Your Grace, but when we told her it was against your orders, she said she would go out to him.” The butler squared his shoulders.

“Forgive me, but I couldn’t allow it. I know they are husband and wife, but I also know that she fled his home.

I didn’t know what might happen. Better for it—whatever it might be—to happen in here, where we could ensure her safety.

” He lifted his chin. “I hope you can understand, Your Grace, but even if you can’t…

I stand by my decision. I wasn’t going to let her go out to him alone, so I agreed to let him in. ”

“No, you did right,” Levi was forced to agree. He made his way over to Lady Highgate. “Is everything all right?” he asked her, surprised she had tears in her eyes.

“That’s my favorite book of poetry,” she said. “So many different authors have contributed to it, and he’s reading all my favorites. I never would have guessed that he would know them. I can’t believe I ever left him. I made a terrible mistake.”

“You had to protect Prudence, Mama,” Caroline said. She had appeared behind them. Now that Levi knew there was no danger, he was happy enough to see her and stepped back to allow her to take the lead in speaking to her mother.

“He has said that Prudence may sit out the remainder of the season, and that he won’t force her into a match she doesn’t want,” Lady Highgate said. “He’s given his word. And I believe it. I think he means to honor what he says to us.”

“Prudence?” Caroline turned to her sister. “Do you believe it?”

“I do,” Prudence said. “And he knows that I won’t marry anyone I don’t wish to, I think. He knows what will happen if he tries to make me.”

Levi stifled a laugh. He would never have believed they’d reach this point, but suddenly, the whole thing seemed very funny. Prudence running out on their marriage, hiding from her family for months…of course, she’d do it again if they tried to force her hand. She was so willful.

He was glad that Caroline wasn’t that willful. He admired her spirit, but he also knew she would always give him a conversation rather than run out on him. She would never disappear just because he had asked her for something she didn’t like.

The family left quickly after that, to return to their home, and before he knew it, Levi was alone with his wife once more. He longed to take her right back to his bed, to pull her into an embrace and fall asleep with her in his arms once more. That had been so lovely.

But there were other things that needed to be tended to, much as he wanted to turn his back on them.

“I need to speak to you about something, Caroline,” he said quietly, drawing her into the sitting room and leading her to a seat.

She frowned. “This isn’t to do with…with last night, is it?”

“No, nothing like that,” he assured her. “I feel the same way now as I told you I did upstairs. Last night was lovely. But the rumors do continue to circulate about the two of us. You have been plagued by them. And I can’t have that.”

“Is this about Modesty’s ball? We’re still planning to attend, right? Surely that will help to quiet some of the rumors.”

“Yes, we are. But I also know that someone has been spreading these rumors on purpose, Caroline.”

She paled. “Who would do such a thing? Well, I suppose Modesty might—she loves the idea of cruel gossip being spread about me…”

“No, not Modesty. At least, I don’t believe it could be her. We’re looking for someone else. And I must go out and speak with my tenants to try to solve the puzzle,” he said. “I need to put a stop to this.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Only for a very short while.”

“I don’t want you to go,” she said softly.

“I don’t want it either. But this must be dealt with. It’s bad for business to have these rumors at play, and it’s also bad for you and me. I don’t want people confronting you at every turn asking you whether I am stepping out on our marriage, telling you I’m a terrible rake.”

“You know I don’t believe them,” she said. “What I said yesterday, about the rumors being based in truth—well, I didn’t mean it like that. I know they aren’t true.”

“Still, I need to discover who’s making it their business to say these vile things. I need to stop them. I’ll be back with you as soon as I possibly can, though,” he pledged.

“Will you be back for Modesty’s ball?”

“Yes, I know how important that is. I promised I would be in attendance, and I mean to. We will both be there, just as we agreed, and we will use it as an opportunity to show Modesty and anyone else who has doubts that our marriage is both real and something we both want.”

“I’m just glad to know that we both feel that way,” Caroline said with a smile. “I can live without the rest of society understanding it. But as long as you and I understand, everything will be all right.” She smiled. “Go. Tend to your business. But come back to me soon. Promise that you will.”

“I promise. And I will miss you with every moment I must be away,” he pledged. He meant it. Missing Caroline would make this painfully difficult, and he greatly anticipated the moment when he could return to her side.

He wanted to kiss her, but it would have felt too much like a farewell. He gripped her hand briefly instead, let it go, and turned to prepare for the journey that lay ahead, feeling very much as though he was leaving half of his heart behind him.