Page 48 of The Sound of Seduction (Miracles on Harley Street #4)

Stan’s pulse thundered as Wendy stepped toward him, her features haloed by the soft glow of golden light spilling from the room.

Shadows danced across her face, but her beauty wasn’t dimmed—it was sharpened, undeniable.

His throat tightened at the shimmer of tears on her cheeks, the way they accentuated the quiet strength she radiated.

She seemed like something out of a dream, otherworldly yet entirely real, heading straight for him.

How could he do anything but hold his ground?

But the room, of course, refused to grant them peace.

“Wendy!” Nick barked, his voice cracking through the tension like the snap of a tree branch in winter. “This is absurd! You can’t truly be considering this mad life of his! He’s the target of the evil baron and if he doesn’t catch the uncatchable man, he could be caught in a war.”

Stan’s jaw flexed. His temper simmered just below the surface, but he pressed it down.

Nick’s fury wasn’t unexpected; in fact, he’d prepared for it…

though it didn’t mean it was less irritating.

He squared his shoulders but didn’t release Wendy’s gaze, even as Nick approached, his boots landing emphatically.

“You think you can just waltz in here and sweep her away—” Nick nearly yelled.

“I don’t think,” Stan interjected, his voice cool, like tempered steel, “I know.”

Nick glowered, arms crossing tightly. Alfie seized the charged silence that followed, his hands slashing the air. “What do you even propose to do about this, Stan? Now that you’ve… well… made a spectacle? Do you expect us to stand here and watch you take her away?”

There it was, the challenge that would have to be answered. Stan finally tore his eyes from Wendy long enough to meet Alfie’s. “I intend to do the same thing you did,” he said, speaking with a deliberate clarity that seemed to echo. “I’ll marry her of course!”

A hum of reactions rippled through the room. Alfie muttered under his breath, and Nick’s face turned a menacing shade of red.

“What?” Wendy whispered. Her surprise cut through the chaos, drawing Stan back to her. Her wide eyes searched his, and though they glistened with shock, she didn’t pull away. That, at least, allowed some measure of calm to settle over his nerves.

“If you’ll have me,” Stan amended softly, his voice pitched low enough for only her to hear.

“You cannot be serious!” Nick exploded, practically vibrating with outrage. “Marry her? Do you think you’re in a position to even ask for her hand? You don’t have my permission!”

“No,” Stan replied, his tone still and deadly, not a hint of hesitation. “Not yet. Because you haven’t given me a chance to speak with her properly or even to state my case to you without everyone’s voices running roughshod over her thoughts.”

He turned to Wendy, drawing her hand into his full grasp now. Her skin was cold, but her grip was firm when she gave him a squeeze in return. He exhaled silently, tension bleeding away just from her silent assurance.

Nick groaned, dragging his hands down his face as though willing himself to muster a cooler head. “Wendy, you don’t need to agree to this just because—just because—”

“Because what?” came her sharp reply, her voice startling in its strength. When Nick faltered, Alfie cleared his throat behind him, stepping forward hesitantly.

“Wendy, what we mean is that… if you would rather put this incident behind us, we all could simply… pretend we saw nothing,” Alfie offered with a strained attempt at gentility.

“I don’t,” Wendy said with no hesitation, her tone wielding conviction like a blade.

Nick seemed wounded by the bluntness of her reply. “But Wendy—”

Stan seized his moment. “I would like to ask for your permission,” he said, his head tilting toward Nick in a gesture of diplomacy—however fleeting. “The timing of it all could hardly be worse, but the sentiment is no less sincere. I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”

“You have?” Wendy asked wide-eyed.

“Denied!” Nick fired back, the sheer vehemence leaving a stunned silence in its wake.

Stan felt Wendy stiffen beside him, and when he glanced at her, confusion mingled with defiance across her face. “I beg your pardon?” Wendy growled.

Nick’s expression darkened, his shoulders stiff and his breathing sharp. “I’ll never allow it! Never! Do you understand me? I won’t stand for anyone dragging you away, out of our lives to his dangerous life—and away from me! You’re my sister!”

The words snapped something taut in Wendy. She pulled back slightly, her gaze narrowing at her brother. “You’d deny me the man I love?” she asked heatedly, gesturing toward Stan. “A prince who says he loves me, and you’d deny me that?”

Neither Alfie nor Felix dared meet her gaze. Felix shifted awkwardly; his focus fixed firmly on the floor. He was the first to speak. “He’s right, Wendy.”

Stan felt Wendy recoil like the comment had struck her physically. Her voice trembled now, raw and hurt as she turned to Felix directly. “How could you say that? You told me to fight for love. You said those very words, Felix!”

Felix swallowed hard, his voice like gravel underfoot. “I said that because I believe in love. I didn’t say it to see you pulled away from your family—to see you isolated in some foreign place where—”

“That’s true,” Andre said. “Stan has a dangerous life.”

“Enough.” Stan’s voice, quiet but commanding, cut through. He turned his gaze to Andre, whose attempt at blending into the wallpaper had not gone unnoticed. “Andre. While we’re speaking of overstepped bounds… care to explain what you discussed with my sister, Thea, in the hall the other day?”

Andre’s demeanor shifted instantly. His jaw went rigid, his lips pressed into a thin, panicked line.

Stan raised an eyebrow. “Thought so,” he said evenly, though his tone carried enough weight to have Andre fidgeting. “And I’m not done with that line of questioning.”

“Neither am I,” Nick growled, his frustration doubling anger with suspicion.

“It’s still not the matter at hand!” Alfie interrupted desperately. “Stan, what will you do? What’s your plan?”

Stan sighed sharply. “The same thing you did. I’ll marry her.” His tone softened as he turned back to Wendy, taking her hand again. “That’s… if she’ll accept me.”

Wendy blinked at him in astonishment, though her hand made no move to leave his. If anything, he felt her grip tighten. And for a second, he thought the entire room might dissolve. Until…

“I don’t want her dragged into your trouble. List is so close to waging war in Transylvania, and you want to take her away from her safe life and make her a target?” Felix said, cringing when Wendy’s gaze was on him. “It’s not safe.”

“I’d never allow her to be at risk,” Nick said.

“Never,” Alfie added, and Andre nodded.

“Neither would I,” Stan said suddenly, loud enough to reclaim every ounce of attention, his gaze sweeping the room with fierce determination.

“I’ve no intention of putting her in harm’s way.

Nor would I take her from those she loves without caring for her safety.

But I will love her. And what’s more—I’ll do right by her. ”

His voice was steady. And though his pulse raced, Wendy’s calm fingers in his reassured him—it was enough.