The Langley Sisters Trilogy Boxed Set (37 page)

Will snorted, but said nothing further; he had never loved his brother more than at that moment.

“If you’ll allow me, I will tell Joe your story now, Olivia, Phoebe, Isabella.” They all nodded, and so briefly he told his brother what Livvy had told him.

“Good grief, you robbed people to survive?”

“Yes, your grace.” Will watched Livvy blush.
 

“Lord Ryder was our first robbery,” Phoebe added. “The second was Major Bruntly, and the third, two women who seemed rather pleased with the experience.”

“They do not need to hear that, Phoebe,” Livvy said softly. “What we did was wrong, no matter the outcome.”

“Good grief!” Joe said again.

“I almost wish I’d been there to see you robbing Bruntly,” Will said softly.

“I understand you must be horrified over what we have done, Your Grace, but I felt we had no other choice,” Livvy rushed to add.

“You did what you thought needed to be done, Olivia, however misguided,” the Duke said, mirroring his brother’s words. “I have no right to judge you because of it.”

Livvy sent Will a look when he snorted.

“However, I wish you had come to me for help when your father died and the subsequent years after, but I understand pride as both my brother and I have plenty of it.”

“A horse is coming,” Phoebe cried, running to the window. “It must be Jaccob alerting us that Lord Langley is near.”

“Perfect timing,” Will said, taking a large bite of Jenny’s fruit cake.

“But what will we say?” Livvy tried to rise, her face pale with worry and pain.

“Trust me, Livvy?” Will said, reaching for her and lifting her to her feet.

“I do, Will.”

“Then let your sisters button you into a dress. Then I shall carry you to a chair in here and we shall await your cousin.”

“Should she not be resting?” The Duke questioned.

“If she is not in the room, she will be standing outside of it listening at the door,” Will drawled.
 

Forty minutes later, Livvy was sitting in a large, comfortable chair with Will sitting on the arm at her side. The Duke was sitting in another slightly further back. They had discussed what needed to be said and Will had told Livvy she was to keep her mouth shut. He had little hope of her obeying, but he had asked anyway.

“Oh, dear, he is here,” Livvy whispered, grabbing his hand.

“He can’t hurt you anymore, love, remember that.”

Nodding, she let his hand go with a final squeeze and tried to look calm.

Lord Langley walked into the parlor and then stopped upon seeing Will standing beside Livvy and the Duke at the rear.

“What are you doing in my house?”
 

Neither of the brothers rose to their feet.

“Waiting for you, Langley,” Will said calmly.

Olivia’s cousin looked foolish, dressed in lavender breeches and matching waistcoat with a neckcloth that was tied in so many folds he looked like a puppy. He was fat and sweaty and the thought of him touching the woman he loved had him clenching his fists.

“Easy,” Joseph whispered.

“I demand to know the meaning of this!”

“I don’t believe you addressed me correctly, Langley,” the Duke said. He, like Will, had a dark, implacable gaze leveled on the man. Langley must have seen something that gave him pause because he quickly slipped into a clumsy bow.

“Your grace, pardon me. I was merely surprised to see you here.”

This man had dared to touch Livvy, threaten her and her sisters, and were it not for the lecture about winning this battle with words that Joseph had given him just moments ago, he would have planted his fist in the man’s face by now.
 

“You will listen to what I have to say, Langley, and not speak,” Will said. “You need not concern yourself over your cousins any further as they are no longer your worry and are now under my care.”

“I care for my cousins!” Langley declared, taking a step closer to Olivia.

“Step back, Langley,” Will said quietly. Something in his voice had the man doing just that.

“I have heard disturbing things about you this day, Langley, things about murdered girls, gambling debts, bungled investments, and more.”

“T—tis untrue, Lord Ryder!”

“I think not, Langley,” Will said. “In fact, my man is, as we speak, on his way to London to buy up every one of your markers.”

“What? Why would you want my markers? They can be of no interest to you,” Lord Langley said, darting a look from Will to Livvy and then finally, Joseph.

“You will be indebted to me, Langley, for some time, if not the rest of your life,” Will added. “And make no mistake that I am bluffing, because I am a very wealthy man and your debts will cause me very little discomfort and a great deal of control.”

“Why?” Langley asked again. He was clearly baffled by the animosity in the room. “What have I ever done to either of you?”

“The Langley sisters are very, very good friends of ours, Langley. It is my belief you have not treated them as a family member should have.” Will climbed to his feet and walked closer to the man. “You have neglected to care for them and left them to fend for themselves.”

“’Tis untrue! Would you believe their word over that of a nobleman? If she has spoken against me, it is slander, I tell you, and jealously that I inherited and she did not,” he said, pointing at Olivia.

“Liar,” she hissed. “You are a weak, gutless man who failed in his familial obligations and, furthermore, you suggested vile, horrible things to me when I visited you in London.”

“Be quiet, Olivia,” Will said.

“I will not. He is an abhorrent, perfidious man who deserves a thorough thrashing, and I want you to give it to him, Will!”

Will heard Joe cough to cover his laughter while he struggled to keep his features calm. She was fiery, his beloved, and he couldn’t wait to have all that fire centered on him.

Lord Langley’s eyes bulged and his fists clenched as he took a step towards her, which foolishly put him in Will’s path.

“I tell you, those bitches lie if they have slandered me. They are the worthless daughters of a man who took his life and I can prove it. You will not want to associate with them when I produce proof!” Langley cried. “She propositioned me in London, came calling and begged me to take her. She’s nothing but a little slut!”

“You can’t stop me, Joe, no one can,” Will said calmly, taking a step forward and reaching Langley. Gripping the man’s collar, he shook him like a bed sheet.

“Just the one, Will, and not the face,” the Duke said from behind him.

Will planted his fist in the man’s soft stomach and forced him backwards into the door he had recently entered. Hauling him to his feet, he then shook him again.

“Never again speak of my fiancée, do you understand, Langley, nor her sisters. Were we alone I would frighten you like you did her, you gutless coward.”

Dropping him to the floor once more, he took a few steps backward, putting himself out of striking range. He felt Livvy’s hand slip into his and then she was leaning against him. Lifting his arm, he tucked her into his side.
 

“It’s all right now, my love,” he whispered.

Langley floundered about on the floor like a landed fish while he tried to haul in a breath.      

“Here is what will happen, and if you do not comply with what I say, Langley,” Will said when he knew the man could once again hear him, “I will have you before the magistrate for the deaths of those two innocent girls your name is linked to. “You’ll be leaving England for America on the next available ship, coincidently owned by me. Someone will escort you to London and retrieve any and all evidence you have on the Langley family and then they will help you pack and take you to the docks to meet your ship.”
 

Will looked at the man and thought of the pain he had caused Olivia. He had never wanted to hurt someone so much before. This is what love did to a person.
 

“You will sleep at Rossetter House in a room that locks from the outside. There will also be a guard stationed outside the door so there is no possibility of escape, Lord Langley. Do I make myself clear?” Will added.

“Yes.” He was a beaten man and Will was happier knowing that fact. They were safe from him now, Livvy was safe.
 

***

Livvy watched the Duke light the Yuletide Log in the hearth with the embers from last year’s log. The Popplehinges stood arm in arm, Mrs. Popplehinge resplendent in deep forest green with matching red trim on her hat and coat. Bella stood chatting with Thea and Penny, while Luke, Freddy and Jenny stood at the rear. Phoebe was having a heated debate with Lord Levermarch about the correct way to shoot a pistol.

“Are you happy, my love?”

Livvy’s smile was full of love as she turned to the man who was responsible for the joy inside her.
 

“So very happy, Will, and it is because of you.”

He looked down at her for long seconds and then a slow smile spread over his lips.
 

“Will you spare me a few minutes of your time, Miss Langley?”

Nodding, she let him lead her from the room and out towards the front doorway. He bundled her into warm clothing and then they were outside. Pulling her into his side, they walked slowly down towards the lake.
 

“It’s so beautiful out here, Will.”

He didn’t speak, just led her down to where the willows stood silently. Tugging her beneath, he then kissed her. Livvy melted against him, seeking his warmth and the magic of his kiss.

Lifting his head he looked at her.
 

“I first kissed you here, love, under these trees and I remember thinking that no other woman had touched me as you did that day.”

“Oh, Will.”

“I promise to cherish and love you until I draw my last breath, Olivia Langley,” he said, framing her face with his hands. “Marry me, sweetheart; only with you can I truly be someone I’m proud of.”

“No, Will, you always had the man you are today inside you. It just took time for you to find him,” Livvy whispered against his lips. “Let me hold you close now, my love, and I promise to never let you go.”

“Yes,” Will sighed, drawing her closer. He was home, finally, and this is where he would always stay.

EPILOGUE

Will looked down the aisle at the assembled guests and then across to where Livvy stood. She looked beautiful in pale blue, with her hair woven in matching satin ribbons. The worry was gone from her eyes now and he saw only happiness and love every time she looked at him, as she was now.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to marry this man to this woman.”

As the Reverend started talking, Will felt his chest fill with love. Around them were friends and family, all here for this special day, people that he had never let into his life before, yet now he could not live without. Their people, his and Olivia’s. Giving her a final look, which she answered with a soft smile, he then focused on the service.

“Do you, Frederick Stanley Blake, take Jenny Elizabeth Bell to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

The bride cried softly beneath her veil and managed to say yes when the question was put to her a few moments later, while the groom looked down at her with love shining in his eyes.
 

Will looked at Livvy as he heard her sniff. In one month, this would be them. They would marry and then they would live out their days together and that day could not come soon enough for him. He wanted to spend hours talking with her and when they weren’t talking then they would be making love. She had breathed life into him. Her love had made him finally believe in himself and that he was someone worthy of that love.

Will watched Freddy lift his new wife’s veil and seal their union with a kiss. The new Mr. and Mrs. Blake would take up residence at Willow Hall as now the Langley sisters all resided at Rossetter house while Will finalized the purchase of the house they would all then relocate to.
 

Will swallowed his smile as Phoebe glared at Finn as he held out his arm so they could follow Freddy and Jenny from the church. Luke and Bella came next, and then Will held out his arm to Livvy.

“Come, sweetheart.”

Together, they followed the others out of the church and into the cool, clear winter’s day.

“I can’t remember a time when I have felt this happy, Will.”

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled Olivia close to his side.

“And your happiness has only just begun, my love.”

“Our happiness,” she corrected.

“Our happiness,” Will repeated, and then together they went to congratulate the married couple.
 

THE END