Liam stopped at the sound of his given name. Swinging around, he found Lord Bradford striding into the entryway from the main door. Mr. O’Bannon, stunned not once but twice in mere minutes, stared at him and forgot to bow. The Duke’s son appeared to have just ridden in, for dust covered him from head to toe, and his hair had been blown into disarray.
“Miss Miller sent me a message,” he said, striding toward him. “It is Ampleforth trying to kill Willowdale and marry her?”
Lord Bradford eyed the man at Mr. O’Bannon’s feet, the blood on both him and Liam. “It is true then.”
“Yes, My Lord,” Liam said, frantic to get to Thea. “I was taken prisoner and just now escaped. I must get to her.”
“I am coming with you.”
Taking the stairs three at a time, Liam ran, hoping he was not too late. If Ampleforth had not yet forced her to marry him, and if Lord Willowdale was still alive, the presence of Lord Bradford would ensure that Ampleforth would not be able to kill His Lordship and any marriage to Thea would be nullified. “I will go in, My Lord,” Liam stated, running. “You will bear witness.”
“I will let myself be guided by you.”
Running past wide-eyed servants, Liam and Lord Bradford raced down the corridor to Lord Willowdale’s apartments. Skidding to a halt, Liam held up his hand to Lord Bradford. “I will go in,” he whispered, “and see what is what. For now, you listen, My Lord, and come in when I yell for you. I would not see you harmed and I need you as a witness.”
Lord Bradford nodded. “Leave the door open wide enough so I might.”
Liam gently tested the door handle and discovered it had not been bolted. Meeting Lord Bradford’s eyes, he dipped his chin once, then flung the door open. Bursting inside, Liam drew up short, fear coursing through him in a jolt. Ampleforth spun around a pistol in his hand. Seeing Liam, shock slowed him down, but only for an instant. Raising it, he pointed the dragon at Lord Willowdale’s head.
Lord Willowdale, sitting in a chair, his face pale and drawn, gaped at Liam almost as much as Ampleforth did. Thea, sitting beside her brother, grinned with triumph as Liam staggered to a halt. Two men lay on the floor – Mr. Noonan and Michael, Lord Willowdale’s valet. Liam had no idea if they were dead or not and stepped forward.
“Stop, Carter,” Ampleforth gritted, his teeth bared in a fearful grimace. “I will kill him.”
“In front of witnesses?” Liam asked, stepping lightly toward the Baron. “That makes your marriage to Thea illegal and will see you hanged.”
Ampleforth sneered. “What witnesses? Freddie here, despondent over the deaths of his parents, killed himself with this pistol. Thea turned to me for solace and I married her, inheriting Freddie’s wealth and titles.”
“What of them?” Liam jerked his chin toward the men on the floor. “What of me?”
“No court will take the word of commoners over that of a landed Baron,” Ampleforth sneered. “I will kill you, Carter, and these two will hang.”
“Thea will know what you did.”
The Baron glanced quickly at Thea. “My dear wife will spend her days in her rooms, visited by only me,” he replied his voice light, “getting her with child. No one will hear her say anything.”
Liam chuckled, garnering Ampleforth’s attention once again. “You left out your friend, Littlefield. He is downstairs, no doubt telling his tale to any who will listen.”
As he stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and the Baron, Liam judged the time ripely. He grinned impudently at Ampleforth, whose face now filled with dark, insane rage. Ampleforth’s scream rang out and he pointed the pistol at Liam’s chest. “I will kill you!”
Liam leaped to the side the instant the Baron fired. He seized the sword Littlefield had used to attack Lord Willowdale with and rolled to his feet. Slashing downward in an arc, he connected solidly with Ampleforth’s wrist, severing it from his arm. The Baron screamed again, this time in agony, holding his stump with his left hand. Liam swung the blade again, this time with the flat, and struck Ampleforth on the side of his head.
The Baron dropped like a stone, falling to the rugs, bleeding from both his arm and his head. Ignoring Thea’s sharp cry, Liam dropped to his knees, yelling, “My Lord!”, and yanked Mr. Noonan’s belt from his trousers. He half saw Lord Bradford enter the room as he snapped the belt around Ampleforth’s upper arm and tightened it. The blood ceased to pump from his stump, slowed gradually, and perhaps saved his life.
“Just so you can hang, you bugger,” he muttered, staggering to his feet.
Thea cannoned into him, weeping and crying out, her arms around his neck, hanging onto him as though her life depended upon it. “Liam, you are alive, you are alive, oh, God, I thought you were dead.”
Liam held her close, closing his eyes as he tightened his arms around her back, breathing in her scent, feeling her tears on his neck. “It is all right, my love,” he murmured. “It is all right, you are safe now.”
He heard Lord Bradford’s steps as he went to Lord Willowdale and listened to his voice. “Are you all right, Willowdale?”
Liam opened his eyes in time to see Lord Willowdale stand up, trembling with weakness. “Yes, My Lord. I will be.”
He observed both lords watch him as he held Thea in his arms, feeling her shaking with reaction and fear. He released her, yet held onto her hand as Thea, too, turned to face her brother and Lord Bradford. Lord Bradford’s lips swept upwards as he leaned toward Lord Willowdale.
“I think they make a very nice couple,” he said, his tone bland. “Do you not agree?”
Lord Willowdale stared at Liam for a long moment, and Liam could not read his eyes or his expression. Until he grinned.
