“Yes.” Luciana blinked away tears.
He dragged in a shaky breath. “Ariana … I love you so much.”
Luciana wiped her cheek as a tear escaped. How lovely it would be if she and Leo could have a love as enduring as this. But even though she knew she loved him, she had no idea if he felt the same way. He’d admitted to wanting to bed her, but that didn’t seem quite the same as love.
Tatiana cleared her throat. “What about me?”
Luciana motioned to her. “Tatiana saved me from having to take the physician’s tonic.”
“That’s right!” Tatiana boasted. “You should have seen me, Mama. I knocked a candleholder across the room! Scared that nasty Wormwood to death!”
“That’s amazing!” Ariana gave her an astonished look.
“Well, yes, I am.” Tatiana smoothed back her hair.
“You didn’t take the tonic?” the duke asked Luciana.
She shook her head. “I didn’t need to. I didn’t eat any of the soup.”
“Oh, thank the Light.” The duke heaved a sigh of relief. “I was afraid you would need a purgative. That is the only thing Master Wormwood is good at.”
Luciana grimaced. “Why do you have such an awful physician?”
“He is nasty, isn’t he?” Her father rubbed his sore stomach. “The king sent him here, so I dare not reject him. He’s a gift, according to Frederic, but I swear it’s just one more way the king is trying to kill us.”
Luciana shuddered.
“If you didn’t eat the soup, how did you know—”
“Christopher told me,” Luciana explained.
“Yulissa’s boy? He died years—ah.” The duke nodded. “I understand.”
“He saw a scullery maid put something in the silver-plated soup tureen for the high table, so he came to warn me. Her name is Rowena, and she and the second assassin were lovers.”
“I see.” The duke considered a moment. “So the poisoning was an act of revenge?”
Luciana nodded. “And the last assassin is still unknown. Where is Leo? We should tell him.”
“He’ll be here shortly. He needed to fetch a few things from his tent.” The duke leaned back against his pillows, studying her. “This latest incident made me realize just how vulnerable you are. If an assassin succeeds in killing me—”
“That won’t happen,” Luciana interrupted.
The duke took her hand. “Hear me out. If I were to die, the king would become your guardian, meaning he could remove you from Vindemar, take you away someplace, and you would never be seen again. I spoke with Leo at length, and we came up with a plan to keep you protected.”
Luciana pulled her hand away. “You made plans for me without consulting me?”
“My dear, nothing has changed for you but the timing. You will still marry Leo. He was destined to become the duke when I passed on. We’re simply speeding that up. Tonight, he’ll become the Duke of Vindalyn and take responsibility for you. I’m signing over the title to him.”
Luciana sat back, stunned.
“What?” Tatiana screeched. “How can Papa give everything to the Beast? Luciana, you have to stop him!”
“Father,” Luciana began, but he interrupted her.
“I realize it comes as a shock, but while I lay here in pain, fearing I would die, I was reminded of what is truly important—you, and all the people I have been responsible for over the years. Leo will take the title, but I will continue to run the duchy as always, protecting the land and my people. I will simply be the steward.”
“The Beast will take over and kick us out!” Tatiana yelled.
“Father.” Luciana took his hand. “Vindalyn means everything to you. How could you—”
“It means a great deal to me, yes.” He squeezed her hand. “But you mean even more. This is the best way to keep you safe, my dear.”
“Safe?” Tatiana scoffed. “The Beast will kill you both!”
“No.” Ariana shook her head. “I think Lucas is right. The Lord Protector will not harm them.”
Luciana hoped her mother was right, but even so, her father’s solution seemed too drastic.
“What does Ariana think?” her father asked.
“Mother agrees with you. Tatiana doesn’t.” Luciana sighed. “I think you might be overreacting.”
“Perhaps, but I still think this is for the best. Leo has been kind enough to agree—”
“Why wouldn’t he?” Luciana asked. “He’ll have everything!”
“Yes, including the king’s wrath.” The duke gave her a stern look. “Don’t you realize what he’s doing? The minute he acquires the duchy, he alone will stand in the way of what the king wants for himself. We will be out of the picture. Leo is protecting us by making himself the lone target.”
Luciana swallowed hard. Leo was trying to save her and her father?
The door opened and Leo strode inside.
Her heart fluttered as it usually did whenever she saw him. He was formally dressed in his army uniform—black breeches, a red-and-black tunic topped with a black cape, his sword sheathed in a black leather scabbard, his hands covered in black leather gloves. His black boots looked recently polished, his clothes clean and pressed, and his handsome face recently shaven.
The fire from the hearth lit his hair golden red, and she felt a tightening in her chest when she realized he’d tried to tame the curls with a comb.