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William did not answer, instead shedding his coat and donning the glove he had pulled from the pocket before throwing it in a corner. He had no more than pulled his sword from its scabbard when Stefano abruptly lunged forward with his right leg, while wielding his sword erect, his left arm lifted in a square. “En garde!”

Taking advantage of the fact that William had no time to take his stance, the count advanced without further warning, managing to slice through William’s sleeve, leaving a small wound that began to bleed. Elizabeth paled at the sight. Nevertheless, William was able to lift his sword in time to thwart a following lunge, and their swords began clanking back and forth against each other. Both accomplished swordsmen, they appeared equally matched at first, though William’s wrist moved the weapon effortlessly compared to the count’s awkward strokes.

While they parried in a circular direction away from her, lunging and thrusting in turn, Elizabeth continued to work the knife against the ropes, managing to cut through enough to slip one hand out. Surreptitiously, she began untying her feet whenever the count’s attention was well engaged. She left the gag in place, fearing he would notice its absence right away.

As the battle escalated, it became clear that William was the stronger of the two, and he scored several hits along Stefano’s limbs as he began to move forward, forcing Stefano to retreat as he began to sweat profusely. For a long while, the swords clashed in rapid succession, and the fight went on for several minutes, as first one then the other scored light hits. Suddenly, Stefano’s sword was whipped from his grip by William’s blade, landing several feet away. Then as William advanced for the kill, one of Stefano’s guards stepped out of the hall and moved to stand in front of his master, pistol in hand.

The count sneered derisively, “You did not seriously think I would let you win, did you?”

During the course of the match, Elizabeth had managed to free her feet and cautiously reached for Stefano’s pistol upon the table. Neither villain paid any attention to her, but William was very aware of her efforts. He had to force himself not to look at her, knowing she could be killed if either man learned she was no longer bound. Stefano was totally caught up in his triumph and kept his eyes on William while taunting, “Watch, my dear wife, as the man you thought so highly of—the one who would be your saviour—dies like a dog.”

He barked orders at the guard. “Shoot him!”

Just as the guard took aim, Elizabeth fired, killing the man instantly and causing Stefano to whirl around to look at her. The look of fury upon his face was so evil that he no longer looked human—just as it had been the day he shot Addie. Instinctively Elizabeth backed into the corner as he headed towards her, spouting venom.

“You have betrayed me! I killed all of them for you and—”

“Stefano!” William shouted, closing in as he kicked Stefano’s sword back to him, “Defend yourself!”

Stefano snapped around thoroughly disoriented and seeing his sword sliding towards him, stooped down to reach for it. William’s pistol still lay on the floor nearby, and as he pretended to pick up the sword he lunged for the pistol. With one last thrust of his sword, William ended the count’s reign of terror as he plunged the blade into his heart.

As Stefano fell to the floor, William extracted his sword and stooped to pick up the guard’s unused pistol. He stood just in time to catch Elizabeth as she rushed into his arms. He soothed her, rocking her back and forth and kissing her hair while he kept the pistol and his eyes trained on the doors. He was not sure how many guards remained or if the servants were loyal to Stefano. All of a sudden, the man and woman who had directed him into this room stuck their heads inside cautiously.

Seeing the count lying in a pool of blood, the woman exclaimed, “Thank God you have prevailed!” The man nodded his agreement, beginning to edge close to the count as though he thought the villain might rise from the dead.

A little puzzled at their reaction, William ventured, “Are there any more of Stefano’s men here?”

“None that can do any harm!” the woman replied. “My husband and the gardener have the last two guards tied up in the stables. All that is left are servants, and we want no trouble. We were loyal to Lord Stanton—God rest his soul—not to this vile creature. Perhaps I should not be happy that he is dead, but I cannot pretend otherwise. At least now he cannot hurt anyone.”

Focusing on Elizabeth, she added, “I am sorry we could not help you while he and his men were in charge. Are you well?” She reached out to touch Elizabeth’s wrist. “You are bleeding too.”

Noticing the blood for the first time, William exclaimed, “We need bandages!”

The housekeeper hurried out of the room to fetch them.

Elizabeth tried to smile. “The cuts are not deep.” She examined his injuries, frowning as she declared, “Your wounds are worse than mine.”

William smiled lovingly. “They are minor. Besides, I am perfectly well as long as I have you.”

Several young men, all clearly servants, appeared in the doorway abruptly, and the old man motioned for them to come forward. As they began to help him remove the count and the guard from the room, Elizabeth took one last look at the dead men before burying her face in William’s chest. He ran his hands up and down her back in comfort, until she leaned back to look up at him.

“I have killed a man this day, but God help me, I would do it again! I would kill anyone who tried to harm you.”

William touched his forehead to hers. “My brave, brave darling. You saved my life.”

“Just as you saved mine.” Elizabeth sniffled, clutching him even tighter and beginning to place kisses wherever she could reach, murmuring, “I love you ... I love you ... I love you.”

Deliriously happy, William lifted her chin until she was looking at him and they exchanged words of love with their eyes. Their lips met with great urgency, and for some time they were lost in their own world, oblivious to the stares of the servants now standing about. William broke the kiss by feathering light kisses across her face, stopping to whisper in her ear, “We need to find the others and let them know we are safe.”

“Others?” Elizabeth murmured languidly, still in a trance from his kisses.

Just then, loud footsteps echoed down the hall towards them and suddenly someone was rushing into the room. William leveled his pistol at the intruder.

“Richard!” William shouted as recognition dawned and he lowered the weapon. “My Lord, I almost shot you!

“That makes two of us!” Richard declared, holstering his pistol in exasperation. “You are going to be the death of me! You never follow orders!”

Once he had realised that Darcy was not with them following the coaches that had left the villa, Richard had shouted orders for the others to continue while he returned to look for his cousin. Having found the villa looking very much deserted, he had just reached the top step when the sound of a gunshot brought him to a halt. Frantic with worry, he stole into the house, stealthily checking room after room, until the sound of voices brought him down the correct hallway. He was just in time to see several men carry Stefano’s body out of the room. With pistol raised, he had rushed past an old woman to find his cousin and Elizabeth both alive and well.