Just when he thought he was no longer needed by the family, Levi received another letter from his mother merely a week after his arrival in Standbury.

Your brother and Agatha are on their way back to Wickhurst from their honeymoon, his mother wrote. As my second eldest, I wish you will be here with us. The gossip, if you must know, is still quite fresh. And the twins will need more brothers to guard them. It is the Wickhurst Season, son. Your sisters are being preyed upon!

The letter turned dramatic as he read that he considered ignoring it.

The said letter was followed by another, and this time it was from Ralph:

I am dying, Levi. They are untamed beasts, I tell you! Untamed! Yesterday, at Mrs Camila's tea party, Ysabella found a way into the kitchen. She was looking for pies! Pies! And she was with Mrs Beagle, the cat who just returned after a month-long disappearance. Emma was found in the library, which was supposed to be locked. And that was where Ysabella intended to deliver the pies before I caught her. Have I never told the lot of you before that they are expert lock pickers? No one believed me! I have claimed many years ago that they practiced on my door every night. And yet you all believed their claim that it was just a ghost. Now here we are, being haunted by living devils who—

Levi did not bother to read further because Maxwell also sent him a note that read, Ralph is being dramatic. Do not come home if he sends word.

He intended to heed Maxwell's much more favorable letter, but then the letter from the twins came:

Do not believe Ralph. He is being dramatic. We have been doing naught but behave with utmost grace! Mrs Camila did not make it known that no one should enter that library, and she surely did not find it scandalous that we did. I swear no pies were stolen. There was none to begin with! We would rather you do not mind Ralph.

And there is no need to tell Benedict!

We hope you are faring well in Standbury, our dearest and most favorite brother.

See you on Christmas!

The letter sent him packing again because graceful and behave could never survive together in a sentence when it concerned the twins. With Benedict arriving with his new wife while the scandal was still fresh, he could not let the twins be involved in another that might ruin their future.

For the love of God, they were eighteen this year. Mayhap it was time they behaved like it!

However, just mere hours after he arrived in Wickhurst to find the twins and sit them down for a thorough talking, Margaret trapped him inside the parlor with tea and biscuits. And before he could wonder why, Tori slipped into the room and firmly shut the door.

The clicking of the lock made him close his eyes with a groan.

This had happened too many times in the past. If there was another pair that Levi was wary of, it was Margaret and her best friend. They had always thought he was the best comrade—from chaperone services to learning how to dance and even giving answers to questions regarding intimate matters that only men had knowledge of.

"Whatever the two of you are scheming, I shall not be a part of it. I am here to survive the family dinner, talk to the twins, and save Ralph's life before Benedict realizes things are getting out of control once more," he said, opening his eyes. Tori had settled on the settee across from him, looking distraught.,

But how could she look like that and yet be too bloody enchanting?

Or had he been blind three years ago, and she had always been so?

"What is he talking about?" Tori asked Margaret. "We are only having tea."

"I have not the faintest idea," Margaret replied, feigning innocence. "Now, Tori, tell me more about the cryptic letter you sent me."

Levi frowned at the two of them. "I do not even know what in the devil you two are talking about," he said dryly. "But I honestly feel trapped. I know the you are planning something that involves me."

Margaret ignored the darting look he threw her and said, "Tori said she needs my help, brother. And since you are here, you may also lend a hand."

"Just weeks ago, you practically pushed me away because you were discussing a sensitive topic. I wonder what changed now."

"Then are you saying that Tori's problem does not concern you at all? As her old friend?" his sister asked.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Tori shifted in her seat and said, "Very well, I should be very honest. My situation is very dire." Levi could not help but notice how her light blue dress hugged her body, or how it allowed for some parts of it to show in a very interesting way. "My stepmother intends for me to marry her nephew to get my inheritance."

Levi's eyes narrowed, their conversation during the wedding coming back to him. Was this what she was talking about?

Margaret's eyes dramatically widened. "Your stepmother wants you to marry her nephew for your inheritance?" his sister asked, sounding aghast. "But she cannot do that!"

Of course, Margaret was being theatrical. Levi knew she was already aware of the situation. This act was all for him.

"Oh, she can," said Tori in an equally dramatic fashion, stealing him a glance. "She can because she is my legal guardian until I am thirty. She can and she will."

Levi frowned. Something was not right here.

"And if you choose to marry someone else?" asked Margaret.

"She cannot stop it. But I must find a husband before the engagement is announced. She has not said a word to me, but I am certain it is to happen soon."

Levi's frown deepened as he transferred his gaze from Margaret to Tori and back again.

"We have to help her," Margaret uttered after a while.

Ah, there it was. His purpose.

"I do not see how I can help. Are you suggesting I find her a husband?"

"Well, yes, of course!" Margaret said.

"As you may have failed to notice, Margaret, I have been absent from Wickhurst for quite a long time. I barely know anyone every time I step into Grey's."

"But your friends are still in town and most of them bachelors still. Gather them around and find Tori a husband."

He had to admit he did not expect this. Mayhap he expected they ask him to help drive the carriage should Tori decide to run away with a lover, but to find her a husband? She had been to countless seasons and had not found one. How could she find one now?

Levi did not want to be involved. All he wanted to do was survive the Everard dinner, ensure that Ysabella and Emma would behave this social season, and return to Standbury by the morrow.

But he was also aware that Margaret and Tori would merely do something more drastic should he refuse them. They must have another plan if they could not get what they wanted from him.

He clasped his hands together and impatiently sighed.

His friends, some of them married now, were naught but useless bastards, he thought before he answered, "I am sorry, Tori, but you are past the marrying age." He personally thought her age did not matter, but for the perfect polite society, her age would be a concern.

Tori straightened in her chair. "And I would rather stay a spinster than marry my stepmother's nephew. You have seen him around Wickhurst, Margaret. You tell your brother what he is like."

"Horrible, disgusting form of a human being," Margaret said with spite, clearly exaggerating.

Levi let out a heavy sigh. What else could he say to ensure he would walk out of this parlor alive and free of more obligations?

Considering he was facing Margaret and Tori, there was merely one option so he said, "I shall try to help, but I cannot promise anything. Most eligible bachelors prefer a younger wife." He was utterly glad he was talking to Victoria Ashdown and not some sensitive chit who would instantly cry at his choice of words.

Tori haughtily lifted her chin. "Then I shall find someone who will accept someone at eight and twenty. We do not have to live like other couples."

Levi slumped in his seat with a groan of frustration. "You are looking for a knight in shining armor, Tori, not a husband."

"Are they not the same?"

He scowled at her. "No."

"Well, so be it," she haughtily said. "I am looking for a man who could take me away from my stepmother's care before she spends all my fortune. He does not have to be wealthy. In fact, I would rather we find someone who is drowning in debt. My dowry alone is enough to entice anyone."

"And yet you are unmarried," Levi stated dryly.

"Because I was not given the chance to say yes before," Tori snapped back, her sharp tone indicating he had touched a nerve.

"Stop the useless banter, the two of you. We ought to find a solution to your problem, Tori," Margaret reprimanded. "We do not have time to spare with the two of you fighting like Ralph and the twins."

Because I was never given the chance to say yes before...

Tori's words echoed in his head. Had no one truly ever asked her? How many men in Wickhurst had been plagued by blindness and sense since he left?

He chewed the inside of his cheek. He truly wanted to go home by the morrow.

"Very well," he finally said, albeit reluctantly. "If you seek a husband, we shall find you one."

Tori smiled and his breath was almost stolen from him. Had she always had a glow about her when she smiled?

Mentally shaking his head, he added, "But answer something for me, Tori. Why are you afraid to marry this nephew?"

"We already told you he is—"

"Yes, I know. And I also know that you are concerned about your inheritance. Are we talking about your dowry?"

Her eyes flickered to the left before she blinked at him. "Yes, of course."

He frowned. "Whoever your husband will be, Tori, he will still have full authority over your dowry."

"Not if I find someone who will be generous and lenient enough to allow me the liberty over my finances."

"We have to help her," Margaret repeated, looking at him sternly. "You have to help her."

His frown deepened. "I am not marrying you, Tori."

Margaret and Tori shared an incredulous look. Tori then scowled at him, clearly offended by his statement. "Well, I am not marrying you either, Levi. Thank you for the kind offer!"

"I merely wanted to make that one thing clear should either of you entertain the idea."

Tori let out an incredulous scoff and asked, "Then you will help me?"

"I said I shall try. While I am here. I am not staying long to watch the two of you make a fool of yourselves," he said, pointing his fingers at them.

Margaret glanced to Tori who had turned stiff as stone.

Levi sighed with frustration. There was clearly something they were not telling him.

"You do not have to prolong your stay here," Tori coldly said. "I did not mean to ask it from you."

"But of course, he can, Tori. It would be much preferable if he did—" Margaret started, but her friend lifted a hand to say, "I do not wish him to witness my desperate attempts, as he would call it, to find a husband, Maggie. I am afraid it would greatly discomfort him seeing me make a fool of myself."

Levi groaned. "I did not mean—"

"You only need to introduce Tori to prospects, Levi," said Margaret, stealing Tori a wary look. "Then you may go home to Standbury. A ball or two should be enough."

"No, Margaret," said Tori, brow arched. "I only need one thing from him and then he can go home. Truly, I do not need much of his help."

"No, I can help but only—" Levi was talking while Margaret said, "But, Tori, Levi can—"

"I only need a list, Levi," Tori said over their words.

Levi paused. Baffled, he asked, "List?"

Tori's brows cocked high; her shoulders pulled back. She was trying too hard to be confident, he thought, wondering how much of it was real. "Yes. I need a list of all eligible candidates."

"Bloody hell, Tori, you are not out shopping. Why would you need a bloody list?"

Tori merely smiled—not even a real one—and stood. "That is all I am asking from you, my lord. As a friend, of course," she said. Turning to Margaret, she added, "I hope you all enjoy your family dinner."

The door firmly closed behind her as she left, and Levi gawked at Margaret. "What in the devil just happened? What did I do wrong now?"

Margaret sighed and shook her head. "You told her she is desperate."

"I did not!"

"You might as well have said it by how you said things!"

He scoffed in disbelief. "Forgive me, Maggie, but she does sound and look desperate."

"Not for the reasons you think," his sister snapped. "I was truly hoping you can be of help."

"I said I shall try, did I not?"

"Then give her what she wants."

"You mean give her a bloody list."

"Yes."

"Maggie, what is truly going on? Surely this is not just about her stepmother forcing her to marry a man—"

"Levi, I cannot tell you everything."

"Perhaps I should know what the bloody hell is really going on."

Margaret shrugged. "There is nothing much you need to know. Tori's stepmother wants her money, but Tori wants it for herself because she deserves it. I am helping her find a husband who can give her more freedom over her finances. That is all. And you will help by giving us a list."

"Are you aware that you just narrowed our prospects to none? I do not know anyone who will allow his wife to play around with her own dowry."

"There are far better men than Clarice's nephew, Levi, I am sure."

"But—"

His sister resignedly interrupted, "If you cannot give us a list—and that is all she is asking from you, then perhaps you should just free yourself of this scheme, as you would call it. We can always find help elsewhere."