The ride to Montclair Estate was agonizingly slow and Leonor couldn't bring herself to look at Desmond considering how little he seemed to care about himself.
He refused healing, saying that participants in the matches were a higher priority. His words drove a stake in her heart, but she moved past sadness and felt angry.
While she understood his reasoning for throwing himself into the fire in the past to bring a stop to the war for Castille, she didn't understand how he could willingly hurt himself. The present stakes were much higher.
It wasn't only she relying on him. The entire duchy would be in disarray if he wasn't standing there as the leader. She knew that Stephano wouldn't force her to marry another to hold the title, but it would be difficult to find someone qualified for the position.
