Biting her lip, Samantha approached Ben. When he saw the look on her face, his face fell.
“Samantha, love, what’s wrong?” Ben asked. He took her face in his large hands. “Did something happen?”
Unbidden, tears sprung to her eyes. “Oh, Ben,” Samantha cried. She turned away from him. “I don’t know how to tell you. It’s terrible.”
“Darling, what’s wrong? What happened? It’s going to be okay,” Ben said.
Samantha shook her head. “No it’s not. It’s not.”
“Samantha, tell me what’s going on,” Ben said. His tone was firm. Slowly she turned back to face Ben.
“I’ve found out,” Samantha stopped. “There’s been rumors about someone challenging you to a duel to the death.”
Ben nodded. “I’m aware.”
That just made Samantha sadder. Here she thought that Ben had a few weeks of happiness here when ins
