Page 37 of Claimed By Her Forbidden Duke
“True.” The last man cackled. “I heard there ain’t a lot going on upstairs in the heads of these nobles if you know what I’m saying. Not a lot of nous.”
The men all laughed together, their voices roughened by years of smoking cigars, no doubt. Edmund merely hummed, amused that they thought mere mockery would dissuade him. He stepped forward, only for the first man to scoff at him.
“You and your noble people ain’t welcome ‘ere. Scurry back to your fancy townhouses where you look down your noses at us. A title doesn’t scare us.Youdon’t scare us.”
“Is that so?” Edmund unfastened his cuffs and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows.
The men took in the muscles that corded his forearms, clearly not expecting a noble to be so well built. And Edmund was—he possessed a body that would easily take on three men.
“Big mistake.”
One of the men shot up, his fists pressed to the table. His chair toppled back with the force of his movement. “Don’t be comin’ in ‘ere, threatening us, makin’ demands. Don’t make us teach you a lesson.”
“By all means,” Edmund said coolly, moving back to give the men space. “Try to do so, but I assure you thatIwill not be the one taught a lesson.”
That had anger snarling through the man’s face as he grabbed for Edmund’s waistcoat. Edmund easily dodged the swipe, laughing.
It was his turn to mock them.
The largest man who’d stood up barreled his way out of the table’s constraints and launched himself at Edmund. Again, Edmund easily sidestepped, only to back into one of the other men.
Without wasting a beat, he rammed his elbow into the man’s stomach, using him as leverage to kick out at the third man who came swinging.
He knew the games of nobles who made careful, passive-aggressive remarks, but he was well-practiced in these games, too. Ones of fists and bloody knuckles. Ones where rules did not apply, and fighting dirty was the only way to walk away victorious.
The man behind him tried to grab him, but Edmund was faster and lighter, despite his broad size. He was already ready, his fists raised. A punch came for his face, and he ducked, jamming up his own fist. The man staggered backward, and Edmund fisted a hand in his collar, slamming him back down on the table as he regarded the other two men.
“Any other smart remarks?” he asked.
The other two moved back into their seats, shaking their heads quickly as they ceased their mocking.
Edmund released the larger man squirming beneath his grasp and collected himself. His opponent returned to his seat, scowling.
“Now,” Edmund continued, “I asked for information on James Logan. I believe you will be more amenable to answer me now, no?”
The man who had first spoken upon his arrival was the first scrabbling to talk. “Logan used to come in here, sure. He met a few dealers here and there.”
That was information Edmund already knew, and his temper flared with more annoyance and disappointment.
“But…” The man glanced at his friends. “Er, well, there was a powerful man. Nobody learned his name—he was anonymous. Logan used to meet with him frequently.”
Another powerful man. Weren’t they all?
Edmund snarled and retreated from the table, not wasting another moment there.
He stalked out of the tavern, his hunt for information fruitless once more. But as he burst out of the Amber Lantern, he heard a cry for help.
His stomach dropped as he found his cousin surrounded by a group of thugs, all grabbing for him. His fists were raised all wrong, and his pale face belied his ability to defend himself.
“Edmund, come?—”
Edmund barely heard his cousin’s plea for help before he was upon the thugs, knocking one of them out as he whirled to face Edmund.
The man fell like a wheat stalk cut free. Another replaced him, growling angrily at Edmund, and he crouched to avoid the swipe, only to surge up and whirl on the man who came back for him.
He drove his fist into the man’s stomach, bracing him as he doubled over. Then, he shoved the man back, sending him careening into another.
The two fell to the ground while Edmund whirled on another thug, angrily punching him.
