Page 90 of His Grace, the Duke
Burke looked pointedly away. “Who would I be fighting, then?”
“You could have your pick,” Hartington replied. “We’ve got a retired captain, Yates. Tall as you, a bit broader in the shoulder maybe. Hits like an anvil. A few of the lads are wirier, but they’re fast. They’ll take your head for a spin if you let your hands down.”
“Hmm,” Burke replied. It had been a while since he’d had a proper match in a ring. He couldn’t deny the prospect interested him. It would be good to let loose some of this tension. “When do you need an answer?”
“Soon as you can give it,” Hartington replied. “The lads hoped to make some pamphlets to drum up more interest.”
“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Tom replied. “Even if Burke’s out, consider me in.” He cuffed the captain on the shoulder and Hartington laughed, cuffing him back.
Burke had to fight the urge to stomp forward and slap his hand away. He was saved by the chiming of the mantel clock. Five o’clock already.
“Christ, is that the time?” Tom muttered. “Sorry gents, butI’m afraid I must be off. I take dinner at my captain’s house tonight.”
“I’ll walk out with you,” Hartington replied.
“Wait.” The word was out of Burke’s mouth before he even had time to think it.
Tom and Hartington both cast him a curious look.
“I would speak to Hartington about something.”
Tom raised a wary brow. Slowly, he crossed the room to Burke’s side. “Should I stay? I can be fashionably late.”
“Not necessary,” he replied.
Tom gave Burke a warning look. But Burke was never one for heeding warnings. Feeling rash, he pulled Tom to him by his coat lapel and kissed him square on the mouth. Tom pulled away with a startled gasp. He narrowed his eyes, more irritated than upset. “Wasthatnecessary?” he whispered.
Burke smirked. “Yes.”
Tom glanced over his shoulder at Hartington and back at Burke, his voice low. “Nothing happened,” he murmured.
“I know.”
“Nothing would have happened,” he added.
Burke raised a hand and stroked Tom’s jaw with the back of his fingers. A quick touch. A statement. A promise. “I know. Now go.”
With a frustrated sigh, Tom stepped past him and left.
Hartington still stood framed by the bright window. “Is that what you needed to tell me, Mr. Burke?”
Burke crossed his arms, not moving from his spot by the wall. “It’s part of it.”
The captain chuckled. “There’s no need to be jealous of what Renley and I once shared. It was another life for me.”
A muscle twitched in Burke’s jaw. “I generally find jealousyto be a useless emotion,” he replied. “It implies a deep dissatisfaction in wanting something I cannot have. In this case, jealousy is wholly absent from my feelings.”
“Is that right?” the captain mused.
“Why would I be jealous of you, Hartington? You have nothing that I want.”
It was Hartington’s turn to cross his arms. “Then why the big show?”
“Because I am territorial. I know what I have. I fought hard for it, and I intend to keep it.”
Hartington smirked. “Am I a threat, then?”
“Iam the threat,” Burke replied. “Touch Tom again, speak a soft word in his ear, so much as look at him in a way I find overly familiar... and I will rip out your goddamn throat.”
