Page 18 of A Bluestocking for the Wicked Duke
“I will make mockery of you like William did the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos,” the taller boy said.
William’s heart skipped a beat on hearing that.
So people feel I made mockery of the Duke. That is one way to put it.
"But who won the fight?” the shorter brother asked.
When his brother didn’t respond, he added “Exactly.”
“Everyone knows that the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos cheated,” the tall boy blurted out.
William almost fell out of his hiding place on hearing that.
I suspected Duke cheated but how?
William had suspected that the Duke cheated but confirming it now still shocked him. He could feel anger at the Duke rise in him.
“It doesn’t matter that he cheated. He won, if not for the meddling Duchess, Duke Justin would be without an heir right now.”
“A cheat is never a true winner,” the tall boy said.
He had turned his sword upside down, holding it by the blade and twirling it around as he replied his brother. William knew he couldn’t handle a real blade in such a manner. Those swords had to have blunt blades, they were purely for practice.
“Regardless, if he hadn’t given William a tin sword, his sword would never have broken and William would have rebounded to his feet and won the fight. Or continued to humiliate the Duke,” the tall boy continued.
“So many ifs, let’s talk about what happened. William and the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos had a fight. William lost and got saved by his mother. That is what history will read,” the shorter boy retorted, unwilling to lose a verbal bout with his brother.
William had heard enough. He gingerly walked out from behind the statue, making sure the brothers did not get to see him before walking away. He was furious and rushed to his room. As he burst in, he met Lord James sitting on a chair.
“You came pretty late today,” William said.
“Yes, I know. We had matters of court to attend to,” Lord James replied, eying his friend as he answered him.
William blurted out a sharp sound that turned to laughter.
“Matters of court, you? Since when did the mighty Lord James ever settle down to run administrative duties?” William replied.
“Never, I had to wait for this one today. The accountant is down with an illness, I had to stay to calculate the taxes properly. I’m not as good as he is so it took far longer with me than with him,” Lord James explained.
William nodded as he returned his sword back to its place, hanging it on the scabbard beside the wardrobe.
“I heard something ridiculous today. I don’t know how true it is,” William said.
“What is it?” his friend replied.
“Some say the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos cheated, that he gave me a brittle sword. Did you hear that? How ridiculous does that sound?” William said, laughing gently as he spoke.
Lord James did not reply for the first few seconds, when he did it sounded halfhearted.
“Yes, it does sound ridiculous.”
William turned around to face his friend. This was not the reaction he expected.
“You heard of this?” William asked, confused at his friend’s paucity of words.
“In a way,” Lord James replied sheepishly.
William was astounded. He felt betrayed.
