Page 6 of When He Was Wicked
"And also for a spot of conversation." He paused on a sigh. "You are normally an early riser, and I need…I need a round. My mind could not quiet."
“I heard you went to The Club only last evening and had a prizefighting match with Lord Barton.”
The Club, as everyone referred to the gambling den owned by Viscount Worsley, another lord who stood on the edges of acceptance because of the manner in which he had made his money. At the back of the gambling halls, there was a room solely dedicated to prizefighting matches. When James climbed into the ring last night, the crowd had been pleased one of its bare-knuckle kings had returned after so long. The fight had been vicious and had lasted several rounds. James’s satisfaction had been hollow, and he had been mildly shocked by how muchLady Susanna's rejection had affected his composure. “It did not suffice.”
“So you won then?”
He had won the match and a purse of six thousand pounds. “I did.”
Sebastian considered him for a few seconds then nodded.
James grunted, stripping from his jacket while moving toward a room in the viscount’s townhouse dedicated to sparring. Soft footfalls and muttered curses followed, and James smiled, feeling quite pleased to be lucky in a friendship with a man who enjoyed a good bout of boxing just as much as he did.
A few moments later, they circled each other, dancing and weaving with ease.
“What happened?” Shaw asked. “It is unlike you to show up without announcing. God knows you’ve tried to be very proper and exact even with friends.”
James ignored the jibe that he had tried to be an ideal gentleman and was ridiculous at it. “I had an unexpected visitor. A woman at my home a few hours ago.”
“You visited to provide the details of an interlude?” Sebastian asked with a jab toward his midsection.
James danced out of his friend’s reach, bobbed, and slammed his fist into his side.
“My wife will not take kindly to any bruises on me, and my Fanny can be quite fierce.”
He grinned and before James could shift away, Sebastian delivered a nice slam to his side. With a grunt, James backed away, liking that he was working up a sweat, that his muscles were already burning, and that primal need shifted through his system.
“Are you familiar with a lady who has been away from society these last four seasons, but has resurfaced, say, about the last five to six months?”
Sebastian faltered and stared at him with a measure of surprise. “Well, that was very precise.”
“A lady fitting that description came to me, in disguise, with a very peculiar request.”
An eyebrow winged upward. “Which is?”
James hesitated slightly. “To teach her to fight, to defend herself.”
Sebastian smiled. “You do know I teach my wife how to fight. My factories are in rough areas of London, and she insists on visiting me at times. With the conditions as they are, many justifiably angry workers and the union-encouraged strikes which lead to rioting, I have taught her to fight. I daresay with the right incentive my Fanny can lay you flat on your rear, Maschelly.”
This was said with a good deal of pride and admiration for his viscountess. But James already knew his friend’s lady had the courage of a lion. Only last year she had jilted a powerful lord and left the dishonorable bounder at the altar. She had done that, knowing the scandal that would forever be attached to her name. That showed a strength of character that was rare, and more than once James had thought how lucky his friend was in his choice of partner.
Sebastian continued, “And the sport is an excellent exercise for young ladies, the general thought is that it keeps them fit and healthy. And I know many take lessons at their home.”
“I assure you it is not those gentle lessons she seeks.” He thought of his veiled lady. “For her, it would not be a form of exercise.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. Someone hurt her, and she needs this to feel safe again. I suspect everyone who should have protected the lady disappointed her, and she now feels she can rely on no one but her own ingenuity and strength.”
“It sounds as if you admire the lady,” Sebastian observed.
“I do in some fashion, but I refused her.”
“But you’ve since changed your mind?” Sebastian asked archly, and with some amusement. “And here I thought the wickedest earl in London was trying to beproper…a gentleman. How odd you would willingly help a lady to ruin, casting yourself in more negativity for the vultures.”
James grunted. “Do you have any notion of who she could be? A young lady who has been away for the last four seasons, and only recently returned to town? I cannot fathom there could be several such ladies.”
“I will ask my dear Fanny. You know I am not up to date on the lateston dits. My wife though seems to be too aware of most of theton’sbusiness. And I am delightfully obliged to listen when she imparts all the news.”
