Page 69 of Burning Secrets of a Lady's Pen
Corin had never liked nature at night less than he did at that moment.
Stepping out of his carriage, he wanted to curse the whole lot of land, his teeth clenched as he caught sight of Romeo waiting for him only a few yards away from the entrance like they had discussed.
Romeo was even harder to face than the park itself.
It didn’t look like he had slept in days, his hair unkempt and dark bruising coloring around his eyes. There was a skeletal, haunted look to him, like a man who had stepped off the boat for war and not quite ever returned.
It pierced through Corin, every bone in his body wanting nothing more than to grab Romeo and head back the way he had just come with his brother in tow. To shield him like he had spent his whole life trying to do. All of a sudden, Romeo was a boy again, clothed once more in that too-small clothing with permanent tear tracks down his face, asking for their mother.
And all over again, Corin was at a loss of how to make things better.
“I think that the earl and his second arrived a half hour ago,” Romeo muttered as Corin came up alongside him. “I’m assuming, anyway. Two figures were walking into the park when I was walking up.”
Corin clapped Romeo on the shoulder, trying to appear unbothered. “I would assume, given the hour, that it was them,” he agreed.
He only just wished he could swallow past the acid in his throat as he said it.
Romeo nodded morosely, his steps jerky as he fell into step with Corin on the way toward the entrance.
“You don’t have to go with me,” Romeo muttered as they drew closer. “I know that you have your Miss Merrit waiting on you. Really, Corin…”
Corin’s throat felt tight as he stole a sidelong glance at his brother.
“Nonsense,” he dismissed his brother’s worry, sounding much more cavalier than he felt. “You cannot enter a duel without a second. There’s nothing to say that reason can’t still be met.”
Romeo snorted, and though Corin doubted his own words, he knew that he had to at least try.
Either way this went, the Romeo who entered the park would not be the same man who left—if he left.
And that was a harrowing thought to consider.
“About time,” a disgruntled voice greeted the pair as they drew toward the center of the park.
The Earl of Medbourne was an older gentleman, his shock of white hair his most discerning feature. The body that sat under it wasn’t nearly so aged as the hair might suggest, though, long and lean from years of military service. His gray eyes were piercing, even in the darkness, his thin lips set in a firm line as he glared passionately past Corin to Romeo.
“Lord Salthouse,” the man who’d come with the earl greeted. The Duke of Illyria was of a similar age, though portlier and with kinder brown eyes. “The terms of the duel have been set. Pistols. To the death, first blood does not give the earl satisfaction.”
Romeo stood ramrod straight, staring at the man who aimed to kill him.
A man who was only too eager to do so, apparent in the way that he immediately strode forward as if to meet Romeo and begin on the spot.
“Lord Medbourne,” Corin spoke quickly, stepping in his path with one hand raised. “Perhaps we might let cooler heads prevail this once. I understand my brother’s offense is egregious, as does he, but he is more than prepared to offer an apology for his behavior.”
“An apology?” the earl asked, a barked laugh following his words. “Sullying my wife and befouling my marriage bed. You think an apology could satisfy such an offense?”
“I think an apology is the least that you are owed,” Corin corrected. “But I do not see how shooting one another will solve such a quarrel. My brother was in the wrong, but it is not he alone who offended you, sir.”
The earl’s nostrils flared, his eyes flashing in the dull lighting as his arm twitched as if he itched to reach for his pistol already.
“Do you mean to offer further offense to my wife, Lord Salthouse?” he asked with a deadly quietness to his voice.
“No.” Corin could have cursed. “I mean only to point out that there was an error made. My brother is young. And reckless. He—”
“Has made many similar mistakes in the past,” the earl cut Corin off with a snarl. “Did you think I did not know of his reputation? All of London knows of his reputation.”
“I have no excuse,” Romeo spoke up from behind Corin, making Corin want to turn and throttle him.
Now was not a time for his budding conscience to come into play.
