Page 24 of Pride of Lyons

Confused, Honoria opened her eyes to the clear blue of the June sky. Without his weight pressing her onto the hard stone, she sat up blinking, just in time to see Thomas heave Danford into the prickly Apothecary’s Rose bush. Relief so deep it seemed a palpable wave rushed through her. “Thomas!”

“Honoria.” Her husband reached her in two giant steps and swept her up into his arms. “Oh, my love.” He crushed her to him and whispered, “Did he harm you in any way?”

Even though the villain had hurt her, she understood what Thomas was asking and shook her head. “No, not like that. You arrived in time.”

“Thank God.” He brushed a kiss over her hair and clutched her even harder. “Had I not, this moment I’d be fetching my pistol and putting an end to that monster. As it is…” He turned to stare at Lord Danford screeching and cursing as he tried to extricate himself from the rose bush, the myriad thorns pricking and tearing at him. “Excuse me, my dear.” Thomas let her go—he seemed to struggle with it, but finally released her—and strode over to the rose bush Lord Danford seemed to be crushing. “Allow me, Danford.”

“What the devil do you want?” Danford stopped moving to glare up at Thomas.

“To give you a helping hand, of course.” With the suddenness of a striking snake, Thomas darted his gloved hand into the thicket of branches, grasped the neck of Danford’s jacket, and jerked the earl up. “There you go.”

A blood-curdling scream as Danford’s flesh tore, then he was standing shakily on the paved path, oozing blood from a dozen scratches on his face.

Thomas glanced at the Apothecary Rose bush, which seemed to be springing back into its original shape. Only a couple of branches appeared to be crushed. “Not much harm done, fortunately. I’d hate to have to make you pay for the rose bush, too.”

Face darkened with an ugly scowl, Danford steadied himself, then raked Thomas with a venomous glare. “You’re the one who will pay for that outrage, Braeton.”

“I beg to differ, Danford.” Thomas stood calmly, pulling off his riding glove one finger at a time. When he finished, he balled the glove in his hand, scowled at Danford, and flung the glove in his face. It bounced off Danford’s nose and fell to the ground, tiny spots of blood staining the leather.

Honoria stood silent and horrified. She understood that Thomas would wish to punish Lord Danford for his assault on her, but she’d not considered her husband would actually challenge him to a duel.

Thomas curled his lips into a sneer. “Pick it up if you dare, my lord.”

Stunned, Lord Danford paused for a moment, as if considering Thomas’s words. Would he let the glove remain on the ground and be branded a coward?

Honoria found herself hoping that very thing. She wasn’t certain how brave Danford actually was, but she assumed every man had been taught to shoot. Therefore, if he and Thomas did indeed duel, she would be in jeopardy of losing her husband at Lord Danford’s hand. She wanted badly to go to Thomas, to ask him not to do this just for her sake, but she remained where she stood. Instinctively, she understood that nothing would prevent Thomas from seeking satisfaction of Lord Danford. No argument she could make would matter to her husband, who it seemed was ready to die to defend her honor. Much as that horrified her, it also made her very proud, and more than a little in love with him.

After an impossibly long pause, Danford stooped and retrieved the glove. In honor, he could have done nothing else. A look of grim satisfaction spread over his face. “I dare, Braeton. I assure you, I dare.”

“Splendid.”

That single calm word, spoken with a depth of emotion she’d never heard from her husband before, set Honoria to shiver. This duel would happen then. Dear God, how was she to endure it?

Thomas continued, matter-of-factly. “As the challenged party, Danford, you have the choice of weapons. May I assume you will choose pistols?”

“Yes, of course.” Danford’s countenance had sobered remarkably. Honoria believed he was having some difficulty accepting that he was to shortly be facing her husband, weapon in hand.

“Very well.” Thomas seemed to take grim satisfaction in that, although, surely, he couldn’t have thought his opponent would have selected swords. “Shall we agree to discharge the matter here in the country?” When Danford didn’t answer immediately, Thomas raised an eyebrow. “So much more private here on my estate. But if you prefer to remove to London and the duck pond in Hyde Park, I shall meet you there.” His gaze bore into Danford’s face. “I promise you, I will meet you anywhere, anytime you choose. You have only to inform me.”

Danford shook his head. “My seconds are in London.”

“As are mine. It will take several days for them to journey here. Do you agree?”

Danford nodded.

“Good. Meanwhile, I can arrange for the dueling ground to be laid out and readied. You will require lodging until the day, I believe. The George and Dragon in Chichester is well-liked. You should find it comfortable enough.”

Chichester was almost ten miles away. Thomas was taking care that Lord Danford would be kept as far from her as possible.

Again, Danford nodded, although he seemed so distracted Honoria couldn’t swear he’d actually heard Thomas.

“I will write immediately to my seconds. They should arrive here the day after tomorrow. So, we will meet at dawn, the morning of the third day?” Calm and nonchalant, Thomas might have been discussing plans to dine with the earl. “At seven?”

Danford’s head bobbed up and down mechanically. He stared at Thomas with a curious expression on his face, part confusion, part disbelief. “I never thought…”

The planes of Thomas’s face hardened in an instant. “You’ve not thought for a moment since this entire affair began, Danford. You allowed your basest desires to rule your reason, with the result that we shall meet on the field of honor in three days’ time. At least your death will be honorable, though all your other actions have not been.”

Shaking his head, Danford’s brow was deeply furrowed. “I never believed you’d marry her. You’ve not known her long enough to have any affection for her. What is she to you that you would risk your life and mine for her honor?”