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“Fucking watch it,” he growled.

Maggie had not been aware a person could growl. She didn’t have the presence of mind to examine how it made her feel, so she just stepped away from the bloody mass Jake had expelled from his mouth and stood quietly beside Theo.

“Sorry,” Jake muttered. “I’m not my best self at the moment.”

“Why did you take on someone twice your size?” Theo asked for perhaps the fourth time. “My God, Jake. This isn’t the right way to demonstrate your skill.”

The younger man attempted a snort that resulted in him doubled over, wheezing. “Oh, God, my face hurts.”

Theo slipped a hand under his arm and hoisted him up. “We’re going to David’s so Laura can fix you up.”

Jake rubbed his forehead, shaking his head. “No, I just want to go home.”

“Jacob.” Theo’s voice was a sharp, impatient tone she hadn’t heard from him before. “You are still bleeding and your nose is most certainly broken. We have a sister-in-law who has the experience and equipment to make sure you heal with minimal permanent damage, and I need you to be functioning to keep our business running. I don’t have time for your wounded pride to take precedent, so we’re going to see Laura and that’s the final word on it.”

Maggie rather wished he would growl again. She stepped aside and hailed down a passing cab. Theo, swearing under his breath, shuffled his bleeding brother into the carriage after assuring the sleepy driver that they wouldn’t leave any stains, and Maggie climbed in after them.

Although she was, by societal standards, so firmly on the shelf that she required a thorough dusting, and Theo was a respectable widower with good standing in the community, being alone in a hack at eleven thirty at night with two men who were not her relations was beyond the limits of acceptable behavior. She didn’t care two whits about being caught and labeled a jezebel for her own sake, but the idea of harming Tom and Bridgers was simply unacceptable. She needed to get Jake to Laura and slip into the night unseen.

Theo thumped on the roof of the carriage, and it took off with a jerky start. Jake jolted forward, bracing himself on the bench opposite him by placing a hand directly beside Maggie’s thigh. She subtly moved away from him with a glance at Theo, who was glaring at the offending appendage with such fury that she almost laughed.

“I’m not in the mood to cart you all over town while you’re bleeding and miserable,” Theo said, his voice still tight, “so you’ll have to stay at David’s tonight.”

“Whatever you say, boss,” Jake mumbled, his eyes shut against the sway of the carriage. They remained quiet the remainder of the ride, periodically changing rags on Jake’s still-gushing nose, until they stopped in front of a small house not far from the butcher shop. Although it was late, there was an orange blaze glowing through the curtains, and Theo didn’t seem hesitant to drag Jake out and pound on the front door.

Maggie clambered out, shaking out her skirts as the cab quickly jostled away. “What if you’re waking them up?”

“Neither of them goes to bed before one in the morning, usually,” Theo grunted, ignoring Jake’s whimpering. “Laura says it’s why they married each other: their mutual insomnia.”

The door swung open before Maggie could reply, and David loomed over them, a murderous look flickering off his face as he recognized his brothers. “It’s the middle of the night,” he said shortly, standing aside as they filed in. If he was surprised to see Maggie in tow, he didn’t show it. “My God, Jake,” he breathed out, looking horrified. “Did you run into a wall?”

“Several times,” Theo said, slumping Jake onto David. “The wall was named Arthur Jackson, and it was relentless.”

“I’m fine,” Jake slurred. Maggie looked at Theo with alarm; he grimaced in return. “Just give me some brandy and send me to bed.”

Laura appeared as if she had been summoned, cinching the tie of her dressing gown around her waist and huffing. “Really? Some brandy, to thin the blood so it never clots and you bleed to death in my parlor? That sounds good to you?”

Jake responded with a low moan, and David propped him up further. “Laura needs to fix that nose,” he said, sounding tired. “And it sounds like your brain got sloshed around. Your words are all mushed together.”

“What can I do?” Maggie spoke for the first time since she had entered the house. The heads in the room whipped towards her, except for Theo’s; his gaze hadn’t strayed from her. It was comforting, in an unsettling way.

“The kettle is on the stove in the kitchen,” Laura said, grimly. “If you could put some water on for black tea, I would appreciate it. If his brain is bruised, he can't fall asleep.” She sighed, looking around the room. “It's going to be a long night for all of us.” She jerked her head towards her battered brother-in-law, who was now fully frowning. “Save your sad looks, darling. You’re about to be a lot worse.”

A lot worse, it turned out, meant resetting Jake’s nose. He fainted, which went against Laura’s idea of keeping him awake, but there simply wasn’t anything for it. Theo and David had tried light slapping, and Maggie had attempted to pour pitch-black tea down his throat, but the man was out harder than a snuffed candle. Laura flittered about like a nervous bird, arranging and rearranging him to ensure his breathing was unobstructed and taking the opportunity to clean some of the abrasions on his face and hands. It was nearly two when she finally ushered Theo and Maggie out, insisting that she and David had Jake in hand and that they needed rest.

“Doesn’t she need rest?” Maggie asked as Laura snapped the door shut.

“Oh, no,” Theo said, and he suddenly sounded very tired. “She thrives on being needed, Laura. She’s probably pleased as anything to be able to fret over him.” His hands were in his pockets and his shoulders were slouched; she imagined he wouldn’t last much longer. She touched his arm gently.

“Let’s go home. You need to sleep.”

His grin was easy and exhausted. “It’s already morning. Maybe I should just go to the shop and get an early start.”

“Oh, hush.” She slid her arm into his offered one, letting him direct her down the pathway and away from the main road.

“We’re only a bit from yours,” he said, keeping his arm clamped to his side, effectively trapping her hand. “We should keep to the dark. I don’t want anyone to see you walking with a rogue such as myself under such scandalous circumstances.”

She nudged him with her hip, amused. “It was rather scandalous, wasn’t it? Sneaking into a fight with an unmarried man, then brazenly going to his brother’s house near midnight. Now I’m being escorted home under the cover of darkness like some sort of fallen woman from a penny dreadful.”