Kiss Me Softly
Page 9
“I don’t know,” he said finally. “Maybe at first it was for other reasons. But not any more.”
This surprised her, although she didn’t know why. Because of Roberta’s report, she’d always assumed he was boxing under duress, under pressure. But now she wondered if he liked it for its own sake. “Peter, just because you are drawn to one thing doesn’t mean you should leave all else behind. Do you understand?”
“I think so, your grace.”
“Roberta is a lovely young lady, do you not agree?”
His face lit up, and she saw the raw emotions he felt for Roberta, plain as day. “She is the best and sweetest of women, your grace.”
“You’re aware she cares for you very much, and doesn’t want to see you hurt.”
He hung his head and stared at the floor. Since being with Christian, he seemed to have developed some of the stillness of his mentor. “Miss Crawford would be best giving her affection to someone more worthy.”
“More worthy? You are infinitely worthy.”
“Because I’m the Earl of Landale’s nephew?”
“No, because you’re a good man.”
“Then what if I wasn’t?”
“Wasn’t a good man?” she repeated, confused.
“Wasn’t the Earl of Landale’s nephew.” He refused to meet her gaze.
Peter Herron, a bastard? Is that what he was implying? Is that what had driven him away from his family?
A voice from behind her interrupted her thoughts. “That’s enough, Sera.”
His voice was a gentle rumble, and it was the first time he had addressed her with such familiarity. She turned back to Peter, unsure how best to reassure him.
“You are who you are,” she said. “The rest is just a name.”
She walked past Christian, her head held high.
You are who you are. The rest is just a name.
Had she meant what she said? Had she meant all of it? About him being a fine example of a gentleman? She’d spoken about him with such respect. It was at such odds with the image he’d assumed she had of him over the years.
That he was just a bit of fun.
What a sorry pair they made, he and Peter in the carriage headed for the hill. It was important not to expend unnecessary energy prior to the fight, so there would be no walk today. He imagined Jackson and his fighter were also in their carriage.
The knee man and bottle man had gone ahead with a bucket of oranges and one of water, so they were alone. He normally made it a policy not to interfere with his charges’ lives, but he couldn’t forget what he’d overheard.
“A man’s parentage is a complicated thing,” he said.
“You know from experience,” Peter noted.
“Aye.” He didn’t know how the boy had discovered there were doubts about his own, but it didn’t matter. It changed everything. It always did. “So you do have an understanding with Roberta?”
“Nothing official, thank goodness, for her sake. Else there might be a taint to her reputation.”
“But you’ve not spoken of this with her?”
“Of course not. How could I?”
“Are you certain of your situation? Has anyone verified it?”
“No,” he said. “But… she is more than Miss Crawford now. She has connections. Important ones. I can’t ask her to set that aside for me.”
“Would you have set them aside for her?” he asked.
“Of course.” Peter’s scowl grew fierce. “But how could I ask it of her? How could I put her in such a position? It’s disgraceful.”
“I would be inclined to agree,” he said. He’d felt the same that night, but he’d asked anyway. And she’d responded that she was just having fun. He’d always focused on that, instead of what Sera had said afterward. Instead of what Sera had done afterward.
It came back to him now, in a wave, in a rush, all her love for her family and all the sacrifices she had made.
“But I have it on good authority that as much as you want to make a heroic sacrifice, as much as you want to be a hero, sometimes you must leave it to your woman to be the heroine instead.”
There had to be a crush of twenty thousand bodies, a good proportion carrying parasols, but being the Dowager Duchess of Rivington and in attendance with the Viscount Savage had its benefits. She was seated in an exclusive white tent beneath the shade of the oak trees in the east corner of the ring, sponsored by the Earl of March’s family. She enjoyed an ice with Lady Francesca while simultaneously playing the conversation through her mind.
She understood the boy’s instincts, but they frustrated her to no end. It was another example of men thinking they knew best. Of their denying her sex the right to make their own decisions, their own choices.
Not that she knew how Roberta would decide when faced with such a choice, but shouldn’t she be given the opportunity?
“Did you speak with him?” Roberta asked, eagerly clutching her hands. The young girl was trembling with anticipation. Sera brushed the curls back from the girl’s face.
“I did, but am unable to share the contents of that conversation.”
“You’re just like him,” Roberta said with a stomp of her foot.
“I know you must be frustrated.”
“What would you have me do? I love him.”
She knew what a future Patroness of Almack’s would advise, but realized this was not what she would advise. “Beg him to tell you the truth. Listen responsibly. Do not react, but hear what he must say.”
“I have!”
“No, you haven’t. You’ve said you would rescue him. You’ve begged him to come back. But you’ve never asked why he left in the first place. Do you understand the difference?”
“I think so,” Roberta said, looking crestfallen… and thoughtful.
The crowd erupted into applause then, drawing their attention back to the ring. Both fighters made their approach, their mentors behind them, support teams to their sides. Two umpires met in the center of the ring and spoke to each other, comparing notes.
It had been impossible to watch Christian fight yesterday, and that had been for only three abbreviated rounds. She couldn’t imagine what Roberta must feel to have to watch the love of her childhood fight into the night or until someone was knocked out.
Peter looked up and saw Roberta under the tent, and approached her. Just as Christian spoke to the umpires.
Sera didn’t think the fighters were allowed into the crowd, but he walked right up to Roberta and said, “May I speak with you?”
Roberta nodded happily.
“Now?” Sera asked. “Are you not engaged in a fight?”
Then one of the umpires cleared his throat and called for attention. “We have a change in the ticket. In lieu of Peter Herron, Christian Hughes will fight.”
Chaos reigned, primarily as bets were reassigned. Sera pushed her way up to the ring, shoving past the crowd and creating an all-out spectacle. Christian seemed to pay her no mind as he shook hands with his opponent and returned to his corner.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she seethed. “That boy will kill you. He’s half your age, and unlike you, he wasn’t in a fight yesterday and doesn’t have an injury.”
“By all means,” Christian said, “speak loudly of more of my weaknesses for him to exploit.”
She lowered her voice, well aware that there were gossipers and bystanders all around them. “What are you hoping to accomplish?”
“That,” he said, nodding at the tent.
She glanced back across and saw Peter on his knees, kissing Roberta’s fingers as the girl nodded happily. There would be repercussions, of course, but they would face them as a family and with the strength of their respective societal and financial bonds.
“Doesn’t bode well for you at Almack’s, does it?” he said.
She shrugged. “I suppose not. Is that why you did it? To destroy my chances there?”
“Not at all. I did it because I know that above all,
you’d sacrifice anything for the happiness of your family.” He stood and leaned across the rope, his face close to hers. “I did it so that for once, Sera, you would let me be your hero.”
Chapter Ten
The odds were against him. What had been four to one in favor of Jackson’s fighter were now ten to one. His youth, his recent victories, and his formidable size made him a force to be reckoned with. And Christian had never liked that gleam in his eye.
The boy thought he had the advantage of Christian. He could see the boy eyeing his shoulder. Jackson was furiously whispering instructions in his ear—a change in strategy.
The umpires called for the start of the bout and the boy approached. Christian walked to the center of the ring and waited. The boy danced around him, throwing quick, rapier punches that glanced across his body as Christian remained economical in his defense.
It took only a few moments to realize that the money men were right. While he had more technique and experience, the boy had been well trained, had amazing technique and body control. Christian even felt envy at how the boy relaxed his shoulders and shifted his weight with ease between his feet. As if it wasn’t something that had to be taught.
His blows, while glancing, were strong. Vaguely he was aware of Sera’s gasps behind him every time the boy managed to punch him. She wasn’t experienced enough to recognize these were designed to tire out the opponent, to set him on edge. They weren’t painful, not really.
If the fight went on long enough, they could be devastating. The cumulative effect of hundreds of impacts was enough to cause bruising and bleeding beneath the skin.
The boy was a great fighter, no doubt about it. He suspected Peter might have succumbed after a dozen rounds, but he would have taken the boy down a notch and given himself experience and a name.
Aye, in any day and time, this boy could have bested him. But not today. Not this time. Because today, he was a hero. He waited for the boy to slip back in, then turned and slammed his fist into the boy’s face.
He stood, shaking his head, confused, then fell over, blacked out.
Christian held up his hands for the crowd, which rushed him, jumping over the ring. He wanted to change his shirt, which had become soaked in sweat, not so much from exertion but from the sun at high noon.
“I told you I’d get my ten to one odds,” Savage said, patting him on the back.
“You’re eerie that way,” Christian said, hugging his friend.
He accepted his congratulations and signed the final fight score.
“Sorry about your fighter,” he said to John.
Jackson just shrugged. “Good for the boy to get knocked down by someone other than me once in a while.”
Christian laughed and finally made his way to the tent. Roberta and Peter held hands, their fingers entwined. It was a nice sight that made his aching, throbbing shoulder even more worth it.
Sera waited beside them, her arms crossed. She must have backed off from the crowd that had rushed him once he won the fight. He’d won it for her. He’d given her a happy ending for her family, and he felt ten feet tall for having done so.
She walked toward him slowly, then balled her fist, reared back, and punched him in the shoulder.
“Dammit,” he growled. “That hurt.”
“I hope so,” she said. “I hit from center.” Then she pulled his head down for a kiss.
Somewhere in the background, he heard the gasps of surprise. It must have been quite a sight—Homicide Hughes and the Bellest of Belles.
London society loved nothing more than a story, and they were giving them one, complete with scandal and romance. Granted, more scandal than anything.
He hoped that when they retold it, they made her as much its hero as he.
Epilogue
London, England
May 5, 1822
“That is four of the five Belles,” she said, holding her steed close to his. Hyde Park was overrun in the spring, and the horses were easily spooked. “I have it on good authority that Sera’s engagement is imminent.”
He admired how she was able to control her horse despite its proximity to his stallion. Not all were so capable. “Given that Sera’s new fiancé is a Scotsman, I doubt the Crown will be placated.”
“Since there was never any danger of Dominic Belle moving his base of operations to Scotland, I doubt it matters. Boston was the problem, was it not?”
“The colonies are always a problem,” he said wryly. “Still, I hate to have an incomplete set. Are you certain I’cannot see the last Belle married to an Englishman?”
“Do you have one that will take her?” she asked.
“I’m sure many would, based on the balance of her accounts.”
“Does she seem the sort to reduce herself to marrying for money?” Charlotte shot a challenging glance over her shoulder and kicked her mare into a gallop, lest they be seen conversing alone for too long.
Damon’s eyes flashed with determination. “She’ll certainly marry for something.”
THE END
Why was Graham drunk in the gardener’s cottage the night of Sera’s wedding?
Find out in Kiss Me Darkly
What happened to Gray Abernathy?
Find out in Kiss Me Sweetly
What note did Lord Damon send to Christian?
Find out in Kiss Me Again
Who is the Earl of March?
Find out in A Delightful Arrangement
Who is the Matchmaking Baron?
Find out in An Illicit Engagement
How is Sera acquainted with the Earl of Landale, Peter’s uncle?
Find out in A Flirtatious Rendezvous
* * *
The complete Kiss A Belle series is available to order now! While each book can be enjoyed as a standalone, you may want to read them all. Books 1–3 occur concurrently and can be read in any order; Books 4 and 5 follow respectively.
Kiss Me After
Kiss Me Darkly
Kiss Me Sweetly
Kiss Me Softly
Kiss Me Again
Characters you meet in Kiss A Belle are also featured in The Gentlemen Next Door. Don’t miss it, because sometimes a lady in need of love need look no further than next door. Each book can be enjoyed as a standalone, but if you love one, then you’ll probably love the entire series.
A Delightful Arrangement
An Illicit Engagement
A Dangerous Expectation
A Flirtatious Rendezvous
Cecilia’s Booklist
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
The Gentlemen Next Door
A lady in need of love need look no further than next door
The Complete Series
A Delightful Arrangement
An Illicit Engagement
A Dangerous Expectation
A Flirtatious Rendezvous
Kiss A Belle
Everyone has kissed someone, but who has kissed whom?
The Complete Series
Kiss Me After
Kiss Me Darkly
Kiss Me Sweetly
Kiss Me Softly
Kiss Me Again
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Small Town Jane
Coming in 2017!
Impulses (Emma—Christmas)
Illusions (Northanger Abbey—Easter)
Insensibilities (Sense and Sensibility—Halloween)
Impressions (Pride and Prejudice—Valentine’s Day)
Innuendos (Mansfield Park—Summer)
Intimacies (Persuasion—Thanksgiving)
YOUNG ADULT CONTEMPORARY
The Jane Austen Academy
“A unique twist on a classic.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred
Romantic Times Book Review Magazine “What’s Hot” Pick!
Fall For You (Lizzie—Pride and Prejudice)
So Into You (Ellie—Sense and Sensibility)
When I’m With You (Kat—Northanger Abbey)
Suddenly You (Fanny—Mansfield Park)
> Only With You (Emma—Emma)
Always You (Anne—Persuasion)
Then Came You (Wickham—coming soon!)
Drawn
Drawn
Traced (coming soon!)
About Cecilia
Cecilia Gray writes sweet stories about smart girls and nice guys.
When she isn’t writing, she’s into books, movies, TV, food, and hanging out with her friends. Subscribe to her newsletter for updates on new releases, sneak peeks, and giveaways.