After delivering a series of debilitating gut punches to the taller man, leaving him on his knees on the cobblestone street, Donald’s arms were suddenly wrenched behind him and pinned behind his back, leaving him unable to defend himself. It was then that Donald watched Matthew pummel his own opponent into submission.
Before Lord Gallanville could take advantage of Donald’s incapacity, Matthew shouted, “Duck!” Donald yanked himself down and forward, pulling the man behind him into Matthew’s forward haymaker, knocking him cold in one punch. Both men turned to confront Lord Gallanville.
Donald assessed the situation. Both he and Matthew were worn, Lord Gallanville was fresh, but he had watched them both make short work of his hired men. Lord Gallanville looked like he might still take them on, but then thought better of it.
“Are you really so protective of some inn?” Matthew asked.
Lord Gallanville ignored Matthew, and turned to address Donald directly. “This is about teaching this son of a Duke proper manners. You won’t be able to get away with whatever you like. There will be consequences for this, Lord Stapleton.” He sneered before yanking his men onto their feet and doing his best to saunter off with injured employees in tow.
As if a rogue like you could teach me anything.
The two gentlemen lowered their trained stances and let themselves relax before turning to one another. The adrenaline and excitement of the situation suddenly rolled off them all at once as they broke out into laughter.
“That was truly daunting, taking down an opponent of such large stature,” Matthew applauded Donald.
“My only regret is that I was unable to see the look on the face of the other man when he regretted not having the other two backing him up against you.” Donald could barely manage to say this through fits of laughter.
They both laughed long and hard. The laughter of two friends long separated and overjoyed to be together once again, regardless of the circumstances. They straightened out their clothes as their chuckles died down, making sure they were both presentable.
“So what was that all about? He seemed to have an exceptional dislike to you. What did you do to get in that Lord’s bad graces?” Matthew asked.
“That actually ties into the business I wanted to discuss with you inside. Come along. We both know beer always tastes better after a fight, and it will make the tale I have to tell go down easier all the same.
Chapter 11
They took their place at a dark-stained wood table that had been kept empty for them in the back.
Matthew drank the beer with relish. “I’ll tell you, Donald, this is one of the things I missed the most. Americans have the hardest time serving good beer. Even the finest pub I visited only had barely passable ones. I have never been more in a drought. You have never known a thirst until you’ve visited America.”
“Your sacrifices for your company are certainly noble,” Donald said while nursing his own tall glass. The cool beer eased the ache in the side of his jaw.
“So fill me in on this fellow. The only thing I am more thirsty for than beer is news of what my friends have been up to when I was away,” Matthew implored.
“Yes, well, let’s start with the reason for the fight. That absolute rake was Aaron Fitzroy, the Viscount of Gallanville,” Donald began, but was immediately cut off by Matthew.
“That’s Lord Gallanville?! He was our biggest competition around the time I departed. Did you really offend him so much that he has it in him to try and thrash you?” Matthew spoke in utter surprise.
“Not exactly,” Donald meandered but pushed himself to say more. “He has recently been aggressively soliciting our smaller business partners. A few months back I presumed to meet him at a Duke’s ball. And things did not go as smoothly as they could have.” Donald felt ashamed of himself for continuing to dance around the subject.
“He must have said something terrible to you, then. I can’t think of a gentleman alive who could have good reason to provoke a peace dove like you without serious affront.” Matthew chuckled and sipped at his beer but sputtered in a bit when Donald would not meet his eye. “What? What is it?”
“Admittedly, I was the one who did the offending.”
“You’re kidding?” Matthew’s eyes twinkled with delight as he studied Donald. “Did you become a mischief maker while I was away?”
“No, nothing of the sort!” Donald protested. “He was being overly forward with Lady Emma, and when he moved to ask her to dance I stepped in and asked her first. He took offense at that.”
“Donald, you dog,” Matthew hooted. “Is that all? And it was a few months ago? The Viscount must be extremely uptight to allow such a slip to follow him for so long?”
“Well that is what initially provoked it...” Donald was forced to confess.
“There’s more?”
“See, once I had offended the lord, our business dispute became something much more personal. Thus we have been trading small jabs here and there. He has also been attempting, on some occasions, to socialize with Lady Emma. And he is doing it specifically to spite me”
“Donald!” Matthew said, playfully surprised
“I did nothing scandalous!” Donald said defensively, calming himself with a long sip of beer. “If I had the opportunity to demonstrate our capacity to perform our service better at the expense of Empire Furs in particular, I simply made a greater effort.”
“How interesting. And this has been going on since you stopped him dancing with Lady Emma, yes?” Matthew asked.
Donald nodded and Matthew continued.
“Well I can hardly fault you there. Lady Emma is our dear friend and you were right to protect her from such a cad.” Matthew raised his glass. “To Lady Emma’s honor and the misfortune of our opposition. May we engage in fisticuffs again and give him the proper thrashing he deserves.”
But Donald didn’t raise his glass. “Well, it was a little more complicated than that.”
Matthew almost looked hurt at the absence of the returned gesture, lowering his glass back down to the dark wood of the table. “More complicated? How?”
“It’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. When I saw him trying to dance with Lady Emma, he wasn’t asking in a way that was ungentlemanly, if just so. But I couldn’t stand the thought of him dancing with her. I was overcome with...” Donald gestured wildly, uncertain in his frustration.
“Protective brotherly instinct?” Matthew prompted.
This is going to be one of the hardest things I am ever going to have to tell him.
“Love, but not of the brotherly sort,” Donald vented and finally released. “I am sorry, Matthew. I was nervous about telling you this since I don’t want it to come between our friendship. Yours and mine, or yours and Lady Emma’s. I realized that I was in love with Lady Emma. Not just in love, but absolutely, completely in love and had been for years. I told her the next morning. She said she felt the same way. That she had for a long time. We have been courting for three months now. It has been the happiest time of my life. This is what I must confess to you.”
Matthew was silent, mouth opening and closing before it politely closed. Donald watched him sip his beer once, twice, then drained the remainder of the glass.
“Donald, you are happy right?” Matthew asked his friend with a dead serious tone.
“Yes. I don’t even think I can articulate to you how happy I am. You know what a wonderful lady Emma is. It brings joy to my heart every moment I get to spend with her. It is almost overwhelming.” Donald was embarrassed at all the emotions pouring out.
Matthew continued unabated, “And she loves you?”
“She does. I know she does since my heart skips a beat every time she tells me and that is a hard thing to forget.” Donald practically lamented as he sank down to the table, glass in hand.
“Then how could I not be happy for the two of you?” Matthew asked his friend.
Donald tilted his head and looked at his friend, who lo
oked as serious as can be, then he sat up. “Do you mean it?”
“Of course I mean it. What sort of reaction did you expect from me?” Matthew asked.
“I thought...I don’t know what I thought. I’ve let this situation jeopardize the Atlantic Animal Fur Company...I—” Donald stuttered, uncertain of himself and his worries.
“You embarrassed one of our dastardly rivals and protected the virtue of your lady love, all in the same fell swoop. I can think of few things more admirable. And if my friends are both happy and in love, then I am all the more excited, Donald.” Matthew leaned across the table and clasped his friend’s shoulder reassuringly.
“I am so glad, Matthew. I was worried I caused our business undue strain, not to mention compromised my longest and most important friendship in the process. To hear you say that you approve...well it just means the world to me.” Donald spoke quickly and excitedly, the anxiety dripping away from him with each word.
“Before you lose yourself, Donald, why don’t we each grab another beer and toast to a night of rebolstering our friendship. Then we can talk about the consequences to the changing of the mutual friendship with our lady.” Matthew winked at Donald and signaled the server to bring the gentlemen another round.
* * *
Donald’s night with Matthew proceeded long into the early morning hours before they stumbled to the carriage and rode home. Donald didn’t make a habit of becoming intoxicated but he had a habit of letting Matthew talk him into it on more than one occasion.
They had whiled the night away with drinks, food, and talk of Matthew’s exploits in America. Matthew spoke of the boisterous and beautiful locals and the parties they would throw and affairs that he heard of while there. The only thing Matthew deemed off limits was talk of work, for every time Donald brought up the subject he was quick to change it. “Not all the news I have is good news, dear friend, and I want to do nothing to dampen tonight's celebration,” was all Matthew would say.
At the end of the night, long after the carriage had dropped Matthew off at his estate for his tired servants to welcome him back, Donald laid in his bed with an incredible sense of relief. The one person whose opinion he was most worried about when it came to his courtship of Emma had told him he wasn’t upset. It was this that comforted Donald that night.
But with this, his thoughts drifted to Emma herself, as they often did as he tried to fall asleep. She was the thing that would bring him comfort on the longest and loneliest nights. He would often imagine her form, small and soft, curled up next to him in his big empty bed.
What would it be like to hold her so tightly in his arms as to feel her squirm against him? To brush his fingers through her hair, to feel the shape of her body, every private spot, every curve.
Could there possibly be a better feeling in the world? How could I want anything more?
And at that moment, late in the night after Matthew’s welcome home party, Donald realized he didn’t want anything more. He wanted nothing else than to spend every day, and night, with the lady he loved in his arms. It was at that exact moment that he decided he was going to ask Emma to marry him as soon as he could. He couldn’t wait any longer, didn’t want to wait any longer, to make their two lives into one.
Chapter 12
If springtime was her favorite time of year before, it would be forever cemented in her mind as such now. The Spring of her twentieth year had been spent courting the gentleman she had been in love with for years and not even known it. Every other day was a walk in the park, in his gardens or her gardens, tea, and he had even taken dinner with her family a few times.
And while she would hate to watch the blooming, fragrant spring wilt away to the heat of the summer time, she couldn’t bring herself to be anything but optimistic. Which was easy knowing the months, and years, ahead would mean a life spent with Donald by her side.
“I’m to talk to myself for the remainder of the day then?” Henrietta asked.
“Hm, what?” Emma looked at her friend, sitting across from her. Emma studied Henrietta’s frown. She had been distracted by thoughts of Donald since Henrietta had invited her to one of the sitting rooms for some afternoon company and a bit of tea.
“I was talking about the Nitterson sisters and them becoming betrothed within a week of one another, but clearly you weren’t listening,” Henrietta huffed.
“Oh I am sorry, Henrietta, I meant no offense. You know how my mind does tend to wander,” Emma apologized.
“That I do. I also can’t help but notice that the problem has been exacerbated almost tenfold when you started to court Lord Stapleton. Though it is little surprise, considering how much his mind wanders,” Henrietta remarked. She had been rather sharp with Emma ever since her courting with Donald had become publicly acknowledged.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you two are a perfect match for one another. And I mean that in all the good ways as well as the bad,” Henrietta smirked.
Emma wanted to take this poorly but she couldn’t help the elation she felt when Henrietta made the remark, so instead she stayed silent.
“I thought that would appease you,” Henrietta continued almost a little too smug for Emma’s liking. “Enough for me to point out that I predicted this right before it happened.”
“I don’t recall.” Emma quelled the emotional response she knew Henrietta was trying to incite, instead turning the retaliatory provocation against her.
“Of course you do,” Henrietta snapped. “I told you people thought you two would end up together, and behold it has come to pass not more than a day after I said it. I am a regular seer. Maybe I should open up my own parlor in France,” she chuckled.
“Far as I can tell, you told me what other people were talking about. That would make it seem that you weren’t the one to make the prediction. As always your talent is for channeling gossip and not anything close to the future.” Emma’s dry words made Henrietta give a little huff.
A bit of silence passed between them before Henrietta practically blurted out. “You are truly lucky to have a gentleman like Donald in your life.”
This took Emma by surprise. “I suppose...I mean I know I am. I am unsure why you bring it up.”
“I just, I find myself so excited for you to be courting. I am truly and genuinely happy for you Emma. I just know this place will be so dour and drab without the life you bring to the manor. I don’t know what I will do without you,” Henrietta lamented.
Emma sympathized with her friend. “If you did get married before me, I would surely miss you too. You are the only company I have that isn’t a relation”
Henrietta smiled sadly and shook her head. “You have Lord Stapleton.”
“I do and I value him dearly. In fact he only has one flaw that I can speak to. And since you are my truest of friends, I will confide it to you and only you.”
Henrietta looked up at her friend, her red eyes seemingly on the verge of tears. Emma knew her friend was never keen on being direct with her emotions, quicker with a sarcastic remark than a confession. “What? A flaw?”
“Yes, just one,” Emma said simply
“What is it?”
“He’s a male,” Emma said, at first only cracking a smile, but her own joke causing her to chuckle after a moment.
Henrietta was clearly caught off guard by the attempt at humor and it took her a moment but then she broke out into a laugh, which rang in a very unladylike fashion. Emma continued, “Which is why I always valued your friendship. There are some things that only other ladies understand. You should know, you’ve talk to plenty of gentlemen. I’ve personally only found Lord Stapleton to be acceptable.”
Henrietta dabbed some tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and was smiling wide. “Well not to mention that I am one of your only other friends, now. Lord Stapleton is more than a friend now and that just leaves me and the only other acceptable gentlemen, Lord Thetmont.”
“Yes, y
ou and Lord Thetmont,” Emma nodded, a bit of her excitement waning. “Lord Stapleton actually mentioned him the last time he was here. He reminded me that Lord Thetmont would be coming home late last night. I was so excited at first, but then I became worried.” Emma stood and crossed the room to stare out the window and into the garden, unable to look at Henrietta while she talked about this subject.
“Lord Stapleton said he was going to talk to him about our courtship, in case Lord Thetmont would be put off by two of his friends courting. I wished he could put it off, but Lord Stapleton made it clear it would be best to tell him right away and I agreed with him. Neither of us would be comfortable trying to conceal our courtship from our dear friend.”
Unleashed Desires 0f A Noble Lady (Steamy Historical Regency) Page 8