“You are implying that I am not?” Codaire asked.
“I will make it more than an implication,” Colin said. “You are no gentleman, sir. And I will hear your apology.”
“Or…?” Codaire looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“Or the word will doubtless spread via the gentlemen gathered here that you are not of their number,” Colin said. “And I will ask you to name your seconds.”
Again that collective gasping sigh.
Codaire stared at him. His face had turned a dull red. “I am not a violent man, Hodges,” he said.
“There is an easy way to avoid violence,” Colin told him.
There was a rather lengthy silence, during which two gentlemen cleared their throats.
“It certainlylookedlike an embrace,” Codaire said.
“It was not,” Colin said curtly.
“Then my apologies,” Codaire said. “Though I daresay I am not the only one who saw it that way.”
Colin said nothing. He wondered if the Duke of Netherby and Lord Molenor had stepped into the room behind him. He did not turn his head to look.
There was another uncomfortable silence, during which the cheerful voices of new arrivals wafted in from beyond the door.
“It was Overfield who called her a slut,” Codaire said. “I was merely repeating what he said. He is deceased.”
Colin waited.
“I have never called her that myself,” Codaire added. “These gentlemen are my witness that I did not do so today. If I implied…”
He paused, but no one came to his rescue.
“I am sorry if I seemed to imply that I concurred in that description of the lady,” he said handsomely.
“Lady Overfield waltzed with me last evening because I asked in the hearing of her mother and other relatives,” Colin said. “We danced, we conversed, and we were a little slower than the other dancers clearing the floor because we had not quite finished our conversation. Are those the facts as you observed them, Codaire?”
“I believe—”
Colin held up a staying hand. “Are thosethe facts?” he asked.
“I suppose so,” Codaire said.
“You suppose?”
“Those are the facts,” Codaire said. “But—”
“But?”
“But nothing. I believe some of the gentlemen in this room are trying to read.”
“I am sure they will recount the details of this exchange accurately after they leave here,” Colin told him. “We all hear things, Codaire. Word gets around. If I should hear that you have spread any other untruths about last evening or about Lady Overfield herself, I shall find you. And next time I will not offer you the easy way out of making an apology. My advice to you would be to leave town for a while—perhaps for the rest of the Season. I shall not insist upon it, but I would not be pleased to encounter you personally during the next few months. I would be even less pleased to learn that you had encountered Lady Overfield.”
He turned to leave the room. Lord Molenor was standing in the doorway, nodding his approval when he caught Colin’s eye. Netherby was seated in one of the deep chairs not far inside the door, looking sleepy. He got to his feet and followed Colin out.
“I was very much hoping,” he said, “not to be named as your second, Hodges. One never knows quite what to wear to affairs of honor.”
“Well done,” Lord Molenor said meanwhile, closing his hand about Colin’s shoulder and squeezing. “Poor Elizabeth. She has had a very fortunate escape, but this is going to be a wretched disappointment for her. Mildred is huddled with her sisters this morning. They are discussing strategy. One always needs to keep one’s distance when women plot and plan. Come and have breakfast. I worked up an appetite just listening to you. Netherby? You will join us?”
