“Nay, Clifford! Nay!” pleaded Lady de Boult. Then she sobbed wildly. “He attempted to have his way with me here in this very alcove, and when I refused him he attacked me! I swear it!”
“Hah!” snapped the Earl of Essex. “More than likelyyoutried to have your way with him, madame, andherefused! I suspect that it is Lord Gordon’s honor that has been damaged in this affair and not yours.”
The assembled onlookers laughed.
“Are you calling my wife a liar, my lord Essex?” demanded Clifford de Boult, drawing himself up.
“Use your head, man,” argued Essex. “Lady de Boult is fair enough, but next to the Countess of BrocCairn she is like a colored stone to a fine pearl. I believe Lord Gordon. Take your wife home and give her a good beating for causing this trouble in the queen’s presence.”
The Earl of Essex’s words rang with practicality, and secretly Lord de Boult believed him. For him to admit it, however, was impossible, for it would bring shame upon his good name. His honor had been besmirched by this matter, and until that honor was appeased he would not be able to hold his head up at court. Coldly, he looked at Lord Gordon and said, “Tomorrow morning just past dawn in Brightwaters field, my lord?”
Alex nodded. “As you will, sir,” he answered.
“Nay!” cried Velvet. “I will not permit it! Nay, Alex!”
Alex turned to Essex. “Will ye be my second, Robert?”
Essex nodded slowly, but he could not resist saying, “Is it worth it for that jade, Alex?”
“It is for my own honor, Robert, which has been impugned by this evening’s uproar. In several days’ time Velvet and I leave for Scotland. How can I someday return to England with this hanging over my head? I cannot, and therefore the affair must be concluded honorably before we leave for Scotland.”
“Nay!” Velvet almost shouted. “You would endanger yourself and our future over this lying trull! No, I say! No!”
Mary de Boult was very much enjoying the scene she had so skillfully engineered. A duel was to be fought, and over her! Her anger and disappointment at having been rejected by the Scotsman was fast fading in light of this delightful development. Then she heard Velvet’s words. Gathering the tatters of her bodice, she glowered at her rival and said angrily to her husband, “Did you hear her? I have been mortally insulted, Clifford!”
Wearily he turned a cold face to her. “Would you also have me challenge the Countess of BrocCairn to a duel then, madame?” His fingers grasped his wife’s arm, and, turning to Essex, he said, low, “Tender the queen our apologies, but my wife has been taken ill.” Then he hustled his spouse from the ballroom.
“This is madness!” Velvet nearly shouted. “We all know, even poor Lord de Boult, that she is lying. We know it, and yet you will duel tomorrow over nothing?”
“We will duel to satisfy the code of honor,” Alex said quietly.
“I will go to the queen! You know she has forbidden dueling,” Velvet threatened.
“Ye will go home, madame, and ye will say nothing to Elizabeth Tudor,” he said softly.
“I will!”Velvet couldn’t remember ever having been so angry.
“Nay, Velvet,” said Essex soothingly. “There are things a woman does not understand, things she cannot comprehend easily, and dueling is one of those things.”
“The queen understands men better than you think,” snapped Velvet, “and so do I! Men are naught but little boys!”
“No one will get hurt,” Essex promised, smiling his most winning smile at her. “You’re right when you say de Boult knows his wife is lying. The bitch has put him in an untenable position. But to admit it would dishonor him even more. It would be like saying he can’t control his own wife. He had to challenge Alex. I will see that they fight with their swordpoints tipped. Honor will be quickly and easily satisfied, I promise you.”
Velvet looked at her husband, and Alex nodded.
“I agree, lovey. No blood will be shed, and especially not mine.” He smiled down at her.
The crowd had dissipated, returning to the dancing, and the queen, if she was aware of the scandal that had exploded in her ballroom, gave no sign of it. The principals involved hoped that by the time she received a full account the duel would be over and done with. Essex had gone back to Elizabeth’s side, and Alex and Velvet found themselves surrounded by their family. The incident was retold, and while Willow and Angel expressed their indignation over Lady de Boult’s terrible behavior and comforted Velvet, James Edwardes and Robin Southwood, along with Captain Murrough O’Flaherty and Lord Burke ofClearfields Priory, agreed with Alex that the duel must be fought.
“I offer myself as your second,” said Robin quietly.
“I also!” enthused Padraic Burke.
Velvet glowered at her brothers, but her annoyance was particularly reserved for Lord Burke. “When didyouarrive in London?” she demanded. “ ’Tis a strange time to come calling when at midnight Lent begins.”
Lord Burke, the master ofClearfields Priory, even handsomer than his late father, Niall, grinned down upon his youngest sister. His silvery eyes twinkled at her and as he spoke he brushed back an errant lock of black hair that tumbled over his high forehead. “I arrived but this evening with Murrough, who sails on the tide tomorrow morning back to India, sweet sister. My signature was necessary upon certain documents, y’see, else I should never have come to this stinkhole of a city.” He turned to Alex. “We’ve not met, my lord. I am Velvet’s brother, Padraic Burke ofClearfields Priory.You look none the worse for wear having been married to this wench these last few months.”
With another engaging grin Padraic held out his hand, and Alex grasped it, a smile upon his own face. He instinctively liked this young man who stood almost as tall as he himself did and had the graceful body of an athlete.
