Perhaps she would not understand those.
Behind him, the door opened with a bang. “What did you do?” she demanded without greeting.
Richard turned, and his heart soared at the sight of her. She wore a new dress of soft peach, with her hair tied up loosely, and he’d never seen a more beautiful sight in his life. But her expression was severe, and he knew without asking that she’d heard about the disastrous dinner at White’s.
“You mean at Lord Allen’s dinner,” he said. “I lost my temper. I was rude to Allen’s guests, and I can only humbly apologize.”
Evangeline shook her head. “Not that. I don’t care a fig for Allen’s guests. What did youdo?”
For answer he took the khukuri from his jacket and held it out. “I showed them my souvenir of Nepal.”
Eyes wide, she closed the door and came into the room and touched the sheath gingerly. “I heard it was a sword.”
“No.” Holding it well clear of her, he drew the knife. “It is a soldier’s knife. They wanted to hear of my adventures, so I took it to show them the weapon of a Gurkhali soldier. That is all.”
She gave him a suspicious look. “Then why did you leave a note begging me to reserve judgment until you returned?” Then her face changed and she quickly said, “Oh no—how is the boy? I quite forgot...”
“He is recovering and will soon be well again,” he told her. “My sister was frantic with worry, but with her care, he has come through it. When I departed, Gabriel was playing cards with his mother and asking for pudding again. Gerhard will bring them home from Lyme Regis in a few days.” He hesitated. “I came back as soon as I could, after assuring myself he would recover.”
Evangeline closed her eyes for a moment. “Thank heavens. I am so glad to hear it.” Then her face fell, and she looked tired for a moment. “What happened at White’s, Richard? I’ve heard... stories.”
He had rehearsed how he would explain, for four straight days. Now that the moment had arrived, his mind was a blank. “It is no excuse for my behavior,” he said at last, “but I was provoked. I was wrong to allow my anger to get the better of me,” he added quickly. “I am deeply sorry.”
She just looked at him, brows arched. He slid the knife back into the sheath and laid it on the table behind him. She waved one hand, and he sank into his usual chair while she seated herself on the sofa.
“Allen invited several of his friends,” he said. “Sir Paul Brentwood, Lord Arthur Dunstan, Mr. Edward Parker-Philips, and Lord Halesworth.” He saw her color fade at the last name. “Gerhard accompanied me. As I anticipated, they wished to hear tales of our journeys, the more daring and dangerous the better. Many Englishmen do. I brought the knife, thinking it would impress them.
“But one among them began...” Again he paused. “He began talking of other matters, and making crude and indecent insinuations.”
“About me,” she whispered.
He bowed his head. “I attempted to deflect him by pretending ignorance. When he refused to cease, I took out the knife, thinking it would distract him, or perhaps intimidate him into silence. Still he persisted. Gerhard even attempted to reason with him, but he only grew more offensive. That was when I...”
“What?” she asked warily as he paused again. “Please just tell me, Richard. I have heard so many dreadful things.”
“I slashed the candles with it,” he muttered. “Four candles were decapitated, very neatly. That is all the harm that was done.” She looked at him with wide eyes. “And I assured him I would be pleased to meet him at dawn,” he added with some reluctance.
Evangeline gasped and clapped one hand to her breast. “You challenged him to a duel? Overme?”
“No!” He lurched to the edge of the chair. “He apologized. Gerhard is a very diplomatic fellow when he chooses to be, and he persuaded the man it was all very foolish. Halesworth apologized, and we left.”
She stared at him a moment longer, then shot to her feet and paced away in a swirl of peach skirts. He sat tense and unmoving, not sure if he had been dismissed or was still being weighed in the balance.
“What did he say?” she asked, a slight tremor in her voice.
He shifted uneasily, not wanting to say it, and she repeated her question in a sharper tone. “What did hesay?It was about me, I know it was, and I expect it’s being whispered in every drawing room in London by now. I deserve to know!”
“I won’t say those things aloud,” he growled. “Not to you, of all people!”
“Why not?”
“Because they were vile and disgusting, and I would have called out any man who used those terms for a woman—you, mysister, or your friend Lady Woodville!” he snapped, finally losing his temper. “You don’t want to hear them. He’s filth of the lowest order and I would have gladly shot him, then and there. For you, I refrained.” He closed his mouth, breathing hard.
She stared at him, open-mouthed.
Richard sighed and flexed his hands, which had curled into fists. “It was not my intent to expose you to scurrilous gossip,” he said tightly. “Very much the opposite. But that—thatDrecksaupersisted, and yes, I threatened him to make him stop.” He took a deep breath. “I suppose you heard of all manner of dreadfulness on my part.”
Evangeline was pale. “I was told you drew a sword on Allen’s party over some slight to me. They said you threatened several members and were thrown out of the club. Rumor says you threatened to challenge any man who approached me, but for a price you might grant them my favors, like a?—”
