Wonderful. Now Clinton was furious. Even Thomas was frowning. Burying herself in a hole in the ground was likely to end up her only option.
“Very well,” she said stiffly. “But in the study, if you don’t mind.”
“By all means.”
She headed in that direction, without waiting to see who was following, but that James was the first one through the door behind her gave her a start. “Youweren’t invited.”
“Ah, but I was, love. Those young pups weren’t budging without me.”
In answer she glowered at him, while her brothers filed through the door. Only one couple was in the room, and Drew quickly ousted them from the sofa with little fuss. Georgina tapped her toes, waiting. She might as well make a clean breast of everything and let her brothers kill James. Who the devil did he think he was dealing with here, anyway—calm, reasonable men? Ha! He was in for a rude awakening, and if his rotten plan backfired in his face, that was no more than he deserved just now.
“Well, Georgina?”
“You don’t have to take that head-of-the-family tone with me, Clinton. I haven’t done a single thing I’m sorry for. Circumstances forced Mac and me to work our way home, but I was disguised as a boy.”
“And where did this boy-in-disguise sleep?”
“So the captain kindly offered to share his cabin with me. You’ve done the same for your cabin boy, as a means of protection. And it wasn’t as if he knew I…was…a—” Her eyes flew to James, flaring wide and then filling with murderous lights as his previous words finally clicked. “You son of a bitch! What do you mean, you wouldn’t have forgotten me? Are you saying you knew I was a girl all along, that you onlypretendedto see through my disguise later?”
With supreme nonchalance, James replied, “Quite so.”
There was nothing tepid about Georgina’s reaction. With a low cry of rage, she leaped across the space between them. Thomas jerked her back just short of her target and held on to her, since Warren had already claimed James’s attention, swinging him about to face him.
“You compromised her, didn’t you?” Warren demanded without preamble.
“Your sister behaved like a dockside doxy. She signed on as my cabin boy. She helped to dress me, even to bathe me, with nary a single protest of maidenly airs. She was compromised before I ever laid hands on her.”
“My God!” Warren said. “You’re actually admitting that you…that…”
Warren didn’t wait for an answer, or even to finish. For the second time that evening, his emotions carried him along and he swung his fist. And for the second time, the punch was easily deflected. Only James followed it with a short jab to Warren’s chin that snapped his head back, but otherwise left him standing in the same place, just slightly dazed. While he blinked away his surprise, Clinton swung James around to face him.
“Why don’t you try that with me, Malory?”
Georgina couldn’t believe her ears. Clinton, about to engage in fisticuffs? Staid, no-nonsense Clinton?
“Thomas, do something,” she said.
“If I didn’t think you’d interfere if I let you go, I’d hold that bastard myself while Clinton rearranges his face.”
“Thomas!” she gasped, incredulous.
Had all of her brothers lost their senses? She could expect such remarks from the more hot-tempered three, but for God’s sake, Thomas never lost his temper. And Clinton never engaged in fights. But look at him, standing there bristling, the only man in the room older than James, and perhaps the only one a match for him. And James, that devil rogue, couldn’t have cared less that he had managed to fire all of this heated emotion.
“You’re welcome to have a go at me, Yank,” he said with a mocking slant to his mouth. “But I should warn you that I’m rather good at this sort of thing.”
Taunting? Daring? The man was suicidal. Did he honestly think he’d only have Clinton to deal with? Of course, he didn’t know her brothers. They might pick on each other mercilessly, but against a common enemy they united.
The two older men faced off, but after a few minutes it was readily apparent that James hadn’t been bragging. Clinton had gotten in one blow, but James had landed a half dozen, each one taking its toll with those bricklike fists.
When Clinton staggered back from one particularly grueling punch, Boyd stepped in. Unfortunately, Georgina’s youngest brother didn’t stand a chance and likely knew it, only he was too furious to care. An uppercut and then a hard right landed him on the floor in short order…and then it was Warren’s turn again.
He was more prepared this time. He wasn’t unskilled as a fighter by any means. In fact, Warren rarely lost a fight. And his greater height and longer reach should have given him the advantage here. He’d just never come up against anyone who’d trained in the ring before. But he did acquit himself better than Clinton. His right connected solidly again and again. His blows just didn’t seem to be doing any damage. It was like hitting…a brick wall.
He went down after about ten minutes, taking a table with him. Georgina glanced at Drew, wondering if he was going to be foolish enough to get into this, and sure enough he was grinning as he removed his coat.
“I have to hand it to you, Captain Malory. Your ‘rather good’ was putting it mildly. Maybe I should call for pistols instead.”
“By all means. But again I should warn you—”
