Marcus frowned. “But—”
“Go. Home,” Lucretia hissed. She hated speaking to Marcus in such an imperious manner, but she needed to get to the bottom of this and didn’t want him to see her threatening Felix more than he already had.
Marcus sighed, rolled his eyes, and left, throwing one last glance back at them as he exited the alley.
Lucretia returned her focus to Felix. “How long has this been going on? I will gut you like a fish if you lie to me.” In truth, this knife was much too small for any gutting, but the sentiment still made Felix’s face turn satisfyingly pale.
“I don’t know, a month?” A bead of sweat formed on Felix’s temple. “We meet at the gymnasium a few times a week.”
Her jaw clenched. Marcus had been going behind her back for an entire month. He didn’t necessarily know the depth of her contention with Felix, but he had to know they were competitors.
“How did it start? Did you seek him out?”
“He—” Felix bit back the words. “We met by chance.”
Lucretia had sensed there was something Marcus wasn’t telling her, which was why she wanted to interrogate Felix in private. She stepped closer, pressing the tip of the knife into the hollow at the base of his throat. “Tell me the truth.”
Felix swallowed, the movement pressing his pale skin against the knife. He hesitated a moment, then something in his expression gave way, and words tumbled out. “I came upon him being beaten up by a group of boys. I intervened to drive them off before I knew he was your son. The next day, he came to ask me to teach him how to box. So he could defend himself. That’s all it was—Marcus will confirm this story. I expect he was too embarrassed to say it earlier.”
Shock made Lucretia’s arm waver, and she had to renew her grip on the knife. “I-I knew he’d been getting into fights…”
“Not of his own instigation,” Felix said. “He’s being targeted by boys who like an easy win.”
“Who are these boys?” she demanded. “Did he give you any names? I will go to their houses—”
“He’s of an age where he should fight his own battles,” Felix said. “His mother intervening will only make things wor—” Hebroke off as she rotated the knife, causing the point to dig into his skin.
The gentleness in his tone made her teeth grind together. Who did he think he was, to be giving her parenting advice? As if he knew Marcus better than she did.
“I’m sorry,” he choked out. “I knew it was a bad idea, but I was only trying to help him. I was the target of bullies too.”
Lucretia narrowed her eyes. It was difficult to think of Felix as a child, much less one who was bullied, rather than the aloof, assured master of trade he was now.
There was only one thing further she had to hear from him before she could truly relent. She withdrew the knife slightly, to give him some breathing room, and watched his face carefully. His reaction to her next question would tell her everything she needed to know. “I know some men…” Her stomach churned at even the thought of what she was suggesting, and she struggled to find the words. “Boys his age…”
“If you truly think me capable of that, then kill me now.” His voice was low and fierce.
She met his eyes, gray as storm clouds. In all of their dealings, no matter the enmity between them, Felix had never lied to her. He had always been forthright to a fault, whether propositioning her at a party or informing her that he was going to do everything in his power to destroy her business.
Now, when it mattered most, she believed him…much as she might want an excuse to make him bleed.
She lowered the knife. Felix clapped a hand to his wounded arm, wincing. The danger was past—in fact it had never really existed in the first place—but Lucretia’s breath was still choppy, and her knees shook. She took a step away from Felix, bracing herself against the opposite wall of the alley.
Felix reached for her, as if to steady her, but she shied away. “Don’ttouch me.” The last thing she needed was support fromthe man who had been spending time with her son behind her back. It was clear that Marcus liked Felix, even regarded him with a respect he’d never shown her. It felt like a betrayal, like a knife twisting in her gut.
“I didn’t mean any harm,” Felix said.
She shot him a scorching glare, even as she felt like she was about to vomit. “You will stay away from him. I will speak with him myself and forbid him from seeing you, but if he should disobey, you are not to engage with him.”
“I fear that will only make him—”
She raised a hand, and Felix broke off. She was not here to listen to his opinions on how to raise her son.
“Very well,” he conceded. “I will have nothing further to do with him.”
“Good. Now leave.”
Felix left the alley, clasping a hand to his bleeding arm. She felt no remorse for wounding him. In fact, it had been extremely satisfying.
