Page 10

Stapleton Boxing Salon

Mayfair, London

“D amn it, Alex, pay attention to what you’re doing!”

The command combined with annoyance in Duncan’s voice wrenched Alexander from his wandering thoughts just in time to see his brother throw down a pile of tick mattresses a few yards short of where they were supposed to go near the office window, for in multiples, they were rather heavy.

“My apologies.” He blew out a breath. Already, the summer’s heat was seeping into the boxing salon even at the hour of just ten past nine in the morning. “It seems my mind insists on darting about to things that don’t matter.”

“Like a redhaired woman dressed as a man who showed up at your bout the other day?” A knowing twinkle entered Duncan’s eyes.

He dragged the ticks over to where they belonged.

It was where clients practiced bouts when in the salon.

“The same one who had the audacity to kiss you on the field after the bout?”

So his brother had witnessed that? Well, shit.

“What?” Alexander snorted as if the suggestion was beyond ridiculous.

“I’d forgotten about her truth to tell.” Under no circumstances could he have his younger brother sniffing around.

“As well as that kiss. She initiated it, by the way. I had nothing to do with it.” Except that it had thrown his life unexpectedly sideways.

“Ah, so then when she showed up at the salon the day after that to check your injuries and lingered in the office for nearly an hour?” Duncan continued shamelessly with an ever-widening grin.

“That must have also been a one-off experience? And just what transpired between the two of you during that time?”

Heat crept up the back of Alexander’s neck.

“Nothing, I swear.” He shrugged and then turned away to switch one of the straw-filled bags with one that had fresh filling.

“She wanted to know how I fared with my injuries. I told her I was well enough and had to fend off an examination.” By the time he’d noticed she’d left her bonnet behind, it was too late.

She’d already made her way along the pavement, and he hadn’t wanted to call her back in the event passersby would take too much interest in that.

So he’d put it into the bottom drawer of Lewis’ desk in the hopes he might see her again.

“And?” When Duncan came near to do the same with one of the sand-filled bags, expectation lined his face.

“Why do you think there’s an ‘and’?”

“There always is when a woman is concerned.”

Well, Duncan would know, since he very nearly had a different woman on his arm every two weeks. “And then I offered a quick lesson in how to punch, which she accepted. During that lesson, she told me about the bounder she’d been engaged to and about how she’d broken said engagement.”

“Ah. Do you think she’ll become a regular client?”

“It’s difficult to know. She doesn’t share much, and only what she thinks someone needs to know, or at least I’m assuming that is so.

” He helped his brother drag the used bags to a back storage room where the interiors would be refreshed at some point in the week.

“I suppose even a woman who broke an engagement could feel hurt, correct?” Or confused, angry, annoyed, unappreciated, especially if what she’d said about her former fiancé had been true.

Why wouldn’t it be, though? Yet he didn’t know her all that well.

“Your guess is as good as mine. I’ve never known a woman who would willingly leave an engagement.

” Duncan returned to the salon floor with Alexander in tow.

He went for a pile of leather mittens that had been thrown haphazardly to the floor after use.

“What else did the two of you talk about during her visit?”

“Not much, for there wasn’t time.” He omitted the kiss as he grabbed a couple pairs of mittens, then strung them onto a hook resting on the wall. “I assumed she had a previous appointment.” Or considered her work done for the day after sending his world skittering into confusion and awe.

Before either of them could say more, Lewis came into the boxing salon.

“Good morning, fellows.” He shot them both a bemused grin, and there was a red mark beneath his jawline. “I hope your morning has been as lovely as mine.”

Alexander exchanged a glance with Duncan, who shrugged.

“That largely depends. How have you spent your morning, and does that redness above your cravat mean there was overexuberant kissing or exploration with teeth involved?” It wasn’t well done of him, but then Lewis had it coming for being absent much of the past month.

Ruddy color seeped up Lewis’ neck and into his cheeks. “Uh, well, Cecilia and I were rather… amorous this morning and—”

“Stop.” Duncan held up a hand, palm outward while shaking his head. “I do not want to hear about your carnal pursuits with your wife.”

Lewis bristled. “Can I help it if I adore her?”

“You should go adore her somewhere else, and leave us out of it. Why haven’t you gone on a wedding trip?” Alexander asked in some annoyance, for he and Duncan had just gotten used to doing everything by themselves without their older brother present.

“I didn’t wish to abandon the salon,” he said as he rolled his shoulders and then tightened the knot of his cravat. “Indulging in a wedding trip seemed ill-advised at this time, especially when we’re gaining new clients every day.”

“Ha.” Hot annoyance rose in his chest. “What the hell do you think Duncan and I have been doing this last month when your attendance anywhere has been sporadic at best?” Unable to stand still, he strode into the back room, grabbed a broom, and then came back into the salon proper, for dust and dirt and other detritus needed to be swept off the hardwood.

“We have been taking care of everything connected to the salon and sacrificing our leisure time in the process.”

Duncan nodded, for it had been a continuing issue. “True. We don’t begrudge you the wife, of course. It is your duty and responsibility as the earl. However, you could have at least attended Alexander’s bout last week. Perhaps he would have made a better showing.”

Damn. He’d no idea that Duncan would have brought that up, but now that the complaint had been lodged, what would their esteemed older brother say? Waiting with the broom stationary, Alex glanced in their direction.

“Right.” Lewis nodded. He bounced his gaze between them. “I’d heard Alexander was largely unsuccessful at that bout.” Then he frowned as his attention landed on him. “Did you forget all of your training, or did you largely give up out there in the face of a better opponent?”

“I beg your pardon?” Needing an outlet for his ire, Alex continued to sweep the floor.

“My opponent was well-matched to my skill set. He was merely the better fighter, and since I didn’t have you there to counsel me in how to move my feet or where to find his weaknesses, I went down hard in the third round. ”

Duncan nodded. “He was out cold for a few seconds.”

Surprise went through Lewis’ expression. “Did you sustain a head injury?” His glance went to Alexander’s head.

“I don’t believe so. My bruises are only just now starting to fade, but my mind is working like it normally does, and I haven’t forgotten anything.

” That show of concern from his brother didn’t negate the fact that he’d abandoned the bout for his own purposes.

“What the hell were you doing that you couldn’t attend? ”

Another red flush rushed up Lewis’ neck. “I was with Cecilia. Though I had every intention of attending the bout, time ran away and before I knew it, we were taking tea followed by other… things.” He cleared his throat. “By the time my thoughts were my own again, the bout was over.”

Duncan snorted. “So you decided bedding your wife was a better pursuit of your time than supporting your brother when he needed you the most?” He tsked his tongue while shaking his head as he finished hanging the mittens.

“I remain conflicted on that, for I wouldn’t pass on the opportunity for carnal relations either, but then, I was the one who was with Alexander at the bout, so there’s that. ”

Of course, Lewis took that as an insult. He bristled and one hand curled into a fist. “Do not think to lecture me on what I should do with my life. It is difficult enough trying to navigate these waters myself and having Mama haranguing me still, without you boys piling on.”

Finally, Alexander spoke. “Well, it doesn’t matter now, does it? I lost the bout, and much of that was probably because the person who should have been my biggest support wasn’t there.” He shrugged, then finished sweeping the floor, using the copper pan to brush the dust and grit into.

Lewis shook his head. “No, you lost because you refuse to learn other tactics than what you already employ. Part of boxing is changing things.” He stormed into the office, which was essentially his. Springs in the chair behind the desk protested as he dropped into it.

Was that true? Did he refuse to learn anything new? It was something to consider. “Regardless, the next bout I enter, I expect your arse to be there. That’s how it’s always been with the Stapleton brothers. Together.”

“The next bout you enter, you’re liable to end up maimed or dead unless you train harder,” came Lewis’ retort.

“If anyone would know about that, it would be you,” Alexander shot off before thinking. Not being able to fight in bouts for prize purses was something that Lewis still took to heart. Without that, he couldn’t add funds to the Stapleton coffers, and it weighed on him.

Several minutes went by while Alexander and Duncan continued to put the salon to rights in anticipation of it opening for the day.

Then Lewis appeared at the door to the office with Lydia’s bonnet hanging by its ribbons off a forefinger. “Would either of you want to explain what the hell happened in my office and why the deuce this was left behind?”

Well, shit.