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Would he always throw her words back in her face? A sigh escaped her. “Renting a townhouse is the first step.”

“Yes, I know, which is why I need that prize purse.”

“We shall get by… er, but that is in the future. You don’t need to go through with this bout.”

“If that is truly how you feel, I’ll withdraw.” His shoulders drooped, and in that moment, he appeared so glum that she lost another piece of her heart to him in that moment.

“No, don’t.” For long moments, she remained quiet. “I’m sorry I said that early on after meeting you. Since then, you have certainly impressed me beyond what I ever expected.”

Hope lit his eyes. “It’s true, though, and has been the kick in the arse I needed to look seriously at my life.”

“Oh, Alexander.” Now that she could clearly see a future between them, it terrified her to think of being married, especially to a viscount, which would mean responsibilities that ran at cross purposes with her goals, pulled her away from being a physician, but… he was worth that and more. “Fine.”

Confusion lay stamped on his face. “Fine what?”

“Go to the bout.”

“Truly?” His whole countenance filled with joy, and he stood tall once more.

“Yes. Go fight in the bout, and if you get your clock cleaned, I’ll make sure you’re patched up.

” She nodded even as knots of worry pulled in her belly.

“But I’ll be damned if I let you go alone.

” Then she cursed, which had surprise and a bit of heat crowding into his eyes.

“My father is the attending physician in this bout, but he never said you were one of the fighters, nor did he mention Colin.”

“A father will always try to keep his daughter safe, Lydia, so will any man who loves you.” Though he shot her a speaking glance, she refused to have that conversation right now. “I’m sorry we’ve all lied to you about this. Perhaps I’m not the man you’d hoped.”

“Pish-posh. That’s not well done of you, so don’t fish for compliments, but I’m bringing my bag to the bout just in case. And afterward, I’m going to give you a dressing down you’ll not soon forget since you persist in being a nodcock.”

His grin widened. Respect danced in his eyes. “You’re a real brick of a woman, do you know that?”

“Stop.” She snorted. “You’d better stay in one piece because I’m not nearly done with you for many reasons.

” The feeling of falling returned, and the longer he peered at her with that hunger in his gaze, the more she wished she could distract him with carnal endeavors, but that wouldn’t be fair to either of them.

Daring much, she took his hand. “Come with me.”

“Where and why? Are we going to get up to scandal?” He squeezed her fingers. “I really shouldn’t use up my strength before a bout but…”

“Do shut up, Wexley.” She gave him a tug toward the double doors that would open into the back gardens. “Scandal, yes, but not the kind you’re thinking of. We’ll do this out in the open space of the square.”

“Do what? Couple where anyone can see?”

“Of course not. I’m not that daring.” As soon as he was able following the bout, though, she intended to bed him, and thoroughly. “However, I do want to quickly teach you a few moves in jujitsu tonight so you can use them in the ring.”

“What?”

She shrugged. “For whatever reason, we haven’t had a chance to do that whenever we’re in the salon. Something always comes up as a distraction.”

“As if I’m the only one to blame for that.”

Finally, she allowed a tight smile. “You aren’t, and your brothers are far too often underfoot, but that is beside the point.”

Once outside, Lydia wasted no time in marching him through the back garden with its riot of blooms and the soft buzzing of summertime insects.

Then she led him through a gate and onward out into the square.

Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone about at this time of night.

Perhaps they were gone from London or otherwise occupied.

Avoiding the illumination of a handful of the gaslights set around the square, she drew him into the shadows.

“This is a good stretch of level ground. We’ll start here.

” There was no better way to teach someone the basics of jujitsu than to jump right in.

So saying, she gripped one of his arms with both hands, dropped her hips, bent at her knees, and then with a cry, she used her strength and the leverage of her hip to flip him over her body.

“What the hell?” The viscount stared up at her with shock etched on his face. “You could have at least warned me.”

“Why? You won’t warn an opponent in the ring, and neither will they give you that same courtesy.

You’ll soon find that these types of defenses rely heavily on using hips and leg strength, as well as the strength of one’s body.

” When she offered him a hand to help him up, he took it, but then he yanked on her arm, pulling her down and quickly put his body atop hers.

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, hmm?”

Oh, he had no idea, poor man. “And we’ve arrived at move number two—the armbar submission. I’m going to talk you through it as I demonstrate on you.”

He was still grinning. “I rather doubt you can flip me.”

It was another thing he’d prove wrong in.

“Grab your partner’s neck to break down their posture.

” She did so by slipping a hand about his nape.

“Then you will step on their hip on the same side you’re holding them and push your knee against their shoulder to keep them from pulling their arm out.

” As she spoke, she performed the move on him.

“Next, push off on your opponent’s hips to bring your body perpendicular to theirs.

” When she did so with only a bit of effort on her part, Lydia smiled.

“Afterward, clamp down on their shoulders to keep them from slipping out of your hold.” When she did exactly that, he panted and grunted with the effort of trying to break it.

“You might choose here to kick them on the back of the neck, but don’t.

Instead, in one motion, bring your other leg over their head and curl it down to keep everything tight.

” It was deuced difficult to perform this move in skirts, but she managed it.

“To finish, grab the wrist and bridge your hips. In this posture, you can easily choke them until they either pass out or grow too weak that they’ll release you, letting you get away. ”

Alexander tapped her on the shoulder as he gasped for breath. When she released him, he gulped in air. “So I could see within the demonstration.”

She untangled their bodies enough that she could kneel between his splayed legs that were bent at the knees. “In jujitsu, the end goal is to weaken your attacker as well as get away. It is a more effective fighting technique than pummeling the stuffing out of each other.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“You will, and it is an excellent way to put down a larger opponent. I have used a couple of these moves on Colin myself, so if I can do it, so can you.” She raised an eyebrow, daring him to contradict her.

“Each time you wind them or cut off their ability to breathe, you weaken them. Keep that in mind, and I will teach you this last one.”

“Oh, please no. You’ve already nearly killed me.” He shook his head as his body went taut, signaling he would soon leave.

“For the love of everything holy, Alexander, pay attention. This could mean the difference of life or death in that damned ring.” Ignoring the waver in her voice, she nodded. “Thank you for the attention. This is called the standing guard break. It’s fairly easy.”

He groaned. “For you. Apparently, you’ve studied for years.”

“Yes, but not for years, though I do enjoy keeping current on the skills, especially in this day and age, so I practice with my brother once a month.”

“Why do I have the feeling Ian will be all too happy to have me replace him in those exercises?”

She snickered. “It’s the least you can do, but we’ll discuss that later.” After blowing out a breath, she met his gaze. “All right, in this one, we assume that both you and your opponent are on the ground. Let’s suppose he’s trying to flip you over in order to pin you.”

“He wishes,” Alexander boasted.

Lydia ignored him and his ego. “If that is the case, you need to keep him on his back. It will be critical at this point to secure his arms, so attach your grip in his armpits.” As she spoke, she did so.

“Then straighten your arms and lean forward so you can walk up and gain your feet, but don’t let go of his arms.” As she demonstrated, the sound of fabric ripping filled the air, and she feared she lost the hem of her gown, but that didn’t matter.

“Once you’re back on your feet, place your knees directly under your opponent’s hips. ”

“Damn it, Lydia, you’re going to snap my spine!” It sounded more like a whine than a complaint.

Again, she ignored him. “Move backward as if you are sitting in a chair and arch your back so that you can keep good balance if your opponent tries to get away. Above everything, keep his arms and shoulders facing downward while you’re using your strength to lift him up.

For me, I’ll try and balance you on my thighs and hips.

” She blew out a breath, because this is where the move was complicated.

And he was a bit heavy in this almost dead weight posture.

Sweat dripped down her spine and broke out on her brow.

“Stop. You’ll hurt yourself.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You need to remember this, Alexander. It’s important.

” Keeping her breathing regulated, she held him off the ground with his head and upper body slanted downward.

“It is critical to keep your opponent’s shoulders downward because this keeps this at a disadvantage.

If his arms flail, just keep him off balance. ”

“Easier said than done, I think.”

She grunted. “To finish, place your open hand directly under their kneecap and push down to encourage their legs to open and release you.” When she did so, she easily stepped to the side.

“That leaves him on the ground, where you can either punch him in an effort to help him stay there, or assume a different defensive posture if he scrambles to his feet.”

Finally, the viscount stood up and faced her. “That was incredible. Thank you.”

“Perhaps, but it might save your sorry arse if you can remember what I just taught you.”

“As long as you are at that bout, I’ll remember.” Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. “I’ll hold my own against him, Lydia. I promise.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she nodded. “I know you will, and if you don’t, I’ll beat him bloody with my bag, and society can go hang.” Then she looped her arms about the breadth of his shoulders, rose onto her toes, and kissed him back.

Yes, they would get along splendidly as long as they allowed each other the space to spread their wings.