Prologue

“Go away!” Reese Taggart buried his head beneath the pillow when the pounding refused to stop. It intensified the drums beating in his head. He turned his head and lifted the pillow just enough to yell again at the would-be intruder. “Go! Away!”

“Taggart, open the bloody door, else we’ll kick it in!”

“Please gentlemen, stop making such a commotion.” Reese heard a man whine from somewhere down the hall.

The sound of metal beating against the wood echoed in his head. “Go away!” he roared.

“You’re late for your appointment. Now, get your sorry arse up and open this bloody door.”

“You best do as he says, Taggart.” A second voice filtered to him through the door. This time, it was one he recognized.

“Matthews, what the bloody hell is going on?”

“You’d best open the door and find out,” Carson Matthews, Reese’s best friend, replied boisterously. He had the vaguest hint of a Scottish burr in his voice from spending his childhood in Scotland.

Reese rolled out of bed and cursed loudly when he stumped his toe on something. What it was, he neither knew nor cared. Darkness was still upon them and he had just fallen asleep, with the help of copious amounts of alcohol. He was barefoot, but still wore his breeches and his shirt. The smell of a woman’s perfume assailed his nostrils as he stumbled across the floor. 

“Open this bloody door,” the unfamiliar voice demanded once more. 

Reese did, and the dim light from the lamps several men carried pierced his eyes causing what felt like spikes to be pounded in his temples. He groaned and gripped his head in an attempt to make it stop. When he was able to peel an eyelid open, he saw Matthews, along with three other men, one of which was dwarfed by the others. “Who the hell are you, and why have you woken me at this godforsaken hour?” Reese directed the question at the haughty, little man with the bright copper-colored hair sticking out from beneath his hat.

“I am Worthington, Dandridge’s second. He knew you would attempt to get out of the duel, and sent me to make certain you showed up. He’s going to finally do what no other man in London will—he’s going to teach you a lesson.”

“And what lesson would that be? That I can better please his wife than he can? Go back to your own bed and leave me be. Matthews, I’ll see you in a day or two. Better yet, make it three or four.” 

“Come along, Taggart, or I’ll be obliged to use force.”

Reese took a moment and looked the man over. Well, what his blurry eyes would allow him to see. He was definitely not impressed with what he saw. He would have laughed if his head didn’t hurt so damn bad. Instead, he said something truly coarse and turned to go back inside his rented London rooms. Hands gripped his upper arms like iron shackles and dragged him backwards. “Bloody hell, what do you think you’re doing?! Unhand me!”

“I warned you I’d use force,” the little man said, holding up the lantern so that Reese could see his face as he was pulled down the hallway.

“He did at that, Taggart,” Matthews seconded.

“Whose side are you on?”

“Since I’m your second, yours. Go along peacefully. Even with the effects of last night’s libations hanging on you like a shroud, you can still teach Dandridge a thing or two,” Matthews said.

“Sorry this is disturbing your sleep, gentlemen,” Reese said to his fellow tenants as he saw men peeking out of their rooms in various stages of undress.

“Put him in the carriage. We’ve wasted enough time with this,” the little man said.

“Are you even a man, or are you a bloody leprechaun?” Reese asked. He chuckled as the man’s face turned a mottled red.

“Leprechaun. That’s a good one, Taggart,” Matthews said. “I wonder if he has a pot of gold he’s hiding somewhere.”

Both men chuckled at that and Reese thought he felt the bodies on either side of him tremble a little as if they, too, were laughing. Someone held the door open in front of them and Reese was maneuvered through it, and then pushed into the coach that sat outside. A giant of a man sat on either side of him. The carriage swayed as Carson pulled his large frame inside, but hardly moved as the leprechaun climbed in. Then the coach lurched as the horses strained against their traces.

“I don’t even remember being challenged,” Reese said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“It was shortly after Dandridge returned home earlier than expected and caught you with your lily white arse in the air, tuppin’ his wife.”

“Oh, yes. I think I remember now.” Then he remembered something else and turned to glare at his best friend. “Weren’t you supposed to be looking out for something like that?”

“I was distracted by this pretty little maid…”

“Ah, well as long as you enjoyed yourself.”

“Aye, I did at that,” Carson agreed with a grin and rubbed his hands together excitedly.

The coach rolled through the entrance of Hyde Park. What should have been a bright moon setting was muted in the early morning sky by a thick fog coming in off the Thames. One could only catch glimpses of the moon through the occasional patchiness of the low clouds. The carriage came to a stop, and Reese was forced out of the conveyance. A giant stood on each side of him, retaining a firm grasp of each arm to make certain he didn’t run off. Reese felt the cool, damp grass beneath the soles of his bare feet as the giants marched him across London’s unofficial dueling ground. A group of men materialized out of the fog, and Worthington practically ran to reach the side of Reese’s opponent.

“Ah, Taggart, so glad you could join us,” Dandridge said.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” Reese replied mockingly.

“Taggart, if it had been merely a rumor, I would have gladly ignored the entire situation, because you know that us men like a good tale just as much as the most gossipy old crone. I so dislike duels and the attraction they bring.” He waved his hand to encompass the men that had gathered to witness the outcome of the duel with Wild Lord Taggart. “Instead, I had to walk in and find you and my beloved in flagrante delicto,” Dandridge said as the leprechaun carried the pistols to them.

“Yes, well, I do have a reputation to live up to. I happened to bump into your wife, who was very much alone I might add, at a soiree. One thing led to another and well…” he shrugged. “But it was an accident that you found us.”

“An accident, you say? In my own home? How do you determine that, Taggart?”

“Well, you see, it was an accident that you came home earlier than expected. Otherwise—”

“Otherwise you would have escaped from my wife’s bedchamber window with your pants down around your ankles and your lily white arse exposed to the entire world instead of just me. Is that it?”

“I’m going to have to do something about it if everyone keeps comparing it to a flower, but it is rather toned from all the time I spend riding, don’t you think?” Reese replied laughing at his double entendre, and soon most of the men in the crowd joined in with full-bellied laughter. Streaks of pink, orange, and blue started lightening the dawn sky.

“How dare you heap more insults upon Lord Dandridge?” the leprechaun demanded moving protectively in front of Dandridge.

“Don’t you think it’s time you quit hiding behind those two giants you brought along on the ride?” Reese asked, looming over the little man.

“You have more to worry about than who I’m hiding behind. Mr. Matthews, pick Lord Taggart’s weapon so that we can get this ghastly affair over with and return home,” Worthington instructed impatiently.

“I believe it was my weapon that brought us to this event in the first place,” Reese said, causing more guffaws from the crowd of spectators.

“I just might enjoy killing you, Taggart,” Dandridge mused.

“You won’t kill me. You couldn’t stand the blotch on your supposedly spotless reputation. You know who you remind me of Dandridge?” Reese did not give him the opportunity to answer before he continued, “A spoiled child who has too many toys and refuses to let anyone else play with them.”

“What in bloody hell are you talking about?”

“You have a wife and a mistress both and yet I’ve witnessed you flirting and disappearing with other men’s wives. It sounds to me like you will be the one killed in a duel someday. So tell me, when you came home so late, where had you been, at your mistress’ or perhaps with somebody else’s wife and had to leave before her husband arrived?”

“Don’t you dare speak to Lord Dandridge that way!” the leprechaun yelled.

“I don’t understand why you would need to have a mistress. Your wife is quite comely, intelligent, and, well, the rest goes without saying,” Reese snickered. “But perhaps that’s why you don’t want her, because she is intellectual.”

“Joseph likes people with intellect!”

“Shut up, Worthington,” Dandridge growled, spittle flying from his lips.

“Joseph was with m—”

“Keep your bloody mouth shut, Worthington,” he snarled at the leprechaun. By observing the look the leprechaun gave him, you would think Dandridge had kicked his pet dog or some such thing.

“Ah, I think the man protesteth too much. Matthews, what do you think?”

“I think you’re right,” Matthews agreed.

Reese watched as the scrawny little man puffed up as if he had been physically struck by Dandridge. The leprechaun’s bottom lip poked out in a pout, similar to those of women he’d seen trying to manipulate their lovers to their way of thinking. Reese studied the two men carefully and saw little nuances in their mannerisms that had warning bells clanging in his mind. He considered the little things Worthington had let slip in a fit of pique, and Reese knew his speculations were true. 

He now understood why Lady Dandridge was starved for attention. He idly wondered what went on with those women that Dandridge disappeared with at parties and balls, but he very much doubted it was what he, and so many others suspected. And the mistress could be anything to him as long as he gave her what she most longed for—money and gifts. No, Reese was fairly certain that the lover Dandridge had left early to return home was now serving as his second in this duel. Reese met Dandridge’s eyes through the intense fog and read the answer in their depths, and now he knew that Reese knew his secret.

“Choose a bloody weapon, already,” the leprechaun ordered again, managing to sound both surly and petulant. “It’s a good thing you brought your own physician with you. You will be needing his services when all of this is done and Joseph is finished with you.”

“I doubt that, Leprechaun.” The man looked as if his head might explode. Reese watched Matthews inspect each gun before choosing one and handing it over to him. He felt the weight of the weapon in his hand. He looked down at it in the hazy light of dawn.

“Dandridge, do you really want to go through with this?” he asked softly so only the other man could hear.

“Yes.”

“I know your secret.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the other man blustered.

“Are you really going to make me say it?” Reese pulled back and studied the other man who remained stoic and mute. “All right, have it your way. It only took a bit of deductive reasoning after your friend there said a little more than he should. Then he looked at you in that special way reserved only for lovers. I don’t know what you pay your mistress for, but it certainly isn’t for her sexual prowess, not when Worthington is nearby.”

“What do you want to keep silent? Money?”

“I will walk away from this duel. Do you understand? If I don’t, the last words I utter will be about you, for all to hear. That is my price.”

“Gentlemen, stand back to back. I’ll count out twenty paces. Then—”

“I really wish you’d shut the hell up, Leprechaun. I do believe we all know how a bloody duel works,” Reese said, impatient now for this to be over. “Do we have an agreement?” he stared pointedly at Dandridge as he asked the question.

“Yes,” Dandridge muttered.

“Fine. One. Two. Three…”

Reese tuned out the leprechaun’s nasally voice. He felt confident he would walk away from this, just how unscathed remained to be seen. He knew Dandridge would have to attempt to save face among his friends that had gathered to watch. “I do think you should know something else Dandridge,” Reese projected his voice to be heard by the other man over the drone of Worthington’s counting.

“What’s that? Speak up! I can’t hear you!” Dandridge’s words came to Reese, muffled by the fog.

“I didn’t know she was your wife until you barged in. I thought she was a widow.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”

“No. Just thought you should know. I don’t make it a habit of tupping other men’s wives.”

“Oh, really? And if I asked your brother about that, would he agree with you?”

There was so much Reese could have said at that moment. So much he longed to say, but instead he remained silent, his jaw clenched until it ached. A burning rage raced through his blood.

“Twenty. Gentlemen, turn and face one another.”

“Dandridge, I made a discovery in the last few years and I am going to share my knowledge with you,” Reese yelled to be heard through the dense fog.

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“Lovers are not to be trusted, and they certainly aren’t worth taking another man’s life over.” He punctuated his statement by pointing his right arm at the ground and squeezing the trigger on the pistol. The sound was mostly absorbed by the fog, but several birds squawked and flew off into the morning sky.

“That we can both agree on,” Dandridge called out.

“Good to hear you say so. No hard feelings?” 

“No hard feelings.” 

The words were repeated back to him, but Reese almost detected a sinisterness to them. Shaking his head, Reese turned to leave when he heard the loud pop of Dandridge’s pistol firing and seconds later felt the impact of the bullet.

*     *     *

“I’m sorry, but this is too funny,” Matthews said, laughing heartily.

“Can you shut up, leave, or preferably both? And can you not be so ham fisted?” he looked over his shoulder as he directed his questions at his best friend.

“I’m sorry, but there is quite a bit of debris embedded in the wound. It must come out or you risk infection.”

“Just hurry it up,” Reese grumbled, gripping the pillow beneath his face. “And you don’t sound very apologetic.”

“Relax your buttocks. You’re making it much more difficult to work on the wound.”

Reese snarled when he heard Matthews sniggering. “Shut it, Matthews.”

“I can’t help it. He shot you in the arse!”

“And if I hadn’t turned my back on him when I did, he would have shot off something much more valuable!” Matthews paused what he was doing and doubled over in laughter as Reese shot him a withering glare. “I can’t believe you would consider that remotely funny.”

“It’s hilarious,” Carson Matthews replied, chuckling.

“Do I need to send for another physician, or are you going to be able to finish this?”

“I’ll finish.”

“Hurry it up,” Reese growled.

He tried to ignore the physician’s ministrations. He still had difficulty believing that Dandridge had shot him in the arse, but knew he should be thankful that it had only been his arse. If he hadn’t turned around to walk off, he would be a eunuch now. A fine sheen of sweat broke out over his body at that thought. Reese perched his chin on his folded forearms and stared out the window. The sun had completely risen, and the fog had burned off, a typical London day.

He winced when he felt a tug as Matthews began the slow process of stitching the wound. I should write-off the female population all together, he thought somberly. It would save me so many issues. 

“I should, but I won’t.” 

“Pardon?” Matthews asked.

“Nothing, just thinking out loud.”

“Oh.”

“No, I definitely won’t.” His grin quickly turned to a grimace when Carson pulled the thread tight. “But perhaps I will wait a bit,” he conceded.

“There,” Carson said when he was finished. “Change the bandage every day. Do not put any pressure on it. If it feels feverish or overly sore, send for me immediately. Otherwise, I’ll be back in a few days to check on you. Oh, and laudanum for pain, as needed.”

“Thank you,” Reese muttered.

“Of course. Oh, and stay away from the ladies for a while.”

“Go away.” 

Carson’s laughter could be heard until he left the building where Reese currently rented a room.

Reese lay on his stomach, underneath a sheet, thinking about the path his life had taken the last few years. He wasn’t proud of everything he had done. He regretted what he had done to his brother, but in the end, Duncan had found a happiness with Penelope that he never had with Isabelle. Even now, they were rusticating in Yorkshire, awaiting the birth of their first child. Reese felt a sadness that he wasn’t there, but it was for the best. Mayhap in the future he would once again be able to join his extended family without feeling like an outcast and a failure.

A piece of paper wedged in the bottom right corner of the mirror over the washstand caught his eye. It had been there for years, mocking him. He struggled to his feet and hobbled across the room to retrieve it, wincing with every step. He removed it, opened it up, and read it. With a smirk on his face, he refolded the piece of paper deciding he held his future in his hands and perhaps the fresh start he was looking for.