24. Chapter 24

Chapter twenty-four

Louisa had never felt so exhilarated as when she attended Robert's matches. It was fascinating how it brought out another side of him. And watching him in his element? Well, it was nothing short of exciting. The other men tolerated her presence but did not speak to her. And when the match came to an end and Robert rang victorious once more, Louisa couldn't help her wide smile as she ran to his side.

"That was brilliant," she said. "I cannot even fathom how you stand it."

Robert mopped his brow with a towel, giving a shrug. "It is freeing. I cannot exactly explain it, for it does hurt." With this, he gave a small smile.

"Well, you have my admiration."

The hand holding his towel stilled. "That's a start."

Drat. The man was relentless. If she wasn't so determined to attend the matches of his illicit boxing ring, she would be able to keep her distance from him better. "Well, how many more matches do you believe there will be?"

Robert began dabbing his sweat-slicked skin again. Louisa's eyes traced the muscles of Robert's torso before she caught herself and forced her gaze to his face. "If I win the next match, there will be two more."

She cleared her throat, turning slightly away to stare at an empty chair. "And what is your prize if you win all the matches?" Louisa heard a rustle as Robert tossed his towel into the basket with the other soiled rags.

"Pride."

"Goodness." She turned back toward him, relieved he had donned a clean shirt. "That hardly seems worth it."

"I told you. It's more for the sport itself, not notoriety or money. I already have both of those."

Louisa's scoff came out as more of a laugh. "Well, aren't you quite full of yourself?"

He raised a brow as he grinned. "I am a duke, Louisa. While I do not love it, all I have to do is walk into a room and watch the heads turn to know my place."

"And this is your little jab to society, is it?" She crossed her arms over her chest as she gave him a cheeky grin.

"Yes. It is."

The men departed one by one until Robert and Louisa were left alone.

"Well, I suppose we should get home," Louisa thought aloud, watching as Norman held Robert's jacket out for him and he slid his arms inside. Which version of himself would he be now that he had donned his dukely clothes?

Robert adjusted the collar of his jacket. "Norman, would you go fetch the carriage and have Gulliver pull it around?"

The young man nodded, then left to complete his task.

"Aren't you afraid of being found out?" Louisa asked as Robert continued adjusting his attire, making sure his cufflink was secure.

"In some ways, yes. But even if we were found out, I'm not sure much would come of it. There might be a scandal and rumors for a while, but then I guess it would fade into oblivion."

"I don't know," she said, sitting and tucking her chin into her hand. "I would find it quite scandalizing. Men stripped down to their shirtsleeves, pummeling each other? It is against the law to hit a peer."

"Yes, but we are all peers. It is different."

"And you are a duke, so you can get away with anything."

He turned a frown in her direction, but upon seeing her teasing smile, it flipped into a grin. "Exactly."

Louisa answered with a grin of her own, liking when he showed his confident side. Finally, she turned to glance over her shoulder at the door. "Shouldn't Norman be back by now?"

Robert looked over at the entrance. "Yes. I'm surprised he hasn't come in."

"Should we go and see? Perhaps he is waiting outside with Gulliver."

He nodded, his brow puckering as he held his arm out to her. But when they let the door close behind them, the carriage was nowhere to be seen.

"Where are they?" Robert's voice held an edge of worry as he glanced up and down the street. "It never takes them this long to get here."

"Perhaps a wheel broke? It was hardly a piece of fine craftsmanship."

Robert shook his head, eyes wary. "I don't like it. Let us get back inside."

"Really, Robert. It is a fine day. I do not think we are in any imminent danger."

Louisa felt more than saw a presence come from around the corner of the building.

"‘ello."

Louisa gave a quick start, jerking and clenching Robert's arm. But once she recognized the man from the alley who had tried to kiss her, she relaxed. Robert had dealt with him before. Not to mention, Louisa was now fully aware of Robert's capabilities. There was nothing to worry over.

"Did I not take care of you once before?" Robert said, not moving.

"Ye did." The man walked in front of them, grinning, of all things.

"We don't want any trouble," Robert said, looking around for their carriage. "Please go about your business."

"Oh, I want some trouble," he said, not leaving his post before them.

"I think we have established that you are the weaker of the two of us." Robert's words came out in a lazy, aristocratic tone. "So why don't you just leave."

"I came more prepared this time." The man shifted his feet, his grin widening. And then he whistled.

Robert's arm tensed under Louisa's hand, pulling her closer to him. Five men came from around the corner, grinning and looking them up and down. A curse slipped from Robert's lips as his eyes scanned the growing crowd of men before them.

"Louisa," he said, his lips barely moving. "Get ready."

She dropped his arm, sighing as she stood back and gestured to the men. "Very well. Get this over with."

His mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide. "You expect me to fight them all?"

"Of course." She shrugged. "What else are we to do?"

He turned his head so his lips were hidden from the men, talking through clenched teeth. "I cannot fight them all."

She leaned her head closer. "So what are we to do, then? You are the pugilist."

He slipped his hand around hers and he let out a slow breath. The men began closing in, and Robert's head swiveled to them before snapping back to her. "Run."

His words didn't take hold. "What?"

"Run!"

Before Louisa had even registered what he said, Robert was tugging her along after him down the alleyway. Shouts went up behind them, but Robert didn't look back, both of them running as fast as they could.

"What is the plan, Robert?" Louisa gasped as her chest burned under the exertion.

"I don't know," he yelled, his breaths coming quickly.

"You don't have a plan?" she yelled

He let go of her hand. "Keep running and follow me!"

She was grateful she chose to wear her half boots instead of her slippers, but they were still not ideal for running through the streets of London. As they ran, she heard the men shouting at their backs, still chasing after them. And then Robert began slipping out of his jacket as his feet pounded the ground.

"What . . . are . . . you . . . doing?" she gasped between breaths. Her chest was on fire, and fear was creeping in that they would not outrun their pursuers.

"They will recognize my jacket." His words came out in a rush, but much less out of breath than hers. The thought only rankled a little. And then Robert reached inside the coat, took something in his grasp, then tossed his jacket over a fence into a churchyard as they passed. Had the gate been open, they could have hidden there, but it was shut and the fence was much too high to jump over.

They made it to a cross street and Robert rounded the bend, coming to an abrupt halt. "You there," Robert said, addressing a man leaning against a wall. He looked Robert up and down with a well-deserved hint of reservation. Without hesitating, Robert strode toward him, hand extended. "Give me your jacket."

The man's eyes widened as he accepted the money that fell from Robert's grasp.

"Now!" Robert barked.

The man scurried out of his coat, handing it to Robert without a word of protest. Everything seemed to happen in a blur as carriages rambled past, people in drab clothes walked along, and then before Louisa could even think, Robert had slipped into the jacket and backed her up against the wall of a building. His arm came above her head, blocking her with his body.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. Her chest rapidly rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath.

"I am hoping to hide in plain sight." He leaned his head against his hand on the wall, closing his eyes.

"And what if it doesn't work?"

"Then I am going to receive the beating of a lifetime and you are going to run and hail a hackney cab."

"I can't leave you to be beaten!"

"Yes, you can. And you will." He opened his eyes, gazing down at her. "Do you see them?"

Louisa peered over his shoulder toward the alley they had emerged from. Five men were standing at the entrance, looking up and down the street. "Yes. They are looking for us."

"Are they looking this way?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Try not to move. The less attention we draw, the better."

"Wait," she muttered. One of the men's attention snagged on them, reaching out to another of his comrades. "I think one is suspicious."

Another oath slipped from Robert's lips as he grimaced. He took a deep breath and then paused. "Are they still looking?"

Louisa flicked her eyes over to the men again. "Only two. They seem unsure."

"We need to make them more unsure."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

Robert brought his face lower. His nose lightly brushed her jaw, and he dragged it along until it tickled the hollow behind her ear. She rolled her shoulder as a tingle ran down her neck. "Goodness. You don't think this will draw more attention?"

"No. They will do their best to pretend they do not see us, which should work to our benefit." He spoke as if he had all the time in the world and there weren't five men chasing them down in the streets.

His lower lip gently skimmed the lobe of her right ear, and her eyes fluttered closed. "Have you done this before?" She inhaled a shaky breath. "You seem quite adept at it."

"Not once. I must be a natural."

She would have laughed, but she was only hanging on to her sanity by a thread, and laughing seemed impossible at the moment.

"Are they still there?" he whispered, his voice gruff in her ear.

She forced her eyes open, attempting to nonchalantly glance toward the alleyway. "They are looking around but not at us." Louisa glanced back just in time to see him swallow, and her eyes traced the motion down his throat.

"Very well. I could think of worse ways to spend an afternoon. But you would do better to seem a more willing participant in our endeavor."

She looked up to find him smiling down at her—but words wouldn't come. Since when was he able to tease while she remained mute?

"No retort?" He quirked a brow. "That is most unlike you. Are you unsettled?" He leaned down again, his lips teasing her jaw until they paused just below her mouth. "Tell me to stop, Duchess."

Louisa was completely, utterly, irrevocably undone. She could tell him no such thing, because she did not want him to.

But then sense crept in once more. She tore her eyes away from him and glanced back toward the alley. "I think they are gone," she whispered.

It was true. The men had moved on.

Robert pulled back, taking away the temptation of his lips. "Very good." He ran a hand over his face. "We should wait another minute just to be safe."

Louisa gripped the lapel of the worn jacket he had paid a hefty price for. Best to keep up appearances in case the men were still within seeing distance. "What are we going to do now? Return and attempt to find Gulliver?"

Robert leaned his head against his hand on the wall. "I don't know, honestly. What if the men went back that way and happen to see us?"

"But what if Gulliver and Norman worry and send out a search party?"

"Then we would be found."

She let out a nervous laugh. "Ah, yes. I suppose that would be the point, wouldn't it?"

"You still seem uneasy." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Any particular reason why?"

"I find that being chased through the seedier parts of London on foot by a pack of hoodlums seems to have that effect on me. Who would have thought?"

Robert reached a hand out, taking hers in his grasp. "I would never have forgiven myself if they had gotten their hands on you." His grip tightened around her fingers.

"I do not believe it was me they were after. The first man seems to have held a grudge against you. Which, technically speaking, could be construed as my fault."

A soft smile teased his lips. "Only you, Louisa. Only you would follow me here out of sheer, insatiable curiosity."

"Can you believe you married such a woman?"

With this, he laughed. "I believe I am a very lucky man indeed."

Louisa cleared her throat. Time to change subjects. "Well, shall we attempt to find our conveyance? Or shall we find other means?"

Robert sighed, pushing off the wall. "Perhaps we should rent a cab and send someone else out to alert Gulliver and Norman—assuming they haven't already returned to Stonemoore."

"Very well. It cannot be much worse than what we arrived in." Louisa accepted the arm Robert held out for her, following him down the street. They hailed a cab, but when it stopped, Robert reached into his pocket, hissing another curse.

"Goodness, I had no idea you had such a colorful vocabulary," Louisa drolled.

He put a hand to his brow. "I gave that man all my money."

So he had.

"We can just tell the coachman who you are, and we can pay him when he delivers us home."

They rushed over to the stopped hackney cab. Louisa went to speak, but Robert cleared his throat and spoke first.

"Excuse me, sir. I am the Duke of Boroux and need a ride back to my residence. Unfortunately, I do not have any money on my person and will have to pay you once we arrive."

The stare the coachman gave them stretched on in silence until he barked a laugh, bending over in his seat. "In this neighborhood? I wouldn't be more surprised if the Prince Regent himself showed up at my cab!"

"Sir," Louisa began, placing a hand on Robert's chest as he put one foot toward the carriage. "Why would we lie about such a thing?"

"To get a free ride, o'course. You think a duke would be caught wearing that jacket?" He jerked a thumb toward the drab brown thing pulled across Robert's shoulders.

"Under normal circumstances, no," she began, but Robert stopped her short.

"Leave it, Louisa," he whispered into her ear. "He has no reason to believe us, and now I'm not sure this was a good idea after all."

"What do you mean?"

"What if word gets out and questions are asked?"

And then realization dawned on her. "And people find out you own the building," she said under her breath.

"Exactly."

"Very well," she said louder, wanting the coachman to hear. "I suppose our ruse did not work. This gentleman is much smarter than I had given him credit for. Let us go, dear." She grabbed Robert's arm, turning him around with her.

"That was a bit far," Robert said flatly. "No need to flatter the man."

"Believe me. Flattery will get you everywhere and anything."

"I have not found that to be the case."

"Yes, I am an exception. But what are we to do now, Robert? Head back and see if we can find our own carriage?" They stopped walking, and Robert sighed again. Carriage wheels clattered down the street and people milled about, bumping up against them without a care.

"I don't think that's smart." He furrowed his brow, looking above the heads of everyone walking around them.

"Then what are we to do?"

"I suppose the only choice we have is to walk."

"Walk? Stonemoore is on the other side of town! And what if, as we get closer to home, someone recognizes you in that awful jacket?"

"You didn't think it was so awful earlier." He turned a wicked grin toward her.

"It smells horrendous."

He lifted the collar up to his nose, giving it a sniff. "It isn't so bad."

Her mouth fell open. "I cannot believe you just did that."

"Why? I've been wearing it for nearly a half hour. You think I haven't already smelled it?"

"And we cannot buy you another because we have no money." Her shoulders sagged. "So now what?"

"This is a disaster. I need to get you home." Robert closed his eyes as he massaged his brow. "I could really use a finger of brandy."

"We do not have money, otherwise we could get you one right over there." Louisa pointed across the street at a pub, and Robert's eyes followed.

"My mouth is salivating at the thought."

At the mention of salivating, Louisa's stomach gave a decidedly rude and horrendously loud grumble. Robert swiveled toward her, his gaze dipping to her belly. She wrapped her arms about herself, scoffing. "What?"

"Hungry, Duchess?"

Goodness, was he going to keep calling her that? It had the unfortunate side effect of making her weak in the knees.

"Yes, if you must know. But I am a grown woman and can wait until we find a way home."

Robert braced his hands on his hips, chewing his lip as he looked her up and down.

"What?" she asked hesitantly.

"I am only trying to figure out if we can sell something."

"Me?" she asked, her voice shrill.

He tilted his head, rolling his eyes. The man was a treasure chest of reactions today. She was unsure if she had ever seen him roll his eyes before.

"Of course not. But perhaps something you have on you could be of some value."

She scoffed. "What about one of your things?"

"I already gave up my jacket."

"Your boots," she said, shrugging. "I'm sure they would fetch a lot of money."

"I need my boots to walk."

"Yes, but perhaps they would allow some sort of trade and give you a bit of money along with it."

"Goodness," he said under his breath. "We are about to barter like mere peasants. My father would roll over in his grave."

"What other option do we have?"

"Let us get on with it before the sun gets too low." He grabbed her hand, pulling her along. They strode by storefronts until they found a shop that looked to have footwear in the back. When they walked inside, it lacked the fresh, earthy smell of fine leather and instead smelled of smoke and overworked bodies. Robert sauntered up to the counter, leaning his hands against it.

"I need to make a trade, if possible."

"Whacha lookin' to trade?" The man in charge of the shop was clean and tidy, but his skin was weathered, and wrinkles fanned out from the corners of his eyes and mouth.

"My boots."

The man leaned his palms against the counter, looking down at Robert's boots. His eyes went wide. "Hessians? I can't afford to trade you anything for those. It would take most of my inventory."

"I only need another pair of boots and a bit of money. I do not expect full compensation."

"I dunno," the man said, still eyeing Robert's boots. "How did ye even come across them? I don't want to be involved in theft."

"They are my boots. They were not stolen."

"But why do you want to sell them at a loss? Doesn't make sense to me. I say no." The man held up a hand, turning away as if he had said his peace.