Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

The Next Morning, Gentleman Jack's Boxing Saloon

" W ill you please just tell my sister you're madly in love with her and have been for years?" Ashford Drake said as he swung a fist directly at Griffin's head.

Griffin ducked, narrowly missing the hit. Damn Ash. Not only did the man have a mean left hook, he was also far too astute. He'd guessed Griffin's feelings for Meredith long ago and while he had sworn to keep the secret, it didn't stop him from bringing it up to Griffin when they were alone. Nearly every time they were alone .

Ash was a tall, strapping man who shared his sister's dark-brown hair, light-gray eyes, and penchant for being forthright. Ash would do anything for a friend in need, and Griffin trusted him with his life. Which is how he knew the marquess would never share his secret. He would take it to the grave if need be.

The two men had been boxing for the better part of an hour, and Griffin had just finished telling Meredith's older brother about how set she was on helping him find a bride. Hence Ash's question.

"You know perfectly well why I haven't told her yet," Griffin returned, landing a solid blow to his friend's right side. He enjoyed that particular hit a bit more than usual.

Ash grunted and repositioned his bare fists. "I know why you say you don't tell her, but I still contend it's ludicrous." He swung at Griffin and missed.

"You mean it's romantic."

Another swing. Another miss. "For God's sake, man, why wait? Just tell her the next time you see her."

Another undercut to Ash's right side that landed with a solid thwunk . "Patience is a virtue."

"Patience is boring," Ash shot back with a groan.

"Spoken like a man without a drop of patience in his veins. Look. The situation must be handled delicately. You know as well as I do that Meredith has sworn off marriage. She says she detested it."

Breathing heavily, Ash bobbed on his feet, no doubt looking to attempt one of his vicious left hooks again. "She detested Maxwell ."

Griffin bobbed too, just barely dodging the punch when it came. Ash was correct, but Griffin knew Meredith's aversion to marriage involved more than simply a bad match with Maxwell. Something had happened in her marriage. Something she refused to talk about. He could only hope that once she realized they were the perfect couple, once she realized how much he loved her, Meredith would open up to him about it. Patience . Patience . "It's complicated," he said.

Ash rolled his eyes. Patience was anathema to him. The marquess had never encountered anything so complicated he couldn't just barrel in and accomplish it. He made decisions quickly and worried about the consequences later. So, of course, Ash made it sound simple. Just tell the woman you love her, and everything will fall perfectly into place.

Ash was a good man and a great friend, but he would never understand. He might be a marquess in need of an heir, but like his sister, he was completely uninterested in marriage. Griffin suspected he was set against marriage to spite his dead father. Which was really something when you thought about it. The man was no longer alive .

The truth was that, sadly, Ash didn't understand the meaning of the word "love." Not when it came to marriage. Ash saw marriage as little more than a business arrangement. It wasn't his fault, of course. He'd grown up in a house devoid of that emotion. Griffin knew firsthand how cold Ash's steely-eyed father had been. At least Griffin had been loved by his mother. He knew love. And he had no intention of marrying if Meredith refused to be his wife. He didn't want to live a life without her, and it would be unfair to marry any other woman. But Griffin wouldn't bother trying to explain his feelings to Ash. Such things just didn't make sense to the marquess.

"Tell me again why it's so complicated," Ash said with another eyeroll.

"It just is," Griffin replied, missing Ash this time with another right undercut.

Ash expelled his breath as he circled Griffin. "Of course it is. You and Meredith both always seem to complicate everything ."

"Easy for you to say. You've never been in love," Griffin replied with his practiced nonchalance.

"And thank God for that," Ash said with a grin as he continued to circle him. "Tell me. How much longer do you intend to live in agony?"

Griffin wiped his forearm across his sweaty brow. "I have a plan. "

Still sweating and bobbing, Ash smiled and shook his head. "Of course you do."

"What's wrong with having a plan?"

Sweat beaded down Ash's bare chest as he bobbed and weaved around the space. "Sounds complicated again." He let out a long, loud groan. "I swear you're both wasting valuable time. And what do you intend to tell her now that she's so hell-bent on your marriage this Season? I had dinner with her the other night and it's nearly all she talked about."

A bell sounded from the corner, indicating their bout was through. Griffin expelled his breath. He dropped his fists and jogged over to the wall to get water and a towel from the bottle man. Ash followed him.

"All part of my plan," Griffin said, taking a large swallow of water. "I already told her that I know precisely who I intend to marry."

Ash's brows shot up. "Really?" Ash took a swig from his own bottle.

"I just didn't tell her who."

"Really?" Ash repeated before a sly smile spread across his face. "That must have gone over like a ship's anchor."

Griffin scrubbed the towel across his sweaty face. "She has seven guesses."

Ash rolled his eyes and rubbed his forehead with one knuckle. "See? Complicated. What if she guesses herself?"

Griffin shrugged. He'd thought of that. Of course he'd thought of it. "I hope she does. If she guesses herself, it will mean she's open to the idea," he finished with a grin. "Otherwise, I intend to court her properly and ask her to marry me at the Cartwright's Midsummer Night's Ball."

Ash shook his head again, blowing out his breath in a rush. "You are mad , you know that?"

"Perhaps, but I intend to handle this my way. Besides, I doubt she'll guess herself. "

"This is all far too complicated, if you ask me. What if I make it easier for you? If you tell Meredith you love her before the Cartwrights' ball, I'll agree to find a bride before my thirty- first birthday."

Griffin grinned at his friend and shook his head. "You? The forever-sworn bachelor? Marry?"

Ash's sly smile returned. "Ah, but that's how certain I am that you won't tell her."

Griffin shook his head. That was Ash. Never a care in the world. Never a problem he couldn't solve. The quintessential devil-may-care rake about town. It was impossible not to like him.

"I hope to see you fall in love one day," Griffin said as he and Ash headed for the back of the saloon, where a makeshift showering system had been set up behind curtains with buckets, water, and barrel tubs. "Then perhaps you'll know how difficult it is."

Ash's crack of laughter bounced off the high, plastered ceiling. "I'll tell you one thing. If I am unfortunate enough to fall in love someday, you can rest assured that I will come out and tell the lady my feelings. I'd much rather be rejected than subject myself to years of torment the way you have."

Griffin gently elbowed his friend in the ribs. "Care to place a wager on that?"