Opening his eyes again, he pictured the man standing in front of him instead of the boxing bag. Though it took a little imagination, Walter pictured himself punching Rowley right in the face … and then punching him again.
It was only when he began to feel himself becoming fatigued that he stopped punching the bag, noticing Henry was standing to the side, watching him with a look of extreme amusement on his face.
“I am almost afraid to ask if it was a person or a situation you were pummeling into the dust. If you could do that in a boxing ring, you could consider boxing as a potential profession.”
Walter huffed, surprised to find himself out of breath but feeling moderately better. “Thank you for letting me do that.”
Henry, waving his thanks aside, replied, “No need. Though, if you want to repay me, you could do so by joining me for drinks at Huxley’s.”
“Very well, I could probably use a drink right now,” he replied as they headed out of the establishment.
Since the club was just a little further down the same street, they walked the short distance. A few minutes later, they were seated at a secluded table in the far corner of the club and waiting for their drinks.
“I will get around to going to the East Indies eventually. It is such a lovely place, though the humidity nearly kills you if you go at the wrong time of year. Do you recall when I told you about the time I was—”
Henry stopped himself mid-sentence and saw Walter was far too preoccupied with his own thoughts to hear a word anyone else said. Placing a hand on Walter’s shoulder as their drinks arrived barely seemed to pull him to the present.
Walter put his glass to his mouth only to set it down again, deciding it was pointless to try to contain himself. “May I confide in you about something?”
“Of course,” Henry replied kindly. “Something is clearly bothering you. If punching the problem doesn’t help, then perhaps talking about it will.”
“I hope it will!” he replied almost desperately. “I have tried everything else. Going for a ride, punching a bag, visiting a friend.” He motioned to Henry.
“I am here and listening. What terrible catastrophe has happened to you?”
Walter did not appreciate the attempt at humor but began anyway. “While you were gone, I … I met a girl. Her name was Georgiana. She first caught my attention because she is slightly taller than the other girls, but then I also noticed how bright her nature was, her lovely smile, her…”
When he paused for a while, Henry found it necessary to prod him a little. “Was? Is the use of the past tense intentional?” he asked, his partial fear the lady in question might have died making him suddenly serious.
“Yes. Was. Just as I was gathering my courage to ask her uncle if I could publicly court her, I heard from a reliable source she was already engaged to someone else and had been for a while, and she would no doubt soon be married,” he ended bitterly.
Now Walter was talking, he found he had much more to say. “If that was the case, if she knew she was engaged, why did she flirt and dance and … and … everything in her manner gave me the hope she would accept my courtship of her!”
“So, you did not know she was engaged?”
“No! If I had known, I never would have fallen in— I wouldn’t have…” He couldn’t bring himself to say he loved her, nor could he say he wouldn’t have even looked at her when he knew she would have drawn his eye to some degree even if he had known she was engaged.
Henry, though in part trying to be sympathetic, laughed as he saw the struggle. “Walter, I don’t think you fully realize how charming you can be when you make an effort. You could very easily be one of the best rogues in London if you chose to.”
“What does that have to do with this?” he grumbled.
“Simple! I don’t know about this girl you’ve mentioned, but not all ladies are as in love with their betrothed as they appear to be. Some are not entirely against having a little bit of romance with someone else if you catch my meaning.
“She might have assumed you were aware of her engagement and were knowingly showing interest. Is it safe to assume she knew of