hour, both of them slashing and clashing out their individual angers. Thus far it had been an even match.
A lunge. A whip. A pause. Chase looked down to see the tip of a foil on his chest.
He pulled off the mask. “You have improved.”
“I took lessons from a master while in France,” Kevin said, removing his own mask. “This is an art there.”
They started unbuckling equipment. “If it had been sabers you would never have won,” Chase said.
“Only it wasn’t, so I did.” Kevin said. “I appreciated this match, but it is not your weapon.”
“It served its purpose.” The exertion had dulled his black mood to a dusky gray. He no longer wanted to go looking for a fight with his fists, the way he had at breakfast.
It had been two days since he had seen Minerva. No letter had come from her. He could not blame her, of course. Only the most conceited of men would.
He kept turning it all over in his mind, however, alternately trying to convince himself that he had handled the whole thing as well as any man could, and must reconcile himself to total retreat, and damning himself for being an ass.
He had half-heartedly read a few of the letters that had come this morning. A request from Nicholas to provide Miss Hepplewhite’s address so he might make good on his promise to have her dine with him got set aside for response. A long letter full of complaints from Aunt Dolores went to the stack he had no intention of answering soon.
A short missive arrived from Peel, asking for a preliminary report in the next week. Damnation to that. He and Kevin went to wash and dress. Chase noticed that Kevin’s attire appeared a bit unkempt, as if he had dressed himself and done it carelessly. “You weren’t at home last night?”
“What makes you ask that?” Kevin worked at a cravat that had already been tied twice too often.
Chase glanced pointedly at that neckpiece, and the wrinkled shirt.
Kevin shrugged. “I was out and about. Conducting inquiries, if you must know.”
“How so?”
“I saw your notices in the papers. Again. I don’t think you will find those women that way. So I’m looking for them, or rather the one who gets my enterprise.”
“In the brothels, you mean.”
Kevin fixed his cuffs and settled his coat on his shoulders. “I was serious when I said that was where they can be found.”
“The one I located was not in a brothel. Ever. Uncle Frederick paid well for those services. He would not feel the need to leave fat legacies for any of those women.”
“Then I am wasting my time. It is mine to squander, and I’ve quite a bit of it at my disposal right now.”
“Have you had any success?” If Kevin wanted to search in brothels, Chase wasn’t going to stop him. For one thing, his cousin knew those establishments and their owners far better than Chase did.
“I have discovered the annoying truth that some of them exercise extreme discretion where he is concerned.”
Chase led the way out. They walked around the edge of the main hall, past other fencing matches taking place. “Well, he was a duke. I expect he demanded discretion.”
“I can’t imagine why. Anyway, last night I tried a different path. I presented myself to the madam and informed her I was his nephew. I then said I would like to be introduced to his most recent favorite, so I might enjoy her favors as he did.”
Chase laughed. “A memorial fuck? It sounds almost sentimental.”
“I thought so. My thinking was that this favorite might know about prior favorites, and even their real names. They rarely use real names in those houses.”
“I am not green, Kevin. I do not visit brothels with your or Uncle’s regularity, but I know the basics.”
“Of course. So that was my thinking—to get into a room with his latest favorite, and get her talking.”
“Clever.”
“Are you being sarcastic?”
“No, no. How did your plan fare?”
Kevin led the way out to the street. “The madam informed me that it would be most inappropriate if one of Uncle’s male relatives partook of the same wine he had recently drunk. Have you ever heard of such a thing? She was most severe too. I felt like I was being scolded by a vicar. She all but accused me of incest.”
They stopped at their horses, and Kevin’s frown suddenly cleared. “Damnation. I’ll wager he told them to say that, to refuse any of us his women.