The Bareknuckle Groom - Holly Bush Page 0,22

training rooms and changing rooms. They figured that I might be considering what I’d do when I couldn’t box anymore. That I’d put my name on this place, manage it, and maybe be able to buy it outright at some point. I could hardly believe it!”

“My God,” MacAvoy whispered.

“I know! That’s what I thought. Why would I be thinking about quitting boxing?”

MacAvoy was staring at him and shaking his head. “Don’t tell me you turned him down.”

James shrugged. “I didn’t answer, and Alexander just changed the subject.”

“What do you mean, you didn’t answer? Can you still give him an answer?”

“I guess. I didn’t want to insult Alexander or his family. They’re so good to Elspeth and to the rest of us. He changed the subject, and I went along.”

MacAvoy ran a hand down his face and dropped to his haunches, eye level with James. “You’re my best friend. You were my only friend, and your family took me in when I had nowhere to go. I love you and Payden like brothers and the girls like sisters. So I’m going to talk to you, brother to brother. Go back to Alexander and tell him you’re in. Tell him to tell his father that you’re flattered by their interest and are ready to plan for the future.”

“What are you talking about? We’re not finished! At least, I’m not!”

“James!” MacAvoy grabbed his shoulders and shook. “You’ve only got a couple more years. That’s it. You’re at the top of your game now, but there’ll be a boy in the not too distant future who will take you down in front of a crowd. There’ll be a new king. It’s just the way it is.”

James was breathing hard, trying to control the wild beating of his heart. “I’ve got longer than a couple of years,” he whispered, his voice shaking.

“Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. But if you don’t plan now how and where you’ll support yourself, you’ll end up washed up, nobody willing to hire you except to pour ale at the Water Street Tavern. Whatever this scheme Mr. Pendergast has cooked up will take years to come full-term. By then, you may need a job.” MacAvoy looked away and turned back to James with regret. “I wasn’t planning on telling you this yet, but I told Graham to keep me in mind for more evening work in the future. Not right now, with you still fighting, but in the future.”

James watched as MacAvoy straightened to his full height, pulled on his coat and hat, and left James sitting, his towel around his neck, his muscles tightening with the chill air seeping in around an ill-fitting window, newspaper stuffed into its sides. He was going to walk the long way home.

Lucinda was still in the tufted chair before the fire when there was a knock at her door. Her aunt came in the room, looking nervous and restless.

“Come sit down, Aunt Louisa. I’d call for a tray, but it will be dinner soon. Giselle has already been here trying to coax me into changing my dress, but I told her to come back in a bit. I was hoping you would come see me.”

“Oh, Lucinda. My head is spinning,” Aunt said as she sat on the edge of the chair next to her. “Your father will be home soon.”

“What will you tell him?”

“Mr. Delgado is coming back with his children to dine this evening,” she said breathlessly, holding her hand to her bosom. “I don’t know what to think.”

Lucinda smiled. “I think you’d best get Berta to lay a cold towel on your eyes. You don’t want to meet everyone looking as if you’ve been crying for hours, do you?”

Louisa smiled and bit her lip. “I would like to look my best. What did you think of him?”

“He’s very handsome. Well-spoken and charming. But what makes him so very appealing is how much he adores his children and how very much he has been longing for you for so many, many years.”

“He does love them, doesn’t he?” she asked, her eyes glistening. “And he is every bit as handsome today as he was twenty years ago.”

Lucinda smiled. “And he loves you. I think he always has.”

Louisa took a shuddering breath. “Is it possible? Do you think he has loved me as I’ve loved him all these years?”

“What did he say about the woman who was your friend?”

“My father spoke to Renaldo and convinced him that I was not really interested in him,”