The Bareknuckle Groom - Holly Bush Page 0,57
be there.”
“Every time I think about standing up in front of all those people, some of them society folk, it makes me near sick to my stomach. I keep thinking someone’s going to stand up and ask why some rummy’s kid thinks himself good enough to marry Eleanor Emory.”
“I’m going to be right beside you. Nobody’s going to say anything like that without answering to me. And anyway, it’s just so much shit. You’ve made something of yourself, you have a new promotion at your work, and you are marrying an upright, beautiful woman. Nobody gets to say anything to you.”
“And don’t forget Mary. I’m going to be a papa right off,” MacAvoy said with a shaking voice.
“We won’t forget Mary. She’ll have you wrapped around her finger before you leave the church. Is Elspeth watching her while you take Mrs. MacAvoy to Annapolis for a honeymoon?”
“Yes. Eleanor could hardly believe that her employer would do such a thing, but Mary is so excited, and your sister has all kinds of things planned for the two of them. Eleanor doesn’t really have anyone else, other than an elderly aunt. Her parents are dead, and Mr. Emory’s parents are still in England.”
“They’ll have a grand time, you know. Elspeth can hardly wait for her own wee one to be born, so this will be good practice for her,” James said with a laugh.
MacAvoy stopped when they’d rounded the alley and put his hands on James’s shoulders. “You’ve got to promise me that you will keep up with all of your workouts while I’m away.”
“I will, MacAvoy. I promise. You won’t be thinking about me while you’re away anyway, man. Let’s hope Mrs. Emory can keep you occupied.”
James laughed at the look on MacAvoy’s face and the blush rising up his neck. His friend looked away with a grin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s all you can think about, MacAvoy.” James laughed. “I’ve known you since you were a boy, remember?”
“No more than you think about Miss Vermeal. Don’t look at me like that,” MacAvoy said. “I’ve seen how you look at her. You’re thinking about her now.”
He was thinking about her. He was thinking about that declaration she’d made and how he’d acted as if her words didn’t affect him, making a glib comment about whether she was one of the people that cared deeply for him. But her words had affected him. He could not deny it, as he went to sleep every night hearing her words in his head and letting himself review them, steep himself in them, trying to understand why his heart pounded hard in his chest as he thought of them. The truth of the matter is that you were magnificent. Even tired, there was an elegance in how you moved and the power you wielded.
“Let me buy you a whiskey before the wedding. Before you’re a married man who’s not allowed to meet an old friend.”
“Won’t be a case of not being allowed, Thompson.” MacAvoy laughed as he began to walk down the alley. “I’ll just prefer her company to yours!”
James made his way to his rooms, his legs shaking with the effort to climb the stairs. Thankfully, the bathing room was empty. He locked the door, stripped, and climbed into a tub of very hot water, the steam rising around his face and shoulders, easing the aches in his muscles from MacAvoy’s grueling training.
Clean and feeling better, he went to the parlor, hearing feminine laughter and voices. “Muireall. Kirsty. What brings you by today, Elspeth?”
“Nothing of any moment. Just missing my sisters and brothers,” she said as she crossed the room and kissed his cheek. “It is so good to see you looking well.”
“It is good to see you too. How are you feeling? Have you seen the doctor lately?”
“I’m feeling fine! Wonderful, in fact!”
He chuckled. “That’s good. I’m to the kitchen for some of Mrs. McClintok’s soup and bread. I missed luncheon.”
“Have you heard the news, James? Elspeth is to have a new neighbor,” Kirsty said.
“I hadn’t.” James glanced at Elspeth. “Hopefully no one that would cause you trouble.”
“Oh no. No trouble at all! It will be nice having a friend in the neighborhood.”
“A friend? Of our family?” James said with a laugh. “Moving into those big fancy homes in your neighborhood? A friend of the Pendergasts?”
“No, James. A friend of yours,” Kirsty said.
“A friend of mine?”
“Miss Vermeal is moving into a home just two blocks away from ours, on Thirty-Eighth