I could hardly let her keep misusing them in that way.”
“Interesting that you chose to allow her to keep learning with your very expensive set, instead of sending her away to her room,” Margaret said quietly, resisting the urge to smile.
Her father looked decidedly sheepish and shook his head. “Well, we are quite done now, are we not?” he turned to Poppy, who nodded, smiled, and gave an endearing little curtsy.
“Yes my lord,” she said.
Margaret took the child’s hand to lead her out of the room, but at the door she turned around for one last look at her father. He was not looking at her, but his eyes rested on the chessboard with unusual gentleness. She wondered what else she had underestimated as it related to the man who was her father – a man she sometimes felt she hardly knew.
Chapter 27
It was still dark when Nigel climbed out of bed the next morning, so dark he felt as though he were moving about in the small hours of the night instead of preparing for the sunrise. He dressed in crisp, fine clothes, but did not wear his uniform.
He had no desire to cast disparities of any sort upon the Navy he served with his actions were he to be apprehended. He pulled back his hair and buttoned on a green overcoat before taking his pistols and sword with him out into the silent street. His horse was found, and he went off in search of the bay.
He knew the place well. It was a fairly common place for lovers’ trysts and the odd adventure with young lads, but as he had always found Margaret and the cliffs more enticing, he had not been there as often as others in the village. It was approachable by a gentle hill, and though there were cliffs near at hand, it was not nearly as sheltered as other bays would have been. The primary benefit seemed to be a long hedge of thick trees between it and the main hill, obscuring the view of the bay from the main road. He arrived first, when the sun was still below the horizon but the sky had already begun to lighten. Everything seemed grey now around him, with tinges of purple and dark blue. He tied up his horse at a safe distance and took out his weapons.
It did not take long for the others to arrive. Andrew came in full uniform, apparently unafraid of the same connections that Nigel had avoided, along with a doctor and a witness. Lord Waddington arrived with his second, a nobleman from northern England on a brief stay in London, and set up across the sandy beach from Nigel. His manner was that of an annoyed man being tormented by some insignificant pest.
“Bateson,” he called across the expanse. “Did you bring the weapons I requested?”
“He’s Captain Bateson to you,” Andrew responded in an even tone.
Reginald walked towards them, a pistol in a holster about his waist. “It’s fascinating to me,” he drawled as he drew closer, “how the lower class intend on clinging to the titles that they have to earn by the scraping of their fingernails against the impenetrable wall of society. When you are born into wealth you do not fear losing it so much.”
“Quite a few metaphors you used just then,” Nigel said wryly. “I shall be more direct. Let us end this as soon as possible. Choose your weapon.”
“I was thinking about swords,” Reginald said, “but I wouldn’t want to make you look too bad. We have some witnesses here, and we ought to give them a good scene.”
Nigel drew his sword, handling it with ease, and delicately took off the heads of a few blades of tall grass near at hand. His sword was sharp, the balance excellent. He knew how impressive the act would seem, subtle as it was, and saw a shift in Reginald’s face. “So,” the man continued as though he had seen nothing, “I suggest pistols. Prepare yourself.”
Both men walked back to their seconds to change their weapons and make certain everything was in order. Andrew sighed and levelled his gaze on Nigel. “You ought not to have shown off like that. You scared him off the weapon that would have shown you to greater advantage. Now you are both with pistols, and though I know you’re a good shot I fear the outcome will be far worse.”
“I am not afraid,” Nigel said. He looked up at the cliff