Harry eyed his butler. He was not a young man and must have served the family for a long time. Back into the last century when duels were more frequent and less frowned upon. He cleared his throat and indicated the chair on the far side of his desk. “Please sit down.”
Crawford, his expression puzzled, sat down on the edge of the chair as though it went against the grain to be seated in his master’s presence. Despite his age, he sat up ramrod straight, his enquiring gaze fixed on Harry.
Harry steepled his fingers. “I need to ask something of you, Crawford.”
The butler inclined his head, his expression obliging, as any goodservant’s would be. But he hadn’t heard the request yet. “Of course. Please feel free to ask me anything, Sir Henry.”
Harry wetted his lips. “I need to tell you something first. I have been challenged to a duel.”
Even a man with Crawford’s sanguinity couldn’t disguise the surprise that jolted across his face. He cleared his throat. “A duel, Sir Henry? Might I enquire as to who has had the temerity to challenge you thus?” He sounded offended.
Harry nodded. “Yes, a duel, and yes, you might. Sir Julian Horncastle.”
Crawford’s eyes widened. “Sir Julian Horncastle? He’s challenged you to a duel?” Clearly the man needed more information. It would be unfair not to elucidate a little.
Harry nodded again. “We encountered one another early this morning while I was out walking.” He wondered how much he should reveal. Not too much about Miranda, that was for certain. Even servants as faithful as Crawford could be inclined to gossip. “I had by chance come across Lady Madeley who was out collecting mushrooms for her breakfast.” He had a distinct feeling this did not sound even the least bit true, even though it was. Mushrooms, for goodness sake. Heat began to rise up his neck.
Crawford could have been described as all ears.
Harry drew a deep breath. “As it was so early, Lady Madeley had been foolish enough to go out without having eaten anything and became faint. I…er…I had the good fortune to catch her as she fainted—from lack of food, you understand.” Why were the butler’s eyes twinkling now? Did everyone know his secret?
“And at exactly that moment Sir Julian arrived on horseback. At a gallop. And he rather jumped to the wrong conclusion and thought I was forcing myself on Lady Madeley.” The glow in his cheeks was positively furnace level now. “Which I was not.” Just in case Crawford thought he was.
He ground to a halt, unsteepled his fingers and put his hands in his lap. “He declared that Lady Madeley was his affianced bride and that, in short, he took me for a cad and a rake—two things I can assure you I am not.”
Crawford gave a little nod. Did that mean he agreed or what?
“And he challenged me to a duel.”
Crawford cleared his throat. “I was of the understanding that duels were illegal, Sir Henry?” Definitely a question.
“They are, but they do still go on. I have known several friends who took part in them whilst I was in the army.”
Crawford nodded. “And you intend to accept the challenge?”
Harry nodded. “Carried away by the moment, I’ve already done so. We are to meet tomorrow morning at dawn on the old battlefield. A site, I imagine, that is far enough from view to afford the necessary privacy.”
“Ah.”
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “And now here comes the rub. I know no one here who could act as my second. All my friends are either army men or medics working in the big hospitals of London. Miles from here. So…I would like you to do me that honor. If you don’t mind.”
And now Crawford’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “But Sir Henry, is that not a task for a gentleman to carry out? I’m only a servant and could never be described thus. I wouldn’t even know what to do.”
Harry shook his head. “It matters not what social level a second comes from. And, as you know, the only friends I have here in Northamptonshire are Lady Madeley and her daughters. Oh, and the Reverend Mastin in the village. I can hardly ask any of them to stand as my seconds. Especially not with Lady Madeley being the subject of this duel. Besides which, I don’t think ladies are allowed to be seconds.”
Crawford regarded his own hands for a long moment before lookingup and meeting Harry’s eyes. “I should be most honored to stand as second for you, Sir Henry.”
Harry got to his feet and held out his hand. “Good man. Thank you for that. And I’ll need you to get Joe Miller to join you, I think, as the standard is two seconds. He looks to me a likely fellow.”
Crawford rose as well and took the offered hand and they shook. He might have agreed, but the look in his eyes still spoke of deep concern. Whether it was for Harry’s safety or because he knew their undertaking to be illegal, Harry had no idea. But at least it was done. He had seconds for the duel.
It began to look as though things were going well for it. Sort of.
