“Wrong with who?” Roland asked.
Then he heard Markson say, “I’m afraid I might’a dosed his brandy a little too liberally last night, Your Grace. Laudanum. I thought it would help him get some rest.”
“Blast it!” the duke shouted. “He can barely see and now he’s drugged too?”
“Who is?” Roland asked.
“You are,” the duke said, pulling him into a sitting position. “Your wonder of a valet has filled you up to your eyes with Laudanum and those eyes were not operating very well to begin, considering they’re nearly swollen shut.”
An idea of what was happening began to slowly seep into Roland’s thoughts.
“Ah, now I remember why you’re here!” he said. “All the duels.”
“Theduel,” the duke corrected.
“Oh no, there is more than one,” Roland said sleepily. “I’ll fight them all,” he said, waving his fists around.
The duke shook him and said, “What do you mean, there is more than one?”
Roland laughed. “You know, all the scoundrels.”
The duke turned to his valet. “Talk,” he said sternly.
Markson looked a little abashed, which Roland thought was interesting. His valet was never abashed. He wondered what had affected him so.
“Well, Your Grace,” the valet said slowly, “as you know, there is Setterdown. And then there was an unfortunate encounter with Chelderberry.”
“Chelderberry?”
“Yes, Chelderberry. There was an awkward moment at the club that led to fisticuffs.”
“You are telling me that there aretwogentlemen turning up this morning?” the duke asked.
“I’d like to tell ya that, but not exactly,” Markson said. “I believe you were at the theater when Mr. Berger was so bold as to affront Lady Viola?”
“He has engaged himself to Berger too?”
“That’s about the size of it,” Markson said sadly.
“He’s engaged all three! On the same morning?”
“Do not thank me, duke,” Roland said sleepily. “The fact is, I respect your time. I thought to myself, let’s make them all on the same morning so the duke doesn’t have to get up early three days in a row.”
“Very thoughtful,” the duke said in a tone so dry it could burn down all London.
“You are extremely welcome!” Roland said, rolling over on his side and propping his head on his hand. The duke was really a genial fellow when it came to it. He would have thought Conbatten would be very put out about the whole thing, but instead the great man had commended his thoughtfulness.
The duke turned to his valet. “Strong coffee and a bucket of cold water.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Markson said, hurrying off.
“Now you’ve gone and arranged for my coffee too,” Roland said, laying back against his pillows. “I don’t understand why people say you are so standoffish. You are rather jolly, Conbatten.”
“Am I?”
“Do not deny it!” Roland said, thinking the duke was also very modest. “I have a mind to tell everybody that very thing. I’ll say, the real Conbatten is very jolly and will come to your house, wake you up, and order you a coffee.”
“Tell them anything you like, if you live to tell anything at all,” the duke said.
