What the Duke Doesn't Know by Jane Ashford

Author:Jane Ashford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2016-07-06T04:00:00+00:00

Thirteen

James ducked, lunged, and smashed his left fist into his opponent’s ribs. The man let out an “Oof” and danced backward in the boxing ring. James followed, dodging a roundhouse right by a hair. He took a sharp blow to his bare shoulder, and then caught his sparring partner glancingly on the jaw. They moved apart again, fists upraised, sweat beading on their skins. Though not previously acquainted, they were well matched, paired up by the retired champion who ruled Gentleman Jackson’s Boxing Saloon as a courteous despot.

Movement, action, had always been the best way for James to deal with upsets or confusion or the floods of excess energy that sometimes plagued him. Physical exertion cleared his mind as nothing else could do. He’d learned to box with his brothers as a youth, and it was good to see that his skills hadn’t been lost. Good, too, that this civilized bout was nothing like the hand-to-hand combat of the war. It called up no bad memories. His opponent moved back in with a flurry of jabs. James dodged and responded, and they danced apart again.

Kawena had gone out somewhere first thing this morning, without telling anybody what she was up to. At this moment, he had no notion where she was, which both annoyed and concerned him. But to be with her was to want what he couldn’t have. His lapse in his parents’ house was not to be repeated. His mind still shied away from the fact of it.

And in any case, Kawena didn’t seem to need or want his guidance now that she’d gotten what she wanted, now that she was rich. She’d sloughed him off like a tattered sail. Probably she still blamed him for the near loss of her blasted jewels. How could it be his fault that some careless boy had sold him the carving? Or that her father had hidden his fortune in such a blasted silly place? Or that it was the sort of piece that one would never mention to a young lady?

Hadn’t he gone out of his way to help her search? Traveling up and down the country when he’d far rather have been doing something else? He told himself that he was glad the task was over, while uneasily aware that this was not the whole truth. Actually, he was melancholy and resentful and frustrated all at the same time. And so here he was exchanging blows with a stranger.

His attention diverted, James sustained a hard knock to the side of his head. His ears rang, and he went down on one knee under the impact. Jackson at once climbed into the ring, saying, “That’s enough, gentlemen.” He moved between them, although James’s opponent had already stepped back. “Some good cross and jostle work,” the trainer added. He put a hand on James’s shoulder. “All right, then?”

James nodded, rising to his feet. Following his sparring partner out of the ring to leave room for another pair to begin, he began unwrapping the strips of cloth protecting his fists.

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