THE BARONET'S DAUGHTER

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

                              CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

THAT SAME NIGHT

Ambrose made for the smoking room on arriving at his club. His brother-in-law, Lord Birkett was there with Jeffrey and his brother Hugo. While he was looking for company to distract him, Ambrose’s mood was anything but sociable.

    At the sight of Hugo, he felt his ire rise. Hugo, his own brother, had interfered disgracefully in his relationship with Sophie. Hugo had wilfully misled her about Eleanor and now all was dead between them.

    He strode to Hugo’s side as he stood at the bar.

    ‘I would have a word with you in private, Hugo,’ he said harshly.

    His brother looked at him with a spark in his eyes.

    ‘You are well rid of her,’ he said in a low voice. ‘I did my duty as I saw fit.’

    ‘Your duty!’

    ‘Come, Ambrose,’ Hugo said tersely. ‘You have ill-used Mrs Vallentine almost as badly as you have Eleanor.’

    ‘What?’

    ‘You have ill-used her, I say,’ Hugo asserted. ‘You must have known she expected marriage, while you had no intention of obliging her. You were once an honourable soldier, Ambrose, now you have forgotten what honour is.’

    Ambrose was enraged. He grasped the front of Hugo's coat and raised a fist.

    His wrist was immediately gripped by an iron-strong hand which forced down his hand. He whirled to see who had checked him and looked into the face of Lord Langdon.

    ‘This is no place for fisticuffs,’ Lord Langdon said.

    ‘This is between brother and brother,’ Ambrose snarled. ‘It is none of your business, Langdon.’

    There were growls and murmurs of disapproval from other members standing around watching the disturbance.

    ‘You are out of order, Warburton,’ Frederick Granville spoke up. ‘And you do the club a disservice.’

    ‘I’ll thank you to keep your own council, Johnny-come-lately,’ Ambrose barked at him.

    Granville’s face reddened, and he looked highly offended.

    ‘You believe you have a grievance with your brother,’ Lord Langdon continued. ‘But, I assure you, you have a bitterer one with me.’

    ‘How so?’

    ‘I have spoken to you before about your insufferable attentions to a lady, Mrs Vallentine. But you would not desist.’

    Ambrose glanced around at the other men listening. He did not like to hear Sophie’s name mentioned in such a place.

    ‘You would bandy her name about in this company?’ Ambrose snarled. ‘You are no gentleman yourself, Langdon.’

    ‘You were at her rooms this night,’ Langdon went on as though Ambrose had not objected. ‘I will tolerate this no longer.’

    He reached into his pocket and brought something out. It was a gauntlet. Before Ambrose could react Lord Langdon struck him across the face with it.

    ‘I challenge you to a duel, Warburton,’ Lord Langdon said. ‘Do you have stomach for it?’

    ‘I say!’ Lord Birkett exclaimed hotly stepping forward. ‘This has gone far enough.’