The accidental groom

Chasing Trouble

Chasing Trouble

"Do you know, madam," Charlotte said, lifting her veil to smile coolly at Lizzie, "I do not believe any man is worth the discomfort of rising at such an early hour."

"Then why did you bother?" Lizzie retorted. Feeling challenged, she, too, lifted her veil.

"I am not sure," Charlotte admitted. "But it is not because of the Marquess of Rothsay, charming though he was to me at one time. Perhaps it is the novelty of the whole thing."

"I can well imagine that after your rather adventurous career, novelties are now few and far between."

Charlotte's eyes fixed steadily on Lizzie's face. Her voice lost much of its mocking quality and grew serious. "I can assure you that having a Countess find me an opponent worthy of an honorable challenge is, indeed, a rare event. One might say a unique event. You must realize, of course, that no woman from your level of Society has ever spoken to me, let alone accorded me such respect."

Lizzie's head tilted slightly as she studied her opponent. "You may be assured that I have great respect for you, Miss Featherstone. I have read your Memoirs and I think I can guess something of what it must have cost you to rise to your present position."

"Can you really?" Charlotte murmured. "How very imaginative of you."

Lizzie flushed, momentarily embarrassed at the thought of how naive she must seem to this sophisticated woman of the world. "Forgive me," she apologized quietly, "I am certain that I cannot begin to understand what you have been through in your life. But that does not mean I cannot respect the fact that you have made your own way in the world and have done so on your own terms."

"I see. And because of this boundless respect you hold for me, you propose to put a bullet through my heart this morning?"

Lizzie's mouth tightened. "I can understand why you chose to write the Memoirs. I can even understand your offering past lovers the opportunity to buy their way out of print. But when you selected my husband as your next victim, you went too far. I will not have those love letters in print for all the world to see and mock."

"It would have been far simpler to pay me off, madam, than to go to all this trouble."

"I cannot do that. Paying blackmail is a wretched, dishonorable recourse. I will not stop to it. We will settle this matter between us here this morning and that will be the end of it."

"Will it? What makes you think that, assuming I am fortunate enough to survive, I will not go ahead and print whatever I wish?"

"You have accepted my challenge. By meeting me this way, you have agreed to settle the issues between us with pistols."

"You think I will abide by that agreement? You think this will be the end of the matter, regardless of the outcome of this duel?"

"You would not have bothered to show up this morning had you not intended to end things here."