Nathanial was out of his chair in a moment as the room fell entirely silent. Anger was pouring through his veins, burning through him as he strode right across the room. Lord Wilcox rose to his feet just as Nathanial reached him but Nathanial didnot hesitate. Grasping the man by the lapels, he hauled him closer, hearing the gasps from the other gentlemen watching.
He did not care.
“Are you attempting to speak ill of my brother, Lord Wilcox?” he asked, his voice booming across the room. “Are you attempting to slight him, to make fun of the limp he has, just as you did during your conversation with Lady Amelia?”
Lord Wilcox’s eyes rounded and Nathanial shook him, hard. He was a full head taller than this gentleman and was willing to use both his height and his strength to his advantage.
“Well?” he exclaimed, seeing the way Lord Wilcox’s eyes rounded with obvious fright. “Did you mock my brother for his injury? Is that not why Lady Amelia attempted to speak against your harshness, so that my brother’s limp would not become as much of a focus asyouwere attempting to make it?”
“Ashbourne.” A hand on Nathanial’s shoulder told him that William was beside him now, encouraging him to release Lord Wilcox. “There is no need.”
“There iseveryneed.” Releasing Lord Wilcox just a little, Nathanial kept his fingers wrapped around the man’s lapels. “Should youdarespeak of my brother again in this manner, should you even utter one word in the same vein as what you have already said, then Iwillcall you out, Wilcox. It will be pistols at dawn for the insult you have laid upon my family.”
Eventually releasing him, he watched as Lord Wilcox staggered back, one hand going to his throat as though Nathanial had choked him. It was only then that he realized just how heavily he was breathing, how fast his heart was going and as his brother dropped his hand from his shoulder, Nathanial came to see that every eye was now on him. There was nothing but utter silence now, the last words he had spoken hovering on the air.
Heat burned from his toes to the very top of his head.
“You… you seek to threaten me?” Lord Wilcox squeaked, his eyes bulging out of his head. “You lay so many claims at my feet stating that I have said this or said that and yet you give me no opportunity to defend myself!”
“There is nothing that you can say by which to defend yourself.”
It was not Nathanial who spoke now but William himself, his voice rising as the obvious anger in his eyes ran down into his voice.
“You stated to me directly, in front of Lady Amelia, that I was a cripple.”
A gasp ran around the room and Lord Wilcox dropped his hand from his throat, his eyes roving around after it, as though he understood now that he was not about to be exonerated by his own words.
“You, thereafter, stated that ladies such as Lady Amelia ought to be aware that gentlemen such as myself, because of my physical difficulty, could never fulfill the requirements that a lady of her standing would expect. Quite how you thought it acceptable to say such a thing – not only to myself but also to Lady Amelia – is quite beyond me. I gave you opportunity to apologise but you only insisted that you were doing so out of concern, though I do not think that even Lady Amelia believed that given how eager she was to step away from you!”
Another gasp ran around the room and Lord Wilcox wilted, his shoulders dropping. “I – I did speak out of concern,” he stammered, now seeming to be a little flustered. “But I did not mean to be – ”
“We all heard you speak this evening,” Nathanial interrupted before Lord Wilcox could pretend to be truly apologetic. He had no doubt that the man would somehow try to make out that still, William or Nathanial – or them both – were the ones who had caused trouble. “It is as I have said, LordWilcox. Say another word about my family or my brother where your words hold a sting, hold an insult, then it will be pistols at dawn.”
Lord Wilcox’s eyes flashed and Nathanial’s lip curled. This gentleman was precisely as Nathanial had expected, a snake hiding his true nature from them all.
“It is a strong reaction, Your Grace,” Lord Wilcox stated, speaking slowly so that everyone in the room could hear what was said. “Though I suppose that is what should be expected from ‘the Beastly Duke’.”
Nathanial’s lip curled, fire igniting in his heart and he took a step forward, just as a murmur rang around the room as the gentlemen watching them whispered about what Lord Wilcox had said. “That is something I would consider to be an insult, Lord Wilcox.”
“Would you?” Any supposed sorrow and regret in Lord Wilcox’s voice and expression faded. “Everyone in society knows you as such. It is not as though I am saying anything out of the ordinary.” His eyebrow lifted, a glint in his eye. “Are you to call out everyone who calls you such a thing, whether you know it or not?”
Growling, Nathanial took another step forward, one finger pointed to Lord Wilcox’s chest. “Do not start questioning me, Wilcox. You have done enough already. Heed my words. I willnotpull back from what I have stated.”
Without another word, Nathanial turned on his heel and made from the room, sure that his brother was following after him. His hands clenched tight, his ire growing still but as he made his way out, he was certain he heard Lord Wilcox’s voice following after him.
“He truly is the Beastly Duke.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Did you hear what happened?”
Amelia looked to Lady Violet, hearing the tone of her voice and wondering at the seriousness there. “Hear about what?”
“About what took place between the Duke of Ashbourne and Lord Wilcox? It is quite shocking!”
Amelia shared a look with Charlotte who was also frowning, perhaps uncertain as to whether or not they ought to indulge in what neither of them liked to hear. They did not want to take part in spreading gossip and rumor but, all the same, if there was something about the Duke of Ashbourne that had taken place, she certainly did want to know of it.
“When did this happen?” Charlotte asked, as Lady Violet looked over her shoulder, perhaps concerned that someone else was walking nearby in St James’ Park and would overhear them. “Recently?”
