Page 19 of Seven Nights with the Wicked Duke
Like everyone amongst their friends, they each had scars that resulted in many unhealthy habits. It was the only way they felt they had some control in a world that had tried so hard to make them believe they did not.
Magnus's trauma had found expression in his overprotective tendencies where his sister, his only remaining family member was concerned. Having seen women and children killed in their beds as a casualty of a war they did not understand, Magnus had become obsessed with protecting his sister with the fierceness of someone who expected violence and bloodshed at every corner, even though he now lived in the heart of London, thousands of miles away from the war he once fought. But Theo knew well enough that the demons that haunted them had no respect for the distance, they followed them everywhere, leaving them unable to run away and be completely free of its torment.
"You can always allow her to choose her own husband," Theo said gently.
"And leave her vulnerable to their deceit?" Magnus shot back. "Never! I will find a perfect fit for her, someone quiet and scholarly that would fit her well."
Even to Theo that sounded... boring. Magnus was making the mistake that he made for most of the time he had known Cecilia - believing that she was a subdued bluestocking. But Cecilia was very far from that. She was vivacious and intelligent. She possessed an inner passion that when fanned into flames might singe him, but Magnus wanted to cage her in a marriage with some dull gentleman, in some misguided attempt at protection. It sounded wrong to his ears and it was. He understood better now why Cecilia was hell bent on completing her list, before allowing herself to be tied down in the miserable marriage her brother was planning for her.
Cecilia was one of the people in his life that he would do almost anything to protect from himself. The dark beastly part of him responded to her. It wanted her, just like it seemed to possess all beautiful things and Cecilia was the most beautiful of them all. In light of his friend's revelation, he decided to do his best to help her achieve some degree of happiness, even if he could not extricate her from the miserable match awaiting her, he would do his absolute best to make her last days as an unmarried lady the best yet.
"You are awfully quiet, Emerton. Do you perhaps think that I'm being too hard on my sister?"
"I am hardly qualified to offer you advice on how to deal well with a sister, since I do not have one." Theo said, standing up and coming to stand in front of Magnus. "I will leave you with this thought. You might seek to protect your sister, but her safety will be out of your hands once you marry her off. You might be able to protect her physically but I do not think you are able to offer the same security for her emotions. Do not becomeso occupied with ensuring her safety that you forget to be her brother."
There was a long pause during which Magnus stated at him and Theo braced himself for an explosion of anger but when Magnus's voice again. It was calm and controlled. "I thank you for your advice Emerton," he said, standing up to his full height. " I will treasure it. You could still duel me though."
And give him the opportunity to trounce him suddenly in his present mood?No, thank you.
"Forgive me Blackmore, I am no match for you when it comes to boxing and like I said, I prefer to keep my face as pretty as it is," he said with his signature mischievous smile. "My aim is to keep the ladies happy and entertained."
Usually by now, Magnus would be shaking his head at his vanity and dismissing him with a wave of his hand in exasperation. Instead now he stared at him steadily, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Emerton," he said, "Why do I have a sneaking suspicion that you are not telling me the whole truth? You do know that I know you well enough to know to know that your claims of fragility in the boxing ring are in no way true."
Magnus was crossing the boundaries, slowly crawling towards the truth that he kept well hidden. He could not let it happen. So he did the next best thing.
"Do not tell me that you do not have secrets of your own," he said to Magnus, keeping his tone frivolous. "You wouldn't be my friend if you didn't enjoy the sense of mystery that there is to me. You are not much of an open book either, Blackmore. Careful, you might get stained by hypocrisy. You do not see me try to glean your secrets do you?"
"Fair point," Magnus muttered.
Theo felt his whole being take a sigh of relief as he took a step back from his defensive mode. They might all be friends with varying degrees of secrets they kept hidden in the wake of their dark days as soldiers, but none could be as dark as his were. He preferred it that way. They might shrink in dismay when they discovered who he really was. He had to know his absolute best, to ensure that his lifelong mask remained intact on his person with no chance to slip.
"I'm sorry to leave you, Blackmore, but I must go. I have a meeting soon."
"All right," Magnus said, raising his cup of water in salute. Theo returned the gesture with a hand to his temple. He stepped outside, happy to breath freely away from Magnus's too perceptive eyes.
He waited for his coach to be brought around, then gave the driver his destination with a simple order of, "Black Angel". The driver nodded and waited for him to settle before driving off, depositing him near the club's location.
To many others, Black Angel was a gentleman's club known for catering to gamblers and for its offer of hedonism dressed in golden glitter. It was a house where pleasure was obtained easily and in comfort for its registered members.
What most people did not know was that, in the basement of the building, underground fights and duels took place, bloodier and more brutal than they have ever seen. He was a continual patron and he, Theodore Hawkins, Duke of Emerton, was in fact the owner. It was a truth that was only known to him and his man of business. He paid the man a lot to keep it quiet and so far he had no complaints in that capacity as well.
When Theo walked into the club, he took a deep breath, immediately feeling at home in the organized chaos that was the club. There were many tables where people sat, dealing cards and placing bets with their precious belongings. The thrill was in the air and while he enjoyed the thrill, he was also well aware of the dangers that could blossom from chasing after the thrill so hard. Many had lost. How easily men rendered their families homeless, because they had given in to the thrill, caring nothing about the welfare of their families. Gambling was worse than any stimulating drug and that was the reason why he preferred to keep away from it. Besides there was no reason to indulge in it so much when it did little to quell the darkness within him.
"Good morning, Your Grace," Simon, Theo's man of business, greeted.
"Hope all is well in the club?"
"There is presently no problem at the moment that requires your input, Your Grace."
"Excellent," he said, walking towards the secret door that would take him downstairs.
"We prepared everything in the basement for you."
"Good," Theo answered absentmindedly, his mind fixed on the coming duel.
When he climbed down the last step and went towards the ring in the middle of the room, it was just as Simon said, there was a tall bulky man with well-defined muscles.
