Page 97 of A Winter By the Sea
It reminded Emily of the monogrammed handkerchief of his she had kept all these years, pressed flat in a girlhood diary.
After a brief respite, the men faced off again, advancing and retreating across the sun-striped floor, attacking on the inside, then outside of their foils, up, down, above, and under.
Emily was very glad they were using foils with blunt, protective tips instead of sharp swords. She did not like the fierce gleam in each competitor’s eye. Even so, she could not help but admire Mr. Thomson’s broad shoulders, speed, and agility. Nor could she fail to notice the outline of Charles’s chest and arms through his thin, damp shirt.
She was grateful neither man could read her thoughts at that moment.
With a look of determination, Charles advanced and advanced again, until Mr. Thomson was forced to retreat all the way to the wall. Finding his opening, Charles struck James in the chest with the tip of the foil and a fierce shout.
“Hit acknowledged,” James conceded between heavy breaths. “You defeat me yet again, as you always did.”
“It was a near thing,” Charles graciously allowed. “My regular bouts with a fencing master gave me an advantage.”
James nodded but said nothing more.
Charles looked to their audience and added, “Fencing with novices cannot compare. Pray do not be offended, Georgiana.”
Georgie lifted her chin. “I shall try not to, Charles. But give me a year with your fencing master, and I would best you both.”
Charles met her gaze. “I do not doubt it for a moment.”
———
Mr. Thomson excused himself to wash and change. Georgiana remained in the attic, going to her room for something.
Emily walked downstairs with Charles alone, stopping at the linen cupboard to retrieve a towel for him to mop his face and neck. Then they continued to the ground floor and into the quiet hall.
“This rivalry of yours,” she began. “It was clearly about more than fencing.”
He hesitated, then said, “Yes.”
“Tell me.”
He grimaced. “There was a young lady he admired in Oxford. Daughter of a local solicitor, who had answered some questions of law for him during his studies. Apparently, Thomson began to call on this young lady, but she did not return his esteem. Thomson blamed me.”
“Why? Were you acquainted with her too?”
“I was. We danced together a few times. And she flirted with me, I don’t deny.”
“And you flirted back?”
“I may have done, though not intentionally. This was several years ago, remember. Before you and I ... Before I...”
“Before you what?”
“Began seeing you as a woman, instead of one of the little neighbor girls.”
“Little!” Emily sputtered.
“You are four years younger than I, after all, which seemed a large divide ... then. But that gap dwindled to insignificance when you were nineteen and I three-and-twenty.”
Emily wondered at that, then tilted her head to study his expression. “Were you interested in this Oxford girl?”
“For a time, maybe. It was never anything serious. At least on my part.”
“But if you knew your friend liked her...?”
“Thomson and I were not close. And I did not intentionally encourage her. She was a pretty girl, and I can’t pretend I did not enjoy the attention. But if memory serves, she flirted with several fellows.”
