Of the three, it was clear that the one on the right had been drinking. Even if the bottle hadn’t been dangling from one hand, the lack of focus in the young man’s eyes told its own story, as did the bleary grin on his face. His companions did not appear quite so tipsy, though from their demeanour Hawkwood had no doubt that they, too, had been enjoying Lord Mandrake’s generous hospitality.
It was the one holding the bottle who broke the silence.
“I say, Ruthers, old man, looks like we’ve got company! A bloody servant, no less! Come for a peek, have you? Go on, bugger off! Or else you’ll get my boot up your arse!” A shock of wavy hair fell over his eyes as he swayed forward, flagon raised.
Hawkwood said nothing, nor did he retreat. He was aware that the woman had moved to his side. Her gloved fingers grabbed his arm, as if seeking tactile confirmation that protection was at hand. Hawkwood found himself wondering why she was without an escort. He recalled the figure he thought he’d seen among the trees. Perhaps whoever it was had been frightened off or had gone to summon help. If that was the case, Hawkwood wondered what sort of man would leave a woman to the tender mercies of three drunken revellers.
“Don’t think the fellow heard you, Giles!” the one on the left drawled. “Obviously deaf as well as stupid!” The speaker, chubby-faced and porcine in stature, cupped his hands around his mouth. “Didn’t you hear, my friend? He told you to bugger off!” He laughed and looked to his companions for their approval.
Hawkwood ignored him and turned to the woman. “Are you hurt?”
Silently, she shook her head. She was quite beautiful, Hawkwood saw, with the most expressive dark eyes he had ever seen. A strand of pearls had been woven into her hair. They shimmered in the lantern glow. Her breasts rose and fell under the thin muslin of her gown. Reluctantly, Hawkwood dragged his gaze away.
An inner voice told him that the middle one of the three was the ringleader. He was in his early twenties, with sharp features and a thin, petulant mouth: a young man used to getting his own way. He stared back at Hawkwood, his expression one of acute irritation.
“Well?”
Hawkwood regarded the speaker levelly. “Well, what? Clearly the lady’s grown tired of your company. I suggest you and your friends seek your entertainment elsewhere.”
The air seemed suddenly still. From the direction of the mansion, muted by the barrier of trees, the sound of music and merriment could be faintly heard. Distant lights glimmered.
The young man’s eyes narrowed. “What did you say?”
“I thought I was supposed to be the one who was hard of hearing,” Hawkwood said.
The speaker raised an imperious eyebrow. “Do you know who I am?”
“No, and I can’t say it interests me much, either,” Hawkwood said.
The young man gasped, but to Hawkwood’s surprise the man on the right, who appeared to have sobered slightly, laughed. “By God, Ruthers, I wonder where Mandrake found this one. He’s a surly brute and no mistake.” Still grinning, he said, “Perhaps we should enlighten him. Allow me to make the introductions. This, my impertinent friend, is John Rutherford, son of Sir Pierce Rutherford. The stout gentleman is James Neville. And I, for my sins, am Giles Campbell. My father is Sir Greville Campbell. And you are …?”
“Someone who deserves a lesson in manners,” Rutherford said archly. “And I’ve a mind to teach him myself.”
Hawkwood sighed. “That would be a mistake.”
Three heads lifted in unison.
“A mistake! D’you hear that, Ruthers?” Neville cried. “A mistake indeed! By God, you’ve got to hand it to the fellow. He’s a game one! What say you?”
“I say he’s an upstart who’s about to feel the back of my hand,” Rutherford snapped. “I’m damned if I’ll be dictated to by a bloody servant!”
“Quite right, too!” Neville agreed solemnly. “Don’t know what the world’s coming to!”
“You’d best be on your way, friend,” Campbell advised good-naturedly, his words only slightly slurred. “Back to the kitchen while you have the chance!”
His friend Neville grinned. “That’s right, run along now. Only leave the doxy, there’s a good fellow. Haven’t quite finished makin’ her acquaintance.”
Hawkwood felt the woman stiffen. He looked at Neville. “I’d say you owed the lady an apology. And, for your information, you drunken sod, I’m no bloody servant!”
It was probably the look in Hawkwood’s eyes as much as the words and tone of voice that stopped Neville in his tracks, warning him that he might indeed have made a grave error. His gaze moved slowly over Hawkwood and for the first time an expression of doubt flickered across his fleshy face.
Hawkwood watched Rutherford. He could see the youth’s brain working as he considered the implications. If this man who had interrupted their evening’s pleasure was not a servant, that made it likely he was a fellow guest. And yet one whose style of dress seemed oddly sober. Hawkwood could tell that Rutherford was intrigued by the possibilities.
“So, sir, who are you?” Campbell demanded. “Come on, out with it!”
“My name’s Hawkwood.”
“Well, Mr Hawkwood, if anyone deserves an apology, I’d say it was my friend Neville here. Rutherford, too, for that matter, seein’ as it was he she was fixing with the glad eye, leading him on. Ain’t that so, Ruthers? Why, she’s no more than a calculating bit of skirt. It’s a sorry world if a fellow can’t so much as smile at a filly without her branding him a damned libertine! Apologize, indeed! The very thought! Go on, Ruthers, tell him!”
“Quite true,” Rutherford said with disdain. “She’s naught but a tease, plain and simple.”
“Ce n’est pas vrai!”
The woman’s eyes blazed. Hawkwood could feel the heat of her anger.
A flush spread across Rutherford’s pale, haughty face. His jaw tightened. It was obvious he had understood what the woman had said; if not the words themselves perhaps, then certainly their meaning. Through compressed lips, he said, “The bitch called me a liar. You’d take her word against mine?”
Hawkwood returned Rutherford’s direct gaze. “With the greatest of pleasure.”
The insult stopped Rutherford in his tracks. Campbell sucked in his cheeks. Neville just looked confused.
“Why, you insolent –” Rutherford, strumming with rage, took a pace forward, fists clenched.
“Don’t be a fool, boy,” Hawkwood said. “Give it up. Walk away.”
It was the final straw. Rutherford’s face contorted, but even as he swung his arm, Hawkwood was ready. He assumed that Rutherford had intended it to be a slap across the face. The blow, however, never landed. Instead Rutherford found his right wrist held in a grip of iron.
“I warned you, boy,” Hawkwood said. Contemptuously, he released Rutherford’s arm. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
Rutherford, white with anger, rubbed the circulation back into his wrist. “How dare you! By God, I’ll not be manhandled or spoken to like this.” Rutherford’s voice rose. “I demand satisfaction!”
Hawkwood blinked. “What? Are you mad? You’re calling me out? I’m an officer of the law, for Christ’s sake! Here to guard the crowns and cutlery! And you’re challenging me to a duel. Do you want me to arrest you?”
A