Page 51 of Indecently Daring

“One day, louts like you are going to come up with some more original repartee,” Harry groused. He’d heard it all before.

“Repair what now?”

“Never mind,” Harry said with a sigh.

He dodged another fist that could have dislocated his jaw, and returned a satisfying blow to the fellow’s midsection. Sadly, this turned out to be a lot more solid than he would have liked. They exchanged a few more blows, during which the clientele of the Maiden noticed entertainment was in the offing and piled out to watch. No doubt seeing a man of the cloth fighting a hulking great fellow twice his size was their idea of a good night out.

“Ten bob on the big fella!” someone called.

“My money’s on the reverend. Ain’t he handsome? Don’t spoil him, Jo!” shouted a female voice, followed by a lot of cackling and squawking of amusement.

Marvellous.

Jo, as that appeared to be his opponent’s name, hit out again, Harry dodged and tried an uppercut which missed; the fellow was quicker than he looked. Jo tried again, missed and this time Harry got him smack in the jaw, which was satisfying except for the fact it hurt like the devil and Jo only staggered a little. Annoyed now, Jo charged Harry like an enraged rhino, which would have been easy enough to avoid had some blighter in the crowd not tripped Harry up. He managed not to fall on his face, choosing to believe the foot in his path had been accidental, and then decided not to think about it further. He had more pressing matters to consider, such as the fact Jo was trying to squeeze the life out of him. Harry tugged at the thick arm in a stranglehold around his neck, but it didn’t budge. He gasped as it cut off his air, a dizzying sensation invading his mind. But Harry had not lived in the gutter without learning a thing or two about fighting dirty. Angling his body to the side, he let go of Jo’s arm and swung his fist back as hard as he could, hitting him in a very tender spot.

All the air came back into Harry’s lungs in a rush as Jo released him with a howl of pain. Harry stumbled away, gasping, but knowing better than to let down his guard. He turned and tackled Jo, sending the big man crashing hard to the ground. Jo let out a pained groan and Harry scrambled away, standing up, fists raised, waiting.

“You little bastard, you’ll pay for that,” Jo spat, a look of pure venom in his eyes.

Harry didn’t doubt it. Bracing himself, he waited for the next round.

“It’s getting awfully dark,” Cat said quietly.

Alana nodded, the fact not having escaped her. “I suppose we ought to have left word, told someone… something,” she added, glancing at Cat.

“Probably would have been sensible,” Cat replied ruefully. “Only, I’m not terribly sensible, so you really ought to have said something, Lana.”

Alana snorted. “I might have known it would be my fault.”

“No,” Cat said, shaking her head. “But, really, you know I’m going to get us into trouble, so you ought to make allowances.”

“I’m not certain I can blame you for this one,” Alana replied, squinting ahead of them. “We’ll have to stop soon. We can’t keep going in the dark.”

“We’ll be out all night,” Cat said, chewing her lip. “Lud, Papa is going to have my head. He’ll send me to a nunnery his time. I shouldn’t blame him, either.”

“Neither would I,” Alana retorted. “But I’ll say it was my fault, don’t worry. So long as I’m safe, Mama and Papa won’t fret overly much.”

“Lucky you,” Cat said with a sigh.

“I’m not the daughter of a marquess,” Alana remarked, not that the distinction needed making.

“I suppose Kilbane knows where we are,” Cat said, brightening a little.

Alana turned an incredulous glare upon her. “And you think that will help when your father finds out?”

Cat deflated visibly. “Lud,” she said again.

They carried on in silence, relieved when a high street came into view.

“We’ll have to stop at an inn. There’s no help for it,” Alana said.

“Assuming they’ll let us,” Cat pointed out. “Two young, unmarried females with no chaperone and no baggage? What will they think of us? Nothing good, I assure you.”

“Hopefully they’ll take one look at you and stop thinking entirely,” Alana muttered, but Cat wasn’t listening.

“What’s that? Look, all those people, Lana. What’s—oh, it’s a fight. Just look. A big fellow and—”

“Oh!” Alana shrieked and urged the pony into a canter. They pulled up in a flurry behind a wall of spectators and Alana leapt down. “Cat, look after the pony, and find Jeb!”