The smaller man nodded his head. “It’s about this silly challenge you’ve issued Weston…you don’t intend to go through with it, do you? The man is known for his abilities in the boxing ring.”

“As am I,” Carlisle said with a scowl. Impudent upstart. Who did he think he was, cautioning him against Weston?

“I have no doubt, but you seem to be forgetting the goal of the exercise — to protect Lady Weston from his inhuman rages. How do you think she’ll fare once he takes out his anger on her?”

“Anger at my beating him in the ring? She won’t be responsible for that.”

“No, but she is responsible for having you detained, and forcing Weston into a public apology. No man in his right mind would let his wife get away with such brazen actions, especially a man of Weston’s pride. She’ll pay for her little plan and pay dearly, unless I miss my guess.”

Carlisle digested this unpalatable news. “She was trying to protect him; surely you don’t think he’d—”

“He has every right to beat her for interfering, and when his humiliation at your hands is added to his rage, well…” The smaller man spread his hands and shrugged. “It will be all over for her. Perhaps you can save the next bride.”

“No, dammit, I’ll save this one!” Carlisle snarled, his face twisted with pain. “I couldn’t save Elizabeth from that monster’s wrath, but I’ll save this Lady Weston.”

The small man sat back with a satisfied grin, his fingers steepled together. “I have an idea about how you might just do that. I’ve taken a house in the country. If we move up the plan to tonight, I will place my house at your disposal. There’s no safer location for her — Weston’d never think of seeking her there.”

Carlisle waved away a man offering libations and watched the smaller man fidget with his watch fobs, wondering if he should chance speaking bluntly.

“I thought you were on your uppers? The word around town is that you can’t meet your vowels, yet you’ve taken a house?”

The man flushed angrily. “My finances are no concern of yours. Now, do you want to save Lady Weston or not? Be quick, man, her life is at stake! You should know that more than anyone!”

Carlisle narrowed his eyes at the impudent manner in which he was addressed. He was tempted to walk away from the plan, but the memory of his failure to save Elizabeth haunted him still. He couldn’t allow that history to repeat itself.

He nodded his agreement.

“Ladies, we have an emergency!” Gillian declared as she strode into her sitting room, Nick on her heels. “Lord Weston and Lord Carlisle are going to—”

“—have a duel by fisticuffs, yes, we know,” Beverly interrupted her.

Gillian frowned. “How do you know? I just learned of it from my cousin!”

Beverly shrugged.

“We tend to hear things of import in the ton, my lady,” Madelyn said. “We have to be current with the latest on-dits if we are to be successful.”

“Sort of an occupational necessity, you mean?”

The ladies nodded.

“I see. Well, be that as it may, the fact remains that we shall need to take immediate action to bring this unendurable situation to a close.”

“What can we do?” Laura asked hesitantly. “Do you wish us to disguise ourselves in men’s clothing and descend upon Mr. Jackson’s rooms?”

Gillian eyed the women’s lush figures. Disguising them as men was clearly not an option.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” gasped Anne as she burst into the room ahead of an unhappy-looking Tremayne. “The White Dove was telling me the most amazing bit of news about Lord Weston—”

“We’ve heard it,” Madelyn said, scooting over to make room on the love seat.

“Oh,” Anne said, pouting a little at this turn of events.

“White Dove?” Gillian asked.

“The Duke of Marlborough’s mistress,” Laura explained. “She’s the undisputed leader of the demimonde. Anne, Lady Weston needs our help to stop this silly duel.”

Anne’s pout disappeared as her eyes began to sparkle. “Shall we nobble them? I’ve always wanted to try my hand at a bit of honest nobbling.”

“Anne!” Beverly said with a frown. “I’m sure Lady Weston has a plan that does not involve something so very crude.”

“Yes, indeed, I do,” Gillian said with a smile for her mistress friends. “It’s much nicer than nobbling, and really very simple.”

Five faces turned to her expectantly.

“I want you to seduce the men at Gentlemen Jackson’s.”

Three hours later Gillian alighted from the carriage. She looked at number 13, Bond Street, and gave a little sigh. “It doesn’t look like much, does it?”

“Mmmm, no,” Charlotte said, watching a handsome young blood enter the next-door establishment. “Let’s go there instead. Fencing. Gilly, you know how you love swords!”

“Oooh, Henry Angelo’s school,” Anne trilled as she stepped out of the second carriage. “I’ve been there. You’d like it, Lady Charlotte. There are ever so many young gentleman who learn to fence there.”

“No,” Gillian said firmly, tugging her cousin toward the proper door. “Later. Perhaps. If you behave.”

“Pooh, who wants to behave? You don’t have any fun that way.” Charlotte shot longing glances toward the second door.

“You do, or you shan’t come with us and watch the mistresses seduce the gentlemen. Honestly, Charlotte, it’s a full day’s work trying to keep you proper!”

Crouch, standing next to them, blanched at her words. “You want to go inside the boxing saloon, m’lady? Am I ’earin’ you correctly? You want to go in?”

“Yes, Crouch, that’s correct. I plan to—”

Crouch shook his head and raised his hook. “No, m’lady. I can’t allow it. ’Is lordship would be stringin’ my gut out thinner’n a blue-eyed cat’s smellers. Ye’ll not be wantin’ to see me with my guts like that, now would you, m’lady?”

“That pitiful tone in your voice is very effective, Crouch,” Charlotte said in a stage whisper. “If you like, I can show you an expression that would highly complement it. You might have better luck that way.”

“Charlotte, I forbid you to subvert my pirate!”

“My lady.” Madelyn put her hand on Gillian’s arm and inserted herself between the two cousins. “Do you not think we should be about your plan? Even now, Lord Weston could be—”

“Dear God, yes, of course! Off you go, the four of you. We shall follow once you’ve had suitable time to seduce the men.” Gillian pulled a watch from her reticule. “About how long do you anticipate that will take? Three minutes? Four?”

Beverly shot her a look of patent disbelief. “To seduce someone? My lady, that could take upwards of an hour—”

“Oh, no,” Gillian argued. “We don’t have that sort of time. I want the quick version.” She looked at the blank faces gawking at her. “You know, the quick seduction. Heavens, I can’t believe I need to tell you four how to do your job. The quick one, the one that makes a man’s eyes bulge out and his breathing stop and his hands clench and unclench spasmodically. It only takes a few minutes for Noble to reach that state, and surely you are ever so much more effective at seduction than I am.”

Madelyn opened and closed her mouth a few times before she got the words out. “We’ll do our best, my lady.”

Gillian beamed at her. “Excellent. We’ll follow you in a few minutes.” She smiled a reassuring smile at Crouch as he shook his head at the sight of the mistresses disappearing through Gentleman Jackson’s door.

Gillian took a firm grip on her cousin’s arm to keep her from wandering. “Crouch, when we go upstairs, you and the footmen may stay out here.”

“Nay, m’lady, yer won’t be doing that. Remember my gut! ’Ere Charles, Dickon, ’Enry — ye three guard ’er ladyship. Frank, ’Arrison, ye take the ’ounds. Thomas, Jim, the two of ye stay with the ’orses, and make sure no one does anythin’ funny like to either carriage. I’ll stay by Master Nick’s side. And we’ll all be stayin’ out ’ere where it’s safe!”

This last was said directly to Gillian. Charlotte looked over the line of footmen as they leaped down from the two carriages necessary to carry them all, then turned back to Gillian. “If you could get them all on top of horses, you could join Astley’s!”

Gillian rolled her eyes. “Really, Crouch, I appreciate your concern, but my plan is quite sound, I assure you. We’ll be perfectly safe; his lordship will be there, after all.

Crouch crossed his arms over his chest. “Aye, m’lady, but who’ll keep ye safe from ’im once ’e discovers ye there?”

“Testicle!” Charles shouted suddenly, tugging at the pirate’s sleeve. “Testicle, Mr. Crouch. Look, over there, testicle!”

“Why the devil are ye yammerin’ on about yer cods?”

Charles danced up and down before Crouch’s unbelieving eyes. Was the man actually wringing his hands?

“Testicle! Look, coming down the street — testicle!”

Crouch suddenly remembered the watchword and spun around, his eyes narrowed, looking for any threat to his mistress’s safety. A carriage was speedily bearing down on them, the horses lathered and wild-eyed. Immediately footmen began running to and fro, stumbling over each other, over the dogs, and over their own feet. Crouch shouted orders to form a circle around Gillian, but the orders were lost in all the noise and confusion.

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Gillian said, shaking her head as she stepped over a prone footmen. She grabbed Nick and pushed him up the stairs. “Quickly, Charlotte, before they regroup. Oh, I do hope the mistresses have seduced all the men by now.”

Charlotte panted behind her as they dashed up the steps. “I’m sure it takes more than two minutes to seduce a man, let alone a whole room full of them. Even Lord Weston must take longer than two minutes to be seduced.”

Gilian recalled several occasions when Noble had proved that statement false but kept that bit of news to herself, concentrating instead on how they would stop the ridiculous boxing match. They paused at the top of the second flight of stairs to catch their breath.

“I still don’t understand why you want the mistresses to seduce every man present, cousin. Other than for the sheer pleasure of watching their expertise in action, of course.”

“Charlotte!” Gillian scolded, and tucked several strands of hair back into her chignon. “They are there for distraction. You don’t think we’re just going to be allowed to stroll into Mr. Jackson’s rooms without being questioned, do you?”

Charlotte tugged at her gown and pinched her cheeks. “Certainly I thought so. Why shouldn’t we?”

“Because ladies are not allowed in. Hence the mistresses. Nick, darling, you have a bit of dirt smudged on your chin…yes, thank you, that’s got it. Are you ready?”

Nick squeezed her hand. “I’m ready.”

“Excellent. Char, ready? Oh, blast, that would be Crouch and his reinforcements. Shoulders back, everyone. This is a glorious cause we fight for!”

“Lord Weston?” Charlotte asked as Gillian pushed open the door. “Glorious? Good-looking, I’ll admit, but glorious? I — oh, my! Will you look at that gentleman! He is bare-chested! What a magnificent figure of a man! Beverly, you cannot possibly want that gentleman, he’s much too young for you. I’ll take care of him for you, shall I?”

Gentleman Jackson’s rooms were in an uproar. Several gentlemen of the ton had arrived to watch the battle royal, and they had made themselves quite comfortable as they strolled around the outer room, carrying out loud conversations with each other over the deafening noise of the other gentlemen gossiping, arguing, and wagering over the outcome of the duel. Into that sea of masculinity the mistresses had sallied, flags flying and sails unfurled. The result was utter pandemonium.

“Excellent!” Gillian cried upon viewing the chaos, her hand tight on the back of Nick’s jacket. It wouldn’t do at all to lose him in this crowd of hot bloods. “Look, Char, the mistresses are a smashing success!”

“I’m looking, I’m looking,” Charlotte muttered, quickly donning an expression that pronounced her a shy, frightened, innocent young maiden who suddenly found herself in an unsuitably masculine environment. “Why, Lord Beckman, what a surprise to find you here!”

Lord Beckman looked equally surprised to see two ladies push their way through the crowd. He stuttered an excuse and slunk away.

“Hrmph. What a weakling Beckman is. Never did have any backbone. Oooh, look, Gilly, Anne is sitting on the Duke of Firth’s lap! How very clever of her. I wonder how she did it?”

“Excuse me,” Gillian said politely as she slipped past two men. “Char, come along. Stay with me lest you be confused with one of the ladybuns.”