“And how do you come to know so much about the finer points of grappling, Mrs. Lysander?” Ludlow inquired politely.
“I have eight brothers.”
I gestured toward Lysander. “Should you not go to him?”
She waved a hand. “It is only the lip, he be fine. I only worry if there is enough blood to need the mop.”
She called encouragement to her husband who blew her a kiss. Brisbane and Alessandro had halted, swords at their sides, when Plum and Ly had sunk to brawling, but they resumed their bout. Lysander came to sit with Violante, while Plum and Charlotte took chairs on the opposite side of the room, both of them casting dark looks toward Lysander. Lysander made a few jests as he took his seat, but I noticed his eyes strayed more than once to our brother, and when they rested on Plum, his expression was thoughtful.
Like Plum and Ly, Alessandro and Brisbane fought with blunted tips, but one would never have guessed from their expressions that this was a friendly duel. Alessandro’s eyes gleamed with ferocity, and Brisbane’s face was a study in concentration, his eyes fixed upon the younger man’s sword hand.
“He is hurt. Why does he fight?” Violante inquired, pointing at Brisbane.
“Because, like all men, he is proud,” I returned.
“And stupid,” she added. Lysander bristled, but Violante and I exchanged knowing nods. I could piece together well enough what had transpired. Alessandro, perhaps feeling a trifle neglected and perhaps a little jealous of my friendship with Brisbane, had challenged. Brisbane, proud as an emperor, would sooner have cut his own arm completely off than admit he could not spar with a younger opponent. And Alessandro, who ought to have taken Brisbane’s injury into consideration, was instead taking advantage of the situation, attacking with all the ferocity of a lion cub pouncing on his first prey.
“Poor Alessandro,” I murmured. “He will regret this.”
But if Alessandro had thought the inability to use his left arm would hinder Brisbane, he had underestimated him badly. They had chosen smallswords, and these lighter weapons needed less of a counterbalance than a heavier rapier would require. The technique lay in the footwork and the dexterity of the wrists, both of which Brisbane possessed in abundance. But even I could see that for all his excellent defensive maneuvers, he was holding something in check, refusing to mount an attack. No matter what devilish move Alessandro threw at him, Brisbane countered coolly and withdrew, never engaging further than necessity demanded. It was a deliberate strategy, and one that was rattling Alessandro badly. His face was flushed, his hair curling damply at the temples, and he was breathing quite quickly, tiring himself on his endless assaults but never gaining the advantage. He was quickly growing fatigued while Brisbane looked as though he could carry on for days.
It was not long before Alessandro’s mounting fatigue turned to outright frustration. His lunges became more desperate, his footing more uncertain.
Suddenly, he took a deep breath as if to rally himself and thrust deeply, a well-placed stroke that a lesser opponent would have been at great pains to meet. But Brisbane parried and riposted; their swords connected in a great clash of steel, and in a swift glissade, Alessandro’s blade rode up the end of Brisbane’s weapon. Without warning, Alessandro flicked his wrist, circling the tip of his blade around Brisbane’s, aiming directly for Brisbane’s face.
One of the ladies—it may have been Charlotte—screamed, and with a roar of pain, in a movement so swift the eye could scarcely follow it, Brisbane thrust his left hand up and out of the sling, gripping Alessandro’s blade in his bare palm. Brisbane’s face was white with fury as he jerked Alessandro’s sword toward him, bringing the younger man’s face within inches of his own.
Instantly, Alessandro’s face drained of colour as he realised what he had done. “Signore,you must accept my apologies, I am most abjectly sorry.”
Brisbane said nothing for a long moment. Then, with infinite slowness and perfect disdain, he pulled Alessandro’s sword from his hand and dropped it to the floor. Alessandro winced as it clattered on the stones, and it was still echoing when Brisbane stalked from the room, closing the door softly behind him. I think I would have preferred if he had slammed it.
Violante put a tentative hand to my shoulder. “Giulia, are you all right?”
“Of course. I am perfectly all right. Should I not be?”
She shrugged. “You screamed, very loud.”
“I most certainly did not.”
Violante gave me a little push. “You did.”
I drew myself up to my full height and smoothed my skirts. “I most certainly did not. Now, if you will excuse me, Brisbane seems to have left his coat behind. I will make certain it is returned to him.”
As I gathered up Brisbane’s coat, I noticed Alessandro, still standing where Brisbane had left him, defeated and a little shocked. I ought to have said something encouraging to him, but Ludlow and Plum had already taken him in hand, and I wondered if perhaps this was one time the company of other men was preferable to a lady’s society.
I gave a quick backward glance as I left. Alessandro was staring after me, his expression anguished. It would have been a kindness to offer him a smile of absolution, but I did not. I was not feeling particularly kind, I reflected sourly. And Alessandro had just revealed a little too much of what mettle he was made of.
THE TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTER
Things without all remedy should be done without regard. What’s done is done.
—Macbeth
Imade directly for Brisbane’s room in the Galilee Tower. It seemed likely he had withdrawn there to attend to his shoulder. I mounted the staircase slowly. It was possible the violent movement of his left arm had opened the wound, and I was no Nightingale to look easily on blood. Better to let him see to that himself in privacy, I decided, and not suffer distraction when I informed him of my revelation regarding Henry Ludlow.
As I rounded the corner into the bachelors’ wing, I heard a door close and saw Aquinas coming my way carrying a tray.
I gestured toward the tray. “I presume you have been playing nursemaid to the patient?”