Forever a Lord (5 page)

Nathaniel gripped the iron railing hard. “It doesn’t matter. I can still be Coleman, if you want. The boxing circles, even in London, won’t know me as anything else. So I have no choice but to abide by that name. I just wanted you to know the truth. I’ve kept it from you long enough.”

“I’d say. None of this seems real. How the feck could your own father—”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Nathaniel tapped an agitated fist against the railing. “Your mess is what we need to focus on. I suggest you sleep with your pistols in hand until we get to London. God only knows who is on this ship and it only takes one man to slit your throat.”

Matthew groaned. “I appreciate your concern, and going through all this trouble of dragging me along to ensure I don’t end up dead, but sleeping with pistols in hand is a bit much.”

Nathaniel pointed rigidly at Matthew’s head. “In my opinion, it isn’t enough. Sleep with the goddamn pistols before I up and knock your domino box out of your mouth. I’m not about to let you get lynched by some street boyo who has no understanding of how invaluable you are, not only to me but the ward. The boys need you back alive. Without you there is no them and you know it.”

Matthew observed him for a long moment. “You seem to forget that I’m used to all the attention. If you had left me behind, I would have been more than fine. I would have managed. I always do.”

“Managed?” Nathaniel echoed. “Seventeen men were planning to take you down. It wasn’t something you could have
managed
on your own.”

Matthew grunted. “I suppose.” He sighed. “So how long am I sentenced to a life abroad anyway?”

“I can’t readily say. Marshal Royce said once the city rounds these bastards up and eliminates the threat against your life, he’ll notify us. I’ll be forwarding him an address when we get into London.”

Matthew smiled. “You’re a good friend. You know that?”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “Don’t play the harp. You’ve saved my ass many a time, you know.”

“And I would do it again.”

“Which I also appreciate.”

Matthew hung over the railing, watching the waves beneath. “So what made you decide to go back to London now? Why didn’t you go home with your family when they first came to you all those months ago?”

Nathaniel glanced toward Matthew. “I never run out on people who need me. Not after everything I’ve endured. And you and the boys needed me.”

Matthew reached out and pinched his jaw. “Now, now, don’t get prissy on me. That isn’t like you.”

Nathaniel smirked and shoved his hand away. “Keep those hands to yourself. I’m not interested.”

Matthew let out a laugh. “Don’t flatter yourself, Mister fecking Viscount.” Matthew nudged him. “But ey. At least we’ll be living all posh once we get to London what with you being an aristo, right?”

Nathaniel snorted. “If you mean posh as in us moving in with my father, I don’t think so. I’d sooner slit his throat. I plan on looking into some milling coves and try to make some money that way before I figure out what happens next.” Nathaniel stared at the misty horizon that swayed with the ship, knowing that once in London, bigger things on the horizon awaited him. Like facing a father he wanted dead for reasons he would never be able to share with anyone but Matthew. What if he really killed the bastard? What if he—

Matthew nudged him again. “So where are we going to stay?”

It was like answering a thousand and one questions. Nathaniel shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll find a hotel.”

“It better be cheap. I’ve only got six dollars.”

“Whilst I only have four.”

“Nice, that. It’s the dead leading the dead.” He paused. “Ey. I’ve got an idea. My ‘stepmother’ is in London. Maybe we can hunt her down. She’d put us up.”

“What? Georgia?”

“Yes. Georgia. How many stepmothers do I have?”

“Don’t be dragging that poor girl into our mess.”

“She ain’t poor anymore. She found herself a rich one.” Matthew smirked and readjusted his eye patch. “So what about this family of yours? Your sister’s husband and son. Can’t we stay with them?”

“No. We’re not exactly their type of people, Milton. Nor do I plan on announcing myself to anyone until I figure out how to wade through this mess. A man just doesn’t show up thirty years later to yell out to the world, ‘Here I am, oh, and by the by I’m thinking of killing my own father.’”

Matthew hesitated. “Why do I have this feeling London is going to make a mess of both our lives?”

“Because it probably will. But in your case, it’s better than being dead.”

“I’ll say.” Matthew eyed him and pushed away from the railing. “I’m going to settle into our cabin. You coming?”

Nathaniel swallowed, feeling his throat closing up at the thought of those low timbered ceilings and that musty windowless room lit by a lone lantern. He was
not
sleeping below deck. “No. I plan on sleeping out here.”

“On deck?”
Matthew echoed, dark brows rising. “And what if you roll the wrong way and plunk into the ocean?”

Nathaniel glared. “I know how to swim, Milton. But as you damn well know, I’m not one for small spaces. So take the fucking cabin and leave me to have my deck.”

“All right, all right. Do you want me to sleep on deck with you?”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “If I ever need a man to help me sleep, I give you permission to throw me overboard. Now go get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning. And sleep with your pistols. Just until we get to London.”

“Fine. I’ll humor you.” Matthew nodded, shoving his hands into his great coat pocket, and strode down the length of the deck toward the cabins below deck.

Blowing out a slow breath, Nathaniel leaned against the railing, letting the cold wind whip at his face. The ocean seemed overwhelmingly endless. It was amazing. There were no walls or ceilings, only vast, endless sky and water.

When night eventually cloaked the ship, Nathaniel settled himself with a lantern below an eve, using his coat for a blanket and bundled ropes for a pillow, which he set under his head.

Fingering the ropes, he stared up at the swaying night sky that had smoothed into clarity and revealed glimmering stars. Though he rarely got lonely, for his head kept him too busy for that, in that moment, with the roaring of the waves that meshed into silence, he would have liked a woman to keep him warm on deck beneath all those stars.

He paused. No. What he really wanted and needed was to get fucked. It had been well over a month, which was the longest he’d ever gone without it. Aside from boxing, sex was the only thing he genuinely enjoyed.

It was a good thing most women found him attractive enough to accept his proclivities, because he sure as hell had nothing to give a woman these days. Certainly not money. But then again, maybe London would change that.

CHAPTER FOUR

The cup, filled with wine, having gone round, the Champion thus briefly addressed his patrons, “Gentlemen, for the honour you have done me in presenting this cup, I most respectfully beg of you to accept my warmest thanks.”

—P. Egan,
Boxiana
(1823)

Many, many weeks later—evening
Cardinal’s Milling Cove
London, England

T
HERE
HAD
TO
be a better way to make money.

Nathaniel tugged his frayed linen shirt down and over his sweat-sleeked arms and chest, more than done with teaching others how to better swing. He had only made thirteen shillings that whole night offering a fifteen-year-old boxing lessons. He really needed to stop feeling sorry for people before he himself starved.

He paused.

Sensing he was still being watched by that fop against the timbered wall beyond the spectators, he blew out a ragged breath. Some no-name aristo with a fancy horsehair top hat and a Havana cigar had been coming around and watching him almost every night since he’d been in London.

Given Nathaniel’s experience with strange men in top hats and cigars, he didn’t appreciate it. Tonight, realizing his money-making plans were progressing slower than he’d hoped, he
really
wasn’t in the mood for it. Shoving past several locals who had gathered around him, also asking him for a boxing lesson at thirteen shillings a piece, Nathaniel stalked over to the man.

More than ready to take the bastard on, Nathaniel yelled out, “I don’t appreciate being followed or watched by some nameless prick. Are you going to stop? Or do you need me to make you stop?”

Blond brows went up as the cigar was instantly lowered. Pushing away from the wall, and out of the shadows the lanterns didn’t illuminate, a rugged-looking blond-haired gent of about thirty with sharp green eyes met Nathaniel’s gaze from below the satin-trimmed rim of his top hat.

The dandy angled toward him and wagged the cigar. “You, sir, are without any doubt the best pugilist I have ever had the honor of observing. I was hoping you and I could talk about a potential venture.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. He should have known. Wealthy boyos like this one didn’t hang around milling coves unless they were sniffing for potential investments. “Unless you have five thousand to give, don’t fucking bother. I need real money. Not talk.”

The man leaned toward him. “I can offer you five thousand on signing
and
give you a swing at the title. Are you interested?”

Nathaniel perused the man’s evening coat, embroidered waistcoat and polished boots. He looked like he could afford everything he was offering. The sort of money he and Matthew desperately needed. They had both been living shilling by shilling. Nathaniel had even been playing cards with what little money they had in an effort to bring them quick money.

Cards weren’t his thing. He’d lost every hand. He was incredibly good at betting on fights, though. The problem was one had to have at least ten pounds to get into any of the good bets. Which he didn’t have.

Interestingly enough, however, this aristo was offering Nathaniel far more than money. This aristo was offering something other investors never had. A chance at the title. “You’re actually offering me a chance for the Champion of England?” he drawled. “A real chance?”

“Yes. I think you have it in you to win based on what I’ve seen thus far. And unlike other men, I not only have a name, but the means to line up the right trainer and the right fights to make it happen. It’s simply a matter of if you want to make it happen.” Sticking his cigar between his teeth, the gent stuck out a white gloved hand. “The name is Lord Weston. But I prefer you just call me Weston. You go by the name of Coleman, yes?”

Nathaniel eyed that hand but didn’t take it. He wasn’t stupid. “What do you want from me,
Weston?
”

“I want your boxing skills in a ring. Because I’m beyond impressed.” Weston blew out a cloud of smoke in Nathaniel’s direction and pointed with the cigar toward the narrow, lantern-lit entrance. “How about you and I go to a local pub and talk?”

Nathaniel’s nostrils flared from the acrid stench of smoke penetrating his throat. He
hated
cigars. They reminded him of his days in the cellar. “Put out the cigar first. It agitates me.”

The man paused and pointed at him. “Don’t overstep your bounds, boy. I’ll smoke if I want to. I’m the one making the offer here, not you.”

“Is that so?” Nathaniel snatched the cigar from that gloved hand and dashed it out on his well-calloused knuckles, the burning sting brief but welcome. “There goes your offer.” He tossed the cigar at the man, letting it bounce off his waistcoat. “I don’t do business with assholes.”

Swinging away, Nathaniel muttered to himself about the rudeness of people and strode toward the crate where he kept his great coat whenever he came to train and box.

Weston veered in again and snapped up both gloved hands. “I’ll never smoke in your presence again. Just give me a chance to make an offer. I’ve been meaning to do so for a few days now.”

Nathaniel set his shoulders. There was only one way to know if the man was remotely serious. Nathaniel pointed to the floor on the other side of the lantern-lit timbered room, where men were lining up to spar. “Go in and box for me. I’ll watch and we’ll take it from there.”

Weston’s brows rose. “What?”

“Do you even know what you’re looking to invest in? I want you to show me you know how to box. Go on.”

A rumble of a laugh escaped the man. “I know what I’m looking to invest in. I’ve been part of the local boxing crowd since I was twenty. Ask around. People know who I am. There is no need for you to—”

“I don’t care if they know who you are. All I care about is whether you’re willing to box in the name of impressing me.”

Weston eyed him. “I’m more of what you call a spectator and have only ever boxed over at Jackson’s with a few peers of mine. Not—” He waved rigidly toward the unshaven, unbathed, half-dressed local men crowding for a chance at another fight.

Nathaniel widened his stance, determined to make his point. “I’m not asking you to win, Weston boy. I’m asking you to prove that you’re willing to take the same hits I am. A man who isn’t even willing to put himself into the ring isn’t someone I care to trust or go into business with or hand over my boxing career to. You decide what matters most. Your nose or the offer.”

This was about when most investors skidded out, which had only ever pleased Nathaniel. Rich investors had no qualms about taking advantage of boxers and Nathaniel knew better than to jump at every offer.

Weston glanced back over at the gruff, well-muscled men lining up. “Apparently, the devil has a sense of humor.” Casually removing his top hat, he handed it to Nathaniel. “Here. Hold this for me.”

Nathaniel hesitated and took the top hat. This was new. Wealthy men usually weren’t keen about getting their own blood on their shirts. At least not the wealthy Americans he was used to dealing with back in New York. He couldn’t help but feel a renewed sense of respect for the aristocracy. He didn’t realize they took their investments so seriously.

Weston removed his gloves from his hands and undid his cravat, stuffing everything into the top hat Nathaniel still held. Removing his coat, waistcoat and linen shirt, the man revealed a fit frame that bespoke many hours doing some sort of sport.

Weston draped the clothes across Nathaniel’s arm and pointed at him. “Don’t take off with my clothes, now. I know which hotel you’re staying at—
Limmer’s
—and I know who you associate with, including your one-eyed, pistol-toting friend, Matthew Joseph Milton.”

Nathaniel tightened his hold on the top hat and clothes. “Sniffing isn’t a quality I want in an investor.”

Weston leaned in, those green eyes sharpening. “Sniffing is the
only
quality you want in an investor. It proves that I can protect not only my investment but yours, by thoroughly investigating everything before I put a boot into it. I’ve been bilked out of thousands before, so I damn well ensure I always sniff out every last rotting detail. The only thing that worries me about you, Coleman, is that you already have a reputation for taking meals from investors but never following through. Know one thing separates me from other investors—unlike them, I’m not here to own you. But I am here to make a profit. We’re talking about a quarter of a million pounds if you take the title. And all I’m asking in return for my investment is half.”

Nathaniel stared at the man. It was the first time anyone had ever thought him capable of taking the championship. Winning fights for bets was one thing. Fighting the championship was quite another. Even at half, taking the championship and the money that came with it could do more than change his life. That sort of money could make everyone lick his boots. And after a lifetime of kneeling, it was time to stand. “I’m genuinely intrigued.” Nathaniel thumbed toward the direction of the boxing floor. “Finish impressing me and we’ll talk more about your offer.”

Weston adjusted his trousers on his hips, his features tightening. “It’s my first go at bare-knuckle boxing, but in my opinion, you’re worth the sacrifice.” Staring him down one last time, Weston pushed through the crowd, lining up for the next match.

Nathaniel winced, knowing it was the man’s first go at bare-knuckle boxing. A part of him wanted to stop the poor bastard, but the morbid cynic in him, who had been dirked by too many people, had to see if this man was even worth blinking at.