“Stay down,” Ellis said. “Or so help me, I will let him tear into you again.”
Hillary plopped back down.
“Release me.” Sebastian broke Ellis’s hold and stalked a few paces away, trying to gain control of his temper. He shoved a shaky hand through his hair.
A lithe body rounded the shrub and collided with him. It was Helena. Her scent eased his anger, and he pulled her close.
She reached a hand toward his cheek. “Are you hurt?”
He angled away from her, but she touched him anyway. Her fingers were gentle and she took care to avoid his cut. His remaining anger drained from him.
“You are going to soil your gloves,” he murmured.
“I have plenty more.”
Once she had determined he would survive, she joined Eve on the grass where his sister sat hugging her knees. Helena wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Eve was uncommonly composed, considering what she had witnessed. He heard no evidence of tears and she hadn’t swooned.
“Did he hurt you?” he asked.
She waved away his concern. “No, I can only imagine what you must have thought, but this isn’t how it seems. Benjamin—”
“Not now,” Helena said with a quick hug. “You can explain later.”
“He was only trying to coax me to come back inside. I should not have left the ballroom alone. I wasn’t thinking.”
She had been trying to escape from Hillary, no doubt.
Gabrielle tentatively peeked around the bush, then hurried to Ellis’s side when he held out his arm.
Sebastian dusted off his breeches and straightened his jacket. Hillary was still seated on the grass, seemingly following Sebastian’s movements.
“Choose your second wisely,” Sebastian said.
Hillary nodded sharply.
“No!” Eve struggled to her feet. “There has been a mistake. Nothing improper occurred. Please, Bastian.” She clung to his arm, her face turned upward.
“This man left you at the altar and ruined your reputation. He will answer for his deeds.”
“But you are talking about killing.” Her voice broke and the sobs came at last.
Faith. Her tears always had a way of ripping into him.
Helena came to offer his sister comfort. Eve turned into her shoulder, her cries muffled. “Dueling is illegal, my lord,” Helena said. “Isn’t there another way to settle this?”
“Thorne is within his rights to defend his sister, Lady Prestwick,” Ellis said. “Mr. Hillary wronged Miss Thorne when he jilted her. The only way to restore her reputation is to beat him on the field.”
Sebastian felt a smile of gratitude on his lips for Ellis even if he was loath to acknowledge it. Before their dispute over Gabrielle, he and Ellis had been decent friends. Many times the earl had taken Sebastian’s side in disagreements and helped even the odds when more than one man tried to get in licks in a fight with Sebastian. He had forgotten that fact for a time.
“You will need a second, too,” Ellis said. “If you will allow me…”
Gabrielle huffed. “What in God’s name is wrong with you men? Why must you always resort to violence and bleeding? It’s a most unattractive trait.”
Ellis held his hands up as if surrendering. “Now, now. Don’t get in a dither. I have a suggestion that might appease everyone.”
Sebastian frowned. He didn’t much care for Ellis’s suggestions. They usually made one or both of them look foolish, like the time he wagered he could knock an apple from Sebastian’s head with a rock in less throws than it took Sebastian to hit Ellis’s apple. Sebastian had better aim than his friend, and Sebastian had sported a bloodied nose to prove it.
Ellis inclined his head toward him. “Allow Miss Thorne to choose the weapons.”
Sebastian and Gabrielle cried out in protest. That was the most asinine suggestion he’d ever heard. How was Eve to feel any better about choosing the weapon that would lead to her former betrothed’s death?
Eve’s tears began to dry and she sniffled. “Anything I want?”
“If Mr. Hillary agrees,” Ellis said. “He has been challenged, so he has final say in the matter.”
Sebastian’s frown deepened. He had mistakenly thought Ellis was taking his side.