Complications by Clare Jayne Page B

pounced upon by
his guests.
    “We expected you back hours ago,” Alex said
as the three men came into the hall and watched Brightford remove his wet
tailcoat and hat and hand them to his butler.
    “Something went wrong.” Nathan’s normally
amiable countenance was grave. “Is Mr Harrington ..?”
    “Harrington has a minor arm wound which he
will quickly recover from,” Brightford reassured them. “I waited with him for
word of whether or not Saverney would recover from his injury, but he is now on
the mend so there is no need for further concern.”
    “That is excellent news,” Alex said,
slapping him on the back.
    Nathan and Wrackley echoed these sentiments,
Nathan looking as if a burden had been lifted from him at the words. Brightford
then recalled that he had not yet eaten breakfast and since it would shortly be
time for luncheon, he had better hurry to do so. He asked his butler to see to
it then walked into the dining room, his guests wandering after him like
ducklings after their mother. They all sat down around the mahogany dining
table and Wrackley and Alex began to discuss their plans for the evening.
    Nathan picked up a salt cellar from the table,
turning it in his hands. “Do you think Mr Harrington will want visitors? I am
not well acquainted with him, of course, and perhaps you think it would not be
a good idea?”
    Brightford kept a straight face with
difficulty. “I have a strong intuition that Harrington would be delighted to
receive a visit from you.”
    * * *
    “You are very quiet,” Mrs Daventry observed
as they sat in the drawing room, embroidering, awaiting a call from one of
Mama’s friends.
    Amelia looked up from her half-finished
cushion cover with a frown. “The older I get the more I realise that life is
not as simple as it ought to be. I keep expecting things to happen in a just
manner and they do not.”
    Her mother’s lips twitched. “What brought
on this observation?”
    Amelia explained about the duel and how she
had been so convinced Benjamin would prevail. At least he was recovering and
Lottie could relax and stop worrying about him. Amelia could not help but feel
that Mr Brightford had handled the duel badly, allowing the situation to get so
badly out of control, but Lottie had insisted that he was of great assistance
in its aftermath, which was something.
    “He behaved in a brave, if foolhardy,
manner and thankfully both he and Mr Saverney will recover,” Mama said. “It is
good, though, that you see the consequences of thoughtless actions. For a woman
in particular, good behaviour is vital as even an ill-advised word can come
back to haunt her.”
    That was not what Amelia had meant and she
found it vexing that her mother had taken the opportunity to deliver another
lecture. It was not her own behaviour she was concerned about but the behaviour
of the world where good people did not always succeed in their endeavours and
bad ones were not always punished. Now, more than ever, Benjamin’s actions
seemed brave to her and she wished it was possible for ladies to achieve as
much instead of just worrying about their stupid reputations.
    * * *
    Benjamin had been half-heartedly reading,
already feeling caged by the doctor’s insistence he remain indoors today, when
the butler announced Mr Nathaniel Fenbridge’s arrival. Boredom turned to
pleasure and he raced downstairs to the drawing room to his guest.
    After exchanging greetings, Mr Fenbridge
said, “I am happy to see you up and about after your injury.”
    “Oh, I feel quite the fraud.” Benjamin
indicated his arm in its white sling. “My family and doctor are fussing over me
all for this tiny gash. I have had worse injuries from being given a shave.”
    It was a small joke but Mr Fenbridge
laughed heartily, making him feel like the wittiest of men.
    “Is there any more news of Saverney?”
    “He is in no danger,” Benjamin said. “That
is all I care about. The last I heard he was still abed but he can stay