“I’m not sure the dragon was so much slain as passed out,” Edward whispered to Belle, who chuckled and nodded.
“If they don’t pick him up again I suspect he may be ornamenting our lawn come Boxing Day,” Belle observed and felt her breath catch as Edward laughed. She stared at him, assured that this was quite the best Christmas she had ever known, as she had made Edward laugh. That was all the present she needed.
He turned to her and gave her a rueful smile, obviously aware that she had noted his pleasure and his rare burst of laughter. He lifted her hand and raised it to his lips before tucking it under his arm and escorting her and the already boisterous mummers to the kitchens. Here was their wassail cup, for those who could manage it, and a generous table laden with food, and a more tangible thank-you for their entertainment in the form of a fat purse.
Belle slipped out of the kitchens a little while later, as the company was growing ever more enthusiastic in their celebrations, and Garrett had clearly decided it was time to evict them.
She’d not been surprised that Edward had left some time ago. He’d endured a lot today, and the noise and jolly company was more than his nerves could stand yet. Deciding it was time she found Charlie, she was relieved to see the man himself hurrying in through the front door, all bundled up in coat and scarf and blowing on his fingers.
“All ready, m’lady.”
Belle took a deep breath, suddenly a little panicked that her idea hadn’t been as clever as she believed. Edward had been such a lamb today, what if she ruined it all?
“Come now,” Charlie said, his voice low, clearly understanding the reason for her disquiet. “He can make an effort for Christmas, p’raps, for your sake. But what then, eh? The man needs to keep ‘is ‘ands and ‘ead fully occupied. Now, this notion of yours is a corker. It’s just what ‘e needs, you take it from one who ‘as known him this past ten years.”
Belle sighed and gave Charlie a resolute nod. “Yes. You’re right of course. Goodness, Charlie, what should I do without you?”
Charlie put his nose in the air and stroked his chin with a thoughtful expression. “I’ve often asked meself the same question.”
Belle gave a snort of laughter. “Wretch,” she said, as Charlie grinned at her. “Very well. I shall bring him along right away.”
“You do that,” he said, replacing his hat and heading back outside again.
***
“Where are we going?” Edward demanded, looking just slightly irritated and a little perturbed by being evicted from a quiet and cosy spot by the fire in his library where he had settled with a glass of cognac and a copy of The Sporting Magazine.
“I have a surprise for you,” Belle said, keeping a tight hold of his arm, her voice firm. She hoped she sounded excited and not as stomach-churningly nauseated as she felt. Please, God, let her have gotten this right.
Edward shot her a curious glance that suggested he was hoping much the same thing.
Leading him around the corner to a fair-sized stone barn, Edward frowned as he realised the interior was lit up against the dull light of the winter’s afternoon. Men’s voices reached them, hollering and shouting and laughing, and Edward halted in his tracks.
“Please, Edward,” Belle asked, tugging at this arm and trying to get him to move forwards. It was as pointless as shouting at a mountain, if he truly didn’t want to, but his dark eyes flicked to hers with trepidation, and then he carried on.
Belle beamed at him, delighted, but she could see the urge to turn the other way and bury himself in his library again glinting in his eyes.
As they entered the barn, Edward exclaimed in surprise, as well he might. At this point, Belle couldn’t tell if it was a happy sound or not.
Braziers had been lit all around the room, giving light and warming the big space a little against the cold of the December afternoon. Not that the scrawny lad who was stripped to the waist and standing in the middle of a crude ring seemed to care a fig.
Charlie was there with the leather pads on his hands, shouting instructions, and all around the perimeter were other lads and young men of all ages, weights, and sizes, shouting encouragement of their own kind and waiting for their turn.
Edward was staring at the sight, his expression puzzled in the extreme. He turned to Belle, who gave him a hesitant smile.
“It’s not just the men returning from the war who need help, Edward. Many of these boys have lost fathers, brothers, role models who would lead them and show them what it means to be a man. Some of the older ones feel cheated and guilty for not having had the chance to go to war at all, and ... and there is little work to be had.” Edward’s expression hadn’t really changed at all, and so Belle ploughed on. “I heard from my maid, Mary, about her brother, Robert. He got into the most terrible trouble in the village, and it was only the kindness of Mr Abram that meant he didn’t get sent before a magistrate. These boys need a place to go, a way to let off steam, and men that they can respect to tell them what is right and what isn’t.”
Edward cast her a sceptical glance but he didn’t turn around and walk out, so Belle held her nerve.
“A boxing club?” he said, his voice sounding far from convinced about the idea.
“Yes,” she said, grasping his hand. “You can help them, Edward, train them. There may even be some with real talent here, and ... and some of the young men, well, they’d probably make you decent opponents in a short while.”
Edward blinked at her. “You’re encouraging me to fight?” he said, so obviously shocked that Belle blushed. She remembered his words previously about her scandalous interest in the sport and his thoughts on the matter, and her confidence took a knock, but she lifted her chin and met his eyes.
“Yes, I would encourage you to fight, here, where there are rules and I don’t have to fear that Charlie will have to go out in the night and drag your lifeless body from the gutter outside some low bar!”
Edwards blanched a little, guilt warring with what she thought might be pure annoyance.
“Yes, Violette told me,” she said, her voice defiant. “But it’s not just that, Edward. This is something I wanted for you. For you to see that you can start afresh, and even make a difference to other people’s lives if you want to. That you don’t have to be the man you were. If that man died at Waterloo, let him rest in peace.” She grasped his hands and willed him to listen, to see that this could be something he could focus on. “You can start again and find whoever it is you want to be now.”
He was silent, his face unreadable, and Belle’s hopes floundered. She clearly had no idea what she was doing, but carried on nonetheless, though she could hear the doubt in her own voice now. “I hope that you will at least consider the idea. And of course, if you don’t wish me to be a part of it, then I perfectly understand, and I ... I promise that I will not interfere at all.”