“He owns the largest shipping company in New Orleans. It is one of the largest in North America.”
“So? You’re rich. What of it?”
“You will leave Miss Evangeline Holdstock alone. You will never try to see her again. She wants nothing to do with you.”
“Why’s that, Mister Fancy Pants?”
“Because she and I are to be married. This very night my father arranged for her hand in marriage to unite her father’s bank and our shipping company.”
“Your pa’s gonna marry her?”
“You fool!” Leclerc exploded. “You imbecile. I am to marry Miss Holdstock. You have given me the last insult that will ever cross your lips.” He reared back and slapped Mac with the gloves. A gunshot would have been quieter as cloth struck flesh.
Mac stumbled and caught himself against the bar. He rubbed his burning cheek.
“Why you—”
“You may choose your weapons. At the Dueling Oaks, tomorrow at sunrise. Be there promptly or show the world—and Miss Holdstock—the true depth of your cowardice.” Leclerc slapped his gloves across his left palm for emphasis, spun and walked from the saloon. The two guards followed him.
“What happened?” Mac said into the hollow silence that hung in the air when Leclerc was gone. He was stunned into sobriety.
“You’re going to duel for this hussy’s favor at sunrise,” the bartender said.
“With guns?”
“You’d be wise to choose pistols. Leclerc is a champion fencer. He can cut a man to ribbons with a saber and walk away untouched.”
“Heard tell he’s a crack shot, too,” piped up someone across the saloon.
“Eight men he’s kilt in duels,” another man said. “The fella’s a fightin’ machine—a killin’ machine. I don’t envy you, boy. Not at all.”
Mac found himself pushed away from the bar by men rooting around in the sawdust looking for the diamond stud that had popped off Leclerc’s shirt. He watched numbly, wondering if he ought to join the hunt. That tiny gemstone could pay for passage up the river.
Then he worked through what that meant. Evie would call him a coward for the rest of her life. And running would show how little her love meant to him. He loved her with all his heart and soul.
If it meant he laid down his life for her, so be it. He would be north of town at the Dueling Oaks at dawn.
After another drink.
Or two.
