The Regency Season: Gentleman Rogues. Margaret McPhee

      The crowd sniggered at that.

      Black-Hair’s face flushed puce. His little piggy eyes narrowed on the man like an enraged bull. He cracked his knuckles as he made a fist.

      By some unspoken command Black-Hair’s four friends got to their feet, making their involvement clear. Any trace of curiosity and amusement fled the room’s atmosphere. It was suddenly sharp-edged with threat.

      The hush spread. Every man in the chop-house was riveted on what was unfolding before Emma.

      The nape of her neck prickled.

      ‘Settle down, boys,’ said Nancy. ‘There’s no harm done. Sit down and drink your pints before they get warm.’

      But not one of the men moved. They all stayed put, stood where they were, eyeing each other like dogs with their hackles raised.

      ‘We don’t want no trouble in here. You got a disagreement, you take it outside.’ Nancy tried to come closer, but two men stepped into her path to stop her progress, murmuring advice—two regulars intent on keeping her safe.

      No one heeded her anyway. Not the black-haired villain and his cronies. And not the man.

      In the background Paulette’s face, like every other, was lit with excited and wary anticipation.

      The man’s expression was implacable. He looked almost amused.

      ‘I’m going to kill you,’ said Black-Hair.

      ‘And there was me thinking you were offering to buy me a replacement porter,’ said the man.

      ‘You ain’t gonna be able to hold a pint of porter, let alone drink one, I swear.’

      Emma’s blood ran cold. She knew what men like this in Whitechapel did to one another. This was not the first fight she had seen and the prospect of what was coming made her feel queasy.

      The man smiled again, a smile that went nowhere near those cool blue eyes. ‘You really want to do this?’ he asked with a hint of disbelief and perplexity.

      ‘Too late to start grovelling now,’ said Black-Hair.

      ‘That’s a shame.’

      There was not one sound in the whole of the chop-house. The silence hissed. No one moved. All eyes were on the man, Emma’s included. Staring with fascinated horror. Five ruffians against one man. The outcome was certain.

      The black-haired man stepped closer to the man, squaring up to him, violent intent spilling from every pore.

      She swallowed. Felt a shiver chase over her skin.

      The man did not seem to feel the same. He smiled. It was a cold, hard smile. His eyes showed nothing of softness, not one hint of fear. Indeed, he looked as if he welcomed what would come. The blood. The violence. Five men against one. Maybe he really did have a death wish after all.

      ‘Someone stop them. Please,’ she said, but it was a plea that had no hope of being answered.

      An old man pulled her back. ‘Ain’t no one going to stop them now, girl.’

      He was right. She knew it and so did every single person in that taproom.

      The black-haired brute cracked his knuckles and stretched his massive bull neck, ready to dispense punishment.

      Emma held her breath. Her fingers were balled, her nails cutting into her palms.

      The man’s movement was so fast and unexpected. One minute he was standing there. The next, he had landed a head butt against the lout’s nose. There was a sickening crunch. And blood. A lot of blood. Black-Hair doubled over as if bending in to meet the man’s knee that hit his face. The speed and suddenness of it shocked her. It shocked the men in there, too. She could tell by the look on their faces as they watched the black-haired giant go down. The ruffian was blinking and gasping with the shock of it as he lay there.

      Emma watched in disbelief. Every muscle in her body tensed with shock. She held her breath for what would happen next.

      ‘Too late to start grovelling,’ the man said.

      Leaning one hand on the floor, Black-Hair spat a bloody globule to land on the toe of the man’s boot and reached for a nearby chair.

      ‘But if you insist...’ The man stepped closer to Black-Hair, his bloodied boot treading on the giant’s splayed fingers, his hand catching hold of the villain’s outstretched hand as if he meant to help him to his feet. But it was not help he offered. He gave the wrist a short sharp twist, the resulting crack of which made Emma and the rest of the audience wince.

      Black-Hair’s face went ashen. He made not one sound, just fainted into a crumpled heap and did not move.

      In the stunned amazement that followed no one else moved either. There was not a sound.

      ‘He might need a little help in holding his porter,’ said the man to Black-Hair’s friends.

      ‘You bastard!’ One of them spat the curse.

      The man smiled again. And this time Emma was prepared.

      The tough charged with fists at the ready.

      The man’s forehead shattered the villain’s cheekbone while his foot hooked around his ankle and felled him. When the rat tried to get up the man kicked his feet from under him. This time Black-Hair’s friend stayed where he was.

      The other three men exchanged shifty glances amongst themselves, then began to advance. One slipped a long wicked blade that winked in the candlelight.

      ‘Really?’ asked the man.

      The sly-faced man came in, feigned attack, drew back. Came in close again, circling the man.

      ‘Too scared?’ asked the man.

      A curl of lip and a slash of the blade was his opponent’s only response.

      But the man kicked him between the legs and there was an ear-piercing scream. Emma had never heard a man scream before. It made the blood in her veins turn to ice. She watched the knife clatter to the floor forgotten while the sly-faced villain dropped like a stone, clutching himself and gasping.

      The man looked at the two remaining thugs.

      For a tiny moment they gaped at him. Then they turned tail and ran, pelting out of the chop-house like hares before a hound.

      The man stood there and watched them go.

      But Emma was not looking at the fleeing villains. Rather, she was looking at the man. She could not take her eyes off him. There was what looked like the beginning of a bruise on his forehead. The snow-white of his shirt was speckled scarlet with blood from Black-Hair’s nose. His dark neckcloth was askew. He was not even out of breath. He just stood there calm and cool and unperturbed.

      The slamming of the front door echoed in the silence.

      No one spoke. No one moved. No one save the man.

      He smoothed the dishevelment from his hair, straightened his neckcloth and walked through the pathway that cleared through the crowd before him.

      They watched him with respect. They watched him with awe. Soft murmured voices.

      Fists and feet were what gained a man respect round here. Standing up for himself and what he believed in. Physicality ruled. The strongest, the toughest, the most dangerous. And the man had just proved himself all three.

      Some regulars from the crowd half dragged, half carried the injured away.

      The man returned to his table, but he did not sit down. He finished the porter in one gulp and left more coins beside the empty tankard than were needed for payment. He lifted his hat and then his eyes finally met Emma’s across the taproom.

      Within her chest her heart was still banging hard against her ribs. Through her veins her blood was still rushing with a shocked fury.

      He