And indeed I was. There were actually two trays, consisting of cold pigeon, fricassee of chicken and my favourite buttered crab, not to mention various vegetable dishes, a sticky meringue and a bowl of walnuts. I felt very much better after it. I was even able to give some thought to the problem of the upcoming duel. I might be furious with Hardley, but I had every intention of allowing him time to see me for my true value and redeem himself eventually. And there was no doubt that this would be extremely difficult if he were exiled or even dead. The significance of Lucas' last words had not been lost on me. He was no fool and had foreseen the eventuality of a duel with Hardley and prepared accordingly. But, on the face of it, there was no way I could prevent something that they were both so set on....

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