ith sharp jabs that kept the older man constantly moving. The strategy was a good one, and while Raven took as much punishment as he meted out, he was counting on gaining the upper hand when Nathan began to tire. Unfortunately, Nathan was too angry to feel fatigued for a good, long while.
The men slipped in the mud of the riverbank, and careened into the trees as they recovered. Soon both were so battered and muddy it was impossible to tell which man wore gray pants and which black while neither’s shirt would ever be worn again. When finally the furious pace of Nathan’s attack began to slow, Raven went for him with a renewed burst of determination. He struck him a brutal blow to the chin, then seeing he had Nathan dazed, he shoved him into the river.
The water’s chill quickly revived Nathan, and he crawled up the muddy bank still intent upon giving his daughter’s husband a well-deserved beating. Slyly, he staggered as though beaten as he rose to his feet, but in the next instant he tackled Raven with a flying leap and, hanging on to him tightly, rolled back into the water, where he hoped the arrogant English lord would quickly drown.
While Raven had been in numerous fights as vigorous as this one, he had to admire his father-in-law’s spirit as well as his unexpected stamina. He still thought he would eventually get the best of Nathan, but now it looked like that might not happen before midnight. A strong swimmer, he broke free of Nathan’s grasp before the man could hold his head under for more than a few seconds. As they scrambled out of the river, both men slipped so often their fight swiftly deteriorated into a wrestling match in which neither could get a secure enough hold on the other to gain an advantage.
When he had to spit out a mouthful of mud for the third time, continuing the fight suddenly struck Raven as being so totally senseless he began to laugh. He cuffed his father-in-law playfully. “I’m willing to call this fight a draw if you are.”
Suspecting a trick, Nathan hesitated to agree, but when Raven made no further move to hurt him, he struggled to his feet and leaned back against the palm tree he had slammed into several times that night. He ached all over, but he wasn’t ready to concede defeat. “It may have been a draw this time. It won’t be the next.”
Raven was on his feet too now. “Are you always so stubborn?” he asked before scooping up a handful of water to rinse out his mouth.
“Oh hell yes,” Nathan swore.
“Well, so am I.” Raven regarded his father-in-law with renewed respect as they both caught their breath. “You would have liked Alex. He would have challenged you to a game of chess rather than settle an argument with his fists.”
“I would have had no quarrel with your uncle,” Nathan reminded him. “Eden loved him.”
That was something Raven didn’t need to be told, but hearing her father say it in his soft Southern drawl hurt worse than any of the man’s smartly landed punches. “Come on,” he said. “You can’t go back to your ship looking like that. You can bathe at my house.”
The young man’s attitude had changed so abruptly, Nathan knew he had scored some sort of victory, but he failed to understand just how. “Wait a minute. Eden explained Alex’s heart condition was hereditary. Is there any chance at all that she’ll have a healthy child?”
“What do you mean?”
That he had befuddled Raven completely was too obvious to merit comment so Nathan rephrased his question. “If the Suttons have had weak hearts for several generations, isn’t it likely Eden’s babe will be sickly? Perhaps too weak to survive infancy?”
It was Raven who reached out for a conveniently placed palm tree now. “Please don’t voice those questions to Eden. I’ve never stopped to consider them myself and I certainly don’t want her to. I doubt she and Alex ever discussed this, but he was the eldest of five children. None of the others lived longer than a few months.”
“If he had no brothers or sisters who reached adulthood, then how could Alex have been your uncle?”
Instantly Raven recalled his conversation with Alex before he had agreed to go to England to look for a wife. He had been certain someone would surely ask him that question, but Nathan was the first. “The Sutton family tree is too complex for me to trace it here.” That was the truth, and so was Raven’s next statement. “Everyone knew I was his heir, without having to do it either. Now come on, it’s getting late and I’m worried about Eden.”
Nathan reached down for his coat, and tossed Raven’s to him. “You’re a lot tougher than I thought,” he offered grudgingly. There was still something suspicious about Raven Blade but he decided perhaps he ought to give the young man more time to prove himself because Eden spoke so highly of him. “I’m worried about Eden too. She seems to have survived Alex’s death well, but I wouldn’t want her to lose his child. Have you a good physician to attend her?”
“Yes, Julian Ryan is very conscientious. He looked after Alex for several years so I’m sure he’ll know what to do for his child. I’ll ask him to join us for dinner tomorrow night if you’d like to meet him.”
“I’d appreciate that, thank you. I promise I’ll be on better behavior then too.”
“Well, I’d certainly appreciate that,” Raven replied in a drawl that mimicked his father-in-law’s so perfectly the older man began to laugh.
Eden was seated on the veranda, and when she saw two mud-covered men approaching the house, she did not at first recognize the pair. When she did, she was horrified to see they had obviously been fighting, and confused that they seemed to be talking quite amicably now.
“Hasn’t either of you a lick of sense?” she called out, but they just laughed and waved as they went on by her and headed for the rear of the house. Certain they were on their way to the separate structure that contained the privy and bathing facilities, Eden ran after them.
“If you want to be helpful,” Raven teased, “go and get us some clean clothes. We’re close enough to the same size to both wear mine.”
Astonished the two men could have gotten themselves so dirty, and yet now smile as though they were the best of friends, Eden left them to run that errand. She entered the house through the rear door, and nearly ran into Yadira before she saw her standing in the dimly lit hall.
“Is there something you require?” the soft-spoken housekeeper asked.
“No, just a couple of changes of clothes and I can get those.”
Yadira turned away, and seemed to vanish into the shadows before Eden remembered her room was nearby. “Thank you all the same,” she called after her, but there was no reply. Still thinking the housekeeper a bit odd, Eden hurried up the back stairs to her husband’s room. He had not bothered to unpack his clothing, but she found all he and her father would need without too great a delay. When she climbed the stairs of the stone structure to reach the room containing the large copper tub, she found Raven waiting at the door.
“I let your father bathe first. I’ll take him the clothes. While I’d appreciate your helping me with my bath, I doubt he would enjoy your company.”
Eden regarded her husband, with a murderous stare. “I know he was being obnoxious, but couldn’t you have at least tried to get along with him?”