Free Change of Address by Kate Dolan

“Your boy may be dangling after the light-skirt in there, but
she aren’ no lady, an’ that is for certain.”
    “Stand up,” Charlie demanded as he kicked the toe of
Puckett’s boot, “so I can hit you properly.”
    Instead Puckett slid further away on his bottom. “Came out
half dressed, swilling gin, she did. Showed everythin’ God’d given ‘er.”
    The thought of Miss Castling in a state of undress was
enough to leave him speechless as incredulity, jealousy and outrage fought for
expression in his head.
    His father put a warning hand on his arm. “Steady now,
Charlie,” he said in a low voice. “He’s probably referring to Miss Honoria. She
did come to us in her nightshift, you remember.”
    His anger cooled just enough to allow him to think again.
“Take back your words,” he said slowly, “and swear to never set foot on this
property again.”
    Puckett sniffed. “Never again? Set foot on the land of my
birth? All fer showin’ up a bit o’ muslin for wot she were? Seems a bit—”
    Charlie bent down, pulled the man to his feet and hit him so
hard his knuckles felt as if they’d been forced through the back of his hand.
    “You will take back your words,” his father insisted, “you
jackanapes, or I must demand satisfaction.”
    “I think, Papa, you will find it very satisfying if you just
let me beat him to death.” After shaking his hand for a moment to regain
sensation in his fingers, Charlie stepped forward to grab Puckett by his lapel
again.
    The man screamed like a girl and covered his face with his
hands. Just as Charlie was about to hit him again, they were all startled by
the sound of the shutters cracking open behind them.
    They turned to see Miss Castling peering out the broken
window. “What under heaven is happening out here?”
    “There’s the strumpet.” Puckett wriggled free from Charlie’s
grasp and rolled away. He pointed to the window.
    “Take back your words,” Charlie demanded as he stalked over
to him, “or I swear I will kill you.”
    “What?” Miss Castling’s voice rang with confusion, and
horror. “No!”
    “Not that way, my boy.” His father pushed in front of him.
“Now, Puckett, you retract what you’ve said, every false word of it, or I must
demand satisfaction.”
    “We can satisfy everyone right now,” Charlie insisted as he
moved around his father to face Puckett again.
    “What? You wouldn’t! Stop it, all of you,” Miss Castling
pleaded. “You don’t understand.”
    “Oh, indeed we do. You’ve no idea the half of what this
fellow has said.” Charlie waved her away. “You’d do well to close the shutter
now and leave this matter to us.”
    “I will do no such thing,” Miss Castling leaned forward as
if she would climb out the window at any moment. “This is ludicrous. If you
insist on punishing this man, do it for the harm he’s caused to his daughter,
not for anything he’s said about me.”
    “It wasn’t just you,” his father explained. “He slandered
your mother and sister as well,”
    She waved his objection aside. “The words of a drunk ape
cannot harm us.”
    “If he’s harmed Mary, then I have two reasons to kill him.”
Charlie took off his coat and began to roll up his sleeves.
    “Please listen to me, Mr. Hilliar.” She was glaring at him.
“This is not one of those situations where you are permitted to act before
thinking. None of us is in danger at the moment. Except for that man on the
ground there covered in blood.”
    “It’s only a broken nose.”
    “I do not care. I will not let you beat a man to death in my
yard simply because he called me a…whatever it was he called me. We should let
the man make his exodus in peace.”
    “Exodus?” Charlie turned to see that while they discussed
his fate, Puckett had taken the opportunity to crawl away on his hands and
knees.
    “Stop, you coward!” his father demanded as he ran after him.
“You are a disgrace to your father’s good name.”
    Puckett sat