She was a grown woman. If she wanted to do this, that was her decision. And one he would unquestionably respect.

He would, however, do whatever he could to make sure she wasn’t hurt in any way. He mapped out the rules as Greaves equipped Evangeline with a foil, speaking very distinctly in her direction. “The torso is the only viable target. Any other touches or hits will not result in points. Blatant hits to other parts of the body will result in disqualification. First to three legal touches wins. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Evangeline rolled her eyes, then pulled her mask on and faced Tessa. “This will be over quickly if we’re only going to three.”

Sebastian wasn’t aware of Evangeline ever having any training in this particular discipline, but she seemed awfully confident. Of course, that was her standard approach to life. He’d never known her to assume she was going to lose at anything.

But this sort of assumption when she had a weapon in her hand? He didn’t like that at all. “This is a game of skill and turns, Evangeline. Not brute force and damage.”

She looked over at him as she stepped onto the piste, the strip that defined the boundaries of the action. She splayed a hand over her heart. “Brute force? Damage? What on earth do you think I’m about?”

He knew exactly what Evangeline was about. That was the problem. “Tessa, a moment please.”

She walked to him and lifted her mask. “Yes?”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“I know. I want to.”

“She can’t be trusted.”

The right corner of Tessa’s mouth lifted. “I know that too. Don’t worry. I can handle anything she dishes out. Anything.” There was a dark fire in her eyes that made him suddenly wonder if Evangeline was the one he should be worried about.

Desire coiled through him at the thought of Tessa as the dangerous one. He smiled and shook his head. “All right.”

He backed away as Tessa returned to the mat to face Evangeline. The woman he’d spent his life taking care of and the woman who could take care of herself. The contrast wasn’t lost on him.

Evangeline waved her foil at Tessa. “How nice that Sebby’s worried about you, but we’re just going to have a fun little match, aren’t we, Theresa?”

“Tessa,” the valkyrie corrected brusquely.

Greaves snuck a look at Sebastian. He shook his head in response. It wasn’t a tone either of them had heard her use before, but Sebastian couldn’t blame her. Evangeline knew very well what Tessa’s rightful name was. The game play had begun.

“How silly of me to forget. Sorry, Tess.” Evangeline tested the tip of her foil against her glove, bending the whip-thin metal into a curve.

Tessa took her position perfectly, proof that she was not only an able student but a fast learner with a slant toward perfection. “Tess-AH.”

“Tess-ah,” Evangeline mimicked. “My apologies. Small details like that don’t always stick in my head.”

She was attempting to rile Tessa, but Sebastian couldn’t tell if it was working, because the masks hid the women’s eyes, making it impossible to read either of them. But Evangeline was certainly riling him with her little jabs.

Perhaps Evangeline had some natural proclivity toward fencing. She certainly knew how to cut a person with words. He’d been on the receiving end of her verbal sparring for years.

Evangeline took her spot, approximating an opening stance with as much precision as a chain saw being used to trim topiary. Tessa, on the other hand, looked like she’d been fencing all her life.

Pride spiked in Sebastian. The valkyrie had style and grace. Two of the many things Evangeline lacked.

Greaves stood at the center of the piste. He glanced at both of the women. “Since you are already en-garde, we will proceed. Are you ready?”

Both of them nodded.

He nodded back and stepped off the strip. “Fence!”

Tessa inched forward, cautious and definitely anticipating whatever Evangeline might do. It was a good call, since Evangeline came out with a thrust.

Tessa defended with the circular parry Sebastian had last demonstrated. He smiled and nodded, his pride in her growing.

Evangeline retreated, swatting wildly with her sword.

Tessa feinted left, then quickly jabbed Evangeline in the ribs on the right side.

“Halt,” Greaves called. “Point to Tessa. Back to your starting positions.”

“Point? What? How?” Evangeline pulled off her mask. “I can’t see in this thing.” She tossed it away. “I’m not wearing that. It’s messing up my hair anyway.”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “You must wear it. It’s for your own protection.”

She fluttered her lids as she rolled her eyes. “We’re playing a game. Neither one of us needs protection. Especially when the only spot we’re trying to hit is below the neck and above the belly button. Right, Tessa?”

Tessa eased her mask off. “I suppose.”

“See?” Evangeline said. “Tessa doesn’t want to wear a mask either.”

“She didn’t say that.” Sebastian looked at his lovely pretender. Her face was aglow with exertion and perhaps a little frustration. “Do you want to wear the mask?”

She shrugged half-heartedly. “I’m okay either way.”

“Good,” Evangeline interjected. “No masks.”

“Then this bout is over.” Sebastian put his hands on his hips. “This is my gym. My house. What I say goes.”