On his way to the boxing arena, Gideon Sharpe stops at the telegraph office and reads Rune Winters’s reply: “LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING SLOW.” The message lifts his mood; Gideon feels rested and decides that if Rune is the Crimson Moth, he will confirm it the next morning.

Still smiling, Gideon enters the arena and prepares to warm up, but the doors burst open and his brother, Alex Sharpe, storms in. In front of the other fighters, Alex confronts Gideon about attending Rune’s party and going off alone with her, demanding to know what Gideon is really doing.

Unable to admit he is investigating Rune, Gideon claims he is courting her because she is wealthy and looking for a husband. Alex challenges the lie, arguing that Gideon would hate being married to someone like Rune because it would force him into her social world.

The argument turns personal when Alex insists “people like Rune don’t end up with people like” Gideon, implying Gideon doesn’t belong in her world. Gideon lashes out by taunting Alex for lingering in the shadows and expecting Rune to be “handed” to him.

Alex punches Gideon hard in the jaw, drawing blood, then immediately leaves without listening to Gideon’s attempt to call him back. Alone in the ring, Gideon recognizes he struck where Alex was most vulnerable and hates himself for it, admitting to himself that Alex was right about him.