Damn, I've definitely hit one of the grindy parts of Fallen London.
Gotta beat my head against the preparation for the duel, but my chances aren't too good, so I keep getting wounds, which I need to slowly heal by going back to the Dept. of Menace Eradication to earn some gold to pay the doctor. And all of this eats away at my action cap in minutes.
I'm wondering if it would be smarter to do some easier checks to level up my Dangerous, but it feels like a waste of time, since easier tasks give less XP