Smooth white skin rose above the neckline, calling attention to the beautiful globes and the slim column of her neck. A diamond and onyx necklace rested against her alabaster skin, teasing the tops of her breasts, as well as him. Black feathers decorated her hair, swooping down to barely touch her left ear.
He had the urge to throw one of the rugs under the seat of his carriage over her and carry her into the club, then lock her into the bedroom so no one else would see her. “I will not comment on your gown, which is lovely, but your brain is a bit scant tonight.”
She pulled the shawl tighter against her body. “This is a perfectly respectable gown.”
“I certainly appreciate it.” As did his body which was doing odd things to him. Aside from the instant erection when he walked into the drawing room, his hands itched to caress her soft skin and his mouth craved to plunge his tongue into her sweet mouth and possess her. Completely.
He was certainly grateful she had agreed to remain upstairs in the club, out of sight so she could watch the players. Truth be known, he had a bit of a problem believing this woman would remain unnoticed no matter where she stood.
He’d told the driver to go around to the back of the club when they arrived, even though it was still more than an hour before it opened. Instead of taking her hand in his after he exited the carriage, he reached in, placing both his hands on her waist, and lifted her.
Warmth, softness, and the scent of something exotic had his body once again sitting up and taking notice. He stared into her eyes as he placed her on the ground but didn’t release her.
All was lost when she looked up at him under those thick dark eyelashes and licked her lips. With a slight moan, he drew her to him and crushed her against his body.
Lydia raised her hands and cupped his cheeks, urging him to pull her even closer until they were pressed up against each other like canned sardines. Except Miss Lydia Sanford smelled and felt a great deal better.
He pulled away and scattered kisses along her jawline, the enticing column of her neck and the soft sensitive skin under her ear. “You are so beautiful.” He leaned back and placed his finger under her chin. “I’ll have you know I’ve never had the desire to bed one of my partners. Until now.”
A soft moan escaped her, and she ran her palms up and down his back. He pushed his hips into hers and moved back and forth. A torture to be sure, but he was unable to stop himself.
Lydia’s knees seemed to melt, and he had to hold her tighter to keep her from collapsing. After a minute, he drew away. Even though they were behind the building, they did stand outside. The last thing he wanted to do was destroy her reputation. Shortly streams of men would arrive and he needed to get her upstairs and himself under control and in a frame of mind to work.
He pulled away and smiled down at her. The scant moonlight highlighted her moist, plump lips, now swollen from his kisses. “We need to go upstairs, love.”
She gazed at him with unfocused eyes.
“Lydia.” He took her hand and led her to the back door. “Come.”
They made it to the top of the stairs where they encountered Keniel, the club manager. He looked appreciatively at Lydia. “Who have we here?”
Dante’s muscles immediately tightened, and his jaw clenched. Keniel was too good looking, and a bit of a rake himself. “Someone you need not concern yourself with,” Dante said as he took Lydia’s hand and walked her toward the dining room.
Keniel’s deep, soft chuckle floated in the air as they moved away.
7
They entered a dining room with a sideboard that held an array of food, a pot of tea and one of coffee. Dante waved in that direction. “Several of us eat here before the club opens.” He looked down at her. “Are you hungry?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve had dinner, but I would like a cup of tea.”
“Help yourself.”
Once she fixed her tea, she wandered to the dining table with six comfortable looking chairs surrounding it. It was a pleasant room, and even though she wasn’t hungry, the aroma from the food on the sideboard was tempting. Dante pulled out a chair for her and took the one across.
Driscoll Rose entered the room and came to an abrupt stop, looking in Lydia’s direction. “Good evening, brother. I thought we would not see you for a while.”
“We have an evening off, so I thought to come by and help out.” Dante gestured to Lydia. “Driscoll, this is Miss Lydia Sanford. My partner. Lydia, my brother and also my partner, Mr. Driscoll Rose.”
Lydia smiled. “It is a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Rose. I believe we were introduced at a ball a few years ago. It was the coming out ball for Miss Penelope White.”
Driscoll’s jaw dropped. “You have an excellent memory, Miss Sanford.”
Dante laughed. “One needs an excellent memory to keep seven languages straight.”
Driscoll poured a cup of coffee and settled next to Dante. “Something tells me there is a story here.”
“Miss Sanford speaks, reads and writes English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Arabic.” He turned to her. “Did I get that right?
To Lydia’s ears Dante almost sounded proud. “Yes. You did.”
Driscoll stared at her for a moment, then said, “No Greek?”
The three burst out laughing and Lydia decided this Mr. Rose had a great sense of humor. “No. I’m afraid I need to work on that one.”
“Where is your wife?” Dante asked. “I thought Amelia is working on the books while you take on the extra duties.”
Lydia placed her teacup in the saucer. “Your wife is the woman who dealt cards for a while here, isn’t that correct?”
“Yes.” Driscoll scowled.
Lydia tilted her head to the side and regarded him. “Oh, you sound cross.”
“I didn’t like her working on the game room floor when we were not married, and I forbade it after we married.”
Dante glanced at Lydia. “Except Amelia Rose is not someone to be told what to do. She continued to deal at the vingt-et-un table until she became with child.”
“Ah. When is the babe due to arrive?”
Driscoll’s face glowed in such a way Lydia wondered if anyone would ever look like that when speaking of her. It had warmed her to hear the pride in Dante’s voice as he recited her accomplishments, but this was different. A babe was something he and his wife had created together.
Then she brought herself up short. She’d made the decision a few years ago to bypass all of that. Marriage, husband and children were not to be her life. She was quite pleased with her life just the way it was, thank you very much.
Then why do I feel as though I need to remind myself?
“The babe is due in August,” Driscoll said, “but lately Amelia has grown quite tired by the end of the day, so I don’t want her working—not even on the books.” He looked over at his brother. “I will find a way to maintain the ledgers and continue to run the club.”
“You have Keniel.”
“I do, and he is a tremendous help, but we seem to have grown within the past month, which is good, but puts a strain on everyone.”
“What about Hunt?”
Driscoll shrugged. “He tries to make it, but with his duties at Parliament, his own young child and Diana increasing once again, he is only able to assist occasionally.”
Dante nodded. “Our assignment doesn’t fill every evening—hence my presence here tonight. I can certainly come on those off nights.”
Lydia tapped Dante on his hand. “Um. I have an idea.”
He looked suspicious. “What?”
She took a deep breath, already expecting rejection. “I don’t have the same aptitude with numbers as I do with languages, but I showed quite well in my maths classes in the boarding school I attended.” When Dante didn’t respond, she continued, with hope in her voice. “If we have an evening off and you are working here, why not let me come with you and work on the books?” She looked toward Driscoll. “I assume yo
u would be able to show me what to do?” She didn’t want to disparage his wife, but if Amelia could do the books, she was certain she could as well.
Driscoll leaned forward. “Would you be willing to do that? We will pay you, of course.”
Lydia waved him off. “That is not a consideration. I am more than happy to help out.” Excitement built in her at being able to not only help Dante and his brother, but to be part of this environment so strange and previously forbidden to her that she found so exciting.
Dante held up his hand. “Wait a minute. I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
“Why not?” Driscoll and Lydia said at the same time.
He remained silent for a minute. “I don’t know, actually.” He looked over at Lydia. “Why would you want to work when you have an evening off?”
“What else am I to do on those nights, Dante? Attend another ball? Another musicale—God save my ears—or soiree, rout? While I appreciate Sir Phillip offering me an assignment every once in a while, aside from that I have no purpose in life.” She sucked in a breath at her own statement.
How pathetic she sounded before these two hard-working brothers. Did she truly feel as though she had no purpose in life? She was raised to become someone’s wife. To manage his household, provide his heirs, and then launch said heirs into society, for them to do the same.
She’d decided a few years back that such a life was not for her. She would feel stifled, almost as if there would not be enough air for her to breathe. But as she stated to the Rose brothers just now, the little bit of enjoyment she received from her Home Office assignments hadn’t made for a full life.
And she wanted a full life.
Dante was still confused as to why he immediately blurted out it was not a good idea for Lydia to work at the club. It had been the perfect solution. If they both came to the club on their free nights, it would help his brother out a great deal.
However, while it might help Driscoll, the arrangement would wreak havoc with his own state of mind. Not one to embrace celibacy, he’d been unable to take care of his needs since he first set eyes on Miss Lydia Sanford in Sir Phillip’s office.
None of the women he usually enjoyed, nor any of the ones he’d bantered with at the various ton events they’d attended, had appealed to him. Even those who he knew were quite skilled in the bedroom had not tempted him. Despite keeping his libido under control while on an assignment, he had still kissed his partner and insinuated he would like to take her to bed. Only his strong power of control made him end things before they had gone too far.
It was obvious to him that Lydia felt the same powerful attraction between them. Would she have stopped him if he had not?
Additional nights with them together would certainly challenge his self-control, which had never been a problem before with any other woman. However, for the good of the club and his brother’s peace of mind, he had to withdraw any objection.
“In answer to your question, Lydia, there is no reason why you should not help out if that is your wish.”
She smiled brightly, her eyes lighting up, and he sucked in a breath. He reminded himself once again to keep her hidden. In the office. Behind a closed door. Maybe arrange for her to sit under the desk for when other—male—employees visited the office. Maybe set up a desk in the bedroom.
No. Bad idea. Bad, bad idea.
Driscoll leaned back in his chair and grinned. “I appreciate your help, Miss Sanford. And it will relieve my wife’s mind as well since she is feeling guilty about me not allowing her to work right now.”
The minx grinned at him. “Then it is settled. I will come here when we are not working on the assignment and help out!”
Driscoll slapped the table with his hands. “Wonderful.” He stood and headed to the door. “If you have time tonight, I can show you the books since Dante is here to help out on the floor.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Once Driscoll left, Dante said, “If you change your mind, Driscoll will certainly understand.”
“Why would I change my mind? I like the idea of helping out.”
Dante pushed back from the table. “Then I guess I should show you to the office.”
“And the gaming floor. Even though I said I wanted to see it when it was crowded, I’d still like to see it now. I imagine I will see plenty of the club when I am working here.”
“You will see nothing of the club while members are here. I want to make that perfectly clear.”
“Goodness.”
The thought of Lydia wandering around the club, being ogled by half-drunk men raised his ire to the point he felt the need to punch something. He’d never felt that way about a woman before, in fact he and a friend had shared a woman or two in the past.
This was becoming dangerous to him and his lifestyle.
Right then he made the decision to do whatever it took to finish the assignment. He would not complain about musicales and other events they needed to attend. Get it all wrapped up and back to his normal life.
Then he immediately contradicted himself by cursing the sense of loss at the idea of them parting ways.
They made a stop by the office where Dante pointed to the stack of ledgers on Driscoll’s desk as well as the other desk where Amelia worked when she was in the club.
Lydia walked around the office, her bright eyes inspecting everything from the bad painting hanging over the file cabinet to the small table with a cold teapot sitting there. “This is quite interesting.” She turned to him. “My father would be appalled to know I plan to work.”
“You do now. For Sir Phillip.”
She waved her hand. “Yes. But he allows that because he says since I have the talent to learn all these languages, I should use it in service to my country.”
“I agree.” After checking his timepiece, he took her by the hand. “The club will open in about fifteen minutes, so if you want a tour of the gaming floor it must be now.”
As they walked down the corridor, she said, “Perhaps I can also learn to deal cards like Amelia did and work on the floor.”
“No. We’ve gone over this before, Lydia. Amelia was in a lot of trouble when she came here late one rainy night and climbed through the window to Driscoll’s office. The only reason we allowed her to deal on the floor was because she needed to eat and have a place to sleep. She refused an offer of help and insisted on working for her keep.”
“She sounds like someone I would like.”
Dante studied her for a minute. “Yes. I believe you would.”
“I’d like to meet her.”
He cringed at the idea of Amelia, and perhaps even Diana, Hunt’s wife, getting to know Lydia. She would fit in with the other women just fine.
Get your mind far away from what you’re thinking, Dante.
He could feel the preacher’s noose tightening around his neck. “Perhaps one day you will meet her. But now let’s go to the gaming floor.”
They walked the floor, with him pointing out the various games and how they were played. Then they moved to the perimeter of the room where he waved toward a long table that held various bottles of liquor, and the table on the other side of the room where food would be placed around midnight to keep the players from leaving to eat.
Since gambling was technically illegal, he pointed out to her how they re-arranged the gaming floor to appear as if it were a gentleman’s club if they knew a raid was coming. They had friends and members who alerted them when a raid was expected, something the police had to do every once in a while to appease those who felt gambling was a sin.
“It is a wonderful place, Dante. You and your brothers have done such a great job.” Her praise warmed him, which scared him at the same time.
“Let’s get you back upstairs since we open in about five minutes.”
“Didn’t you say there was a place I could view the room from where no one would see me?”
“Yes. I will show it to you.” He took her hand and they walked back ups
tairs. It was just his luck that they passed Keniel on the way who grinned at them again. “Ah, the unidentified lady.”
Dante gritted his teeth. “Miss Lydia Sanford, this is Mr. Keniel Singh, our club manager.”
She held out her hand and Keniel had the nerve to kiss the back of it.
“That’s enough,” Dante growled. When the manager viewed him with a smirk, he added. “Don’t you have work to do, Keniel?”
“I do. However, may I learn why this lovely lady is here this evening? Are you our new dealer, Miss Sanford?”
She laughed. Assuming Mr. Singh was not aware of the work the Rose brothers did for the Home Office, she gave an explanation that would not have Dante glowering at her. “No. Mr. Rose and I are friends and he offered to show me his club. Also, with Mr. Driscoll Rose’s wife unable to help with the books, I will be doing that for a while.”
“Ah. Then we get to see more of you. Splendid.”
Dante scowled as Lydia took note of Keniel. He knew what she saw was an attractive man with smooth caramel colored skin, standing tall and proud, his shoulders wide in his well-cut expensive jacket.
They’d hired him for those very reasons. His self-confidence kept the employees in line and the customers happy.
“I just love your accent, Mr. Singh. I am a connoisseur of languages. May I guess you are from Jamaica?”
“Well done, Miss Sanford.” His grin revealed bright white teeth.
Dante was getting annoyed at how well the two of them were getting on. “I think it’s time we headed upstairs, Miss Sanford.”
“Yes.” She looked back at Keniel when Dante took her elbow to move her up the stairs. “It was nice meeting you.”
Dante threw a snarling glance at Keniel. “Get to work.”
This time instead of a chuckle, Keniel burst out laughing. “Yes, Mr. Boss. I shall do that right now.”
8
Lydia hadn’t been so excited about something in a long time. Years of Polite
An Inconvenient Arrangement: Rose Room Rogues ~ Book Three Page 6
