“All right then, time to go,” Powell muttered, pushing Tobias out into the corridor, where two other footmen lay in wait. They each took one of Tobias’s arms and led him out of sight, leaving Powell in the room with them.
David studied the footman, who seemed reluctant to leave as he looked to Regina. If he wasn’t mistaken, guilt was clearly written on Powell’s face as he cleared his throat.
“Before I go, ma’am, there’s something I must tell you. It has weighed on my conscience all these months, but I did not want to cause you distress. Seems like now might be the best time for me to lay it all at your feet.”
This time, when Regina sat up straight, David let her go, too curious over what Powell might have to confess to stop her.
“What is it?” she asked.
The footman flinched under the weight of her stare but maintained his quiet dignity. “You have to understand, I wanted to kill him. I almost did, truth be told. He was already dying, but some men can survive anything. I couldn’t stand back and let him hurt you anymore.”
“You mean Randolph,” Regina whispered, her voice quavering when she spoke the name of her first husband.
David rested a hand over hers but said nothing, offering his silent support.
“Yes,” Powell confirmed. “I went into his room the night after his accident, while you were sleeping, and meant to be in and out in a trice. I’d press the pillow over his face and have done with it. No one would know and all would assume he succumbed to his injuries. But then, he awakened when I was standing over him. He saw me.”
Regina turned her hand over to press her palm against David’s, squeezing him so hard his knuckles ached. David kept his silence and let her. He didn’t like the idea of Randolph Hurst overshadowing their wedding day in any way, but this matter was between his wife and the man who had cared for her before he had come along.
“What happened?” Regina whispered.
“He told me he knew why I’d come. Said he always knew I had sympathy for you, accused me of wanting you for myself. ‘Do you think she’ll be yours once I’m gone?’ That’s what he asked me as he lay there struggling to breathe and grimacing in agony.”
Regina snorted. “Randolph could never understand a relationship between a man and a woman that wasn’t carnal in nature.”
“That’s true enough. I stood there thinking about smothering him, but then I had another thought. What if he died and left you nothing? What if, after he was gone, you were abandoned with no money or a place to live? I couldn’t bear it. I had to know. I asked him what was in his will and what he’d set aside for you.”
David knew what Powell would say before the words were spoken, but they still left a bitter taste in his mouth and an even stronger loathing for the ghost of Randolph Hurst.
“Not a ha’penny was meant for you,” he said with a shake of his head. “Not a dower’s portion, or a house … not a goddamn thing.”
Regina leaned forward, lips parting and eyes spreading wide as she seemed to register Powell’s meaning. “Randolph’s will … That was you?”
Powell squared his shoulders, unflinching pride radiating from his eyes. “It was. I hurt him, just enough to remind him of his helplessness. Told him I’d make his last days on earth a living hell if he didn’t send for the solicitor right away and make sure you received everything he owned. Took away his spirits and his laudanum until he complied. He spent three days in misery before he finally called for the man to see it done.”
“Dear God,” Regina murmured. “I knew it. I knew there was something not quite right about him leaving me everything.”
Powell bowed his head then, appearing contrite for his actions for the first time. “Tobias knew it, too, and I’m that sorry for it. I just wanted to help you. I wanted you to be taken care of. It was less than you deserved, but all I could give you. Maybe it was wrong for me to take it all when it wasn’t mine to give in the first place. But I’d do it again, and not be sorry. I only regret that it cast you in a suspicious light. I wasn’t thinking of that when I did it. I just wanted you to be all right.”
Regina came to her feet, tugging her hand away from David’s and approaching the servant. He remained where she had left him, watching as she took Powell’s face in her hands and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek.
“Thank you. Right or wrong, you have always tried to protect me. I could never repay you for that.”
“You aren’t angry with me?”
“Of course not. Perhaps you ought to have left Tobias a little something, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. Besides, he would have ruined the estate within a year, so it was probably for the best.”
Powell’s lips twitched with amusement as Regina released him, and he straightened, inclining his head at David. “And now, I leave her in your care. You have things well in hand, I suppose.”
David stood and took hold of Regina, pulling her to stand at his side. “I have it from here, Powell. Thank you.”
With a swift bow, Powell then made his exit, leaving David alone with his bride once more. Taking hold of her hand, he graced her knuckles with a kiss.
“Are you all right? I suspect that was a lot to digest after what had already been a long day.”
Regina wrapped her arms around his waist and grinned. “It was, but I am glad to have Tobias dealt with, and finally know the truth about Randolph’s will. Now it feels as if we are really ready to begin our lives together.”
“Indeed we are, my dear,” he replied, slowly backing her toward the open door leading into the bedroom. “And now that’s all behind us, I can give you your wedding gift.”
Holding up her hand to study the ring he’d slid onto her finger at the altar, she wiggled her fingers so the firelight played over the facets of a diamond flanked by tiny pearls. It was one of the only pieces of jewelry his mother hadn’t sold, and she had been happy to part with it for Regina to wear as her wedding ring.
“I thought this was my gift.”
David released her, then went to the bed, pushing off his braces and tearing his shirt off over his head as he went. “If I have anything to say about it, you are going to become quite spoiled. Best you grow used to the idea, my dear. Now, turn around and let me help you out of your gown.”
She gave him her back, goosebumps appearing on the back of her neck as he kissed her there while unfastening her dress. Regina remained passive while he unlaced her stays and divested her of her chemise. Once she stood before him in only her stockings and garters, he took a moment to drink her in. She was as perfect as ever, perhaps even more so now that David had come to know her body so well. The subtle changes hinting at her pregnancy had already begun, and they made him desire her all the more.
Once he’d looked his fill, David went back to the bed, lifting the black length of cloth he had laid there an hour ago. “If you don’t mind, I require your assistance.”
Then, he was covering his eyes with the material and tying it off in a loose knot at the back of his head. Regina’s confused expression was the last thing he saw before the world went dark.
“What on earth …”
“Well, I did promise to prove that my arrogance was well-earned,” David teased. “Now, if you’ll just use that other bit of cloth to tie my hands, I’ll set about fulfilling my promise.”
A beat of silence, and then Regina erupted into giggles, her hands resting on his chest as she fell into him. “Would that be your promise to have me climbing the walls while blindfolded with both hands tied behind your back?”
“The very one.”
Regina’s finger played along the seam of his lips, the sensation heightened by his lack of sight. His cock swelled in response, arousal already plaguing him at thoughts of what the night would hold. He didn’t need to see her to want her so badly it hurt. He could smell her, feel her … and very shortly, intended to taste her until she begged him to stop. His mouth watered with expectancy.
Regina’s hand caressed down h
is arm, then back up to his shoulder as she circled him, her footsteps soft and nearly silent on the thick rug. She pressed her lips to his shoulder blade before drawing his hands together behind his back to tie his wrists together.
“I must admit to being excited that I am now to spend the rest of my life learning all the other functions of a courtesan.”
“You’ll learn them all, and when we are finished, I shall invent new ones. Now …”
He perched on the edge of the bed, which Regina took as her cue to use a hand at the center of his chest to push him to his back. David inched farther up the bed, adjusting his arms more comfortably beneath him. He felt the slight dip of the mattress as Regina climbed on, and then she was lying on top of him and offering her mouth for a kiss.
David snared her lips with unrestrained hunger, his tongue treating her to a prelude of what he had in store.
“My God, do I love you … Mrs. Graham.”
He felt her smile against his brow before pressing a kiss between his eyes. “I love you, too, Mr. Graham.”
Giving her one last short, sweet kiss, David undulated beneath her, reveling in the drag of her naked breasts against his chest, the press of her mound against his swelling cock.
“You’ve situated yourself too low, my dear. Would you shift up just a bit?”
She complied, but not nearly enough for David’s liking.
“More,” he urged, until she sat straddling his torso. “Nearly there … up … up ...”
When she finally rested where he wanted her, he raised his head to nuzzle the soft nest of her curls. He could see them in his mind’s eye, a fiery red splash against the pale translucence of her skin. He kissed the inside of each smooth, creamy thigh, drawing soft sighs of delight from her.
“Perfect,” he murmured, lightly dragging his tongue down her slit. “Now … down.”
Then, his senses were awash in Regina—her satiny-slick flesh pressed to his lips, the swollen nub of her clit sliding against his tongue. David groaned and went at her like a man starved, losing himself to the feel of her, the taste of her, the scent of her arousal, cloying and sweet.
The scrape of Regina’s nails against the headboard filled his ears, followed by the gasps and moans of her pleasure—music to David’s ears.
As he fulfilled his promise to pleasure her like she’d never been pleasured in her life—all without the benefits of hands or eyesight—David realized how wrong he had been to think being surrounded by women was some form of heaven on earth. For certain, women were marvelous creatures, but there was none like his Regina. She was light and life and joy. She was everything he’d been missing, and she would now belong to him until the day he died.
She alone was David’s idea of heaven.
Epilogue
Benedict stared into the dark amber liquid in his tumbler, finding he had no desire to lose himself to its siren’s call. The need to drown himself in excess pleasures and strong drink had faded away days ago, leaving him an empty, hollow shell. He had hardly eaten all day, hadn’t slept more than a few hours all week, and was generally a very miserable person to be around.
His friends had mostly left him to his own devices—all save Aubrey, who visited every day on his way home from his linen drapery to ensure Benedict hadn’t hanged himself from the rafters or slit his own throat.
In truth, he wasn’t that miserable just yet, but he could understand his best friend’s concerns. He had not been himself these past weeks, and they both knew why.
There was no explaining it to the other courtesans, who had no idea how that death notice in the papers had poked and prodded at old wounds. So, he allowed Hugh, David, and Dominick to think he was simply stewing in jealousy over having to stand back and watch each of them find happiness with the women they loved, and go on to become husbands and fathers. Honestly, he did feel the slightest twinge of envy, but not for the reasons they might think. He didn’t want what they had for himself—had realized quite early in life that such things weren’t possible for him.
Yes, it hurt to feel as if he had lost them all one by one, because now he was the only man of their set who didn’t quite fit. The only one who wasn’t someone’s husband or soon to be a father. The only miserable bastard who woke every morning alone, and who went to his bed each night the same way. It had been foolish of him to think this wouldn’t eventually happen, and perhaps in the back of his mind he had always known better.
However, Benedict hadn’t counted on how much he would come to rely on them. He moaned and complained about the messes they made, but he secretly reveled in being the one they came to when the time came to clean those messes. Perhaps Aubrey hadn’t needed him quite as much as the others, but the things making them different from the other men of their circle was what drew them together. It was what helped Aubrey understand him in a way no one else did.
Benedict had accused David of being pitiful, but the truth couldn’t be clearer. He was the pitiful one.
However, watching David and Regina wed in their small, private ceremony had given him what he needed to move forward. All he had ever wanted was for his friends to be secure and cared for. That mission had been accomplished, whether by his own efforts or those of the women they loved. However, there were still a few loose ends that needed tying up, and it was better for them to stay away from him so he could do what needed to be done.
Upon his return from Lancashire, he’d been visited by Lady Millicent Dane. She came with news that neither surprised nor angered him … because as she related how she had uncovered the identity of The London Gossip, Benedict realized he already knew. He’d known from the moment she had overtaken him in St. Giles, and that nauseating scent of lily of the valley had wafted up his nostrils. Millicent’s report had only confirmed his suspicions, making his next and final move very clear.
In the end, it would seem all had turned out as it should, because David’s marriage had pushed him firmly into the ranks of former courtesans who had become respectable. All he had to do now was take the Gossip down without allowing their past involvement with the agency to become public knowledge. And, he knew exactly how to accomplish such an aim.
What then?
The unwelcome thought intruded upon the machinations of his mind, prompting him to take his first sip of brandy all day. He hadn’t wanted to drown himself in drink, but damn it, he couldn’t let himself think of the future. There were some things he simply was not ready to face, such as the inevitability of inheriting a viscountcy and the years ahead that would see him grow old alone.
The taste of the brandy soured on his tongue, and he set the tumbler aside before coming to his feet. If he continued like this, he’d become slow and fat, and his next pugilist match would end with him choking on someone’s fist. He needed distraction and movement. He needed to outrun the memories plaguing his waking hours as well as his dreams.
He didn’t bother with a greatcoat, barreling out of his study, down the corridor and straight through the front door. The chill of the late-night air stung his face and bare hands, but Benedict curled his fingers into his palms and pressed on, walking at a brisk and purposeful pace with nowhere to go.
It doesn’t matter that the countess is dead. It changes nothing.
Benedict repeated those words to himself over and over, because if he didn’t, he might lose control. And he was never anything if not in complete control—of his life, his destiny, his circumstances. Things didn’t happen to Benedict Sterling, he made them happen his way. The world didn’t kick him about as it once had, not anymore. He thumbed his nose at the world and did as he pleased.
He was not a starving dog staring in a bakery window, damn it. There wasn’t a thing in this world Benedict could want that wasn’t within his reach. What need had he to pine over a lover who had decided he wasn’t worth the trouble of spurning convention and the wishes of a tyrannical father? He was better off alone.
Benedict wandered aimlessly for what felt like hours, though witho
ut his watch he had no concept of time. The night grew colder, his nose numb and sore, his fingers stiff. He had wandered quite a ways from home, and picked up the pace on his way back. The walk had helped clear his head and cleanse him of all foolish notions of love.
He could rejoice in the happiness of his friends without feeling as if he needed what they had. He didn’t, and he would not let the pain of the past convince him otherwise. Choices had been made—irrevocable choices. All parties involved had to live with the results, himself included. There was too much riding on his success in this battle with The London Gossip. He couldn’t afford distractions of any kind.
By the time he reached home, Benedict felt worlds better. Physical activity had always given him solace, and it was easier to remember that when his mind was not addled by drink. His trainer would give him an earful over his sluggishness once he began preparing for his next match, but Benedict would work hard to undo the destruction of treating his body like a rubbish bin for the past month. He would restrict his diet and do away with rich foods drenched in heavy sauces—which tasted wonderful and brought him comfort, but were hell on his speed and agility. He would shun strong drink and return to his morning runs and afternoon sparring sessions. He would pull himself up and press on, as he had always done.
The solemn face of his butler greeted him when he stepped into the entrance hall, shivering and blowing into the cradle of his freezing hands.
“Your pardon, sir, but you have a visitor.”
Following the servant’s gaze to the closed door of his study, Benedict scowled. “This time of night? No … I don’t want to see anyone. Send them away.”
“I’m sorry, but the gentleman seemed most insistent. He made it clear he would not leave unless …”
Benedict raised one eyebrow and pinned the butler with a pointed look, unable to believe what he was hearing. “Unless what?”
The man cleared his throat and averted his gaze, face flushing. “He said … and these were his words, sir, you should know … um … he said that if you wanted him to leave, you could come into that room and eject him bodily yourself.”
Taming of the Rake (The Gentleman Courtesans Book 4) Page 25
