by Suzi Love
“I did have high hopes for that, yes,” he told them wryly. “So, what is the next step in your devious plans, my dears? Seats in Parliament? Investing in the Exchange?”
The three women looked at each other and did something that sent another chill down Justin’s spine. They giggled. Even Chrissie. Prim, sensible seeming Lady Wellsby gave a girlish sound of delight at having flummoxed the men, especially him.
“Next, Lord Hawkesbury, we are off to your estate. To the Pleasure House. To the Bath House. Friday will suit us best for our arrival as we need to spend the next few days making arrangements here in London before our departure.”
“No, that’s impossible. I cannot arrange a Bath House occasion in such a short time.”
“Ah, but I think you can. I think you will. I didn’t mention this earlier as it may have spoiled your evening, or caused you to cancel ours, but I’ve received new information on your mother and sister. Time is now of the essence.”
Edward gaped at Gillian. “You cannot mean to still accompany the other two. Please, Gillian. Return home with me. You’ve proved your point. I’ll no longer leave you alone with your mother.”
Gillian patted her husband’s arm and looked at him with sorrowful eyes. “But Edward, do you not want to participate in some more adventures with me?”
“You want us to go together?” “Yes, I do. I certainly never intended to become involved with any other man, Edward. I merely intended to watch. But with you by my side, perhaps the viscount could arrange for us to have a little adventure. Together.”
The look she gave Edward was pure sexual enticement, one no normal man could resist. Especially not a husband starved of his wife’s affection and robbed of the enjoyment of her bed for so long by a manipulative mother-in-law. Edward turned pleading eyes to Justin. His future would be far different if he allowed his wife a week of experimentation.
Anna placed a gentle hand on Justin’s arm and added her plea to the needs of her friend’s. “Please, my lord. I also need what only you can give me. Knowledge. Experience. Confidence. I know you think my fiancé is a bad person, but I’m certain he loves me. I am his betrothed. As a gentleman, he’d never hurt me, or his family. I need to learn how to be a good wife for him.”
Thomas looked horrified. “No, Anna. Your captain is not good enough for you. There’s no need for you to change anything about yourself. You’re perfect just—”
“Hell, Thomas,” Bart interrupted in disgust. “Leave Anna be. She’s discovered courage for what sounds to be the first time in her sheltered life. She escaped the suffocating conservatism of the captain’s family. From what I’ve learned today, that bastard of a fiancé—”
Anna gasped. “Bartholomew!” “Well, Anna, he is, as you will soon discover. In the meantime, love, you should enjoy yourself. Whatever happens in your future, you’ll have at least experienced one week of pleasure.”
Bart took both of Anna’s hands in his and caressed the backs of them, making Thomas clear his throat loudly in annoyance. Bart grinned and ignored him. “And I can assure you, sweetheart, Justin’s house delivers endless hours of pleasure to those who want it.” He looked at Chrissie. “You especially, Lady Wellsby, will love it.”
Chrissie raised her eyebrow at him. “Why me particularly?”
“Because I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with Justin—”
“Christ, you were eavesdropping again, weren’t you?”
Justin said. “I thought you were asleep.”
“I was until the conversation became too interesting to miss. It seems, Lady Wellsby, you’ve even more reason than your friends for wanting to experience the joys of the Pleasure House. By the sound of it, Geoffrey was a self-centered bastard who took no interest in your pleasure. Any man who denies his wife his presence in their marital bed yet expects—no, demands—that she service him by hand, or allows him to act like a bull entitled to pick any cow in a field—”
“It wasn’t like that!” Chrissie interrupted.
“That’s exactly how it was. It’s time you stopped deceiving yourself about your dearly departed’s motives, Chrissie. The man was a perverted and lying scum. Let Justin show you how good it can be between a man and a woman. He’s the expert when it comes to women with unleashed passions.”
Justin groaned and ran his hands through his already tousled hair. “Dammit! Why am I being put in this position? If I refuse to reopen the House, the only person who’ll be happy is Thomas. The other five, all staring at me so intently, will hate me. And if I refuse,” he sucked in a deep breath and watched Chrissie, “I’m not going to obtain Chrissie’s information on finding my family.”
Chrissie swallowed hard and bowed her head slightly as she answered in a subdued voice, “I’m sorry. Honestly, I am. My actions may seem like heartless blackmail, but I was desperate to get you to agree.”
Justin gave a harsh laugh. “Well, it seems the Pleasure House is back in business. London’s bored upper crust will be thrilled.” He glared at each of the people gathered around him in turn. “However, let’s be clear. Viscount Hawkesbury is opening his estate for three days, no more, and only because he’s been … requested … to do so for one last time.”
He glowered at them. “And I’m considerably less than thrilled about the prospect. Now, please go home and leave me in peace.”
Chapter Seven
Lady Wellsby presided over her breakfast table the next morning surrounded by her friends when her butler entered. “My lady.” He offered a note on a silver salver. “This arrived by messenger, and he awaits a reply.”
She opened the missive and read. “Oh, my goodness.”
“What is it?” Anna asked. “Not bad news I hope.”
Chrissie looked around the table and shook her head. “It’s from Hawkesbury. He’s asked me to drive in the park with him this morning.”
“Just the two of you?” Gillian asked.
Edward frowned. “Is that wise? Hawkesbury can be charming, but he has an unsavory reputation. Apart from the Sultan’s Palace, he’s well acquainted with… females of all sorts.”
“Really? Is he what’s known as a rake?” Anna asked.
Edward’s face turned the same shade of red as the raspberry preserves Chrissie had spread on her toast. “I can’t claim close acquaintance with him in recent years, but he’s sought out and fought over wherever he goes.”
“So,” Chrissie said, “he doesn’t need to exert himself as a rake, because the women throw themselves at his feet.”
Edward nodded. “I understand that’s the case, yes.”
“If women are so ridiculous as to do such things, then he cannot be held totally accountable.”
Edward thrummed his fingers on the table, rattling the silverware. “As you’re not conversant with the immorality of the ton, you should still take care.”
All three women stared at him and then burst into laughter. Gillian patted her husband’s arm. “Dearest, after seeing Lord Mannerly and other supporters of conservatism romping naked at the Sultan’s Palace last evening, we’ve a good idea of the debauchery of our peers and politicians.”
“And with whom they cavort,” Chrissie added. “Edward, your concern for me is sweet, but a drive in the park will hardly ruin my reputation. Besides which, Hawkesbury also requested we join him in his box at the theatre this evening.”
Anna squealed, clapped her hands. “The theatre. Oh, how wonderful.”
“I imagine,” Edward said with a sigh, “that if we all attend it will be acceptable. Gillian and I shall take our little Georgie to visit some of my family today as they haven’t seen him since he was a babe.”
Chrissie’s heart squeezed with a pang of envy over her friend’s strengthened marriage and their being blessed with a beautiful baby boy. Anna’s face showed the same look. The biggest disappointment in Chrissie’s marriage was never conceiving a baby. Her deepest longing was to hold a child in her arms. Last evening, both Justin and Bart had ridic
uled her lack of sexual pleasure in her marriage, but until she’d leaned back against the hard muscled heat of Justin’s body and climaxed at his hands, she’d not understood how much she lacked.
Today though, her groin ached and itched and she yearned for more of that tiny glimpse of heaven. A shimmer of excitement rippled through her at the thought of driving with Hawkesbury, of seeing him again so soon. With only three days to organize the Pleasure House, she’d thought his time would be stretched to the limit. Now, she was elated.
Anna smiled a faraway, dreamy smile. “I wonder if Thomas will also attend tonight. And of course, Bart.”
The others shared knowing looks.
“It seems we’re to be a complete party, yes,” Chrissie said. “The viscount’s carriage will call for us at eight. I shall return in time for luncheon. We’ve the afternoon for leisurely preparation, to bathe and dress before we dine.”
Chrissie excused herself from the table, resisting the urge to rush upstairs and change her gown. She told herself it was normal to want to look her best for a drive in the park and had nothing to do with the man she was accompanying. However, that did not explain the quickening of her heart and the catch of breath in her chest as she tried not to run to the door.
“Chrissie,” Gillian said, “you haven’t finished your eggs. I thought you were hungry this morning.”
Chrissie felt her face heat. “I… I’m finished. I need to prepare for the viscount.”
When her friends exchanged knowing glances, Chrissie groaned and hurried from the room, not daring to say any more. An hour later she waited in the parlor, trying not to appear either anxious or over-eager. The smirks that Anna flashed her way warned her that her ploys were not succeeding. She’d pricked her finger so many times in the five minutes she’d attempted her mending that she’d laid it aside, hoping Anna’s eagle eyes wouldn’t notice.
Anna giggled, a small sound she tried to smother when Chrissie scowled at her and picked up a book, upside down. Surreptitiously, Chrissie tried to turn the boring tome on the exploration of Greek mythology and give the appearance of one engrossed in classical study. Anna giggled again.
Chrissie dropped the book to the couch beside her and muttered, “All right, I give up. If I’m amusing you anyway, I may as well pace before the window like an excited debutante.”
When Anna threw back her head and laughed, Chrissie’s breath caught in her chest. She was struck by the change in her friend in the scant days they’d been in the capital. Already, Anna’s good nature had blossomed into a wider appreciation of the lighter side of life. Her reserved friend had laughed out loud, something frowned upon in the strict household of the captain’s family.
Smiling at her friend, Chrissie said, “It’s wonderful to see you so happy, Anna. I must admit, I worried whether bringing you here with Gillian and me was the best thing to do. Your life has been so sheltered until now.”
“Chrissie, our visit to the city has been the most amazing thing to ever happen to me.”
“Even last night?” Chrissie blurted out.
“Oh, especially last night,” her friend replied, a dreamy expression on her face. “If I’d not come to London, I’d never have encountered Thomas or Bart.”
Chrissie frowned, uncertain how to broach this subject. “Anna, it wouldn’t be good to attach too much importance to the interest shown by either Thomas or Bart. They’re both gentlemen of the world.”
“Like your viscount.”
“Justin is not my—” She broke off when she saw the teasing grin on Anna’s face. “Oooh! He’s not my anything. I’m using what he can provide for us and in exchange I’ll tell him all I can about his family. After that, I’ll never see him again.”
“We’ll see,” Anna said with a shrewd look and a knowing nod. The front knocker rapped. “Ah, and here is the viscount, the one who is not yours.”
“You’re being impossible.” Chrissie readied herself for the butler’s admittance of her visitor by pulling on her gloves and bonnet.
But she spoke to thin air. Anna had dashed past her into the foyer to greet Hawkesbury in a warm voice. Chrissie ground her teeth. Although she’d no idea why it annoyed her to watch her friend blossom in the company of a handsome man.
Anna’s pretty charm would flatter any man who had her attention focused upon them, as was evident from the appreciative smile Justin flashed her. Chrissie cleared her throat as she stepped into the hallway from the parlor, but to her vexation, neither Anna nor Justin noticed her.
Their gazes locked as Justin drew Anna’s bare knuckles to his mouth for a kiss. Chrissie hissed out a breath loud enough to cause Anna to jump a little. Justin carried on uninterrupted, and lingered over Anna’s fingers with his mouth until Chrissie thought she may scream.
“Hawkesbury,” she snapped. “Perhaps we should depart. I’ve much to do to prepare before we attend the theatre this evening.”
Justin raised his head with maddening lethargy and fixed Anna with a seductive smile. “I look forward to the pleasure of your company in my box this evening. Every gentleman present will desire an introduction to such a beautiful young woman.”
Anna tittered. Chrissie snickered. Justin looked at her with one dark eyebrow raised in question and a grin on his face.
“Did you say something, my lady? Perhaps you’re concerned such a gentle lady from the country will find herself disconcerted by the rush of male attention.”
“No, no, it’s not that which worries me.” Chrissie felt her cheeks heat as Anna and Justin awaited her explanation. “Anna, I’d be delighted if you widened your acquaintance with gentlemen in London. Your views on men have been restricted to your captain.”
“Oh, not you too, Chrissie. I’ll not believe the worst of my captain. I’m certain that if he is already in England, there’ll be some reasonable explanation for why he hasn’t contacted me or his family.” Chrissie smiled, accepting the futility of trying to convince Anna of her fiancé’s foibles.
With a last smile for Anna, she and Justin left, descending to the street below where he assisted her into his barouche. The groom leaped on behind and they were off, hurtling through the streets at a fast pace. She grasped the brass bars at the side of her and hung on for dear life.
“If you are trying to frighten me, you’ll not succeed. I am made of sterner stuff.”
Justin looked across at her, surprise on his face, then pulled back on the reins to slow his horses to a more dignified pace. “Sorry. I like to go fast. Speed makes me feel alive and not many things do that for me anymore.”
“Not even taking a woman to your bed?”
He closed his eyes, a look of pain on his face. “Not even that anymore. Once you’ve bedded as many women as I have, the canvas paints itself with the same strokes, over and over. Each face flushes with the same tint. Each woman’s title becomes lost in row upon row of canvases stacked one upon the other until they become one enormous blur and are then discarded without thought.”
“Goodness gracious. You are in the mood to wax lyrical, although the subject of bedding women is not one that I thought would have brought you to such levels of boredom that you are reduced to describing it as a dirge.”
Keeping a tight control on the leather running through his gloved hands, Justin nevertheless managed to loosen his whole posture enough to give a deep chuckling laugh that rippled through his entire body. He shook with it from his beaver hat to his long hessians, throwing his head back while still watching the road ahead for obstacles.
“I do like you, Lady Wellsby. You’ve an unusual and refreshing candor that’s been lost in a city where people lie to each other as often as they take tea. With you, there’s no false modesty.”
She squirmed on her seat, feeling her face heat to a glowing red, and she fiddled with her spread skirts. “That is because I have no great beauty to pretend to be modest about.”
“Oh, but you do. Yours is not prettiness like Anna’s.”
His lips twi
tched up in another smile at her irritation at the mention of her friend. She wasn’t jealous he thought Anna pretty, as it was only natural. Her friend was younger and prettier than Chrissie by a great length.
Wrapped up in her self- examination, she almost missed his next words.
“Yours is a far deeper beauty. It shines through from the inside out.
An inner radiance lights up your features and entrances a man so he cannot look away. Tonight, every man in that theatre will be struck by the same thing I am. They’ll surround you like birds to the flowers or bees to the honey, seeking your warmth, your intrinsic goodness.”
She sat open-mouthed in shock, clutching the railings against the sway of the vehicle. Finally, she managed to utter, “You’re mistaken, my lord.”
“You seem intent on continually correcting me, but I assure you, if there’s one thing I know, it’s women. And despite the pains you go to hiding your feminine assets, you are most assuredly a woman. A warm and sensuous woman.”
She gave a snort of laughter. “Nobody has ever considered me sensuous.”
“I do.”
Robbed of speech, Chrissie held on and enjoyed the trip through the bustling streets with an expert driver steering his cattle. They turned into the park and he settled the horses into a steady clip.
Justin broke their contented silence to say, “I’ve remembered who you are.”
She jumped, surprised, as she’d imagined him far too self- involved to have ever noticed, much less remembered, a country miss like herself.
“Yes. I remember you from when we were children. Our families were neighbors and we played together, did we not?”
She gave a small resigned nod. “I had no idea you’d recollect any of that.”
He shot her that half amused grin again. “Because you assumed that a notoriously decadent lord with interests in not only an estate built for pleasurable pursuits but also with an involvement in a city brothel, would have nothing on his mind but reveling in decadence.”
