“All of us in the family have been most curious to meet you,” said Vanessa. “And, as you might imagine, I would like to hear more about your investigation into the disappearances of the women.”
“I’m afraid much of it is not fit for the ears of ladies,” said Mel.
Jane smiled broadly. “I cannot imagine you’ll tell me anything I didn’t see near the front lines in Belgium. We are none of us shrinking violets. Please tell us what you know so we can help.”
Mel wasn’t sure their husbands or Hal would be too keen about them becoming involved, but she filled them in on the details. “I am appalled to be responsible for the disappearance of Miss LaRue. I pray that we’re not too late to help her and I want very much to find the villain responsible for her disappearance and any other women he may have abducted.
“I think you take blame that is not warranted,” said Vanessa. “You’ve helped a great many women start new lives. We will do what we can to find Miss LaRue and the others. Indeed, your information will prove to be most helpful. Now we know her plans for the last few days anyone saw her. If we send investigators to the docks, we may get some answers.”
“I wish I could go there myself,” said Lizzie. “But I fear I would not survive the carriage ride without being unwell. Now, Melanie, you must tell us about this Richard Parker fellow.”
“My la…Lizzie?”
“Mr. Parker,” said Lizzie. “Or, as Hal likes to call him, ‘that suspicious Parker fellow.’ Why is he suspicious and why does Hal dislike him so? Personally, I have a theory as to that second thing.”
“Mr. Parker isn’t at all suspicious,” said Mel, intrigued that Hal would have relayed his misgivings to his family, especially around his sister who obviously missed nothing.
“But isn’t it possible,” asked Jane, “that Mr. Parker had someone meet Miss LaRue in New York and take her elsewhere? Perhaps even to a brothel in America? Or he very well could have had someone meet her at the docks in London and abscond with her.”
“I cannot think my friend would harm anyone,” said Mel, though she’d had those same thoughts herself.
“It is all too easy to trust a person only to find out later you didn’t really know him,” said Vanessa. “I speak from experience. Mr. Parker may very well be just as innocent as you believe him to be. But it is my professional advice that you should use caution around him until we know conclusively he was not involved in these disappearances. And from a personal standpoint, I do hope you’ll give Hal a chance to show he’s husband material.”
“Husband material?” said Mel, choking on a sip of tea.
“Most definitely!” said Lizzie. “Hal’s obvious jealousy of your Mr. Parker is a very good sign. He can be a complete muttonhead about so many things. But the fact is, he scents a rival and it has him out of sorts. It’s wonderful. I imagine it is not all that pleasant for you. But if you can only keep him wondering for a while longer, it will all work out in the end.”
“Exactly,” said Jane. “Kellington males are wonderful, complex individuals, but also insufferably dense with it comes to the fairer sex.”
Mel felt rather overwhelmed by the well-meaning ladies, but they’d given her a great deal to think about. So she accepted another cup of tea as conversation turned to Lady Riverton’s blessed event.
* * *
Mel had told Hal she’d be unavailable that morning because she was paying a call on some lady of the ton. He decided to take advantage of her being occupied by paying a visit to Conrad Patton. It was a little after noon and, therefore, early for the late-working Patton to be up. But Hal wanted Patton to be a little off his game. There was a greater chance he’d be more honest.
Conrad Patton was a bit of a legend among his peers. Orphaned at an early age, he escaped a workhouse at eleven years of age to serve as an errand boy for one of the local crime lords. Patton had an eerie ability to know when the Watch was closing in and saved his boss from capture on more than one occasion. He had an aptitude for figures and was soon keeping the books, helping to sort out which employees were cheating. He was rising fast through the organization when an argument with his employer turned violent. Patton was found near death, beaten severely. His recovery was long and hard. Shortly after he was able to get around, his former employer was found shot through the head.
Patton wasn’t charged with the crime and never admitted to having done it. No one ever knew what they’d quarreled about in the first place. But whether he killed his boss or not, he earned a reputation as a man one didn’t cross.
And now Hal was in Patton’s private sitting room at Dill’s, waiting for him to make an appearance. The room was filled with signs of obvious wealth – Aubusson carpet, an Ormolu cloc, vases from the Orient. It was very much the room of someone who wanted to show others he had money. Hal suspected Patton took a special pride in the fact that he had more money than many of the lords who gambled away their inheritances in the rooms below.
Hal idly wondered how much he’d contributed to Patton’s wealth. He hadn’t lost too great a portion of his allowance, but it was not an inconsiderable amount. And it was very different from the way Melanie was spending her inheritance. He still wasn’t convinced the women she helped went on to better lives in America. He suspected many of them eventually reverted to their old profession but in a new land. But he admired Mel for her dedication. Some of the women she helped probably did find husbands and enjoyed their new lives on the frontier. Maybe one of them would marry bloody Richard Parker.
His further ruminations were interrupted by the appearance of Conrad Patton. Despite the early hour, he was smartly turned out in the best clothing Bond Street had to offer.
“You wished to see me, my lord?” he asked as he swept into the room.
“Yes, Patton,” said Hal. “Thank you for taking the time.”
Patton offered Hal a seat in one of the chairs that flanked the fireplace. He took the other. If he was curious about the visit, he offered no clue. His face was impassive as ever, even if it did have the scars that bore testament to a violent life.
Hal continued. “I would like to know about your relationship with Miss LaRue.”
For a moment, it seemed that Patton’s cool demeanor was about to crack. But after an instant of surprise, he simply said, “I knew her.”
“Why do you answer in the past tense?”
Patton shrugged. “One meets many people in London. They come and go. I haven’t seen her around in quite a while.”
“I heard you were close.”
Patton rose from his chair and poured himself a drink. “If you’re asking whether I ever used her services, I admit that I did. I imagine even you sampled her wares from time to time, Kellington.” Hal noticed Patton’s hand tighten on his glass. “I hear you spend quite a bit of time at Madame Thurmond’s.”
“Do you know what became of her?”
Patton shook his head. “For all I know, she’s still at Thurmond’s. The madame made it be known that I’m not welcome there any longer.”
“Why was that?” Hal had never seen Patton so on edge as he was right now. On several occasions he’d watched Patton give his permission to raise table stakes to a level that could have bankrupted him, yet he’d remained unruffled. But right now there was something seething just beneath the surface and Hal wanted to know what it was.
“I believe that’s none of your concern, Kellington. Your questions grow tedious. Either tell me why you’re interrogating me or leave.”
Hal wasn’t sure how much to reveal to Patton. But he also knew Patton had contacts that rivaled even Vanessa’s and Arthur’s. He could be of some use. “I have reason to believe Miss LaRue was going to leave the country a few months ago, but she didn’t board the ship which would take her to America. No one has seen her since.”
Patton was silent for a moment. “She was going to leave for America?”
“That was the plan,” said Hal. “Were you aware of it?”
“Onc
e again, I fail to understand what concern this is of yours. Does she owe you money? Did she give you the pox? Why the sudden interest in a common whore? I did not think you were the socially conscious type, regardless of how much time you’ve spent with Mrs. Seton’s group.”
“Believe me, no one is more surprised by my interest than I. But a woman has gone missing. If she meant anything at all to you, I would think you’d want to know what happened to her. Or maybe she met the same fate as your long ago employer.”
“Maybe she did,” said Patton as he finished his drink, then all but slammed the glass on the table. “And now, if you’ll excuse me, my lord, I have work to do. If you can’t see yourself out, I shall arrange for someone else to do it for you.”
Hal rose, studying the man whose demeanor once more gave nothing away. “I’ll do it myself. But I do mean to get to the bottom of Miss LaRue’s disappearance, regardless of what others may think. You’d be wise to remember that I’m not alone in this. And I won’t be scared away.”
“Everyone can be scared away, my lord,” said Patton, appraising him coolly. “It only depends on what’s at risk. Say hello to your Miss Sutton for me. Mrs. Seton’s protests aren’t the same without her.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Melanie was perfectly aware of the fact that fantasizing about Hal while being forced to listen to yet another one of Mrs. Seton’s lectures about vice and morality was rather wicked. Wickedly fun. She felt a bit guilty having missed so many of Mrs. Seton’s meetings. She did still believe in the cause – to a degree. Raw grain alcohol was deadly and nothing was being done to protect the members of London’s poorest neighborhoods who sought to drown their troubles in the only cheap spirits they could find.
But she had to admit that Mrs. Seton’s lack of empathy toward the very people she was supposedly trying to save was rather discouraging. On more than one occasion, the woman had called for the forced sterilization of the poor and for building a large fence around Seven Dials, in order to keep the “criminal element” away from the rest of the city.
The only thing that had prevented Mel from telling Mrs. Seton exactly what she thought of her heinous notions was the fact that she needed the cover provided by Mrs. Seton’s crusades to cover up her own activities. So, it was actually for the good of the group that Mel’s mind was currently preoccupied with visions of a naked Hal. It was the only thing preventing her from throwing a chair at the demagogue’s head.
Then, almost as if he’d been summoned by her visions, Hal Kellington entered the room. The mood around her immediately lightened. Perhaps Mel wasn’t the only one who was having fantasies of the man. It was a most vexing thought.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Seton, ladies,” he said as he made his bow. He might’ve had a smile for everyone, but his eyes landed on one person, as if drawn to her by lodestone. “I do hate to interrupt, but I have a message for Miss Sutton from her uncle, the Earl of Heffner. He has charged me with delivering it straight away.”
“How dutiful of you,” said Mrs. Seton. “Go ahead and tell us what he said.”
“Actually,” said Hal. “It is a private message. Surely it won’t violate propriety if I have a moment alone with Miss Sutton. It is, after all, a message from her uncle.”
“The earl,” said Mrs. Seton, as if just mentioning the title would lend more importance to herself.
“The very same,” said Hal, turning his blinding smile on the lady.
Mrs. Seton, battleaxe that she was, could no more resist it than any other woman. “Very well. You may relay the message to Miss Sutton.”
Mel was by his side in an instant, then he ushered her out of the room and across the foyer.
“What news is there from my uncle?” asked Mel, trying hard not to put her hands all over him. “Nothing is wrong, I hope.”
“I have no message from your uncle,” said Hal, as he squeezed her hand and quickly escorted her up the stairs. “I’ve been trying to find a way to see you with some privacy and thought this might work. Through here.”
He ushered her into a bedroom, then quickly locked the door behind them. “I apologize profusely love, but I had to see you again. Had to make love to you again, if you’ll….if you’ll have me.”
Mel almost laughed at the look of uncertainty on Hal’s face. She couldn’t imagine he didn’t know how much she wanted to be with him again, yet he still seemed unsure of himself. “We won’t have much time.”
“I’ll take what I can get and I’ll make it worth your while.”
With that, he drew her into his arms and devoured her with a kiss. He moved her backward until they fell upon the bed, while Melanie tried to untie his cravat.
“We don’t have time for that now, love,” he whispered. “I promise to make it up to you, but we must do this quickly.” With those words, he drew back and disappeared under her skirts. With the skill of a man who’d undoubtedly done this many times before, he’d divested her of her drawers before she even knew what he was about. Then he lowered his mouth onto the very heart of her.
She shrieked.
“Shh!” came Hal’s voice, muffled as it was beneath her skirts and buried within her. “Calm yourself, love.”
Whatever else he was going to say was lost as he lapped at her with his tongue and plied her with his fingers. Making love with him in the brothel had been the most breathtaking experience of her life. But she hadn’t dreamed something like this was possible. Even Lydia and Angela had neglected to mention this extraordinary sensation.
She lifted her hips to his mouth, wanting more. Needing more. He continued to suck and to lave and to play with her. She was on the verge of another climax when suddenly he reappeared. She was just about to tell him to go right back to where he came from, when she noticed he’d undone the placket of his trousers. Breathing heavily and flushed, he spread her legs and thrust into her, hard. She came the moment he was fully seated in her. Her contractions made him stop and groan.
“Oh, Mel, you’re killing me,” he said. “How can I hold out when I feel the very pull of you?”
“I thought,” said Mel, as she finally caught her breath, “that rakes were experienced in such things.” She reached up to kiss him.
“Minx! You make me want you beyond belief,” he said as he kissed her and by some miracle kept from moving. “How can I act like I normally do when none of this is as it usually is?”
“Then show me,” she said with a sly smile. “Show me how much you want to explode.”
Hal grinned, then began to move in and out of her slowly. As he increased his speed, she wrapped her legs firmly around him. He began moving quicker and quicker….
“Wait!” she said, and for a moment she wasn’t sure he’d heard her, or perhaps he hadn’t wanted to hear her.
Finally, he stilled. Holding himself on top of her with shaking arms, he touched his forehead to the pillow beside her, panting heavily. “Have you changed your mind?” he asked. “I can stop.” He began to pull out.
She quickly wrapped her arms around him, keeping him there. “I haven’t changed my mind, it’s just….” She bit her lip, unsure of how to go on.
“Have I hurt you?” asked Hal, slightly panicked. “I’m so sorry, you should have said something.” Again, he tried to pull out and again she wouldn’t let him go.
She was so embarrassed, she could barely whisper. “There’s something I’d like to try.”
She had his attention. “Mel, what are you talking out?”
“Lydia was telling me…this is very embarrassing.”
“Sweetheart, you never have reason to be embarrassed with me. What is it?”
“She told me about something that sounds wicked, and I don’t know if you’d even want to do it…” She trailed off again.
“If it’s wicked, I want to do it.”
“She showed me pictures in a book from France. The man was on the bottom and the lady was on top, but turned around.” Here she blushed scarlet. “Her mouth was on the man’s
…well, his….”
Hal was dumbstruck. “His cock?” He could barely get the word out.
“You’ve seen the picture!” said Mel, with a radiant smile. Doing it seemed much easier than talking about it.
His laughter reverberated through her. “I think I take your meaning. But are you sure you want to do that?”
“If you don’t, we don’t have to.”
“Of course I want to do it,” he said as he slowly slid from her body. “There are any number of positions I’d like to explore with you. But we’d best get undressed if we want to do this right.”
They tore at each others’ clothes, trading kisses as they pulled various bits of clothing from their bodies. Finally, Hal lay on his back, but couldn’t keep from stroking any part of her he could reach.
She looked unsure for a moment, but he gently guided her so that she lowered herself onto him with her head facing his feet. She stared down at his hard cock. She wasn’t sure how she’d give him pleasure. Lydia had given her some suggestions, but it was quite another thing to be faced with… Suddenly he pulled her toward him and she felt his mouth on her. Without thinking, she pulled his cock into her mouth.
She was immediately lost in the rhythm of riding him as she sucked his cock. He was gently moving it in and out of her mouth, but she wanted more than the inch or so he was allowing. She put more of him into her mouth, then was immediately rewarded with his muffled groan.
Her legs were on either side of his head. He kneaded her arse with his fingers while he sucked her cunny.
What had seemed like a foreign act when she’d looked at it in the book was now an instinctual one. They were both riding and sucking at the same rate when she was once again overtaken by a climax. A moment later, she felt him frantically try to pull out of her mouth, but she couldn’t bear to let him do that. She felt him groan and jerk beneath her, then he filled her mouth with his seed. She was initially surprised, but upon further quick reflection – everything was happening quite rapidly – it only made sense. She’d wiped his seed from her legs the first time they’d made love. And somehow, despite the unusual taste, it felt right to accept him, as he’d accepted her.
Never Run From Love (Kellington Book Four) Page 20
