by HELEN HARDT
“My goodness, Evan, you can insult me later. We must figure out what has happened to Sophie.”
“And of course all of my resources will be at your disposal,” Mr. Landon said.
Evan clenched his fists. “We have no need of your resources, Landon.”
Ally tugged at Evan’s elbow. “We should let him help. No expense can be spared to find Sophie. We must find her!”
“I have every intention of finding Sophie.” Evan shoved Mr. Landon toward the door. “Your business here is ended.”
“You mean I—”
“I don’t mean anything except that we do not need you right now. I will be in touch with you later.” Evan pushed him out the door.
At this particular moment, Ally didn’t care whether she ever saw Mr. Landon again. All she cared about was Sophie. And then a horrible thought struck her.
She pulled the parchments out of her skirt pocket. We have your stepsister Lady Alexandra. Oh, no. They had mistaken Sophie for her. The time had come to tell Evan everything.
So she enjoyed erotica. She certainly wasn’t the first woman who appreciated it, or erotic novels would not exist. Her maid, Millicent, who’d introduced her to The Ruby, certainly did. So she made a few pounds writing it. What was so bad about that? She didn’t want to be a disappointment to Evan. He had come to mean so much to her.
But none of that mattered. Sophie was more important than what Evan thought of her.
“Evan,” she said quietly, “I need to speak with you.”
“Yes?”
She showed him the parchments. “I received this one yesterday.” She handed him the first one. “And this one came earlier today for you. I intercepted it, and yes, I know I was wrong to do so. Please do not berate me about that now. I am interested only in Sophie’s well-being.”
“As am I.” He wrinkled his forehead and rubbed his jawline as he read the second parchment. “How can this be? You are right here.”
“Whoever has Sophie has obviously mistaken her for me. And I’m so sorry to tell you, Evan, but I know what this is about.”
“Oh?”
“Yes.” Ally gathered all her courage. “Remember I told you that my maid, Millicent, who was with me at my father’s estate—if it could be called an estate—had a large collection of erotic literature?”
“Yes. But what does that have to do with—”
“She introduced me to some underground papers. One of them was called The Ruby.”
“Yes, I have heard of it.” Evan pursed his lips into a thin line. “In fact, Woods found a couple of issues on the doorstep. I figured they probably belonged to you.”
Evan did not look pleased. It broke her heart to disappoint him. If he did indeed love her, he would no longer love her after this conversation.
“The only secret I have, Evan, that they could be referring to in that note, is that I do some…writing. For The Ruby.”
Evan shook his head, his complexion regaining its color. “Then you are the one… Oh my God, I never thought you could do anything so despicable!”
“Evan! I’ve been writing for the paper for little over a year. It gives me a few pounds in my reticule, something I’ve never had of my own before. I enjoy it, and I’m good at it.”
“I don’t give a bloody rat’s arse if you write erotica, or if you are paid for it.” He stomped toward her. “But you’ve involved me in this.”
What was he talking about? This had nothing to do with him, other than the fact that they were threatening him now.
“I certainly have not. Other than this…extortion attempt, and I had no idea they’d come after you. And Evan, you know I’d never put Sophie in harm’s—”
“How did you find out I owned a printing business, anyway?”
What was he talking about? Confusion muddled her brain. He owned a printing business?
“I assure you I had no idea you owned anything. You’re a second son. Nothing in the estate belongs to you.”
Evan shook his head. “We will deal with this later. Right now, we need to find your sister and get her home.”
At least he was talking sense now.
He continued, “I will go to this address now and find her.”
“She won’t be there. It says to go at midnight. Who knows where they are now? But at least we know she’s safe until midnight.”
Evan stalked around the foyer, clearly restless, his hands clenched. “How in the world were you able to begin writing for this thing?”
“I told you, Millicent. She got the papers from a servant friend of hers who knew the person who started it. They move around a lot, and the papers aren’t printed regularly. One of the servants at our townhome in Mayfair dropped my stories off at an undisclosed location for me and brought back payment. Since we’ve been in Wiltshire, I’ve had the stories messengered to the servant back in Mayfair.”
“You have no idea with whom you’re dealing.” Evan sank into a chair and raked his fingers through his unruly hair. “Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? They have kidnapped your sister, for God’s sake.”
Ally shuddered, her stomach sinking. He was right, of course. Sophie had been taken because of Ally’s involvement with the paper. How could she ever forgive herself? Poor timid Sophie must be scared to death.
“Evan, you must believe me. I had no idea anything dangerous could come of my involvement.”
“Alexandra, you’re a lady of the peerage. How can you be so stupid? There are laws against this.”
Yes, she knew. She was aware of the Vagrancy Act of 1824. The publication of obscene material was a common misdemeanor. But she was not publishing it. She was simply writing it, and she personally did not consider it obscene, nor did many so-called ladies of the peerage and gentlemen as well.
Her dander rose. “I suppose it’s no different than the laws against prostitution. And I’d bet my arse you’ve visited a brothel.”
Evan reddened. “Goddamn it, this is not about me!”
True enough, though he was evading the subject. Sophie needed to be their priority right now. Ally had acted without thinking. Never had she considered that someone she loved could be put in danger.
“Evan,” she said, “please promise me you will find Sophie. Please, and I will never ask you for another thing.”
“Just hours ago, I would have promised you the world, Alexandra. But now…” He shook his head. “I will find your sister. But I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for her, and for your mother and my father.”
Confessions of Lady Prudence
by Madame O
Dearest Amelia,
I did not have to wait until my next art lesson for a frolic. Lars came to my bedchamber door the very next evening. I can’t tell you how aroused I got just seeing him at my door, so handsome is he. Though it was hardly proper, I of course invited him in. I had already removed my dinner gown and corset and was lounging in my chemise and drawers with only a silk robe covering them.
“What brings you up here, Lars?” I asked innocently.
“I was hoping you would allow me entrance, my lady.”
“It hardly seems necessary to stand on ceremony when you have spanked my bottom, Lars.” I winked at him, and my whole body tensed. Oh, how my bum wanted another spanking.
“I have a surprise for you tonight.”
Excitement surged through me. “Oh, what might that be?”
He took two silk scarves out of his pocket. “I wonder what kind of fun we could have with these, my lady.”
My heart sped up. I believed, Amelia, that he meant to restrain me. My nipples hardened as I thought of what might be in store.
“Strip for me, my lady.”
Slowly, I peeled off my silk robe. I then brushed my chemise off my shoulders and let it drop to the floor. With great care, I untied my drawers and let them drop into a white puddle at my feet. I stepped out of them.
Lars smiled, his tongue slithering over his lips. “Yes, very good. Now, lie
on your back on the bed, my lady. And then reach up and grab the bars on your headboard.”
Amelia, it never occurred to me to say no. So aroused was I, I did as he bid, no questions asked. I lay down on the bed, my breasts jutting out, my nipples hard and poking upward.
I grabbed two bars of my headboard.
Lars walked toward me, his eyes glazed over with lust. He bound first one wrist and then the other to the headboard. I tested my restraints. He had tied them securely.
“And now, my lady, you are mine, to do with as I please.”
His words lit a fire within me, Amelia. I quaked, waiting, wanting, desiring his touch. He pressed his hands lightly over my cheeks, my shoulders, over the top of my bosom, and then cupped each breast and found my nipples.
“What beautiful titties you have, my lady.”
I convulsed, my pussy quivering.
He climbed atop me and pressed his lips to mine. We kissed fervently for precious moments while he continued to play with my nipples.
Then he broke the kiss and slid his tongue all the way down my belly. He spread my legs and began to feast on me.
Chapter 18
Ally’s heart plummeted to her stomach. She had never dreamed that Evan would be so disgusted by her interest in erotica. He was conventional, yes, but he clearly enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh as much as anyone else. He had all but admitted to visiting brothels, and he definitely knew his way around a woman.
Well, so be it. Right now, the only important thing was Sophie.
“When do we leave?” she asked.
“We don’t,” he said. “I do. I will make the rendezvous at midnight tonight. You will be here, under lock and key.”
Anger rushed through her veins. “You will not cut me out of this! She is my sister, not yours. I love her more than anything. And as you have reminded me, she is in this mess because of me. Clearly, they think they have me. She has either not told them who she truly is, or they don’t care at this point. You cannot keep me from her.”
“Oh, yes, I can, and I will.”
Ally whipped her hands to her hips. “Yes, you’ve done such a good job of controlling me up until now, haven’t you?”
Evan’s face trembled. Oh, she had hit a nerve. No man would control her—not the way her father had controlled her mother.
“You will do as I say this time. Your sister’s safety depends on it.”
“I am the person who loves my sister the most. You cannot keep me out of this. She needs me.”
“She needs you here, where you are safe. That is what she would want.”
Yes, he was right about that. But Ally was not one to sit still, especially not when Sophie might be in peril. She would simply sneak out like she always did. And no one would stop her.
“Fine. But please, Evan, bring her back safely. I promise I will no longer be a thorn in your side. If you bring Sophie back to me, I will never bother you again.”
As much as she loved Evan and as much as the words broke her heart, she truly meant them. Sophie’s safety was paramount.
* * *
Evan’s heart pounded. He should have known Alexandra was behind all this. What would her mother say? Or his father? One thing was certain—he had to get Sophie home. His father would never forgive him if something happened to one of Iris’s daughters.
He wasn’t upset that Alexandra wrote erotica. He enjoyed such literature as much as anyone else. She had obviously written about Prudence Spofford and then used that name for her fictitious friend. The writing didn’t require his forgiveness. But she’d involved his business…
He sighed and retired to his office to think. Alexandra was wrong about no good coming from going to the address now. True, Sophie wouldn’t be there, but he could investigate, get to know the area. He would go. First, however, he pulled out the papers Woods had found near the front entrance.
The Ruby. And there it was. Confessions of Lady Prudence. He began to read.
My Dearest Amelia,
Forgive me for not having written in several weeks, but I had terrible sickness on the ship home. I miss you so, and I especially miss all the fun and frolic we shared whilst I visited you on holiday in the Americas.
I was no sooner back in our London townhome when Auntie Beatrice insisted that I begin art lessons. Amelia, I can’t draw a straight line to save my own soul. Art lessons? Truly? I dreaded the very thought. An hour several times per week listening to some old codger preach the virtues of light and dark hardly excited me, and I possess the artistic talent of a tomato. But Auntie would not be swayed. So yesterday, I began…
When Evan had finished, he was not only impressed, but also aroused. Alexandra had true talent as a writer. If only she had come to him first. But what would he have done? He would have refused to publish her stories. It was against the law.
No more against the law than prostitution…
He let Alexandra’s words fade from his mind. He’d deal with his own hypocrisy later. Besides, she had gone behind his back to use his business for the publication of the underground paper. He could not forgive her for that.
He erased Alexandra from his mind. Sophie had to be his main concern. He and a servant would go to the address now, before darkness fell, to see what lay ahead.
He summoned Woods and asked him to arrange for a coach and someone to accompany him. He then went to his bedchamber and changed clothing, something nondescript. He pulled his blond hair back in a queue so it would be less noticeable.
He stole down the back stairway to avoid Alexandra and made his way to the coach. One of his most trusted servants, James Lafleur, was already seated inside. Evan nodded to him.
“Thirty-two Chilton Place, please,” Evan said to the coachman.
Within an hour, they arrived in a poverty-stricken area of London. The coachman stopped, and Evan and James alighted.
“Gardyloo!” a woman shouted from several stories above.
James pushed Evan out of the way just in time. A splash of urine hit the ground.
Was this how Alexandra had grown up? Streets lined with garbage? Air scented with waste? Of course not. Longarry may have been a pauper, but he did at least have an estate. Or had they been so poorly off that they had lived in a similar area in Scotland? Longarry’s coffers had been dry for some time. He was no doubt attracted to Iris’s dowry.
Evan’s heart broke at the thought of Alexandra living like this.
Evan led James to 32 Chilton Place. It appeared abandoned. The steps were dirty and covered in refuse. A couple of stray dogs sniffed around. The poor animals were bony and starving, and Evan wished he had some scraps from the kitchen to feed them. Instead, he shooed them away and approached the door. He knocked. Nothing, of course. He hadn’t expected anyone to be there. They would not arrive until midnight or a little before.
He tried the door, but it was locked. He turned to James. “Let’s go around back and see what we find. There’s probably another entrance.”
James nodded, but Evan put up a hand to stop him.
“I’m going to have the coachman move to a safer area. I’ll tell him to be back in a half hour.”
After Evan took care of the coach, he and James trudged through to the back alley. Sure enough, there was a back entrance, but it was also locked. Evan inhaled. The smell was thick—human and animal waste, filth.
“Go back around front,” he said to James. “Check the windows. See if any are loose or open. Maybe check the adjacent buildings.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Evan continued to search the grounds. One window in the back was broken, but the glass was jagged, and he didn’t dare try to break it further and enter. Perhaps he would return later with some leather gloves to protect his hands. It hadn’t occurred to him to bring a weapon during the daylight, though in this neighborhood, it would not have been a bad idea.
He walked down the alley a bit, looking around. Debris littered the small path. More stray dogs and alley cats nosed around
. Muffled voices yelled from within the adjacent dwellings. Then a woman shrieked.
Why would whoever took Sophie bring her here? It was not safe. If only he could figure out where she was and get to her before her captors brought her here. But that would be impossible. All he had was the parchment her captors had sent.
This was all Alexandra’s doing. Somehow she had found out about his business and corrupted one of his employees. He didn’t doubt that she could have persuaded one of them to do the deed. The woman was a siren. She could most likely persuade anyone to do anything.
Even as his anger bubbled, his heart still yearned for her.
He still loved her.
How could he have misjudged her? Yes, her childhood had been miserable. Could he excuse her behavior on those grounds? No, Alexandra was a grown woman. The time had come to leave her childhood behind and exist as a good person should.
Evan shook his head. He had wanted so much to fall in love with Lady Rose Jameson. She had personified what he thought he always wanted in a woman—adherence to convention, social grace, a good family line, intelligence, and beauty.
The heart wanted what it wanted.
He would have to get over it. While the erotica writing didn’t bother him, the fact that she had pirated his printing house did. Damn, he should have stayed in Bath and taken care of the problem when he found out about it, rather than following Alexandra to London. He knew damned well that the publication of obscene material was against the law.
“Your purse, mate.”
Evan jerked. A dull knife poked into his back.
“I’m afraid you won’t get much if you’re depending on that blade,” Evan said, rolling his eyes. He’d gotten out of way worse jams. “It won’t even go through the fabric of my coat.”
His attacker poked harder. “I said, your purse. I assure you I’ve done much damage with this knife.”
Quick as a flash, Evan turned, knocked the knife to the ground, and grabbed the young man in a headlock. “You were saying?”
The young man, not much older than a boy, struggled within Evan’s grasp. “Please, sir, let me go.”
