by Pamela Cayne
“But what about us working on our quilt and drinking tea, and living as friends instead of a rich man’s mistress and her servant? What about planting a little flower garden because we want to, because we can?”
“How was I supposed to know you really meant leaving instead of us imagining a little dream house? I don’t know how we’re supposed to live. Without Mr. Adams, how would we have a roof over our head, money to buy food?”
“In a few days, at the end of the tournament, I think we’ll have enough to leave. Mr. Adams has given me almost enough in jewels that we won’t have to worry about any of it.” She tried to sound excited, happy, but Nessie’s despair was making it hard. “And I think getting us away from men like Mr. Adams will be hard, dangerous even, but worth the risk. No more getting hurt.” Lady trailed a gentle finger down Nessie’s scar.
“Are you sure?” Nessie finally asked, blurting it out. “Is it really so bad being with Mr. Adams?”
Lady withdrew her hand and took a bite of toast, primarily to give her time to think. She set the slice down and wiped her lips and fingers with her napkin.
“Poor Nessie. Now you’re the one who looks pale,” she said with a sad smile. “And yes, I’m sure. It has nothing to do with Mr. Adams or Mr. Collins or anybody else who would purchase my services. I’m not happy being in a cage, even a beautiful one. I’d rather be in a tiny cottage tending my own garden for food but be free.”
“But it’s such a hard life, Lady, having to work and scrape for every morsel of food, for every stitch of clothing. Isn’t that a cage too? Think of what you could have if you did take over the Red Door. You’d be rich, powerful, still Mr. Adams’s mistress with all of the influence that has but more independent because of all the girls you could have service him instead. Is freedom really worth giving that all up?”
Lady wondered if she had been too dismissive of her own feelings, too protective of Nessie. Perhaps the time for plain talk was here. Lady focused on Nessie with what she was sure was a less-than-friendly look. Gentleness was not what was needed anymore.
“Yes, we have food and a roof over our heads, but at what cost? Did you know Mr. Adams sent King and Shade over last night to check on me and they searched the house, your room included? That they would have even more of a right to do that if we lived at the Red Door?”
Lady took a small measure of gratification in Nessie’s reaction. She looked somewhere between nausea and tears and Lady wanted to say, Good. That’s what I feel every time he comes over and puts his hands on me.
“But that just means he worries about you,” Nessie said in a small voice.
“You know what it means, especially after what he did the night of the party.” Lady’s voice was low, almost void of emotion. Nessie’s face replayed the last several days as clearly as if she’d been watching the events on stage, her eyes going wide as she came to the conclusion Lady had accidentally thrown at her.
“It’s because of King, isn’t it? He’s the reason you want to leave, why you want to get away from Mr. Adams. Because you know if Mr. Adams finds out you’ve been cuckolding him, he’ll make you pay.” Nessie’s voice rose and Lady almost flinched, not only from the force of Nessie’s anger, but from the small sting of guilt in having her friend find out this way.
“Nessie, I said this has nothing to do with whoever would purchase my services. It has to do with us escaping this life, to not be known as whores any longer.”
Nessie’s eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. “So you have been sleeping with King.” For as much as she was shouting earlier, this time her voice was a harsh whisper.
“Where do you get such a notion?” The ground beneath Lady’s feet was crumbling so quickly and so violently that she knew she couldn’t tell Nessie anything more about last night, or any other night. Their friendship, as well as their future, now hinged on the choice they each made at this crossroads.
“Because you didn’t deny it. Twice you could have said you weren’t, but you didn’t.” Nessie slumped in her chair. “Why, Lady, why?” she moaned.
Somebody knocked on the back door and the sound caused her to jump. Nessie didn’t even flinch. She knelt down in front of Nessie and lifted her chin so she would look her in the eyes.
“Nessie, you don’t need to worry about this. I’ll take care of it, and I’ll take care of Mr. Adams. Now go upstairs and lie down because I’m going to need you to help make me beautiful for tonight.” She forced a bright smile and it must have worked, because Nessie smiled too.
“For Mr. Adams?”
“Yes, for Mr. Adams. Can you do that for me?”
The knock sounded again and this time Nessie looked. “It’s Christopher with today’s delivery from the butcher,” Lady said, getting Nessie to her feet and leading her to the stairs. “I’ll take care of it. I just need you to get some rest.”
“To help make you beautiful for Mr. Adams.” Nessie sounded hollow.
“For Mr. Adams,” Lady echoed and watched Nessie disappear into her room. She had a bad feeling this was the beginning of the end.
* * *
Sebastian looked around the warehouse he’d long ago dubbed “Hell” and smiled. Watching the fights for the consolation prize had always bored him senseless, made him laugh at the losers trying to regain some sense of their manhood, but now that he was watching them from a large, lushly upholstered chair, he was having fun. It would have been delightful even without the blonde whore on his lap whose lips were doing deliciously naughty things to his earlobe.
Why hadn’t he thought of this before? Watch the fights in a comfortable chair with a willing woman on hand. Sheer genius! Too bad Adams only had half of it, but truth be told, he had the right half. He looked at Jenny, so close to being like Lady but again so far. She caught his eye and giggled, then went back to watching the crowd while diddling his ear.
Be patient, Sebastian. This chickadee isn’t for you. Your magnificent peacock will be coming soon.
He heard a buzz near the entry and was willing to bet the stack of pound notes in his pocket what it was about. Sure enough, in less than one minute Adams waddled up to Sebastian’s right, Lady following one step behind.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
“Why, whatever do you mean, my dear friend?” Sebastian glanced at Lady and inclined his head. “My apologies for not rising and greeting you as a gentleman should, Lady, but as you can see, making any other part of my body rise would be a struggle right now.”
“Yes, I can see,” she answered in a dry voice and her wit added one more drop to Sebastian’s glee.
“I mean, what’s the meaning of sitting here like some bleeding king, one of my girls on your lap?”
“My apologies, Mr. Adams. I should have told you,” Sebastian said in what he believed was the most sincere of voices. “All of this standing on such hard ground has caused my poor gout to flare up. Standing is simply agony. I had Jonathan bring me a seat in order to watch the fights in comfort. Given the more than generous way you treat your people, I was sure you would see no problem in having me more suitably situated. Please tell me I didn’t overstep any bounds and haven’t risked our friendship over such a paltry issue?”
“Well, no, I suppose not.”
“You are too kind, Mr. Adams. And regarding Miss Jenny here—”
“Miss Jenny,” she said and giggled. “I like that. It makes me sound like a fine...” She glanced up at Lady then swiftly looked away. Sebastian could feel her body shaking with silent laughter.
“Yes, regarding Miss Jenny here—” he gave her a firm pinch on her bottom to keep her quiet, “—you’ll find that Mrs. Henderson has not only received her rate for taking one of her girls out, but a handsome tip for being so accommodating on such short notice. You can ask her if you’d like.”
“Oh, yes, it were all pro
per like.” Jenny smiled in her mischievous way at Mr. Adams. Sebastian resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“I meant he could ask Mrs. Henderson, Miss Jenny, or perhaps I should call you Miss Henny because you’re being as silly as a hen,” Sebastian scolded in a playful tone, tickling Jenny as she squirmed on his lap. She squealed and rocked her hips back and forth and Sebastian thought if she wasn’t careful, she was going to squirm her way right onto his hungry cock. This chickadee might not be his peacock, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy her anyway.
“Well, if it’s all done right then, I suppose I can’t complain,” Mr. Adams said and Sebastian felt sorry for Lady. If the little man was sulking over such a minor event, he was in for some quite rude awakenings before too long.
“My greatest thanks, Mr. Adams. You are a prince among men.” Sebastian bowed as much as he was able. He looked at Lady. “And you a princess.”
He kept eye contact with her even as his adversary turned away. Just before Mr. Adams pulled Lady after him, Sebastian put every ounce of longing he had for her in his eyes and mouthed, But you could be my queen.
He watched as she stared at him, a little crease appearing on her forehead. She hadn’t responded to Mr. Adams’s direction and he had stopped and looked back at her. Right then, Lady’s eyes flared open and her mouth dropped slightly and Sebastian allowed himself the smallest, wickedest smile.
“Lady.” Mr. Adams gave a little tug on her arm.
“Oh, yes. Of course, Mr. Adams. It only now struck me who Mr. Collins reminded me of and my head simply flew away at the thought.”
“Who’s that, pet?” Mr. Adams returned to Lady’s side, both of them studying Sebastian.
“King George the third.”
Mr. Adams leaned forward and peered at Sebastian, then burst into loud, raucous laughter. “Right you are, pet. Right you are.”
“Though I’m flattered to be compared to a king, may I ask why the resemblance is so amusing?” Sebastian asked.
“He’s the one who lost the colonies.” Mr. Adams laughed again as he strolled into the crowd.
“And he also was mad,” Lady added, following Mr. Adams after giving Sebastian an arch look.
Sebastian chuckled, low and deep. Oh, she was a prize all right. And he was going to win her.
* * *
Lady occupied her usual perch at Mr. Adams’s side with his arm around her waist. She was looking over the crowd and the fighters with a haughty and disdainful air, achieved by years of practice. It covered up the bout taking place within her, that of her head versus her heart.
“He certainly seemed impertinent, didn’t he?” Perhaps by getting Mr. Adams wound up about Mr. Collins, she could get those two dogs fighting enough that they would leave her alone.
“Hmm, who’s that?”
“Mr. Collins, that’s who.”
“I can cut the poor bugger some slack, gout or not. Do you think this boy is going to make it to the next round?”
Lady looked at the two men fighting in the ring. “No, he’s favoring his right side.”
“I’ll be damned,” he said after several seconds of watching the bout. They watched the fight for another few blows before Lady asked, “Why does he deserve any slack? He practically pinched your cheek and told you to go play with the other children.”
Mr. Adams laughed, a lewd mockery of a chuckle. “I’d better warn him not to cross my Lady or he’ll end up with the broken end of the bottle against his neck.”
“It was disrespectful, Mr. Adams.”
“Let him be, pet. Not only because he’s an American and a little rougher ’round the edges, but because we struck a deal today, him and I. He’s probably just feeling his juices flow.”
“Oh, a deal. How delicious,” Lady whispered in his ear. “What did you deal for, Mr. Adams? Property? Gold? Jewels?”
“Nothing that exciting. I’m going to ship my Chinese vases with him and he’s going to help me set up a market in the Americas. That and help King get set up.”
“King?” The news wasn’t a surprise, but hearing Mr. Adams talk about it was. He never spoke business to Lady.
“He’s going to New York to help protect my business there. The boy’s shown loyalty to me, and with that little diversion he pulled at the last fight, showed he has the brains to help run something like this. And I think it’s best if he’s away from here and you. Lord knows, you could tempt a saint, and I’d hate to lose him or you over something so trifling. Once the tournament is over and he doesn’t need the extra nursing he’s headed to the colonies.” Mr. Adams turned back to the fight.
The end of the tournament was a few days away, so time was getting short. King hadn’t mentioned anything about how quickly he was expected in New York. He might not know. Lady needed to gamble. She decided to start chatting and see how Mr. Adams reacted.
“I certainly hope he and Jonathan can get along over there, especially if they end up fighting each other for the championship.”
Mr. Adams laughed and raised his eyebrows. Lady lowered her voice and spoke in a cajoling manner. “What do you know that I don’t, Mr. Adams? Won’t King and Jonathan be working together in New York? Hmm?”
Mr. Adams looked to see who was around them and leaned in closer to Lady. “Not if Jonathan’s working for me.”
She didn’t have to feign surprise this time. “What do you mean?”
“Part of the deal Collins struck was that I got Jonathan. Between him and Shade, I’ll win every fight in London.” He laughed while trying to keep quiet. “I’ll be rich. And you, my pet, you’ll want for nothing.” He swept her into a quick waltz where they were standing and Lady’s world was swirling, her feet as unsteady as the rest of her. “I may even have to assign Jonathan to you as your personal guard, you’ll be wearing so many jewels.”
He swung them to a stop, ignoring the amazed looks from almost every person in the room. Even in the din of the crowd, his chuckles could be heard. Lady straightened on his arm and let her face settle back into its mask while inside she could feel Jonathan’s touch as he untied her bow. Suddenly there was so much more at stake. Mr. Adams’s web was getting bigger and scarier, with bigger and scarier monsters on guard, and Lady began to fear she could never escape. Even with King on her side, how could the two of them, or the three of them if she could convince Nessie to come, make it safely away from this nightmare? Regardless of the future, she needed to divert Mr. Adams now before he detected her unease.
“Mr. Adams, shouldn’t Shade start getting ready for his fight?”
“You forget, Lady, this is a street fight, not Gentleman Jim’s Boxing Academy. If Shade wants to fight in his street togs, that’s what he’ll do.”
Lady nodded, even though Mr. Adams was looking at the fight. “I suppose it’ll be both better for you and worse for you if both Shade and King make it to the final.”
“How’s that, pet?”
Lady glanced at him and saw he was studying her. She certainly had his attention now. “Well, if both make it, you are the absolute winner of this tournament. You’re not only the owner of the most feared fighter in London, you own the top two. The power you wield will double with your men. However, with both men in the title match, wagers will go down because men will figure both Shade and King are evenly matched, as you only own the best. Without Jonathan, an unknown, there’s no chance for a big win or a big payoff, so they won’t make the big bets. It’s almost a letdown after such an exciting tournament.”
“Lady, Lady, Lady. What am I going to do with you?”
Lady’s stomach clenched at Mr. Adams’s tone. She’d heard it before, the night of the party. Right before he’d taught her a lesson, he asked her that question, though he answered it himself. She forced herself to keep a moderate smile in place, even though she was clenching her teeth so hard
it gave her a headache. His impromptu dance had loosened her up more than usual, but she forgot the unpredictability that let Mr. Adams dance also let him rage. She wouldn’t let him hurt her like that again, but sometimes one blow was all it took.
“Keep me, I guess?” She laughed as carefree as she was able, hoping he didn’t pick up on the fear.
“Keep you?” he shouted and started to throw his free arm at her. Lady cringed, but instead of the blow falling, his arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her against him, his lips biting at her neck. Either he didn’t notice her reaction or counted it as excitement, because he acted as though he’d just discovered gold. He released her as suddenly, holding her upper arms and looking at her with an enormous grin on his face. “Of course I’m going to keep you. And after such crafty thoughts on the fight, I’m going to reward you too. And you deserve it. I know Shade upset you last night,” he said, his manner suddenly serious. “I’m sorry for that, I am. I got all worked up and somebody put a nasty whisper in my head about you and King, but I know now that’s false. You were doing what I asked you to, and no more. You don’t want to get closer to that sweaty, dull fighter any more than you have to, but you do it for me.” He pulled her forward for a loud smack on the cheek. Fear and hysteria matched equally to form shock, so Lady couldn’t move. Mr. Adams laughed and released her, shaking one finger at her in a playful scold. “How can you think I’ll ever let you go? You’ll need your own guard for the jewels you’ll have, I said. Now stay here, pet. I need to pull Shade from the tournament.”
Lady forced a laugh with him, kept laughing even after he was out of sight. She wondered if this was like the madness King George had felt, and started laughing even harder. A tap on her shoulder caused it instantly to stop.
“I thought he’d never leave you alone.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lady whirled around, coming face-to-face with Mr. Collins. She looked him up and down, then let a small smile play over her face. It was a trick she’d learned from Nessie on how to keep men off guard, or to get them off guard when they’d surprised you, and she needed the few extra seconds to gather her thoughts.
