Chapter Fourteen
Bliss proved to be no help at all. Gavin cajoled, outwitted, and occasionally battered her with his forceful glare, yet she had no new information to offer. It was like she was only a casual observer in her own life. If he wanted to know her favorite frock or all about Charles and his proclivities in bed, he suspected that she could expound for hours on both matters. But ask her what she knew about the woman who had lived in her house for months, and she could hardly remember what the mysterious maid looked like.
“Other than dark hair, you have nothing?” He wanted to take her by the shoulders and give her a shake. “No moles, no scars, no limp? Anything that might help identify her?”
“She was a servant,” Bliss whimpered. “She fixed my hair and dressed me. What else was I supposed to notice about her?”
Gavin looked at Noelle, and she felt the weight of his frustration. He turned back to Bliss and pressed her with several more questions.
Finally, when the girl was near tears, he motioned for Noelle to follow him into the hallway.
“I think Bliss is innocent,” he grumbled. He raked his hands through his hair and closed his eyes. “The chit would have difficulty deciding which pastry to eat with her tea. I cannot see her leading a ring of thieves.”
Noelle agreed. “I told you as much. I’ve spent enough time with her to discover quickly that she is incapable of such complicated deceit. She simply became entangled in this affair and saw Eva as a way out. When I informed her Eva was away, she crumbled. When she dropped at my feet on the stoop, sobbing and clawing at my skirts, I couldn’t refuse to help.”
Gavin’s mouth thinned. “I think your first hunch was correct. Her maid is the key. I have an investigator searching for her now.” His shoulders slumped and he leaned against the wall. “It’s easy to see what Charles found attractive in her. She is a fetching chit, if one has no desire for intelligent conversation. If only she’d been wise enough to see she was being manipulated and put a stop to the matter before it went too far.”
“Many mistakes have been made from the start,” Noelle said. “Bliss’s theft and failure to return the necklace immediately to the earl, before he’d left her town house, started the downward tumble. Looking back, my ill-conceived plan to return the necklace might have been better accomplished if I had sent the necklace anonymously, by courier.”
Gavin grunted. “The fact that Seabrook had possessed the audacity to slip Bliss into his own home, the same home he occasionally shared with his wife and children, made you confident that Bliss had information about the floor plan to make returning the necklace in person possible. Outside of the address, Bliss clearly hadn’t gotten much else about the property right.”
“True,” Noelle replied. Mistakes aside, the earl now possessed the necklace, and though he’d likely suspect Bliss, there’d be no proof she had a hand in the theft. Gavin promised to keep the matter between them. For now. “Still, I could have planned better. I have always been impulsive.”
He shot her a funny look, and she smiled. “I guess that comes as no surprise to you, Mister Blackwell.”
Reaching out a finger, he touched her under the chin. “It is one of the things about you I find most compelling.”
Noelle couldn’t regret all aspects of the situation. If she hadn’t stumbled into Gavin with the stolen necklace hidden in her pocket, she might never have met him. She’d gone halfway through the Season without once catching sight of him.
“What is our next step?” she asked.
Gavin scratched his fingertips over his chin. “I shall check back with Mister Crawford, the investigator, and see what he’s learned about the missing maid.”
“I know Mister Crawford. He is very competent.”
“He is,” Gavin agreed. “If we discover no new information before Saturday, we will attend the ball.”
“And use yourself as bait.” Noelle saw him stiffen. “The footpads know who you are. That’s why I instructed Thomas to use care when bringing you here.” She paused. “They likely follow you everywhere. The ball is in a public place. It will be safer for you, for both of us, if they confront you there.”
“Charles has the necklace,” Gavin protested. “They should be chasing him.”
“Unfortunately, the footpads think you have it. They probably assume Bliss gave it back.” Noelle shrugged. “You said they weren’t bright. I suspect they’ve mixed up you and your cousin. You do look a bit alike, and you live in his town house. With His Lordship in Bath, you are their focus.”
Gavin shook his head. “They did call me ‘Your Lordship’ while pounding my face.” He touched his bruised lip and darted a glance at Bliss. “I should give Charles a beating for getting me involved in this. He never has thought with his head around women.”
Noelle ignored the salacious insinuation. “Having me with you at the ball will help cover our trap. They will not suspect you are drawing them out if you are with your new lover. That is why I must learn my part.”
From his expression, Noelle knew he hated the idea of putting her in harm’s way. If she hadn’t pushed him to allow her a part in the investigation, she would be home now, walking grooves in the parquet floors and resenting that he was digging up clues without her.
She wanted to run her fingertips along the jerking muscle, and some kisses, too; anything to soothe the tension on his face.
“Sophie has mentioned that three courtesans are expected to arrive today,” she said, mentally shaking herself free of her musing. “I shall return home, get into costume, and join them at the meeting place. They will not suspect another courtesan joining their group. Perhaps there is some gossip I can glean from the women.” She smirked. “We women do love to share news. By the night of the ball, I will be a perfect courtesan.”
Gavin’s tension finally faded, and a smile emerged as he stepped close. He leaned in and said, “If you learn anything of, shall we say, an intimate matter, I’d be happy to discuss any questions you may have. Perhaps I may start a school of my own. What can innocent young society wives learn from courtesans to keep their husbands home and in their own beds?”
Noelle choked mid-swallow. Gavin thumped her gently on the back, chuckling as he did so.
“You are a libertine, Mister Blackwell.” Glowering, she peered at him through watery eyes. “Have you no morals, no sense of propriety?”
His mouth lowered dangerously close to hers. “If I did, I don’t think you’d find me quite so appealing.”
The man was maddening! “You assume much, sir. Perhaps I find little about you appealing. You cannot read my thoughts. A few moments of madness does not make me yearn for you with the intensity of a thousand suns.”
“Who said anything about yearning?” He smirked and drew a hand down her arm. “I think you find me every bit as fascinating as I do you. One day, when we have time to explore your, ah, yearnings to their fullest, I will be a very happy man.”
“I do not yearn for you,” she snapped. The man was too confident and enjoyed knowing his seductive power over her. He needed to brought down a peg. “I am not your courtesan. We have no arrangement. I am playing a part to gain information, nothing more.” She turned and headed through the house with her boots clack-clacking as she went. She didn’t look behind her but assumed he had to walk at a brisk clip to keep up.
Though he held his tongue, she felt his humor, and it rankled. She led him through the garden to the gate where the coach stood just outside. Thomas pushed off the side of the coach and waited patiently at the door. There was a rumor he’d been in the army with Harold. It certainly explained his ramrod-stiff way of standing. And his serious demeanor.
“The servants are the ones who seem to know every scandal before it happens. Perhaps disguising yourself as a maid would be a more fitting avenue to overhear gossip.”
A smile tugged at her mouth. She drew a slow, measuring gaze down his body and then back up to his face. “Yes, but it will not bring me nearly as much
pleasure.”
The direct hit to his manhood flared his nostrils. Teasing a man to arousal wasn’t a brilliant idea. However, when the man was her outlandish Mister Blackwell, and he had no compunction about teasing her back with his own seductive words, she felt it was her duty to torment him in return.
His blue eyes turned stormy. “You worry me, Milady. You are enjoying your part as a courtesan far too much for comfort. I fear trouble is brewing ahead if you’re not careful.”
Noelle screwed up her face. With Gavin at her side, how much trouble could she get into? “Are you warning me that I am not safe with you?” she asked innocently. She might not be safe with him, but she didn’t fear the thugs. Gavin had taken on three and won. “Should I have the metalsmith fashion a chastity device that I might wear beneath my drawers?”
If it was possible for a frown to deepen to a dangerous level, his did. She almost stepped back beneath the intensity of his glare. She didn’t know why she was teasing him, outside of the amusement it brought her. The wicked adventuress in her wanted Gavin to yank her into his arms and kiss her silly.
There were several places in the garden where the feat could be accomplished quite nicely.
Gavin shifted from foot to foot. She dared not look down at the front of his breeches for proof of his arousal.
“I’m warning you, My Lady Noelle. If you stoke the fire too high, you will get burned.” He gave her a terse nod and left her with the slam of the garden gate. Thomas fitted him with the blindfold, and Gavin awkwardly climbed inside the coach.
She wondered if he actually kept the blindfold on during the ride, and suspected he did not. Still, the painted windows and curtains would keep him from finding his way back.
“Oh, dear,” she whispered as the coach pulled away. His warning rang loudly in her ears. He was telling her she just might get what she was asking for if she wasn’t careful. Gavin had made it clear that if she didn’t want to remain innocent, she should continue her bold behavior.
A shiver raised the fine hairs on her arms. What did she want? Did she hope for an affair with a deliciously seductive man? Did she want this one opportunity to feel fully and completely desired before she became an old and dusty spinster?
She did. Lud, she did!
Noelle managed a weak smile for the pair of women, Blythe and Sally, sitting opposite her in the coach. The third woman never showed up at the bookstore, so she didn’t have to explain the presence of four women to Thomas. Truthfully, she was grateful he didn’t recognize her.
How could he? She was fluffed, laced up, and powdered to such a degree that she’d make the bold Marie Antoinette envious, were the ill-fated queen still alive. The cream-colored vintage gown was slightly yellowed with age and smelled a bit musty. After spending decades in her attic, buried in a trunk, it needed more than one hour to air out.
Time Noelle hadn’t had. The bookstore owner, Mister Potts, had been a client of Eva’s and was married to the first courtesan Eva had rescued. Satisfied with the outcome of his marriage, he’d offered to help Eva collect the courtesans at predetermined times each month for transport to the school. Unless there was an emergency and a woman was in danger; then he’d send a note around to Eva and the woman was sent immediately to the school.
Bliss had somehow convinced him of her emergency. That was how she’d arrived unannounced.
If the other women found Noelle’s appearance odd, covert glances aside, they kept their opinions to themselves. They chatted amiably about gowns and shoes and left her to herself. A few minutes later, the trio was ushered into the town house and directed to the parlor. Sophie joined them for an introductory tea. As she explained the rules of conduct and poured tea, Noelle let her mind drift. She’d spent much time in the town house of late but never had seen it through a courtesan’s eyes. If she was to live as a courtesan, she had to see things as they did. She examined the uninteresting room and smugly realized the walls needed a new coat of paint.
Not exactly a stunning revelation.
So she sipped her tea and watched the four courtesans, Bliss and Edolie included, trying to focus on Sophie’s words. The four shot her curious glances, trying not to be impolite. Per Eva’s instructions, all were dressed in subdued colors. She was the only “courtesan” with enough lace and bows on her gown to sink one of Gavin’s ships.
She bit back a sigh. She’d fully forgotten rule number one. Subdued. As she looked around the parlor, she knew, regardless of the muted color of the gown, that she stood out like a peacock in a pen of chickens. Sophie had arrived late and flustered to start the first lesson, so Noelle hadn’t had a chance to speak with her alone. Although Sophie expected her to make an appearance at some point during the day, Noelle was amused to discover that Sophie didn’t immediately recognize her. Perhaps the woman was so stunned by Marie Antoinette’s appearance in the parlor that she couldn’t bring herself to openly stare into Noelle’s face for fear of appearing rude.
“You will carry yourself as ladies. Clothing with fabric thin enough to see through is forbidden,” Sophie said. Noelle’s attention drifted in and out. The former courtesan knew her part well.
“You are here by choice,” Sophie continued. “If at any point you decide you do not want to obey the rules, you are welcome to le—” A commotion in the hallway interrupted her speech. After a flurry of rapid footsteps, Sophie broke into a smile. She stood.
All pairs of eyes turned toward the door as Eva, the Duchess of Stanfield, glided through the door in a simple gown of gray muslin, a wig similar in color to Noelle’s that hid the true copper-gold color of her hair, and a pair of spectacles perched on her perfect nose.
Noelle almost let out a gasp of alarm.
“Sophie.” The two women embraced. In a year they’d become old friends. “Mother has recovered nicely, and I had to come back. The fresh country air was getting tiresome,” Eva said with a smile. She swept her gaze briefly around the room and seemed satisfied all was in hand. The courtesans would know her only as Miss Eva, spinster and courtesan savior. No hint of the beautiful duchess showed through her drab disguise.
Although she’d missed Eva, why did she have to return now and ruin everything?
Noelle’s stomach clenched, and she slid down in her seat.
Chapter Fifteen
Noelle watched as Eva moved from woman to woman, introducing herself as Miss Eva and welcoming them to her school. The young women seemed pleased to be part of the new class and twittered excitedly, knowing they were just weeks away from altering their lives forever.
Seated a bit off to the side, Noelle was last in the row; not close enough to launch herself out the narrow window, and farthest from the door, making an unnoticed escape impossible. She was trapped, fully and completely, beneath her high, stiff wig.
Unfortunately, no matter how desperately she wished it, and how many silent prayers she frantically rolled through her mind, the floral-patterned settee did not open up and swallow her whole.
She’d have to hope against hope that the disguise was enough to fool her painfully observant sister. Not likely!
What was Eva doing back so early? Noelle had received a letter from her sister just two days ago, advising her that she and Nicholas would not be back for almost two weeks. And unless time had sped forward while she was sleeping last evening, she still had twelve days! Twelve days to find out what she could about courtesans without her sister hovering over her like a hawk circling a hapless mouse.
All too soon, Eva stepped over to Noelle and extended her hand. She might as well have handed over a dead cod, for Noelle looked at the outstretched hand with the same enthusiasm.
“Welcome to my school. I am Miss Eva.”
Staring down at Eva’s sensible hemline would only delay the inevitable. She breathed deeply and lifted her face. It took all of two heartbeats for Eva’s breath to catch, and two more to recover from her surprise when Noelle shot her a pleading stare.
“How very nice to meet you, M
iss Eva. I am Grace Templeton,” Noelle said smoothly, and took her hand. Her sister smiled tightly and pulled her to her feet. They bumped together as skirts and feet tangled.
“If you will excuse us, ladies, I would like to speak privately with Miss Templeton.” Noelle watched as finally a dawning came over Sophie’s surprised face, and she shot Sophie a silent plea for help that went unanswered. Eva all but dragged her from the room and didn’t release her until she’d closed the parlor door tightly behind them.
Noelle winced.
“What are you doing here, Noelle, dressed like you just stepped out of Napoleon’s court?” Eva’s voice was tight. “Did I miss the note about today being costume day at my school?”
Noelle forced a sheepish smile and patted the powdered wig. “I am in disguise. A pretty good one, if I say so myself. Even Sophie didn’t recognize me.”
Noelle kept silent about Sophie being in on her plan.
Eva spoke through gritted teeth. “We are not here to discuss the height of your wig or the cut of that gown. I want to know why I came back from nursing my sick mother to find you seated among my courtesans.”
How much information should she share? If Eva knew what Noelle had been up to these last few days, what she’d done in the coach with Gavin, she’d be outraged.
Still, Eva was her sister and they shared a bond. Though they hadn’t known each other long, Eva could read her very well. Lies wouldn’t come easy. The best way to settle the matter would be to tell Eva the truth and take her lumps.
Besides, she’d been dreadfully lonely lately. Confiding in Eva would certainly help ease the burden of her secrets. And Eva might be able to help with the case. She was privy to all sorts of gossip.
The Accidental Courtesan Page 14
