“Now, I believe I would prefer the comfort of my own carriage for what I have in mind,” she said coolly. She started forward, yanking Molly with her.
The man narrowed his eyes and crossed his beefy arms across his chest. “I told ye, ye ain’t takin’ the little piece off the premises.”
Victoria did the only thing she could think of. She lunged forward suddenly, ramming the end of the walking stick straight at the large man’s crotch.
The butler shrieked and fell back, cursing and clutching himself. Victoria raced for the door, hauling Molly along in her wake.
“Hell,” said Lucas from somewhere behind her. “I should have guessed something like this would happen.”
There was a roar from the butler and then a solid, sickening thud. Victoria looked back from the doorway and saw the big man sprawled on the floor and Lucas calmly reaching for his coat and gloves.
“Go on,” he ordered. “Get into the carriage.”
In all the commotion Molly had clung to Victoria, and now pale and nervous, she began to babble in fear.
Victoria patted her shoulder as she steered her out into the night. “Do be quiet, dear. No one’s going to hurt you.”
The dozing coachman who had driven Lucas and Victoria to the brothel flapped the reins on the horses’ rumps and moved the vehicle into position when he saw his customers emerge. He leered at poor Molly as Victoria thrust her up into the cab.
“I want t’ go home,” Molly wailed as Victoria climbed in behind her. The girl threw herself, sobbing, against Victoria’s shoulder. “Please sir, just let me go home to Lower Burryton. My ma will be ever so scared. I should never ’ave left but I was told there were plenty o’ good jobs ’ere in Town and my family needs the money so.”
“Hush, hush, ’tis all right. You will go home, I promise.” Victoria was still comforting the sobbing girl when Lucas emerged through the carriage door. He eyed the crying Molly.
“Well, she’s yours now, what do you propose to do with her?” Lucas asked as he signaled the coachman to pull away. “You can hardly take her to your aunt’s house. You cannot possibly explain her presence. Everyone will know what you’ve been up to tonight.”
“Once again you have the right of it, Lucas. How very perceptive of you. She cannot go home with me, so we must send her home with you. Your housekeeper can see to her welfare tonight and get her on the northbound stage in the morning.”
“Bloody hell,” said Lucas. But he looked resigned to the inevitable.
Silence, broken only by Molly’s sobs, reigned for a few minutes.
“Had enough of brothels?” Lucas finally inquired calmly.
Victoria shuddered. “Quite enough. I never want to see such a place again as long as I live. It was sickening, Lucas. That those poor women should be reduced to being forced to survive by selling themselves to those awful men goes against all decent sensibility.”
“Allowing you to witness such a scene goes against all decent sensibility, too,” said Lucas. “I have only myself to blame for having indulged you in such a foolish fashion. I begin to think our night games have gone far enough.”
Victoria was suddenly alarmed by his unexpectedly grim tone. “Surely you do not mean to put a halt to our adventures.”
Lucas glanced meaningfully at the still-sobbing Molly. “We had best discuss this at another time.”
“But, Lucas …”
“By the bye, you owe me three hundred pounds.” Lucas leaned his head back against the seat cushions and closed his eyes. “Plus whatever it costs to get her out of town tomorrow morning.”
Victoria sniffed. “Really, Lucas. If you’re going to be that way about it, I shall see that you are repaid immediately.”
“There is no great rush, Vicky. I can wait to collect.”
She bit her lip. “But you do intend to collect?”
Lucas opened his eyes and looked at Victoria. “Oh yes, my dear,” he said, “you may be certain of that.”
Lucas plucked a glass of champagne off a passing tray and turned to greet Jessica Atherton, who was making her way determinedly toward him through the glittering crowd. She looked as lovely as always in her ball gown of blush rose, and her hair was fashionably ornamented with two combs studded with rubies.
But the expression on Jessica’s face was that of a woman on a holy mission. It occurred to Lucas that more and more he was beginning to notice a certain pinched look about the woman he had once loved and lost.
What he had once interpreted as an expression of becoming modesty now seemed to border on perpetual disapproval. And there was something about her eyes that bothered him, something eternally distant and sadly aloof, as if she had looked out at the world and found that it did not live up to her high standards and never would.
Lucas contemplated his problem with the look in Jessica’s eyes for the three or four minutes it took her to reach him. Just as she arrived at his side he finally realized exactly what it was about her that bothered him now. There was no fire in her, he thought suddenly, only the uncomfortable chill of angelic righteousness and a touch of female martyrdom. Thank God he did not have to look forward to getting into bed beside this untouchable, ethereal creature tonight or any other night.
It occurred to Lucas that during the brief time he had been engaged in the unconventional wooing of Victoria Huntington, he had become addicted to fire.
“Dearest Lucas, I have been anxiously waiting for you to arrive.” Jessica smiled achingly up at him as if she had been afraid he had dropped off the earth sometime during the past few days. “Is everything going well with you?”
“Very well, thank you, Jessica.” Lucas took the smallest of sips from his champagne and scanned the crowd for Victoria.
Jessica lowered her voice in a melodramatic fashion. “I have been extremely concerned to know if our plans were proceeding smoothly. There has been some gossip, nothing substantial, you understand.”
Lucas did not like the way she said our plans, as if Jessica were somehow intimately involved in this courtship. But he could hardly deny that she had set the entire business in motion. If it had not been for Jessica, he might never have met Victoria. “What sort of gossip are you talking about Jessica?”
“Simply that you are seen frequently with Miss Huntington at parties and soirées and that you have ridden together more than once in the park. It is one thing to attend lectures and such events with her in the company of her aunt, but quite another to meet Miss Huntington in the park. I must ask if all this is leading up to our desired goal, Lucas.”
Lucas set his back teeth at the way Jessica had used the word “our” again. “Kindly refrain from worrying about me. I am quite satisfied with the status of my association with Miss Huntington.”
“Really, Lucas, you needn’t act so churlish. I am only concerned for your success in this important matter of marrying an heiress. I know it is required of you and I am doing my best to assist you. There is still Miss Pilkington, you know.”
Lucas stifled an oath and tried to appear properly grateful. “Thank you, Jessica. I appreciate your efforts. You have been most helpful.”
She was somewhat mollified. “It is the least I could do in view of our past connection. I do hope you realize that I shall always think fondly of you, Lucas.”
Fondness was about the limit of whatever affection Jessica Atherton would ever feel for anyone, Lucas decided. No heat in her at all.
He smiled to himself as he finally caught sight of Victoria on the far side of the room. She was in animated conversation with her friend Annabella Lyndwood. When Victoria fell in love, she was going to burn like wildfire, he decided.
As if she sensed his gaze on her, Victoria looked up and saw him. She said something to Annabella and started through the crowd.
Lucas studied her as she moved toward him. Her height as well as the egg-yolk yellow silk gown made it easy to follow her progress. She looked vivid, regal, and almost unbearably provocative tonight. The gown was c
ut much too low again, of course. All her gowns seemed to be cut too low. This one made him long to grab her, take her out into the gardens, and pull the small bodice straight down to her waist. Her breasts were a constant source of delight to him; high, softly curved, and perfectly suited to the palm of his hand.
As she moved toward him, pausing politely to chat with friends en route, he remembered the hot, slick feel of her on his fingers the other night in the carriage. His body tightened just at the thought. Capturing his heiress was proving to be a very taxing business.
He was getting damned tired of denying himself what lately he had sensed Victoria was more and more eager to offer.
But with this particular female, strategy was everything and Lucas had plotted very carefully even as she had shivered in his arms with her first feminine climax. Forcing himself to think in strategic terms had been the only way to keep a tight rein on his own raging desire. Lucas did not think he could endure too many such “experiments,” however.
He grinned a little when he saw Victoria pause in the crowd to cast a critical, assessing eye on Jessica Atherton. Then he watched her paste a very engaging smile on her lips and continue forward. Beside him, Jessica continued talking in confidential tones.
“You know, Lucas, I have had a few second thoughts about Victoria’s suitability. It is true that her social connections are excellent and she does have a sizable inheritance, but I am not at all certain you would find her easy to manage.”
“Don’t fret, Jessica. I believe I can manage Miss Huntington.” Lucas inclined his head toward Victoria as she closed the distance between them and continued smoothly, “Good evening, Miss Huntington. What a coincidence running into you here at the Ridleys’. Is your aunt with you?” Beside him, he felt Jessica stiffen and close her mouth instantly.
“Yes, of course,” said Victoria. “I left her talking to Lady Ridley. Good evening, Jessica. What a charming gown. I trust you are well?”
Jessica turned around quickly and smiled with a determined graciousness. “Very well, thank you, and yourself?”
“I have been slightly indisposed for the past day or two,” Victoria said with a warning glint in her eye as she slid a quick glance at Lucas.
“I am so sorry to hear that,” Jessica said.
“Oh, ’tis nothing significant, mind you, merely a small problem with my digestion. I fear my appetite is often affected by my mood and I confess I have been in a rather ill humor lately. Do you have the same reaction to ill humors, Jessica?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. It is not at all uncommon for me to lose my appetite completely when I am in distress. I am often a victim of the headache, too,” Jessica agreed.
“Precisely. You are always so understanding, Jessica. So perceptive. Unlike some people.” Victoria smiled pointedly at Lucas.
Lucas managed to pretend he noticed nothing amiss. “I hope you are feeling better, Miss Huntington.”
“Oh, I will feel infinitely better just as soon as I have occasion to settle a small matter that has been plaguing me recently.”
“I know what you mean,” Jessica put in helpfully. “One’s digestion is often improved when one’s peace of mind is restored.”
“How very true.” Victoria’s smile would have outshone the sun. She aimed it straight at Lucas. “Lord Stonevale, I was wondering if I might have a word with you?”
“I am at your service, of course, Miss Huntington.” But he made no move to escort her out of Jessica’s hearing. Instead he placidly took another minuscule sip of champagne. “What is it you wished to speak to me about?”
Victoria cleared her throat meaningfully and glanced at Jessica. “A small matter, my lord. It concerns a forthcoming lecture. You know how interested you are in lectures.”
“It depends. Is this lecture of a scientific nature?”
“Definitely. I believe it might be described as a matter of intellectual inquiry.”
“Then I am naturally interested to learn more.” He drew his watch from his pocket. “Unfortunately, however, I have promised to meet a friend at my club and I fear I am late. Please tell your aunt that I am always happy to receive invitations to her society’s lectures and shall look forward to this one, whatever it is. If you will excuse me, Miss Huntington? Lady Atherton?”
Lucas inclined his head politely to both women and made his escape from the ballroom.
This was not his first such escape in the past few days. Lucas grinned as he hailed a carriage. He had been studiously avoiding Victoria’s increasingly pointed attempts to speak to him in private.
Strategy.
He was certain he knew what the topic of discussion would be when he finally allowed his heiress to pin him down.
He was almost positive that what Victoria was working herself up for was a request for more of the sort of intellectual inquiry that he had introduced her to that night in the carriage after the visit to the Green Pig.
Lucas cautioned himself for the thousandth time that he must not give in easily. After all, he thought wryly as the carriage halted at the steps of his St. James Street club, he wanted the lady to continue to respect him in the morning.
But there was another, far more serious consideration. Vicky was his responsibility. As her future lord and husband, it was his duty to protect her. Once he had made love to her, a new risk arose. There was every possibility she would get pregnant.
He supposed he should look upon that possibility as another useful tactic. Perhaps, back at the beginning of this strange courtship he might have done so. Now, however, it occurred to Lucas that he would far rather have Vicky come to him of her own free will. He wanted her to want him, he realized. He wanted her to want him enough to take the risk of surrendering completely. He wanted her to marry him because she loved him, not because she had to.
Lucas shook his head ruefully. Something about the wooing of Victoria Huntington was threatening to turn his clear-headed, cool-thinking soldier’s brain into romantic mush.
The club’s gaming room was far different in outer appearances than the gaming hell where Lucas had taken Victoria. Here, only gentlemen of respectable birth and reputation were allowed. The atmosphere around the green baize tables was far more subdued and aristocratic in tone. But the stakes were higher here in St. James than in the stews, and the potential for disaster enormous.
The potential for profit was correspondingly higher, too, however, and since the games were far more likely to be honest in this environment, such clubs were where Lucas habitually came to make his living.
“I say, Stonevale, been wanting to speak to you.” Ferdie Merivale got to his feet and hastened forward as he saw Lucas walk into the room.
Lucas picked up a bottle of claret and poured himself a glass. He cocked a brow at the young man and wondered if he was about to be called out for his rescue efforts at the Green Pig. Then he thought of how he would explain such a situation to the lady who had gotten him into the mess in the first place. Oh, by the bye, Vicky, the young pup you insisted I rescue has decided to try to kill me tomorrow morning.
At least Molly the farm girl was safely out of town and not likely to come back anytime soon.
“What is it, Merivale?”
Ferdie flushed and ran a finger under the extremely high fold of his neckcloth. But his gaze was determined and direct. “I wished to thank you, my lord.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes in muted surprise. “Do you, indeed? For what?”
“For your interference the other night,” Merivale plowed on gamely. “Don’t believe I was properly appreciative at the time. Had a few glasses of claret before I got into the game, you know.”
“Glasses or bottles?”
“Bottles,” Ferdie admitted ruefully. “At any rate, I had no way of knowing what sort of reputation Duddingstone had. I’ve since learned that respectable men don’t sit down to cards with him.”
“Intelligent men don’t sit down to cards with him,” Lucas corrected. “I am glad you realize wh
at he is. I will not bore you with a lecture on your responsibility to your name and estates, but I would urge you to think twice about risking more than you can afford to lose in a card game with anyone, respectable or otherwise.”
Merivale grinned. “Are you quite certain you’re not going to bore me with a lecture? Completely unnecessary, you know. I swear I have had three or four from my mother.”
Lucas grinned. “Sorry. I fear I spent too long in the army. One gets accustomed to issuing warnings to green officers. And spare me your thanks, Merivale. To tell you the truth, I had no real intention of rescuing you that evening. I had other things on my mind at the time.”
“Then why did you bother, sir?” Merivale asked.
“My, uh, companion took pity on you and suggested I do something. I obliged. That was all there was to it.”
“I do not believe that for a moment, sir. You were kind enough to get me out of a situation in which I could have lost a great deal and I want you to know I am in your debt.” Ferdie Merivale bowed slightly and went back to join his friends at the bar.
Lucas shook his head in silent amazement. Victoria had been correct. Ferdie Merivale wasn’t such a bad lot after all. If he continued to grow up at this pace, the young man might very well become a credit to his title and his family.
None of that, however, made up for the fact that because he had been occupied with stuffing Merivale into a carriage, Victoria had nearly been run down. Every time he recalled the terrible scene, Lucas’s insides went cold.
Deliberately he shook off the chill. He had business to do tonight. He picked up the claret bottle and went across the room to see who was playing cards. He needed to augment his financial reserves. It cost a staggering amount to move in Victoria’s social circles.
The one truly irksome thing about this courtship was that the money he was spending on the social trappings he needed for camouflage was money that could not be sunk into the hungry lands of Stonevale.
Lucas consoled himself with the knowledge that one sometimes had to take risks in order to secure a greater profit.
He soon found what he was looking for—a game of whist where the play would be deep enough to suit his current financial needs. He was invited to sit down at once. Lucas did so, putting the bottle on the table.