Lady Unveiled - The Cuckold's Conspiracy (Daughters of Sin Book 5)

by Beverley Oakley

  The public appreciated her efforts. There were often tokens of regard from all manner of gentlemen that made her fellow actors envious.

  Rarely, though, did she receive something as lavish as the bouquet that arrived for her one Thursday afternoon.

  Kitty felt the thorns pricking into her as she read the card for the third time. It was an unusually lavish bunch of roses—long-stemmed, with blooms that smelled as if they’d been picked that afternoon.

  “Why, they’re lovely! But what are you looking like that for?” Jennie asked as she passed by. “Lord Nash wants you back again? Or is Lord Silverton asking you to marry ím, though I don’t think you look too joyful about it.”

  Kitty didn’t reply as she put down the bouquet and started to dress. If only it were Lord Nash. She knew how to manage him.

  But Lord Debenham? Why would Lord Debenham wish for her company? And with such an offering? Surely he couldn’t be thinking…

  It was a horrifying thought. No, she didn’t want to imagine he thought anything of her other than an accomplished professional. Still, the churning in the pit of her stomach didn’t abate. Lord Debenham was not a man to admire anyone or anything publicly without wanting something.

  So what did he want of Kitty? And did she have the courage to meet him, as he’d requested?

  Was it something to do with the necklace? Did he know of her desire to find incriminating information about him? A tremor of fear ran through her. She wanted nothing to do with the man, and yet he desired to meet her after the performance. Could she somehow slip away before he arrived?

  By the time the performance ended, Kitty had bolstered her courage. She’d remembered her duty to her sister and she was ready. Lissa had been the one person in her life on whom she could rely, and clearly, Lissa felt that Kitty had let her down by running off to London. Well, Lissa needed help in finding her heart’s desire, and Kitty had been handed an opportunity on a platter. She’d find out exactly what Debenham wanted. Whether he intended to threaten or bully, she would deftly question him so that she had something of value to deliver to Lissa.

  Knowing that her sister would be proud of her went some way to mitigating her terror.

  However, her training enabled her to hide her fear when Lord Debenham entered her dressing room in the wake of one of the chorus girls who’d brought news that he was here.

  She’d been expecting the usual fearsome scowl, something to indicate he was the devil incarnate as she’d always thought him, but instead, he appeared urbane and pleasant humored.

  “Divine as always, Miss Bijou. I am a great admirer of yours having seen every performance since you’ve been in London. It if had been possible, I’d have told you so the night you performed at The Grange.”

  “I’m flattered, my lord.” Kitty made sure she looked as relaxed and at her ease as possible, and with just an enquiring half-smile upon her face. A man like this one thrived on fear. She didn’t tell him she was honored by his attention because she was determined not to pander to him. She indicated the hustle and bustle about her with a wave of her hand. “As you can see, I am very busy, but I do have a few moments to spare.”

  He looked surprised and then burst out laughing. “Why, I had not expected you to be amusing to boot. Beautiful, aware of your attractions, perhaps vain like my wife, but not amusing!” He slapped his thigh as he sank down on the window seat, the only place in the room available to seat himself. “I’d like to take you to supper, Miss Bijou; that’s why I’m here.”

  Kitty could not have been more astonished. “I’m afraid that’s not possible, my lord.”

  “You are already engaged? Of course, I’d realized that was entirely possible—”

  “No, no, I’m just very tired, and I have another performance tomorrow.”

  This didn’t go down well, but he recovered quickly and bared his teeth in a rictus of a smile. “You are teasing me, Miss Bijou. I’m unaccustomed to it. For some reason, many people seem to fear me.”

  “Fear you, my lord?” She raised her eyebrows, glancing at him above the tips of her fingers which she was busy examining as she tried to gauge what this conversation was all about. “And why might that be?”

  “You’ve not heard rumors about me, Miss Bijou?”

  “I hear rumors about everybody of consequence, including you, but rumors are worthless unless they’re substantiated. Just because I’ve heard that you’ve flown to the moon in a pale pink sailing boat doesn’t mean it’s true.”

  “I like talking to you, Miss Bijou. By gad, I do! Let me take you Angeline’s for champagne and oysters. Surely you are hungry. Surely you’d like to toast tonight’s success with the finest champagne. I’m a generous man.”

  “I’m sure you are, my lord, but really, I do need my sleep though I thank you for your kind offer.”

  The more she demurred the keener he became. It was quite extraordinary. Eventually, Kitty realized—quite to her surprise—that she’d whipped up the interest of this man in a way she’d not have managed had she agreed to accompany him from the outset. And surely champagne and oysters in a public place would not be dangerous? She’d ensure he drank the lion’s share and then he might let his guard down. She might discover something valuable.

  They were on their second bottle in a darkened corner of the intimate dining salon and, as Kitty had hoped, Lord Debenham was in an expansive mood.

  “Ah, Miss Bijou, it’s been a long time since I enjoyed a woman’s company this much. We must do it again!”

  She shook her head. “I think that would be unwise. You have family commitments, and I work hard to ensure my reputation is free from the insinuation of casual liaisons, if I may speak bluntly.”

  He looked at her admiringly. “Are you suggesting you’d only be interested in a liaison that was not casual?”

  “Good lord, sir. I meant nothing of the sort!” Kitty heard her voice as a strangled thread of sound. “I mean that I am not interested in any kind of liaison.” With Lord Debenham? The idea was enough to make her run for the hills. “Besides, the gossips say you and your wife are uncommonly fond of each other.”

  The gossips said anything but, however, Kitty was clutching at straws.

  He gave a snide laugh. “I can’t imagine which gossips those might have been. Have you seen my wife?”

  “She is uncommonly beautiful, my lord. The toast of London, I believe.”

  “Uncommonly vain and self-centered, more like it. Now that she is breeding again she won’t want me to touch her. And a man like me needs…affection.”

  Kitty’s gasped. Was he truly suggesting what she thought he was?

  “You…know nothing about me, my lord,” she managed, her mouth dry.

  “Enough to be entranced by the persona I saw on stage, and my favorable impression has been more than bolstered by our little tete-a-tete this evening.”

  He moved closer toward her across the small table, and carefully laid his large hand upon her small gloved one where it rested beside the single guttering candle.

  “I know you were distressed by the defection of your erstwhile protector, Lord Silverton. I know him well, and I abhor such inconstancy.” He shook his head, his tone more honeyed but tinged with disgust as he added, “As if his marriage should prevent him maintaining his obligation toward you. Though I daresay he’s pinched in the pocket when it comes to looking after the needs of wife and mistress. Which leaves you, Miss Bijou, in very serious need of a protector. I know the pittance paid to artists like you. I know very well that maintenance is impossible without the…ah…assistance of men prepared to be generous. And I am prepared to be very generous, Kitty La Bijou.”

  He leaned back and looked at her expectantly.

  Kitty gathered up her reticule and stood up. “Thank you for a pleasant evening, my lord. I shall, of course, consider your kind and…generous…offer, but now I must return for some much-needed rest.”

  She didn’t wait for his response. How could she when she was quai
ling like a jelly inside? Only when she turned the key in her front door, which she shut firmly behind her as her heart rate subsided, did she realize she’d gained absolutely nothing of any value whatsoever from him. This should have been a time when she was at her most sophisticated; quizzing him like a consummate professional.

  Instead, she’d squandered her opportunity and let everyone down.

  Araminta checked her appearance once last time in the mirror and prepared to meet Teddy. At last, she was about to experience the bliss she so deserved, but which Debenham had denied her through forcing her to marry him. Oh, Teddy had been reluctant when she’d suggested a secret meeting at the ball a few nights previously. Naturally, he was afraid of Debenham. Everyone was. But didn’t that spice up the assignation? The secrecy and wickedness of it were half the appeal. Teddy, of course, represented the ideal—safety, unconditional admiration, a title, and grand estate. She had him twisted around her little finger, and although she’d not had confirmation that he’d, in fact, meet her at Madame Mirabeau’s salon, she had no doubt he’d be there.

  Unlike Debenham. He was so unpredictable. And selfish. When he’d caught her purging her stomach, he’d correctly deduced the reason, but instead of joyful anticipation of the happy event in what she guessed would be a little under eight months, his lip had curled as he’d focused on her mid-region. “I daresay I’d better make the most of my conjugal rights in the next few weeks,” he’d said. “You’re a bore when you’re breeding, Araminta; never wanting me to touch you, as I recall. Well, you can stay in the country this time.”

  “The Grange?” It’s where she’d given birth—or close to—only several months before, and she’d never been more relieved to go home.

  “Not this time. I think it’s time to unleash your amiable disposition on my family. I have an irascible uncle and uncommonly exacting grandmother in residence at Marsh Manor who deserve to know you better.”

  Araminta’s distress at the idea had only fed his ugly mood. Well, if Araminta had anything to do with it, it wouldn’t be long before Debenham had no influence in her life. Somehow she was going to find a way to be with Teddy.

  When she told Teddy this, ensconced in a private antechamber at Madame Mirabeau’s, he was a little incredulous.

  “My dear girl, short of Debenham…er…dying, I don’t see how that’s possible.” He had her sitting upon his lap now. That is, she’d sat herself upon his lap after she’d taken him by the hand and forcefully led him to this room. Madame Mirabeau had private rooms for just this function she’d learned, and she was not the only dissatisfied matron who utilized the weekly Thursday salons for pursuits other than a lively discussion on politics. Araminta didn’t know the first thing about politics, and she didn’t care to learn, either.

  “But that’s exactly it, Teddy darling. Debenham has made so many enemies I believe it’s quite possible he might…well, come to a sticky end.”

  “Good God, are you talking about murder?”

  Araminta shrugged, not caring that Teddy was clearly quite horrified. But then she thought she’d better appear deeply troubled, at least, so she rustled up a tear to augment a suitably terrified expression and whispered, “Indeed, Teddy, there are people who have expressly threatened Debenham. They think he’s done terrible things—”

  “Well, my brother is one of those people, and he’s trying to find evidence of wrongdoing, which makes this…” he indicated their close proximity “…deuced awkward.”

  Araminta cupped his face and softly touched her lips to his. She wriggled a little in his lap and was delighted that, despite his words and apparent reluctance, he was highly aroused.

  “Awkward for me if Debenham is convicted, for then I’d be humiliated and perhaps left with no support. But Teddy, I’m terrified that Debenham is a target for wrongdoers like…like Lord Smythe and that nasty little shoemaker and grubby pamphleteer, Buzby. They come to the house and pretend to be allies, but the truth is, I think they have ill intentions toward him. I tell him he shouldn’t trust them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them does something…well, terrible.”

  “Violence?”

  “That wouldn’t surprise me at all. But what can I do?” She started to tremble which helped bring on a bout of tears, and Teddy always responded well to tears. That’s why she loved him so much. He was so very susceptible and so chivalrous for he drew her to him and kissed away the moisture from her cheeks, which immediately led to a mutual escalation of desire—exactly what Araminta had intended, for if ever she needed an ally, she needed one now, and Teddy answered her every need.

  So, soon his hands were roaming over her body—the body that would soon become bloated and disgusting and to which she must introduce him now in all its perfection—though she must do it in the shadows to hide the lingering evidence of recent childbirth.

  And when he showed signs of demurring at the last moment, she guided his hands so he could feel the heat between her legs that signaled her desire, and then he was undone. And Araminta helped to make him undone, greedily unbuttoning his trousers, grasping his member which was already rigid, so that he needed little encouragement after that to throw caution to the wind.

  Soon they were both naked and writhing with passion in one another’s arms, and Araminta could feel the tension and fear ebbing away. What better ally could she have than earnest Lord Ludbridge, brother of the man who posed the greatest threat to Debenham and thus to herself?

  Kitty tried not to look as uncomfortable as she felt, brushing out her hair in her dressing room as Lord Debenham sat on a chair nearby, waxing lyrical on the benefits of allying herself to him. She’d been adamant that she wanted none of his generosity; no, she could manage just fine without his help.

  And then he said, “You are a stubborn little thing, and it’s clear you are nursing a terrible anger toward the man who’s wounded you. You’d like to see him brought down, wouldn’t you?”

  Kitty was about to refute this when he added, “If you want revenge, surely you can see how much I am in a position to help you?” His tone became more honeyed, and he put out his hand to stroke her hair.

  “Revenge?” She had to repeat the word for it was such a foreign concept that she would ever desire revenge. Not upon darling Silverton. She was about to use this as an argument to temper Lord Debenham’s overtures, which were becoming increasingly unpalatable, when again he interrupted, saying in a low voice, “A little manufactured evidence might well do the trick.” He raised an eyebrow. “If your maid had done her job properly, Silverton would be feeling the heat by now—well and truly. But you were in love with him then, weren’t you? I didn’t realize it—nor how important that little aspect would be in the whole scheme of things, but now I can see how much value we can provide each other—mutually. I can supply a means whereby you see Silverton is toppled from his comfortable perch, while you can safely enjoy the spectacle from the comfort of what I’m prepared to provide you.”

  After what seemed like an eternity he asked, “Would you like that? To see Silverton brought low and to still enjoy a man’s generosity? Or are you too much the romantic, Miss Bijou, and think I should go on bended knee and beg for your favors. I do have my limits.”

  She held her brush mid-air and gave him a contemplative look. “I’d never thought of such a thing, my lord. Revenge?”

  “Never thought of having your revenge? Why, I thought that’s what every spurned woman dreamed of.”

  Suddenly, Kitty laughed. “Revenge!” She said it on a gurgle of amusement, but he took her seriously and laughed with her, and that’s when Kitty realized how much power she had over Lord Debenham.

  For if he really thought she would seize such an opportunity, then she had all the evidence she needed to pass on to Ralph. She just needed to see how Debenham concocted this plan.

  “Come, let us go to supper, Miss La Bijou, and we can mull over the details. Madame Mirabeau’s?”

  She’d be taking a risk, but she had to if
she were going to find a way of helping Silverton escape his nemesis, and help Lissa and Ralph achieve their ends.

  So, smiling to cover her fear, she accompanied him in his carriage and issued out into the crisp night air and up the steps to the famous salon where she prayed she’d not see someone she knew.

  Lord Debenham ordered champagne once more, and after a few glasses, Kitty was feeling far braver, though far from allowing his Lordship the license he obviously desired. For when he suggested they repair to one of the private parlors Kitty shook her head. “Not yet, my lord. I am not one to rush into encounters and besides, you have not yet explained how I might find my revenge.”

  “A woman after my own heart. Hear the bargain first and then decide if the gains are worth it.” He leaned across the table and ran a finger lightly down her cheek. “I think the most innocent looking are the most dangerous. I wouldn’t want to be in Silverton’s shoes for I imagine you’ve already plotted a fine revenge. So I shall have to persuade you of the merits of my little proposal.”

  “And what might that be, my lord?”

  What on earth might Lord Debenham be concocting? She’d wanted to leap up in outrage, but now she was all ears.

  He took a sip, considering. “Surely, my dear, you have run over the possibilities. Losing a lot of money can hurt. I know his Lordship is plumpish in the pocket, but he can’t afford to throw away his blunt now that he has the upkeep of a plain wife—yes, it has to be conceded. What Miss Mandelton might offer in terms of pliability and amiability she lacks in looks. Silverton will soon cast his gaze elsewhere, and then he’ll have rather large expenses, won’t he?”

  Kitty considered this. “I don’t know how I might achieve that. I mean, see that he lost a great deal of money.” She looked innocently at him. There, let him suggest something.

  Lord Debenham examined the moons of his right hand. “Perhaps during your intimacy with his Lordship, you’ve learned something he may wish to keep secret, Miss Bijou.”