Wedded in Scandal
Page 12
She nodded in acknowledgment, though she would never call him that.
“I have handled this incorrectly, Helaine, but the desire remains. I should like you to be my mistress.”
“And I desire to be an honest dressmaker who isn’t constantly accosted.” She did not invest her words with anger. She simply stated it and prayed he would hear her.
He did understand her implication. His wince was proof of that. But that didn’t stop him from pleading his case. “I am a slow lover, Helaine, patient and generally considerate. And though I have never taken a virgin, I would make an exception for you. I would introduce you correctly to this business. And would pay handsomely for the privilege.”
He paused, but when she didn’t speak, he leaned forward. She could tell he meant to touch her hands, but she kept herself firmly away. Despite her aloof position, his words were tempting her, especially as he continued to speak in that low, throaty voice that seemed to settle into her bones.
“We could make whatever arrangements you desire, though I do ask that my sister not find out.”
“Oh, no!” she gasped, horrified by the very idea.
He gave her a wry look. “I see we are in agreement on that. My demands would not be heavy, and I can let rooms nearby for our use. It might take me a bit to get all arranged. The financials can be slow sometimes, but I will pay. Forgive me for being blunt, Helaine, but are you a virgin?”
Her cheeks flamed at that, but she managed to nod.
“Do not be embarrassed. Virginity is an excellent thing. And the usual price for it is rather exorbitant.” He named a figure that would easily cover her expenses for months. One that would pay for enough fabric for a dozen trousseaus. “I would give that to you on our first night. Then you would have a monthly allowance afterward. And when we separate, that money plus any gifts would be yours to keep.”
She knew she was staring at him, the shock apparent in every line of her body. This was the strangest conversation she’d ever had. Did all men simply arrange their sexual affairs in such a businesslike fashion? Apparently so. Probably because plain speaking was best for this sort of thing. But she couldn’t help wishing for some pretty phrases, some wooing before the deed was done.
He must have taken her silence as agreement. He must have believed he had accomplished his task, because he smiled at her then. The expression transformed him from cool aristocrat to a satisfied man, much like her father after a really excellent night of drinking.
“What say you, Helaine? Have we made a bargain?” From his tone, she could tell he expected her to say yes. She didn’t.
She shook her head. “I am a dressmaker, my lord. I am afraid my skills for anything else are sorely lacking.”
His eyes seemed to glitter at that, and she couldn’t tell if it was laughter or anticipation. Either way, it added to the feel of a man very content with his lot. “I assure you, a lack of skill is expected in a virgin. And you may be a dressmaker, but you are also a beautiful woman. One, I might add, who has advertised herself as a man’s mistress for quite some time. You lose nothing by becoming one in truth and have much to gain.”
“What do I gain, my lord? Money? A protector?”
“All of those things.”
“And what if I don’t want them?”
He arched a single eyebrow. “But you do need them. Money most certainly, but also a protector. Otherwise you would not have played the game with Lord Metzger.”
He had her there. “But what if I don’t want it?”
“That also is patently false. Do you deny it?”
She couldn’t deny it, but her pride made her press her lips together. She’d be damned if she admitted it. He was becoming much too sure of himself, too certain of her, and she didn’t like it. So she leaned back on the settee and crossed her arms. She was well aware of what the action did to her breasts, lifting them up such that her cleavage was on display. As expected, his gaze dropped straight to her chest. But of course, she was equally the fool here because at his intense stare, her blood heated, her nipples tightened, and she began to think of saying yes. So she forced the denial out quickly before she could change her mind.
“My life is different now than when I made my bargain with Lord Metzger. I am not alone anymore. I have a shop that I love, people who care for me—”
“And Johnny Bono fondling you between a bolt of muslin and a crate of onions. Do not think I have forgotten about that. Indeed, just say yes and your difficulties with that character will end.”
“I would be simply trading one man for another. One type of abuse for another.”
Her words were a challenge to him, but she never anticipated how much. His mouth tightened and his eyes glittered cold with fury. “Never suggest he and I are of the same cloth, Helaine.”
Honesty forced her to admit the truth, but her pride kept her from making it an apology. “Not of the same cloth certainly, but of the same intent.”
“I will never force you.”
“You merely point out my vulnerabilities, and offer to save me from them one by one.”
He nodded. “That is what men do, is it not? They save their women from danger.”
There it was. The last piece she needed to strengthen her spine and convince her to say no. He had no idea how hard she had fought for her independence. For her room above the shop, for a purpose and profession that brought money to her. Money that was hers and hers alone. She still feared debtors’ prison, but for now, she would not trade her independence away.
“You forget that I have no need of rescuing. Ladies come to my door every day asking for my dresses. And as for Mr. Bono, I have handled his attentions for years now; I shall undoubtedly continue to manage for many years to come. So you may keep your money and your rooms. I am quite content as I am.”
“Really?” he drawled, the word a sensuous caress that throbbed deep in her belly. “And what of pleasure?”
“Do you know,” she said, feigning a cheerfulness she did not feel, “I believe that men derive a great deal more satisfaction from carnal pleasures than women. I assure you,” she lied, “I will rub along quite nicely without it.”
“That, sweet Helaine, would be a crying shame.”
She had no answer to that. She had little understanding of the pleasures of the flesh. Many a night she had slept in her cold bed and wondered about them. What did married women know that she did not? And would she ever learn?
Apparently not, because she pushed to her feet. “Thank you for your offer, my lord, but I am not interested.”
He stood because she’d forced him to. The man was too polite to stay seated before a woman, even a woman who had just refused him. “I have not finished, Helaine. I still need to know what Johnny Bono holds over you.”
She shook her head. “Nothing except that he is the only one who will sell me fabric on credit.”
“That, at least, I can change. Name the best fabric merchant in London. I shall contact him directly and tell him my sister has engaged you to make her trousseau. He should extend you credit immediately.”
She blinked, the magnitude of what he was offering hitting her broadside. “You would do that even though I refused you?”
“Of course,” he said, sounding vaguely insulted. “I cannot have my sister or her dressmaker subjected to a scene like that one again. And as for your refusal, let us say that the matter has been tabled for the moment. I am not a man to be put off so easily.”
Excitement shivered down her spine, and she did her best to suppress it. “Years ago, I would have swooned at the idea. I would have lain awake nights wondering if you would ask me to dance or bring me a posy.” She sighed and let her thoughts turn to the intervening years. The daily struggle against starvation, the nightly fight against despair. The girl she’d once been was long gone. In her place stood a woman who had learned to be cautious. Thrills were never worth the risk. And men, no matter how charming, were liars.
“What are you thinking, Helai
ne?” he asked. “You look so sad. I assure you, what I offer will not turn out badly.”
She laughed at that, though there was little humor in the sound. “There is always a cost for pleasure, my lord. And it is always the woman who pays.”
He reared back at that, but he did not step away. Indeed, a moment later, he was beside her, his hand reaching for her face. “It is not always so, Helaine—”
“It is.” She grabbed his fingers and forced them back. He didn’t fight her. She could not have done it if he had. Instead, he twined his fingers around hers and stroked his thumb into her palm. “I can see that you will take some convincing.”
“My maidenhead is not for sale.”
“I was not speaking of your virginity, Helaine. Merely of my intentions. I have underestimated you. I see that now. I look forward to the chase.”
Alarm beat equal pace with excitement in her heart. “My lord—,” she began, but he cut her off.
“The name of the best fabric merchant, Mrs. Mortimer. You have not told me what it is.”
She blinked, too startled by his change of topic to think clearly. “Wolferman’s,” she answered.
“You should hear from them by tomorrow morning.” He flashed her a smile. “And from me some day—or night—after that.”
Then he bowed over her hand and showed himself out. He moved slowly enough that she could have stopped him. She had time to say something haughty or dismissive or even polite. But he had confused her. In truth, he had excited her, nearly seduced her, tempted her, and reassured her, all in the space of an hour. She had no words left in her, much less any wit.
And then it came to her. Just before the door closed behind him, she rushed to the opening to call after him. “My lord!”
He stopped and turned back to her. “Helaine?”
“You caught me unprepared today.” She took a step outside into the sunlight. She straightened to her full height and mentally wrapped herself in all the good things she had done since her father had doomed them all. She was a strong woman, and no man could take that from her. “I was surprised and confused. But no longer. You will not find me so malleable ever again.”
He arched his brows. “I hardly think you malleable, Helaine.”
She shrugged. “Nevertheless.”
He bent in the most courtly of bows. “Then let the games begin.”
Chapter 8
“Tea, Wendy. He sent me tea!”
Wendy didn’t look away from where she was expertly threading a needle even in the evening’s poor light. “Well, what of it?”
“He sent me cheap tea!”
Now Wendy did look up from her stitching. “Really? But he’s a viscount. Would he even know where to find cheap tea?”
“Yes!” She set the tea tin down on the worktable and glared at it. “It’s the exact tea from the exact shop where I usually buy it. He must have read the tin.”
“Blimey, but how could he even find it? It can’t possibly be on any of his usual routes.” Wendy did the unheard-of act of setting down her sewing to cross to the far side of the worktable where the tin rested. “There’s a note here.”
“Yes, I know.”
Wendy peered down at it, turning it this way and that. “What does it say? I can’t make out all the words.” In her spare time, Wendy was paying Helaine’s mother to teach her to read. She was absolutely determined to better herself and that included being literate. Plus, it had the added benefit of giving Helaine’s mother something to do.
Helaine picked it up and pointed to the words one by one, though she’d already memorized the entire note. “To Mrs. Mortimer. I greatly enjoyed our tea, but I fear we finished your tin. Please accept this replacement as a token of my esteem. I have duplicated exactly the blend you prefer, but should you wish for something different, something that gives more pleasure, simply tell the proprietor of this establishment. He has already been directed to provide you with whatever blend of sweet or spicy that most satisfies your heart. In fact, if I might be so bold, there is an oriental blend that I particularly enjoy as it seems to surprise me every time I drink it. I think it might suit you perfectly.”
“But what’s this letter ‘R’ here for?”
“That’s his signature. It stands for Robert, his Christian name.”
“Coo,” said Wendy, her eyes huge. “Using a lord’s Christian name, are you now? Even if he is an odd one.”
“He’s odd like a fox,” she said as she plopped down morosely onto her desk chair. The note was a ploy to intrigue her, to tempt her, to get her to think about him and about each and every bizarre word in the letter. And it was working! She hadn’t stopped thinking about him since the damn gift arrived. What should she do? Should she accept the terrible cheap tea or go back and select the most special, most expensive blend she could imagine? Would he learn of what she did? Of course he would. But how would he interpret it?
And if that weren’t enough, she had a dozen or more questions about the wording of the letter itself. She’d examined everything from his unusual signature to the word “pleasure,” which had indeed sent a very unwelcome shiver of delight down her spine. And what about the part about an oriental blend that surprised him? Why did he think it would suit her? Was he suggesting that she surprised him? Or that she liked being surprised, which she didn’t. She absolutely did not!
And most important of all, how did she respond to a letter like this? It was most improper, that was to be sure. Or it would be, if she were still Lady Helaine. But she wasn’t that girl anymore; she was Mrs. Mortimer, a supposed courtesan. But she was also a woman who had just received her first gift from an admirer in nearly five years. That alone made her cherish it, if it weren’t so blasted aggravating!
“Tea!” she huffed. “What am I to say to tea?”
Wendy had returned to her stitching. “What is there to respond? Go buy that oriental stuff and say thank you, all sweet like, so that he’ll give you some more.”
Helaine sighed. If only it were that simple. “He will think I accept everything else about him then. Everything else he wants.”
Wendy didn’t even spare her a glance. “He wants what he wants. All men do. More fool him if he thinks accepting some tea is the same as saying yes to everything else.”
“True,” she said, knowing her friend’s logic was sound. Except that she couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed to be more careful in her response. Exactly how would he interpret it if she went ahead and picked out new tea? Or, more dangerous yet, the tea he suggested?
“Unless…,” said Wendy, her voice taking on a sly tone that made Helaine glance up. “Unless you want the same thing ’e wants. Then I’d be much more careful in what I pick. Then I’d be choosing a tea that was sweet and spicy, jes’ like he said.”
“But that is exactly the kind of tea I like! The oriental kind that tastes exotic and special. He will never believe that I picked it out because it is just what I want and not because he suggested it. Ugh!”
Wendy burst out laughing at Helaine’s disgusted sound. “You are thinking too much about it. Buy the tea. Enjoy it! And maybe you’ll enjoy a mite more at the same time.”
“I cannot,” Helaine said, regret dragging at her every word. “I simply cannot.”
Wendy shrugged. “Suit yourself. But if it were me, I’d get the oriental blend.”
“If it were you, you’d pick up your mum’s favorite black tea and not think two snips about it.” That was because Wendy was of a practical mindset. And usually Helaine was, too. But not now. Not when it came to the devilishly handsome and vastly intriguing Lord Redhill.
She was still thinking about the problem the next morning when the first of three messengers arrived. Not letters, not notes, but actual messengers from the top three fabric merchants in London. All of them sent senior clerks who informed her most solicitously that they would welcome her business on credit. One even told her that his firm had set aside a special blue silk just for her perusal.
She found the proprietor of the tea and medicine shop to be in an excellent mood. Mr. Withers was a generally pinched and tiny man, worn down by the day-to-day difficulties of trying to survive. His shop generally serviced struggling workers, and he was besieged daily by desperate people hoping to get miracle medicines for cheap. To have someone of Lord Redhill’s status visit him was exactly the boon everyone in business prayed for. And she could tell by the width of his smile that he had no intention of letting any link to Lord Redhill disappear. Which meant, of course, that he was intent on maximizing his connection with her.
“Mrs. Mortimer! How pleased I am that you came to visit today! Do you know I have been mixing a new special blend? Pray try it. I had you in mind when I began it, you know. You have always been such a delight whenever you visit. Why, just the other day…”
“Please stop,” she said. Once she had expected such immediate attention as her due, but now she found it unsettling. She had been walking into this shop for years now and rarely exchanged more than the most cursory pleasantries. Such overflowing of words from him left her distinctly uncomfortable. “I have merely come for some tea.”
“Yes, yes, the oriental blend.”
“No. Please.”
“Oh, dear,” he moaned, his face positively drooping with dismay. “He told me you might be difficult. He said I should insist, though. Indeed, he told me if you didn’t come here today that I was to send on the blend anyway to your shop. Please don’t make me do that, Mrs. Mortimer. My dear Millie would have to make the delivery, and you know how her feet ail her so.”
His dear Millie did indeed have aching feet, as did everyone else in this area of London. “Mr. Withers, I wish to purchase some tea to send to his lordship. By way of thanks.”