Sinful Kiss (Sinful Ladies of London Book 2)

by Kristi Jun

  When he arrived at his mother’s house the night his father died, he’d been told by another Bow Street Runner that his father had broken his neck and that his mother had pushed him down the stairs.

  Then there was the blood. According to the report, she had stabbed him and the blood on her hands proved it. According to the neighbors, they had been quarrelling before the incident.

  Quarrelling was not what troubled him because it was nothing new, but the fact that she would deliberately push him down the stairs and stab him was unbelievable, even though he deserved it. But she confessed to him in the letter that all this was in self-defense.

  He needed to find the damn maid who’d been with her that night, or his mother would most likely hang. But no time to dwell on that. He needed to remain hopeful, for his mother.

  “You will be out of here soon, I promised you that.” She nodded, but there was an uncertainty in his mother’s eyes. “When I make a promise, I deliver.” Roberts forced a smile with a heavy heart.

  CHAPTER 12

  She arrived at Blackthorn Hall with a feeling of the heaviness in her heart.

  Once she had made the final decision, she thought she’d feel relieved. But she didn’t. This feeling wasn’t relief. It felt more like the end of an unfinished journey, one that seemed to have just started.

  Shaking off the useless thoughts, she stepped off the carriage and walked up to the front door, which the butler opened promptly for her with a greeting, then handed her a single long-stemmed yellow rose.

  “What’s this?”

  “It was left for you in the foyer, missus.”

  Instantly, she knew who it was from, and her heart lurched with excitement. A single yellow rose placed in a slim glass flask. She felt as if her childhood dream had finally come true. This simple gesture was worth more to her than the rarest jewels. She’d never received a flower from anyone. She faced rookery boys, rotten food, rats crawling all over her, but this…this was very meaningful. They saw her worthless and filthy. But this man apparently thought she was beautiful.

  She opened the card and read it: “A yellow rose for a beautiful soul.”

  She sighed with joy when the butler cleared his throat to get her attention. She was promptly informed that Miss Wentworth was awaiting her arrival in the parlor.

  “Will you please put this in my bedchamber for me, Andrews?” she said. “Oh, and please be careful with it.” The butler gave her a curious look, then walked up the stairs.

  Taking no time, she pulled her gloves off, took off her bonnet, and walked into the parlor to greet her friend, who now was in a deep contemplation and, sans her usual refreshing smile, working on her needlework.

  When Emily saw her, she put her things down on the table next to her and forced a smile. “You are here.”

  Something was amiss. It was clear as day. Even in the little time they’d known each other, Emily could not, for the life of her, hide her emotions. “Andrews tells me you want to speak with me?”

  “Yes,” she said nervously.

  “Is everything all right?” They sat together on the floral settee.

  Emily bit her lip, then she let out a sigh, her lips quivering. “I am… I am to marry.”

  Marry? She wasn’t aware Miss Wentworth was being courted. Emily looked terrified. “And…you don’t want this man?”

  Emily wiped away the tears and took a deep breath. “I am unsure,” she started. “It should make my brother very happy though.”

  “I’m sorry if I am presumptuous, but you don’t love this man?”

  “No,” Emily said. “I mean, I’ve never had the occasion to meet him.”

  This tradition wasn’t unusual in her class. “What is it?” Kate said with an ill-fated tone.

  Emily nodded. “The truth is, most women would be thrilled to be wed at my age, but it’s…it’s just…” Her words died in her throat.

  Kate had in mind to say something about her comment, but she bit her lip. At her age, Emily had said. Emily was still young, beautiful, and well-bred. What man wouldn’t want to marry her, and why couldn’t her brother, the duke, give her a choice for that matter?

  “What is it?” Kate said softly, gripping her friend’s hand in hers. “I’d like to help, if I can.”

  “I feel I can tell you anything.” Emily paused, gazing at her as if thinking of the right words. “Can I trust you with what I am about to tell you?”

  “Of course you can.”

  “Lord Foley, he’s a baron, and the man my brother wants me to marry.”

  Kate patiently waited several seconds for Emily to continue.

  “He…he is rumored to have had a hand in his late wife’s demise.” Emily watched Kate’s expression.

  “He murdered his wife?”

  “That is the rumor,” she said. “When I questioned my brother about this, he said there was no proof and he was presumed innocent.”

  “Why not further express your concerns to the duke? He must have other connections, other possible suitors?”

  Emily lowered her gaze and remained silent for a moment. “I don’t have that luxury.”

  Kate waited patiently for her friend to elaborate. Clearly, she was having a difficult time deciding if she should reveal the reason behind her admission.

  “This isn’t easy for me to say. I’m ashamed actually.” She paused. There were tears brimming in Emily’s eyes. “I was seventeen and foolish. He told me he loved me. I believed him, but my brother discovered our plan to elope and marry. He was informed by the duke that he would not get a penny if we wed. I didn’t see him after that.”

  Wretched men. “I am sorry.” Kate scooted over and hugged her friend. Emily settled her head on her shoulder and let out a low guttural sob. It took several minutes, and Kate had to fight her own demons too. Oh, how she wished she could share her own dilemma, the mistakes she lived through and still did.

  It was the curse of being women, to harbor the limitation of what life dealt them, what little choices they had, and to bear the burden of being ridiculed if her sex chose to broaden her wings that threatened tradition and social etiquette. They would be labeled with words such as despoiled, sullied, and slut.

  “You were young,” Kate said softly. “There is nothing wrong with following your heart.”

  Her friend pulled away and wiped her tears. “I must seem an imbecile to you. It’s been nearly five years. You’d think I’d learned and have moved on with my life, but…”

  “You are not an imbecile, Emily,” Kate remarked. “In the matters of the heart, it’s never easy. One never forgets first love, no matter how it proves to be faulty.”

  “It isn’t that,” Emily said. “I have moved on, but some things are harder to…forget.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I… I was with…child,” she barely whispered, tears now falling down her cheeks.

  Kate felt the hot tears forming behind her eyes. This confession tugged at her heart as she had thought she was in love too and with child.

  “My brother informed me he had plans to give the baby away once I gave birth in Scotland,” she said, weeping. “I was devastated. I would rather die than lose my baby, but…but I…” Her shoulders shook, and her words were lost in her weeping.

  “What is it?” Emily covered her face with her hands and sobbed, like someone who was grieving. “You lost the baby.” Kate understood the heartache.

  “Within a month after discovering my condition.”

  “I am so sorry. I truly am.”

  “I know I would have been devastated if my brother gave the baby away, but at least it would have had the chance of a life.”

  Kate inwardly wept for the baby she had lost, too. In this way, they were kindred spirits. But, as hard as this was, she could not share her own story.

  “Most respectable families, I fear, won’t offer for my hand in marriage. The ones that do offer marriage are either fortune hunters or men who wish to win the favor of my brother’s
connections.” She fought a frown. “I am nearly two and twenty this October, and I have come to the realization that I will soon be off the marriage mart, if not already. I am resigned to the fact that I will most likely live out the rest of my life in the country, and I am fine with that.” She sighed. “And this happens…”

  “I understand your choices are limited, but maybe if you speak with him again, he might give you a choice? Or tell him you don’t wish to marry if that is what you want.”

  “He sees it as his duty to make sure I am well taken care of just in case something were to happen to him. It’s just the two of us. It has been this way for a long time.”

  “I see,” Kate started. There was not much she could say to ease Emily’s heart. “Perhaps your brother is right. It may just be rumors,” she assured her new friend. “Why don’t you meet him first and find out for yourself.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “I do,” Kate said. Poor Emily looked quite relieved when she told her this. This young woman, while she had gone through grief, seemed to still possess a degree of innocence. You shouldn’t get involved, her inner voice warned. Don’t get involved, Kate.

  “I’d offer to be by your side if you wish it when the gentleman calls.” Clearly, she didn’t listen to her own advice.

  “You would do that for me?”

  “Of course. We are friends, aren’t we?” What have you done, Kate?

  With a bark, the three-legged dog ran into the room, then jumped into Kate’s lap, her tongue hanging from her mouth.

  “How did you get into here, you little mutt?” Grabbing the dog with one hand, she put her down on the rug, but the raggedy dog jumped on her lap again, her tail wagging and looking as if she was smiling at her. “I don’t know why you like me so much.”

  Beatrice, the eldest of the six girls, walked into the parlor. “There you are.” She proceeded to walk over to the pup and picked her up off Kate’s lap. “You naughty thing.” She put the mutt down on the rug and it happily ran to Francis, who was now standing by the doorway.

  “Would it be all right I borrowed some books from the library?”

  “Of course,” Kate answered. “You can after you finish with your lesson with the governess.”

  “Miss Quinn said we’re done for today. She said we can continue tomorrow morning.”

  “In that case, I have a marvelous idea,” Emily said. “If it’s all right with Miss McBride, we can take a stroll down Bond Street. I need the fresh air, and I think it’ll do all of us some good. What do you think, Ms. McBride?”

  Francis ran to Kate and begged to go, as did the other girls who seemed to have been hiding behind the door, eavesdropping. “All right, since you are done with your lessons today, we can go.”

  While the girls were getting ready for the outing, she ordered the carriage ready for their shopping at Bond Street. The runner wouldn’t join her until later, so this was perfect timing. She didn’t want the girls to be suspicious or worried as to why Mr. Roberts was escorting them when he hadn’t before. It wasn’t as if he was her suitor, therefore, she had no excuse to give to the girls for his attendance.

  During their drive, Emily mentioned she wanted to purchase some parchment and quills from one of her favorite stores. She had also promised the girls if they behaved to take them to the confectioners.

  Once they arrived at the Grafton House on New Bond Street, the girls were giddy with excitement. Trailing behind the children, Emily halted at the threshold and Kate nearly bumped into her.

  “What is the matter?”

  “Isn’t he the American?” Emily’s eyes fixed on Johnathan.

  Kate mistook him for a gentleman for a second as he stood near the counter speaking with the owner. His long coat and brim hat that he wore the first time he came to threaten her was replaced by stylish attire, which made him look more like an English gentleman until he shifted, and she noticed the beard and that wildness about him that clearly branded him as a foreigner. Obviously, he didn’t know that gentleman didn’t appear on Bond Street until after noon.

  From this angle, she didn’t see he had suffered much from the brawl with Roberts. Damn him. Was he spying on her again? Well, he got here first, didn’t he? “Come, girls! Shall we try another store?”

  Francis tugged at Kate’s dress. “I wish to go in.” Francis nudged her for her insistence, and Beatrice rolled her eyes at her little sister. “Please?”

  The store owner often carried pretty little porcelain dolls. Obviously, Francis knew this as Amelia had brought the girls here last week before leaving for the holiday with her new husband.

  At the sound of the girls’ voices, Johnathan took notice and faced them. The black eye and the gash on his lips, not excluding the deep cut across his cheek, made her inwardly smile. He deserved it.

  The US marshal smiled at the girls, then handed the owner a piece of paper before he started toward them. His eyes shifted to Emily for a brief moment and then at Kate again with venom in his eyes.

  “What has happened to him?” Emily whispered to Kate.

  “He got what he deserved,” Kate replied absently.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Lady Wentworth,” Johnathan said, approaching.

  “Likewise, Mr. Hawk,” Emily said.

  “Well, have a wonderful day, ladies,” he said to them, then leaned toward Kate and hissed in her ear, “Enjoy it, Kate, while it lasts.”

  CHAPTER 13

  “You’re in a disagreeable disposition this afternoon,” Roberts said in part jest, but she did not seem to find it amusing. He wondered if she saw the yellow rose he got for her.

  She had walked into the house with the girls in tow and Emily trailing behind. She looked flushed, and dark strands of her hair escaped the confines of her bonnet. When their eyes met, she did not smile. Had the American bastard approached her again?

  For a moment she looked as though she might say something to him, but she passed him. She gave the children orders to go upstairs. Emily excused herself too, and she was left alone with him at the foyer.

  “Are you unwell?” Roberts said, trailing behind her. She didn’t respond to him. Instead, she walked up the stairs and down the hall toward her room. There he saw the yellow rose sitting on a desk facing the window. Had she put it there? Or the maid?

  It wasn’t until she was in her bedchamber that she finally turned around and acknowledged him. “Why are you following me?” she said, pulling off the bonnet and placing it on the bed.

  “You must be unwell. You’re usually full of retort. It is quite unlike you.”

  “I had a very unpleasant run-in with Johnathan again.”

  He frowned. “What did the bastard say to you this time?”

  “Same as usual,” she said, then walked over to the window and lifted it open to allow the fresh air into the room.

  He noticed that she saw the flower. She leaned down to smell it. Then she turned to face him.

  “Do you like it?”

  “I do,” she said with a smile. “Very much.” She took a whiff of the yellow rose again. “Thank you. You are very sweet to have done this for me.”

  He walked over to her and kissed her forehead. “I am glad you like it.” He meant what he said in the note. When he discovered she had donated a large sum of money in addition to the food, fabrics, and books, he felt hopeful.

  What exactly he was hopeful of, he wasn’t certain. Maybe that she was ready to turn her life around? That she had a caring heart for the destitute? That she wasn’t as self-serving and greedy as most rich were, and she truly cared for these unfortunate children. The nurse at the Foundling Hospital mentioned she had helped with the cooking and reading to the children.

  “Care to share what it is you are thinking about?”

  Kate sat down on the bed and watched him thoughtfully. She shook her head.

  “What did Johnathan say to you exactly?”

  “Nothing I didn’t already tell you.”

&
nbsp; She seemed distant and it worried him. This was not the Kate he knew. “I have been thinking a lot about my future,” he heard her say.

  “Your future?” he repeated. “What about your future?” For a moment he thought she was going to bring up what had transpired between them. Their future. This thought surprised him because until now, he had not considered there would be a future with Kate. He walked over to the fireplace and grabbed the chair, brought it over to her, and sat down facing her. “Go on…”

  Kate watched him for a long time, not speaking. This worried him quite a bit. Usually, she was full of opinions, if not ordering him about. Then her expression changed from contemplation to a slow smile that brightened her face.

  “Make love to me.”

  Her words came without hesitation, as if a matter of fact, as if she were asking for someone to pass the salt. He blinked several times, trying to comprehend what she had demanded of him.

  How many times had he imagined himself making love to her, touching her, feeling the wet heat between her legs? And he would gladly do as she asked of him, but it didn’t feel right to him. Something was wrong.

  “What is wrong, love?” This wasn’t the usual response to a woman who demanded he have sex with them. But this woman was anything but usual. She was a beauty, feisty, vulnerable, and demanding, all hidden by her confident facade.

  He scooted his chair closer to her and reached out to take her hands in his. “What is troubling you?” Her soft hands fit perfectly in his, warm and tender. He wondered what the rest of her would feel like under his hands.

  “I want you to make love to me,” she said again.

  “Are you certain this is what you want?”

  She almost looked hurt, although it wasn’t his intentions to do so. He merely didn’t want her to regret this decision. Their lives were already complicated, and he had no desire make things any more complicated than they already were for her.

  “Don’t you want to?”

  “It’s not that, Kate. I swear it. I’ve dreamt of this, but…”