The Temptation of Laura

by Rachel Brimble

  His stomach rolled with uncertainty and Adam forced his wavering smile to stay in place as he faced Bette. She studied him with wizened intensity. “Good morning, Mr. Lacey. Did you sleep well? You certainly woke in a hurry.” She lifted an eyebrow and ran a glance down the length of him.

  He tightened the belt of his robe. The teasing tone of her voice left no doubt she knew of Laura spending time in his bed. He swallowed and pulled out the chair beside hers. “I did. And how did you sleep?”

  Her eyes glinted. “Not too badly . . . considering some strange knocking on my wall during the night.”

  He glanced at Laura. Her shoulders were up around her ears. “Is that so?”

  Bette reached for her tea. “Yep, went on for a mighty long time before everything fell silent. Whoever made the noise had some tenacity, that’s for sure.”

  Laura slammed a plate of toast and eggs on the table in front of Bette. “Eat.”

  Bette winked at him and Adam bit back a laugh. When he looked up, Laura glared at him with enough venom to down a horse. He cleared his throat. “Why don’t you sit and have your breakfast? I can make mine.”

  She smiled sweetly. “No, you sit there. I’ll see to you.”

  Bette sniggered.

  Adam glanced at her bowed head. The woman was ill, yet her humor and torment were rife. It was no wonder Laura cherished the ground she walked on. With all the hardships they had undoubtedly had to endure, Bette’s wickedness would have gone a long way in keeping the desperation at bay.

  Laura put two laden plates on the table and slid into the chair opposite him.

  Adam picked up his knife and fork, and cut into his egg. He brought it to his mouth and chewed, his gaze on her flushed face. “This is delicious, thank you.”

  Finally, she met his eyes. Even with Bette’s teasing, happiness brightened her eyes. “You’re welcome.”

  He smiled and the next few minutes passed in silence as they ate.

  “Nurse and I are going to take Bette for a stroll in the park this morning.” Laura reached for her teacup. “What are your plans today?”

  “I am meeting Victor for a spot of lunch later to discuss the audition in Bristol. I need this part just to keep me in finances, and any direction he can give will help me secure it.” He paused. “Would you consider joining us?”

  She halted with her fork halfway to her mouth. “Pardon?”

  “I would like Victor to meet you.” His mind drifted to the dreaded meeting with Annabel and he drew in a shaky breath. “I would like to make a last-ditch attempt to get him to invest in the play. I am convinced if he meets you, he will succumb.”

  Her eyes gave nothing away. There was no judging what she thought about his leaving for Bristol now they had made love. He wanted to talk to her. He could not leave without ensuring she knew how important the previous night was to him.

  Upon her continuing silence, Adam cut into some toast. “I am meeting Victor at the Pump Room at midday. Do you think you will be back from the park by then?” He looked up.

  She stared, her violet eyes wide with uncertainty. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea—”

  Bette coughed, the sound raw once again. The day before it had seemed marginally better and Adam frowned. “Are you not feeling any better than yesterday?”

  She pressed her hand to her mouth and waved dismissively with the other. “Don’t you go fretting about me. I’ll be right as rain soon enough.”

  “I could get the doctor to come and see you. That cough—”

  “Will see itself right.” She inhaled a raspy breath and reached for her knife. She pointed it at Laura. “You go with Adam and meet with this fancy director. After everything the man is doing for us, the least you can do is suck up to some rich toff who has the money to make his play happen. I’ll go with Nurse to the park and you go with Adam. I’m sure the two of you have plenty to discuss before you see this director.”

  Laura shook her head. “I’m coming with you. Adam is perfectly capable—”

  Bette pinned her with a glare. “I said, go.”

  Two spots of rose darkened Laura’s cheeks, and when she looked at him, he raised an eyebrow. What had gotten into Bette?

  Laura shook her head and raised her hand in surrender. “Fine. I know when I’m not needed. I’ll join you for lunch, Adam. Only, Lord knows what you think I can say or do to change Mr. Talisman’s mind.”

  Bette grunted her approval and bit into a slice of toast.

  Adam smiled. “That is settled, then. I will leave you ladies to it and get duly washed and dressed.”

  Neither Bette nor Laura offered a response. Adam glanced from one woman to the other—sometimes it was best to steer clear of women poised for a fight.

  Chapter 14

  Adam stole another glance at Laura and pride yanked at his chest. Her shoulders were pulled back and her demeanor spoke of a lady used to taking lunch in the Pump Room. The faint blush at her cheeks was the only indication this was not the norm. He smiled. No matter how uncomfortable or unusual this situation was for her, she dealt with it as she did everything else—with carefully poised determination.

  He touched her hand lying on the dining-room tabletop. “Are you all right?”

  She smiled, her beautiful eyes soft with amusement. “Yes, at the moment. If you ask me the same question when Mr. Talisman arrives, it’s likely you’ll get an entirely different answer. For now, though, I’m fine.”

  “Well, you look as though you belong here, so enjoy it.”

  She glanced left and right, and he followed her gaze. The uppity and curious stares of different women and the blatantly lustful glances from several gentlemen came at Laura from every direction. Adam narrowed his eyes. She deserved to be admired and looked at with respect. The only possible reason they had to study in such a way could be the less expensive cut of her dress, or maybe the inferior quality of her hat and shoes. He would have liked to deliver them each a slap.

  He faced her. “When we finish lunch, I am taking you shopping.”

  “You will do no such thing.” She stared down one particularly haughty woman sitting at the table alongside them. “I know exactly what you’re thinking. There isn’t a woman or man who could intimidate me in a place like this, believe me.”

  Adam looked around. “I do not doubt that. You are fifty times the lady of half the women in here. You deserve the clothes to prove it.”

  She dragged her glare from the woman who now looked engrossed in her menu. “Thank you for the offer, but the next dress or hat, shoes, or parasol I own will be bought with my money, not yours.”

  He smiled. “Ah, that insufferable independence of yours rears its head once again.”

  “Indeed, it does.”

  Approaching footsteps turned their heads and Adam was not surprised when Laura’s hand whipped from beneath his. Victor Talisman’s gaze shot from the table to Adam as he drew to a stop beside them. “Well, good afternoon. I hope I am not past our scheduled meeting time?”

  Adam pushed to his feet and clasped Victor’s hand. “Not at all.” He gestured to Laura. “May I introduce Miss Laura Robinson. She—”

  “Works at the theater.” Victor dipped his head, his forehead creasing with a frown. “As an orange seller, I believe.”

  Laura smiled. “Yes, sir. I do. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Although tempted to jump to Laura’s defense, Adam swallowed back his words. She bore Victor’s disparagement with confidence, and Adam suspected any intervention on his part would earn him a swift kick to his manhood.

  Victor took a seat, shook out his napkin, and draped it across his lap, his eyes still on Laura. “Well, you’ll have to excuse me if I say how unorthodox this is to see you here together. I’m most definitely intrigued.”

  Adam sat and raised his hand to the waiter. “All will shortly come clear, Victor.”

  The next few minutes passed with the ordering of drinks and a light lunch of soup to start, followed by a salmon tart for
Laura and Somerset ham for the gents. Once the waiter left, Adam placed his elbows on the table and laced his fingers.

  Victor raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Well? Are you going to shed light on why you asked me here?”

  Adam cleared his throat. He needed to proceed with honesty. The wily older man was respected in the theater industry for his fairness. He would listen to Adam, if nothing else came of the meeting. He met the director’s eyes. “I guess you have already surmised why I brought Miss Robinson along today?”

  Victor glanced at Laura, his expression nonchalant. “I have an idea, but as you’re my friend and one of the finest actors in Bath, I’d like to think you’d do your utmost not to jeopardize your advancement. I hope this meeting has something to do with this play of yours as opposed to the gossip surrounding the time you and Miss Robinson have been spending together.”

  Adam looked at Laura. Her face had reddened, but she carefully continued to study Victor. Her self-containment was all the permission Adam needed to further press the director for support. He lifted his chin. “Miss Robinson is my Lucinda, Victor.”

  Neither surprise nor disbelief altered Victor’s expression as he appraised her face and hair and lingered a while longer on her lips. “I see that.”

  Possibility twisted inside Adam’s gut. “I’m glad. She is perfect.”

  “How do you feel about Adam plucking you from obscurity and presenting you with an opportunity of a lifetime, Miss Robinson?”

  She coolly met his gaze. “I feel grateful and duty bound to do my best for him. Admittedly, I’m still shocked he would choose me from the many other actresses who’d want this chance—”

  “Other actresses, Miss Robinson? Aren’t you an orange seller and not an actress?”

  Adam shifted in his seat. “Miss Robinson—”

  “I’ve wanted to be onstage my entire life, sir.” Laura smiled. “If Mr. Lacey thinks I can do this, then I’ll do my utmost to prove him right. The one thing I am not is a person who gives up. I want a better life and will work as hard as I can to get it.”

  “I see.” He turned his attention to Adam. “I’m assuming Miss Robinson is the actress of your imagination whom you said couldn’t read?”

  Adam dragged his gaze from Laura’s profile, his heart picking up speed. He did not want her subjected to Victor’s negativity. This was not why he brought her there. He wanted the man to see what was possible. How Laura could light the stage like a sunbeam on a dank, dismal day. He tightened his jaw and pummeled his rising irritation into submission.

  “She is, but I am confident she will prove an impeccable student. She has already committed lines to memory from two scenes and we have rehearsed less than a single day.”

  The waiter reappeared. Silence bore down as he served their soup and filled their glasses with water. Once he’d left the table, Victor picked up a spoon and stirred his soup. “Why don’t you just ask me the question that brought me here, Adam?”

  Adam picked up his spoon. “I need your investment. I know you’ve already refused me, but I want you to come to my house and see Laura work. I swear, if you do that, you’ll understand how she can make this play remarkable.”

  Victor lifted his head and stared into Adam’s eyes. “I already see the potential of what you’re proposing.”

  Laura’s sharp intake of breath sounded across the table. “Really?”

  Victor smiled. “Yes, if nothing else, the determination in your stature is halfway to making Lucinda come alive, my dear.” He turned to Adam. “That doesn’t mean I’m willing to part with my money. Not this time.”

  Adam frowned as frustration simmered like fire in his chest. “Not this time? If I don’t get this play to the stage, there will not be a next time. If I do not have the money to support this venture, how can you expect me to write another play? I have approached everyone I know. I would not have come to you a second time unless I had to.”

  “I’m sorry. The risk is too great. I don’t have the money to support a play that may never get a single showing. I recommend you go to Bristol and see a few people there. I’m willing to put my name as a reference for any interested investors you might find, but I don’t have the cash to help you. I’m sorry.”

  Adam looked to Laura and sympathy shone in her violet eyes. Her sympathy was the last thing he wanted. He wanted her to see him as her provider, her hero. To trust he would make this happen for him—and her.

  “I have already written to as many people in Bristol as I possibly can and nobody is willing to back me.” He concentrated on Victor. Looking at Laura was just too hard. “For the love of God, do not make me beg. You must have less faith in me than you have led me to believe over the years.”

  The older man tore off some bread and shrugged. “I have faith, just not the money. There is nothing else for it but to work your behind off until you have the money to do this yourself.” He smiled at Laura. “I’m sorry, my dear, but it seems your visions of grandeur are to be extremely short-lived.”

  Her eyes widened and Adam inwardly grimaced.

  He knew that look. “Laura—”

  She pinned Victor with a glare that would’ve scared children from the workhouse. “My visions of grandeur, sir?”

  Victor laughed. “I merely mean to state—”

  “My ideas of grandeur stretch far and wide, but let me tell you this, Mr. Lacey will find a way of getting his play to the bright lights of London, let alone Bath or Bristol. I’ll see to it myself, if necessary.”

  Victor swallowed his bread and smiled. “I see. Well, I wouldn’t even hazard a guess as to how you would make that happen, but I admire your gumption.”

  Adam’s fragile threads of temper snapped. “Do not talk to her that way. Laura is one of the most hard-working, honest, and determined women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She does not deserve your derision or lack of respect.”

  The director turned, his blue eyes darkening. “Then you have no need for my money, or me, do you? The pair of you clearly have the resources and integrity to make this happen of your own will.”

  Anger pulsed in Adam’s blood and he rose, his appetite gone. “Indeed, we do. Come, Laura.”

  She dropped her napkin on the table and pushed to her feet. When she looped her hand through the crook of his elbow, Adam straightened his spine as his confidence grew. Together, they would make the play come to fruition. “You will regret not backing me in this, Victor.”

  The director glanced at their joined arms and shook his head. “You’re a superior actor, Adam. A damn fine writer even, but first and foremost, I’ve been in this business a mighty long time and I fear you’ll not get what you want here in Bath or anywhere else, for that matter. Writing is an art form. There are men and women who do nothing else but perfect that craft day and night. You cannot expect your first effort to be snapped up and produced.”

  Adam glared. “I would accept that if I had not seen your reaction to it when you first read it. I know you think the play has potential. You just do not have the courage to take that leap.”

  Laura tugged on his arm. “Adam, let’s go.”

  Victor smiled. “Take the girl’s advice. I’ll see you soon.”

  Frustration hummed through Adam, making him tremble. “It is a sad day when a man of your vision becomes so jaded he no longer provides a new writer a chance. I wish you luck, because without risk, nothing is possible.”

  The director’s smile vanished. “Theater needs money. The cold, hard cash of the Royal Family and all the aristocracy. I want everything for you and more, but sacrifices have to be made and egos damaged for anyone to progress. Do not make the mistake of upsetting people along the way.”

  Adam gripped Laura’s hand on his forearm. “Fine. Then I will find my investor in Bristol and take pleasure in proving your theories wrong upon my return.”

  Victor waved his hand. “You do that, my boy.” His disparagement drifted over Laura from head to toe. “Because you’ve most definite
ly found a diamond in the rough. She’s exquisite. I wish you well.”

  Laura snatched her hand from Adam’s and put her palms on the table. She leaned forward until her face was inches from Victor’s. “I’m more than exquisite, Mr. Talisman. I’m strong and I’ve lived a life that’s made me want to finally take the world by the neck and squeeze something more out of it. This will happen for Mr. Lacey, and it will happen for me. I wish you good day.”

  She whirled away from the table and brushed past Adam toward the exit. Ignoring the stares and whispers of the ladies surrounding them, Adam faced Victor. “Whatever lies in Bristol holds the key. I hope you don’t live to regret this.”

  Victor glared. “I could say the exact same thing to you. Tread carefully, my friend. Very carefully.”

  Ignoring the shiver of trepidation that skittered up his spine, Adam gave a dismissive snort and headed for the door after Laura.

  The following evening, Laura smiled as she collapsed on Adam’s drawing-room settee, exhausted from their previous hours of rehearsal, her mind full of lines and choreography. “I swear I’m too tired to even stand upright at the theater tonight.” She laughed.

  Adam dropped down beside her and took her hand in his. “I am hoping it will not be for much longer you will have to work the stalls. Before we know it, you will be onstage where you belong.”

  She stared at their joined hands clasped on his lap, as a further surge of love warmed her heart. “I’m going to miss you when you go tomorrow.”

  “You just keep practicing those lines. I will be back before you know it.”

  She nodded, not daring to look up and risk him seeing pathetic love shining in her eyes. Since their single night of lovemaking, he had neither attempted to bed nor kiss her. The absence of intimacy spoke volumes and, try as she might, Laura couldn’t fight the humiliation she’d surrendered to him too easily and desperately.

  “Laura?”