A Scandalous Proposition

by Wendy Soliman

  It didn’t take the carriage ten minutes to reach Lord King’s estate. Florentina took a deep breath and followed the other two ladies into an entrance courtyard of such opulence it took her breath away. Already it was crowded with dominoed members of both sexes, their inhibitions lessened thanks to the fact that they could hide their identities behind half-masks. Florentina endeavoured to conceal her astonishment at the lurid behaviour already on open display. The fountain in the centre of the courtyard turned out not to be a fountain at all, but an endless flow of champagne. She grabbed a flute, in urgent requirement of a little Dutch courage.

  Christine’s ladies threw themselves into the fray, flirting, laughing and making their availability even more apparent than their supposedly respectable counterparts. She noticed two gentlemen descend upon one of them, obviously aware of her true identity, and spirit her away. A bray of laughter and whoops of encouragement erupted from a crowd on the far side of the courtyard as two men pursued a half-naked lady, loudly arguing about who would be first to sample her favours. She’d already dispensed with her mask and loosened her bodice. Being half-dressed in public and fought over by these two scoundrels clearly delighted her.

  Florentina was no stranger to public displays of affection between the sexes. In war-torn Spain, pleasure was snatched whenever the opportunity arose with scant regard for privacy. That could be excused, given the perilous nature of a soldier’s existence.

  But Lord King’s guests had no such excuse.

  Florentina was scandalized but no one else appeared to turn a hair. More to the point, she was disconcerted to see that the woman had already given up on her mask. Florentina had been counting on disguising herself behind hers for as long as she remained here. But she couldn’t waste time worrying about that now.

  She stared about her, wondering how she was supposed to recognize Lord King amongst the throng that were still masked. She’d not considered that difficulty and wandered further into the house, thinking perhaps he might be holding court there. A sweeping staircase led up to the first floor, where a great deal of activity appeared to be taking place. Trembling with nerves, she threw her head back and pushed a masculine hand away from her derrière. She turned away from another gentleman who tried to accost her on the stairs, lifted her skirts and climbed slowly.

  She entered one room and as quickly quit it again. Christine’s lady was there with her two admirers. She was virtually naked, her large breasts unfettered and her skirts bunched ’round her waist. She was being penetrated by one of the men whilst the other watched. Aroused and ready to take his turn, he offered salacious advice and extolled his colleague to be quick since a queue was forming. Florentina was appalled and wanted to do something to help. But what could she do? Besides, the lady appeared perfectly at ease, laughing and urging the man on.

  Florentina shuddered. If things had turned out differently, she could be the one undergoing that abuse.

  Another couple was in the next room. No, wait, there was a third body on that bed. Two men and a woman. Florentina stifled a smile, intrigued rather than shocked. She hadn’t realised such a thing was anatomically possible. One of the men was ignoring the woman and concentrating all his efforts on his male companion. Oh my! Florentina’s hand flew to her mouth. Spellbound, she watched as he sodomised his companion. Surely that must be awfully painful? But the man didn’t appear to feel the least discomfort, especially when the woman slid beneath him and took his erect penis in her mouth. In fact, he laughed aloud when she squeezed his swollen testicles.

  She’d seen enough. It was no longer interesting but sordid. She’d miscalculated in coming. She decided to leave before she was noticed and somehow make her way home. She backed away, straight into a solid masculine body. A hand came out to steady her, and her flesh crawled where cold fingers made contact with her bare arm. She knew at once that she’d found Lord King.

  “Ah, my dear, so you came after all. I so hoped that you’d have a change of heart.” He bowed in a courtly fashion, as though this was the most respectable gathering on God’s earth, and kissed the back of her hand. She tried not to snatch her hand away when his lips lingered. He looked at her, eyes sparkling with desire.

  “How could I resist your persuasive invitation, my lord? Besides, I’ve never been to a masquerade before.”

  “I certainly hope you’ve never been to one quite like this.” He glanced into the room she’d just quit and chuckled. “And it’s my pleasure to be your guide. But your glass is empty, we must rectify that situation.” He clicked his fingers and a footman appeared with refills for them both. “Come with me, my dear. Let’s get away from this crush and go somewhere where we can be more private.”

  Florentina was quaking with nerves, wondering what madness had possessed her to come here. What she hoped to achieve by it. Her aspirations all seemed rather nebulous now. And what ought she to do about her current predicament? Lord King was leading her away from the public areas. That was good in one respect. She couldn’t converse privately with him in the midst of this throng and persuade him to share his secrets. Besides, she might be able to evade Lord King but if other gentlemen joined him, she’d never manage to fight them all off. On the other hand, if she was completely alone with him, as now seemed to be his intention since they were ascending another staircase, which was hidden behind panelling, what hope would she have of deflecting his advances? She could hardly claim that she’d come here in ignorance of his intentions.

  She’d been an impulsive idiot. But since escape was currently impossible she had no choice but to follow him up the stairs. She would encourage him to talk first, and when his guard was relaxed she’d look for a means of escape.

  “Ah, this is better.” They’d reached the only door at the head of the stairs, which was opened for them by a burly footman. “Stay here,” Lord King said to the man, “and ensure that we’re not interrupted.”

  Florentina looked around, her fledgling hopes of somehow escaping immediately evaporating. They were in a private bedchamber and the only way out was through the door they’d just used. Even if she evaded him and got it open, Lord King’s man would prevent her from leaving.

  “I insist upon privacy sometimes, even at events such as these,” he told her. “I’m not ready to share you with anyone else quite yet.”

  “I’m only here for your sake, my lord. None of the others interest me.”

  His eyes expressed surprise at her flirtatious overture. “Let me look at you properly.” He reached up and removed her half-mask, discarding his own also. “Yes.” He raked her body with his eyes and nodded several times. “I don’t think you’ll disappoint. I want you very much so you’ll not mind if we dispense with the preliminaries, I hope.”

  That he wasn’t asking her permission became apparent when he pulled her roughly against him. She felt panic welling up inside her, along with disgust. This was all happening too quickly. She had to do something to slow him down.

  “My glass is empty.” She gulped the remnants of her drink, choking as the bubbles hit the back of her throat. “I’d like more champagne first, por favor, if it’s no trouble.”

  “None whatsoever.”

  To her dismay he didn’t leave the room but reached beside the huge bed to where a bottle was chilling in a bucket of ice. He opened it and refilled both their glasses.

  “Now then, why don’t you remove that domino so that I can feast my eyes upon the rest of you?”

  Philippa had invited just a few guests to share a quiet family dinner, all of whose company Adam was known to enjoy. Lord King didn’t number amongst them. It was as though she was showing him, by issuing two such contrasting invitations within days of one another, how pleasant she could make his life if only he would fall in with her ambitious plans.

  The ladies had withdrawn, and as the port circulated Adam permitted his mind to wander. He’d had a long meeting with Lord Madison the previous day and plans were in place to capture Dawson when he next made landfall
. The temptation to acquaint Florentina with the precise nature of those plans had been compelling. But he resisted. The less she knew, the harder it would be for her to put herself in danger. For that reason, and others besides, he didn’t trust himself to be alone with her until this matter was resolved.

  Or until she voluntarily told him what manner of difficulty still plagued her.

  It was damnably frustrating, knowing she was a stone’s throw away in the dower house and not even being able to look at her. But he was resolute. To make sure he didn’t weaken, he’d asked his mother to keep her occupied as much as possible. His intuitive parent raised a questioning brow and then smiled broadly, assuring him that it would be her pleasure.

  But not being with her didn’t prevent him from thinking about her, almost to the exclusion of everything else. The manner in which she’d surrendered herself to him with such unbridled passion. The featherlight touch of her fingers as they danced across his torso. The look in her eye as she begged him for release. The…

  “Beg pardon, my lord. This was just delivered for you. The messenger said it was urgent.”

  Adam started. He’d not even heard the footman enter the room, so lost in erotic thought had he been.

  “Thank you.”

  Adam took the note from the salver the footman proffered and broke the wafer. As soon as he realised it was from Christine, a cold sweat broke out on his brow. The note said just three words: Come at once. This had to be something to do with Florentina. And it had to be calamitous. Christine would never write to him here, and certainly not in such an abrupt manner, unless it was a matter of extreme urgency.

  He jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over in his haste to be gone. All conversation ceased, and the other gentlemen looked at him with open curiosity.

  “My regrets to your wife, James. Urgent business of an unexpected nature has arisen.”

  He was halfway out of the door before James responded in a languid tone. “Another floozie that can’t get enough of you, I suppose.”

  His comment was greeted with a smattering of laughter that Adam barely heard. He left the house and headed to the stables at a run. Too impatient to wait for a groom to saddle Rochester, he did it himself and was galloping down the drive less than five minutes later.

  He arrived at Chamberleigh, threw his reins at the lad who ran to meet him and strode into the house. Christine was pacing the entrance vestibule, awaiting his arrival.

  “What is it?” he asked her.

  “Let’s talk in here.” She led the way into a small anteroom. “Florentina has gone to Lord King’s masquerade,” she said without preamble.

  “What!” He ran a hand through his hair, unable at first to take in what he’d just heard. “How in the devil—”

  “They met at Philippa’s soiree.”

  “Yes, I’m aware of that.”

  “What you perhaps don’t know is that he’s been pursuing her ever since.”

  “Ah, that explains a lot. But why didn’t she tell me?”

  “She had her reasons.” Christine stood in front of the empty fireplace and Adam could see that she was greatly troubled by Florentina’s impulsive action. It took a lot to unsettle Christine, which only added to his anguish. “You see, Lord King was threatening to tell your mother that she’s connected to Chamberleigh if she didn’t go.”

  “What made him imagine that she is? And how did he know when and where to intercept her?” Realisation came crashing in, and with a slow nod of understanding he answered his own question. “Philippa.”

  “Yes. Being aware of King’s tastes, I imagine she deliberately introduced the two of them, anticipating that he would be smitten. She thought Florentina had something to do with this establishment, knew of her excursions in the gig each afternoon and put the idea in King’s head.”

  “For the love of God, Christine, one of you ought to have told me. About King, I mean.”

  “She swore me to secrecy. But that wouldn’t have prevented me from going back on my word if I’d known what she intended to do. I told her quite emphatically that she wasn’t to consider going anywhere near the masquerade and thought she’d agreed to stay away.” Christine frowned. “If I’d known she was thinking otherwise I would have—”

  “Never mind that now.” Adam had thought she was alone at the dower house this evening and less than an hour ago had been trying to resist the urge to call upon her. How could he have sat calmly drinking port and not have known she was in so much danger? “Just tell me why you think she went.”

  Christine frowned. “I can’t exactly say for sure. She didn’t favour me with her confidence but I suspect she has it in her head to try and get Lord King to admit he fathered Philippa’s baby. She’d suggested the possibility of charming the admission out of him but I told her not to be so foolish.” She offered him a grim smile. “She wanted to help you, Adam.”

  “By allowing that braggart to seduce her?” Adam was so angry, so afraid for Florentina’s safety that it was difficult for him to form any coherent thoughts. “But, Christine, why the devil did you allow her to go?”

  “I didn’t know that she had. I didn’t even know she was here this evening until my coachman came back from delivering some of my girls to the affair and informed me that all three had arrived safely.” She glowered into the distance. “I thought he was mistaken about the number because at the last minute I only sent two.”

  “Would not your girls have realised Florentina was not one of them, if indeed it was her in the carriage?”

  “They probably mistook her for the Spanish girl I’ve just employed.”

  “Ah yes.” Brief feelings of optimism flared and then died.

  “There can be no doubt as to the identity of the third lady. I chanced to be in the dressing room and found this discarded there.”

  She held up a plain afternoon gown that he immediately recognised as belonging to Florentina. Adam’s dismay gave way to the urgent desire to be active. There wasn’t a moment to lose.

  “Can you lend me a domino?”

  Florentina did her best to keep her nerves in check as King released her and refilled their glasses. She seated herself by the window, as far away from the bed as possible, and made some trivial remark. She still hadn’t removed her domino.

  “You live very comfortably here, my lord. I dare say there’s a fine prospect from this window during daylight hours.”

  He seated himself beside her, his eyes lingering with transparent hunger on her face. He pushed the folds of her domino aside but didn’t insist that she take it off. Encouraged, she racked her brains for something light and amusing to say that might distract him. Unable to hit upon anything suitable, she decided she might as well broach the subject uppermost in her mind. There was no telling how long he’d be content merely to converse.

  “It was a very pleasant evening we had together at the Court. Do you often dine there?”

  “No, that was the first occasion actually.”

  Florentina pretended surprise. “But you seemed so intimate with Her Grace.”

  He smiled. “Oh, Philippa and I are old acquaintances.”

  “Really?” She arched a brow. “I wasn’t aware of that.”

  His smile gave way to a scowl. “You’re merely a paid companion. The intimacies of the current duchess are no concern of yours.”

  Florentina knew from his icy tone that she’d overplayed her hand and strove to rectify that situation. “No, indeed not. Forgive me, my lord, but I’m nervous. Worried that I might disappoint you. I’m given to babbling when I’m anxious about something. My mama always did tell me that it was a terrible failing but I can’t seem to rectify it.”

  He leered at her, diverted from his displeasure by her flattery.

  “That’s a situation that can easily be remedied.” He put his glass aside. “And I very much doubt if you’ll be a disappointment, my dear.”

  “Perhaps not, but there’s no occasion to hurry. Talk to me until I feel mor
e in command of myself.”

  “All right, I’ll indulge you.” He sighed and smiled simultaneously. “Anticipation will increase the ultimate pleasure, I dare say. Now, what you would like to talk about?”

  “Well, how did you become acquainted with the new duchess? I only ask because I feel I ought to know as much as possible about the family that employs me.”

  “Oh, her brother and I often play cards together when in town.” Lord King chuckled. “A reckless young pup with too much money for his own good.” Florentina suspected that Lord King was referring to more than Mr. Dennett’s inability to play a strong hand of cards. “He happened to remark that his sister was in town, some time after Fitzroy went off to play soldiers.”

  “I hope you’ll not consider this to be a forward question, but was not Her Grace once promised to Lord Fitzroy? I believe I heard it talked about somewhere.”

  “Hardly promised. No indeed, I wouldn’t call it that.” He lifted his shoulders. “I believe she once had a slight, passing interest in him, nothing more. When he went into the army she joined her brother in town. I invited them to be my guests at the theatre and could tell at once that Philippa was a rare sort of girl. Not too high in the instep and ready to take a few risks and enjoy herself. Took her to Vauxhall Gardens, as a matter of fact.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “I rather doubt that you do. However, I wasn’t wrong about her character, and our friendship became er…shall I say, intimate.” He spoke the one word with considerable satisfaction, unable to completely quell a triumphant smile.

  Florentina affected surprise and lifted a hand to her breast. “Surely you can’t mean what I suppose you to mean.”