The Pleasure Seekers

by Melanie George

  “Please, Olivia,” he groaned, shaking his head. “Don’t.”

  She scoffed, “For all your hard talk, you’re utterly spineless. Fine. I’ll tell her.” Her gaze leveled on Bliss while she calmly adjusted her gloves as though she was not verbally annihilating a man in the street. “His father didn’t jump from that cliff, my lady. He was killed by his own son.”

  Twenty

  The iniquity of oblivion blindly scattereth her poppy, and deals with the memory of men

  without distinction to merit of perpetuity.

  Sir Thomas Browne

  Bliss stared at the woman in stunned silence for the space of five heartbeats. Then she forced herself to think. “No.” She shook her head. “Caine wouldn’t have done something like that.”

  “It’s not common knowledge, of course. For the sake of my sexual gratification, I felt it behooved me to keep silent about the earl’s untimely demise.” Olivia dusted off a speck of dirt on the sleeve of her dress. “Now there’s no more need to do so.”

  A hundred thoughts tumbled through Bliss’s mind, but one thing was sure. Olivia’s claim could not be true. Caine had loved his father.

  “You weren’t there when the earl died,” Bliss countered. “You can’t possibly know anything.”

  “Oh, but you’re wrong. I know quite a bit. Though Northcote offered little in the way of amusements, one of my maids was privy to the entire incident. She worked for Henry Ballinger during that time, and saw the earl and his son arguing at the edge of the cliff. Then she saw Caine push the earl to his death.”

  A terrible, grief-stricken sound pierced the air, frightening Bliss. Caine had slid down the wall, his eyes anguished, his face blanched of color.

  “I tried to save him…I couldn’t…He was out of reach. I tried. God, please believe me, I tried.”

  “Yes, darling,” Olivia mocked in a condescending tone, as though talking to a child. “I’m sure you tried to save him. The man who had ruined your future by piddling away every sou he’d ever made, along with the money your lover’s father gave to him.” She cast a sidelong glance at Bliss. “While it’s true the earl was in debt, the real reason he was at the cliffs that night was because he could no longer contain the fact that his son was—”

  “No!” Caine shot to his feet, reaching for Olivia. “Don’t…” He fell to his knees before her.

  She laughed down at him. “This is priceless. The mighty Earl of Hartland has finally found his proper place.” She leaned forward, cruelly whispering in his ear, “Remember who brought you to your knees, my love.”

  Bliss had never seen Caine looking as he did at that moment, as though he was waiting for someone to ram a knife through his heart and finish him off. She wanted to scream at him, shake him, make him fight.

  “It was so hard for you to find out you weren’t who you thought you were,” Olivia murmured in an almost loving tone as she stared down at him. “Not a beloved son. Not a true heir. But the by-blow of a whoring mother.”

  A low groan of abject misery came from Caine as though from his very soul, a violent shudder wracking his body.

  “Leave him alone,” Bliss commanded. She would not let this vindictive witch hurt him. No matter what else he had done, he didn’t deserve this.

  Sardonic amusement glittered in Olivia’s eyes as she looked at Bliss. “But there’s so much more to tell you, my dear.” She glanced down at Caine. “Isn’t there, my love?”

  “Please…” he whispered in a hoarse, broken voice, and Bliss died inside, aching for him. No man had ever been brought so low. She understood now why he had looked at the cliffs and the sea with such longing, as though he wanted to step off into oblivion and make all his guilt and pain go away.

  “I remember those first few months after you had come to stay with me,” Olivia said. “How blistering drunk you would get and how deliciously rough you were with me in bed. But alcohol and guilt are terrible bedfellows, aren’t they, darling? Piece by piece, you revealed the sordid tale. And once the little maid had confessed what she had seen, I discovered that most of your father’s old retainers knew the truth—though only the threat of making their already miserable lives even more wretched forced them to fill in the gaps.”

  Olivia looked up at Bliss then. “I’m not sure what he told you, but his mother killed herself rather than live with her own shame. Her husband never knew why until many years later. The week before his death, the earl sent a messenger to fetch his son home from whatever brothel or married woman’s bed he happened to be in at the time.

  “When Caine arrived that fateful night, he found his father at the Point, empty liquor bottles strewn around him. After harboring his ugly secret for years, faithfully deluding himself, just as his son now deludes himself that it was all a terrible, unfortunate accident, the earl could no longer bear the burden. He felt his son deserved to know the truth about his lineage, which would certainly explain Caine’s prurient behavior, son of a whore that he is. Well, I’m sure you can envision what transpired next, having been treated to a dose of Caine’s temper yourself.”

  When Bliss remained silent, Olivia went on. “He didn’t believe he could be a common bastard. Our boy has always been so full of himself, so arrogant and self-assured of his place in this world. He was the crown prince of Devon. But that night, he realized he was a fraud. Doubtless it set off his explosive temper and he lashed out at his father—”

  “No,” Caine bellowed, his voice raw, kneeling there on the hard ground like a postulant seeking forgiveness before the Lord. “I didn’t push him. God help me…he wanted to die. He wanted to be with her. He only stayed all those years for me, he said.” The words tumbled from his lips, prayer and confession. “And I wasn’t even his real son. But he had been willing to give me everything, and I threw it all back in his face, cursing him, cursing my mother. That’s when he hit me. He’d never hit me before, and I burned with rage and grief. I told him that he should have followed my mother to the grave. That he was better off dead.”

  His body trembled uncontrollably, memories returning him to that terrible time. “I left him there, knowing he was drunk and unstable. Halfway up the hill, I stopped and turned around. I saw him standing at the edge of the cliff, staring down, the wind buffeting him toward the yawning depths below.

  “I knew then. And I ran…God, don’t do it! Don’t! I yelled his name over and over, pleading, but he just looked over his shoulder, as though he had already gone away. And then I was reaching for him, but he had leaned forward…and…oh God.” He squeezed his eyes shut.

  Tears streamed down Bliss’s cheeks, her heart aching for the torment Caine had lived through for the last two years, believing himself responsible for his father’s death, when it was clear that his father had gone to the cliff to die.

  She hated his father in that moment. He had dragged Caine home so he could make his grand revelation and then kill himself before Caine’s eyes, leaving his son to blame himself for something that wasn’t his fault.

  “Caine…” She moved toward him, her hand outstretched, but he scrambled to his feet and backed away from her.

  Olivia laughed. “The wild stallion has been broken to the bit at last,” she jeered. “It’s a shame, in a way. Tame horses have no spunk or spark to them.” She shrugged. “Well, I shall at least have the enjoyment of bringing Khan to heel. Unlike his once-proud owner, that beast will fight me all the way, but he will be made to do my bidding, have no doubt.” She inhaled with satisfaction. “It seems I’ve won all the way around. How lovely for me. Well, I will bid you a fond fare-thee-well or adieu, as the French say.” With a flourishing twirl, she turned to go.

  Bliss’s words stopped her cold. “Don’t leave yet, my lady. You’ll miss the best part.”

  Olivia glanced over her shoulder at Bliss, a hint of wariness in her expression. “And what is that, dear child? Are you going to make the scoundrel lick your boots? For that, I would gladly stay.”

  “No. I’m going to d
o something much simpler,” she replied, walking over to stand in front of the woman.

  “Please don’t bore me with one of your sanctimonious speeches,” she said with a sigh. “They are so dull.”

  “No speeches. Just a few words.”

  “And what could you possibly say that I might be remotely interested in hearing?”

  “Just this: I love Caine.”

  Olivia stared at her in disbelief. “Certainly you’re joking.”

  Bliss met her stunned look unblinkingly. “No, I’m not. I love him. With all my heart. And since you made such an effort to travel all this way, I couldn’t possibly deny you the pleasure of hearing me tell you so.”

  Olivia’s lips melded together in rising fury. “You don’t mean it. You couldn’t. He made a fool out of you. Used you and ruined you for other men.”

  “Oh, but I do mean it. Though you were right about one thing: Caine did ruin me. I won’t ever want another man. Only him.”

  “My God, you’re as mad as he is!”

  “Perhaps. But that’s none of your concern. Now,” she said, “since Caine has met with the terms of your agreement, I expect his home to be signed over to him immediately.”

  Olivia gaped at her. “Absolutely not!”

  Bliss took another step toward her, nose to chin. Olivia outweighed her by at least two stone, but Bliss didn’t care. “Either you sign over Northcote to Caine by tomorrow morning, or I will hunt you down, and I promise you won’t like what I’ll do to you when I find you.”

  “You wouldn’t dare!”

  “I most definitely would.”

  The woman sputtered unbecomingly, her glare promising retribution. “Fine,” she snapped in a furious undertone. “He can have his damnable house back. The place is like a morgue anyway. Let him live in it and wander its drafty halls until the floorboards rot beneath his feet. It won’t change the fact that he is and always will be a social pariah. And by tomorrow morning, all of England will be privy to the news of his tainted blood and murderous tendencies.”

  Bliss had never felt such blistering anger in all her life. “It would be unwise of you to threaten exposure. Your actions will only make you look like a spurned lover.”

  “Spurned?” Olivia’s laugh was short and brittle. “No man has ever spurned me. I’m the one who walks away.” She then turned to Caine, who stood with his back to them. “You were not the only one with revenge in mind, my lord. Each and every time you pleasured me, always holding a piece of yourself back, I plotted the final stroke of your downfall. You thought you were playing me for a fool, but I was playing you for a fool. Now you will go down in flames.”

  Without a second thought, Bliss slapped Olivia across the face, sending her reeling to the ground, the force dislodging her hairpiece.

  Her hand pressed to her reddened check, she stared up at Bliss, shock etched on her face. “You hit me!”

  Bliss glared down at the woman cowering at her feet, fury coursing through her veins. “And I will do so again if I find out that you have spoken one word about what has transpired here. I will use all my father’s substantial influence to ruin you if you try to harm Caine. Do you understand me?”

  Her palm still fused to her cheek, Olivia nodded. As she rose to her feet, she hissed, “Have joy of him. You two deserve one other.”

  She stormed into the darkness, the sound of her angry voice snapping at her driver followed by the slamming of a coach door, and wheels thundering along the cobblestones.

  Bliss stood there for a minute, still trying to grasp all the startling revelations that had been made. She had been hurt at first, and yes, angry. But then a strange calm had descended over her and she knew exactly what she had to do.

  Her mother’s words seemed so prophetic now. The answers had come to her when she was ready to hear them, and when she had looked at Caine down on his knees, everything was clear. For better or worse, she would not forsake him.

  “She won’t forgive the slight, you know.”

  Bliss turned to look at Caine, who had not moved. His posture was rigid, tense, and she longed to wrap her arms around his neck and hold him tight.

  “I don’t care,” she said. “The spiteful witch had it coming. I hope her cheek stings for a week.”

  Caine shook his head. “Lady Bliss Ashton, a bully. Who would have known.”

  “Perhaps, but it felt good.”

  “Retribution always does.”

  There was something in his tone that suddenly unnerved her, as though he was mocking her. “Are you upset with me?”

  “Upset?” he said. “Why should I be upset? That would be rather misguided of me, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Really?” He stepped out of the shadows that partially cloaked him, allowing her to see the contempt in his expression. “And here I thought you knew everything. You certainly act as though you do. Defender of women’s rights, and savior of reckless, cold-hearted earls.”

  “Caine—”

  He held up his hand. “What’s done is done.”

  Bliss walked toward him, her skirts making only a whisper of sound as she came to a stop in front of him, laying a hand gently on his arm.

  He looked at her, a long hard look, as though passing judgment and finding her wanting. His eyes were so cold, so unlike the man she had glimpsed only a few short hours ago.

  Then he walked away from her, leaving her standing there, confused and alone. He was shutting her out again. Didn’t he realize that she understood the reasons for his cynical and unforgiving outlook on the world?

  She hastened after him, stopping him in the middle of the street. “Where are you going?”

  His gaze flicked briefly to her, killing in its lack of emotion. “Away from you.”

  “Caine, please. I understand that you’re hurting—”

  “Hurting?” His short bark of laughter cut through her like a knife. “Christ, open your eyes! You’ve been used. Didn’t you hear Olivia?”

  “I heard her,” Bliss quietly replied. “But I don’t believe what she said.”

  Her valiant belief in him nearly broke Caine. He wanted her to hate him, needed her to. Damn her beautiful, faithful soul. “Well, believe it. I screwed you with only one purpose in mind, and that was to get back my home. I’ve succeeded, so your services are no longer required. Consider this your congé, my dear.”

  “Why are you acting this way?”

  Because he had nothing to offer her. He was penniless. Northcote’s tenants could barely support themselves, let alone fill his coffers. How would he support her? By living off her father’s largesse? He’d kill himself first.

  His sole commodity lay between his legs, but he could never touch another woman in that way again. Bliss had ruined him for anyone else. He had caused and suffered so much pain in his quest to get his home back, and the victory was hollow. It meant nothing without her.

  “I told you there were lessons I could teach you,” he said with calculated brutality. “Consider yourself a more valuable commodity now. Men will kill to bed a passionate woman, and you, my dear, are rich in that particular blessing.” Leaning down, his cheek brushed hers as he whispered in her ear, “You should have gone with your first instincts and not trusted me. Ironic, isn’t it, that you were right about my reasons for coming after you? I did just want to toss up your skirts.”

  “But you didn’t,” she said, torturing him with the tenderness of her response, belief still shining in her eyes.

  “An oversight,” he bit out. “I figured you would invite me to your bedroom when we returned, and you’d be so hot for it, you’d give me the best ride I’ve had in a long while.” He framed her face between thumb and forefinger, feeling her tremble as he forced himself to look coldly into those trusting eyes. “Chin up, sweetheart. There’ll be other men. Perhaps some poor fool might even fall in love with you.”

  She stood there looking at him with her heart in her eyes. He couldn’t leave her like this, b
ut he had to leave her. Olivia had exposed him for what he was: the son of a whore. Even if he had the wealth to go with his title, he still would not be good enough for Bliss. Too much sin and depravity marked his past.

  “I love you, Caine,” she said softly, but with conviction, the tears glimmering in her eyes ripping into his gut.

  No woman had ever said those words to him. No woman had ever seen him as more than a means of pleasure. He hated her in that moment, hated her for giving him a glimpse of something he could never have, never be. He wanted to punish her for loving him, for not walking away before she had destroyed him.

  He grasped her upper arms, his fingers biting into her flesh as he dragged her forward. “I warned you time and again that I would ruin you. I gave you ample reason to run, but you and your idiotic ideas of salvation kept you from saving yourself. Do not blame me for your stupidity.” He gritted his teeth, forcing the words out. “Find yourself a husband. Breed him a half-dozen brats and forget about me. For I will surely forget about you.” He released her with a shake and she stumbled back, a single tear coursing down her cheek.

  “You won’t forget me,” she whispered in a heartbroken voice.

  “I already have,” he lied, and forced himself to walk away.

  Twenty-one

  Behold, I have played the fool,

  and have erred exceedingly.

  1 Samuel 26:21

  Bliss stared out the garret window, watching the sun fade from the sky, leaving behind a vibrant ribbon of color, a sight that would have inspired her only a week ago. Now it simply meant the passing of another day.

  After Caine’s cruel dismissal, she had believed he was simply angry with her for interfering on his behalf with Olivia and that he would come back. He possessed a great deal of pride, and she had fought his battle for him.