His Wicked Embrace

by Smith, Lauren

  “You got only what you deserved, you bastard!” Audrey snarled with surprising ferocity for such a tiny, soft looking little woman.

  “And you have the mouth of a whore,” the lord growled. “I plan to treat you like one.”

  The two women gaped in horror. James gripped the arms of his chair in a knuckle white hold. He had to think of a plan, one that wouldn’t risk the two ladies. He was not adverse to a good brawl, but he didn’t like the odds against him.

  “Gag them, I wish for silence while we enjoy our feast.” The Lord of Lust snapped his fingers and the men on either side of Audrey and Gillian stuffed handkerchiefs into the girls’ mouths, drowning out the threats Audrey tried to hurl.

  James now noted that Audrey had called the Lord of Lust Langley. Wainthorpe had been right, the devilish leader of this band of fools was Gerald Langley. The foul, odious man who’d given Ambrose Worthing and that poor wife of his so much trouble. It was clear from the crazed look in Langley’s eyes that he was unhinged. Whatever James did tonight to help Audrey, Gillian would be that much more endangered. Langley wouldn’t let them simply stroll out of there unharmed, not when Audrey had made tonight’s festivities so personal to the man. He wanted blood, possibly even a life, if she couldn’t keep her temper in check.

  “Now,” Langley chuckled. “I’m famished.” He picked up a bell by the end of the table and rang it. A moment later several footmen entered, bringing trays with the first course.

  “My lord, what about…” One of the men pointed to the single empty chair left at the table.

  “Oh, right.” Langley sighed with boredom and nodded at one the nearest footman. “Bring in His Unholiness.”

  James tensed, wondering what new horror these men would create, but he almost laughed out loud when the footman returned with a large handsome black cat and placed the creature on the table, offering it a plate of food. The cat hunched down, his yellow eyes taking in every single person in the room before he cautiously bent his head to his plate and began to pick at the offering.

  “Pleased to meet our guest, Lady Society? He’s the oldest member you see…” Langley said solemnly. “Ancient you might say.”

  Ancient? James tilted his head and then hit him. His Unholiness…ancient… Langley and his pack of crazed followers believed that the cat was the devil himself? Good God. This was worse than he feared. The men weren’t out to simply drink and copulate and feign at devil worship, they believed it. They were truly mad.

  James continued to play along, to pick at the food that was brought to him, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off Gillian. Her face was ashen and she barely moved, except the tiny tensing of her bared arms. She seemed to be fighting her bonds, quietly, carefully. So far no one else seemed to notice. Smart creature she was, very smart and for that he was thankful. She would stay calm if things got complicated, which they almost certainly would. James took another drink of wine from his goblet, only half listening to the men around him boasting of how they planned to enjoy the evening.

  The women, aside from Audrey and Gillian, were quite willing and familiar with the members of the club, which meant James didn’t need to add them to list of damsels in need of rescuing. He almost smiled. Earlier that day when he’d been trying to rescue Gillian from a man that attacked her to get a letter warning her about tonight, she had told him most emphatically she was not a damsel in need of rescuing.

  One of the men close to Langley drew his attention away from Gillian. He was toying with his fork, scowling, his gaze darting down the length of the table toward where the two ladies were being held. The man’s face was hidden behind a domino mask, like his own, yet his sandy blonde hair and green eyes were familiar. The man didn’t eat or drink like the rest, and his eyes kept focusing back on the two women. Rather than appearing like a man ready to prey upon the ladies, he looked…

  James caught the man’s gaze and the man’s eyes bored into his. He saw shock and recognition there, which was returned in kind. He knew now how he knew this man.

  There was only one person of his acquaintance that fit the man’s profile. Jonathan St. Laurent. The younger half-brother of the infamous Duke of Essex, one of James’s friends, was a member of this club? He’d rather liked the man, but if it turned out he was a party to these dark deeds James would throttle him.

  As the feast drew to a close, Langley stood, drew out a pair of dice from a coat pocket and held them up.

  “Each man shall toss the sacred dice to determine who gets the joy of bedding the one in the purple gown. Then we will cast the die for Lady Society. But rest assured we have all night, and every man gets a chance with both ladies.”

  Audrey rocked wildly in her chair, her shouts muffled by her gag.

  James glanced back at Jonathan and saw a flash of furious fire in the man’s eyes. Perhaps he was mistaken. Perhaps St. Laurent was here like him, to help?

  The dice were passed around, each man rolling them, then cursing or whooping as the numbers fell onto the table. If James could win the highest number for Gillian, he might be able to get her to safety and come back for Audrey. If he had to fight, one lady would be easier to shield than two.

  When the dice were handed to him, he held his breath and got to his feet. He met Gillian’s gaze, wishing that she knew he was there, that she wasn’t facing this horror alone. He flung the dice down the length of the table and closed his eyes for a brief instant until the sound of the dice clattering against the wood ceased.

  “Twelve!” the man roared. “By God, you’re a lucky bastard!” The man next to him slapped him hard on the arm.

  “It seems we have our winner.” Langley smiled at him. “Take your pretty prize to any of the upstairs rooms. I give you half an hour, and then we shall roll to see who is next.”

  James drew in his breath slowly, his head spinning a little. He was at least going to be able to get Gillian out of here. He smiled at the men around him, pretending to enjoy the congratulations as he walked to claim Gillian. The man next to her loosened the ropes binding her wrists and jerked her out of the chair. He slapped her bottom and Gillian cried out, her gray eyes flashing with vengeful fire. James barely stopped himself from laying the man flat.

  I have to keep playing the game.

  If they suspected he was not one of them he and Gillian wouldn’t stand a chance. He grabbed her by the upper arm, acting forceful, but his grasp was gentle.

  “This way, my dear,” he growled, giving her a little time.

  There was a loud spitting noise behind him and he heard Audrey shout. “You touch her and I will kill you.” She had worked the gag out of her mouth. He wished he could reassure her that her friend would be safe, but there was no way. St. Laurent stood then, and barked at her.

  “Hold your tongue or I will put that mouth of yours to better use.” St. Laurent then gave James the barest hint of a nod, as if to encourage them to go while he had the chance. It seemed he too was upholding the ruse.

  Gillian struggled in his hold but he moved quickly, hauling her into the corridor before he slammed the door shut behind them. He made it only two steps before a delicate booted foot tripped him, and he toppled to the floor. Gillian leapt over his prone body in a wild flutter of purple skirts and white petticoats as she fled down the corridor.

  “Gillian, wait!” He hissed as he struggled to his feet. She froze at the end of the corner and stared at him. With a curse, James jerked off his domino, exposing his face.

  “Lord Pembroke?” Gillian whispered. “You—you are with these degenerate—”

  “No!” He braced himself with one hand on the wall to stare at her, afraid she’d bolt from him. “I heard Langley was after Lady Society and I remembered the incident you were involved in this afternoon. I thought I had put the pieces together but you aren’t Lady Society after all. It’s Miss Sheridan, isn’t it?”

  Gillian threw her mask to the floor as she sighed heavily. The sound made his heart ache.

  “Yes. But you must
tell no one.” She came back to him, and stared up at him, her eyes pleading.

  “I would never betray you or anything you told me in confidence,” he vowed. “But right now, your friend is in grave danger and there’s a chance those men tonight would recognize her and you. We have to get you outside. Then I can return to Miss Sheridan. St. Laurent is in there with her, but I fear the numbers don’t favor him.”

  “St. Laurent? Jonathan is here?”

  “He is. And I have no doubt Langley and his men will happily kill him if he gets in their way. And he will. I have to get you outside now…”

  The sudden explosion of a pistol being fired turned the world into chaos. The dining room doors burst open and several ladies rushed past them, knocking Gillian against the wall. James cursed as he saw Gillian’s head strike the wall and she crumpled to the ground. He rushed toward her but a deep bellowing shout stopped him in his tracks.

  “Halt or I will put a bullet in your back!” Langley’s threat was followed by a pistol barrel digging between his shoulder blades.

  James breathed out slowly, staring at Gillian who was getting to her knees, clutching a hand to her head. That was two blows today…blows that would have felled a bigger man than his tiny sweet Gillian. Behind him, he heard the scuffle and crashes of men fighting in the dining room. St. Laurent must be using his fists now. James almost smiled. Anyone facing that man’s bared hands wouldn’t be standing for long. He’d been trained with the best.

  “Wait…I know you. So, how does the Earl of Pembroke find his way into my little club without invitation?” Langley demanded.

  “A terrible lack in security for one…”

  Langley jammed the barrel this time into the back of his neck. “Shut up!”

  James had only seconds to act, only one chance to move the right way. He jerked to the right and the barrel slid off his neck as he crouched and spun, grappling with Langley. The pistol shot fired but the bullet lodged into the ceiling, sending a shower of plaster down around him and Langley.

  James roared and tackled Langley to the ground and wrestled the gun from his hands. Langley’s mask fell off during the struggle, his wild eyes glittering dangerously.

  “I’ll not stand for this! You cannot break into my club—”

  James punched him in the face and he fell back on the floor, his eyes rolling back in his head.

  “I did, and would do it again, you bastard,” James muttered.

  James looked up, peering through the half open dining room doors. All he saw was Audrey clutching a screeching black cat and Jonathan throwing punches in every direction. Audrey sought him, her face frantic.

  “Lord Pembroke! Heavens! I’m so glad to see you! Where’s Gillian?”

  He waved hastily behind him, before he turned back to Gillian. She was sitting back against the wall, her head in her hands, blood dripping down her cheek, and realized to his horror that part of the ceiling had fallen on her.

  “Miss Beaumont…” He knelt beside her, cupping her face in his hands and turning her wounded side into the light of the candles in the wall sconces above.

  “My lord… I do not feel well,” she said drowsily.

  “I know, sweetheart, I know.” He grimaced as he examined her. She needed to be seen by a doctor immediately.

  “Wait here, Miss Sheridan and St. Laurent require assistance.” He hated to leave her, but Jonathan couldn’t hope to fend off all those cads by himself. Once he was certain the other man was all right, he’d go straight back to Gillian

  “Go. I’ll be fine,” she promised him. James leaned in and brushed a swift kiss over her lips before he ran into the fray in the dining room.

  Chapter 3

  Everything seemed to be a bit of a haze. Gillian watched James explode into the dining room. He moved with a surprising swiftness and ease, as if he was quite accustomed to battling the minions of a hellfire club. Earlier that day he had shown her his sweet, irresistible and all too seductive side, but now she saw a warrior before her.

  She tried to walk toward him but tripped. Her feet felt clumsy and she looked down. She blinked past the pain in her head, and with an odd distant feeling noticed that the beautiful purple gown she wore was torn and—was that blood smeared on her bodice? Heavens…whose blood was that? The sound of fighting drew her attention back to the dining room and she looked up.

  Her mouth fell open as she saw James grab a man and throw him over the table as he fought his way to Jonathan. Audrey stood in the corner of the dining room, a black cat in her arms and a fireplace poker in one hand, she faced a drunken lout who was stumbling toward her. Audrey wielded the poker like a fencing master would face an opponent. She swung hard and knocked the man down with a swift blow. Then she faced the hallway, still holding the feline under one arm. What the devil was Audrey doing with a cat and—

  “Gillian?” Audrey shouted when she saw Gillian sitting in the hall. “Are you all right?”

  “Y—yes.” Gillian stumbled toward her and that’s when she felt the stickiness dripping down her cheek. She reached up and touched her face. Her hand came back covered in blood. The sight of the scarlet liquid on her palms made her flinch. She was the one bleeding?

  She glanced back at her mistress in time to see Jonathan help Audrey and her cat through an open windowsill. They vanished into the night. Suddenly James appeared, catching her by the hand.

  “Time to go. Can you run?”

  “I think so,” she said, glad he was pulling her along because it seemed she might not have the strength after all.

  “Why did they go out the window?” she asked as she and James rushed down the corridor. The path that led back to the dining room was blocked as men were coming fast behind her and James, but as of yet they hadn’t been spotted.

  “They had chance to get out that way. It’s better if we split up, we can hide easier in the shadows and attract less attention. I know of another way, many of these old houses are based on the same floor plans—” James paused at a door at the end of the hall and shoved the door open hard enough that the door crashed against the wall. They stumbled into the kitchens where a surly looking woman with a greasy apron stared at them.

  “Oi! What are you doing here?” the cook demanded.

  James didn’t bother to answer, he simply headed straight for the door at the end of the kitchens. Gillian followed, dodging pots and coughing as steam filled her lungs. They burst outside into a darkened alleyway and James hastily led her to the street where he hailed a hackney that was passing them by. He shouted an address to the driver.

  “And another ten shillings if you get us the hell off this bloody street,” he added.

  “That I can do!” The old driver said.

  James lifted Gillian into the coach and set her down gently in the seat facing away from the driver. The coach jerked into motion and she fell against James. He caught her, keeping her from toppling to the floor.

  “I’ve got you,” he said. The words seem to resonate deeply with her, even more than the simple act of catching her. The evening had been a complete blur and yet having him hold her seemed to ground her. Only now was able to finally catch her breath.

  “My lord… What were you doing there?” Gillian reached up to touch her aching head.

  “I was rescuing you, not that I did a very good job of it. Careful—” he grasped her hand and gently pulled it away from her temple. “You’re bleeding.”

  “I really don’t need to be rescued,” she reminded him, though she was fully aware of just how ludicrous that sounded given the situation she’d found herself in.

  Chasing after her mistress into a hellfire club—into a trap, no less—was not one of her brighter moments and she despised her own foolishness. If there was one thing she could have claimed proudly, it was that she knew how to be responsible and sensible. Nothing about tonight had been sensible. Instead, she had been reckless and almost lost her life. When she glanced James’s way she saw him biting his lip rather than arguing
with her.

  “You are right,” she grumbled. “I was in trouble. Thank you for coming to my aid.”

  He smiled warmly and it brought back a fresh wave of memories from earlier that day. How he’d teased her in the library and kissed her senseless. She had let him believe she wasn’t a lady’s maid, but an actual lady. She couldn’t hide the truth from him anymore. He’d saved her life and she owed him her honesty.

  “My lord…” she began, but the coach stopped and the driver announced the address. This was not the Sheridan townhouse. “Where are we?”

  James looked at his boots then, suddenly bashful. “I brought you to my home. It’s late, no one will see you. I have a doctor who lives with me because of my mother and I want him to look at you at once. The moment he has assured me that you are well, I will escort you wherever you wish.”

  His mother? She struggled to remember what James’s sister, Letty, had said to her. James’s mother had fallen ill after their father had died and over the last two years had become withdrawn and forgetful. Knowing that he looked after his mother filled Gillian with a sense of sympathetic compassion.

  “Is that acceptable? Taking you home?” His voice was soft, silken, though a little dangerous in the way it made her heart flutter. He was exactly the sort of man she had dreamed of falling in love with. But she never could. He was a titled peer, a member of the haute ton. She was an earl’s bastard daughter.

  If I dared to dream, you would be mine…

  She couldn’t look away from him as she nodded. She shouldn’t agree to go into his house but she longed for one moment to pretend that this life might have been hers. Part of her heart still clung to foolish girlhood dreams, wanted to believe for one night that she was a high-born lady who could be seen with him, who could marry him, who could have a life with him.

  He climbed out of the coach and held out his hand to her. She started to exit the vehicle and he gripped her by the waist carefully, slowly letting her slide down his body to the ground. Despite her aching head, she longed for him to kiss her in that moment. He cupped her chin, his eyes lowering to her lips before he gave himself a shake.