An Earl For Hire

by Bethany M. Sefchick

  That, finally, seemed to give Lady Colchester pause and Will wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. Once more she studied him as if she was inspecting horseflesh at Tattersall's. "So when I finally have you all to myself, you would strip for me while I watched? Take yourself in hand and give yourself pleasure while I did the same?" Her expressive face let Will know how hopeful she was in that regard. Even if he was not.

  "I...would," he ground out, thinking that he would very much not like to do that, save for possibly with the woman he loved and intended to marry. Except that if he did this, there would be no woman to love, let alone marry. And if he did not do this, there would be no woman to love or marry either for he would be in the poorhouse, if not debtor's prison. Either way, he was left with no choice.

  She seemed to think his comment over for a moment. "And if I invited another man into the room with us? Would you allow him to service your cock while I watched?"

  Will stiffened his spine. He was no molly! He had never looked at a man in a sexual manner in all of his life and he never would. Still, he needed the money and Anna needed to have a choice other than the Marquess of Winthrop. "I would...need to think about that."

  Lady Colchester sniffed again, clearly not pleased. "You stuffy English men with your notions of sexuality. The French are so much more at ease with the human body, both male and female."

  "Then perhaps you should find a Frenchman as a lover, my lady." The words were out before he could stop them.

  He was surprised when she smiled, though it was an evil smile full of devilry. "You have spirit, William. I like that." She flicked her fingers in the air. "And, surprisingly, despite this raw masculinity about you, I want you and not some Frenchman warming my bed." She eyed him again. "Very well. You know my terms. The last one would be a requirement, by the way. Think about them. I would like an answer by Friday." She paused meaningfully. "And if you please me, as I think you can? I have an entire circle of friends who are looking for a quality lover that can be discreet for the right price. I also know of a young lady of great wealth and position possibly looking for stud service." She clucked her tongue. "It's the dark underside of Society, I know, my darling, but needs must. And I have needs, as do my friends. A great many of them."

  Then she was gone in a cloud of cloying, heavy French perfume and a swish of skirts, leaving Will feeling as if he required a good, long soak in his copper tub. He felt dirty and used. He felt as if he had just sold a part of his soul to the very Devil himself. More than that, however, he felt as if he was being watched. Just as he had felt from the very moment he had stepped inside the library. Watched, likely by a child, from behind a heavy brocade curtain that probably concealed a reading nook similar to the one in his own library back at Hunter's Glen.

  "You can come out now, little one," Will sighed wearily, not wishing to deal with a recalcitrant child at the moment, but knowing he must or the damage to his reputation would be irreversible. "I shan't tattle on you to your mother so have no fear on that count."

  "I should certainly hope not!" a decidedly feminine - and much older than anticipated voice - snapped defiantly as the curtains parted and a lovely young woman emerged from what he had correctly guessed to be a reading nook. "For if you do that, my brother will have your hide and then all but frog-march you to the altar with me!"

  Oh God! Will could not suppress the shudder that ran through his body. He had been wrong. His watcher wasn't a child, as the faint silhouette had first indicated. The person behind the curtain had appeared small of stature at first glance, so he had assumed that it was a child but in this home, where the youngest Raynecourt daughter barely topped five foot and an inch, he should have known that it was just as likely to be her than a child.

  Will had been introduced to Lady Miriam Raynecourt on several occasional, the last time at Lord and Lady Radcliffe's Crystal Ball just the other week. He knew little of her, save that she preferred to hide in the shadows and had a lame leg. He assumed the leg was the reason for the hiding, but he could not be certain.

  She was an odd thing, certainly, but she did not deserve the cruel insults often said just loud enough so that she could hear them as she passed by. It was not her fault she had a lame leg. It was nature's and there was naught to be done for it.

  Well, he amended silently to himself, perhaps he knew more about the chit than he had first suspected. For a woman who did her best not to be noticed, he had noticed rather a lot about her.

  For instance, Will had also noticed that Lady Miri was beautiful, or at least he had always thought so. She reminded him of a fairy queen in a book he had loved as a child. Secretly, he had always had something of a crush on that particular fairy queen and now, looking at Lady Miri, he could see the same delicate lines in her features that he had so admired in the book's artwork.

  However, she also disliked people and in particular seemed to dislike men. She also didn't dance, which was part of the reason why he had never approached her, much as he might have wished to do so. Well, that and the fact that he was wretchedly poor and had very little to recommend him. Not that she was looking for a husband, of course, for just about everyone in the ton knew she was not. And that, unfortunately, was where the extent of his knowledge regarding Lady Miri ended. Maybe.

  Well, he also knew that she and Lady Pearl Weston had been asked to leave a young woman's finishing school, but he only knew that because Anna had remarked upon it and thanked him for not having the coin to send her to such a horrific place.

  "Miss Raynecourt. My apologies. I did not mean for you to hear that." Will bowed rather stiffly and wondered what he would have to offer to buy her silence. Would she, like Lady Colchester, be willing to accept his body in trade for keeping his secret? That, he decided quickly, would not exactly be a hardship and it was an offer he was more than willing to make. In fact, he thought he might enjoy bedding this ethereal creature.

  "No, I don't suppose you did, Lord Blackthorne." Lady Miri paused and took a moment to study him. However unlike when Lady Colchester had perused his body, this felt far more natural. Not to mention honestly appreciative. And extremely welcome. "You were expecting a child, I take it.

  Will shrugged, deciding to be honest with her in return for her own honesty. "Well, you are rather, ah, small in stature, you must admit."

  "But I am no child." She crossed her arms over her breasts drawing his attention there - which he knew he had no business doing. He did not need another complication in the form of this woman in his life. Then she sighed wearily as if she had not noticed his perusal of her body. "But you are not the first to be confused, my lord. Merely the latest in a long line."

  "I'm...sorry?" He had no idea what to say to that. This conversation was not going at all how he expected. In fact, he had fully anticipated that he would be on his knees groveling right now, begging this woman to keep his confidence.

  "Do not be sorry." She shook her head and something sad crossed her face. He didn't like that any more than he had liked Lady Colchester's crass words earlier. Peculiar that. "I am accustomed to such by now. It no longer surprises me. Little does, any longer, I fear."

  That might be true of her, but the very fact that he was even having this conversation surprised Will. Everyone in Society knew that Miriam Raynecourt did not speak unless spoken to, especially men, and preferred to blend into the wallpaper if at all possible. She was accounted to be little better than a shadow of a woman, though some of the nastiest gossips claimed that she was mentally damaged and could not speak at all. He had known from the first that was not true, of course, but still, enough gossip did make one wonder.

  "Miss Raynecourt, I..." Will faltered. What could he say that would not make himself sound any worse? Not that he should care what this lady thought of him, really. Except that he did for some odd reason.

  "Please, call me Miri. Or Lady Miri if you must. After what I have just heard, I think we are well past the proper and polite stage of things, don't you, Lord Blackthorne? O
r should I call you William, as Lady Colchester does?" She looked at him calmly, as if she was studying a great puzzle. He was rather surprised as well that she was not shrieking in horror over the topic of his conversation with Lady Colchester.

  He flushed a bit at the mention of the other woman's name. "My friends call me Will. I would very much like it if you would as well."

  Miri blinked a few times as if she, too, was having difficulty with this conversation. Then again, from what he understood, she did not engage in social niceties all that much.

  "Very well. Will." She seemed to be testing out his name and he liked the way it sounded on her lips. This was not good. Not in the least. "Are you going to go through with the arrangement Lady Colchester proposed?" she finally asked, tilting her head to the side inquisitively. At last, they had come to the singular matter that hung between them. In his opinion, it was about time.

  "I take it you do not think I should." The way she spoke made her position clear. Though really what he did with his body was no business of hers so why was he defending himself?

  "It is your body, so you are free to do as you like as long as your conscience allows it," she answered reasonably, surprising him once again. Most women he knew would be...well, not acting like this - so calmly and rationally. There would likely either be hysterics or a counter offer from her on the table already. "Though you do not strike me as a man who would allow another man to...service...him, shall we say."

  Will visibly shuddered this time. He could not help it. "I am no molly," he replied gruffly. "I cannot abide the thought of another man...doing that."

  For some reason, that made her smile and once more, he marveled at how calmly she was handling this entire subject. "I thought not."

  "But if I do this, no matter whom I do the deed with, I will still be a whore," he said, finding it odd that he could speak with this strange woman about the matter and yet at the same time, feeling as if a great weight was lifting off of him at the same time. "Yet I feel as though I do not have a choice. My family's financial standing is no secret."

  Miri tapped her finger on her chin, as if mulling over his words. "Women do the same when they are desperate, so why not a man? While not acceptable for a woman to sell herself, I should think given the obvious, that for a man this would be much more the done thing. Puzzling that it is not, don't you think?"

  Will pinched the bridge of his nose. He could not and should not be having this conversation and yet he could not stop it either. "How do you even know about such things?"

  Miri gave him a withering look. "You do know who my brother is, do you not? I have heard tales like this and worse in my time." She looked him over from head to toe then and Will felt another blush creep up his cheeks. "No reasonable woman would refuse you, you know. You are handsome. It would not even be necessary to inspect the merchandise, as Lady Colchester requested."

  Something deep and protective rose up inside of Will just then. How was it that this lady's brother did not protect her delicate sensibilities from such things? She was young and beautiful and, lame leg or not, a precious treasure to be cherished. She should not know about whores and sexual relations between men or anything else they had discussed. No matter how freeing it was for him to have someone he could openly discuss the matter with. He had to stop this madness. Now. Before he passed the point of no return.

  "I am not having this conversation. Not with anyone and certainly not with you." Will closed his eyes and shook his head, hoping that when he opened his eyes again, the confounding, confusing, and altogether too alluring woman in front of him would be gone. Regrettably, she was not.

  "And why not? Do you not think that in this case, you should have a female perspective on this?" She crossed her arms over her chest, drawing his attention to her breasts again. "And to properly offer that perspective, I truly wish to know the answer to my question. Are you going to accept Lady Colchester's offer? And if so, is it the bedsport that you are interested in or the funds?"

  Will's eye hardened. So. They were down to it. Finally. He should have expected this. "What do you think?"

  She twitched her lips back and forth for a long moment. If Will didn't know any better, he would think that she was funning him about the matter. However, this was Miri Raynecourt - a ghost who spoke to no one, especially not a strange man she stumbled across in her family's library. He doubted that she ever found anything funny in her life and if she did, he and his appearance here would not be on that list.

  "I know that you are not opposed to bedsport. After all, you are male and likely very much like my brother in that regard. I also read the papers and if even half of what is printed is true, then you are no stranger to a woman's body. Not to mention that I have heard stories." She studied him again for a long moment. "You would be surprised at the tales I have heard over the years when my brother thought I was not listening.

  "No, I probably wouldn't, actually." Will felt as if he was going to be ill. It was bad enough that he was about to whore himself out body and soul to Lady Colchester. He did not need this innocent young thing discussing what he was about to do as if they were conversing about the weather.

  She tapped her finger to her chin again and came closer. "However I also do not think that it is the bedsport that motivates you. You are exceedingly handsome and I am certain you know this. You could find a bed partner rather easily if you chose. You have in the past. Therefore, it must be the funds."

  Squeezing his eyes shut, Will tried to block out the sight of Miri Raynecourt standing in front of him, as innocent as you please, discussing his reasons for his desire to prostitute himself. This was wrong on so very many levels.

  "Enough!" he ground out. "This conversation has gone on far too long as it is!" When he opened his eyes, he found Miri still staring at him, unblinking. "And with you of all people!"

  "I am Rayne's sister," she countered reasonably, yet her voice was noticeably softer, as if his sharp rebuke had hurt her somehow. "I know about these matters far better than you would suspect."

  "You do not speak to people! Ever! You are little better than wallpaper! You are a foolish, little girl with no idea what she is prattling on about and no experience with reality. Or men. Especially not experience of a sexual nature!"

  That, finally, seemed to take her aback completely and she bit her lip. "No, I do not. And I can see that this conversation was a mistake," she finally managed quietly, her earlier confidence instantly stripped away and leaving a rather forlorn-looking young woman where there had once stood a warrior.

  Yet, after a brief glance at the floor, she tilted her head back up and met his gaze unblinking as she gathered herself once more. He had hurt her. That much was clear, but he had not broken her.

  Had some man spoken to Anna this way, then Will would have demanded his head on a platter. It was a wretched, horrid thing to do to anyone but especially to a lady. More than that, Will had hurt someone who had only, in her own odd way, attempted to assist him. Oh, God, he hated himself even more just then. He had not thought that possible.

  "I try to be normal, or what I think is normal, and then..." He could barely make out her words but the ones he could hear cut right into his soul.

  "Lady Miri, I am sorry. More than you know. This whole evening has been...not right. I am angry and afraid and I took that out on you. Please. I'm sorry." Will reached for her but, not surprisingly, she pulled away from his grasp and took a step backward.

  Miri held his gaze again, never blinking and never looking away. Again, bent, but not broken. He wondered what it would take to break this woman and decided that he would rip out the throat of any man who dared to try. Even though he had no claim upon her. Such strength should be rewarded and encouraged, not crushed.

  "You are easy to talk to, Lord Blackmore. Will. Or...you were." She clasped her hands in front of her as if she was gathering her wits again. "I don't like people in general, as I'm certain you are aware. They tend to...laugh at me for any number of re
asons. Therefore, I mistrust people more than I trust them, especially when we first meet. When you first saw me this evening, my leg was not the first thing you commented on. It was...refreshing. I suppose I forgot myself and for that, I apologize." She closed her eyes for a moment, and Will felt like the lowest sort of bastard just then. "It's just that what I heard was so...unusual...and I came out and you were here....and....and...I simply thought you were...different. You spoke to me as an equal and not some simpleton just because I am lame. However, I am also known to be a fool when it comes to people, so I fear that I have misjudged. Badly." She gulped and he could see a tear sliding silently down her cheek. Just one. One tear and no more. He had a feeling she would not allow a second. She was far too strong for that

  He had hurt her - deeply - with his cruel words. From the sounds of things, many others had over the years as well. He was simply the latest in a long line. And he hated himself then far more than he had hated himself the day he had decided to prostitute his body for coins.

  Clearing his throat, Will tried again. "Miri, I'm sorry. Please. I did not mean what I said. Please forgive me. I truly am sorry." As excuses went, it was pretty pitiful. However he prayed that she could hear the sincerity in his words.

  "Don't be." Her voice was stronger now, the fire lighting in her eyes again, as if she was letting him know with a single glance that he, of all people, would not be the man to bring her to her knees. "You are not the first to point out the obvious, Lord Blackmore, nor will you be the last. I really should be going. This is inappropriate and, as you have so correctly pointed out, I know little about the matter at hand. It really is none of my affair." She stepped back again as if moving towards the door. "But have no fear, my lord. I shall keep your secret. I swear on my father's grave that I will. No one will know what transpired here tonight."