"Certainly not!" the trio agreed with one voice.
"However, George, you must help us make the plan by which we will trap the lady, putting her in our tender charge," Lord Bertram told the bishop.
"And after she is mastered, she will be forced by the very nature of her situation to choose a husband from among the three of us," the marquess concluded gleefully.
"How much time will you need?" the bishop asked his companions.
"I think at least a month," the duke considered, and looked at his coconspirators, who nodded in agreement.
The bishop thought for several long minutes, and then he said, "Only Caroline would be concerned as to where Lucinda has gone. Two of my other sisters are in Scotland, another in Wales, and Julia lives in Ireland. There will be no one to ask embarrassing questions, gentlemen. I believe the solution is to tell Caroline that Lucinda has gone to Ireland to visit Julia."
"Lucinda must appear to be planning such a trip," Lord Bertram said, "else your wife grow suspicious."
"I know just how to get Lucinda to agree to such a visit,"
George Worth said with a grin. "For two years she and I have argued over her desire to purchase her own home in London. She has found a house she likes on Traleigh Square. I shall allow her to buy it and make all her plans for decoration. Then I shall suggest she visit Julia, while it is being done, and be back in London by the autumn. That gives us the summer months should my sister prove more recalcitrant with The Master than we anticipate and he need more time with her. The house, of course, can be quickly resold once she has married again. It will be well worth the cost of the decor to allow us this time. Besides, Lucinda can afford it. She will still come to a new marriage a wealthy woman. Is this plan suitable to you, gentlemen?" the bishop asked them.
"What about her maid?" the duke said. "No lady would travel without her maid, George."
"Polly? A most naughty piece of fluff, my lords. She will certainly go with my dear sister. And when the time comes for Lucinda to make her choice, Polly will, I promise you, offer you all a most charming entertainment along with her mistress. She's a juicy fuck if there ever was one. I shall miss her, but whichever of you gentlemen wins Lucinda will have Polly in your household, too. I envy you. I have had a most enjoyable two years with Polly, and her sister, Molly, who is Caroline's maid. They are wickedly lewd lasses."
"We shall notify The Master, then, my lords. Let us meet here again at the same time next week to coordinate our plans," the duke said. The agreement secured, the gentlemen bowed to one another and sat down to play cards.
The next morning the bishop, his wife by his side, called his sister into the morning room. "Caroline has convinced me that you will not settle upon a second husband until you have your own home," George Worth began. "I do not want you unhappy, Lucinda. Therefore I have instructed your bank to release to you any and all of your funds. You may purchase your house in Traleigh Square, m'dear. I am not convinced this is the best road for you to take, but it is obvious you will not travel mine until you gain your own way in the matter." He smiled a small smile, feeling not the least bit of guilt.
"Ohh, George!" Lucinda cried, clapping her hands together in delight. "I shall send to dear old Mr. Wythe and have him negotiate with the agent. Is there time before we leave London?"
George Worth smiled more broadly. "Of course," he purred. "And, Luci, you must make arrangements for your decor before we depart. The house, I have not a doubt, will need work. We shan't leave London until you have made all of your arrangements, m'dear."
Lucinda flung her arms about her older brother and kissed him soundly on both of his smooth cheeks. "You are, Georgie, the very best brother a girl could have! Even if you are a bit slow," she said.
"Slow?" He was offended. "Whatever do you mean, Lucinda?"
"If you had done this two years ago, it would have been ever so much better," Lucinda told him. "But at least now you have listened to reason and come around to a more sensible frame of mind. I am so very glad!" She kissed him again, then turned to her sister-in-law. "Dearest Caro, thank you for interceding for me," Lucinda said.
"I agree with George, Lucinda, but I also realize that you will not be content to remarry until you can have your way. You are not, I fear, at twenty-five, in the first flush of your youth any longer," Caroline Worth noted sharply. "Having refused three such fine offers as you had, it will not be as easy next season to find a husband."
Lucinda bit her lip to keep from laughing. Poor Caro, for whom a man, children, and home were everything. She could not understand anyone who did not have the same ambitions as she had. There she was married to George, a sweet, but dull fellow, with five children, and yet another on the way. She was as content as a sow in warm mud. I do not, Lucinda thought to herself, think I could have stood living with them much longer. "I believe, upon reflection, that I should remain in London this summer while the house is being refurbished for me," she said.
"London in the summer is a cesspit," her brother pronounced. "Buy your house, and make your plans, m'dear. Then why not go off and visit Julia in Ireland. You and she always got on quite well. You haven't seen her since you married. Or go up to Scotland to see Laetitia and Charlotte, or perhaps Georgeanne over in Wales."
Lucinda thought a moment. Her brother was being very reasonable, and he was right. London's reputation in summertime was foul. "I shall go to Ireland to visit Julia and her Brian," she decided aloud. Julia had always been fun. Her other sisters bored her.
"I shall write to Julia myself," the bishop said to his youngest sister. "When you have concluded your business, m'dear, I shall arrange for your travel. I have been given to understand that Dublin is quite lively even in the summertime."
"You have been so good to me, George," Lucinda said to him. "I am sorry it has taken us so long to come to terms. But now we have, and everything is going to be all right."
"Oh, indeed it will, m'dear," George Worth agreed. Lucinda would be taken in hand by The Master, and tamed. When The Master had concluded his instruction, Lucinda would be an obedient and proper woman. Her suitors were willing to allow it and wait. In the end she would have to pick one of them. There would be no other road for her to take. She would be well married by Christmas just like his other sisters. One day she would thank him for having taken a firm hand in securing her good fortune. The bishop smiled at his wife and his sister, pleased with his own thoughts. "You had best send for Mr. Wythe," he told Lucinda. "You don't want someone else to snap up your house, m'dear."
By the day's end, however, the house at Three Traleigh Square was the property of Lady Lucinda Harrington. The next morning, key in her gloved hand, she entered her new property in the company of her brother and sister-in-law. George Worth had to admit that his sister had an excellent eye. The house, while not large, was charming. It would resell quickly. On the main floor was a morning room, a formal salon, a library, and a dining room. Below the stairs were spacious kitchens opening onto a large back garden with an apple tree. On the upper floors there were several bedchambers and dressing rooms. The attics were light and airy so that the servants would be more than reasonably comfortable. On a corner of the square, the house had more windows than its neighbors'. The previous owners had not left any furniture, and it needed paint and general decor.
"I'm going to do the morning room and the salon in yellow and cream," Lucinda told Caroline. Then she turned to her brother. "I want The Five Graces, Georgie. That portrait you had painted of Caro and the children really belongs in the place of honor in your house, not a painting of your five troublesome sisters." She smiled at him.
"It is yours," he replied generously, smiling at her, knowing he had pleased his wife by his answer. The Five Graces would be a worthy addition to Lucinda's husband's home. Wherever that was to be.
Lucinda hired an agent to act for her while she was out of London. She spent the next several weeks arranging for her new dwelling to be painted, carefully choosing the colors hersel
f; dealing with the draper for the fabrics that would be made into draperies and curtains for her windows; speaking herself with Mr. Chippendale about the furniture she was ordering from his shop; and choosing the magnificent Oriental carpets that would grace her floors. There was china from Dr. Wall's Royal Worcester potteries to be chosen from a pattern book and all manner of household items that would be needed. A gardener was hired to restore the walled garden behind the house.
"I shall hire the servants when I return," Lucinda told her brother.
"Excellent! Excellent!" her brother replied. "Do you have any idea of when you wish to depart for Julia's, m'dear?"
"I believe I can be ready in another fortnight," Lucinda said, smiling. "You have been so helpful, Georgie. I'm certain you and Caro will be happy to have the manse back to yourselves. I know if it were my house, I should feel that way, no matter how much I love you."
"I shall make all the arrangements, m'dear," her brother said. "I know it shall be a most eventful summer for you, Luci."
Finally the morning arrived for Lucinda's departure. Her trunks were packed and put atop the large traveling coach that stood before the London house the bishop had been renting. George Worth had told his sister that she would travel across country to Cardiff. From there she would embark for Ireland. She would not, the bishop assured her, have to see her sister Charlotte. Charlotte would not even know she was in the vicinity. As her trip would take several days, her accommodations had been booked at respectable inns and were already paid for by her brother. "My little gift to you," he said as he kissed her goodbye. "I shall come to London to see you when you return, m'dear." Then the Bishop of Wellington helped his sister into her traveling vehicle and waved her off with a smile, and not the least twinge of a conscience.
The weather fair, and the roads dry, Lucinda's carriage traveled relatively swiftly over the day. A basket lunch had been provided. The mistress shared it with her maid, Polly. In late afternoon they arrived at the Silver Swan, a delightful inn at Maidenhead. Lucinda was ushered into the building with all the deference she expected. A two-room suite had been booked for her. She was served a light supper of roasted turkey breast with new peas, fresh bread, a local cheese, and a dish of June strawberries. The wine was the most delicious she had ever tasted, but she was quickly sleepy and had to be helped to her bed by Polly.
"Gracious," she murmured as her maid helped her to undress, "traveling has obviously done something to my head." Then falling upon the bed she was immediately asleep, even before her hair could be undone and braided.
Polly put her mistress's clothing neatly away and laid out her garments for the next day's travel. Then helping herself to the remaining wine, she drank it all and was quickly asleep herself on the trundle. An hour later the door to the little suite opened, and several cloaked gentlemen, their faces carefully obscured, entered. Lucinda's possessions were gathered up and removed. Both she and Polly were carried to the waiting coach. In the morning, the innkeeper, well paid in advance, would assume his guest had departed early in the morning. The elegant vehicle slowly and quietly exited the inn yard, disappearing into the darkness.
Lucinda awoke. Her head was throbbing. Why was the bed so hard suddenly? She tried to turn over, only to discover that she could not. Despite the ache in her head, her senses abruptly sharpened. This was not the inn where she had gone to sleep last night. She was in a tiny, cell-like cubicle. A shutter barred the window, but she could make out a narrow ribbon of gray light coming through it. She was not upon a bed, but a straw pallet. And she was chained by one arm to the wall! Her eyes swept the little space for Polly, but the maid wasn't there. Lucinda wondered if she had been kidnapped, and where Polly was.
"Hello?" she called out softly, and then as her courage returned, more loudly, "Hello?"
She immediately heard footsteps outside her chamber, and the door opened to admit someone. The shutter was flung wide to allow in the bright light of early morning, the fresh country air. She could see the figure of a man. He turned about to face her, and Lucinda was unable to restrain a gasp of both surprise and shock. The man was quite tall, having a beautiful and extremely well formed body. Lucinda stared. He was bare-chested, and wore the tightest fitting breeches she had certainly ever seen. They followed every line of his body, displaying long legs with shapely calves just above his boots, and well-rounded buttocks. She had never seen such a garment before and thought it deliciously indecent. When he had turned, she saw he was masked so that she could not view his entire face. Then she gasped again. There was a narrow slit in the front of the man's breeches, and his manhood was hanging out quite boldly for her to see. It was, she considered, a most healthy and sizeable organ.
"Good morning, Lady Lucinda," he said.
"Who are you?" Lucinda demanded in a most imperious tone, tearing her eyes away from that most fascinating temptation.
He smiled, and she saw a quick flash of white teeth, "I am known as The Master, m'lady," was the reply.
"Where am I? I demand to be returned to the inn. Have you any idea of who I am? My brother is the Bishop of Wellington," Lucinda said angrily. She lifted her arm and rattled her chain. "Take this restraint off at once, sir! My skin is already chafed from it."
"Impossible," he replied. "Your wristband is lined in lamb's wool. It is not my intention to harm you in any way."
"Then, why am I here? And what the hell is this place?" she demanded of him.
The Master knelt next to Lucinda. "You have, my dear, offended several gentlemen with your sharp words and your less-than-gentle feminine behavior. You are, I fear, too independent, my Lady Lucinda. Tonight you will be brought before the court of the Devil's Disciples where you will be judged for your bad conduct. I am told you will be put into my hands then for mastering. When I deem you suitably trained, you will return before the court, where you will display your new attitude to all the gentlemen present. The three suitors you have so scorned will then each have their way with you. Afterward you will choose the one you favor best. Only then will you be returned to your own world where your engage-, ment will be announced, followed by your wedding."
"I have already told that trio of fools that I should not have any of them," Lucinda said fiercely. "My late husband said that when I wed again, it must be for love and no other reason. I do not love Rexford, Hargrave, or Bertram. There is nothing you can do that will make me love them, sir. Now, unchain me at once. If you release me now, I shall not go to the authorities, but continue on my way to Ireland. If I do not arrive when I am scheduled to arrive, my sister, Lady Rafferty, will inform the authorities. You will be found out, and I shall see you are prosecuted to the full extent of the law, sir!"
The Master burst out laughing. Then as quickly his amusement was gone. He kissed Lucinda hard, his lips forcing her lips apart, his tongue thrusting deeply into her mouth where he caressed her tongue. As suddenly his body forced hers back upon the pallet, lying atop her. "You are going to be a great deal more fun to master than the little governess who was brought to me last time," he told her wickedly. "I am going to enjoy taming you, Lady Lucinda. And you, I promise, will enjoy it, too."
She could feel his manhood rising through the thin fabric of her silk night garment. His body was both warm and hard. For a brief moment she was terrified. Then the feeling dissolved, and she said through gritted teeth, "You, sir, can go to hell!"
With another laugh he stood up. Then looking down at his manhood which was now engorged, he said with a grin, "Until tonight, my dear," and he turned toward the door.
"Wait!" Lucinda cried. "Where is my maid, Polly?"
"In my bed," came the surprising reply. "She's a damned good fuck, your Poll. I'll send her to you after I take care of this," and he gestured to his swollen penis. Then he was gone out the door.
What was going on? Lucinda asked herself. The Devil's Disciples? Her brother would have been shocked to learn that Lucinda had already heard about them. Just bits of gossip, whispered secretly in
hushed tones by the ladies at various social functions. They would shiver deliciously and roll their eyes at the mere mention of this group. It was a secret gentlemen's fellowship, a rival to the Hellfire Club, where the men were alleged to sport themselves in all manner of debauchery with women both willing and unwilling. And there bad, indeed, been talk of Lord Meldrew's governess this season past.
From what this man who called himself The Master had said, she gathered that her three rejected suitors had arranged for this kidnapping of her person. They were indeed as big a trio of fools as she had ever known. When George learned of her disappearance, he would certainly raise a hue and cry. They were going to pay dearly for this outrage. Thank God she was not some little virgin whose lily white reputation could be destroyed by such actions. And while they might brag on seducing a governess, they would certainly not dare to boast of kidnapping and ravaging a lady of quality. If she could not escape them, then she intended seeing that the gentlemen of the Devil's Disciples were taught a stern lesson for their presumption.
The door to the little room opened again, and Polly crept in, bearing a tray of food. "Ohh, m'lady," she began, but Lucinda cut her quite short.
"Do not play the innocent with me," she said. "That bandit who has us in his power says he has bedded you. Is it true, you little bawd?" Lucinda fixed her maid with a fierce eye.
"I couldn't stop him," Polly wailed.
"You were a virgin?" Lucinda said. "The truth, you shameless trull, for I shall ask him, and he is not loath to brag upon it."
"I weren't no virgin," Polly admitted, sniffling as she put the tray down.
"Did you ever… with my husband?" Lucinda demanded.
"Never, my lady! Lord Robert were a real gentleman!" Polly cried indignantly.
"My brother, then?" Lucinda probed further.
Polly flushed, and hung her head.
Lucinda laughed. "I thought I heard Georgie creeping about in the night. You know I am a light sleeper, and the floorboards on the stairs to the attics creak. Is he a good lover, my brother?"
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