“Dunnesford told me that he would submit the petition for divorce tomorrow,” Phineas continued, “and then you will be completely mine, my love.”
“How fortunate we were that such a grand lode of copper had been discovered!”
“Even had we not that resource, dearest Gertie, I would have found a means. I would have sold my soul to possess you.”
She looked into his eyes and felt her love for him swelling to such an extent that she wondered her bosom would not burst.
“You will come live with me at Barclay,” he declared. “I do not think I can wait for us to be married.”
“Vale and Harrietta said that I can stay at Dunnesford House for as long as I wish. It is perhaps more proper.”
“Hang propriety,” he growled. “It is known that we are lovers.”
“Nonetheless, I do not wish for us to appear blatant or impudent before Parliament has approved our petition. Absence will make our hearts fonder.”
He frowned. “You would torment me, Gertie?”
“For our future, I am willing to bear some torture today.”
He thought for a moment. “I agree to this plan of yours on one condition.”
She raised a brow.
“That you agree to an assignation with me at Madame Botreaux’s Ballroom of Pleasures.”
She started. “No. That is unnecessary. I could simply visit you at your apartment as your servants have proved to be most discreet.”
“I prefer Madame Botreaux’s.”
She stepped away from him and his searching eyes. “How do you know of Madame Botreaux’s?”
“How do you?”
“I—I heard of it from...”
She could not reveal her friends.
“The Marquess and Marchioness,” he provided.
“You knew?” she gasped.
“I was told that Dunnesford was quite the deity there.”
Too many thoughts were swirling in her head. How would Phineas react if he knew she had already been a patron of Madame Botreaux’s? If she agreed to go with him to the Ballroom, she might be recognized as Lady Athena. Would Penelope then reveal her?
“You have been to Madame Botreaux’s before?” she ventured, hoping to keep the attention upon him.
“Quite frequently.”
She had her back to him and tugged at her fingers. “In the past?”
“Earlier this year.”
Her voice nearly cracked. “Indeed?”
“I was quite taken by someone there.”
A rage of jealousy swept through her, and she had to remind herself that his past would likely produce many opportunities for jealousy. Such ugly feelings were not productive.
“An impervious woman,” he added, “but I was intent upon pursuing her. I intended to show her the error of her ways.”
She wondered which of the many beautiful women at the Ballroom he was referring to. He stood close enough to her that his chest grazed her back. The wind blew his cloak around her. He cupped her chin and tilted her ear to his mouth.
“Lady Athena.”
Her heart leaped from her. But Lady Athena was her! Should she reveal the truth to him? He was the man she loved, a man who would become her husband. She could keep no secret from him.
But how had he come across Lady Athena?
She whirled around to face him, the blood draining from her. “Hephaestus!”
“My lady,” he greeted with a grin.
“How could I not have...?” she gasped, appalled at her own blindness as the visions of the Ballroom flashed before her and the memory of how she had responded to him surged in her body. “How long have you known?”
“Since the Four Horse Posting Inn.”
“But you said nothing!”
“I believed if you wished me to know, you would have told me.”
She glanced away from him, feeling somewhat angry that he had known all this time when she had not.
He wrapped a hand about her waist and pulled her to him. The sparkle of amusement danced in his eyes. “Do not be offended, my love. I will let you exact your vengeance upon me at Madame Botreaux’s.”
She pursed her lips. “It will be a vengeance like you have never experienced, Hephaestus.”
He grinned. “I welcome everything you would do to me, and then I will have my triumph. I am quite confident that Lady Athena will be surrendering to the greatest of bodily pleasures.”
Gertie felt her knees weaken at the prospect. “You may find Lady Athena more formidable than the Countess of Lowry, sir.”
He drew her even closer until she felt the hardness of his desire against her. “Make no mistake. I will achieve my conquest.”
She would not have disputed him even had his mouth not claimed hers before she could utter another word. Lady Athena had long succumbed, for Phineas Barclay had conquered Lady Athena the moment he had conquered the heart of the Countess.
THE END
Other Titles by Georgette Brown
Steamy Regency Collection
An Indecent Wager (Book #1)
Surrendering to the Rake (Book #2)
That Wicked Harlot (Book #3)
Tempting a Marquess (Book #4)
Tempting a Marquess for Christmas (Book #5)
Other
Pride, Prejudice & Pleasure
COPYRIGHT
Published by Wind Color Press
Copyright © 2018
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental.
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The Countess and the Rake Page 20