When he gently placed his hand on the small of her back and left it there to linger, a shiver slid down her spine. If he had any idea what that did to her, he was keeping mum.
Alice turned and gave Harry a fuller inspection. She had never seen a man dressed in such an eye-catching color before. “Is that pink?”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Salmon, darling. I would never be so common as to wear pink. A gentleman has to have standards. I must say I love your burgundy and gold gown, especially the way you wear the sleeves off your shoulders. It suits you much better than that grey shroud you wore to the Ashton’s ball.”
“Um, thank you,” she replied.
Alice’s thoughts were too full of Harry’s outfit for her to respond more than that. Her gaze roamed over his attire from top to bottom, then moved back to the top again. There was so much happening that it necessitated a second look.
He was right; the floor-length fully-buttoned-up coat was a fetching shade of salmon. So was the tall silk hat he wore. Then came the black lace, which trimmed the cuffs of the coat and around the band of the hat. But what truly stole the show, however, was the white fur trim around the raised collar of the garment. It gave Harry’s gorgeous face an almost angelic appearance.
When did I start thinking of him as being gorgeous? I have clearly lost my mind.
She caught a glimpse of bare ankle and narrowed her eyes. “Dare I ask what you are wearing beneath your outer garment?” she said.
Harry shook his head. “I don’t think the hostess of this evening would forgive even me if I unbuttoned my coat. Let me just say, it is a tad daring and a whole lot scandalous.”
“Why wear it, then, if you are not going to do the grand reveal?” she replied.
The slow, salacious smile which crept across his lips set her heart racing. Others might see him as bordering on lunatic, but to Alice, he was mesmerizing. Here in the middle of the toff of the ton was an individual who really didn’t give a damn what people thought of him.
“I don’t plan to stay long at this dull-as-dishwater shindy. I am here to check on our fraudulent foe and then leave,” he replied.
And go where?
He was going to abandon her. Disappointment and a touch of irritation stirred within. Didn’t he have any idea as to how famous this conductor was? And if not, couldn’t he at least summon up enough interest in her to want to stay? Especially after the small private moments they had shared of late.
Obviously not. Foolish girl. Fancy thinking that Harry could be seriously interested in you.
That particular notion hurt Alice on a deeper level than she liked. The sting of rejection burned.
“I am sorry that you think these cultural moments are beneath you. As for myself, I have been counting down the days until Herr Schwartz arrived in London,” she bit back.
Alice turned away. Tears threatened, but Harry took hold of her arm and drew her back. Blinking hard, she glared at him. If he thought to kiss her, she was going to nip him on the lips instead. Arrogant, pompous man.
The heady scent of sandalwood soap and another mysterious spice she couldn’t name quickly filled her senses. Being this close to him was like breathing in his essence.
“I’m sorry. That was cruel and unkind. I shouldn’t mock something that you love. Forgive me,” he said.
She had never seen Harry so earnest. There was not a trace of insincerity about him. It was tempting to ask him what had changed, but she held back.
“I never want to see you again, Cuthbert Saint. You are a . . . cold fish.”
They both turned at those words. Patience came storming toward them with Cuthbert hot on her heels.
Alice put a comforting arm around her sister. “What is the matter?” she asked.
“Just a silly misunderstanding. It is nothing of consequence,” replied Cuthbert, flatly.
Patience threw up her arms. “That’s all I am to you—insignificant and foolish.”
“You know that is not true. You mean the world to me,” replied Cuthbert.
Harry caught Alice’s eye, and to her bone-deep relief, he stepped forward. Patience immediately ceased her tantrum and stood staring at him, mouth agape.
“Perhaps now might be a good time to take you home, Miss Patience. My carriage is outside. I often find a little time and distance helps in these sorts of situations,” offered Harry.
“Could you, Lord Steele? That would be most kind of you. We sent our carriage home, not expecting to be finished for a few hours more. What do you think, Patience?” said Alice.
Her sister pursed her lips. “I think that is very good idea. The sooner I am away from Mister Saint the better.”
As Cuthbert went to protest, Harry drew him aside. “Let her go home. A good night’s sleep often cures these ills.”
He clearly wasn’t happy with this development, but to his credit, Cuthbert didn’t push the issue. He bowed to the group and quickly left.
Patience turned back to Alice and promptly burst into tears. By the time they made their exit, she was in an inconsolable state.
Harry wasted no time in having his coach brought around to the front of the elegant town house, and within minutes, the three of them were headed for Mortimer Street and the North family home.
He instructed the driver to take the carriage into the rear mews; the neighbors did not need to be granted an audience to Patience’s distressed state.
A footman pulled down the steps and helped the youngest North sister to alight. Without a word of good night or gratitude, she stormed into the house, leaving an embarrassed Alice to deal with Harry.
“Thank you, Harry. You saved me from a thoroughly unpleasant evening. My sister is not one to be pacified when she is in such a mood. Mama calls her Boadicea when Patience starts getting all riled up. The only thing missing is the blue woad on her face.” She rose from her seat, ready to climb out.
Harry reached over, and taking hold of the door handle, tugged it closed. He rapped on the roof, and the carriage pulled away.
The sudden jolt had a startled Alice finding herself quickly back on the bench. “Are we returning to the concert?”
“That is up to you. I know you are keen to go and listen to the orchestra, but if you are in the mood for something a little more interesting, I could take you to a place I know,” he replied.
She scowled at him. Knowing Harry, interesting could mean a great many things. London was a city full of dark, fascinating places. A more prudent and staider woman might well have demanded he turn the carriage around and take her home. Alice North was fast discovering that she wasn’t that kind of woman.
Still, she wasn’t going to go quietly.
“Is this place that you speak of somewhere that I am going to be able to tell my sister or parents about?”
Harry moved and came to sit alongside her. He took hold of her hand. “Let’s just say I don’t think it is somewhere that you would wish to speak of in polite company. But it is a place where you and I need to go.”
“I haven’t lived as sheltered a life as you seem to think,” she replied.
He brushed a kiss on her lips. She met his gaze. A bright impish light glowed in his clear green eyes. “Alice, my sweet, you have not seen more than an inch of London. Your parents might well have led you to believe you were living a free life, but in truth, they just gave you a bigger cage.”
She didn’t like hearing him say this. Alice had always felt she and her siblings had been granted freedoms beyond the norm. That the North family was somehow special.
“My family don’t keep their women in cages,” she replied.
“No? Just because you cannot see the sides of it doesn’t mean that it is not there. Come with me tonight. Allow yourself to experience things you have never done before, then tell me how much your life is not your own.”
Who knew what danger Harry might expose her to this night, or what tomorrow morning would look like through her eyes? He frightened her; she wasn’t ashamed to admit that to herself. B
ut he also tempted her, challenged the way she saw things and what her heart desired for the future.
If there was a chance that Harry could be the one man in all of London who not only wanted her for himself, but who she could possibly share her heart with, she owed it to herself to take the risk. “Promise you will do all you can to keep me safe tonight. I am trusting you, Harry.”
He slipped his hand around Alice’s waist and pressed himself against her. She searched his gaze, and for just the tiniest of moments, she could have sworn she saw love staring back.
Harry Steele and love. Oh, Alice, you are headed into treacherous waters. Be careful.
“I will always protect you. Where we are going is somewhere, I hope you will feel free to be the real Alice North,” he said.
Alice nodded. She could only pray that if tonight did reveal the truth of who she was, Harry would still want her. If he didn’t, she may as well stay in that cage.
CHAPTER 12
LORD HARRY STEELE had done some really stupid things in his life. He’d engaged in downright dangerous activities, which had brought him to the brink of death more than once. Taking Alice to a secret London sex club was right up there with the best or worst of his choices.
He was already having second thoughts by the time the carriage pulled into the rear mews of a plain brick building in Jermyn Street. No one was foolish enough to enter the Temple of Diana by way of the front entrance.
When the club’s footman opened the carriage door, Harry waved him away. “Give us a minute, Janus, will you?”
Janus politely backed away and stood out of earshot. The staff at this establishment were well-trained in protecting their clients’ privacy.
Harry paused for a moment in an attempt to collect his thoughts. Bringing Alice to one of London’s notorious sex clubs was a risk. If she didn’t take it the way he hoped she would, it was more than likely any possible chance he had for winning her heart would be left stone dead.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Inside that building is a club called the Temple of Diana. It is full of men and women who have escaped their cages and embraced who they are; I want you to see them because that is the world to which I belong.”
Alice frowned, and Harry inwardly cursed himself for having put their relationship in peril. He waited. Any moment now, she would ask him to take her home and not to make mention of this night ever again. His greatest fear was that if she did just that, the growing connection between them would fracture and die.
Can you blame her?
“I see. But why have you brought me here? I am not of your world,” she replied.
Harry swallowed deeply. A wrong word or poorly put phrase and it could all be over between them before it had begun. “What if you were of my world—if, for a time, our lives were somehow bound together? Wouldn’t you want to know as much of me as you could? Because if we are to truly discover whatever this thing is between us, you need to understand who I am.”
Silence reigned once more. Alice turned her gaze from him to the fancy gold-tasseled trim of the curtains. She lifted a hand to them, running her fingers along their finely tailored edge. The tassels connected and released with her touch. “Yes, I would.”
And with that, Alice reached for the door. Harry followed; his heart thumping so hard in his chest that it echoed in his ears.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
THE DOOR which led into the Temple of Diana was plain black with a simple silver handle. Nothing denoted its purpose or what lay beyond.
As they drew close to the entrance, following the burly thug-cum-footman, Harry took a firm grip of Alice’s hand. “You will see things that you didn’t know existed. And for those that already did, your perception of them will be changed forevermore. There are only two things I ask of you tonight. One, that you keep an open mind.”
Alice huffed at him in annoyance. She hated being patronized. “And two?”
“You don’t run screaming from the place. Some of these people are my closest friends.”
She was about to enquire as to why she would do such a thing when the door was opened, and Harry hauled her inside.
They walked down a long dark hallway. Every step had her heart thumping and her mouth as dry as a desert. At the end of the hall, in front of a gold draped curtain, stood another footman. This servant was dressed in black from head to toe. He reminded her of the butler at Harry’s house. Perhaps this was where he obtained his servants.
The footman bowed low. “Lord Steele, always a pleasure.”
His gaze then fell on Alice. It lingered, roaming seductively over her body. Under her cloak, Alice shivered. She was still fully dressed, but somehow, he had managed to make her feel completely naked.
Harry handed his hat to the footman. “Hypnos, good to see you.”
Hypnos. Janus. Temple of Diana. All the staff are named after Greek gods.
Harry didn’t introduce her to Hypnos, instead he slipped his hands to the clasp of her cloak and unfastened it. Alice shrugged out of it, and with elegant ceremony, Harry handed it to the footman. Harry then unbuttoned his long salmon-colored coat.
Alice bit down on her bottom lip as he rid himself of the coat and turned to her. Now she understood why Harry had been reluctant to take it off at the earlier function.
He was clad in, of all things, a short, gold-trimmed toga. It reached just below his knee, leaving his calves on full display.
What the devil?
“Temple of Diana. One must pay suitable homage to the gods,” he said.
Alice was too busy staring at Harry’s shapely legs to take in much for the next few minutes. The footman drew back the curtain and ushered them through.
They stepped into a sensual wonderland that could have easily come from ancient mythology. She stood blinking for a moment, unsure of where to look, or whether she should avert her gaze entirely.
In a large room, which Alice surmised had once been a ballroom, several dozen people were gathered. It was what they were wearing and doing that left her speechless.
There were a few men dressed similarly to Harry in short, linen togas—a number of which barely covered their buttocks. Others wore evening gowns matched with white gloves and shawls.
Men dressed as women. I have never seen that before.
Harry slipped his arm around her waist and murmured, “Let your eyes take it all in, but don’t allow your mind to judge. All of these people have embraced their natures, but society sees them as a potential threat. This is a place where they can be safe to express themselves, to be happy.”
Alice’s gaze drifted from the first group as some female guests arrived from another room into the main space. She blinked as she took in what they were wearing. It was very little. All were bare-breasted. One was fully naked; she was also painted silver from head to toe.
Low sofas and couches were dotted around the room. On them sat couples engaged in various different amorous pursuits. She put a hand to her lips as a woman straddled a naked man and sunk onto him.
Why is this making me so hot and my core pulse?
Harry motioned to a nearby footman bearing a tray of drinks. “Two brandies, thank you.”
With shaking hands, Alice accepted her glass. Without even looking at it, she took a sip. It was strong and bitter. Holding the brandy out in front of her, she studied it before offering it back to him. “I have never drunk brandy before. People always say it is not meant for women.”
Harry shook his head and refused to take the drink. He pointed at the glass. “Have some more. Remember that cage you keep telling yourself you don’t live in?”
Another footman stopped in front of them. He held a tray, on which was a selection of cigars.
Harry took a moment, then selected a thin cigar, which the footman lit and handed to him. He raised it to his lips and drew back deeply before blowing a long thin wisp of grey smoke into the air.
Alice was unsure as to whether she was game to t
ry it if Harry offered. The brandy and the scenery were already going to her head.
“Relax. I am not going to offer you hashish. I want your thoughts to be clear for the rest of the evening. You won’t be getting high tonight. Another time perhaps,” said Harry.
He guided her toward a nearby staircase and they slowly began to ascend. When they reached the first landing, they stopped. Alice set her brandy glass on a nearby side table before taking in the gathering below; Harry came to stand close behind her.
“Take your time. Look closely at what is happening. Tell me how it affects you. Does it stir desires deep within or are you simply shocked?” he said.
Her gaze roamed over the scene below. Men kissing one another. Women on their knees in front of seated men, their heads bobbing up and down. A room full of people exploring their sexual desires.
She gasped. On a long table lay a woman completely naked; two men ran their hands and mouths over her body. Even from this distance, the woman’s groans of pleasure could be heard.
A soft kiss was brushed on the side of Alice’s neck.
“What does it do to you? Tell me.”
She was tight and throbbing in places that ached for his touch. For a moment, she imagined herself being the woman on the table, with Harry’s lips on her heated skin. Of him bringing forth her own cries and sobs of completion.
“I know I should think all this is utterly scandalous, but for some reason I don’t. I just can’t put anything I am experiencing right now into words,” she murmured.
He blew a soft, heated kiss in her ear and she swallowed deeply. Desire thrummed through her. Dangerous. Needy. Harry.
“Would you prefer to show me?”
She nodded.
He slipped his hand into hers and drew her away from the edge of the landing and up a shorter flight of stairs. At the top, they turned and headed along a narrow hallway which had doors to the left and right. Harry’s steps didn’t falter; he seemed to know exactly where he was going.
Five doors down on the left, he stopped. “Whatever happens in this room, you are in control. If at any time you wish me to stop, you only have to say the word. If I do anything that you don’t like, I will cease it immediately. Nothing happens without your express consent. Do you understand?”
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