‘Thank you,’ Rowena said with genuine warmth.
‘This way,’ Belle said. ‘I’ll have a bite of supper sent up while you are waiting. And a dram of whisky.’
‘Tea for me, please,’ Rowena said. ‘If you don’t mind?’
‘Not at all. It will be a pleasure.’ She looked at Drew. ‘You are a fortunate man. I didn’t think you’d find one.’
She left them in a small parlour at the back of the house and bustled away.
‘What did she mean?’ Rowena asked.
Drew knew. She was talking about his preferences. Not something he wished to discuss. It was bad enough that she’d endured a small part of what he liked. ‘I suppose she never thought I’d be married.’
Rowena nodded, shrugged out of her disreputable-looking coat and went to the fire blazing in the hearth to warm her hands while she looked around the room.
‘It could be anyone’s parlour,’ she said.
‘Aye. They’re just lasses, you know.’
Her face softened. ‘Yes, I suppose they are.’
Belle returned with a smile. ‘Your room will soon be ready.’ She looked at Rowena. ‘Eva will be glad to help with your dressing and such. She does it for all the girls.’
‘You are very kind,’ Rowena said.
Bobbie entered with a tray. Tea for Rowena and whisky for Belle and Drew. Rowena poured her tea, while Drew did the honours for him and Belle.
‘I havena’ seen Niall or Ian for ages. Both married well. I was sorry to lose their business.’ She trilled a knowing laugh. ‘But glad to see them happily settled.’
They weren’t going to be so happy when they realised he was back and why. ‘What about Logan? He must be up-and-coming.’
Belle shook her head in mock sorrow. ‘He never came here. Nor anywhere else as far as I know and him as beautiful as you were in the old days.’
Drew raised a brow. Not about his brother’s good looks, but about what Belle’s words implied. ‘Too bad,’ he said non-committally.
‘He’s married.’
He swallowed his surprise and adjusted his thoughts. ‘Logan? He’s still wet behind the ears.’
‘Married a widow, I hear. I have never seen her. They are rarely in town. Well, if you are ready I should be able to show you up to your room.’ She looked at Rowena. ‘Drew will have to play ladies’ maid tonight, I’m afraid. Eva will be busy getting the girls ready for this evening.’
Drew clamped his mouth shut on the urge to say it would be a pleasure. It would be. But that didn’t make it right.
Rowena blushed. ‘I’m sure I can manage.’
They followed Belle past a downstairs drawing room where some of the girls were gathered waiting for their customers, up the stairs and along a corridor on the third floor. She stopped by a door at the end. ‘It’s probably not what you are used to, Mrs Gilvry,’ she said, ‘but I hope it will do. You’ll find it clean and tidy. The young lady who used to be here found herself a protector a month ago and I have been waiting to see if she would come back or no’.’ She flung open the door to reveal blood-red walls, curtains and bedcovers. ‘A bath is waiting.’
He ushered Rowena inside. ‘I’ll owe you a debt for this, Belle,’ he said, turning back to her.
She shook her head. ‘You were always good to my girls, Drew. I am glad to return the favour.’
She turned and headed back down the hallway. Drew closed the door. The perfume of roses filled the air, clearly coming from the hip bath in the corner.
Rowena was standing in the middle of the room, looking about her with an odd sort of expression. One he couldn’t interpret. He winced. ‘I’m sorry.’
She shook her head and gave him a hesitant smile. ‘I find it...interesting.’ She coloured.
She was embarrassed. He looked at the bath. Of course she was embarrassed, if she thought he would stay.
‘I’ll leave you to bathe in peace,’ he said. ‘There are public baths nearby for me.’
‘Oh,’ she said. Was that disappointment he heard in her voice, or simply wishful thinking? More likely the latter. But then she turned her back before he could be sure.
‘Would you unlace my stays before you go, since the maid is busy?’
‘Aye,’ he said hoarsely. He put down his hat and undid the strings of her gown and then the tapes of her stays. The temptation to kiss the silky skin of her shoulders tingled on his lips, but when he glanced up he realised she was watching him in one of several mirrors strategically placed around the room. He bit back a curse and stepped away. ‘I’ll be back. Lock the door behind me.’
He paused outside the door until he heard the key turn.
Chapter Twelve
Erotic. It was the only word Rowena could think of to described the chamber as she soaked in the tub, with the scent of roses filling the air and the warm water making her feel sleepy.
She hadn’t been at all surprised when Drew had declined to play lady’s maid. She’d seen his expression of distaste when he undid her gown and stays. She wasn’t the sort of woman a man liked to look at. Too tall. Too angular. Not enough meat on her bones, Samuel had said. It wouldn’t surprise her one little bit if he decided to spend the night with one of the buxom creatures she’d spotted below.
The thought sent a piercing pain through her chest. Tears blurred her vision. She squeezed her eyes shut. Forced the hot moisture back where it belonged. Unacknowledged.
What had happened in that cold little bothy had been the result of the terrible events of that night. They’d sought comfort from each other. It meant nothing. Not to him, certainly, since he’d found no relief in her body. Or to her. Not really. She’d revelled in the shattering bliss he’d given her and the brief sense that she could let him shoulder her worries. But in the cold light of day, she didn’t want a man ruling her life. She certainly wasn’t going to give another one the opportunity to break her heart.
Not that Samuel had, she acknowledged. With him it was more her pride that had been hurt. But with Drew it would be different. If she gave him her heart and he threw it away, she would want to die.
No, what she had was the memory of his touch. The way he made her feel. Dreamily she stroked her feminine flesh, recalling the way his fingers had felt. And his tongue.
Languorous pleasure blossomed low in her belly. Good. But nowhere near as delicious as his touch had been, or as arousing as his harsh commands. A flush travelled over her skin at the memory.
A knock sounded at the door. Hot with arousal and embarrassment, she jerked upright in the tub, water sloshing on to the floor.
‘Who is it?’
‘Eva, madame. Belle sent me up to ask if you are done with the tub and to send up a bit to eat to tide you over until dinner.’
‘Thank you. Wait a moment and I’ll open the door.’
‘No need, ma’am. I’ll leave the tray outside. Bobbie’ll be up in a minute or two to take the tub and bring your clothes down to be washed.’
‘But I have nothing else to wear.’
‘You’ll find a robe in the cupboard,’ the girl said cheerfully. ‘Help yourself.’
Afraid Bobbie might arrive at any moment, Rowena stepped out of the bath and dried herself off. The porter, she suspected, wouldn’t raise an eyebrow at finding her unclothed, given the place he worked, but she wouldn’t feel at all comfortable. The offered robe she discovered was a little diaphanous for her taste, but beggars could not be choosers. She opened the door and carried the tray in and set it on the table.
A bite to eat consisted of a round of cheese and a heel of bread, with a pat of fresh butter, cake and a pot of tea.
Whatever one might think about her profession, Madam Belle was clearly a very kind woman.
A few minutes later, Bobbie and a young lad came for the tub. Rowena wrapped herself in the red quilt before she let them in and watched with interest as, working together, they lifted the tub and tipped the water out of the window after a shout of ‘Gardy loo!’ to anyone unfor
tunate enough to be walking in the alley below.
‘Will there be anything else, ma’am?’ Bobbie asked, his gaze fixed at a point above her head.
‘No, thank you.’
He and his lad trundled out with the tub and she locked the door behind them. She went to the bed, intending to rest until Drew returned. Her foot hit something beneath the bed. Thinking it might be a book, she bent to take a peek. Beside the chamber pot was a wooden box. Intrigued, she picked it up and set it on the bed.
She opened the lid.
And her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
* * *
Drew nodded to Bobbie when he let him in the back door.
‘The missus is finished with her bath,’ the bruiser said with a wink.
An image of Rowena naked flashed through his mind, doing away with all the good effects of the cold plunge. His shaft gave a happy little twitch. He gave Bobbie a hard-eyed glare and headed upstairs, rubbing his close-shaven chin with his thumb and wondering if she might welcome him in her bed a second time. If he kept things on an even keel.
Behaved like a gentleman.
As if. And nor did he want her to. He still couldn’t believe her courage. She’d actually risked her own safety to rescue him from McKenzie’s men. He owed her more than he could ever repay. He was not going to take advantage of the kind gentle woman who hid behind the facade of stern reserve. Samuel MacDonald had been a fool not to realise the treasure he had in his wife.
He tapped on the door.
‘Who is it?’ Her voice was husky, almost breathless.
Had something happened? ‘Drew. Let me in.’
There was a scuffling sound, then the door opened. Her face was bright pink. He took in the see-through robe she was wearing. It clung to every swell and hollow, revealing more than it hid: the small, high bosom, the curve of her waist and swell of her hips. He jerked his gaze up to her face. Far from trying to avoid his gaze, she seemed to be trying to block his view of the bed.
A sharp blade of something ugly twisted in his chest. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Nothing.’
Guilt filled her voice. He stepped around her. His gaze swept the four-poster bed and... His stomach lurched. Cold as ice, he turned to face her. ‘Where did that come from?’
She gave an awkward laugh and unsuccessfully tried to look severe. ‘I found it under the bed.’
Had Belle brought it up, thinking he would want it? His mouth dried. His heart pounded hard. His shaft hardened to rock.
He brought his gaze up to her face and saw excitement in the flush of her skin and the sparkle in her silvery eyes.
He had to be imagining it. If she had opened it, she would be horrified.
Her gaze slid away. She gestured to the table. ‘Belle sent up tea for me and whisky for you, if you would care for some. Supper will be sent up later, I understand.’
Whisky might dull the terrible ache in his groin. He strode to the table against the wall and with a shaking hand poured some into the glass. He swallowed the liquid in one swallow. Felt it burn all the way to his belly and poured another glass, glad to see his hand had steadied.
He nodded at the bed. ‘It must have been left by the previous occupant.’ He looked into his glass. ‘This whisky is excellent.’ Much better than the gut-rot he’d shared with McKenzie’s men.
‘Eva said it comes from Dunross. The...er...mistress of the house orders it for her special clients, though Eva says she never tells them where it comes from.’
He rolled another sip around in his mouth and she was right—it tasted of home. A wave of longing surged through him. He ruthlessly crushed it. ‘I thought it tasted familiar. Did Eva say why they keep it a secret?’
She gave a little shrug. The filmy fabric skimmed over her nipples, making them pearl. His breath caught in his throat.
‘Something about McKenzie not liking the competition,’ she said. ‘Apparently, it’s all right to tell me because I’m a Gilvry. I didn’t disabuse her of the notion.’
He finished his drink and turned to pour another, then put the glass down. Too much whisky and he’d lose what little control he had.
Again his gaze strayed to the bed. Rowena moved away from it with a look of embarrassment. As she would, given that they were alone in a room in which the bed was the focus. She wasn’t an innocent. She would know what went on in a bawdy house, if not in detail, then in general terms at least.
He just wished she hadn’t found that box. Its contents were all too familiar. Too damned tempting and she was too good for him and his needs.
* * *
How awkward that Eva had not delivered her clothes before Drew arrived. More awkward yet, he had returned before she’d had a chance to put the box and its strange contents back under the bed. Just looking at what it contained had sent her blood pounding through her veins, which in turn had made her feel hot all over. The slide of the silky robe on her sensitised skin had only made the strange feelings grow worse.
Her imagination had run riot as she’d picked each item out of the box. Her body had tingled and burned. She’d wanted to stroke her breasts, touch her— She blocked out the wicked thoughts. Only Drew’s arrival had stopped her from behaving in the most shameful way.
And now he was looking at the box with a dark expression. Not anger. It held too much sensuality for that, but not interest either. A kind of dread.
‘I stubbed my toe on the box,’ she said, her voice sounding a little breathless. As if she’d been running. Was it her imagination or had the chamber become warm and close? She swallowed and looked away from the piercing look he shot her from under his brows. ‘It’s...um...things. For use by the girls who work here, I assume.’
‘Are you saying you looked inside?’ he asked, his voice low and gruff and incredulous.
She gave a small laugh that sounded forced. ‘I was curious.’
He turned away, staring down at the decanter, his face rigid. He must think she was dreadful. Wanton.
But she couldn’t seem to stop herself from asking the question that had been on her mind since she opened the box. ‘Do you think they use all those things?’
‘Things?’
A shiver rolled down her back. ‘Chains. Ropes. Blindfolds. A schoolmaster’s leather strap.’ Her inner muscles tightened with a pleasurable little pulse and she swallowed a gasp.
He made a sound of disgust. ‘I’ll have them come and fetch it away.’
‘Yes.’ She looked down her nose at the polished wood. ‘Of course. But Eva told me she would be busy downstairs for the next little while.’
When she looked back at him, he was watching her with hooded eyes, but even so she could feel the heat of his gaze on her skin.
Oh, how she wished she had never opened that box. She moved to the chair by the fireplace and looked up at him. ‘Were the baths to your satisfaction?’ she asked as a mean of distraction.
‘Aye. Yours?’
‘Oh, yes. Eva took my clothes to be washed. You might want to give her your shirt if we are to visit your brother tomorrow.’
He moved to the window and looked down into the street. ‘I’ll take it down later.’
With the box. Stop thinking about it. She clasped her hands together in her lap. ‘I expect you are looking forward to meeting him.’ Oh, heaven help her, she was babbling.
‘Yes.’
His monosyllabic answers were unravelling her nerves, but she couldn’t seem to stop asking questions. ‘Do you know where to find him?’
He turned back from the window, his face expressionless. ‘The attendant at the bathhouse gave me the address. I went round to take a look at the building. He’s in a wynd just off Princes Street. The office opens at half past nine in the morning.’
‘Oh,’ she said, mollified by the fullness of his answer. ‘So we know where we are to go.’
‘Aye.’
‘He will be surprised to see you after all this time.’
‘Surprised, aye.’
/>
‘And pleased,’ she hazarded.
He shook his head. ‘Doubtful. But he’s not one to turn his back on his own.’ His jaw flickered. ‘Not the Niall I knew anyway. Things may have changed since...’ He let his voice trail away. He seemed to be looking into the past. He shook his head. ‘There’s no sense in guessing.’ His hands opened and closed.
He was worried. And not only his tension gave him away. She could see concern in the shadows darkening his eyes from their usual emerald to the colour of pine forests.
‘I saved you a piece of cake,’ she said, pointing to the tea tray. ‘To tide you over until dinner. Unless you ate while you were out?’
‘No. I didna’ realise dinner would be late, so I didna’ give it a thought.’ He picked up the slice of cake and it disappeared in one bite.
‘I should have saved more of it.’
‘I’ll be fine. I’m more used to an empty belly than you are.’
She wasn’t so sure of that. Governesses did get fed, but they often had to wait until after their charges were looked after.
‘I should write to my employer again,’ she said with a sigh. ‘Tell her where to send my wages.’
She frowned. ‘And if in the end there is no money set aside, I fear it will be difficult to find another position without a letter of reference.’
His face looked grimmer than ever.
‘Please, Drew, don’t blame yourself. I should have known better than to think Samuel would have done anything so sensible as provide for me.’ She tidied up the tray. ‘Eva said to put this outside the door. One of the footman will pass by and pick it up.’ She glanced at the bed. ‘We could leave that outside, too, if you wish.’
He gave the box a look of dislike. ‘Aye. It would be best.’
She hurried to the bed and picked up the chest. For some unaccountable reason her hands were shaking. The heavy weight slipped through fingers that seemed to have lost all of their strength and it crashed to the floor, scattering its contents across the carpet.
The Regency Season Page 40