“Why would they put McNutt in there?” Gabby stared at the inspector. “And where is the mummy?”
“We found wrappings from the mummy in the main storeroom. We believe the mummy was stolen, Miss Saunders. And, on top of all this, the newspapers are sensationalizing the case. The museum is overrun with people wanting to see the murder scene. We have quite a mess on our hands.”
Wilcox stood, and the constable did the same. They moved toward the door, and then Wilcox turned around.
“Lord McIntyre. I know you, and I know your friends. I would ask that any evidence or information that you come across, you would share with me. And I will continue to defend you to my superiors.”
“I thank you for that. And we will.”
The constable opened the door, and before he could leave the room Robert rushed in. Gabby stared at him. Dark circles were under his eyes and he was wringing his hands.
“Mr. Montgomery,” Wilcox said. “Has something else happened?”
“No, no,” Robert said. “I just wanted to check on Fergus. We’ve been friends for a long time.”
Wilcox shook his head in disbelief and left. When he was gone, Robert slammed the door to the study and wheeled around.
“They’re fakes. All fakes. Someone has replaced all the artifacts with fakes.”
“I knew it!” Gabby screamed. “I told you so. I told you that statue had an X on the bottom just like the one I’d seen at the house on Blimpton Road.”
Fergus shook his head. “No one likes a know-it-all, my love. When did you discover this, Robert?”
“Today. I haven’t told my superiors yet. The museum is in total disarray. The authorities are everywhere. Patrons are running around looking for the mummy. If my bosses find out the artifacts have been stolen, I’ll be sacked and never work in archeology again. I can’t believe this is happening.”
Robert sat down and then jumped back up. “Fergus, you have to help me. You said you saw those artifacts. Where were they? We have to find them.”
“Calm down,” Fergus said. “I have friends trying to track down the contents of the house on Blimpton Road. But the men we are dealing with have already killed once. They won’t hesitate to kill again. We need to be cautious.”
“The artifacts we found were the fakes,” Gabby said. “It is my guess they switched out the artifacts when they put McNutt in the coffin.”
Fergus gave Gabby a pointed look. “I think Gabby is right.”
“My first big exhibit. Ruined.” Robert said as he dropped to the lowest point on the floor.
Gabby knelt next to him and patted his hand.
“It’s all right, Robert. We’ll find your things and get them back in place.”
“I pray you’re right, Miss Saunders,” Robert said.
“Don’t go over the edge yet, Robert,” Fergus said. “We’ll get to the bottom of things.”
Robert stood and brushed dirt off his trousers. After receiving more assurances from Fergus, Robert left, muttering to himself.
Gabby turned to Fergus, a look of triumph on her face.
“This story is huge,” she said. “It will get me into The Times. I told you I was right about all this. I’m not a bad reporter after all.”
“I didn’t say you were bad, Gabby.” He kissed her gently. “I just said that you rush in without all the facts. You were right about the artifacts. You were just wrong in the way you investigated it.”
The door opened and Timmons walked in.
“Who is it now?” Fergus asked. She could tell he was not happy about the interruption.
“Mr. Phillips is here again, Lord Fergus,” the butler said. “I told him he was not welcome and he gave me this box for Miss Saunders. He’s waiting to see if you will receive him.”
Timmons set the box down and Gabby opened the lid and laughed.
“Things from my desk. A few figurines. Newspapers and notes. Two books. Quite a sad state of affairs when that’s all that’s left from three years of work.”
She closed the lid and nodded.
“Let him in, Timmons,” Fergus said.
Mark Phillips looked almost as bad as Robert. He smiled weakly at Gabby.
“We miss you at the office,” he said. “I don’t suppose you’d consider coming back?”
Gabby shook her head without looking at Fergus.
Phillips cleared his throat. “I wanted to apologize to both of you for McNutt’s actions. If I’d been there when it happened I would have sacked him.”
“Did you sack him when you heard what he’d said to Gabby?”
A guilty look crossed Phillips’ face.
“I thought not.” The disgust in Fergus’ voice was clear.
“Had he located the criminal ring?” Gabby asked. She didn’t offer information about the house on Blimpton Road.
“He hadn’t,” Phillips said. “Well, since I can’t convince you to come back I’ll take my leave. If you change your mind you know where to find me.”
He left and Gabby curled herself on Fergus’ lap.
“What a busy day,” she said. “Should I be flattered that they want me back?”
“Definitely,” he said. “But if all they want is you as a typist then you need to stay on course with writing fiction, and finding big stories you can write and sell to The Times.”
“Thank you for believing in me,” she said.
“That will be something that never changes,” he said. He stroked her hair and she tried to stand.
“Not so fast,” he said.
“Why, Fergus, do you have something else in mind?” She looked around. “Here, in the drawing room? Shouldn’t we go upstairs for that sort of activity?”
Fergus laughed softly. “Don’t forget, someone needs punished for running away from me yesterday.”
“Oh, I thought we’d already settled that matter last night.”
“Over my knee, Gabby.”
He tickled her sides and as they wrestled and laughed she found herself upturned with her skirts over her head.
Whack. His hand came down and she cried out. It came down over and over and she squirmed to try and get away. He wasn’t spanking her hard, and he was doing it over her shift so the pain wasn’t bad. But the feeling was wonderful.
Wetness pooled between her thighs and she could feel his hardness pressed against her breast.
“Fergus. Make love to me.”
“Here? In the drawing room? Miss Saunders, you shock me!”
She bounded off his lap and went to the end of the sofa. “Take me now, or I might change my mind about staying with you.”
“You’re a liar,” he said. He was in the middle of the divan, and he put his arms out to either side, grasping the sofa. “I’m in charge here, Gabby. If you want me to make love to you, you will bend over the sofa and lift your skirts up to your waist.”
“And if I don’t? The books say that a man who is unable to come to completion feels pain. Should I leave you that way?”
She had expected him to come after her but he didn’t. She put her hands on her hips and said, “Are you not interested?”
“In you following my directions, yes.”
A thrill surged through her. She rather liked the idea of being ordered about. She gathered her skirts in her hands and bent over the couch. The cool air hit her bottom and it excited her even more.
She watched him for a few moments, and when he stood she could see the bulge in his trousers.
He stepped behind her and her breathing intensified. He rubbed his hand over her bottom and slapped it a few more times. This was definitely something she could get used to. She moaned as he thrust inside her. With each thrust he slapped a buttock until he was slapping one side and then the other faster and faster as he moved in and out of her wetness.
“Fergus, Fergus!” She didn’t care who heard her. She was about to explode, harder than she had the other evening and when she did she screamed his name so loud she was sure his neighbors heard her. She fe
lt the telltale thrusts of his orgasm and smiled to herself as he massaged her bum.
He collapsed on top of her and said, “There is one thing we need to talk about, Gabby.”
“Ummm,” she said, unable to form actual words.
“We need to talk about The Club.” He kissed her shoulder.
“Club?”
“The Rakes Club.”
“What? What is the Rakes Club?”
“You’re going to love it, Gabriella. You were born to be a member of this Club. Trust me.”
Chapter 9
“Listen to this: Everyone knows that Egyptian tombs are protected by curses. This ensured that someone who defiled the tomb would be killed. Obviously, Mr. McNutt died because of the curse.”
Charlotte put the evening edition of The Sentinel on the table and laughed. “Let us not forget the fact that McNutt had nothing to do with the opening of the tomb. This editorial is ridiculous.”
Gabby laughed and then looked at Fergus and Dalton, who were playing with the children at the other end of the garden.
“They’re trying to sell newspapers, Charlotte.” Gabby twirled the wine glass that was on the table. “They’ll say anything that might boost circulation. The newsboys yelling, ‘Curse of the Mummy’ is more likely to attract attention than, ‘Read about the dead reporter’.”
“You make a good point,” Charlotte said.
“Charlotte, I would like to bring up a different topic.”
“I’m all ears,” Charlotte said.
Gabby took a drink from her wine. “Are you a member of The Rakes Club?”
Charlotte almost choked on her own wine, but then she laughed. “You know I am, Gabby, or you wouldn’t have mentioned it. So, Fergus finally told you.”
“Yes. He told me of a group of nobility who enjoy having orgies. He said the group includes males and females. The single, or widowed females, are sponsored by single males and married women have to have permission from their husbands, who are also members of the Club.”
“Every man has a different preference,” Charlotte said. “I know Fergus’ particular, shall we say tastes, run to domination. He likes to order his lovers to do his bidding. Sometimes he puts on scenes for the other members. It’s entertaining for all involved.”
“Oh my,” Gabby said. Truthfully, the whole thing read like something out of the erotic stories she read. She imagined all the people gathered in one room, many of them naked, watching as Fergus… the idea stalled there.
“He takes the women in these scenes in front of you all?”
“Oh no,” Charlotte said. “In fact, I’ve never known Fergus to have sex with one of the ladies involved. But he would tell them what to do and they would pleasure themselves while they did.”
“You watched a woman masturbate?” Gabby asked.
“Indeed,” Charlotte said. “And it gave Dalton some ideas for our time together.”
“Dalton has the same appetite as Fergus?”
“Oh no, Dalton loves to spank me,” Charlotte said.
“Has Fergus spanked you?” Gabby asked.
“No.
“But Dalton does? For punishment or pleasure?”
“Both.” Charlotte said. She sounded so blasé, as if she were ordering tea and cakes.
“I remember the first time Dalton spanked me. We weren’t married yet and it made quite an impression on me. Now, I beg for it. Except for punishments. I don’t beg for those. But he makes sure he disciplines me at least twice a month, sometimes more.”
“Is it part of your regular lovemaking?” Gabby asked. She’d been with Fergus a few times now, and he’d spanked her bottom. She wondered if Charlotte was wrong about Fergus’ desires.
“What are you thinking, Gabby?”
She wasn’t exactly sure what to say. “I just never thought of orgies where people were spanked.”
“Are you telling me you haven’t enjoyed being spanked? It’s not for everyone you know. Does Fergus know this?”
Charlotte’s words brought a bright blush to Gabby’s face and Charlotte laughed.
“Your bright red cheeks answer my question. You have enjoyed it. And from the look on your face, enjoyed it very much. What are you having a problem about?”
“You allow yourself to be spanked in public? And by people other than your husband?”
“It’s not sex, Gabby. Married members of the Club do not have sex with other people. Dalton likes to watch while other men spank me, and I do it for him. Well, truthfully, I enjoy it as much as he does.”
“But you climax during these meetings?”
Charlotte blushed for the first time since the conversation began. “Yes, I have climaxed in front of others. It comes from the pressure provided by spanking. It’s a secret thrill. Dalton always knows, and the man spanking me knows. But others in the room don’t know. Well, they probably know but nothing is ever said. I’m sure I’m not the only female member who experiences a climax during Club meetings.”
“Did you climax when Fergus spanked you?” Charlotte smiled and Gabby knew that she had. The idea made Gabby a little jealous but she knew that she shouldn’t be. Charlotte was obviously deeply in love with Dalton.
“I don’t want to be spanked in front of others.” Gabby’s voice was low.
“Don’t discount it so quickly. You might enjoy it. I do.”
Before Gabby could reply the door to the main house opened and Barton and Beaton came outside. Behind them Gabby recognized Lord Ellington. He was well known around London.
“Buxton will be along shortly,” Ellington said as he kissed Charlotte’s cheek. “You must be Miss Saunders.”
“I am,” she said.
“Call me Ellington,” he said as he poured himself a glass of wine. “Fergus, Buxton is off doing your work while you’re lazing about. He’s checking out a lead.”
Fergus came over and kissed Gabby’s cheek. “I should tell everyone that Robert said the artifacts have been switched with fake ones. Gabby had said it earlier but I discounted her idea.” Fergus sat down next to her. “But she was right. What has everyone else found out?”
“We haven’t found the contents of the house,” Barton said. “But we’re getting close. A woman who lives down the block said that the crates were moved in the middle of the night. The noise woke her and she saw the name ‘Lyon’ on the side of the carriage used for the moving. She said there were quite a number of crates being loaded and she wondered why they were doing it in the middle of the night.”
“We asked a man at the company who flat out told us that he didn’t know what we were talking about.”
“What about the workers?” Fergus said.
Beaton shook his head. “We didn’t talk to anyone. Maybe we should go back and see what they have to say.”
Barton nodded and Ellington cleared his throat.
“McNutt obviously expected to come into money,” he said. “McNutt told his neighbor about buying a home. And about having a suit or two made on Bond Street. That same neighbor said he’d been keeping strange hours, leaving the house at two in the morning and not coming back until six or seven in the morning. Then he would leave again at ten to go to work at the newspaper office.”
“He was probably watching workers exchange the real artifacts with the fake ones,” Dalton said. “It seems the sneaky little bastard was smarter than we thought he was.”
“He was blackmailing someone,” Gabby said. “I would say that he probably found out about the artifacts in the same way that Fergus and I did. But instead of staying quiet he confronted them. They promised him money. He thought that he’d hit the big time. And then they killed him.”
“A good deduction.” The voice from the doorway startled Gabby. A large man and a small woman joined the group and were introduced as Lord and Lady Buxton. They asked her to call them Alice and Julian.
“One of McNutt’s co-workers, a man named Tite, said that he saw McNutt arguing with a man near the museum on the day before the
murder. Said McNutt’s face was banged up so it must have been in the afternoon, after he’d had a run-in with a certain someone.”
Julian laughed and Fergus shrugged his shoulders.
“What we need are his notes,” Gabby said. “He gave them to me to transcribe but I left them on my desk after the, um, disagreement.”
She looked at Fergus. “All right. Everyone knows that I beat the man up the day before he died. Let’s just call a spade a spade, shall we?”
“Sticking up for the woman you love,” Charlotte said. “I think it’s very chivalrous.”
Fergus kissed Gabby’s lips, and then brought her ring finger up to kiss it, too. Charlotte gasped.
“Look at that ring! You’re getting married! Why didn’t you say anything?”
Gabby blushed and everyone exchanged hugs and kisses with the prospective bride and groom.
“You didn’t tell me!” Charlotte accused. “All this time we’ve been sitting here talking and you failed to tell me. I’m hurt.”
“We had other things to discuss,” Gabby said. She prayed that Charlotte wouldn’t let the others know what they were talking about. She didn’t exactly want all the people she’d just met to know that she and Charlotte had been talking about spankings and sex. She didn’t care if they all participated in this Club. Now, was not the time to talk about it.
Fergus saved her, and she wanted to kiss him for it. “The wedding won’t be until all this is solved. So we need to get busy. We’ll keep looking. I’ll go to the museum tomorrow and check things out.”
“Don’t you think you should lay low?” Buxton gave him a look.
“I talked with Wilcox today. He knows I didn’t do anything. But he’s letting his superiors think I did. He’s looking for the real killer. And I won’t hide so don’t ask me to.”
Loud laughter filled the air. “Why does that not surprise us?” Buxton asked.
Gabby looked around. “Surprised about what?”
“That, Fergus, who absolutely has to be in control, would find a woman who also wants to be in control,” Ellington said. “This is going to be entertaining for us all.”
His Curious Imp: The Rakes of Mayfair Book 4 Page 11