His Curious Imp: The Rakes of Mayfair Book 4

by Barron, Melinda

  His voice rose with each word, and Gabby couldn’t hold back her laugh.

  “Fergus, I’ve heard the clock strike for several hours now. It’s about two in the afternoon.”

  “He could have at least waited for tea time,” Fergus said.

  Gabby sat up and watched as he wrapped a robe around his naked body.

  “Surely you’re not going out like that?”

  “I am,” he said. “It will teach the man not to invade my home.”

  Gabby laughed as Fergus strode from the room. She lay back down and pulled the covers close to her body. She knew it was time she got up, did her morning ablutions and then went downstairs to see what all the fuss was about. But she also knew that staying in bed this late was a luxury, one that she rather enjoyed.

  She listened carefully, wondering if Fergus’ voice would drift upstairs so she could hear what they were saying. He was so angry she was somewhat surprised when it did not.

  She waited, and then waited some more. She was finally sitting up, thinking she should get dressed and join them when Fergus stormed into the room. “Wilcox said he has something to show us. He wants us to be ready in an hour. I told him we’d try.”

  “Did he say what it was?” she asked.

  “No, but we’re to meet him down by the docks in an hour, which means we have to hurry.”

  “By the docks?”

  “If I were to guess I think our destination will be where Robert’s stolen artifacts are being stored.”

  “That’s wonderful news,” Gabby said. She stood and moved to put on her robe so she could get to the water closet. “Does that mean it’s over?”

  “We shall see,” Fergus said. He ran his gaze up and down her naked body. “Wilcox should be glad I’m a man of discipline, because right now all I want to do is fuck you.”

  Gabby looked down to where his erection tented his robe. “Perhaps we can be a little late. After all, he did barge in and expect us to follow his instructions. We should make him wait for us.”

  She licked her lips.

  “After,” he said. “When we’re done I’ll give you a new purpose for those lips.”

  * * *

  Gabby had never been to this part of London, and as she examined the dirty cobblestones and tried to wave away the noxious smell, she could see why. Most of the buildings seemed to be empty, but one building was teaming with activity. There were constables standing around, and three carriages in a line from the door onward.

  Fergus had his driver drop them off at the door, and told him to join the end of the queue.

  “It stinks,” Gabby said as she pulled a handkerchief from her reticule and put it to her nose. “Something should be done about this.”

  “Time for a crusade against bad conditions later,” he said as he took her hand. They moved toward the door and when he opened it, they were greeted by nothing but darkness.

  “Hello?” Fergus called out.

  “I’ll send someone out,” Wilcox answered. “Stay in the doorway.”

  Moments later not one but two constables appeared, oil lamps in hand. They led them back to another room in the warehouse where they found Wilcox, Robert and Phillips.

  “Sorry we’re late for the party,” Fergus said. “What is happening?”

  Gabby looked around at a group of crates, most of them closed. There were a few, though, that were open, their packing spilling out over the sides. On top of that packing were Egyptian statues.

  “You found your artifacts, Robert,” she said.

  “Not me, Wilcox,” Robert said. “Not all of it is here, but there is a great deal, and I am very happy.”

  “How did you find it?”

  Robert pointed at Wilcox, who in turn pointed at Phillips. Seeing her former employer singled out for having solved the case made Gabby feel as if someone had shot an arrow through her heart. She should have been investigating instead of watching Charlotte be spanked. She should have been searching for clues rather than falling in love.

  No, not the last part. It had distracted her, truthfully, but being in love with Fergus was the one good thing to come out of this whole situation.

  “Congratulations, Mr. Phillips,” she said.

  “Thank you, Miss Saunders,” he replied. “And, may I offer my congratulations. The first banns have been posted for your marriage to Lord Fergus. “I hope I’ll be invited to the wedding.”

  “Of course,” Fergus replied. “If it hadn’t been for you assigning McNutt the story on the pickpockets, and making him take Gabriella to the park, we wouldn’t have met.”

  “Pickpockets?” Wilcox said. “Why have I not heard about this?”

  “It’s nothing,” Phillips said. “McNutt came to me with this idea that groups of young men were stealing from gentlemen in the park.”

  “Not just in the park,” Wilcox said. “There has been a concentrated outbreak of thieves working various areas. We’ve been searching for information on them for months now. Why did you not mention this before?”

  “We were more concerned with the dead body,” Gabby said. “By the way, who killed McNutt?”

  “There were three dead men in here when we arrived,” Wilcox said. “We think they killed McNutt.”

  “Then who killed them?” Gabby asked.

  “Two of them were hung, and the third one was shot. It is our conjecture that the one who was shot killed the other two before taking his own life.” Wilcox shrugged, and Gabby could see that he really didn’t believe the words that he’d just spoken.

  “How does one man hang two men? If he were trying to kill one, surely the other would try to save his friend.” The tone of disbelief in Fergus’ voice mirrored what Gabby thought.

  “Perhaps one man helped the other, and then the one who shot himself killed his assistant,” Wilcox said.

  “Then why kill himself?” Gabby asked. “Really, Inspector, it leaves a lot of loose ends.”

  “He was about to be caught; and this solves McNutt’s death, and it recovers the stolen goods,” Wilcox said. “Case closed.

  “Very short sighted,” Gabby said. “How did you find this in the first place?”

  “I found notes in McNutt’s desk,” Phillips said.

  Now Gabby knew something was off. McNutt was not smart enough to find this place. She wanted to say so, but she kept her mouth closed. Something was off here, and she wanted to talk to Fergus about it before she voiced her objections to the whole thing.

  “Well done,” Fergus said. “Now that we have a wedding to plan having this situation out from under us is perfect timing.”

  “Definitely,” Gabby said. “We want to have a big wedding, and that takes a lot of time and planning.”

  “Good luck to you both,” Wilcox said. “My constables have a lot to do, and I’m sure Phillips wants to write his story so it can make the evening edition. I’ve given him the exclusive, for now.”

  “Good job, Phillips,” Fergus said. He held out his hand and they shook. “I’m sure we’ll see you at the wedding.”

  “I look forward to it,” Phillips said.

  “Wilcox,” Fergus said with a nod of his head. He took Gabby’s hand and they headed out for the door, with one of the constables leading the way with a gas lamp held high.

  He stopped and looked back. “Robert, where is the mummy? In one of the crates?”

  “Oh, no, none of them are large enough for that,” Robert said. “I’m afraid the mummy is probably gone. More than likely it was sold to a collector.”

  “That’s a shame,” Fergus said.

  “A true pity.” You could hear the emotion in Robert’s voice. “Hopefully at some point, I will find it and bring it back to where it belongs.”

  “I hope so,” Fergus said.

  When they were in the carriage, Fergus sat back and said, “What a crock of shit.”

  “It’s either Phillips or Wilcox,” Gabby said. “They are the only two whom we know.”

  “Yes, or it could be some
one we don’t know,” Fergus said. “But, if you ask me, Wilcox sounded skeptical, too.”

  “And you’re discounting Robert,” he said. “He is my friend, and I would hate to think he would steal and murder someone—more than one someone—but sometimes people change.”

  “I think he is innocent,” Gabby said.

  “If we ask more questions of one of them and they become suspicious, then we might suffer the same fate as the two men in the warehouse.”

  “You’re right,” Gabby said. “Phillips is married. He’s our most likely suspect. But he wouldn’t keep any information about his illegal activities at his home. His wife might find them. That means it would be at The Sentinel office.”

  Fergus stretched his legs out in front of him. “That means we fuck this afternoon, and do our search after hours at the newspaper, say around midnight.”

  “So we’re going to fuck?” Gabby loved the way that word sounded on her lips. She was also happy that he wasn’t going to push her about her feelings about the Club. She wasn’t quite ready to talk about that yet.

  “Remember when I said I was going to teach you a different way to use your lips? The lessons begin when we get to the house.”

  “I’ve read about that in my books,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll be very good at it.”

  “That’s because you’ve never had lessons from me.” He put his hand on her knee and squeezed.

  “Why do you think Robert is innocent?”

  “No more talk about the case,” he said. “The deadline for that is midnight. That’s the next time I want to hear any information about it come out of your mouth.”

  He kissed her, and when the kiss broke she was tempted to bring up the case again, but she kept her mouth closed. She didn’t want to miss the chance to work her mouth muscles.

  “The books make it sound as if a woman can take an entire cock in her mouth,” she said. “How is that possible?”

  “For most women it is not,” he said. “Besides, it’s not something you’re going to do the first time you try. We’ll have to practice it over, and over, and over.” His voice became deeper with each word, and Gabby’s insides tightened.

  “I suppose I can sacrifice my free time for practice,” she said. “But can you?”

  “I’ll manage.” He pulled her onto his lap and cupped her face in his hands. “To make things clear, I am the teacher and you are the pupil.”

  “Does that mean your bedroom will be the classroom?”

  “Our bedroom,” he said.

  “I thought members of the peerage slept in separate quarters,” she said. “What if I demand sleeping space of my own?”

  “You will be overruled.” He kissed her again.

  “Now, your dress code for our lessons is simple.”

  “Naked?” she asked.

  “I did a few other things while I was out the other day. It was a very busy time for me. You will find the boxes in my dressing room, which we will share now.”

  She shivered with delight at those words. It was such a strange idea that she was living with him now, and would be married to him soon.

  “When we get to the house I want you to go upstairs and change into the items in the blue box.”

  “You sent items according to color?”

  “Don’t question the teacher,” he said. “I have a few things I need to take care of downstairs. When I come up, which will be quick, you will be dressed, or I will be displeased.”

  “Mrs. Beckett, one of my teachers, used to whack my hands with a wooden stick when she was angry.” Gabby tried to keep her voice even. “I hope I don’t have to fear that from my new tutor.”

  “No.” He stroked her cheek. “I saw how you reacted to Charlotte’s spanking last night. That won’t be part of our activities. We’ll find something that the two of us can enjoy together.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “You’re very observant.”

  He didn’t say anything. Instead he kissed her as the carriage pulled up in front of the townhouse. “Don’t forget, blue box.”

  Gabby left Fergus downstairs while she hurried to the dressing room. There were several wardrobes in the room, mixed with tables and the bathing tub. Gabby stared at it, wondering if there was room in the space for two, and how long it would be before they figured it out.

  Unless he already knew. She shook her head. He was right about keeping the past in the past. Shaking off the idea about him sleeping with other women, she went straight to the blue box and opened it.

  Her breath caught in her throat as she pulled away the tissue wrapped around the most beautiful dressing gown she’d ever seen. It was made of midnight blue satin. She lifted it from the box and held it out in front of her. It was long and flowing with sleeves that looked like pictures she’d seen of a Japanese kimono.

  “Ma’am?”

  Gabby turned to where the maid stood in the doorway. “Lord Fergus sent me to help you change.” She wondered what the young woman thought about helping her employer’s lover change into practically nothing when the sun had barely set.

  “Thank you,” Gabby said. “What is your name?”

  “Ellie,” the girl said.

  “Well, Ellie, I’m glad to have your aid.” Gabby cleared her throat. “I’ve never had a maid before.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m good at my job.”

  They moved quickly, stripping Gabby down to nothing. When Ellie wrapped the robe around her, Gabby felt incredibly sexy. At Ellie’s instance she sat down in front of the table. Ellie took down Gabby’s hair and combed it out; after that she worked it back up into a coif that Gabby would have never been able to do on her own.

  “Beautiful,” Gabby said.

  “I’m glad you like it, Lady Gabby,” Ellie said.

  “I’m not a lady, remember?”

  “Not yet,” Ellie said.

  “You certainly look like one.”

  Gabby turned to where Fergus stood in the doorway.

  “Thank you, Ellie, that will be all,” he said.

  The maid curtsied and left. Fergus held out his hand and helped Gabby to stand.

  “Satin becomes you,” he said.

  “It must have cost a small fortune,” she said.

  “You’re worth every farthing,” he said. “Now, come to the classroom so the first lesson can begin.”

  The furniture in the bedroom had been moved to allow room for one more piece—a single ladder-back chair in the middle of the room.

  “Take a seat, Miss Saunders,” he said.

  “Fergus, I—”

  “While class is in session you will address me as Mr. McIntyre,” he said. “Now, take a seat.”

  Afraid that he would change his mind about whacking her hands with a wooden stick, Gabby sat down in the chair.

  “Sit up straight, feet flat on the ground, arms at your sides.”

  The deep, authoritative tone of his voice made her shiver. He circled the chair, and she felt as if she were being inspected. She turned her head to follow his movement until he ordered her to keep her ‘eyes forward’.

  After a few more turns he said, “Now, Miss Saunders, today you will learn to suck cock.”

  Her mouth went dry at his words, and despite his order to keep her ‘eyes forward’ she gazed up at him.

  She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

  “That’s the perfect position for you to be in,” he said. “Well, let me correct that; perfect for your mouth. You will have to be on your knees to be in the absolute perfect position.”

  She scooted on her seat so she could get down on her knees. But Fergus put his hand on her shoulder. “Not yet.”

  “Now, Miss Saunders, does the idea of having my prick in your mouth excite you?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Would you like to try that again?” He took a step back. She wanted to look up, to see the expression on his face so she could judge her answer.

  “The answer is still yes,” she s
aid.

  “Once more,” he said. “Or I will have to be creative with a way to teach you a lesson.”

  “I thought that’s what you were doing?” she said. She broke his directive and looked up at him. “One involving your cock?”

  “Stand up.”

  Gabby did as he asked, and he said, “Miss Saunders, go to the corner. When you get there put your nose against the wall. When it is in place lift your robe so I can see your bum. Then spread your legs, so I can see a hint of your quim.”

  Her nipples hardened at his orders. This was definitely a lesson she was going to enjoy. The wall was cold against her nose, but when she lifted her robe her bum felt warm. She wondered if he was going to go against his word and spank her bottom.

  A light spanking, like the ones he’d given her before, were fine by her. But not one like Charlotte had received the other night.

  “Do you know why I put you in the corner, Miss Saunders?” he asked.

  “No,” she said. “I was truthful when I said I wanted to suck your cock.” She turned to look at him.

  “Get back into position, Miss Saunders.”

  That was not what she’d expected to hear. She’d hoped she’d sounded seductive, but she’d obviously failed, since he didn’t order her back to the chair so they could continue the lesson.

  “Try very hard, Miss Saunders.”

  She frowned, angry that she couldn’t put her finger on what was wrong. She thought through the scene that had just played out, and then it hit her.

  “I’m very sorry, Mr. McIntyre.” She put emphasis on his name, and she wanted so much to turn around and see if he were smiling, to see if she’d been right about how she’d messed things up.

  “Very good, Miss Saunders. You may return to your seat now.”

  She moved slowly and sat down, putting herself in the same position that he’d ordered her into earlier.

  “Open your robe,” he said.

  Now they were getting somewhere. She pulled apart the sides, letting it fall so that she was totally naked.

  “Spread your legs, as wide as you can.”

  Once again she followed his orders. He stepped between her legs. Her gaze was at stomach level, and she wanted so much to put her hands between his legs and feel his prick.