Though Hewson had been reticent to divulge any information regarding Wilson Dunn – assuming he knew anything of value, of course – the other man had been more than happy to prattle on about Lady Wyncliffe’s plans to destroy her own son. After the other man had been properly motivated by Richard’s beatings, of course.
Would his mother succeed in her plans to ruin Dionysus, whatever they were? For Hewson was rather lacking about the particulars in that area.
Doubtful. Lady Wyncliffe was considered by most to be an unstable woman that had been thoroughly wrecked by the deaths of two of her three sons. Or a death and a half, if one wanted to be specific. Jeremy’s clientele was loyal and his reputation was built on discretion. Unless his mother could unmask the patrons of Jeremy’s masquerade, she held little real power over Dionysus. After all, men and women of all ranks of Society came and went freely through his front door. No masks required.
Still, Jeremy was not discounting the possibility that she could do something. Even if he wasn’t certain at the moment what that “something” might be.
“I can appeal to the Bloody Duke for help, I suppose.” Jeremy ran a hand through his hair. “I hate to do so, but Maggie is already living with him now, mostly at the urging of Mrs. Wellsbottom, Maggie’s nanny. She used to be Candlewood’s nanny once upon a time and there is a great deal of affection between those two. I am also told Candlewood has come to adore Maggie. If he thought she was in danger? Well, he might not wish to help me, but I am certain he would do anything to keep her safe in an instant.”
Normally, the dark, masculine hues of this office soothed Jeremy’s restlessness, but not tonight. Tonight, he was far too agitated for anything to soothe him. Well, Dory probably could, but that was a matter he also needed to think over very carefully.
Richard nodded in agreement from where he sat perched on the edge of Jeremy’s desk. “Then that might be the wisest course of action, I suppose. It’s a risk, of course, revealing your weakness to those who might use it against you, but it has to be done.”
“Agreed.” Jeremy now wondered if Hewson knew of his other weakness – namely Dory.
It was possible. The zebra, whom no one had actually invited inside Dionysus and yet somehow was on the guest list each week, had been here for quite some time. Before the time of Lady Peacock even. He had witnessed the entire flirtation between Jeremy and Dory play out.
No one else had given much thought to the growing attraction between the Raven and the Peacock, save for what might make good gossip. But Hewson, in his disguise as the zebra, possibly had.
If the man had, would he reveal that information to Jeremy’s mother? Had he already told her what he knew? Jeremy wasn’t certain. But if Dory was revealed to be Lady Peacock? She would be destroyed. Her family might survive. After all, her brother, Frost, had deep ties to the Bloody Duke, as did both of her brothers-in-law. But Dory? Would she be protected or be thrown to the dragons of the ton to be devoured and spit out again?
Jeremy wanted to believe she would be protected, but she was hardly a Society favorite. Hell, half of the time, her family didn’t even pay her any attention. If they had, they would have discovered long ago that she was sneaking out to be with him.
Therefore, the only logical next step was to give her up. To set her free and tell her not to return. To never see her again. It was the only way to protect her from whatever hell his mother was about to unleash. Even if Jeremy did have the assistance of the Bloody Duke, that might not be enough to save Dory, the woman who mattered to him more than his own life.
Therefore, it was only logical that he had to set her free.
That, of course, was what he should do. Was it what he actually would do? Jeremy had no idea.
“I’ll send a footman to Lord Candlewood’s at first light,” Jeremy announced. “I’ve no wish to make a bad impression on him by rousing the man from his sleep.”
“A wise choice,” Richard agreed and then sighed, rising from his seat on the desk. “Should we call it a night, then?”
“Once Dory is here, then yes.”
“I think you’ll find I’m already here.” Both men turned to see Dory standing in the doorway, her mask dangling in her fingers. “Lord Haywood. It is nice to finally make your acquaintance.” She dipped into a small curtsey.
“Yours as well, Lady Dory.” He grinned. “Or should I say Lady Peacock?” That earned him a rap on the back of the head from Jeremy.
“You may call me whatever you like.” She glanced back and forth between the two men. “I suspect you have long known my identity anyway.”
“Almost as long as Jeremy here has,” Richard confirmed with a sly wink. “We make it our business to know.”
Jeremy nodded and sighed wearily. “Just as we make it our business to identify those we don’t know. Say a certain flamingo that you seemed familiar with?” He quirked an eyebrow at Dory.
“Lady Cecilia Worth. Cecy to her friends. Like me.” After that, she paused and waited, her gaze going back and forth between the two men as if waiting for their reaction.
Richard, the first to react, was incredulous. “Trent Pike’s ward? I saw them kissing madly just moments before Hewson interrupted them. I thought Pike despised the girl!” He glanced at Dory with a shrug. “Hewson believed you and Jeremy might have changed into different costumes for the evening in order to avoid prying eyes. That was why he unmasked Pike. When Hewson made a grab for the flamingo? Pike delivered a well-deserved right hook.”
“Hewson is a bloody idiot for even trying such a thing,” Jeremy groused as he began to pace, though he stopped himself before he wore a hole in his new rug. “Though if he hadn’t attacked Pike, I never would have known he was here.” He shook his head. “Now about this friend of yours…”
“She will not return,” Dory assured both Jeremy and Richard. “Not only does she now know that her guardian is the object of her attentions, she is afraid that he will discover the truth about her. Needless to say, that is not the outcome she desires. She will stay away.” She gave Jeremy a pointed look. “And Lord Pike?”
It was Richard who shook his head. “If the flamingo is gone, Trent will be too. Until this evening, he drifted about, going from lady to lady seeking something he could not find.” He smirked a little. “Though it was rather obvious he found what he sought with your friend, Miss Worth, this evening.”
“And that is a discussion for another time.” Jeremy slapped his hands on his knees and looked down over the now-dark ballroom floor. After the incident with Hewson, Jeremy had cleared the masquerade, offering all who were present vouchers to return the next week without question, which was not something he normally did. “Now it is time for us to be headed home.” He glanced at his partner. “You too, Richard.”
For once, Haywood didn’t argue. “I think that is a fine idea. In fact, I am certain I hear my bed calling me.” He picked up his hat and walking stick and winked at Dory. “Until next time, my lady, which my instincts tell me will be sooner than I might imagine.”
“Good evening, Lord Haywood,” she replied, far too properly for Jeremy’s liking.
The other man laughed. “Call me Richard, for I have a feeling we shall be seeing a good deal more of each other!” Then he was gone, leaving the club while whistling a merry tune.
“I am glad someone is having a good time,” Jeremy groused, his temples pounding with pain. He rubbed at them in irritation. “Tonight was a disaster.”
“Tonight was not as bad as it could have been,” Dory teased, placing her mask on Jeremy’s desk. “It was only a small scuffle.”
“It was more than that. Each time someone I cannot control invades this club, you risk discovery.” The very idea of that chilled Jeremy’s blood. “And that man? He could undo everything I have worked for!”
“Have I been discovered yet? Does he have the power to destroy you?” she asked with a frown.
“Not as far as I know.” Once more, Jeremy ran a hand through his alre
ady mussed hair. “Not in either case.”
“Then the matter will keep until later.” Dory sank into a chair before looking up at Jeremy expectantly. “There are, I think, other things we need to discuss.”
He turned back to her, wanting to make her understand the risk she had taken this evening. “Dory. Sweet. All of that aside, what were you thinking, coming in here like that? So bold and so brash? The more attention you draw to yourself, the more likely it is that someone will unmask you, if they have not already.”
“What if unmasking is what I desire?” Something hot and desperate lurked in the depths of her eyes.
On the other hand, she could not really be saying that, could she? Dory was not that sort. “You don’t want to be discovered, love. I know you don’t. Not here and not with me.”
“What if I do? Or what if I don’t care any longer?” She seemed insistent on that point.
Jeremy shook his head and tried to turn away from her. “You would be ruined. Sent away from London and from me. Your life would essentially be taken from you.”
At that, Dory shot to her feet, surprising him and he turned back to her. He had never seen her this upset and it gave him paused.
There were tears gathering in her eyes when she spoke now. “I am going to be sent away to the country anyway, Jeremy. So what does it matter?”
Her words caught him off guard and reached for her, fearing that if he did not, she might vanish before his eyes. “How? Why? Dory. I don’t understand. What have you done to warrant such a punishment?”
“Being the only spinster daughter of an ill woman,” Dory replied as she leaned into his warmth. “My mother is ill, Jeremy. The poison that Kirkland fed her has destroyed her mind and she will not recover, though few know how serious her condition is just yet. Still, it is already no secret that I am expected to care for her. You said so yourself.”
“Yes, but I thought that meant here! In London! Not stashed away in the country!” Jeremy had assumed, of course, that the dowager would be cared for here in London. But then, he should have known better. Hadn’t Wilson been sent to the country to “recover?” Why should he assume it would be any different for Lady Chilton?
Dory snorted and began to pace. “No, my sister Sarah is already happily planning on sending me to Hallowby Grange’s dower house with my mother so that I might care for her there. It is our family’s country seat and the best staffed estate my family has. There? My mother will have all of the care she requires and deservedly so, for it is what is best for her.”
“And you will be there as well to oversee that care,” Jeremy finished for her, his throat clenching tightly for a moment. “Dory, sweet, that is not fair of them to ask such a sacrifice of you.” He tried to tuck her more tightly into his side, but this time she pulled away from him.
“Perhaps it is not, but it is expected of me just the same.” Jeremy’s heart ached as silent tears now began to spill down Dory’s cheeks. “All my sister Sarah sees when she looks at me is a wallflower, spinster sister who has secretly been running Tillsbury House for some time. Harry is no longer a part of my life, of course, and she knows nothing of you. I am also an embarrassment to her, as well as a risk, especially now that her marriage is only just recovering from the Randall Witherson affair. As far as she is concerned, there is nothing holding me to London, and there is every reason why I should go to the county to care for our mother. In fact, it would be better for her if I did!”
For a long moment, Dory said nothing. Then she sniffed pitifully and Jeremy’s heart broke just a little bit more. “But I can’t leave here! I just can’t!”
Slowly, Jeremy approached Dory, fearful of reaching for her but nearly desperate now to hold her. Had he really planned to tell her this evening that they needed to end this affair? Yes, he had, but now the words he would have spoken died on his lips.
She was hurting and he had no wish to hurt her further. Perhaps this was not the time to tell her he wanted to end their association, even though it would be for her own good. Perhaps just one more night with her would not hurt. Perhaps this revelation could wait until tomorrow. Yes. He was almost certain it could.
Reaching out, he stroked her cheek and she leaned into his touch now, seeking his warmth. Something inside of him cracked just a little, making him all the more vulnerable to her.
“Dory. I don’t want you to go. You must know that.”
As a general rule, Jeremy never allowed himself to be vulnerable to anyone. But tonight? With Dory? He would make an exception.
“Nor do I wish to go. I think you know that as well.” She closed her eyes and nestled more deeply into his embrace. “But unless another solution is offered? Sarah and Rayne are all but in charge of me with Frost otherwise occupied with his new son. If my sister wishes me gone? There is little I can do. And it is not as if I can tell Sarah what I have been doing in the evenings. Not without running myself and you at the same time.”
“Ah, my lovely peacock. Now what do we do?” Jeremy pulled Dory closer, even though he knew he really should be starting to push her away.
“Now you hold me,” she whispered as she snuggled into his embrace, relaxing just as bit when he tightened his arms around her. “Then you kiss me. After that? Then we can see where things might lead.”
Oh, she was bold, his lovely, delicious peacock. “Is that so?”
“Indeed.” Dory looked up at him and Jeremy could see the conflict swirling in her eyes.
But there was also desire there. Desire for him, just as he was, and she was the only woman who had ever desired him like this – for the man he was and not simply because he was a risk to be conquered or a piece of the Wyncliffe dukedom.
“Then perhaps I should do as you suggest. Since it is the next logical step, and all.” God above, how he wanted to kiss her.
“Perhaps you should.”
Then they were kissing and Jeremy forgot everything but the woman in his arms. He forgot all about his mother and her threats. He forgot about Hewson invading his club and possibly exposing his guests. He even forgot about Richard and his infatuation with the serving girl. Instead, all Jeremy could think of was Dory and how right she felt in his arms. And how, in the end, he would hurt her when he was forced to let her go.
“Dory. Sweet.” Jeremy pulled away from her, though it took all of his strength to do so. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“As this is a fantasy, I don’t see why not.” But her voice trembled and he wondered if this had become more than just a fantasy for her, too. “In fact, I think we should do as we please.”
Squeezing his eyes shut, Jeremy fought his baser instincts for control. “If I did as I pleased, love, I’d have you spread before me on this desk, my cock deep inside your sweet little cunt.”
Dory paused and Jeremy wondered if he had gone too far. He had never used such language around her and she was a lady, after all. Chances were, she had never heard such scandalous talk before. However, to his surprise, a wicked smile lit her face.
“Well if that’s what you desire, my lord, why didn’t you just ask?”
Dory was shaking inside. She was not this bold, seductive creature who behaved like a common trollop. And yet, with Jeremy, she could think of no other way to behave.
She was also more than a little desperate. Her time with him was ending. Depending upon Dr. Hastings recommendations, her mother might be sent off to the country as soon as next week. After tonight, Dory might never see Jeremy again. So if this were to be their last night together, she would make it a memorable one.
Swallowing hard, Dory reached up and slowly undid the front fasteners on the corset-style top of her gown. The silk, lace and crystal creation that revealed too much of her ankles and far too much of her breasts was positively scandalous and more fit for a courtesan than a lady. Dory would have felt awkward removing such a gown even in front of Helen.
But in front of Jeremy? She felt no such fear. Instead, all she felt was desire. Desire for him
and the way he could make her feel. Desire for everything he had to offer.
She wanted that. She wanted him. Now. Before it was too late and he vanished from her life forever like so much smoke from a raging fire.
“Take me, Jeremy.” Dory purred, praying that he would not find her attempt at seduction silly or childish. She wasn’t very good at this. She was no whore. But she knew what she wanted. That would have to be enough.
When he simply stood there staring at her, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides, she knew he was hesitating, though she had no idea why. Something was holding him back. It wasn’t desire. She could see his raging erection through his trousers as his face twisted in that same way it always did when he was trying to hold back his natural inclination to ravish her.
But he still didn’t come any closer. Well, there was a way to fix that.
With fingers skilled from weeks of practice, Dory reached for the hidden fastener at the waist of her gown. The one she had instructed Madame LaVallier to add so that she wouldn’t need a maid to assist her into this seductive frock.
Licking her lips and strengthening herself against possible rejection, Dory slowly flicked the fastener open, allowing the gown to fall in a pool at her feet. She saw Jeremy’s eyes widen when he realized she was only wearing stockings beneath the gown. No drawers, no corset, and no chemise. The dress, sheer and bare as it was, would not allow for undergarments. Just stockings and garters.
Leaning back, Dory arched herself against Jeremy’s desk as she had seen some women in the club do and then she spread her legs, opening her feminine core to his view. His breathing hitched and she saw him flush. He wanted her. She knew he did. So it should only take a bit more to push him over the edge.
“Come, my raven. You know you want me. Just as I want you.” She blew out a breath. “Give in, Jeremy. Just give in and fuck me the way we both want.”
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