“Your Grace,” said Charlotte, curtsying shyly.
“Well, William,” said his mother. “Why don’t you come with me? There is something I need you to do for me.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” replied William as the Dowager Duchess took him away. Julian knew his mother’s tactic was to give himself and Lady Charlotte some private time to talk. He rolled his eyes and signaled to the waiter for more drink.
After his glass had been refilled, he took some and then looked at Lady Charlotte from the corner of his eyes. She was fanning herself ridiculously as if that was the only thing she could do. Poor girl, he thought. She was obviously bored to death and probably thinking he wasn’t going to invite her to dance.
As he stood by watching, a gentleman came over to where they stood and asked to write his name in Charlotte’s dance card, but she shook her head. The man left without probing her any further.
Julian decided to speak to her.
“My lady,” he started. “I wouldn’t want to ruin your beautiful evening. If you wish to dance, then by all means, get yourself a partner.”
She shot him a cold look. “Are you really not going to ask me for a dance?” she asked. He shook his head much to her disappointment. Without saying anything more, she walked away and vanished amongst the sea of people dancing.
Julian took more drink and decided to excuse himself from the place, he craved fresh air. He was just about to leave when he came face to face with his mother who did not look at all pleased.
“Mother, is everything alright?” he asked.
“Where is Charlotte?” asked his mother.
He sighed. “I’m afraid I have no idea.”
“What is wrong with you, child! Why do you keep making all my effort unfruitful? What has that poor girl done to you for goodness sake?”
“She did nothing to me, mother,” he retorted. “And I must say, you need to stop wasting your energy on fruitless things like matchmaking me with random women. You should understand that it is never going to work!” He paused and soften his look. “I love you, mother,” he said as he kissed her on both cheeks. “You threw a beautiful party for me but I must take my leave now.”
Without further ado, he took his leave, knowing full well that his mother was looking at him with displeasure. He soon got lost in the crowd of guests and was made his way towards the entrance.
When he got outside, he stopped as he sighted an alcove by his left. He smiled as he recalled the time Emma had slept there the first time she was brought to her first ball. So exhausted was she that she had come there to sleep it off.
Julian was the one responsible for her; His mother had said as much several times. While he was talking with William and Clint, his two best friends, he didn’t know when she had walked away. He had searched everywhere for her and got worried. However, Clint was the one who had found her sleeping peacefully in the alcove.
“There you are,” said William behind him. “Let me guess what’s on your mind,” he said as he walked closer to him.
“Well, you can try,” relied Julian.
“I know you are thinking about your sister,” Williams said. “I wish I had more time with her. She was such a lovely girl.”
“Yes, she is,” replied Julian.
“But why do you look at the alcove with so much eagerness?”
“Because I remember that one time we found her sleeping here,” Julian replied. “Funnily, I found myself hoping I would find her here again, sleeping peacefully.”
William shook his head. “For ten years? That is quite impossible, you know that.”
Julian nodded. He knew that of course.
“So, where is Lady Charlotte?” William asked.
“I told her I wasn’t going to dance with her and she left.”
William burst into laughter. “Oh! Goodness! Your mother will be furious by now.”
“I ran into her already. She indeed is furious but I left her before she could rain her wrath upon me.”
“Are you heading home already?” asked William and Julian nodded.
“What about you?”
“Still need to wait for my parents,” he replied. “So are you still interested in coming with me to France?”
“Yes, William. If I do not leave as soon as possible, I’m afraid that mother’s plan to get me married might drive me insane one day.”
William smiled and they stopped at front door of the mansion.
“Well, try to keep your sanity; you will need it in Paris. We shall leave tomorrow morning,” said William. Julian smiled as he bid his friend farewell as he left the mansion.
* * *
When he got back to his room, he immediately got into bed, not bothering to undress. Even though he did nothing in particular than walk around and look at what was going on at the ball, he was exhausted.
He shut his eyes and inhaled deeply and as always, memories of Emma kept flooding in. He could see the picture of her long and beautiful hair dancing in the wind as he ran after her in the garden. Her sonorous laughter and tiny legs running through the garden. He sighed, touching the pendant of his necklace before drifting off to sleep.
Chapter 2
France, Paris, 1819
Miss Lucy Howard
Lucy tapped her fingers against the porcelain cup in her hand and sat perfectly still. In the same room beside her, sitting just as still was her best friend Emma.
The girl’s smile didn’t reach her blue eyes but it was apparent that she was trying to be calm unlike Lucy who was jittery. It was their first time in the gambling hell after spending many years in Madame Brisbois’s manor.
Emma extended her hand to Lucy and she took it, squeezing it as they had always done for reassurance.
Just like Emma, Lucy had been taken in by Madame Brisbois. Even though she took them in, clothed them and made them work for her, they knew she was preparing them for that very day when they would finally become women of her gambling hell.
As Madame Brisbois had said the previous night, “a time will come when you will pay me back for having taken the both of you in, clothed you and fed you. For now, eat and look beautiful.”
Their way of repaying her for her kindness would be to work as harlots for her. They didn’t know the actual day that they would begin but Madame Brisbois had brought them in that day to get familiarized with the place.
So far, Lucy hated it. She hated the way the men gawked at her and Emma when they entered the place. She hated the smell of cigars that filled the entire place.
Lucy never knew her parents. She was told by her grandmother before she passed that her mother died while giving birth to her.
There was another lady in the room, Amy, who was getting ready for the night.
Berangere, a beauty to behold and a desired woman among the men of the gambling hell, walked in. She was tall and willowy, her lips were painted in red and her long lashes shot out like twigs.
Lucy thought she shouldn’t be lesser than twenty and four years of age. The hair on her head was not hers, it was a purple wig which was noticeable by the way it shifted on her head as she moved. When she saw Lucy, she smiled but Lucy did not return her smile. She knew her to be one of Lady Brisbois’s harlots and she used to come around the house with Amy.
“Oh, look at you. Finally ready to join the women of the night, are we?”
Lucy said nothing so Berangere continued. “I see the reason why Madame Brisbois never brought you two here,” she said, looking from Emma to Lucy. “You are so beautiful, either one of you could take over from Amy and I,” she said, brushing Lucy’s dark hair with her right hand. Then she walked to Emma and did the same.
“I used to have beautiful hair like you two once,” she said, with a tone of regret. “But now, here is all I have left,” she said with a deep sigh. Then she walked to the mirror. “Madame Brisbois brought you here to see where you are going to be working very soon and here you are, holding hands like puppets. Do you think the gambling hell is
for children?” she demanded, turning around really fast causing Emma to stiffen. Lucy felt that as they were still holding hands.
“Why don’t you leave those kids alone, Berangere?” Amy asked, powdering her nose.
“I see the reason why Madame Brisbois preferred to keep you away till now,” she said, smiling but with hostility. “You are so young and so fresh. She thinks I am too old for this place and wants one of you to become the new Berangere.” She shook her head and stepped back from them. “But, you are not yet strong enough. But don’t worry. After working for a weeks, after you’ve lost that virginity of yours,” she shouted with her eyes widening at each spoken word. “-you shall become a woman. Just as Amy has called you, you are still kids.”
Just then, they all heard footsteps drawing closer and Berangere kept quiet while Madame Brisbois walked in. She was a tall fat woman who loved dressing in a long flowing gown which she always had to hold at the hem to keep from sweeping the floor.
“What is happening here?” Madame Brisbois asked, looking from Berangere to Amy.
“Nothing, Mama,” replied Berangere. “I was merely teaching these girls how things work around here just like you asked me to.”
Lucy and Emma’s eyes remained fastened on Madame Brisbois. All Lucy could pray for was for her to tell them that they could take their leave but something told her that would happen much later.
“Very well,” said Madame Brisbois. “Amy,
Berangere, the constables and his men are here. I need you!”
Amy shrilled for joy and quickly wagged her behind out but Berangere stopped. “What about them?” she asked Madame Brisbois, pointing towards the two girls.
“Not yet,” replied Madame Brisbois much to Lucy’s relief.
Berangere scowled at them but left without a word. Finally, the two girls disentangled their hands as Madame Brisbois also took her leave.
“I can’t stay here,” Emma cried. “We need to leave this place, Lucy. I do not want to be a harlot.”
Lucy sighed and faced Emma. “We are going to leave but we need to be very careful. Madame Brisbois is very smart. We both know this,” she said, placing a hand on Emma’s shoulder.
“I know that I am still under watch for now, but what if Madame Brisbois changes her mind? What if she says I must join them? I cannot allow any of those stinking men to lay their filthy hands on me; I am not ready for this!” Emma kept on but Lucy had to calm her down.
They were both of the same age but many times, Lucy had always acted like the superior. Often times, Emma had tried to escape and for this reason and another reason which Lucy couldn’t understand, Emma had been on a watch. Often times she was either locked up in a room or a guard was assigned to stand in front of her room to watch her closely.
Lucy was stronger and a lot braver, most of which was due to things she had experienced as a child. Emma was the weaker of the two. She came from a wealthy background in London but got kidnapped ten years ago while she was playing hide and seek with her brother.
Somehow, she managed to end up in France after being tossed from one person to another. Lucy found Emma at the side of the road and they band together to find a means of survival before ending up with Madame Brisbois. “Do you think I should write to my father again?” asked Emma.
Lucy sighed. “Are you certain that your father will get it this time? What if your mother gets it, or your uncle?” asked Lucy.
* * *
Lady Emma Winthitorpe
Emma sighed. Lucy was right, she couldn’t risk having her mother read the letter. She had tried writing to her family for two years but nothing became of it. She had tried writing once more during the previous year but Madame Brisbois got hold of the letter and Emma never knew what happened to it.
But since then, she had been on lock down. Even if Lucy could come and leave as she pleased, Emma could never do that. Madame Brisbois had her men watching over her even when she thought they weren’t.
“So what do we do?” she asked. “I do not want to be a harlot, Lucy,” she cried.
“I need to think,” replied Lucy.
Emma inhaled and waited. Lucy had been the only reason she was still alive, she was like a sister to her. So many times, Lucy would defend her and motivate her into not giving up.
“We need to leave France,” Lucy blurted.
“Leave France and go where?” asked Emma.
“You can go home and speak to your father or your brother. Anyone that you think will believe you,” Lucy said. “I need to go to Madame Brisbois,” she said and left.
Emma scoffed. Who would believe that she had caught her mother and uncle kissing? Actually, they were doing more than that. She was too young to understand what was happening, but she saw them alright. And what they were doing was wrong.
She hadn’t meant to find them. She had only wanted to go into the bush to hide from her brother. Their father was not home at the time. As usual, he had gone on one of those ‘important meetings’.
Emma had found her uncle and mother behind a bush that was close to the house. They were so deep into what they were doing that they didn’t hear someone coming. Emma remembered how she had reacted upon seeing them. Her mother’s back was turned towards her with her arms all over her uncle.
There was no way her mother would have seen her come in. Uncle Thompson on the other hand had seen her and without further ado, she had run. What else was an eight year old supposed to do when they catch their mother with another man?
“Here you are, little niece,” Uncle Thompson had said to her the next morning when he found her outside, somewhere around
the same bush.
Emma shivered from the cold, her feet and fingers were numb. Still, these did not deter her from sending her uncle a hostile stare.
“Your brother and mother are looking everywhere for you. What are you doing here anyway?”
Emma shivered as he stepped closer to her and she tried to run but he grabbed her.
“Let go of me! I saw you with mother! You are a bad person!”
“You saw nothing, little girl!” he growled. “It better stay like that or I shall make you disappear!” he threatened.
“I saw you. I saw you Uncle Tom. I shall tell father when he comes back. I shall tell him everything!” she cried as he dug his nails deeper into her flesh.
“You are hurting me! Let go of me!”
“You won’t be able to tell your father because you will never see your father and mother again, little girl!”
Before Emma could understand what he was saying, he grabbed her and carried her in his arms forcefully. She had tried fight him off but she was too small compared to him. He took her faraway to a gentleman who had later ended up taking her into a boat. That was how it had all started.
This was her worst memory which she had kept locked up deep inside her. She had never told Lucy about this. All Lucy knew was that she was kidnapped from home.
Emma inhaled. She was certain that a guard was waiting at the front door, meaning she could not even leave the room. Well, she was fine with it, as long as she did not become a harlot.
* * *
Madame Brisbois
She walked proudly among the drunken men who kept hailing her from every angle. She was happy but she frowned when she saw Berangere’s facial expression at the bar. Madame Brisbois could see Amy sitting on the laps of one of the constables but Berangere chose to sit at the bar. Angrily she walked up to her.
“Might I ask what you are doing here? Why aren’t you working?”
Berangere sighed. “Why are those girls still in that room Mama? Aren’t they supposed to join us already?”
Madame Brisbois inhaled. “I told you, not yet, Berangere. There is a reason I chose to bring them here today. I have not brought them here to work! I only brought them here to observe!” she said. “Besides, Lucy is the one ready to work, not Emma.”
“Why do they have to observe and not work? You have protected them for
too long. Far longer than you did for Amy and I! And that Emma girl, might I ask why you are she still keeping eyes on her?”
Madame Brisbois smiled. “I took in those girls at a far younger age than when I found you. And do not forget, you were not a virgin when I brought you here. Those two lack experience with men. I do not want to rush them. As you can see, they are still very terrified, but if I bring them back here in the next two or more days, they would have grown adapted to this environment.”
A Lady To Redeem A Rakish Lord (Historical Regency Romance) Page 32