Lucas whirled to face her, his eyes blazing. His calm, even voice didn’t match the anger in his face. “I have reason to believe my twin murdered our eldest brother to gain the title for himself.”
She heard a gasp and realized it was her own. Now she understood why he’d bid on her last night. Lucas was rescuing her. Underneath the cloak of his piratical looks, beat the heart of a true knight. “Murder. Your brother? Are you certain?”
He gave a curt nod. “And that is why you will stay here while we go question his former mistress. Men talk to their lovers. Perhaps he let something slip. And when I return, you will give me the name of your family so I can return you to their loving bosom.”
“I cannot. I will not.”
His eyes narrowed at her. “You can and you will. You were a virgin until a few hours ago and you dress like a governess.” He gestured toward her sensible gray dress she’d slipped into from her old life. Her two new gowns from Madame Bella’s were ridiculous for daytime and difficult to put on without the help of a maid. “You’ve had your fun in the big, bad city, now it’s time to return to real life. Surely, you have a concerned parent or maiden aunt looking for you?”
She smoothed down the front of her skirts, grateful the high neck of the dress hid her flush. “Please don’t send me away. I need this.”
He snorted. “Why?”
Her mind raced with indecision. How much to tell him. Madame Bella had warned them to be like Aphrodite, rising from nowhere to become the perfect lover. But he’d confided in her about his brother. It was only fair to share too. Lucas seemed a different sort then Madame Bella’s usual client.
“I need to stay for my sisters.” She walked to the sofa and sat, hoping he’d follow her example.
“Your sisters,” he said.
She nodded. “Three of them. I’m the eldest. They rely on me.”
“And what of your parents?”
She smiled wryly. “You called me a governess, and you’re not so far off. Mama was a governess, Papa a baron who took one look at her and fell in love. He gave up everything to be with her.”
“Not his title?”
“Well, of course not that, but his family needed money. He needed to marry well.”
Lucas nodded. “A fortune hunter.”
“But he refused and ran away with Mama. After a few years of living in genteel poverty in a cottage, my grandfather passed and we moved into the estate.” The rundown, money-bleeding estate.
“What happened? Love doesn’t cover the bills, so they whored you out?”
She shuddered at his words, but felt compelled to defend her family. “No. It wasn’t like that. It was my decision.”
He finally came over to sit too close to her on the sofa. “And your parents allowed this?”
“Mama died ten years ago giving birth to Meggie. Papa died last month. A distant cousin we’ve never met inherited the estate and is now our guardian. I escaped to Madame Bella’s before he arrived and dictated our futures.”
“Family won’t sell their daughters,” he said in a hard voice.
She frowned, not sure what he meant. It didn’t sound flattering. “My sister’s beautiful.”
“Meggie?” He sounded startled by her change of topics.
“No, Elizabeth, the next oldest. She’s eighteen now and we had high hopes for her making an excellent match, only we couldn’t afford to give her a Season.”
“So you came up with the brilliant idea of turning into a mistress?”
She shook her head. “Madame Bella visited the countryside. She was traveling outside London looking for families in similar situations as ours. Families with lovely daughters and desperate for funds.”
“And she made an offer you couldn’t refuse.”
Again she shook her head and placed her hand on his muscular thigh. “Please allow me to finish. Madame wanted Elizabeth. Not me. I’m too plain. Lizzie inherited Mama’s beauty. I gained her wisdom.”
She stared at a stain on the floral rug when Lucas failed to protest her claims of plainness. No wonder he didn’t mind throwing her out of his home. If she had Elizabeth’s beauty, he would’ve already bought her a house and diamonds. “I volunteered to go in Elizabeth’s place. Madame Bella was not pleased, but agreed to let me stay on. Once I send enough money back to the family, Elizabeth can come to London, have her Season and marry well. Then I can return to the countryside and put this all behind me.”
With her tale finished, she sat back against the sofa and dared Lucas to say something.
Lucas studied Charlotte’s patrician profile for a minute, racking his brains for something to say. He was a bit stunned by her belief that she was less beautiful than her younger sister. Elizabeth must be comparable to Helen of Troy if she managed greater beauty than Charlotte. However, he could understand her misconception. Charlotte’s intelligence and sensibility radiated from her. She held a quiet beauty only a discerning gentleman would take the time to discover.
Unfortunately for Charlotte, he was not that man today. “I understand your desperation, but surely there are other alternatives for your family.”
“None that I could see. Do you think I happily stepped onto Madame Bella’s auction block?” Tears shined in her eyes, but pride wouldn’t let them fall.
“I can’t say I approve, but I will not throw you out so quickly.” Intrigue at her predicament warred with his sense of honor. How could he take advantage of a girl from a good family? On the other hand, he’d paid a hell of a lot of money for her. She was his, and perhaps he should enjoy the bounty that had fallen in his lap. After all, keeping her was truly helping her family, right?
He glanced out the window to see how high the sun was in the sky. “I must leave now, but upon my return we will discuss the future.”
“I shall come with you,” she said.
“Charlotte, I’ve already told you no. Do you doubt my word I’ll return?” It had been a great many years since anyone had dared question his honor.
“Of course not,” she said. “I shall come with you because you need me.”
“Oh?”
“She’s correct.” Bellamy’s voice came from the doorway where he leaned carelessly against the pillar. How much of Charlotte’s tale had he heard? Lucas would gamble all of it. “Your brother beat his mistress and she’s recovering at her friend’s place. She won’t want to entertain any gentleman, especially one who is identical in looks to her abuser, but another woman…”
“Of course. Bellamy is absolutely correct.” Charlotte was nodding at Bellamy, the gesture causing her soft curls to bounce gently around her shoulders.
“He is?” Lucas felt he was missing an important puzzle piece.
“Yes. I shall go change immediately. Lucas, I will need your assistance.”
“You’re already dressed, and I am running late.” He pinched the soft gray wool of her skirt between his thumb and forefinger and ran his hand along the fabric.
She brushed his hands away and stood, speaking over her shoulder as she strode briskly toward the stairs. “You’ve mentioned I look like a governess, and you are correct. I will need to gain the trust of the other woman by appearing to be in the same line of work as she.”
Lucas took large steps but didn’t catch up to his lady-mistress until the top of the stairs. He grasped her shoulders, pinioned her to the wall and pressed against her from chest to toe. He buried his lips in her neck and said, “Charlotte, for all intents and purposes, you
are
in the same line of work.”
He laughed and covered her gasp with a wet kiss. He pulled away, smiling at her shock. “Come along. Let’s get you dressed like my mistress.”
She followed him into his bedroom and bent to open her trunk. “I should have hung these last night, but…” She blushed, recalling why she’d not had a chance to attend to her wardrobe yet.
“I’ll just…go behind that screen, shall I?” Her rosy cheeks betrayed her calm voice, and he allowed her to hide for a few minutes before he strolled over to the dressing screen to check on her progress.
His timing was perfect. She was stepping out of the gray serviceable dress and her smooth narrow back begged for his touch. His first stroke had her turning and clasping her hands to cover her chest.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“Helping.” He captured her wrists, pulled them down and bent to suckle her nipples. Palest pink and sweet as little berries. He ran his tongue around one then pulled more of her firm breast into his mouth.
Her gasps of surprise melted into delight and she tugged her hands free to curl around his shoulders. “Lucas, I thought we were in a hurry.”
He pulled away from his treat with a small smacking sound. “We are, but I realize if we are to make you a believable mistress, there’s something I neglected to teach you.”
Her brows rose. “Oh? And what is that?”
“
La petite morte
,” he murmured and bent to her breasts again. “My timing is perfect, because you are naked, and I…am not.” He stood tall and lifted her under the arms then carried her over to the chair to deposit her into it.
She shifted her beautiful bare bum and said, “Lucas, I really don’t think now is the time… It takes me a while to get into my dress without a maid’s help.”
“Shh. I will be your maid. After.” He clasped his hands behind his back and stared down at her, wishing she’d spread her legs so he could see the puff of hair shielding her clitoris. He’d once seen a woman with jewels hanging from her nipples and thin chains down to her slit. If ever a woman deserved jewels adorning her nudity, it was Charlotte. “Please spread your thighs.”
Her gaze met his and they held a staring contest until she bit her lip and slowly pulled apart her smooth, rounded thighs.
Pale hair, slightly darker than on her head curled neatly at the juncture of her legs. A tiny bead of pink flesh was visible between plump lips. He knelt to his knees and touched the tip of his tongue to it.
Charlotte’s thighs promptly squeezed shut around his head, muffling sound. “Lucas!”
He pulled his head back to smile up at her and shoved her thighs apart again. “If you’re going to play the part of my mistress effectively, you’ll need to speak with some knowledge of your own body and your own pleasure.” He nuzzled into her damp passage again, focusing on what made her pant and what made her shiver.
“D-do you think the topic will come up?” Charlotte’s thighs spread wider and her fingers gripped his scalp tightly. “Oh, ohhh my.”
He slid a hand under her bottom and pulled her closer to the edge of the chair and eased a single finger into her tight passage. Her muscles immediately squeezed his digit, causing a painful pulsing in his rock-hard cock. His poor breeches pulled taut over his arousal threatening to pop a button or two if he didn’t release himself from the constriction.
Charlotte’s moans were now breathy sobs and the wet scent of her drove him to madness. He moved his finger and tongue faster, bringing her closer to orgasm.
“Lucas,” she suddenly cried out as her body went taut. He kept his finger inside, enjoying the little pulses quickening around him.
When the pulses slowed and her legs went limp, he pulled back and stood. “Now you can play the role of mistress effectively,” he said.
“Your mistress?” she asked, clinging hopefully to his words.
He gave a curt nod. “For now.”
Chapter Five
“We’re here to see Alyce Brown,” Lucas said. He acted as though visiting brothels an hour before noon was a daily occurrence for him.
Charlotte gripped Lucas’ forearm and smiled Madame Bella’s best at the burly footmen, but the guard stood impervious to her charms. He was surrounded by professionals regularly.
“I’ll go see if Miss Brown wishes to see you,” he said. He started to shut the door to have them wait outside, but Lucas put his body in the way.
“If you don’t mind, my lady wishes to come in from the cold.”
“Fine, but stay in the parlor and don’t touch nothing.”
Lucas nodded majestically as if following an order from the king and the threesome ventured inside.
Charlotte eyed the décor, noting its differences from Madame Bella’s. When she’d first arrived at Madame’s school, she’d felt relief at how similar it was to any normal upper-class home. This brothel was everything she’d feared Madame’s would be like.
Heavy perfume and something identifiably musky filled the air though no inhabitants were present. The furniture stood at odd heights and angles with extra cushions and benches in strange places.
She walked over to one and began to sit, but realized she’d have to straddle the bench to sit on it and she might slide off it from the angle of the bench. She glanced at Lucas who had a smile plastered on his face and at Bellamy whose back was to her, busy studying a garden scene on the wall.
“Shall I demonstrate the beauty of that piece of furniture?” Lucas asked, his voice all solicitousness.
Understanding flashed through her and she quickly sprang up.
“Good choice,” he said. “It works much better when you lie on your stomach.”
“We’ll have to return for a personal demonstration one evening,” she said in a husky voice she barely recognized. What had come over her? From the moment Lucas signed paperwork for rights to her body, she’d become someone unrecognizable from reliable, always-proper Charlotte. Her sisters often teased her about her lack of feminine wiles or desire to flirt with the village young men.