Antonia's Bargain (10 page)

66

Antonia’s Bargain

Chapter Six

From the outside, there was nothing to differentiate the four-story townhouse in

one of the shabbier streets of Pall Mall from any of its neighbors. Soft rain blew into

Antonia’s face and she huddled deeper into her new cloak. At least her men’s clothing

offered better protection than the flimsy muslins she normally wore. Gideon had also

provided her with new boots and a hat that actually fit her. She followed him as he

mounted the steps and knocked on the scarred green door with his cane.

The door opened a crack and a thin stream of yellow light illuminated Gideon’s

face. After squinting at them for a long, unnerving minute, a huge black man dressed in

faded blue and gold livery flung the door open wide. His fierce expression melted into

a wide smile.

“Lord Harcourt. Welcome to Harpy’s, it’s good to see you again.”

Gideon handed the man his hat and cloak. “It’s a pleasure to see you too, Bill. Are

you still boxing?”

Bill took Antonia’s coat and hat and laid them over his massive arm. “No sir, I ain’t.

I’m getting too old for that lark and the wife won’t stand for it anymore neither.”

“I’ll wager you are more afraid of your wife than you are of your opponents.”

“That’s the truth, sir.” Bill grinned, displaying his four solitary teeth. “And with

good reason.” He gestured at Antonia. “Is he with you?” She held her breath as Gideon

nodded. Bill bowed and pointed up the stairs. “Then have a good evening, sirs, and

good luck.”

Antonia edged past the huge man and followed Gideon up a narrow flight of stairs.

The smell of tobacco and cheap spirits that wafted down the hallway almost choked

her. Her heart was already beating too fast. Would any of the other men see through her

disguise or had Gideon taught her enough to make her invisible?

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He paused at the door of the main salon and looked back at her, clearly offering her

the opportunity to escape. She raised her chin and met his inquiring gaze without

flinching. Deep inside her, beneath the fear, a bubble of pure excitement surfaced at her

own daring.

The salon was crowded and dark. Several men clustered around a roulette wheel

while others lounged in chairs set out around small tables and played cards. At least

half of those present were in uniform. The rest seemed an odd assortment ranging from

the overdressed fop to the average country squire. Antonia inhaled a thick haze of

smoke underlaid with the scent of old sweat and desperation. A man stumbled into her,

his expression dazed, his hands fumbling at his breeches.

“’Scuse me, young sir,” he belched in her face, “I need a piss.”

Antonia stepped out of his way as he lurched toward the chamber pots on the

sideboards. No one else appeared interested in her. Most of the faces bore the same

intent expression as they watched the turn of the wheel or the play of a card. Antonia

tried to relax as Gideon handed her a chipped glass containing a brownish liquid.

“What do you fancy trying your hand at, young Anthony?” Gideon asked as she

forced a little of the cheap liquor between her lips.

“Whatever suits you, sir.”

He smiled and pointed out two empty seats at a nearby table. “Then let’s sit here.”

An older man with a thick red mustache dressed in the green uniform of a rifleman

grunted as they took their places. “Harcourt. Haven’t seen you in a while. Thought

you’d given up gambling.”

Gideon fished in his pocket for his purse and tipped a few coins and gold

sovereigns into his hand. “Good evening, Captain Foster. Does a man ever stop

gambling?” He handed Antonia half the coins. “Did you fear I had reformed?”

Captain Foster gathered the cards and shuffled them. “Dead or rolled up more

like.”

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“I fear to disappoint you, but I have plenty of funds at my disposal.”

“Good. I need a new uniform.”

Antonia frowned at the captain dealt everyone two cards. What on earth were they

playing and how dare Gideon drop her into a situation like this?

He murmured in her ear. “This is
vingt
-
et
-
un
. It’s not difficult, you’ll pick it up in no

time, just follow my lead.”

Twenty-one? Gideon picked up his cards and studied them. Antonia did the same

and then tossed a sovereign onto the pile. She had two kings. What did that mean?

She watched as the other four players either held onto their hands or asked for

another card. By the time Gideon laid down his cards to show the queen of hearts and

an ace she thought she had the general idea. She shook her head when the dealer

offered her a card and waited until he revealed his own hand which didn’t match

Gideon’s but totaled the same as hers.

The pile of money in front of Gideon grew steadily as the game progressed. After a

short while, Antonia had no coins left and simply watched. Gideon sat at his ease. One

long-fingered hand holding his cards, the other relaxed around his glass. Unlike his

opponents, his expression gave nothing away. While he played, she took the

opportunity to scan the room for any of her potential suitors. She thought she caught a

glimpse of one of her cousin’s friends at the roulette table but she couldn’t be sure.

Finally Gideon gathered his money and stood up. Antonia was quick to follow him.

He bowed to the other men. “Gentleman, it’s been a pleasure.”

Captain Foster snorted. “I see you’ve not lost your touch, Harcourt. Won’t you stay

awhile and allow me to win some back?”

“Unfortunately, we must leave. I promised my young relative here a tour of the

delights of the city, and this is but our first stop.”

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Captain Foster winked at Antonia. “You lucky dog. I wish I’d had a relative like

Harcourt to show me the town. You’ll be fortunate to get home before dawn and I

expect you’ll sample plenty of prime skirt along the way as well.”

Gideon maneuvered Antonia toward the door and down the stairs. Inside his coach

he dumped the pile of coins, bank notes and scrawled IOUs on the seat between them.

“Count this, would you?”

Antonia sorted out the pile and calculated the total. She stared at Gideon. “You won

over a hundred pounds and we were only there for half an hour.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is that all? Of course we must also include your losses.”

She straightened in her seat. “You gave me twenty guineas. I will pay you back out

of my quarterly allowance.”

His heavy lidded gaze swept over her. “I would prefer to receive my payment now.

Come and sit on my lap.”

He arranged her over his thighs so that she straddled him. “Did you enjoy your first

glimpse into my world?”

She hesitated as he unbuttoned her waistcoat and pulled her shirt from her

breeches. “It was not as exciting as I thought it would be. Most of the men there did not

seem to be enjoying themselves much.”

“You sound disappointed. I took you there first to show you how the average man

about town gambles.” His fingers settled over her bound breasts. “Gambling is a

serious business. Fortunes are lost and gained in an evening’s play. The amount of

money I won this evening might mean the difference between a man’s survival or his

complete ruin.”

She closed her eyes as her nipples tightened between his finger and thumb. His

erection settled against her mound, rocking into her with the movement of the carriage.

She sighed as the now familiar heat of her excitement began to grow. Gideon was like a

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drug. The more he touched her, the more she wanted him. Would any other man be

able to make her feel like this? Somehow she doubted it.

“What are you thinking?” He kissed her ear, his cheek smooth against her skin, his

sandalwood scent as beguiling as the finest champagne.

“I believe you are leading me astray.”

He chuckled and settled his hand over her buttocks, pressing her closer. “And isn’t

that exactly what you wanted?”

She stared into his amused eyes. “I’m not sure. I didn’t realize I would enjoy being

seduced so much. It makes me forget why I started this masquerade in the first place.”

His teeth grazed her lower lip and a pang of pure lust shot straight to her sex. “I didn’t

know that being touched so intimately could be so pleasurable.” She licked the now

tender spot on her lip. “My mother seemed to find only pain in her couplings with my

father and none of the excitement I feel.”

“Perhaps your father was an inadequate lover.”

“Perhaps you are an exceptional one.”

He smiled at that and spread his fingers over her buttocks, lifting her into the swell

of his cock. “I’m not one to boast but…” He kissed her hard, his tongue plunging into

her mouth until she squirmed against him. He winced and grabbed her hips.

“Be gentle with me, my cock is tender.”

Antonia remembered how early he had left the ball on the previous evening. Her

chest tightened with a sensation she refused to acknowledge as jealousy.

“Is that why you left the ball? To slake your lust?”

He caught her chin in his fingers. “Do you want me to answer that?”

A spark of bravado shot through her defenses. “Why not? You offered me your

expertise.”

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“I’m sore because my lover sucked and bit my cock too much. Although I can

assure you I didn’t complain at the time.” His expression darkened. “Now it’s my turn

to ask you a question. How did you know I was at a
ton
ball?”

She licked her lips as he continued to stare at her. Was he asking her to reveal her

identity to him and if so, what effect would that have on their relationship?

“I was there with my family. I saw you leave.”

He studied her as if waiting for her to say more. She continued to look back at him.

“You can’t hide from me forever, Antonia.” Gideon picked her up and dumped her

on the seat beside him, scattering the pile of money all over the carriage floor. It hurt to

breathe as she struggled to douse the rise of her arousal. Her breasts ached to be

touched and an insistent throb between her legs begged to be satisfied.

Gideon bent to kiss her, his mouth hard and demanding. When he finally raised his

head, he was breathing as harshly as she was. Perhaps he was not as unaffected by her

as he tried to pretend. The reckless streak within her demanded she find out how far

she could push him. She forced herself to sit still and not press shamelessly against him.

He gestured to her untucked shirt.

“We will arrive at our second destination at any minute. Make sure you are

presentable.”

Gideon swept past the butler at White’s and headed for the porter’s desk. Antonia’s

refusal to tell him her full name had obviously rankled. She knew it was inevitable that

they would meet in the narrow social world they both inhabited, but she wanted to

prolong the moment for as long as possible. She waited as he signed her in the visitors’

book.

“This is my club. We will pay a visit to the first-floor gaming rooms.”

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She scanned the elegant vestibule as an elderly gentleman staggered out of the

dining room. The smell of overcooked beef and stale cabbage followed his unsteady

progress as closely as a dog at his heels. The place looked duller than Harpy’s.

Gideon led her up the stairs, pausing to bow to his acquaintances and to murmur

the hope that his father wouldn’t turn up and complicate matters. She caught her breath

and bumped into him when he stopped abruptly at one of the massive sets of doors.

“You will probably see a few more faces you recognize in here, so I suggest you try

and remain as inconspicuous as possible. Women are not allowed in White’s.”

He smiled, and she sensed that his amusement at bringing her into such a male

bastion of power had temporarily canceled his frustration. He opened the door and

bowed. “Welcome to Hell.”

At first glance, the rooms appeared even quieter than the one at Harpy’s even if the

setting was more opulent. Gleaming oak-paneled walls were covered with portraits of

past monarchs, club members and racehorses. The men remained the same, their

intense interest fixed on the play, oblivious to her arrival. Gideon touched her arm.

“This time we will play piquet.”

He led her to an empty table and called over a waiter. He exchanged a few coins for

a brand-new pack of cards and set about sorting them. Antonia took the opportunity to

take a furtive glance around the room. At a table by the roaring fire, she noticed two of

her cousin’s favorite candidates for her hand, engaged in a game of cards. Neither man

looked happy as they contemplated their cards. She stiffened as she caught her name.

“Are you having any luck with the Maxwell chit, Kinsale?”

“If I am, I’m unlikely to tell you.”

Douglas Markham snorted. “She’s not exactly a beauty, is she?”

“Who cares when she has all that money? If I marry her I’ll keep her stomach full of

brats and let her live in the country out of my sight.”

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Antonia found her fingernails digging into her palms. She was being discussed