A Gentleman's Promise (6 page)

Chapter
Nine

Charlotte couldn’t wipe away the smile from her lips as she wa
tched Lord Helsing
stroll across the room
toward her. Tonight he wore a blue
,
superfine
,
long tailed coat with
a
pristine white shirt and waistcoat beneath. His neckcloth was tied perfectly and only accentuated his handsome visage
,
very much like his black satin knee-breeches that fit his masculine thighs
to perfection
. He looked regal and tall, a gentleman with a roguish grin that left her knees weak.

She swallowed as heat coursed throughout her body
,
rememberin
g what he’d done to her
the night before.
After
seeing him as a man
at her father’s
lake
all
those
y
ears ago, Charlotte
had often
wondered
what he’d be like when intimate with a woman. And now she knew and was anything but
disappointed with her findings.

As luck would have it
,
her
husband
was still
absent since
his departure
the previous evening,
and so tonight, Charlotte was here by herself. Of course, Amelia waltzed about the floor with Lord
Furrow
,
but no longer did she feel the need to impinge on the happily married
couple’s
time.
At least not as much as she’d formerly done.

For now
,
she had another m
ore
fascinating
companion
. Lord
Helsing.

“Good evening, Lady
Remmick
. May I say how beautiful you look this evening
?
”

The devilish twinkle in Mason’s gaze
made
goosebumps
rise
across her flesh. Charlotte tapped her fan against his arm and curtsied. “Good evening, my lord.”

He came and stood beside her
with
his hands behind his back before he leaned in and whispered against her ear, “May I also say how delicious you look, Charlotte. Good enough to eat
,
in fact.
”

Charlotte refused to blush and instead laughed to cover her nervousness. “Behave.” She met his gaze and the heat she read in his eyes made her breath hitch in her lungs.

“I don’t want to.”

How could just four simple words leave her aching with
need?
She had, after all only left his bed in the early hours of this morning. And yet, here she was, panting like she’d run about the block
in a tightly strung corset
. “Then we’re in agreement.
Although t
he thing is, my lord,” Charlotte said moving closer to his side to ensure privacy, “what are we to do about it?”

Mason
took two flutes of champagne from a passing footman and handed one
to Charlotte
. “Well that is yet to be decided. But I can imagine one thing we’d both enjoy immensely.”

Charlotte laughed and took a cooling sip of her drink. “Later?”

He
nodded and excitement thrummed in her veins. Were she not married
,
her urge to clasp his arm and declare to everyone present
that
he was hers would
ha
ve been beyond her control. Charlotte pushed away the depressing thought that he wasn’t
hers
and instead turned her attention to the guests at the ball.

The musicians
played an elegant piece of music
while the dancers moved gracefully abou
t the floor
,
partaking
in conversations before their dance
began
. Wax
candles in crystal
chandeliers ran the length of the room and basked everyone in a forgiving light,
giving the room an air of mystery.

“Would you care to dance, Charlotte?”

She smiled but shook her head. “You should dance with someone else. People will talk if you show too much
inclination
toward me.”

He
shrugged. “Let them talk.”

At her raised brow, he growled and d
owned
the last of his champagne before stepping away from her and moving about the room with casual elegance. Every step reminded her of a large cat sear
ch
ing for its next victim. Yet no one could
be a victim when it came to Mason
.
Never had she known a better man than Lord Helsing. And
after her marriage with James and
meeting
the friends he frequented the gambling dens with, she
wondered if she could count o
n her fingers how many
good men
she knew
,
in truth.

Mason
walked toward the card room and slipped out of Charlotte
’
s sight les
t
she make him dance with a green country girl ripe for the picking. He looked about the room and spying his friend,
George
Lord Mountbatten
playing piquet, joined him
.

“
Helsing
,” his friend said, clapping him on the shoulder
. “Good to see you.”
George
gestured to the gentleman sitting across from him. “You remember Sir
Phillip
Penry?”

Mason
nodded and sat. “Of
course,” he said as he watched
George
play for a moment before he won the hand with a flurry of
excitement
.

Sir Penry pushed back his chair and stood.
“Well that’s me
done
for the night. I’ll leave you gentleman to it
,
shall I?”

George
laughed and started to slide his win
nings toward
him
self
. “Come man, the nights still early. You never know, I may have a bad round and you could win all your blunt back.”

“Lord Mountbatten have a bad round
?
” Sir Penry
scoffed
. “That is something I
shall never see.”

Mason
laughed. “How many good men have you fleeced tonight, George?”

“A few,” h
is
oldest friend
said
,
sitting back and lighting a cigar. “What brings you in
here?
Are you running away from the
maiden debutante
s
that
are
nipping at
every gentleman’s
heels
hoping for a
marriage proposal
?
”

The thought of Charlotte and her anything but debutante
s
nipping assailed
Mason
’s mind and
he
shifted in his seat. “No. Not a debutante.”

George whistled and leaned forward. “Who is she? Do I know her?”

Mason
debated telling his most trusted friend for only a moment. George would never disclose his secret and bring censure down on Charlotte. “Lady
Remmick
,” he said, without ceremony. George’s shock was clearly visible before he composed himself with a gulp of brandy.

“She’s married.”

“I know
,”
Mason
said, stemming the urge to roll his eyes. “But...”

“What?”

“I
want her. I think I’ve wanted her a lot longer than I would admit to even myself.
”
Mason
rubbed his jaw and met George’s stunned g
aze. It wasn’t often he could confound
his friend, but on this occasion he had.

“Lord
Remmick
will never let her go. He’s not a man I’d wish to cross. You
’d
better be certain Lady
Remmick
is worth–”

“She is,” he said, cutting him
off. “You’ve seen the bastard. He whores around worse than the women walking the streets in
Drury Lane
. And it’s only a matter of time before he kills Charlotte either by disease or force.”

“He’s violent?”

Mason
nodded. “Yes. Often.
Charlotte s
ays
he lose
s
his temper over the
simplest
things and no matter what anyone says or do
es
,
there is no stopping his rage. He’s unbalanced
,
to say the least.”

“What are you going to do?” George asked
,
summoning a footman for more
drinks
.

“Charlotte wants to keep it a simple, secretive affair. But how can I let her go home
and share her with that bastard?
”

George shook his head and sighed. “You
’ll
have to. Until Lady
Remmick
is ready to leave his lordship and face the fall from grace she undoubtedly will
,
you can do nothing. My advice is to enjoy you
r
liaison. It’s been too long since you’ve had one.”

A shiver of unease rippled down
Mason
’
s back and looking over his shoulder
,
he spied Lord
Remmick
glaring at him from the gaming room door.

Mason
turned back to George and swore. “The bastard
’
s here.”

“I noticed. And what’s more, he’s coming this way.”

Mason
braced himself for the forthcoming confrontation with his lordship. His skin crawled when Charlotte’s husband slumped into the cha
i
r across from him and smirked.

“Gentlemen,” Lord
Remmick
said, the smell of spirits and sex
emanating
off his breath and clothes.

Mason
fought not to cringe. “Lord
Remmick
,” he drawled. “
To w
hat do we owe the pleasure?”

“Come
Lord
He
lsing. Or should I call you Mason
,
as my delightful whore of a wife does?”

Mason
noted George
visibly
stiffen
ed
at the insult to Lady
Remmick
. M
ason
shrugged lest he clasp the bastard about the neck and strangle him.
“You may call me whatever you choose. But call Lady
Remmick
, your wife should I remind you,
a whore once more and
I’ll make sure you cannot speak another word for a week.

Lord
Remmick
grinned and pulled out a container of snuff. “You owe me.”

Mason
raised his brow. “What for?”

“For fucking my wife
,
of course. You should know there is nothing that Charlotte does that I do not know about. And last night she left our home and did not return until the early hours of this morning. The way you watch her, pant at her flesh like a dog
i
n heat makes it easy for me to know it was you she visited.”

“Really?
”
Mason
took a sip of brandy and wondered who in Charlotte’s household was spying on her. Not to mention the thought that she could possibly be beaten later tonight by this
blight
on society made his blood boil. “Prove it.”

“Ah, but you see that I cannot do. Perhaps not this time at least. Even so, I want five-hundred pounds delivered to White
’
s in my name
by
tomorrow lunch.” Lord
Remmick
smirked. “And don’t delay.”

“I will not. Wherever Lady
Remmick
went last night it was not to me,”
Mason
lied. “So you may keep your requests for funds to yourself. Perhaps you ought to ask Lady
Remmick
’s herself for blunt if you’re so short. She was the one
,
after all
,
who brought all the money back into your family name.”