The Temptation of Laura (12 page)

The insinuation hung heavy in the air and Laura slowly faced her.

Miss Danes stood and took Stephanie’s hand. The two women stood side by side. “Neither was Stephanie always a dresser. Stephanie is my best friend and was once my lady’s maid before we left my parents’ home so I could pursue my stage career. We’d do anything for each other, as I gather you would for your friend.”

Laura looked from their joined hands to Monica’s face. “What does any of this have to do with my friendship with Bette?”

“Adam can make you a star, Laura. You have to believe this is possible. Can you honestly tell me your friend would rather you continue to sell from your basket than take an opportunity such as this?”

“Of course not. But she is so unwell.” Tears burned Laura’s eyes. “I have to do what is guaranteed. Selling these wares is a guaranteed income. An income I don’t have to lay with any man for.”

“I understand that, but Adam has asked me to help teach you your lines in his absence. If for any reason he is called away or finds work, he would like me to step in and help. Between the three of us—”

“Between the three of us?” Laura slipped her hand from the door handle and strode back into the room. “Why do I feel as though I’m being duped? That this is some sort of ruse?”

“Because you do not trust Adam or me. Why should you?” She looked at Stephanie. “Show her.”

Stephanie put her hands on the tiny buttons at the back of Miss Danes’s dress and one by one popped them open. She turned her back to Laura.

“I knew Malcolm Baxter once upon a time too.”

The scars that marred the actress’s otherwise creamy-white skin were old, but deep. The bumpy lacerations shone pink under the muted light of the room, raised and angry at the edges. They could’ve been made by a knife, a belt buckle . . .

“I don’t know what to say.” Laura’s heart beat fast.

Miss Danes turned, her blue eyes ablaze with determination. “This is what Malcolm did to me as his sweetheart. God only knows how he treats the women who make him rich. I hate him, Laura. He duped me into believing him a gentleman, as he did my parents. Now I’m free of both him and a mother and father who refused to hear a bad word about it.”

Laura lifted a hand to her throat. “Your parents believed Malcolm over you? Didn’t you show them what he did?”

Miss Danes gave a wry smile. “Oh, he did this after I left him, not before.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“No, never say sorry. You say you’ll do anything to show the likes of that man and anyone else who has said you’re worthless, you are worth far, far more than they could ever imagine. That’s why I want to help you and why you should want to help yourself.”

Stephanie silently buttoned Monica’s dress as Laura’s heart beat out of control. “Does Adam know? About Malcolm?”

The delicate skin at Miss Danes’s neck shifted as she swallowed. “No, and he never will. Our inability to trust is understandable, and you are a savvy girl to question me, Adam, and anyone else who offers a hand of kindness. But . . .” Her eyes softened. “Sometimes a person comes along and they’re real. They’re real and you must take what they offer.” She smiled. “Will you take what Adam and I are offering? Please?”

Laura paced from one end of Adam’s drawing room to the next. He’d disappeared upstairs to do goodness knows what, leaving her alone to wait for Monica to arrive. Having taken a leap of faith and agreeing to play Lucinda the moment Monica stripped herself bare, emotionally as well as physically, Laura was determined to try her hardest to make Adam’s belief in her worthwhile.

She refused to be added to the number of women who’d been battered and bruised . . . even murdered, without any opportunity of escape. Adam had given Laura a chance out of the life she’d always known and today, the three of them would begin their first reading together. She glanced across at Bette, where she lay on the settee, covered with a blanket. Her friend’s eyes were narrowed as she watched her.

Laura frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re wearing a hole in the rug.” Bette nodded toward the seat beside her. “Come and sit. You’ve got nothing to worry about. You’ll show Adam and this Monica woman what you’re made of. Make no mistake about it.”

Laura perched on the edge of the armchair. “I hope so.”

“So you say Monica Danes had a proper relationship with Baxter? That they were lovers?”

Laura nodded. “She comes from a middle-class family. The type I imagine Baxter likes to think he belongs with.”

“Did she know what he really was while they were courting? That he’s nothing but a damn pimp working his whores to the bone?”

Laura shook her head. “Not at first. She was in love with him. He promised her the world. God only knows how the piece of scum blindsided her parents, but he clearly did. He promised her she could act and pursue her dreams and he wouldn’t stop her. What she didn’t know was how he earned his money.”

Bette inhaled a long breath. “I suppose when she found out, he wouldn’t let her go without a fight.”

“Exactly.” Admiration for Monica shot adrenaline into Laura’s blood. “But she fought back and eventually got free. She’s made her success regardless. I admire her for that. I think she could be a good person to know and befriend.”

“Then what is it that has you pacing the room like a caged tiger?”

“Nerves, I suppose.” Laura sighed. “I just worry I’ll let Adam down after everything he’s risking.”

“The man isn’t risking anything. He wants you because you fit what he had in mind for his play. I’m a good judge of character, and that man ain’t got no ulterior motive. He’s one of the good ones.”

“What if I’m nothing like he imagines me to be?” Laura glanced toward the drawing-room door. “What if I mess up every line? Or worse, don’t remember a single word?”

“You’re taking the first step. That’s all that matters. For all we know, this could be the start of the rest of your life. If you haven’t learned anything over these past weeks I’ve been ill, you should’ve learned how quickly our time can come to be with Him upstairs. He doesn’t always give us a warning.”

Laura clasped Bette’s bony hand. “I’ve also learned how to be strong. Like you. I’m doing this for us both. Don’t think I’m giving up on a better life when you’re fighting this pneumonia with everything you’ve got.”

Bette gave a wry smile. “That I am, but I wish God would give me a break every now and then. There’s only so much a woman can take.”

Laura gently squeezed her fingers. “You’re looking better today than you have for the past two weeks. Adam was right. Being here, in a warm house, and getting some proper food has worked wonders.” She drew a long breath. “Which is why I’m going to do my damnedest to be everything he wants me to be in this play. It’s the best way I can thank him for having us here.”

“And what about what’s going on inside that heart of yours?”

Laura opened her mouth to deny any growing care toward Adam, then slumped her shoulders. If she did, Bette would see straight through her. She swallowed. “I like him. More than I should.”

Bette smiled. “Who says how much you should like him? The man is as handsome as they come and generous to a fault, and if what I hear is true, he sets the Bath stage alight. What’s not to love?”

Laura stared. “Who said anything about love?”

Bette grinned. “You’re smitten. I see it every time you look at the fellow. Don’t run and hide from it. Embrace it. When have you ever taken such a shine to a man before, eh?”

Despite her lingering fear of the unknown, the excitement shining in Bette’s eyes swelled Laura’s heart. She laughed. “I haven’t.”

“Well, then. Just take each day as it comes.”

Laura dropped Bette’s hand and stood. “You and I both know there can be no future with him. We’re from entirely different places. It’s attraction, and there’s a good chance that man wants me in his bed . . .” She smiled sheepishly. “And God only knows I’m starting to want to be in there with him.”

They both burst into laughter just as the knocker on the front door sounded. Their laughter halted and Laura’s heart leaped into her throat. “Oh, God. That must be Miss Danes.”

“Then help me sit up. I don’t want some grand actress seeing me slumped on the settee like I’m ready for the knacker’s yard.”

Laura plumped the cushions and pushed them securely behind Bette’s back. She’d just straightened the blanket across her knees when the drawing-room door opened and Monica entered with Adam following close behind. She smiled widely as she glided into the room. “There she is. The star of the show.”

Returning her smile, Laura walked into Monica’s outstretched arms and they hugged. When Laura pulled back, the genuine fondness in the actress’s eyes settled Laura’s nerves—a little. Was this something she’d have to get used to from now on? People wanting to help her rather than take from her?

Monica looked to the settee and eased her hand from Laura’s to approach Bette. “And you must be our audience for the day. Bette, isn’t it? Adam has told me how poorly you’ve been.”

Laura stood stunned in silence as Monica sat in the armchair opposite Bette and took her hand.

“Isn’t she wonderful?” The warm whisper of Adam’s breath across Laura’s ear sent a tremor through her.

She turned. His face was inches from hers. The subtle scent of man hovered beneath her nostrils and she swallowed the urge to kiss him. She forced a smile. “Monica’s more than wonderful. She’s genuine. Something I’m learning may actually exist outside of Bette and me.”

“More than that, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to help my play come to fruition.”

Laura looked deeply into his eyes. “As am I. I’m finally starting to believe this is possible. That I can turn my back on my old life and start anew.”

“Good.” His gaze wandered over her face. “Because you and Bette are more than welcome to stay here as long as you want. I want to keep you safe and happy. Help Bette get well again.”

Her body heated under his heavy-lidded stare. God, how she longed to kiss him. The desire darkening his eyes to the color of melted chocolate couldn’t be mistaken. “Laura—”

“When you two have quite finished staring into each other’s eyes, shall we get started?” Monica’s laughter drifted across the room.

Laura immediately stepped back.

Adam grinned and faced Monica. “Lord, you certainly know how to spoil a moment. How do you know we hadn’t already started and I wasn’t attempting to seduce Lucinda with the utmost charm and cunning?”

Monica raised her eyebrows. “Because that was Laura standing there giving you as good back. Lucinda would’ve been blushing like a damsel.”

Forcing a laugh, Laura released her held breath and went to stand beside Monica. Bette watched Monica with a look of uncertainty and it brought Laura back down to earth with a bump. She couldn’t get carried away. Her and Bette’s lives had been a long trek of disappointment and lessons learned. Rushing headlong into an affair with Adam or believing Monica’s motives were solely founded in her hatred of Malcolm would be hasty and foolish.

If she lost her head—or heart—too soon, she and Bette would be right back where they started. With no money, home, or person to rely on other than each other. She pulled back her shoulders. Over her dead body would she and Bette go backward.

Adam clapped his hands. “Right. Shall we get started?” He moved across the room to his writing desk and picked up two thin piles of paper. He handed one to Monica. “I’ve copied out the first scene for you. I thought it best we learn everything in chronological order, regardless of whether or not you’re in the scene, Laura.” He faced her. “That way, you’ll know exactly what is happening and why, throughout the entire play.”

She nodded through the barrage of nerves bouncing around inside her.

“I will spend every minute with you over the next three days. We will go over and over your lines until I have to leave for this blasted audition in Bristol. While I am away”—Adam cast a brief smile at Monica—“Monica has agreed to sit with you as much as possible, at the theater and here, in between you and her working. Does that sound like a suitable plan?”

Laura fought the urge to flee the room. The entire notion of what she was taking on was overwhelming. She nodded. She could do this. “Of course.”

“Good. Then let’s get started.” He snapped the papers in his hand. “Act one, scene one. The hero, me, is walking along the Thames. It is nearing two in the morning and he is waiting for an accomplice who will help him break into a tavern that is locked up for the night. The surprise is that his accomplice is a woman.” He grinned at Laura. “You. Or rather, Lucinda.”

Laura frowned as she considered this. “But didn’t Monica say Lucinda is the type to blush? I hardly think a woman like that would be willing to help a man break into—”

Monica raised her hand, cutting off Laura’s words. “She blushes when she is in the hero’s arms. When he is looking to ravish her. In every other aspect of her life, she is entirely in control. Do you see?”

Laura cursed the way her stomach knotted. She glanced in turn at each person in the room. Did she see? Monica had just described Laura. She forced a smile. “I see perfectly.”

Adam grinned. “Fabulous. I will start and Monica will speak your lines. Then we will try a scene together once you have memorized a few words at a time.”

Monica moved to stand opposite Adam and they began. Laura risked a glance at Bette. The knowing way Bette wiggled her eyebrows and smirked set Laura’s cheeks to burning as if her friend held a flame to them. Clearly, Bette found it amusing Adam had written a play about the woman now falling in love with him.

Laura poked her tongue at Bette and returned her concentration to Adam and Monica. Bette sniggered quietly and Laura scowled. Sometimes Bette could be a royal pain in the ass.

 

Two hours later, Adam could barely contain his excitement as he followed Monica from the drawing room and closed the door. They walked to the front door. Laura was reacting to the task of learning her lines and direction with more aplomb than he could have imagined. The woman was phenomenal. Whatever challenge was set before her, she conquered. His heart pounded and his attraction soared. She was a new and exciting inspiration.

He stepped ahead of Monica to open the door. The bright October sunshine flooded the hallway, echoing his mood. “So, what do you think?”

Monica smiled and cupped his jaw in her hand. “I think you were one hundred percent right. She’s perfect.”

He grinned. “I have never been so sure about anything in my life. You know I could not do this without you?”

“Of course you could, but I am more than happy to help. This play deserves to be seen by thousands, and if I can have a small part in making that happen, all the better.”

“Thank you.” He pressed a brief kiss to her cheek.

She glanced toward the drawing room. “So, you really intend on letting Laura and Bette live here?”

His smile slipped. “For now, yes.”

She frowned. “For now?”

“My money’s running out at a rate of a hundred knots.” He blew out a breath as frustration wound into a tight ball behind his ribcage. “The lack of funds does not concern me as much as ensuring Laura does not feel tied to one thing or person. The minute she thinks I want her here for anything other than the play, she will be gone.”

“Why would you think that?”

Adam sighed. “There is a distance in her. She is keeping me at arm’s length, and now that I know what she did before she worked at the Royal, I understand it. The last thing I want to do is frighten her away.”

Monica smiled. “So I assume what she fears is true? You want her for more than the play?”

Adam’s groin tightened with desire and he smiled. “I have never met anyone like her.”

“And if it was anyone else, I would be happy for you, but it is one thing to work with a woman like Laura, quite another to fall in love with her.” She squeezed his hand. “She is different than you, Adam. She has undoubtedly seen things you could not possibly imagine. You must not crowd her.”

Irritation skittered along the surface of his skin and he pulled his arm from her grasp. “I will not.”

“Good. Because it is important she stays here with you. For as long as possible.”

The tension in her grip and the urgency in her voice alerted Adam to Monica’s rare distress. He frowned. “What is it? What makes you say that?”

Her cheeks flushed and she glanced along the hallway once more. “I am just saying Laura deserves this opportunity. She is a nice girl. This could be the same chance for her that I had.” She met his eyes. “You supported me and requested nothing but my hard work, in return.” Her eyes darkened. “As opposed to the way Annabel Harvard supported you, in exchange for you being at her beck and call. You have made a break from her and, Lord knows, I do not want you to go back.” She shook her head, her shoulders slumping. “Laura deserves this escape too. So does Bette. Between us, we need to find a way to ensure that happens.”

Guilt scratched like a hundred knife tips in Adam’s throat. He was going to Bristol for an audition, but what would Monica say if she knew he had also arranged to see Annabel again? Heat seared his cheeks and he opened his mouth to confess he planned to meet Annabel, but Monica moved toward the door.