Wicked Proposition (9 page)

Going to her brother-in-law’s bed was bad
enough. Doing it for financial gain sealed her fate. As much as she
would like to deny the truth, she was now a whore. Tears brightened
her gaze as she looked at herself in the mirror, seeing the
shattered expression with grim acceptance.

The morning also brought with it the knowledge
she could not possibly continue this. She was not the type of woman
to use her body in such a way and not feel it eat at her soul.
Catherine knew what was at stake. She couldn’t do it, no matter how
much it was necessary. Lilly would understand, hopefully. Through
the course of the evening she had come to her senses.

Somehow she would seek out Edward Thornton
today. She prayed the old man helped her return to Ireland, as soon
as it could be arranged. The children worried, no doubt. She and
Brian would figure out how to keep the estate solvent. Her green
eyes filled with fury to envision what she would do if he dared try
take her brothers from her. She swallowed hard, reminded this man
meant her family ill.

No, she would not see Lord Iverleigh again after
last night. For that she was relieved. She cringed with
embarrassment at her behavior, glad he was not there. Still, the
encounter had been far more pleasant than she would have liked to
admit. Just remembering how tender he had been, and how thorough,
made her face flame.

There was no point in dwelling on him. He had
gotten what he wanted of her and left. The encounter had meant
nothing to him. She was just a pretty whore, soon forgotten. The
resentment she felt to be so used made her bristle despite the
deception she agreed to play.

It was ridiculous that she would be expected to
stay here. Lilly expected her to pose as a prostitute and wait for
him to return and seek out her favors. It was ridiculous, now that
she examined the plan. Lilly would have to find some other way to
reclaim her husband on her own. She wanted no part in it
anymore.

Catherine didn’t have much time to be off. She
was hearing movement within the house now. Suddenly a knock came at
the door. She was grateful to see it was only the timid maid. The
girl was named Milly. She arrived with a tray of tea and
scones.

Catherine was grateful her trunk had been
brought up the night before. The thought of putting the red dress
back on was repugnant to her. Burning it suddenly came to mind.

Milly rifled through her things to find fresh
under garments and helped her into one of her old gowns. She donned
a faded rose-colored silk that had seen better days. Catherine
refused to wear any of the other gowns Lilly purchased for her.
They only reminded her of her most recent sins.

Milly cinched the corset loosely and tied up the
back of her gown. The maid helped repair the damage done to her
hair, and pinned it up into a loose chignon. Catherine nibbled upon
a stale scone and sipped lukewarm tea. Milly made short work of
tidying up the room. She watched as Milly removed the sheets from
the rumpled bed, now a twisted disaster after the previous evening.
The maid eyed her speculatively as she removed the soiled sheets
and remade the bed. Catherine could not meet her gaze. The maid
took the sheets and left.

Catherine was moody and despondent as she
wondered how she would get out of the brothel unseen. She knew most
of its inhabitants were probably still fast asleep, and planned to
use that to her advantage.

Catherine had doubts she would be allowed to
leave without Clarice’s consent. Some nagging intuition told her
Clarice would refuse. She didn’t plan to wait around to ask. One
way or another, she was leaving here.

###

“Let us speak plainly, my lord,” Clarice said in
a crisp businesslike tone. “I have an investment in the girl’s
future. You must realize what I could make? Losing Catherine will
affect my profits considerably.”

“How much do you want to release her, Clarice?
Name a damned price and let us be done with this haggling,” Gabriel
said sharply. He knew the bawd was going to bleed him dry. “She has
been here one day. How much could she have possibly cost you in
that time?”

“I paid a pretty sum for her wardrobe alone, my
lord,” Clarice argued defensively, her painted eyes meeting his
boldly. “There are also my lost revenues to consider. Do you
realize how many requests for her I have already? Her absence will
no doubt anger many of my best clients.”

“How much do you want, Clarice?” Gabriel snapped
irritably once more. “Let us not quibble. I mean to take her with
me when I leave.”

“I think three thousand pounds most fair to
cover my loss of such a rare beauty, my lord.”

“I think you are robbing me blind, that is what
I think,” Gabriel growled and wrote out the bank draft nonetheless
and tossed it across her desk.

“I would have asked for less, Lord Iverleigh,”
Clarice replied defensively as she tapped a finger upon the bank
draft. “One of the maids brought her virginity to my attention.
This is a paltry amount for what I could have gotten for her. Lord
Dartmouth would have paid twice that. Beautiful virgins are in
short supply, if you must know.”

“I would have paid more, Clarice,” he said with
a disgusted sneer. “Let us be glad she kept such a secret to
herself.”

“Take her with my blessing, my lord. Do not be
surprised if her innocence is not the only secret she has.”

Gabriel more than wanted to ask her what she
meant by such a remark. He knew that would also cost him dearly. He
got up and left Clarice’s office. He was feeling like a fool for
agreeing to pay such a ridiculous price to release Catherine from
Clarice’s employ.

Thinking about Catherine softened his
expression. He realized he could not leave her there that morning.
Just watching her sleep and seeing how young and innocent she
appeared had done him in. Wasting no time, he dragged Clarice from
her bed to see to it first thing that morning. He chomped at the
bit to wait in the salon until the Madam joined him in her
office.

Gabriel doubted the girl would argue his buying
her debt from Clarice. A satisfied smile curved his lips to think
of how she could show her gratitude. Surely becoming his mistress
for a time was better than whoring for Clarice her whole life?

Nicholas was waiting for him in the foyer when
he arrived, sitting upon a padded bench, looking pensive and cagey
to be off.

“What business did you have with Clarice? Do not
tell me you found fault with her new girl,” Nicholas remarked dryly
with a tight smile.

“I paid the girl’s debt off, against my better
judgment. Let us hope I don’t come to regret this. She goes with
us,” Gabriel replied tightly. He didn’t see how Nicholas’s smile
faltered at the news. “I will go fetch the girl and meet you at the
coach.”

###

Catherine was preparing to pack what little she
could carry when the door opened. She jumped and dropped the lid of
her trunk. Her eyes widened in surprise to see Gabriel stride back
into the room. He was fully dressed once more, and looked quite
pleased with himself. Seeing once more how handsome he was made her
hands clench to her sides, annoyed by her reaction to him.

She felt the heat of those dark eyes as they
slid over her warmly. He shut the door behind him and leaned his
tall frame against the panel to watch her. A lazy smile played at
his lips.

“Lord Iverleigh, why have you returned?” she
asked casually. “I thought you had gone.”

“I just came from speaking with Clarice down
below,” Gabriel informed her smugly. “You are going with me, my
dear.”

“Go with you? What do you mean?” She saw his
satisfied expression, dread filling her.

“I paid off your debt to her,” Gabriel replied
with a trace of arrogance. “You are leaving with me, Catherine. You
could try to appear more pleased for what it cost me.”

Catherine’s mind was spinning out of control at
what he had done. She had just been about to flee the room when he
arrived. It appeared Gabriel had thwarted her intended escape from
the brothel.

Anger filled her gaze as she faced him. “You
paid off my debt to her? Why would you do that?”

“Come now, paying off your debt to me would be
far more pleasant for us both, don’t you agree?” he asked silkily
with a smirk. “A mere ‘thank you, Gabriel’ would suffice.”

“I thank you for it, of course,” Catherine said
quickly, aware Clarice had seen a way to line her pockets at her
expense. “I would ask what you intend for me now, my lord?”

“I see no reason for you not to become my
mistress until your debt to me is paid,” he answered her with a
roguish grin.

Catherine blushed furiously at his words. “How
much did you pay her?”

“Too much, but you are worth it, my sweet.”

Catherine glared at him fiercely. “How much do I
owe you now, my lord?”

“Three thousand pounds,” he replied with an
amused gleam in his eyes. “It appears we will enjoy a long and very
pleasurable association.”

Catherine was stunned into silence, unable to
comprehend Clarice’s despicable selling of her. This was not what
was agreed upon when they sought out the Madam’s assistance.

Catherine had agreed to enough encounters with
Lord Iverleigh to end his attachment to Mrs. Farrand while posing
as one of Clarice’s girls, but not this. Oh Lord, what was she to
do?

A scowl formed on her smooth forehead, despite
her telling herself to calm down. Anger filled her to know she had
no control over what had been decided.

“You realize, she has outright robbed you, my
lord?” she snapped irately, her green eyes narrowed in fury. “I do
not owe her even close to that amount!”

“I would have paid more, my dear,” Gabriel
informed her tersely, looking irritated. “You might at least appear
to show some gratitude, girl. You make me question my
niceness.”

“Gratitude, is that what you think I should
feel? Do you realize how long it will take me to pay off such a
debt?” she nearly shrieked and made a disgusted noise. “There is
nothing nice about what you did at all!”

“I look forward to the arrangement,” he teased
her unmercifully and winked wickedly. “Just think, if you apply
yourself as enthusiastically as you did last night, you might even
pay it off in both our lifetimes.”

Catherine could see the man was playing with her
now, and was sorely miffed. “Surely you cannot think of holding me
to this? Can we not work out some other arrangement, my lord?”

“No, I think not. I consider it as much an
investment as she did,” Gabriel countered mockingly, his dark eyes
filled with warmth.

Catherine forced herself to get her wits about
her. Her mind was racing at how she would get away from Gabriel. As
soon as it was feasible, she would flee Gabriel and find Edward
Thornton. The old man was her only hope now.

Lilly would no doubt be pleased she had ensnared
him so easily. But her sister had not foreseen this. Catherine was
in no position to argue it, or she proclaimed her own guilt. She
refused to rake herself over the coals just yet, for she had a
lifetime to atone for what she had done.

A frosty smile curved her lips. “It appears you
have bought yourself a mistress, my lord.”

Lilly pulled the bed sheet out of the valise.
She perused the bloodstain on it with a chuckle of amusement.
Satisfaction filled her to know her little sister was successful.
She stuffed the sheet back into the bag and returned to the front
door. Clarice’s maid waited on the porch outside.

“You will tell your mistress I will contact her
with other arrangements,” Lilly told the girl named Milly,
frowning. “You will remind her that she is to never to send anyone
to my home again.” Lilly tossed the bag back at her.

Milly nodded and clutched the valise to her
chest. She turned and ran back to the coach where Harry waited. The
maid feared Clarice’s wrath, knowing the valise should be filled
with money instead of the soiled sheets Lady Iverleigh returned to
her.

Lilly watched the maid leave and smirked at how
easily her plan had fallen into the place.

All she had to do is offer her little sister up
to Gabriel, and he took the bait like a bee to honey. He wasted no
time in taking Catherine with him that morning, according to the
maid. Things had worked out better than she could have ever
dreamed. Time was of the essence now. She applauded her little
sister. Who would have thought the little twit had it in her?

Lilly thought of Catherine’s horror to know she
would be flat upon her back for as long as it took to secure
Gabriel’s heir, and smiled in delight. Putting Catherine up at the
brothel had been a risk Lilly was willing to take, knowing her
husband frequented the establishment weekly.

Lilly knew to expect to hear from Catherine,
knowing her little sister would be panicking right about now. A
pity she planned to ignore her for a time. Her sister would be at
Gabriel’s mercy. With luck, the rest of her plans would fall into
place as well.

Lilly knew time was running out, just like the
mantle clock in the foyer that ticked to remind her. She refused to
consider all she stood to lose if Catherine didn’t succeed.

###

Nicholas remained quiet as he glanced between
Catherine and Gabriel. He frowned by the girl’s icy demeanor. The
girl did not appear happy to be leaving with them. Catherine could
get no farther away from Gabriel on the opposite seat. She stared
gloomily out the window, ignoring her new benefactor. More telling
was the clenched, white-knuckled hand in the girl’s lap. It was
clear she was upset to be going with him now.

Gabriel appeared to ignore the sulking girl for
the moment. He grinned at Nicholas’s subdued manner.

“I don’t think I have ever known you to be so
quiet after a night at Clarice’s. I saw your three companions on my
way to Clarice’s office. How do you do it, my friend?”