Antonia's Bargain (15 page)

Aunt Flora nudged her arm and guided her around a nursemaid pushing a baby

carriage. “You seem a little distracted today, my love. Are you sure you are quite well?”

“I am in perfect health, dear Aunt, and happy to be out in this fresh spring air.”

Flora frowned. “You should take care who hears you express such unhealthy views.

Everyone knows that fresh air is extremely dangerous.”

Antonia bit back a smile as her cousin Deborah ran up with a handful of daisies

cupped in her palm. Her face was flushed, her bonnet askew.

“Oh, do help me pick some more, Antonia. We can make necklaces.”

“Really, Deborah,” Flora complained, “You are too old to make daisy chains and

you will get your skirt and slippers muddy.”

Ignoring Flora’s comments, Antonia linked hands with Deb and headed for the

grassy bank.

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After completing several necklaces and bracelets to Deb’s satisfaction, Antonia

looked up to find her aunt in conversation with Gideon’s father. She dusted off her skirt

and went to join them. The viscount gave her an intimate smile which reminded her of

Gideon at his most devious.

“Good morning, Miss Maxwell. I was just informing your aunt of the splendid

impression you made on my son last night.” He nodded jovially at Flora. “In fact, he

actually came to see me this morning just to tell me how charming you were.”

Antonia felt a blush steal over her cheeks. She hoped the viscount had no idea

exactly how charming she had been to his son.

“Thank you, my lord. Lord Harcourt is an excellent dancer and a witty

conversationalist.”

The viscount nudged her with his cane. “And a fine-looking man, wouldn’t you

say? Your children would be both spirited and handsome.”

She tried to look demure. “Your son didn’t mention his desire for children, sir. We

only had the one dance.”

He drew her away from her aunt and began to walk along the daffodil-lined path,

his expression sober. “Ah, but that’s the main reason he wishes to marry so quickly, my

dear. His chief desire is to safeguard the future of our illustrious family. He must have a

son. Nothing is more important than that.”

Antonia shivered as if the sun had passed behind a cloud. Something in the

viscount’s intense expression reminded her of her father. The viscount wanted an heir

and he expected Gideon to provide him with one. Her vision of an uncomplicated

future with Gideon crumbled in the dust. If he truly wanted an heir, no amount of

money would make that up to him.

He patted her gloved hand. “I understand that my son intends to ask for your hand

in marriage. I think he would make you a complacent husband.” He lowered his voice.

“And may I suggest you ignore any rumors which suggest that Gideon’s first wife

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killed herself because she couldn’t bear to carry his child? That woman was mentally

unstable and extremely selfish. She would have done anything to deprive him of a son.”

She concentrated on walking and pulling air into her suddenly constricted lungs. It

seemed that in her panicked rush to decide her own future she’d chosen to ignore the

truth. Gideon sounded just as ruthless as her father. Had he driven his pregnant wife to

kill herself because he didn’t consider her a fit mother for his all important heir? She

realized the viscount was still speaking and automatically held out her hand as he made

his adieus.

The springlike beauty of the park held no more appeal for her. She had to prevent

Gideon from meeting with her cousin to ask for her hand in marriage. She could no

longer put off asking him about his wife’s death either. Depending on his response, she

could decide whether to propose her marriage bargain to him or run back to Wales as

fast as she could. She stopped dead in the center of the path as the sensation of being

trapped intensified. It was imperative to write him a note telling him not to call on her

cousin and to ask him to meet her at Madame Desiree’s that night instead.

Turning to her aunt, she pressed her trembling hand to her brow. “I think you are

right. All this fresh air is giving me a headache. Can we go home?”

There was a distinctly different feel to the atmosphere at Madame Desiree’s on a

Tuesday night. Only a few of the massive candelabras were lit, leaving most of the

rooms in a deep shadowy gloom. As Antonia progressed up the stairs, she noticed most

of the clientele were men. As a result the place felt darker and less welcoming. There

was no sign of Madame Desiree.

She waited in the main salon having sent a servant to ascertain Gideon’s

whereabouts. A group of rowdy young men entered the salon, two women in their

midst. The women were dressed in loud, clashing garments which reminded her of the

brothel Gideon had taken her to rather than the sleek elegance she normally associated

with Madame Desiree’s.

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Their shrieking and high-pitched giggling began to grate on her already highly

strung nerves. She moved away from the fireplace and headed for the opposite end of

the room. As she passed by, one of the women sank onto a couch and opened her legs

in coarse invitation.

“Ooh, pretty boy, come and spend some time with me.”

Antonia ignored the offer and concentrated her attention on the door. Another man

fell on top of the woman and moved his hips in crude, urgent thrusts, roared on by the

encouragement of the young bucks. Antonia strode toward the door. She would wait

for Gideon in the hall downstairs.

A hand grasped her elbow. She tried to shake it off until she realized it was Peter

Howard.

“Mr. Smith. What are you doing here?”

Antonia felt herself blush. The last time she’d seen Peter he’d been naked, his

tongue flicking between her legs as he made her come.

“I was supposed to meet Gideon. Is he here?”

“He’s upstairs.” Peter pulled her into the corridor. “Are you sure he told you to

come here tonight?” He glanced at the tangle of skirts and breeches in the salon.

“Tuesdays are usually for men only.”

Before she could reply, a shriek from the woman at the bottom of the pile of bodies

on the couch drew her attention back to the main salon. The woman fell to the floor and

lost her wig to reveal short cropped hair. She giggled and kicked her legs in the air,

dislodging her petticoats to display hairy legs and the unmistakable sight of an aroused

male member. Antonia studied the strange sight until she abruptly looked away. Peter

continued to stare at her a faint smile on his lips.

“That woman is a man!” she hissed.

He smiled. “That is why I am surprised Gideon agreed to meet you here. This is

Madame Desiree’s attempt to recreate a Molly house where gentleman of a particular

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persuasion can dress up as women and find other gentlemen who appreciate them. As I

said, it’s not a suitable place for a lady. Come along, I’ll take you to him.”

Antonia followed Peter up yet another flight of stairs, trying to ignore the

increasing number of men dressed up as women. An awful thought struck her as Peter

knocked on one of the doors. Did Gideon dress up too?

She let out a breath as she spied him sitting at a card table, dressed with his usual

care in a brown coat, cream waistcoat and buff breeches. He acknowledged her with a

quick nod and returned to his game. One of the other players had a “woman” sitting on

his knee. His hand was hidden beneath her pink taffeta skirt.

She took the opportunity to study the false woman beneath her lowered lashes.

Even the obscene amount of badly applied face paint couldn’t quite disguise the

shadow of the man’s beard. Why would any man want to kiss someone like that?

Antonia allowed Peter to bring her a glass of wine as she waited for Gideon to

finish his game. Despite the strangeness of her surroundings, the lull gave her a chance

to work on her speech to Gideon.

Eventually, he got up and strolled toward her. After a cheerful wave, Peter took his

place at the table. Gideon bowed. “Is there something wrong?”

His tone was cool, his face a bland mask. A frisson of fear laced with rage settled

uneasily in her belly. “I sent you a note.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I received it. I wrongly assumed that you asked me not to

visit your cousin because you were ill.” His gaze swept her from head to toe. “That does

not appear to be the case.”

“Can we talk privately?”

He studied her for a long moment. “If that is what you wish.” He gestured at one of

the “women”. “Are you sure that you don’t want to stay here and dress up for me? It

might be amusing.”

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She took a step closer until she had to look up into his face. Anger shook through

her in juddering waves. “Why? Would it make it easier for you to fuck me and get me

with child if you thought I was a man dressed up as a woman?”

His expression hardened. “What in God’s name are you talking about?”

He led her out of the room and into one of the vacant ones opposite. Antonia shut

the door firmly behind her and studied him.

“I can’t marry you, Gideon.”

He raised one eyebrow. “I don’t believe I’ve asked you to.”

She balled her hands into fists. “That’s why I told you not to call today. I had to

speak to you before you spoke to my cousin.”

He walked across to the fireplace and paused in front of it. “What exactly did you

want to say to me?”

Her fingers itched to slap the faint trace of amusement from his face. “Is it true that

your wife was pregnant when she died?”

His expression sharpened. “Yes. Who told you that?”

“It’s common knowledge.”

He watched her, one arm resting on the mantelpiece. “So?”

She gathered the shreds of her composure. “My mother was pregnant when she

killed herself. She endured ten pregnancies because my father wanted a male heir.”

“Ah, you think I am like your father.”

“You seem to share his sexual tastes.” She took a deep breath. “I thought to propose

a bargain to you but it seems I was misinformed. I refuse to be used to breed a new

dynasty of Harcourts with another man who hates to make love to a woman.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I saw you, Gideon. I saw you with Peter. You
wanted
me to see you.”

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“For God’s sake, I wanted you to see what—” He took a step toward her, his eyes

blazing with a cold, icy fire. She held out a hand as if she could ward him off and he

stopped.

“I see it now. After you saw me with Peter, you thought you could persuade me to

marry you and then leave you alone, didn’t you? Did you let me inside you to gain my

trust?” His mouth curved into a dismissive smile. “You never wanted a real sexual

relationship with a man, did you?”

He moved back and leaned against the mantelpiece to study her. “Of course, in

exchange for your silence about my male lovers I’d get another wife who despised me

and refused me her bed.” Gideon began to laugh, the sound harsh. “You are just like

Caroline. Blackmail is never pretty whatever you choose to call it.”

“That’s not true!”

His answering sneer was unmistakable. Antonia strode up to him and slapped his

face. When she tried to repeat the action, his hand shot out and caught her wrist.

Her voice shook with the effort not to cry. “I’m going home now. I won’t be back.”

“Run away then, little man.”

He kissed her, his tongue probing between her lips in an intimate and possessive

exploration. She forced herself to pull away before she succumbed to the desperate

need to kiss him back.

He brushed her swollen lower lip with the tip of his finger. “What’s upsetting you

most, Antonia, the fact that I won’t agree to your plans or the fact that you still want me

anyway?”

Without another word, she ran for the door, leaving him alone in the center of the

room.

Gideon touched his bruised cheek as the door slammed behind Antonia. Strange

how his life seemed to be repeating itself. He poured himself a large glass of brandy

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amazed that his fingers were still steady. Caroline had blackmailed him into staying

married to her after threatening to expose his penchant for male lovers. In return for her

silence he’d been forced to watch her fornicate her way through the
ton
and every

rough working man she could get her hands on.

He wasn’t prepared to make such a bargain again. He took a cigar out of his case

and lit it, allowing the smoke to soothe his nerves. Antonia was an incredibly passionate

woman. Did she really believe she’d be content in a marriage without proper sex? If he

married her under those circumstances he could guarantee she would be looking for a

lover within a month.

He blew out a smoke ring. And how had she become to believe that he only slept

with men? She must know in her heart that he was more than capable of satisfying a

woman. God, yesterday she’d trusted him enough to let him fuck her arse…

He tossed back half of the brandy. What the hell had he been thinking? To fall in

love with a woman after an acquaintance of only a few weeks? His half-emptied glass