Never Run From Love (Kellington Book Four) (11 page)

“’Tis of no significance.  And my name is Hal.”

“It would be inappropriate for me to call you that.”

“Of all the inappropriate things you have done, are
doing and no doubt shall do in the future, calling me Hal is by far the most
minor transgression.  Did you bring a disguise?  There are likely to be any
number of lords there tonight.  It wouldn’t do to be recognized.”

“I have a hood, which will shield me from those who
do not know me well, but allow me to be recognized by the women I’ve come to
see.”

“I see you have some sense, Melanie, although a hood
will do nothing to disguise your very distinctive eyes.”

“It is Miss Sutton, my lord.”

“And I am Hal,” he said, as he sat back and watched
her pull the hood up over her magnificent hair.  He wondered if it was as soft
as it looked.  The concept of her mahogany locks against white silk sheets was
intriguing.  He wondered if her nipples were a light brown or a deep rose. 

She was wearing a grey gown, which she probably
imagined would help her blend into the surroundings, but in fact would only call
attention to her.  The whores would be wearing colorful silks and satins, or
barely clad in dressing gowns.  None would be caught dead in grey.  In
addition, Melanie had the grace and demeanor of a lady and an enviable figure. 
She would outshine anyone, grey gown or no.

Then he remembered her stockings.  And he asked
without thinking, “May I see your stockings?”

Her look was one of shock along with some other
emotion.  Hal very much wanted to know what it was.

“My lord, that is a very improper question.”

“Forgive me.  I shall rephrase.  Miss Sutton, pray
do me the honor of showing me your ankles.”

“I will do no such thing.”

“That does me great sorrow.  I simply wished to know
whether you still wear embroidered stockings.”

This time she looked shocked and more than a little
wary.  “How would you know what my stockings look like?”

“So you are wearing them,” said Hal with a grin.  “I
would love to see them, just to confirm that fact.”  When she did nothing more
than pull her hem down further, he took mercy on her.  “I saw you once, a few
weeks ago.  You were with Mrs. Seton’s group, singing some sort of hymn.  You’d
bent to tie your shoes, and I caught a glimpse of your stockings.”

Mel looked at him, and blinked slowly.  “We were
near Mr. White’s pawn brokerage.  You were by yourself.”

“Yes,” said Hal, absurdly pleased that she’d noticed
him and remembered.  “I was helping my brother Arthur with a task.  I remember
wondering how a reformer could afford such expensive stockings.  And before you
leap to conclusions about how I know the price of such finery, I should remind
you I have a sister who likes to shop.”

“And you know about embroidered stockings from her?”
asked Mel dubiously.

He grinned again.  “No.  I have other sources, but
my sister does love to shop.”  He looked out the window as the carriage drew to
a halt.  “I told our coachman to stop down the block from Madame Thurmond’s. 
It wouldn’t do to advertise our presence, especially since I do not believe she
would look kindly on anyone trying to lure away her girls.”

He stepped down from the carriage, then reached in
to Mel.  As she placed her hand in his, he had the oddest sensation, like a
shock to the system.  She must have felt it, too, because she looked into his
eyes as they made contact.  For a moment, time stood still.  For a moment, it
was like an earlier age, when he hadn’t been jaded to polite contact with
eligible females.

But an eligible female she was, so he moved away
from her as soon as she had both feet on the ground.  “I believe,” he said, as
he cleared his throat, “that we can access the alley behind Madame Thurmond’s
if we walk between these buildings.”

“You would be the expert.”

“I shall take that as a compliment to my sense of
direction, as I am sure it was meant.  At what time do you expect to meet up
with these, uh, ladies?”

“I didn’t set up an appointment, but the last time I
was here, they were in the alley after their supper.  Just as they appear to be
now.”

As they approached the service entrance of Madame
Thurmond’s establishment, there were several people milling around outside. 
Hal recognized a few of the stable lads, as well as three or four of the large
men who kept order inside the brothel.  There were also a few prostitutes
having a smoke and laughing with the men.  He recognized most of them, and had
employed several.

This was going to be an awkward encounter.

But the intrepid Melanie Sutton had no such
reservations.  She approached the group, lowered her hood and turned her
blazing smile on the crowd.  She was met with confused looks and suspicion. 
She forged onward nonetheless.  Hal held back and kept to the shadows.

“Permit me to introduce myself.  I am Melanie Sutton
and I’m here on a task for the Friends Society of Philadelphia.”

“The wot?” asked a stable lad digging a finger in his
ear with enthusiasm.

“The Friends Society of Philadelphia.  You might
know them as the Quakers.”

“You a preacher of some sort?” asked a woman wearing
a silk dressing gown and little else, despite the cold.

“No.  I just wanted to speak to you about
opportunities,” said Melanie.

“Well, as long as you got coin I got an opportunity
for you and yer friend in the shadows,” said the dressing gown woman.

As the onlookers turned to look his way, Hal
reluctantly stepped out. 

“Oi!” said the dressing gown woman.  “It’s Lord
‘Al.  If I’d knowed you was with ‘im, miss, I wouldn’t a kep’ you talkin’ so
long.  Let’s the three of us get inside.”

Hal was afraid something like that might happen. 
The woman in the dressing gown was a girl named Terry, whom he’d patronized
several times over the past few months, including his recent night out with
Francis.  He hardly thought she was looking for salvation.

“Is this lady a friend of yours, Lord Henry?” asked
Melanie in a tone that made him think she already knew the answer.

“’Lady!’” snorted Terry.  “Ain’t never been called
that before except for a nob who liked to pretend I was ‘is best friend’s
wife. 

“I’m sure that is an interesting tale best left
untold,” said Hal.  “Thank you for the offer, Terry, but I’m afraid my friend
and I aren’t here to solicit your services.”

“Then why are you here, Lord Hal?”

Hal turned to see the arrival of Aurelia Thurmond,
flanked as she often was by two of her burly servants.  Madame Thurmond was in
her middle years, her black hair flecked with grey, including a shock of it at
her temples.  She didn’t dress with the flamboyance of the typical madame. 
Tonight she was wearing a purple silk evening gown that might have been worn by
a society matron at the opera.  Hal didn’t know how much Madame Thurmond earned
from her business, but he suspected it was a healthy living.

Her brothel was one of the more elegant in London. 
It was clean and featured girls who, for the most part, were free from the
opium addiction so common among those in their trade.  And it charged a premium
for services. 

Madame Thurmond herself was soft-spoken and
maintained almost a clinical detachment from the services her business
offered.  She might as well have been a solicitor drawing up business contracts
for all the emotion she displayed to her clients.

That wasn’t to say she always remained so
unruffled.  But her infrequent bouts of temper were rarely witnessed by
clients.  If a girl displeased her, such as being rude to a client or pocketing
too much of the payment she received, she was simply dismissed and never seen
at the brothel again. 

Occasionally, Hal wondered where they went.  He’d
known a few girls who’d suddenly left Madame Thurmond’s.  One had been offered
a long-term position as a banker’s mistress.  He’d heard another had gained
employment at a rival brothel.  A third girl was rumored to have gone back home
to Northumberland.  Hal wasn’t sure if he believed that one.  More likely,
she’d simply disappeared into the vast London stews.

Madame Thurmond was rumored to have a business
partner, though no one had ever seen him.  But it was thought that her partner
was the one who kept the Watch away from her house and who ensured she didn’t
lose her business to any of the crime syndicates that were always looking to
expand.

Quite frankly, Hal had never given any of it much
thought.  When he was at the brothel, he exchanged pleasantries with Madame
Thurmond and told her when he wanted to move on to a new girl.  She was always polite,
but never personal.

But as she approached Melanie, Hal could tell that
Aurelia Thurmond was not pleased with the disruption to her business.  It was
still early and the girls had all been on a break, but he was sure she wouldn’t
take kindly to suggestions that her employees forsake their careers and move to
the American frontier.  He knew she personally wouldn’t resort to violence, but
wasn’t sure what her two bodyguards would do.  He moved closer to Melanie,
inserting himself between her and the two men.

The move – and likely its meaning – was not lost on
Madame Thurmond.

“Good evening, Lord Henry.  It is a pleasure as
always to see you,” she said with a smile that didn’t make it to her eyes.  But
then, hers rarely did.  “I do not believe I have met your friend.”

Against his better judgment, Hal introduced the two
women.  He bit back a smile when the forthright Miss Sutton moved to shake
hands with Madame Thurmond.  The madame hesitated for moment, then with a
bemused smile shook hands.

“To repeat my question from a moment ago,” she
continued.  “Why are you and your friend here, Lord Henry, if not to take Terry
up on her offer?”

“It was my idea to come,” said Melanie before Hal
could answer.   “I wanted to talk to your employees about an opportunity to go
to Philadelphia, to start a new life in America.”

“I have found,” said Madame Thurmond, “that a new
life often presents the same old problems, just in a different location.”

“But sometimes, that new location presents
opportunities one might not find elsewhere.  I obviously do not wish to coerce
anyone into leaving, Madame Thurmond.  I just want to let the women know they
have a choice.  As you so astutely pointed out, a change in geography doesn’t
eliminate all problems.  But sometimes the change in scenery is the starting
point to great change in a person’s life.”

Madame Thurmond considered Melanie’s words.  Then
she turned to her employees.  Several girls had come out of the house to see
what was going on.  There was quite an audience for them both right now.  “Miss
Sutton is offering you a new life,” she said, as she slowly walked around the
yard, looking her girls in the eyes.  “If anyone wishes to take her up on the
offer, go with her now.  Nothing is keeping you here.  If you want to take your
chances on the American frontier, go with the lady.”

There was complete silence after she spoke, then one
by one the girls began filing back into the house.

Madame Thurmond turned to Melanie.  “It seems they
would rather stay with the familiar than venture into the great unknown.  But
thank you for thinking of their well-being, Miss Sutton.  Our evening is about
to begin, so I must go back to work.  I trust you have other souls to save, so
I will not keep you.  Unless you and Lord Henry have reconsidered and would
like to have an evening at my house tonight.  I shall even make it
gratis
to prove I have no hard feelings.”

For a moment, Hal thought Melanie wouldn’t understand
they were being warned off.  But she looked Madame Thurmond in the eyes and
replied.  “Thank you for your offer, but I believe I have finished with my
business here – tonight.”

Madame Thurmond nodded briefly then turned and
re-entered the brothel, with her bodyguards in tow.

When it appeared that Melanie wasn’t going to move
from the spot, Hal put her arm through his and gently pulled her down the
alley.  “I believe it is time we joined Mrs. Seton.  I did tell her you
wouldn’t be late.”

“I was waiting to see if any of the girls would
sneak back out,” she said, as she tried to look behind them. 

“They won’t,” said Hal.  “Madame Thurmond warned off
both you and her girls.”

“She did no such thing to me.  I could tell a few of
those girls were curious.  It may take them a while to consider my
proposition.  I mean, it takes a great deal of courage to completely uproot
yourself from familiar surroundings.  But one of them may well decide to join
me.  And I shall be here when she does.  Make no mistake – I am coming back.”

Without thought Hal turned her toward him, lightly
but firmly gripping her elbows.  “It would be the height of lunacy to come back
here.  Did you happen to see the size of the men with our good madame?  I’ve
seen them fight men three times your size and win.  Do you have any idea how
much they could hurt you?  And I don’t mean from only a beating.  This is a
dangerous part of town for a woman.  Anything could happen to you and Aurelia
Thurmond would set it all in motion without a second thought.”