Never Run From Love (Kellington Book Four) (24 page)

“I appreciate your sacrifice,” said Hal.  “But Miss
Sutton is not a Kellington.”

It was hard to tell because Rigg had turned to ready
the clothes, but Mel could have sworn the valet said “Not yet.”

“I very much appreciate your assisting us, Rigg and
you’ve done an admirable job selecting the wardrobe,” said Mel.  “The clothes
look like you had my sizes, but that’s impossible.”

“Thank you, miss.  Lord Henry proved to be most
accurate in his, uh, descriptions.  Speaking of which, you may wish to make use
of this.”  Now it was the valet’s turn to blush, as he handed her a cravat.

“But won’t the cravat come toward the end?”

Rigg sent a speaking glance to Hal.

Hal couldn’t hide his grin.  “I believe, Miss
Sutton, that you are to use the cravat to conceal your more prominent features,
though it pains me to even think of it.”

Mel was once again red-faced, as she quietly said
“Oh.”

“Miss, I have cleared a spot in Lord Henry’s closet
where you may disrobe.  I can ask Lady Vanessa’s maid to assist you if you’d
like.”

“No, that shall not be necessary, thank you.”  The
fewer people who witnessed this, the better.

“Very good, miss.  Now, if you’d like to pick out
your clothes, I can place them in the dressing room for you.”

Vanessa quickly made her selections.  Rigg had been
quite thorough.  While the quality was first rate, the style was more
consistent with a country cousin than that of a London blade.  A thought
occurred to her.  “How much do I owe you for this, Lord Henry?”

His brows rose at the very question, as did Rigg’s
but only fleetingly.  “Think of it as a contribution to your mission, Miss
Sutton,” said Hal. 

She didn’t like to be beholden to the man, but there
was no use arguing with him at the moment.  She simply took the clothes and
disappeared into the closet.

*                   *                  *

It was the worst sort of torture
,
thought Hal.  Having Mel in his bedchamber, knowing she was disrobing in the
closet.  Hang their trip to Madame Thurmond’s.  He’d caught her expression when
she’d seen the bed.  He’d never met a woman more ready for a sexual awakening. 
And he so desperately wanted to be the man to take her there.  All he had to do
was get rid of Rigg.  He turned to Ned’s long-time servant.

“Do not even think about it, Master Hal,” said Rigg.

“How the devil did you know what I was going to say?”

Rigg’s only response was one raised brow.

“Blast it man, can’t you tell her you forgot
something in the kitchen?” asked Hal.

“No, if for no other reason than I do not forget
things.”

“Then I shall send you to the kitchen.”

“Master Hal, do not make me call for Heskiss.”

Damn it!
 
The servants of Lynwood House tended to run roughshod over the Kellingtons.  Of
course, it was just as well.  There would be no avoiding a leg shackle if he
and Melanie made love.

It was disconcerting to think how little that
bothered him.

Mel emerged from the closet in breeches, jacket and
waistcoat – looking nothing like a lad.  Her throat was exposed and Hal wanted nothing
more than to kiss it, sucking gently at her pulse.

Yes.  Definitely nothing like a lad.

“If you will allow me, miss?”  Rigg took a second
cravat then deftly tied it around her neck.  “I am afraid your neck is too
delicate to support a more complicated knot, so I shall simply recreate one
that I use for Lord Edward on the farm.”  In a matter of minutes he’d created a
simple, yet exquisite knot.

“Yes, the cravat is all very well and good,” said
Hal.  “But there’s no mistaking her form.  She is too obviously female.”

As far as Hal was concerned, nothing could truly
conceal the contours of Mel’s magnificent body.  Her breasts were too full, her
hips too rounded for anyone to mistake her for a lad. But Rigg’s work with a
cravat had expertly concealed her neck and an oversized jacket helped cover
many of her curves.   A hat pulled down low and a coat to cover everything else
helped her pass as well as she was ever going to pass.

When they stood back to admire Rigg’s work, Hal
thanked the valet for his assistance. 

“It was my pleasure, Lord Henry.  But if you will
permit me, I have one finishing touch.”  Rigg pulled out a pair of leather
gloves made for a lad.  “I’m afraid Miss Sutton’s hands would not pass
inspection, were they to be examined too closely.”

“Did you ever think you would have to disguise a
young lady of the
ton
when you began your service with my brother?”
asked Hal.

“My lord, I learned long ago that one should always
expect the unexpected with the Kellington family.  It is one of the most
pleasing aspects of my employment.”

“I believe Mrs. Rigg would like to think she is the
most pleasing aspect of your employment,” replied Hal.  Rigg had fallen in love
with a kitchen maid at Ned’s estate in Marston Vale.

“She is not an aspect of my employment, Lord Henry,
but the best part of my life.  I have become one of those annoying men who is
enamored of the wedded state and wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone.”

“Which of my brothers told you to say that?”

“What makes you think any of your brothers told me
to say anything?”

“Rigg?”

“All of them.  But that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. 
Mrs. Rigg and I are quite happy.  Miss, may I be of further assistance to you?”

“No thank you, Rigg.  I appreciate very much what
you have done for me.”

“Very well, miss,” he bowed to both of them.  “Good
luck in your adventure tonight.”

“Thank you, Rigg,” said Hal.  “You may go now.”

But Rigg remained, as Hal suspected he would.  When
Hal bought his own house, he would populate it with retainers who actually
obeyed him.  Knowing his cause was lost, he escorted Melanie downstairs and out
to their waiting carriage.

Half an hour later they reached their destination. 

“I am all kinds a fool,” muttered Hal, as he
escorted a disguised Mel to the entrance of Madame Thurmond’s.  The burly
footman at the door looked at Mel askance, but when Hal told him the lad was
with him, the servant allowed them entrance.

They walked into the downstairs parlor of Madame
Thurmond’s and slowly made their way through the crowd.

*                     *                    *

Mel had often wondered what went on in
establishments such as this, but she was unprepared for the sheer scale of all
that was unfolding.  It was a little after eleven of the clock and even though
Hal said it wouldn’t be as crowded as later, the room was still filled with
gentlemen of the
ton
.  She’d been in many a crowded ballroom, but there
was something about the lack of inhibitions in the men around her that gave the
evening a decidedly different air.  There were no quiet conversations dictated
by propriety.  There was no propriety.  The men were drinking spirits and
laughing boisterously.  They were using coarse language that she’d certainly
heard on the streets before, but never coming from the mouths of gentlemen –
many of whom she’d conversed with at
ton
gatherings.

And the women…  She’d assumed the women would wear
revealing gowns.  What she hadn’t been prepared for was the lack of gowns
altogether.  While some wore gowns that barely covered them, others wore only
undergarments.  Two women wore nothing at all as they served drinks on a silver
salver.

Her shock must have been evident.  For Hal leaned in
to her, “This was a mistake.  Let me take you home.”

“No,” she said.  Even if their mission hadn’t been
so important, there was something about this evening that made her want to
stay.  It was all so decadent and she knew she’d never get a chance to see it
again.  It made her want to know what else went on in these rooms.  She knew no
decent lady would be curious like that, and it would probably give Hal a
disgust of her to know just how fascinated she was.  To know just what effect
this was having on her body.  She was warm all over.  And growing wetter by the
minute.  Because of the crowd, Hal was pressed up against her but, given her
disguise as a boy, he had to pretend his indifference to her.

But maybe he wasn’t just pretending.  Maybe he
really didn’t have feelings for her in that way and their earlier encounters
had only been because she was the only woman available.  But there was
certainly no shortage of willing women here.  Why wouldn’t his thoughts be of
them and not her?  It was most lowering.

*                    *                    *

What had he been thinking to bring her
here?
  Hal couldn’t believe he’d given in to this
lunacy.  Fortunately, there was no stage show that evening.  It was licentious
enough with the nude servers and the bawdy jokes going on around them.  But the
sight of two whores going down on a patron would have surely made Melanie
faint.  He was staying close to her, praying that no one would see through her
disguise.  He could only imagine the pandemonium that would break out if the
men knew there was a lady in their midst.  Especially one whose hips looked so
tantalizing in those breeches.  It was a good thing Rigg had been such a
stalwart chaperone because he would have had her in bed moaning beneath him if
he’d had the chance. 

Now at Madame Thurmond’s, he had an overpowering
urge to protect her.  Every time one of the louts in the room bumped into her
or told a ribald story in her hearing, he wanted to punch them.  He could
barely keep from putting his arm around her to pull her close.  But she was
dressed as a lad, even if it was all too obvious to him she was a woman.  If it
looked like he was that protective of his cousin, he was quite sure he’d be
told to go to another house that specialized in such things.

Because in London there were many houses with an
untold number of specialties.

As he looked around the room, seeing it through
Mel’s eyes, he began to understand how tawdry it was.  The cloying perfume of
the girls, the stench of the men’s cigars.  The cheap red tapestries and glass
chandelier that needed a thorough cleaning.  The girls wore lingerie that
showed their breasts and arse or whichever part they thought was their best
asset.  The men looked them over like choosing hunting dogs, wondering which
would serve their needs the best. 

As he watched the women simper at the men, he began
to feel ill.  How terrible it must be to have to sell yourself for your very
sustenance.  Watching as he did, he could see the look of relief a girl had
when a particularly distasteful client passed her by.  Their smiles looked
forced, their sensual allure a show.  Had it always been this way?  The girls
always seemed so pleased to see him and Francis.  Of course, he and Francis
were usually quite foxed by the time they reached Madame Thurmond’s.  Maybe this
was exactly how it looked when he was sober.

He was about to escort Melanie from the premises,
when he turned to look at her.  He couldn’t believe what he saw.  Her pupils
were dilated.  There was a flush of color on her face.  Her lips were parted
and her breathing was shallow.  She was showing all the signs of arousal.  He
turned to see what she was looking at and was dismayed to learn that a sex show
had started.

One man was lying on his back on a settee, with his
pants pulled down.  A girl was on top of him, naked.  As she rode him, another
man was brought up to the stage.  He pushed the girl toward the man she was
riding, exposing her bottom.  He unfastened his breeches, took out his cock
then pushed it into her arse, to a huge cheer from the onlookers.  The girl
smiled for her audience, then continued to moan as if in the throes of
ecstasy.  As both men pounded into her, the crowd went wild.  Hal knew it was
at moments like this that many a pocket was being pilfered, but no one would
notice.  All they had eyes for was what was on the stage.

As the two men continued to pound into the girl, the
man behind her began pumping faster and faster.  Suddenly he pulled out and
sprayed his seed all over her arse and back.  Then the man underneath her came
with a groan.

There had been nights when Hal had watched shows
like that with a jaded amusement.  After a show the men in the audience were
primed to pay whatever price Madame Thurmond deemed fair, for whichever whores
she presented.  It was a smart business move on her part, parading out the less
popular girls while saving the prettiest for high rollers who would drop by
later in the evening.

Hal’s cock was as hard as it had ever been, but not
because of the show.  It was a consequence of Melanie’s reaction to the spectacle
she’d just witnessed.  He wanted to find a clean, quiet room and satisfy her
curiosity.  He wanted to bury himself deep inside her in every position
imaginable.  If she weren’t a lady, he’d spray his seed on her to mark her as
his from now until the end of time.  He was territorial with her.  Like an
animal with his mate.  He found it hard not to snarl at the men around them.