Surrender (23 page)

and then burst into a gale of delighted

laughter,
 
I am pleased to learn that

stone vale is every bit as quick and

intelligent as I had thought. Obviously

the two of you have arrived at some

sort of mutual understanding. You do

not need my advice, after all, Vicky.

Please forgive my intrusion into your

affairs."

Victoria relaxed slightly.
 
I appreciate

your concern, truly I do. And I will

treat what you have said with the utmost

consideration."

 
Do that. Society will tolerate a great

deal but there are limits, as we both know,

especially for females. I should hate to see

you ruined socially at such an early age,

my dear. You take far too much pleasure

in your friends to risk losing them," Cleo

warned gently.

 
That is certainly true enough." A small

jolt of alarm went through Victoria. She

would be heartbroken if she thought she

could never entertain Annabella or some

of her other friends again.

Cleo nodded in satisfaction.
 
Precisely,

my dear. Now, if you will recall, we are

engaged to talk to our man of affairs this

morning. Something to do with that ship

we invested in last year. Apparently it

has returned safely with a lovely cargo

from China. We are several thousand

pounds richer as of this morning. Isn't

that nice?"

Victoria was immediately distracted. She

loved the more exciting sort of business

ventures such as investing in shipping. A

bit of risk always added an element of

interest to the deal.

Marvelous!" Victoria exclaimed.
 
We

must thank Mister Beckford for recommending

that particular ship to us. Oh,

Aunt Cleo, wait, there is something

I wanted to ask you about." Victoria

reached under her chair and picked

up the monogrammed silk scarf she

had found on the conservatory door

the previous night.
 
Do you recognize

this?"

Cleo examined the monogram with a

slight frown and handed it back to her

niece.
 
No. It's obviously not one of mine.

Wherever did you find it?"

 
In the garden. I asked the servants if

one of them knew anything about it and

they all said they did not recognize it.

Perhaps it belongs to one of the members

of your natural history society?" Victoria

said, running her finger over the elegantly

woven
 
W."

 
Hmmm. Perhaps. It is a man's scarf.

Let me think. Who do we know who

has a name beginning with
 
W'? There's

Wibberly and Wilkins for starters. I must

remember to ask both of them the next

time I see them if either lost this. Is that

all, Vicky?"

 
Yes, Aunt Cleo. That is all I wanted to

ask. Let's go talk to Mister Beckford about

our latest business success. Perhaps he will

have something else to recommend."

Victoria hated to admit it but the notion

of going to a brothel had been a serious

mistake.

She clutched her glass of champagne

and sat tensely in the shadows, partially

concealed by a garishly gilded screen. There

were several such discreetly shadowed areas

around this room and the adjoining one.

All the lamps had been turned very low.

Drunken giggles and other sounds of a very

unsettling nature emanated from behind

most of the screens. Victoria shuddered to

think of what was going on upstairs.

It was very late, well after three in

the morning. Lucas had dictated the

time of their arrival. He had said he

wanted to take no chance of running

into anyone who might be sober enough

to recognize Victoria. He had also specified

this particular house because it catered

to those who favored some modicum of

privacy. Hence the screens and subdued

lighting.

Everyone around her except Lucas

appeared to be staggeringly drunk. Some

men, snoring heavily, lay sprawled on

pink velvet sofas. The room was too

loud, too hot, and choked with smoke

from rich cigars. There was another sort

of smoke coming from two or three odd

pipes scattered here and there around the

pink and gold chamber.

Victoria was beginning to feel a little

sick. A moment earlier she had watched

Lucas casually wave off two young women

whose gowns were cut so low as to reveal

the tops of their rouged nipples.

 
We just came to observe the activities

tonight," he'd explained smoothly when

one of the women had protested being

sent away.

 
But it's ever so much more fun to join

in the play," the other cooed. Her eyes had

moved over Lucas in a glance that made

Victoria want to dump the contents of a

chamber pot on her head.

 
What about the young gennelman?" the

first woman asked with a beckoning smile

aimed at Victoria.
 
Wouldn't you like to

come upstairs with me? My, you're a pretty

boy. I have a lovely-looking glass on the

wall o" my room. You can watch everything

in it. And you should see my collection

of rods and whips. Every bit as fine as

the ones they use on young lordlings in

school."

Victoria had shaken her head quickly

and edged a bit deeper into the shadows.

Lucas had shot her a sardonic glance and

sipped his champagne, offering little help.

She could almost hear him saying
 
I told

you so."

In addition to acknowledging that the

brothel idea was a bad one, she was also

fast arriving at the conclusion that men's

clothing was not always very comfortable.

Her flawlessly tied cravat was much too

high and much too tight around her throat

tonight, for example. The top folds were

halfway up her ears and covered her chin.

She was practically drowning in the thing

and it was all Lucas's fault. He had retied

it for her in the carriage because he'd

claimed he wanted her features better

concealed.

He had also insisted she keep her hat on

and pulled down low over her eyes until

she'd found a secluded spot to sit. As a

further precaution, Lucas had deliberately

chosen a house that was not patronized by

the males of the ton. He had wanted to

take as few risks as possible.

Her stomach grew more queasy. She had

to get out of here. She did not think she

could take much more of the appalling

display.

She was about to lean forward and

inform Lucas that she was bored and

quite ready to leave when a cheer went

up at the far end of the shadowed, crowded

chamber. Then a sudden hush fell over the

throng of drunken men and provocatively

dressed women.

The middle-aged mistress of the brothel,

dressed in a billowing, low-cut gown,

walked into the center of the garishly

decorated room. The bawd's face was a

mask of white face powder and rouge in

the style that had been popular several years

earlier. Her dress was made of expensive

pink velvet that matched the chairs, but

it lacked the elegance of simplicity which

was the hallmark of fashion in polite

circles. The gown was as cheap looking

and overblown as the woman herself.

 
Gather
 
round, all you fine gentlemen

who are so anxious to prove your mettle

this evening. The house invites you to

inspect the lovely bit of goods we have

on offer tonight. Guaranteed as clean and

virgin as the day she was brought into this

world. Fresh from the country and not yet

thirteen years of age, I present our newest

recruit to our noble profession, little Miss

Molly."

Victoria stared past the edge of the screen

in horror as a dazed-looking young girl

dressed in a thin white shift was pushed

into the center of the room. Molly gazed

around at the leering men and laughing

women and hugged herself tightly. The

laughter increased.

Molly's frightened gaze moved from one

face to another until her eyes somehow

collided with Victoria's. The girl did not

look away. Victoria clutched the arm of

the chair as the sick feeling in her stomach

grew more intense.

 
Now, then, let us begin the bidding.

Sweet young things such as our Molly do

not come cheap," the madam said.

 
I think it's time we left," Lucas muttered

as voices rose loudly in the room. He

flicked one last, disgusted glance at the

brothel owner and started to get to his

feet.

 
No." Victoria shook her head, unable to

look away from the terrified Molly.
 
No,

Lucas, we cannot leave. Not yet."

 
Damn it, Vicky, you don't want to

see this."

 
They are bidding on her, Lucas. As if

she were a cow or a horse."

 
And the winner will take her upstairs

and introduce her to her new profession,"

Lucas concluded roughly.
 
Perhaps he

won't even bother with privacy. Perhaps

he will do the business right here in front

of an audience. Surely you do not wish to

witness such a thing."

 
Of course not. Lucas, we must save

her."

Lucas stared at her in amazement as he

sank slowly back into his chair.
 
Save her?

How do you propose we do that? It is a

common enough occurrence here in town.

The young women from the country step

off the hay wagons straight into the arms

of ruthless old abbesses such as this one.

The girls are doomed and there is nothing

that can be done."

 
Well, there is certainly something that

can be done about this one," Victoria

stated.
 
I shall buy her."

Lucas sucked in his breath.
 
You don't

know what you're doing, Vicky."