Two Notorious Dukes (3 page)

‘I can’t see Monmouth letting that happen.
They’ve been friends for thirty years.’ Robert said
innocently.
‘Friends be damned, the jackanapes has been
shagging her since a week after she married my father!’
Argyll spluttered. ‘He introduced them for that one
purpose!’ He shook his head in disgust. ‘The silly old sod
couldn’t do it for himself, so he got Monmouth to
oblige.’
‘Why hasn’t she married him?’ Robert asked
softly.
‘I don’t know.’ Argyll said thoughtfully. ‘Perhaps
she’s concerned about our estate.’
‘More likely Monmouth doesn’t want to marry
her. He’ll up one day and marry a slim little thing like
Elizabeth Audley and leave poor Verity Argyll with a
hole where her heart used to be!’ Robert said
scathingly.
‘You speak like a man who has already been
burned.’ Argyll said softly.
‘I have!’ Robert admitted harshly. ‘And I will
never feel that kind of heartache again.’
‘That’s why you love them and leave them, isn’t
it?’
‘That’s why!’ Robert spat harshly. ‘Now let’s
change the subject. Or I’ll go to Almack’s to find Lady
Beresford and give her a good tupping before her old
man gets back from India.’
The hours passed in cards and laughter, as
usually happens at a gentleman’s club and then they
were moving on to Almack’s to inspect the Philly’s on
display. Cranwell went with Argyll.
Robert swirled his cloak about his shoulders,
settled his bicorn hat and sauntered down the steps to
the livery waiting at the bottom as he pulled on his
white gloves. ‘Where to, Sir?’ the footman asked softly.
‘Almack’s first, I think.’ Robert said as he climbed
in the door and relaxed against the seat. He thought
about Lady Audley as the coach jerked into motion.
If
Lady Verity is thinking of setting me up as a husband,
she can think again!
He told himself.
Once bitten, twice
shy!
Christina rose unbidden before his eyes, so
beautiful and innocent, or so he thought. He
remembered the first time he saw her and how demure
she appeared, just like Lady Audley, she had downcast
eyes and barely spoke. The knife pierced straight
through his heart as he saw again how he went to the
stables to check on his horse, it had strained a fetlock
the previous day, and as he opened the door to the
stables he could see virginal Christina in the throes of
ecstasy as she rode one of the grooms like a stallion! He
closed his eyes in horror as he recalled how she
screamed as she saw him, and tried to reach for her
chemise and how she begged later for his forgiveness
for her moment of weakness. To this day he cannot
fathom how he didn’t strangle her. He opened his eyes
as he remembered the rage that had made him beat the
groom almost to death, at his father’s behest, and the
hollow emptiness that followed and drove him to join
the army, where he was initiated into the pleasures of
the body. Since then, he’d kept his heart locked in a
strong box. He’d yet to meet the woman that would be
able to break the lock!
The carriage jerked to a halt outside Almack’s
and Robert alighted to join his friends on the street.
As luck would have it Abigail Beresford was just
leaving the club as Robert pulled up.
‘Lady Beresford.’ He bowed deeply. ‘May I offer
you conveyance to your abode?’ he asked formally.
Abigail Beresford was a woman that was aware. She
was aware the effect her appearance had on men and
she exploited it for as many lovers as she could handle.
She had an insatiable appetite for sex. Her fiery red hair,
always looking as if it was falling out of the pins, gave
the impression she’d just been ravished by every man in
Almack’s.
She smiled coquettishly and accepted his offer.
As the footman was helping her in the carriage, Robert
looked at him and smiled. ‘Around Regent’s Park, until I
say otherwise!’ The footman nodded but didn’t smile.
Robert got in the coach and it pulled away with alacrity,
leaving Argyll and Cranwell looking at each other.
‘Robbie will need a bath when he gets home.
She’ll give him the pox if he’s not careful!’ Argyll
muttered as he turned for the door.
The main hall was bustling with people. ‘Busy
tonight.’ Cranwell murmured to the steward.
‘That we are, my Lord, The Prince Regent is here
tonight and you know how big his party usually is.’
‘That we do, Angus.’ Argyll said cheerfully. ‘I
think I’ll have a little téte a téte with our esteemed
monarch in waiting!’ and he strode purposefully into
the main salon, where Prinny, as his friends called him,
was holding court. ‘Your Royal Highness.’ He greeted
the Prince.
‘Argyll, old boy. What are you doing here?’
‘Waiting on Your Highness’s pleasure?’ Argyll
said wistfully.
‘Don’t grovel!’ the Prince said harshly. ‘I get
enough of that in the day time, with Wellington and
Liverpool giving me grief about the Peninsular.’ He
pouted like a spoilt child, patted the arm of the chair
next to him and said ‘Come and sit down, Argyll. Tell me
a joke!’
Argyll gracefully sat beside the portly prince and
regaled him with some funny anecdotes and then a
hush fell on the room as Lady Wentworth arrived.
‘God!’ exhorted the Prince. ‘I could hang my coat
on those.’ He looked about his compatriots. ‘Who’s
going to own up and admit they’ve had them in their
mouth?’ All his usual companions looked at the floor in
dismay and Argyll shuffled his feet. ‘Have you, Johnny?’
the Prince asked with wide eyes.
‘No, your highness. But I did see Robbie
Bosworth tupping the lady last month and he definitely
had them in his mouth!’
‘Where is Robbie tonight?’
‘Tupping Lady Beresford in his carriage, Your
Highness.’ Argyll said patiently, he knew not to lie to the
Prince Regent and he was definitely the biggest gossip
in London.
‘In his carriage, by God!’ The Regent shook his
head. ‘If only I were so free to do such things.’
‘Prinny?’ a light female voice sounded.
Out of the corner of his eye, Argyll saw a flutter
of pink silk and turned his head as the Prince put a hand
on his arm. ‘Wonder whether you’d like to meet
another ward of the court?’ he muttered. ‘Another
noble who has lost his lands to the crown.’ He sighed.
‘Argyll, this is his only daughter let me introduce Lady
Sarah Trevanon.’ He held out a hand. Of course, Argyll
was already on his feet. ‘May I introduce the Duke of
Goring, Johnny Argyll?’ Argyll bowed and was surprised
that she was like Lady Audley and was only as tall as his
chest. His mouth went dry and his stomach hollow as
she looked up at him.
‘Enchanted.’ He murmured.
‘Charmed, I’m sure.’ She said coldly and turned
her attention straight back to the Prince. ‘Prinny you
can’t do this to me, I’m a lady!’
‘I can and I have.’ The Prince said firmly. ‘Every
man here has to bid for a kiss and all the proceeds go to
the new pavilion I’m having built at Brighton!’ He took
her hand. ‘It’s one kiss, my dear. Not a night of
debauchery!’ all the men around her laughed
lasciviously, except Argyll, he was horrified the Prince
would be so free with a Ward of the Court.
‘What is the highest bid, Your Highness?’ he
asked softly and the Prince looked at him sharply.
‘Five guineas, at the moment. Do you want to
make a bid?’ the Prince asked pointedly.
‘Five hundred guineas.’ Argyll said coldly.
The Prince clapped his hands in glee. ‘Five
Hundred! Did you skinflints hear that?’ he patted Argyll
on the shoulder. ‘Well, I think all the bids are in, now.’
The Prince stood up. ‘I have a bid of five hundred
guineas for a kiss from the Sweet Lady Sarah, is there
any advance on five hundred guineas?’ he asked in his
court voice. There was a hush over the entire salon,
even the musicians stopped playing. ‘No?’ he asked and
kept looking around ‘Very well! The kiss goes to Johnny
Argyll for the sum of five hundred guineas!’ and he
clapped his hands. After plonking his silk encased
backside back in his chair, the Prince Regent looked at
Argyll as he sank down into his chair. ‘I’ll expect your
bank draft or the gold tomorrow morning by eleven.’
‘Of course, Your Highness, and when do I get the
kiss?’
‘You can have it now, of course, but just don’t
forget to pay me!’ The Prince grabbed Lady Sarah by the
wrist and literally shoved her into Argyll’s lap.
Johnny Argyll was used to ladies in his lap, but
not one as pretty as this. At a glance she was blond
haired and blue eyed, with rosy cheeks and dusky pink
lips. She looked terrified, so he smiled encouragingly. ‘If
I don’t kiss you now, I’ll be the laughing stock of London
by tomorrow morning.’ He gently placed his lips on hers
and applied a small amount of pressure. She opened her
lips as she gasped in surprise and Argyll couldn’t resist
giving her a thorough kissing and was utterly amazed as
her lips moulded exactly to his. Her rigid body suddenly
became like butter in his arms and she even rested a
hand on the top of his shoulder.
All around them the room erupted into catcalls
and whistles, but neither of them heard it and as Johnny
gently touched her tongue with the tip of his, she
jumped and moaned. He slowly laid her body over his
knee and held her in his arms. A part of him was acting
for the chaps around him, but there was another part
that knew if he didn’t do it now, he’d never get another
chance.
‘I say, are you going to come up for air?’ the
Prince said indignantly. ‘She’s a ward, you know, Argyll!’
Argyll continued to kiss her as she moaned
softly, but he had to stop eventually, because she was
starting to writhe and his erection was so big, that he
didn’t trust himself not to drag her off upstairs to a
bedroom. By this time the whistles and calls had died
down and most people had lost interest. Argyll carefully
removed his lips from hers and he looked in her shining
blue eyes. He gently caressed her cheek with his nose
and whispered. ‘Thank you, my Lady.’ He pulled her
upright and helped her to stand.
She was totally speechless. She stood looking
down on him in shock.
‘Did you have to kiss her so deuced long?’ the
Prince spat playfully.
‘I expected my money’s worth, Your Highness,
for five hundred guineas I would have expected to have
her virginity too!’
The Prince laughed delightedly. ‘No Argyll, for
that you would need to marry her and pay the crown for
the privilege.’
‘Has the Crown set a bond yet?’
‘No.’ The Prince said thoughtfully. Lady Sarah
dragged her eyes away from Argyll and looked at the
Prince with disgust.
‘You would sell my body to the highest bidder?’
‘Not me, my dear. The Crown. Your father owes
money to the Crown, not me personally.’

Elizabeth Audley’s maid was painstakingly
brushing her hair. ‘Did you enjoy the Opera tonight,
Ma’am?’ she asked in her high pitched girlie voice.

‘Actually I did.’ Elizabeth sighed deeply, she
shared too much with her maid at times, but she was
such a good listener. ‘Lady Verity introduced me to her
step son and his friends.’

Roding there?’ she asked excitedly.
‘Yes, he was.’ She said wistfully. ‘I see what the
gossips mean, he’s so handsome.’ She looked up at the
maid in the mirror. ‘He was the one who picked up my
handkerchief!’ And she sighed again ‘It’s such a pity he’s
a rascal and a rake!’
‘Are you looking for a new husband then?’ the
maid asked rather impertinently, jerking Elizabeth into
the present.
‘No, Mary.’ Elizabeth said forcefully, her
expression one of terror and Mary knew just how afraid
she was.
Over the years of her service to the Audley
family, Mary had seen many acts of cruelty and
barbarism, but the morning she found Lady Elizabeth,
bruised, bleeding and naked on her bedroom floor, was
a day she would never forget. She had carefully
wrapped her in a sheet, called the footman she was
walking out with and he picked the unconscious Lady off
the floor and laid her carefully on the bed, while the
maid sent the kitchen girl for a physician. When she
came around, Lady Elizabeth was horrified to find a
doctor ministering to the cuts on her body and she
swore him to silence. Mary brushed the lock of hair in
her hand with long strokes and as she looked down she
could see the scars on her mistress’s back, just peeping
over the edge of her chemise.
Mary deftly plaited the luxurious hair and then
went to fetch the nightgown that was laid out on the
bed. As Mary offered the nightdress to go over her
head, Elizabeth loosened the chemise and let it fall,
pushing her arms into the nightdress as Mary pulled it
quickly over her body. She held the covers as Elizabeth
slid gracefully into bed. ‘Will there be anything else,
Your Ladyship?’ Mary asked softly as she straightened
the covers and tucked them in.
‘No, Mary,’ Elizabeth murmured as she pulled
the queue of her hair over her shoulder. ‘Goodnight.’
‘Goodnight, Your Ladyship.’ Mary murmured as
she went out and closed the door. She went ten paces
down the passageway, sat in the easy chair and picked
up her sewing. She would remain on duty for the night
and would sleep in the day, as usual.
Elizabeth lay in bed and looked at the ceiling.
She thought about the opera, and what a fine
performance it was. She thought about the three
gentlemen she was introduced to, the Duke of Goring
was out of the question. The Earl of Warminster was a
fairly handsome man, but he was only interested in
money and was probably as profligate as his father. The
one that caught her eye was definitely the Duke of
Roding, with his fine looks and dark hair. She vividly
recalled his expression as he handed over the
handkerchief. But then she knew he wasn’t interested in
marrying anyone. The gossips said so. He was a
scoundrel and a rake and would think nothing of
seducing a married woman, but if she was unmarried or
widowed he didn’t want to know.
How strange I’m
attracted to the one that wouldn’t want to know me.
She thought drowsily and her mind slipped into slumber
with Robert Bosworth’s eyes glowing in the dark.