Wicked Proposition (5 page)

Nicholas smiled and said nothing more. Obviously
Nan fleeing the brothel pleased him. “Good for Nan,” was all he
said.

Gabriel finished his brandy and took his leave.
He sat in his coach and a shadow fell across his face. Lillianne
and her treachery was the last thing he wanted to be reminded of.
The past came tumbling back like a grinding pendulum, the force of
it making his eyes grow dark with raw pain. The agony of having
one’s heart ripped out lessened over the years. Gabriel had a
decade to become numb to her callous betrayal. The twinges of pain
still managed to intrude, despite the effort he took to push them
away.

Gabriel had walled himself off to ever feeling
that way again. The love he had once had for Lillianne was
destroyed, and with it, his ability to ever love again so
freely.

Gabriel felt the greatest of fools for having
fallen so completely in love with his wife. He had been blinded to
her true self the moment she arrived in England. The horrible truth
about Lillianne affected him profoundly. He nearly took a man’s
life over it. Gabriel walked in upon Lillianne consorting with her
newest lover. Merely thrashing the man was not enough. He
challenged the man to a duel.

He cringed to know she had not been worth it.
Lord Lyndon paid a high price for his folly in falling under his
wife’s spell. The duel had cost Lord Lyndon his right arm when it
festered where he’d been shot. The guilt of it still ate at
Gabriel, knowing he had punished the man unduly for his wife’s
actions.

Lord Lyndon retreated from society after the
duel. Gabriel knew he deserved the man’s enmity for life. Gabriel
had more than wronged him that day. Lyndon had begged him to recant
his challenge. Gabriel was too enraged to listen to reason. He was
a crack shot. Maiming the man was his intention, not killing
him.

Gabriel still heard whispers of Lillianne’s
indiscretions, even as reclusive as he was now. The only feeling it
inspired in him now was pity for her current lovers. They couldn’t
possibly see what a diabolical creature lay hidden beneath his
angelic wife’s exterior.

Lillianne was without conscience and devoid of
any bit of morality. Her schemes were malicious in nature and many.
He didn’t believe a word that came out of her treacherous mouth,
and pitied those that did. She took great pride in her role as his
Countess, and was an active member of society. For that reason, he
avoided society altogether.

His wife took many lovers over the years.
Unfortunately none were willing to come forward and testify in open
court. She was careful in choosing lovers who had as much to lose
as she. He grew frustrated by his detective’s inability to gather
anything he could use in court. He reasoned it was just a matter of
time. Lillianne would eventually make a mistake, and he would be
free of her at last.

###

Mimi Farrand was lounging on a plush settee when
he let himself into her townhouse. He eyed her appreciatively. The
violet silk gown his mistress wore hugged her curvaceous body like
a glove. The color complimented her dark, chestnut hair. Her full
red lips curved into a smile of welcome as she jumped up and rushed
into his arms.

He stiffened as the voluptuous beauty plastered
her body to his shirtfront. She was starting to remind him of a
spaniel his Mother once had. Pouncing upon him the minute he opened
her door. She did all but lick his face and ride his leg, he
thought in disgust.

Gabriel did not come here to spend time with
her. He came to address the lack of interest he had begun to feel
more and more of late. The fault was not Mimi’s. It was him, quite
simply. He was bored and tired of feeling obligated to this woman
he could hardly stand to listen to anymore. She became more vocal
and demanding lately, and all it did was remind him of his lagging
interest. Her whole demeanor changed when he announced his plans to
join Captain Van Ryker for the evening. She pouted and stamped her
tiny foot in outrage.

“You always have an excuse to avoid taking me
anywhere, Gabriel!” Mimi raged and paced before him hugging herself
about the waist. “Do not think I do not know where you are really
going. You spend more time in that place than you do with me! I
will not have it!”

“You have no say in anything I do, my dear,”
Gabriel snapped, his patience wearing. He made up his mind in that
moment to end his relationship with Mimi. “I think when I return
here, we should discuss your future. This arrangement has paled for
both of us.”

“How can you say that?” Mimi asked with a
gasp.

“How can you not agree?” Gabriel said with a
cocked eyebrow. “Do not think I am unaware of the other men in your
life, Mimi. You might have had the bedding laundered the last time
I stayed.”

Mimi opened her mouth to deny it. Gabriel held
up his hand.

“Don’t deny it. I really despise being lied to,”
he said quietly. “That is how you know when it is over, my dear.
And when I begin to dread coming here, it’s a sure sign,” Gabriel
offered with a mocking smile. “Come now, you cannot say you are
happy with our arrangement anymore? You have done nothing but
complain of me for weeks. My ears ring with all I have done to fail
you when I leave here, Mimi.”

Mimi knew there was no point in denying she had
taken other lovers. Gabriel was far too smart to have noticed those
few details she had overlooked. She had gone too far, whining and
placing demands on her protector. Too confidant of her position in
his life, she felt sure he was in the palm of her hand. Gabriel had
quite effectively wiggled off her hook. Her brown eyes grew sad as
they met his.

“It is over between us, isn’t it?” she breathed
sadly. “I never meant to assume we were more than we were, Gabriel.
You cannot fault me for having these feelings for you. I believed
we would marry when you are free.”

“I will not marry you, Mimi,” Gabriel said
sadly. “I am sorry if that is what you thought. That institution
has lost its appeal. I will be generous with your settlement. You
have no reason to worry about money.”

Mimi relaxed visibly. Gabriel‘s lips twisted
bitterly. They were all alike, these women he sought now. In the
end, she worried more about who would pay her bills.

“What of the house?” she ventured, her sadness
diminishing as rapidly as her former feelings.

“Keep it if you wish, or sell it,” Gabriel said
with a negligent shrug. “I will have Mister Thornton send you the
deed.”

Mimi gave a sad face for his benefit. He was
hardly fooled. His instincts had been correct. Gauging the timing
of when to end relationships was better understood than when to
begin them. He left Mimi’s home with a bad taste in his mouth. He
jumped into his coach and rapped on the side. His next destination
was his barrister’s office. Gabriel hired an attorney who once
worked for his father-in-law against everyone’s advice. Edward
Thornton was considered highly respected in litigation, and new to
London.

He wanted no local barrister who could be bought
by Lillianne. He was paying Edward Thornton a fortune to find the
means to end his marriage. The man assured him his loyalty to the
Dunleavy family ended with his employment.

In light of the Countess’s illicit activities,
Gabriel believed his case was an open and shut one. The laws in
England were making it more than difficult. Without a credible
witness, he had no proof. She had grown careful. Even the detective
Edward hired had been unable to find anything he could use against
her.

The courts would not grant his petition on his
word alone. Half the men he knew had been entertained by his wife.
None wished to state it publically, therein was the burn of it.

Gabriel dreaded this interview. He was prepared
his petition would be stalled. He questioned whether the matter
would be heard in his lifetime, as slow as the process was
taking.

Gabriel had friends in the high courts.
Lillianne had better friends. His wife had become his most hated
adversary. He wished he killed her when he discovered her deceit.
Imprisonment had to preferable than being married to her.

“No! I cannot do this! There has to be another
way,” Catherine argued as soon as Lilly explained the plan to her.
Catherine immediately balked and flatly refused to have anything to
do with it. Lilly waited for her to calm down. They discussed their
plans in Catherine’s rented room days after she had been moved
there.

“My husband rarely socializes anymore,
Catherine. It is the only place he frequents that you would ever
cross paths with him.”

“Why must it be there?” Catherine wailed in
distress.

“You can hardly make his acquaintance on the
street outside his house, Catherine,” Lilly admonished in
annoyance. “Really, you are carrying on over this? This is the
easiest part of it. I would think you would fear going to the man’s
bed more.”

“But…it’s a…a…“ Catherine broke off her
sentence, blushing furiously in discomfort.

“Yes I know,” Lilly finished with a satisfied
smile. “It’s a brothel.”

“I can’t do this!” Catherine cried again and
looked at Lilly pleadingly. “There must be another place I could
seek him out?”

“It is the only place you will meet my husband
without drawing any suspicion. It is perfect for our plans!”

“Lilly, I will ruin everything,” Catherine
sputtered as she nervously rung her hands. “He will never believe I
am one of those women.”

Lilly smiled and stirred her tea, undeterred.
“That is where Clarice becomes necessary. The Madam has agreed to
help us.”

Catherine did not like the woman the minute she
had been introduced. Something in the woman’s predatory eyes made
her feel unclean.

“Can we even trust her, Lilly?”

“Clarice is the epitome of discretion, little
sister. She has agreed to tutor you in these matters and give you
access to my husband. We need her, Catherine. You know what is at
stake.”

Catherine accepted Lilly’s explanation, but her
reservations mounted as the day approached when she would meet Lord
Iverleigh.

The weeks passed quickly. Her training had
begun. She found it tedious and rather boring once the shock value
wore off. Catherine hadn’t blushed in weeks. She tried to
disassociate from what she was seeing and hearing during her
lessons with Clarice.

Madame Devereaux had been most explicit in her
explanation of the male libido. During that time, Catherine had
been made to study various books with sketches of couples engaged
in unimaginable acts. Clarice allowed her to witness what went on
through peepholes lodged in closets in the halls of the brothel.
She was no longer innocent of what occurred between men and women.
A pang of sorrow assailed her to think of how her mother would
react.

Brionne’s morals had been unbending and strict.
She would not approve of her helping Lilly this way. Her mother
would no doubt roll over in her grave. Catherine knew her mother
had been instrumental in sending Lilly here, and for that reason
she felt she had to help her now. Catherine and her brother’s fates
very much depended upon Lilly’s destiny. It pained her to think of
how low she had sunk to accomplish these goals. In helping Lilly,
she helped her whole family. But the price was very high.

Catherine didn’t want to think of what she would
give up. Sometimes she woke in the night, shaking and covered in
sweat. Her conscience was a problem. She had to keep reminding
herself of Lord Iverleigh’s cruelty to her sister and his treatment
of her family.

Lilly insisted she be fitted for a new wardrobe
worthy of any courtesan. Catherine nearly choked at the sight of
the gowns. The gowns were cut for an immoral woman. She felt naked
when she donned them. Lilly and Clarice assured her the clothing
was part of the deception.

Even her hair had been restyled. Madame
Devereaux had insisted the locks be cut to the middle of her back.
She had wept when nearly a foot of her hair hit the floor. She had
been the most resistant in the use of make-up. Seeing how garish it
looked upon Clarice made her cringe. Clarice’s most trusted girl,
Yvetta, had shown her how to apply it expertly.

Lilly had made good on all of her promises.
Catherine received word from her the children had received the
funds she sent. She felt at ease to know her sister was doing what
she promised. Catherine was eager to put this whole matter behind
her. She was to be one of Clarice’s newest girls, and faced the
evening ahead with dread.

Catherine knew that Lilly had warned her about
going out in public. She was growing bored. What would be wrong
with taking a brief walk? She donned a cloak and covered her head
before she changed her mind.

Her steps took her near Iverleigh Manor.

She panicked when a coach drew up outside the
house. Catherine peeked from under her hooded cloak curiously. She
stiffened as she saw the crest on the side of the vehicle. The Earl
alighted from his coach across the street and spoke briefly to his
driver. Her heart gave a dangerous lurch. She stared at the man who
stood to destroy her family.

He was tall and powerfully built. Tailored
clothing was well-fitted to his frame. She could not see his face
beyond the brim of his hat until he turned. His chiseled features
seemed too perfect to be real. He walked with a superior arrogance,
a walking stick swinging at his side. Deep golden hair fell in
loose waves to his shoulders.

She could see he was far younger than she had
thought. She was startled when he suddenly looked up as though he
felt her eyes upon him. His eyes squinted to where she stood.
Catherine stood riveted to the spot, unable to move. He appeared
more than aware he was being watched. She could see him look in her
direction. Hastily, she turned and began walking back the way she
came. She returned to her room to await Lilly.