The Virtuous Courtesan

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‘Your complaints would be better directed at Edward. He engineered this bizarre scheme.’

Sarah could not argue with that. She expelled a sigh, gesturing hopelessly. ‘At least you seem to have absolved me of any guilt in trying to trap you into it. For that I am grateful.’

‘My conceit might suffer to admit it, but I know you would rather choose your future, as would I.’ Gavin moved closer to watch her reaction to what he said next. ‘And you? Do you still believe that I am wicked enough to have asked my brother to bequeath me his beautiful mistress?’

‘As you say,’ she said carefully, keen to foster the fragile harmony, ‘neither of us wants to be shackled to a stranger.’ Had she not been made of sterner stuff, she might have melted beneath the sultry sapphire gaze that had accompanied his compliment on her looks. But her memory was not so short. She had but recently been the butt of his scorn and insults.

‘Perhaps it was Edward’s intention that we no longer be strangers.’

‘I would sooner he had introduced you in the normal way whilst he was alive,’ Sarah commented pithily.

‘Edward was always careful to keep out of sight anything of his I might have wanted.’

More subtle praise. She could not deny he was a skilful flirt. Again heat bled in to her cheeks. His rough-velvet voice allied with those steady predatory gazes combined to create quite a heady attack on the senses. Their conversation seemed no longer focused on material considerations, but had become quite intimate.

She felt suffocated, unable to rise to the challenge of playing his sophisticated game. She stepped away. ‘Your reminiscence about your brother is not helping solve our predicament, sir,’ she said briskly.

‘But I think it is,’ Gavin quietly begged to differ. ‘We need to ascertain what reasons he might have had for wanting to entwine our lives upon his demise.’ Gavin strolled to the window and looked out into woodland. ‘He must have realised that this would come as a shock to us both. He had little fondness for me, I know, and if it is some sort of bad joke, I allow him his laugh. But you?’ He turned and slanted Sarah a look. ‘Were you at odds over something that might have prompted him to secretly seek revenge?’

‘No,’ Sarah hotly denied. ‘Nothing like that passed between us. I believed we were friends till the end.’

‘Friends?’ Gavin echoed drily.

‘Yes, friends,’ Sarah repeated with some emphasis. ‘It is possible for a man and a woman to share a friendship as well as a bed.’

Gavin bowed his head in mock humility. ‘Thank you for that insight, Miss Marchant,’ he drawled. ‘Hard-hearted rakes do not know such things.’

‘Neither do they know when to accept a very good deal.’ She came closer to him to make her point. ‘You will be better off having Elm Lodge occupied than empty. You are foolish not to immediately accept my suggestion to housekeep for you. A fortune is almost yours for a tenancy and a paltry annual sum.’

Gavin’s smile deepened to a lazy chuckle. ‘I’m almost persuaded,’ he murmured infuriatingly.

Sarah flung herself around in a temper and stalked off two paces. ‘I am done with trying to be reasonable.’ She retraced those angry steps to glare up at him with sparking topaz eyes. ‘I do not give a fig what becomes of you or your brother’s inheritance. You may return to London empty-handed and end in the Fleet.’ She sucked in a breath to add, ‘Oh, I know you are a spendthrift, too. I know all about you.’

‘And are you going to return the compliment and tell me all about you?’

Sarah blanched, shrinking back a pace. She had not expected that unwanted question. She parted her soft lips to demand he take his leave, but was silenced by the sight of Maude entering with the tea tray. If the servant noticed her mistress’s flushed cheeks and fiery eyes, or the tension vibrating her neat figure, she gave no sign. ‘Shall I pour, miss?’ she asked placidly.

‘No…thank you,’ Sarah added with a hint of apology for her brusqueness.

The brief interlude whilst Maude settled the tray on the table allowed her wits to curb her temper. She must secure essentials for her and her family. Once Maude had departed she enquired coolly, ‘What has brought you here today, sir?’ A rustle of dimity skirts was the only sound as she paced to and fro, waiting for his response. Suddenly she halted and frowned at his silence. ‘If the answer is nothing in particular, then I must ask you to leave.’

‘I think you know why I’m here,’ Gavin returned mildly. ‘I want my inheritance and I am prepared to comply with the spirit of Edward’s will to get it. In short, Miss Marchant, I have no objection to protecting you in the way my brother intended I should.’

‘You might have no objection, sir, but I do,’ Sarah hissed once she had drawn sufficient breath to do so.

Chapter Five

‘Perhaps if I tell you I am willing to improve on Edward’s terms, that might help you overcome your objections.’

‘You do not know what he gave me!’ Sarah cried in muted anger. ‘Besides, it is of no consequence for I want no more. What I had was adequate…I was satisfied.’

‘Were you?’

The insinuation was subtly sensual and made Sarah’s heart pound. But she managed to boldly hold his narrowed gaze as she murmured, ‘I had no complaints.’

‘I’ll not disappoint you, either.’

His dulcet reassurance dried Sarah’s throat.

In the interminable moment that followed she noticed how vivid blue were his eyes, and how earth-dark his hair. With her vision heightened by her awareness of his virility, she saw that the dissipation in his face was not so pronounced. In fact, he appeared more tired than debauched.

‘There was obviously more to Edward than I knew.’

Her tongue tip wet her lips. ‘Perhaps you didn’t know your brother, sir, but he knew you very well, indeed.’

The bitterness in her voice caused Gavin to ironically smile. ‘And how perceptive are you, Miss Marchant? Did you know Edward?’

Sarah’s teeth closed on her ready retort. Gavin had a knack of touching on a very raw nerve. How well had she known Edward? It was a question that constantly tormented her.

Simply to occupy her fidgety hands, she busied herself with clattering cups on to saucers, forgetful of how inappropriate it was to offer one’s tormentor hospitality. In a daze she set about pouring the tea.

Was her trepidation born of anger? Fear? Modesty? Was it a calculated sham? How genuine an ingénue was she? Gavin watched her ruthlessly. His eyes roved the curvaceous lines of her buttoned-up back whilst he pondered the mystery of Sarah’s relationship with Edward.

His brother had obviously not seduced her with fake promises of marriage. Janet Stone’s name had been mentioned several times during the will reading and Sarah had not displayed any surprise at the existence of her late lover’s wife. So what had propelled such an exquisite beauty into Edward’s bed? He’d had wealth, but from what Gavin saw around him, had not lavished it on his delectable young mistress. Sarah’s home and her clothes looked serviceable rather than stylish, and if all her jewellery was contained within the box on the sofa she owned just a few modest pieces of gold and silver. Gavin was not surprised by his brother’s parsimony. Edward had advocated constraint and his character, like his physical attributes, were at best described as pleasant. All that remained was the possibility that Sarah had been in love with his brother. That conclusion should have brought solace…but it didn’t.

In a swirl of skirts Sarah turned about and held out his tea, a quantity of which now floated in the saucer. Gavin gripped her wrist to steady the clattering crockery before taking the offering. Having deposited it on a table, he slowly walked back to her. He stood quite still for a moment, gauging her reaction to his closeness. When she made no move to skitter away and her cool allure was too great a challenge to ignore, he raised a single finger, elevating her chin so she must look at him.

‘I’m not a monster, Sarah,’ he said softly. ‘Whatever Edward has told you about my wickedness is sure to be exaggerated.’

Sarah gazed, as though entranced, into eyes grown black with desire. His long fingers had fanned to cradle her jaw in a touch that was gentle yet firm. His extreme proximity brought a scent of sandalwood to tempt her closer to its source. Involuntarily her head swayed forward. A shoulder to lean on would be so very nice.

Why should she not agree? Would her acceptance of a proposition from notorious Gavin Stone be so very wrong? She had no way of truly knowing the level of this man’s licentiousness. Perhaps a natural jealousy of his handsome sibling might have led Edward to exaggerate Gavin’s faults. There was nobody she might ask about his alleged debts and debauchery. Joseph Pratt might call him a licentious fellow, but how valid was the word of a hypocrite? The more she thought sensibly on it, the more she realised it was highly likely the lawyer had called on her hoping to take advantage of her predicament, not to ease it.

Sarah had had very little experience with men. She knew nothing about the rakish bachelors who frequented Mayfair. She had lived in London until she was fifteen but, in the latter years, far away from the best locations. She had been gently bred, but after a calamity destroyed her family, a début was out of the question. She had not been launched into society to attend the balls and soirées where she might meet such sophisticates.

She could recall occasions when she was about twelve and her mama would sit with her friends, sipping tea and talking in whispers. Sarah had been old enough to understand that their hushed gossip concerned illicit liaisons—often those in which her own father was entangled—but was too young to grasp the whole sordid tale.

Not five years later she had become a gentleman’s mistress. But Edward had not seduced her in the true sense. She had been glad to take the protection he offered, for how much worse might her life have been had she not? She had not loved him and he had known that. He had nevertheless told her that he was fond of her. He had seemed gentle and kind…and accepting of the scars she bore from her traumatic childhood.

Apprehension crept along her spine. How gentle… how kind would his brother be? The brother who had mocked and insulted her and called her a harlot? How important to him was her physical beauty? Would he settle for a pretty face? She was not perfect…not at all…

‘I know you don’t trust me, Sarah,’ Gavin said softly.

Something akin to alarm jolted through Sarah for again it was as though she had spoken aloud what occupied her mind.

‘Did you trust Edward?’

‘Of course,’ she breathed.

‘Then why do you doubt the provision he has made for you? He wanted me to take over the role he played in your life. He did not intend you become my housekeeper. He intended you become my mistress.’

‘And are you happy that your brother has organised your future?’ she scoffed.

‘Of course I’m not happy about it,’ Gavin replied bluntly. ‘But I am willing to accept it.’

‘Because you want to claim your inheritance.’ The statement was tinged with acrimony.

‘Yes, I want my inheritance.’

Eyes that had become sleepy roved her figure.

‘And I want you.’

Her honey-coloured eyes flowed over the hard planes of his face, hoping to detect something repulsive that might free her from his spell. He had said he wanted her in a voice that was enticingly gruff with need. How much did he want her? Enough to overlook her flaws?

‘When first we learned of this madness in the lawyer’s office, you boasted you did not coerce unwilling women to sleep with you.’

‘I know,’ he admitted and a corner of his mouth tugged upwards. ‘So you must prove to me how very willing a partner you will be, Sarah, or I will be obliged to reject you simply to protect my integrity.’

Sarah gave him an exceedingly quizzical look.

‘Well…that apart, there’s also my vanity to consider.’

A spontaneous little laugh bubbled in her throat. It was stifled into the sound of a sob. It was a long while since she had shared a joke and somehow he could make her laugh with his self-deprecating humour. ‘You are a most conceited and arrogant man,’ she said with a half-hearted glower.

‘I know…’ His head drooped until barely a finger space separated their skin. ‘But you could soon cure me of it,’ he murmured.

‘Please don’t be flippant—’ Sarah managed a mild reproof before further words were stifled by a touch from his lips.

The light contact between them increased pressure as his mouth slid to mould to hers. She tasted warm and delicate and his male instinct was to immediately part her lips and plunge inside. But he felt the quiver of her uncertainty and knew it was no teasing response to inflame him. His wooing tongue tip began stroking the silky smoothness of her under lip, petitioning for entry.

Sarah felt blood surge through her veins. Edward had not kissed her in this way. In fact, Edward had not kissed her much at all. A peck on the cheek as a greeting, a perfunctory fusing together of mouths before the act of union; that was Sarah’s experience of being kissed by a man.

This was so very different. It was pure pleasure that made her limbs feel boneless. His hands were sliding over the undulating contours of her back to her hips, easing them closer to his. They remained there, lightly massaging her flesh, but he didn’t otherwise touch her intimately, although she’d expected he might.

Edward’s fingers would by now have breached her bodice; he might have fondled and tasted her breasts, for, tender as he’d been with her, he’d always taken his pleasure quickly.

Gavin seemed to enjoy kissing for kissing’s sake and Sarah realised with a sense of wonder that she did too. Her soft mouth clung to his, tracking its skilful movement until her lips were widely parted. Readily she accepted a caress from his tongue, tentatively she responded with a flick of her own.

Far from wanting this game to stop, Sarah desired more of the sultry heat that was coiling in her belly, urging her to press her pelvis harder to his. When his mouth became more demanding, she felt her whole being yield in response. Immediately he repositioned, taking advantage of her loosening limbs. A muscled thigh insinuated between hers, chafing lightly against the core of her femininity. Sarah gasped, and instinctively her back arched.

A dazed corner of her mind recalled that this was simply an experiment. He was testing her willingness to be his bed partner. A feeble moan in the back of her throat was her pride’s protest, but she felt too languid to push him away.

Slowly he slid his mouth from hers, returning briefly in tender farewell as she tried to recapture the bliss. In consolation his lips touched the sensitive place at her throat, warming the pulse there before he put her from him.

Gavin had not been prepared for the force of the desire that had swamped him. His loins throbbed hard and thick with blood. It had been just a kiss…a simple, sweet kiss to persuade her to accept his protection. Now he felt like a callow youth unable to control his passion until a more suitable time and place.

One of Sarah’s hands gripped the nearest chair to steady her balance. She felt oddly cheated. He had put an end to her delight too soon, and knowing how wanton he must think her made her voice querulous. ‘Will I do?’

Gavin shot her a look from narrowed black eyes. He thought they had got past peevishness. ‘I think you know you’ll do very well.’

Sarah blinked, moistened her bruised mouth with a nervous flick from her tongue. What was she to do? Tell him now? Better by far to do so and avoid the humiliation of being rejected when stark naked. But the necessary words seemed to stick in her throat.

‘Have I your permission to tell Joseph Pratt that we are in agreement on this?’ Gavin asked softly.