Page 7 of The Duke of Pain

Olivia Durham stepped out the side door into the private passageway. With the riding crop tucked under her arm, she peeled off the leather gloves and handed them to Pan, who stood nearby.

“The judge is unconscious. He will have to be attended to,” she said without emotion.

Pan’s eyebrows rose. “My dear Olivia, did you beat him into submission once again?”

“The old reprobate wished for me to flay his skin. His request was tempting. However, the mere threat was enough to send him into a swoon. As usual. I’m going to my room to rest.”

Pan reached out and laid a hand on her arm. The contact made her flinch.

“Lord Craven has made a request, specifically for you tomorrow night. I believe the gold room will suffice for the assignation.”

Lord Craven?

She knew he was a duke. Olivia had heard the idle gossip, for he was known far and wide in the trade. “Oh Lord, how he craves!” the women had tittered. The ladies also claimed he was very tall, imposing, dark, and dangerous. His glare could cause ice to form around one’s extremities.

Of course, the same could be said about herself. The ice part, at least.

Olivia frowned. She had also heard he was a beast in bed, not that she planned to fornicate with the depraved duke. None of her encounters had anything to do with sexual gratification. Not for her, at any rate.

“He will pay a great deal of money to be in your company,” Pan urged.

“From what I hear, Lord Craven does not strike me as the type to surrender to anything.”

“Agreed. The duke observed you with the judge, so he is well aware of what you offer. I am surprised he would subject himself to be in a submissive position, but there it is.”

“His real name?” Olivia asked.

“Gideon Broyles, Duke of Watford. You might have heard of his stepfather, Sanford Ellingford, Duke of Whinstone. His reputation eclipses his stepson’s. Cruel bastard. I won’t have him here.”

Olivia was secretly grateful Pan ensured a safe environment for his workers. She had been with him for years at other establishments.

“I haven’t heard of Whinstone, but then I don’t pay close attention to most of the gossip. In fact, I find dukes to be too superior to deal with. I’m not interested.”

Olivia turned to head to her room, but Pan reached for her arm again but then pulled back as if remembering she loathed to be touched. It was not so much as she abhorred being touched, she would just prefer no contact.

“All the safeguards will be in place. The room is completely private, but the hidden bells are in working order should you require assistance. Colin will be down the hall in case you need him.”

Olivia exhaled. “A lot of money, you say?”

“Yes, your share will be quite substantial, I assure you. More than you made all of last month.”

The offer was too good to pass up. Olivia needed and wanted the money. Poverty and the ever-lurking specter of living in the streets caused her to consider the arrangement.

Why not, indeed?

“I will agree to a thirty-minute block. No more.”

Pan handed her the gloves, then bowed slightly. “As you wish, my dear.”

Olivia took the back stairs to the enclosed walkway linked to the house directly behind The Velvet Vine and Tackle. This space was exclusive to the sex workers as they had their own private rooms. Pan made certain the area was neat, clean, and entirely livable and insisted that the staff kept it that way. Her room was her home.

In truth, she had no place else to go.

Once Olivia entered, she turned the gas on the wall sconce, and with a decided hiss and pop, luminance filled the space. Pan had electric lights installed in the brothel’s main entranceway and parlor. But the rest of the establishment, including the living quarters, still had gas illumination.

Her room was cozy, consisting of a single bed with lots of warm blankets and feather pillows. In the other corner stood a plush chair that she used for reading. Further along, was a small fireplace for warmth and for heating water for a cup of tea when the mood struck.

Olivia stripped off her clothes and slipped on her flannel nightdress. She then pulled open the top drawer of the bureau.