Page 69 of Charity

When Redding dropped his hand, the duke was grinning. “You see why I keep him on, Oscar? Who else would dare keep me in line like that? We will return with your Agatha as quick as we can. Stay in the carriage and keep out of sight. We don’t want you noticed, or they might not let me have her.”

Oscar opened his mouth to protest.

The duke held out a staying hand. “Shh, boy. Trust me.”

Redding spoke to the driver and they moved off. As the building came closer, Oscar’s panic doubled. It was a mean place. Too coarse for his precious girl. He hoped Staines could get her out. He prayed for it with all his heart.

The coach stopped and Redding stepped out. After a long wait, Staines followed and rushed up to the front door with an eager spring in his step. The door closed and his carriage moved away. They circled the block as the driver normally would and stopped in a side lane to wait for the duke’s signal to return.

Oscar slid to the window closest to the brothel and peered out. He could see scarcely one window from here. He wasn’t nearly close enough. He’d get out and wait. He set his hand to the door as one of the footmen jumped down. The groom opened the door and pushed him father into the carriage.

“Here now!” Oscar protested.

The groom ignored him, flipped open a concealed cupboard and poured a drink. He handed the crystal glass to Oscar. “Redding insisted.”

A drink could settle his nerves.

Oscar took the glass and swallowed it down fast. As he handed the glass back, the groom pulled something long from his pocket. Oscar’s dueling pistol sat on the groom’s lap. A silent threat.

The groom shrugged. “Afraid Redding insisted on this, too, my lord. Mrs. Leyton’s bawdy house is no fit place for you. The duke would never forgive himself if you were hurt. Best to stay here, as Redding likes you.”

“She’s lovely. Very soft skin, but I’m after someone a little purer on the eye. Someone who might cause a ripple of envy on my arm at the theater. I want everyone mad for her name and for an introduction. When they find out she’s the latest acquisition for the Hunt Club’s stable, we will be inundated with applications, all of which I must reluctantly refuse, and thus retain our popularity. You, of course, know what a reputation for exclusivity means in our world. I intend to finish the year with a triumphant roar.”

Agatha heard the deep voice outside her door and cringed. Don’t come in. Don’t come near me. I cannot be that woman. She’d rather die than be any man’s whore. She held her breath, but the footsteps didn’t move on.

“Well, that does make your pocketbook heftier. Wouldn’t mind that myself.” There was a painfully long pause. “If you want purity, then I’ve got just the lass for you. Mind you, she could be trouble. The pure ones always are. But if the price was right, I’m sure we could come to an arrangement. This one is worth double the previous girl.”

Agatha’s doorknob jiggled. She stared at it as it began to turn and could not look away as the abbess entered the room, two finely dressed gentlemen hard on her heels.

One of them, the tallest, hissed.

The other stared at her foot. “How utterly delightful.”

Despite not wanting to react, Agatha squeezed her toes together. A flicker of anger crossed the shorter man’s face. One of his hands curled into a fist.

The tall man moved closer to the bed. He tested the bonds at her ankles, yet did not, thankfully, touch her skin.

The shorter one turned his back on her, one arm behind him, fist still clenched. “She’s perfect, breathtaking, but I do think she should be inspected. Redding, be a good chap and take a look at her teeth.”

Redding winced. “Of course, Your Grace. I should have thought of it sooner.”

Agatha stared at the shorter man’s back. A duke? Good God she would never get out of this with any of her reputation intact. While the duke haggled with the abbess, the Redding fellow moved closer. He met her eyes as he reached for her face.

Agatha shifted her head from side to side.

The abbess appeared beside the bed. “You’ll need a firm hand with this one. She’s somewhat feisty.”

The duke drew the abbess away again. “I do like a feisty woman. So much more fun to have around. Now about the price…”

Agatha whipped her gaze back to Redding just as he captured her jaw.

“Don’t fight me now, precious,” he whispered. “Open your mouth like a good girl so we can get you home.”

Precious? Only Oscar called her that. Why would this gentleman know or use the name? He didn’t say another word. His grip softened.

She let her jaw slacken. Redding gently pried her mouth open and made a show of inspecting her teeth. But he whispered, “Go along with whatever the duke does and says. Don’t fight us too much.”

Redding sat back. “She has all her teeth, Your Grace.”