Page 16
Chapter Seven
The smoke from someone’s cheroot made Grant sneeze and he stumbled forward, his drink sloshing out one side of his glass to dribble over the back of his hand.
Once again, he’d imbibed too much, which meant he could barely stand unassisted. Someone took his arm and instantly he stiffened as he recognized it was Lady Roberts.
“Grant, darling, Milly and I feel neglected.” Lucinda pulled him to a settee where her friend sat, dress top pulled down, her sagging breasts spilling out and resting upon her abdomen. “We require you.”
Lucinda shoved more than guided him down to the settee. She gave him a push so that he fell and sprawled across it and spilled the rest of his drink. The room spun. Before he could right himself, she quickly untied the front of his breeches, her lips curving as she reached in and grabbed his cock, pulling it free.
“We wish to play with you,” Milly purred, her overly made-up face looming over him. “Be a good lad and open,” she said and pressed the tip of one of her flaccid, sagging breasts across his lips.
Thiswas the price he had to pay for Lucinda’s large deposit into his account and a game he’d been part of for almost half a year. With her mouth taking in his cock and him suckling on the other woman’s breast, he looked across the room at the other men who were also being coerced into performing different acts for the pleasure of what most considered society’s highest class of women. In his mind, he was in a garden, a place far away. Instead of stale perfume and unwashed bodies, he was surrounded by fresh air and sunshine. Before him a woman stood, arms spread, face up to the sun. The women’s moans dragged him back to the present and he pushed them away.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” It wasn’t a lie, his stomach churned at the scene before him. How had he managed to ignore the fact that the price of his self-worth was much higher than any amount deposited in his account?
The room spun, and he let out a groan, falling back onto the settee. Then everything went black.
*
In a haze,Grant woke sprawled across the foot of a bed. Cracking his eyes open, the lightness of the room informed him it was late morning. He was fully naked, which meant someone had undressed him.
A leg brushed against his, and he lifted his head to find two other people in the bed with him. One of the other men slept on his back with Lucinda sleeping by his side, her arm possessively across his stomach.
Good. Perhaps her interest in him was waning. Noiselessly, he slid from the bed and searched for his clothes. But none of the items strewn about were his. He cursed under his breath. Although the memories were dull and hazy, he recalled someone undressing him in the sitting room. Once again, he glanced to the bed, wondering if it was possible to take a sheet to wrap around himself.
Finally, he settled for one of Lucinda’s flimsy dressing gowns that he found strewn on the floor and wrapped it around his waist. Then he made his way out the door and down the hallway, hoping one of the maids had collected his clothing.
He dashed down the stairs into the small sitting room he last recalled seeing, and closed the door firmly behind him. The gown fell from his waist to the floor, but he didn’t care. Once dressed, he’d leave for what he hoped to be the last time. There were many excuses he could make to Lucinda for the following weeks. There were several balls that he’d already committed to escorting someone else to, and besides, she was going to be attending some festivities with her son.
At the sound of a feminine gasp, Grant whirled around.
A wide-eyed Wren stood by the window, cut flowers scattered around her feet. Instead of covering her eyes, her gaze roamed over his nudity. Then, seeming to catch herself, she whirled to face the window.
“I—I was not aware anyone was here.” Grant hurried to where his clothes had been neatly folded and placed over the back of a sofa. “I came to dress. I undressed…here…last night…” He ran out of things to say.
“I will leave you to it,” Wren said, still facing the window. “I can return and finish later. When…when you are done.”
“Wait,” Grant said. He grabbed his shirt and held it in front of his sex. “I must apologize.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Whatever for?”
What indeed? Something in him, however, screamed for him to ensure she didn’t think less of him. Was she aware of what happened there the night before?
“For startling you.”
“It was I that frightened you, I think.” Wren giggled. The pretty woman never ceased to amaze him. “Enjoy the rest of your day, sir.”
“You as well.” He took in the sight of her. Dressed simply in a frock, sturdy shoes, and an unflattering straw hat, she still outshone all the women who’d been in the room the night before. How unfair that she was born into a lower class and had to work so hard for a living.
Wren bent to pick up the flowers at her feet and placed them beside a vase. Then without looking at him again, she hurried from the room.
*
Lord Johnstone’s eyestwinkled in merriment, and he laughed when Grant told him what had occurred. “That you continue to be entertainment for those depraved women is astonishing. It serves you right. The poor girl must have been petrified at a bare man appearing in the room.” He began to laugh again, and Grant gave him a look. The night before was a huge mistake. The entire time he’d ridden away, he prayed Wren was not informed of why he was there. Although if he were to be honest with himself, she would eventually know.
But if he were in Johnstone’s place, he would also find humor in what occurred. As awkward as it had been being caught naked by Wren, the situation was also rather amusing.
Along with Henry, he and Miles Johnstone had met to discuss the sponsorship that very afternoon. The last of the four, Evan, was still gone on holiday.
