Page 19 of Only Pleasure Will Do

Chapter 8

Allowing herself to finally relax, Amorina was on the verge of sleep when Reginald nuzzled her neck, his lips sliding down her shoulder, strewing kisses every few inches. She snapped awake, completely alert, awaiting the touch of his lips, his hands, any part of him he was willing to share. Sighing in contentment, she tilted her head into the mattress, opening herself up for further exploration by his wicked mouth.

As he continued the line of kisses—from her neck to her shoulder to her upper arm—she closed her eyes, each caress searing her flesh until her left side threatened to catch flame.

“Did I wake you?” The pleasant baritone voice in her ear was husky, a tone she knew well.

“No. I was just drowsing, waiting for you to rise.” She snuggled her bottom into his groin, pleased at the bulge that thumped against her. “I see you have.”

With a deep chuckle, he slid his hand down her side, scorching her skin as he trailed it across her waist to rest on the curve of her hip. “Guilty, I’m afraid. A beautiful woman always has that effect on me. Here.” He shifted himself up in the bed, pulling his arm from beneath her while sliding himself under her so that she lay with her head pillowed on his chest. “I hate to disturb you, but my arm has gone numb.”

“I don’t mind moving if it concerns your comfort.” She grasped his hands and positioned his arms beneath her breasts again. The slight contact was still enough to make her nipples peak. Thoughts of his hands engulfing them—or his mouth—set her core to a slow burn. “Is that better?”

“Yes.” He squeezed her and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Would you mind if I asked you a question?”

She’d been expecting one for some time; there were many things he might be curious about. “No, not at all. What would you like to know, Reginald?”

A long pause ensued, and she tried to steady her breathing. What the devil would he ask that took so much thought?

“Did you ever think to leave the House of Pleasure?”

“No. Never.”

He went completely still beneath her. That wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting, she supposed.

“Why not?” To his credit, the words came out neutral, no accusation in his tone.

“Because of Pearl.” How could there have been any other reason for her to stay?

“I would’ve thought she would be the reason you would try to leave at the first opportunity.”

“If I can find my way out of my current imprisonment, it will be the first opportunity I’ve had in six years.” Was it really so difficult for him to see that? She’d told him about Sir Peter’s hold over her. “As long as Sir Peter was alive, I couldn’t risk him revealing that Aimee Forrester was Amorina Vestry, a woman beyond redemption.”

“He promised his silence in exchange for your cooperation?”

“And as long as I helped fill his coffers with the profits from the House of Pleasure. Half of everything I took in was handed over to him each week. From the other half, I had to pay the servants, the men who kept the rowdiness to a minimum, any repairs to the establishment, the food bills, and finally the ladies and myself.” There had been weeks, especially if there’d been altercations in the public rooms, when she’d paid enormous sums out of her pocket for immediate repairs to keep the house open and therefore scarcely realized a farthing.

Raising up so he could see her face, Reginald shook his head, his jaw clenched. “Could you not have applied to the baron for help? After your daughter was born, perhaps? A kinsman, no matter how distant, should’ve come to your aid.”

She peered up at him, touched by the lines of concern on his face. “I actually thought of that. Soon after Sir Peter made his plans known to me, I began to compose a letter to my cousin, asking for his aid. I was deciding how to have him send a reply that did not come to the House of Pleasure, when I looked up from my ledger one night, not long after I reopened the House, and a gentleman stood before me who reminded me somewhat of my father. He gave his name as Baron Forrester.”

A thunderous frown darkened Reginald’s stoic countenance.

“I settled him with one of my best ladies, quietly withdrew to my room then ripped the letter to shreds and burned it.” She’d also swallowed a sizeable amount of brandy to steady her nerves. “Fortunately, my father always told me I favored my mother strongly, so I hoped the baron would not find a family resemblance in me.”

“I am so very sorry, Madam Vestry.”

She flinched. The last thing she wanted to hear from his lips was that detested name. “If you would give me a name, Reginald, I would prefer Maddy, from my middle name, Madeline. It was the name my family used for me, when I had a family.”

“I would be honored, Maddy.” He stroked her cheek, his touch featherlight. “You’ve been a courageous and resourceful woman for a very long time. How you assumed the running of such an establishment at just seventeen is remarkable, to say the least.”

She couldn’t restrain a smile at the compliment, although Reginald likely knew very little of the kind of training most schoolgirls were given. “It depends how you view the House of Pleasure, I think, as to whether or not my elevation to its mistress and my success in running it should be deemed remarkable.”

He cocked his head, surely puzzled.

“Had I been given my debut in society at age eighteen I might’ve married immediately and would then have assumed the running of my husband’s household.” She shrugged. “No one would’ve thought that remarkable in the least. It is what I was trained to do. I would’ve supervised the hiring of many of the servants, managed the food and daily menus, organized entertainments, seen to the clothing allowances. When I was instead put in charge of a ‘School of Venus,’ as such establishments have been called, I simply applied my organizational skills and knowledge to the running of that house instead.” She couldn’t help a rueful smile. “I assure you, there were few true differences.”

“Perhaps the most remarkable thing, my dear, was your will to survive.” He took her hand and kissed it, making her heart beat uncontrollably quickly. “To be thrown into such a horrible situation and yet not allow it to break your spirit is miraculous, in my estimation. I believe most young women, faced with the same circumstances, would simply have given up. It is a testament to your resilience, to your inner strength, that you have lived through it.”