Antonia's Bargain

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Antonia’s Bargain

ISBN # 9781419908989

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Antonia’s Bargain Copyright© 2007 Kate Pearce

Edited by Briana St. James.

Cover art by Syneca.

Electronic book Publication: January 2007

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written

permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 443103502.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales

is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Content Advisory:

S – ENSUOUS

E – ROTIC

X

-

TREME

Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (Erotic), and X (X-treme).

The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. This story has been

rated E–rotic.

S-
ensuous
love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination.

E-
rotic
love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall

word count. E-rated titles might contain material that some readers find objectionable—in other words,

almost anything goes, sexually. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry in terms of both sexual

language and descriptiveness in these works of literature.

X-
treme
titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Stories designated

with the letter X tend to contain difficult or controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

ANTONIA’S BARGAIN

Kate Pearce

Kate Pearce

Chapter One

London, 1816

“Who is that?”

Lord Gideon Harcourt studied the young gentleman who stood by the fireplace in

the salon of Madame Desiree’s House of Pleasure. The man’s gaze remained fixed on

the fireplace as if he was oblivious or impervious to the riotous pursuit of sexual

gratification going on around him.

Madame Desiree shrugged. “I’m not sure of his name. I believe he came in with

Lady Jane Mellows.” She pursed her lips. “He does seem a mite uncomfortable and he

looks rather young. Do you think I should send him home?”

“With his tail between his legs?”

Gideon smiled at Madame Desiree. For a woman who ran a house unsurpassed for

the level of erotic fantasies offered for the amusement of the rich, she was remarkably

sentimental. He kissed her hand.

“Don’t worry, cherie, I will take care of him for you.”

She laughed and rapped his knuckles with her fan. “Be nice, Gideon.”

He winked at her. “When am I ever anything but?”

To the young man’s left, two women played a game of cards, which involved the

loser removing items of clothing. Shrieks of laughter wafted over to Gideon as one of

the ladies tore off a stocking and flung it straight toward the fire.

He concealed a smile as he reached his prey. It took him but a moment to untangle

the hapless youth from the still warm silk stocking that landed on his face. The young

man gave him a relieved grin.

“Thanks for your help, sir. For a moment I feared I had gone blind.”

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Antonia’s Bargain

“There are far better ways to go blind, my dear boy, particularly here.” Gideon

gestured at the crowded room. “Is this your first visit to Madame Desiree’s?”

“Indeed it is.” The youth tugged at his badly tied cravat. “Is it that obvious?”

Gideon guided him toward the buffet table. “To a man as experienced as I am, yes.”

He handed him a glass of champagne. “Am I permitted to know your name?”

A flash of guilt crossed the boy’s pleasant features. “Of course, sir, I am Anthony,

erm, Smith.”

Gideon raised an eyebrow. “It’s remarkable how many of the patrons of this elegant

and discreet establishment go by the name of Smith. You must meet a lot of relatives.”

He bowed. “I’m Harcourt. Lord Gideon Harcourt.”

Anthony studied him with wide gray eyes. They reminded Gideon of a deep lake

on a calm day. How old was the boy? A shiver of heightened awareness coursed down

his spine. Anthony’s skin was as smooth as the finest porcelain. Gideon’s fingers itched

to trace the curve of his high cheekbones.

“Did you come here by yourself tonight?”

He gestured to a chair and took the one opposite. Anthony crossed one long leg

over the other and finished off the champagne. “No, my lord. I came with a connection

of mine.” He leaned forward, the flush on his cheeks rising. “In truth, I didn’t know

quite what I was letting myself in for.”

Around them swelled the intimate sounds of subdued music, foreplay and

lovemaking. The unmistakable scent of arousal mingled with candle wax and heated,

perfumed bodies. Gideon paused to admire the tangle of limbs on the couch to his left

where three women and a single man seemed to be convulsing in simultaneous orgasm.

He’d had the dubious pleasure of fornicating with two of the women earlier in the

evening. One of them was a duchess, the other her sister. He had good reason to know

their sexual appetites were voracious. Not that he intended to bed them again. He

rarely found anything interesting enough in a partner of either sex to warrant a repeat

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Kate Pearce

performance. He noticed that Anthony kept his gaze on the badly polished toecaps of

his boots.

An unwilling laugh shook through him. Had he ever been that naïve? He and his

identical twin, Gervase, had learned to pleasure women as soon as they’d developed

the ability to get an erection. Damnation, he missed his twin. Would the cursed

aftermath of the war with France never end?

And why was this youth so inexperienced? Gideon’s keen gaze dropped to

Anthony’s long, narrow hands, noted the ill-fitting cut of his breeches and lingered

there. He drew in a slow breath and savored his interesting discovery, more aroused

than before.

“It’s true that Madame Desiree caters to some unusual tastes. Do you find

lovemaking offensive?”

Anthony raised his fine eyes to Gideon’s. “No, it’s just that I’ve never seen…” He

waved his hand helplessly in the general direction of the women.

“Ah, I begin to understand you. You believe that women are not meant to enjoy the

act of physical love, only men.”

He met a fiery glare that surprised him. The boy had spirit. He felt more interested

and alive than he had in months.

“On the contrary, why should women not enjoy themselves?” He glanced around

the room. “But in public?”

Gideon snapped his fingers and one of the footmen refilled their glasses. “This is

scarcely public. Madame Desiree presides over the most discreet and expensive club in

the city. Perhaps you should start your sexual education in a more traditional setting.”

Anthony frowned. “What do you mean?”

“There are several tried and tested routes.” Anthony’s cheeks grew even redder.

“Some fathers take their sons to their own mistresses for their first lessons in the carnal

arts.”

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Antonia’s Bargain

“That’s obscene. Why would any man want to share his father’s mistress?”

Gideon was beginning to enjoy himself. He drank his champagne in one swallow.

“Perhaps you feel this way because your father was unwilling to share?”

“My father didn’t have a mistress, he…”

Gideon held his gaze. “Are you sure about that?” Anthony was the first to look

away.

“As I was saying, another traditional route to the joys of fornication is to find a

young woman in your parents’ employ who is willing to oblige you.”

Anthony compressed his lips into a thin line. “And what happens to the woman if

she becomes pregnant? From what I’ve heard, she would be thrown out of the house to

starve.”

“Are you perhaps a Puritan or a Methodist, Anthony? You sound so disapproving.”

“I am neither, sir. It just seems unfair.”

Gideon drew a cigar from his pocket and offered one to Anthony who shook his

head. He took his time lighting his, allowed the smoke to weave a screen around him

and his silent companion.

“The third option, of course, is the traditional brothel. As long as you can find

somewhere discreet, clean and safe, you are guaranteed anonymity. You pay for the

woman’s services, you use her body and then you leave.” He smiled into Anthony’s

outraged eyes. “Surely you can have no objections to that?”

To his amusement, Anthony remained close-mouthed. Gideon resisted an urge to

lean forward and run a thumb over his generous lower lip.

“Have I embarrassed you?”

Anthony let out a breath. “No indeed, sir, you have just confirmed my intolerable

ignorance about the ways of the flesh.”

Gideon drew on his cigar, aware of a slight hardening and heat in his groin as

Anthony uncrossed and then recrossed his long legs.

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Kate Pearce

“Where have you been for all these years? In a monastery?”

“I might as well have been!” Indignation threaded through his clipped words. “I’ve

been kept in the country, sheltered and overprotected and then expected to marry some

stupid—” He closed his mouth with a snap. “I apologize, sir. My indignation got the

better of me.”

Gideon shifted in his seat as his cock hardened. “Are you saying your family

intends to force you into a marriage while you are still a virgin?”

“That is why I begged—I mean, asked—Lady Jane to bring me here tonight. I

thought I should be allowed to understand what went on for myself.”

“And Lady Jane refused to initiate you? How vexing of her.”

“She is my cousin. I hardly think she would want to do that.”

Gideon winked at him. “You’d be surprised what goes on in the best of families.”

“But I want to find out for myself,” Anthony repeated, his face set in a stubborn

expression that reminded Gideon of his father.

“An excellent plan.” He got to his feet. “If it pleases you, I will consider myself your

guide tonight. I promise to answer any questions you might have.”

Anthony rose too, his expression wary. “Why would you do this for me, sir?”

“Because I am bored and you promise to provide me with a great deal of

amusement.”

“What if Lady Jane should need me?”

Gideon took the glass out of Anthony’s hand and steered him toward the door. His