Dancing On Air (17 page)

His thoughts of taking Florentia’s son — his illegitimate son — dimmed. Vincent’s mind whirled with the possibilities. He was tired of the shadows. Now, perhaps, he had been given one more chance to have something pure and untouched. He would marry Lisette and put the past behind him. She would give him an heir, one that was worthy to carry on his name.

Tinder stood in the wings and watched Lisette. To him, she represented the almost unattainable beauty and perfection. He saw the look she gave Lord Gainswith and wished that she would regard him in such a way. The love was evident in her eyes and Tinder felt a stab of resentment. He had offered her marriage and respectability but she had refused him. She could have been his wife, mistress of the Imperial and its prima ballerina. Instead she was willing to whore herself to Gainswith, all for ‘love’. The word stuck in his mind and he scowled. What fools women were.

He could try and forget her by sleeping his way through as many of the girls of the
corps de ballet
that would let him. But it was Lisette’s face he saw as he coaxed them into his bed, and it was her face he saw when he possessed them. His feelings were twisted, and he could not figure out if he loved her or merely lusted after her. She was fixated in his thoughts and his fingers itched to touch her.

She did not want him and that should have been enough for him to walk away. But something told him that when Gainswith cast her aside he would be more than happy to fill his shoes... Preferably the shoes under her bed.

So, who was the bigger fool: Lisette or himself?

Bessie flinched at the sound of the metal gate swinging shut. It could only signify that Lord de Vale was home for the evening. She ran her fingers over her new silk corset. It was the colour of dull pink roses and tiny silk flowers decorated the bust line. The corset was beautiful, expensive, French...and gave her no joy. How quickly one’s perceptions can change. A few little weeks ago this present would have sent her into a flutter, but not now. She looked over to the small dressing table. It was covered with items she had never thought she would ever possess: expensive jewellery, long soft kid gloves, fans, perfume and trinkets. Her wardrobe had grown as well, especially when it came to her under-things. She now possessed more stockings and corsets than she could wear in a year. However the initial flare of excitement of receiving such wondrous presents had faded. Bessie quickly discovered that their price was too high.

Vincent liked her to look pretty and alluring. Out of fear, she damn well made sure she looked perfect, with not a hair out of place.

Lisette had been right, as much as Bessie hated to admit it. With hindsight she knew Lisette was trying to keep her safe and she hadn’t listened. Bessie knew that she should have taken things slowly. But Vincent had been so charming and she had fallen in love with him. He had brought her to his home and she had imagined a rosy picture of being with him forever.

The first time she had given herself to him had been dangerous, exciting and romantic. Bessie had felt like a heroine from one of Miss Braddon’s sensational novels. Vincent had been attentive and gentle and she had believed that all of heaven had been smiling down on her. But when she woke in the morning she found herself not in Vincent’s bed but here. The small room was pretty enough, at first glance. The walls were white but the rest of the room was decorated in pinks and soft greens with flowers and cherubs. A large metal bed sat by one wall and was dressed in white sheets that were bordered in lace and covered with soft quilts. In a small alcove Bessie found a water closet, a claw footed bath, and a sink.

Something about the room wasn’t right and it took Bessie several minutes to realise that the room did not have any windows. Well, that was not exactly true. She found what could have been a window in the corner of the room but it had been boarded up. With growing apprehension she quickly ran to the door and found it locked.

Bessie had been locked in her pretty prison ever since. Her meals were delivered by a silent servant and Vincent visited her most nights. Bessie shuddered. In her mind, Vincent had changed from the concerned and gentle lover into a monster. Vincent took what he wanted, bent her to his will with cruelty and beat her into submission.

Bessie’s heart raced as she heard his footsteps on the stairs. She silently sent up two prayers. The first was for deliverance and the second that he was in an agreeable mood. She crossed to her dressing table, picked up a hand mirror and studied her reflection. She just had time to pinch her cheeks, to give them a little colour and to take a steadying breath.

The key rattled in the lock and Bessie turned to the door. Fixing a bright smile on her face she waited for Vincent to appear and hoped that she would make it through another night.

‘Can it be true?’ Sally frowned as she reached into her reticule for her purse.

‘I’m not sure. Florentia can be temperamental. I find it hard to believe she would make it up.’ Lisette stilled her friend’s hand with her own. ‘It’s alright. Aunt Marie has decided that as I am dancing the principal role I am allowed to have my own money,’ she said with a sarcastic tone. She lifted her face and smiled at the conductor. ‘May I have two tickets to Belgravia.’

The omnibus conductor wrinkled his brow. ‘Here, yer on the wrong bus, luv. This one only goes to Pimlico.’

‘That’s quite alright, the residence is somewhere between the two.’

‘Well, if yer think... That’ll be sixpence for the pair of yer.’

‘Thank you.’ Lisette handed the man the coin.

After a moment the driver flicked the reins and the two horses moved forward.

‘You don’t know where we’re going?’

‘Yes...sort of. Lord de Vale lives near Eaton Square. I’ve been there once or twice with my aunt. I’m sure we will be able to find it.’

‘I still don’t know what you are going to say.’ Sally dropped her voice as she continued, ‘Excuse me Lord de Vale. We were just passing by and decided to ask if you had kidnapped our fellow dancer, Bessie.’

‘Shhh, I’ll think of something.’

‘I don’t see what. We are going to look like ninnies and heaven only knows what he’ll do.’

‘I know it certainly isn’t the best plan I have ever come up with but I have to know that Bessie is safe. If she is there by her own consent and is perfectly safe, then I will have only made a fool of myself. If the smallest fraction of what Florentia said is true, Bessie could be in real trouble.’

‘Very well. We shall go and call on Lord de Vale... unannounced, without an escort, to an unmarried gentleman’s home. Thank heavens we are not society girls or else our reputations would be in tatters,’ Sally replied before she shook her head and looked out the window. ‘God only knows what your aunt is going to say.’

‘We don’t have reputations; we’re dancers. So how could it possibly matter?’

Lisette had thought this morning it would be a grand idea to find out if Bessie was actually with Vincent. However she felt her courage begin to falter as they walked down the streets of elegantly appointed houses. The closer she came to Vincent’s residence the more agitated she felt. Soon she stood at Lord de Vale’s midnight blue door. Twice she stepped forward and raised her hand and twice she hesitated before she dropped it by her side.

‘Are you going to knock?’ Sally asked. ‘Or have we just come all this way to admire Lord de Vale’s paintwork or perhaps the brass knocker?’

‘Possibly. It is a very nice knocker,’ Lisette said as she shot her friend a levelling look.

Lord Vincent de Vale stood staring down at the street. He had been lost in the past when Lisette and her friend stopped outside his door. He stiffened. After her conversation with Florentia last night he should have known that she would come. He spun away from the window, and strode out of the room towards Bessie’s.

He took the key out of his waistcoat pocket and quickly opened the door of Bessie’s prison. She was sitting on the bed reading one of those dreadful novels of which she was so fond. Her head jerked up as he entered the room. She looked pale in her blue dress, and there were dark smudges under her eyes. A picture formed in his mind. For an instant she was spread naked beneath him as he pumped into her. Her hands were secured to the iron bed head and she was his to claim and possess. She was at his mercy and he could do anything he wanted and she was powerless to stop him. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth and he could feel himself hardening.

‘Well my dear, it appears we have unexpected guests,’ he said as Bessie dropped her book and stood up. ‘Miss Devoré and Miss Taft have called upon us.’

‘I don’t understand. Why would they do that?’

Vincent placed his hands on Bessie shoulders. She trembled under his touch. ‘Because they are concerned for your welfare. You are a fortunate woman, Bessie, to have such friends.’

‘I did not think they were friends,’ Bessie replied in a barely audible voice. She dropped her gaze and stared at the floor.

‘Now, now... Do not be a silly chit,’ he said as he raised her head with a finger under her chin. ‘They are worried that you are here against your will and that you have been misused by me.’ He stared into her eyes and his fingers started to tighten. ‘What are you going to tell them?’

‘Must I see them, Vincent? I would rather not... You see, they are not truly my friends. Lisette and Sally have always been jealous of me.’

Vincent bit back a laugh. ‘Oh, of course Lisette would be jealous of you and your ability.’

‘It’s true. She was angry when Tinder Michaels gave me the part of the blue princess.’

He gave her a placating smile so as not to ruffle all her feathers. ‘Perhaps that is true, my dear. However now she is principal dancer and is here to enquire about your welfare. So what will you tell her?’

‘But how can she be the lead ballerina?’

‘Lisette stepped in after Florentia had an accident on stage. But you have not told me what you are going to say.’ Vincent tightened his grip again and his fingers bit deeper into Bessie’s flesh until she winced.

‘That I am more than well. That we love each other and there is nowhere else I would want to be.’

He released his grip on her shoulders and she sagged with relief. ‘Very good, but mind what you say. If you slip, if you try and escape, I will punish you.’