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Authors: Kate Pearce

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BOOK: Simply Scandalous
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“I'm sure of it, sir. Are you planning on making your home here in England?”
“I would like to, but, naturally, there are various plans that need to be put in place before I can achieve my aim.” Mr. Lennox shrugged. “I heard that you spent many years in France yourself, Mr. Ross.”
“I suppose Lord Keyes told you that.”
“Among others. It seems we have several acquaintances in common.”
“Indeed.” Richard studied Mr. Lennox. “Is that why you instigated this conversation?”
“
Instigated,
Mr. Ross?” Lennox raised his eyebrows. “You make my motives sound rather suspect. Perhaps I merely wished to exchange pleasantries with a man who spoke French as well as I do.”
“You came in with Lord Keyes and Sir Adam Fisher, who both speak excellent French. Are they not up to your high standards?”
“No, I fear they are not.”
Richard met the other man's vivid blue eyes. “What do you want, Mr. Lennox?”
“To talk to you?”
“We are talking.” Richard glanced over his companion's shoulder and saw that the other men had moved on to other more salacious pursuits involving the hasty removal of their clothes. “Do you not wish to join your friends?”
“Only if you wish to come with me.”
“I thought you wanted to talk.”
“We're in a pleasure house. I assume you can talk and fornicate at the same time?”
“Not if I intend to make any sense.”
Jack Lennox laughed out loud. “You are a man after my own heart, Mr. Ross. Perhaps we might just share a glass of wine together before we adjourn for the night?”
Richard studied the other man's amused expression. Despite the openness of his manner, there was something dangerous lurking at the back of Mr. Lennox's eyes, something ruthless that demanded to be recognized. Richard had met his own kind too many times before to be fooled. For the first time in a long while, he felt a lick of excitement curl through his gut.
“Of course, Mr. Lennox. Would you like to join me at the far end of the salon, where I hope we shall remain relatively undisturbed?”
He led the way past the piles of writhing bodies to the quieter end of the salon where several chairs were grouped around small tables. He took a chair that allowed him to see the rest of the room and waited to see which seat Jack Lennox would pick. Lennox sat directly opposite him, half-blocking Richard's view, a brave move that Richard could only admire.
“Now, Mr. Lennox. What can I do for you?” Richard signaled for one of the waiters and asked for some brandy to be brought to them.
“It is a delicate matter, Mr. Ross. One I am not quite sure how to approach.”
“Are you under the impression that I can somehow help advance your career? If that is so, you are quite mistaken. Lord Keyes is the man for that kind of thing. He already holds an important position in the government and is connected with all the best families.”
“Lord Keyes has already offered to help me, Mr. Ross.” Jack Lennox thanked the waiter for the brandy and then turned his intent gaze back to Richard. “The matter I wish to speak to you about is a more personal one.”
“Yet you hardly know me, sir.”
“Which presents me with some difficulties, I know. But this request is not entirely on my behalf.” Jack Lennox hesitated. “I am charged to deliver a message to Madame Helene Delornay I understood from Lord Keyes that you have some connection with her.”
“I might have.” Richard sipped his brandy and wondered exactly what Keyes had told Lennox. “But since you are in her house of pleasure, why not simply ask to meet Madame Helene herself?”
“I understood that she no longer runs this establishment.”
“She still looks in occasionally. Why did you not attempt to speak to her son, Christian? He is in charge now.”
“Because I am not sure if the message I bring will be welcome to Madame Helene.” Lennox's smile was roguishly charming. “I hoped you might act as a—how do you say it? A go-between.”
“That is certainly the correct phrase, but I'm not sure if I like the idea at all. Why should I offer myself up for such a potentially hazardous duty?”
Jack Lennox sat forward, one hand clenched on his knee, and lowered his voice.
“My grandmother knew Madame Helene when she was a young woman. I believe they shared some terrible experiences during the revolution. I'm unsure if Madame Helene would wish to revive those memories. I hoped you might intercede with her, or her son, on my behalf.”
Richard studied the other man. He'd always considered himself an excellent judge of character. There was a sincerity behind Lennox's words that couldn't be denied. Instinct also told Richard there was far more to the story. Did he want to become involved, or did he wish Jack Lennox and his grandmother to the devil?
“Why didn't your grandmother just write a letter to Madame Helene?”
“Because she is reluctant to commit anything to paper. She is extremely suspicious. After surviving the twists and turns of a revolution, I can understand her fears, although it makes my task more complicated.”
“I can see that.” Richard let his gaze linger on Jack Lennox's perfect face. If the man did stay in London and was accepted by the ton, the ladies were going to swoon over him in droves. “Is there somewhere I can reach you when I have made my decision?”
Disappointment flashed in Jack Lennox's eyes, but he quickly masked it. “Of course. I'm staying at 33 Curzon Street. Do you know it?”
“The Harcourt family house?”
“My grandmother knew the previous viscount before the revolution. They remained friends until he died. The Harcourt family is in the country, so we are not disturbing anyone too greatly.”
“Then I will contact you there.” Richard rose and held out his hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lennox. Do you intend to stay and sample the delights of the pleasure house before you retire? I think Lord Keyes and his party are still rather occupied.”
Jack shook his hand and then glanced around at the orgy going on behind them. “I heard there was more on offer here than that. Is it true?”
Richard smiled. “Indeed. What do you prefer? Madame boasts she caters to every sexual taste known to man or woman.”
“Or both?” Jack held his gaze. “I am not averse to sharing my bed with either sex.”
Richard gently disengaged his hand from Jack's grip. “Then take yourself up the stairs to the second level and ask Marie-Claude to help you discover what you desire.”
“You will not come with me? Perhaps we could find a willing woman to share.”
“Alas, I am rather tired, but thank you for the offer. Good night, Mr. Lennox.”
“Good night, Mr. Ross.”
For a moment Richard wondered what it would be like to share a bed with a man who reminded him so strongly of Violet. Would he feel desire for him? Richard squashed that thought and turned toward the door. It wasn't the first time he'd been propositioned by a man at the pleasure house, but it was certainly the first time he'd stopped to think about it.
Perhaps his association with the Delornay family was starting to erode his morals. Richard smiled as he unlocked the door that led into the servants' stairwell and headed toward the private quarters at the rear of the house. Not that his morals had been particularly strong to start with. Surviving in a war-damaged country had taught him that right and wrong were more fluid concepts than he had ever imagined.
A fire had been lit in his bedchamber and his bed was warm from the hot bricks Ambrose had directed be placed at the foot. Richard sighed as he took off his black coat and started on the buttons of his waistcoat. In the morning he would talk to Lord Keyes, and then depending on the result of that interview, he might approach Christian with Jack Lennox's request.
Richard pictured the young man and found himself smiling. Such arrogance and
such
determination wrapped in a beautiful exterior package. Had Lennox gone home, or had he succumbed to the lure of the pleasure house and found himself another man to play with? Richard stripped off his underthings and lay in bed, his hand automatically cupping his cock and balls. His last thought as he drifted off to sleep was a startling image of Lennox, Violet, and himself naked and writhing on the silken covers of his bed. . . .
2
“I
'm not sure what you want me to tell you, Ross.”
Richard concealed his impatience behind a slight smile and studied Lord Keyes, who sat opposite him in the warmth of the secretary's office at the Sinners' Club. It was always the best place to find Lord Keyes, who barely visited his official lodgings. Richard suspected Keyes had a more private set of rooms on the top floor of the club where he plotted his nefarious schemes. Despite the advanced hour, the paneled room was still quite dark and smelled strongly of the Spanish cigarillos Keyes enjoyed.
“I would have thought it was quite obvious. You deliberately introduced Jack Lennox to me last night. He even confirmed that. Why?”
Lord Keyes stretched out his long legs and propped his booted feet up on the grate.
“Why must you assume I have a disreputable purpose for everything I do? Perhaps I just thought the man needed a few French-speaking friends to see him through his debut in polite society.”
“Mr. Lennox told me that he had a message for Madame Helene. Is that what interests you?”
Keyes gave Richard his most charming smile. They were of a similar age and had been through school and university together, although Richard would never claim Keyes as a close friend. They were more like competitors.
“I'd forgotten that when you get the bit between your teeth there is very little that will shake you off course, is there? Why would I be interested in anything Mr. Lennox has to say to a notorious madame?”
Richard put his glass down on the table with a decided click. “If you persist in answering every one of my questions with one of your own, I shall assume you don't wish to know the outcome of Mr. Lennox's meeting with my stepmother.” He started to rise. “I'll wish you good day.”
Keyes put out a restraining hand. “Devil take it, Ross, don't be so impatient.” He paused until Richard sat back down. “I
am
interested in what passes between Mr. Lennox and Madame Helene.”
“Why?”
“Because Madame Helene is a fascinating woman who has contacts all over Europe.”
“You believe she is a spy?”
Keyes laughed. “On the contrary. She has always provided our government with excellent information. I'm more interested in what Mr. Lennox has to say to her.”
“You believe
he
is a spy.”
“I'm not sure. The affecting tale he spun me was quite convincing, but you know I tend to err on the side of caution.”
“So you want me to befriend him, introduce him to Madame Helene, and glean all the information I can without him realizing it.”
“That's about the sum of it.”
“And why would I want to do that?”
Keyes raised his eyebrows. “For your King and country?”
Richard grimaced. “Haven't you anything better to offer me than that?”
“Well, you don't exactly need money or a title, or even gainful employment. Why not consider this as something to keep you occupied?”
Richard met Keyes's all-too-knowing gaze. “Is that why you continue to dabble in such matters?”
“Touché, my friend. We are both in the same situation, aren't we? Waiting for our esteemed fathers to die, living precariously on our expectations.”
Richard sighed. “All right, you've made your point. I'll help you. Now, what else can you tell me about Jack Lennox?”
Keyes lit another cigarillo and Richard waited while he inhaled and then puffed out a perfect smoke ring. “He has a brother named Vincent and a mother.”
“Have they accompanied him to London?”
“I believe they have.” Keyes hesitated. “I'm not sure if that really is his mother, but I've been told that the brother is almost identical in looks. They might even be twins.”
“You haven't met him?”
“Not the brother, no.”
“Anything else?”
“Nothing that I am at liberty to disclose to you at this point.”
“Even though you've asked for my help,” Richard muttered. “Typical.” He rose to his feet and this time Keyes didn't try and stop him. “I'll be in touch.”
“Thank you.”
Richard looked down at his sometimes friend, sometimes adversary. “If she allows it, you have no objection to Lennox speaking to Madame Helene, do you?”
“None at all, although I would ask that you insist on being present at the meeting.”
“I thought the grandmother wished to talk about the gory days of the revolution.”
“That might be so, but I'd still like you to be there.”
Richard inclined his head the barest inch. “I'll do my best.”
“I know you will, otherwise I wouldn't have asked for your help.”
On that positive note of approval, Richard decided it was time to leave. He abandoned Keyes in his comfortable spot by the fire and ventured back into the more social areas of the club. There were very few members present at this early hour, but Richard saw a couple of his cronies and went to sit with them.
Compared to most London clubs, the membership of the Sinners' was small, but there was a reason for that. Other clubs picked their members by their social pedigree and politics. The Sinners' Club picked its members from those who had served their country in less obvious and more dangerous ways. Class was less of an issue. Honor and bravery were valued above all.
After arriving back in London, Richard had decided not to join his father's club and had eventually been invited to join the Sinners', where he felt quite at home. One never knew if one was sitting next to a duke's son or a clerk from a bank—but one did know that these men would defend their friends and their country to the death.
“Good morning, Ross.” Sir Adam Fisher hailed him and Richard took the seat opposite him. “Been in to see our lord and master, then?”
“If you mean Keyes, he's no longer any master of mine. In fact, at this precise moment, I wish him to the devil.”
Adam Fisher grinned. “We've all felt like that at some point in our dealings with Keyes. In truth, I think he's more in danger of being throttled by a member of his own sovereign nation than any other.”
“That's because he is a devious bastard.”
“Who has saved many lives,” Adam said quietly. “Including yours.”
Richard sighed. “Which is why I always turn up like a well-trained dog whenever he whistles.”
“You do not wish to help us with Lennox?”
“It seems I have no choice. What did you think of him?”
“Of Lennox? He seemed very charming but rather dangerous to me.”
“That was my impression too. Have you met his brother or his mother?”
“I haven't had that pleasure, but I have convinced my mother to leave her cards at the Harcourt residence, so perhaps Mrs. Lennox will visit in return.”
Richard poured himself a cup of coffee from the silver pot on the table. The bitter, slightly burned taste suited his mood perfectly.
“Adam, did Keyes tell you anything else about the Lennox family, or the reason why they have returned to England?”
“Unfortunately not. He just asked me to befriend young Jack and keep him informed of his movements and acquaintances.” Adam tapped Richard's arm. “You know how closemouthed Keyes can be when he wants to be.”
“Closemouthed? That man could teach an oyster his trade,” Richard muttered, then finished his coffee. “I have to go and speak to Christian at the pleasure house.”
“Perhaps I might see you here later?” Adam asked. “I've invited Jack Lennox as my guest for the evening.”
“If Christian reacts favorably to my request, I might well join you.”
“Excellent.”
Richard nodded to the other gentlemen clustered around the fire and went to collect his hat and gloves. It wasn't that far from the club to the pleasure house, so he decided to risk the frostiness of the air and walk. It also gave him the opportunity to gather his thoughts ahead of meeting his half brother, who but for a twist of fate would have been heir to all that Richard stood to inherit.
Not that Christian ever made anything of it. He seemed quite happy running the pleasure house, supervising his stepchildren, and, no doubt, making love to his beautiful wife, Elizabeth, on every possible occasion. Richard tried to remember that Christian's life hadn't always been so happy. He'd hardly known his mother for the first eighteen years of his life, and the discovery that she owned a notorious brothel had seriously threatened their relationship.
Richard crossed the street, avoiding the filth gathered in pools on the uneven surface of the pitted road. Because of their respective mothers, he and Christian both had difficult relationships with their father, Philip. That common bond had united them and set all other jealousies aside. Richard still wasn't sure how he felt about Philip, but at least they were trying to get along.
The stuccoed white walls of the pleasure house appeared ahead of him, and Richard took the steps down to the basement and went through to the warm and welcoming kitchen. Seamus Kelly was eating porridge at the table flanked by Elizabeth, who was talking intently to him and pointing at something in an open book.
Richard cleared his throat. “Good morning, Mrs. Delornay, Seamus. Is Christian on the premises?”
Elizabeth smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back. She was as daintily built as a china doll, but Richard knew that fragility was an illusion.
“Elizabeth, please. We are almost related. Christian is in his office.” She hesitated. “Do you wish to speak to me as well? I'm just finishing Seamus's reading lesson.”
“No, I won't disturb you. My business is with Christian. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it later.”
Richard nodded and went on up the stairs to the first floor that housed the main offices. He knocked on the door of Christian's and waited to be asked to enter.
His half brother had blond hair like his mother and hazel eyes the same color as Richard's and their shared father's. Christian smiled when he saw Richard and waved him to a chair.
“Good morning, Richard. Is everything well with our father?”
Richard took the seat and crossed his legs. “Why do you always assume I come here to talk about our esteemed father?”
Christian raised his eyebrows. “Because you usually do.” He sat on the front of his desk. “Is it Emily, then?”
“No, although I did wonder if you have noticed how attracted she is to Ambrose.”
“I did notice that.” Christian sighed. “Ambrose won't talk about it, and I'm loathe to force his confidence. I think he's hoping it is just a silly infatuation and that Emily will soon forget all about him.”
“If that is his hope, he might be disappointed. As our father proved, the Ross family is very stubborn when they are in love.”
“I hadn't thought about that,” Christian admitted. “And I don't think Ambrose is quite as unaffected as he claims.” He contemplated the toe of his boot for a moment and then looked up. “So if it isn't about the family, what else can I do for you?”
“It is rather a complex matter, but I hope you will hear me out.”
Christian sat up. “Don't tell me you have become embroiled in a scandal?”
“You'd enjoy that, wouldn't you?”
“Well, your life is remarkably staid and boring.”
“I come here to the pleasure house.” Richard scowled at Christian. “That's hardly boring, and I have duties and responsibilities. . . .”
Christian waved an airy hand. “I'm sure you do, but you hardly qualify as a rake.”
“And I wouldn't wish to be one.”
Richard took a moment to gather his temper. Christian delighted in baiting him. Sometimes he yearned to tell his skeptical elder brother exactly how dangerously he'd once lived his life, but he was still bound by his loyalty to his country.
“If we might return to the topic at hand? I made the acquaintance of a man named Jack Lennox last night.”
“Here?”
“Indeed. He wished to speak to your mother.”
“Then why did he approach you and not me?” Christian asked. “How did he even know that you had a connection to my mother?”
“I believe that information was given to him by an acquaintance of mine.”
“An acquaintance I hope you will drop.”
Richard found himself smiling. “I appreciate how you strive to protect my reputation, but I fear it is too late. Several people know that we are connected.”
BOOK: Simply Scandalous
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