Page 6 of A Courtesan Countess Worth the Scandal
“And what were their names, if you would remind us?” he said.
Carlton froze. “Uh… I… oh, goodness. I am certain one was called Rosario, or Rosa, or Rosalita… it wassomethingto do with a rose.” He puffed air through his lips. “Anyway, names do not matter. It is the memory that matters, and I shall remember them all as the fiery temptresses that they were. They will always be young and perfect in my mind. They will never grow old, and that is worth more than a mere name.”
“I imagine your illegitimate children shall also grow old, destined to hear a strange tale of a brazen Englishman who seduced their mother and disappeared, never to be heard from again.” Denninson gave Carlton a knowing look, while Liam chuckled.
“Why would you say such a hurtful thing?” Carlton shook his head. “I have fathered no children and, if I have, all I can say is… I am sorry.”
Denninson cracked a smile. “You really are too much, sometimes, My Friend.”
“That is not the first time I have heard that.” Carlton flashed a mischievous grin, as Liam attempted to bring their attention back to him. He had something important to say.
“Gentlemen, please!” He waved his glass. “I am trying to make a toast. Or, rather, a renewal of that promise, with slightly different terms.”
Carlton narrowed his eyes. “How intriguing. Pray, tell, what terms are these?”
“Our last vow was to escape our troubles, but my troubles have both altered and remained the same, in a peculiar twist of fate. Ladies and love are where my troubles lie,” Liam explained. “As such, I would like to propose a pact.”
Denninson nodded. “Go on—”
“Let us agree, here and now, that we will never marry or allow a woman to break our hearts again,” Liam said firmly. “Let us never risk our fortunes and our futures on the fickle mistress of love.”
Denninson lifted his glass. “And how about this for an addendum… let us agree that whoever breaks the pact must pay a penalty that those who have not failed will choose.”
“I like that. My, you can be devious when you want to be,” Liam enthused, for it would certainly encourage him to stay the course.
Carlton nodded effusively. “Well, I refuse to be the odd sod out, even though I have no quarrels with women. You know I cannot resist a wager, and I shall enjoy conjuring up the most creative punishments possible, for when you two lose.” He laughed giddily. “I would relinquish the affections of women for a lifetime, if it meant winning against the pair of you.”
“Are we all in agreement?” Liam edged his glass closer to the center of the table, to meet theirs.
Denninson clinked. “I swear not to marry or fall in love.”
“As do I!” Carlton clashed his glass against theirs.
“Here’s to keeping our hearts intact,” Liam added.
However, as he sat back in his seat, the promise given, he made the mistake of catching Miss Black’s eye. That already cracked heart in his chest lurched suddenly as she winked at him, over the shoulder of a gentlemen he knew to be Lord Westleigh.
In truth, it angered him. She may have been a courtesan of some fame, but did she have so few morals that she would flirt across the room while tending to another man?
If you think you can gain something from me, Miss Black, I am sorry to tell you that I am not one of the doe-eyed fools you with whom you keep company.
For anyone who tried to coax him into love would find it akin to getting blood to drip from a stone. Only it was his heart that had turned to stone.
“Never again,” he whispered to himself, “never.”
Chapter Three
The club grew increasingly stifling as the drinks flowed and the merrymaking took a turn for the bawdy. Glasses smashed and tobacco spilled, the air thick with the smoky scent as more people crowded into the series of rooms. Like spectators clamoring to see a sideshow act, most of the men gravitated toward Miss Black and her even less-inspiring counterpart, whose name even Carlton did not know.
“It is getting rather too fraught in here,” Liam muttered, forcing himself to look anywhere but in Miss Black’s direction. He could not understand why the gentlemen in this club were turning into a pack of wolves, baying for her next witticism.
Carlton waved his hand at a passing servant and, much to Liam’s horror, ordered another round of drinks. “What did you say?”
“I said… oh, it does not matter.” Liam had hoped they might vacate the club and take up a quiet spot at one of the gambling halls instead, but it seemed Carlton was far from done. As for Denninson, it was hard to tell what he was thinking, at the best of times.
“Howisyour uncle?” Denninson sipped the last dregs from his glass, entirely unaffected by the liquid’s potency. A gift Carlton lacked.
Liam shuffled the chair closer to his friend. “He seems well, and I am certain he has taken excellent care of the Manor. After five years away, I am almost tempted to give him the house. I do not care for it any longer.”
