Page 39 of Dare to Love a Duke
“Then you’ll fit right in.” With that, Will ambled back to his post.
“I’ve got the door,” Elspeth said in the silence. “Go ahead with our, ah, prospective hire.”
Fighting off a fresh wave of anxiety, Lucia straightened. She had precisely what she wanted—Tom was here, and willing to at the least hear her out—but now the true work of the night was to begin. Saints preserve her, hopefully she did right by her staff.
“Other than myself and the staff, you know this place best.” She used her most efficient and competent tone as she led him from the entryway down the corridor to the drawing room. “Doubtless, you could draw a map if tasked to do so. But there’s more to the club than its geography.”
They entered the drawing room. People lost themselves in revelry and the pursuit of pleasure, the air was saturated with the thick scent of sex, and everywhere was bared flesh slick with sweat. But her gaze wasn’t on the guests. Her attention rested solely on him.
Despite her worry, she lost herself for a moment in the impeccable lines of his profile, her attention fixing on the shape of his mouth.
She shook her head, struggling to regain focus. Crisply, she said, “Tell me what you see.”
His alert, perceptive gaze scanned the room. “Servants circulating with trays. Some carry glasses and wine, others bear platters of sweetmeats and small plates.”
“A guest should never have to ask for anything. Whatever they desire should just appear, as if by magic. But there’s no enchantment here.”
“Only tireless work,” he said thoughtfully.
Her heart kicked with gratification that he noticed what she wanted him to see. “Two things are imperative when running an establishment such as this. You might be able to guess them.”
“Service,” he said after a pause.
“Precisely. And cleanliness.” She nodded as two of the staff swept through the room, collecting empty glasses and plates and rearranging furniture as they went. “They ensure that guests can lose themselves for a few hours, the real world kept at bay.”
Tom tilted his head toward Arthur standing discreetly in a shadowy corner of the room. “The hired muscle.”
“You’ve met him. He and our other gent make frequent passes through the club’s rooms to ensure everyone’s safety. Staff go to them if they spot potentially troublesome behavior.” She made a wry face. “They also keep the water closets clean.”
Tom gave a soft snort. “Never considered the privy.”
“We have to,” she said with a nod. “We have to consider everything. The value of my staff cannot be calculated. They’re as essential to the running of the club as blood is to the body.”
Thinking of her dutiful, diligent workers, her chest swelled with mingled pleasure and care.
Tom observed the staff discreetly keeping the machine of the club running. His lips compressed and, even with the mask, his expressive face showed that he carefully considered each new piece of information.
“What I know of your life could fill a teacup,” she said lowly. “Doubtless you own many properties, have shares in countless businesses. Hundreds of people depend on you for their livelihoods.”
“Intermediaries manage a portion of my holdings,” he said as if by habit.
“But the massive responsibility of... your position... that falls to you.” She shot him a sidelong glance. “My responsibility is the Orchid Club. The scale’s smaller, but the weight of responsibility is just as great.”
A corner of his mouth turned up. “Funny.”
“How so?” she pressed.
“We don’t just share attraction.” His gaze sizzled as he looked at her, and her body softened and heated in response. “We also share the burdens of duty.”
“So we do.” It was admirable, really, that she could keep her voice level when he spoke to her like this.
Stay on task.
With a nod for him to follow her, she strode from the drawing room into the ballroom. She noted with approval how he gazed not at the guests disporting themselves on the dance floor, but at the subtle, constant movement of the staff.
“They’re never still,” he said quietly. “And yet I barely noticed them until tonight.”
“We learn how not to be seen.”
