Page 15 of How to Lose a Dowry in Three Bucks
“This way,” said Matt, placing her hand in his. Looking down at her elegant fingers in his hand, he felt a sense of impending loss.
Was this feeling because of the knowledge that the brother Bucks would use his Sophia? And be photographed with her? In truth, both excited him greatly. He didn’t feel possessive of her beautiful body, but of her soul. What a novel problem to encounter at this stage of his life!
Their shoes clicked over the floor until Matthew brought Sophia to a seat before the reflecting pool.
“Wait here, my darling,” he said, dropping a kiss on the lace at her neck as he removed her cloak. “I want to undress you in front of the Bucks.”
She nodded yes, clearly lost in thought, and sank into the seat.
***
Matt was stripping off his clothing when the other Bucks arrived in their lounge.
“Why so grim, Thorncock?” asked Stagshade, the joker of the group, clapping him on the shoulders.
“She’s perfect,” Matt said, slapping his waistcoat onto a high-backed chair.
Matthew could see Stagshade and the High Buckthorn exchange glances, but he couldn’t find the energy to question his friends.
“I’m guessing we’re talking about the young woman currently staring into our reflecting pool while wearing an alarming amount of clothing?” asked the Buckthorn.
Matt grunted, clearly unwilling to discuss her further.
“Well!” said Stagshade brightly. “I’ve recruited a man who will photograph her naked and in the act, then make the prints. Mind you, such images are highly illegal, so I offered him a deal.”
“What deal is that?” asked the High Buckthorn, pulling on his mask.
“Promised that he could take part in a future bucking,” said Stagshade.
The other two turned to look at their friend in disbelief.
“Our numbers are dwindling, and societies like ours haven’t been truly fashionable in some time.”
“We have a whole Bucking Constitution,” said the High Buckthorn, aghast that his society brother had circumvented the bylaws established by the founders in the last century.
“So this man with a camera proposes to copulate with one of our guests?” asked Matt, still struggling to understand how Stagshade thought this demand was reasonable. “Some lord is going to give his wife to the Bucks…and allow a guestfawninside of her?”
The High Buckthorn shuffled through some papers. “My correspondence indicates that our next guest will be a courtesan, a bit past her prime, who longs for hard use. So says her protector. It doesn’t sound like he’d raise objections to the composition of the herd, especially since we’re masked and not exposed as members.”
“You’ll need to make sure the gent with the camera knows how to fuck,” said Matt, applying oil to his shaft. “What’s his name?”
Stagshade snapped to attention when the High Buckthorn gave him a shake. “Man with the camera? Clarence. Clarence Brocklehurst. Not a bad sort. Met him at the club. New to Town.”
The Bucks moved to join Sophia in the main room of the Forest when Stagshade spoke again. “Say, you wouldn’t know the name of the lady? The one visiting us next gathering?”
“The courtesan?” asked the High Buckthorn. “Don’t know that her protector mentioned one.”
Stagshade lowered his mask and hummed his understanding.
“Won’t matter anyway, will it? Since she’ll be masked and unknown once she’s in the Forest,” said the Buckthorn.
Stagshade gave no answer, and Matt remained unconvinced that the silence indicated agreement.
***
As the three remaining Bucks advanced on Miss Stafford, she resolutely stared at the reflecting pool.
“You give yourself to the Bucks, to be used as we wish?” called out the Buckthorn in a ringing voice.
