Page 15 of Taming of the Rake
His smile faltered, but Regina—now bolstered—raised her chin. “I take it as a good sign that you know how to follow orders.”
He huffed a little laugh and braced his hand on the back of a nearby chair. “If a man who isn’t intimidated by a woman who knows what she wants is what you need, then I’m your man.” His gaze darted to Powell, a strong and silent sentry pretending he could neither hear nor see them. “Is your footman going to remain in the room while we discuss … terms?”
“Powell is here for my protection and will almost always remain near enough to hear us, Mr. Graham. If this arrangement is going to work, you will need to grow accustomed to his presence.”
The courtesan’s brow furrowed as he studied Powell, then swiveled his gaze back to her. Regina waited for him to balk, or demand to be left alone with her, but he gave an acquiescing dip of his head.
“I aim to please, Mrs. Hurst.”
The statement might have been innocuous, if not for the silken way he caressed the words with his voice, giving them a completely different connotation. Other women might have responded to the seduction dripping from those words, but Regina was too aware of the difference in their sizes, how easily he could overpower her if he ever decided…
No, she berated herself.There is no room for fear if you are determined to go through with this.
“Please, sit down, Mr. Graham. We have much to discuss.”
He sank obediently into the chair, while Regina remained on her feet. Odd; she had thought making him sit would somehow diminish his presence, yet it did nothing of the sort. He crossed one leg over the other and watched her expectantly. When she didn’t immediately begin, he wrested the reins from her.
“Many of my past clients have found these beginning stages awkward, but they needn’t be between us. It might help if you begin by telling me what your needs are. Being a courtesan isn’t all about bedroom matters, you know. It is my duty to ensure that you are made happy, though of course that is a relative concept, is it not? I can be your lover, but I can also be your companion, your confidante, an escort—though, I can see you are in mourning so perhaps you will not require that. Simply tell me what you need, Mrs. Hurst. I am more than up to the task of pleasing you.”
Regina was taken aback, though not at his words. She had more or less expected such a speech from a man who made a profession of selling himself. It was the way he was looking at her, his gaze caressing a path from the top of her head to the hem of her skirts—a slow, leisurely perusal that made her feel as if she stood before him in nothing but her skin. Was it the act of a man skilled at seduction, or did he really find her worthy of such heated regard? He stared at her as if she stood before him in rich, flattering silk or satin as opposed to the heavy, amorphous bombazine; as if she were a smiling, simpering chit vying for his attention rather than a sulking, scowling widow who might otherwise have never given him the time of day.
Clearing her throat, she paced away from the hearth, unable to meet his gaze when he watched her so intently. She studied the wallpaper as if it were the most fascinating thing she had ever seen and forced herself to speak.
“You will not find me demanding or unreasonable. As you’ve already noticed, I am recently widowed … less than a month ago.”
“I’m so sorry to hear it.”
She looked at him then, one hand clenching her skirts in intuitive reaction. “We were wed for eight years, and now he is gone. I will not stand here and pretend my mourning attire is anything other than a formality.”
Now she had truly shocked him. He tried to hide it, but Regina noticed the flicker of surprise in his eyes before he quickly snuffed it out, uncrossing his legs, then crossing them again, as if uncertain what to do with himself.
“I see.”
“If you decide to go forward with this arrangement, I will require you to come to my bed as many nights a week as you can manage. Mr. Lyons informed me of your usual rate, and I have agreed to pay it, though … I do think you might wish to negotiate once I have informed you of the specificity of my need. That is why the contract you were offered had a few unfinished sections. I need to be certain you understand what I would ask of you before you agree.”
“Mrs. Hurst, I promise there is nothing you could ask that I would hesitate to offer. Your every wish is my command, and I do mean that. Why don’t you come sit, and tell me exactly what it is you need? I’ve been doing this long enough there isn’t likely to be a request I have not heard.”
Ignoring the hand he waved toward the chair perpendicular to his, Regina paced back to the hearth, hands clenched before her. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to deliver the most important requirement of her offer—the reason she had sent for him in the first place.
“Mr. Graham, I have only one goal and I am hoping you can be the man to help me achieve it. You see, I … I wish to have a child. Unfortunately, the late Mr. Hurst was unable to give me one. His loss has only renewed my desire to become a mother, and so … I need you to do your utmost to impregnate me.”
Mrs. Regina Hurst was a madwoman.There was no other explanation for the outrageous words that had just fallen from her lips, yet the longer David stared at her in slack-jawed disbelief, the clearer it became that she was not only in her right mind, but also quite serious. In the past, David’s first instinct would have been to laugh and search behind the curtains for one or several of his friends. He might have pegged this as some childish prank pulled by Benedict, with Nick as an accomplice. He could imagine sharing a good chuckle about it over drinks, laughing until he cried at the absurdity of such a lark.
But he was acutely aware that this was no laughing matter. For one thing, Benedict was busy trying to single-handedly stop the London Gossip’s reign of terror. Pulling David’s leg would be the last thing on his mind. As well, he could clearly tell by the way Mrs. Hurst fidgeted with her hands and shifted from foot to foot that she had meant every word of her absurd request.
David snapped his mouth closed while searching for the words to respond. His assertion that she couldn’t demand anything that countless others hadn’t already asked of him had just been rendered false. Yet, he had not known she would ask him for something so far outside the realm of his usual repertoire. Over his years as a gentleman courtesan, David had been faced with all manner of lascivious tasks, all of which he’d accomplished with relish. Taking painsnotto get his client of the moment with child had been at the center of each arrangement, and he was always prepared to take the necessary precautions. Thinking of the cedar chest filled with lambskin condoms and sea sponges hidden away in his bedchamber, David nearly laughed to realize he would not have use of them here.
He couldn’t actually go through with this, could he? It was ridiculous, outrageous, and completely out of the question.
“I can see I’ve shocked you, and I am sorry for that,” she offered, her expression one of cool composure despite her trembling hands. “There was no way to ease you into it, I’m afraid.”
No, he supposed there was no way to tell a man you wanted him to help you make a baby other than to simply come out and say it.
“Before you refuse, I would like the chance to plead my case. Perhaps a walk in the garden? You look as if you could use some air, and the weather is pleasant enough today.”
David tried to smile but found his lips uncooperative. “I wasn’t … I would never refuse without … yes, I think a walk would be good.”
“Very well. Come along.”
