Page 3 of His Wicked Secret
But he had hoped that her encounter with him this afternoon would keep her from any more adventures, at least for a few days. Now he suspected it had only spurred her harder. He found his horse waiting for him, and he rode back to his house on Half Moon Street. His butler greeted him warmly, but when he saw Jonathan scowling, he sobered.
“Anything I can do to help, sir?” Mr. Leigh asked.
“Call a hackney. I need to get to the Temple Bar district at once.”
“I will do that straightaway.” Mr. Leigh exited the house, and Jonathan headed up to his bedchamber. His valet, Louis, was polishing a set of boots. When Jonathan entered, he rose from the chair by the fire and bowed.
“Evening, Louis. I need a shirt, waistcoat, and trousers. All black.”
“Allblack?” the young man asked, tilting his head in puzzlement.
“Yes.” He could see more questions on the man’s lips, but thankfully the valet didn’t speak further. Jonathan had no desire to tell anyone that he was infiltrating a hellfire club tonight. Though exactly how he’d accomplish that still wasn’t clear. He’d puzzle it out once he got there. He opened his dresser drawer and removed a pistol, a habit he’d taken up after several of his friends had ended up in perilous situations this past year. It would be wise to take that tonight in case he ran into trouble, which, given that Audrey was involved, was almost a certainty.
Once dressed, he rushed downstairs and hopped into the waiting hackney. When the coach reached the Temple Bar district, he paid the driver and hurried past Twinning’s tea shop and the Lower Courts of Justice. He found the townhouse that matched the address Linley had given him and glanced around, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. He wouldn’t be able to gain entrance easily, not through the front door. The members of the club were likely to be prepared with secret passwords or other such nonsense to prevent outsiders from walking in.
He slipped down the mews between the house and the building next door and found the servants’ entrance. That door, he wagered, would be unlocked. He curled his fingers around the handle and gently eased it open to reveal a kitchen. A plump cook with a greasy apron stirred a steaming pot with a large ladle, muttering to herself.
“Damned cat. What do these fancy lords need with it? Not catching any rats, if you ask me.”
Jonathan shook his head and focused on slipping behind the cook unseen. She paused her stirring and wiped at her brow and then straightened to turn. He was almost to the door that led to the rest of the house when she spotted him.
“Oi! What are you doing in ’ere?”
He froze and turned to look at the squashed face of the grumpy cook. “I’m late, and I’m worried they won’t let me in. I thought if I snuck through the kitchens…”Please, Lord, let this work.
The cook flashed a toothy smile. “New, are you? You’re prettier than the rest. That pale hair, those green eyes—I bet the lassies love you, don’ they?”
“Yes, sometimes.” He swallowed, praying she wouldn’t see through his deception. But she seemed to like him. His looks had always been an asset. Even his older brother’s former mistresses had wanted to bed him, not that Jonathan ever dared to tell his brother that. The Duke of Essex had a powerful right hook.
“Well, go on then. You don’t want to be late for supper. You’ll be needing one of these.” The cook bent and opened a cupboard next to the stove and pulled out a domino mask with the devil’s face painted on it. It left only his nose, mouth, and chin exposed to view. It was a perfect disguise.
“Thank you.”
“You can thank me with a kiss,” the cook suggested, fluttering her short lashes at him.
“Later, I promise,” he offered a way she rakish grin instead.
“Not so fast. I’ll be takin’ me payment now.” She waved the mask out of reach.
“Very well, you tempting lady.” He bent to give her cheek a quick peck, but she moved and gripped his cravat, yanking his face into hers and smashing their lips together.
Startled, he jerked back and hastily grabbed the mask from her hand before she could demand more kisses. She winked at him before he turned away and discreetly wiped his mouth on his coat sleeve.
Good Lord, Audrey, you’d bloody well better be worth all this.
But he knew she was. She was worth paying any price.
He slipped the mask on and stepped into the corridor. A group of men stood in the entryway, drinking heavily. All of them wore black clothing and domino masks like his. He glanced around, his heart pounding as he searched for Audrey, but the room held only men. Where was she? Maybe he could slip away and search the rest of the house?
A booming voice came from the grand stairs above. “Welcome, gentlemen.” Jonathan took shelter behind the men drinking as he studied the man coming down the steps to greet them.
“As the Lord of Lust, I welcome you tonight to our satanic feast.” The man held a black cat in his arms. The cat’s ears were flattened back on its head in fear and fury, but it didn’t claw or spit like Jonathan expected it to. The man who held it, the so-called Lord of Lust, had a familiar voice, but one he couldn’t place.
“Langley, I say…” a drunken man drawled. “Did you finally find that Lady Society? You promised you would—” The man hiccupped. “I’d like to toss her skirts up and—”
The Lord of Lust hissed. “I need not remind you, Lord of Wine, that we must address each other by oursinnames, not our true names. Anonymity must be preserved.”
The Lord of Wine chuckled. “Oh…right. Well, did you find her, Lusty?”
