Page 5 of A Scandalous Proposition
Chapter Two
A penetrating silence hung heavily between them. Adam allowed his expression to undergo only the most fractional of alterations, sufficient to disguise his fulminating anger at being played for a clunch by such a conniving little impure. Christine’s face froze with shock. Mrs Smith stood stock-still, staring back at him in bald stupefaction as the silence intensified. Adam felt no compulsion to break it by demanding explanations since the facts spoke for themselves. Mrs Smith was one of Christine’s highly skilled courtesans, and she’d been returning from an assignation in the capital when she met with difficulty at that inn.
Quite why that knowledge should cause him so much disappointment, Adam couldn’t have said. She’d not chosen to reveal her reason for being at the Feathers but, even so, the possibility of her being a doxy hadn’t once occurred to him. Somehow she didn’t seem to be the type. However, he of all people had good reason to know that appearances could be deceptive. Mrs Smith was obviously as capable as the next woman of using her feminine wiles to turn difficult situations to her advantage. Adam had observed for himself that she could appear frightened and vulnerable when it suited her purpose, which was what had persuaded him to save her from her pursuer.
Damn it all, he knew all about the perfidious tendencies of the female of the species. How skilled they were at manipulation in order to achieve their ambitions. He had no reason to suppose this one was any different and told himself it was of no consequence anyway. But his disillusionment was obviously more deeply embedded than he’d appreciated, filling him with an ungentlemanly urge to make her suffer.
‘Florentina, Adam.’ Christine’s expression was quizzical as she glanced speculatively at first one and then the other. ‘You two are already acquainted?’
The sound of Christine’s voice, the arch of her brow as her eyes lingered questioningly upon the woman whose name was apparently Florentina, jolted Adam out of his reverie.
‘I’ve had thathonour.’ He enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing Florentina blush scarlet when he didn’t trouble to inject even a semblance of courtesy into his tone.
‘The major was kind enough to escort me back to Oakley Common when I was unable to complete my journey on the stage.’ Her eyes rested everywhere except on Adam’s face.
‘Oh, I see.’ But it was evident that Christine didn’t see at all and was bursting to ask more questions.
‘Indeed, and hadMrs Smithmade me aware that she was heading for Chamberleigh, I could have saved her a long walk across town.’
‘Well, never mind about that. I dare say she had her reasons.’ Christine looked uncharacteristically flustered and seemed most anxious to change the subject. ‘You’re here now, Florentina, and that’s all that signifies. But you look all done in, my dear. Why not take the opportunity to rest after your journey? I shall be with you directly.’
‘No, don’t go.’ The command in Adam’s voice stayed Florentina, whose hand was on the door handle. She turned to look at him, an expression of enquiry on her lovely features that didn’t quite disguise the underlying fear in her eyes. ‘We were just now discussing my requirements for this evening, were we not, Christine.’ Adam’s eyes raked Florentina’s body with deliberate insolence and came to rest upon her breasts. ‘Perhaps…’
‘No!’ Florentina cried.
‘No?’ Adam quirked a brow. ‘You allow your lady-birds to select their own company, do you, Christine? You astonish me. Isn’t it the paying customer who normally enjoys the right of selection?’ He addressed his comment to his hostess but his eyes hadn’t once left Florentina, whose face burned with what appeared to be a combination of embarrassment and fiery anger.
‘But, Adam, had we not just agreed that I would entertain you tonight?’
Florentina’s expression, at first almost scandalised by a suggestion she must be accustomed to hearing on a daily basis, turned to one of abject surprise when Christine spoke. Presumably she was aware that her abbess almost never entertained a gentleman herself nowadays. Adam was a rare exception to that rule. They’d been acquaintances since his late father introduced him to this establishment when he’d just turned sixteen. He’d been a gaunt youth, unsure what he was doing in a house he’d heard spoken of by his mother’s friends in guarded whispers as being quite beyond the pale. Christine, newly arrived and not much older than Adam himself but infinitely wiser in the ways of the world, recognised his difficulty and took it upon herself to educate him. It was a skilled introduction into the amatory world for which he had remained eternally grateful.
An unlikely friendship?more an infatuation on Adam’s part in the early days?had sprung up between them. Adam confided in Christine, revealing all the particulars of the Fitzroy familial differences and the awkwardness he felt at being stuck in the middle of his father’s constant spats with his brother. He found relief, pouring his heart out to someone upon whose discretion he instinctively knew he could depend. She’d never disappointed him in that respect, and as a result of their long association he was one of the few men whose needs she still catered to personally.
‘Surely you’ll not insult me by having a change of heart just because a younger and prettier lady has taken your fancy? Shame on you, Adam.’ Christine wagged an elegant finger beneath his nose. ‘I had thought you in possession of a greater degree of chivalry than that, especially in view of our long friendship.’
‘You’re right, of course.’ Adam inclined his head, aware he deserved the chastisement. But he couldn’t bring himself to be polite to Florentina and pointedly ignored her as he picked up the brandy decanter and his empty glass and headed for the door that connected with Christine’s private boudoir. ‘But it’s apparent thatMrs Smithhas matters she’s impatient to discuss with you in private. That being the case, I shall wait upon your pleasure next door.’
Without giving Christine the opportunity to respond—or acknowledging Florentina’s presence—Adam slipped through the door and closed it firmly behind him. The pleasure he’d anticipated from his forthcoming tryst with the accomplished Christine had evaporated and he was now in a filthy temper. At a loss to understand why, he took up residence on the window seat, stared moodily out into the inky darkness and poured himself a substantial measure of brandy.
Christine joined him after a very short delay and it was a measure of her skill as a courtesan that she was able to coax him into a more congenial frame of mind almost immediately. He remained the night in her bed but neither of them alluded to the subject of Florentina. Adam was tempted to do so but something held him back. He would dearly love to know why one of Christine’s ladies had been travelling from London unescorted. The services of her courtesans were much in demand in Portsmouth, where they often made house calls by appointment. But Christine wouldn’t dream of sending them out alone. One of her male servants always accompanied them. And, as far as he was aware, they never travelled as far as London in order to ply their trade. There were adequate establishments in the capital to deal with its denizens’ every need, and competition from the provinces would be aggressively discouraged.
So what had Florentina been doing in London? Alone? Adam was no nearer settling upon an explanation when he arrived at Southsea Court the following morning. He was greeted with great affection by the senior staff. His valet had a bath prepared for him and not long after his arrival he’d broken his fast, attended to his ablutions and discarded his dusty uniform in favour of a morning coat of the finest quality. Beneath it he wore a silk waistcoat sporting bold stripes in blue and green, a snowy white shirt and neck cloth tied in an intricate knot. His legs were encased in tight-fitting inexpressibles, and gleaming Hussar boots covered his feet.
‘Right, Murray, that will suffice.’ Adam glanced at his reflection. It was so long since he’d worn anything except his uniform that he barely recognised himself. ‘Is the dowager duchess in her apartment?’
Murray seemed surprised. ‘No, my lord. Her grace removed to the dower house when his grace remarried.’
‘Did she indeed!’ Adam hadn’t been aware of that. She’d not thought it necessary to remove herself from the main house during the course of James’s first marriage. Adam hoped she’d not done so this time around out of deference for his feelings. ‘Then I shall call upon her there.’
Adam enjoyed the brisk walk. It helped to clear his head after his excesses of the night before. The park looked serene in the weak spring sunshine and he could perceive none of the signs of neglect his mother had implied in her letters.
He received a rapturous greeting from his parent.
‘My darling, I’m overjoyed to have you restored to me in one piece.’ There was no standing on formality with Emily Fitzroy. She hurtled herself into her son’s arms and hugged him tightly. ‘You can have no notion the agonies I suffered when we received such discouraging accounts of that ill-thought-out battle.’ She flapped her hands and then returned them to his body, almost as though she couldn’t quite believe he was standing in her drawing room unless she was continually touching him. ‘But never mind all that. Indulge an old lady’s fancy and let me feast my eyes upon you.’ She stood on her toes, leaned back as far as she could without actually releasing him, and stared into his face. ‘I believe you’re more handsome than ever.’
Adam laughed. ‘And you look younger every time I see you, Mother.’
It was true. The dowager duchess was no longer in the first flush of youth but she had an innate elegance about her. A natural poise, relentless energy and an engaging character that left far younger women not only struggling to keep up with her but also looking ordinary by comparison.
