Page 56 of A Scandalous Proposition
‘I wish I had been Mr Parker’s choice,’ said the lady who Florentina thought was called Serena. ‘I would rather have one customer tonight than a whole parade of them, even though we will be royally rewarded for our efforts.’
Florentina shuddered and found it in her heart to sympathise with their predicament.
She then stepped out from her hiding place and boldly joined her sisters in seduction.
‘Oh, it’s you,’ Serena said, not in an unfriendly voice. ‘Did Christine have a change of heart?’
‘Sí.’Florentina lifted her shoulders as she entered the carriage.
‘It’s the new Spanish girl. She doesn’t speak much English.’
‘She won’t need to do much talking where we’re going.’
The ladies laughed and Florentina let out a relieved sigh when they didn’t question her further. They had mistaken her for one of the refugees who had decided she was better suited to the life of a light-skirt than for domestic work. Christine, once assured that the girl knew what she was getting into, had immediately offered to employ her.
It didn’t take the carriage ten minutes to reach Lord King’s estate. Florentina took a deep breath and followed the other two ladies into an entrance courtyard of such opulence it took her breath away. Already it was crowded with dominoed members of both sexes, their inhibitions lessened thanks to the fact that they could hide their identities behind half-masks. Florentina endeavoured to conceal her astonishment at the lurid behaviour already on open display. The fountain in the centre of the courtyard turned out not to be a fountain at all, but an endless flow of champagne. She grabbed a flute, in urgent requirement of a little Dutch courage.
Christine’s ladies threw themselves into the fray, flirting, laughing and making their availability even more apparent than their supposedly respectable counterparts. She noticed two gentlemen descend upon one of them, obviously aware of her true identity, and spirit her away. A bray of laughter and whoops of encouragement erupted from a crowd on the far side of the courtyard as two men pursued a half-naked lady, loudly arguing about who would be first to sample her favours. She’d already dispensed with her mask and loosened her bodice. Being half-dressed in public and fought over by these two scoundrels clearly delighted her.
Florentina was no stranger to public displays of affection between the sexes. In war-torn Spain, pleasure was snatched whenever the opportunity arose with scant regard for privacy. That could be excused, given the perilous nature of a soldier’s existence.
But Lord King’s guests had no such excuse.
Florentina was scandalised but no one else appeared to turn a hair. More to the point, she was disconcerted to see that the woman had already given up on her mask. Florentina had been counting on disguising herself behind hers for as long as she remained here. But she couldn’t waste time worrying about that now.
She stared about her, wondering how she was supposed to recognise Lord King amongst the throng that were still masked. She had not considered that difficulty and wandered further into the house, thinking perhaps he might be holding court inside. A sweeping staircase led up to the first floor, where a great deal of activity appeared to be taking place. Trembling with nerves, she threw her head back and pushed a masculine hand away from her derrière. She turned away from another gentleman who tried to accost her on the stairs, lifted her skirts and climbed slowly.
She entered one room and as quickly quit it again. Christine’s lady was there with her two admirers. She was virtually naked, her large breasts unfettered and her skirts bunched ’round her waist. She was being penetrated by one of the men whilst the other watched. Aroused and ready to take his turn, he offered salacious advice and extolled his colleague to be quick since a queue was forming. Florentina was appalled and wanted to do something to help. But what could she do? Besides, the lady appeared perfectly at ease, laughing and urging the man on.
Florentina shuddered. If things had turned out differently, she could be the one undergoing that abuse.
Another couple was in the next room. No, wait, there was a third body on that bed. Two men and a woman. Florentina stifled a smile, intrigued rather than shocked. She hadn’t realised such a thing was anatomically possible. One of the men was ignoring the woman and concentrating all his efforts on his male companion. Oh my! Florentina’s hand flew to her mouth. Spellbound, she watched as he sodomised his companion. Surely that must be awfully painful? But the man didn’t appear to feel the least discomfort, especially when the woman slid beneath him and took his erect penis in her mouth. In fact, he laughed aloud when she squeezed his swollen testicles.
She’d seen enough. It was no longer interesting but sordid. She had miscalculated in coming here and decided to leave before she was noticed and somehow make her way home. She backed away, straight into a solid masculine body. A hand came out to steady her, and her flesh crawled where cold fingers made contact with her bare arm.
She knew at once that she had found Lord King.
‘Ah, my dear, so you came after all. I so hoped that you would have a change of heart.’ He bowed in a courtly fashion, as though this was the most respectable gathering on God’s earth, and kissed the back of her hand. She tried not to snatch her hand away when his lips lingered. He looked at her, eyes sparkling with desire.
‘How could I resist your persuasive invitation, my lord? Besides, I’ve never been to a masquerade before.’
‘I certainly hope you’ve never been to one quite like this.’ He glanced into the room she’d just quit and chuckled. ‘And it’s my pleasure to be your guide. But your glass is empty. We must rectify that situation.’ He clicked his fingers and a footman appeared with refills for them both. ‘Come with me, my dear. Let’s get away from this crush and go somewhere more private.’
Florentina was quaking with nerves, wondering what madness had possessed her to come here. What she hoped to achieve by it. Her aspirations all seemed rather nebulous now. And what ought she to do about her current predicament? Lord King was leading her away from the public areas. That was good in one respect. She couldn’t converse privately with him in the midst of this throng and persuade him to share his secrets. Besides, she might be able to evade Lord King but if other gentlemen joined him, she’d never manage to fight them all off. On the other hand, if she was completely alone with him, as now seemed to be his intention since they were ascending another staircase hidden behind panelling, what hope would she have of deflecting his advances? She could hardly claim that she had come here in ignorance of his intentions.
She had been an impulsive idiot. But since escape was currently impossible she had no choice but to follow him up the stairs. She would encourage him to talk first, and when his guard was relaxed she’d look for a means of escape.
‘Ah, this is better.’ They reached the only door at the head of the stairs, which was opened for them by a burly footman. ‘Stay here,’ Lord King said to the man, ‘and ensure that we are not interrupted.’
Florentina looked around, her fledgling hopes of somehow escaping immediately evaporating. They were in a private bedchamber and the only way out was through the door they had just used. Even if she evaded him and got it open, Lord King’s man would prevent her from leaving.
‘I insist upon privacy sometimes, even at events such as these,’ he told her. ‘I’m not ready to share you with anyone else quite yet.’
‘None of the others interest me.’
His eyes expressed surprise at her flirtatious overture. ‘Let me look at you properly.’ He reached up and removed her half-mask, discarding his own also. ‘Yes.’ He raked her body with a hungry gaze and nodded several times. ‘I don’t think you will disappoint. I want you very much so you’ll not mind if we dispense with the preliminaries, I hope.’
That he wasn’t asking her permission became apparent when he pulled her roughly against him. She felt panic welling up inside her, along with disgust. This was all happening too quickly. She had to do something to slow him down.
