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Chapter One
London, 1762
The madam of an infamous brothel has to handle many types of difficult ant es of their own personal disasters, and just too many men with more money than sense in their pockets But fewas a puritanical naval captain
An attractive puritanical naval captain
Coral touched the goldas she always did that it was in position Thus satisfied, she descended the staircase into the gilded hellhole that was Aphrodite’s Grotto Business was brisk tonight The curving grand staircase spilled into the reat double front doors to the Grotto, overhead Aphrodite herself frolicked in painted pink clouds, surrounded by her well-endowed mythical lovers, and below…
Well beloas bedlam of course
Ladies—so, some quite real swanned about in demi-masks, their faces much more decorously covered than their bodies Gentlemen –one used the term loosely here – strutted and shouted and fell over themselves in drunken revelry
Coral lifted her upper lip beneath the mask Easyto lose their money And for what? A handful of soft breast? A eton their cock? Foolish, epheht of the nextMen were such idiots, so alike in their base desires and loud demands Dukes or coal hed at Aphrodite, s down from her clouds
All except that one puritanical naval captain
Captain Isaac Wargate stood like a gloomy black rook of doo naval cape, despite the heat in the crowded hall, and held his crocked hat propped under one arm He surveyed the room expressionlessly, the Coral knew there was disapproval in the hawk-like eyes that peered beneath heavy black eyebrows
Irritating man
She sauntered toward hih he didn’t deign to look her way She could study hie in profile, his full lips cohtly braided queue, the lines about his e that traitorous bit of heat that pooled low in her belly every time she saw him Damn him
“Goodness Captain, we haven’t seen you here for half a year or more” She called sweetly when she ithin a few feet of hi?”
“You know I don’t sarowled in reply
He didn’t bother looking at her, despite the low cut of her glittering black-and-gold dress Her nipples were rouged tonight and peeked fro crimson contrast to the black material and her ohite skin She had the eyes of every other man in the room But not his
Which only irked her more
Beneath her mask she smiled and infused contrition into her voice “Oh, of course How silly of otten” She leaned closer to hiht of her forehead, and said conspiratorially, “You do know I can supply boys as well, don’t you?”
He turned then, his dark blue eyes hitting her like a physical blow “I’m not interested in the trade of any human flesh, ma’am”
“Then one wonders what you’re doing in a brothel”
“I’m only here to round up my junior officers,” he said shortly He nodded to a bantam man across the room−one of his sailors “As you very well know”
“Mer docks All those lovely officers in their pretty unifor off your ship and in my doors”
She caught the eye of Big Billy, one of the Grotto bullyboys, over the captain’s shoulder The bullyboys were eh out and, when needed, to help the finer hurry home when they’d overstayed their welco man with almost no forehead −one would never think that he was actually quite sharp He brushed the tip of his nose with a thu Coral nodded ilanced about The man in front of her was the only trouble she could see, but Billy knew so was up
She turned back to the captain
Who was frowning down at her “My officers gamble and wench ahat little pay they have here”
”Is that my problem?” She shook her head sorrowly and spread her hands “I provide the enticement They come here of their own free will I can hardly turn those poor, lonely boys away”
“Can’t you?’ He eyed her thoughtfully “I’d’ve thought you could do whatever you wished in this place”
She shrugged, her nipples rising above her bodice for a second “Looks can be deceiving Captain I’d’ve thought a man of your years would know that”
“Oh, I knoell enough” He glanced away froht of her white flesh on display, “If I could keephere I would, damn you”
“So stern,” she crooned She reached up and trailed a gold-lacquered fingernail through the strict folds of his black neck cloth It gave her a thrill– like petting a great bird of prey whoI can do to relax you, Captain?”
His hand caught hers in a ers entirely enveloping hers For a moment he stared at her, his blue-black eyes narrowed and watching
Then he abruptly let her go “You can refrain fro me, ma’am”
And the awful thing was she felt a pang of hurt froe of fourteen Had withstood far worse insults without turning a hair Yet the clipped words of a puritanical naval captain could hurt her
Fortunately, her goldenbut her eyes She let her hand fall carelessly as her eyes trailed down his person His cape was thrown back, revealing the dark blue of his coat, triold braid, a pristine white waistcoat, and white breeches Her gaze settled there, below the waistband of his breeches, and she cocked her head, exae under the white cloth
Then she raised her eyes to his blue-black stare “You do not want my ladies; you do not want my boys I’ve heard that you are not married−”
“Widowed,” he snapped
She inclined her head “So tellto make your uniform fit properly? Or do you actually have a cock and balls like any other man, for I declare I am in doubt”
She expected anger− even rage Many men of her acquaintance would’ve struck her for such a shameless insult
Captain Wargate s white teeth She caught her breath The ly handsome when he smiled
“You’re insulting my manhood, ma’am? I must’ve truly rattled you Your repartee isn’t usually so crude”
She glanced away uneasily, and again caught Big Billy’s eye He nodded to one of the sitting rooo find out what had Billy so worried She should tend to her business
Instead she turned back to the captain and purred, “you ive me, sir, but I’ve not seen any evidence of your, er, manhood as you so delicately put it Quite the reverse in fact”
Stupid She needed to find the threat, not stand here and trade ineffectual gibes with a man from a world entirely different from her own
He shifted and suddenly, the broad expanse of his white waistcoat was all that was in front of her face She glanced up, startled
Tofor?”
She opened herto deny or confess, she wasn’t sure, but a loud male voice spoke behind her before she could
“Gentlemen!”
Coral turned, already knowing the source of that high, excited voice, already knohat Billy had been trying to signal her
A lithe Younge coat leaped to the top of a table He spread wide his arms “Gentlemen!” Kindly lend me your ears, for I have an announcement you won’t want to miss!”
By this tihter and shouted talk gradually dying
Captain Wargate was at Coral’s back and she felt the brush of his chest as he whispered in her ear “That’s the one you atching for, isn’t?”
She gave a single jerky nod
“Who is he?”
“Jirimly
“And what is he?”
But there wasn’t time to answer and she wasn’t sure she could in any case
Jientleht you’ll witness a game of chance like no other”
“What kind of ga shouted
“Loo, sir!’ Jimmy called back
“Phht!” A thin-lipped dandy in black and scarlet shrugged a discontented shoulder “I can get a ga house in the city”
“True, sir, very true!” Jiht be a spawn of Satan hirinned and raised his right hand with a flourish “But I’ll wager, sir, you’ll not find a pot like the one Aphrodite’s Grotto offers tonight”
“And what pot’s that?” a royal duke drawled
Jimmy turned and in the second before he spoke, Coral entlemen, we offer up Aphrodite herself!”
She staggered, though no one but Captain Wargate would’ve noticed since he caught her at once about the waist to steady her What nasty plan had Jimmy come up with now? She hadn’t sold her own body in over two years He knew that He kne much she hated it
Which, obviously, was his point
Ji what soul she had left “Seven full nights, gentlehts of bliss in any and every way he wishes!’
A buzz began in the crowd, like flies swar to a wounded deer Jiraceful, indolent, the command almost entirely hidden “Won’t you my dear?”
And there wasn’t anything she could do He held the ed through Aphrodite’s Grotto She’d been very lucky No one had died; all the girls, and boys, and thehad been lost But the back wing had needed to be rebuilt and furnished, and then when the Grotto opened again, she’d thrown a grand celebration to show she wasn’t down Coral Smythe wasn’t out of the business
But all of that had taken money Tooout that several of her original backers had already sold their portions to hi, he’d held the majority share in the Grotto In effect, he owned Aphrodite’s Grotto Which meant he owned her If she refused, Ji her out in the street Without her, the Grotto girls and boys would be unprotected− and subject to Jimmy’s less then tender mercies
Coral calculated and decided quickly If she showed reluctance, he’d be twice as gleeful at her misery That much she’d learned about Jimmy Hyde in the last four months
So instead of tre away, Coral threw back her shoulders and stepped away fro, Captain Wargate’s protective hands She sauntered forward and placed her hand in Jih er One