Secret Lessons With The Rake

A gaming hell with Ellie as its mistress? There was no doubt. ‘Absolutely. You’d be a smashing success.’

‘Set that up, and you’d never have to worry about running out of money,’ his mother said. ‘As an independent woman, you’d retain control of your own funds and your own establishment—giving you more freedom and security than a married woman ever has.’

‘If not the respect of Society,’ Ellie murmured.

‘No great loss, that,’ Lady Vraux said with a shrug. ‘I would choose independence and control over my fortune any day! But since I take it that option doesn’t appeal, what do you intend to do? Not start that school for wayward females you mentioned when we last met, I hope!’

‘Actually, I have started it,’ Ellie said, giving his mother an apologetic smile. ‘I’d been thinking of doing something like that for years, particularly for girls born at fancy houses who don’t want to follow their mothers into the trade. It’s true that courtesans at the highest levels have the independence you so admire, but few females achieve that. Most girls caught up in the life can never leave it, either because they have no other way to support themselves, or because the madam or pimp controlling them won’t permit it. Which is why I was so grateful for Lord Witlow’s assistance in the matter of the girl who trapped Ben Tawny at the Quill and Gavel,’ she said, looking over at Christopher.

‘It’s Ben and the rest of us Hellions who owe you thanks,’ Christopher responded. ‘Without your sleuthing efforts and your knowledge of the demi-monde, we’d never have found her, and Ben might have been facing the ruin of his Parliamentary career. We’ve worked too hard for too long to lose one of our key members now, when the reforms we’ve struggled to advance are so close to being implemented.’

‘Yes, I read that your Third Reform Bill passed the Commons. Congratulations!’

Christopher nodded his thanks. ‘Now we just have to get it through the Lords. Though a few peers, like Lady Maggie’s father, are reasonable, a great many recalcitrants will try to drag their heels. Another reason we’re grateful that, with your help, we’ve still got Ben with us in the fight.’

‘I’m so thankful for your mama and all her kindness over the years. I was only too happy to do what I could.’ She gave him that sweet smile that always made his heart lift. ‘Most women of her class ignore me like an unpleasant odour. No one but Felicia has ever condescended, not just to acknowledge me, but to offer friendship. Still, had Lord Witlow not stepped in to guarantee the girl’s safety, she would have been too afraid of retribution for me to persuade her to come forward. Once he’d been made aware of the situation—and what I hoped to do for other girls—his lordship not only took steps to protect Jane, he invested in the project, allowing me to begin the school at once. I shall be indebted for ever.’

‘We are all indebted that the two of you worked in concert to clear Ben’s name,’ Christopher said.

A knock at the door, followed by the entry of the butler with the tea tray, brought a momentary halt to the conversation. Once they were settled with cups in hand, Ellie yielding to his mother’s request that she pour for them, Christopher turned back to her.

Curious about her unusual endeavour, Christopher asked, ‘How do you find the girls for your school?’

‘Are you sure you want to know more? I can become quite enthused when talking about my project,’ she cautioned.

‘Yes, I truly want to know,’ he assured her.

‘Very well. Working girls, or those with a friend or relative who has a daughter who aspires to a different life, send them to me. Or sometimes I find them at the posting inns, where I try to intercept country girls who’ve come to town looking for work, before the bawds can spirit them away.’

Lady Vraux frowned. ‘Isn’t that dangerous? I imagine the bawds don’t like being robbed of their pigeons!’

‘I’m sure they don’t,’ Ellie agreed. ‘When he learned what I intended, Lord Witlow insisted I have a burly man to accompany me. As it turns out, he engaged the bully boy at the house from which they obtained the girl meant to entrap Mr Tawny. It seems the man was sweet on her, and after Witlow helped her escape, was ready to trade his current employment for some honest work where he might be able to continue the acquaintance.’

‘Well, it’s commendable of you, my dear, setting up the school, but nobility does become rather dull. Surely you leave yourself some time for amusements—concerts, the theatre?’

Ellie smiled faintly, shaking her head. ‘I don’t go out much any more.’

‘To avoid being pestered by gentlemen hoping to persuade you to let them take Summerville’s place?’ his mother guessed. ‘Lovely as you are, I’m certain you’ve had offers! If you don’t intend to open an establishment that will earn you a reliable income, you must find some other way to secure your future. Are you planning to take another protector?’

‘No,’ Ellie said flatly, the bleakness that swiftly crossed her face before she masked it suddenly recalling one of Christopher’s earliest memories of her.

It must have been only a few weeks after they’d first met. Answering a summons by his mama to escort her home from a definitely disrespectable masquerade ball after her nominal escort had fallen into a drunken stupor, he’d encountered Ellie alone in one of the anterooms, weeping. Seeing him, she’d hastily wiped away the tears, insisted there was nothing wrong, and led him to his mother. Not knowing how to get her to confide in him, he’d let it go. But the devastation he’d read on her face then had struck him deeply—as did the glimpse of it he’d just seen.

No more certain now how to ask her about it, before he could speak, his mother continued, ‘But how are you to live, if you do not allow another gentleman to provide for you? You have the house, and Summerville was certainly generous with gifts, but even if you sell some jewels, it won’t cover your expenses for ever. Not with servants to pay, and candles, coal and all manner of victuals to be bought, to say nothing of clothing. To wrap your loveliness in outdated gowns would be a travesty!’

Ellie laughed. ‘I think I can tolerate the indignity of wearing last year’s fashions. Summerville was generous with his gifts, and thanks to your advice, I obtained that annuity and some other assets that will allow me to remain independent. I can maintain myself for a good long while before I have to worry about where my next meal is coming from.’

‘Is it the notoriety of living outside wedlock that holds you back?’ his mother persisted. ‘I can’t believe a lady as young and beautiful as you prefers to exist without...masculine attention.’

Again, Christopher caught a glimpse of distress before Ellie could submerge it. ‘I’ve quite had my fill of “masculine attention” these last few years. Nor does the idea of additional notoriety bother me. I’m not naive enough to think I can erase the past; even were I to live the rest of my life as chastely as a nun, I will always be known as a kept woman.’

‘We are all kept women, my dear,’ his mother replied, a look of bitterness passing over her face. ‘Some of us are trapped by wedding lines. You, at least, still have the power to choose your path. Don’t discount that freedom.’ Then, her face clearing, she said, ‘But enough of this sober talk. Let me tell you something that is certain to amuse you. Christopher just announced he has taken it into his head to marry! Is that not the most ridiculous notion you’ve ever heard?’

‘I’m so glad my intention to reform myself into a respectable gentleman inspires you to hilarity,’ Christopher said wryly, as his mother went off into another peal of laughter.

‘Come, you must dissuade him of the nonsensical idea, Ellie! You’ve encountered him in enough disreputable places and scandalous company to recognise he’s not sober husband material. Christopher, remaining devoted to a single woman?’ She shook her head. ‘He ought to spare some earnest, virtuous virgin a lifetime of sorrow and abandon the notion forthwith.’

Although she didn’t succumb to mirth like his mother, Ellie’s lovely eyes were definitely dancing when she glanced at him. ‘I must allow, Christopher, up to now, you’ve shown a preference for ladies more renowned for a...particular kind of skill than for their virtue, and an ever-changing parade of them at that.’

‘Indeed!’ his mother agreed. ‘Remember that soprano from the Theatre Royal—was it a vase she threw at you, Christopher? You’ve still got the scar on your chin! And the time you stole Harrington’s doxy out from under his nose, and he threatened to call you out! And then there was—’

‘Please, must you list all my indiscretions?’ Christopher protested, half-amused, half-embarrassed. ‘I agree, I’ve not exactly been a...model of punctilious deportment, but a man can change. Can’t he, Ellie?’

Instead of the witty riposte he expected, she stared at him—those magnificent violet eyes making his breath hitch, as they always did on the rare occasions when she gave him her full attention. ‘I don’t know, Christopher. I expect a man can reform, if he wants to badly enough.’ A faint smile touched her lips. ‘Unlike a female, even a truly notorious man can choose to turn respectable.’

Is that what caused the lingering sadness he saw in her eyes? Christopher wondered. She’d always seemed, and he’s always treated her, as a lady, despite her position as Summerville’s mistress. Had she once been respectable, and been robbed of that reputation by some cruel circumstance? He really must press his mother for more details about her background.

‘You’re young enough, you’ve plenty of time to change your mind,’ his mother told her. ‘When you meet a gentleman too charming to resist—or when you’ve run out of the ready.’

Setting down her teacup, Ellie made a face at her. ‘I hope to avoid both outcomes. But now, I should be getting on. I must check on the school, then discharge some errands before Lady Lydlington meets me there tomorrow.’

‘Giles’s wife Maggie has taken an interest in your work?’ Christopher asked, surprised.

‘Yes. Though I’ve been giving Lord Witlow the credit, I’m fairly certain it was his daughter Maggie who encouraged Witlow to provide protection for Mr Tawny’s accuser, for me on my forays into the posting inns, and prompted him to sponsor the school. I doubt a man of Lord Witlow’s position would have had any notion there might be a need for such things.’

Ellie shook her head, smiling. ‘The first time Lady Lyndlington visited the school, I told her I couldn’t believe her father would permit her to associate with me—or that her husband would, now that’s she’s in a delicate condition. She laughed, saying that since she’d married a radical, her papa already knew she wouldn’t let a little thing like Society’s disapproval stop her from helping a good cause. She found it fulfilling, she said, to assist to a better life girls who’d been born without the advantages she possesses. Her courage and graciousness remind me of you, Felicia. Though I don’t mean to suggest she considers me a friend, of course,’ Ellie added quickly.

‘You did one of her husband’s closest friends a great service. Why shouldn’t she befriend you?’ Christopher asked.

A slight flush coloured Ellie’s lovely face. ‘The daughter of an earl, the wife of a viscount and Member of Parliament, on intimate terms with... It’s quite impossible, Christopher, and you know it,’ she added, an unusual sharpness in her tone.

‘Perhaps for Lady Maggie,’ his mother inserted with a grin. ‘She’s far more respectable than I am!’

‘Well I, for one, can only be glad you’ve chosen to be slightly scandalous!’ Ellie said, leaning over to give Lady Vraux a hug. ‘Now I must go.’

‘Thank you again for the visit,’ his mother said. ‘Please, do come back soon! Even if it’s only to ask for money to support your noble cause.’

Smiling, Ellie shook a finger at her. ‘Be careful what you wish for. Next time, I might just come begging!’ Turning towards him, she said, ‘It was wonderful to see you, too, Christopher. Good luck getting your Reform Bill through the Lords this session. And with your other project. Despite your mama’s objections, if you’re set on reforming your rake’s ways, I know you will make a success of it and choose a wife wisely.’

With a graceful curtsy to his bow, she walked out, Christopher unable to pry his gaze from her lovely form until she’d shut the door behind her.

He looked back to see his mama watching him, a speculative look on her face. He bent over the teapot and poured himself another cup to mask the heat he felt rising in his face at her scrutiny.

However, rather than teasing him about his obvious admiration for Ellie, when he looked back at her, she was frowning. ‘I worry about her, Christopher,’ she said unexpectedly. ‘Despite what Ellie says, she can’t have extracted enough jewels or blunt out of Summerville to support herself indefinitely. And despite my distaste for the married state, having a husband—even one conspicuous for his absence—does provide a woman with a layer of protection. The unscrupulous are less likely to try to take advantage if they know there is a man about who could hold them accountable for their behaviour. With Summerville gone, Ellie has no one. And she’s far too lovely to be without a champion.’

As his mother perhaps intended, her words immediately called up Christopher’s protective instincts. He didn’t need his mother’s warning to know there were many men who would feel a woman in Ellie’s position was fair game. ‘Is there someone in particular you suspect might be thinking of taking advantage?’

‘She disappeared from the public eye immediately after Summerville’s death, so I can’t say for certain. But Viscount Mountgarcy and Sir Ralph Simonton have been sniffing around her for years, and they are both as dissipated as Summerville. As you well know, the two have vied over women and wagers since they left university. With their wealth and position, I can’t see either of them believing they should take Ellie’s refusal as a final answer.’

Christopher frowned. His mother was correct; neither would believe Summerville’s former mistress would actually reject an offer from a man of their lineage and deep pockets. They’d likely interpret her refusal as a game, her way of bargaining between them to get better terms. ‘I’ll keep an eye out. Wouldn’t want either of those dissolute characters laying a hand on her.’

His mother gave him another speculative look. ‘Maybe you ought to do more than just “keep an eye out”. She’s not indifferent to you, Christopher—and you’re certainly attracted to her. Even better, you like her. Were you to offer her carte blanche, I’m almost certain she would accept. It would be a far happier arrangement for you than marriage to some prune-faced virgin.’

He, Ellie’s protector? He couldn’t deny that the mere thought of possessing her sent a blaze of desire through him. In his many amorous liaisons, he’d never met another woman who touched him more deeply on a physical level. He was nearly certain they would make spectacular lovers. And as his mother said, they were already friends. He enjoyed her company, her good sense and intelligent observations, her calm demeanour that was often so in contrast to his emotional, volatile mother.

Protecting her from harm would be a privilege.

But taking a mistress wouldn’t advance his career, nor help him fit in better with his married friends. Indeed, it would distance him further.

He really did need a wife to achieve both those aims. He resisted a sigh. No matter how tedious the idea of marriage sounded. He’d just have to talk himself into liking the idea better. Surely he could reshape his outlook, if he worked at it hard enough.

‘I do admire Ellie—and I certainly find her desirable. But I also think it’s time that I moved beyond temporary liaisons and made a permanent choice of companion.’

Could he take Ellie—and then walk away from her? If she were to become his mistress, and they later parted, how could he keep her as a friend?

Though his mother was correct about his tendency to move from one woman to the next, he couldn’t imagine his life without the serene loveliness of Ellie in it.

‘So you’ll just leave Ellie to fend for herself?’ his mother asked, jolting him from his thoughts. ‘Because a woman who isn’t chaste and dutiful deserves whatever she gets?’ she added bitterly.

‘No, of course not,’ he flashed back, stung. ‘How could you accuse me of thinking that? I’ve never treated any of the women with whom I’ve associated with less than courtesy and respect, and you know it! Just because I’m not prepared to make Ellie an offer doesn’t mean I’m not concerned for her well-being. We’re not as close as you and she have become, but I still consider her a friend! You may trust me to make sure she comes to no harm.’

‘And just how do you mean to accomplish that, if she is not under your protection?’

‘We’re friends. I can stop by her school, and visit her at home.’ He gave his mother a smile. ‘It is possible for a man and a woman to be just friends, you know.’

She shrugged. ‘Maybe if the man’s a eunuch, or the woman a sour-faced virgin.’ She heaved a sigh. ‘But I shall stop, before you make me cross. Just promise to watch out for Ellie, and I won’t tease you any further. Even though I think your desire to pursue marriage is a mistake.’

‘That’s easy enough to promise.’ Setting aside his teacup, he rose. ‘I must get along as well. But to demonstrate the sincerity of my pledge, I’ll stop by Ellie’s school this very afternoon. Check out her circumstances, make sure that bully boy is providing sufficient protection. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open when I make the rounds of my clubs, too. If someone has disreputable intentions towards her, I’ll put a stop to it.’

His mother opened her lips, then closed them. ‘I’ll not ask again how you think you can do that without staking a claim to the lady. Just know, I shall hold you responsible if anything untoward happens to her.’

‘No more responsible than I’d hold myself,’ he retorted. ‘I watch out for my friends, Mama—even the ones who happen to be female.’

‘See that you do. Now, go on with you. Some dreadfully dull committee meeting awaits, I’m sure.’

Chuckling, Christopher dropped a kiss on his mother’s head and left her.

But despite his intent to focus on finding a wife, the enticing vision of Ellie in his arms was difficult to put out of mind.

Chapter Two

A short while after her visit with Lady Vraux, Ellie Parmenter stepped down from the hackney and approached the modest shop front she’d rented for her school on Dean Street. With space on the ground floor for classrooms, her office, and a storeroom, and bedchambers upstairs for the girls and the matron she’d engaged as chaperone and fellow teacher, it served excellently for its purpose.

‘Afternoon, miss,’ Jensen, her bully-boy protector-cum-butler, said as she entered. ‘The post done arrived. I put it on your desk.’

‘Thank you, Jensen. I’ll see to it directly.’ Nodding to the matron and calling a hello to the girls seated at tables, working on some stitchery, Ellie crossed the space towards the small room she used as an office. Laid out on the desk were several envelopes—that looked very much like bills.

She took a seat and opened them, confirming with a sigh that they were indeed invoices for coal, porridge, thread, and candles. Having gone from her mother’s house to her protector’s, she had little experience of the various and sundry expenses involved in running a household. She kept discovering, to her dismay, how many more of them there were than she’d anticipated.

Pushing away the unpleasant realisation of how quickly she was going through the sum Lord Witlow had invested in the school, she told herself they would manage somehow. After she finished with the bills and checked on the students, she would go out again and purchase some cloth. The two new girls she’d taken in yesterday, both children raised in brothels, needed more suitable clothing. She meant to use Witlow’s funds as prudently as possible, and it would be cheaper to buy the material to make up the gowns.

Besides, Lucy had expressed an interest in learning the dressmaker’s art. With time and training, she could perhaps be found a place with a modiste—especially if Lady Lyndlington gave her a recommendation.

All the wives of Christopher’s closest friends, the Hellions, were uncommonly gracious. After she’d responded to his plea for help and located the girl involved in the plot to discredit Ben Tawny, they’d insisted on having her dine with them so they might thank her personally.

She wouldn’t have admitted it to Christopher, or even to his mother, but she would have been willing to do nearly anything he asked of her.

What an arresting figure he’d made today, the sunlight streaming through the gauze-curtained windows silhouetting his tall, muscled body, shimmering on his dark gold hair and highlighting the sparkle of those deep turquoise eyes!

She chuckled, remembering the quizzical twist of his lip as he protested his mama mocking his intention to marry, even as that aim sent a pang to her heart. His hold on her affections went far deeper than admiration for his handsome face and virile body, or the zing of attraction she felt whenever he came near. She would never forget, nor could she adequately repay him, for the unfailing kindness, sympathy and respect with which he always treated her, especially at the darkest moment of her life.

Just as well that he was set on wedding a proper young miss. Now that she was finally free of her obligation to Summerville, she didn’t intend to become any man’s mistress ever again. That firm resolve, however, might waver—if Christopher were the one offering her carte blanche.

Shaking her head at her foolishness, she told herself she mustn’t even consider becoming more to Christopher Lattimar than a casual friend. It would be too great an irony if she agreed to a disreputable liaison with the one gentleman who’d always treated her like a lady, despite her position.

Besides, even if he should crook his finger and she were not strong enough to refuse him, such a relationship would only be temporary. How could she bear to have the warmth and courtesy he now showed her turn to polite disinterest, or worse yet, disdain, when he tired of her, as men always did of their mistresses?

Naturally, with him showing her kindness and respect at such a low point in her life, she’d fallen immediately into infatuation, seeing him as some sort of Knight in Shining Armour. But she was no longer an innocent eighteen-year-old, wrenched from home, family and all that was familiar and forced into a degrading role.

She smiled wryly. If Christopher could reform the rake, perhaps she could remake the romantic girl she’d been. Put those nostalgic fancies behind her and, now that her life was finally her own, turn herself into a sensible, mature woman. She had a few loyal friends like Felicia and important work in helping destitute young women build better lives to keep her occupied.

Having Christopher marry would end their friendship as effectively as if she were his cast-off mistress, she suddenly realised.

She was struggling to resist the wave of desolation that cruel thought produced when Jensen poked his head in the door. ‘There’s a man to see you, miss. Says he’s from the landlord.’

‘I suppose I shall have to receive him.’ Gathering up the bills and thrusting them into the drawer, she said, ‘Very well, show him in, Jensen.’

A few minutes later, a short, trim gentleman strolled in. After sketching a bow, he said, ‘I’m Wilson, Miss Parmenter, agent for your landlord. Mr Anderson sent me to inform you that, the preliminary portion of your lease being up, as of your next payment, your rent will be going up five pounds a month.’

‘Five pounds a month?’ After rapidly figuring the percentage in her head, she exclaimed, ‘That’s a ridiculously high increase! Besides, the term of the lease was a year. He cannot raise the rent before the end of the term.’