Lady in Blue Read Online Free

Countess of Caradoc would set foot in this place. When Marita took her leave, I cast about for a young woman to replace her. Not an easy task, considering how very particular you are of late. But . . . well, you must judge for yourself. This one is on the house, as they say, by way of a parting gift. If she will have you. She insisted on seeing you first.”
    “Indeed.” A muscle jumped in his cheek. “Aspiring mistresses don’t vet me, poupée. Rather the other way around.”
    “Generally true,” she conceded. “But times change.”
    Didn’t he know it. “And what is the name of this gift?”
    “Perhaps ‘gift’ is not the right word,” Flo said meditatively. “For myself, there will be no commission, but Clare has requirements of her own.” She cast him a smug look. “Expensive requirements.”
    “Clare what?” He winced at the impatience in his voice. “And how much?”
    “Clare whatever-she-tells-you. And if she approved of what she saw, which I cannot know until I speak with her again, one night will cost you ten thousand pounds.”
    “The devil it will!” Lurching to his feet, Bryn towered over the graceful tea table. “What in hell makes that rapacious female imagine I’d pay out a fortune for one night? And don’t tell me you led her to believe it was possible.”
    “You can afford it,” Flo said imperturbably.
    “Which is nothing to the point. I hate the first night.” Bryn felt the tips of his ears go hot. “What in blazes does she think I am?”
    “Clare reveals nothing of what she is thinking. Not ever. Pray do not loom over me that way. It is most annoying.”
    Firing her a look of pure malice, he stomped to the sideboard.
    “Bryn, the real point cannot have escaped you. Clare is the last virgin I shall provide. If she agrees to meet you, perhaps you can negotiate better terms for the future. However, her price for the first night is inflexible. As a matter of fact, I don’t expect you to accept her. She is lovely, untouched, and available, but otherwise she’ll not suit you at all.”
    He swung around. “And why is that?”
    When Flo lifted her eyes, he saw the flash of cunning. “Clare is . . . not the usual young woman anxious to enter my profession. But she is determined to do so, however briefly. Her innocence fulfills your primary requirement, and your wealth satisfies her own. Beyond that I have little hope. Shall I tell her you are not interested?”
    Bryn ran a finger under his starched collar. The mysterious Clare did not sound a suitable mistress, but Florette was deliberately trying to interest him by making the girl sound like forbidden fruit. He was well and truly hooked, he thought savagely, with Flo enjoying every minute of this. She was bent on victory in their last game and knew she held a winning hand.
    “I am curious,” he allowed, “as you intended. And less interested than you hope. Now give over. What makes this one special?”
    “Why, nothing at all. In bed, is not one woman much like the next? I doubt Clare found any fault in your appearance, for you are too handsome for your own good. But she may reject your offer nonetheless.”
    “An offer I’ve not made,” he pointed out. There were wheels within wheels in this plot, and he was as anxious as she knew he’d be to trace it to the center. Damn Florette, and damn Clare, and loneliness, and lust.
    And damned if he’d agree to anything until he’d inspected her the way she inspected him. If she wasn’t the most desirable woman on the planet, he would bloody well discipline his raging body the way he’d done, painfully, the years he’d spent attached to Wellington’s staff. On the Peninsula there were none of Florette’s virgins to ease the lonely nights. Surely it wouldn’t take another five brutal years of celibacy to find himself a wife.
    “How much,” he asked acidly, “will it cost me to see her?”
    “Why, nothing at all, assuming she agrees. For ten thousand pounds, she will