Silk and Shadows (9 page)

Weldon raised his brows, a respectful look on his face. "I see that you have studied the subject. Yes, the industry is currently in a state of reorganization while investors wait and see, but capital is accumulating. In another two or three years, there will be an outburst of investment and building that will make the last mania look tame. For those with the courage to invest now, there will be great profits."

"Perhaps." Peregrine took a small sip of his port. "Is there a particular railway or project you have in mind?"

"The London and Southampton," Weldon said immediately. "Southampton is one of the most important ports in the country, and a railroad connecting it with London can't help but be successful. Part of the line was constructed before the company failed last year for lack of funds. Now most of the shareholders are desperate and will accept virtually any offer for their stock. It won't be hard to accumulate a controlling interest. After that, enough new capital will have to be raised to finish building the line, but when it is complete, the L & S will be the most profitable railroad in Britain."

Elaborately casual, Peregrine knocked ashes from the tip of his cigar. "If the company is a guaranteed winner, why couldn't the present board attract new investment?"

"A very pertinent question," Weldon replied. There was a subtle shift in the atmosphere as he began to realize that this was a meeting of equals. "The fact is,investors have been wary of the London and Southampton because there has been a problem with lawsuits about the amount of compensation paid for taking rights-of-way. There is one particular landowner who was a ringleader in filing the lawsuits. However, I have reason to believe that he is now willing to be more reasonable."

"I assume that you are looking for other investors to join you in buying up a controlling interest in the company, and you would become chairman of the board?"

"Exactly. Immodest though it sounds, I assure you that no one else can turn the L & S around as well as I," Weldon said. "Why, would you prefer to be chairman yourself?"

"Not at all. I have no interest in the daily operations of a business. I prefer to concentrate on finance and leave management to others." Peregrine leaned back in his chair. "I agree that there is great profit to be made in railroads,
if
one chooses the right companies. I'll need to study the figures and learn more about the legal situation before making a commitment, but I find your proposition most interesting. May I prevail on you to send the relevant information to my man of business?"

Weldon's eyes gleamed. "I was hoping that you would say that, so I brought a summary with me." He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a folded sheaf of documents. "If you want more detail, send me a list of questions."

"Very good." Peregrine tucked the papers away. Now for a subject that was even more interesting. "I have a favor to ask of you, Sir Charles. Not concerning business, but pleasure. All great cities have places where gentlemen may find… shall I say discreet, sophisticated entertainment?"

He paused to sip his port. "Unfortunately, the best establishments are difficult for a stranger to find, and often admittance is impossible without a personal introduction from an existing patron. While my friend Lord Ross Carlisle has been most helpful, he is too much the scholar to be well-informed on this subject. I assume that a man of the world like you can direct me to someone more knowledgeable about such things."

Weldon could have disclaimed personal knowledge, or referred Peregrine to another man. Instead, a different kind of gleam came into his eyes, part calculation of the benefits of performing this kind of favor, and part something else, something dark and avid. "I would consider it a privilege to take you on a tour of the best establishments, Your Highness. London offers everything a man could desire, from simple peasant fare on the streets to the most exotic epicurean delights."

Peregrine released a mouthful of cigar smoke. His enemy had taken the bait. Something valuable was sure to result. "It will be interesting to see if what London offers will seem exotic to a man who has known the pleasures of the Orient."

From the way Weldon's pale blue eyes narrowed, he was irritated by the suggestion that London vice might be inferior. "I will match the amusements of London against any other city in the world. For the right price, anything can be found here.
Anything
. "He ground out the stub of his cigar and stood. "By the end of the evening, you will concede that I am right. Come."

They took Weldon's closed carriage, which Peregrine was interested to note was dark and anonymous, with no coat of arms or other identifying marks. As they rode through the dark streets, Weldon said, "Under English law, it is illegal for a man to earn money from prostitution, but not for a woman. That is why most such establishments are run by females." He pulled a periodical from a side pocket of the carriage and handed it to his guest. "This might interest you."

The magazine was called
The Exquisite
. Peregrine opened it and saw that under headings such as "Venus Unveiled," it contained descriptions of women. He skimmed several pages, seeing phrases such as:
a delicate blonde, as elegant in her manner as any lady born, but most robust in her performance;
and
dark-haired, full-figured, an expert in the best French techniques
. "Interesting," he commented. "A catalog of courtesans."

"Exactly. It describes most of the better grade of Covent Garden ware and is updated regularly. There is also a listing of night houses, which are taverns where such women can be met. Common streetwalkers are not allowed in. If you want to try one, the best is Kate Hamilton's in Princes Street, but the places I am taking you tonight provide better quality and service."

"You are too kind." Peregrine leaned back against the velvet upholstery. It promised to be a most intriguing evening.

Their first stop was a conventional brothel, unusual only for the lavishness of its furnishings. They were admitted by a hulking porter who looked like a pugilist past his prime. After accepting a warm welcome, Weldon asked if Madame de Maintenon was available. Immediately they were ushered into the presence of a tall woman of middle years. The madame was heavy, her red hair of a shade not found in nature, and her smooth complexion from a paint pot, but she still had a coarse prettiness. Peregrine guessed that she had been a beauty in her glory years.

After greeting her, Weldon said, "My friend is new to London, so I knew that he could do no better than to meet you."

Madame de Maintenon looked Peregrine over with frank appreciation. In a voice that sounded more of the East End than Paris, she said, "Pleased to meet you, my lord. If you'd like to see my girls, just take a look through here."

She drew aside a brocade drapery and gestured toward several small circles of glass set into the wall at different heights. Peregrine stepped to the highest peephole and looked through into a sumptuously furnished drawing room where half a dozen young women sat or reclined in skimpily cut, translucent dresses that left no doubt as to their profession. The system was like that in certain Asian eateries, where the customer could choose his dinner from fish swimming in a large tank.

"The girls are inspected by a doctor every week," the madame said briskly. "Wine and a fine supper are included in the basic price. Special rates if you want more than one girl at a time, unless it's a busy night. Then they're full price. We also offer the best costume shows in London."

"Costume shows?"

"The girls dress up and do a bit of acting," she explained. "Most clients find the costumes very amusing. Governesses, schoolgirls, dairymaids, harem ladies, duchesses, women dressed to look like your mother… we can provide most anything." She cocked her head to one side thoughtfully. "You're foreign, aren't you? If you're Catholic, you might want to try the nun show—it's particularly popular with papists. We have one gent who likes a shepherdess, complete with sheep, but for something special like that, we need a day or two of notice."

She gave a raucous laugh. "One of my girls can make herself up just like the queen, so if you've a fancy to roger Her Royal Highness, here's your chance. I guarantee that Lisette knows things Victoria never thought of."

"I have no doubt of that." Peregrine wondered how Queen Victoria would react if she knew that her subjects were guilty of such lese-majesté. "Very intriguing, Madame de Maintenon.''

"What would you fancy, my lord?" she asked hopefully.

No doubt being called "my lord" was part of the service, like the wine and the fine supper. Dropping the brocade drapery, he replied, "Tonight I am just acquainting myself with what is available. I shall stay longer on my next visit."

They took their leave and returned to the carriage,

where Peregrine said, "An excellent establishment of the more conventional type, Sir Charles. Now, what of the more exotic delights you mentioned?"

Weldon laughed. "Not easily impressed, are you? Very well, I shall introduce you to some of the more unusual houses. Shall I include the city's best homosexual brothel in the tour?"

Even though he had expected this, Peregrine's hands curled into fists, the nails gouging his palms. Grateful for the carriage's concealing darkness, he said evenly, "That isn't a primary interest of mine, but it would be useful to know at least one such establishment for possible future use."

The next stop was Soho, at the lavish house of a lady who went by the name of Mrs. Cambridge. Dressed in clinging silk and trailing fur, she proudly displayed her collection of whip thongs, leather straps, needle-pointed cat-o'-nine-tails, currycombs, and much more. Her birch rods were stored in water to keep them supple, and the rooms were decorated with elegant vases full of stinging nettles that could be used if the customer wished. As the lady stroked a thong, she said cheerfully, "Many a dead man has been brought back to life with these."

The lady's piece de resistance was an apparatus called the Cambridge Chevalet, which she had designed herself. A cross between a rack and a freestanding ladder, it was padded and could be adjusted to a man's height. When the customer was strapped in place for his punishment, holes in the rack allowed a scantily clad assistant to caress him in appropriate places. Mrs. Cambridge personally administered all punishments, but had employees of both sexes if customers preferred to do the whipping themselves. Men whose interest in the subject was strictly academic could watch for a modest fee.

Peregrine's personal opinion was that life inflicted quite enough pain and only a damned fool would pay for the privilege of experiencing more, but there was something rather touching about Mrs. Cambridge's pride in her work. When they left, he kissed the lady's hand and solemnly assured her that he had never seen a craftswoman with more respect for the tools of her trade. Charmed, she insisted on giving him a copy of a flagellation classic called
Venus Schoolmistress, or Birchen Sports
.

After stopping at a sporting establishment whose principal claim to fame was that the girls played cards and billiards in the nude, Weldon produced two black half masks for their visit to the homosexual brothel. They arrived just in time to witness a mock marriage. Under a lace veil, the "bride" was a strapping mustachioed fellow who looked like a grenadier sergeant, while the "groom" was a languid society gentleman half a head shorter.

Waiters wearing frilly aprons and nothing more circulated with trays of champagne. His skin crawling, Peregrine found a quiet spot where he could sip his goblet and watch his host circulate among the "wedding party."

He was congratulating himself on how well he was controlling his distaste when someone came up behind and caressed his arm. Peregrine whirled, his expression so fierce that the other man fell back with a stuttered apology. It took Peregrine a moment to master himself enough to offer a contrite nod intended to convey that his reaction had been surprise, not loathing. Probably he was not successful, for the man quickly disappeared into another room.

Fortunately Weldon suggested leaving after about half an hour. When they were in the carriage again, he said, "I have saved the best for last. If you are not interested yourself, I hope you will not mind waiting while I am engaged."

"Of course not. You have been very generous with your time, and I can hardly be less so." In a tone of bored curiosity, Peregrine went on, "Which of tonight's activities would an English gentleman expect a wife such as Lady Sara St. James to emulate?"

There was palpable shock in Weldon's gasp. His contempt for ignorant foreigners obvious, he said, "No English gentleman would expect a lady to behave like the creatures we've seen tonight—a considerate husband would not inflict himself on a gently bred wife more than once or twice a month. Many men approach their wives only for the sake of having children."

"If that is how English gentlemen think," Peregrine said dryly, "brothel owning must be a very profitable business."

After a cold silence Weldon said, "If it is a business you wish to enter, remember that in England it's illegal for a man to live off the earnings of prostitution."

"As I said earlier, I have no interest in the day-today running of any business, even one so deliciously decadent," Peregrine said lazily. "That was merely a general observation. Now, what is this last treat that you have saved for me?"

"An establishment that specializes in young virgins. I would advise wearing the mask again when entering and leaving." Weldon smiled, his teeth a pale flash in the darkness. "Regular brothels are largely ignored, but reformers sometimes kick up a dust about houses like this one. It is wise to be discreet."