The Accidental Courtesan (23 page)

Thank goodness.

Noelle had been to Vauxhall once or twice during the day and had enjoyed the labyrinth of arbors, the endless walkways, and the sheer beauty of the place. To see tawdry displays in what she'd once considered Eden was a blow to her senses.

She paused, bringing Gavin to a stop. “Is there something wrong, My Lady courtesan?” he asked. There was a knowing in his eyes as he looked at the company, then back to her. She shook her head. He seemed to understand her hesitation and gave her a moment to collect herself.

“The last time I visited these grounds, there was much less exposed flesh,” she jested. She waited until the last few strains of the orchestra faded before continuing. “The gardens look much different filled with courtesans. I fear I am not as worldly as I profess. This goes far beyond what I imagined.”

Gavin squeezed her hand. “We can leave at any time you wish. Now, if you prefer.”

“Absolutely not,” she said. Her eyes twinkled with amusement. Sheer bodices and rouged nipples aside, she wasn't about to forgo the adventure of the evening. “I wouldn't miss the sights of this outrageous ball for anything in the world.”

Her companion's handsome mouth twitched. “You surprise me, My Lady,” he said. “I was certain one look at nipple displays and you'd beg me to return you home.”

The graphic speech warmed her cheeks. “If I cannot look at dozens of pairs of nipples without blushing, what sort of courtesan would I be?”

Gavin tipped up his head and laughed wholeheartedly. His blue eyes danced when he peered down at her. “I think you've spent too much time with the courtesans. You are starting to speak like one.”

“Then perhaps I will make an acceptable courtesan after all,” she teased. A bit of fondness edged his eyes when he examined her face. Clearly, he liked her and enjoyed her company. She enjoyed his as well. What wasn't there to like when accompanied by a fine-looking man?

He chuckled. “Remember this is a game, My Lady. If you run off tonight with a dandy and his fat purse, I will be sorely disappointed. I need your help catching the thieves.”

Noelle leaned to press her breasts against his arm. “I only have eyes for you, my darling,” she purred. For a moment their gazes locked. The intense sensuality in his face left her breathless. Her skin tingled in hopeful anticipation of his touch. He didn't disappoint. Gavin turned her until they were face-to-face and slid his hands slowly up her bare arms to her cap sleeves.

Her lips parted as he lifted the bottom of the veil. She wanted his kiss and cared not who might be watching. After all, a kiss was the least scandalous of all the possible courtesan ball experiences. And if the thieves were watching, they'd expect two lovers to act . . . loverly. Gavin dipped his head, and she watched every movement, anticipating what was to come.

Unfortunately, a pair of drunken lovers chose that moment to stumble past. The man's elbow caught Gavin on the arm and jostled him sideways. Gavin righted himself, but there would be no kiss. The veil fluttered back into place.

The attractive young man shot a rueful look over his shoulder. “My apologies, sir.” He winked and rushed off after the giggling woman, who was moving at a fair clip toward an arbor. There was no question of the reason the man was so eager. There were dark places in the garden perfect for trysts.

Gavin frowned as the pair disappeared into the night.

Envy. That was what Noelle felt deep in her quivering heart. The woman was about to be kissed, and who knew what else, by her lover. Noelle was standing on a path, an arm's length away from the most handsome man in all of London, regretting a lost moment.

Clearly, Gavin felt it, too, down to his slumped shoulders. He jerked his coat into place and tucked her hand back under his arm. “Shall we continue onward?” He led her farther into to the rotunda. With each step, her stomach added another knot until the space was full.

“Have you seen any sign of the men who attacked you?” Noelle asked and casually glanced around. She saw no one who matched Gavin's descriptions. She saw nothing but well-dressed men and their colorful courtesans.

“Not yet,” Gavin said, “but it is still early.”

With her veil in place, Noelle didn't fear recognition by several men whom she knew casually, each with a garishly dressed woman on his arm. One was a duke. A very married duke. No, it was the tension of not knowing if they'd entice criminals to act that overshadowed any worry about discovery by someone she knew.

To her surprise, Edolie was correct. There were indeed women dressed as befitting a society gathering. However, those were few. Her entire body tensed with distaste when a man dressed in a red velvet jacket tweaked his companion's left nipple through the thin fabric of her clearly dampened bodice.

“Easy, love. You are a much sought-after courtesan. Every man in attendance longs to share your bed,” Gavin murmured in her ear, his warm breath teasing her flesh. “I am the luckiest man in all England to have you on my arm.”

Noelle leveled her breathing and smiled. She wanted to appear as a woman well versed in seduction. Unfortunately, she could only shake her head slowly as a middle-aged gentleman in green followed a redheaded woman in deep russet into the shadows. They had barely broken free of the flickering lamplight before their groping began in earnest.

“No, it is I who am lucky,” she said absently. She shifted her eyes away from the spectacle, mortified by the display of lascivious behavior.

Gavin cocked a brow at the couple. He seemed quite comfortable in the setting, as if he commonly frequented courtesan balls. Still, in spite of the goings-on around him, he had eyes only for her. “I can see by your face, love, this was a mistake. We will go.”

“No,” she said sharply. “Please let us stay.” Noelle straightened her shoulders and her chin. “I am well beyond the age when a bit of exposed flesh and questionable acts should permanently damage my sensibilities. It isn't as if I have never seen a couple take advantage of a quiet garden.”

Or coach.

A light cough made her tip her head up, and she found Gavin struggling with his mirth. “How many times have you seen that in those darkened gardens?”

The man in green had his lover's breast freed and was making strangled sucking noises on her flesh. This time it didn't shock her. Another emotion bubbled up in her throat as the man lifted his head and the pair finally moved deeper into the shadows.

She pressed her fingertips to her lips and shook her head. “Never.”

No matter what happened tomorrow morning, for this night she was his courtesan. She would laugh and flirt and perhaps even allow a few kisses and a caress or two—in the interest of flushing out the thieves, of course. It wasn't as if she planned to enjoy his attentions. Not in the least.

“If at any point this evening you become weary of nipples and bottoms and lengths of leg, say the word, and I shall spirit you away from this den of debauchery. We can worry about catching our culprits at another time.”

The comment gave her confidence. “No worries, sir. I shall uphold my part in this scandalous production.” She slid a fingertip down the center of his chest. “Can you?”

His grin broke loose, and he reached up to cup the side of her face. “It will not be difficult to play the part of a besotted lover, sweet. You are beautiful.”

Noelle felt the heat in the rotunda notch up a full dozen degrees as his appreciative gaze ran down her body in a slow caress. Gavin's fine-looking male form was bedecked in a deep blue coat and striped vest over a snowy white shirt, with matching cravat. His cheeks were freshly shaven, and she caught a hint of an earthy-spicy scent on his skin.

She fluttered her lashes and turned her fingertip into a flat hand on his chest. His heartbeat was slow and steady. “I think it is you, Mister Blackwell, who is beautiful.”

Clearly, several women loitering nearby also found him so. Their heated stares promised Gavin anything he wanted.

Noelle tensed. She shot them damning glares, and the trio turned away. From the courtesans' gossip, she knew a rich protector was to be closely guarded at all times, lest another brightly plumed bird swoop in and snatch him away.

It didn't concern her that she was only playing a part. She didn't want a scandalously dressed strumpet putting any part of her anatomy anywhere near Gavin. For this evening he was hers, and hers alone. She'd unsheathe her claws if she had to.

Ignoring the other courtesans, Gavin pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “I've never been called beautiful.” She felt him inhale deeply against her skin. She'd worn the lemon and cinnamon scent just for him.

“Then the women of your acquaintance have been remiss, Mister Blackwell. Gavin.” His mouth moved down her neck to her collarbone and on to her bare shoulder. All sorts of delicious sensations followed his heated mouth. “You most assuredly have a male beauty to be envied.”

He chuckled against her skin, then nipped her shoulder gently. She gasped, and was certain she heard the trio of women twitter. In her disguise, she was seductive and free to behave as she wished.

Noelle struggled to remember the real purpose of their attendance. A difficult task when Gavin was teasing her breathless. “You must look for your footpads. You cannot do so with your lips pressed against my neck.”

Gavin murmured against her skin, “Unless they are in disguise, I've seen nothing to indicate their presence.”

The clearing of a throat reluctantly brought Gavin's head up from her collarbone. He peered, annoyed, at the intruder. He slipped an arm around her as a gentleman wearing black, and a wide leer, stopped before them.

Noelle flinched, planning to back away from the familiar face, but the veil and Gavin's arm kept her still. She'd momentarily forgotten her disguise.

“Blackwell.” He reached out a hand to Gavin, but his eyes were fully on her. Noelle peered at the broken blood vessels on his bulbous nose and grimaced. A sour taste filled her mouth.

The Earl of Cranbrook. The man was a known lecher, and Noelle had always taken pains to avoid him. She had suffered through an unexpected encounter with the cad at a party three years previous, when his hand had found a resting place on her bottom. She'd quickly refused his fumbling advances with a loud slap to his cheek.

“Your Lordship.” Gavin frowned and tightened his hold on Noelle. She took comfort in his nearness. In a setting such as this, there was no telling what a man such as the earl might do. If she let any distance open up between her and Gavin, she might find herself dragged into the bushes by the earl and debauched.

“I see you have plucked the finest bird from the flock.” His voice slurred, and Noelle glared into his red eyes. If she'd felt sorry for his long-suffering wife before tonight, she felt renewed sympathy for the sweet-tempered woman now. To be married to such a man had to be hell.

The earl needed a sound beating, or two, or ten. According to gossip, he'd all but run through the fortune his father left him and was on the verge of seeing his family left penniless. Noelle vowed to do whatever she could for his wife and daughter, if there ever came a day they were thrown into the street.

The earl licked his thin lips. “Perhaps when you tire of her, you can send her to me.” He reached for her, but Gavin blocked him, catching Cranbrook's wrist in his grip. The earl winced. Gavin scowled and released him.

“You are touchy, Blackwell.” He rubbed his wrist. “A whore is a whore. Enough coin can get any one of these women in bed.”

Noelle lightly dug her fingernails into Gavin's hand as a warning, then faced the earl. She needed to defuse the tension before the two men came to blows.

“I fear, My Lord, you couldn't you afford me”—she paused and opened her eyes wide with feigned innocence—“and I fear Gavin has ruined all other men for me. I would find your awkward fumblings in my bed very unsatisfactory.”

The middle-aged man turned ruby red and blustered, casting a few drops of spittle into the air. “Why, you impudent whore!” He appeared to strain for further insults but produced only strangled gasps.

Gavin shook with rich laughter as the man spun on his heels and launched himself into the crowd. “Well done, love.”

Noelle didn't know what warmed her more, being complimented for her tart tongue or being called “love” several times this evening. Either way, she felt pleased to be the recipient of his affectionate regard.

“He desperately needed a set-down.” She inhaled deeply. Her first test had been a success. “To call him a pig only serves to insult swine.”

“Then we shall forget about the earl and concentrate on making you a successful courtesan-spy. Then, when you've captured the thieves and the Home Office calls to press you into service for king and country, you will be able to use your success with disguises to flush out traitors and foreign spies.”

Noelle smirked. “I shall single-handedly take down the dangerous band of thieves and become revered all over London. My mother will be proud.” Her mother would be horrified. That thought alone was enough to bring a smile.

Gavin nodded, and his hand squeezed her waist. “But first we must bring this caper to a successful conclusion.”

Covertly, Noelle glanced around. She peered into the shadows and looked at many faces for any sign of danger. She saw no one who matched Gavin's descriptions.

“I fear our presence here has been a waste.” She sighed. “It has been nearly an hour, and we have we flushed out nothing more than one drunken lord.”

“We may not gain anything tonight but an assault to the senses,” Gavin said. “But you have become a very successful courtesan. All the true courtesans are filled with envy.”