The Indian Maiden (21 page)

TWELVE

There
were,
the Earl of Methley believed, only two ways to conquer dread or distaste: either by being forced to repeated exposure to the threat, or by understanding the exact nature of it. Sometimes both methods together served the purpose, since both bred familiarity, and familiarity was the enemy of any strong emotion, as it numbed both pleasures and fears.

If one was thrown by a horse, one got back on the beast until all fear was gone, that was the accepted and effective manner of teaching horsemanship. And if one feared something more ephemeral, like crowds, or public speaking, or even, as in this case, lovemaking, why then, if one could be made see that it was both commonplace and survivable, the sting could be removed from it. Hadn’t he himself been taught oratory by being forced to recite in front of the rest of his form? Hadn’t he himself been able to court foolish, wealthy young girl children once he’d been made to see the sheer necessity of it?

Now it was time to begin his companion’s schooling. He wasn’t fool enough to believe one brief evening’s encounter with the reality of adult life would remove all her hesitancies and fears. But such a drastic instant cure was scarcely necessary either. There’d be time enough for that in marriage, he mused, as he studied the contours of Miss Hamilton’s profile shown in silhouette against the dark square of the carriage window in a wash of lamplight, and he noted with abstract approval the purity and grace of it from the downward sweep of her lush eyelashes to the gentle upthrust swelling of her breasts. Yes, it would be a pleasant duty to undertake.

Had she been a gently bred English girl, he’d never have brought her so far. But had she been a gently bred
English girl, there would have been no impediment to their union; she’d not have expected enjoyment in marital relations, or if she did, then she’d rather have perished than admit it to him. And if his chosen bride had been a fearful young lady of the
ton,
he’d have instructed her as to her marital duties very differently too, by whispers, gentle touching, and careful teaching, all and only in the legally wedded night.

But then, he realized, such supposition was pointless, had she come from his world, she’d have accepted his offer when it was made. For, as he’d noted and the duchess herself had confirmed, the chit liked him very well. In any event, the only other gentleman she showed a care for, however she attempted to conceal it from him, was Deal, and the Viking, the earl thought on a grimace, showed no signs of needing either of the things she could offer him: a wife or a fortune.

But the earl badly needed the one benefit she held out, and though he’d lately had different dreams of his own, he was committed to realism now, and so was hourly growing more reconciled to the other aspect of her dower as well. He was determined to have her, in any event. Which was why he’d taken this bold step this evening. There was little time left to do else. This candid young woman would have to be shown the truth of the matter outright before there could ever be a union between them, and that union would have to be accomplished soon. His creditors were growing more vocal with each passing week, even as she spoke more frequently each day of returning to her home, and so of passing beyond his reach.

As yet, there was no need for anything so drastic as an abduction or a forced lesson in marital technique of a more physical sort. He was glad of this; he wasn’t the sort of gentleman who’d instantly enjoy employing such tactics, nor did he think there’d ever be a chance for any real pleasure between them if they began in such a manner, even though the duchess assured him that due to her upbringing the American girl both expected and would appreciate such a spirited courtship.

The duchess was a tough old bit of mutton, and as it became apparent that she disliked her American visitor prodigiously, the earl found himself beginning to doubt the lady when she told him the time of day. No, he wouldn’t employ such crass methods of bringing the young woman to heel. He was a thoughtful gentleman. But he’d never had a similar experience to guide him and could only deduce the extent of her, and perforce his, problem. For all his worldliness, desirable females had always fallen into only four categories: unwed and thus untouchable, married and either willing or unwilling, and professional. Of all of them, of course, he’d had the least to do with the first group.

Although he knew nothing about young unmarried chits, he believed all females must share a commonality and so he’d thought he’d hit upon the answer the night she’d fled his arms. The rightness of his supposition had been borne out when she’d readily admitted her sorrow at her lack of passionate response. It was clear to him that only Miss Hamilton’s shame for her secret desires could account for her fear of his, or any man’s, embraces.

This night, much in the fashion of an impatient gardener who brings winter-barren branches into a hothouse, he would attempt to force her to an earlier bloom than expected, in order to meet his own schedule. He would try to bring her to adulthood all in a night, and in so doing, inflame all the hidden sensuality he believed her capable of as well. If he could achieve these aims, indeed, if he could do no more than remove her fear of him, he’d remove her last objection from his path in far more civilized and equitable fashion than the duchess suggested.

But if it were not possible to arouse her, it would be an unfortunate, but not a devastating circumstance. Nature was kind in that respect, and wise as well. A female didn’t have to love the business of making love to produce an heir for her husband; if that were so then it would be, he thought on a chuckle, leaning back in the carriage, a lonely old world indeed. Tonight’s errand would be enough to remove her objections to the match, of this he was sure. For it would illustrate the foolishness of her trepidations to her by showing her that all the world, and the fashionable world as well, commonly partook of such pleasures. A child learned by observation, he rationalized, and so he would see to it then that she had a great deal to observe this night.

He told her none of this. She was, after all, very young, and as he was a great deal older in many ways, he decided he knew better than to engage in a debate with her. Moreover, he believed if she knew what she faced she’d find a way of defending herself from the truth of it, as all prejudiced people do when confronted with an anticipated argument against their cherished beliefs. Yet even if she were intractable and if she learned nothing from this evening’s efforts, the circumstances alone, apart from the duchess’s kind cooperation, would ensure her future
acquiescence
. He’d rather she welcomed the match, but it was being made even as they traveled onward, nonetheless. There was little for him to do now but wait upon events. Thus, they rode in complete silence until he recognized the street the coach entered. Then he reached into his pocket to withdraw a gift for her. But as he handed it across to where she sat huddled in the furthest
corner
of the carriage, she shrank back from him.

“Oh come, my dear Miss Hamilton,” he drawled, “look before you cower. It’s only a demi-mask. It’s got holes for the eyes, and no teeth at all. Put it on, my dear, and like the youth in the fairy tales with his cape of invisibility, you shall be able to see without being seen. And that’s rather important where we’re going tonight.”

Faith sat straight up at his words as though he were a strict governess threatening her with a backboard, rather than an abductor menacing her with the unimaginable.

“I am not cowering,” she said staunchly, though she felt like trying to creep beneath the floorboards as she spoke, and had been attempting to judge the speed of the coach for some time now, wondering when she might be able to leap from it without breaking her neck.

“And
I
don’t want to go with you anywhere,” she went on, trying very hard not to sound like the frightened child she felt, “and I’m appalled at your behavior, my lord. I am, I really am. What you’re doing is no more than kidnapping, pure and simple, and I’m not at all entertained by it, and I wish you’d forget whatever bad joke this is, and if you do, I promise I’ll forget all of this as well,” she said in a rush, as the coach slowed to a halt and she realized she didn’t want to get out any more than she wished to remain within it with this man who was suddenly a stranger to her.

“But
I
don’t want you to forget it,” he said pleasantly. “My whole aim is that you’ll remember every moment of it. Now, if I wished to use you for my foul purposes, I promise you I would have done so already and not wasted all this time traveling across town. I don’t know what you do in the Americas, but here, at least, a comfortable bed is not necessary for such sport, an uncomfortable carriage will do just as nicely for us,” he smiled, even as she wondered from the amiability of his words and the incongruity of his actions, which one of them had run mad.

“I want you to like me, Faith,” he said sincerely as she gazed down at the proffered bit of velvet and buckram he held out to her, “and so I don’t mean to hurt you, and here is my pledge that I’ll keep you from harm, but only
if
you stay by my side, and
if
you say not one word, whatever you see, and
if
you keep this over your face. Only your eyes will be open to insult, my dear, and at that, you may well discover as many another has, that it’s less of an offense than it is a rare treat. But don’t fret,” he said, laughing, “I’ll never ask you to admit as much to me.

“But I do insist that you put on that mask, and that you leave the carriage with me now,” he said in less conciliatory tones, sounding more like a harsh schoolmaster than the friend he claimed to be. “We’ll only pass a little time within this house, and then we’re off to another even more interesting one for a short while, and then, alas, our time is up and I’ll have to take you home again. By then, of course, you will understand why it would be in your better interest to claim we’d passed all the time at Vauxhall together tonight, attempting to locate the duchess and Lady Mary, and to never breathe a word of this excursion to anyone else.”

She managed to tie the mask on, if only to prevent him from coming close enough to do it himself as he began to indicate he meant to do, and as she fumbled with the strings, he added, “Because you understand, my dear, that with your reputation, no one, absolutely no one, will believe that you were forced to it.”

The house was a stately white townhouse, with gilded railings and a burly footman on guard at the door. He was gotten up in the gorgeous fashion of another era, clad all in green silks with a powdered periwig. And so Faith thought that for some bizarre reason her companion was making a game of taking her to a masquerade. But the earl wore no mask of any sort; in fact, she noted, the footman seemed to recognize and acknowledge him as he bowed them into the house.

The huge main salon was overwarm, and overfu
rn
ished, and overly gilded, and too many candles, inadequately grouped, gave insufficient light to the scene. It was overcrowded as well within, and so it took several moments for Faith’s eyes to adjust to the areas of golden light contrasted with deep shadow, as well as to the sting of scent which lay heavy in the air, along with the almost visible aromas of tallow and snuff, and smoke from cheroots. All the while that she blinked and sniffed at the air, the earl prope
l
led her further into the room.

A sweet-faced elderly woman swam into her circle of vision, and Faith was able to focus upon her as she came directly up to the earl. She found herself comforted merely at the sight of the dignified lady in her purple turban as she came forward to greet the earl, and began to at last take
a
lively interest in whatever odd jest the earl was playing on her with all his theatrics. But even as the lady said, with evident delight in her cultured tones, “Ah, my lord, how good to see you again. But I see you’ve brought your own entertainment tonight—no matter, we welcome you,” Faith began to take more careful note of her surroundings, and began to believe her senses entirely disordered.

There were groups of gentlemen everywhere within the room, chatting, laughing, drinking, and standing together. None of them wore masks, as none of the ladies present did. And in each group of gentlemen there were several ladies included. Although at first it had appeared that these ladies were as magnificently attired as the doorman had been, as Faith grew accustomed to the inconstant light, she saw what she could scarcely believe she saw, that these females wore less than all their costumes.

Some stood in what appeared to be their shifts, some wore even less, some had only the bottom portion of their persons draped with any fabric at all. Perhaps because such
semi nudity
was commonplace, everywhere, Faith now perceived, as her eyes accommodated themselves to their new surroundings enough to take note of detail, gentlemen openly fondled those portions of the females that were uncovered, some so casually and absently that it appeared as if they toyed with an adjacent breast or buttock as other men might finger a fob or a quizzing glass when they were speaking.

The earl had warned her not to speak, but at that moment Faith could not have uttered a word even if that word could have freed her from this nightmare world, as she inchoately wished someone could. For then the elderly lady smiled at them again and sailed across the room to greet another arrival, as the earl guided Faith to another, less frequented
corner
of the room.

“You are safe,” he whispered, lowering his cool lips to speak directly into her ear, “for you see,” he gestured, indicating another masked lady, who stood with a gentleman silently watching a couple entwined on the cushions on a settee, “real ladies,” he went on so softly that no one save Faith heard him, “generally only come here to watch the gentlemen and the hired help. Some, I’m told, find it inspiring. But the gentlemen! Ah my dear, that fellow so pleasantly engaged before us might be only an unknown young chap, but look about you. There are dukes as well as earls here, all sorts of peers of the realm. You might even discover someone you know. Shall we look for the Viking tonight?” he asked gaily. “It would not be something wonderful to find him here, you know. Some nights even royalty visits Mother Carey’s establishment to play with her chicks; it’s quite the established thing to do.”

But Faith stared with incredulity as the couple on the settee became more entangled and she at last remembered exactly what they were about to do with each other. Then she, forgetting all else, and trembling so that the earl looked at her sharply, gasped all at once, in a panic, “I must go, oh I must go, only let me go from here,” and she pulled desperately against his hold upon her arm.