Читать книгу Falling for the Highland Rogue - Ann Lethbridge - Страница 11

Chapter Four

The pleasure of clothing a woman. Sanford’s words drifted through Logan’s mind as he sat tucked away in a back room of Mrs Donaldson’s establishment. He gazed openly at the beautiful woman standing without shame in naught but shift and stays on a pedestal. Surrounded by mirrors on three sides, there wasn’t an inch of her he could not see. Sanford had been right with his use of the word pleasure. It was the sort of pleasure reserved for a husband. Or a man with a mistress. Which was likely what the seamstress thought and the reason for her hiding them away at the back of her shop.

In times not so distant, according to his mother, it hadn’t been at all unusual for a married woman to entertain her particular male court in her boudoir. Allowing them to choose her garments for the day while they gossiped and flirted. All perfectly respectable in the presence of a maid.

This didn’t feel in the least bit respectable, despite the presence of the seamstress’s assistant busy taking her measurements with pieces of string.

Stretching out his legs to one side of the low table in front of him, he admired her lovely form. The curve of her bountiful milky-white breasts above the lace edge of her transparent chemise, pushed higher by her close-fitting stays, beckoned his touch. The deep valley between begged for exploration. The crescent of areola, darker smudges of rosy brown, located her nipples and hinted at decadent delights. The dip of her waist was so tiny as to be unbelievable. He could span it with his hands and the view of the triangular shadow at the apex of her long slender legs, not dark, but not blonde, left him dry-mouthed.

She was Venus come to life. And for the second time in as many days, he struggled to maintain his detachment. She was not easily ignored, despite years of practise.

He glanced up to find her gaze fixed on his face. Pride tinged with wariness.

Her expression challenged, even as her lips curved in her carnal pouting smile. Her eyelids drooped, acknowledging his thoughts, his lust, and threw down the gauntlet. I’m ready for you, those eyes said. Do your worst. You can’t touch me.

The thought shocked him. Angered him. Did she think he was an animal? That he would ravish her where she stood? Press her up against the wall and have his way with her? Lust hit him unexpectedly hard.

Ruefully, he acknowledged that he’d been aching with it on and off since the moment he saw her. But that didn’t mean he had lost control. He meant he needed to be more on his guard.

He wasn’t a fool, he knew she was Jack’s creature, that they would try anything to gain the advantage. Normally, he wouldn’t care. For some reason, it infuriated him that such an outstandingly lovely woman should be so debased.

And so he would not play the game.

He withdrew his hands from his pockets and sat straighter in the chair, trying not to break his granite-hard shaft in two as he crossed his legs at the ankles. He picked up a magazine from the table beside him. Flipped through its pages. Ignoring his body’s demands was second nature.

His eyes finally focused on the page before him. Damn it all, he was looking at corsets for the male figure and swallowed a laugh. At himself.

‘Do you need one?’ Amusement flickered in those cat-like eyes as if she had shared in the joke. A brief exchange of mutual understanding.

He laughed out loud and looked at her face. He had no need to ogle her body, her face was so very lovely. ‘Not for a while, I’m thinking.’ He nodded at the tea tray one of the assistants had brought while the seamstress had fussed around with her measurements. ‘Can I pour you a cup?’

Something else flashed in her eyes. Surprise? ‘Yes, please.’

Her voice was low and husky. It grazed his skin like a caress. Two simple words and he wanted to purr like a cat. Rub himself up against her skin. Feel the weight of those luscious breasts in his palm.

No. He was her escort. Not her lover. He pushed to his feet and poured the tea. ‘Sugar?’ he asked, the tongs hovering over the bowl.

‘Lots,’ she said.

After he dropped in three lumps, he raised a brow.

‘More,’ she said. ‘Please.’

And he almost dropped the damned things in the tea at the vision of what more might mean when said in that precise tone of voice in a different location. But he knew it to be artifice and added two more lumps and carried the cup and saucer to her outstretched hand.

She took a sip and smiled her pleasure. A sweet smile that softened her sharp edges to the point of vulnerability.

A shocking transformation. And one he wanted to explore. He nodded at the sugar bowl. ‘You’ve a sweet tooth.’

‘I do.’ Her eyes became distant. ‘My father was the same. He carried bulls’ eyes around in his pocket and would pop one in my mouth when my mother wasn’t looking.’

‘Your mother didn’t approve.’

A twinkle gleamed in her eye. ‘They made me very sticky.’

The vision made him chuckle.

‘I have found just the thing, madam,’ the seamstress said, marching in with a froth of gowns over her arm.

The smile disappeared and the mask dropped again, hard and impenetrable. Disappointment tightened his gut. The icicle had returned. More frosty than before, judging from the chill wafting in his direction as she imperiously held out her cup to him. And yet he found himself more drawn to a sticky little girl, than the siren who now appeared before him.

He returned the cup to the tray, feeling very much in the way as they pondered fabrics and styles. Wandering the room, he gazed at fashion plates artfully framed and placed on the walls like fine works of art. Drawings of women in various poses, ridiculous hats perched on starchy curls. He hoped she didn’t turn out looking like that!

The sounds behind him dwindled. Curious, he turned and caught her critical gaze as she took in her reflection. The seamstress gave a final twitch to the pale-peach skirts falling from beneath that magnificent bosom rising above a teasing edge of spangled lace.

‘Mr Gilvry?’ the seamstress asked. ‘Will it do for the ball?’

The effect was stunning. She’d gone from ladybird to lady in a few beats of his heart. She looked elegant. Graceful. And more than the sum of her parts. She looked as if she belonged to the upper echelons of society.

The slight stiffening of her body brought his gaze to her face. ‘You don’t approve,’ she said.

Approve? ‘It looks eminently suitable.’

‘Indeed,’ Mrs Macdonald said. ‘It was made for a young lady’s trousseau. Her mother was most particular.’

‘But she did not take it?’

The dressmaker’s face drooped. ‘Her betrothed died shortly before the wedding. She wanted none of the gowns.’

‘How sad,’ Charity said, sounding grim. She gave the woman a sharp look. ‘Then you have received some payment for these gowns?’

Was she trying to save his money? That he had not expected.

‘A deposit only,’ the seamstress was saying. ‘I will deduct it from the price, of course.’

She would now, Logan thought. He glanced at Mrs West, but she was focusing on the image in the mirror. ‘The hem must be lengthened,’ she pronounced.

Indeed it must. A good three inches of her lower legs were visible, exposing beautifully turned ankles. Fine boned like the rest of her. And long and slender feet.

‘I’m not entirely sure about the colour,’ she said.

He caught her unguarded expression in the mirror. Not coquettishness. Not looking for a fulsome compliment. She was uncertain.

‘The gown is perfect,’ he said soothingly.

Faint colour stained her cheekbones as if she had forgotten his presence. ‘An expert in fashion, Mr Gilvry?’ she said haughtily, hiding her misgivings, no doubt.

‘I have eyes in my head, Mrs West. This one will do. A court dress now, if you please, Mrs Donaldson,’ he said firmly. A man could only stand so much of this, pleasure or not.

The seamstress gestured to a white gown draped over the chaise. ‘This one is all I have, Mr Gilvry.’

‘Then we will take it. You have the measurements you need.’ He recalled Sanford’s earlier words of advice. ‘Mrs West will need ostrich feathers for the Drawing Room. And whatever else you deem is required.’

Mrs West looked startled, then gave him the smile of a cat who had trapped a bird against a window. ‘Why, how very generous, Mr Gilvry.’ She turned to the seamstress. ‘I’ll have five pairs of stockings.’ Her almond-shaped eyes scanned the room. ‘And the painted fan I saw in the case as I came in. The one with views of the city.’ She raised a questioning brow in Logan’s direction. ‘If that is all right with you, Mr Gilvry?’

It wasn’t really a question. He bowed. What else could he do? He just hoped the bargain he made with O’Banyon would make it worth the cost.

‘Then it seems we are done.’ She stepped down from the pedestal.

‘If you would care to disrobe behind the screen, Mrs West?’ the seamstress asked.

Charity gave her the most charming of smiles and disappeared behind the screen with the assistant trailing behind her.

More sounds of undressing. He forced himself not to imagine the scene.

‘This way if you please, sir,’ Mrs Donaldson said. ‘You can give me Mrs West’s direction and so forth while Aggie helps her dress.’

* * *

Trembling with shame, Charity could barely hold still while the maid fastened the buttons down the back of her gown.

Never before had a man chosen her clothes. Not even Jack. All these years, she had managed to keep her pride, and then he came along and made her see what she had become. And what on earth was she doing talking about her father, when she hadn’t thought of him in years?

And she’d thought him angelic? The man was the devil incarnate to make her feel so...so... She didn’t know how she felt. What was more, the rogue must have dressed a string of courtesans in his time to sit there with so much aplomb while she stood before him in her shift.

Fury beat a drum at her temple. Anger that she’d not seen right through him, along with the disappointment that she had let her guard down. She didn’t care that he wasn’t the man she’d thought, just that he’d fooled her. It had to be the reason for the unpleasant sensation in her stomach.

She put her hands on her hips and received a tut from the seamstress’s little assistant. She dropped her hands back to her sides. To think she’d felt sorry he found himself pitting his wits against the likes of Jack.

‘All done, ma’am,’ the girl said.

Charity gave her a sweet smile, though her teeth was gritted so hard they hurt. ‘Thank you.’

Smoothing her gloves, she strolled into the front of the shop. Mr Gilvry had a small bundle wrapped in brown paper and string hanging by a loop from a finger.

‘My purchases?’ she asked.

‘Mrs Donaldson thought you would want to take them with you.’

The older woman gave a brisk nod. ‘I will have the gowns ready for the day after tomorrow.’

‘You will find me at the White Horse.’

Mrs Donaldson looked down her thin pointy noise. ‘Aye. Mr Gilvry told me.’

Mr Gilvry put a hand in the small of her back to usher her out. A light possessive touch. And far too intimate for a gentleman with a lady. She leaned a little too close and felt the hitch in his breath with a smile as the doorbell tinkled overhead.

‘Very successful, I’m thinking,’ he said, shielding her with the umbrella and his body from the wind and the rain.

‘Mmm,’ she murmured giving him an arch sideways glance. ‘Is there a cobbler nearby?’

She could not help the little kick of triumph at the brief flash of dismay on his face. It restored her confidence no end.

* * *

Jack poured himself another coffee.

‘Where were you last night?’ Charity asked idly, trying not to look worried.

He leered at her across the congealing remains of his breakfast. ‘Sampling the local fare.’

From the look on his face he was not talking about food. So he’d not gone to the tables without her as she had suspected. She hated missing a chance to augment her funds, but she was glad he’d fed his other appetites. It made him less unpredictable.

‘You?’ he asked mildly, but his eyes were sharp and watchful.

‘Here. He dropped me off after I emptied his purse. He’d a dinner engagement with friends.’ Not surprisingly, she wasn’t invited. Nor had she asked him to come to her later. She could hardly tell Jack she hadn’t been sure he’d accept.

Jack gave her a speculative look. ‘Losing your touch, dear heart? Perhaps you’ll have better luck with McKenzie.’

Repressing the urge to shudder, she looked down her nose at him. ‘I know what I am doing. I hope to see him today.’

‘Did he say anything of interest?’

‘Interest in what regard?’ she asked cautiously.

He pinched his lower lip between thumb and forefinger as he considered his reply. ‘About his business. About him. Anything of use in negotiations.’

Things he could use to beat down the price. ‘He’s not flush with coin, yet he spends freely to impress. So this deal must be important.’ She took a breath, remembering how generous he’d been, with his coin and his protection. ‘He’s a man of his word. Not to mention stiff-necked. He has a brother here in town. A lawyer. That might be cause for concern.’

He put down his cup and sat back with narrowed eyes. ‘You think they are desperate?’

Trust Jack to focus on weakness. ‘Desperate? I’m not sure, I would go that far, but he seemed keen. He dropped a lot of blunt on me yesterday without a murmur.’ Or not much of one.

Jack looked pleased and she felt the stiffness go out of her shoulders.

‘Did he talk about his business at all?’

A trickle of something cold ran down her back. ‘No. I spent most of the afternoon with my clothes off. It wasn’t conducive to that kind of conversation.’

‘Conducive, is it? I suppose you had your hands full.’ He leered. ‘Or your mouth.’

She restrained the urge to slap his smiling face. He liked to torment her with her failings as a harlot, yet make her feel like one. Bringing her down a peg or two, he called it. ‘We had tea, Jack.’

‘And you will see him later today?’

She glanced out of the window. The rain had stopped, but the sky remained overcast. ‘If it stops raining.’

Jack’s neck darkened with the blood of sudden anger. ‘Then you had better hope it does.’

‘Why so anxious? It is you who sounds desperate now.’

‘If it is any of your business, I want to be sure of where he is for an hour or two. McKenzie is introducing me to someone today. I don’t want the Gilvrys to know.’

She opened her mouth to ask who, but Growler swaggered into the room with a note in his hand.

Jack reached out to take it, but the ruffian avoided the blunt fingers and gave it to Charity.

She shot Jack a look of triumph and broke the seal with her fruit knife. She hadn’t been sure, even after he paid for all those clothes, that she hadn’t pushed him too hard, hadn’t forced his eyes open just a little too much.

He wasn’t the sort of man she usually toyed with. There was too much intelligence behind that pretty face.

She scanned the note.

‘What does he say?’ Jack asked.

She tossed the note across the table. It fell in the egg, the ink blurring. ‘He will pick us up here in one hour and take us to the docks at Leith. To see the King land.’

Jack grinned. ‘I knew I could rely on you.’

She narrowed her eyes. ‘Remember that, Jack. I gather you don’t come with us?’

He shook his head and stood up.

‘Will we go to the tables tonight?’ The tables was where she earned more than her keep.

‘Greedy wench.’

‘Jack?’ she warned.

‘No. I have other plans. I may go out of town for a day or so.’

‘Days?’

‘I’ll leave Growler here, in case you need anything.’

‘To keep an eye on me, you mean.’ She couldn’t quite keep the bitterness from her tone.

‘You and him, too.’

Gilvry, he meant. Jack trusted no one. Sometimes she wondered if he would even let her go when it was time, knowing what she did. Indeed, she feared he would not. Hence her contingency plan. Her secret bank account in a false name. It was nowhere near enough for her to live on yet.

‘He’s no threat to me, as far as I can see.’ She certainly didn’t want Growler and his bullies hurting him. Not unless he got out of hand.

Jack pulled out his watch and glanced at it. ‘If you’ve only an hour, you best stir your stumps.’

An hour. She put a hand to her hair still in its night-time plait. ‘You are right. I will want to look my best.’ She gave him her stock-in-trade smile and he nodded slowly.

‘Aye, colleen. That you do.’

His hard-eyed smile said he’d make her pay, if Gilvry so much as strayed an inch from her side. Oddly enough, though, she was looking forward to spending more time in his company. He made her feel like a lady.

The moment Logan saw her, he wanted to graze his fingertips across the delicious flesh rising above her gown and then taste it with his tongue. First however, he wanted to cover her from anyone else’s view.

He took her hand and forced himself to keep his gaze on her face, but even then her sultry smile of greeting sent hot blood pounding in his groin. He raised a brow. ‘Where is O’Banyon?’

‘He has business elsewhere,’ she said in a low husky voice. ‘Would you prefer we did not go?’