Chapter 6
Charles
I pace the foyer as my family files out and looks at me, their gazes pitying and pathetic, as if they know the turmoil rioting inside.
There is nothing to say to them, nothing that would not incriminate me or put a scandal on Miss Campbell’s name.
And so I pace and stew, unwilling to give them any recourse or respite to my coming and goings.
Mother, of course, steps away from my sisters and lays a hand on my arm, forcing me to stop.
“Dear one,” she murmurs. “Fret not about Miss Campbell. I’m sure she’s merely anxious about her upcoming marriage.
I would be too if I were that age again and thrust into this situation with a stranger. Give her time. She’ll come about.”
Yes, but her coming about would be her in my arms, her led about Hyde Park with me taking her to and fro, showing her off to everyone else. There is no coming about, not while Henhaven still plans to meet her at the altar.
“Come,” she cajoles once more. “Will you have dessert with us?”
“No, Mother. I find this is the perfect excuse to take my leave. I still have much to attend to.” Leaning over, I give her a soft kiss on the cheek, catching the soft, wistful sigh slipping from her lips. “I promise, Mother. All is well.”
At least it will be once I drag Henhaven over the coals for all of London to see.
Nodding at my sisters, I exit the house and make a fast gait toward my carriage.
There has to be something to unearth. Men don’t have power like this without some form of corruption along the way.
Vices, needs, longings, addictions, something.
Instead of going home, I go to the one place I might get answers more efficiently. Though I have not run into him at the Rose and Thorne, it doesn’t mean he isn’t a visitor. A lot can be said about a man and how he handles women in such vulnerable positions.
As the carriage pulls around back of the whipping house, I knock on the front door, giving Jeremy a smile as he lets me in. “Have you somehow grown bigger?” I ask as I shove past his bulk. “More to the point, are you sure you’re only just a beta?”
He gives me that wide grin of his and says nothing. Fine, he can keep his secrets tonight. His don’t matter to me.
The air is thick with perfume, incense, and the scent of women going about, offering their services to those drinking and gambling.
Glancing at the faces, I take note of who’s here, or rather, who isn’t.
No sign of Henhaven. Could be he’s already in the back rooms with his woman of choice for the night.
Off to the side, Arlo Mathews, Duke of Dunton, stands near the fireplace, his eyes scanning the scene just as intently as I do.
Who could he be looking for? A niggle of disgust winds through my heart as he grabs one of the omegas and takes her in the back.
Why the good madam still allows him to play here is beyond me.
My heart drops a little as I continue to seek out who I know. Not all that long ago, it was my brother, my friends, my chosen family, all here to play and gather. Now, it’s just me. The only one left unmarried.
Shaking my head, I dispel that morose line of thinking and weave my way through the men, watching as they gamble and grouse.
Madame Douleur should be here somewhere.
Until then, I drag myself over to a game of piquet and watch as Jonathan Holmes, Viscount of Kincaster, and Emmanuel Burke, Baron of Ilmoor play.
“Joining us, Norhaven?” Kincaster calls out as he shuffles the cards.
“I prefer to watch this time.”
The two laugh as they turn to me. “That’s right. You do like to watch, don’t you?” Ilmoor chuckles.
Ignoring their jibes, I lean against the table and rest my chin in the crook between my thumb and forefinger. “Interesting about the banns today,” I murmur.
“What, because they were actually called?” Kincaster smirks. “It seems as though all your friends had to get special licenses. Truly, this is an oddity.”
“Yes… well… Be that as it may, I didn’t expect to hear Henhaven’s name called.”
They both set down their cards and look over at me before Ilmoor clears his throat. “Why not? He’s an affable enough fellow. Well, what little I see of him in Parliament.”
“Affable, I suppose,” I reply. “But truly, what sort of man is he?”
“Why do you care?” Kincaster retorts. “Looking to bag him yourself? Is the great Charles Barrington a molly?”
Though he teases, I can’t help the flash of fear that runs cold down my spine. “Don’t even jest about such things. You know the law.”
“Yes, yes,” he muses as he looks through his cards. “‘Twas a lark and nothing more. I’ve seen you play. I’ve seen just how hard you get at causing the ladies pain and pleasure. ‘Twas only a lark.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes as I glance about once more, doing my best to keep my tone neutral.
“It has nothing to do with it. More like Miss Campbell is a dear friend to my sisters. They are concerned, seeing as they know nothing about him. I’m just doing my best as their older brother to allay their fears so they can stop pestering me about it. ”
“Your sisters are to come out to the marriage mart next season, is that not correct?” Kincaster puts down his cards and smiles at me while Ilmoor looks between us, his features schooled into a mask of indifference.
I know he has views, as does every fucking Alpha in the Ton. They all have their paws out, ready to snare one of my sisters. But I don’t wish to think about that now. Such problems will need to be solved at the next Season.
Smiling, I lean forward. “You mean the sisters who are guarded by both dukes? One of whom served in the military and the other a veritable force to be reckoned with?”
Thankfully, he backs down and continues playing as we descend into silence. The sound of the club bounces around, setting my nerves on edge. Again, I look about, seeing neither hide nor hair of the bastard.
“I do say,” Kincaster finally says. “Your Miss Campbell will find herself quite occupied when she becomes his bride.”
“Oh? How so? I mean, besides the obvious of becoming a wife and eventual mother.” They both put down their cards and look at me, their eyes so wide, I worry they might fall out of their sockets.
“You mean, you truly do not know?” Ilmoor asks.
“If I knew,” I grind out, “I wouldn’t be asking. Now would I?”
He shakes his head and goes back to his cards. “His six sisters. All sequestered in his estate.”
“Six,” I choke out. “Six? Who in the bloody hell has six children? Well, seven, including Henhaven.”
“That’s not for me to say,” Ilmoor muses. “I didn’t know his parents all that well. Just that they died bonded. When he went, so did she, leaving Henhaven to care for all his sisters.”
“I wonder if Miss Campbell knows.”
“I’d assume she does,” Kincaster says. “I would like to think any man going into such an arrangement would not leave that out.”
“You would assume… In that case, what is his vice here? What sort of player is he?”
Again, they look at each other.
“Your sisters long to know that?” Kincaster asks. “Very progressive, if you ask me. Dangerously so.”
“Of course not,” I growl out. “My sisters have no earthly idea about the carnal arts. This is so I can assess what manner of man he is and report back truthfully.”
With that, they shrug.
“You’d do best asking the madam,” Ilmoor says as he goes back to his game, obviously bored with this line of inquiry. “I’ve never seen him here nor heard tell of his proclivities.”
“That can’t be right. Why wouldn’t he come here? He’s man enough, and an Alpha to boot. Surely, he has needs.”
“Perhaps they’re being met elsewhere then,” Kincaster sighs as his body ripples with irritation. “Now then, if you’re done with this interrogation, I’d love nothing more than to ease some coin from Ilmoor’s tightly fisted purse.”
I shake my head as I move away from their table. These two are in here far more than even my friends and I were. If they haven’t seen him, then he hasn’t been here.
Walking toward the back of the club, I slip through the thick, velvet curtains and make my way toward Madame Douleur’s room. A quick knock, then a shuffling of sound. As she opens the door, I keep my gaze away, not wanting to see who she has bound in there today.
She slips out and crosses her arms. “Why Norhaven. This is unexpected. What can I assist you with?”
“Henhaven.”
Silence grows wide between us for a moment as she blinks at me. “Henhaven? As in…”
“What do you know of him? Does he frequent here? Perhaps another bawdy house?”
“I can’t say I’m familiar with that name.
At least outside of knowing who the peerage is.
He’s never stepped one foot in here. If he had caused mischief somewhere else, I would have heard about it.
May I ask into your inquiry? It wouldn’t be because of a certain announcement at church today, would it? ”
My lips curve into a small smile. “I didn’t take you for a practitioner of the faith.”
“Oh, but of course. How else am I to cleanse my soul from my lecherous ways?” After a moment, she sobers. “I will keep an ear out and pass along any information I can find.”
“Thank you, Madame. You are truly too kind.”
“Oh, do not thank me quite so quickly, Norhaven. I do expect to get compensated for my work. I do not lie on my back for free.”
“Give me results, and then we can negotiate.” Turning on my heel, I stride back out into the main room and out the door into the cool night air.
Another blockade. But just because his vice is not with women, doesn’t mean it can’t be somewhere else.
As the carriage takes me home, I muse and ponder, plotting out my strategy.
I’ve created war formations that were a formidable, impenetrable force.
I can certainly find out the secrets of a viscount.
The town house is quiet as I make my way to my study. There, on the desk, is that damnable letter. Does it hurt? Does it sting? No. Those words are paltry compared to the rage and agony that pierce my heart in equal measure.
She should be mine. If only I hadn’t waited. If only I hadn’t hesitated. If only I had claimed her as my bride the moment she saw my phallus in the library.
But no.
I’ve toyed with her. I’ve play-acted at being her disciplinarian.
I’ve never truly feared losing her because, in my addled mind, I didn’t think I could even have her.
Not her, the daughter of a lowly baron. Not when my brother stood there in all his pomposity and chided me for even looking in her direction.
And now I pay the price. Now I see her wed to another. Does it hurt? Does it sting? No. Nothing so slight and congenial. I burn. I rage. I loathe.
My quill slides across the parchment in angry strokes. Letter after letter falls from my fingertips. I must find a way to break off their engagement. I must discredit this Henhaven somehow.
When the last missive is done, I fold them all and affix my seal before handing them off to the footman. “Send these at first rays of dawn.”
I say nothing more before I tear out of the door and into the dark night of London. Cold air hits my lungs, energizing me, shoring me up as I tromp through the streets, not knowing where to go or where to turn.
Somehow, my steps lead me to the one place I shouldn’t go. My mother’s town house looms in the darkness. All lights have long since been extinguished. By now, everyone should be in bed.
I shouldn’t walk across the lawn to the side where I know an old, unused servants’ entrance lies. I shouldn’t open it up and duck inside, dodging cobwebs as I make my way through the familiar path. I sure as hell shouldn’t open the door that leads right into the room where my Miss Campbell lies.
But I do. The soft creak is nearly inaudible as I slip in, just to watch her sleep, just to see the woman who should be mine, who will be mine if I have any say in it.
Only, she does not lie on the bed fast asleep.
Instead, she twists about as soft moans drip from her lips.
Her fingers slide about, embedded between her slick thighs, as she touches herself in a most inappropriate manner.
The light from the fireplace flickers across her body, making her burn a golden red, casting shadows and illuminations on the most delectable places.
Just seeing her there like this, wanton, vulnerable…
My cock lurches in my breeches as I watch her, stare at the curves of her body as she pleasures herself, at the look of sheer passion on her face.
“Well then,” I growl out, startling her as she jerks her hands away and sits up, grabbing the sheets to her heaving breasts. “What have we here?”