The Formidable Earl (Diamonds in the Rough #6) - Sophie Barnes Page 0,2

you can visit Amourette’s, then so can I.”

“Do you think he’ll really do it?” Yates asked Hawthorne while Simon started toward the exit. He’d not gone more than two paces before he heard Hawthorne say, “Probably not. Care to wager?”

Gritting his teeth, Simon continued toward the foyer where he collected his hat and gloves before stepping outside. Everything he’d ever done had been with Society’s approval in mind. His parents had drilled the notion of keeping a perfect façade in place at all times into him from an early age. When he’d taken a fall as a child, tears had not been permitted.

“You must never look weak,” Papa had said while Mama denied him the comfort he’d so dearly wanted.

This, together with countless other lessons in how a peer ought to behave, had shaped his awareness of how the world perceived him. It was among the reasons he’d always allowed Society to dictate his actions and his behavior. But maybe it was time for a change – time for him to break free just a little.

He’d show his friends. Stuffy and boring indeed. Ha! A detailed description of Amourette’s interior would prove to them both he’d been there. And then they’d be forced to eat their words.

As had become her habit of late, Ida Veronica Strong snuck from her bedchamber at Amourette’s and made her way quietly onto the landing. She was supposed to remain hidden, but after four years of doing so, of not venturing out, and of only engaging in conversation with the women who worked here, she’d begun relaxing that rule a little. Her aunt, Philipa Harding, who ran the brothel, would disapprove if she knew. And perhaps she’d be right to do so. Philipa had made a promise to Ida’s father – had assured him she would protect his daughter and keep her safe from those who’d betrayed him. And so she had. With Carlton Guthrie’s help.

Once the Scoundrel of St. Giles, now the Duke of Windham, the former crime lord who’d owned The Black Swan tavern and whose real name was Valentine Sterling, had come to her rescue before, one year ago when she’d been kidnapped and made available to the highest bidder at a vile auction. He was a good man at heart and although Ida knew much of London continued to fear him, the story of his plight along with the truth concerning his actions had helped redeem him. Principled and a longtime friend of Philipa’s, he’d placed Ida under his protection as soon as he’d learned of her situation. And when he’d married Lady Regina Berkly last year and relocated to Windham House, he’d told Ida to seek him out if she ever needed his help.

She hoped it wouldn’t be necessary. One year still remained until she reached her majority and received the money her father had left her, but once she did, she would be free to go anywhere in the world. Free to start over somewhere fresh where no one would know who she was. Free to put the loneliness of her current existence behind her. Free to marry and start a family of her own, preferably with a man who could love her as much as her father had loved her mother. Most importantly, she would be free to escape the danger she faced until she got out of the country.

Death had almost claimed her once before because of the threat she posed. Shot and left for dead after publically vowing to hunt down the man who’d sent her father to the gallows, she’d heeded her aunt ever since, had accepted that her life was not worth risking – that it wasn’t what her father would have wanted – and that it was best to stay hidden.

Lowering herself to the floor at the top of the stairs, she prepared to watch the goings-on in the foyer below. The men who came here to enjoy a decadent evening of debauchery included only those with enough coin to afford it. This wasn’t the sort of cheap establishment one might expect in St. Giles, but one that prided itself on quality. The exclusivity kept the riffraff away and even resulted in the occasional peer walking through the doors.

Everything was possible here, every fantasy just one payment away from being realized. Provided no harm came to the girls. They weren’t dressed in common clothes but in silk and lace with dozens of ribbons, the occasional feathers, and enough crystal beads to dazzle any