The Duke's Affair

XII

Henry knew he had taken a huge gamble. He had shown his cards, perhaps too early. He could have taken this woman, enjoyed her. God knows, she was ripe for the taking. He watched as she adjusted her corset, slipping her breasts back inside. But he was sure it was her; the shape of her calves, her ankles, her hands. Yes, those were Lauren's hands. And the way the soft skin at her neck had smelt; the divine fragrance that had filled him with desire for her. There was no doubt about it; the woman was Lauren.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "You've gone a bit far if it were just to get my attention. Which, I might add, you absolutely have." He looked her up and down again; he couldn't help it. He was sure that beneath her mask she was frowning at him. Why didn't she speak? Perhaps she thought there was a chance that he wasn't certain it was her. But it had to be her. But what was she doing here?

He watched as she touched the feathers on the mask, plucking at them with anxious fingertips. "At least you look better than Aurelia did at the launch," he said, pursing his lips, sour like the juice of a lemon at the memory. "Can I get you a drink?" he asked, moving to a table where a champagne bucket filled with ice sat. The bottle clinked against the ice cubes as he lifted it, and drops of cool water spattered the tabletop.

As he eased the cork from the bottle he kept his eyes locked on hers, fearing that she might disappear. It was like a fantasy, to have Lauren in this room with him, dressed like that. She looked good enough to eat, the stockings that clothed her legs shimmering in the candlelight, her breasts heaving with each breath she took. God, they had been perfect. How he wished she hadn't hidden them from view.

He set the bottle back in the bucket, noticing how uneasy Lauren's movements were. She twisted her fingers over and over. He stepped toward her and put his hands over hers, holding them still. "Did you do this for me?" he asked, nodding his head up and down her body.

She ripped her hands free. "No. I'm not here for you." She almost spat the words and Henry backed away. She was incomprehensible to him. One moment she was soft and pliable, and a moment later she was scratching at him like a cat.

"Then why are you here? Did Lydia put you up to this?" he asked. Lauren shook her head, the mask still infuriatingly covering her face. "Because if she did" - he sighed - "then you're playing a dangerous game. There are people who would go to any lengths to stop this place being exposed."

"Like you?" she asked, emitting a cackle that made Henry think of a witch. She was so much better when she hadn't been talking. "What are you going to do to me? Have me strung up so you can beat me with a riding crop?"

He laughed and shook his head. "That's not such a bad idea. You look like you deserve it."

"Fuck off Henry," she said, jerking her chin up at him like a wrestler threatening an opponent.

He raised his arms, flattening the air between them with his palms in an attempt to pacify her. "Let's not fight. I don't want to fight with you. I just want to understand what's going on," he said, stepping closer to her. She had nowhere to move; she was already backed up against the wall.

"That's what I want to understand," she said, her lips almost invisible beneath the mask. "Why do you do it? Why do you come here? Or are you just another rich pervert?" she said, edging away from him.

The words stung Henry and he recoiled from her. She could be so cruel, and yet still he desired her more than any woman he had ever met. "Don't tell me you came here dressed like that without some hope that something would happen between us?" he said, waving a hand up and down her body. "I didn't ask you to come here."

She tilted her head to one side. "Actually, you did."

Henry raised a hand to his forehead. The woman was such a pedant; utterly exasperating. "Not tonight, I mean in general. I never asked you to come and work here. Don't think I haven't seen you staring at me every night," he said, waiting for a response, hoping to provoke her. He stepped towards her, feeling large beside her, despite the fact that in the platform heels Lauren was far taller than normal.