Page 35 of Beauty Tempts the Beast
Chapter 9
By the time they’d arrived back at the residence, luncheon had already been served and finished, the ladies of the night having returned upstairs to ready themselves for lessons.
So it was only Althea and Benedict being served at the large table that seated a dozen. She was surprised by the simple yet elegant style of the dining room. It was equal in taste to any found in the poshest of houses in Mayfair.
“You have a most excellent cook,” she said.
“Growing up in the rookeries, with so many siblings, I was always hungry. It was a situation I intended to correct as soon as I had the means.”
She thought of the coins he left on tables, the hansom cabs he so easily hired, the residence, its fine furnishings, the well-tailored clothing that accentuated his remarkably fit and tempting physique. “Now you have the means.”
“I do.”
“I’d have not thought being a writer was so lucrative.” Especially after only one book.
“It’s not, but my ships are.”
Another bit of information about Benedict Trewlove she didn’t know. Not that it would have made any difference in her decision to accept his proposition, but she’d been right that first night to think he was a man adept at keeping secrets. “You have ships?”
“A man must have a livelihood.”
He said it so simply as though it was of no importance. Yet, of all the ships she’d watched come and go, all the adventures she’d imagined the crews encountering, she’d never known anyone who actually owned a vessel that traveled the seas. “How many have you?”
“Four.”
“How did you come to have them?”
He swirled the glass of white wine a footman had poured for him. “When I was younger, about fourteen, I began working on the docks.”
Dear God. At fourteen. She knew the toll the dock work had taken on Griffith. She couldn’t imagine the challenge it would have presented to a fourteen-year-old boy.
“As I loaded and unloaded cargo, I would speak with the merchants who came to claim their wares, and ask questions of the captains and crews. I knew money was to be had in the shipping business. So I saved my earnings until I could purchase a ship. Took several years, of course, as ships are not without significant cost. With all my inquiries, I was able to determine a profitable route for acquiring merchandise for a host of merchants who liked that I was willing to charge less than my competitors in order to acquire their business. Soon, I had so many contracts that I needed another ship. And then another... and another. I’m thinking a fifth might be in order soon.”
“Have you traveled the world, then?”
He studied his wine. “When I acquired my first ship, I thought I might. Got as far as the cliffs at Dover. Ferguson—he was the first captain I hired—told me to take a good look because soon we’d be far out at sea with no land in sight.” He scoffed and gave her a wry grin. “I made him return to port. I didn’t want to be beyond sight of land, beyond sight of England. I’m not certain why it didn’t occurto me before that eventually I’d be surrounded by nothing except water. Have you ever left England?”
“I’ve been to Paris for gowns.”
“Was the green you wore yesterday from Paris?”
She nodded. “Did you like it?”
Rather than answer, he glanced at his timepiece. “The ladies should be ready for you now.”
Lottie, Lily, Hester, Pearl, Ruby, and Flora.
They were lounging around the library in various stages of undress, corsets pushing up breasts, silk wraps tied loosely, revealing cleavage and bared thighs. In one instance hinting at a shadowed area, indicating the woman didn’t bother with drawers. Some feet were naked, others slippered. Some of the women pinned up their hair, while the others left the strands to hang loose. One woman’s hair was styled with combs and curls that would have served her well at a ball.
Althea decided she was Hester. She looked so damned young that she couldn’t have seen more than two decades.
“Straighten yourselves, ladies,” Jewel ordered, standing to Althea’s left.
They did so with a sinewy roll of their bodies that had her thinking she should ask them to teach her about seduction. Although they studied her as though not quite sure what to make of her, she also saw a measure of hope and excitement in their expressions, tentative smiles welcoming her.
“As I mentioned yesterday,” Benedict said, “Miss Stanwick is here to teach you refinement and some skills that will help you find a position elsewhere. You’re to show her respect and follow her instructions without complaining about them. Any questions?”
A hand shot up. The woman appeared short of stature. Althea fought not to envy her ample bosom.
