Page 36 of The Counterfeit Scoundrel
The carriage came to a halt, and she glanced out the window at the rather unassuming building that looked more like a residence than a place for wickedness. She wasn’t quite certain what she’d been expecting. Perhaps a gentleman waving a lantern and encouraging people to come inside like a barker did at a carnival or fete.Come see the attractions. Be mesmerized and astounded.
Her aunt would absolutely have the vapors if she knew Daisy was on the verge of stepping into a bawdy house, and yet she couldn’t deny being rather curious regarding what one looked like on the inside.
Mr. Parker disembarked and then handed her down. Together they walked along the cobbled path to the door. He hesitated. “Do we just go in, do you presume?”
“I’ve no experience at this sort of thing, but I should think so. It is a place of business after all.”
“Naturally, you’ve no experience. I should have hired a man to come with me. But I trust you, Miss Townsend, to be discreet with this matter... at least until you testify.”
“I will behave with all the appropriate decorum.” With that, she opened the door and led the way inside. It was dimly lit and everywhere she looked, she saw red silk and satin, risqué paintings and statuettes. Bared marble breasts and porcelain buttocks.
Wearing a low-cut scarlet gown, a buxom womanwith flaming red hair approached. “Ah, you must be Mr. Parker. I’m Jewel, the madam of the establishment. I already have a girl waiting for you. If you’ll be kind enough to follow me.”
Mr. Parker audibly swallowed, and Daisy was fairly certain that his grip on the brim of his hat was going to cause that one side to permanently curl up. As she trailed after the couple, she noticed a few scantily clad women sprawled about on various chairs and settees, but no men. She assumed the gents were already being entertained. She followed Mr. Parker and Jewel up one flight of stairs and down a long hallway, the closed door of each room painted a different color.
“You’ll be in the blue room here, miss,” Jewel said. “Mr. Parker will be in the lilac room right beside it.” Opening the door, she ushered Daisy into the chamber and closed the portal with a sharpclickbehind her.
A pale light was provided by a solitary lamp on the table across the room. And there lounging on the bed near it, with his long legs stretched out, his ankles crossed, and his hands folded behind his head, was Bishop.
Chapter 13
Bishop had never regretted more being correct. For nearly half an hour he’d been here waiting to learn the truth, pacing the length of the room, hoping another explanation existed for how Parker had discerned that his wife was having an “affair” with Bishop. Hoping an unmemorable gent would wander in. Someone he would forget in an instant. Not the woman he would remember for a lifetime.
As soon as he’d heard the footfalls in the hallway, he’d leapt onto the bed and struck a relaxed pose in an effort to disguise his trepidation at what he was about to discover. With the turn of the knob, his stomach had tightened. With the opening of the door, he’d ceased to draw breath. He didn’t know if he’d ever breathe properly again. Because there she was, staring at him, her face gone pale. She’d been caught. Knew he knew the truth of her.
There was no escape for her. Unfortunately, neither was there any for him.
But he’d come prepared for her to walk through that door. He knew the strategy he would use to be the victor in this game they’d been playing.
“What the devil are you doing here?” Daisy asked, not bothering to keep the pique out of her tone. He didn’t seem at all surprised to see her. As a matter of fact, his lips curled up ever so slightly, as though he was amused by her presence. She thought it quite likely that he’d been anticipating her arrival. Had he arranged this entire sordid affair? Had Mr. Parker spoken to him? It had never occurred to her that he would. Nor had she thought to ask how he’d come up with the ridiculous notion of visiting this scandalous establishment in the first place, especially with her in tow. But Bishop seemed completely unrattled—and entirely too provocative stretched out on that bed.
“Your Mr. Parker came to me seeking advice on the best way to cheat on his wife. Since two witnesses are required for an accusation of adultery to carry any weight in the courts, being the helpful fellow I am, I decided to offer my services.”
Heat flooded her. She hadn’t been looking forward to watching an intimate encounter, but at least alone, she could blush in private and look away when bodies became entangled. But to view the act of fornication with him—
“I’m not sharing a peephole with you.” She scrutinized the wall, covered in floral wallpaper, separating the two chambers. “Where is it anyway?”
“There isn’t one.”
She spun around and glared at him. “Then how are we to witness what is about to occur?”
He rolled to a sitting position, dropped his legs over the side of the bed, and held up a stethoscope that had been designed to be used with both ears. “I borrowed this from a friend. We’ll listen in.”
“Have you another?”
“No, but we can share.” He walked over in his loose-jointed way that for some reason made it more difficult to breathe. When he was near enough that she could feel the warmth of his body, he held one of the earpieces toward her while placing the other in his own ear.
It was a terrible, awful idea, and yet she refused to display any cowardice in front of him. Shoring up her resolve, she snatched the offering and tucked it into her ear, but the tube covered in velvet was so short that she had to step nearer to him, so near that she could see the short stubble of whiskers along his jaw. She had a clear view of the delicate muscles just above his collar moving whenever he swallowed. The sight mesmerized her. She and he were practically breathing each other’s exhales, and his bergamot fragrance teased her nostrils. His gaze never straying from hers, he placed the wooden bell-shaped end of the instrument against the wall.
The voices were faint, slightly muffled, and she struggled to make out the words.
“...devilare you doing here?”A man, Mr. Parker no doubt.
“Bishop thought we should talk, someplace neutral.”A woman.
“Therefore, he brought my wife to a brothel?”
Daisy’s eyes widened and she whispered, “Mrs. Parker?”
