The Lady Hellion Read online

  AN IMPROPER VISIT

  “I wish I could remove my stockings,” she murmured. “But even this feels heavenly.”

  Quint swallowed hard and crossed his arms over his chest. The image of her sliding stockings down her bare legs was too erotic to dwell on—not if he didn’t want an obvious erection frightening her. “I am not surprised. Traipsing through the mews of Mayfair is exhausting business.”

  “Indeed it is,” she returned cheerfully.

  “Why have you returned, Sophie?”

  She stared at her toes, moving them back and forth, hesitating. He sensed she was attempting to fabricate a reason because she didn’t want to tell him the real one.

  “The truth,” he said.

  “It seemed a nice night for a stroll. You are generally up late, so I thought I’d see if you were still awake.”

  He snorted. No lady strolled by herself in the middle of the night. “You are aware I live alone. That this is a bachelor’s residence?”

  “Should I be worried? Are you planning to chain me to your bed and ravish me at your whim?”

  He strove not to combine the words “ravish” and “Sophie” in his head; the idea only served to remind him of what he could never have. “Indeed. Merely allow me to remove the other woman there first.”

  She chuckled. “That’s one thing hardly anyone realizes about you: how amusing you are.”

  Books by Joanna Shupe

  The Courtesan Duchess

  The Harlot Countess

  The Lady Hellion

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  The LADY HELLION

  JOANNA SHUPE

  ZEBRA BOOKS

  KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

  http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  AN IMPROPER VISIT

  Books by Joanna Shupe

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The Harlot Countess

  Copyright Page

  To my parents,

  who first showed me what happily ever after looked like.

  And to Rich,

  who gave me my very own.

  Acknowledgments

  Many people were instrumental in shaping the Wicked Deceptions series. Thank you to the countless friends and acquaintances who patiently answered my questions about titles, pistols, science, and everything else I struggled with.

  I am so grateful for the New Jersey Romance Writers, as well as my own critique group, The Violet Femmes. To Janet, Michele, Maria, Tina, Diana, Julie, RoseAnn: Thank you for all of the advice, the last-minute reads, the toasts, and the friendship.

  Thank you to Laura Bradford for her guidance and for believing in me. I am so grateful to have her in my corner. Also thank you to Peter Senftleben for loving this series as much as I do and giving it life. I love when my writing makes him laugh.

  Grateful does not begin to describe how I feel about Diana Quincy, Michele Mannon, and JB Schroeder. These ladies are my rocks. And a giant thank-you to my plot maven, Lin Gavin, who reads everything first and (usually) insists I can do better. She is my harshest critic, my biggest fan, and my first line of defense.

  Thank you to my sister, Denise, who started me on this crazy journey. And to my mom, who first introduced me to romance books, thank you for believing in me. You’re a tireless champion, and I hope I made you proud.

  To my two little girls, I hope you both grow up to be strong, smart, kind, and kick ass women. Thank you for understanding when Mommy sneaks away with her laptop for an hour or two every day.

  I need to thank my amazing husband, who has always supported my dream to write. He goes above and beyond, smoothing the way for me to pursue this career, and I appreciate him more than I can say. I am one lucky lady.

  To the readers, bloggers, reviewers, writers, and fans, thank you for supporting romance, most especially historical romance. You make this the greatest job in the world.

  Chapter One

  February 1820

  Padding the crotch of one’s trousers required a surprising amount of skill. Too big of a bulge drew attention. Too small and you risked the thing slipping down your leg.

  Fortunately, Lady Sophia Barnes had enough experience to achieve the perfect balance. No one looking at her now would believe her a lady of twenty-seven, the daughter of a wealthy and powerful marquess—not dressed as she was, in gentleman’s finery from head to toe.

  Just as no one would believe her spare time was spent investigating matters for a class of women most Londoners did not even want to think about.

  The evening, though chilly and unpleasant, had been moderately productive. As Sophie approached the hackney, the driver jumped down to open the door. Her maid, Alice, sat inside, huddled under blankets. Alice waited until the door closed before she spoke. “Well, my lady?”

  Sophie knocked on the roof to signal the driver. Then she pulled a folded paper out of the pocket of her greatcoat. “No trace of Natalia, but I did find this.” Beth, the girl who’d hired Sophie, was worried that ill had befallen her friend. Though Beth had now found herself a protector, Natalia still worked in a tavern near the docks, where extra coins meant taking a customer to the second-floor rooms. The two girls corresponded every week without fail, and Natalia hadn’t sent word for almost a month.

  Tonight, Sophie had gained access to Natalia’s room and searched it. The only letter she’d found was in Russian.

  Sophie stretched her unencumbered legs in the small space as the carriage rumbled forth into the night. Breeches really were a spectacular invention. “I wish I knew what it said. Beth only speaks English.”

  “We’d need to find someone who can speak Russian, my lady.”

  A name came to mind. A name she tried not to think of more than five—or ten—times a day. She often failed even at that. “I do know someone who speaks Russian. Lord Quint. He gave a short lecture during a gathering at the Russian Embassy three years ago.” Sophie had attended, standing in the rear of the room. She hadn’t understood a word, but oh, he’d been glorious. Speaking on some recent scientific discovery, he’d commanded the attention of everyone present, even making the dour-faced Russians laugh at several points.

  Alice clucked her tongue. “La, his lordship won’t be speaking it for long, that’s for certain.”

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  Her sharp tone caught Alice’s attention. “I thought your ladyship knew. He’s near death’s door, that one. I saw one of his lordship’s kitchen maids three—no, maybe four days ago. Fever’s set in. His lordship won’t let any of the staff tend to him and won’t allow a physician in.”

  Sophie’s stomach plummeted through the carriage floor and onto the dirty Southwark streets. No doubt Alice told the truth. The maid’s network of servants would put any foreign spy service to shame. Quint . . . near death’s door. Oh, God. She knew a bullet had grazed him that night at Maggi
e’s house, right before the fire had swept in. But she’d assumed he’d recovered. Everyone had said the injury wasn’t serious. Damn, if only she hadn’t been so wrapped up in her own life—

  Her fist banged the roof. The driver opened the small partition and Sophie barked in her low register, “Stop at the southwest corner of Berkeley Square instead.” Quint lived just down the square from her father’s town house so she would get out and let Alice continue on.

  “What are you going to do, my lady?”

  Was it not obvious? “I’m going to save him.”

  Alice gasped. “You cannot very well show up at his front door”—her hand waved at Sophie’s attire—“dressed like that.”

  “Why not?”

  “They’ll not let a stranger inside to see him, even one dressed as a gent. And besides—”

  “Do not even start lecturing me on propriety. We bid farewell to that ship eons ago, Alice. Not to worry, I’ll manage a way into his house.”

  By the time she arrived at the servants’ door of Quint’s town house, Sophie had conjured a plausible story. A bleary-eyed older woman in a nightcap opened the door, a frown on her wrinkled face. “Yes?”

  “I am here”—Sophie deepened her voice—“at the behest of His Grace the Duke of Colton to attend to his lordship.”

  The woman held up her light, looked Sophie up and down. “You’re a surgeon?”

  “A valet, though I do have extensive medical knowledge.”

  “From a duke, you say?”

  Sophie lifted her chin. “Indeed. And I do not think His Grace would appreciate you leaving me on the stoop to freeze.”

  The woman stood aside to allow Sophie to enter. They went into the kitchens, where Sophie removed her hat and greatcoat. “Where may I find his lordship?”

  “His chambers. Won’t let anyone in, not even a doctor. Most of the staff’s already left. Figure every one of us will be out on the street in a day or two.”

  Without another word, the woman turned and shuffled to the corridor. Must be his cook, Sophie thought, and followed. “Stairs,” the woman mumbled, handed Sophie her lamp, and continued on.

  A few wrong turns, but Sophie finally found the master apartments. Inside, the air was cold and stale, the fire left untended. Moonlight trickled in from the windows, enough to allow her to see a large shape, motionless, under the coverlet. Quint. Please God, let him be alive.

  She rushed over, and then nearly gasped. Dear heavens . His condition was worse than she’d feared. His skin was waxen, his lips cracked and swollen. His eyes were closed, with blue-black smudges underneath them. She shot her hand out to feel the side of his throat not covered with a bandage. Though his skin burned to the touch, she exhaled in relief. A pulse. Weak, but there.

  She set her light on the table beside him. “Oh, Damien,” she whispered, unable to resist gently smoothing the damp hair off his fevered brow. “This is what you get for eschewing a valet, you stupid man.”

  A strangled, pained sound came out of his throat when she checked the wound. Now red and ugly, the hole oozed when she gently poked it. He made another noise and weakly tried to shift away. At least he’d shown signs of life. Striding to the bell pull, she began a mental list of all the items she required.

  Had she arrived in time, or was it too late? Ignoring the worry in her gut, she vowed not to fail. He would not die.

  “Hear that, Quint?” she said loudly. “You. Will. Not. Die.”

  After ten minutes and many tugs on the bell, a weary, rumpled footman finally arrived. He’d clearly been asleep, but she felt absolutely no sympathy for the servants. They’d abandoned their master, which, whether he’d asked for it or not, was unacceptable as far as she was concerned. And Quint deserved better.

  “Rouse every servant. Tell the cook to boil hot water. I need fresh bed linens and clean towels. Bring every medical supply in the house. And send for a physician.”

  “But—”

  “No arguments. His lordship is near death and I mean to save him, so do what I say. Now, go!”

  Chapter Two

  April 1820

  “You have a visitor, my lord.”

  Damien Beecham, Viscount Quint, did not bother looking up at his new butler, his attention instead focused on the rows of letters in front of him. He had to get this idea down. Now—before it was too late. “Pass on the usual response, Turner.”

  The butler cleared his throat. “I beg your lordship’s pardon, but the name is Taylor.”

  Quint grimaced. He could hardly be faulted for forgetting the lad’s name, could he? Taylor had only been on the job for a few days. Or was this further proof of Quint’s worst fear becoming a reality?

  Nearly three months since the shooting. Three months and he was no better. Oh, the wound had closed, the fever abated, yet everything else that followed had only worsened.

  He exhaled and dipped his pen in the ink pot. The invocation he’d adopted these past weeks went through his head: Remain occupied. Engage your mind while you can. Prepare for the worst. He looked back down at his cipher. “Apologies, Taylor. No visitors. Ever. Until further notice, I am not receiving callers.”

  “She said your lordship might say no, and if so, I was to tell you her name—the Lady Sophia Barnes. I was also to mention she planned on coming in whether your lordship allowed it or not.”

  Quint felt himself frown. Sophie, here? Why? Displeasure was quickly replaced by an uncomfortable weight on his chest. He could not face anyone, most especially her. “No. Definitely not. Tell her—”

  Before he finished his sentence, Sophie charged into the room. Smothering a curse, Quint threw down his pen, came to his feet, and snatched his topcoat off the chair back. He pulled on the garment as he bowed. “Lady Sophia.”

  He’d known her for years—five and three-quarters, to be precise—and each time he saw her, he experienced a jolt of heady awareness. There’d never been a more remarkably remarkable woman. She had short honey-brown hair that gleamed with hints of gold in the lamplight. Tall for a female, she had long, lean limbs that moved with purpose, with confidence. Her nose and upper cheeks were dusted with freckles that shifted when she laughed—which was often. People fell under the spell of that laugh, himself included.

  “Lord Quint, thank you for seeing me.” Holding her bonnet, she bobbed a curtsy in an attempt to give the impression of a proper young lady. No one who knew this particular daughter of a marquess would ever believe it, however. She and Julia Seaton, the Duchess of Colton, were close friends, and the two of them had landed in one absurd scrape after another over the years. Last he’d heard, the two had required rescuing from a gaming hell after a brawl erupted.

  “As if I’d had a choice,” he said dryly.

  She laughed, not offended in the least, and Quint noticed Taylor, mouth agape, hovering near the threshold, eyes trained on Sophie. Good God. Not that Quint hadn’t experienced the same reaction in Sophie’s presence a time or two. “That’ll be all, Taylor. Leave the door ajar, will you?”

  The butler nodded and retreated, cracking the heavy door for propriety. Ridiculous, really, when the entire visit was already deuced improper. “I hope you at least brought a maid, Sophie.”

  “Of course I did. She’s in the entryway, likely planning to flirt with that baby you call a butler.” Her lips twisted into a familiar impish half-smile. Once, she had given him that smile, leaned into him, and parted her lips . . . right before he’d kissed her.

  The memory nearly distracted him from the fact that he didn’t want anyone in the house. Bad enough he had to keep the staff. “I am not receiving callers,” he told her. “And this is not going to help your reputation.”

  She waved her hand. “No one worries over a spinster nearing thirty years of age. Now, shall we sit?”

  He happened to know she was only twenty-seven, but no use quibbling with her. He glanced about. Books, papers, and various mechanical parts littered every surface. Not to mention there were the three heavy m
edical volumes on his desk—all on mental deficiencies. With rapid flicks of his wrist, he closed each one and moved the stack to the floor behind his desk. He then came around and cleared a chair for Sophie.

  “Thank you.” She lowered gracefully into the seat and arranged herself, bonnet in her lap. “I apologize for barging in. Your butler did try to turn me away, but I haven’t been able to locate you elsewhere. You’ve become something of a recluse.”

  Better to be a recluse than take a trip to an asylum. He sat in his desk chair and said, “I have been occupied.”

  A tawny eyebrow rose. “So occupied you missed the opening lecture at the Royal Society last Tuesday?”

  “I had a conflict,” he offered, lamely.

  “A conflict? With what? You’ve never missed one of the opening lectures before. Not in recent memory, at least.”

  He tried not to react, though he wanted to grit his teeth. “I did not realize my schedule was your concern.”

  She sighed. “Oh, dear. I’ve upset you already—and I haven’t even arrived at the purpose of my visit.”

  “Meaning that learning the purpose will only upset me further?”

  “Yes, I daresay you shall not approve, but I’ve nowhere else to turn.”

  “Why do I feel a pressing need to close the door before you speak?”

  She shot to her feet, so Quint started to rise as well. “No,” she said, “please, stay seated. I think more clearly when I am standing.”

  Reluctantly, Quint lowered. He had no idea what she wanted, but with Sophie it could be nearly anything.

  Whatever her troubles, Quint did not care. Could not care. A healthy distance between himself and others must be maintained, especially with anyone who’d known him before the accident. Therefore, he’d hear her out and then show her to the door.