the overhead spray.
"After Tattersall's ," Ned briskly replied. "Once we're finished with the auction, we'll go and see if Mme. Robuchon has any new girls, and you can nap there. Ah, here's Maurice with our coffee."
(9he men reached the auction house just as the first lot came on the block, and then waited for nearly an hour before the black Jack wanted was brought forward.
The bidding was furious. The horse had taken a dozen firsts last year. But those with lesser fortunes fell away before too long, and Jack and Lord Blandford brought the sum up to staggering levels in short order.
The marquis didn't care how much he paid for the racer. His nabob wealth had come from the East India Company in the last century, although the Fitz- Jameses had been equally well endowed by Charles II's generosity to his mistress. And as one of the largest landowners in Gloucestershire, the family had never worried about money. Additionally, Jack had invested in railroads very early. He could buy a dozen Lord Blandfords without bringing a sweat to his bankers' brows.
Deciding to finish the bidding, Jack offered ten thousand over Blandford's last bid, and Edward Dunlow's face turned black with fury.
"Damn you, Redvers . I need that horse in my stable," he raged.
"Then you should have stayed the course," Jack calmly remarked.
"As you did with the French lady last night. How long did you ride her?"
"I went home early last night, Blandford , and if you wish to question my word on the matter, name your seconds."
The Earl of Blandford wasn't known for his courage. A small, rawboned man, he preferred his footmen fight his battles. "Fuck you, Redvers ."
"You're not my type. Perhaps if I'm drunk enough, we could talk," Jack drawled.
"Maybe the French lady would welcome other suitors," Blandford spitefully suggested.
"Be my guest, Blandford . She's quite capable of making her own decisions on suitors." But despite his casual reply, he had to restrain an urge to knock down the bloody sod. As if he'd let the damned bastard touch Venus, he thought, thin-skinned and moody.
Fortunately, the auction clerk approached him then, or he would have had to question his novel feelings of possession.
Chapter 5
esae
Venus hadn't expected the duchess to accompany her serving men, but there she was riding beside the driver of the dray wagon when the vehicle arrived in Belgrave Square. Dressed in a plain natural linen gown and a utilitarian straw bonnet, bereft of her usual heavy layers of rouge, the duchess looked as though she were planning on working along with her men.
Venus greeted her with a smile, charmed by the old lady who viewed work as a feasible activity. A rare instance for those in the fashionable world.
"Come ride with me," Peggy offered, making room for Venus on the broad, wide seat. "And give Will directions to the warehouse."
Leaving her majordomo standing dumbfounded on the pavement, Venus climbed up onto the high seat of the wagon with help from one of Peggy's men and, seating herself beside the duchess, found herself in extreme good humor. "How nice to see you again," she said. "I didn't realize you wished to help."
"I look forward to doing something productive for a change. Teas and visiting and parties become wearisome after a time."
"Don't they, now," Venus agreed. And after giving directions to the driver, the ladies discussed the two hospitals Venus was financing in Paris. The duchess queried her on a number of details, not content to simply give her money to a charity and feel that she'd done her duty. She was even more impressed with Venus after she'd disclosed the number of patients who were treated each day at the charity hospitals.
"My heavens, with that many patients, your expenses must be considerable. Did Jack send his bank draft yet?" the duchess inquired.
"No, but it's not necessary. I'm sure he was only being polite. My family has resources enough."
"Additional funds
"After Tattersall's ," Ned briskly replied. "Once we're finished with the auction, we'll go and see if Mme. Robuchon has any new girls, and you can nap there. Ah, here's Maurice with our coffee."
(9he men reached the auction house just as the first lot came on the block, and then waited for nearly an hour before the black Jack wanted was brought forward.
The bidding was furious. The horse had taken a dozen firsts last year. But those with lesser fortunes fell away before too long, and Jack and Lord Blandford brought the sum up to staggering levels in short order.
The marquis didn't care how much he paid for the racer. His nabob wealth had come from the East India Company in the last century, although the Fitz- Jameses had been equally well endowed by Charles II's generosity to his mistress. And as one of the largest landowners in Gloucestershire, the family had never worried about money. Additionally, Jack had invested in railroads very early. He could buy a dozen Lord Blandfords without bringing a sweat to his bankers' brows.
Deciding to finish the bidding, Jack offered ten thousand over Blandford's last bid, and Edward Dunlow's face turned black with fury.
"Damn you, Redvers . I need that horse in my stable," he raged.
"Then you should have stayed the course," Jack calmly remarked.
"As you did with the French lady last night. How long did you ride her?"
"I went home early last night, Blandford , and if you wish to question my word on the matter, name your seconds."
The Earl of Blandford wasn't known for his courage. A small, rawboned man, he preferred his footmen fight his battles. "Fuck you, Redvers ."
"You're not my type. Perhaps if I'm drunk enough, we could talk," Jack drawled.
"Maybe the French lady would welcome other suitors," Blandford spitefully suggested.
"Be my guest, Blandford . She's quite capable of making her own decisions on suitors." But despite his casual reply, he had to restrain an urge to knock down the bloody sod. As if he'd let the damned bastard touch Venus, he thought, thin-skinned and moody.
Fortunately, the auction clerk approached him then, or he would have had to question his novel feelings of possession.
Chapter 5
esae
Venus hadn't expected the duchess to accompany her serving men, but there she was riding beside the driver of the dray wagon when the vehicle arrived in Belgrave Square. Dressed in a plain natural linen gown and a utilitarian straw bonnet, bereft of her usual heavy layers of rouge, the duchess looked as though she were planning on working along with her men.
Venus greeted her with a smile, charmed by the old lady who viewed work as a feasible activity. A rare instance for those in the fashionable world.
"Come ride with me," Peggy offered, making room for Venus on the broad, wide seat. "And give Will directions to the warehouse."
Leaving her majordomo standing dumbfounded on the pavement, Venus climbed up onto the high seat of the wagon with help from one of Peggy's men and, seating herself beside the duchess, found herself in extreme good humor. "How nice to see you again," she said. "I didn't realize you wished to help."
"I look forward to doing something productive for a change. Teas and visiting and parties become wearisome after a time."
"Don't they, now," Venus agreed. And after giving directions to the driver, the ladies discussed the two hospitals Venus was financing in Paris. The duchess queried her on a number of details, not content to simply give her money to a charity and feel that she'd done her duty. She was even more impressed with Venus after she'd disclosed the number of patients who were treated each day at the charity hospitals.
"My heavens, with that many patients, your expenses must be considerable. Did Jack send his bank draft yet?" the duchess inquired.
"No, but it's not necessary. I'm sure he was only being polite. My family has resources enough."
"Additional funds
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