Read Online The Copper and the Madam by Karyn Gerrard - Free Book Online Page A

pleasingly plump curves; he
did not consider her fat at all. He wanted nothing more than to
show her how much she affected him. Moved him. Aroused him.
    The door opened, and Rhiannon entered. Rory
rose to his feet and pulled her chair out. She wore a simple
evening gown of light blue that complemented her milky, flawless
skin and her cornflower blue eyes.
    Rory took his seat, and the innkeeper and his
wife bustled in with the food. Sliced roast turkey, roasted
potatoes, asparagus, and carrots. Their glasses filled with white
wine, Rory waved the eager couple away.
    He raised his wine glass. “To us, Rhiannon.
Our journey is just beginning.”
    She did not raise her glass. She stared at
him, her eyebrows raised as if ascertaining whether he spoke the
truth. Bloody hell, would she ever learn to trust him? Rhiannon
reached for the stem and lifted the glass, a shaky smile on her
countenance. Well, she tried, he’d give her that.
    They ate in peaceful bliss for several
moments. The late afternoon sun had moved around the side of the
inn, sending shadows across the wood floor. Birds twittered in the
giant oaks outside the window.
    “How did you come to buy The Blind Cupid?” he
asked.
    A plaintive sigh left her throat. “For five
years I worked at a few establishments. At age twenty, I landed
with Lydia Garrison, known as Mistress Cherry. She owned The
Garrison Gate.”
    Rory nodded. “I’ve heard of it, but never
been.”
    She continued, “Lydia, for whatever reason,
liked me. She took me under her wing, taught me everything I had to
know about running a whorehouse. At first, I did not really care
about learning such a thing; but at least I did not have to service
as many men. I soon saw the opportunity. Yes, I could make a lot of
money, but also a chance to do some good, however insignificant.
Lydia was very ill. I had no idea. She died of syphilis four years
later. Imagine my surprise when I learned she had left me the
business and a substantial amount of money. I sold The Garrison,
brought a few people with me, and took my time searching for a good
neighborhood for my own brothel. I wanted a place to call my own, a
smaller, more private location in a better district.” Rhiannon
exhaled. “I suppose I could have taken this money and retired in
comfort in a small town in the country. But I did the math; it
would not have been enough to sustain me for more than fifteen
years. I also had people who relied on me for their very existence.
So I decided to do the one thing I had been trained to do. I chose
Lambeth because of the mix of classes. And so, ten years later,
here I am.”
    Rory absorbed the information. “For five
years you were a whore, from age fifteen to twenty, is that
correct?”
    “Yes,” she replied, her gaze hard and cold.
“I despised every minute of it.”
    Well, he couldn’t blame her. He had seen
firsthand the way men treated whores. For years, he’d watched his
own mother used and abused. And did he behave any better? His own
sexual experience had consisted of monthly ruts against a wall for
quite a few years. A release, nothing more. He treated the prossies
with a minimum of respect, but after he left them, he did not give
them another thought.
    “Rhiannon, you want me. You said so. After
everything that has happened, are you able to enter into a
relationship with a man? While I want us to gradually move to a
physical connection, I want more. We are already friends, are we
not?”
    Rhiannon stabbed her fork into chunks of
potato until they fell apart. She frowned, not a good sign. Perhaps
she wanted to thrust the fork into his chest.
    “Yes. Friends. Rory, all I can say is I will
try.”
    “That’s fine. Eat your dinner, darlin’. After
we are finished, I’ll make my way to the pub, and you should head
upstairs and get a little rest. I will be sleeping in the bed with
you, Rhiannon. I will be touching you, but nothing more. I want to
hold you in my arms. Can you let me do that?”
    She