A Murder in Time(2)

She was young, probably not much older than fifteen. And, unlike the others, she was fresh. With her dark curls and apple-cheeked complexion, she exuded youth and innocence.

It was a sham, of course. But her eyes weren’t quite as jaded as the other whores, and that appealed to him.

He set the chalice down on the long, pine serving table in the center of the room, and walked toward her, her smaller stature making her easy to identify among the relative anonymity of the cloaked figures. Her face was nearly hidden in the shadows of her hood, but he caught the nervous darting of her eyes as she glanced around. When she saw him, recognition flashed across her face and a smile trembled on her Cupid’s bow mouth. Her cheeks flushed with pleasure as he reached out to grasp her slender wrist.

Her welcoming smile transformed into a surprised O when he yanked her across the cavern, to the jagged opening that formed a narrow passageway. Stopping abruptly, so abruptly that the girl stumbled into him, he turned back to the room and raised an arm.

“‘Do As Thou Wilt,’” he quoted, borrowing once again from Sir Francis. His mouth curved with cold satisfaction as his apostles swooped on the harlots, and the chamber echoed with delighted laughter and thrilled screams. Distorted shadows danced against the cavern’s walls. The game had begun.

Turning back into the passageway, his fingers tightening around the doxy’s thin wrist, he yanked her behind him with little regard as he hurried down the tunnel. She had to run or be dragged.

“M-me Lord . . .” she gasped breathlessly. He didn’t seem to hear her, as she was forced to race to keep up with his longer strides, the hood of her cloak falling to her shoulders, the dark curls tumbling around her pretty face.

A rustic oak door was at the end of the corridor. He stopped, releasing her to withdraw a key from his pocket. He tugged open the door, stepping aside in a courtly gesture that was sure to have her heart fluttering. With a flirtatious smile and a toss of her head, Lydia crossed the threshold, but he watched her coy sophistication crumble as her eyes drifted over the elaborate four-poster bed with its gleaming red satin sheets. Across the room was an enormous table and cupboard, the table scattered with at least twenty beeswax candles. Beneath that scent, one could detect other smells . . . sex, and something else . . . something not quite identifiable.

“Oh, la. ’Tis amazing, this,” she whispered, as her fingers worked on the knot at her throat, and the wool cape she’d been given for the night’s pleasure slid off her thin shoulders to pool on the hard stone floor. He locked the door and began methodically stripping off his own cape and clothes, leaving them in a crumpled pile behind him as he walked, naked, toward her. He was already aroused.

Lydia smiled in a way that never failed to attract the rogues who visited Madame’s establishment. Her smile slipped, though, when he reached her and, taking the muslin gown in his hands, shredded it in two in a swift, violent motion. Before she could cry out over its destruction, he was tearing her cotton chemise and short stays from her body, lifting her toward the bed.

“Lovely . . . so lovely.” His breath was hot against her flesh as he bore her down on the feather mattress. Shackling her delicate wrists above her head with one hand, he kissed his way down the slim white column of her throat to one small breast. Dress forgotten, she relaxed under the sensual onslaught, delighted to feel his mouth and tongue laving her. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she began to dream about a future that had nothing to do with Madame Duprey. A future far away from the fat, sweaty old men who came to see her at the academy.

To leave the house on Bacon Street, to have a place all her own . . .

‘Twould be heaven . . .

The searing pain was so unexpected, she couldn’t quite comprehend it even as her body jerked in reaction. Crying out, her eyes flew open in shock and met the man’s as he lifted his head. Dread rippled through her as she saw the bright flecks of blood on his lips.

Even then it took her a moment to connect that to the hot, painful throbbing on her left breast.

Her eyes slewed downward. She felt a jolt of fear and horror as she caught sight of the wound.

She screamed.

His eyes glinted, his face suddenly a demonic shadow as he hovered above her. His free hand flashed toward her throat, wrapping around the slim column, choking off the shrill sound. The pressure increased. The sharp pain in her breast faded abruptly, swamped by the more pressing need to breathe. Frantically, she struggled to free herself from the punishing grip. As she bucked and writhed, her lungs began to burn, her vision dimmed. Her tongue seemed to swell in her mouth, further choking her.

Just when she thought her throat would be crushed, the pressure eased. Coughing and gasping, she sucked in great gulps of the scented air. And now she recognized that other smell in the room. It came to her in one horrifying flash.

Blood.

The devil’s lips brushed her ear.

“It’s not going to be that easy, my sweet,” he murmured silkily, sliding over her. Skin against skin. His sweat mingling with her blood. “I am not through with you yet.”

He reached for something above her, and though her heart pounded in her ears, Lydia heard the unmistakable clink of metal. Then, the cold bite of steel against her flesh.

Her eyes widened and the bone-shaking terror that flooded her made her yearn for the unconsciousness denied her a moment ago. Because now she knew that this was no sensual lair with the flickering candles and beautiful bed.