Angel in Scarlet (Bound and Determined #4)
Lavinia Kent
Chapter 1
“I want to trap a man.” Angela stared across the elegant parlor at the redheaded Madame Rouge, saying each word with care, trying to calm the nerves that had taken her from the moment she’d decided on this course of action. She still couldn’t believe that she was here—in a brothel, talking to the infamous Madame Rouge.
Madame Rouge stared back, her bright crimson lips forming a slight moue, only the barest rise of her delicate brows indicating she found Angela’s request at all surprising. “Not what I was expecting.”
And what had Madame been expecting? Angela couldn’t even begin to guess. She’d only dared to approach Madame Rouge because of a few hints her dear friend Bliss had let drop. Bliss had not been at all forthcoming or explicit, but she had indicated that Madame Rouge was willing to help ladies with delicate situations and that she’d helped with Bliss and Duldon’s courtship. Angela couldn’t imagine how, but she’d heard enough whispers about Madame Rouge to know that the madame had experience in what she needed to learn—seduction. “I am convinced you are the only one who can help me.”
“I am sure that’s not true.” Madame Rouge turned and strolled across the room with the slightest sway of her hips, a motion that drew the eye and held it.
How did she manage that? Angela was sure that she’d only look a fool if she tried such a walk. It hadn’t been a large movement, nothing overt, and yet that slight swing had been all woman, had made a promise that Angela could only begin to guess at.
But she had to keep her mind on her own problem, no matter how unpleasant it might be. Although perhaps if she’d known how to move like that, Colton wouldn’t have…No. She was not going to think like that. She was here for a reason. “And I am sure it is true. You are the perfect one to help me. Who else could begin to teach me how to trap a man as well as you?”
Madame Rouge laughed, the low rumble filling the chamber. “But I’ve never trapped a man or taught anyone else to do so.”
“But…”
Madame Rouge settled her lush curves on the chaise across the room, her long legs draped elegantly down its length. “It may seem surprising to you, but my dealings with men, and those of my girls, are all very honest. We never attempt to trap or deceive—or at least not more than a little rouge and a padded corset will allow.” She ran a hand down her side, emphasizing her full figure. “I think many society matrons have far more knowledge of how to lure a man into a compromising situation, how to be caught alone with him or to allow him just that slight bit of extra liberty from which he cannot withdraw.” Madame Rouge’s lips quirked at this last bit, as if finding a humor in it that Angela did not understand.
“That’s not what I mean. He’s too smart to be caught that way, and even if I could manage it that’s not what I want.”
“Then what do you want?”
A warm smile flashed into Angela’s mind, white teeth revealed between firm lips, a firm chin falling as deep laughter echoed about the park. No. She must not think of that. That was not what she wanted, not now. “I want him to feel as if he can’t resist me. I want him to burn for me, to beg for me. I want him to beg me to marry him, to feel that he’ll die if I say no. I want to be his everything.”
“You love him so much?” Madame smiled again, knowingly.
“No. Not at all.” She needed to be quite clear about this. Again, she pushed away the sound of joyful laughter, the memory of a perfect moment. “I might have thought I did, briefly, but I’ve come to realize I don’t care for him at all. Now I want vengeance. Vengeance and justice.” Angela pressed her lips tight, working to believe the words even as she spoke them.
“I think it would be best if you sat.” Madame Rouge gestured to a chair across from the chaise longue, near the gentle glow of the fire. “I have an inkling that this may be more complicated than I had imagined.” She sighed. “And I had intended to just tell you no. I find myself trying to finish things up, not trying to start new projects, but you do intrigue me.”
Angela could not afford a no. She needed this, did not know what she would do if it failed. She hurried on. “I don’t know that it’s complicated. Surely you teach women how to make men love them all the time.”
Madame laughed—low, husky, and filled with something that Angela could not identify. “I am not sure that I’ve ever taught anything close to that. Desire them, perhaps. Love them, never. And certainly never for such a reason.”
“But Bliss—”
“I don’t talk about one patron to another—particularly if they know each other. It’s bad for business. But I will say that while I may on occasion have helped arrange the circumstances that led to love and marriage, I have never done more than that. Love comes when it comes, not because you will it to be there. Now, don’t look so disappointed, child. I can assure you that desire is more than enough to make a man beg as you wish. That I can teach you something about, but first you must convince me that I should help you. I am not at all sure I like the idea of trapping a man—even if it is for justice. I’ve always preferred to let nature take its course.”
“He deserves to be trapped, to want what he cannot have, to—” Her mind burned with the memories of all Colton had done to deserve such a fate, of all she could say and all she had trouble admitting even to herself. Again she heard that laugh, remembered that day in the park, strolling hand in hand, amused by a group of ducklings all trying to stand on one small rock, each pushing the previous one off. His fingers had been so warm, so strong. She’d felt so safe, and when he slid his hands up her arms and turned her toward him, she’d known he was going to kiss her. She’d felt her breath catch, and then, when their eyes met and his gaze dropped to her lips…Except her maid had appeared and the moment had passed. As all moments pass.