Mastering The Marquess (Bound and Determined #1)(108)

No. She was not in her own room.

She was in Geoffrey’s. Although when she glanced at the pillows on the bed, she found no evidence that he had slept with her.

Her body screamed in protest as she pushed herself up to sit against the pillows. The welt on her upper thigh cried the loudest, but not an inch of her was silent—except perhaps her left little toe. It seemed quite content.

She tried to concentrate on that toe, on that one small piece of sanity in this whole crazy world.

“Ignoring me will not make me go away,” Madame Rouge said.

“I was sort of hoping you were not real,” Louisa replied, turning to look at Madame. In the daylight the bright red hair and cosmetics looked like a costume.

“I am not sure if I should take insult or not.”

“Not. I was just wishing that the last day or days were not real, and if you are here then I am afraid that they were.”

“Yes, I can understand that. I do, however, believe that you are a woman who always faces what must be faced; you certainly were on the two occasions that you came to visit me. And you have been asleep for well over thirty-six hours. Geoffrey was beginning to grow frantic.” Madame poured Louisa a cup of chocolate and milk, adding a heaping spoonful of sugar, and handed it over. “Here, perhaps this will help.”

Louisa doubted that anything would help, but chocolate was not a bad way to try. “Thank you. Did you know that I was actually coming to see you Sunday night when this all began? It was while I was outside your house that I was waylaid by the Countess.” Even saying the name caused Louisa’s belly to tighten.

“No, I did not know. I cannot believe that she had the effrontery to take you at all—but at my house! If her husband had not already removed her from London I would certainly be paying a call on her—and not one she would ever enjoy.” Madame took a sip from her cup—tea probably, as it did not stain her lips. “Geoffrey mentioned that you were worried her punishment was not severe enough. I have never met the count myself—his tastes do not fall under my purview—but from all I have heard you do not need to worry. He is not known for being a gentle man. He may have ignored his wife up to this point because he did not wish to be bothered, but you can be assured that now that she has threatened scandal, that will change. I would not relish the position in which Lady Ormande will now find herself.”

Relaxing against the pillows, Louisa considered her reply. She did not wish to sound vengeful, but in truth she would have been quite content to watch the skin slowly being peeled from the Countess. However, with the whole matter out of her control, she would have to be satisfied. Perhaps it was for the best. “I will strive to accept that. I know that my thoughts on the matter are perhaps not balanced at the moment.”

“And for that you cannot be blamed, if my understanding of the situation is correct.”

Louisa dropped her gaze to her lap. “I am sure that it is.” She found it impossible to say more.

“Then let us deal with the practical matters first. Geoffrey told me he dressed all your injuries and said the only thing left to do was to have you take a hot soak with Epsom salts and a few cups of willow tea. I also have a few herbs that will prove quite helpful. However, I have more knowledge of these matters than Geoffrey, and am quite aware that not all injuries show. Did Lady Ormande do anything that would have—that could have—caused more internal injuries?”

Louisa felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “I do not believe so.” She kept her eyes lowered.

Madame stood and walked slowly to the bed. “You do not believe so or you know so. If you have doubts, I can summon the woman who helps my girls with their female problems. She is very knowledgeable and discreet. Anything you tell her will stay with her. She will not even tell me unless you instruct her to.”

“I do not need her. If things had gone on longer, I might have, but except for the crop it was more a matter of talk than anything else—well, except for the gag and restraints. I had never known being still could hurt so much.”

“The Countess has always been a foolish woman. There is a place for binding and making someone wait, but one must always be careful that they have a proper amount of movement. What she did was most careless. I have banned patrons for far less.” Madame placed her hand upon Louisa’s and patted it gently.

Careless? Louisa had a far different word for it. She did, however, appreciate that Madame was trying to calm her. “You have not told me how you came to be here? I cannot imagine …” Louisa was not sure how one expressed that she wasn’t aware courtesans were admitted into Mayfair, at least during daylight hours.

“Geoffrey invited me, and I owed him a favor. Although, to be frank, I would have come regardless; just don’t tell him that. He thought that you might be in need of someone to talk to, someone a little more neutral than himself. The fact that you were coming to see me, even before this happened, perhaps indicates that he was right.”

Madame stepped away from the bed and went back to the chair upon which she had been seated. Instead of sitting she reached behind it and pulled up a black hat heavy with veils. “And as for the how, I took a page from your own book. I am quite sure that no one awake before noon would have recognized me anyway, but I decided it was not worth the risk.”

“I thank you for that. I am still not quite sure why Geoffrey would have …” Again Louisa found herself without words.