Ecstasy (Notorious 4)

Kell returned a noncommittal half smile. “I am seeking my brother, madame. Is he perhaps here?”

“Indeed, he is. But he is…occupied at present.”

“Even so, I should like to speak to him.”

“Then you will find him in room number seven.”

Kell started to turn away, but Madame Fouchet stopped him. “I worry about your brother, cher. He seems a very troubled young man. He has such delightful charm, but there are occasions when he has not been…nice to my girls.”

“Is that so?” Kell asked with an edge of grimness. “In that case, you needn’t feel obliged to endure his patronage. And you should not hesitate to call me if he oversteps the bounds.”

“I will do that, monsieur. Thank you.” She smiled. “Of course you must know that you are always welcome here. But I hear you are newly wedded. You will not want to leave your bridal bed for one of my girls, no?”

He feigned a smile and declined to answer directly. “I will keep your invitation in mind, madame.”

The sporting house seemed abnormally quiet as Kell mounted the stairs. But then it was only late afternoon, far too early for the usual revelry.

He had no doubt how he would find his brother, though. And given his own past wildness, he could hardly condemn such dissipation. Kell could well remember his younger years when he first came to London. He had thought nothing of spending

the entire day in bed with a beautiful Cyprian, indulging in decadence.

For too long, however, he’d set Sean a bad example. He had sobered greatly since, making an effort to be more discreet, eschewing brothels for longer-term arrangements. His last affair with a wealthy merchant’s widow had ended badly, with tears and recriminations on her part, and he’d refrained from employing another mistress since then.

Perhaps fortunately, Kell reflected, considering the fact that he was now wed. Managing a wife and mistress at the same time was more trouble than he preferred to deal with at the moment. He had enough on his hands with the problem of his brother.

Then again, he might be wise to take up Madame Fouchet’s offer to visit here. Perhaps then he would be able to forget the searing memory of blue eyes and soft breasts and the alluring scent that haunted his dreams.

Trying to dismiss thoughts of his beautiful, unwanted bride, Kell rapped lightly on the door to room seven and was sharply bid entrance.

He found Sean seated on a chaise, a scantily clad beauty on his lap.

“If I might have a word with you in private,” Kell said, not waiting for an invitation before settling himself in a chair opposite his brother.

With a scowl on his face, Sean patted the courtesan’s derriere and sent her from the room.

“So what brings you here, brother?” he asked belligerently. “Not the entertainment, surely. You have no need to drown your sorrows in the arms of a paid whore. You have a wife now-or is she spurning you the way she did me?”

Kell forced himself to ignore the jibe. “You crossed the line again this afternoon,” he said, his tone terse. “Raven is my wife now, whether or not either of us likes it. I won’t have her harmed.”

Sean looked away guiltily. “I didn’t harm her.”

“But you threatened to.”

“How do you know? Did she come running to you?”

Kell responded to the taunt by issuing a demand. “Perhaps I failed to make myself clear. You’ll keep away from her in future.”

“And if I don’t?”

He narrowed his gaze on his brother. “I expect you to leave London tomorrow.”

Lips thinning mutinously, Sean cast him a defiant glance. “Or what? What will you do if I refuse, brother?” Flinging himself from the chaise, Sean began to pace. “You are hardly in a position to dictate to me when your own reputation is so tenuous. I could ensure you have more to occupy your time than needlessly defending the heartless bitch you married.”

Kell gritted his teeth at the word. “Meaning?”

Coming to a halt, Sean gazed down at him in triumph, his green eyes glittering. “Meaning that I need only find a magistrate and suggest how dear Uncle William met his demise. If I claimed I saw you kill him, you would have more trouble than you could deal with. You would likely be facing prison.”

Kell’s stomach clenched savagely, the depth of his brother’s hostility like a knife to his gut.