The Prince of Pleasure (Notorious 5)

Absurdly Julienne felt herself flushing. "The tales of his prowess were not exaggerated, I admit."

"Tiens! Does that mean you will agree to be his chere amie?"

"Not at all. I have no intention of letting him win our wager."

Solange frowned. "Perhaps you are wise. Wolverton is such a prime catch. How do the anglais say it… if you ?play your cards well'? I begin to wonder if you should hold out for marriage."

Julienne's eyebrows shot up scornfully at the mere suggestion. "A marquess would never in this world wed a mere actress."

"It has been done before. And I should think a nobleman of his scandalous ilk would not be put off by a bride with a trifle notoriety of her own."

But not one he despised for betraying him, Julienne reflected silently.

"If he truly wished to wed you-"

"It is out of the question," Julienne declared, dismissing the subject altogether. She was reluctant to reveal even to her friend h

er former association with Dare. She would rather forget everything about that devastating summer.

Regrettably, however, Julienne feared that was beyond her ability now, for she had encountered the nightmare from her past at Newmarket.

Ivers. She dreaded the very thought of him. But she suspected she would be forced to deal with him sooner or later. He was in London, she knew, for Lord Ridingham had spotted him at one of the popular sporting gentlemen's hotels.

Everywhere she went she kept a nervous watch out for Ivers, involuntarily starting at shadows despite her determination to conquer her fear. She kept her knife near to hand, strapped to her wrist. And when she returned home from the theater late at night, she always made certain she had an escort, either the footman Dare had provided for her physical protection or one of her admirers.

She stayed close to Riddingham in particular, for she felt safest with him. And Riddingham wasn't inclined to ask unwanted questions.

Oddly she found herself relieved that Dare had made himself scarce following their return from Berkshire. She couldn't possibly ask him to defend her from Ivers for fear of his explosive jealousy.

It would have surprised her to learn that Dare was keeping his distance because he thought it wiser. After their intense interlude at his pleasure house, he needed to determine how best to deal with Julienne. For weeks now his feelings for her had taken on the dark strains of obsession, and he was struggling with the problem of how to extricate himself-if that was even possible.

In his more rational moments, Dare understood what course he should take: he needed to relinquish this haunting fantasy of love, the intense need simply to have Julienne near.

Loving her defied all reason, he knew. The only way to master his craving for her was to absent himself.

He was considering leaving town when he received an urgent summons from Lucian. Even though it was barely noon, Dare immediately called at the Wycliff residence and found his friend at work in his study.

"Why," Lucian asked at once, "did you send me that cryptic message all the way from Newmarket last week to ask about the Earl of Ivers?"

Dare settled himself on the couch. "Because I hadn't seen him in well over a year, and I thought it odd that he showed up on my heels so soon after I advertised my search for Caliban."

"Well, it seems there is at least a possible connection between Ivers and the companion's murder. The man I installed at the Castlereagh household found a witness who recognized Ivers as the lover Alice Watson had been secretly meeting. And he uncovered further proof that Ivers has recently been spying on Lady Castlereagh's doings-paying the servants to report to him."

The tall, dark-haired stranger. Dare frowned at the implication. "You don't think Ivers could be Caliban, do you? I've known him since I was in short coats- his family seat is barely a dozen miles from Wolverton Hall-and while he might be capable of killing, I wouldn't think him cunning enough to be a criminal mastermind."

Thoughtfully Lucian shook his head. "I tend to concur, although he may be ruthless enough. Last year one of his former mistresses was mysteriously disfigured after she sent Ivers packing in favor of a new, wealthier protector who could afford her extravagances. And it's common knowledge that he has been flirting with penury of late. Not only does he owe half the tradesmen in town, but he's been unable to repay his debts of honor. There are rumors he may be asked to leave his club. It's possible he is in Caliban's employ for the income, or simply because he's being blackmailed, like so many other of Caliban's victims."

"What of Sir Stephen Ormsby and Martin Perrine?" Dare asked. "Did you discover any leads that might suggest either of them are involved?"

"I had them both investigated as you suggested," Lucian replied, "and found nothing more to incriminate Ormsby. Perrine, we're now certain, was in town at the time of the companion's death, and also in January when our diplomat was killed. But there is no direct evidence linking him to either murder. Still, Caliban has always been extremely careful to cover his trail. His pattern is to remain behind the scenes while his victims execute his orders. In any event, this is the first real break we've had in the case-and we have you to thank for it."

Dare remained silent for a moment while he debated how much to reveal about his knowledge of their chief suspect. Finally he decided it would be wisest to tell Lucian everything he knew on the off chance that there was a connection between events. "Ivers has a past relationship with Julienne Laurent," Dare said in a toneless voice.

"Oh?" Lucian responded curiously.

"They were lovers."

Lucian's eyebrow rose. "The reason for your broken betrothal, I gather?"