“But it’s a brothel,” he said. “Isn’t it?”
Hugh snorted. “You’ve never seen a brothel like this in your life,” he said. “It’s more than a brothel, Jareth. It’s a place that makes you think you’ve died and gone to heaven.”
“But youhavepaid a woman to have her in your bed… haven’t you?”
Hugh shook his head. “Nay, because I promised my brother I would not, since he is trying to solicit a marriage for me with Roger Mortimer’s daughter,” he said. “I promised him I would keep myself clean of scandal, at least for the time being. But that has not stopped me from going to The Feast and spending time with an utterly divine creature named Melaina. She sings like an angel and lets me eat my meals off her belly. Literally, she lies on the table and lets me eat whatever I want off her belly. It’s the most seductive thing you’ve ever seen.”
“So… you like the place?”
“Love it. Why the questions?”
“Because I have inherited it.”
Hugh’s eyes widened. He stared at Jareth until his mouth finally popped open. “You inherited Chester de Long’s property?” he gasped. “You?”
“Me.”
“My God, how?”
“He is my mother’s brother. He had no heirs, so he chose me.”
That had Hugh throwing his arms around Jareth’s neck jubilantly. “Such great fortune for you, my friend!” he said. “We must go to The Feast and celebrate this instant!”
But Jareth wasn’t quite so jubilant. “Wait,” he said, pushing Hugh away. “It is utterly shameful that I have inherited a brothel. I do not want to ‘celebrate’ it.”
Hugh was puzzled by the reaction. “Have you even been there?” he said. “Do you know what you are saying?”
Jareth sighed sharply. “Nay, I’ve not been there, but I know that inheriting a brothel is scandalous at best,” he said. “Why would you be so happy for me to be shamed like that?”
“It is not a shame, I assure you.”
“What would your mother say if you inherited such a place?”
Hugh shrugged. “Lady Katherine de Winter would never visit a place like that herself, but she also would not discourage me from having a source of income,” he said. “A verybigsource. Do you understand that, Jareth? If you do not, then I cannot explain it to you. We must go to The Feast immediately so you can see it for yourself.”
That was what everyone had been telling him. Jareth knew he had little choice in the matter. Evidently, Aphrodite’s Feast was something that had to be seen to be believed, so he resigned himself to the fact that everyone wanted to see the place except him.
The whole situation was positively ridiculous.
“Very well,” he said, openly perturbed. “Let us go see this thing that I do not want. Lead the way, Hugh.”
Gleefully, Hugh did.
CHAPTER FIVE
Aphrodite’s Feast
It was abusiness.
From the top of its stone towers to the bottom of its storage vault, the legendary establishment known as Aphrodite’s Feast had always been treated like a business because it was. It was a place where women who needed to earn a living could earn it with some dignity. Given the fact that it was technically a brothel, perhaps that seemed like the paradox, but it wasn’t. Aphrodite’s Feast was a well-run and well-supplied establishment, and in this case, it supplied what many men were looking for.
The company of a beautiful woman.
In truth, there had been a brothel on this location for centuries. Aphrodite’s Feast had been given its name because it was built on an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the wine god, Bacchus. Although that seemed strange, given the region, which was not a wine-producing region, it was nonetheless true that the temple had been dedicated to the god of drunks. It was equally possible that was why the temple had been so widely used when the Romans occupied western England.Those who appreciated drink kept the temple in good repair, and that included a massive mosaic on the floor depicting a great feast with many beautiful women. Hence the name of the establishment—Aphrodite’s Feast.
Sometime after the Romans, during the Dark Ages, it had fallen into some disrepair, but an enterprising person saw the value in it and used the building as both an inn and a brothel. They had reinforced the walls and built more rooms, and more stories, and as the centuries passed, the building continued to be reinforced and built upon until the ancestors of Chester de Long won the property in a game of chance.
It was the House of de Long that had turned it into a refuge for the seagoing men who would travel down the mouth of the River Avon and throw their anchors in the bend of the river near Bristol Castle. Back then, Aphrodite’s Feast had been a place of rest and respite and food, and eventually, they added women to give comfort to those who’d been at sea for a very long time. The establishment became so popular, in fact, that they leaned in heavily to the “companion women” aspect of it, and that was how it became a brothel.
