Duke Daddy
Sinistre Ange
Bettina knows what she wants, a 6 month contract will give her all the money she could need. But her greed has put her in the perfect position for this Duke to become her Daddy. And he will punish her as he sees fit.
Chapter One
I pout at myself in the mirror, wondering if I should put more rouge on my lips and cheeks.
Madame Atout says that the gentlemen will like my freshness, but the lack of heavy makeup sets me apart from the other tarts at her house. I am here to make my way in the world, after all, and she has one of the most exclusive brothels in London. Many of her girls have gone on to become wealthy courtesans to the nobility.
Turning my head this way and that, I fluff my dark curls and widen my eyes, which are a bright blue against sooty lashes. I look like a little doll and I know it. Though my mother wanted me to become a seamstress like her, I have no talent nor taste for the trade.
I did it, to make her happy, but she died last year and though I mourned her, I also felt as though I could finally make my own way without her judgement hanging over me. At nineteen years of age, I’m still in the first blush of youth and, more importantly, a virgin. Madame Atout says that fact alone can set me up for life with her clientele, so I mentally thank my dear late mother for keeping my virtue so well protected.
A quick knock at my door is all the warning I have before it is flung open and Madame Atout comes barreling in. Supposedly, she used to be the mistress to the Duke of York. It is hard to imagine such a thing, looking at her now, and since she will never provide any details about her time with him nor even speak of when she was supposedly his mistress, the rest of us whisper our theories that it is a lie she tells to make herself more important.
But there is no denying that men of wealth, power, and status come to her brothel, regardless of the truth of her qualifications.
“Bettina! Good. You are dressed.” Madame Atout rakes her critical gaze over me, taking in the pale white dress I’m wearing. The fabric is very thin and the neckline low-cut enough that my nipples threaten to burst free from the stays pushing my breasts up. “That will have to do. Take off that makeup though. I told you, no lip rouge, especially for this duke.”
“Duke?” My heart leaps in my chest. “A duke wants to meet me?”
“He has sent someone looking for a virgin,” Madame Atout corrects me. “His demands for his courtesans are rather… specific. No girl has lasted for more than one contract with him, but you’ll be very well taken care of during that time and the price you earn will more than pay for what you owe me and beyond.”
It would pay her well too, from the smug expression on her face.
I do not mind that though. Eventually, I will not need her.
A duke!
“Why did the other girls not last?” I ask as I turn to the washbasin and dampen a cloth so I can carefully wipe the makeup from my skin without rubbing myself red.
She hesitates.
“As I said, His Grace is very particular about what he wants from his courtesans. If you’re picturing parties or going to the theater or anything like that, you can let that fantasy go. He keeps his courtesans close to home.” There is something she is not telling me. Her demeanor is the same as when she is questioned about the Duke of York.
But it does not matter.
A duke!
I care very little for parties and outings. Madame Atout has done her best to school us in being charming and polite, but I find the entire process tedious. I would never pass for a lady, but I can at least make tolerable conversation and speak a few words of French. Most of speaking to gentlemen is asking about what they like, anyway. Let them ramble on and lend a listening ear. Or, at least, pretend to.
Being a mistress to a duke, even for a short time, will surely secure my future. If he prefers to stay at home, I can certainly do that.
“Good enough. I do not want to keep her waiting,” Madame Atout says, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the washbasin. I toss the cloth back at it, wondering at her demeanor. I have not been here very long, but I have never seen her rush like this.
Then again, I have never known a duke to call upon the brothel before.
“Her?” I ask as Madame pulls me into the hallway. She is not dragging me so much as the different in our heights makes it difficult for me to keep up when she is moving at such speed.
“His representative. He has a woman looking for him. It is not unusual for such gentlemen to send someone in their stead.”
I would have to take Madame’s word for that. Though I was unsure how to go about impressing a woman rather than a gentleman.
Madame trained us to beguile gentlemen, not ladies.
But I will do whatever I have to in order to land a duke as my first contract.
