Numbness took over, allowing Ethan to nod. He had to see this through. That was the one advantage of being broken: he was used to picking up the bloody pieces.
From the bawdy scene around her, Xenia saw that the Abbess’s latest venture catered to a different class of clientele. Whereas previous incarnations of the masquerade had been built on the precept of exclusivity, this version brokered its success on cheap mass appeal. The patrons appeared to be men who worked by the docks. The entry fee was low, and the entertainment was conducted in a series of crowded public rooms for all to see.
Xenia didn’t recognize many of the prostitutes, including the two performing fellatio on the sailor sprawled on a tattered sofa. Nor the one who was dancing naked on a table while a circle of men showered her with coins. Xenia’s search for the Abbess took her into the next room, where a row of women knelt on all fours, saucily wriggling their bare rumps as patrons lined up to take their turn.
Feeling queasy, Xenia wondered if coming was a mistake. Yet for the first time, she had decided that she would not run—that she had something worth staying for.Someoneworth fighting for. She would do everything in her power to be worthy of Ethan, and that began with confronting her past. For him, she would face her demons. She would face anything.
“There you are.”
The Abbess approached. Beneath her mask, her mouth was curved in a gloating smile.
“You’re late, dove,” she admonished, as if Xenia were a naughty child. “I’ve customers waiting for the inimitable Sister Sirena, and we cannot keep them waiting, can we?”
“I no longer work for you,” Xenia said boldly.
“We’ll see about that.”
The bawd’s razor-sharp smile released a trickle of dread in Xenia.
“Come.” The Abbess crooked a finger. “We shall discuss the terms upstairs.”
Curling her fists, Xenia followed.
The Abbess led her upstairs to a corner room. Xenia saw that it had been set up to resemble a confessional, with a curtain dividing the chamber in two. Through the gauzy fabric, she spotted Sister Sirena’s costume laid out on a battered sofa.
The Abbess closed the door. “Now, dove, we have business to discuss, don’t we?”
“I will not play Sister Sirena tonight or any other,” Xenia said fiercely. “I returned your ten pounds. There are no ties between us, and I owe you nothing.”
“Now that you’re a housekeeper for a fine lord, you think you are too good for this work?”
“My reasons are my own.” Xenia met the madame’s eyes squarely. “Your attempt to blackmail me will not change my decision.”
“Are you certain, dove? You came tonight, after all.”
“I came for one purpose: to tell you face-to-face that I will not be extorted.”
“But I know who you are, Mary Smith. Or is it Jane Wood? Oh, that’s right—it’sBernice Wardell.”
It was strange how foreign the name she’d been born with sounded. Yet she drew strength from the fact that determination and hard work had put distance between who she’d been and who she was now: a woman who’d carved her own path. From the day she’d chosen to be Xenia Loveday, she’d made the decision to leave her old self behind. While some might sneer at how she’d gotten by, she was proud of doing honest work, from selling fantasies to managing a manor. Proud that she now had a lover who saw and brought out the best in her. Proud that she’d made friends and found a place where she belonged.
“Bernice Wardell ceased to exist years ago.” She lifted her chin. “I left that despicable life behind me.”
“You may have flown the coop, but others are still looking for you, dove. My sources tell me that authorities from London to Manchester remain on the lookout for Lady Jo and her gang, which includes her daughter Bernice.” Malice gleamed in the bawd’s eyes. “It’s said Bernice has a singular ability to mimic accents, which she used to con more than a few people during her time. She’s said to be a mistress o’ disguises, and she takes after her mama with her bright-red hair and features as fine as any lady’s. Her brown eyes are said to be her most valuable asset, for their guileless appearance allows her to manipulate and beguile.”
Although Xenia’s heart was pounding, she refused to be cowed. “What do you want?”
“The world is my oyster, ain’t it?” The Abbess’s mask didn’t hide her smugness. “To begin, you will continue in my employ. Working for free, of course, in exchange for my silence.”
“I’m done working for you,” Xenia said through gritted teeth. “Go ahead and tell the constables. I’ll tell them the truth: that my mother forced me into a life of crime from the time I was a child. That every time I tried to escape, she dragged me back and beat me until I couldn’t walk. That she starved me, kept me chained like a dog.” She balled her hands. “I’ll tell them that she took away everyone I loved, but she still couldn’t bend me to her will. The only way I’ll go back to her and her stupid gang is in abloody box.”
“Now, there’s no need for theatrics.” The Abbess’s tone turned cajoling. “You know I’m not a fan o’ constables and other hypocrites who get in the way o’ a person’s God-given right to make a living. Besides, there ain’t no advantage in giving you to them…their reward is a pittance compared to the blunt your clever tongue brings in. I need you, dove. Without Sister Sirena, I won’t recover from these weeks o’ lost income. Only you can lure back the toffs. If you don’t help me, I’ll be stuck selling three-penny uprights for the rest o’ my life.”
Xenia cut through the woman’s self-pitying drivel. “If not the authorities, then who will you tell if I refuse to work for you?”
“The bloke you’ve fallen head over heels for,” the Abbess said with equal bluntness. “Rumor has it the two o’ you have gotten close. While he might be willing to overlook the fact that you’re a servant, how would your master feel if he knew you worked in brothels? If he discovered that you’d brought off hundreds o’ men with your talented tongue? And what if he knew that you weren’t only a girl with a wicked imagination, but one who’d done unimaginable things? One who is the daughter of the infamous lady cutthroat Joanna Wardell? One who has committed robbery, assault, and even murder?”
Despite her churning fear, Xenia set her shoulders back. “I have never done any of those things,” she stated. “But go ahead. Tell him.”
