“Good evening, gentlemen, what brings you to our little tavern?” she said with charm, though from the way she held herself, she was clearly very aware of exactly what charms she had and had arranged her dress to compliment those assets.
“Good company, of course,” Dearg smiled and stood to his feet, moving to the woman’s side and wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Well, I assure you, I can be excellent company,” then her eyes slipped from Dearg’s face and fell on Billie’s. “Speaking of which…” she disentangled herself from Dearg’s arm and made a beeline for Billie.
Erskine’s gaze flicked to the boy, seeing the surprise on his face as the courtesan placed herself abruptly on his lap.
“Fancy some company tonight?”
“Me!?” Billie’s voice grew higher pitched with shock.
Erskine hid his laugh behind the tankard in his grasp, though he saw none of the others sought to do the same. Dearg laughed heartily. Camden and Aiden started elbowing each other, sniggering.
“You seem young,” the woman placed an arm around the boy’s shoulders, leaning into him. She dragged her other hand across his cheek, admiring his face. “Fine features for a boy you have.”
“This is a jest, yes?” Billie’s eyes grew wider.
“No jest,” she disagreed, shaking her head.
“Well, Billie, it is turnin’ into an eventful night for ye,” Dearg laughed, gesturing to him across the table. To Erskine’s mind, Billie did not look so pleased by this thought.
“Would I be your first?” The woman persisted. Erskine tossed a dark glare as the others laughed again. Billie now tried to push the woman off his lap, but it had little effect. The woman held on tightly to his shoulders. “Give me a chance. I am sure I could make you happy; let me tell you justhowI could make you happy…” she dropped her voice to a whisper and said something in Billie’s ear. Those blue eyes now widened even further than Erskine had thought possible.
Billie unceremoniously stood to his feet, knocking the woman to the floor. This time, even Erskine could not hold his laughter in.
“Ow!”
“No, thank you,” Billie waved his hand at the woman. “Leave me alone.” He returned to the chair and went to cross his legs. Everyone else was laughing so much at the woman’s reddening face, but Erskine watched as Billie seemed to change his mind about crossing his legs. He widened his stance on the chair instead and leaned over the table, clutching the tankard with both hands and throwing wary stares at the courtesan as she walked away, more than a little deflated.
“Well, I am glad to see ye can defend yerself a little,” Erskine said as he leaned on the table, talking so that only Billie could hear him. Around them, Camden and Aiden were now re-enacting the scenario, making it even more dramatic and comical than the interlude had been, much to Tam’s and Dearg’s entertainment.
“I cannot believe what she said!” Billie’s voice pitched high again, then he cleared his throat before lowering the tone once more. “She said…” He trailed off, unable to repeat it.
“Ha! Ye are still young,” Erskine shrugged. “Ye are nae yet a man of the world.”
“Thatis certainly true.”
The strange way Billie had emphasized his words made Erskine quirk his eyebrows in curiosity.
* * *
Laura could not quite believe what was happening. It was so strange to sit with four such men who seemed to talk of visiting a courtesan so openly, but to actually have one such courtesan sit on her lap… it was unthinkable! The things the woman had whispered made Laura blush. She rearranged the cap on her head, trying to hide her blushing cheeks.
Do men really like such things as she suggested!?
Her gaze flicked between the men around her. She knew little of the intimacies between men and women, only the smallest amounts of information, and of course, the strange rumors she had heard of Earl Moore’s preferences in the bedchamber. What the courtesan had said was making Laura think of things she had never considered before, then her eyes flicked to Erskine, the handsome Scot, who was currently staring at her with a frown, watching her too closely for comfort.
She had to talk of something else, or she feared she would never stop blushing again.
“Why are you in London?” she asked Erskine whilst the others were busy with their laughter. Erskine threw a wary glance at his brother, but evidently seeing Dearg was distracted, he leaned a little closer to Laura. She tried to ignore how close they were, but it was impossible not to notice.
“Me brother and I are sons of Laird MacCullum,” to his words, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “We came to London to discuss business matters for our faither and the clan with parliament. Tomorrow, we are to return home.”
“You are to go back to Scotland? Whereabouts is your clan?” She felt an idea take hold in her mind. As reluctant as she was to admit it, she had not been safe in the streets of London that night. Travelling alone all the way to Inverness had its risks attached to it.
“Ye are headin’ to the area,” Erskine said as he drank the last of the ale in his tankard. “Inverness is in our clan.”
Her blue eyes flicked between Erskine and the others that were now coming to the end of their re-enactment and their laughter. The thought of having to put up with such bawdy company for a little while was strange but being able to stay close to the handsome Erskine, protected from any thieves on the journey, certainly held its allure.
