‘I’ll go up and check on her,’ Emmy promised as she removed her bonnet, then with a weary sigh, she began to climb the stairs.
Back at the club Abi was preening as Hugo gave her his full attention. Tonight, he had bought her a delicate silver bracelet and as he fastened it about her wrist he leant forward and kissed the skin on her smooth shoulder, making her breathless with delight.
She still hadn’t let him go any further than kissing her, though, and he was growing ever more impatient.
‘Why can’t we go to your room where we could get some privacy?’ He looked like a sad puppy as she gazed into his incredible blue eyes and Abi felt herself weakening. ‘We could take a nice cold bottle of champagne up there with us and talk to our hearts’ content,’ he went on persuasively, staring at her through the pall of smoke.
Abi was very aware of what went on when the other girls took gentlemen up to their rooms. As they’d told her, it was a much easier way to earn money than sitting drinking all night and she was sure that Hugo was far too much of a gentleman to try to take advantage of her. Even so, something still held her back.
‘Actually I was wondering how you’d feel about coming to meet my parents soon? As I’ve told you they have a rather nice town house in Mayfair and I’d love them to meet you.’
Abi knew that Hugo’s father was a very well-known politician and her heart began to thump with joy. If Hugo was prepared to take her to meet his parents then surely his intentions towards her must be honourable? Suddenly any remaining doubts slipped away and her eyes were sparkling as she nodded. ‘All right, we’ll go up to my room, but you must promise to be a gentleman,’ she said sweetly.
‘When am I ever anything but?’ Rising swiftly, he beckoned to the waitress to fetch them a bottle of champagne and once it was delivered, he grabbed it and two glasses and ushered her towards the girls’ living quarters before she had chance to change her mind. With a bit of luck, tonight might just be the night!
Once in the privacy of her room he took a seat as Abi poured him a glass of champagne and sat down beside him. ‘Aren’t you having one?’ he queried.
She giggled prettily. ‘I’m afraid I already had a glass of wine just before you arrived.’
‘Huh! Just one – that’s nothing,’ he said airily and pushing the glass she had just handed him to her, he hastily poured himself another one. ‘Go on, relax and enjoy yourself,’ he urged. ‘What does it matter if you get a little bit tipsy? There’s only me here to see you so let your hair down and enjoy yourself.’ He began to take out the pins that fastened her hair so that it fell about her slim shoulders in all its silky splendour, then he ran his fingers through it and leant in for a kiss.
It was a kiss like nothing Abi had ever experienced before and as his tongue gently forced her lips open and began to probe the inside of her mouth she felt her desire rising. Soon his hands strayed to her breasts and when she offered no resistance, he gently lifted them from her low-cut gown and began to kiss her nipples. They instantly hardened and swelled as she gasped with pleasure.
Determined not to miss the moment, Hugo gently guided her to the bed, then kneeling in front of her, he began to caress her ankle, slowly stroking his way up her leg.
‘Please let me look at you, you’re so beautiful,’ he gasped.
Panting, Abi had fallen back on the pillows while his hands awakened sensations inside her that she’d never felt before. She knew what she was doing went against everything her mother had ever taught her, but she didn’t seem able to stop the feelings that were throbbing through her, so when he gently sat her up and began to fumble with the row of tiny buttons at the back of her gown, she offered no resistance.
Soon it lay in a silken pool on the floor to be joined by her petticoats and undergarments until finally, she lay before him as naked as the day she had been born. The bulge in his trousers showed her the effect she was having on him, but instead of feeling embarrassed and ashamed, she wanted him to own her. If he was aiming to introduce her to his parents, he was clearly planning on marrying her so why wait? she asked herself.
Soon his clothes had joined hers and as he stood before her she revelled in the sight of his young muscular body. He was so handsome that he took her breath away and as he gently nudged her back on to the bed she wrapped her arms about his neck, enjoying the feel of his strong chest against her breasts. Slowly, very slowly, he began to kiss every inch of her until she felt she was on fire, then finally he parted her legs.
As he entered her, she gasped with pain. But it was short-lived and soon their bodies found their rhythm and she moved with him as if it was the most natural thing in the world until her pleasure built to a climax.
When it was over, she lay with her head on his chest trying to ignore the blood on the sheet. It was a reminder of what she had just lost, but at that moment she had no regrets. He was hers for all time now, she was sure of it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
July
‘Do you think I should ask the doctor to come?’ Aggie asked worriedly one morning early in July.
‘Yes, if you would please, Aggie.’ Emmy had been up twice during the night to check on her aunt, who now seemed to be running a temperature. In fact, she had slept badly since discovering that her sister lived and worked in what she considered to be a seedy environment. She pushed her untouched breakfast away. She had no appetite today.
‘I’ll go straightaway,’ Aggie volunteered. ‘An’ hopefully I’ll catch Dr Logan afore he starts ’is rounds.’ She went to fetch her bonnet while Emmy went back upstairs to check on her aunt again.
‘How are you feeling now, Aunt?’ she said cheerfully as she went to open the curtains. ‘Do you feel like a bit of breakfast yet?’
‘No, I don’tand I wish you’d stop fussing, girl,’ Imogen snapped, blinking in the sunshine that poured into the room as she struggled to sit up. Although it was only early, the heat was beginning to build already and it looked set to be another uncomfortably hot day.
‘Do you feel like getting up for a while?’ Emmy asked, apprehensive about telling her aunt that she had sent for the doctor because she knew that she would be cross with her. But there was no point in delaying, so without waiting for her to reply she rushed on, ‘I sent Aggie to ask Dr Logan to look in on you.’
‘What did you have to do that for?’ Imogen was furious. ‘Do you think I’m some invalid who can’t tell you when I need a doctor?’
‘No, I don’t,’ Emmy replied calmly as she helped her aunt get comfortable on her pillows. ‘But why suffer when there’s probably something he can prescribe to make you feel better? And don’t say there’s nothing wrong because I know that’s a lie. You wince every time you so much as move.’
‘I’ve told you before, this disease I have is only going to get worse and there’s nothing we can do about it,’ Imogen said irritably.
