Lady Johanna walked beside Matthew, utterly silent, and appeared rather dazed.He could not blame her.This was hardly the kind of arena he would have expected to findhimselfin, much less a young lady of Society.
He had not planned to come here at all this evening.
But he and Christian, the Duke of Montagu, had been following Drake.The Duke of Ormonde had been skulking around recently, keeping his activities from his friends, and they’d seen a chance to find out what he was up to.Their group of friends were all dukes who had bonded when their fathers had died in a gunpowder explosion and the subsequent fire in the hunting lodge where they’d been staying.
At first deemed an accident, and still publicly thought to be one, they’d discovered it was no innocent mishap that had left eight dukes dead.
They’d come together, united by their grief (those who felt it) and the unexpected inheritances being thrust upon them.Matthew was one of those who did not grieve his father overly much, but he did want to know who had murdered the man.Especially to give his friends the peace and justice they desired.
Which was why he and Christian had been drawn to follow Drake and investigate his secret activities.Matthew did not believe Drake had anything to do with their fathers’ deaths—Drake and his father had been quite close—but he was up to something.
A bawdy house such as this was hardly where Matthew had expected to find him, even if Drake was sowing his wild oats before his marriage.
Was Drake investigating the murders on his own?Had he found something that he did not want to share?Or was he truly going off the deep end in anticipation of his upcoming marriage to Lady Astrid?He claimed he was enjoying his last Season as a bachelor, but there were far more enjoyable brothels and houses of ill repute that would cater to a duke than this dismal place.
Matthew glanced over his shoulder to see if he could spot either of his friends before he disappeared behind the stage, but neither was in the room.
“Ah, Mr.Blash, you heard of our good fortune?”the auctioneer said, drawing Matthew’s attention back to the matter at hand.There was another man waiting behind the stage, one who looked at Matthew, then paled.He might recognize Matthew as the Duke of St.Albans, but even if he did not know Matthew’s exact title, he obviously recognized Matthew’s standing.
From the other man’s attire, Matthew guessed Mr.Blash was well-to-do gentry, connected, but a working man.A similar kind of assessment would tell Mr.Blash quite a bit about Matthew, just as it had the auctioneer.Not to mention the princely sum that he’d offered for Johanna.
But they did not know that he was not just purchasing her virginity; he was saving his bride.
He rubbed the pocket where his lucky coin was kept, the one he used to make all of his decisions.Including the decision to bid on Johanna.When he’d flipped it, he’d meant to ask if he should save her, but the question that had popped into his head was whether or not he should marry her.And the coin had indicated yes.
So, here he was, purchasing his soon-to-be bride’s virginity.
The main goal was to remove her from this situation as quickly as possible, hopefully without anyone realizing who either of them were.She was highly recognizable, with her extremely pale hair and wide violet eyes, but the majority of the audience had been drinking heavily.Very few were of thehautton, if any.And once she was cleaned up and properly attired, most would never guess she was the same young woman who had appeared on a bawdy house’s auction stage.
They would assume it was just another young lady with similar coloring.
Because what duke would purchase his bride from a virgin auction?
Matthew barely managed to keep from smiling at the thought; his friends would all believe it.This was exactly the kind of situation his luck would put him in, but he always came out hale, hearty, and better off than he’d been before.Which would be true now.
His hunt for a bride was finally over.
He just had to pay for her, then make their escape.Surely, she’d be so grateful, she’d throw herself at the opportunity to marry him.
ChapterTwo
Johanna
With her hand on the Duke of St.Albans’ arm, Johanna felt as if she was in a dream.She must have fainted before walking out onto the stage, and at any moment, she would awake to find that she still must go on.
But the dream did not end as St.Albans gave Mr.O’Connell a princely sum of money—an amount that could have been a respectable dowry.She only managed to stir when she realized that Mr.Blash had disappeared.She frowned, but she supposed he did not need to be there for this part.Mr.O’Connell could pass on his share later.
It was not until Mr.O’Connell turned away from her that she stirred.
“Half of that is mine,” she said, starting out faint but her voice growing stronger as she spoke.“I need it for my family.”
“Half of it is Blash’s,” Mr.O’Connell said without looking up.“What he shares with you is none of my business.”
“But—”
“Do not worry,” St.Albans said soothingly.“Whatever you need, I will provide.”
“But—” she tried to protest again, but the duke was already steering her out of Mr.O’Connell’s office.Despite several days’ worth of regular meals, she did not have the strength to pull away from him or to turn them around.
