The hell had ladybirds aplenty. Caro was simply not one of them.
“I’ve had them all,” Derby said, shifting in his seat so that the tumescence in his trousers rubbed against her. “I want you now. I love that husky, sweet voice of yours. I want to hear it calling my name.”
She was going to be ill. Caro managed to land an elbow in the viscount’s ribs, and she knew a moment of satisfaction as the breath hissed from his lungs and he howled with pain. Sooner or later, someone would appear in the room and come to her aid. But she was not about to be mauled by this dunderhead in the meantime.
“Saucy bitch,” he cursed with a low grunt. “I’ll teach you to harm your betters.”
With that warning, he caught a handful of her blonde wig and tugged viciously.
The pins holding it in place tore at her hair with unmerciful vengeance, bringing tears to her eyes. “Release me, you despicable cur.”
“I’ll release you when I’m ready, Madame.” He tugged at her wig again, and this time pulled it free. He held it aloft. “What the devil?”
Caro felt strangely naked, as if she had been stripped bare before them.
The wig was part of her costume. When she wore it, she was not Caro but Madame Teulet. And now, this blighter had stripped even that dignity from her.
“Give me that, you scoundrel.” She had forgotten long ago that she was never to insult their patrons. The viscount was a vile creature, and she would call upon Jasper to forbid him from returning.
Caro reached for the wig but froze when a deep, familiar voice laden with menace rose behind them.
“If I were you, I would do as the lady says. I would also let her go, as she plainly has no wish to be accosted by a booby in his altitudes like you.”
She turned with a combination of relief and trepidation to find Gavin towering over them. He looked every bit as ferocious as the sting in his voice. When he was angry, he was almost frightening. She could see the warrior in him, fierce and determined.
A myriad of questions hit her startled mind. How had he found her? Did he not realize he wasn’t meant to be wandering about the public halls and rooms of the hell? What if someone recognized him?
His appearance must have shocked Derby as well, for the viscount released his hold on Caro enough that she could free herself. She shot to her feet and rushed to his side. He glanced down at her, his features as hard as if they had been hewn from granite.
“Did he hurt you?” he demanded.
“No,” she said, not wishing for further trouble.
Gavin looked as if he were about to commit murder.
“Who the hell are you?” Derby demanded, still seated, though red-faced now, a slight slur to his words that proved just how much drink he had consumed that evening.
“Damned if I know,” Gavin said grimly. “But what I do know is that a cove can’t go about accosting the ladies in this fine establishment. If you can’t follow the rules, you’re going to have to go.”
“Is that so?” the viscount asked, looking amused.
“Aye.” Gavin glared at him, flexing his fingers as if he longed to form a fist. “It is. Amuse yourself with ladies who are interested from this moment on. Though I bloody well doubt you’ll find any.”
With that parting shot, Gavin slid a comforting arm around Caro’s waist and led her from the room. When they had reached the safety of the private halls, he turned to her, frowning, his gaze searching and concerned. “Are you certain that bastard didn’t hurt you?”
She shivered, grateful that Gavin had arrived when he had, and thankful too that he had not punched the lord, though she had been certain his instinct had called for it. “I am certain. Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“Where is your cursed brother?” he demanded. “Where are any of them? Or the bloody guards for that matter? There should have been no need for a rescue, Caro.”
“All the same, I am glad you were there.” It was her turn to frown as she thought of the potential danger he had brought upon himself. Surely some of the gentlemen in The Sinner’s Palace tonight had watched the famed Gavin Winter in a prizefight. “But you should not have gone into the public rooms. You may have placed yourself in jeopardy by doing so.”
“And I would do it again in a moment if it meant keeping you out of the clutches of a bastard like that.” He shook his head, his fists clenched at his sides. “When I saw him touching you and how you struggled to escape him and heard what he was saying to his cronies…hell, Caro. I wanted to acquaint him with my fists. I was filled with rage and violence. I remember how it felt to pummel someone. To square off with an opponent. I knew if I would have hit him, I wouldn’t have stopped.”
His reaction made sense. He had been a prizefighter. Some parts of him remained, hiding. It was only a matter of time until all his memories returned to him, she had no doubt.
Fear curled around her heart, joining the ever-present guilt. This morning in the haven of the carriage, when she had been wrapped in his strength and he had been gazing at her with so much raw, unfettered love, she had allowed herself to believe there could be a future for the two of them. That she could become his wife as he had asked. But the truth remained, painful and dangerous, burning like a hot coal in the pit of her belly.
This situation was untenable. She was going to have to break her promise to Jasper. Gavin had already been seen in the public rooms of The Sinner’s Palace, potentially inviting great peril to himself. If word spread, keeping his presence a secret would no longer be necessary. Moreover, they owed him the truth.
