“Ihavesecured a table at the grotto if you’d like to get some refreshments.” Their escort pointed to the far end of the large space, his eyes widening when he saw a beautiful woman in a bright yellow dress walk through a set of curtains. “That’s Seynabou,” he whispered to Luz, who instantly perked up.
She winced internally, aware she’d be breaking her promise to Manuela only seconds after she’d made it, but she could not miss the chance to talk to the proprietor of Le Bureau. This place was teeming with the upper crust of...everywhere, really. She must at least hand her card to the woman.
“I’m sorry. I promise this is the last time.” She shot a regretful look at Manu, who threw her hands up in defeat.
“Go.” Her friend shooed her in the direction where Seynabou had disappeared.
“I’ll wait here,” offered Aurora, a little too eagerly. Probably desperate to avoid anything involving witnessing people in sexual congress.
“I don’t advise that we split up,” Antonio warned. “Maybe you and Aurora can go together while Manu and I...” He trailed off as Manuela rubbed her hands and squealed.
“Excellent. Debauchery in pairs is the best kind of debauchery,” Luz quipped as she pulled Aurora along. After securing a fortifying glass of champagne for her friend, they made their way to the set of curtains through which a dozen patrons had already disappeared.
“Are you sure this is all right?” Aurora asked, gripping Luz’s hand so tightly she was certain she heard something crack.
“We’ll be perfectly fine, Aurora,” Luz assured her friend as they made their way briskly across the room. “We’ll only stay until I am able to approach Madame Cisse-Kelly,” she said, reminding Aurora that this was not merely a frivolity. If there was anything one could always appeal to, it was Aurora’s doggedness. Persistence was a language her friend was quite proficient in.
“There.” Luz pointed at two chairs near the back of the room. “Let’s sit.” There was a pair of unoccupied seats behind them, and they’d have a better view of the small salon. “I’ll keep an eye out for her, and as soon as I see an opportunity I’ll go introduce myself.”
They got settled into their plush chairs while Luz let her eyes roam around the room, but Seynabou was not in any of the four rows of seats arranged in a semi-circle in front of the stage. It would be hard to miss the woman with that bright yellow dress. Luz was so distracted by the surroundings she missed the sounds of distress coming from Aurora. When she finally turned to her friend she found her frantically waving a hand toward the rounded stage.
“Oh dear,” she whispered calmly, not wanting to add to her friend’s escalating horror. She tried to surmise exactly what she was seeing. A peculiar piece of furniture that looked to Luz like one of Aurora’s surgeon chairs being wheeled out onto the stage. But she doubted they were about to witness a medical procedure.
“I think this is one of the live performances,” Aurora whimpered. She was a bit wild-eyed, which for her was tantamount to fully fledged panic.
“Perhaps,” Luz demurred, hoping her nerves would not get the best of her. For all that she pretended to be cavalier about all this, she’d never even seen a man fully in the nude. She’d seen workers in the fields back home take off their shirts when the heat became too much, yes, but this was in a very different context. And now she was about to watch one making love to a woman right in front of her.
She was about to suggest they escape when the lights in the room lowered, and Seynabou herself walked out on stage.
“Should we leave?” Aurora’s voice was so tight Luz was surprised she could get a word out at all. Walking out on a person you are trying to ingratiate yourself with the moment she took the stage was not the best way to make a first impression.
“I don’t want to cause a commotion,” Luz hedged, as calmly as she could manage under the circumstances. “Let’s wait until she’s done speaking, then we can go.” Aurora made a sound of pained agreement.
Seynabou was striking. Her skin was almost the same shade as Luz’s, but her hair was a fiery russet. She had it down, which was provocative in itself, and it fell in waves against the sunflower-yellow fabric of her dress. Luz’s French was quite rusty, and she had to listen closely in order to catch the meaning of what the woman was saying. She was so focused on her task she didn’t notice the newcomer who sat in the chair behind her.
“Mademoiselle Caña Brava. Imagine finding you here.”
Five
“Shouldn’t you have a chaperone?” Evan asked with a casual air, as his eyes painstakingly traced the line that went from the nape of her neck to the curve of her shoulder.
“Maybe, but I don’t. What about it?” He had to fight to keep a straight face when she turned around, those brown eyes full of venom.
“Just wondering what a respectable young woman would be doing in the audience of such compromising entertainment.” He goaded her, already fully off task and not particularly concerned about it. If one was contemplating an arranged marriage to destroy a duke, it ought to involve some amusement.
“I’m here for the same reason everyone else is.” Luz Alana harrumphed, making a show of smoothing her skirts before continuing. “What areyouhere for? Lessons?”
Evan barked out a surprised laugh that got him shushed by a patron on the right side of the theater. He’d been so focused on the beauty in front of him he hadn’t noticed the woman in a very minimal amount of silk who’d walked onto the stage followed by a man in shirtsleeves and breeches. The male performer sank into the chair and positioned himself so he was leaning back with his thighs spread.
“Looks like Bertie let them use his Love Chair. I’ve not seen it before, but the rumor is he uses it to pleasure two women at once.” Evan forced his voice to sound as if he was commenting on the wallpaper.
Luz’s companion let out a tortured whimper at his observation.
“Just ignore him, Aurora. He’s inventing all this to torture me. Why in the world would anyone call themselvesBertie?”
“Bertie is His Royal Highness Prince Edward.” He was rewarded with a growl for his efforts. “He’s a regular patron here at Le Bureau. Ah, no more talking. Seems like they’re about to get started.”
Luz Alana hissed at him, and Evan had to bite the inside of his cheek as he turned his attention to the stage. The woman performer was now straddling her companion’s thighs. He, in turn, was busy lowering the top part of her garment, giving the audience a better view and himself better access to her breasts.
