Page 44 of A Cinderella to Redeem the Earl

As they walked along the corridor together, he deliberately matched his steps to hers so that she neither felt hurried nor as if he was dawdling for her sake.

In his study, the dog lay on a carpet in front of the fire. The animal opened one eye, thumped its tail in a very desultory manner as a way of greeting them and went back to sleep.

‘He really is making himself comfortable,’ she said.

Dart groaned. ‘He has no shame.’

She laughed.

Her laughter made something inside him feel lighter. He liked it when she laughed.

Damian picked up the ring of keys from the table and a candlestick.

The dog raised its head.

‘Stay,’ Damien said.

The dog lowered its head with a sigh.

Damian escorted her up the main staircase.

Pamela’s heart was beating a little too fast as they climbed the stairs, not the servants’ stairs she had crept up the first time she had visited this floor, but the main staircase. It wasn’t the climb making her breathless. She was about to discover the secrets of this house and she was both excited and worried.

Damian hesitated upon entering the corridor then, rather than choosing the first door they came to, he put a key in the lock of the second one.

She peered into the darkness. Damian plucked a candle from the wall lamp and used it to light several torchières in the corners of what proved to be a room clearly meant for bathing. A large square tub sat on a dais in the middle of the room, with a canopy of heavy red fabric which puddled on the floor at each of its four corners. Towels and bottles of perfumes and oils covered a table against the wall. There were cushions on the floor and an assortment of silk dressing gowns hanging on a stand in the corner.

She looked around in astonishment. ‘You said these were withdrawing rooms, but I did not expect them to contain baths.’

He smiled gently. ‘I believe I said that this is where my guests came when they needed a little privacy.’

‘Couples come here to bathe together?’

He shrugged. ‘Among other things.’

‘Oh.’ It dawned on her what these other things might be. ‘In the bath? How—?’ She covered her mouth with her hand before she said anything she would regret.

He clearly was trying not to laugh. ‘It is challenging, but most enjoyable.’

‘This is the sort of thing they do in a bawdy house. You said—’

‘No. The ladies and gentlemen arrive together. Some are wives. Some are lovers. I do not question them. Whatever arrangements they make, financial or otherwise, are nothing to do with me. They simply pay for the use of the key. That ensures only one couple is in here at a time.’

‘Are all the rooms like this one?’

‘They all have different...themes.’

‘Themes?’

He huffed out a breath. ‘The themes are based around fantasies. There are some common ones and some not so common. I simply provide the venue.’

Themes? She tried to imagine what those might be.

Damian must have taken her silence as disapproval because he gave her a hard look. ‘This is a way for people to indulge in their fantasies, to play sensual games, without the fear of embarrassing others in their lives, such as servants and other family members.’

Sensual games? She had never heard of such a thing. ‘But surely there are other...places they can go for this sort of thing?’ She swallowed. Was she really having this sort of discussion with a man and her employer?

‘It is certainly possible to satisfy certain desires at a house of ill repute. Have you ever been to one?’