Page 2 of Mayfair Madame (Mayfair Heights #1)

Chapter Two

Ellie

M ayfair. One of the most exclusive areas of London, inhabited predominantly by the rich and famous. It wasn’t often we got called out here and almost never to attend an assault.

More often, the elite kept themselves to themselves and took care of business on their terms, so it was unusual to receive the call.

“Fuck, this is some property,” my partner said as we pulled up outside. “Gotta be worth a few million at least.”

“Try about twenty-five million. Where do they find the money?” I peered through the windscreen at the impressive red-brick property.

Located on Mount Street, just off Park Lane, the mansion was close to Hyde Park and Grosvenor Park.

The designer stores of Knightsbridge were a stone’s throw away, but I’d hazard a guess that the occupants didn’t do their own shopping.

I couldn’t imagine ever living here. Not that I’d have the chance, mind.

“I’ve no idea, but I wouldn’t say no to living here. What have we got anyway?”

“An incident.” I got out of the car. “An assault was all we got. No idea what to expect.”

“I fucking hate it when that happens. And why isn’t this a job for uniform? Why send out two detectives to investigate?”

“Look around you, Josh. They won’t want a marked police car sitting outside. It’ll bring down the house prices. At least if it’s us, we’re plain clothed in an unmarked car.”

“I guess you’re right, but I still say it’s a job for uniform.”

We climbed the few steps to the front door and knocked. I shuffled my feet, nervous about what we’d find. I’d not been here long, having transferred from Chester a few months earlier.

“Let me do the talking,” Josh said. “I know these kinds of people better than you do. Kid gloves and all that.”

“Whatever you say.” I wasn’t happy about it, but he was the senior officer.

A small woman opened the door and gestured for us to enter.

“Lady Hartlebury is waiting upstairs for you. If you’d like to follow me.”

I looked over at Josh and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged, and we did as she asked, walking up two flights of stairs.

People milled about, and I wondered what had been going on.

“Why are there so many people here? Was there a party or something?” Josh asked.

“Yes, Lady Hartlebury was hosting an event for a few of her closest friends. I’m sure she’ll explain.”

I’d never seen a house like this in my life. It was huge. Everything was white: the walls, the carpets, the furniture. Not a hint of colour, other than a splash of gold here and there. Ornately plastered ceilings, large wooden doors and many, many paintings. Ancestors maybe?

The maid—I assumed—opened the door to a bedroom. Still white, but at least it held some colour. A teal armchair sat in one corner; matching cushions and a comforter lay on the bed. A fire roared in the hearth, heating the room.

An older lady sat on the bed, comforting a black woman curled in on herself.

“Officers.” She stood and offered her hand to us. “This is my friend Naomi. She was sexually assaulted earlier. I think one of you needs to take her statement. The other can come with me, and I’ll take you to the man who did it to her. I’ll warn you, though. He wishes to press charges against her.”

Okay, then. Sounded like a fun night had been had by all.

“Sharpe,” Josh said, “you stay here with the woman, and I’ll go find out what happened. Is there somewhere we can interview this man?”

“Of course. We felt it best to keep them apart, so he’s upstairs in the lounge. I’ll take you to him. Will you be okay, Naomi? I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Her friend nodded, and she left the room, followed by Josh.

“Is it okay if I call you Naomi?” I spoke quietly so as not to spook her further.

“Yes,” she croaked. I took the seat next to the bed.

“Can you tell me what happened?” She screwed her eyes closed and bit her lip. This couldn’t be easy, but I needed to know what had taken place.

She opened her eyes, large brown eyes full of tears.

“I swore I’d never let this happen again.” She pulled herself to sitting and leant against the padded headboard. The silk robe she wore slipped from her shoulder, revealing a torn gown.

“Did he do that?” I took out my notepad, poised and ready to write.

“Yes, cost a fucking fortune too.” She appeared more composed now, her jaw set.

“Let’s start at the beginning, and we’ll go from there. Was it your boyfriend who assaulted you? Husband?”

“Fuck, no. Sorry, I’m just so fucking cross. I never let anyone get to me, but he caught me off guard.”

“Go on.” I motioned for her to continue.

“I was here with Clement. Clement Winthrop. He introduced me to Lord Godfrey. He gave me the creeps right away. Staring and making comments about how when Clement was done with me, he’d be happy to take me off his hands.” She shuddered and pulled the robe closer around her.

The audacity of some men never ceased to amaze me. Just because she was beautiful, they thought it was all right to say what they wanted to, no matter how sexist it was.

“And who is Lord Godfrey?”

“I don’t know. A friend of Emmeline’s? I’ve never seen him before. He’s old. Easily late seventies. I can’t believe he got the better of me, but he was stronger than he looked.”

She explained what had happened. How she’d needed the toilet and how he’d burst through the door, tearing her dress and grabbing her. It was definitely a sexual assault, no doubt about that, but I felt there was something she wasn’t telling me.

“Anything else to add?”

She looked down at her hands, twisting the gold rings on her fingers. “There’s nothing else, but I want to press charges. He had no right.”

“I agree. No one has the right to attack you like that. Can you wait here while I go find my partner? I won’t be long.”

I needed to find out why the man wanted to press charges. I had no idea where he was, but it wasn’t difficult to find him. So much shouting.

“That fucking whore. I want her in jail with the key thrown away. Look what she did to me.”

A large man in a dinner suit sat on a white sofa, four bloody gouges on his face. So Naomi had told the truth about that at least.

A paramedic stood behind him, running his hands through the old man’s hair.

“Please keep still, sir. We need to check out this bump on your head.”

“Have you got a minute?” I motioned to Josh to follow me. He looked stressed. What on earth had happened?

“What have you got, Ellie? He’s got a strong case. She’d better have a good reason for doing what she did to him. He says she scratched him and hit him over the head with a bottle or something.”

“Seriously? He sexually assaulted her. Tore her dress, grabbed her breast. I believe it was self-defence, Josh.”

“Not according to him. Said she led him on and asked him to join her in the bathroom.”

“We both know that’s a crock of shit. Why would she want him? Have you seen him? What does the other guy say? Clement Winthrop. He was there with them before she left.”

“There’s no one around with that name. Who is he?”

“She said she was here with him. I’m assuming she was his date.”

“Assume nothing, Ellie. Something always comes along to fuck it up. We need to find this Clement Winthrop and find out what was said. Can you find Lady Hartlebury? Maybe she knows where he is.”

“What else did he say? I believe her over him, but I think she’s hiding something.”

“He keeps calling her a whore. Is she that, do you think? I’ll go see if he needs to go to the hospital. If not, I’ll get his address and send him home. Same for her. Is she injured?”

“No, just her pride, I think. She says he caught her off guard, and that’s how he got the drop on her. She might seem nervous now, but I sense a strong character underneath. I’ll go find Lady Hartlebury, and we can reconvene.”

“Sounds good.” Josh went back into the lounge, while I went back down the stairs. I found Lady Hartlebury in the bathroom.

“Is this where it happened?” A bottle lay on the floor, but there was nothing else out of place that I could see.

“Yes, poor Naomi. I should never have invited that pig of a man. This isn’t the first time he’s done this, but no one else will stand up to him or talk against him. He has the ear of the assistant commissioner, so I expect nothing Naomi says to be held against him. Especially in her line of work.”

“What line of work is that?” What did she know?

“Oh dear. I probably shouldn’t have said anything. You’ll have to ask her.”

“What of Clement Winthrop? What happened to him?”

“Ah, well, he was a bit of a coward and left, but I can give you his number. He’s something big in the City. Naomi would never lie. I’ve known her for a while. She’s usually such a strong-willed woman.”

“Is he her boyfriend?” There was something here. I knew it in my gut.

“You’ll have to ask her. I’ll not betray her confidence. If you’ll excuse me, I need to find some clothes for her. I said she could stay here, but she prefers to go home. My driver will take her, but her poor dress is ruined.”

As she left, I found my way back to the bedroom. Naomi was sitting up in bed, a cup in her hand.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like a fucking fool.”

She was incredibly beautiful, her skin dark and smooth. She had the biggest brown eyes I’d ever seen; the lids coated in gold. Long legs stretched out in front of her, elegant bare feet with red painted toenails.

“Your dress is really beautiful. Such a pity it got ruined.”

She put the cup on the bedside table and pulled the robe off her shoulder. The gown had fallen away, revealing a full breast, the areola dark and puckered, the nipple erect.

I swallowed hard and averted my eyes. I wasn’t embarrassed. The female form was a wonderful thing, one I was more than happy to explore, but it wasn’t right for me to stare.

“That fucker. Look at this bruise.”

She was holding her breast in her hand. “Does it hurt?” I looked closer at the four finger marks that marred her skin. He had indeed bruised her.

“I’ve had worse. Do they look terrible?” She stroked her skin, her nipples hardening more.

I closed my eyes and gulped. Why was this so difficult to do? Better me than Josh, but it still made me uncomfortable.

“The bruises don’t look terrible. They’ll be gone in a few days.” But the image of her perfect breast would stick in my mind for a long time.

Jesus, Ellie. You’re at work. Put these thoughts out of your head.

As if sensing my discomfort, she pulled the dress up and wrapped the robe around her. “What did he say? Is he still wanting to press charges?”

“I’m afraid so. He said you led him on, that you asked him to join you in the bathroom.”

“I swear to God. I hate men like him, always thinking they can do whatever the fuck they like to women. I’ll bet no one has ever stood up to him, and when they do, we’re the ones in the wrong.

If he wants to carry on this path, then I will too.

I’m not backing down. What did you say your name was again? ”

I wasn’t sure I’d told her. “I’m Detective Sergeant Sharpe.”

“No, what’s your first name? You’ve seen my left tit. It’s only right I know your name.”

“Oh, it’s Ellie. Ellie Sharpe.”

“Well, Ellie Sharpe, I’ll not rest until that fucker pays for what he did to me and, no doubt, countless other women. You can tell him that.”

“I will let my boss know.” I didn’t tell her Godfrey had friends in high places. She seemed so determined. “But you should go to the hospital and get checked out.”

Just then, Lady Hartlebury walked in, carrying some clothes.

“My darling Naomi, how are you feeling?” She leant down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“I’m feeling much better, Emmeline. I’m sorry you’ve had to endure this.”

“Don’t you dare apologise. This was all him. When we find Clement, he can corroborate what you said.”

“I should never have taken him on as a client. He was always weak.” She glanced across at me, her eyes wide as if realising her mistake.

“Why is he a client, Naomi?” Did this make her what I thought it did? Was she a prostitute?

“I can see your mind working overtime, Ellie. I run a legitimate online escort business. I don’t sell sex. I sell my time.”

“And Clement hired you to come here tonight.” This would not look good for her.

“Yes, but we did nothing wrong. It was a business transaction. I didn’t have sex with him. He’s a quiet, sensitive man and finds it hard to make conversation with women. With me, he doesn’t have to try. It suits him, and he can afford me.”

“And others can’t?”

“I’ve built a business. A successful one, and no one will take that away from me. Especially someone like Benjamin Godfrey. Are we done here?”

“Naomi, there’s no need to be like that. The detective needs to know everything. They would have found out, eventually. Best to let them know now. It wouldn’t look good to hide the truth.”

“Lady Hartlebury is right, but I’ll wait outside the door while you dress.

We’re going to need contact details from you, but once that’s done, you’re free to go.

I still think you should go to the hospital.

At least then we’d have a record of the bruises.

It’s important if you’re going to press charges.

Paramedics are here tending to Lord Godfrey. ”

Naomi pursed her lips and picked at a loose thread on the robe.

“Could you take the pictures? I don’t want to go to the hospital. They make me nervous.”

It wasn’t ideal, but I pulled out my mobile phone. “You’ll need to drop the gown again.”

My hands trembled, but after a few attempts, I got some decent pictures of the vivid bruises.

“I’m glad they sent a female officer,” Lady Hartlebury said. “I’d hate for men to ogle those pictures.”

“I will need to show my boss, and if the case goes to court, they will be used as evidence.”

“Are you sure, Naomi?” Lady Hartlebury asked.

Her expression went from resignation to determination, her jaw set.

“Let’s make the fucker pay.”