Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy) (39 page)

That afternoon, the servants brought a tub of water so she could take a bath. It was the first bath she’d been given since her first day here. She wished she could bathe in solitude rather than in front of Bernard, but she wasn’t given any choice.

Madame came into the room. “Get in the tub and scrub herself with this special sponge, and make sure you wash your hair. You’ll be making your debut tonight, and we want you to look your best. After all, some of the most influential men in England will be here. This auction has been talked about in all the clubs, and the betting books are full of wagers wondering who will win the pleasure of being with my new star. Now, hurry up. When you’re through with your bath, I’ll be fixing your face.”

The soap was heavily perfumed, and it almost made Helen ill, the scent was so strong. Once she was through with her bath, she was given a silk robe to put on and told to go sit at the dressing table. Madame put kohl around her eyes, rice powder on her face, and rouge on her cheeks along with red salve on her lips. Madame told her to take off her robe so she could rouge her nipples.

Helen was mortified when Madame touched her breasts. Looking at Helen’s belly, Madame reached down and patted her stomach. “Ah, yes, you have very fine skin. Your belly is back to normal size, just slightly rounded, but firm, and you have very few stretch marks. Very good. You will definitely be enriching my coffers this night!”

Helen shuddered, just thinking about what was going to happen tonight.

Oh Lord, please let Henry and Matthew save me from this ordeal.

When Helen saw her reflection, she thought she looked horrible and hoped Henry would be able to recognize her when he came to get her tonight. She refused to contemplate any other outcome.

The dress she was given to wear had such a low décolleté that her areolas were showing. It was a deep, ruby red taffeta with flounces around the hem, which clashed horribly with her hair. It was poorly made. The dress was obviously designed to entice men, since it clung to all her curves, and the bodice was just lace with transparent silk lining it.

Once she was dressed, Madame handed her a glass of red wine and told her to drink all of it. Helen knew that it probably had something in it, but she realized that if she didn’t drink it voluntarily, she would be forced to. Just as soon as she finished the wine, Helen grew very hot. Her nether region began to throb, and her nipples grew taut. She wondered what could have possibly been in that wine for it to make her react like this.

Madame smiled knowingly at Helen. “Ah…I can see you’re very sensitive to the aphrodisiac that was in your wine. By the time the auction is over, you’ll be so sexually aroused you’ll respond passionately to whoever wins the wager.”

Helen flinched when she heard this.

Oh God, please let Henry be there to save her!

“Bernard will bring you downstairs when it’s time for the auction,” Madame continued, “I don’t want anyone seeing you ahead of time. I’ve worked very hard on building the anticipation in these men, and if anyone gets a peak at you before the auction, it could keep me from making a lot of money. You should be pleased that I have chosen to auction you off instead of just giving you to just anyone. Your first time will be with a peer of the realm, and that will be to your advantage. Who knows, you may even attract a protector who will be willing to pay a great deal of money to have exclusive rights to your person.”

When Madame turned to leave the room, she said to Bernard, “I haven’t forgotten what I promised you. Once the gentleman that wins her is through,
you
will get your turn.”

Hearing Madame tell Bernard this caused nausea to roll in her belly. The thought of what Bernard had said he would do to her terrified her.

Helen was appalled at how she was reacting to the drug she’d been given. She’d never felt desire so keenly before, and it worried her. The last thing she wanted was to be sexually aroused while some strange man was raping her.

Oh God, please let Henry and Matthew be there tonight.

Matthew could have found out that she’d been taken to London.

Oh, she hoped Matthew was in town.

Sanderford House

The evening of the auction

Matthew was getting ready for the evening. The auction was supposed to start at midnight, and they wanted to be there well before that time. He was still having trouble with not being the one to bid for Helen. Even though he knew Sanderford was right, it still bothered him terribly that he wouldn’t be able to save Helen himself. He just prayed that Helen was all right, and that they got her back tonight unharmed. Once he was ready, he went downstairs to join the others.

Sanderford and Peter were already downstairs in the drawing room with. They went in to dinner, but Matthew was entirely too nervous to even think about eating. He did drink several glasses of wine to try to calm his nerves. When dinner was over, it was still too early to leave, so they went and joined the ladies instead of lingering over port and cigars. Mary went to the pianoforte and began to play. It helped to sooth his nerves even better than the wine had. Finally, it was ten o’clock, and they could leave to go to the brothel.

Matthew had a hard time staying still on the carriage ride over. He felt as if his skin was crawling, he was so anxious about how this would all play out tonight. Just the thought of having Helen in his arms again was exciting him terribly. He tried to contain the feeling, but it was very difficult because he loved her so much. He felt the carriage begin to slow down. So, at last, they had arrived.

The man at the door let them in, and they walked into the main room. There were scantily dressed woman everywhere, but Matthew paid no attention to them, and neither did Sanderford. Weston, Hayden, and Harrington had already arrived and had found them seats up front near the platform that had been set up for the auction.

Weston leaned forward and lowered his voice. “From what I can gather, there will be four women auctioned off tonight, but the main attraction will be last, and that’s probably your sister. I’ve talked to several gentlemen here, and all of them are planning on bidding and winning the prize. No one is allowed to see any of the women until they’re on the platform, so it will probably be closer to one o’clock before she’s brought out. I hope you brought plenty of money with you. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

While they sat there, several of the women approached and offered themselves to them. Weston and Harrington acted interested and even allowed two of them to sit on their lap so they would be less conspicuous. At midnight, the first woman was brought out. She was very young, probably around sixteen, but she was very beautiful. She had long, pale blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was very slender and small. There was a childlike quality about her, and it turned Matthew’s stomach to think of her being used in this way. He wondered if she were here voluntarily or if she was being forced.

The young girl went to the couch in the center of the platform and stretched out on it. It was obvious that she was under the influence of a powerful aphrodisiac because she was writhing and rubbing her breasts as she looked out at all the men. Matthew noticed several of the men rubbing their cocks in excitement. He realized that before Helen, he would have been acting the same way, and he felt ashamed.

Madame came out onto the platform and smiled. “Thank you for coming to my auction tonight. You will have an opportunity to bid on four of my new shining stars. I know you’ll find all of them to be delightfully sensual and arousing. Allow me to introduce my first star in my gallery tonight. Gentlemen, this is Simone. She comes from the north of England and has been trained in all the arts of pleasuring a gentleman. As you can see, she is very passionate, and is just waiting for one of you fine gentlemen to give her what she needs. The bidding will start at one hundred pounds. Who will open the bidding?”

Several of the men started bidding and soon the top bidder, Viscount Wellford, won his prize for five hundred pounds. After paying Madame, he led the girl off the platform and took her upstairs.

Then the second girl came out and walked to the platform. “This is Melissa from Kent. She will delight you in ways that are beyond your wildest imagination. The bidding will start at two hundred pounds.”

The second young girl was also very pretty with curly black hair and chocolate brown eyes. She was slightly plump with voluptuous breasts, a well-rounded derriere, and a tiny waist. Soon the bidding went up to seven hundred pounds. A merchant named Harford won the auction. He paid Madame, and Melissa led him upstairs.

By this time, Matthew was getting impatient for the one they thought would be Helen, but they still had one more to go until it would be Helen’s turn. The third woman came out. This one was a little older than the first two. She looked to be in her early twenties and had long, light brown hair and pale green eyes. She was quite tall, had curvaceous hips, and was well endowed.

Again, Madame opened the bidding at two hundred pounds, and there were quite a few men bidding for the pleasure of her company. The bidding for her went up to nine hundred pounds, and the winner, the Earl of Graceland, paid Madame and led his prize off the platform and up the stairs. Finally, it was Helen’s turn.

Madame stepped up onto the platform. “Our last star of the night will dazzle all of you beyond what you could ever imagine, so be ready to open your pocketbooks. The bidding for this rare gem will start at five hundred pounds. May I present Helena from Devonshire. She has just arrived from the country, and while she isn’t a virgin, she’s still very innocent. She’s only been with one man, but she’s more than ready to have one of you fine gentlemen train her for your pleasure.”

When the last woman walked out onto the platform, Matthew’s heart stopped.

It was indeed Helen.

She had obviously been given a powerful aphrodisiac, because her brilliant blue eyes were glazed over, and she went to the couch and started rubbing herself as she sat there. His Helen would never do such a thing.

A man in the back of the room opened the bid at five hundred pounds. Henry upped the bid to six hundred, then another man bid seven. Sanderford held back and soon the bidding was up to one thousand pounds. There were quite a few men bidding for Helen, but the man in the back kept raising his bid. Sanderford stood up, looked around the room and stared the other men down, then upped the bid to twelve hundred.

The other men backed down, but the fellow in the back raised his bid to fifteen hundred. Sanderford gave the man his best impression of an arrogant duke, and as he stared the man down, he bid two thousand. The man in the back again raised his bid to three thousand pounds. It was beginning to look as if this man was as determined to win as they were.

This time Sanderford turned around, looked directly at the man in back, and saw that it was the Earl of Bradshaw. Sanderford whispered to Matthew, “That man is the most lecherous rogue in the world. There’s no way I’ll let him get his hands on Helen.”

Matthew grew very worried because the earl didn’t seem to be intimidated by Sanderford. Matthew watched as Sanderford took a deep breath and said, “I bid five…thousand…pounds.” Everyone in the room gasped in astonishment. No one had ever seen anyone bid so much before. This time, Lord Bradshaw shrugged his shoulders, bowed to Sanderford, and sat down. He won the bid.

Helen was so drugged she didn’t even seem to recognize Sanderford as he approached her. He gently led her down from the platform and up the stairs. Madame Lucille accepted Henry’s voucher, then led them to a room at the end of the hall and opened the door.

As they entered the room, Madame smiled. “Your Grace, I’ve given you the best room in the house. I’m honored by your patronage, and I wish you a pleasure-filled evening. If there is anything that I can do for you, just let me know. I’ll leave the two of you alone. Goodnight.”

Sanderford glanced around the dimly lit room. “I know that some of your rooms have peepholes. If this is one of them, I want a different room. I’m a very private man, and I refuse to be watched!”

Madame curtsied. “Oh no, Your Grace, I promise you’ll have complete privacy. You’re welcome to check the room, but you won’t find anything.”

Sanderford arrogantly walked around the room checking behind all the pictures, and when he was satisfied, he said, “Madame you may leave us alone. I do not want to be disturbed for any reason for the rest of the night.”

“Then I bid you good night.” She fell into another deep curtsey and left the room.

Once the Madame had closed the door, Sanderford pulled Helen into his arms and whispered, “You’re safe, sweetheart. I’ll get you out of here tomorrow. Why don’t you lie down here and sleep. You’ll feel better when you wake up in the morning.”

Helen was dazed. She started rubbing herself up against him and moaning. Sanderford gently pushed her back. “Helen, I need you to lie down and go to sleep.”

Sanderford picked her up and laid her down on the bed. He tried to pull the covers up over her, but she kicked them away. “I’m so hot, I don’t need any covers. In fact, I don’t need this dress on either, so I’m going to take it off.”