Free Mark of Caine Trilogy: Book One: Hidden in the Shadows (Victorian Villains) by Catherine Lloyd Page B

reaction for a
virgin, I will allow, but I have seen a few women enjoy the sex act—prostitutes
mostly; women who must earn their way in life.”
    “You sound rather an expert on the subject
of women and their sexuality, sir,” she said contemptuously. “The stupidity of
your conclusion rests on your sources. A prostitute costs a man nothing and
takes nothing. A prostitute is not a woman—not to a man she is not. She is only
a mirror—an extension of himself. Pit yourself against a woman whose love you
did not have to buy or steal. I dare you. I dare you to try to win my love after what you have done.”
    A shadow crossed his face. “You talk as if
you know anything about it.”
    “I talk as if I know a thing about men. My
gift sets me apart from other women of my class. It makes me of aware of evils
of which I would prefer to remain in ignorance.”
    “Your gift?”
    “I sense events that occasionally come to
pass.”
    “Yet you could not foresee what I would
do.”
    She would not meet his eye. “No, I could
not. My gift does not occur consistently in your case, only a vibration here
and there, such as when I realized you were not going to kill me.”
    “Is it wise to place so much dependence on what
amounts to a hunch? If you had been less naive you would have taken greater
care, given the sort of man I am.”
    “And what sort of man is that? Enlighten
me.”
    “Not the heroic kind,” he said shortly.
    Laura laughed bitterly. “Honest and to the
point. You are a man of few words, Mr. Caine . And
here I thought we were getting better acquainted. I am at a disadvantage, I
know nothing about you and you know everything about me.”
    “Does it matter to know me so well? You
know me well enough.” Tanner shifted uncomfortably. “I should not have taken
you. I have no excuse. I was overcome—I can’t explain it. I am frequently at a
loss for words but I feel it more keenly with you.”
    She reacted with surprised mistrust. “Why
with me? I am not so very terrifying.”
    “To some, you would be. I was never an
agreeable conversationalist with women and I never cared to be. I shouldn’t be speaking
at all under the circumstances.”
    “True. You might discover that I am a human
being.” Laura sank to the floor. “I don’t see that it matters now what sort of
man you are. I am cold. May we have a fire?”
    He moved to the hearth, glad to have
something to do. The wood box was well supplied. Tanner kindled a blazing fire
and carried over a chair for her. “Sit. Please. Would you like a wet cloth to
... ah ... clean yourself?”
    She curled her body into a ball on the
chair, pulling her knees to her chest. “I would like a bath and a hot meal even
more.”
    “I’ll see to it. The bath might take some
time to heat the water.”
    Tanner handed her the shawl which Laura
accepted with weary resignation. She was too baffled and dismayed by what had
happened between them to fight his overtures of reconciliation. He left her
alone with her thoughts in front of the fire.
    In the morning, after she’d eaten and slept,
she would instruct him to order a coach to take her to London. Louise or her
father would pay the cost. She was not a prisoner.
    As to the rest....
    Tanner distressed her in a way that went
beyond the obvious. What he had done was a violation—she might have consented (she
wasn’t entirely sure she hadn’t) if he’d wooed her, flattered her and made her
laugh as Louise’s gallant Lieutenant Stirling had done during their courtship.
    No. Laura had to admit the truth if only to
herself. Gallantry would never do for her. She was not as pure in heart as her
sweet friend, Louise. The young chivalrous boys of her youth had held no
appeal.
    Tanner had not been gentle. She could tell
as much from the bruises on her buttocks. It had been a relief not to have to
think what to do or say. The power (and pleasure) of the sex act had taken her
mind off where she had been for the past eighteen months, shut