Free Hotel du Barry by Lesley Truffle Page B

know you deserve it.’
    Edwina giggled like a naughty schoolgirl. Sean was acting out her favourite sexual fantasy and her mind was already racing ahead to the dirty, wicked climax. No other man had given her sexual licence and she loved him for it. Sean had known what she wanted even before she did.
    Sean sighed and gave her several smart slaps on the rump to help her on her way. Edwina was partial to a bit of rough and she’d already had a skinful of gin. It looked like it was going to be a long evening.
    Edwina’s voice was muffled by the cushions as she murmured from the depths of the sofa, ‘I’ve arranged delivery of that motorcycle you mentioned. Tomorrow morning at ten. Does that suit you?’
    A daft question. Things were looking up. Clearly his new mistress was hell-bent on responding positively to his every hint. Sean gave her nipples a professional tweak. She whimpered with pleasure. He yawned, dropped his trousers and set about securing Edwina’s complete submission. As he toiled over her, he congratulated himself that never again would he have to kowtow to high society. Soon he’d have his own butler and later his own private chef.
    Although Danny Boy’s wife was his current patron, Sean was busily compiling a little black book of wealthy society women. He thought of it as income insurance. If Edwina found it he’d be a dead man. Sean gave his shirt pocket a quick pat to check the book was safe. No problem, it was still sitting snugly over his heart.
    Sean’s latest conquests were Edwina’s sworn enemies and they’d already tried to outbid her. If she tired of him it would be no skin off his nose. His reputation was assured and the brakes were off. Sean thought of Mary Maguire and quickened his thrust. Edwina responded. If she didn’t quit the moaning he’d have to clamp his hand over her mouth. Whoa, no way. When she’d come last time she’d bitten him hard and drawn blood. He still had teeth marks on his hand. Jaysus, the entire hotel is probably listening in, and placing bets on how many bouts are needed before Madam is satisfied.
    Sometimes it took Sean hours to service Edwina because of all the chin-wagging. It was astounding how much conversation she needed. Probably because she spent so much time alone. Sebastian had informed Sean, ‘When that pretentious cow became Mrs du Barry she dumped all her old friends. Couldn’t be seen out in public with her social inferiors. Gloria von Trocken is the sole survivor of that particular cull.’
    Edwina often had to eat lunch alone. No matter, she intended to be in the rich game indefinitely and she’d fought hard to gain the respect of the social elite. But there was no way she was going to let one particular coven of women get away with vicious gossip that could harm Daniel or Cat. For the former Eddie Lamb was adept at defending her own and she’d been raised in a family that didn’t always play by the rules.
    From her hiding place behind the curtains, Cat squirmed. Sean had deviated from his usual moves and it looked like he had no intention of wasting time in the bedroom. Cat was stuck. Now she was going to have to remain hidden until Sean finished the job.What a bore. She’d hoped to lure him down to the labyrinth so that he could tell her more about how she’d come to be adopted by Daniel. Sean readily offered up all the juicy details of how Daniel came to believe that she was Mary Maguire’s daughter. Cat loved hearing about the secret meetings in the labyrinth, the ballot to choose her names and the forging of the official documents; it was her very own fairy tale. But now it looked like Sean had his hands full. And as usual just being around Edwina made Cat feel tired. So she yawned and settled down for a kip.
    Shortly after Cat’s twelfth birthday she was selected by Mrs Brown to be the head jam girl on Jam Sunday. It was the day that crates of imported