Was she ready for The New Club? Maybe not.
She swallowed hard. “Is this place the reason you don’t like Alexander?”
Minnie scoffed, leading her through the crowd. “He’s such a prude. He doesn’t touch alcohol because it interferes with his fencing training. He doesn’t kiss or have tumbles with ladies he doesn’t know or doesn’t have serious intentions with. He doesn’t touch ladies only for fun. He’s so boring. And he thinks The New Club is dangerous, only because there were a couple of incidents. Well, maybe more than a couple.”
“What incidents?” She averted her gaze from a couple kissing as if there weren’t enough air in the hall and they had to share it through their mouths.
“A lady was attacked by a drunk man, and another nearly died after she left the club intoxicated and was run over by a carriage.”
“That’s awful.”
“It’s easy to meet the wrong lot here if you aren’t careful. Enjoying yourself has risks.” Minnie stopped walking to glance at her. “This place isn’t for the faint of heart. You should leave now if you have doubts and share a cup of tea with Alexander the Great.”
“I-I think I’ll stay.” She shrank away from a man trying to grab her. “I gather he didn’t want to have fun with you.”
“He didn’t. I’ll admit I insisted a bit, but he’s too prudish for my taste. I told him he was a boring prude and a prig. He said I was reckless and that I should understand when a gentleman isn’t interested.”
“It sounds sensible.”
“I’ll show you what true pleasure is.” Minnie slid a hand in her bodice between her breasts and fished out a glass vial filled with a golden liquid.
“What is it?”
“Something everyone here drinks.” Minnie shook the vial lightly. “Your night is about to become the most exciting one in your life.”
Esther must have been crushed under a boulder because when she blinked her eyes open, she felt heavy and sore. Even her toes ached. Even her toenails ached.
She closed her eyes again and swallowed a couple of times to remove the funny, bitter taste in her mouth. Something soft and scented was under her cheek. Not the pillow in her bedroom. That one smelled of starch and was as soft as a wooden plank.
She forced her eyes open. Something had to be wrong with the sunlight coming from somewhere because it was so strong her eyes hurt. British sun didn’t hurt the eyes. Groaning, she propped herself up and studied her surroundings.
At first, everything was a big, blurred thingamabob. Slowly, the contours of the shapes around her became clear.
She was in a large four-poster bed in a wide bedroom with luscious brocade curtains and brown wainscoting, and it was morning. Nothing odd about that. Except it wasn’t her bedroom in Minnie’s house, and she wasn’t wearing her nightgown but a male nightshirt that smelled of citrus. Her hair was down, and her clothes were nowhere to be seen.
A pitcher filled with water rested on the nightstand, and she gulped down a full glass, thinking hard of last night. The more she drank, the more her head cleared, but no answers came.
The last thing she remembered was…dinner. She’d had dinner with Minnie, the dowager, and Mother. After that… She rubbed her forehead. She’d gone out to follow Minnie and met Alexander.
There was a dark alley and a club. Finally, a memory emerged of her and Minnie together in the club where people were kissing and touching each other with no shame. She’d been thrilled but confused. Minnie had given her a vial of something sweet and pungent, and after that…complete darkness.
She drank another glass. The biggest question was, where was she?
Alexander had nothing to reproach himself about.
He’d warned Esther, and she hadn’t listened. And that was the result. The scratches she’d left on his neck stung. But above all, his pride was bruised after she’d stolen his precious foil from him.
In the sunroom overlooking the sea, he finished his tea and glanced upstairs where she was asleep in one of the guest bedrooms.
“Hastings,” he said to his butler, “I need to see Mrs. Wilson.”
“Your Grace.” Hastings walked out of the room with his usual efficiency.
His housekeeper had been in charge of taking care of Esther. He’d told her to call him if something happened during the night after the physician had visited her. And while he was worried about her, he was also eager to find his foil.
“Your Grace.” Mrs. Wilson had a motherly smile that immediately calmed him.
“Lady Esther?”
