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It was half past noon. Half an hour after their rehearsals were supposed to have finished. Yet here they were, sitting in the drawing room, everyone laughing and chattering away while Jo nervously stared at the clock.
The hostess of the house party had granted them this drawing room for the sole purpose of rehearsing. And technically, they had rehearsed. And theyweredone. The entire troupe was working hard to finish their rehearsals on time.
Well, not the entire troupe.
The only reason they were still cooped up in this room was because the lead actor, Mick, was not present.
Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem. They had understudies for this exact reason. But Mick’s understudy, the understudy for all male actors, in fact, had fallen ill shortly after they arrived at the Vane estate.
Since they did not travel with their entire company for such small performances, there was no one else to understudy the lead.
They had already gotten used to rehearsals without Mick. But as the day of the performance loomed near, they could not risk Mick ruining it for them. Besides, he had promised to come today. Not that he had ever delivered on his promises.
That scoundrel will ruin it for all of us!
Jo worked extremely hard to cultivate relationships with the ladies of theton. While the other actresses concentrated their attention upon the lords—looking for lovers—Jo looked to women with a different goal in mind.
She knew the women were the hearts of the households. They were the ones to host the house parties, musicals, and other events, and they were the ones to invite performers to those events. And since Jo needed the additional income to sustain her lavish lifestyle—or as lavish as she could afford—she wasn’t about to let Mick ruin it.
She’d written the play; she directed the play. The least Mick could do was show up at the rehearsals!
Perhaps next time she would be wise to make an all-women show and get rid of the arrogant arse completely.
She wouldn’t allow him to deprive her of her hard-earned money. Jo didn’t have any other income to support her. Most of her actress friends had found themselves protectors and lived extravagantly under their wing while they still could. While they were young and handsome.
Well, not Jo. She knew where a reliance on thestrongersex would lead her. Out on the streets. And she wasnotgoing back to the streets.
She stood resolutely and strode toward the door.
“Jo, where are you going?” Selena, Jo’s friend, and fellow actress, called after her.
“To rouse the beast,” Jo threw over her shoulder and left the room.
Jo expelled an irritated breath and confidently walked toward Mick’s chambers. All the actors of the troupe had been accorded beautiful chambers in the guest wing. True, most of them were forced to share accommodations, but not every household set them up in guest chambers at all. Most of the time they were staying in tiny servants’ rooms. One more thing for Mick to complain about.
Well, there was nothing to complain about this time. In fact, Mick was the only one living alone. He was fed well; he was paid well. Why did he insist on torturing Jo?
By the time Jo reached his chamber, her nostrils were flared, strands of her hair fluttered about her shoulders from her brisk pace, and her face was flushed.
She opened the door wide, took a step forward, and… froze.
Mick was lying in bed, his head thrown back, his spine arched as a buxom young woman crouched before him and sucked on his engorged length.
Bile rose in Jo’s throat. Her shoulders slumped, and her stomach hollowed as she almost cast up her accounts. But she forced herself to hold it together. She turned away, her hands clenched into fists.
“Oh, do not go, Jo!” Mick called out. “Join us.”
“I’d rather die. Or hurl. Or both.”
“Do not be overdramatic,” he said leisurely.
“Overdramatic?” Jo turned on him again, her face a grimace of disgust.
She forced herself to look at his red, sweaty face instead of his equally red and sweaty cock. His lover hastily got off the bed and started buttoning up her dress. Jo threw a glance her way and disappointment laced her features.
She was a maid! And a young one at that. She looked like she was barely even eighteen!Oh, Mick, you pig!
The girl bobbed a curtsy and quickly left the room.
