AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She almost chuckled at his tiptoeing about her profession. “If you’re referring to the actual act of sex—no. I haven’t done that in a very long time.”
“That works? Swapping in another woman at the last second?”
“It does. All the women at the brothel are very good at what they do. There have never been any complaints.”
Save her current situation with Lord Vontmour.
Juliet swallowed another gulp of the wine. “My job at the Den is actually about efficiency. The sooner we can get the gentlemen comfortable—and they come to us with a wide variety of uncomfortable ways, some are shy, some are cheating on their wives for the first time, some want everything and the moon—the sooner we can make money off of them. I get the men comfortable with where they are and what they’re there for quickly and efficiently—be that a woman or the gaming tables. In essence, I am a shepherd, making sure the men are moving through the Den efficiently. No one makes any money when a man lounges about.”
Evan leaned back against the chair, his eyes studying her. “That must entail a world of lies and pandering coming from your mouth.”
An astute one, this Scot.
She nodded. “Whatever it takes. My women take over as soon as I can move the men along into a room, and I get a cut of everything that happens in the Den. I hate to say it, but men don’t care what’s in their bed—not truly—as long as their needs are met.”
“I care.”
“Then you are an exception.”
His lips pursed for a long moment and he shook his head. “You truly are talented to have managed a way to avoid the seedier side of the business.”
“Is that a pun?”
He chuckled. “No.”
An honest smile cracked her face and she set her fork onto the table. “I have found that the best talent a woman can have isn’t between her legs, it’s between her ears.”
“How so?”
“There are the rabid dogs coming in looking for a wild roll in a bed, yes. But most of the men—they merely want to matter. They want someone to listen to them. They hide that need with a layer of sex and booze. But what they really want is to have someone listen to what they say without judgement—to let them know they matter to someone in this world where no one matters at all.”
His eyebrow cocked. “No one matters?”
She shook her head. “No one. Not in the end.”
“That is morose.”
“It is truth.” Her shoulders lifted, not willing to argue. “There is what I do in my job—lie and pander, and then there is what keeps my soul from dying, and that is the truth. If it is personal to me, then I only allow the truth.”
“So everything on this journey is truth?”
“I am being paid to be here, so one can never tell.”
“Can I tell?”
“I will say that I have thus far not felt the need to be dishonest with you. You aren’t at the brothel so I don’t need to move you from one place to another or convince you of anything. I accepted the terms of our agreement. I go and act as your betrothed, charm your grandfather, and that is all that will be needed of me. Fairly simple. There is no need for lies, except in front of your grandfather, of course.”
“Aye.”
“Though this is a welcome break from the world I live in.” Her fingers lifted to point about the room. “I do get tired of the pandering. The layers of untruths that are able to come from my mouth can be baffling—so many lies that I sometimes cannot tease out the truth myself. But that is why I tend to be brutally honest with myself and who I am and what I do. I’ve accepted my life.”
“So honesty, then?”
“Honesty. Yes. It is my guiding star, the only thing that I live by.”
He nodded, his look dipping to his plate.
She wasn’t sure if he believed her or not.
