Lady Ambrosia Wentworth wrung her glove-covered hands in a pure sign of nervousness. Michael Flanagan left her town house after another vigorous bout of lovemaking and gave her no indication of if he was going to turn her in or not. He simply said, "Trust me" and that was that.
She purred low in her throat as she gloried in those moments of intense lovemaking. Mike had one of the best bodies she had ever seen. Not that she had much of a basis to compare for she was raped and was a mistress, but they never really bothered to take off their clothes.
His torso was beautifully formed along with the lower half of him. There was sparse hair on his chest which was how she liked it and hard everywhere. She sighed at the memory of how gentle he was and started feeling the tell tale feeling of desire curling through her. After he had left her pleasantly rumpled in her bed with a last kiss good bye, she knew that she loved him.
Bringing her thoughts back to the present, she looked around the brightly lit ballroom and swayed gently to the music. The big scandal that went around about her died out long ago, but the memory was still there. The Lord of Wentworth had married her out of duty to her family. He was a dear friend and believed what had happened to her so to restore her reputation somewhat, he had married her. The man was too old to perform in the bed and was always sick, but he was happy to have her company anyway.
He died a year after their marriage and event though she was cut from all ball lists, his untimely death moved the ton to pity so that they put her name back on all the lists to comfort her in her grief. It was at her first ball in two years that she was propositioned from one of the richest men in London and formed her plan to turn it around for the working class and helped inspire her blackmail plan.
As she was enjoying the music and her impending success, Lord Matthew came up to her. Ambrosia's back stiffened a bit as he took her gloved hand and kissed it.
"Lady Wentworth, it has been so long." He gave an ugly grin.
Her smile was faked as she remembered when they had last seen each other. It was in the bedroom of the rented flat he had kept for their trysts. He had been in the big four-poster bed; his huge fat body was barely covered in the red satin sheets. While she dressed from the bout of groping he called sex, she informed him that it was the last time and that she was severing her ties with him.
His pathetic whines and begging followed her out the door of the town house, as did he in nothing but the red sheets. He was still offering her all the riches in the world when her carriage pulled away from the curb and off to her house.
Ambrosia yanked her hand from his chubby fingers. "I don't think it had been all that long ago, Lord Matthew. It's only been a few months." "Dance with me. Give me a chance to win you back to my bed, lovely."
Unfortunately, she couldn't say no and he lead her out onto the dance floor.
In the library, Mike laid down his notes on the investigation. Of course some of them were doctored leaving out Ambrosia's name and any traces of her. He looked into the green eyes of Lord Barrington who was sitting in the ornately carved chair behind the mahogany desk.
"This is everything that I've done and collected from the investigation so far. As you can see, I've hit dead ends in every lead I had. This guy who's blackmailing you has covered his tracks very well."
Lord Barrington looked down at the stack of papers and started ruffling through them. Mike could barely believe everything that Ambrosia had told him about the man sitting before him. He had a young face for one as old as he was with blond hair slicked back. His eyes were green and trusting to top it off he was tall and lanky.
She said that he was the leader of the Devil May Care Circle and also his sexual tastes, which were bondage and not the pleasurable kind for the woman. From what she said, he was known to deform women with his sexual games and sometimes even killed them. His favorite thing was to strangle the bound woman as he climaxed.
So of course he had a hard time picturing this boyish type of man to do all the things he was accused of. That is until he walked into the library. On the couch by the fire was a naked woman, blindfolded, gagged, and bound in such a way that the rope between her legs would tighten slightly when she moved. By the way she moved she was enjoying the sensation because she had climaxed twice judging by her muffled cries.
Barrington had said he let the women enjoy themselves in this fashion so that they learn to favor being bound. Then after a while, he would use the whip on them to excite himself. Which is where he trailed off leaving an evil grin on his face.
While Mike didn't object to bondage in the least, he didn't much care for it himself. He also thought it was fine as long as the women weren't hurt and enjoyed themselves.
There had been the feeling to leave ever since he stepped in the room. Unfortunately he couldn't yet. So he looked away from the poor woman on the couch to Barrington who was in turn staring at him and giving a knowing grin.
"She looks good tied up doesn't she? I think I was inspired tonight for my knots and placement has never been so precise. Some consider it an art."
"Don't care for it personally." Mike was starting to feel uncomfortable and found it hard to look into the man's eyes.
Barrington looked down at the papers and then said, "Are you sure there's nothing else you can do. My friends and I would rather not pay this scoundrel any more money. Of course he states it is to be his last request, but how are we to trust him?"
"I honestly don't know what to tell you, my lord." Mike stated as Barrington stood and went towards the fire.
He slid his hand over the supple curved breast of the woman. She paused in her movements to moan in pleasure. He chuckled and pulled on the bit of rope on her stomach, which made her squeal in delight as she went into another orgasm.
"Women make wonderful toys don't you think?" Barrington said as he faced the fire and let the woman resume her own pleasures. "They were put on this earth so that we may enjoy life all the more. So we could play with them and when they broke, then there would be more. Men were not made that way, to be toys."
He turned around and faced Mike. The light of the fire cast him in an evil glow and his eyes grew hideous with anger. With stiff movements, he picked up the whip that was lying next to the couch and struck the woman with it. She screamed in pain.
"I feel like this blackmailer's toy. He makes us do as he pleases, making us give him money and to put money towards certain charities. This I do not like at all." Then he raised the whip. "I-WANT-HIM-DEAD!!!" As he said each word, he cracked the whip and hit the woman in different spots. She was now sobbing uncontrollably as red welts appeared.
"I'm sorry, Lord Barrington. He is doing something unjust to you and your friends, but I am at a dead end in this investigation." Mike took up a quill and paper. "This is the number of a good investigator here in London. He was my mentor."
One second Lord Barrington was in a fit of rage and the next he was smiling pleasantly as if nothing happened. "Well if you did give it your all then I thank you for your time. I will ask my solicitor to transfer a fourth of the sum I offered for your efforts."
"Thank you, my Lord." Mike bowed and then left the room.
Lord Barrington's hand gripped the whip tightly and brought a vicious crack down on the woman, which drew blood. Flanagan knew who the blackmailer was and he was obviously protecting the man.
As Ambrosia danced with Lord Matthew, her discuss with him deepened. For the better part of the waltz he was pleading with her to resume their intimate relations. So far he offered double what he gave her in money, more jewels then the Queen herself, an estate in the country, and horses because he herd somewhere that she loved to ride.
