Cast in Ice by Laura Landon Read Free Book Online Page A

“Maybe these are just rumors—”
    “They’re not,” he said, his voice tinged with anger. “The women who lose at the tables are given twenty-four hours to cover their bets. Or, they can go to the third level and agree to be auctioned off for the night.”
    “Surely when one faces…” Winnie struggled to say the word. “… prostituting themselves, they find the courage to admit what they’ve done in order to get the money?”
    “Would you? Would you go to your father for the money, knowing he would demand to know why you needed it?”
    She lowered her gaze. She couldn’t answer his question. Of course she wouldn’t. But her situation was different. She would never be forced to go to her father because she had no intention of ever losing enough to be in that situation.
    “I see you would not,” he said in response to her reaction. “Most of the women who come here feel the same. They will accept any punishment rather than face their spouses with the amount they’ve gambled and lost.”
    Winnie tried not to think that some of the women losing large amounts at the tables would then be forced to let a stranger buy them for the night. It was beyond her comprehension to believe anyone would willingly give themselves to a stranger, just to cover a gambling debt.
    Nick Stillman laughed. “And then there are those who come with the goal of intentionally losing vast amounts. More than a few of the women do just that. Their goal is to have a physical experience with someone other than their husbands. And The Dove provides the perfect venue for them to do exactly that without anyone knowing who they are.”
    “I don’t believe you,” Winnie said. She couldn’t believe it. Sexual relationships outside of marriage was something she knew happened, but not at this level.
    “Believe it, my lady. Society is filled with men and women whose spouses are either unable to satisfy their mates, or refuse to do so. The Dove provides a service for anyone who wants a physical experience sans any emotional attachments.”
    “But surely not everyone who goes to The Dove has that in mind.”
    “No, not everyone. There are those like yourself who have no intention of losing more than they can pay. But when they do, they’re left with a very difficult choice. A choice that some of them cannot live with.”
    “What about the men who lose? Surely they’re not subjected to the same penalty.”
    “No, they get to meet Ellsworth in the box.”
    “The box?”
    “Yes. Have you noticed the whip Ellsworth carries with him?”
    Winnie didn’t answer. Everyone commented on the whip Ellsworth had hanging at his waist. She’d even seen him use it on occasion on an unruly gambler. But she didn’t know it was used for anything else.
    “A gambler who cannot pay his debts is given ten lashes in the box. Wagers are placed on anything from how many of those lashes actually make contact, to whether or not Ellsworth is able to draw blood.”
    “That’s horrible,” Winnie said.
    “Horrible or not, it’s the price the players pay for an evening’s entertainment. A price that is sometimes impossible for a female to live with.”
    Winnie heard Nick Stillman release a painful sigh and wondered if that sigh had any significance. If there was someone attached to the regret she heard when he released such a heavy breath.
    “This is why you cannot afford to lose at the tables. Unless you’re willing to go to your father and ask him to cover your debts. Or submit to a stranger’s touch.”
    Winnie couldn’t hold his gaze. She turned her head and looked out the darkened window. She could never go to her father to ask for money to cover gambling debts. Her father would never believe that she was so addicted to gambling that she’d risk going to an establishment such as The Soiled Dove .
    It wouldn’t take him long at all to figure out she went because she needed the money she earned from gambling. And he would demand to know why she needed