In the Garden of Sin by Louisa Burton Read Free Book Online Page B

constructed of volcanic stone from this mountain, but most only feel it here and in the cave.”
    I had, in fact, been a bit light-headed since entering the bathhouse, as if I’d drunk too much wine at dinner, when I hadn’t. I had attributed the sensation to nerves, but perhaps it was, in fact,
le magnétisme hallucinatoire
.
    An agitated chirping drew my attention to a small, bluish bird perched on the edge of the opening in the roof.
    “Calm thyself, Darius,” Elic told it as he unbuttoned his doublet. “Thy territory is safe from encroachment. She’s not going in there tonight, and perhaps not at all.”
    “Er… is that bird a pet of yours?” I asked.
    The bird let out a furious squawk as it swooped down, darting into the cave.
    “He doesn’t care to be thought of as a pet,” Elic said as he shrugged out of the doublet and tossed it onto a chair.
    I turned to find everyone else nonchalantly disrobing, the novices chattering away as they helped each other with the hard-to-reach buttons, laces, and hooks of their jewel-toned evening frocks. The iron chairs lining the walls were soon heaped with clouds of petticoats; stockings, sashes, collars, and gloves dripped from their arms and backs. The footmen were retreating up the path to the castle, the light from their torches growing smaller and smaller.
    Elic stripped down swiftly and jumped in the pool. He submerged himself completely, then rose to stand hip-deep in the water, which sluiced off him in sheets. His body was long and hard and packed with muscle, the organ hanging between his legs—I didn’t stare, of course, but I could see it out of the corner of my eye—somewhat larger than I would have expected.
    “How’s the water?” Lucy asked him.
    He shook his head as he skimmed his hair back from his face. “It’s perfect. It’s always perfect, warm when the air is cool and cool when it’s hot.”
    I took my time tugging off my gloves as I contemplated the predicament I’d gotten myself into. The only way to gain access to the Duke of Buckingham had been to follow him toGrotte Cachée, and now the only way to remain here was to play the whore in training, to do things that would require hours—nay,
days
—in confession when I returned to London.
    I’m doing this for Uncle Guy
, I reminded myself as I untied my collar. He was doomed unless I could convince Buckingham of his innocence. I had come this far. I would do what had to be done, and simply not think about it.
    Remove yourself from it
.
    When Lucy, half undressed now, offered to help me off with my sedate black gown and underpinnings, I let her, but I drew the line at complete nudity. Although Bianca and Sibylla were now frolicking in the pool alongside Elic without a stitch on, I insisted on retaining my shift.
    Lucy said, “Don’t be a silly goose, Hannah. The rest of us are taking everything off.”
    “He’s
not.” I nodded toward Inigo, sitting on the pool’s marble lip with his feet on the submerged top step, drinking directly from a ewer of brandywine. He had stripped down to his breeches—of purple silk tonight, embroidered in gold—so he was still covered from waist to knees.
    Having heard me, Inigo shrugged and said, “I only like getting my legs wet, and I hate the feel of cold marble on my bare arse. Lucy’s right, there’s no point in wearing that thing. This is hardly the place for modesty, and I’m sure you have a very beautiful—”
    “Inigo.” Elic caught his friend’s eye. “She’s an innocent maiden, remember? Leave her be. These things take time.”
    Inigo sighed grumpily. “Do as you will, Hannah,” he said, the courtesans having invited the
professeurs
to address them informally, “but you really ought to have a proper bath. This water is extraordinary. It tends to relax one’s inhibitions.”
    I stepped down into the pool. The moment my feettouched the water I felt a surge of erotic excitement that sucked the breath from my lungs.
    And by this