and Duval have cooking.”
Jem looked around. “Not here. Too many ears.”
“You’re the one who insisted on Duval’s. Now you want to meet somewhere else?” Dutch waggled the envelope in front of his father’s eyes. “You don’t get a penny until you tell me everything and I verify your story. Come to my house in an hour.”
“I can’t meet you tonight.”
“Too bad, guess you don’t need this.” Impatience rising he tapped the packet against his shoulder.
“All right, all right. I’ll come to your place at dawn.” The judge faded into the crowd at the bar.
“Fine.” Dutch turned toward the exit and opened his coat to place the envelope in the inside pocket.
“Wait up, Dutch.” Duval’s drawl sounded in his ear. “I’ll take that. You’re our winner.” Her nimble fingers snatched the envelope from his grasp. She looked inside, frowning. “I’ll have to count this. If any’s left, you’ll get it back. But I need the full amount before I can let you go upstairs.”
“What are you talking about?” Dutch glared at the woman he hated most in the world. He was twenty-five years her junior, but she remained stunningly exotic. The air of mystery she cultivated attracted men like the mother lode. But Dutch knew most of her secrets, and she’d only be able to claim his disgust.
“She means, you won the biddin’,” said one of the men who’d left the auction room to surround Dutch and congratulate him.
“I what?” roared Dutch. The crowd of men stepped back. His temper was as well known as it was quick. A ring of space formed around him and Cerise. “I don’t use whores let alone bid for the privilege. Everybody in San Francisco knows that.”
“B … b … but you gave Madame Duval the cash,” stammered the fellow.
“She took that without asking me.”
“Are you calling me a thief?” A broad smile tilted the madam’s lips as she rifled through the envelope.”
He looked her in the eye. “A mule is a mule no matter how fancy the harness. Now give me back my money.”
An ugly murmur rippled through the crowd.
“Sorry, Dutch. I can’t do that. Busy as you were talking to the judge, you managed to open and close the bidding. I have a room full of witnesses and your invitation to the auction to prove it.”
“I never received an invitation and wouldn’t have accepted if I had.”
“Really?” She smiled broadly and turned the envelope that now held his money so he could see the front where
Trahern
was scrawled in elegant black script.
Anger crashed through him in the wake of the dawning truth. Duval and his father had set him up. He’d allowed concern for Trey to blind him to everything else. Dutch opened his mouth to protest then closed it. The room was full of men who knew him or knew of him. Some might know the judge and wonder how much the son was like the father. Despite years of hard, honest work to shake off his past, Dutch saw doubt on the faces of men he did business with every day. Denying he’d bid on the whore would confirm him as a liar and a cheat in their eyes and destroy everything he’d worked for. Trahern-Smiley Import & Export would be out of business in less than a week. If he accepted the whore and let Duval keep the money, he’d be short on cash and his reputation for clean living would be smirched, but the business would suffer less.
Cerise Duval’s cat-in-the-cream expression gleamed up at him. She had him, and she knew it.
“Fine.”
“Drinks on Mr. Trahern, boys.”
The crowd made a rush for the bar.
“Follow me.” With a swish of satin skirts, Cerise made for the stairway.
CHAPTER SIX
What had she gotten herself into? Edith swiped at her sweating forehead and tugged on her sleeveless bodice. She simply did not have enough bosom to support the thing. Why she’d allowed Duval to dress her in clothing more suited to seduction, Edith didn’t know. With a man hired for sex, she didn’t think seduction was necessary, especially
Jem looked around. “Not here. Too many ears.”
“You’re the one who insisted on Duval’s. Now you want to meet somewhere else?” Dutch waggled the envelope in front of his father’s eyes. “You don’t get a penny until you tell me everything and I verify your story. Come to my house in an hour.”
“I can’t meet you tonight.”
“Too bad, guess you don’t need this.” Impatience rising he tapped the packet against his shoulder.
“All right, all right. I’ll come to your place at dawn.” The judge faded into the crowd at the bar.
“Fine.” Dutch turned toward the exit and opened his coat to place the envelope in the inside pocket.
“Wait up, Dutch.” Duval’s drawl sounded in his ear. “I’ll take that. You’re our winner.” Her nimble fingers snatched the envelope from his grasp. She looked inside, frowning. “I’ll have to count this. If any’s left, you’ll get it back. But I need the full amount before I can let you go upstairs.”
“What are you talking about?” Dutch glared at the woman he hated most in the world. He was twenty-five years her junior, but she remained stunningly exotic. The air of mystery she cultivated attracted men like the mother lode. But Dutch knew most of her secrets, and she’d only be able to claim his disgust.
“She means, you won the biddin’,” said one of the men who’d left the auction room to surround Dutch and congratulate him.
“I what?” roared Dutch. The crowd of men stepped back. His temper was as well known as it was quick. A ring of space formed around him and Cerise. “I don’t use whores let alone bid for the privilege. Everybody in San Francisco knows that.”
“B … b … but you gave Madame Duval the cash,” stammered the fellow.
“She took that without asking me.”
“Are you calling me a thief?” A broad smile tilted the madam’s lips as she rifled through the envelope.”
He looked her in the eye. “A mule is a mule no matter how fancy the harness. Now give me back my money.”
An ugly murmur rippled through the crowd.
“Sorry, Dutch. I can’t do that. Busy as you were talking to the judge, you managed to open and close the bidding. I have a room full of witnesses and your invitation to the auction to prove it.”
“I never received an invitation and wouldn’t have accepted if I had.”
“Really?” She smiled broadly and turned the envelope that now held his money so he could see the front where
Trahern
was scrawled in elegant black script.
Anger crashed through him in the wake of the dawning truth. Duval and his father had set him up. He’d allowed concern for Trey to blind him to everything else. Dutch opened his mouth to protest then closed it. The room was full of men who knew him or knew of him. Some might know the judge and wonder how much the son was like the father. Despite years of hard, honest work to shake off his past, Dutch saw doubt on the faces of men he did business with every day. Denying he’d bid on the whore would confirm him as a liar and a cheat in their eyes and destroy everything he’d worked for. Trahern-Smiley Import & Export would be out of business in less than a week. If he accepted the whore and let Duval keep the money, he’d be short on cash and his reputation for clean living would be smirched, but the business would suffer less.
Cerise Duval’s cat-in-the-cream expression gleamed up at him. She had him, and she knew it.
“Fine.”
“Drinks on Mr. Trahern, boys.”
The crowd made a rush for the bar.
“Follow me.” With a swish of satin skirts, Cerise made for the stairway.
CHAPTER SIX
What had she gotten herself into? Edith swiped at her sweating forehead and tugged on her sleeveless bodice. She simply did not have enough bosom to support the thing. Why she’d allowed Duval to dress her in clothing more suited to seduction, Edith didn’t know. With a man hired for sex, she didn’t think seduction was necessary, especially
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