“I’m okay,” I lie.
She narrows her gaze on me, dipping her chin in a nod. “Let’s go and have a nice afternoon. You can tell me what’s really bothering you.” Pressing my lips together, she laughs softly. “Or you can try to lie to me again, but I won’t stop until you spill.”
Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I wonder why I missed her. I forgot how insistent she can be, then when my gaze meets hers again, I see the worry etched there and I remember why I missed her. I love her, and she cares.
Chapter Thirty-Five
COLT
“What do you mean, they’re gone?” I demand.
“I haven’t been able to locate where the horse or the woman are,” the scout announces.
Anger and fear bubble up through my chest and throat. Where could she possibly be? And where is that gods damned horse? Grinding my teeth together, I pinch my eyes closed and inhale a deep breath.
“Thank you,” I grunt.
Turning my back to the man, I place my fists against the desk and let my head drop. I try to concentrate, to think about Arion and call out to him. Nothing but silence meets my ears. I growl again to myself, then shake my head.
“Sir?” Earnest calls out.
Lifting my head, I turn to look at him. “Ernest,” I sigh as I stand up straight and face him.
He’s watching me, but I’m not sure what is wrong. He doesn’t quite seem himself, then I realize what it is when the women step out from behind him. It’s none other than Bessie Silks and one of her girls.
I’m sure that I’ve been with this girl, though her face is a blur among many and Bessie is not a welcome sight. She smirks at me, her gaze flicking from side to side, searching for Birdie, no doubt.
“May I ask as to why you’re standing in my office as if you’ve been invited?” I ask, arching a brow.
Bessie grins, taking another step inside, then another before she sinks down on the chair in front of me. “I have a proposition for you, Mr. James,” she purrs.
I have no doubt that she does and I also have no doubt that it comes with some kind of string attached, that string being a tall blonde that is standing as quiet as a mouse in the corner of the room.
“I’m all ears, Ms. Silks.” I grin as I cross my arms over my chest.
She adjusts herself in her seat, then clears her throat. “You have at least a thousand men here, correct?”
I shrug a shoulder, as I don’t quite know exactly how many men are staying on my land. I believe their numbers are in the thousands, but it is honestly not Ms. Silks’ or anyone else’s business.
“I have a whole bordello full of women, and the men in town, while they’re regulars, I think they’d not only do better out here, but they’d have a lot more fun.”
“How much would this service cost me?” I ask.
“They’re soldiers, they have their own coins, do they not?”
I hum, nodding my head a couple of times. “They do.”
“All I ask is for a place. I’ll have a couple of tents set up with privacy fabric. The men can come if they wish, the women will be ready and able to provide the best service that a Silks girl can and does provide.”
Honestly, it’s not a bad idea. Boosting troop morale is huge, and although these men haven’t been here long enough to require a boost, it’s always welcome, as are women of all shapes and sizes.
“And this woman in the corner? How does she play into all of this?” I recognize her as the one that Bessie tried to set me up with just days ago.
This is where Bessie acts like her normal, usual self. She stands slowly, her lips curving up into a devious grin.
“This woman has come to me, again, untouched by my men. I’ve made sure no man has touched her. A new dove, and I would like to offer her to you. She would be free of charge, only room and board needed. Yours to keep.”
“Keep?” I ask.
Bessie nods her head once, slowly, her gaze never leaving my own. “Keep. I hear you’ve recently been wed and the only other woman I see around this house aside from that old witch woman is your housekeeper and cook, Martha. Doesn’t your wife need a lady’s maid in her position?”
“You want me to keep a whore, presumably my whore, as my wife’s lady’s maid?”
Bessie shrugs a shoulder. “You know they do that in other countries, I don’t know why you’re acting as though I’m offering you some illicit service.”
I inhale a deep breath, then let it out as a sigh. She’s not wrong. They do that in other countries. I’ve heard of the many dalliances that men have, especially world leaders. It wasn’t anything I ever considered nor cared about, considering I was never meant to be a leader and when I was, I had never planned on being married.
“I’m going to be heading out in a couple of days for possibly months. I can’t take on a woman right now. You can have your traveling bordello here, but I don’t want the girl.”
Bessie leans forward, her lips curled in almost disgust and I can see that she is not going to relent on this, for whatever reason. I don’t ask her, because I honestly just do not care that much.
“You’ll take her,” she snaps.
Flicking my gaze to Ernest, I silently ask his opinion. He raises his brows, giving me one small shake of his head. He doesn’t agree and frankly neither do I, but I also don’t have the
