Chapter 9

'Verity,' she said with surprise, 'what are you doing here?'

Two weeks had passed since she had gone to Ellington in his office, and she could not remember with clarity, anything that had happened since then. He had told her, in no uncertain terms, that she was responsible for her brother's gambling debts. Since that fateful meeting, she had lowered herself to the same level of her brother's so-called friends and had done everything they had asked her to do. Ellington, true to his word, had kept that little brown bottle, in the drawer of her dressing table, full. However, her need for the contents of that bottle had waned, because her brother's acquaintances had introduced her to the instant relief that one could experience from smoking opium resin. It amazed her to think of how the poppy, an uncomplicated but beautiful flower, could produce a substance that immediately released her from the humiliation of her public disgrace.

Just before she had seen her sister, Major Ellington had asked her to introduce herself to the Earl of Acton. According to the Major, Acton was an important member of the beau monde, and famously had the ear of both Wellington and the Prime Minister. But she had been interrupted by her sister, who had suddenly appeared from behind a large velvet curtain, looking out of place in the opulently gaudy salon. Her sister's face looked fresh and completely untouched by the ravishes of a dissolute lifestyle. As they stood staring at each other, she noticed the unmistakable look of horror in her sister's eyes. It made her, for the first time in the past two weeks, feel ashamed of the disreputable woman she had become.

As the sisters stood, staring at each other in disbelief, another acquaintance, Cassie recognised from school, also came out from behind the curtain. 'Good grief,' was the only comment that came to mind, as she continued to stare at them, 'the pair of you look ridiculous.' Her unexpected visitors were dressed in the most ill-fitting and distasteful dresses she had ever seen. And, even in the ostentatious environment of the salon, they looked conspicuous. If they were not careful, she had thought to herself, and leave immediately, they would be caught by Mr Reynolds.

'You cannot stay here,' she had said, looking around the room to check that their presence had not been detected. 'Come, follow me,' she then said fiercely, 'and please, please do not talk to anyone.'

Once she had ushered them into the relative safety of her bedchamber, she decided that her only option, to be rid of them quickly, was to shock them with her outrageously unladylike behaviour. As she explained to her sister, how she ended up as the infamous La Rosa d'Oro, she began to smoke a cheroot. To shock her further, and give her an insight into the depths she had sunk, she overtly took laudanum mixed with alcohol. She had hoped that her sister, who she always thought of as prudish, would be disgusted at her amoral behaviour and leave immediately; never to return. It was the only way she could think of saving her from her fate. She knew that if her sister were to be discovered by Ellington, he would not hesitate in ruining her as well.

Apart from Emerald, who had interrupted them at the beginning of her conversation with her sister, they had been left alone. She knew she could trust Emerald not to tell Ellington about her unexpected visitors. Emerald was the only person she trusted in this place, and over the past two and half years, she had been the only person who had shown her any kindness.

She knew that Verity had come to take her away, and she felt touched to know that her sister still cared for her. However, she also knew, from the look of horror in her sister's eyes, that she had expected to see her sweet little sister, Cassie. However, the unsophisticated and naïve girl, Verity had once known, had been transformed into a shameless wanton, who sold her body night after night to the highest bidder.

That innocence that Verity had valued and Cassie had foolishly despised, had been cruelly taken away by Major Ellington and Lord Melrose. And Cassie knew all too well, that once innocence had been lost; it could never be reclaimed.

As she was drawing close to the end of her story, there was a knock on the door, and a young woman, she recognised from the salon, came into the room with a note that looked like it had been scribbled in haste onto a scrap of paper. "Come to the salon immediately," it read, "your brother requires your assistance. Ellington."

'I will come directly, just wait there,' she had said sharply to the young girl, who was almost cowering in her presence. She stood up, looked at her reflection in the mirror and saw that her hair was untidy and the dress that she was wearing needed adjusting. She turned around to see where the girl had gone and found her staring at her guests. 'Well,' Cassie said impatiently, as she turned around to face the girl, 'you will have to help me get ready.'

As Cassie stood looking in the cheval glass mirror, that stood proudly in the centre of the room, the girl fussed nervously around her. 'You are a useless, foolish girl,' Cassie snarled to her, 'do you not know how to style hair properly?'

The girl, whose hands were shaking, shook her head. 'No ma'am,' she said, with her head bowed, 'I do not.'

'Then, I will just have to do it myself,' she said, snapping at her impatiently. 'Go and get my comb,' she ordered. The girl ran over to the dressing table and rooted around for the comb, gingerly bringing it over to Cassie.

As Cassie finished getting ready, she turned around to her sister, who had been sitting quietly looking at her. 'Stay here,' she ordered, 'and do not leave until I get back, or I send someone to escort you out of here. If you are caught, I will not be able to help, you will be on your own, and, trust me, you do not want to be trapped in this place.'

Verity stood up and walked over to her. 'Please,' she said, as she took her hand and held it tightly in hers, 'come with me. Leave now, before it is too late.'

Cassie shook her head slowly and looked at the floor, 'I cannot leave,' she said in a whisper, 'Reggie needs me, and...'

'Reggie must learn to look after himself,' Verity said desperately, interrupting her sister, 'he cannot rely on you to bail him out forever.'

'Verity,' she said seriously, 'you do not understand what he could do to Reggie if I left. I have to stay to protect him.' She let go of her sister's hands and turned back to the mirror. 'Even if Reggie was not a consideration, I still could not leave.'

'Oh! Cassie,' her sister said ruefully, looking at her sister's reflection in the mirror, 'what has he done to you?'

Cassie did not answer. She just continued to stand in front of the mirror, staring critically at her own reflection, while adjusting the neckline of her dress to reveal even more of her décolletage. As the girl continued to smooth the creases of her dress, Cassie then carefully darkened her eyelashes with kohl, which highlighted the brilliance of her blue eyes.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she ordered the girl to tie a golden sash around her waist, and then she sprayed a heavily scented perfume across her exposed shoulders and chest. Verity, who now looked shocked at her sister's lack of propriety, took her arms roughly and spun her around so that her sister had to look at her in the face. 'You cannot go downstairs like that!' She had said, looking at her dress, 'you must cover yourself up.'

Cassie laughed. 'My dear sister,' she said as she flicked her hair to one side, 'this is how I always look.'

'Then come with me,' Verity pleaded, as she continued to grab her upper arms, 'I beg you.'

Cassie looked at her sister, and the laughter stopped abruptly. 'I cannot,' she said, as she smiled at her sadly, 'I just cannot.'

'Why not?' Verity said, in a voice that demanded an answer.

'You would not understand,' Cassie replied, shaking her head, 'I am not even sure if I understand myself.'

'Try me,' Verity said passionately, 'I need to understand why you stay here and continue to degrade yourself?'

After a long silence, Cassie said, in a whisper, 'I love him.' She looked at her sister, her eyes bright with tears, 'I have loved him ever since that first night at Hadlands.'

'Oh Cassie,' Verity said sorrowfully, releasing her arms, 'after everything he has done to you. You cannot love him.'

'Have you ever been in love?' Cassie replied sadly, looking at Verity.

Verity shook her head. 'No,' she said truthfully, 'I have not.'

'Then, you cannot understand,' she said, reaching out and patting her sister's arm affectionately. 'Even if I could go back in time, and somehow re-live my life over again, I do not know if I have the power over my own heart to change anything that has happened to me over the last two and a half years. I think I would always end up here, doing what I do best. It is where I belong.'

'No Cassie, please, do not say that,' Verity said, with tears in her eyes, 'we always have control over our future, and it is never too late to change it. Leave, now, with me!'

'I have to go,' Cassie said, with a sigh and a faraway look in her eyes, as though she had not heard what her sister was trying to tell her, 'I have already talked to you for far too long, and I will be late. Good-bye, Verity,' she said as she embraced her sister and kissed her on the cheek, 'and thank-you. I never thought that anyone still cared about what happened to me.'

Cassie then walked over to the door and twisted the handle. Before she left the room, she turned around and looked, once more, at her two guests. 'Now, remember what I said,' she said seriously, 'do not leave this room until you get further instructions from me.'

When Cassie reached the salon, she quickly found her brother stationed in his usual place at one of the gaming tables. She quickly walked over to him, not noticing Major Ellington who was leaning against the wall close to her brother. He grabbed her arm and pulled her in front of him. 'Where have you been?' he growled. 'I told you, I wanted you downstairs in the salon to entertain Lord Acton. He had specifically asked for you.'

'I had to take care of some important business,' she said as his fingers dug painfully into her arms.

'Nothing,' he said ominously, 'is more important than obeying my orders. I thought I had made that abundantly clear two weeks ago.'

'Yes, Major Ellington,' she managed to say, trying not to cry out in pain. 'Do you want me to go and...'

'It's too late now,' he said letting go of her arm, 'Emerald is taking care of him for you. It is your brother you need to look after now.'

She turned around to look at her brother, who was stationed at his usual gaming table, but to her surprise, he was not with his regular cronies. It was apparent to Cassie, from the way he slouched over his cards, that he had been drinking heavily. His speech was slurred, and his eyelids were heavy. 'How could you let him play with them?' she said fiercely, 'they are all hardened gamesters.'

He just laughed and said, 'I am not your brother's keeper.'

'But you are his guardian,' she said forcefully. 'Letting him play with Captain Fallbrook is bad enough, but with Lord Hoopern,' she said her eyes flashing with anger, 'that is a different matter altogether.'

'Do not worry about your brother,' he said smiling at her, as he leaned against the wall, 'he was holding his own against his lordship.' He sighed and then added, 'but it now looks like his luck has changed.'

'Oh Reggie,' she sighed, 'I wish you would learn to be more careful who you associated with.'

'It's no use giving him advice now,' he said, waving his hand carelessly, 'I think he needs your help. And, I have heard that Lord Hoopern has taken rather a shine to you,' he added nonchalantly. 'I am well informed that he has, on numerous occasions, asked for you. I do not think it would take much for you to use your charms to persuade him to cancel your brother's debts.'

Cassie said nothing and just walked towards the chair where her brother was sitting. She had learnt that there was little point arguing with Ellington. He expected blind obedience to his edicts, and Cassie was too mentally exhausted to put up any sort of fight. She just stood behind her brother's chair watching the progress of the game.

Her brother, not surprisingly, was losing. His usual gaming partners, even though they were experienced gamesters, would never have let the game continue so long. They knew that even though Major Ellington encouraged them to play with the young lad, he had not given them permission to ruin him. Lord Hoopern was different. He was famous all over Europe, not only for his mastery of the gaming tables but for the ruthless way he treated his opponents. Wherever he played, he left a string of ruined young men, who had thought that they would be the one who could finally break him. Everyone, who avidly watched the game that night, knew that Sir Reginald Stanford was about to become the newest member of that exclusive club.

Cassie had been so involved with watching the game, that she had failed to notice Verity entering the gaming room. It was not until she turned around to see if Ellington was still watching her, that she saw her sister standing directly in front of him. His hands were tightly grasping the top of her neck, and she could see Verity grimacing with the pain he inflicted on her. Cassie, filled with horror, knew that her actions that night, would not only determine her brother's fate, but her sister's as well.

'Stanford, I think you better retire,' Lord Hoopern said, putting his cards face down on the table, 'you have nothing left to play with.'

'I still have some assets,' came her brother's reply. Reggie then tried vainly to offer him Hadlands, his family's estate, as part of the wager.

Lord Hoopern had immediately dismissed his offer, and then publicly questioned Reggie's age. 'I cannot ruin a young pup,' he then said to the surrounding audience, 'keep your money, young Stanford.'

Reggie had taken Hoopern's answer as an insult. Since he had arrived in Brussels, along with his regiment, he had always thought of himself as a man, not as a boy. 'What about me sister?' he said, his voice slurred from the brandy he had been drinking.

Aware that Verity was still standing in front of Ellington, Cassie knew she could not refuse her brother's request without it having any repercussions on her sister. She then slowly walked towards Lord Hoopern and placed her hand on his shoulder. 'I will personally make it my business to see that you are repaid in full,' she whispered in his ear.

He turned around, looked at her critically and then smiled. 'I will accept the offer if Ellington agrees,' he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and rested his hand on her hip.

Ellington, who was still standing behind Verity, shrugged his shoulder and said, 'why not?'

Once Ellington's approval had been granted, Lord Hoopern signalled to Cassie to sit on his lap. As the game of cards continued, Cassie began to caress the buttons on his lordship's tailcoat. However, Lord Hoopern was too good of a player to be distracted by her, and it did not take him long to win the game.

After the last hand, both Cassie and Lord Hoopern stood up to leave the table. 'I am a generous man, Stanford, and your sister will make me very happy over the next few hours. As a gesture of goodwill, I will return the money from this game.'

He put his arm around her waist and stroked her hip, while she leaned into him and leant her head on his shoulder. 'Good evening,' Lord Hoopern said, as he acknowledged Ellington with a nod. He then gently placed his hand on the small of her back and began to guide her out of the room.

Before they had a chance to leave, there was a commotion at the card table that they had just left. Soldiers, carrying muskets, had entered the room and had ordered that no one should leave. 'I have come to collect young Stanford and these two ladies,' she had heard an officer, who she did not recognise, order Ellington.

It was a relief for Cassie to know that they had come to take her brother and sister away. She had been worried that her sister was still at the mercy of Ellington, and it was slowly dawning on her that she could not save her from a fate similar to hers.

'Cass,' she had heard her sister cry out imploringly, 'please come with us.'

Cassie laughed out loud, but her laugh was hollow and bordered on the hysterical. She wanted to depart with her sister and leave this terrible life behind, but she knew that was not possible. 'I cannot leave,' she heard herself say.

To her, standing in that room, with everyone silent and looking towards her, it felt like another person was talking. 'I have to stay,' she said, as she looked directly towards her sister, and, for the first time in two and a half years, she once more felt like the naïve, innocent Cassie she had left behind. 'I told you it was complicated,' she said, her voice full of sadness. She desperately wanted her sister to understand why she could not just leave. 'I love him,' she said seriously, but with deep sadness, 'and I think that there is a part of me that always will.'

As she stood, looking at her sister, she fought back the tears that were in danger of being shed. The trap that Ellington had set for her had been sprung, and however much she struggled against her own feelings, she knew she could never escape. She was no longer Miss Cassandra Stanford, she was La Rosa d'Oro, and she had to behave like the woman she had become.

She looked up at Lord Hoopern, smiled coyly at him and took his hand in hers. 'Come with me,' she said, as she lead him across the room towards the door, leaving her brother and sister behind.