Lord of Pleasure Read Online Free PDF

than done meeting the needs and pleasures of a man. She had her own needs to focus on. And that is exactly what she meant to do.
    A loud thud resounded from deep within the walls.
    Charlotte’s gaze snapped up, her pulse fluttering. She stared down the length of the narrow, shadowed passageway before her, just past the staircase, where the dull, gray morning light from the windows did not reach.
    She slowly stood and eyed the walls around her. Was that the movement of… rats? Oh, how she hoped not. They sounded about the size of raccoons.
    Dragging in a harsh breath, she inched backward, toward the door, then reached out behind her and snagged her trustworthy weapon from the corner.
    Another thud resounded in the corridor, this time vibrating the floorboards beneath her slippered feet. She glanced up toward the ceiling and noticed dust particles floating down from the empty space where the crystal chandelier that she had sold off had once been. They drifted down like snow.
    Panic swelled her throat shut. The house! What was happening? What—
    The sharp cracking of splintering wood roared against her ears, and the next thing she knew, part of the oak-paneled wall on the far end of the corridor flew off and crashed against the opposite wall beneath the staircase. A giant, heavyset man with a mop of curly hair, dressed in full dark livery, stumbled out of the wall and into the corridor.
    Charlotte released a high-pitched scream and blindly raised the poker up over her head, waiting for the beast to rush at her.
    Yet the giant merely stood there, looking quite dazed himself as a plume of dust floated and settled in around him. He rubbed at his head with a large hand and glanced about. “Where am I?”
    Charlotte refused to lower the poker wavering above her head. “What do you mean where are you?” she choked out. “You’re in my home, is where you are! In. My. Home. Now get out! Out! ”
    “Harold.” A heavy French-accented female voice drifted out toward them from somewhere within the gaping hole in the wall. “ Mon Dieu! What did you do?”
    Charlotte’s brows shot up in continued disbelief as a beautiful, silver-haired, voluptuous woman dressed in a pale blue morning gown breezed out of the wall and into the corridor, holding up a glass lantern. She delicately coughed and waved away the settling dust, the glowing lantern swaying in her gloved hand.
    Merciful heavens. Where were these people coming from?
    The giant reached out and took hold of the woman’s lantern, looking rather sheepish.
    The older woman set her gloved hands onto her corseted waist and glared up at the giant. “I asked that you find a door. Not make one.” She gestured toward their surroundings. “Och, look at this mess. Terrible. Terrible.”
    The giant winced. “My apologies, Madame. I misunderstood.”
    The woman sighed and shook her head, her silver chignon bobbing. “Gather it. Make it tidy.” She then glanced at Charlotte and halted. An arched silver brow went up as she gracefully turned in her direction.
    Charlotte blinked and lowered her weapon, still somewhat stunned by the unfolding scene.
    “ Bonjour , Mademoiselle. I am Madame de Maitenon.”
    The woman sashayed toward her, her full skirts rustling and shifting elegantly around her as the tips of her powder blue satin slippers occasionally peered out. She paused at the foot of the large trunk that sat between them. The woman, standing about a head taller than Charlotte, swept a rather appreciative gaze across the length of Charlotte’s figure.
    Charlotte tried not to squirm beneath the blatant scrutiny of those firm, blue eyes. The woman’s presence, though not in the least bit intimidating, was rather overwhelming. Something about her reminded Charlotte of music, champagne, wine, and chocolate rolls. All of which she had once loved so dearly but could no longer afford to indulge in.
    “We French usually have more manners than this, I assure you.” Madame de Maitenon waved