The Duchess of Drury Lane Read Online Free PDF Page A

elsewhere while his good one remained fixed upon my face. ‘It settles about half of it,’ he said in calm, soft tones.
    ‘ Half? But I only borrowed fifty in the first place and I have paid a fair amount back already, scraping by each week on a pittance in order to do so.’
    His laughter was a low rumble deep in his throat. ‘You are forgetting interest, my dear, which is considerable for any unsecured loan.’
    I looked at him blankly, not understanding. ‘Interest?’
    ‘A bank would charge you considerably more than I, even were one willing to lend to a young, unknown actress such as yourself with neither means nor reputation.’
    I felt sick to my stomach. In my naivety I had given no thought to interest, nor made any provision for it in my reckoning. Our budget was tight enough, so slim that I could see no way of increasing my weekly repayments. And there would certainly be no hope of a third benefit. ‘How will I ever repay it then?’ I cried, unable to keep the fear and misery from my voice.
    I was so young, so naïve, so utterly innocent.
    ‘I am quite sure,’ he said, with a soft chuckle, ‘that you will think of a way.’ Then, lifting my chin with one finger, his mouth came down upon mine. To call it a kiss would be a misnomer. He devoured me. I was shocked to the core, revolted even, and quickly attempted to step back, out of his grasp. But his arm came about my waist, pinioning me against him, and while his other hand stroked my throat, the assault continued. I was not so innocent that I wasn’t aware of the fact that many young actresses were willing to exchange their favours for a particular choice role. I was not one of their number. Summoning all my strength, I thrust him away.
    ‘I think you mistake me, sir ,’ I snapped. ‘My virtue is intact, and I mean to keep it that way.’
    His laughter was still ringing in my ears as I stormed from his office and up the stairs, in high dudgeon.
    Daly never left me alone after that. Wherever I went he seemed to be hovering right behind me, or would appear unexpectedly out of nowhere. ‘You are sweet as a cherry,’ he would say, capturing me in his arms, or lightly graze the bloom of my breasts above the neckline of my gown with the backs of his knuckles. ‘Ripe for the picking, so deliciously vulnerable. Utterly irresistible!’
    I loathed his hands on me, constantly touching and caressing, trapping me in some shadowed spot just when I thought I had escaped his attentions. ‘I beg you to leave me alone.’
    ‘Why do you pretend indifference when you are equally captivated by me, as I am by you?’
    ‘That is a mere figment of your imagination,’ I told him as sharply as I dared.
    ‘Besides which, do you not owe me considerable gratitude?’
    ‘I shall pay you in cash, as agreed. What would your new wife say were she to discover how you pursue me?’
    ‘Fortunately, my dear beloved does not control every corner of my life, try as she might. In any case, I believe it is you who pursues me,’ he airily remarked. ‘I cannot seem to go anywhere without running across you. I wonder why that is?’
    I longed to say because you never leave me alone, but could not quite find the courage. The tittle-tattle in the green room about Daly’s reputation for seducing young actresses was becoming common gossip. Many a girl had been unable to resist his advances simply because he was her employer, acting often her only means of earning a living. And he was nothing if not persistent. I, however, was determined that much as I feared losing my job, I would not succumb to these seduction tactics.
    ‘I believe you are anxious to repeat that little love scene, in very truth this time, rather than a mere rehearsal.’
    I tossed back my brown curls. ‘I am no such thing. I do assure you I have no wish ever to repeat the experience.’
    ‘Oh, come, shall we say one kiss to reduce the debt by one pound?’ he teased.
    I stared at him in astonishment. ‘One