A Time for Honour

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.