The Telltale Heart Read online

  It took him several moments to recover. When he did, he rose slowly to his feet and began searching for his clothes, his double mission—prigging a few purses and looking for a likely candidate for Cam’s experiments—suddenly remembered. “I have to go.”

  Tommy reached out and stroked Edmund’s now limp cock. “Too bad, guvner. Thought we might enjoy an evening together.”

  “I have to help my cousin. She needs a subject to test out her newest invention.”

  Interested, Tommy sat up. “Your cousin an inventor. What has she invented?”

  Edmund waved his hand in dismissal. “I feel sure it’s nothing you can help me with. Unless, of course, there’s a client of this club with a bad ticker.”

  Edmund pulled on his breeches, plunged his feet into his boots and searched for his shirt. Where had it fallen?

  “There might be such a client,” Tommy said as he arranged his cock and balls into a tight package before cramming them into the velvet bag.

  Edmund stopped searching for his shirt. “Is he here now?”

  “I heard someone mention a special client they had to take extra care of cause his ticker weren’t all that sound. I think they sent him into Sloppy Mary’s room. She’s older and knows lots of tricks and how to be careful.”

  Edmund found his shirt, buttoned it and held his coat out to Tommy. “Assist me, please. It fits too tightly for me to get into it without the aid of a valet.”

  When he was fully dressed, cravat tied, coat on, he pulled Tommy close. “I want to see you again.”

  “Join the club, guvner. I be indentured to it. Can’t leave, you know. They own me.”

  “Why that’s barbaric.”

  Tommy nodded and shrugged.

  “Can you find me the gentleman with the bad heart?”

  Tommy took his hand. “Follow me, but this could be a very sensitive matter, you understand.”

  They entered the stone corridor, walked by three closed doors to a fourth. Without knocking, Tommy pushed it open. A frumpy, middle-aged woman, naked, knelt in front of a handsome, well-built man. His cock was out and she was gently stroking it. The man’s eyes were closed and Mary’s middle finger was deep in the gentleman’s ass.

  “Sorry to be a bothering you, Mary, but this gent says he has an experimental cure for your client. He’s the gent with the bad ticker, right?”

  The man on the bed opened his eyes. ‘You have a cure for me?”

  Edmund was trying hard not to stare at the gentleman’s enormous cock, but he wasn’t doing that well. It was gorgeous. “Yes, I mean not me, my cousin. She’s an inventor.”

  The gentleman pushed Mary away. She let go of his cock and popped her finger out of his bum, then the gentleman shoved his flagging erection into his trousers. “Is it a new drug?”

  “Well, no,” Edmund said. “It’s more like a mechanical device that makes your heart beat in a more correct fashion.”

  “I must see it,” he said. He rose abruptly and stuck out his hand. “I’m Drexel Rayne, the Duke of Severn.”

  Edmund was briefly awed, then he took the offered hand and shook it warmly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lord. I’m Edmund Torrington.”

  Chapter 2

  The honorable Nugent Templecombe sat on the throne in the center of the red room, a special room in the Hellfire Club devoted to the kinds of games Nugent liked to play. A young woman lay on a table, her legs tied open, her breasts tied tightly between two ropes forcing them to jut straight up; her naked sex was open and exposed. “Whip her cunt,” he told the masked man holding a riding crop.

  The woman moans were a cross between fear and excitement. Nugent knew Angelique enjoyed the punishment, no matter how hard it got and was likely going to have several orgasms the minute the cunt slapping started.

  He climbed off his throne, dragging another slave by the chain attached to her collar. Her hands were tied behind her back, and it was likely she was not enjoying this nearly as much as Angelique. No matter, she belonged to him and the club. His cock was out and rising steadily as he watched Angelique’s cunt redden with each slap of the crop. “Slap her clit,” he ordered the punisher.

  The next slap of the crop hit Angelique’s clit. The punisher followed it with several more then stopped for a moment. Angelique squirmed and moaned. Her clit was huge, swollen and red. Nugent shoved the trainee to her knees and grabbed her hair to guide her mouth to his cock. “Suck.”

  Obediently, she took his half-hard organ into her mouth. She licked and tongued his cock, but all her efforts went for naught. Nothing could make him harder. He pulled her hair and she cried out. Since her hands were tied behind her back, she couldn’t put them out to save herself a hard fall when he shoved her aside. He took his cock into his own hands and tried to make it hard. He stood over Angelique and watched as the punisher slapped her tits and her cunt. This form of arousal no longer worked. He was going to have to dream up something else. When Angelique spasmed in an obvious orgasm, he told the punisher to let her up. “She likes it too much,” he grumbled. “Set her loose.”

  He knew what he had to do to find satisfaction, and he hated himself for it. Tommy would have to be punished. The sight of Tommy’s reddened buttocks and hard cock would make him able to perform. His disease was getting worse and worse. Before long, he would only be able to enjoy sex with men. He was a pervert of the worst kind. When he inherited the Duke’s position and title, he would not be able to produce an heir.

  Frustrated beyond all bearing, he strode the hallways of the club naked save for the red velvet bag holding his cock and balls. He opened doors on the private rooms searching for Tommy. They were all occupied save one. He didn’t care if he was interrupting anyone’s pleasure. This was his house of pain.

  It occurred to him as he completed his search of the private rooms, coming up empty, he would need to hire several more handsome young men. More and more of his special members were finding Tommy a fun and arousing playmate.

  When Tommy could not be located, he went to his private quarters and sat on the bed. The club paid him well, but not nearly enough. And it was so demeaning to have to rely on this kind of income to maintain his lifestyle. The Duke was on his last legs. Everyone knew it. If only he would stick his spoon in the wall, Nugent would have everything he’d always dreamed of.

  Determined, Nugent dressed and strode out the rear door of the establishment. Maybe it was possible to help Severn along. The Duke did like to frequent the club, thanks to Mary and her technique of gently stimulating his gland. Severn could find release without putting too much strain on his heart. Well, Mary was no longer going to be available and possibly the next time the Duke came to the Hellfire Club, he would go straight to Hell.

  * * * *

  Edmund led the Duke and Tommy through the streets of the Nichol. The sun was coming up. The streets reeked of urine and feces along with spilled beer and garbage. Tommy had taken the same liking to Edmund as Edmund had taken to him. He refused to be separated from Edmund, saying he had fallen in love. Edmund could not decline his company. He wanted a repeat of their lovemaking, and if Tommy wished to tag along, so be it.

  The Duke took out an embroidered handkerchief and covered his nose. “I say, how much further?”

  “Right here,” Edmund said as he stepped into a dark alley and descended a step flight of stairs.

  “Your home is in a cellar?”

  “We live above, but the laboratory is here.” Edmund hoped Cam would still be at work in the lab. She often worked until dawn. He hoped today would be one of those days.

  When he unlocked the door, she greeted him with a smile. “Edmund, you have returned. I have great news.”

  She then noticed his companions. “Who have you brought here?”

  “This is Tommy. Uh…hard to explain. I’ll tell you about him later. And this is the Duke of Severn. He has a bad heart, Cam. I told you I’d find you someone for your experimental trials.”

  * * * *

 
Drexel had begun the journey with hope in his heart. A cure would mean everything. That his disgusting nephew would inherit his lands and title was such a terrible prospect, it could not be thought of rationally. But, as they dived deeper and deeper into the awful slum called the Nichol, his hopes flagged. Who could live in this kind of squalor and produce anything useful to mankind much less a device that could cure his bad heart?

  When his new friend Edmund Torrington led them into a cellar, he was sure it was only to kill him for his watch and jewelry, but he followed the man down the stairs willingly. If he were to die, what would it matter how that was accomplished?

  Then he saw Edmund’s cousin. She opened the door with the light of the newly risen sun on her face. She was so beautiful, his heart literally skipped a beat. She stripped off her leather cap and a flood of golden curls cascaded down her back. Her eyes were spring green and her figure inside of the manly garments she wore exquisite. For a moment, he was spellbound.

  “Cam,” Edmund said. “This is Drexel Rayne, the Duke of Severn.”

  Cam had no patience with the aristocracy. Her family was as long and wellborn as any and they were broke. What good had her father’s title done him? He’d had to join the Army and died as a result, leaving them all destitute. Only her special talents, along with Edmund’s, kept them alive. “Pleased to meet you, your grace.” She turned to Edmund. “So, who’s the sick one?”

  The Duke spoke up. “It is I. I have a very bad heart. The doctors say it will soon fail me and I will perish.”

  Cam lifted one eyebrow. “You brought me a duke to experiment upon?”

  Edmund shrugged sheepishly. “He needs help.”

  Cam walked to the dress form in the corner and lifted her special vest. She held it out to the Duke. “You have to wear this. It will keep your heart beating.” She grinned. “Or at least we think it will. Are you sure you want to try it?”

  “Please, call me Drex, all my friends do.”

  Cam nodded and held out her vest. It was constructed of tiny metal rings like chain mail and fitted with wires and a small metal box positioned right where a man’s heart would be. The Duke ran one long elegantly manicured finger along the vest touching first one brass wire and then the brass box. “How does it work?”

  “The vest is fitted with sensors that can detect irregularities in your heartbeat. When it senses one, it gives your heart a tiny jolt of electricity.” Cam smiled ruefully. “At least we think it will.”

  The Duke closed his eyes, his skin flushed then went white. Cam touched his hand. “Did you just experience one?”

  He nodded.

  “Then by all means, let’s get you into this.”

  Edmund and his friend helped Drex remove his coat, neck cloth and shirt. Cam was surprised. The Duke stripped to advantage. His chest was broad and muscular, his arms bulging with muscles. “Is your illness new?”

  He nodded. “I used to hunt and box. Now I do nothing.”

  Cam helped the Duke into the vest, attached the leads to his chest directly over his heart, laced it tightly and fastened the large brass buckles on the side.

  “Where does it get its power,” Drex asked.

  Cam pointed to a huge machine running down one side of the cellar. “I generate electricity with this steam generator. The vest can hold enough charges to last twenty-four hours, then you must plug it in again. If it works as intended. I will manufacture a second vest so you may have access to one at all times. That has continued to be the tricky part of this invention, figuring a way to keep the vest charged, but not attached to the machine. I told Edmund we could not test it until we had solved that problem.” She pointed to the box fitted to the inside of the vest. “Inside this is a container filled with a special mixture of acid, copper and zinc. We feed electricity into it and in turn it is able to hold it and feed it into the leads when the charge is needed.”

  Drex nodded. “How does it know I’m experiencing an episode of heart failure?”

  “The sensors Cam spoke of inside the vest contain tiny filaments that detect your heartbeat,” Edmund said. “I designed those using bats. The small creatures seem to be able to detect bugs in the dark. No one knows how, but it gave me the idea for those filaments.”

  “Now,” Drex said. “All we need is for me to experience an attack, and we will know if it works.”

  Cam lifted an eyebrow. “And how do you propose to do that?”

  “Like this,” he said as he wrapped his naked arm around her waist. Cam struggled, but his strength was greater than hers. He kissed her ruthlessly, his lips warm and hard. She gave in for one moment as desire filled her. Then she began struggling in earnest. The Duke dropped her and grabbed his chest. “Ow,” he muttered.

  “The vest just shocked him,” Edmund said, mildly disturbed by the Duke’s grabbing his cousin. “I say, that was a terrible way to test the vest.”

  The Duke smiled. “Possibly, but it worked. Your cousin’s kiss was a powerful stimulant.” He smiled ruefully. “I felt my heart stutter and the shock brought it back immediately. Your marvelous invention works!”

  Chapter 3

  Drex couldn’t believe it. The vest had brought him out of an attack immediately. He had found a cure. He grabbed the luscious Cam around the waist and hugged her. “You’ve saved me and my lineage. How can I ever thank you?”

  “By putting me down,” she snapped. “How dare you assault me like this? Do I look like a woman of the streets?”

  Drex grinned. “I’d love to apologize, but I’m not sorry at all. I enjoyed our kiss immensely. And, it was the only thing I could think of to test the vest right this minute.” He cleared his throat. “Any form of intimacy brings on the attacks.”

  Edmund stepped forward. “But I found you at the Hellfire Club.”

  Drex sighed. “There is an older woman there who can perform the trick without any stress.” Acutely embarrassed, he continued. “I must have some form of release, you understand?”

  Edmund nodded. “Of course, you are a man.”

  “However, I am unable to do my duty as Duke. I could not marry and breed an heir. Nugent Templecombe will inherit my lands and title if I cannot be cured.”

  Edmund’s eyes widened. “That court card? Why he actually owns the Hellfire Club if I am not mistaken.”

  Drex sighed. “I believe it is true. He does.”

  Tommy finally spoke up. “If it’s the same bloke who owns the club, I know him.” He winked at Edmund. “I knows him in the biblical way if you gets me drift.”

  “This conversation is truly not fit for Cam’s ears,” Edmund said.

  “I resent that,” she snapped. “I’m not some missish princess forever fainting and having nervous spasms any time a bodily function is mentioned.”

  Edmund groaned. “Really Cam, I say, this is totally unsuitable for you to hear.”

  She rolled her eyes. “If I’m hearing this correctly, Sir Nugent likes the boys and not the girls.”

  Tommy laughed. “You got the right of it, Miss. And he likes to hear women and men screaming. Pain’s what gets his juices flowing. Lately though, it’s been mine he really likes.”

  Edmund frowned. “Then you must not go back there. You can stay with me for a time, at least until we find you another more pleasing position.”

  Tommy grabbed Edmund and kissed his lips. Cam gasped. “Here? Really, Edmund, it’s not fitting.”

  Edmund smiled, his light brown eyes glowing. “You are the best of cousins, dearest Cam, you don’t mind if I keep Tommy here, do you?”

  She took Tommy’s hand. “If Sir Nugent was hurting you, please stay with us. How horrible for you.”

  Tommy shrugged. “Mostly, it started with spanking, which was all right by me, but lately he’s been getting into whips and chains and even more evil tortures. I don’t like that at all.”

  “So my heir is a sadistic bastard and a pederast,” Drex says. “Nice to know.” He turned to Cam, took her hand and lightly kissed the tips of h
er fingers. “You must come to my house and build one of these machines that charges my vest. I will pay you handsomely, and you may even build another laboratory there if you choose.”

  * * * *

  Three weeks later, Cam stood back and admired her handiwork. She’d been living in the Duke’s palatial home on Mount Street, ensconced in a massive bedroom on the third floor. Edmund had chosen to stay in their home in the Nichol with Tommy, but visited every day. He told her it was unseemly for a single woman to be staying with a single gentleman and he was right, but Cam cared nothing for the thoughts and feelings of tonnish people or high society. The servants thought her a boy as she wore men’s garments all the time. The only one who knew her as a woman was the Duke and lately, his attentions had been growing very particular. She thought he was in love with her and after examining her feelings, felt she might love him. It complicated everything.

  With a sigh, she stoked the fire box with her special fuel, a highly combustible mixture that took up little space and burned hotter than any wood or coal. When she thought the fire was hot enough, she turned on the generator. It clanked, hissed and whirred as the steam-powered mechanisms began operating. The door of her lab opened and the Duke entered.

  As usual, he was dressed to perfection in black. His waistcoat was white and he wore a stunningly arranged white cravat. His only ornaments were a gold watch and chain and his signet ring. She thought he was strikingly handsome with his raven’s wing hair and soft gray eyes. She mentally chastised herself. He’s never going to make you an offer, girl. You are quite beneath his touch.

  “This is wonderful,” he told her smiling in such a warm fashion her heart skipped a beat.

  She had to look away. “Yes, it works as expected and you may now charge your vest here. I have been working on a spare vest for you so you may never be without one.”

  She was facing the machine and away from him. He took her shoulders gently in his hands and turned her toward him. “Cam, I think you must know my feelings. Indeed, I don’t know how you couldn’t.”