Chapter 1

Carmalina Belluccini poked her head through the thick velvet curtain and smiled at the number of faces she could see. The public floor was filled to standing room only and every box and upper level looked to be overflowing with the gentry come to see her sing. It had been the same way three nights a week for the last month she had performed.

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She needed to remember the milling throng were here to a see a show, not specifically her. She was an important part of the performance but it wasn’t an opera singer they came to see.

With a sigh, she let the curtain fall back to its natural place and went to her mark before the houselights were doused and the show began. Looking around at the nervous actors and actresses surrounding her on the stage, she was grateful she didn’t suffer from poor nerves. This is what she lived for, it was all she knew and she loved it.

As the curtain was pulled away by men tugging on thick heavy ropes, the crowd hushed and fell silent. Carmalina stepped forward on the stage and opened her mouth. The sound that came out was exotic, the words Italian; her beauty on display for most of London to see.

 This was who she was.

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Justin Trentham had been snoozing. His head rested on his hand, his elbow on his crossed knee, completely ignored by his mother and two brothers. Lucky his father was not there otherwise he would have received a lecture about his ‘poor behaviour’. Not that he cared.

He’d been intending to close his eyes and recall the early hours of the morning spent in bed with a very amorous young widow, robbed of her husband after only six short months of marriage. She’d only tasted what it was like to be with a man and then he’d fallen from his horse and broken his neck. After a very long year of mourning, she’d been most eager to have a bed partner again and he was most eager to fulfil her every fantasy.

No sooner had he closed his eyes than the image of Lady Sarah’s bottom slapping against his pelvis appeared in his mind and he was aware of the weight of her breasts, heavy in his hands, as he thrust into her over and over. But then he was distracted. The most beautiful melody his ears had ever had the pleasure of hearing washed over him and Lady Sarah was replaced by a dark haired beauty far below on the edge of the stage. She sang of young love, lost and then found again. She sang of innocence and soul mates.

Every deep breath she took into her lungs was expelled in rich melodious tones, impossible for mere mortals to reach. He doubted there was a soul in the house who was not held hypnotically by her sound. If there was such a thing as perfection, Justin was sure it would be her. Suddenly Lady Sarah looked like a drab mouse the cat had dragged in; she instantly lost her appeal. He had to know the name of the enchanting creature who held so many enthralled with her magical song.

He leaned over to his older brother’s wife, Sylvia, and whispered his question in her ear. She told him a name and then hushed him. Justin understood why his sister-in-law wouldn’t want to miss one second of the opera. He was already mentally making plans to be free for a repeat performance the following night.

Carmalina Belluccini. It was a name he would remember for a long time to come.

When the opera was at an end and the forbidden lovers had been reunited in death, he was quite literally itching to leap from his seat so he could rush to be the first to congratulate Miss Belluccini on an excellent performance. He wanted to meet the enchantress who had most of the men in the audience hard and the women in tears. He hoped she didn’t already have a protector. He didn’t wish to get into a brawl tonight, unless it could not be avoided.

“Justin, I do hope you are not intending to rush off,” his mother, the Countess of Billington enquired, looking down her long nose at her youngest son.

“I’ll not stray far Mother, I will see you home as promised.” Justin bowed low over her hand then walked away, ignoring his brother’s frown of disapproval. They knew he would not be back as well as he did. He never accompanied his family home at the end of one of these excruciatingly painful nights. They had come to lower their expectations where Justin was concerned and he had learned to disappoint with much flair and little remorse.

Putting thoughts of his inadequacy in the eyes of his family far from his mind, he set out to find the enticing Carmalina Belluccini. He now had a mission. A new project that would not only keep him amused in the long months of the Season ahead, but would also have every rogue, rake and scoundrel he knew in complete and utter envy of him. It would be an added boon if he created such a scandal that the desperate matchmaking mamma’s, with their fat and ugly daughters in their third and fourth seasons, ran in the opposite direction.

Justin Trentham wasn’t good enough for the spring flowers blooming into womanhood who were being presented to society for the first time. He was the worst kind of bachelor and didn’t care who knew it. After all he was the third son. Neither the heir nor the spare. His family reminded him every second of every day that it didn’t matter what he did; that he didn’t matter.

“Sir, you can’t go back there.” A large beefy man with biceps the size of his head stood, arms crossed over his impressive chest, blocking the back stage entrance most effectively.

“I have something to deliver to Miss Belluccini.” Justin reached into his pocket and withdrew a small black velvet box. It contained the earbobs he’d been intending to reward his mistress with but she most definitely would not be getting them now.

“I’ll take them to her,” the large man offered.

“You will not. How will I know if she gets them? They’re worth more than you’ll ever see in your life.” He wasn’t exaggerating. The roughly cut rubies were surrounded by diamonds so pure, they cost more than some paid for their houses. Of course Justin hadn’t actually bought them. He’d won them in a game of whist and didn’t regret parting with them if they got him closer to the magical songbird.

The sentry thought about it for a moment making Justin open the box to show him what was inside. His eyes rose to meet his dark brows and he stepped aside to let him pass.

Too easy, Justin thought as he walked carefully through the performers, his interest piqued. He had never been in this area of the theatre before and these strange folk intrigued him. There was almost a carnival atmosphere. Costumes hung from every available space; hats, face paints and all manner of paraphernalia littered every visible surface. Men and women undressed alongside one another, unaware of nudity, embarrassment or shame. There was a familial feeling as they joked, laughed, clapped the backs of their friends for a job well done. He tried to remember the last time he’d received a clap on the back from one of his brothers or a well done and congratulations from his mother or father.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done something honourable enough to warrant their thanks.

His eyes were momentarily drawn to a group of woman wearing nothing but easy smiles while they searched for clothing to wear to their lodgings. He looked away, embarrassed that he’d been staring. He felt like a youth seeing the naked form for the first time, and it definitely wasn’t his first time. He moved swiftly on his way, slightly ashamed for a second that he was there for nefarious purposes. He dismissed the guilty feelings. He hadn’t done anything yet to warrant guilt or shame. It wasn’t as if he were there to kidnap and rape the girl. He would discern her other agreements and then he would offer her something she wouldn’t be able to refuse.

Him