Read Gareth: Lord of Rakes for Free Online

randy as hell and completely inept at dealing with it. He certainly had been.
    “I, for one, am glad not to be burdened any longer with excessive youth.” Though at nearly thirty, he still had a little youth left, didn’t he?
    “I would say the same, my lord, except that as Callista’s successor, youth would be an asset, would it not?” The coach drew to a halt as Gareth considered her comment.
    “Now that is a paradox, Miss Worthington, and a complicated one.” He helped her from the coach as he continued speaking. “Most men frequenting establishments such as Callista’s desire a woman who appears to be in the first blush of youth, but they do not want a partner who is inexperienced, inept, or immature. They want a woman, not a girl. The only men who persist in finding young girls attractive are some old men, and they are likely intimidated by the idea a mature woman could find their performance clumsy.”
    From her guarded expression, Gareth concluded his companion did not entirely comprehend his comment. He started a mental list, a syllabus of corruptions he must perpetrate on her ignorance and innocence.
    “Come. Your property awaits.”
    Miss Worthington looked around her—gawked, more like. Gareth had directed his coachman to let them off in the porte cochere, which shielded them from public view.
    “This is private,” she murmured.
    “You must assure discretion for the patrons who wish it, of course. Very likely, Callista chose this property with such considerations in mind.” He ushered her through a side entrance to the large town house.
    “Should I have worn a veil?” she asked, still peering about.
    “Not today. I’ve given the staff and the ladies the afternoon off, with instructions to vacate the premises for the next two hours. We will tour the building, so you will have a more definite sense of what Callista left you.”
    And doubtless be shocked silly.
    “I didn’t expect it to be this decent,” Miss Worthington said when they’d finished with the lowest floor and the public rooms.
    “Many brothels are not so finely decorated, but Callista had, or developed, taste. She sought a clientele that wanted the same sort of surroundings they’d find at home. Comfortable, but refined. You should be grateful for that.”
    “Will you tell me why?” She turned to face him as she posed her question. The openness of her expression took him off guard, because clearly, she didn’t know how perverted and even evil the oldest profession could become.
    She would have to learn, and from him—drat her, Callista, the oldest profession, and human nature.
    “Some people, Miss Worthington, make their living off the most indecent forms of the natural urges. They can do so because men—and women—who seek to indulge those perversions will pay handsomely for the opportunity. Callista chose not to offer such entertainments in her establishment.”
    “Such as?”
    He turned a glacial stare on her—a stare that reduced Brenner to babbling—but she did not withdraw the question.
    “Such as sexual arousal gratified by inflicting pain on someone helpless to protect themselves. Such as sexual congress with children. Such as those who enjoy being degraded as they pursue their pleasures. Those who cannot find pleasure unless they are surreptitiously observing others having intimate relations. I do not begrudge two or four or ten adults what they choose to do in private, but many young girls and boys are inveigled into working in brothels because their alternative is starvation or repeated, uncompensated rape.”
    She looked shaken by the time he’d finished, which was all to the good, even if it left Gareth feeling like he’d kicked a puppy. Thus Miss Purity Chastity Felicity Worthington could begin to see the reality of her cousin’s gift.
    He took her elbow and guided her to the higher reaches of the house, where she went quiet at the variety of rooms—a few bedrooms decorated in garish velvets, as well