Beyond paradise Read Online Free Page B

dark for her blue eyes. They had character, and there was nothing so enchanting as a beautiful face that also managed to be distinct. He wondered whether the mole at her mouth's corner was real or not. He hoped it was natural.
    "You are a woman who likes punctuality," he observed, catching her rudely and seductively by the waist.
    That was all he could think to say? thought Sylvie. She looked up at the handsome, broad shoulders which loomed behind her slender body. Why can't they ever be both handsome and bright! She smiled weakly. "I think your hands ask too many questions," she pointed out, gently nudging his
    grip-
    Jervais let her go with a little sigh of disappointment. "I like a lady with spirit," he chuckled now striding easily by her side. "I wonder only if your parents have selected a husband who can tame you."
    "Animals are tamed, Monsieur. Women are won." She held his arm in an effort to make peace after her gentle rejection. They could now hear the ocean. It was a beautiful, maddening sound. But when Sylvie turned her head to the shore, she saw waters of turquoise, happy and playful like the ocean in a painting. She knew that the ocean could be more than that. She knew it in her heart, but she had never seen it. She had never seen it when it was black and deadly.
    "You haven't answered my question," remarked Jervais, breathing in the sweetness in the air, which he was certain
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    BEYOND PARADISE
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    must be the scent of Sylvie. "What is he like, this gentleman who will have you in his possession?"
    Sylvie cast him a glance. "How could I answer a question you didn't ask?"
    "Well, Vm asking now."
    "He is very rich." She grinned, in an effort to goad her would-be suitor.
    "Is that so?"
    "Oh, yes, fabulously wealthy. And admired by many ladies for his grace "
    That made Jervais swallow awkwardly, for he knew he himself was a strong but ungraceful man. "What else?" he asked in an effort to torment himself.
    "Let's see, what else, what else ..." Sylvie tapped her chin, squinting up at the clouds as though deep in recollection. "Ah, yes," she said at last, "he is also completely spineless, unappealing, and without conviction." Jervais cast her a sudden glance, which made Sylvie break into a grin. "And I wish I would not have to marry him," she added.
    No words could have pleased Jervais more. He shared her contagious smile, and felt the urge to kiss her. But he wasn't sure he should. He might offend her. And for some reason, this was something he could not stand to do. What was happening to him? "Can you refuse?" he asked.
    Sylvie shook her head. "No, my parents have made all of the arrangements."
    This was quite usual, and so Jervais was not surprised. "He cannot watch you all the time," he suggested hastily. "There is no reason that you cannot pursue other. . . interests."
    That is exactly what Sylvie had been thinking. She would not say it aloud in her mind, but she knew the real reason she was meeting Jervais on this day. If Etienne would keep mistresses, which she knew he would, then she wanted to keep

    Elizabeth Doyle
    open at least one door for herself. It was shameful and despicable thinking. In her world, a woman must never be unfaithful, no matter how many mistresses her husband might keep. "I cannot pursue other 'interests'," she scolded him falsely. "You know that as well as I."
    "Why not?" he pleaded.
    "Oh, look!" She pointed at the mercilessly bright sky. "Oh, never mind. I thought it was a falcon." It was a shaky attempt to change the subject, which even Jervais was bright enough to comprehend.
    "Well, we're almost there," he said, as though Sylvie's rejection had been in earnest. "Are you still sure you want to see the jail? Really, we could go somewhere more appealing." This had troubled him all night and all morning. He could think of nothing wrong with showing her the jail which held all of his half-human trophies, but he could not help thinking there must be something unseemly about it.
    "Are you