Evil's Niece Read Online Free Page B

draw on her cigar, another puff of smoke, and Monique became a seductress extraordinaire. Her legs fell languidly apart to display a neatly trimmed black bush with a pink nub protruding from it. I could smell her sex, so intriguing, with a riper pungency than mine.
    I swallowed hard. Never had I seen another woman’s private parts, much less my own.
    And why not? my thoughts suddenly demanded.
    ‘Time for our first lesson, oui ?’ she asked, stroking my sleep-mussed hair from my forehead. ‘My new Auntie Eve has much to learn, and she’ll make me a fine pupil. Your wild, erotic dreams of Dewel are only the beginning, cherie .’

3 An Inquisition, and My Christening
    As we went downstairs to breakfast, the aromas of fried ham, Andouille sausages and sticky pecan buns sent my mind into a tailspin. Why was I allowing myself to be cajoled this way? And how would I explain Miss Picabou to Fanny, a housekeeper who was the soul of propriety? I was ravenous for the morning spread this motherly woman always prepared, yet deep down, somewhat below my growling stomach, a forbidden hunger demanded to be fed as well.
    Dangerous, this illicit dare I’d taken. Monique smiled demurely, keeping pace as I rounded the outside spiral of the staircase — until, with a girlish giggle, she hefted one hip on to the mahogany balustrade and deftly slid the rest of the way down. With a neat little hop, she hit the vestibule floor and then grinned up at me.
    ‘Smile, cherie , look happy,’ she entreated, her olive complexion alight with her smile. ‘Today you become as free as Monique!’
    An alluring thought; an idea that inspired my envy, for when was the last time I’d had fun ? When had I last indulged in doing as I pleased, the devil — and high society — be damned?
    I hooked my arm through hers, and together we marched down the short hallway to the dining room. I felt ready to burst into some rollicking song, for the sheer joy of it —
    But there sat Chapin.
    He glanced up from his breakfast, regarded my top-knotted companion with a raised eyebrow, and then rose from his chair. Always the proper gentleman, my husband. ‘And whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?’ he prompted in a tight voice.
    I quickly unlinked our elbows. Why did I feel like a child who’d been caught at something naughty? ‘May I present Monique, my — my new lady’s maid — since you’ve told me so many times I should hire more staff,’ I added in a rush.
    Then I turned to the woman beside me, who stood with her hands clasped before her. Her prim smile camouflaged what she knew about my husband and his extramarital activities. ‘Monique, this is my husband, Mr Chapin Proffit. Although I’ve taken you on as my personal assistant, you will, of course, be responsible for any tasks he assigns you as well.’
    ‘Of course,’ she echoed, with only the slightest hint of derision. Her curtsy appeared extremely graceful, considering how the tops of her gartered stockings showed when she lifted her skirt. ‘It is an honour to work in your home, for your lovely wife. I will give her excellent care, monsieur.’
    With a quick, efficient nod Monique then disappeared through the kitchen door — the proper move on her part, to carry out the role I’d assigned her on a moment’s notice.
    But it left me alone with a man who now inspired questions that squelched my appetite. How could I sit here as though I’d seen nothing yesterday, with a man who didn’t usually eat breakfast? Was I to interpret this odd behaviour as his atonement? A way to spend more time with his neglected wife?
    Chapin was not the only one going round the proverbial mulberry bush — or whatever he called it, on his ‘niece’. I, too, had to dance around his covert courtyard activities, acting as though I hadn’t seen his wild abandon as he approached her from behind…that grimace of ecstasy as they muffled their cries of delight.
    He pulled out the chair beside his, going through