Beyond paradise by Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress) DLC, Elizabeth Doyle Read Free Book Online Page B

Doyle
    Sylvie let out a breath which resembled a quiet laugh. "No, he's not frightening, silly. The pirates are in jail. They're the ones who are scared of us, not the other way around. You might as well fear a bear with his foot in a trap."
    "But did he wear lots of gold?"
    "I don't know," she answered quietly. "Everything was taken from him when he was brought to the jail, I suppose." A cool breeze blew into the room, bringing smells of grass and leaves. There was an uncomfortable silence.
    "Where do they put the gold?" asked Chantal.
    "I don't know," answered Sylvie. "Maybe the jailer keeps it"
    Chantal thought about that. She would have liked to see a pirate before he was in jail, wearing gold and a plumed hat. She wasn't sure it would be as interesting to see one after he'd been caught and chained up. "Why did you go there?" she asked.
    Sylvie said nothing.
    "Why did you go there?" she repeated.
    Sylvie's voice seemed to echo as she replied, "Because I'm about to be caged, and I wanted to see what I'm being caged from."
    "I don't understand," said Chantal.
    She hadn't been meant to. Sylvie smiled kindly, knowing that her sister's night vision should be working by now, and enabling her to see it. "I wanted to see something I've never seen before," she stated simply.
    "But why a pirate?" asked her sister. "Why not ... an elephant?"
    Sylvie chuckled. "Well, the pirate was more convenient. But remember—you're not to tell Maman and Papa"
    "I won't."
    "Good."
    Chantal was still staring at her in the dark. "Sylvie? You're not going back again, are you?"

    BEYOND PARADISE
    53
    Sylvie tensed up. "I, uh . . . no, of course not. Of course not." And that was the first time she had ever lied to her sister. Why she had done it, she did not know.
    "Well, Im glad," said Chantal at last. "I would be afraid for you if you went again. But still, I think I am glad you saw a pirate."
    "You are?" laughed Sylvie.
    "Yes," she said, snuggling into her sister's shoulder, "and I hope some day you will see an elephant."
    Sylvie tried not to laugh as she wrapped her arm about her little sister.
    The two tried not to speak anymore, in hopes that sleep would emerge from silence. But for Sylvie, it did not. She kept thinking about the fair-haired pirate, and what she had been tempted to do. She kept wondering how he was feeling, lying in that damp cell, bound to the wall like an animal. She kept imagining the way his muscles must be flexing in struggle. Oh, my. What was the matter with her? Before her betrothal, she'd had little or no interest in men. Now all she could think of was lying in bed, being caressed by a stranger in the dark ... well, a stranger other than Etienne. How sweet it would be. And what. . . what would happen after the caressing? She imagined the pirate's rough, bronzed hands moving all over her. How it would feel if he wanted her and grabbed her. If he . . . looked at her longingly and embraced her with rugged force and . . . Oh, dear God. She had reached a new low. She was fantasizing about a man to whom she had not even spoken, a man quite possibly on his way to the gallows. Fortunately, she was too thrilled to be sickened with herself. She forgave herself by calling it a "harmless fantasy" and allowed herself to indulge into the night. She did not sleep quickly, but when slumber found her, it found her well, and she dreamed gently with a sweet smile across her lips.

    Seven
    She had to go back. She just had to. And this time, she would go alone. In fact, guiltily, she found herself hoping that she would not even so much as bump into Jervais on her way to the jail. Her lonesome venture felt like a betrayal, though it was a vague one. He had taken her there in order to win her affections—she knew that. And now she was using what he'd shown her to pursue a personal curiosity, entirely traitorous to his wishes. It made her smile to recall that her attraction to Jervais had once been the worst scandal of her heart. No more. Her