Under A Velvet Cloak by Piers Anthony Read Free Book Online Page A

with attractive trees. A woman came out to meet her. “I am Ona. You will have a chamber adjacent to Hirsh’s room, so as to be readily available at night. His needs can be erratic.”
    So she gathered. “I will accommodate.”
    “You will need a better wardrobe. Come with me.”
    “First, I really ought to meet his wife. I am concerned lest she not approve.”
    The woman smiled. “I am his wife.”
    Kerena smiled ruefully, blushing. “I took you for a servant.” Again, she should have Seen. This remarkable shift of situation was making her unpardonably thoughtless.
    “You are charming. This way.”
    Kerena went with Ona to the kitchen, evidently the center of household activity. “This is Rena, who will be with Hirsh,” Ona said to the fat cook. “She is not a servant.”
    The cook nodded.
    Ona took her to a room with many hanging dresses. “Some of these should fit you. Try them on. The seamstress will make adjustments.”
    Kerena was increasingly nervous. “Please, I think I don’t understand. Why are you helping me?”
    “My husband is a good man and an excellent provider, and we love each other in our fashion. But sex is uncomfortable for me. I tried to ameliorate it with balms, but they are not sufficient. Hirsh has the desire twice or thrice a day. It is entirely beyond me. I told him to get it elsewhere until we could find one to accommodate him here. Other girls have not been able to keep the pace. He believes you can. I hope that is the case.”
    “And what is to be the relationship between the two of us?” Kerena asked. “Should I try to stay out of your sight?”
    “By no means. You will do what I would do for my husband, were I able. We will introduce you to outsiders as a young relative temporarily in our care. The rest is no one else’s business.”
    “But do you resent the-the need? I do not wish to be the source of dissension.”
    The woman smiled. “This, too, becomes you. I shall be glad to have the company. Hirsh says you are a bright girl in search of a lost lover.”
    “Yes.
    Hirsh appeared. “Go with him now,” Ona said, with no sign of rancor.
    Kerena went with him. “Can your wife really not resent me?”
    “She dreads my need. As long as you abate that, she will be your friend.”
    “This is not a thing I am well equipped to understand.” Yet her Seeing suggested it was so.
    “It is an unusual situation.”
    They entered his room. It was richly appointed, with an enormous plush bed.
    No need to confuse the purpose. “How do you want me?”
    “As you are, this time.”
    They stripped and lay on the bed. To her surprise, Hirsh was not in a hurry. He kissed her, stroked her breasts, squeezed her bottom, and talked. “I have collected recent reports on groups and people that travel. Is there any particular area you wish to verify?”
    “You have me naked, and you wish to talk of travel?” she asked, bemused.
    “I have you naked, and I want to please you.”
    It fell into place. He required more than the body; he wanted her pleasure. That was one of his turn~ons.
    “Locating the one I lost would please me,” she agreed. “I did not think that you would want to address this subject at this time.” Men could be possessive about their women, even when they had more than one.
    “I love my wife, and would have her here with me if it were possible without her pain. I am not here to love you, and you are not here to love me. I need sex, you need to complete your search. There is no conflict.”
    She nodded, seeing it. “It means everything to me to recover the one I love.”
    He asked about the details, and she told him what she knew. “I believe I can help you,” he said. “It may take time, but if there have been any unusual travels, we shall become aware of them.”
    “Thank you!” she said gratefully.
    Then he took her for sex, seemingly relishing her appreciation for his help as much as the physical act.
    Later in the day they had sex again, this time one of