Fruit of the Golden Vine

by Sophia French

  “I’ve been with a woman.” Adelina tried to keep her eyes on Nerine’s face. “But I didn’t touch her down there.”

  Nerine’s teeth gleamed as she smiled. “Fortunately, dove, I’m a courtesan, not your beloved. What matters to me is that you enjoy my caresses.” She reached for Adelina’s collar. “Let’s remove this concealment, shall we? Your secret is safe now within these walls.”

  It was a relief to be free of the cumbersome coat. Adelina tossed it off the bed and plucked her shirt away from her sweaty skin. “Sorry. I think I’m all damp under my clothes.”

  “That’s what we want, my sweet.”

  Adelina’s blush managed to burn more fiercely. “I didn’t mean…”

  “You’re nervous, aren’t you? Don’t be, lover. Take your boots off.”

  With unsteady fingers, Adelina unlaced the boots and kicked them aside. “Shouldn’t we talk first?”

  “You are adorable.” With a swift motion, Nerine pushed Adelina onto her back and straddled her waist. Adelina stared up in dazed confusion. Nerine smiled back, her hair loose and her eyes thoughtful. She ran her fingers over Adelina’s cheek. “I don’t want to talk, dear heart. I want to play.”

  The weight of Nerine’s body and the warmth of her thighs was more than Adelina had prepared herself for, and her breath grew rapid as she felt a flash of dizzy heat. Nerine slipped her dress from her shoulders, and her full, pale-nippled breasts swayed as they were loosed from the garment. Despite the urgent pressure gathering in her body, Adelina experienced a moment’s relief. It seemed every woman was different, after all, and she ought to have no fear of her own body.

  “Does my appearance please you?” said Nerine as her fingers traced the curve of Adelina’s neck.

  “Yes.” The inarticulate urge in Adelina’s groin seemed to intensify with each hurried beat of her heart. “I want to kiss your breasts.”

  Nerine giggled and stroked Adelina’s mouth. “You’re paying good money, little love. Wouldn’t you rather I kiss yours?” She pulled on Adelina’s tunic, and Adelina raised her arms, allowing the garment to be lifted over her head and tossed aside. “If my lips burn you, lover, be sure to cry out. That way I’ll know to keep going.”

  Nerine licked one of Adelina’s stiffened nipples, sending a convulsion through Adelina’s body. A smile curled Nerine’s lips, and she pressed the nipple between her teeth before flicking it with her tongue. Adelina moaned and twisted her fingers through the sheets. “Oh, God.”

  Nerine lifted her head and frowned. “Why do people so often mistake me for God?” She tugged on Adelina’s trousers, and Adelina twisted her hips, allowing the trousers to fall to her knees. Nerine brushed Adelina’s stomach with her fingertips before landing them, lightly, upon her mound. Adelina groaned and moved her hips, seeking the pressure of Nerine’s palm.

  “You are an enthusiastic one,” said Nerine dryly.

  “Please.” Adelina cupped Nerine’s breasts and squeezed them. “Don’t stop.”

  “Stop? I’ve hardly started.” Nerine’s fingertip slipped between Adelina’s lower lips, and Adelina breathed something between a gasp and a cry. Another hand slipped between her thighs and moved inside her. Fingers caressing her, fingers thrusting into her, warm breasts in her hands, a beautiful woman watching her, the molten glass of those dark-rimmed eyes…

  Adelina cried out, and Nerine laughed. “You’re a loud one too!”

  Don’t be afraid to moan, Adelina. You’ll want to.

  Adelina released a long gasp, as if the air had been forced from her lungs. Nerine’s mouth returned to Adelina’s breast, teasing and sucking, and added yet more incomprehensible pleasure. The sensation was going to overwhelm her, she could feel it washing over her, and she wanted it, wanted to be swept away…

  Every time my lips met yours, it was an oath. I do love you. I want you.

  She closed her eyes and sobbed the name that the Goddess had written on her soul.

  You don’t have to hide from me.

  “Silvana…”

  I’ll be your salvation, and you’ll be mine.

  The loving hands stopped their motion, and Nerine sat upright, her eyes wide. “What did you say?”

  Adelina inhaled a shuddering breath. “It doesn’t matter. Pleasure me.”

  “No, what did you say? Did you say ‘Silvana?’”

  The ecstasy evaporated, leaving Adelina’s limbs numb and heavy. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

  “God in heaven.” Nerine withdrew to the pillows and held her knees against her chest. “Are you the reason she wouldn’t lay with me?”

  “What?” Adelina raised herself onto her elbows. “What are you talking about?”

  “Earlier this month, a woman came to me that I’ll never forget. Silvana. She had such power in her voice, such passion in her eyes, and on her cheek a beautiful silver tree.”

  Tears stung Adelina’s eyes. “She lay with you?” Then it was true—Silvana really hadn’t cared for Adelina at all.

  “No. We were about to, and she stopped me.” Nerine’s eyes clouded. “She confided that she had met a woman that day who had seized her heart. She also said that she was doomed to bring that woman sorrow, though she wouldn’t tell me why. Whatever lay behind her torment, it was powerful enough to keep her hand from my breast and her lips from my mouth.”

  “Did she say who this woman was?”

  “She wouldn’t tell me. Only that the woman spoke with fierceness and sweetness both, and that her eyes were a brilliant blue, as if she were born of starlight.” Nerine smiled. “She had a lyricism of speech, I’ll say that much.”

  Adelina grabbed her clothing and hurriedly began to dress. “I have to leave.”

  “It was you she meant. I’m sure of it. You have such beautiful blue eyes, and you spoke her name with so much fervor.” Nerine grasped Adelina’s hand. “Tell me what’s happened.”

  “I’ve spurned the woman I love.” Adelina took a deep breath and tried to recover her composure. Her heartbeat settled, her nerves stilled and her hands ceased trembling. “Now I have to find her and pray she loves me still.”

  “Do you know where to find her?”

  “If she hasn’t left town, I expect she’ll be staying at the White Branch.” It was the most sensible place for Silvana to stay. It had the town’s best rooms, and Orfeo would have given her a steady supply of information on Adelina’s family. A discount too, no doubt. “It’s not far, is it? I’ve never been there.”

  “No, it’s not far. Simply turn right as you leave. It’s immense and always busy. You can hardly miss it, even at this time of night.”

  “Thank you.” Adelina touched Nerine’s cheek. “For everything.”

  Nerine blushed. “I do believe the romance is starting to affect me. Good luck, Marielle.”

  “My name is Adelina. The owner of this tavern is my father.” Adelina smiled as Nerine’s eyes widened. “Love takes a strange and wandering path. Never give up on reaching its end.”

  “Love.” Nerine’s eyes shimmered, and a tear spilled to her cheek. “If only I knew something of the kind. I wish I too could flee to the embrace of a woman who adores me. Instead, I’ll be skulking back to Velvet’s clutches to receive a reprimand for losing you, for how could I charge you coin for such a moment as this?”

  “Don’t lose hope. If you follow that path yourself, you’ll find a lover awaits you too, her eyes longing and her lips kind.” Adelina cupped Nerine’s face and kissed the tears from her cheeks. “Our hearts are true, and the world fears us because we pursue that truth even through pain and sorrow. More than anyone else who has ever drawn breath, we deserve to be loved.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The White Branch, a pale building four stories tall, loomed above the street. Adelina hurried through its front door and into a long carpeted corridor that smelt of sandalwood. She rushed past flickering lanterns, indistinct portraits and solemn busts, all testaments to Orfeo’s shallowness of taste, and
opened the smaller door at the end of the hall.

  The inn’s lobby was immense, its high ceiling dangling with blazing candelabra. A staircase ascended beside a wide counter, and a trio of archways in the walls opened into a busy dining area. Cutlery clattered and scraped beyond the tall arches, and a peal of female laughter rose before fading.

  Behind the counter lounged a plump man with stubble on his cheeks. He lifted a lethargic eyebrow. “Good evening, miss.”

  “I’m looking for a guest.”

  “Is that so?” The man peered under his fingernails. “Are they looking for you as well?”

  “Does Orfeo know you’re so rude to visitors?”

  “You know Master Orfeo?” The man straightened up and fixed his few wisps of hair. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m merely tired, miss.”

  “I am too, so don’t test me. Is there a guest here by the name of Silvana? She has a silver tree on her cheek.”

  “Oh, the woman with the tree?” The man yawned behind his palm. “Yes, miss, she’s here.”

  “Good. She’s the one I’m looking for.” Adelina tried to disguise her pleasure, but her voice shook. She had prepared herself for the possibility that Silvana had already left town. “Can you tell me what room she’s in?”

  “Guests have an expectation of privacy. Why do you need to see her? What’s your relation to her?”

  “Why does that matter? Damn you, I need to see her. It’s life or death.”

  “Meaning no offence, I somehow doubt that. What is this matter of life and death?”

  “It’s none of your business!”

  “My lady, our guests are very much my business indeed. If you can’t give me a reasonable explanation, I can hardly give you a reasonable response, can I?”

  Adelina growled. “You stupid whiskery goat. She’d want to see me, don’t you understand?” She beat her fists onto the counter, and the man jumped. “This is your last chance to tell me before I run up those stairs and down the corridors shouting her name, waking every sleeping guest in the house.”

  “You’re threatening me with a disturbance? I should have you removed.”

  Adelina sighed through her teeth. She wasn’t handling this well. Curse her stubborn temper—it was what had started all this trouble in the first place. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shouted at you. It’s just she’s an old friend, and I miss her dearly, and I don’t want her to leave town without me seeing her first. Perhaps you can send somebody up to ask if she’ll come down. My name is Adelina.”

  The moment the name left her lips she realized, with utmost horror, her mistake. The man, however, merely stared at her without interest. “I’ll do it myself,” he said. “But don’t bother trying to steal anything while I’m gone. All the money’s kept in a safe, understand?”

  “Thank you.” Adelina closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and opened them again. The tumult within her settled. “I’m very sorry I behaved like a child. I’m just tired.”

  “As you say.” The man slid from his seat and trudged up the stairs, moving two steps at a time and grumbling as he went. Adelina leaned on the counter and tapped her fingernails against the varnished wood. Any moment now she might be reconciled with her love—that is, if Silvana could bring herself to love Adelina after the things that had been said between them…

  “Adelina?” Orfeo stood in the archway, stopped in midstep. “God above, it is you. What have you done to your hair?”

  “I’m here to see Silvana.” Adelina’s heart gathered pace, and she struggled to keep her voice even. Of all the terrible luck. “Go away.”

  “Here to see…” Orfeo shook his red mane. “Ada, your family is worried to the point of madness. You need to go back to them immediately.”

  “I won’t. Not ever.”

  “You don’t have that choice. Your father has a legal right to you.”

  Adelina’s blood heated. “I’m not property! I’ll go where I will!”

  “No, you shan’t.” Orfeo dashed close, and before Adelina could do more than spin on her heel, he gripped her by the wrist. “Don’t struggle.”

  “Let me go!” Adelina clawed at his hand, and he caught her other wrist as well. She turned again, trying to free her arms from his grasp, but she may as well have been manacled. “You damned ogre, let go of me!”

  “Stop resisting.” Orfeo squeezed tighter. Adelina tried to pull free again, and he pulled back. Pain bloomed in her shoulder, and she screamed. “Stop resisting, for God’s sake!” Orfeo raised a monstrous hand, and Adelina became very still. Even if he only slapped her, it would no doubt fell her as easily as if his arm were a club. “Guards! Where are my guards?”

  The heavy step of boots echoed, and two men in leather armor ducked beneath the archway. “Master, what’s wrong?”

  “This is Sebastian’s missing daughter, the maiden Adelina. Help me return her to her parents.”

  Adelina kicked Orfeo’s knee. He grunted, but his grip remained steady. “Don’t try that again.” His nostrils flared. “For God’s sake, stop making this so hard on yourself. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  The guards took Adelina by the shoulders. She shrieked and tried to butt the nearest with her head. “She’s a wildcat, this one,” he said, and his fingers dug into Adelina’s flesh, adding to the agony already swelling in her upper arm. “We may have to truss her.”

  “Do whatever it takes, but don’t strike her if you can help it, and certainly not on her face. She’s to be my wife.”

  “I’ll never be your wife.” Adelina spat, but her saliva fell far short of Orfeo’s face, instead splattering against his boot. “Even if you marry me, I’ll make your life hell. I’ll fuck any servant woman who’ll have me, and I’ll make sure they gossip about it. How would you like that?”

  Orfeo grimaced. “To think you know such language. Where did you learn that foul word?”

  “From you, you shit-brained bastard. You really think sitting at the other end of the table means I can’t hear you? Or do you think women are somehow deaf to cursing?”

  One of the guards snickered. “Your future wife, eh? You’re welcome to her.”

  “Stop humiliating me, girl,” Orfeo said. “If I have to get these men to gag you, I will.” He averted his eyes. “Tie her hands and feet and throw her into a coach.”

  The guards forced Adelina into the hallway while she writhed and swore. Her shoulder pulsed, sending spikes of agony down her arm, and her breath came in ragged gasps. Despite the anger fueling her, she was beginning to tire, but she kicked and wrestled regardless. Let them hurt her. Let Father and Mother see what they’d done.

  “Unhand her.” Upon the sound of her lover’s voice, as stern and magnificent as she had remembered, Adelina’s fury gave way to weeping. Silvana stood at the foot of the stairs with her hand on her sword hilt, her face composed and her eyes smoldering like those of a wrathful deity awakened. The branches on her cheek glittered in the lamplight as she descended the final step and drew her sword.

  The guards glanced at Orfeo. “Stand your ground,” he said. “She’s trying to intimidate you, that’s all.”

  Silvana’s slender blade hissed through the air. Before Orfeo could do more than blink, its point settled at his neck. “Tell them to release her.”

  Orfeo’s eyes lowered to the lethal tip. “You can’t do this. I’m unarmed.”

  “How unfortunate for you.”

  “This is abduction.” A trail of sweat glistened on Orfeo’s temple. “The town watch will catch you in hours. You’d be hanged. You can’t mean this.”

  “The tip of my blade is at your throat. Look at my hand, Orfeo. See how steady it is. If I were bluffing, how could I remain so calm while I hold your life by the most slender of threads?”

  “But to kill me would be madness.”

  “No.” Silvana smiled. “It would be love.” She frowned at the guards. “Set this woman free and go up those stairs. Now.”

  “Do it.” Orfeo closed
his eyes. “For the love of God, do what she says.”

  The guards released Adelina and backed up the stairs, still gaping at the scene below. “Are you hurt, my beauty?” said Silvana.

  Adelina clutched her throbbing shoulder. “I think they broke my arm.”

  “No doubt it’s just a sprain,” said Orfeo. “And it wasn’t my fault.”

  “Wasn’t it?” Silvana lowered her sword. “And whose fault was it, then?”

  “It was Adelina, she fought back—”

  The sword blurred, and Orfeo cried in pain. He pressed his hand to his cheek, and blood flowed between his fingers. “You cut me!”

  “No, I marked you.” Silvana wiped the bloodied tip of her sword against her boot. “A tell-tale scar so that the world will know you as a man of brutality.”

  “This will not end well for either of you.” Orfeo stared at the blood in his palm. A crimson wound split his cheek. “Fugitives don’t survive long in these parts. The road watch is very good at their job.”

  “Your concern for us is touching.” Silvana sheathed her sword and touched her fingers to her forehead in a gesture of farewell. “Until we next meet.” She strode to Adelina and put an arm around her shoulders. Adelina pressed herself against Silvana’s lean body. That warm body, that subtle scent, God, how she’d missed her…

  “Can you walk?” Silvana spoke with calming softness. “Or is the pain too much?”

  “I can walk.”

  “Come then.”

  Silvana guided Adelina through the corridor, out the door and into the tepid night. They hurried for some distance across the cobblestones, until the White Branch was no longer in sight, and stopped within the mouth of an alley. The moonlight traced the forking lines on Silvana’s cheek, and tears glittered on the tips of her lower lashes.

  Adelina took Silvana’s hand. “I swore to myself that you’d be mine by the coming of the full moon. And there it is.”

  “And here I am.” The women kissed, gently at first, then with the tenderness of lovers long-parted. “Do you forgive me, my love?”