Evil's Niece

by Melissa MacNeal

  So this mask symbolised my own secret: it hid the Eve Proffit who was scheming her escape. She would appear as the perfect wife and supporter of the party’s golden boy — the hostess who gave the season’s most lavish and talked-about party.

  And then she would be gone.

  24 I Get My Licks In

  ‘You can’t do this to — let me go, dammit!’

  I struggled as Judd Schuck tied my wrists to my bedposts, but the little toad was more efficient than he looked. He was loving it, that this task brought him into full contact with my naked body, and that I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Chapin stood with his arms crossed and an expression of serene control while his valet did his dirty work.

  ‘You were the perfect wife while you remained ignorant and knew your place,’ he remarked with a sarcastic grin. ‘But like that temptress Eve in the Garden, you’ll be forever cursed for knowing too much. And you’ll be out of my life without a penny to your name, for taking up with that bastard Dewel.’

  ‘You’ll never get away with this,’ I tried to reason. ‘The guests will know something’s amiss when you have no hostess at your party!’

  ‘Ah, but I will, my dear,’ he crooned. ‘Antoinette has consented to be your double for the evening. Costumed as the French queen you named her for, with her auburn hair and similar figure, she’ll easily pass as the wife my guests expect to see. A lover who’s received my affection for years now, you know.’

  I ignored yet another emotional gut-punch from my husband — and another apparent betrayal by the maid who’d inspired my dream of revenge and freedom. ‘And how will your — slave carry on appropriate conversations with —’

  ‘Such illusions of grandeur you have, Miss Eve,’ he clucked, testing my leather ties. ‘As Annabelle, she’s long been overseeing Miss Delacroix’s soirees. And now that she understands my double identity, and the importance of keeping it a secret, she — and Judd here — look forward to elevated positions when I’m elected mayor.’

  Chapin focused those blue Proffit eyes on me with such arrogance I nearly choked.

  ‘Gag her as well, Judd. Can’t have her screaming to attract attention.’

  His sycophant forced one of my own silk scarves between my teeth, chuckling gleefully as he tied it.

  ‘Too bad you never took an interest in my political activities, dear wife,’ Chapin continued smugly. ‘And too bad Mistress Monique isn’t here to pay the piper for her part in this little escapade. I’ll get her, though. Meanwhile, you’ll have the evening to think about your…mysterious disappearance. If Annabelle plays her part well tonight, no one will even realise you’re gone. Ever.’

  My eyes widened and I chomped furiously at the gag that cocked my jaws open. But with my ankles and wrists bound to the bedpost and my voice silenced, I was truly this insidious man’s prisoner. He had the gall to act as though he’d planned to replace me all along, with his…boyfriend!

  ‘Shall we go, Judd? By the time we’re in costume, Annabelle should be ready for her instructions —’

  The door closed on Chapin’s sentence. I cried out my hatred at the top of my lungs, but of course he didn’t hear me. The snick of the lock was louder than any noise I could make.

  The room’s silence magnified the thoughts rushing through my head. I had spent the day planning the buffet layout with Fanny, and giving the three sissy maids their final instructions — complimenting their wonderful costumes. Once again I’d been oblivious to a traitor playing along.

  Or had Antoinette known of Chapin’s plans? I wanted to rail against her — against the hope she’d given me for getting out of this marriage with a scrap of personal pride and dignity. She was a smart one: she understood my husband’s dual personality, and was bright enough to secure her future with it.

  Yet I suspected that this morning, Toinette hadn’t known she’d replace me. Chapin was probably bluffing about that part to further intimidate me, and he was now informing the redheaded maid about her evening’s role as hostess. I had to believe this, for being betrayed by yet another person I’d come to love and trust — the young Russell who’d revealed his affection in the attic — was more than I could bear.

  I heard musicians ascending the stairs…then tuning their instruments in the third-floor ballroom. The maids’ quarters above me were empty, and by now Cinderella and Cleopatra were too busy with last-minute preparations to slip away — if indeed they would. Perhaps Miss Delacroix-turned-Chapin was making them some wonderful offers in exchange for their silence too. There was so much I couldn’t find out while held hostage in my room!

  In vain I rolled the leather ties up and down the bedpost to loosen them, but I only rubbed my wrists raw. My mouth felt parched from being propped open, and my jaw throbbed from the tightness of the gag. Tied higher than my head, my arms had already gone numb and were prickling from lack of circulation, while the rest of my body was growing stiff from its position along the post. And I had to pee. Badly.

  I could discern the arrival of the first guests…female voices exclaiming over the lavish decorations and each other’s costumes. The periwinkle gown I’d intended to surprise Chapin with was of no use to me now. Male voices conversed over the genteel clatter of silver on china plates…someone called for a toast, and there was a loud cheer, followed by applause. From what I could apprise in my darkening room, everyone was having a splendid time without me — not even aware of my absence.

  Soon came the tread of guests going upstairs to dance, walking within sight of my suite without knowing it was my prison! The music began, and in my mind I saw ladies whirling gracefully, showing off their magnificent costumes as their partners led them in a waltz.

  I rested my head against my bloodless arms, tears trickling down my cheeks. We’d entertained so seldom. I’d truly looked forward to this evening’s splendour, not just as the place to stage Chapin’s fall from grace, but as a tonic for a soul that had languished in my barren marriage. I realised now that even before I’d met Dewel and Monique, I wasn’t happy. I wished I’d had the grit to act sooner. And the foresight to use the bathroom when I’d had the chance.

  A furtive click made me look towards the door, where a stout little clown with a white face and a long nose was slipping inside. Even in the shadows, I could see Judd Schuck’s other prominent point tenting the front of his costume.

  ‘Just making sure you’re all right, Miss Eve,’ he said in his reedy voice. ‘Chapin’s put me in charge of you now, since I requested permission to, uh, fill in for him.’

  Since I could move nothing but my head, I turned it away from him. Yet this left me completely vulnerable to the valet’s nastiness — which began with his hand insinuating itself between my bare thighs.

  ‘Such soft skin,’ he sighed, his body pressing mine against the wooden bedpost. ‘It was more than I could hope for when I took this job, but my dreams are coming true! Not only am I to be the mayor’s right-hand man, but I can hand le his pretty wife as well!’

  He laughed at his own joke, making my stomach roil with revulsion. He brought his hand higher, against my bare slit — which forced my thighs apart and made me fall against the bed.

  ‘That’s what I like to see, total cooperation,’ Schuck said with a laugh. ‘Play your cards right and perhaps — perhaps — I’ll keep you in a little hideaway somewhere, when this is all over. Such a shame, to dispose of you the way Chapin wants to.’

  My eyes widened, yet my mind told me this, too, was another attempt at intimidation. I moaned against my gag, feigning arousal. Maybe if I played along with his clumsy fumblings, I’d have a better chance at being untied. I was tall enough that Judd would have trouble taking what he wanted, from this position.

  He shifted quickly, and then my backside suddenly stung from the hard whack of his free hand. The surprise attack made me dribble against his fingers.

  ‘Is the lady losing control?’ he said with a chuckle, rubbing the wetness against my folds. ‘What would she give me in exc
hange for her chamber pot?’

  He brought his wet hand up over my mound, and suddenly pressed it against my bloated abdomen. I grunted into the gag when he spanked me again.

  ‘Not as much fun to be on the receiving end, is it? But then, Fanny Frike is much more accomplished at spanking,’ he added dryly. ‘She sends her regards, by the way. But she knows better than to help you.’

  Another whack, and more liquid escaped — both from my pussy and the corners of my eyes. Only a cur like Judd Schuck could devise such a degrading game, knowing the party’s gaiety would cover any noise I made.

  ‘I’ll get that potty now,’ he breathed, his mask chafing my ear, ‘and then I’m going to loosen one foot so you can piss while I watch — holding your leg so you won’t do anything stupid, of course.’

  Desperate as I was, such a concession seemed a godsend. He roughly removed his hand, causing more warm water to trickle down my thighs and into my Aubusson rug. Damn him, he took his sweet time fetching my commode from beside the vanity, knowing that this initial release only made me more anxious to go.

  ‘Not another drop,’ he warned, placing the porcelain pot on the floor in front of me. ‘Once I untie this left leg, you’ll wait for my permission to relieve yourself, understand me? If you can’t be a lady about it, I’ll smack your ass and have you pissing all over the floor — and your bed! Then I’ll hold your nose in the wet spot while I fuck you from behind.’

  I closed my eyes against those ideas, coming from such a lurid mind. Schuck took his time loosening the leather binding, running little nips and kisses inside my thigh. I was squeezing myself tightly, thinking of what I might do with my free leg, while the valet’s breathing deepened: he was sniffing my crotch like a dog, panting for it now.

  Suddenly he knelt, to thrust the cool porcelain bowl between my knees. ‘Do it!’ he ordered. ‘And whatever you splash on my hand, you’ll have to lick off!’

  With my wrists still bound above my head and one leg tied, squatting was impossible. I let loose with a splash, trying not to empty too fast, thinking of ways to waylay this bastard. Schuck, however, was so caught up in watching me pee, he didn’t notice the door opening. Seeing the iridescent sheen of Cinderella’s gown in the dimness, and the obsidian hair falling around Cleopatra’s shoulders, I almost laughed aloud.

  Wisely they waited, observing Judd’s fixation and noting the ties around the bedpost. As though by silent agreement, Cinderella went around the other side of the bed while her cohort slipped silently behind Judd Schuck.

  ‘Come on, Miss Eve — let him have it,’ came Cleopatra’s sultry voice. ‘Wet him down!’

  ‘He’s got his nerve, treating you this way!’ Cinderella chimed in.

  Schuck was so startled that he prodded me with that damn clown’s nose. Cleopatra had grabbed him by the backside, while I felt the slight dips of her partner crawling across the bed behind me.

  ‘You should see his face, not to mention his cock,’ the Egyptian queen muttered. ‘He wants it bad.’

  When that nose poked me again, I did the unthinkable: with what I had left, I sprayed him full-force, delighting in the strangled cry he made. His grip on my ankle made me whimper and shift, which dumped the chamber pot on him too, but I was beyond worrying about stains on my rug. A jewelled dagger passed beside my head, and Cinderella took it to cut my wrists free.

  Schuck sputtered. ‘If you think I’m turning her loose —’

  ‘I think you’re so damn horny, it doesn’t matter what happens to Miss Eve. Does it, Stud Boy?’ the maid behind him challenged. ‘Cut us some openings in this clown suit, Princess. We’ll keep Schuck busy, so Miss Eve can be the belle of her ball.’

  Cinderella nimbly hopped off the bed; I heard fabric giving way to that dagger, while the valet squealed as though his manhood felt threatened. The circulation returned to my arms with such stabbing sensations, the slender blonde might have been using the weapon on me — but then she reached down my other leg to free it.

  ‘You don’t want to go back to the ball anyway,’ she teased the valet in her girlish voice. ‘Dewel and Monique would make short work of you, little man. Just as I intend to. Here — you’ve always wanted to peek beneath my panties. Haven’t you?’

  As I shook off the last leather binding, Cleopatra wrestled Judd’s arms behind him. He was indeed distracted by Cinderella raising her skirts…the display of those frilly white panties that glowed in the dimness of my room. But he was not ready for the long, hard cock he saw when she tugged them down — nor expecting her to stifle his outcry with it.

  ‘Bite me and it’s all over,’ the princess growled in her natural male voice. With her dagger poised in plain sight, she rocked in and out of his mouth while Cleopatra clutched him from behind. ‘Suck me nice, and you’ll get a little reward from the Queen of Egypt.’

  I laughed for the first time in days, but there was no time to watch the two maids manhandling Chapin’s valet. I quickly donned the Bo Peep costume and then pinned my hair to my head. On went the wig with its beehive of yellow curls, and then I attached the jewelled headband to the shiny white mask. Instinct told me to wear kid slippers rather than those awkward oversized shoes, and then I took the shepherd’s crook from my armoire.

  ‘I think he could be doing a better, more convincing job on you, Cindy,’ Cleopatra was saying as I headed for the door. And with that, the dark queen raised her tunic to reveal another impressive erection, which she placed at the crack of Schuck’s ass.

  I allowed myself the pleasure of watching him get skewered from behind while Cinderella held his head to pump into his mouth. ‘Come on, you,’ she muttered. ‘Suck this candy cane like you mean it — like you love it, little man! You’re not finished until we’ve both shot all over you — and you don’t want Mr Proffit to come looking for us and find you this way. Do you?’

  Out into the hallway I stepped, and then I headed upstairs to the ballroom. The orchestra was playing a merry quickstep, which had the revellers clapping in time to the music. This party I’d planned was going well, even though things were not as they seemed…

  But I couldn’t lose my focus: this was my moment to avenge the deceit I’d lived with for seven years. Now, with all his political friends resplendent in their costumes, imbibing wine while feasting from sideboards covered with fine food, I could strike without fearing his reprisal.

  Yet, if Cleopatra and Cinderella weren’t here to assist me…with Antoinette acting as myself, and her loyalties uncertain…and if Dewel and Monique — those traitors! — had also appeared…

  But I couldn’t stop now. Unless I acted without hesitation, my plan would fall flat, leaving me even more vulnerable to Chapin’s wrath than before. I paused in the arched doorway to peruse the crowd, to get my nerve up while everyone was still unaware of my presence.

  Chapin and his redheaded companion were the centre of attention, stepping with heart-stopping precision around the dance floor as the music quickened. As Louis the Sixteenth and Marie Antoinette, they made a stunning couple, resplendent in flowing silks and velvets of regal purples and greens, adorned with gold braid and brilliant detail. It didn’t escape me that hours — years — of practice made them such expert partners, for I’d never seen my husband dance as though his feet were guided by nimble spirits. And the way he was gazing at his partner with those intense blue eyes, the audience assumed he was desperately in love with his wife. The devoted husband, the successful businessman from an old-money family; the perfect man to be the next mayor of New Orleans.

  It was time to set them all straight. My moment, after seven years spent with a total stranger who’d made me live his lie.

  The music rose to a giddy pitch, and I scanned the crowd for Dewel and Monique — the friends who’d caught me up in their seductive instruction without telling me Chapin’s secret. I spotted a tall, handsome gypsy king near the punch table, imperially fit in his sleek black pants and a poet’s shirt open to the centre of his chest. With a mysterious
wisp of a black mask above a pencil-thin moustache, the heir to the Proffit plantation could have stolen the show. But it was the lady beside Dewel who made me gape.

  She was the very image of Maria Castalantez, as though she’d stepped from that painting above the mantel at Bayou Belle.

  Her dark hair fell lushly around shoulders bared by a peasant blouse, and gold hoops glimmered in her ears. In fact, the entire effect was rendered so perfectly, Monique had to be wearing the clothes in which Dewel’s mother posed for her portrait. The couple’s proud stance made me wonder if Robert E. Lee Proffit had appeared at a ball in this roguish guise with Maria beside him. And wouldn’t it be too sweet if Chapin’s mother Virgilia had dressed as Bo Peep and discovered those two black sheep among her flock of socialite admirers?

  As though my thoughts had travelled across the noisy, crowded ballroom, Dewel and Monique both focused on me as I paused in the doorway. He had the nerve to lightly blow me a kiss, while the minx beside him flashed a wicked grin — as though nothing had come between us. As though they, too, planned to beat Chapin at his own game.

  Well, they could do as they wished! This colossal joke had been on me, and it was my turn to shine! I stepped aside as someone stopped beside me with a large tureen of spicy gumbo, and then heard a gasp.

  Fanny Frike — the poor housekeeper now tending the buffet tables alone — was staring at me as though she’d seen a ghost.

  I smiled, more confident now, as the orchestra brought the folk dance to a close. ‘Thank you, Fanny,’ I murmured. ‘It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for.’

  Crook in hand, I cut through the crowd towards the dais. Chapin and his redheaded queen had whirled to a brilliant finish in the centre of the room. Basking in the crowd’s applause, they clasped hands and gazed at each other with an expression of utmost accomplishment. Perfect. As the musicians were preparing for the next number, I coaxed the conductor aside by saying I had to make the evening’s most important announcement. For I did.