by Laura R Cole
*
Jezebel wiped a spot of blood off of her hand and smiled sweetly at the man before her. “I am most pleased by this interesting piece of information. I do so thank you for sharing it with me,” she mocked as she caressed his bloodied face. He was almost unrecognizable as the handsome man that Devon had brought to her. She hooked a finger under his chin and tipped it upwards so that he was forced to look at her. The eye that wasn’t swollen shut already cringed at the contact, and he jerked his head away in disgust, spitting blood on the ground in front of her. With amused contempt, she watched the spittle make a dark puddle on the floor, and then crushed it into the dirt with the toe of her shoe.
She stood over the man for a long moment before turning to Devon. “See if you can't persuade him to tell us a little more about it, won't you?” Devon gave her a lopsided grin and moved towards the man once more in answer. With that, she spun on her heel and stalked out of the room, indifferent to the grunts of pain behind her.
She made her way up the winding staircase to the main level of the manor. At the top, she paused to glance through the peephole in the bookcase, to make sure that no servants were present, before pulling the lever to re-emerge into the library. She took a seat in the chair she had occupied earlier and settled in to happily contemplate this new information.
To think, just hours ago I was worried about the chances of success without my father's support. Ha! If this man was telling the truth, and I think he just might be - she laughed to herself, remembering the moment that he broke - I may not need my father for anything anymore.
She raised a finger to her lips and bit back the grin that was widening as she thought. Not that the prospect of using a position of power that my father helped me attain against him isn't an entertaining thought as well, but getting the power without him and then rubbing it in his face is even better. Jezebel forced her shaking limbs to calm their excited movement. I cannot let myself get too excited before I know for certain. Even so, she couldn't contain the elation she felt at the possibility of finally escaping her father’s control, and she eventually abandoned all attempts to hide her mirth. It irked her to no end to know that even though she could lie, cry, and manipulate her father into almost anything, she still had to go through him. But if she could find a way to make this work to her advantage...yes, yes the information just has to be correct and it will work for me, I can't bear the thought of living in my father's shadow for another second now that I have caught a glimpse of escape. Whatever it takes, I will make it work. Jezebel nodded to herself in decision and stood, making her way back to her suite. She needed to get a good night's sleep so she could start putting things into motion first thing in the morning.
On the way to her room, Jezebel passed Gryffon in the hallway and she moved to intercept him. “Gryffon, my dear, would you like to join me for a nightcap?” She gave him a seductive smile and moved towards her room suggestively.
“Thank you, but no,” Gryffon answered shortly, trying to pass her.
She shifted, so that he was forced to brush up against her as he passed, and she leaned in towards him. “Don't forget why you are here, Gryffon.”
He paused mid-step and turned to her, giving her such an intense look that it almost made her step back a pace. But she held firm and narrowed her eyes at him instead. “I am here,” he said slowly, “because I believed your lies, thinking that maybe, just maybe, you were a decent person until it was too late. Now I realize I was wrong.”
She sneered at him. “If it wasn't for the money I lent to you, you'd still be out on the streets, not living like you are, so don't try to blame your bad decisions on me.”
“Don't you forget whose money that was,” Gryffon retorted angrily, “Just because your father turns a blind eye to your hands in his purse doesn't mean that I don't know what's really going on here.”
“My father gives me anything I want,” she snipped. “That's how it always has been and how it always will be.”
Gryffon opened his mouth again but shut it without saying a word, shaking his head in disgust. He pushed by her roughly and made his way down the hall, all the while muttering.
“I always get what I want,” she yelled at him and was rewarded by another angry look over his shoulder. She laughed at him until he rounded the corner, and then she turned back to her door. She was slightly put out by his refusal, but she was not about to let that little set-back ruin her mood. He'd come around eventually; he didn't have a choice.