Winds of the Storm

by Beverly Jenkins

  Archer had eyes only for Domino. The white gown and the striking plumed mask made her even more alluring.

  A voice beside Archer said, “I’m trusting you to introduce me.”

  Archer turned to see Etienne Barber staring up at Domino with excitement in his eyes, but Archer said with amusement, “You’re on your own, Etienne.”

  “Why do you think she wears the mask?”

  “It’s the question of the day.”

  “Oh, here they come.”

  The women floated down the large staircase like royalty, smiling and nodding at the appreciative men. Domino, on the other hand, maintained her position on the balcony, a queen overseeing her domain.

  The giant Alfred announced to the men, “If you will all make yourselves comfortable, the entertainment will begin.”

  The blonde named Chloe took a seat at the shining white piano. She began with a rendition of the bawdy song “Buffalo Girls” but changed the name to “Louisiana Girls.” By the time she got to the chorus, men were singing along boisterously, “Louisiana Girls won’t you come out tonight—come out tonight!” She then sang “Jimmy Crack Corn,” “Pop Goes the Weasel,” and “Jennie with the Light Brown Hair.” When she segued into “The Bonnie Blue Flag,” one of the most popular songs among the Confederate soldiers, and followed that with “Johnny Comes Marching Home,” the Union army standard, it was obvious to all in attendance that Domino was not playing political favorites. Archer thought that a brilliant move on her part.

  Chloe stood and received the adulation of the crowd. Blowing kisses, she sat again and was soon joined by two women who’d been introduced as Stella and Adair. They sang some hilariously off-color songs, then playfully recited some of the most ribald and suggestive poetry many of the male ears, including Archer, had ever had the delight of hearing. One in particular titled “The Budding Rose” had a stanza that went:

  See his amorous lips and hands,

  Fondle all her naked part;

  And his upright vigor stands,

  In her open ravished heart

  . Shift and shirt are off together,

  Naked is the sweet embrace,

  Not one part concealed by either

  All’s as naked as your face.

  While Stella and Adair took their bows, Archer shook his head with amusement. The men roared and raised their glasses yet again.

  Next up was a tall, dark-skinned woman named Lovey. Unlike the other women dressed in elegant gowns, Lovey had entered the parlor wearing nothing but scarflike red veils, much to the appreciation of the boisterous multitudes. As the musicians began a slow, sensual tune, Lovey danced while slowly and erotically removing the veils one by one, until she was as naked as the statues in the room. Every eye stared transfixed at her enticing performance. Archer stretched his tie a bit, swearing the temperature in the already warm room had risen even higher.

  He heard Etienne whisper, “Amazing…”

  By the time Lovey grabbed her discarded veils and left the room, the whistling and applauding men knew that this was not the ordinary, everyday brothel many had frequented in the past. Domino’s place was novel, and Archer was certain that once word got out, customers would be lined up from New Orleans to Baton Rouge trying to get in.

  Zahra didn’t know about anyone else, but the heady atmosphere was affecting her in ways she found impossible to ignore. She attributed it to this being the first night and to her not being accustomed to so much sensuality. She told herself she’d be calmer in a few days once the novelty wore off, but in reality she wasn’t sure. She surveyed the crowd from her position above the floor. The sheer number of customers pleased her, as did their reaction to the entertainment; if she could survive the next few hours, she might be okay. As a dispatch she’d played at many things, but nothing as challenging as this.

  Surveying the room, her eyes locked with the wry, dark eyes of Archer Le Veq, and she mentally jumped. Of course, she’d expected his attendance, but not the knowing look on his entirely too handsome face as he stood below her. He flashed her a smile, then lifted his glass in silent tribute. Dressed in a formal coat, his presence seemed to dominate the room. In spite of the crush around him, he was all she could see, and he was viewing her as if he had the answers to all of her secrets. Knowing she couldn’t afford to be distracted tonight or show favoritism to any one man so soon, she gave him a short nod in response, took in a deep breath, then turned her attention to the men in line to greet her.

  Zahra smiled at the next one. He was tall, light-skinned, and had pock scars on his face. He bowed low over her hand. “Etienne Barber, at your service, madame.”

  “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Barber.”

  “You have quite a place here.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’m a broker—here’s my card.”

  Zahra took it, scanned the writing on it for a moment, then handed it to Alfred, who pocketed it inside his coat.

  Barber appeared to want to protest, but he seemed to catch himself before saying, “I transact real estate, loans, investments. If you are ever in financial straits, I am at your service.”

  “I’ll remember that. Thank you. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

  He met her eyes and said with quiet assurance, “I could make it much more pleasurable. What must a man do to get a date with the madame?”

  “The madame doesn’t date,” she said, smiling falsely beneath her mask.

  “Oh, really,” he replied skeptically, his eyes on her bosom. “A pity.”

  “One must sometimes choose business over pleasure, Mr. Barber.”

  “I see.” He ran his eyes over her again. “Now where did you say you were from?”

  “I didn’t. Thank you, Mr. Barber. Take a stroll around and see the other delights we have here.”

  It was obvious he wasn’t pleased to be given such short shrift. “Until we meet again, madame.” A bow later, he was walking towards the gambling rooms.

  Standing by the bar, Archer sipped cognac and watched the men lined up to pay their respects. There had to be fifty at least. All were given smiles by the beautiful Domino. Some were even gifted with her soft laughter, but he noticed that none were allowed to remain at her side. Each was given no more than a few minutes of her time before the giant in the gray suit politely moved them on and beckoned the next man in line. Archer wondered if she would send him packing if he joined the lemmings, but he didn’t bother. The men of the House of Le Veq lined up for no one, not even a woman as beautiful and as challenging as she was.

  He saw the tight-jawed disappointment on Barber’s face when Domino sent him packing, and for Archer that was well worth the exorbitant price of admission. Barber was a carpetbagger, and now that the Democrats were redeeming the South by reinstituting segregation and other antebellum atrocities, men like him, no matter how successful, were treated with a scorn the Rebs usually reserved for the freedmen. In truth Blacks had no use for his kind, either. Carpetbaggers had looted monies for schools, land, and other federally funded programs designed to aid the freedmen. That the abrasive and condescending Barber was a Black carpetbagger ranked him somewhere below Mississippi sludge.

  While Domino continued to receive tributes from her minions, Archer climbed the stairs. He saw her eyes slide to his, but he simply nodded and headed to the gambling rooms.

  Zahra chastised herself for being disappointed that Archer had not joined the line, but she told herself that the farther she stayed away from him, the better. As the next man stepped up and whispered suggestively and crudely in her ear, she pasted on a smile and wondered why Araminta couldn’t have sent her on a more cut-and-dry mission like breaking into someone’s home and stealing a military code. In comparison to this madhouse of sex, arousal, and twins performing for all to see, the former was far easier.

  The air in the gambling rooms was thick with cigar smoke and the smells of stale cologne mixed with liquor. Archer, seated at one of the tables, had been playing pok
er for just under an hour. As the man across from him, a Republican from out of town, dealt the next hand, the man asked, “Did you see the show?”

  ”I did.”

  “Phenomenal. Don’t you think?” asked the third man at the table.

  “I was impressed.” Archer looked at his cards.

  Their fourth, a politician who said he’d come all the way from Shreveport, asked Archer, “Have you been down the hall yet?”

  “What’s down the hall?”

  “The Voyeur Room.”

  Archer stared.

  “Ten dollars gets you a seat. The women are twins!” he exclaimed.

  Archer chuckled. “Every man’s fantasy.”

  “Oh, most definitely.”

  They all laughed and began to play.

  After another few hands, Archer pocketed his winnings, gave his seat to a man waiting to play, and made his way through the crowd to the Voyeur Room. He’d seen rooms like it before in France, Cuba, and Haiti, but like most men, he was still curious, so he paid the ten-dollar price to the man taking the money at the door, took a seat, and watched the erotic play of the man and the two beautiful, uninhibited twins on display. The man, his back to the watchers, had wisely donned a domino in order to mask his identity, another common practice. However, mask or no, Archer knew his baby brother with or without his clothes, and the realization that the man on the bed was Philippe made Archer choke on his cognac. Were Raimond in Archer’s position, Philippe would be snatched up, thrown his clothes, and escorted out, but Archer was not Raimond. Archer also had no desire to watch his baby brother’s technique, so he excused himself. Seeing Domino standing behind the crowd he made his way over to her.

  Zahra had wandered in to get her first look at the twins in action, and the sight of the two young women making love to the well-endowed man—and, shockingly, to each other—had her riveted. She watched lips and hands caress and fondle; saw heads thrown back in a passion reminiscent of the Eve statue, and when the various positions seamlessly melted into a heated eroticism, she found it hard to breathe.

  “Are you enjoying yourself, Domino?” came a husky, familiar voice.

  She didn’t need to turn to see who the caressing voice belonged to. “Are you, Mr. Le Veq?”

  “I am.” Aroused by her nearness and by all he’d seen this evening, Archer wondered just how long it might be before he could pleasure Zahra the way Philippe was lustfully pleasuring the twins.

  Zahra had seen Le Veq enter the room only moments before. The man on the other side of the glass was now slowly stroking the straddling Salome while the passion-eyed Naomi twined around them both like sensual smoke. Forcing her voice to as normal a tone as she could manage, Zahra said to Archer, “You didn’t spend much time in your seat.”

  Feeling the warmth of her white-gowned body teasing him, Archer asked quietly, “Are you keeping time on all of your guests, or just me?”

  “Just you.” Only then did she turn and meet his eyes.

  “I’m flattered.”

  “You should be. I’m keeping time on you with the hope that I’d have the opportunity to say thank you for your help. Your chef and his staff have performed admirably.” She had no intention of referencing their prior encounters.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Suddenly, Etienne Barber was at her side. “Ah, Madame Domino, just the lady I was in search of.”

  “Hello, Mr. Barber.”

  “May I have the honor of a dance? The band has promised to play a waltz.”

  Zahra had no intentions of letting Barber monopolize her time. “No, I’m sorry. I was just talking to Mr. Le Veq about a slight misunderstanding we seem to have in the contract drawn up for tonight. We were on our way to discuss the matter.” Then she added, “Once again, Mr. Barber, business before pleasure.”

  Archer fielded Barber’s angry eyes with an amused smile. He then asked Domino, “If you’re ready, madame?”

  “I am.”

  Zahra placed her hand gently on Archer’s extended arm and let him escort her away. When they were out of earshot, she asked, “Is he powerful enough to give me problems?”

  “Only if you owe him money.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Then you should be fine.”

  Zahra could see the looks of surprise and, in some cases, outrage on the men’s faces as she walked with Le Veq. “You’re the envy of everyone here, Mr. Le Veq.”

  “Let’s just hope you won’t have to pull any knives out of my back.”

  “No violence of any kind is allowed on the premises. In fact, Alfred is outside explaining just that to a customer who pulled a razor after losing quite a bit at the poker table.”

  On the main floor, the girls were holding a lottery. The winners would get to bring in the New Year with one of the girls, and any interest in Domino and Archer was immediately lost.

  “Where are we going?” Archer asked.

  “To my bedroom.”

  Shocked, Archer stared down.

  She smiled up. “Isn’t that where you’ve been wanting to take me since the first time we met?”

  He looked down into the feather-trimmed eyes and shook his head and smiled upon seeing the mischief sparkling there.

  Zahra had come to a decision. Gathering the information the president needed was going to be too difficult if she had to spend the next six months trying to figure out the players. Potential pests like Etienne Barber and the other crude men she’d met tonight made that clear. She needed to know the difference between those she could shove off the pier and those she had to smile at and tolerate as soon as possible. Not knowing her parents’ fate made it imperative that she get this job done quickly and efficiently.

  Because the door that led to her room was on the far side of the house, few if any of the revelers saw it open, and she and Archer disappear inside. The sconces on the wall of the narrow staircase softly lit the way. Zahra was very conscious of him climbing the staircase behind her. The vivid performances of Naomi and Salome continued to haunt her.

  Zahra ushered him into her bedroom and lit a lamp. She saw him looking around and wondered what he’d think if he saw her real bedroom back home.

  “Beautiful room,” he said to her approvingly.

  “Thank you.”

  She saw him eyeing her bed, but she looked away and walked over to the French doors instead. Opening them let in the cold December night, but after the heat of the twins’ performance and humidity everywhere else in the house she relished the chill of the fresh air.

  “Feels good,” Archer said, eyeing her lovely presence.

  “It does, doesn’t it? Besides getting away from Barber, this is the real reason I wanted to come up here.”

  “I’m disappointed.”

  She met his eyes and smiled even as she felt them stroking her like a hand. “As I said the morning we met, you Frenchmen are legends in your own minds.”

  He was propped up against the edge of her mirrored vanity table, arms crossed, watching her in the low, shimmering light. “And here I was thinking I was invited here to be seduced. Instead, you insult me.”

  “Thank you for going along with the ruse.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Silence settled between them, and with it came memories.

  Doing her best to maintain her distance, she said to him, “I have a business proposition I’d like you to consider.”

  “And it is?”

  “I need information on who is who in New Orleans. Take Barber, for example. Although you assured me he is of no importance, what if he had been? If I’m to run a successful house, I need to know the wheat from the chaff.”

  “So what are you proposing?”

  “That you supply me with that information, at whatever price you deem fair.”

  “I see.” Archer studied her, then asked, “Suppose my price is that you share my bed?”

  “Then I will find someone else.”

  In the undulating light, she looked confide
nt, fearless, and so temptingly beautiful that he found himself wanting her more with each tick of the clock that was the only sound in the otherwise silent room. “Suppose I amend that and just ask for the pleasure of your company?”

  The eyes in the bird mask studied him. “I’d prefer a monetary agreement, Mr. Le Veq.”

  “And I prefer your company. You’re very mysterious, Domino, and I’d like to know you better.”

  “To what end?”

  “Seduction, of course.”

  Her nipples tightened of their own accord. “You’re very bold, sir.”

  “If you wanted meek, you would be waltzing with Etienne Barber.”

  He was formidable, but she’d already known that. “Have you ever had a woman not succumb?”

  “Not that I can remember.”

  “I am tempted to agree just to show you that such women do exist.”

  “Is that a gauntlet I hear?”

  The words mirrored the conversation they’d had in his office. “I believe it is.”

  “Then may I suggest we go riding? Maybe a morning later in the week? I can tell you about the city and answer any other questions you may have. We’ll let the seduction play out on its own.”

  “I don’t plan to be seduced, Mr. Le Veq, but people will think I’m your paramour. Are you prepared for that?”

  “For that and more.” Again Archer fantasized about removing her mask while kissing her succulent mouth.

  “What of your mistress, the lovely Lynette?”

  “Lynette is not at issue here.” And in truth she wasn’t. He’d broken it off with her.

  “I see. Then I will agree to your terms.”

  “I’ll send my card around to inform you of the date.”

  “That is acceptable.”

  “Excellent.”

  Zahra had no idea what she’d really agreed to, but nevertheless, she was determined not to succumb to his charm or his kisses, no matter how tempted she might be. “We should probably return to the party. Alfred will be looking for me.”

  “How long have you known him?”

  “Not long,” she said vaguely as she led him to the door.

  In the silent hallway that led back to the noise and people, he said, “I’ll be taking my leave now.”