The Second Sister (The Amendyr Series)

by Magdon, Rae D.

  “You've already done that,” I said distractedly. I was far more interested in the way that Belle's dark hair spilled over her white shoulders, the ends just brushing the tips of her breasts. “You made that bet.”

  Belle ignored my eyes on her body, unwilling to leave the conversation. “No, I haven't.” Her fingers stroked the underside of my arm. My skin seared under her touch, and I tried to turn closer to her. “Luciana still makes you wear those horrible wooden shoes, and she gives you the hardest tasks to do...Whoever heard of picking out ten yards of embroidery in one night? I have no idea how you did it.”

  I rested my head on Belle's shoulder and dropping open-mouthed kisses on her exposed neck. “I had help.”

  “We have to talk about this,” Belle said, moving out of my arms.

  I had been watching Belle's red mouth move in a daze, when a dim question at the back of my mind grew brighter. “Speaking of the bet, what did Luciana mean when she said, 'I'll wager the necklace on it'? The day she tried to throw me out the window, I mean.”

  The slow burn of desire on Belle's handsome face cooled for a moment. Instead, I saw something shifting there, and it was almost frightening. “My mother used to have a necklace. She never wore it, but she told me that her grandmother—my great grandmother—had given it to her. She used to say it gave her an odd feeling.”

  “Why does Luciana have it?”

  Belladonna's face sharpened with anger. “She stole it. She tried to play with it as a child once. Mother wouldn't let her have it. She must have gone through the jewelry box and found it again, because I saw her wearing it one day. Later that night Mother mentioned it had been missing.”

  “She stole it?”

  “Probably. It wouldn't have mattered. The three of us share jewelry sometimes. Except that she lied about it. When Mother asked if Luciana had seen it, she said no. I told her I had seen Luciana wearing it. Luciana denied it and said I had probably seen her with another necklace. We almost came to blows over it. In fact, it was the night you arrived here.” Suddenly, Belladonna's anger dissolved, leaving her face clear and bright again. Her blue eyes were sad as she finished, “I suppose that's rather foolish. All that trouble over a silly necklace.”

  I shook my head against the bedsheets, making them rustle. “No, it’s not foolish. What did the necklace look like?”

  She thought for a moment. “It was a silver one, with a queer sort of pendant. A big golden circle, with a smaller silver one inside, and a golden dot inside that, like three different sized coins melted together.”

  “I've seen her wear it. She likes to spin it with one finger. But why do you want it back?”

  “I wanted to show it to our mother, to prove that Luciana was lying. Luci knew it. She knew I would love a chance to catch her. Mother never believed me over her, even when we were children.” Belle looked older, and at the same time, younger than her twenty years. There were serious lines in her face, but her eyes were soft.

  “You give me the courage to confront Luciana again. I should have done something long ago, but if I tried anything, she took it out on Cate's flesh. She can see how much it hurts my conscience. And now, I'm afraid of risking you. She will hurt you, promise or not, if she thinks it will give her leverage over me.”

  “I love you. I'm not afraid.”

  “Go to sleep, Ellie,” Belladonna whispered, pressing soft kisses into my hair. My last memory of that night was how wonderful it felt to fall asleep in her arms.

  CHAPTER 4

  I WOKE BEFORE Belle did the next morning, so used to rising early that even my new lover's warm body could not lull me to sleep. Belle shifted beside me in the comfortable bed, rolling onto her back and sighing deeply as her dark hair spread itself over the white pillows. She had tossed off her blankets sometime during the night, and her pale skin took on a little color in the sunlight that filtered through the bedroom windows. The sight of her body in the light captured me and I was seized by the desire to learn every inch of it.

  I remembered vividly how Belle and I had made love two nights before, recalling how she had guided my small hand with her own, shuddering with release under our twined fingers. I had wanted to stay inside her forever, relishing the hot, velvet muscle wrapped around me, but she had turned her attention on me without pausing for breath, not giving me a chance to explore her body further before I was wrapped in my own world of pleasure for a second time.

  Studying Belladonna's lovely form proved to be too much for me to bear. I decided to take a chance, reaching out to test the skin of Belle's stomach with light fingers. I waited breathlessly for her to move or open her eyes, but she did not stir. I let my hand creep upward, stopping just under her breast. My mouth spread in a smile as I felt the steady thump of her heartbeat against my palm.

  The tips of Belladonna's breasts were a dusty reddish-brown color, and the skin around them looked baby soft. Boldly, I allowed myself to touch one, my eyes widening with excitement as the skin folded and crinkled, the tip extending and turning a deeper shade of red. Without conscious thought, my other hand began to explore the soft landscape of bare flesh open to me.

  Shifting until I was hovering over her body, I spent precious moments learning my lover, tracing the line of a leg, teasing the peak of a breast to hardness, reaching under her to feel the strong muscles of her back. I remembered how wonderful it had felt when Belle used her mouth on my body, and I carefully lowered my head to her chest. She stirred slightly as I took her into my mouth, but did not wake up. I was curious to see how far I could go before Belle opened her eyes and, coming to a decision, I reached under what was left of the sheets, gently parting her legs. She made a soft noise in her throat, but her breathing stayed steady and deep.

  I held still for a full minute, wanting to discover as much of my lover as I could while she was in such a vulnerable, unguarded state. My lips were still occupied with Belle's stunning upper body, dropping light kisses over her breasts and shoulders as my hand stroked her inner thigh. The muscles in Belle's face were pulled tight, but her eyes stayed shut. Turning her head on the pillow, she let out a low moan and settled back to sleep.

  Deciding that feeling all of Belle was worth ending my game, I let my hand go higher, thrilled with the wetness that coated my fingers and proud that I was the cause of it. “So ready for me,” I mumbled against her skin as I slipped inside of her, my thumb sliding into place over the hard pearl that rested above.

  This time Belladonna moved, and her clear blue eyes captured me. “Ellie, what…” she started to ask, but I nipped at a sensitive spot along her collarbone, silencing her as my fingers probed and traced the slick folds between her legs.

  “Shhh...Let me love you.” The pad of my thumb flicked over the special spot that she had shown me how to touch. She gave in, going limp underneath me as I took her. I was so enthralled with what I was doing that I forgot to worry about my inexperience. Knowing that I could give my gorgeous Belle pleasure made my heart swell with love and pride.

  Carrying my lover higher and higher and holding her as she fell was indescribably wonderful. My eyes stayed locked with hers as I felt her soft inner muscles tighten and flutter around my fingers. She did not cry out or scream as I had done, but I could feel the intensity of her release as though I had experienced it myself. Instead, her mouth fell open and she took in a sharp breath before letting her whole body relax back onto the mattress, her breasts heaving as she tried to take in more air.

  “No one has ever made me feel like that, dear heart.” She gasped between words, still catching her breath. I pressed a kiss over her open mouth, and her eyes closed in response, smiling into my lips.

  “I just tried to copy what you showed me. I had no idea what I was doing,” I said, moving my lips to her cheek and whispering the words into her ear.

  “Your body knew. Nothing else has even come close to the pleasure you just gave me. I can't explain.”

  “I think I understand. Our hearts know each other.”


  Any insecurity I felt about the other women Belladonna had been with left me that morning. On the rare occasions that those feelings returned, all I needed to do was remember that moment, the first time I had really touched Belladonna, and they would vanish completely. The bond of trust and love between us was more powerful than any emotion I had felt before. Sharing our bodies only seemed to make it stronger.

  ***

  Unfortunately, the rest of my day did not play out as wonderfully as my morning. Luciana decided that simply wearing the wooden shoes was not painful enough for me, and she came up with a way to make my work even more miserable.

  She found me dusting in a hallway early that afternoon. I was wearing the wooden shoes, which she had taken to leaving next to my sleeping pallet if she expected me to put them on. She liked to check on me throughout the day to make sure I was wearing them, never coming in at regular intervals so that I could plan for her. Fortunately, my skin had grown used to the rough treatment and as long as I removed the splinters and cleaned my puncture wounds and scrapes, they healed quickly.

  “Gather your cleaning supplies and follow me,” she ordered. Picking up my bucket, I walked behind her down the main staircase until we were standing on the bottom step, looking at the front door. I did not let my displeasure show on my face, refusing to give Luciana any satisfaction.

  “You will clean the main entrance hall today. After that, you will dust the chandelier.”

  I lowered my head, not meeting her eyes, but keeping them high enough to watch her throat. She was wearing the necklace. I bent down to pick up the bucket of soap and water resting beside my feet. Before I could rise again, Luciana held out a hand. “Stop. Don't start yet. Take off the shoes.”

  I stared openly at Luciana's face, my confusion written clearly in my expression. I was immediately suspicious of her motives. Surely she was not having me remove the wooden shoes to be kind. There must be some other reason. Silently, I kicked off the shoes, not bothering to pick them up and hand them to her. She could bend down herself if she wanted them. Pleased with that small act of defiance, I picked up my bucket and carried it into the entrance hall.

  It did not take me long to realize why Luciana had ordered me to take off the shoes. Salt had been spread all over the stone floor, and every step I took with my injured feet sent searing pain shooting up my legs. Tears welled up in my eyes, and soon I had no choice but to let them fall as I worked to scrub the salt from the floor. Luciana was silent as she watched me, but the look of smug pleasure on her face only made me cry harder. It had been a long time since she had succeeded in bringing me to tears, but I could not stop.

  The job, and the pain, lasted for hours. I realized that the lye soap cleaned my feet, but stung almost as badly as the salt. There was no blood on the floor from my wounds, since the salt dried all of it up, and for that small blessing, I was grateful. Luciana left me when dinner was served, and I continued my task alone. Mam, Cate, and Sarah would be wondering where I was. Brahms would be missing his apple and his visit. Jessith had probably chosen to avoid me because of her dislike for Luciana. Belle was surely looking for me around the house, wandering corridors and hoping to catch me alone.

  My thoughts were interrupted when I realized that I had finished cleaning the floor. I let out a relieved sob, leaving my soap and bucket on the ground and pushing my hair out of my eyes. Since I had no shoes anywhere nearby, I improvised and tied two of the cleaning rags around my feet after shaking them free of salt. I got to my feet and limped out of the front door. Normally, it was not appropriate for servants to use the front door, but since everyone else was eating dinner or serving it, I knew I could get away with sneaking through. I still had to clean the chandelier, and the only ladder I knew of that was tall enough to reach it was in the stables.

  I found Matthew feeding his horses supper as well. He watched me tread carefully over the ground, stopping to adjust one of the rags on my feet. He looked at them curiously, but did not ask questions. “Ahay, Ellie, no dinner tonight?”

  “Not until I clean the chandelier in the entrance hall. Will you help me get the barn ladder into the manor?”

  “A'course, d'be glad to. I'll go fetch it down.”

  “Hello, Ellie,” Brahms said from inside of his stall as I watched Matthew's retreating back. I walked over to him and let him lip my hair, running my hand over his thick neck.

  “Hello. I'm sorry I don't have a carrot for you right now. I was working inside.”

  Brahms snuffled good-naturedly, ready to forgive me for not bringing him a treat. “You're hurting,” he said, his large dark eyes studying my face as he shook a fly from his haunches. Animals, I had learned, were more perceptive than humans by far.

  “She put salt on the floor, and I had to walk on it with sore feet.” As a horse, Brahms was very sympathetic toward anyone with injured feet. A horse's hooves are their livelihood, and if they can no longer walk, they die. He stepped backwards nervously, muscle rippling across his sides and back. Before he could respond, Matthew returned with the long ladder dragging behind him.

  “Need ye to help me lift t'other end there, girlie.” I limped to the end of the ladder that was still on the ground, bending over to pick it up. Suddenly, Brahms nickered, kicking at his stall door with his hooves. His eyes rolled wildly in his head. Matthew dropped the ladder and hurried over to see to him, whispering soothing words that I could not make out.

  “No, don't use that! It smells like her...She's all over it.”

  “Smells like who?” I asked.

  Brahms continued to kick and snort. “Brown mane. Luciana. She touched it.”

  “Ellie?” Matthew looked at me in confusion. “What's gotten in t'ye?”

  “Hold on, Matthew. I need to look at something.” I bent down and examined each rung carefully. Luciana had no cause to use the ladder. In fact, she hardly spent any time in the barn at all. If it smelled like her, and I trusted Brahms's senses, then she had probably done something to it.

  Near the other end of the ladder, at what would have been the top, I found several rungs at different intervals chipped at and loosened on the edges. If I had stepped on them, I would have been in for a nasty fall. After showing Matthew the vandalized part of the ladder, I headed back for the entrance hall, wanting to get the chandelier cleaned before Luciana finished dinner. Since the ladder was out of the question, I needed a different plan. I saw several songbirds scattered about the fields, searching for their evening meal, and came up with an idea. I was not sure how they would hold the rags, but a few robins and sparrows could certainly fly to the top of the chandelier and get the dust off. I was willing to put up with their rhyming if they would help me get my task done.

  I called out to them. “Excuse me, friends, could I talk with you for a moment?” Birds appreciated politeness, which was just one of the many reasons they hated cats. Ten or eleven of them stopped pecking at the ground and swarmed around me, all chattering at once. Because I could talk to them and fed them occasionally, most of the birds around Baxstresse were familiar with me, always willing to help when I asked.

  “Ta-whit Ta-whit, if you should call, you have the service of us all,” said a particularly fat sparrow whose head barely popped above his swollen belly. I wondered if I was partially to blame for his large size, since I did feed the birds whenever I needed them. Besides, with their mouths full of grain or breadcrumbs, they could not rhyme any longer, which was a relief.

  “Yes, please.” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that no one was watching me. They might have found the sight of girl with birds flying around her head strange enough to report. “I need to dust the chandelier in the entrance hall, and since you all are so good at flying and reaching high places, I thought you might be able to help me.”

  The fat sparrow puffed his stomach out even larger with pride, pleased that he was able to do something that a human couldn't. The other birds agreed to help, chattering excitedly as I led them through the f
ront door, urging them to be quiet and hoping that no one would see them working.

  The cleaning rags I had were much too large for them to carry, even with two working together, and so I tore them into very small strips so that the birds could grip them in their small feet and lift them into the air. Somehow, by brushing the cloths through the cobwebs that had gathered on the chandelier, and sending them spinning down onto the floor that I had just cleaned, the birds managed to get the job finished. I made sure to feed them and then picked up a broom to sweep up the dust that had fallen from the chandelier's long golden arms.

  CHAPTER 5

  THE HARVEST STARTED, and everyone was busy. The fields became deep, golden brown oceans that moved under the cold autumn breeze. The birds were restless, flying in blocks of beating wings, swirling in circles above the ground and settling back down. They would leave for winter soon. I missed the changing of the leaves I had watched every year at Sandleford, but Baxstresse changed for autumn in its own way. It was not entirely unpleasant.

  All of these changes, especially Belle, made my life much brighter, but I was not content. Luciana's nasty trick with the salt and her attempt to injure me with the ladder put me on edge. After four months as a servant, I was no closer to freeing myself.

  Belle was just as restless. Her temper was on edge. When I told her what Luciana had done, her face turned an angry red color and she stormed from her room to look for her sister. I had to throw myself into her arms and plead for her to stop. Luciana would not hesitate to hurt her, with or without a confrontation. I usually checked Belle's food before it was served to her, just in case Luciana decided that poison would suit her needs.