The Claiming
by
Kaitlyn O’Connor
© copyright May 2003 by Kaitlyn O’Connor
Cover Art by Eliza Black, copyright May 2003
ISBN 1-58608-417-8
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA
www.newconceptspublishing.co m

THE CLAIMING
Chapter One
Earth, 2152
Carter City
“You must know hiding is useless.  I can find you anywhere on the planet with
your IT.  Why do you persist in putting me to the effort of locating you every time we
have a new customer for you?”
Jana opened her eyes and tried to peer past the beam of light shining directly on
her face.  She could see nothing beyond the dazzling light, however.  Not that she needed
to know who had found her.  She recognized Marty’s voice.
She was curious, though, to know just how peeved he was.  Angry enough to beat
her?  Or just enough to slap her around a little?
The worst of it was, either way, she probably wouldn’t find out until after she’d
serviced the customer—he wouldn’t want her marred in any way—which meant she’d
have to wait in dread—as if the other wasn’t bad enough.
Regardless, she had no choice but to face his wrath.  He was standing in front of
the only way in or out of the container she’d wedged herself into, hopeful that the lead
lining would prevent him from picking up the signals from the Identification Transmitter
surgically implanted in every slave’s spine.
Reluctantly, Jana began the painful process of wriggling out of her hiding place.
She was stiff from having hidden for so long and, despite her diminutive size, it had taken
a great deal of effort to squeeze into the container to begin with.  She had been petrified
with fear once she had wedged herself inside, wondering if she would be able to get out
again—assuming her ruse worked and allowed her a chance to escape the city—but her
fear of being caught had outweighed her fear of dying a horrible death stuck inside the
small container—just barely.
She was sweating with effort by the time she managed to wiggle part of the way
out.  Instead of helping her exit, however, her sweat dampened skin seemed to cling to the
lining of the container, making egress even more difficult.
Impatiently, Marty grasped her beneath her arms and yanked her out before she’d
managed to wriggle her hips free, chafing her hips and the tops of her thighs.
He set her on her feet and looked her over angrily.  “Just look at you!  You’re a
total wreck—and the customer due in little more than an hour!  And you’ve marred your
flesh, as well, damn it!”
Jana longed for the nerve to inform him that she wouldn’t have been marred if he
hadn’t jerked her out, scraping her hips on the rough sides of the container.  However, she
had better sense than to provoke him.  It was obvious from his manner that she was
already facing a sound beating once the customer had departed.
She dreaded it, but in some ways it was a strange sort of blessing.
2

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
She was so very fair that it took little to bruise her.  Since customers were inclined
to be turned off by a battered courtesan, and since Jana pretty regularly managed to
provoke Marty’s wrath, she was rarely available to his customers.
In truth, Jana had deliberately provoked Marty on more than one occasion, when a
particularly nasty individual had requested her services, but that had not been her
intention this time.  She had thought she had finally stumbled onto a way to escape the
life she hated and find a better one for herself.
So much for that.
Grasping her by her arm, Marty began rushing Jana along through the ancient,
abandoned warehouse that stood just beyond the outskirts of the city.
At five foot nothing, Jana’s legs were considerably shorter than Marty’s, however,
and she stumbled repeatedly, unable to keep step with him.  Each time she stumbled, he
jerked her upright once more.
“If you don’t stop dragging your feet, I swear I’ll beat you now!” Marty snapped
angrily after the third such incident.  “You’re so banged up already, it can hardly matter!”
“You’re moving too fast,” Jana complained.  “I’m trying to keep up.”
“Watch your tongue!  They don’t need you to talk, you know!”
“They want me to scream, though,” Jana muttered.  She thought for several
moments that Marty would lose his precarious hold on his temper at her comment, but
apparently he realized she was right.  She was expensive, delicate equipment and if he
wanted to get some use out of her he would have to control his temper.
He scooped her into his arms and began to run with her, leaping over the debris
that littered the floor and had tripped Jana up repeatedly.  When they left the building,
Jana could see that the sun was indeed very low on the horizon—she hadn’t missed her
appointment, unfortunately, but she would be hard put now to prepare herself for it.
Marty’s craft, a sleek black cruiser, was parked just beyond the old loading docks
of the warehouse.  He leapt from the dock onto the ground, which was choked with
weeds, and strode quickly toward the craft.  The doors, keyed to his RIT—retina
identification transmitter—opened automatically as they approached.
Tossing her into the passenger compartment, Marty dove into the pilot’s seat, the
doors slammed shut and the cruiser shot from the ground and into the air at a dizzying
velocity.
Jana landed on the passenger bench and bounced, ending up in a tangle on the
floor of the cruiser.  She could almost hear Marty grinding his teeth.
“Do I hear bruising?  I better not hear bruising back there!”
Jana grunted, scrambled back onto the seat and fastened her belt.  “No.  I’m fine.
Really.”
Setting the cruiser on computer control, Marty swiveled his seat to face her,
inspecting her carefully.
Jana placed her scraped palms over her scraped knees and offered him a tremulous
smile.  “I’m fine.  See?”
He glared at her.  “You are NOT fine! What, by all the saints, was in that damned
container you climbed into?”
Jana shrugged.  “I’m not sure.  Dye maybe?”
3

THE CLAIMING
“Oh my God!  Tell me you have not dyed your ass that putrid shade of yellow I
see on your elbow!  Let me see.  I have to know the worst!”
Reluctantly, Jana unfastened her seat belt and turned, lifting the skirt she wore.
Marty screamed.  “It’s yellow!  It’s ruined!  We’ll never get it off in time.  How
could you do this to me!”
Jana bit her lip.  “Maybe it’s just paint,” she suggested hopefully.
“Sit down!”
Obligingly, Jana sat and fastened her seat belt again.
Marty swiveled his seat around once more.  “Computer.  Analyze the warm body
in the passenger seat.”
The screen between the two front seats of the vehicle came to life.  “Analyzing.”
After a moment, the computer began quoting.  “Carbon based life form—
female—weight 100 pounds—length--”
“Stupid!  I know it’s a god damned woman!  I need to know what that is on her
ass … computer, the foreign substance, please ... and don’t tell me about her clothing!”
“Dye … composition--”
Marty cut into the dialogue again.  “That’s enough!  Find me something to remove
it--something that won’t mar the subject, please.  It’s no good to me if it takes the hide
with it!  And, when you get it, program it into the Virgin Suite.  I want it ready when we
get there—ten minutes.”
The computer screen went blank.
Jana swallowed with some difficulty, but otherwise looked the picture of calm,
her legs crossed casually, her hands resting in her lap.  Inside, however, her emotions
rolled.
 There seemed little doubt she had really done it this time.  As many times as she
had crossed Marty in the year since he’d purchased her for his House of a Thousand
Courtesans, she had never seen him quite this angry.
“A glass of bourbon,” Marty said.
With the faint whir of gears turning, a slot opened in the console and a glass
tumbler with a finger of whiskey appeared.
Marty lifted the glass with hands that shook, took a sip.  After a few moments, he
spoke again, this time to Jana.  “As badly as I hate to do it—because it’ll mean damn near
six months of down time, I think I’m just going to have to send you in for re-
conditioning.”
“Re-conditioning?” Jana echoed faintly.
Marty swiveled his seat again, facing her, studying her.
She was at once sheer perfection and an absolute disaster.  Despite the fact that he
had been both genetically oriented, and conditioned, to have no interest in the female of
the species, he had thought the moment he saw her that she was the most beautiful piece
of work the geneticists at Bondage Inc. had ever turned out.
She was actually quite sturdy, but had the appearance of being as fragile as a
flower blossom.  She was tiny enough to make even the smallest man, or the weakest, feel
extremely manly around her.  Her coloring was delicate, her skin practically flawless, her
hair a glorious mass of gold.  She had an almost child-like air--probably because she had
huge blue eyes that made her appear guileless—while possessing at the same time the
4

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
body of a goddess--and to top that off, she had been endowed with the latest
development, the virgin gene—making her, all in all, the most expensive courtesan he’d
ever purchased.
He had been certain she was worth it.
Until he discovered her flaws.
She was surprisingly resistant to conditioning.  She faked stupid quite well, in fact
he thought it entirely possible that she was intelligent and still lacking a great deal of
common sense … but, be that as it may, she simply would not settle into the role she’d
been designed for.
Truth be told, he sincerely doubted that re-conditioning would help matters—re-
conditioning was generally more intense, but conditioning obviously had had little effect
the first time around—at the moment, though, he was at his wit’s end and could think of
nothing else to try.  She had barely earned her price back in the time he’d had her—when
he’d expected to double or triple his money in very short order.  He could count the
number of customers she’d serviced on one hand, for god’s sake!
And it only took a matter of days for her hymen to heal intact … She should have
been ready to work again within a week at most, should be servicing no less than fifty two
customers a year, which, at the going rate, would have earned him….
“I expect that’s what I need,” Jana said, breaking into his thoughts.
He lifted his brows.
“You said you thought you might send me back for re-conditioning.”
Marty’s eyes narrowed.  “On the other hand, you barely earn your keep.  I’m not
sure you’re worth the cost.”
Jana felt the blood leave her face.  Marty had beat her, many times, but he’d never
before suggested she was of little use to him.  This was bad, very bad.  “I could try
harder,” she said hopefully.
“You could.  But the question is, would you?”
***
Jana was used to fear.  She had lived with it throughout her adult life … for a full
year, in fact, since she’d reached the maturity for release and been sold to Marty.
Fear did not begin to describe her current state, however.  She could scarcely put
two thoughts together and make any sense of them.
Upon their return, Marty had taken her straight to her suite, calling for handlers as
he marched her up the stairs and down the long corridor to the suite at the end, the Virgin
Suite—her quarters.
Once there, her clothing had been taken from her and the dye removed from her
buttocks, the bottoms of her feet, her elbows.  Marty had gone over her with a magnifying
glass after the first round of treatment, discovered several areas that still retained faint
discoloration and ordered her treated again.  When he was satisfied at last, she had been
whisked into a bath, soaked, scrubbed, then soaked again, and finally removed.  There
followed a session with oils, which were worked into her skin thoroughly before she was
powdered to soak up the residue and then buffed from end to end to make certain her skin
was soft, sleek, and smooth as a baby’s.
Marty had ex amined her again once the handlers had finished.
The beginnings of bruising were unmistakable.
5

THE CLAIMING
He screamed, cursed, the servants fell over themselves, scattering like rats before
a flood.
Jana could not run—there was no where to retreat to—and neither was she able to
think for several moments.  “We could dim the lights,” she finally said.
“NO!” Marty screamed.  “No, no and no!  You are not a slut!  You are a virgin!
We must have innocence!”
Jana feared for several moments that she would cry.  Tears welled in her eyes, but
she managed to blink them back before they could further infuriate Marty.  “We could do
‘the sleeping child’,” she suggested a little desperately.
Marty glared at her, but after a few moments his anger seemed to dissipate
somewhat.  “He specifically said he wanted a young virgin,” he said slowly, thoughtfully.
“But I would be … am!  We could tell him it’s a new fantasy game … turn the
white lights out, put a hint of blue … just enough for him to see, but not enough to see the
… uh….”  She shouldn’t have reminded him of the bruises.  She saw that right away.
After a moment, however, he seemed to dismiss it.
“Let’s try that, shall we?”  He snapped his fingers.  “Computer, dim the lights.
Now, a faint blue glow.”  The computer complied and Marty approached her, leaning
close and studying her.  After a moment, he stood up once more, smiling.  “Yes.  By God,
in this lightening he wouldn’t know if you were forty!   It’ll do…. If I can convince him
to play.”
Jana smiled back at him, swallowing her fear with an effort.  “You can.  I know
you can.  And he’ll enjoy it!   The last time I did this the customer thoroughly enjoyed it,
don’t you remember?”
Marty frowned and Jana wished she’d refrained from babbling.  Now she’d
reminded him of that unpleasant episode.  Not that the customer had been dissatisfied.
He’d been so satisfied he’d come back for a repeat performance the very next week, but
Jana, in the meanwhile, had tried to escape and had sprained her ankle in the process.
She had not been in any condition to entertain and the customer had gone away angry,
and had not come back.
After several unnerving moments, Marty had decided he didn’t have time to
further discuss Jana’s transgressions.  He had gone away and left her alone.  The servants
had returned, dressed her in a child’s night gown, and placed her in her bed.
Jana was so tense, and so frightened, she didn’t know how she could’ve fallen
asleep.  She decided she must have, however, for one moment she was lying in her bed in
frightened anticipation, the next a man was standing directly beside the bed.
She almost jumped out of her skin when she realized she hadn’t even heard him
come in, hadn’t been aware of him at all until he was standing over her.  It took a
tremendous effort of will to remain perfectly still and pretend to be sleeping.
“I know you are not asleep,” he said quietly.  There was amusement in his voice.
Jana didn’t know whether that was her cue to ‘wake up’, or if he was testing her.
She decided he must be testing her.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and very gently lifted the hair that had fallen
across her face, smoothing it over her shoulder.  Leaning toward her, he whispered in her
ear.  The warmth of his breath sent a pleasant little shiver through her.   “I must tell you I
find the little ‘fantasy’ your master cooked up repugnant in the extreme.”
6

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
Jana cracked an eye open and looked up at him warily.  “You do?” she whispered
doubtfully.
“Indeed.  Sit up, if you please. I’d like to have a look at you.”
Jana sat up, clutching the sheets to her chest, more from a case of nerves than
because she felt any modesty, but then that was part of the conditioning that helped to
promote the image of ‘the virgin’.   Behaving as one unused to being intimate with men
was nine tenths of the facade according to her instructors, and it wasn’t sufficient to act.
One must ‘be’ the part.
He tucked a hand under her chin and tipped her face up, studying her, frowning.
“Do I displease you?” she asked, uneasily aware that if he refused her, Marty was
bound to be even angrier.
He caressed her cheek with a long finger.  “A difficult question.  It’s far too dark
in here to really see you,” he muttered with a mixture of amusement and irritation.  “Are
you a child?”
Jana thought about it for a moment, trying to decide what answer he wanted.
It was almost as if he read her mind.  “The truth, if you please.”
Truth?  She had been genetically engineered—accelerated growth had produced
maturity within a half a decade.   She was the virgin model, designed to appear as if she
had just crested puberty, and she would look pretty much the same for the next twenty
years.  She decided, however, that the ‘truth’ he was seeking must be around the
chronological age of an adult. “Eighteen.”
His hand dropped to his lap.  “Little more than a child, in truth.”
Jana frowned in confusion.  “You wanted someone more experienced?”
He sighed, ran his fingers through his hair irritably.  “Splitting hairs.”
Jana tilted her head uncomprehendingly.
“I requested a virgin solely because I wanted someone a … little fresher.  I’m
afraid I’m a bit too fastidious….   In truth, I don’t make a practice of frequenting this sort
of establishment.   I just felt the need to work off a little frustration.  I’ve come a very
long way, only to discover the person I sought has traveled off planet and not expected to
return for a month or more.”
Jana’s eyes widened, a shaft of fear going through her.  Despite the fact that he’d
startled her, she hadn’t thought he was the type to look for someone to take out their
frustrations on.  He’d seemed so … in control of himself.
Apparently, despite the deep shadows, he saw, or sensed, her fear.  He placed a
finger on her lips, gently.  “Shhh.  I didn’t mean that the way you obviously took it.”
Jana wasn’t sure she believed his reassurance, but she was sure she had to do
something to please him or she would be in deeper trouble than before. “Would you like
me to do something else?” she ventured.
“Turn on the lights?”
Jana bit her lip.  “I can’t.  Marty set it so it would only respond to his voice,
because … because.”
“He beat you and he didn’t want me to see the bruises?”
He sounded truly angry.  Jana was tempted to tell him that was exactly the case…
After all, Marty had beat her before, even if not this time—yet.   “No … well, yes.”
“Yes, he beat you?”
7

THE CLAIMING
Jana shook her head.  “No.  But I did get bruised.  And I thought if the lights were
dim then you wouldn’t be able to see that I looked … that I didn’t look very appealing
just now.”
He studied her for a long moment and finally reached for the sheets, tugging them
gently from her hands.  The night gown she wore came only to the tops of her thighs.  She
wore nothing beneath it.
He reached for the hem of the garment, lifting it off over her head.  Her hair
tumbled around her shoulders.
He studied her a long moment and finally stood.  Jana thought for several nerve
wracking moments that he intended to leave, but, to her relief, he began to remove his
clothing.  She wondered if she should help him, but finally decided that that would appear
too practiced—or did he want practiced?  No.  He’d specifically said he didn’t want
anyone with too much experience.
She was fairly certain that she should not watch him, either, but found that she
was intrigued.  In truth, she was not as experienced as she should have been, given her
position.  The men who had come to her before were either very young and inexperienced
themselves--looking for someone who would not make them feel inadequate and
inexperienced—or very old—seeking their lost youth, or in search of a peculiar thrill.
Despite the fact that he obviously felt that he was too old for her, and the deep
shadows which prevented her from seeing him particularly well, Jana was certain the man
was not so very many years her biological senior—mid to late twenties, or perhaps early
thirties.
He was—quite large, she saw when he had discarded his clothing.  Uneasiness
displaced her curiosity.  She knew what that meant—this would be particularly
unpleasant for her.
She stiffened when he climbed into bed beside her and reached for her.
He noticed immediately.  “I won’t hurt you.”
She knew better, but forced herself to relax as he settled beside her, pulling her
against him.  She had been designed for a man’s pleasure—not her own.  She wasn’t even
certain she possessed whatever it was that made sex pleasurable for a woman, but she
suspected she did not, for she had never found the act more than tolerable and, most of
the time, it was a good deal less than that.  Considering his endowment, it was a foregone
conclusion that this was going to be very difficult for her, whatever he might think,
whatever his intentions.
Regardless, she forced herself to take a deep, calming breath and relax trustingly
against him.  Reaching for his hand, she placed it upon her breast, bracing herself for the
assault that generally came next.
He chuckled.
Startled, Jana looked up, trying to gauge his mood.
He lifted his hand from her breast and cupped her cheek.  “You really are not very
experienced, are you?”
Instead of answering, because she wasn’t certain what answer would please him
most, she smiled.
“I suppose kissing is not allowed?” he asked pensively.
8

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
Jana stiffened in surprise, not certain how to answer.  In fact, she had been told
never to kiss a patron.  It was considered far too intimate.  It not only suggested emotional
intimacy, it could actually lead to it and that was forbidden.
Not that she could see why.  The few times she had been kissed had been most
unpleasant.  The men had either tried to throttle her by shoving their tongue down her
throat or nearly drowned her with saliva.  One had sucked her tongue into his mouth so
hard he had seemed bent on uprooting it.  She had not liked it at all.
On the other hand, she had been instructed never to deny her patrons anything
they specifically requested.  “Do you want to kiss me?”
He answered by lowering his mouth to hers, just touching his lips lightly to hers.
Jana felt her heart clutch in her chest.  Her lips tingled at the feather light touch.
A strange weakness swept through her.  She sucked in her breath in surprise, tasted him.
He brushed his lips teasingly across hers once more, as if he was testing his
welcome.  The sensations he’d created before became more pronounced.  A strange sort
of warmth settled in the pit of her stomach and glowed, sending warmth throughout her
body.
 Jana felt herself relaxing against him, welcoming the sensations.
When he settled his mouth firmly over hers an odd sort of eagerness seemed to
grip her.  Her heart leapt, began to thrum more rapidly.  It was strangely like fear—her
accelerated heart rhythm, the weakness that crept through her limbs—except pleasant.
She moved her mouth experimentally against his, wanting more, not quite certain
how to encourage him, but it seemed her reaction had been the signal he’d been waiting
for.  He kissed her deeply then, and Jana felt her awareness of everything else vanish.
She was disappointed when he ended the kiss, but in a moment she felt the touch
of his lips on her throat, and then lower.  She held her breath as his mouth settled over
one peaked nipple—waiting with a mixture of anticipation and fear.
To her surprise, the moment his mouth closed over her distended flesh, ripples of
pleasure echoed through her.  The sense of pleasurable anticipation grew inside her,
climbing a little higher with each nibbling kiss he placed upon her body.  She felt dizzy,
disoriented, unable to think, but that inability to do so seemed to focus her whole being
on feeling the sensations more acutely.
When at last he moved over her and pushed her legs apart, she found that she
welcomed it.  She sensed that this time the joining of bodies would bring pleasure she had
never known.
She supposed it was that certainty that made the pain all the more stunning when
he plunged deeply inside her.  She couldn’t prevent the cry of pain that scraped past her
throat.
 She bit her lip when he stopped abruptly, pulled away from her slightly to stare
down at her in surprise.
She could tell nothing about his expression, for the shadows lay deeply on his
face, but she sensed that he had not intended to cause her pain and did not welcome it.
“I’ve hurt you.”
She shook her head, though she found she couldn’t speak.
“Don’t lie.”
9

THE CLAIMING
She felt a lump of misery settle in her chest.  It had truly felt wonderful right up to
the moment of joining.  “It didn’t hurt much,” she lied, “truly it didn’t.”
He didn’t believe her.  She could tell he didn’t.  After a moment, she felt him
gathering himself to withdraw.  Panic seized her.  She clutched his shoulders, moving
against him.
He groaned, as if in agony.  Heartened, she pulled at him, urging him to lower
himself against her once more.  When he didn’t, she rose up, kissed the corner of his
mouth.  As if he’d been restraining himself only with an effort, and her kiss had opened a
dam of barely controlled emotions, he kissed her hungrily then, began to move inside her,
faster and faster.
When he found his release and collapsed against her, a tide of both relief and,
strangely, gladness, filled Jana.  For the first time in her life, and despite the fact that
she’d ultimately received little pleasure in the act, she had found pleasure in having given
it.
 “I’m sorry,” he murmured finally.
She had been stroking his back, but she paused, surprised.  “Why?”
“It wasn’t my intention to hurt you.”
“I know,” she said, and found that his remorse was comforting.
Finally, he rose and dressed.  He didn’t look at her again, which she discovered
was oddly hurtful.
A tap came at the door as he moved toward it.  He paused, looked back at her
questioningly.  “You were expecting someone else?”
His voice was chilly.  Jana sat up.   “No.”
At the sound of their voices, the door opened and a man stuck his head inside.
“Uh … sorry.”  The stranger looked from the patron to Jana.  Jana could tell nothing
about him, for the light was behind him, throwing him into deep shadow, but she sensed
from his voice that the stranger was younger than the patron.   He seemed unable to speak
for several moments, as if the light had dazzled him.  But then the light was in Jana’s
face, not his.  After several moments ticked by, he seemed to shake himself from his
distraction.  “We’ll miss our ship if we don’t go now.”
The patron nodded, paused, almost as if he would turn to look back, and finally
strode from the room without having done so.
Chapter Two
Savana, Orleans
"She was most ... insistent on this last ... stipulation."
10

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
John J. Dees, attorney, placed his fingertips together on the desk top, resisting the
urge to tug at his cravat.  It began to feel uncomfortably tight, however, as he awaited his
client's reaction to what he could not, had he been the most sublime optimist, believe to
be welcome news.
He was a man of little imagination.  It occurred to him, however, that he felt as if
he’d become the object of interest of a predatory cat.  His client lounged with a casual,
almost somnolent air in the high-backed chair before his desk, idly swinging a golden
watch fob, but there was a lithe, feline grace about him that seemed to suggest that, like a
cat, the relax ed posture was merely a pose to ensnare the unwary.
The golden eyes that watched him from beneath lazily drooping lids and the
winging black arch of his brows did much to enhance that impression.
Appropriately—or oddly—enough, the camar was one of the largest and most
dangerous of Orleans’ cats.
Dees couldn’t help but wonder whether the man Alain had become had evolved
from his namesake, or if Alain had chosen it, as the primitives did, because it suited him.
It occurred to him then to wonder if there was any truth to the rumors that the family
carried the taint of primitive blood, or ‘Reduns’ as the ruling race of Orleans referred to
the less advanced natives.
"I find," Alain said pensively, lifting his gaze from his watch to the lawyer, "that I
have a positive dislike of having my hand forced.”
Dees cleared his throat nervously.  "Yes, well  I do feel that Jana is being
disagreeably ... ah ... firm in her demand for a full contract before she will agree to travel
to Orleans to assume the responsibility of running your household, particularly since she
was informed that local custom demands a year of mourning in the event of a
companion’s death and that you have not yet observed the time required.  But I feel I must
point out that you, yourself, said that if you saw that you suited one another, you would
consider a full contractual period, and, in fact, suggested it in your original proposal."
"That is precisely my point. I realize that we are somewhat behind the times here
on Orleans, but it can not be so different on Earth as this suggests.  It is the gentleman's
prerogative to ask and the lady's to either accept or decline, surely?" Alain said smoothly,
though there was a perceptible hardening in his eyes.
"You wish to withdraw your proposal then?  I must admit that I considered the
notion somewhat ... shall we say ... unusual, to begin with," Dees pointed out delicately.
Due to a rather horrendous error when they’d first begun colonizing other worlds,
it was forbidden, by Confederation law, to tamper with the culture or technology of the
inhabitants of this world or any other.  Most outworlders like themselves, had found that
it was far more simple to choose a companion from among the native population than to
try to find a female outworlder willing to accept such primitive living conditions.  In
point of fact, to his knowledge, there had not been more than a half dozen or so new
colonists introduced to Orleans for more than a generation.
A sardonic smile lifted the corners of Alain's lips, gleaming in the depths of his
hooded, golden eyes.  "I think you would rather have said eccentric.  However, I don't
mean to quibble with your tact.  Unfortunately, I have found no other female suitable to
my ... needs.  And although I have no burning desire to contract again, I feel my children
11

THE CLAIMING
require a woman’s parental guidance and nurturing.  It can not be in their best interests to
be reared by servants.”
He paused, apparently considering his possibilities.
For his own part, Dees was rather inclined to think the man’s offspring might do
as well with the guidance, and perhaps affection , of servants given the alternative Camar
had chosen.  How maternal could a woman be, virtuous or not, who’d been bred and
conditioned as a warrior?  Such a one might be better suited to life on Orleans than one of
her more delicate counterparts, but to his mind would be unlikely to also possess the
characteristics of a nurturer.
Assuredly, life on Orleans must be a challenge to an outsider, for it was amazingly
primitive—and dangerous—and Dees could certainly understand that Camar would not
wish to choose a delicate creature, who’s chances of surviving would be slim even if she
were able to tolerate the strain of living in a primitive society—but a warrior seemed
excessively in the opposite direction.
"I'm afraid I have a lamentable memory," Alain said pensively.  "Tell me again
what you have discovered about my ‘chosen one’."
Dees knew Alain's memory was as remarkable as his mind was astute, but saw no
reason to quibble with his request and obligingly shifted through his papers till he
unearthed the report in question.  "Jana is twenty-five years of age and has never been
contracted.  She is reportedly a handsome woman of both face and figure … of medium
height and build and is fair.  She is considered a sensible young woman, intelligent ...
possessed of an amiable disposition," he finished, and for want of anything else to do,
shuffled his papers once more.
Alain, who'd given no indication that he was even attending, was silent for some
time when the lawyer had finished.  He was, in fact, deep in thought, unpalatable thoughts
Dees presumed from the tense set of his jaw and his narrow-eyed gaze.
That gaze rested upon Dees, causing him considerable discomfort, despite the fact
that he knew the unpleasantly hard stare was not indicative of any displeasure with him
personally.  He was reasonably certain, in fact, that Camar was not even aware of what
object his gaze rested upon.
He was correct in his assumption.  Alain was passing under mental review those
females he'd considered and dismissed some time before.  Of the lamentably few he'd felt
were attainable due to their situation, none had been of sufficient interest to warrant more
than passing consideration.
It was fruitless speculation.  His former companion had been proof enough that
nothing good could come of attempting to ally himself with the ruling race of Orleans.
They considered themselves far superior to the ‘primitive red race’, in fact were
marginally more advanced, and far more cultured—which appealed to him.
But they required an archaic form of mating formerly known by his father’s
ancestors as a ‘life commitment’ or ‘marriage’ and they would not allow either until they
had thoroughly investigated a potential mate’s bloodlines.
Alain’s bloodlines were not acceptable in their eyes.  Nothing but his considerable
wealth had outweighed the objections to his previous search for a mate and he found the
thought of enduring that sort of reluctant acceptance again extremely unpalatable.
12

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
"Does it strike you as odd that she could be such a paragon of virtues and yet she
has reached the age of five and twenty without having contracted any previous alliance?"
he asked pensively.
The question made Dees uncomfortable.  Irritably, he wondered why when he had
only conducted an investigation at his client's request and was in no way responsible for
the results.  "From what I could ascertain, she was to have contracted in her eighteenth
year, but for some reason nothing ever came of it.  It seems the other party departed Earth
for parts unknown rather … uh ... hastily.”
Alain's lips curved into an enigmatic smile.  "One would almost suppose that the
fellow had a very narrow escape," he murmured with a hint of amusement in his eyes.  He
maintained a meditative silence for some moments.  "Fair, did you say?"
Dees nodded, but Alain had turned his narrow-eyed gaze to the contemplation of
his swinging watch once more.  "No doubt I shall live to regret it. I did agree that I would
be willing to consider a full term, however.  And I can think of no real reason at this
juncture, aside from a dislike of having my hand forced and a distaste for fair women in
general, to back out on it now.  We shall hope Jana has no reason to regret her decision,"
he finished coolly.
Dees, eyeing the cold glint in Alain’s eyes with misgiving, could not help but
think that the woman had made a serious error in judgment when she decided Alain’s
proposal put her in a position of power.  He had, however, been hired by Alain not Jana,
and judiciously kept his observations to himself.
Alain's eyes narrowed as he studied his watch fob pensively.  "I fear I shall be
unavailable for the arrival....  Business, as you might suppose.  You may inform Jana that
arrangements have been made per her proposal, and that immediately upon her arrival,
she will be conducted to my plantation, where she will assume her responsibilities ... as
that is my sole reason for agreeing to her terms.  I leave it up to you, Dees, to make the
necessary arrangements," Alain finished, concluding the interview as he rose to his feet
and pocketed his watch.
Dees rose also.  He cleared his throat nervously.  "You surely do not wish to have
it worded to that effect?"
"Precisely to that effect," Alain replied laconically.  "I will allow Jana to believe
she has won this round, but I see no reason to delude her into thinking her reception will
be a warm one."
"I hope you will pardon my presumption, Mr. Camar, but I feel I must point out
that such a missive would not be precisely ... conciliating," Dees said uncomfortably.  "It's
entirely possible that she may wish to withdraw."
Alain's lips curved into a mocking smile that never reached his eyes.  "In that
unlikely event, I should be forced to seek out a more agreeable female," he murmured
silkily.
 ***
“Well, has it been settled?” Blane demanded when he had caught up to his older
brother.
“In a word, yes,” Alain said succinctly.
13

THE CLAIMING
Blane studied him.  He had not seen Alain in quite so black a mood for some
time—not since before Caro’s death, in fact.  “I can not help but notice that you do not
seem particularly pleased,” he prodded.
Alain slanted him a narrow eyed look.  “Your powers of observation have always
amazed me, little brother, but I don’t recall that I asked for your opinion.”
Blane’s lips tightened in anger, but he refused to back down merely because Alain
had warned him off.  In his opinion, far too many people feared Alain—particularly when
he was in one of his ‘moods’.  It wouldn’t hurt him to listen to someone else’s advice for
a change.  It was not as if Alain had a sterling record where females were concerned.  In
fact, he seemed to have a penchant for forming attachments that could only give him pain.
If would have been far better for everyone if Alain had not fallen in love with that she-cat
he’d married.  It seemed she had set out to see how miserable she could make him.
It had been a blessing, really, when she’d broken her neck.
Not that Blane could imagine anyone forming an attachment to that outworld
creature he and Alain had gone to Earth to check out.  Warrior indeed!  It was the worst
of bad luck that she’d left before they arrived, for he was certain that it would’ve taken no
more than a look to convince Alain that his judgment was faulty, in this case at least.
One had only to read over her stats, in Blane’s opinion, to see that Jana WVFT366
would make life unbearable for everyone, not just Alain.
But Alain had not asked his opinion.
It seemed unlikely that Alain would listen to reason now.
He stopped, glancing back toward the office Alain had just left.
After a moment, Alain stopped as well, lifting one dark brow questioningly.
“I believe I’ll stay in town for a bit,” Blane said to the unvoiced question.
Alain studied him a long moment and finally turned without a word and strode to
the high strung Zell that danced nervously at the end of his tether where Alain had tied
him to the hitching post.
It was a beautiful creature, a fine pure breed.  Blane, naturally, had studied Earth
history and had been particularly interested in the data regarding the horses used for
transportation during Earth’s primitive past.  This creature came far closer to resembling
an Earth deer, than a horse, but Blane was inclined to think they were far more beautiful
animals—probably just as contrary, but much stronger and faster.  There had been some
talk, years ago, of introducing the horse into Orlean’s ecology, but he thought it just as
well that it had not been allowed.
He watched as Alain mounted his steed and departed, the Zell’s cloven feet
clattering loudly against the stones that paved the main thoroughfare of Savana.   When
his brother had disappeared from sight, he turned and made his way back to the attorney’s
office.
 ***
Jana had lived on the edge of terror for the better part of two weeks.   After the
customer had left on that never-to-be-sufficiently-regretted day that Jana had attempted
her last escape, Marty had returned.  To her relief, he had seemed more contemplative
than angry, however, and he had contented himself with merely threatening her.
Jana supposed that was the reason she was so frightened she couldn’t even think
straight.  Satisfied customer or not, Marty had still been furious with her.  Any other time,
14

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
he would have beaten her until she could barely move.  The fact that he had done no more
than slap her a few times meant that he had something far worse in mind as punishment.
The trouble was, Jana couldn’t even begin to imagine what it might be.
He no longer seemed inclined toward the idea of sending her back for
conditioning.
Did that mean he did not plan to keep her?  And, if he didn’t, did it mean he
would sell her?
Stupid question.  Of course he would sell her!  He wouldn’t just give up the credit
he’d paid for her.
The real question, the one that terrified her, was to whom would he sell her?
There had been several rather frightening visitors since that night.  Marty had told
her they were potential customers and that her life might well depend upon her behavior
toward them, but none had made an appointment with her and Jana very much feared that
that could only mean Marty was gathering bids for her.
Jana shook her head, sat up in bed and drew her knees up, dropping her forehead
against them.  She wished she could cry … really cry.  She had a huge lump of misery in
her chest that ached for release, but she had been conditioned not to cry.   She could
produce tears, on command if needed.  She could feel awful, but she could not wail out
loud and release her pain as she needed to.
She was supposed to appear child-like.  No one wanted her to bawl like one, and
swollen, puffy eyes were definitely not allowed.
For a time, Jana concentrated, wondering if she could make herself cry even
though she wasn’t supposed to be able to, but after a while, she gave up, realizing that,
even if she could, it would change nothing.  It might make her feel better, but it could not
solve her problem.
She needed to think of a solution to her problem … a way to escape completely
beyond Marty’s reach before she found herself in an even worse situation.  She wasn’t
stupid.  The House was a first class bordello.  If she found herself in any of the lower
class establishments, that meant her life would be considerably worse than the life she
now had.
After a moment, an errant thought settled in Jana’s mind.
She’d forgotten the strange message she’d received several days before.  She had
known it could not possibly have been intended for her, that it had somehow been
incorrectly routed.  She supposed that was why she’d put it from her mind.
Rising, she moved to the monitor in the wall near the outer door.
“Computer,” she whispered.
Nothing happened.
She stared at the blank screen in consternation for several moments before she
realized the computer had failed to recognize her voice pattern.
“Computer,” she repeated in a quiet voice.  The screen blinked on.  “Bring up
message dated….”   Jana stopped, trying to remember the date of the message.  She could
not.  “Bring up messages for Jana WVF366 for the past two weeks.”
“In what order?”
“Oldest to last.”
15

THE CLAIMING
The computer recited the first message.  It was from Marty, wanting to know why
she wasn’t responding to his voice calls—dated the day she’d fled.  She erased it.  Two
other messages played in rapid succession, almost identically worded.  She deleted them,
as well.  The nex t several messages were advertisements for products Jana had no credit
to buy even if she’d been allowed to have them.  Irritated, she trashed these messages,
too, wondering why anyone would bother to send advertisements to a bondage.
She was so busy deleting, she almost erased the message she was looking for.
Jana WVTF366:
Alain Camar has agreed to accept the terms of contract, per your requirements.  Please
proceed to nearest disembarkation point.  Your passage is secured.  You must present
code ORL5210.
Sincerely,
John J. Dees, Att.
Savana, Orleans
1840
75th year of colonization
Jana frowned, asked the computer to repeat  the message several times more, and
finally told it to delete the message and then erase it from it’s hard drive.  She stood
puzzling over it for some time, but could not come up with a clue as to what it might
mean.  The designation explained why she’d received the message in error.  The Jana it
had been intended for had an almost identical designation.
Of course, that meant nothing at all as far as Jana was concerned.  The designation
could be anything.  Only someone familiar with a broad range of codes would’ve been
able to decipher it’s meaning, and Jana had heard very few.  Her own designation stood
for White Virginal Female.
It was possible the WV in this Jana’s sig. meant the same thing--it was also
possible it could mean a lot of other things.
What sort of contract could a female enter into with a male? Jana wondered.
The woman the letter had been sent to must be a free-woman.  She surely could
not otherwise have entered into any sort of contract at all, let alone set her own terms, so
it seemed unlikely, to Jana’s mind, that this was any sort of arrangement for a sexual
partner.
Then again, she knew little of what went on in the outside world.
She had been bred at Bondage Inc., and had spent the past year at the House.   The
only contact she had with the outside world was the men who were her customers and
they didn’t come to her to talk.
She moved back to the bed and sat down, thinking.
She could not decipher the message.  She knew nothing about the woman it had
been intended for, nor what would be expected of the woman upon arrival.
16

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
She did, however, have a code that would take her off planet.
She might know very little about the outside world, but she lived in Carter City,
Earth.  The message was from Savana, Orleans.  Furthermore, the message spoke of
disembarkation.  That could only mean that the woman was expected to travel beyond
Earth.
 Marty had said he could pick up her IT signal anywhere on the planet.
She knew little about these devises, but it seemed very unlikely to her that he’d be
able to pick up her signal if she wasn’t even on the planet anymore.
A mixture of fear and excitement filled her.  She could escape!  All she had to do
was to find a place to disembark, use the code that had been provided, and she could go
somewhere where Marty would never find her!
But doubts immediately surfaced.
Could she, after her last failed attempt, manage to elude Marty’s surveillance and
leave the House?
If she succeeded, could she find a disembarkation site?
If she found a site, would the code be any good, or would she find that the other
Jana, the one it had been meant for, had already used it?
Lastly, supposing everything worked out, and she escaped--what if the place, and
the man, she went to was even worse than those she’d left?
***
Jana realized she had not properly appreciated the depths to which terror could
plunge one until the night she escaped the House.  She had not managed to leave without
tripping the alarm.
The chase that had followed had pushed her to the very limits of her endurance,
but it had not been her own abilities that had shaken the guards.   She had managed to
elude her pursuers only because she’d blundered directly into the most dangerous portion
of the city—her pursuers had simply refused to go in after her.
By the luck of the truly stupid, she had blundered out in much the same manner,
after hours of terror in wandering a nightmare world that seemed to be in a constant state
of warfare, complete with explosions, gun and phaser fire, screams, curses, dying and
wounded.
When she’d finally left the sounds behind her and discovered she was in a ‘safe’
area, she’d collapsed and thrown up.  This particular act had so terrified the only
bystanders, who seemed certain she had some sort of deadly disease, that everyone had
steered clear of her.
It was dawn when she finally found someone willing to direct her to a
disembarkation point and nearing dusk before she found it.  By that time she was near to
fainting from exhaustion as well as from a lack of food and water.  She was also bruised,
battered and filthy.
The attendant looked at her with suspicion.
Jana had not come this far, however, to be turned away.  Resolutely, she gave the
woman her code.
The attendant checked the code and a transformation came over her.  She smiled.
“Your passage is secured.  In what manner do you plan to travel?”
17

THE CLAIMING
Jana looked at her blankly.  She hadn’t ex pected that she would have a choice and
she had no idea what those choices might be.  “Uh … I’m not sure.  What would you
do?”
 The attendant shrugged.  “It really depends upon how fast you need to get there.
You could use the particle transporter, if you’re in a rush.  Or, if you have no particular
time frame, you could travel the old fashioned way.”
The woman might have been speaking a foreign tongue for all Jana understood of
her speech.   She no doubt looked as confused as she was.
“The particle transporter would break you down to a molecular level and transport
you to your destination in a matter of hours, but I know a lot of people are still a bit
squeamish about it.  It’s been years since we had any problems though.”
“Well, I….”
“Here.  Just let me check….  Wait.  No.  That isn’t available to you for Orleans.
I’m afraid you don’t have an option.  You’ll have to go by ship.”
“How long does the trip take that way?” Jana asked curiously, not that she cared
as long as she was out of Marty’s reach.  But then, if it was slow, might he catch her?
“Hmmm.  Let me see.  We don’t get many travelers out that way.  Oh!  A month.
Goodness that must be on the outer rim!”
Jana couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or concerned that it would take so
long.  On the one hand, that meant it would be at least a month before she had to face the
man who’d sent for her--but then, how was she to get by in the mean time?  She had no
credits.  Could she starve in a month?  “Would food and beverage be provided on the
trip?”
 The attendant stared at her blankly for a moment, then started to laugh. “You
don’t travel much, do you?”  She shook her head.  “You would be asleep.  You’ll be fed
and fully hydrated before that, but you won’t need anything for the trip.”
“Oh, I see,” Jana said, blushing at her ignorance, for she didn’t see at all.  “When
would I be able to leave?  I really need to go today.”
The attendant nodded and consulted her computer once more.  “Well, we’ve no
direct flight.  I’d have to rout you through several points … but, yes.  Actually, there’s a
flight leaving in just a few hours if you don’t mind taking a hauler.  There isn’t a first
class vessel leaving until day after tomorrow.”
Jana readily agreed to take the hauler.  She had no idea what a hauler was, but she
rather thought Marty had a good chance of catching up with her if she had to wait.  They
must be aware by now that she’d gained the main part of the city.  She’d be lucky if she
even had hours.
The hauler, she discovered, was a commercial vessel.  It’s primary cargo was
supplies, not passengers.  The accommodations were rough, to say the least.  Jana didn’t
care.  The ship’s personnel were falling over themselves in their haste to depart and that
suited her just fine.
A container of water and a stale meat and cheese sandwich were trust into her
hands.  She was told she had ten minutes to consume them before they took her to her
sleep chamber.
It took her less than five minutes to eat the sandwich … she had not eaten in more
than a day and had lost the contents of her stomach from her last meal.  The water was a
18

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
little more difficult.  As thirsty as she was, it took a great deal of effort to drink it all.  She
was still working on it when an attendant grasped her by her elbow and began to march
her down a narrow, crowded corridor.
Her clothes were removed, and she was stuffed into a ‘chamber’ that looked little
bigger than the one she’d climbed in to to avoid Marty the last time she’d escaped.  Tubes
were inserted into orifices she would have preferred remained virginal, and the lid was
slammed shut.
A tinny metal voice sounded in her ears.  “We have a limited selection of
entertainment for the cruise.  Would you prefer ‘music through the ages’, language,
science, or earth history?”
Jana pondered it for less than a second, realizing she had been given an
opportunity she had never thought to have.  “Could I have a mixture of education?” she
mumbled around the tube that had been inserted in her throat.
“Done.”
It was the last word Jana recalled hearing before she woke up.
Chapter Three
Jana woke to a sense of choking and the realization that someone was pounding
on her chest.  She gagged, choked and began coughing.
“There you go!  That’s it—breathe.”
Jana began shaking as if she had the ague.  Partly, this was from disorientation,
but mostly it was because she felt as if she were freezing.  It took an effort to open her
eyes and look around.  Her eyelids felt as if they’d been glued shut.
When she finally did manage to pry her eyelids up, all she could see was a great
white blur with dark shapes.  Blindly, she felt around until she could grasp something to
help her stand.
“Careful, now.  You’re going to feel just a little shaky for a while.”
A little?  The woman speaking was obviously an optimist.  Jana turned toward the
voice.  All she could see was a dark blob.  “I—I think I might be blind,” she said
apologetically.
Someone laughed, slapping her on the back hard enough she stumbled and began
choking again.
“Naw.  You just haven’t used your eyes in a while.  Your vision will clear.  You’ll
feel great by the time we land.”
“We’re there already?”
The blob, which had slowly begun to resolve itself into a stocky woman who
looked to be around thirty, laughed again.  “It took us six weeks, almost twice what we’d
expected, but then we were broke down on Aturis for nearly a week.  Then, we’d no
19

THE CLAIMING
sooner reached Palcia than we discovered we had a major hydraulic leak.  We were there
another week.”
That was comforting.  She’d traveled across the universe in a ship that had broken
down--twice.   And it had taken almost twice as long to reach her destination as had been
expected.
Would Marty be waiting on the ground to greet her?
She pushed the thought aside, unwilling to allow herself to yield to unfounded
fears.
 She wondered if there had been a specific time when she’d been expected to
arrive.  Would it be a good thing, or bad, that she hadn’t arrived before now?  Would they
still be expecting her?  Waiting?  Or would she find that she was completely on her own?
“How long before we land?”
“We’re on final approach now.  They sent me down to wake you up, then I’ve got
to go help prep the lander.  If you like, you can come with me.  You might want to put
something on first, though.
Jana looked down at herself.  She’d forgotten they’d taken her clothes.  “I don’t
know where they put my clothing.”
The woman walked over to a small box on the wall next to the chamber Jana had
so lately occupied, pressed a button.  Jana’s clothes spilled out into her hands.  “Here you
go.  Don’t look like they’ll do much to keep you warm, though.”
Jana took the wad of cloth offered to her and stared at it in dismay.  Even with her
vision still blurred, she could see that her skirt and top were dirty, and wrinkled from
being balled up and shoved into the tiny locker.  She shook them out and put them on
anyway.  It was all she had.  Clothing was not simply made available to anyone in her
position.  They were dressed as needed, for the patrons.  If she hadn’t been given the
outfit to wear for one of her visitors, she would’ve had to have escaped in her bed sheet.
She saw, once she had them on that the clothes did nothing to chase off the chill,
not really surprising since the top covered nothing but her breasts and very little of her
back, and the skirt had been designed to ride low on her hips.  It was long, reaching to her
ankles, but slit up both sides to the tops of her thighs.
She smoothed the wrinkles from the clothes the best she could and followed the
woman, whom she’d discovered was a mechanic named Luci, down to the lower docking
bay.
 She found a seat on a crate out of the way of the crew members prepping the
lander.  After a time, Luci summoned Jana with a wave of her hand.  Curious, Jana
climbed down and crossed the vast, echoing chamber.
“I thought you might want to get a look at Orleans.”
For the first time since she’d decided to escape, Jana felt a thrill of anticipation.
She’d made it!  She really had escaped!  She smiled happily.  “Oh, yes!  I’d like that very
much!”
Luci reached the bulkhead first, slamming her hand against a button on the wall.
A panel slid open and Jana felt as if her stomach had suddenly become weightless as she
stared out at a glowing blue and green ball surrounded by infinite blackness.  She gasped.
“Why … it’s beautiful!”
20

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
Luci laughed.  “They’re all beautiful from this far away.  Looks a lot like Earth,
though, doesn’t it?”
Jana had no way of knowing.  She hadn’t seen Earth from space, but she nodded
happily.
“It’s a hell of a lot different though, from what I hear.”
Jana felt her stomach contract.  “It is?  How?”
Luci shrugged.  “Primitive.”
That sounded a little threatening.  To Jana’s surprise, the definition came to her
and she realized the data sessions while she’d slept must have actually helped.  She knew
things she’d never been taught before.  The temporary enjoyment vanished, however, as
she realized Luci was talking about her new home.  “But … it’s a Confederation colony,
isn’t it?  I mean, I suppose it’s hard to get everything out here like on Earth, but still….”
Luci shrugged.  “Thing is, it isn’t allowed.”
Jana looked at her blankly.  “I don’t think I understand.”
“You know, the Confederation law they passed after what happened at that other
colony.  They said we’d given the natives too much technology too fast.  They didn’t
really understand it--blew the whole planet to hell, from what I heard.”
Jana gasped, horrified.  “Blew up the planet?  But … but wouldn’t that cause all
sorts of gravitational disasters?”
Luci laughed. “I didn’t mean literally.  The planet’s still there, just uninhabitable
now--kinda glows if you know what I mean.”
Jana didn’t, but despite the horrible story, she was far more interested in her
current situation.  “So—you’re saying it wasn’t allowed here.”
“Nope.  Law says, if the planet’s population is above 25% and/or advanced past
metal age technology, no tampering.”
“So—what is it like on Orleans?”
Luci shrugged, slammed her hand against the button again, and the shield closed.
“Don’t know.  Never been here myself. Guess we’ll find out.”
The lander cloaked as they entered the atmosphere.  Since it was necessary to
cloak, the shields were, of necessity closed.  Jana didn’t get her first close view of
Orleans until the ship landed and the ramp was lowered.
More than half afraid of what she would find, Jana moved to the gangplank and
peered out at the new world.
 ***
They had landed in a field surrounded tightly by trees.  Jana stared, confused,
disbelieving.  She knew, of course, what plants were.  She’d spent her life within a city,
most of it within a building, but she did know these were some species of  trees and
plants.  What mystified her was the idea of a landing area when there was no city within
sight.  As the landing crew nudged her down the gangplank, she became aware of the fact
that there were people near the ship … some sort of vehicles … some sort of animals.
It was night and shadows filled the area between the landing field and the trees as
she moved down the gangplank and into the bright lights.
Uncertainty gripped her when she stepped from the gangplank.  Around her, the
people moved forward with their vehicles, the crew of the ship opened the cargo bay and
began to unload the containers they’d brought.
21

THE CLAIMING
She’d expected to find herself in a city at the very least.  What was she to do now?
“Jana?”
Jana whirled as she heard her name called by a masculine voice.  The man she
saw coming toward her was tall, dark, lean of build.  He looked to be in his mid-twenties.
She smiled tentatively, wondering if this was the man who’d sent for Jana.
“Alain?”
He grinned.  “I’m Blane, his brother.” He pulled an older man forward.  The man
was short, balding—around fifty.  “This is John Dees, my brother’s attorney.”
Jana smiled at him, as well, but Alain was the man she would belong to and she
was far more interested in seeing what sort of man he was.  Uneasily, she look around to
see if anyone else was with them.
Blane flushed. “Alain couldn’t be here.  He … uh … he had business to attend to.
But we’re here to take you home.”
Relief flooded through her.  She hadn’t realized until that moment how frightened
she was of the thought of being left completely alone to find her way.
“We’ll just get your baggage.”
Jana looked at him in consternation.  She hadn’t realized she would be expected to
bring things with her—in fact had no belongings that she could have brought even if
she’d realized it must look odd to arrive with nothing.   “I don’t have any.”
Dees’ brows rose.  He looked at Blane.  Blane stepped forward.  Pulling his cape
from his shoulders, he twirled it around hers, fastening it at the neck.  “In that case, we’ll
have to improvise,” he said easily.
“Oh, I couldn’t take it, really.”
“You’ll have to for now.  We have to stop in town first to take care of the
paperwork.  Alain insisted.”
Jana didn’t understand why stopping in town meant she had to wear his cape, but
she saw no reason to belabor the point, particularly since the cape was warm and she’d
been chilled ever since she’d woke.
Blane took her arm and ushered her across the clearing to his conveyance.  Lifting
her, he settled her in the seat.  It was hard, completely unyielding and made of some
material Jana was unfamiliar with. Jana was still looking for her seat belt when he
climbed in beside her.   “I can’t find my seat belt.”
He chuckled.  “No seat belts.  You’ll have to hold on.”
Jana stared at him.  The vehicle was completely open.  There was no roof, no
windows, no doors.  It consisted of nothing but a seat attached to some sort of curved
platform.  “But—isn’t it dangerous?” Jana objected.
“With Blane driving, most assuredly,” Dees said sternly, coming up beside the
vehicle.
Jana saw that he was sitting astride some sort of animal.  It was quite beautiful,
it’s legs long and graceful, it’s body sturdy.   Fur covered it, in a strange pattern of colors.
In it’s mouth was some sort of metal piece.  Attached to that was a pair of ribbons, which
Dees held in his hands.
Turning, Jana looked at the beast standing before their vehicle.  Blane, too, was
holding a pair of ribbons, which she now realized must be attached to the beast, probably
in much the same way.
22

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
Odd.
Jana was just about to ask them why they were holding the ribbons and what they
were for when Blane flicked the pair he held in his hands.  The animal, she discovered,
was attached to the conveyance, for it took off at a run immediately, jerking their vehicle
into motion.  Jana fell backwards.  Fortunately, the seat had a back to it or she would’ve
landed in the compartment area behind the seat.  Looking behind them as they bumped
along the edge of the field, she saw that the man named Dees was following them.  In a
few moments, he pulled alongside, the loping stride of the animal he rode easily keeping
pace with them.
They hit a hole.  Jana nearly bounced from her seat and looked around a little
frantically to find something to hold on to.  “What sort of thing is this?”
Blane’s expression was wry.  “A cart.  Sorry.  I expected you would have baggage
and figured we’d need the cart to carry it.  The carriage would have been more
comfortable.”
It could hardly have been less.
They reached a clear stretch of open space.  The tiny, pink moon of Orleans
illuminated the area enough that she could see that it was a little more than twice the
width of their conveyance and curved between what looked like a wall of trees.  Blane
explained that it was a road, built specifically for the strange vehicles they used.
Jana didn’t want to complain, but she rather thought the road was worse than the
field.  After only a few moments, she felt as if the teeth were being shaken loose from her
head.  She clamped her teeth together to keep from biting her tongue.
It seemed to take forever to reach ‘town’.  It was difficult to have any idea of how
far ‘town’ was from where the ship had landed.  The wind blasting in her face along with
insects and tiny bits of flying debris as they’d bounced up the road had given her a sense
of traveling very quickly, but she couldn’t help but notice that it seemed to take rather a
long time to overtake the landmarks she spotted along the road and decided that they
could not be traveling nearly as fast as it seemed they were.  And yet, the sheer misery of
having the hard seat pounding against her buttocks seemed to go on forever.
‘Town’ was a place Blane called Savana.  Jana remembered the name from the
message she’d gotten from Dees, the attorney.  Looking around, she had to suppose that
‘town’ was something like city, except this looked nothing at all like Carter City.   The
buildings were short and squat, and made of some material she couldn’t identify.  The
roads seemed to be made up of some sort of flattened stone, which nevertheless wasn’t
really flat.  If she’d felt before as if her teeth were going to be shaken from her head, it
was as nothing compared to the bone shaking she experienced as Blane drove over the
cobbles.
She was never more grateful in her life than when Blane stopped the vehicle
before a structure he said was Dees’ office.  Thankfully, Blane leapt from his side and
came around to help her down.  Jana wasn’t at all sure she could have gotten down by
herself without falling on her face.  Her knees almost gave way when Blane set her on her
feet.
 Blane grinned, not unkindly.  “I see you haven’t got your land legs yet.”
Jana took the arm he offered for support gratefully.  She wasn’t sure what he
meant by his comment, but she rather thought the bouncing might have shaken the tissues
23

THE CLAIMING
and ligaments loose from her bones.  It took an effort of concentration to walk the few
steps from the cart to the building.  Once inside, Blane helped her to a chair.  She sank
onto it thankfully, only to discover that it was as hard as the seat she’d just left.
Dees moved around the table in front of her and pulled a bundle of something
from a drawer that crackled as he carefully smoothed it flat.  He pushed it across the desk.
Jana stared at it.  It looked somewhat like fabric--thin sheaves, but was stiff, and
layered.  Some strange design was painted on the white surface.
“Your contract.  We’ll wait while you read it through, but I assure you everything
is in order.”
Jana stared at him for a long moment, then looked at the bundle again.  The
contract.  She’d had no idea they looked like this.  She leaned toward it.  “Play contract.”
She waited.  Nothing happened.  She looked up at Dees, wondering if she’d just
given herself away.  Had it been keyed to the true Jana’s voice?  “It doesn’t seem to be
working.”
Blane and Dees exchanged a look.  “It’s on paper.  You have to read it,” Blane
said gently.
Jana stared at him without comprehension, searching her mind a little frantically
for the meaning.  To her partial relief, her mind finally supplied the answer.
Unfortunately, understanding what read meant wasn’t going to help her do it.  She’d
never seen the written word in her life.
She picked the bundle up, stared at it, trying to calm the panic that seemed as if it
would overwhelm her, trying to think what she could do.  After a moment, Blane took it
from her, turned it and placed it in her hands again.  Jana blushed, but an excuse came to
her rescue.  “I haven’t been able to see very well since I woke up on the ship.”
To her relief, Blane and Dees exchanged a look of understanding.  “Don’t worry.
Your vision should clear up in a day or two.”  Dees reached across the table.  “May I?”
Jana gave him the papers and he began to read.  Jana wasn’t at all certain what he
was reading, but it was obvious he was getting the words from the papers, because he
looked at each, all the way to the bottom, then placed it carefully on the table with the
writing side down and did the same with the next.  The whys and wherefors and whereas’
that seemed to preface every sentence left Jana feeling as if he was speaking another
language, however.  She didn’t understand what the reading meant.
When he finished, he looked up at her, waiting.
She smiled and nodded.
He looked relieved.  “Well, if you’ll just sign here.”  He stood up and moved
around the table, placed the papers on it and showed her a line.  She stared at the line,
while he looked around as if he’d lost something.  Finally, he moved back around the
desk and took a stick from a stand and a bottle that looked as it if was filled with black
paint.  He handed her the stick.
Jana looked at the stick, looked down at the paper, wondering what she was
supposed to do with it.
“Here,” Blane said, moving to stand beside her.  He took the stick from her hand
and dipped it into the bottle. It came out dripping black paint.  “These are a little tricky to
figure out.  I’ll help you.”  He put the stick in her hand and positioned it carefully in her
24

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
fingers.  Then, cupping his hand around hers, he guided it to the paper—then guided her
hand in long stroking motions.  “There.  Now you’ve signed it.  It’s all legal.”
Jana stared at the paper, feeling strangely pleased.  She’d added her own pattern to
it.  Dees, she saw, wasn’t looking pleased at all.  He was, in fact, giving Blane a rather
accusing stare.  Blane grinned unrepentantly, shrugged.  After a moment, Dees retrieved
the paper, blew on it and finally bundled it up again.
Blane returned the stick to its stand and helped her from the chair, steering her
toward the door.  “We’ll bid you good night, Dees.”
***
Jana realized that she should not allow herself to feel so much happiness when her
situation was so uncertain, but she could not seem to help herself.  Every day presented a
new challenge, a new adventure and each day that Marty did not arrive she became more
convinced that she truly had escaped him and that everything would work out for her.
She did not recall that there had ever been a time in her life when she had been so excited
about the possibilities for each new day that she could scarcely wait until it’s arrival.
She had not felt that way at first.  If she had not been so weak and disoriented
when she’d arrived that she could not think straight, she would have fled back onto the
ship she’d arrived on.   Despite her physical state, she had become painfully aware almost
as soon as she arrived that she was battling far more than ignorance of the woman she
was impersonating.  She was also unprepared for the world she had found herself in.
Thankfully, Blane had not seemed to expect her to be.  He had sent her straight to
her room when they arrived at the plantation.  When she had come down the following
morning, attired in the only clothing she owned, he had choked on his beverage, leapt
from his chair and marched her right back upstairs and shown her the clothing that had
been provided for her.
Naturally, it had not fit.  It had been made to the measurements of the other
woman.  Jana expected him to be immediately suspicious.  Instead, he seemed to have
assumed there had been a mistake and sent for a woman to take her measurements and
rework the clothing to fit.   She was confined to her room until the first was delivered.
Blane met her at the head of the stairs that time, grasped her arm and led her back
into her room.  She had not donned the clothing properly.  The clothing she was wearing
was designed to go under other clothing … in layers.  He explained that he would have to
instruct her to the best of his abilities.  It was not allowed to behave in any way as an
outsider and there was no female available to call upon.  He had also explained that she
must never divulge to anyone that he had acted as her lady’s maid—under penalty of
death—his--should his brother discover it.
That had frightened Jana witless, but Blane had reassured her.  He had explained
that it was just an expression, that he was fairly sure Alain wouldn’t kill him, he would
only make him wish he were dead.
Jana was not really reassured, but decided Blane must not be completely serious,
for he didn’t seem terrified.  She would have felt better, though, if he had left the room by
the door instead of climbing out of the window.
When she was finally dressed to his satisfaction, he had led her around and
explained what everything was, how it worked, and what was expected of her.
25

THE CLAIMING
The biggest shock—next to the layer upon layer of clothing she had found she was
expected to wear every day—had been her discovery of the infants.  When she had asked
Blane what their purpose was he had only stared at her blankly and scratched his head.
Finally, he had ex plained that they were what happened when a man and woman had sex
without birth control … and then hastily added that she was never to mention sex or birth
control to anyone at all.  These were forbidden subjects.
Jana couldn’t help but think his warning strange.  Moreover, he had already given
her a list of ‘forbidden’ that was so long she was beginning to have trouble remembering
all of them, but she had not been conditioned to dispute orders.  She had, to the best of
her abilities, committed it to memory.
Still, she was confused about his explanation regarding the infants.  She
understood the concept of birth control.  She had been told that she was genetically
engineered to be infertile, but they had stressed that infertile was not sterile.  She could
not be made sterile and also retain the hormones necessary to achieve maximum
desirability.  She must use birth control to prevent any unfortunate accidents.  She hadn’t
realized that this was what they meant by unfortunate accidents.
She still didn’t completely understand the concept, but apparently they were part
of her job.  She was to provide some of their care.  The dark female that Blane had
explained was their nurse would also tend to them and would teach her that job.
Surprisingly enough, and despite the fact that she’d quickly learned that they were
quite disgustingly uncivilized, she had found them very amusing.  Their nurse had
explained that they were just beginning to learn to walk, but they obviously had a long
way to go. They generally fell as soon as they’d managed to stand upright and had the
tendency, if they let go of whatever they’d used to pull themselves up with, to stagger
around and bump into things as if they were intoxicated.
They were the same age.  The nurse had looked at her strangely when she had
asked if they were incubated at the same time or if the female had cured faster.  The
woman had finally explained that they were carried together inside their mother’s belly,
which, of course, was absurd.  It sounded like the parables she had been taught in
conditioning to demonstrate the horrible consequences that could arise as a result of
ignoring the laws of bound-women.
She hadn’t wanted to be rude about it, but she was not a fool.  She was quite
aware that she was terribly ignorant.  It was not policy to teach bound persons any more
than was required to perform their role, and naturally enough, once sold, there were few
opportunities to learn more.
But she had seen the incubation chambers.  She knew very well how humans were
produced!
Apparently having decided Jana was far more resistant to shock than she liked, the
woman had gravitated from that subject to the death of ‘the master’s first wife’.  She had,
the nurse explained, died of a miscarriage—which she explained in gory detail.  But, the
woman had added, it had been a blessing, for the poor lady had broken her neck and had
been completely paralyzed.
Dismissing the anxiety the memory brought back, Jana proceeded with great care
down the winding staircase to the first floor, holding her long skirts up so that she
wouldn’t trip.  The smell of food led Jana in the direction of the breakfast parlor.
26

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
"Morning sluggard," Blane greeted her cheerfully as she entered the room.
Jana had found Blane’s mannerisms very disconcerting at first, but she had not
only grown accustomed to them, she’d come to find them amusing and learned to
reciprocate in a suitable manner.  She stuck her tongue out at him and turned to help
herself from the dishes on the sideboard, settling across the table from him before she
replied.  "Just because you rose before luncheon today does not give you the right to cast
aspersions on my sleeping habits.  It is barely half past eight," she responded, pleased she
had learned to mimic the local speech patterns so well.
Blane laughed.  “Spoken like a lady of Orleans!  If not for the tongue thing, no one
would ever guess!  You’re a quick learner.”
Jana looked self-conscious.  “But … you stuck your tongue out at me.”
“I have never done anything that childish!” Blane objected indignantly. “Here I
am complimenting you on your progress, and you insult me!”
Jana studied him seriously a moment, but realized almost immediately that he was
teasing, something he apparently enjoyed.  “Well, it is true, but thank you for the
compliment.  That was much better than the last compliment you gave me.”
Blane’s brows knit in confusion.  "What compliment?"
Her eyes twinkled.  "When you called me a nitwit only because I fell off my Zell."
He chuckled ruefully.  "No!  Did I?"
"You did.  Which I thought was most unjust.  Could I help it if I took the jump
and the Zell didn't?"
He laughed outright at that, but shook his head.  "You are undoubtedly the worst
rider I've ever seen.  Not that you aren't as game a one as I've ever run across.  But you'll
at least admit that I warned you ahead of time that you couldn't manage that brute."
"You bet me I couldn't!" Jana said indignantly.  "Which isn't the same thing at all!
You knew very well I wouldn't turn down your wager."
 Blane laughed, not the least repentant for her misfortunes.  "Say--speaking of
riding--you didn't ask me why I came down so early.  I've got something to show you," he
finished with a touch of excitement.
"What?" Jana asked suspiciously, having learned in the weeks since she’d arrived
that Blane’s idea of fun usually resulted in a painful ex perience for her.
"Ah lass, contain your excitement," he said with gentle irony.  "Come.  I'll show
you."
 ***
"What is it?"  Jana stood in the shade of a tree watching as Blane pushed an odd
looking, two wheeled contraption from the barn.  The front wheel was smaller than the
rear wheel, about thirty inches front, forty back, with wooden spokes and iron rims that
were connected by a gracefully curved wooden shaft, atop which rested a small saddle.
Two swinging shanks were mounted to the front and connected by way of a pair of rods
and levers on either side of the rear wheel.
Blane grinned proudly.  "It's a bicycle.  I built it from some old plans I found in
the library."
Jana frowned.  "I've never seen one.  What are those crank things for?"
"To propel it, goose."
27

THE CLAIMING
"You're the one that's a goose if you think you can make it stay up without
keeping your feet on the ground," Jana retorted, stung.
  “No?”  He threw one leg over the body of the vehicle, then pushed off with his
foot and began to push the treadles back and forth in a smooth motion that propelled the
bicycle forward.  Gaining speed as he passed, he threw her an impudent grin and a wave
and headed toward the garden.  As he approached the garden wall, he angled the front
wheel so that the bicycle made a wide arch, then started back toward her.  He skidded to a
halt when he reached her once more, leapt from the bicycle triumphantly and bowed with
a flourish.  "Now, it's your turn."
"My turn?" Jana  repeated blankly.
"To ride the bicycle," he said, chuckling at her look, which was a comical mixture
of dismay, doubt, and delight. "Get on," he urged.  "I'll hold it steady for you."
Jana wasn’t at all certain it was something she wanted to try.  It had looked
enjoyable.  I had also looked like something that would not be too difficult.  She had
learned, however, that no matter how easy something looked when Blane did it, being
able to do it herself was another matter entirely.  More often than not, it became a painful
lesson of ‘Jana can’t do this’, as when Blane had insisted that she must learn how to ride
a Zell.
 "But … didn’t you say I was only to ride side-saddle?  I don't see how I could ride
it like that," she said doubtfully.
"Of course not, goose!  You have to put one foot on each treadle."
"Oh ... But you said I wasn’t to lift my skirts either!"
Blane sighed in exasperation.  “There’s nobody here but you and me and I won’t
look.  Do you want to ride or not?”
Jana had a sneaking suspicion that this was yet another test and that Blane would
treat her to a lecture on proper behavior if she fell for his ploy.  It had looked like fun,
though.  Finally, after looking around guiltily, Jana lifted her skirts and threw a leg over
the hobby-horse.  Once she’d arranged her skirts she inquired with some trepidation how
to proceed.
He turned to grin at her.  "Put your hands on the guiding bar and your feet on the
treadles.  All you have to do is push one forward and then the other.  The faster you push,
the faster you go."
"I don't think I want to go very fast," Jana said in dismay, suddenly sorry she'd let
him convince her to try it.
"Well, if you go too slow, it'll fall over," he warned.
She frowned at him.  "If I fall and break something….”
Blane chuckled.  "I won't let you break anything."
"Well, I'm quite sure I don't want to be mangled either!"
"I learned to ride it on my own and I'm not mangled," he pointed out cheerfully.
That seemed inarguable and she maintained an apprehensive silence as he began
to push the bicycle.  Her heart was pounding uncomfortably fast, whether with fear or
excitement, she couldn't be sure.  She suspected that it was a little of both till, on reaching
a speed that was unpleasantly fast, he released his hold and she was sailing along on her
own.  Then she was absolutely certain it was fear.
"Push the treadles," he shouted after her.
28

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
She did, but the bicycle wobbled dangerously since she couldn't seem to
concentrate on keeping it level and pushing the treadles at the same time, so she
contented herself with gliding along.  She was just beginning to enjoy herself when she
saw the tree looming before her.
"Blane! What do I do?"
"Turn the front wheel.  Use the guiding bar!"
She was somewhat relieved that he didn't sound too far away.  She could hear him
racing to catch her.  She tried to do as he had instructed, but somehow she couldn't turn
the bar at all without the machine wobbling frighteningly.
"I can't do it!"  She was on a collision course with the tree and she knew it.  She
couldn't stop and she couldn't turn.  She did the next best thing.  She closed her eyes.
The arm that shot out and grasped her waist, jerking her off the seat, made her
gasp with sudden fear. Her eyes snapped open.  In the next instant the world spun dizzily.
She slammed eyes shut again as she struck the ground with a force that knocked the wind
from her lungs and was crushed by Blane's weight as he landed on top of her.  Pain
exploded in her head with sharp pin points of light, casting the shooting pains in other
parts of her body into insignificance.
"Jana!" Blane rasped in a voice tight with anxiety.  "Are you all right?"
She managed to open her eyes a fraction and peered at Blane who still lay atop
her.  "I'm dead," she managed in an attempt at levity, her lips quivering slightly on a
smile.
 He laughed shakily.  "I've never seen a corpse talk."
"I will be if you don't get off of me.  You're crushing me."
"By all means, do.  And then you can explain just what the hell's going on here,"
said a voice of such deadly coldness that Jana's eyes snapped open and Blane bounded off
of her as if he’d suddenly grown springs.
 ***
"Uh ... just teaching Jana to ride the bicycle," Blane stammered.  Recovering from
his discomfiture somewhat, he knelt and pulled Jana to a sitting position.  "That was a
close call," he said.
Jana frowned.  "You wouldn't say so if you'd been hit by the same cart that hit
me."
 Blane chuckled shakily.  "Is that any way to talk when I risked life and limb to
rescue you?"
Jana put her hand to her throbbing head as Blane helped her to her feet and
steadied her.  Mentally, she surveyed the damages.  She discovered, without much
surprise, that her ankle hurt when she tried to shift her weight to it.  "I'm not at all certain
it wouldn't have been less painful if I'd hit the tree."
"Are you hurt?"
Jana glanced up at the stranger who’d spoken and felt her heart trip.  A shock
wave went through her.  Half dazed as she was by her fall, he took her breath, made her
heart hammer in double time.
He was tall—she could’ve stood beneath his outstretched arm without brushing it
with the top of her head—broad shouldered, and, from the fit of his clothing, a good deal
more muscular that Blane, whom she’d found was amazingly strong.  His lean face,
29

THE CLAIMING
however, was what captivated her attention.  It was more than striking.  Admittedly, Jana
had a limited number of men to compare him with, but she had never seen a man more
pleasing to the eye.
It took her several moments to realize the harshness of his features at the moment
denoted carefully leashed anger, a fact supported by the fire in his strange, golden eyes.
Her breathless tumult was replaced by a tiny quiver of fear as she was snared in their
spell.  She looked away from him with an effort, frowning as she tried to recall what he’d
asked her.  “No.”
"No?"
Unable to resist, she glanced at him when he spoke again.  A black brow rose
questioningly, a faintly mocking light in his eyes now.
Too unnerved even to consider responding to the challenge in his eyes, she turned
to Blane.  "Do you think you could help me to the house, Blane? I’ve twisted my ankle."
The stranger scooped her into his arms so quickly that she gasped, instinctively
throwing her arms around his neck to keep from falling.  She looked up at him in stunned
surprise, glancing back at Blane in consternation as the stranger strode toward the house
with her.  But Blane, after returning her look of mute appeal with a slight shrug, started
back towards the wrecked bicycle, leaving her to her own devices.
Stunned and more than a little confused that Blane would let the stranger carry her
off without even attempting to stop him, Jana returned her attention to the man holding
her.
 Oddly enough, he seemed familiar.  She couldn’t quite figure out why, but there
was something about him that teased at her memory.  "I'm sure I don't know you," she
said finally.
"No?" he said coolly, but then he seemed to find something about the
conversation amusing. "You're quite certain?  I did identify myself.  But then you were
rather preoccupied amusing yourself with Blane, weren't you?"
Jana felt a surge of indignation.  He was accusing her of improper behavior.
Blane had warned her that learning proper behavior was crucial.  If she behaved in a way
considered improper, then everyone would tell everyone else and no one would treat her
kindly or even speak to her.  She would be ostracized from society, whatever that meant.
She wondered if this was what Blane had meant when he’d explained that
improper behavior on her part would lead men to behave in a way she would not like.
"I was not behaving improperly.  Blane said it would be acceptable for me to ride
the … uh … thing.”  He ignored her and after a moment she gave up trying to reason with
him, closing her eyes and leaning her throbbing head on his shoulder as he entered the
house and made his way to the main staircase.  “I did not find it at all amusing, especially
when Blane landed on top of me.  And there was noise in my ears.  I could not hear
anything.”
He didn’t seem to have a response for that and she fell silent, preoccupied with the
throbbing in her head and ankle.  It wasn't until she realized he’d begun to ascend the
stairs that she thought to protest. This she knew positively was not something she should
allow.  "This is not at all proper."
30

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
He gave no indication of even having heard her.  On reaching the second floor, he
made his way unerringly to her room.  He placed her gently on her bed.  Then, without
saying a word,  he unceremoniously flipped her skirts up over her knees.
Jana was so stunned it took her several moments to remember what Blane had
told her was a proper response to an improper advance.  She slapped his hand and jerked
her skirts down, covering her feet.  He not only ignored her efforts to behave modestly, he
placed one large hand in the middle of her stomach and shoved her flat, tossing her skirts
over her head.
Jana bounced back up and jerked her skirts down again.  That time she got a
definite reaction.  He turned and gave her a narrow-eyed glare that sent a chill zigzagging
down her spine.
Her eyes widened, panic scattering her thoughts as it occurred to her to wonder if
the man was under the impression that she would share herself.  Was she supposed to
allow it?  Blane had spent a great deal of time explaining how she must dress, how she
must behave, how she should talk and what was forbidden.  He had not once said that she
would be expected to share herself with men as had been expected of her before.  He had,
in fact, specifically said that it was absolutely forbidden for any man to expect her to
share herself, unless he was her companion.  He had not, however, explained to her how
she was supposed to prevent it if a man carried her off with that apparent purpose in
mind.
 She had slapped his hand.  She had firmly placed her skirts down over her ankles
in compliance with ‘modesty’.  What was she to do now?  “This is forbidden,” she said in
a voice that sounded far more shaky with fright than firm.
“Not, from what I just witnessed, to my brother.”
She frowned, searching her memory for the meaning of that word.  She found it,
but like much of the other useful information the data banks had supplied her with, the
definition was almost as confusing.  She didn’t know what sibling was either.  “Who are
you?” she asked finally.
For a long moment, he merely stared at her, his lips drawn into a tight line of
annoyance, his eyes narrowed dangerously.  Slowly, the amusement of before crept back
into them, displacing much of the hard, angry glitter.  Some of the tightness left his hard
mouth.  It twitched with amusement.  "Alain C amar.  By Orleans law, your husband," he
replied coolly.
 ***
“I wonder if I might have a word with you.”
Blane, who’d been on the point of making good his escape, froze.  Bracing
himself, he turned with a look of purest innocence on his features, or as nearly as he could
hope to approximate such an expression.  “Actually, I was on the point of riding over to
Makis Plantation.  Jon-el and I had arranged to go shooting this afternoon.”
“As it is only half past ten, and no more than a twenty minute ride, I believe you
can spare me a moment or two.”
Blane grinned.  “That early?  Well, I suppose….”
“In my study, if you please.”
It was dim in the barn, which made it difficult to judge Alain’s expression, but
Blane didn’t particularly care for his tone.  He might have objected, therefore, except for
31

THE CLAIMING
the fact that Alain, apparently expecting that he would follow, had already turned and
strode from the barn.
When he entered the study, he saw that Alain was standing by the window, his
back to the room.
Blane was certain his brother could not have failed to hear him enter, and yet he
said nothing.  The silence unnerved him.  He shifted several times and finally moved to
the chair before his brother’s desk and sprawled in it.
Alain turned from the window as if only just aware of Blane’s presence.  “I’m
curious….”
Blane felt the blood rush guiltily to his cheeks, almost certain he knew what
would come next.
“I stopped by Dees’ office on my way through Savana—just to make certain the
papers were all in order, you understand.  I was relieved to see that they were—everything
settled quite tidily.
But … imagine my surprise upon my arrival home, to discover my brother and my
… newly contracted companion, rolling about on the ground—in plain view of anyone
who chanced by.”
“I explained that!  It was an accident.  Only someone with a low mind would
make anything of it!”
Alain’s eyes narrowed.  “I collect you mean me, it not having occurred to you,
apparently, that nine tenths of the county, and particularly the servants, take absolute glee
in spreading rumors, unfounded or not.  Did it not occur to you that scandal could make
life rather more than a little uncomfortable for my companion?”
“I can only say that it was done in innocence.  I hadn’t expected that there would
be a problem and I certainly hadn’t expected what happened when I had to rescue Jana
from harm.  We fell.”
Alain studied him a full minute before he spoke again.  “Speaking of Jana … I
wonder…. Do you by any chance know who the hell that female--whom I find to my
surprise is now legally bound to me--is?”
Chapter Four
Blane feigned a look of complete incomprehension.  “Jana?”
Alain favored him with a look of patent disbelief.
It was do or die now, however, and Blane steadfastly maintained a look of
stupidity.   He had practiced this interview mentally for weeks.  He was certain he could
pull it off if he stuck to his guns.  “You think she’s not who she’s supposed to be?  An  ...
uh … impostor?”
“It occurred to me, yes,” Alain said sardonically.  “Is it at all possible that I only
imagined you were with me when we went to Earth to check out the woman  I had under
consideration?”
32

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
“Oh, well.  You know very well I went with you, but it’s not like we actually saw
her in person.  The images in the data bank were at least five or six years old.  She could
look like anything now.  Anyway, I wasn’t really interested.  I can’t say I was paying that
much attention.”  He shrugged.  “I was more interested in seeing the sights.  It was my
first trip to Earth, after all.”
Alain eyed him skeptically.  “But you did see the images—dated or not.”
Blane shrugged.  “Well, it never occurred to me that she might be anyone else.
She fits the description Dees gave us.”
“In what way?” Alain asked politely.
Blane could not prevent a blush.  “She’s fair.”
Alain moved around his desk and sat in his chair.  Pulling open a drawer, he
removed a file and opened it.  “Jana WVTF366- designation Warrior Virtuous Terre-
Farm Female—Age - Twenty Five- Height 5’ 9” - Weight 130 - Skills- proficient in a
wide range of weaponry, archaic to modern - experienced in hand-to-hand combat -
educated in agricultural studies and animal husbandry under a wide range of climate
conditions.  Trained in maintenance and management of self-sufficient agricultural
colonies. Conditioned in the womanly arts of virtue, modesty and nurturing.”  Alain
dropped the report to his desk.
He seemed to be waiting for some response.  “Impressive!” Blane acknowledged.
“Does it strike you that none of these attributes are readily apparent in the woman
above stairs?”
Blane frowned, apparently thinking it over.  “Actually, I’d think any woman it was
apparent in would look far more like a man than a woman—just my opinion—but she
was supposed to be handsome, so….”
“But you’ll admit she appears to fall somewhat shy of 5’9”?--by approx imately a
foot?”
 “I hadn’t really thought about it,” Blane said stiffly.
“But you did think she was handsome?”
Blane frowned.  “You don’t?” he asked incredulously.
“She’s a great deal more than that, I’d say.  In fact, there wasn’t a single male over
the age of ten and under the age of eighty who didn’t stop me to ex tol her beauty.”
Blane reddened.  “Actually, I meant to tell you about that.  We’ve done just a bit
of entertaining—I thought it would be a good idea to introduce her to society.  She’s
adapted to our local speech and customs amazingly well and it seems pretty much
everyone knew of her arrival anyway—and I thought you wouldn’t like for the alliance to
look suspicious.”
“Then again, there is the little social blunder regarding the fact that I’m
supposedly still in mourning over the death of my former spouse.”
“You surely didn’t expect to keep her hidden for three months!”
“No.  But neither did I intend to offend the locals by flaunting the fact that I’d
flown in the face of local traditions either.”
“Sorry,” Blane muttered, trying to look repentant.
Alain studied him in silence for several moments.  “Do you think it at all possible
that I might have had very good reasons for choosing a woman capable of handling
herself in any given situation?” he asked pensively.  “This is … a dangerous and difficult
33

THE CLAIMING
world, particularly so for outworlders.  You and I have the advantage of having been born
here, grown up with the conditions.  There is always the possibility of a slave uprising or
yet another battle between the primitive natives and the ruling race.  Do you perceive the
difficulty here?  Can you, in your wildest imaginings, believe that that fragile creature
would be able to defend herself, let alone protect my off-spring in the event I was away at
the time and unable to reach Briar Hill?”
Blane stood, pacing the floor before his brother’s desk.  “So … supposing she is
not who we think she is … you’re implying that this is my doing?” he finally said,
assuming a demeanor of affront, though he cringed inwardly when he realized, the
moment the words were out, that he’d very effectively pinned the blame entirely on Jana.
He wished then that he could recall the poorly considered comment, but the truth was the
interview had gone nothing like he’d anticipated.  He’d been certain that Alain would be
so smitten with Jana the moment he laid eyes on her that he would not be able to consider
anything else.
Alain sat back in his chair, studying his younger brother.  “You’re saying it is
not?”
 It took more of an effort than Blane had ever thought it would to look his brother
dead in the eyes and lie through his teeth, but he realized it was the only hope he had of
stalling for time, and he felt certain, given time, Jana would wrap Alain around her finger
and banish any thoughts of having been duped.  “Certainly not!
***
"I see you've recovered from your headache," Alain drawled in an amused voice.
His voice sent a shock wave through Jana.  She jerked involuntarily, bumping her
head and spine on the underside of the crib.
She had found that she was far too unnerved by her first encounter with the man
she’d come to deceive to remain cooped up in her room once her aches and pains had
subsided.  On the other hand, neither had she been willing to chance another
confrontation so quickly on the heels of the first.
Finally, she had decided that she would visit the nursery.  The toddlers, when they
weren’t screaming, generally amused her and their easy acceptance and inability to
question her was bound to be more soothing to her nerves than risking a trip downstairs.
She was fortunate in her timing.  They had only lately risen from their nap, had
been fed and bathed and were in a sunny mood.  She had decided that she felt up to the
challenge of tending to them alone and, after settling the babies on a thick rug on the
floor, had sent their nurse, Lill, away.
They were at a stage in development where they were relatively easy to amuse and
slow to escape.  She had piled colorful blocks and balls in the middle of the rug and sat
back to watch as they tumbled them around, tried to force various pieces into their
mouths—which were fortunately too large to fit—and alternated between crawling off in
different directions and repeated attempts to get to their feet and walk.
The male child, whom Lill called Behn had finally tired of trying to eat the toys
and had begun slapping them with his hands, scattering them in every direction.  Jana had
just crawled under the crib to retrieve the last of them when she heard that voice she was
already beginning to dread.
34

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
Rubbing her head, she peered over her shoulder.  He was standing in the doorway
and although she could see little more than his legs, there was enough amusement in his
voice to make her wonder just how long he'd been watching her.
It didn’t take a great deal of thought to realize that there was no dignified way to
remove herself.  The crib was against the wall.  There was nothing she could do but to
back out the way she'd come.  Unfortunately, she discovered almost immediately that her
hair had become hopelessly entangled with the crib.  She struggled with it for a few
moments, but quickly realized that it was getting worse, not better, and that it was far
more than a strand or two.
"Uh … Mr. Camar?"
"Alain," he corrected promptly.
Jana blushed at the unmistakable laughter in his voice.  "I ... I seem to be stuck,"
she admitted finally, realizing it was likely to amuse him all the more but that she had
little choice.
"Stuck?"
"My hair is caught," she said stiffly.
She heard a low chuckle, but in a moment, he appeared at her side.  She gave him
a look that dared him to laugh.  Amusement glinted in his eyes, but there was no other
indication of suppressed mirth as he rolled onto his back, edged closer and reached up to
untangle her hair.
"I suppose you're wondering how I came to be under here," she said tentatively.
He paused and his gaze flickered from his task to her face. He studied her for a
long moment and Jana suddenly became aware of his nearness in a way she hadn’t been
before, in a way she’d never been aware of any man before.
He unnerved her, set her heart to fluttering in a wild rhythm, but it had nothing to
do with fear.
A slight smile played about his lips as he looked at her, drawing her gaze to his
mouth.  Her stomach executed a free fall, as it had when she’d been standing on the deck
of the ship staring at endless space.  Then, as now, she’d felt as if she was standing on the
edge of an infinite precipice, teetering on the verge of falling.  She could not have said
what it was about those hard, sculpted lips that created such turmoil inside her, but there
was no denying the effect it had upon her to look at him, to be so near him.
A wave of familiarity swept through her abruptly, leaving her almost dizzy.  She
closed her eyes, wondering how anything about him, or the situation could seem so
familiar to her.
"I'm sure you have a very logical explanation," he said finally as he returned his
attention to freeing her.  "I believe I have it now."
"Thank goodness," she said lowering herself to her elbows slowly, expecting
momentarily to feel the tug on her hair once more.  None came and she smiled at Alain in
gratitude.
A startled gasp drew her attention and she glanced over her shoulder in time to see
Lill hastily retreat from the room.  She glanced quickly at Alain to gauge his reaction.
His expression was so eloquent of chagrin that, when coupled with the sudden release of
tension, she dissolved into giggles.
35

THE CLAIMING
“I see nothing at all humorous in having been caught in such an undignified
position by one of my servants," Alain said, half in amusement and half in exasperation.
Jana stifled her laughter with an effort.
His smile faded as he studied her, replaced by a look that was half questioning and
filled with intent as he shifted, bringing his face closer, his gaze straying to her lips.
Jana's amusement died instantly.  As abruptly as the tension she’d felt before had
disappeared, it returned, far more intensely.  She gazed back at him warily, realizing that
he meant to kiss her, wondering if she was supposed to allow it, but far more captivated
by the realization that she wanted him to.  Her heart seemed to stop beating altogether.
Her breath caught in her throat.
He drew back abruptly, glancing toward the door and she was surprised at the
depth of her disappointment.
"What the devil...!" he exclaimed in surprise.
Jana followed the line of his gaze and laughed shakily, feeling almost weak with
the release of tension.  "Behn!  You bad boy! You are not to chew on boots!  They are not
at all hygienic!"
The baby’s face crumpled.  She thought for several unnerving moments that he
was going to burst into tearful wails.  Instead, he reached for her.
 Jana was too surprised to react immediately, but finally held out her hand.  He
grasped it, crawling over her legs and burying his face against her chest.  Hesitantly, she
wrapped her arms around him.  It seemed to be what he’d wanted, for he settled quietly
against her, sniffing and casting reproachful glances at the man who’d frightened him.
The female child, Marly, apparently jealous of the attention Behn was receiving,
crawled up to Jana and demanded to be held, as well.  Jana pulled her close, too, pleased,
though she wasn’t entirely certain why she was so gratified that they wanted her to hold
them.
 "Does the child make a habit of chewing on things that are inedible?" Alain asked
coolly as he rose and extended his hand to help her rise.
Jana stared at him.  He was criticizing her.  It should have unnerved her.  Instead,
she felt a surge of anger, not, she finally realized because he seemed displeased with her,
but because she did not like his coolness toward the infants.  "He is an infant.  He does
not know what he’s allowed to eat.”
"That being the case, perhaps you had better find something a little more
appropriate for him to chew on," he retorted coldly.
He pulled Marly from her arms and set the child in the crib, then reached for
Behn.  Reluctantly, Jana released him and he lifted the child and placed him in the crib as
well.  Jana scrambled to her feet as Behn almost immediately began to wail.  Not to be
outdone, Marly joined him.
As if the chorus was her cue, Lill rushed into the room.
Alain grasped Jana’s arm and led her into the hallway, closing the door behind
them.   They glared at each other for several moments in silence.
It occurred to Jana after a moment, however, that she would never have dared to
allow Marty to see her anger and that being so near to Alain had so thoroughly thrown her
off balance that she’d not even realized she had ceased to behave with any caution.
36

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
To her surprise and relief, he said nothing at all about her behavior.  She tensed
when he released her arm, but he dropped it to his side.
“We have guests, I suggest you set yourself to rights and join us as soon as
possible."  Turning, he strode down the hallway without another word or a backward
glance.
  Jana stared after him, torn between residual anger and a sudden onslaught of
debilitating terror.  He’d told her to hurry.  She knew it was not wise to provoke him
further by ignoring what had, clearly, been a command, but she was so in dread of what
she would find downstairs that it seemed worth the risk of annoying him further.
Blane had been so accepting of her that she had ceased to consider that, in
actuality, she was practicing deception only by her presence here.  She was not the
woman everyone seemed to think that she was.  She did not have the right to be here.
Up until Alain’s arrival, she had not really considered that she had far more to
worry about than the possibility that Marty might discover where she’d gone.  She had
enjoyed herself, looking upon her situation almost as if it was a game—far more elaborate
than any she’d played before, and different, of course, because she was playing the part
for many, instead of an audience of one—but still a game.
Alain she realized, however, would not be at all amused if he discovered her game
of deception.  He was far more likely to be furious than to chuckle at her cleverness, pat
her on the head, and assure her he was very satisfied at the substitution of herself for the
woman he’d chosen—which she now realized that in her infinite ignorance of the ways of
the outside world and men in general, she had expected.
She dawdled over ‘setting herself to rights’ a full half hour and was on the point
of sending down word that her headache had returned and she didn’t feel up to
entertaining Alain’s guests when he sent a maid to fetch her.  She went to greet their
guests with far more dread than at any time previously.
Her anxiety intensified by several degrees when she discovered the visitors were
none other than Mrs. Knight and her daughter, Katryn.
Even before Alain’s arrival, she'd begun to see Katryn as her nemesis.  Katryn
Knight, more than any other except, perhaps, Judeau Mahew, had forced her into
confronting Alain's neighbors with her deception.  She would have far preferred to hide
herself away at Briar Hill since she had lacked the confidence that she would be able to
convince everyone that she was who she was supposed to be, Jana of Orleans, but Katryn
had, through verbal coercion, forced her into the position of having to entertain.
She knew Alain would not be pleased when he learned of it.
Blane had warned her that Alain would not want them to entertain the neighbors,
but he had not told her how she might discourage them from coming to be entertained,
nor helped her fend Katryn off when Katryn and Judeau had ‘helped’ her to organize
parties for her unwanted guests.
Considering how very unpleasant he could be when displeased, she shuddered to
think how he would react to the news.
She found it very difficult, therefore, to concentrate on emulating the behavior of
the guests, as Blane had advised her, for fear that any moment Katryn or Mrs. Knight
would say something that would bring Alain’s wrath down upon her.  She was further
unnerved, though not surprised, when the two women extended their visit until it
37

THE CLAIMING
would've been downright rude not to invite them to dine.  It was typical of Katryn, who
exuded an almost proprietary air whenever she visited.
Strangely enough, however, about mid-way through the visit, Katryn’s behavior
began to annoy Jana to the point that irritation gained the upper hand.  She was, blatantly,
flirting with Alain, giggling over nothing in particular, leaning close to speak in almost a
conspiratorial whisper, touching his arm, brushing imaginary lint from his jacket.
Jana might be ignorant of many things, but she was well versed in the art of
subtle, and not so subtle, flirtation.
She wasn’t entirely certain why she disliked it, but she found that her fear of
discovery was slowly, but surely, displaced by anger the longer she watched.
It did not seem at all just that she had been forbidden to flirt, but Alain, who was
supposed to be her companion, was allowed to.
It occurred to her after a while that Alain was not, exactly, flirting with Katryn.  It
was simply that he made no attempt to discourage her from flirting.  Jana had no doubt
that he could have, if he had wanted to.  He did not seem the least bit uncomfortable
about it, as he might have been if he had been laboring under confusion about how to
dissuade her.  In fact, he gave every indication not only of enjoying it thoroughly, but also
that he was well aware it must be so obvious that Jana could not fail to notice.
When she realized it, anger completely overcame caution.  She decided she would
flirt, as well.  Since Blane was the only male present other than Alain, she devoted her
attention to him, pretending to be oblivious to the game in progress between Alain and
Katryn.
She discovered fairly quickly that she had instinctively hit upon the correct
counter to Alain’s annoying behavior.  He very rapidly began to find it more and more
difficult to concentrate on Katryn.  Unaccountably pleased with his reaction, she was
encouraged to flirt more and more blatantly with Blane.
By the time they sat down to dinner, Jana had begun to thoroughly enjoy herself.
She’d come to realize that it was very unlikely Alain would retaliate for her performance.
He was far too busy  pretending he was enthralled with Katryn.  He might be angry with
her, but he could do nothing but stew in it unless he was willing, later, to swallow his
pride and admit he had only flirted with Katryn to annoy her.
She ignored the little voice in her head that warned her she was playing a risky
game with a dangerous man.
She also ignored Blane’s discomfort and the growing alarm in his eyes,
determinedly mimicking Katryn’s behavior, smile for smile, touch for touch, batting
eyelashes and all—glancing only occasionally toward Alain to gauge his reaction.
He met her gaze across the table just as Katryn reached to touch his hand for
perhaps the tenth time.  Arching a dark brow, he allowed a slow smile to curl his lips.  
Jana felt her face heat, with anger as well as the realization that he was as
completely aware of her game as she was his.  She returned her attention to Blane
abruptly.  "Oh, Blane, how you do run on," she mimicked Katryn, batting her eyelashes
madly.  
Blane, who had said nothing at all, who had, in fact, been on the point of taking a
sip from his glass, choked and very nearly spewed his wine on the table.  When he finally
caught his breath, he glanced down the table to see if Alain had noticed.  One look was
38

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
sufficient.  He had hoped Katryn had kept his brother too preoccupied to notice Jana’s
peculiar behavior.  Obviously, old eagle eyes had missed nothing at all.  Casting about
frantically for a distraction, he said the first thing that popped into his mind. "I saw the
oddest advertisement in the news sheet this morning….”
The words had no sooner left his mouth than he remembered why he’d destroyed
it before Alain could see it.
Alain had always seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to ferreting out
subterfuge, however.
“Oh?  I’m afraid I missed it.  In fact, I was under the impression that the news
sheet had not been delivered.”
Blane felt his color rise, but frowned, as if puzzled.  “Really?  I suppose I mislaid
it somewhere.  I’ll go look for it.”
Alain favored him with a look that froze him to his seat.  “Now?”
Blane aborted his attempt to rise.  “No!  Of course not!  Later.  I’ll go look for it
after dinner.  I’m sure it’s around here somewhere … maybe slipped beneath the chair
cushion.”  He focused his attention on his plate once more.
Try though he might, however, he simply could not ignore the fact that Alain
continued to study him.  He looked up finally, questioningly.
“Surely you don’t mean to leave us all in suspense?”
Blane tried to look blank.
“Something odd?” Alain prompted.
To save his life, Blane could not think of anything he could substitute with the
truth.  “Uh … well I can’t recall exactly what it said now.  That’s why I was going to go
look for it.”
“The gist of it will suffice, I think,” Alain said, smiling, though Blane couldn’t
help but notice the smile didn’t quite reach his hooded eyes.
“Oh … well it was something about an escaped slave.”
Jana turned the color of the table cloth.
Katryn laughed.  “What in the world seemed strange about that?  Why there are
advertisements most every day about runaways!”
Alain said nothing at all.  In fact, Blane could not help but notice that Alain was
watching Jana with a sudden intensity that she might have found very disconcerting if
she’d been in any condition to notice.
Blane forced a laugh.  “Now that you mention it, it wasn’t the advertisement that
seemed so odd.  I just thought it was odd because it wasn’t in the advertisement section.
It was in the personal section.”
Worse and worse!  His tongue was going to dig his grave one of these days!  He
rose abruptly.  “Well, if you’ll excuse me,” he muttered.  Ignoring Alain’s glare at his
rudeness, he strode from the room—and out the front door.
It was a cowardly retreat, but on the other hand he did not seem to be helping Jana
a great deal by staying.
 ***
Jana was relieved beyond belief when Mrs. Knight and Katryn at last took their
leave.  They’d scarcely left when she excused herself on the grounds of having a
39

THE CLAIMING
headache.  She'd very nearly made her escape when Alain detained her at the foot of the
stairs and suggested they retire to his study to talk.
Jana hesitated, one foot poised on the first stair, more than half tempted to race to
her room and bolt the door.
"Don't," Alain said warningly, almost as if he had read her mind.
Jana glanced quickly at him, startled.
"Shall we?"  He offered his arm.
Chapter Five
Alain indicated the chair before his desk once they'd reached the study.  Jana
stared at it a moment, glanced rather wistfully towards the door and finally perched on the
edge of the seat as if poised for flight.... Which she was.
Alain propped one hip on the edge of his desk and studied her, trying to organize
his thoughts.  He'd arrived home in a state of supreme irritation ... and been thrown
completely off his stride.
Dees had met him with the intelligence that his companion had arrived by hauler
and without baggage—implying that he, Alain, was so tightfisted that he had not provided
for his companion’s comfort or dignity, which put him in the position of being judged and
condemned without having had the opportunity even to defend himself.  He’d been
snubbed by the local society tyrants, which he’d found incomprehensible until he’d been
scolded by one grandmotherly matron who’d felt duty bound to shame him about flouting
acceptable behavior by choosing another companion when his first was hardly cold in the
ground—and then topping it off by entertaining so lavishly.
Up until the point that he’d run into a group of Blane’s cronies, however, he had
been more irritated than anything else, as irritated with the town busybodies as he was
with Jana.  Ten minutes in their company, though, had been sufficient to convince him
that a major scandal was looming on his horizon.  They were too obviously smitten with
her charms, to his mind, for comfort, which had raised some rather ugly doubts about her
virtuousness.
Under the circumstances—as there was no binding of affection on either side—he
would’ve been willing to turn a blind eye to an occasional affair, so long as she used
discretion, but discretion did not seem to be one of her virtues.
Still, he’d been willing to give her the benefit of the doubt until he had the
opportunity to judge for himself ... which was why he’d been enraged upon reaching the
plantation to discover his brother, and his new companion, rolling about on the ground as
if they could not contain themselves long enough to find a dark corner.
40

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
The scene he'd witnessed was harmless enough when viewed with a little
objectivity … which had eluded him until he’d had time to speak to Blane, and allow his
temper to cool.
He didn't think, deep down, that he'd truly believed, even for a moment, that Blane
was philandering with his woman.  Nor, once he accepted that fact, could he really say
that there was anything about Jana's behavior that could be condemned.  They'd behaved
with the friendly intimacy of long standing friends, not lovers, teasing and squabbling
very like fond siblings.
He still didn't like it.
He still didn't completely understand why he didn't like it.
But, most disturbing in a day of disturbing discoveries, was the fact that he was
convinced that the woman sitting nervously before him was not the one he had contracted
with and he no longer particularly cared that she wasn’t.  One look at her had been like
being struck by lightening, and he’d found himself well on the road to being as smitten
with her as every other male in the county.
He found that he was far more interested in making certain his claim upon her was
irrefutable and that she would not disappear as abruptly as she’d appeared.  He just wasn’t
certain how he might go about discovering who she really was and making sure his claim
stuck.
 Dragging his watch from the pocket of his vest, he flipped it open to glance
absently at the time, then shut it with a snap and began to swing it idly by the chain.
"I heard some rather disquieting rumors when I returned to Savana," he began,
studying her reaction from beneath hooded eyes.  "Can you guess what they might be?"
Jana, who'd been examining her hands studiously, glanced up quickly.
"Rumors?" she asked cautiously, wondering how there could possibly be rumors
about her circulating in town when she hadn't been there since she'd come.
Alain regarded her in silence for several moments and decided on a different tact.
"You are aware, of course, that I contracted with you before my year of mourning was
up," he began again.
Jana stared at him unblinkingly for a full minute while her thoughts darted off in a
dozen different directions like a covey of startled birds.  Dimly, she remembered Blane
had mentioned something about this when he’d been trying to ex plain the rules of
acceptable behavior in Orleans society.  She nodded.
His eyes narrowed slightly.  "Under the circumstances, don't you feel that your
socializing … the little parties you've spent so much of your time organizing ... is a little
premature?"
Jana’s eyes widened in surprise. "But I haven't been," she objected.
"There would hardly have been rumors to the contrary if you were living quietly."
"Well, I didn't say that ... precisely," Jana said cautiously, trying to decide how
best to handle what was certain to be a delicate situation.  She'd prepared herself to deal
with another issue entirely, after all.  She hadn't gotten around to preparing her defense
for this offense yet.
"What, precisely, are you trying to get at in your very direct way?"
"It’s true that there have been a few little gatherings, but I had nothing to do with
it."
41

THE CLAIMING
Alain’s brows rose.  “You’re saying Blane arranged these … little gatherings?”
“Uh … no.”
“So, you’re not guilty and Blane is not guilty, but there were ‘little gatherings’?”
Jana nodded.
“The just happened?” he asked dryly.
"They just came!  Blane said you wouldn't like it at all, but he also said I couldn’t
tell them not to come, or pretend I wasn’t home, and … they came."
Alain studied her for a long moment.  “And you have no idea how all this came
about?”
Jana thought it over.  “Katryn and Judeau came first.  They said that Dees had
mentioned that you had … uh … a new compan—spouse.  And then, a few days later,
Katryn dropped by with a group of friends.”
Alain held up his hand.  “Never mind.  I get the picture,” Alain said grimly,
realizing that his mistress, Judeau, and Katryn, whom he had never seriously courted, but
who apparently had been under the impression that she would take his former
companion’s place after a suitable period, had decided on stirring up a little mischief.
"And the young men?"
Her brows knit in puzzlement.  "The young men?"
"Never mind," he said tiredly.
"Blane's friends? Do you mean they weren't supposed to visit here?"
"Never mind," he repeated.  "I suppose I shall have to go elsewhere for my
answers," he added thoughtfully, though he studied Jana in a way that made her feel
distinctly uncomfortable.
Jana studied her hands, unable to meet his eyes, which had a disconcerting way of
seeming to see right through to her thoughts.
She tried to decide whether it would be acceptable if she left now or not. He
hadn't said she might go however, and she was loath to incur his wrath once more.
She was in no doubt that she had, despite the fact that he hadn’t stormed at her
and cursed as Marty would have.  Finally, she decided that she might just as well find out
if he was still angry about the episode when he’d arrived. "I suppose you're still angry
about the disagreement we had earlier?" she began questioningly.
"Which disagreement?" he asked dryly.
"The one about Blane and the bicycle."
"Ah," Alain said, allowing his watch to begin its swinging once more. "Tell me,
Jana, do you have a penchant for trouble or does it simply follow you about?"
That was grossly unjust and Jana felt a surge of anger.  "It follows me about," she
said tightly.
"Somehow I had the feeling it did," he said pensively, though his eyes were hard
with anger.  "You will, however, see that it does not lead you in the direction of my
brother again."
"It didn't lead me to your brother in the first place," Jana said stiffly, standing
abruptly as she realized, finally, what had angered him about the incident.  There was a
great deal that she still did not understand, but she had firmly grasped the principle of a
contracted companion.  She was not to share herself with anyone else.  Contrary to what
42

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
he apparently thought, that was one of the rules of the contract that appealed to her … the
fact that she would not have to.
Alain rose also, discovering in the process that he towered over her.  He sat down
once more and glared at her.  "Anyone seeing the two of you rolling around on the ground
might doubt that.”
“You mean you!”
“I mean anyone who happened to chance by!” Alain snapped. “You are not from a
world where you are under constant scrutiny, and where misconceptions about your
behavior can effect the way you are treated.  I understand that.  However, this is Orleans.
You will be expected to behave according to local customs.  The penalty for not doing so
is that you are shunned … and believe me that can make life very uncomfortable!”
“If it takes no more than that for them to begin to imagine I am sharing myself,
then they are bound to think so whatever I do … or don’t do.”
Alain stood up, towering over her again.  "I want a straight answer from you!
Will you cease pursuing my brother?"
Jana gaped up at him, paralyzed for several moments as much by her own rash
behavior as she was intimidated by the threat inherent in his demeanor.  It occurred to her,
forcefully, that after her behavior earlier, it was unlikely he would believe any disclaimer
she could make now, regardless of his demand to have it.
Retreat seemed wise.  She whirled and would've fled ex cept that Alain seized her
wrist as she passed him, hauling her back.
“You are my companion.  I do not find it acceptable for you to … flirt with other
men and I find it particularly unacceptable when that includes my brother!”
Jana gaped at him.  It was absolutely amazing that in only a few short weeks she
had grown so accustomed to freedom that she resented being ordered around.  Truthfully,
she supposed she had always resented it—one of the surest signs her conditioning had
failed.  Regardless, she would never have dared to openly challenge Marty.  The fact that
she had done so with Alain, who, really, was far more intimidating, stunned her.
 She stared at him in consternation, trying to think what she could say that might
assuage his anger.
Somehow, she thought an attempt to seduce him at this point probably wouldn’t
go over very well.  He was not likely to be susceptible for one thing.  For another, he
might well interpret it as just the sort of behavior that had angered him to start with.
Trying to placate him had seemed to work—right up to the point when she had
decided they might as well clear the air regarding Blane.
It occurred to her finally that, in her experience, tears were more likely to put a
man off than anything else.  They couldn’t seem to get away fast enough.
She summoned tears.  Her vision blurred as they filled her eyes before slowly
marking trails along her cheeks.  Alain stared at her suspiciously for several moments, but
he quickly began to look far more appalled than angry.
Alain was deeply suspicious that he was being played.  Unfortunately, no matter
how deeply suspicious he was, he found that he could not maintain his anger when faced
with two huge blue eyes awash with tears.  If she had wailed, he would simply have
retreated from the racket.  The fact that she seemed to be striving to keep from crying
made it difficult to banish the rapidly growing sense that he was guilty of—something.
43

THE CLAIMING
It also made him feel uncomfortably awkward.
He was tempted to just show her the door and close it behind her.
He cleared his throat.  “I collect this means that you feel that I’ve misjudged
you?”
 Jana tried to respond, but her chin wobbled.
Alain looked as if he might bolt from the room.  After a moment, he patted her
shoulder awkwardly.
Relieved that he seemed to be responding as expected, Jana thought it safe enough
to move into his embrace.  She snuggled against him, wrapping her arms around him.
He stiffened.  For a moment, she thought he would thrust her away, but finally he
settled his arms around her—cautiously.  Jana sniffed, hiding a smile of triumph against
his chest.
After several moments passed, Alain relaxed slightly, trying to ignore the fact that
the embrace made him feel uncomfortable in an indescribable way. It had another
disconcerting effect he soon discovered.  His brain said 'comfort', but his body reacted in
the way it customarily did whenever it found itself pressed against a pleasing feminine
form.
 When she drew back finally and smiled up at him, he was torn between a strong
desire to kiss her and the certainty that if he did he would not want to stop there.  He
released her, watched her thoughtfully as she left.
He found himself trying to recall why it was that he’d decided that he would not
finalize his contract by consummating the agreement.  At the time he’d made the
decision, it had seemed wise to hold onto his ace.  He would then have a legal means of
terminating the contract if he saw that he did not wish to honor it.
There were a couple of minor flaws, he now saw, to his decision.
One, he was likely to run into trouble very quickly maintaining abstinence if he
was in close proximity to Jana for any length of time.
And, two, if it was an ace for him, it was also one for Jana.  So long as the
agreement remained unconsummated, she could terminate the contract as easily as he
could.
 ***
Jana had waltzed warily around Alain for days before it occurred to her that he
was avoiding her as well.  Blane avoided them both.
Jana was relieved.  She needed time to consider her situation.
Naturally enough since she was unable to read, she had not seen the news sheet
that Blane spoke of, but he had said it was unusual and she had immediately suspected
that that meant it had been something posted by Marty.
She had cornered Blane and asked him to tell her exactly what the article had said.
She had known it wasn’t just her fears. Blane confirmed her suspicions. Marty had
offered a reward for her return.
She thought it more than a remote possibility that Blane was suspicious of her
interest, but she had felt she had to know and she’d had no one else she could ask.
She wasn’t certain what, if anything, to do about it.  If the message was posted
here on Orleans, it seemed to indicate that Marty had a very good idea of where she was.
But, if that was the case, why had he not come to collect her?
44

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
Was it possible that he’d simply posted the search everywhere?
She thought it was, but on the other hand, it was still possible that he had figured
out that she had somehow used that other Jana’s passage and come to Orleans.
Which meant that he could appear most any time to collect her.
Flight appealed to her.  The problem with that was that she had no credits to
arrange flight.  She also had no idea how to go about arranging it.  The culture of Orleans
prohibited embarkation centers.  Even if she could figure out a way to steal passage, she
would have to arrange it through someone who knew how to make arrangements.
Dees, she was certain, did.  Somehow, though, she doubted that he would do so
simply because she asked.
At any rate, she had no idea of where she might flee to that Marty would not be
able to track her down and take her back.
She’d heard stories of a place called Dosstal—a world of felons, pirates and
escaped slaves, but she didn’t know if it was just stories, or if the place actually existed.
Even if it did, it was shrouded in secrecy.  Finding a way to reach it seemed impossible.
Plainly, the only option she had was to convince Alain to keep her even if Marty
did show up.
There were a number of problems with that.  Alain did not seem terribly interested
in her.  She had thought, several times, that he was and it had seemed that he would
initiate sex by kissing her, but he was either holding himself back, or he was not drawn to
her in the first place.
This was very disturbing.  She had not previously encountered a male who had no
interest in her.  She had been genetically enhanced, she knew, to bombard any male who
came near her with powerful pheromones. Even Marty, who had no sex ual interest in
females, had admired her.  Since both her physical appearance and the chemical
enhancements had failed to capture him, she had no idea how she might go about
achieving her goal.
After turning her problem over in her mind for several days it occurred to Jana
that she might have one possibility if the need arose to flee Orleans.  Of the women Jana
had met since she’d arrived,  Val-risa Kor was the only one who had seemed to be
genuinely friendly.
Unfortunately, Jana had no idea whether Val-risa was an outworlder, or a native
of Orleans.  Even if she was an outworlder and knew how Jana might leave Orleans, she
might not be willing to help, but it seemed to Jana, who had so few options, that it was
worth a try.
Another problem quickly presented itself, however.  There was no way to
communicate over distances on Orleans except by letters.  Jana could neither read nor
write, and in any case, she could not simply blurt out her problem and beg for help.  She
needed to talk to Val-risa … which was a problem in itself.
Although she was not considered a slave, she might as well have been, for the
women of Orleans were not free to travel alone.  They must be escorted where ever they
went and if she asked to be escorted to Val-risa’s home, then she would not be able to
speak freely with her.  She finally decided that she had no choice but to slip away.
***
45

THE CLAIMING
   Jana breathed a sigh of relief upon reaching the ground floor and discovering that
Alain was still closeted in his study with his overseer.  Grasping her skirts and lifting
them out of her way, she tiptoed quickly toward the front door.  She'd nearly reached her
goal when she heard footsteps behind her.  She turned just in time to see the cook poke
her head around the door at the opposite end of the hallway. Repressing a strong urge to
grind her teeth in vexation, she forced a polite smile as cook beamed at her and hurried
forward.  "There you be, Missy!  I sure glad I catch you b’fore you got away."
Jana’s heart leapt into her throat.  Glancing apprehensively toward the study door,
she rushed back the way she’d only just come, hoping to quiet the woman before she
alerted Alain.  "Yes, Vir?" she asked in a hushed voice.
It was a problem in the kitchen, which Jana solved by agreeing with the cook’s
suggestion.
No sooner had she rid herself of the cook, however, than she heard sounds
indicating the overseer's imminent departure.  Whirling, she darted on tiptoe toward the
front door once more.  She was on the point of slipping out the door when Alain noticed
her.  She whirled, feeling her face flush guiltily.  "Yes?"
"I see you're dressed for riding.  Shall I join you?" Alain asked, starting toward her
as the overseer disappeared down the hallway in the opposite direction.
Jana's face fell.  She stared at him wide-eyed a moment while her mind leapt
nimbly from one lame excuse to another.  It wouldn't do at all to tell him that she hadn't
planned to ride, she decided.  It would be too obviously a lie when she was wearing a
riding costume.
Alain hesitated when he noticed her obvious dismay at his suggestion, then
sauntered forward, one eyebrow lifted quizzically.  "You have some objection?"
She blinked up at him, sorry she couldn't think of one.  "Oh, no.  I thought you
were probably much too busy or I would have mentioned it."
A slight smile curved his lips, but his eyes were watchful.  "By no means.  I'm
completely at your disposal, as you can see."
"Shall we go then?" she suggested lightly, since there seemed no hope for it,
trying to smile as if she was pleasantly surprised by the offered treat.
Blane had set aside the most docile Zell for Jana’s use, so she managed to mount
without difficulty.  Relieved, she guided the animal toward the road and pointed it in the
proper direction.  They rode for some time in silence.  Jana was caught up in her own
thoughts and for the most part oblivious to both her companion and her surroundings.
Alain eyed her pensively, trying to shake off his irritation at her latest rebuff, and
the suspicion that he'd stumbled upon a tryst.  There was nothing to support such a notion
other than Jana's very obvious reluctance for his company and the sense of possessiveness
that had descended upon him from the moment he’d met her.
 To say that Jana wasn't what he'd been expecting would've been a colossal
understatement.
She was enchanting.  Even knowing what he did, he had been so thoroughly
charmed by her that he almost hoped he wouldn't find out what her reasons were for
deceiving him.
46

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
He was not so smitten that he allowed himself any doubt that she was.  She was
not the woman he had contracted with, but she had traveled to Orleans using Jana’s
identification and travel code.
The question was, had she simply stolen the code from some need to escape
Earth—possibly prosecution for some crime?  Or was she part of some sort of con game
with the real Jana?  Or a con of her own design?
Perhaps it was a case of once burned, twice shy, but, given the way men fell at her
feet, it had occurred to him to wonder at the possibility of Jana having come to him
impure and already impregnated with another man’s offspring.  It seemed too farfetched.
Jana was certainly beautiful enough, but was she devious enough to have hatched a plot
so similar to that his first wife had hatched?
He meant to discover the truth before he committed himself irrevocably.
He would, he decided rather grimly, take advantage of the opportunity that had
presented itself and see if he could penetrate her guard to find answers.
 Jana’s thoughts were no more pleasant.  She was fairly certain she knew why
Alain had insisted on riding with her.  He suspected she was not who she professed to be
and hoped he could trip her up and discover the truth.
She dismissed that anxiety almost at once, however.  She knew what he was up to.
Therefore, she could prevent it.
She was far more interested in figuring out a way to evade him and proceed with
her plan.
It occurred to Jana presently, however, that no such opportunity was likely to
arise.  That realization made her wonder if she should simply abandon her quest till a
more opportune moment.  Since it was brought forcefully upon her at that moment that
she had, in her preoccupation, turned toward her intended destination, she blinked in
surprise and drew her Zell to an abrupt halt.
Alain reined in beside her, favoring her with a look of puzzled amusement.
After a rather blank moment, Jana nudged her Zell into motion once more,
deciding there might yet arise an opportunity to outmaneuver him and see her errand
accomplished beneath his nose.  She could hardly turn back now at any rate without
arousing suspicions she'd just as soon not.
Since she realized then, too, that she'd been quiet entirely too long, and that Alain
was liable to start asking unpleasant questions at any moment, she decided to forestall
him.  She began to babble quite gaily on any subject that struck her fancy, exclaiming at
length on the beauty of the scenery, the mildness of the weather and the progress of the
crops they passed.  She chattered about any subject, in fact, that was unlikely to provoke
questions from Alain regarding her background, since she was naturally entirely ignorant
of the real Jana's past.
Belatedly, she realized that she had, all unwittingly, fallen into precisely the trap
she'd meant to avoid.  When Alain asked her if the scenery differed greatly from what she
was accustomed to, she gaped at him, aghast, for several unnerving moments while her
color changed from perfectly white to bright crimson and back again.  She managed a
shrug finally.  "Not really," she muttered.
Silence reigned for perhaps a minute.  Jana was just beginning to relax when he
spoke again.
47

THE CLAIMING
"Did you enjoy farming?"
Jana favored him with a hunted look.  The woman was a farming?  What was a
farming?  "Oh yes," she answered lightly, and seeing that he was on the point of asking
another question, cast about frantically for something, anything, to divert him.  On spying
a carpet of wildflowers, she gasped, jerked back sharply on the reins and slid to the
ground.  "Oh, what lovely flowers!" she breathed ecstatically.
“Don’t!” Alain said sharply.
Pretending deafness, Jana rushed into the field, bending to pluck several
blossoms.  As she straightened, she lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the bright
sunlight and gazed out over the field of flowers that grew in such profusion.  The sheer
abundance of bright blossoms was strangely thrilling.  She felt breathless just looking at
them.
 In a very few minutes she was so caught up in her task she forgot all about the
reason for it.  She began to enjoy herself hugely, delighting in her growing bouquet, the
sunshine and the cool breeze that snatched at her skirts and loosened feathery tendrils of
hair around her face.  She felt lightheaded, almost intox icated with the heady smell of the
bright flowers.
Alain dismounted and led their Zells to the shade of a tree to tether them.  After
studying her for several moments, he started across the field toward her.  “Jana, come out
of the field.”
Jana laughed, tossing the bouquet of flowers she’d gathered.  Then, gathering her
skirts, she skipped further into the field.
He strode purposefully toward her.  Jana danced out of reach.
He rushed her then.  Jana ran, but she was far shorter than Alain.  Within
moments, she felt his arm around her waist and they tumbled to the ground in a mound of
brightly covered flowers.  When they rolled to a stop, Jana was on her back beneath him.
Jana looked up at Alain’s serious expression, laughing.
“Jana!  It’s the flowers!  We shouldn’t be here!”
Jana felt her smile fade as she stared up at him, studying his features.  She realized
quite suddenly that she had not fully appreciated his masculine beauty—for he was quite
devastatingly handsome.  Her heart fluttered in her chest just looking at him, whenever he
came near—whenever she heard the sound of his voice.  No one had ever effected her as
he did except….
Strangely, the memory danced away before she could grasp it.  She decided it
wasn’t important.
Enjoying the moment was more important.
She realized quite suddenly that, for the first time in her life, she felt want, felt
need to be possessed.  She lifted her hand, touching his cheek, running a fingertip lightly
over his lips.  Something flickered in his eyes, but he did not, as she’d hoped, lower his
head and kiss her.
“It’s the flowers,” Alain murmured gently.  “They emit a drug when you pluck
them.  Some people are more susceptible than others—obviously you are.”
Jana smiled faintly.  “I want you to kiss me.”
Alain shook his head slightly.  “You don’t.  Come.  We need to leave.”
48

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
Jana threaded her fingers through his hair, cupping the back of his head and
tugging.  He resisted.  She slid her other arm around him, rose up, placed nibbling kisses
along his throat to his chin, kissed the corners of his mouth.  “You don’t want me?”
Alain wanted to make love to her until she couldn’t move, but unlike Jana, he was
only intoxicated with her, not the drugs the flowers produced, and he was not so caught
up in his desires as to have lost all sense of their surroundings—yet.  Kissing her would
be a very bad idea in his present state of arousal.
Reluctantly, he pulled her arms loose and rose, helping her to her feet.  She
swayed.  He lifted her into his arms and started back toward the Zells.
Jana locked her arms around his shoulders and nuzzled his neck.
“Jana!” Alain said through gritted teeth.
She smiled and bit down on his ear lobe.
Alain stopped abruptly, set her on her feet and then pulled her roughly against
him.  “Have it your way,” he muttered, claiming her mouth with his own.
Dizziness shot through Jana with a flash of heat as his hard mouth came down on
hers.  She gasped, parting her lips beneath his, welcoming his invading tongue as it raked
across hers, caressed the sensitive inner recesses of her mouth, touching off jolts of
pleasure that snaked through her body and caused her belly to clench with anticipation.
She rose up on her tiptoes to press more fully against him, tightening her arms
around his neck.  Her breasts flushed with heat, with sensation.  She felt her nipples
hardening with the desire for his caress, felt her femininity weep for his possession.
He released her almost as abruptly as he’d taken her, breathing heavily.
Reluctantly, Jana opened her eyes and looked up at him in disappointment.
“Don’t look at me like that unless you want me to take you here and now,” Alain
murmured hoarsely.
Jana smiled.  It was exactly what she wanted.
Alain gripped her arms, but in the next moment stiffened, lifting his head.
Jana frowned, but then she heard the sound as well … a wagon was coming along
the road.
Alain started toward the tree where he’d left the Zells, dragging Jana along with
him.  Reaching the tethered beasts, he grasped Jana around the waist and lifted her,
settling her on her saddle.  Untying the animal, he handed her the reins and mounted his
own.
 The wagon rounded a curve and came into view as they urged their mounts
forward.
Jana felt a headache descend upon her as the euphoria dissipated, but it was not
altogether the effect of her body throwing off the drugs the flowers had infused into her
system.
She knew now why Alain had seemed so familiar to her when she’d met him for
the first time.  He’d seemed familiar because it wasn’t the first time she’d met him.
Alain had been the last client she’d serviced before she’d left Earth.
49

THE CLAIMING
Chapter Six
Jana was so stunned by the realization that it took a while for the implications to
set in.
 At ‘the House’ Alain had chosen her because he’d been looking for a woman not
overly experienced.
Both Alain and Blane had harped on the necessity of behaving as a virtuous
woman.
Alain was going to be absolutely furious when he discovered she was not, by any
stretch of the imagination, a virtuous female.
She felt faint, and more than a little sick.
Alain, she discovered, was looking at her in a very piercing way.
She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind.  She could not think about that
now, not while Alain studied her as if he could read her thoughts.
In any case, she had a more pressing problem.   She had come to find her friend to
see if she could arrange a way to escape Orleans in case of need--a need she could easily
foresee, given her new insight.  Even if it transpired that she did not find herself in need
of fleeing from Marty, it seemed inevitable that Alain would eventually remember, as she
had, their very first meeting.  She was fairly certain she did not want to face his wrath
when he did remember.
Her current problem, however, was how to arrange a meeting with her friend, with
Alain breathing down her neck?
“I’m curious,” Alain began presently.
Jana sent him a startled look, but she wasn’t about to hand him an opening--not
that he needed one.
“Do we have a destination?”
Jana flushed, then felt the blood rush from her face.  She had been too unnerved
by her discovery to think up a convincing tale.  It would have been easier, of course, to
simply tell him she’d decided to visit her friend, but she hadn’t yet given up the hope that
she might shake Alain at some point and make the visit alone, where she could speak
more freely.  She forced a tight smile.  “I’d thought I might visit a shop I heard about in
Jaxon.  A friend told me they had lovely ribbons.”
It was nearing noon by the time they reached Jaxon and Jana had begun to feel
panicky again.  She still hadn't hit upon a way of ridding herself of Alain long enough to
visit her friend.  If that weren't dismaying enough, she neither wanted nor needed the
ribbons she'd used as an ex cuse.  Worse still, she had no credits to buy and knew Alain
was bound to be suspicious about her motives in riding so far only to look.
She was not surprised, therefore, though a good deal alarmed, when she saw that
Alain was looking more than a little annoyed after she’d spent twenty minutes looking at
first one and then another and discarding it.  No sooner had Alain led her from the
establishment than he gripped her firmly by the elbow and guided her into the alley
between the stores.  She looked at him in surprise and not a little trepidation, deciding
50

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
with a faint heart that perhaps it would be best to allow him the opening salvo.  It didn't
help her feelings one iota to see that Alain was controlling his anger with a visible effort.
"You came to shop but brought no money?" he asked tersely.
"Money?" she repeated blankly, completely at sea.
Alain's eyes narrowed dangerously.  He studied her for a long moment and tried a
different tact. "I hope you can explain to me why we rode ten miles in this abominable
weather to buy ribbons when you didn’t bring money to make the purchase."
"As if I asked you!" Jana gasped indignantly, deciding immediately that the best
defense would be to turn the tables and attack.
"I know very well that you were not exactly enthusiastic about my coming along,"
Alain said coolly.  "The question is, why?"
"Why what?" Jana asked evasively, immediately sorry she'd tried that ploy since it
seemed to have had such an undesirable effect.
Alain ground his teeth and curbed an insane desire to shake her till her teeth
rattled.  He wondered, sickly, if his suspicions had now been confirmed, that she'd
arranged a tryst and had, perforce, abandoned it for this lame excuse of a trip.  When he
decided he had his temper firmly in control once more, he asked coldly, "Do you mind
telling me precisely why we are here?"
"Yes," Jana replied maddeningly, more than a little angry herself by now, and too
disturbed in any case to think up a convincing lie.
His brows snapped together.  "Yes, what?"
"I mind telling you."
Alain gripped her by her arms purposefully.  Upon glancing over his shoulder and
noticing several interested spectators across the street, however, he turned instead and
hauled her none too gently along the side of the building and around the corner.
Thrusting her into a secluded corner afforded by the outcropping of a spare room and a
large oak, he planted a palm on either side of her head and glared down at her.  "Now," he
ground out, "what I wish to know is, what has become of the money I left for you?"
Jana stared at him blankly, but she knew money was credits.  What she hadn’t
known was that he had arranged for her to have credits.  It was an intriguing possibility
for solving at least part of her dilemma, but unfortunately she was not currently in a
situation to consider it.
"My dear wife," Alain said in a voice of deadly calm that didn't sound in the least
as if he found her endearing.  "If you make me lose my temper, I can practically guarantee
that you will be extremely sorry.   Now, once more....  Have you or have you not spent the
money I arranged for you?"
"No.”
"I can always check, you know," he warned her.
"If you weren't going to take my word for it anyway, I can't think why you asked,"
Jana said indignantly.
"Perhaps I only wished to see if I could trust you to tell the truth."
Jana blushed, acutely conscious of the lie her very presence on Orleans was.  It
occurred to her after a moment that it might be better to tell him at least a half-truth as to
why she'd come to Jaxon now rather than to spring it on him later.
51

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"I thought I'd visit a friend while I was here.  Not," she hastened to assure him
when she noticed his brow darken once more, "that I hadn't intended to look at  the
ribbons.  It's just that I figured that as long as I needed to shop anyway, I might as well
come here so that I could visit my friend."
Alain released her.  "Who is this friend?"
"Val-risa Kor.  She said she and her husband lived just a couple of miles out of
town."
 He didn't much look as if he believed her, but at least he wasn't scowling any
longer.  She relaxed, perfectly willing to forgive him for scaring her silly if he would only
go back to being his usual coolly remote self.
He said nothing more but took her arm and guided her around the back of the
building and through the alley.  "I saw an inn as we came into town.  I expect we should
dine before we try to locate this friend of yours.
Jana realized that, despite everything, she was hungry and, since she’d never dined
in a public eatery before, she enjoyed that almost as much as she did the food.  She had
hoped, as well, that it would buy time for her to come up with the best way to approach
her friend for answers, but nothing came to her.  However, they'd scarcely left the inn
when she received a jolt that gave her thoughts an entirely new and appalling direction.
They hadn't gone ten paces when she looked up at the clatter of hoofbeats along
main street and, to her utter horror, saw Marty bearing down on them.  Her heart gave a
sickening lurch, leaving her chalk white and in imminent danger of fainting.  Without a
single coherent thought, but the instinctive need of a cornered animal to escape, she
whirled abruptly and headed down the walkway in the opposite direction at a good clip,
leaving Alain to stare after her in stunned amazement.  In a moment he recovered himself,
however, and in two long strides had caught up with her and jerked her to a halt by the
simple expedient of grasping her arm in a vice-like grip.  It very nearly jerked her off her
feet since she kept walking and her body didn't accompany her.  "Where are you going?"
he snapped in exasperation.
"Oh!" Jana gasped breathlessly, trying to conceal her face and at the same time
keep a weather eye out for Marty. For once in her life she was fervently glad she was so
small, for she was almost completely shielded by Alain's much larger frame.  "I ... I forgot
my purse," she whispered, inspired by the panic of the moment to that ingenious
prevarication as she was totally incapable at present of coherent thought.
"It's in your hand," Alain replied dryly.
As Marty had by this time rounded the corner of the inn and disappeared in the
direction of the stables, Jana was quite eager to put as much distance between herself and
the inn as possible and she merely replied very brightly, "Oh yes!"
 She immediately turned and struck out in the original direction they'd taken,
leaving Alain to stare after her in bemusement once more.  Aside from favoring her with
a penetrating glance when he caught up to her again, however, he made no comment.
Having recovered their Zells, they mounted and took the road out of town, much
to Jana's relief.
They arrived at last at the Kor estate and were conducted by the butler to the back
parlor. Val-risa, an elegant brunette of medium height and slender build, rose gracefully
and greeted them with warmth.
52

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
Jana, knowing this might be her only chance, rushed forward at once.  Hugging
Val-risa with all the apparent impulsiveness of a long separation from a dear friend, she
used the moment to whisper, “Can we talk alone?”
Alain was instantly alerted by the whispered exchange, though he didn't catch
what had been said, and regarded the two intently from beneath deceptively lazy,
drooping lids.
"It's so good to see you again after so very long," Jana exclaimed breathlessly as
she pulled away, frowning significantly.  She was relieved to receive an understanding
squeeze from the hands she retained.  She turned slightly to include Alain.  "This is my ...
my compan--husband, Alain Camar.”
Val-risa turned to acknowledge the introduction, surveying Alain with open
interest and obvious appreciation as she inquired if they would care for refreshment.  Jana
frowned, half in puzzlement and half in dawning indignation as Val-risa ushered them to
a seat and settled herself opposite them, favoring Alain with a smile Jana considered just
a bit too warm before reluctantly returning her attention to Jana.
There might well have been many who considered that Val-risa had any number
of disagreeable faults, but no one who knew her well would have accused her of being
short on wit.  She adopted her most featherbrained pose, gushing for a full ten minutes on
the 'my, I haven't seen you in simply ages', and 'whatever have you been doing with
yourself?' routine, while Alain looked on with an air of bored amusement that effectively
disguised his keen watchfulness.
Fortunately for the ladies, who were rapidly running out of commonplaces, Val-
risa’s husband, Vin, entered the room by way of the glass doors that opened upon the
terrace before they'd quite run dry. Leaping instantly from her seat, she danced lightly
over to grasp his arm affectionately and gave it a warning squeeze as she introduced him
to their guests.  She scarcely gave them time to murmur the proper replies before
suggesting the men would doubtless be more comfortable if they took a turn on the
terrace where they could discuss man-talk and not be bothered by her and Jana’s silly
chatter.
Vin, a stocky gentleman of medium height with light brown hair and merry eyes,
apparently quite as good natured as he looked, instantly took the hint.  He and Alain
turned at once and sauntered out onto the terrace and apparently became immediately
engrossed in a discussion of the breeding and care of Zells.
No sooner were they out of hearing than Val-risa informed Jana that some strange
man had been making inquiries about her.
Jana turned so deathly pale that Alain, who'd carefully positioned himself to
observe even if he couldn't hear the discussion taking place in the parlor, was sufficiently
alarmed to break off his conversation abruptly and cross the room in several swift strides
to her side.  "Are you ill?" he asked tersely, though his brows were knit in concern.
Jana glanced up quickly, thinking how very odd it was that the room had suddenly
grown so very dim.  In point of fact, she felt very ill indeed. "Oh no!  It ... it's just so very
warm," she said, then keeled over in a dead faint.
Alain caught her as she tumbled sideways.  Carefully removing her hat, he eased
her down on the couch and lifted her legs so that she might lie more comfortably.
53

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"Well, I'll be damned!" exclaimed Vin, who'd come to stand behind Alain as he
knelt beside the couch.
"For heaven's sake, Vin!" Val-risa snapped.  "Do make yourself useful or go
away!  I'll fetch my smelling salts and a cool cloth.  That should do the trick."  She
hurried from the room.
"I should loosen her stays if I were you, old boy," Vin suggested helpfully.  He
flushed beet red as Alain threw him a sardonic look.  Hastily excusing himself, he left in
search of a bottle of liquor and a tumbler.
Alain eased himself onto the couch beside her and carefully smoothed the tendrils
of hair from her cheeks and forehead that had escaped her chignon.  His hand, he saw in
some irritation, was shaking.  He muttered a curse under his breath, wondering what had
caused her sudden faint.  He didn’t believe her suggestion that it was the heat for a
moment.  The temperatures were relatively mild and it was comfortably cool in the house
at any rate.
It was then that he recalled her agitation outside the inn, but, try as he might, he
could recall nothing that had happened during that time that could account for her
distress, and he felt a surge of frustrated anger.
Had it something to do with a lover as he'd suspected earlier?  He felt his anger
mount at the thought.  But, as he gazed down at her, he couldn't help but think how very
young and vulnerable she looked, how very innocent and untouched.  The idea of Jana's
sweet innocence being a mere facade for a woman as wanton and deceitful as his first
wife made him feel almost physically ill.  He couldn't credit that such a thing was
possible, but then he knew that was largely because he simply didn't want to credit it.
He had hoped when he had decided to contract an alliance that he would find a
companion that would hold him in some affection, and that he would be able to share that
affection.  He realized now that he would simply have to see to it that their contract
remained a business arrangement and nothing more even if he decided to hold to the
agreement, but he had every intention of discovering what Jana was up to before he
finalized.  He had bargained for a woman who would be an asset to his interests.  He had
no intention of tying himself to a woman who, like C aro, would delight in humiliating
him by blatantly taking lovers, and saddling him with the responsibility of rearing some
other man’s offspring.
She sighed at that moment, her eyelids fluttering against her cheeks.  Alain
released her hand, which he'd taken unconsciously into his own, and stood up.  In the next
moment he was sorry he had, however.  She awoke with a name upon her lips that was
little more than a sigh and he didn't catch it.  Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets for
in the next moment she was fully conscious and looking up at him in bewilderment.
"What happened?" she asked, surprised to discover that she lay on the couch and
struggling to rise.
"Oh!  you mustn't try to get up yet," Val-risa said quickly, returning in time to hear
the question.  Hurrying across the room she took the seat Alain had just vacated, laying a
dampened cloth across Jana's brow.  "Honestly, Jana, you did give us a fright!  Said
something about the heat and just swooned dead away!  You're not … well, you know,"
Val-risa suggested, looking slightly embarrassed, "increasing?"
"Increasing?" Jana echoed, dumbfounded.   
54

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
"In the family way," Val-risa pressed.  "It's entirely possible you know.  After all
you have been married a while now."
Jana stared at the woman blankly, still grappling with the terms she’d uttered.  At
first, neither made any sense to her, but after some moments she began to wonder if this
might have something to do with that strange tale the servant, Lill, had told her.  She’d
dismissed it as a wild concoction meant to frighten the careless, but this was a primitive
world.  Everything was done differently here, after all.  Was there even a remote
possibility that women here actually incubated infants inside of them?  Was her friend
suggesting she was?
It was impossible, of course.  She had not only not been careless, she had had no
contact that could have resulted in such a thing, but she could scarcely answer the
question when she wasn’t altogether certain she knew what Val-risa was asking.
And she had not had the opportunity to discover if Val-risa was of Orleans, or an
outworlder.  She couldn’t simply ask and possibly betray her ignorance of an Orleans
custom she would be expected to know and understand.
Hopeful that Alain would come to her aid, she glanced at him.  He was, she saw in
dismay, regarding her through narrowed, assessing eyes, his expression stony, his
complexion downright pasty.
Obviously, he suspected whatever it was Val-risa suspected, and the suspicion did
not please him at all.  She still found it very difficult to believe that she’d correctly
interpreted Val-risa’s comments, but it occurred to her that she must have.  Alain had
suggested, more than once, that he suspected she was not behaving  as a virtuous woman.
He must think that she had been careless and ‘the worst’ had happened.
Unfortunately, even if she was fairly certain she had correctly interpreted both
Val-risa’s comments, and Alain’s reaction to it, she was in no position to defend herself.
"Fainting is one of the very first symptoms.  People are bound to suspect it if you
go about swooning.  I've fainted several times myself," Val-risa finished with a touch of
satisfaction.
Jana stared at the woman, her gaze automatically traveling down to examine the
woman’s belly, where she saw what she had failed to notice before.  Despite the clothing
that the women of Orleans wore, which covered them from neck to ankle, the dresses
were made to fit snugly over their breasts and waists.  Val-risa’s waist not only looked far
thicker than Jana remembered, but there was a noticeable bulge where before had been a
flat belly.
Appalled to see the visible evidence that she’d understood Val-risa’s remarks,
Jana found it difficult to drag her eyes from the horrible swelling.  How long, she
wondered, did they allow the creatures to dwell there?  And how did they remove them?
“You’re saying you…?”
"Yes, I am," Val-risa averred proudly.
"You're ... you're happy about it then?"
"Of course, goose!" Val-risa said with a laugh.
"You're not … you aren't … afraid?" Jana asked hesitantly.
"Why should I be afraid?  I'm perfectly healthy," Val-risa added, slightly
defensive.
55

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Alain, who'd tactfully withdrawn, but not so far he couldn't hear the exchange
quite easily, frowned thoughtfully and allowed his gaze to wander down to Jana's slender
waist, curbing his anger only by a severe effort.  Was it possible that he'd been duped
again?  Was that the reason Jana had insisted they contract at once, because she was not
the virtuous woman she claimed?  That she carried another man's child?
"Well," said Vin, entering the room at that moment and interrupting Alain's dark
thoughts. "I see she's come around.  Guess she won't be needing this after all?" he added
jovially.  Gesturing with the decanter he held in his hand, he moved toward a table where
he carefully set down the tumblers he had cradled in his other arm.  "I believe I could use
a spot of this myself though.  How about you, old boy?" he asked Alain.  "I don't mind
telling you, it gave me a severe turn.  Don't have much stamina for that sort of thing."
Alain forbore comment, but moved forward to accept the proffered glass absently
as he studied Jana.  She had sat up and was engaged in a low voiced conversation now
with Val-risa, the gist of which he couldn't make out.  He wondered whether it was as
inconsequential as their earlier conversation or if Jana had seized the opportunity to
enlighten her friend as to her real reason for coming.
Jana had not seized the opportunity so much as it had been jolted from her by the
day’s experiences.  She had left Alain’s plantation with no more than a vague sense of
alarm, thinking it would be better to be safe than sorry, and that she should try to see if
she could arrange an escape route for herself in case of need.  After Alain had kissed her
and she’d recognized him, she’d realized it was only a matter of time before he
recognized her, which only gave her one more reason to make sure she could leave
quickly if the need arose.
But she had spotted Marty, in town, and Val-risa had met her with the intelligence
that it was not mere chance.  He knew she was here.  He just hadn’t figured out where yet.
If not for the fact that technology of any description was forbidden on Orleans, he would
have located her already with her IT.
Val-risa’s horrifying revelation regarding breeding on the world of Orleans was
icing on the cake.  Jana could live with the primitive conditions she’d encountered so far.
It was a small price, she’d thought, to pay for freedom.  But there was no way she was
going to allow her body to be used as an incubator!
She had to leave and she did not have time for finesse.  The moment Alain moved
beyond hearing distance, Jana grasped Val-risa’s wrist.  “Are you an outworlder?” she
whispered urgently.
To her relief, instead of staring at her without comprehension, Val-risa glanced
toward Vin, then nodded ever so slightly.
“I need to arrange passage from Orleans.”
Val-risa glanced at Alain.
“I can’t ask him.  I can’t ask anyone else.”
“To what destination?”
Jana hadn’t thought that far in advance.  “Dosstal if possible.  Anywhere but
Earth.”
 Val-risa tried to contain the look of shock mention of Dosstal had sent through
her.  She shook her head fractionally.  “This has to do with the man looking for you?”
Jana nodded.
56

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
Val-risa bit her lip, studying Jana for a long moment.  “I can’t make any promises,
but I’ll see what I can come up with,” she said finally.
*  *  *
One aspect of that never to be sufficiently regretted trip with Alain that ranked
with Jana's worst anxieties was Val-risa's comment that Jana must be increasing.   For
some reason Jana had not been able to fathom, Alain seemed to have no interest in taking
her as his sexual partner … but she was not certain she could trust that that would remain
the case.  On a primitive world like Orleans, there was no birth control available, and
Jana had not been able to bring birth control with her, which meant that if she managed to
avoid Marty and his men, she might still have to contend with the horror of having a live
thing growing inside her.
She shuddered at the thought.  Who would have thought such a thing possible?
And that was only the beginning of the horror.  There was also the fact that she had no
idea how long it was allowed to grow there, or how it was removed once it was decided it
was developed enough to be removed.
Practices, she knew, varied.  In the lab where she had been developed, some were
allowed to grow to full maturity before being de-canted.  She had been grown through
pubescence.  Others, those designed for child sex, were de-canted well before that.
The infants Alain had were small, and Blane had said they were ‘born’ many
months earlier, but just how large had they been at that time?
Half the size they now were would rip her apart.  She could not endure that and
live, she knew.  Perhaps that was what had happened to Alain’s previous companion?
Perhaps that was what Lill had meant when she’d told Jana about the miscarriage.
It was also possible that the women of Orleans were designed differently,
designed for use as incubators, and therefore designed to safely de-cant the infants at the
correct time.
That seemed plausible until she recalled that Val-risa was not of Orleans, and yet
she had seemed very proud of the fact that she was breeding and not at all frightened.
Maybe all women, ex cept bound women, had been designed for this use?
She was certain that she had not been.  She had examined herself very carefully.
There was no opening on her body large enough to de-cant something that big.
After thoroughly terrorizing herself for days with her imaginings, she finally
dismissed it when it occurred to her that that was the very least of her worries.  Marty was
searching for her.  That could only mean that Marty had finally pieced together her route
of escape and followed her to Orleans.
The message Blane had mentioned before, which she had optimistically put down
to a universe wide search, had been far more focused than she had realized before.  If not
for the prohibition of the use of technological devices, he would have found her already.
But even so, she had to accept that she was running out of time and it had been born upon
her that her chances of convincing Alain to keep her were practically nil.
She had thought to begin with that it would be easy enough to make her
companion want her sexually, perhaps even to become attached to her services to a point
where he would be very reluctant to give her up to Marty, even if Marty were to find her.
Alain had dispelled her assumptions the moment he had arrived.  She had seen, more than
once, a look that told her that he was not immune to her, but he was apparently able to
57

THE CLAIMING
control his urges without much difficulty.  He had looked upon her from the first with
patent suspicion, and had made it very clear that the woman she was impersonating was a
woman of virtue, a woman not designed to pleasure men, but conditioned to reserve
herself for only one.
Jana had an uneasy misgiving that Alain would be very, very displeased once he
realized that, instead of a woman of virtue, he had gained a slightly used courtesan.  It
made little difference that she could not understand the significance of his preferences,
couldn’t fathom why such a thing would be important to him.  The fact was, it did matter,
and she was fairly certain she did not want to be around when Alain discovered her
deception.  Returning with Marty might almost be better, but her preference would be to
escape the consequences of her deception, and also to escape Marty.
By the time a week had passed with no word from Val-risa regarding a possible
rescue, Jana discovered that she was a nervous wreck and beginning to have a great deal
of trouble maintaining her role as Jana the virtuous, Jana the magnificent … Jana without
flaw.
 The only thing that could have possibly capped what had rapidly changed from
adventure to nightmare, was the arrival of the ‘real’ Jana.  Otherwise, Jana was certain
her situation could not get worse.
It did.
 Chapter Seven
"Damn!  I’ve found another one of those strange messages!" Blane exclaimed,
dragging his leg off the arm of the chair where he'd been lounging and sitting bolt upright.
Alain, seated in the chair opposite him, staring pensively into the empty fire grate
as he sipped a glass of whiskey, paid very little attention to this outburst until he flicked
an amused glance toward his brother and caught a glimpse of Jana.  She'd been busily
trying to figure out the intricacies of needlework, but now her hands had fallen idle as she
stared blindly at the frame in her lap.  Even in the dim light from the small branch of
candles at her elbow, he could see she was unnaturally pale.  Her whole attitude seemed
to suggest a breathless waiting.
"And what does this message say?" he asked in a bored tone.
Blane stared at Alain in dismay, realizing, belatedly, that he’d been so deeply
engrossed that he’d spoken aloud thoughts better left unexpressed.  He didn’t dare look at
Jana.  He was too rattled, unfortunately, to think of anything he could substitute and, at
any rate, it occurred to him presently that it would be useless at this point to try.  Alain
would only have to demand the paper and read it himself to know Blane had fabricated a
58

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
lie.  “It says: J-- I am devastated by your defection.  Return to me now and all will be
forgiven. ---M.”
"An interesting puzzle," Alain replied calmly.  "What do you think, Jana?"
Jana started violently, favoring Alain with the wide-eyed stare of the hunted.
"About what?" she hedged, sparring for wind while her mind raced around in fruitless
circles.  She was very much afraid it could only be from Marty--not that she believed for
one moment that he would forgive her.  The question uppermost in her mind was, would
Alain be able to figure out that the message pertained to her?
"I do hope we're not going to go that round again, my dear … the message," Alain
prompted dryly.
"Oh," Jana said with the air of the enlightened, jumping to her feet and throwing
her botched attempt at needlework into the work basket.  "I’m not at all good with
puzzles.  I think I'll go to bed," she finished and darted for the door.
"J," Alain said musingly as if he hadn't even heard the last of this speech.  "The
first referred to a runaway, did it not?  We assumed it was merely a local matter, but this
seems to put a different complexion on the matter entirely.  One would not expect to
appeal to a slave to return to captivity, after all.  Do you suppose this is an outworlder…?
Having difficulties, my dear?" he asked pleasantly, this last to Jana, who'd dropped her
basket.
 "Oh no," Jana gasped faintly.  She knelt and began to toss needles, pins and
threads haphazardly into the basket, starting nervously as Alain knelt beside her and
extended a handful of pins.  "Thank you," she murmured, keeping her face averted.  She
didn't dare look up at him for fear he might read something in her face.
"I fear you're getting your threads sadly tangled, my dear," Alain murmured
dulcetly.
"I ... I'll sort them later," Jana returned, cramming the last of her supplies in the
basket and squeezing the lid shut.
"Ah ... but it may be too late by then," Alain said so softly that she glanced up at
him, not entirely certain she'd heard him correctly, though the softly spoken words
seemed to turn her blood to ice water.  His expression was shuttered, unreadable, but her
heart gave a frightened lurch as their gazes met and held.
Quite suddenly she realized that what she had done was very, very wrong, no
matter how she tried to delude herself that it wasn't, that what she was doing could hurt
no one.  Alain had not merely wanted a companion.  He had carefully chosen one, and she
could no longer delude herself into believing he would be satisfied to take her instead.
All she really wanted to do in that moment was to confess, beg forgiveness and
hope to find that Alain would at least be willing to send her away to some place other
than Earth, but somehow, she couldn't quite find the courage to do so.
***
Alain regarded his brother over the remains of their breakfast with a slightly
jaundiced eye.  He hadn't had a particularly restful night and from the looks of Blane, it
seemed he'd suffered a similar fate, no doubt for much the same reason.
Alain was reasonably certain that his suspicion upon returning home that Blane
and Jana had become intimate in his absence was unfounded.  He was not convinced,
59

THE CLAIMING
however, that Blane had not become enamored of Jana.  From the first, Blane had seemed
a tad too protective of her for a young man not emotionally involved.
Neither had spoken about that first day since, but both were acutely conscious that
it had not been completely resolved and that simply ignoring it wouldn't make it go away.
Each wished to lay the matter out for inspection and discussion and neither knew quite
how to approach it.
Alain wished fervently that he didn't find Jana so achingly attractive himself.  He
had only to be near her to want to touch her.  Thinking about her had the power to make
him go hard with desire.  And he resented her effect on him, particularly since he didn't
trust her in the least and was certain by now she was playing some sort of deep game.
The possibility that his younger brother might be similarly plagued only
complicated an already complex situation.  Under other circumstances, he would have
been willing to rescind his prior claim and allow Blane to contract with Jana, particularly
if Jana appeared to hold an equal affection for his brother--and Alain wasn’t convinced
that she did not.
He was fairly certain, however, that he would not be able to live with Jana and not
have her as his own.
He found it difficult to accept that he had succumbed emotionally in the shortest
possible time to a female virtually unknown to him weeks earlier.  On the other hand, the
effect she had on him was damnably impossible to ignore, though a lively sense of self-
preservation had prompted him to make every effort to do so.
He would have been more comfortable if he could have simply accepted his desire
for Jana as just that, and no more than that, though he wasn't entirely pleased to discover
his passions at war with his intellect, but he had been physically attracted to women
before whose personality left him cold.  He didn’t doubt that it would fade once he'd
claimed her.  The question was, would it fade if he did not?
It would have to.  Or he would have to learn to live with it.  He wasn't so far gone
that he was likely to forget that to possess her as he wanted to would be to commit
himself irrevocably to a ten year term that could well turn out to be a decade of pure hell.
And he had no intention of doing that until he was certain his suspicions about Jana were
just that.  He would not, again, tie himself to a woman fashioned in his first wife's mold.
He had fallen deeply, madly in love with Caro, as only an inexperienced young
man could, and bartered his soul only to have the Orleans beauty as his wife, a queen for
the empire he'd worked so hard to build.  He'd been disappointed on all counts.  In a
matter of months he’d discovered that the only reason her family had allowed him to wed
her, the only reason she had agreed, was because she had disgraced herself by having an
affair with another woman’s husband and become pregnant.  Only their anxiety to stem
the possibility of complete, public disgrace, had convinced them to allow the marriage to
a man who’s bloodlines were repugnant to them.
He would have been angry, and hurt, when he discovered the deceit, but he had
loved Caro enough that he would have probably been willing to overlook her past, ex cept
that she had made no attempt to hide the fact that she held him in contempt.  He had been
forced to humiliate himself by begging his way into her bed, only to discover that she
continued to carry on with her married lover at every opportunity.
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KAITLYN O’CONNOR
By the time she died, he’d hated her as much as he’d once loved her, a fact that
was far more widely known than it should have been, though he’d ceased to care.  But it
was fortunate for him that their last, horrendous, argument had played out before a score
of witnesses.  If there had not been so many present to witness the fact that Caro had
fallen and broken her neck because she swung at him and missed, he might well have
found himself executed for her murder.
Blane cleared his throat nervously, drawing Alain's mind from his abstraction.
"About … about Jana," Blane began uncomfortably.
Alain pushed his chair away from the table and leaned back in it casually,
regarding Blane with covert intensity as he pulled his watch from his pocket and began to
swing it idly by the chain.  "Yes?"  he drawled, without a marked degree of welcome.
"That first day with Jana….  It wasn't what it seemed.  At least, I'm not sure what
you thought, but the thing is, there was nothing to it.”
Alain flicked a glance at Blane and returned his attention to his swinging watch.
"You're quite certain of that?" he asked pensively.
"Damn it, Alain!" Blane exclaimed, leaping to his feet so abruptly he overturned
his chair.  “You know I wouldn't serve you such a backhanded turn, no matter how I felt
about Jana!”
"I don’t recall that I suggested you would," Alain murmured dryly.
Blane stared at Alain angrily a moment, then turned and strode to the window.  He
was silent for some time, staring pensively at the view.  "She's ... not like Caro, whatever
you might think.  She wouldn’t try to … seduce me only to play us against each other for
her entertainment.  She is beautiful—to my mind far more beautiful than Caro ever was—
but she doesn’t see it as a … a weapon.  She's just about the sweetest tempered little soul
I've ever met and she's kindhearted.  You're damned lucky to have found a woman like
her.  I just hope you see that before it's too late," he finished softly.
The watch paused its swinging and was gripped in a white knuckled fist as Alain
stared at his brother's back for several moments.  He'd been so certain Blane's behavior
had denoted nothing more than reckless, thoughtless youth.  It began to sound like far
more than that, however.  Fighting the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, he
swallowed against the painful knot in his throat before he could trust himself to speak.
"Are you in love her?" he asked finally and was somewhat surprised that his voice
could sound so flat and indifferent.
Blane turned a startled look upon him, flushing uncomfortably.  "No!" he said,
then looked confused.  "I ... I think ... well ... yes.  I mean, yes, I think I do love her, but
not the way you seem to think.  I never thought of her as anything but a sister.  From the
moment I set eyes on her I knew she would be perfect for you.  That’s why I…."
One black brow rose questioningly.  “Why you?”
Blane stared at his brother, realizing that he should confess, that he wanted to,
desperately.  After a moment, however, it occurred to him that while confession might be
good for his soul, it would not necessarily be good for Jana.  For that matter, it wouldn’t
be good for Alain.  Later, once Alain stopped being so bull headed and allowed Jana into
his heart, then, maybe, it would be the right thing to do.  Instead of answering, he
shrugged, turning away so that Alain could not read his expression.   “Why I tried to take
care of her, for you,” he finished lamely.
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Alain attempted a smile that went awry.  "And Jana?" he said softly, musingly.
"Does she love you?"
Blane flung his arms out in a helpless shrug.  "Lord!  How should I know?" he
said, then frowned thoughtfully.  "I expect she has a very sisterly affection for me, but
nothing else."  He turned to study Alain and swore softly under his breath.  "Lord!  You're
more than half in love with her yourself, aren't you?" he exclaimed, then grinned.
Alain's dark brows snapped together in a frown.  "Spare me your little fantasies,
Blane," he said tersely, realizing immediately that a cool rejoinder would've been
considerably more convincing both to himself and to Blane and flushing slightly with
irritation.
Blane laughed.  “You are, though, aren’t you?  And here I thought … well, never
mind about that.”  Nothing good could come of reminding Alain of his broken heart.  It
would only make him madder than hell, and might stiffen his resolve to resist Jana.
"I hardly know the girl.  In any case I'm not one of those romantic fools who
believe that passion has anything to do with a higher order of emotions," he snapped
bitingly and then was annoyed that he'd given even that much away as Blane grinned
knowingly and chuckled.
"Well, I can’t tell you what a relief that is!  I’d begun to wonder if Caro had
totally soured you toward women.  I know if Jana were mine I’d not be able to keep my
… uh … hands to myself," Blane returned, grinning hugely.
Alain lifted a dark brow and favored his young brother with a hard, narrow-eyed
glare.  "Your crudities concerning my wife would be better left unsaid, I believe," he
murmured silkily.
Blane threw up his hands in mock defense.  But whatever else his apparent lack of
self-preservation might've prompted him to utter was left unsaid since the servants chose
that moment to clear the dishes.  It effectively put an end to their conversation and
allowed Blane time to reconsider the wisdom of baiting Alain in his present mood.  Alain
stopped the servant girl, Nella, as she left the room and gave her a message to convey to
her mistress that he would like to have a word with her in his study when she'd finished
her breakfast.
Blane was on the point of telling him that such an errand would prove fruitless.
He'd seen Jana cross the lawn and take the path to the creek nearly a quarter of an hour
since.  He checked the impulse, deciding that if Jana wanted a little time to herself, it
wasn't his place to thwart her.
One look at Alain's face, however, when confronted with the unwelcome news
that the mistress wasn't in her room ... or the house for that matter, and that no one knew
where she'd gone, was sufficient to make him rethink the matter.  He decided to slip off
as soon as possible and warn her that Alain's mood was decidedly nasty; that he wished to
speak to her; and that it would be far healthier for her if she didn't let him stew too long.
***
It was an uncomfortably warm day.  The cool water in the creek beckoned.  Jana
knew very well that what she had planned was forbidden.  But, if Blane and his friends
could cool themselves with impunity, she saw was no real reason why she couldn't.  She
was alone.  No one would ever know.
62

KAITLYN O’CONNOR
Halting beside a fallen tree on the banks of the creek, she stripped off the layer
upon layer of clothes required by the women of Orleans and waded in, gasping in delight
as the chilled water caressed her ankles and thighs.  In a moment, she was submerged to
her chin and attempting to mimic the rhythmic motions she’d seen Blane and his friends
use to propel themselves through the water.
Somehow, it wasn't nearly as easy as it had looked when she'd spied upon them,
she discovered.  Quickly tiring of the unaccustomed ex ercise, she waded back to shallow
water and reclined on the creek bed, supported by her elbows and submerged almost up to
her chin.
The sound of snapping twigs intruded suddenly, like the jarring twang of a badly
tuned musical instrument.  Jana whirled toward the sound, fearfully expecting to discover
some predator had come down to the water to drink.  The sight that met her gaze would
certainly have been considered a predator in some circles, but it definitely wasn't what
she'd expected.
"Blane!" she gasped.  In the next moment she was spluttering and coughing on a
mouthful of water, having retreated to deeper water with more haste than caution.
Blane grinned, settling himself on a stump with all the air of having formed the
intention of relaxing for a prolonged visit.  "If I'd known we had water sprites in the
creek, I'd have been down here before," he said.
"What are you doing here?" she gasped worriedly.  Alain had already accused her
of trying to seduce Blane.  He would be very unhappy if he were to come upon them.
"I'm watching a beautiful water sprite," Blane said, grinning.  "You know, that
looks damned enticing.  I believe I'll join you.”
"You wouldn't!"  Jana said a little doubtfully.
"Wouldn't I just!" Blane retorted, wiggling his brows up and down wickedly.
Jana was certain then that Blane was teasing.  Despite her anxieties, she chuckled
at his expression.  "You know very well it’s forbidden!  Go away.  I want to get out now."
"Come ahead," Blane invited, grinning devilishly.
"I can't come out with you standing there!" Jana said indignantly.
"Ah ha," Blane crowed triumphantly. "Remember when I had to tread water
because you  refused to leave before I showed you how to swim!"
Jana bit her lip.  “I did apologize.”
“After I’d nearly drowned!”
Jana tilted her head, studying him.  “My skin is shrinking," she said, holding out
her hands to show him.
Blane laughed.  “Wrinkling, goose.”
Jana started pelting him with a barrage of water, most of which he neatly dodged.
"Well!" Blane said, mock indignant, his eyes dancing with merriment.  "Never let
it be said that I don't know when I'm not wanted!"
"Obviously you don't!" Jana retorted, eyeing him with disfavor as he rose to leave.
He hadn't gone more than a few yards when he smote his forehead and swore
aloud.  He turned, grinning sheepishly at her.  "Damn….  Forgot why I came down here!"
"What did you forget?"
Blane shrugged.  "Alain is in one of his black moods. He wanted to speak with
you after breakfast.  He wasn't at all pleased when he discovered you'd gone out."
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"Well, if he has any other kind of mood, I've not seen it,” she said tersely, feeling
a definite sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.  "Go away before he comes and
decides that I enticed you here!”
"All right!  I'm going.  Just ... just ... oh never mind," he finished, turning and
starting back up the path once more.
"Blane," Jana called after him.  He stopped and turned.  "He can't be so very angry
with me, can he?  I haven't done anything lately that I shouldn't, have I?"
Blane smiled affectionately.  "If you discount swimming naked in the creek …
which, hopefully, he won’t find out about….  No, not lately, brat!"
When she was certain he was gone, Jana waded from the water.  She glanced
ruefully down at herself as she gathered her hair and twisted it, wringing the water from
it.  She had not thought to bring anything to dry herself.
That was the problem with deciding to do something on impulse.  One was never
prepared for the consequences.
She finally decided to use her underclothing to dry herself and don her dress
without it.  No one would know, after all.  Once she returned to the house she could put
on the clothing considered necessary to be properly dressed.
***
Alain stared sightlessly at the view beyond his study window, deep in thought.  A
movement near the edge of the woods caught his eye and he turned in time to see Blane
disappear along the narrow trail that led into the woods and wound eventually to the
creek.
 He frowned and, on impulse, decided to follow him.  He could think of only one
reason that would take Blane into the woods so hard upon their conversation.  Blane
either knew, or supposed he knew, where Jana was and thought he needed to warn her.
But of what?  And which was it, foreknowledge or a good guess?  He wasn't certain he
wanted to know.  He was certain, however, that he needed to.  He was heartily sick of the
plaguing doubts.
As voices do in the wood, theirs traveled far and quite audibly.  He heard them
long before he saw them, and had his answers as well … and answers to a few other
questions besides that weren't nearly as pleasing.  How true, he thought ruefully, that an
eavesdropper never hears well of himself.
He knew what he would find long before he reached them.  The sound of
splashing water had both alerted him to that and directed him to their location.  He wasn't
pleased that Jana had slipped off alone to bathe in the creek, but it was infinitely better
than the purpose he'd suspected.
His direction, he discovered when he saw them, had taken him to a point a short
distance from them, a spot that was apparently used for bathing with some regularity.  It
afforded him a rather pleasant view, however, and he propped against a tree and watched
appreciatively, thinking Blane had been wrong to liken her to a water sprite.  To imagine
her as a water creature was to liken her to cool, placid waters.  Jana was tumultuous wind,
rain, sunlight ... heat....
His smile died on his lips as she stood and waded from the creek. Poetic thoughts
fled, replaced by primal, carnal urges as scalding heat swept through him.
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KAITLYN O’CONNOR
No sculptor in his search for womanly perfection could have more faithfully
produced such flawlessness from the most cunning fingers or fertile imagination.  She
was pink and white perfection, soft and round in all the right places.  If he hadn't been
rooted to the spot in stunned admiration, he would've strode forward on the instant and
taken her then and there, for his body had become hard and painfully aroused the moment
she rose from the water.
Frozen into immobility as much by his thoughts as by the will to restrain his
body's primal urgings, he waited for her to spy him and release him from his spell.  She
had merely to look his way.  He stood in plain view.
She tugged her gown over her head then sat down on a fallen tree near the water's
edge and pulled on her stockings and shoes.  She was in the process of tying her garters
when she glanced toward him, apparently only just then feeling the intensity of his gaze.
He stood away from the tree and strode toward her purposefully.
Jana stared up at Alain in horrified dismay as he came to a halt before her.  Her
fingers, on spying him, had been too clumsy to manage the buttons of her bodice and she
clutched the scrap of material to her, painfully aware that trying to hide her nakedness
now was probably a case of too little too late.  She moistened her dry lips.  "How ... how
long ... how long?" she finally managed to get out in a hoarse whisper.
A flicker of amusement lit his eyes and his lips twitched.  "Long enough," he
answered casually.
Jana’s lips parted in dismay, her mind grappling with the possibilities.  To hear
everything?  To see everything? "For what?" she asked despairingly, certain he would
explode any moment in anger since she had blatantly disregarded every prohibition she’d
known about Orleans when she’d decided to bathe naked in a public place.  Or worse,
accuse her of having shared herself with Blane.
Instead of replying immediately, he grasped her shoulders gently and turned her so
that her back was to him.  Brushing her trembling fingers from the gown, he carefully
straightened the fabric and began to fasten the row of buttons.  "To see what I wished to
see," he answered calmly as he lifted her hair and draped it across her shoulder.
He seemed strangely calm, but the fact of the matter was Jana had long since
realized that Alain’s temper was probably far more dangerous than Marty’s, be he ever so
outraged, for Alain was a man who kept himself in careful control.  She did not want to
be in his vicinity if it ever broke his control and surfaced.
Despite her fear, however, despite her certainty that she had done something she’d
known full well she shouldn’t,  she was worn down from weeks of sparring with Alain in
her attempt to keep her secret safe.  It didn’t seem to matter that he had no idea of what
she had done.  He was certain she was guilty of something and determined to detest her.
Illogically, her fear and despair manifested itself in anger. "You ... you had no right to ...
to spy on me!" she said indignantly.
He hesitated.  When he spoke again his voice had become perceptibly harder and
unpleasantly cold.  Jana shivered slightly as his fingers grazed her back.
"It wasn't necessary to spy.  You might easily have noticed me had you not been
so intent on your little game with my brother," Alain said harshly, well aware he was
accusing her unjustly.
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However, he could no more keep from lashing out at her with the first stinging
retort that came to mind than he could fight the frustrated anger that surged through him
when she spoke.  He was jealous of her obvious affection for Blane, even though he was
reasonably certain they weren't lovers.  The contrast between her teasing, playful way
with Blane and her angry wariness of him was entirely too marked to ignore.
Jana flushed slightly and hung her head dejectedly.  He had once again caught her
in a compromising situation with Blane that made her seem guilty even if she wasn't.  She
was quite unable to come up with any excuse that would make her seem less so.  "You
might have made your presence known," she said resentfully.
"I might have," Alain conceded more pleasantly, mollified that the accusing note
had left her voice, "but then I wouldn't have discovered what I wished to know.  When I
followed Blane you see, I suspected a lovers’ tryst."
The glance she flung at him over her shoulder was so reproachful that it was with
difficulty that he maintained his gravity.  She noticed the amusement that gleamed in his
eyes, however, and glared at him before resolutely facing away once more.  "But you
think now that it was not?"
"I think you are innocent of subterfuge in this instance, yes," he said quietly.
The comment angered her more.  As unjust as his continual suspicions seemed,
she was unfortunately aware that much of it was her own fault.  In theory, she understood
the strict rules of behavior that Blane had explained to her.  In practice, she could not
seem to grasp all of the little fine points, and it was those that became cracks she
continually fell through.  And each time she did, Alain was there to see, to judge, and to
condemn.
She began to realize that she had placed herself in a hopeless situation in coming
to Orleans.  She could not fit in.  She had tried very hard to learn everything, to adopt the
customs, the manners, the speech.  She had done well.  She knew she had, for no one
seemed to question that she was who she claimed to be, but she was still an outworlder.
And Alain had no patience with her mistakes.  He saw every one as deliberate and
calculated.  It was almost as if he wanted to think the worst of her.  “Well,” she said
tightly, “you have completely mistaken the matter.  In point of fact, you were right the
first time.  I was only surprised to see Blane because we usually meet in the … uh … in
the barn.”
“It seems a rather uncomfortable spot to pick for a romantic rendezvous.”
“Sometimes we meet in the orchard.  It all depends, really,” Jana said airily.
“Night or day?”
“What?”
“I was just curious to know when you two generally meet.”
“Oh … well, he’s only one of my lovers, if you must know.  We meet in the
evenings, usually.  But if he finds he can’t slip away, then I meet … uh … someone else.”
He'd finished with her dress and for a moment rested his hands lightly on her
shoulders before he turned her to face him.  "In that case," he murmured, stepping closer,
"you must allow me to judge your expertise."
She looked up, startled, and backed away a step.  "Expertise?"
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"Certainly," he said pleasantly, advancing another step.  "If you have that many
lovers, undoubtedly you've acquired considerable expertise, and I confess I'm curious to
know what it's like to make love to a woman who can claim so much experience.
"B ... but ... but it's broad daylight!" Jana gasped a little desperately, taking
another step back.  “You mean now?”
The amusement in his eyes deepened.  "I appreciate your efforts to spare my
blushes, but I assure you it's unnecessary," he murmured smoothly, matching her by
taking another step forward.
He was laughing at her! Jana thought, torn between indignation and a definite
desire to escape.
It was not a situation she had expected to find herself in, and she wasn’t entirely
certain of how to handle it.  She did not, of course, want to confirm Alain’s nasty
suspicions about her in the first place.  In the second … well, in the second she was a
virginal female.  She had not been trained to initiate the act of sex.  She had been trained
to react.
Moreover, now did not seem to be the best time to even attempt to seduce Alain.
He was in a very strange mood and she was fairly certain she didn’t like it.
On the other hand, ex actly what should she do to get herself out of the mess she’d
just gotten herself in to?  She couldn’t just say no, could she?
Another thought occurred to her quite suddenly.  She had known the moment
Alain kissed her in the field that he was the man who’d made love to her on her last night
on Earth.  He had not seemed to realize it, but would he if she kissed him again?
Did she have a choice, she wondered as she took yet another step back and came
up solidly against a tree trunk.  Her eyes widened as Alain again matched her retreat with
an advance, so that she was sandwiched solidly between the immovable object at her back
and Alain’s equally immovable mass in the front.
The crown of her head scraped bark as she tilted her head up far enough to match
his gaze.  It occurred to her that she hadn’t, previously, appreciated how very large Alain
was.  He had always seemed intimidating—mostly, she thought, because of his dark,
brooding manner and the sense of carefully leashed emotions—but not so broad and
muscular.  Feeling her neck muscles begin to cramp with the unaccustomed stretching it
required to meet his gaze, it occurred to her that he had not seemed so big because he was
so tall.  At a little distance, his height made him appear more … narrow.
At this distance, his body completely blocked her view of anything else.
He was waiting.
Jana discovered her mind had gone perfectly blank.  Her heart was slamming
against her ribs like a frantic bird trying to find its freedom.  Her lungs labored as if she’d
suddenly found herself at a high altitude without supplemental oxygen.
The pulse drumming in her ears seemed to beat out a message—do something, do
something.  Instinct added the background chorus—run, run, run.
She couldn’t.  He’d blocked all possibility of retreat.  She was fairly certain her
knees wouldn’t cooperate even if the opportunity had presented itself.
She had no choice but to meet his challenge—she should have had no inclination
to do so, should have feared the consequences.  But she realized she had not really tried to
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escape because she wanted him to kiss her, because she wanted to feel those things she’d
felt before.
Unnerved by the heat of his gaze, she dropped her own to the pulse beating in his
throat.  Slowly, she lifted one hand and placed it against his chest, above his heart.
Beneath her palm she felt the staccato beat of his heart.  Several seconds passed before
she realized that it was his heart, not hers, but pounding as rapidly as her own.  Surprised,
she shot a quick glance up at him, realizing that he was not nearly as unmoved as he
seemed.
She had thought he felt nothing for her, except, perhaps, contempt for what he
believed she was.  Heartened that he seemed to feel at least some desire for her, she lifted
her other hand to his chest, slid both slowly upwards until she reached his shoulders.  She
came up on her toes then, reaching higher still, threading the fingers of one hand through
surprisingly silky black hair to cup the back of his head, and urging him to meet her as
she lifted her face for his kiss.
She paused a breath away from his lips, waiting, her lips slightly parted with her
breathlessness.  When he made no effort to take control, she allowed her eyelids to drift
closed and brushed her lips hesitantly against his.  It was a mere breath of a touch and yet
it sent delicious shivers of pleasure through her that made her limbs feel suddenly both
heavy and insubstantial so that she had to lean against him for support.
His reaction was gratifyingly swift and devastating in effect.  A shudder ran
through him.  With a rumbling groan from his chest, he pulled her tightly against him,
molding the soft curves of her body to his hard length.  His mouth came down hungrily
over hers. Hard and searching, it slanted back and forth across her lips in a restless effort
to taste and touch all at once, to meld them with his own.
She was vaguely aware of a sense of triumph at his wholly satisfying response, but
for the most part, she was so completely enthralled by the strange and exciting sensations
he was creating with his mouth and hands that she was oblivious to all else.
His tongue came out to touch her lips, teasing at the corners and testing the
sensitive line where her lips met, seeking entrance.  She parted her lips after only a token
hesitation.
His tongue surged forward to lay claim at once, caressing and exploring the moist
inner recesses of her mouth.  She moaned softly at his intimate touch.  Dizzying, heated
sensation surged through her in wild jolts of exquisite pleasure as the slightly abrasive
texture of his tongue raked against hers, entwined with it, stroked it caressingly. He filled
her senses with his taste, his touch, his scent.  Her senses rioted.
Feeling as warm and pliant as heated wax, she melted against him.  She felt so
weak and disoriented with the sensations he so expertly evoked, she could do nothing else
even if she’d wished to.
It was quite unlike anything she'd ever experienced in her life, more exciting even
than that other kiss in the meadow that had left her in a state of dazed shock, far more
intense than when he’d kissed her the first time.  He’d been so gentle with her then,
almost apologetic, sensing her distress and fears.  His kiss now was that of a marauding
conqueror.
She thought she would be pleased if it never ended.  Rather than pulling away as
her mind dimly warned, therefore, she pressed closer, eagerly accepting the devastating
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KAITLYN O’CONNOR
sensations his kiss evoked. And finally, feeling a great yearning to give pleasure for
pleasure, she returned his kiss, touching her tongue timidly to his.
He seized upon her tentative caress with urgency, suckling hungrily upon her
offering.  A ball of heat lightning flashed along her veins, settling with pulsing intensity
in her breasts and lower, in her femininity, setting them to throbbing with almost painful
pleasure.  Her muscles turned to pudding, her bones to water.
She felt almost faint when finally he raised his mouth from hers.  Raining kisses
on her eyes and nose and chin and once more, lightly, on her lips, he cradled her against
him, caressing the nape of her neck with his strong fingers as his other hand slid in a slow
stroking motion along her back.
She leaned weakly against him, listening to his harsh breathing, glorying in the
slight tremors that still shook him.
After a moment, she pulled away slightly and lifted her lips in mute appeal,
feeling a quiver of anticipation as his lips descended to claim hers once more.  But,
although she felt an answering tremor run through his body as their lips met, this kiss was
all too disappointingly short.  He ended it almost before it had begun, tearing his lips
from hers with a strangled oath.  She sent him a look of reproach, just a little hurt that he
didn't seem to want to kiss her again.
He gazed down at her a long moment, his golden eyes gleaming with emotions
she could only guess at, then chuckled softly. Pressing a light kiss to her lips, he pulled
her tightly against him.  “Princess," he murmured caressingly. "I'm sorely tempted to take
you here and now.  If you kiss me like that again, I can't answer for the consequences.  I
have only so much self-control and I'm afraid it's wearing thin."
Chapter Eight
He could not have found anything to have said that would have been more
effective in bringing Jana crashing down from debilitating bliss to cold, clear headed
logic.
 Somewhere between ‘this is dangerous and risky’ and ‘I can’t escape this’ she
realized she had totally lost all sense of self preservation.
She had been too ignorant of how matters stood when she’d arrived on Orleans to
think beyond making a place for herself, hoping Alain would find her pleasing enough to
keep her ... or fight to keep her if Marty found her and the need arose.
Slowly, but surely, it had been born in upon her that she was making very little
headway with Alain, and that coaxing him into her bed would be the worst thing she
could do.  She had, somehow, to engage his affections before he discovered that her
virtue was doubtful.  The very moment he discovered her virginity was reconstituted, he
would immediately realize that he had no way at all to gauge her virtue, and, knowing
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him as she did now, that would translate into a woman who could not be trusted and was
not wanted.
She found it almost more disturbing that he did not seem, even after having kissed
her twice, to remember her, when she had known him the moment his lips had melded
with hers, but she resolutely dismissed those troublesome concerns.  She should, she
knew, be relieved that he hadn’t.  Denouncement would almost certainly follow hard on
the heels of recognition.  When she had no escape route plotted, that translated to being
shipped off to Earth, and returned to Marty.
He had clouded her reasoning abilities the moment he’d trapped her and
challenged her to prove her expertise with a kiss.
It would have been safer to have risked his wrath, she saw now.
She released him.  Placing her palms on his chest once more, she pushed, without
noticeable effect.  He yielded ground, finally, and she slipped away, moving to retrieve
the clothing she’d used to dry herself.
She found the tension he’d created in her still gripped her, that she could not meet
his curious gaze, that she could think of no response to his remark. “Yes, it was nice,” she
finally said, forcing a light tone she thought would annoy him as much as her comment.
“But I, at least, was in no danger of losing my head.  There was nothing really remarkable
about it, after all.”
She flicked a quick glance his way to gauge his reaction.   The intention, after all,
was to merely diffuse the situation, not provoke him to anger.  She saw, however, that he
was looking very amused and downright smug … as if he knew very well she was lying.
She felt a spurt of irritation, but decided to ignore him.  It wouldn’t do at all to
provoke him into another round of exploration.
Wadding her discarded clothing into a ball, she plunked them on the fallen tree
she had sat on earlier to pull on her stockings and shoes, then quickly twisted her hair into
a knot at the nape of her neck and jabbed her hair pins into place.
"Nothing?" he asked quizzically.
She jumped, realizing she’d been so preoccupied with her thoughts she hadn’t
noticed when he’d moved to stand behind her.  "Nothing what?" she asked blankly, more
disturbed by his nearness than she liked.
His lips curled into a slightly mocking smile.  "Nothing remarkable in it?" he
prompted.
His tone, his comment implied that he had not experienced what she had,
otherwise he would not have been so completely aware of the effect it had had on her.
Somehow it made her very angry that he, apparently, had not been as affected as she had
been.  How could he not know the difference between kissing her and anyone else when
she had recognized his touch instantly?  “One is much like any other,” she said tightly.
“And you’ve kissed so many men you can’t tell a difference?”
In point of fact, Jana was more inclined to feel as if she’d never, truly, been kissed
by any other man.  The few times she had allowed it previously had been more like an
attack than the pleasurable assault to her senses kissing Alain was.  She saw no reason to
stroke his ego, however.  “Yes.  I mean, no.  I’m afraid I can’t really tell much
difference.”
“Curious.”
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“Why?” Jana asked warily.
“It seemed to me that it was not something you were at all accustomed to doing.”
Jana gazed up at him doubtfully, feeling very much as if she'd had the wind
knocked out of her, wondering how he could tell.  “I didn’t do it correctly?”
He grinned, his eyes gleaming triumphantly.  Jana felt a surge of irritation,
realizing she’d fallen into a verbal trap.  “It seemed the same,” she said belligerently.
“I accept,” he said promptly.
Jana felt her jaw drop.  “Accept?”
“Your challenge.”
 ***
In her desperation to put some distance between them, Jana forgot about the fallen
tree she’d been standing beside.   Bumping against it as she took a hasty step backward,
she teetered, precariously close to losing her balance.   Alain grasped her around her waist
and jerked her up against him.
"It wasn't a challenge," she disclaimed breathlessly, but whatever other objections
she might've thought to utter were smothered as his mouth claimed hers once more.
Braced for an assault, she was disarmed by the light, almost playfully teasing
touch of his hard mouth as it gently grazed hers in a brushing stroke that instantly revived
her heated response of before.  She uttered a sound of both distress and pleasure, urging
him to take firmer possession.  Instead, he ceased the teasing brush of lips to lips and
nipped at the soft fullness of her lips with his own before carefully tugging at first one
then the other with his teeth.
A shudder ran through her.  All thought of resistance fled.  The hands she'd
pressed against his chest to push him away, clenched, gripping his shirt tightly.
Mindlessly, she followed his lead, rising up on her tiptoes to press herself against him as
she mimicked his caress with her own lips.
He uttered a deep groan of satisfaction.  Grasping her hands, he disengaged them
from his shirt, wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled her fully against his chest.
He held her there, tightly, running one hand down to grasp her hips to bring them into
hard contact with his own.  A shudder of pleasure rippled through him.  His mouth closed
firmly over hers.  Without hesitation or further preliminaries, he parted her lips and
plunged his tongue inside to ex plore, caress, possess.
She met his stroking tongue eagerly, with more surety now, giving him back
stroke for stroke, caress for caress.  The heated lightning jagged through her again,
electrifying her senses, seeming to magnify every sensation at every point their bodies
touched.  And, just when she thought there could be no more pleasure in the world, he
changed the tempo of his kiss and taught her there was more.
He began with a slow, rhythmic plunge and retreat of his tongue that sent a higher
level of heat surging through her.  When she responded by pressing herself more tightly
against him, moving restlessly in an effort to get closer still, he increased the tempo of his
kiss.
 It was a wild, seductive rhythm that awoke a spark of response deep within her, a
deep yearning for his complete possession.  With desperate longing, Jana touched her
tongue to his, surrendering completely to his mastery, reveling in it.
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As if it were a signal he'd been awaiting, he changed the tempo of his kiss once
more, slowing and finally withdrawing altogether.  His withdrawal left her feeling
curiously close to tears and when he withdrew his mouth as well, she felt bereft, lost,
defeated.  For long moments, she couldn't bring herself to speak or even to open her eyes.
Alain gazed down at her soft, trembling lips, swollen and flushed with his kiss.
Fully as shaken as she by the power of their kiss, he wanted her with an intensity that was
painful.  Anger surged through him quite suddenly, that she was so determined to keep
him at a distance when even now he couldn't be entirely certain that she'd kept others
equally distant.
When he spoke, his voice was raw and throbbing, almost angrily accusing. "Did
the others make you feel like that?  Tell me it means nothing when I kiss you!  Do you
think I can't tell that you want me, too?"
Jana stared up at him with dawning horror.  Tears filled her eyes, blinding her as
she realized she’d been betrayed by her own body into offering mindless surrender when
it was the last thing she wanted.  "No!  It would be the same with anyone who … who….”
The anger that leapt into his eyes was frightening.  "You may experiment with me
as much as you please, but you'll play your games with no one else!" he growled angrily.
"You are mine and I have no intention of sharing you with anyone else."
She stared at him, feeling a thrill of pleasure at his words despite his anger.
Something inside her responded to his declaration—the need to be his and his alone, but
she could not keep reality at bay.
“You are wrong.  I am not yours,” Jana said despairingly.  Whirling away from
him, she fled.
 ***
Upon her return to the house, Jana retreated to her room.  Bolting the door, she
climbed fully clothed into the middle of her bed and pulled her knees up.  Hugging them
to her, she rocked back and forth, unable to think for the scene near the creek that kept
playing in her mind over and over.  She found that she was shivering, could not seem to
stop shaking.  Tears seeped non stop from her eyes, dampening her cheeks and the bodice
of her dress, but did nothing to ease the ache in her chest.
After a time, she crawled beneath the covers, trying to make some sense of her
disordered thoughts.  Foremost, she finally realized, was a sorrow so vast that it seemed
like a yawning hole that would swallow her up in darkness.  Alain had been right.  She
had never experienced anything even remotely like those feelings he had stirred inside
her.  She had wanted him to possess her, but it was far more than that.  The moment he
had said ‘you are mine’ she had realized that she wanted to belong to him in the sense
that he meant the words.  Almost immediately, she’d realized that she didn’t and never
would.
 He believed she was his contracted companion.  She had deceived him into
believing it.  He would hate her when he discovered what she’d done.  He would have
nothing but contempt for her when he found that she had escaped from Marty’s House of
a Thousand Courtesans where men had paid for her sexual favors.
There had never been any chance for happiness for her here.  She had deluded
herself when she’d allowed herself to think that.
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It occurred to her after a while that she should have confessed long ago.  Perhaps,
if she had done so in the beginning, she might have had some chance of convincing Alain
to keep her … perhaps not.  She would never know now, but she could not allow this to
go on any longer.
She had almost given herself up to him down by the creek, beckoned by the power
of his kiss.  She could not trust her powers of resistance.  She had none.  And as angry
and disgusted as Alain was liable to be if she confessed now, it would be far worse if she
allowed him to find out by taking her into his bed.
She desperately wished her friend, Val-risa had found some way to arrange
passage for her.  She could have simply disappeared then, without having to confess,
without having to face Alain’s condemnation.  But, more than a week had passed and
she’d heard nothing.  Even if Val-risa managed to make arrangements, it could be weeks
or months before a ship came that could carry her away.
She was fairly certain that Alain would discover her deception long before then.
Oddly, she felt better once she’d made the decision.  She was still frightened of
Alain’s reaction, still afraid of what the consequences would almost certainly be, but she
felt strangely relieved, too.
She rose finally, discarded her crumpled dress and bathed her face, then carefully
selected fresh clothing and began to dress herself.  When she was dressed, she sat down at
the dressing table in front of the mirror and began to comb the tangles from her still damp
hair.  The face that looked back at her, she realized when she was done, did not even
seem like her own.
When she had first come to Orleans, she had felt awkward and uncomfortable at
the role she’d found herself playing, despite the fact that in her life before she had often
been required to pretend that she was someone else.  Sometime, though, in the weeks
she’d been on Orleans, she had stopped playing her role and become it.  How could she
adapt to being Jana, the virgin courtesan, again when she felt like Jana of Orleans?
She shook the thought off.  Marty would almost certainly have her re-conditioned.
Once he had, she would not even remember Orleans … would not remember Alain, or
Blane, or the infants.  It made her heart ache to think it, but she knew it would be for the
best.  She could not hurt if she didn’t remember.
As relieved as she felt about confessing, she found she was not ready to search
Alain out immediately.  When she left her room, she decided to go and visit the infants.
She’d become fond of them.  Being with them always made her feel good, for they always
seemed to be glad to see her.  They accepted her without any suspicions.
On impulse, she decided to take them for an outing.  It was a pretty day, and she
felt a need to be away from the house.  Summoning the maids, she packed infants and
blankets out to the orchard, settling under a shade tree.
It was thus that Alain found her some time later, drawn by the musical sound of
her laughter.  The laughter, he saw, had been provoked by the twins, who gamboled about
the blanket like playful, chubby puppies.
He paused, watching her.   As if she sensed his presence, she glanced up, smiling,
and he was at once charmed and surprised at the welcome it seemed to convey,
particularly after their earlier encounter.  In the next moment, it seemed she, too, recalled
the episode, for her smile quivered and faded and a wary look entered her eyes.  She
73

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glanced away nervously, her eyes focused beyond him.  "Lill has come to collect the
infants."
Alain studied her a moment in silence and finally offered his hand to assist her to
her feet.  "In that case," he said, "I believe we can find a more private place to talk."
***
Alain felt a strong sense of dejavu as Jana perched on the edge of her chair and
cast a wishful glance toward his study door.  He was resolved, however, that she would
not come off the victor in this skirmish.  He fully intended to have some answers this
time.
 With that in mind, he removed himself from the vicinity of temptation, settling in
the chair behind his desk and studying Jana across the gleaming mahogany top.  He still
had far too many unanswered questions about Jana to simply allow the matter to drop.
There were entirely too many unpleasant possibilities that might explain her behavior.  To
simply ignore it might bring Jana to the mistaken impression that she had only to smile
and offer up a few kisses to wrap him around her little finger.  And there was no telling to
what lengths that might lead her.
He leaned back in his chair, assuming a posture of calm, though he felt far from
relaxed as he lifted a letter knife from his desk and began to finger it idly.  He knew he
would have to pick his way carefully if he wasn't to come up against the blank wall of
Jana's remarkably determined efforts to remain an enigma.
"There are a number of things ... perhaps I should say inconsistencies, about you,
Jana, that have been plaguing me for some time," he began, regarding her thoughtfully.
Jana, who'd been examining her hands studiously, glanced up quickly.  Her heart
bounded from her breast and lodged in her throat.  He knows, she thought in sudden
panic.  Had he known it for some time or just guessed it? she wondered wildly, too
panicked to set her thoughts in any semblance of order and quite unable to decide whether
she should burst out with her confession or simply wait and allow the ax to fall.
Cravenly, she decided on the latter course.  "In ... inconsistencies?" she asked cautiously.
He arched one dark brow and sat forward, dropping the letter knife on the desk
and picking up a sheet of paper.  He scanned it briefly then set it aside and sat back once
more.  "When I arrived home, I had cut short a business trip and come straight here for
the express purpose of discovering what was going on here.  I'm still not entirely certain,
but I do know that all is not as it seems on the surface.”
Jana stared at him in consternation.  He was going to rehash everything she’d
done since her arrival?  If he did, he was bound to work himself into a towering rage.
Maybe it would be best, after all, to cut to the quick and confess?
"It's of no consequence now, but I suppose they were drawn by the announcement
in the papers.  Neighbors being what they are, doubtless they were curious enough to wish
to investigate, probably in hopes of discovering a scandal.”
Jana turned deathly pale, staring at him in wide-eyed horror. "Announcement?"
she asked faintly, having some difficulty in grasping the awful implications.  When, she
wondered, had this been done?  Was it that that had alerted Marty?  She shook that off,
realizing that could not have been the case or Marty would have found her long since.
Regardless, the announcement had been made.  Everyone, at least in the area, knew of it.
If Marty was making any inquiries locally, it was only sheer luck that he had not already
74

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found her.  She had to suppose it was the slowness and limitations of primitive
communications that had delayed him even this long.
Alain's brows snapped together as he sat forward in his chair.  "The announcement
of our marriage."
Jana's hand crept to her throat. She felt as if she were choking, as if her heart had
leapt into her throat, and refused to be dislodged.  She felt distinctly ill, realizing that she
should never have allowed her deception to go on so long.  She had not even considered
what it must be like for Alain when the truth came out.  She had not thought beyond
herself, her own fears.  But it had been announced.  There would not be a handful of
neighbors he must face, lie to to save himself from embarrassment.  Everyone would
know!  And, if …when she suddenly disappeared, he would be left to explain.  "Oh no!
Ohh, this is ... is dreadful!  Mr. Camar, I'm not....!"
She was interrupted by a knock on the door.  Both she and Alain whirled toward
the sound, Alain with barely controlled impatience at the interruption and Jana with
patent horror.
"Come!" Alain snapped laconically.
The butler eased the door open and looked at Alain helplessly as a woman
brushed past him and entered the room, curtly dismissing him.  After a brief hesitation,
Alain nodded and the relieved butler effaced himself, closing the door quietly behind him.
The woman was obviously laboring under some powerful emotion.  "Mr. Camar, I
must speak with you," she announced in a clipped, high-pitched voice that made Alain
wince.
 Alain rose from his seat and moved around to the front of the desk, studying her
through narrowed eyes with barely concealed impatience.  She had that type of figure
considered buxom.  Dressed primly in a navy blue suit, the top of which rose and fell
alarmingly with the force of her agitation, she topped Jana's diminutive height by a good
head.
 Her hair was drawn into an equally prim and severe knot on the back of her head
and was of a shade approaching cinnamon, not quite brown and not quite blond.  By
contrast, her brows and lashes were so pale as to make her appear both brow-less and
lash-less.  Her eyes, an exceptionally clear gray, were quite pretty and undeniably her best
feature.
"What, may I ask, is the meaning of this sir!" she snapped, waving the newspaper
she clutched in her hand in Alain's direction.
Alain indicated a chair.  "Perhaps you'd like to explain, Madam," he said coldly.
The woman flounced onto the chair, seeming to collect herself with an effort and
sparing hardly a glance at Jana—for which Jana could only be grateful—before turning
her attention to Alain once more.  "And who, may I ask, is that young woman?" she asked
coldly.
 "You may certainly ask," Alain said frigidly, pausing long enough for the impact
of his words to strike her.  "Who, Madam, are you?"
She gasped as if she'd indeed been struck.  "Why I'm Jana!  The woman you
contracted with," she added, seeing his face become shuttered.  “And, having just arrived,
I must say I feel like the announcement of our marriage is entirely premature!”
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Alain turned to Jana, feeling curiously as if he'd just been punched in his stomach
as he saw her scared expression.  
"Mercy!" Jana gasped into the pregnant silence.
***
Jana glanced from Alain's shuttered face to the woman who was glaring at her so
accusingly and wished fervently that she had never come to Orleans.  "I was just about to
explain.  If you'll only let me, I can explain the whole thing."
"Who are you?" Alain asked coldly.
"Jana," she stammered miserably.  A black eyebrow rose sardonically.  “I am, only
… I'm not the Jana you contracted with.  I'm not your wife."
Alain, to all outward appearances in complete control, except for a slight pallor
beneath his tan and the grim set of his lips, perched one hip on the edge of the desk and
regarded her through narrowed eyes.  Out came the watch and began its pendulum swing.
"That’s debatable, but at the moment I’m far more interested in who you are than in who
you are not," he said silkily.
"I think it's patently obvious she's an adventuress," the elder woman put in
sharply.
Jana blushed miserably and glanced from the woman’s stony countenance to
Alain's swinging watch, staring at it for several moments as she tried to collect her
scattered wits.  Somehow, she found it singularly unnerving.  It brought to mind the angry
twitch of a cat's tail as he crouched to spring for the kill.  She moistened suddenly dry
lips.  "I suppose I should start at the beginning?"
"By all means," Alain returned dryly.  “I’m in no rush.  I’ve had weeks to ponder
the puzzle, after all.”
"I received the message your attorney sent that Jana.  My name is Jana.  I was
having some difficulties at the time."  She paused and flicked a glance up at Alain.  He
looked so very forbidding that she found she simply could not summon the courage to tell
him the entire, sordid truth.
“Difficulties?”
“She is most likely a fugitive from justice!” the woman snapped angrily.
Alain’s gaze never left Jana.  “Are you?”
Jana gaped at him.  Until that very moment, she had not even considered that she
was just that, a felon.  She was bound to Marty, legally, irrevocably, until and unless he
decided to dispose of her.  “I … uh … broke contract by leaving,” she said weakly.
The watch stopped its swinging and Alain pierced her with a hard stare, his face
darkening with anger for the first time.  "You were bound to someone else?”
"Yes.  At least … not as companion," Jana said hesitantly.
"How, exactly?"
“Don’t!” Blane said.
Three pairs of eyes turned toward the voice.
Blane, who’d entered so quietly no one had noticed, felt his nerve falter once he
had everyone’s undivided attention.  After a moment, however, he smiled encouragingly
at Jana and moved into the room, halting protectively beside her.  “It wasn’t her fault, if
you must know.  I was the one that sent the message to her.”
Alain stared at his younger brother.  “Why?”
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Blane found he could not hold his brother’s gaze.  “Because … well, I knew the
moment I saw Jana that she would be perfect for you.  She is so beautiful, sweet, gentle.  I
know you said a warrior would be far more suited to Orleans, but … my God, Alain!  For
companion?  The mother of your children!”
“You saw her?” Alain asked, puzzled.
Jana jumped to her feet.  “Blane, don’t!”  She turned to look at Alain.  “He’s only
trying to protect me.  He didn’t do anything.  It was all my idea.”
Alain glanced from his brother to Jana and back again.  “Is it at all possible that
we could sort the guilt later?  For the moment, I would be satisfied with enlightenment,”
he said sardonically.
The door burst open.  A slender man of no more than medium height stormed into
the room, shaking the tenacious butler loose.  “There you are, you iniquitous little slut!
You just thought I wouldn’t be able to find you here!  I told you, there is no where you
can go that I can’t track you down!”
Jana clutched Blane’s sleeve spasmodically, staring at Marty in horror.  Blane
placed his arm around her protectively, pulling her close.
Alain had come to his feet.  Something exquisitely painful passed through him
when he saw Blane pull Jana into a protective embrace, intensified by Jana’s trusting
acceptance of it.  With an effort, he pushed it from his mind and focused his attention on
the annoying little man.
“What the hell…!”
“Marty!” Jana exclaimed faintly.
“You know this man?” Alain demanded.
“I,” said Marty, placing a hand to his chest and mincing forward, “am Marty, of
the House of a Thousand Courtesans.  She is a runaway!”
Jana buried her face against Blane’s chest.
“Jana!”
Reluctantly, Jana turned to look at Alain.  He held out his hand.  “Come to me.”
Jana stared at his hand uncertainly.  After a moment, however, she pulled away
from Blane and went to him.  He pulled her protectively against him, but tucked his
fingers beneath her chin and forced her to look up at him.  “Is this true?”
Tears filled her eyes despite her best efforts to curb them.  “I was going to tell
you.”
 “Exactly when did you plan on telling him?” Jana WVTF366 demanded angrily.
Everyone turned to stare at her as if surprised to discover she was still there.
Before Jana could answer the woman, however, she continued.
“You have stolen my passage, my identity … you forged your signature on a
contract meant for me.  You are a felon!  A thief, a forger--”
“She did nothing of the sort!” Blane snapped.  “I did!”
Alain stiffened.  “You did?”
Blane reddened.  “I sent the message to Jana … that Jana.  I told Dees I’d take
care of it.   She didn’t steal the passage.  It was sent to her.   And she doesn’t know how
to write.  For that matter, she doesn’t know how to read.  I held her hand and helped her
write the signature.   So, you can not say she’s a felon.  If anyone is, it would be me!”
77

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“She is still an escaped bound woman!” Marty snapped.  “And I have come to
retrieve my property!”
Alain’s eyes narrowed.  “Unfortunately for you, her contract as my companion
supersedes yours.”
 Chapter Nine
Pandemonium broke out at that calm pronouncement.
Jana WVTF366 cast a look of loathing at both Alain and the woman in his arms.
"You would allow that … that whore to usurp the agreement we contracted!” she gasped
in outrage.
Alain’s expression hardened.  “Watch your tongue, woman!  I will not allow my
wife to be referred to in those terms.”
“But … but, that man told you…!”
“He said she had escaped his service.  What service she performed is none of your
affair!”
“You’ll hear from my attorney!”  Jana WVTF366 snapped and stalked from the
room, slamming the door resoundingly behind her.
Marty fairly foamed at the mouth.  His fists clenched threateningly at his sides, he
started forward as if to wrench Jana bodily to his side.  "Impossible!" he ground out.
"She's mine!"
"I wouldn't," Alain murmured softly, his eyes resting with a mocking challenge on
Marty, who halted in his tracks as abruptly as if he'd encountered a brick wall.
Marty stamped his feet.  “I paid for her!  She hasn’t even begun to earn her price
back!  I’ll consult with Confederation!  My contract states that she is mine, to do with as I
please, until I sell her elsewhere!”
“Your contract is not valid on Orleans.  My contract with Jana was signed, and
notarized by an Orleans official.  The Confederation will not overturn it.  They can not
interfere with Orleans law without breaking the law of non-interference.”
“But ... but ... but … He said he signed her name!  And I happen to know for a
fact that she can not read or write.  Bound women are not educated!”
Alain glanced at Blane.  “Did you or did you not witness my companion signing
her name to the contract we agreed upon?”
Blane grinned.  “I did witness the signature.”
Alain returned his attention to Marty.  “As you see.”
Marty glared at Jana, then looked at Alain.  “I will find a loop hole.”
“You may look.”
When Marty had left, Jana pulled away from Alain.
“Well,” Blane said jovially. “Guess I’ll be going now, too.”
“Not so fast,” Alain said coldly.
Blane paused at the door and turned, lifting his brows questioningly.
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“I believe you and I need to talk.”
Jana sent Blane a look of sympathy.   “Then I should go?” she said hopefully.
Alain’s eyes narrowed upon her face.  “You and I also need to talk.  Don’t leave
the house.”
Jana’s heart skipped a beat, but she didn’t argue.  She stopped at the door.  “Was
it true?  What you told Marty about the contract?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t look very happy about it.  “You could break it though, couldn’t you?”
"On what grounds?" he queried glacially.
"That it was a mistake?"
"No."
It was said quietly, but quite firmly nevertheless.  "But....  But....  Why?  You
don't even like me.  Why would you want to keep me?”
“You want me to turn you over to that worm of a man?” Alain asked coldly.
Jana felt the blood leave her face. “No … but.  I don’t really belong here, do I?”
“You should have thought of that before you signed the contract.  For better or for
worse, you are, irrevocably, mine."
 ***
Jana sat at her dressing table staring blindly at her reflection, her hair brush
forgotten in her hand.  Everyone else had long since retired for the night.
It was Alain who occupied her thoughts, however.
Despite his threat/promise, he had not come to speak to her.  She supposed he had
learned the answers he’d sought from Blane.
She, however, was still a little confused about Blane’s role.  Undoubtedly, it had
been Blane who’d come into the room when Alain was leaving, but he could not have
caught more than a glance of her.  How could he have arrived at the conclusion that she
was ‘perfect’ for Alain?  Particularly when Alain so obviously disagreed.
At any rate, whatever part Blane had played, it had been her decision to seize the
opportunity.  Alain wasn’t likely to overlook the fact that the fault of this mess all came
back to her.
A slight movement at the periphery of her vision caught her eye.  She turned her
head, freezing mid-stroke with the brush as she stared in wide-eyed horror at Alain's
reflection in the looking glass.
In all the time she had been on Orleans, Alain had not once entered her bedroom.
To see him standing here now was unnerving to say the least, and would have been even
if not for the fact that he’d entered the room so silently she had thought she was alone
until she’d caught his reflection.
His feet were bare of boot or stocking.  He had removed his coat, his waistcoat
and cravat and wore only his trousers and his shirt, which was open to the waist.
She could tell nothing about his intent in his expression, but his near nakedness
seemed to speak for itself.
She remained frozen in place, her eyes round with trepidation as she watched him
advance into the room until he stood directly behind her.  A shiver raced along her spine
as their gazes met in the reflecting glass.
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Dozens of questions skittered through her mind.  Foremost amongst them, of
course, was the reason for his presence.  However, her tongue clove to the roof of her
mouth, making speech impossible.   He took the brush from her nerveless fingers and
began to brush her hair.  And although her tongue became unglued sufficiently to moisten
her parched lips, her mind had gone completely blank.
Try though she might, she couldn't drag her gaze from the ex posed expanse of
chest and the dark mat of hair that covered it.
After a few moments, he set the brush on the dressing table and placed his hands
gently on her shoulders, almost as if he thought she was so fragile she might shatter at his
touch.  She didn't break at the contact of his warm hands, but she very nearly jumped out
of her skin.
"There's no need to be afraid of me, Jana," Alain murmured gently, rubbing his
hands along her arms in a way that raised goose bumps on her flesh.  It also caused her
nipples to pucker and stand erect.  As if they had somehow become magnetized, his gaze
locked onto the twin points lifting the sheer nightgown she wore into tiny tents.
"I'm not," she croaked in a barely audible whisper.
His lips curled into a faintly mocking smile.  "Then come," he said softly, taking
her cold hand into his and urging her to her feet.
"Where?" she asked faintly.
"To bed."
She threw him a startled look.  She’d suspected as much.  What she didn’t
understand was why he had decided to become intimate now, when he had shown no real
interest in doing so before.
Somehow, she didn’t think that he would appreciate a barrage of questions at the
moment, however.  Perhaps he had not done so before because of his suspicions?
He stopped when they reached the bed.  Turning her to face him, he removed her
gown and tossed it aside.  She stood perfectly still while he studied her, but a shiver that
was part apprehension, and surprisingly, part pleasure, skated through her as he placed a
hand on the curve of her waist.  Slowly, he slid the hand upward until he cupped one
breast.   “You are so beautiful,” he murmured in a husky voice.
“I was genetically engineered….”
He placed a finger to her lips, silencing her.   She looked at him questioningly,
wondering what she was supposed to do now.  He hadn’t told her and when he released
her and tugged the shirt from his breeches, she wondered if she was expected to climb
onto the bed and await his pleasure, or stand and watch, or help him undress.
Finally, she decided to simply wait until he gave her some sort of instructions.
She found that she was fascinated by his body.  It was unlike any of the other men
she had serviced and although she had serviced Alain before, the room had been so dark
she had not really been able to see him at all well.  The room they now occupied was
filled with the golden glow the oil lamps produced.
His skin, all of it that she could see, was surprisingly dark.  She had assumed that
the light from the sun had browned his face and hands, but now saw they were very little
darker than his arms and torso.  She saw also that the hair that had caught her attention
before did not grow as thickly as she’d first thought. It had only seemed so because of the
dark skin beneath.  It sprinkled his upper chest, but narrowed to a trail running across his
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belly and disappearing beneath the waistband of his breeches. She had not seen hair on a
man’s chest before.  Either the clients she had served had simply not had hair on their
bodies, or they had had it removed as the hair was removed from her own body.  Or
perhaps it was only that Earth men did not have hair on their bodies?
She was equally fascinated by the body beneath the hair.  His skin seemed to be
stretched tautly over hard, rolling flesh.  Curious, she reached out to see if the flesh was
as hard as it looked.  He jerked when she touched him.  Startled, she snatched her hand
back and looked up at him.
He smiled at her wryly, then reached for her hand and placed it against his chest.
She transferred her attention to her hand when he released it, but she thought he had
meant that he did not mind if she explored him.  She moved her hand ex perimentally,
discovering the flesh beneath his skin was as hard as it had appeared.  His skin, however,
felt as soft, or nearly so, as her own.
It was a fascinating and strangely pleasing combination; the rough sprinkling of
hair, atop silky skin, atop tautly bunched flesh.  His breasts, she discovered, unlike hers,
were very firm, flattened bulges of muscle.  Beneath them, the flesh of his stomach
formed hard, rounded ridges.  On his stomach, she discovered an oddity, a long line of
raised skin, perhaps the length of her hand.  Almost parallel to it were two others.  She
ran her finger along it curiously.
“A scar.”
She looked up at him questioningly, frowning in puzzlement.  “A scar?”
“From an old wound.  Orleans … can be as deadly as it is beautiful.  I had an …
unpleasant encounter with a camar … one of Orleans’ jungle cats.”
She found others, smaller, some hidden beneath the hair, one along his other side,
a round, puckered one on the upper part of one arm.
“Battles.  Civilization here is little more than a thin veneer.  I’ve been in more
than one skirmish with the primitives.  They did not accept my claim upon the plantation.
I had to … convince them it was mine.”
She realized at last that he meant that he had been injured—many times.  The
flesh had not healed smoothly.  She hadn’t realized so completely what primitive meant
on the world of Orleans.  Their flesh was not mended by lasers that knit the skin together
as if it had never been marred, their pain eradicated by nuro-blockers.  They suffered.
Their flesh when torn was healed only by their bodies, just as she had been forced to
endure over and over as her flesh was torn and left to heal on it’s own.
Sympathy for his pain flooded her.  Very carefully and gently, she moved her
fingers over the scars soothingly.
He tucked his fingers beneath her chin, forcing her to look up at him.  “You do
not find my scarred body … repugnant?”
She was surprised to discover it seemed to matter to him.  Slowly, she shook her
head.  He studied her for a long moment, as if searching for the truth in her eyes.  Finally,
he lifted her against him.  Laying her across the bed and following her down in almost
one seamless motion, he covered her mouth with his own.
A little startled by the abruptness of his possession, Jana tensed slightly, but
whatever pain she expected to feel upon penetration, his kiss was pure pleasure and she
could not help but enjoy it.  She welcomed the feel of his mouth on hers, savored his
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taste, delighted in his scent as it enveloped her.  As she had come to expect, the first
touch of his tongue as it entered her mouth to explore sent a shock wave of pleasure
through her, making her whole body almost seem to melt with the heat that traveled
through her, banishing her concerns to the furthest regions of her subconscious.
As he had that first time, his touch was surprisingly gentle and restrained as he
explored her body with one large hand, but she was barely aware of anything beyond the
sensations he created with his mouth.
She was vaguely disappointed when he ended the kiss, until he brushed his lips
along her neck to her ear.  His moist, hot breath cut a wide swath of tingling sensation
from her ear, down along her neck and arm.  Her nipples hardened into almost painfully
tight nubs.   Unconsciously, Jana gripped his shoulders, digging her fingers into his flesh.
“Kiss me.  Touch me,” he whispered into her ear.
Already more than a little dazed, she wasn’t entirely certain what he expected of
her, but she was quite willing to oblige and lifted her head to kiss the nearest part of him,
his shoulder, then the upper part of his chest, his neck.  He gasped, shuddering as she
mimicked his caresses, brushing first her lips across his flesh, and then her tongue.
To her surprise, touching him produced as much pleasure inside her as his
touching her had created.  She sank deeper into the abyss of pleasurable sensation as she
explored him with her mouth, her tongue, and her hands until she lost awareness of being
separate from him.
He pushed her back gently onto the pillows, nibbled a trail downwards from her
neck, along her collar bone, closing his mouth finally over one puckered nipple and
sucking.
Jana gasped out loud as sharp needles of pleasure shot through her, culminating in
a flood of moist warmth in her femininity.  The muscles in her belly clenched and
unclenched spasmodically, as if grasping for something.  She felt intoxicated, completely
disoriented by the time he lifted his head, nuzzled a path to her other breast and took that
nipple into his mouth as he had the first.
The faint sounds of him removing his trousers invaded.  Resolutely, she blocked it
from her mind, focusing on the waves of pleasure emanating from his mouth, through her
nipple and into her belly.
Still, she couldn’t help but tense infinitesimally as he pushed her legs apart and
settled his lower body between them.  He lifted his head to study her, slipping his hand
from her breast, over her belly and finally cupping her femininity.  She gasped when she
felt one large finger probe her, delving inside.
He shifted upward, until his face was level with her own, holding her gaze as he
slowly moved his finger in and out of her tight, clinging passage, then pulling free and
rubbing a tiny nub of flesh that sent such powerful jolts of pleasure through her that she
closed her eyes to relish it.
“You want me,” he said quietly, his voice almost a hoarse growl.
Jana opened her eyes languidly to look at him.
He rubbed the focal point of pleasure again and again.  Jana gasped, her fingers
digging into his arms, her body tensing of its own accord as the waves of pleasure became
more and more intense.
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He bent his head, taking her nipple between his teeth and nipping gently.  Jana
moaned, her back arching up to meet him as twin bolts of intense ecstasy traveled from
the point his finger touched and from her breast to meet in her lower belly, causing the
muscles to contract almost painfully.
He shifted and Jana felt his fingers parting the flesh of her femininity, felt the
hard, round head of his erection probing her, slipping in her body’s juices as it slowly
entered her.
As she’d felt before when he possessed her, had never felt for any man but Alain,
she welcomed the penetration, wanted it.  She felt that she was hovering near something
exquisite, instinctively knew that his full possession was what her body craved to take her
there.   She spread her legs wider to accommodate his hips, opening herself fully to him.
The pain she’d learned to dread ripped through her as he thrust fully inside of her.
She bit her lip, but could not completely contain her muffled cry of pain.  He stopped,
lifting away from her slightly to study her face.  Something flickered in his eyes and then
was gone as he lowered his head, kissing her.
Slowly, the pain subsided.  Slowly, the pleasure took its place once more as he
pulled his flesh from her body and touched as he had before, kissed her, suckled her
breasts.  There was little pain when he once more entered her, slowly, carefully, and Jana
was beyond the reach of it, so enthralled with the pleasure he’d built in her once more
that she arched her hips to meet him.
He groaned, went still for several heartbeats, and then began to move inside her,
slowly at first, then more quickly, sinking deeply inside her with each thrust.  Jana found
herself rising to meet him each time, felt her body once more moving toward something.
When it caught her, it was so intense, so glorious, she cried out, going still as it pounded
through her in jolt after jolt of exquisite rapture.  He groaned, slamming into her hard
once, twice more, then shuddering as he, too, found release and finally collapsed against
her.
 Weak, shaking, Jana went limp, as well, as if her bones had suddenly vanished
and her whole body was nothing more than flaccid, quivering flesh.  But, as the weakness
left her, something else seemed to infuse her—joy, gratitude … something unnamable.
She lifted her arms, wrapping them around him, stroking his back.
Not once had she ever felt anything even approaching what Alain had made her
feel.  No one, save Alain, had ever seemed to care if she felt only pain.  She was more
than grateful for his gentleness and the pleasure he’d given her.  Something inside her
that he had planted the first time he came to her, that had grown roots as she had begun to
know and understand him, had germinated into more than just appreciation for his male
beauty, for the gentle side he had shown her.   She could not find a name for it, but she
felt that she had been changed forever.
She was unaccountably disappointed when he roused himself finally and rolled
away from her.  He studied her for a long moment and finally reached for her, pulling her
snugly against his length.  She welcomed the contact, settling herself comfortably,
draping an arm around his waist.  As he stroked her back slowly, she began to drift and
finally slept.
His touch woke her sometime later.  Sleepily, she lifted her arms to wrap them
around him, lifted her lips for his kiss.  She found, when she ran her hand along his back
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to cup his buttock, that he had discarded his trousers.  She smiled faintly, remembering
that he had not waited to do so the first time he’d possessed her.
“Something amuses you?” he growled in mock anger.
“I like you better without clothes,” she responded.
He chuckled, but his expression was wry.  “I was distracted, and then found I did
not want to wait.”
“And now?”
His response was an assault to her senses that brought them both swiftly to
culmination.
Jana slept so deeply afterward that she didn’t so much as stir when Alain rose
from her bed in the predawn hours and returned to his own room.  Waking sometime later
with an enormous, though unnamable, sense of well being, Jana discovered that she was
vastly disappointed to discover that she was alone in her bed.
She dismissed it, finally.  Closing her eyes once more, she savored her memories
of the night before.
It had never occurred to her that she might actually enjoy sex as men seemed to
enjoy it.  She had thought she had been designed so that she was incapable of it, possibly
to enhance her role as virgin.  She had never before understood why it was so sought after
that men were willing to pay vast sums for it.
She pondered that thoughtfully for some time before it occurred to her to wonder
why Alain had been able to give her such pleasure when no one else had.  She had
serviced several other clients before.  Not only had none taken her to the culmination of
pleasure that Alain had, none had even given her so much as glimmer of pleasure.  She
had been repulsed when they had kissed her, or tried to.  She had been annoyed or
disgusted, and sometimes hurt when they had pawed her body, depending upon how
rough their ‘play’.
That not only puzzled her, it disturbed her.  Alain had unnerved her from the
moment she had first met him upon her arrival on Orleans, even though she had not
recognized him then.  His moodiness, his temper, his constant probing in an effort to trip
her up and make her reveal her secrets, had encouraged her to avoid him when at all
possible, but she realized now that concern for her secrets had rarely been uppermost in
her mind when she was around him.   She had felt jittery, and slightly breathless when
ever he had come near her, but she knew now that those feelings had had more to do with
excitement than fear.
Finally deciding it was not a circumstance that she could puzzle through without
more information, she dismissed it, rose, bathed, and dressed herself.
Both Blane and Alain were in the breakfast parlor when she arrived, Alain reading
the news sheet, Blane polishing off the last of his breakfast.
Blane looked up at her entrance, giving her a wink.  “Morning, brat!”
Alain did not look up, even at Blane’s comment.  He seemed completely oblivious
to everything but his paper.
After studying the back of his head a moment, Jana turned to the buffet and served
herself from the platters laid out.  She smiled at Blane as she settled herself, sending
Alain another questioning glance and finally focusing her attention on her food.
She had just finished when the butler tapped on the door and announced visitors.
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Alain lowered his paper and lifted one brow questioningly.
“It’s the … gentleman who came yesterday, and Doctor Jenk.”
“Show them in.”
Marty was grinning from ear to ear when he waltzed into the room.  “Good day!”
Alain nodded but did not rise to greet his guests.  “To what do we owe this
honor?”
If possible, Marty’s grin widened.  “As there’s been a dispute between us, I
consulted with a local attorney and was informed that my claim would supersede yours if
it was found that the contract between you and Jana had not been consummated.”
Alain regarded him coldly.  “You have some reason to believe that it has not
been?”
 Marty chuckled.  “Indeed, I do.  I’ve brought Dr. Jenk to verify whether or not
your claim is legal.”
Alain shrugged, turning to Jana.  “Jana?”
Jana wasn’t at all certain she understood the discussion, but she could not dismiss
her fear of Marty.  Whatever it was he had in mind would almost certainly be unpleasant
for her.   “What?” she asked a little breathlessly.
“I apologize for any embarrassment or discomfort this causes you, but I’m afraid
you will need to go with Dr. Jenk.”
Jana glanced quickly at the stranger, then at Marty before returning her attention
to Alain.  “I don’t understand.”
Alain stood, holding out his hand.  Jana grasped it, looking up at him
questioningly.  “He won’t hurt you.  He needs to examine you, that’s all.”
Jana rose from her seat, moving closer.  “But … Alain,” she whispered.  “What
am I to do?”
Alain squeezed her hand.  “It’ll be all right.  I give you my word.”
When Jana had left the room with the doctor, Blane surged to his feet so abruptly
his chair fell to the floor.  Grasping Marty by the back of his jacket, he thrust him from
the room and slammed the door behind him before turning on Alain.  “I’ve never in my
life felt anything but pride in you, Alain, but right now I’d like to punch your teeth down
your throat, so help me!” he growled furiously.  “How could you do that to her?”
Alain flushed.  “If I had not allowed it, he would only have returned with his
lawyer, and possibly the sheriff.  I can not, legally, prevent it.”
Blane slammed his fist against the table so hard the china rattled.  “You are a
damned fool, Alain! I’m not talking about that.  I know it had to be done, but she was
afraid, and you sent her away without even explaining it to her.  She had no clue of what
you just sent her to do.  None!”
Alain paled slightly, glancing toward the door, as if he could see through it and
beyond to the room above stairs.  “I ex plained….”
“You explained nothing!” Blane said furiously.  “You told her to go.  She has
been conditioned to obey her master without question, or understanding, and no matter
how frightened.  She is not from Orleans, doesn’t really understand our way of life here,
has no education beyond what was considered essential for the role for which she was
designed.”
Alain’s face hardened with anger.  “She is no fool. You do not give her credit.”
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Blane stared at his brother for a long moment.  “I think I gave you too much.  If
she means so little to you that you can consider using her like she’s some—chess piece in
a game of wills between you and that worm out there, give her to me.”
***
Jana stared at the strange man warily as he closed the door carefully behind him.
He seemed uncomfortable and more than a little embarrassed and she relax ed fractionally,
deciding he wasn’t quite as frightening as she had first thought when she’d looked at his
stern features.
She still wasn’t quite certain why she had been told to take him to her room.  It
had occurred to her that she might be expected to perform, but Alain had been so furious
before about the possibility of her sharing herself that she couldn’t quite decide what he’d
meant.  Did he consider it in a different light now that he had had sex with her?  Or,
maybe, it was because he now knew that she was a courtesan, and that was why it was all
right now?
“If you will lie down on the bed, Mistress?”
That seemed to answer that question.  Obviously, she was supposed to perform.
She didn’t know quite why it was, but somehow it hurt that Alain had decided, after all,
that he would share her.  Even when she had felt that she resented his possessiveness
toward her, it had still comforted her to think she would only be expected to belong to
him, for his use only.  “Should I take my clothes off?” she asked hesitantly.
To her surprise, the elderly gentleman blushed bright red.  “No!  That won’t be
necessary.  Just the … the pantaloons.  I can work beneath your skirts.”
Jana stared at him for several moments in stunned surprise, never having
encountered a request quite like that before, but she reached beneath her skirts and shed
the pantaloons, crawled up onto the bed, and lay down.
Doctor Jenk moved to the side of the bed and sat down.  Lifting her skirts
fractionally, he gazed at the window set in the wall on the far side of her bedroom, and
worked his arm beneath her skirts.  After several moments, she felt his hand touch her
bare abdomen.  Despite her best efforts to remain docile, she jumped.
He jerked his arm out.  “I’m afraid you’ll have to lift your … bend your knees …
and … uh … part your thighs.”
Jana complied.  After a moment, he repeated the process of before, lifting her skirt
fractionally, then working his arm upward.  This time his groping hand touched her inner
thigh then slid downward.  Jana sucked in her breath, slamming her eyes shut as she felt
his fingers probing her.  The doctor stood up, placed the palm of his free hand on her
belly and pushed one finger of his other hand up inside of her.
Jana squeezed her eyes more tightly.  He seemed to be searching for something.
His touch was very impersonal, but he was wheezing and gasping as men seemed to when
in the heat of passion.  He gazed skyward while he groped, never once looking at her
face.  Finally, apparently satisfied, he withdrew his hand and moved to the washstand.
Jana watched him as he washed his hands and dried them, then turned toward the door.
“You may dress now,” he muttered as he left the room, carefully closing the door
behind him.
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Jana sat up, staring at the closed door.  After a moment, she climbed off of the bed
and moved to the washstand to bathe herself, scrubbing hard to remove the feel of him
from her flesh.  For some reason she didn’t quite understand, her chest felt tight and achy.
When she had pulled her pantaloons on once more, she stood indecisively in the
middle of the room for several moments and finally climbed back into bed.
***
It was late afternoon when Jana left her room.  She had heard angry voices for a
time, but they had eventually faded away.  She had wondered for a while if Marty would
take her away this time, but apparently Alain was still inclined to keep her and Marty had
not yet come up with a way to get her back.  Some time later she had heard the sound of
footsteps moving along the upper hallway.  Her heart had skipped several beats while she
held her breath, listening.  They had paused for a time outside her door, but finally went
away again.
Growing tired of staring at the ceiling, Jana curled onto her side, pulled the covers
over her and stared at the wall for a while, allowing her thoughts to drift where they
would.
 After a time, one of the maids had come into the room carrying a tray.  Jana had
closed her eyes as the door opened, pretending to be asleep.  The maid had left the tray on
the table beside the bed and gone away again.
Jana studied the food but decided she wasn’t hungry and went back to staring at
the wall, watching the shadows drift slowly down it as the sun made its way up the sky
and then began to travel down once more.  When she realized that the house had grown
silent, she sat up, listening.  Apparently, the servants had finished cleaning and gone on to
other tasks outside.  She heard nothing to indicate whether Blane and Alain were still in
the house, but they were rarely in the house during the day.
Finally, she decided that she would go down to the creek.  It was cool there, in the
deep woods, and quiet.  Perhaps, once she was there, she would be able to think and then
she would understand why she felt so unhappy.
She was relieved when she managed to leave the house undetected, and hurried
across the open lawn until she reached the trees she knew would shield her from sight.
She had more than half feared that she would discover that Blane, or someone else, had
gone down to the clearing near the creek, but discovered when she arrived that her fears
had been unfounded.  She sat down on the fallen tree near the water’s edge, studying the
play of sunlight on the rippling water.
Never having spent a great deal of time trying to understand the behavior of
others, she found it impossible to fathom Alain.  Understanding Marty had been fairly
simple.  When he smiled, he was pleased with her and she did not have to worry that he
would punish her.  When he was angry, he screamed and cursed and jumped up and down
and she knew any moment that he would beat her.  Once he’d done so, however, his
mood always seemed to improve.  Afterwards, he would always say that he was sorry and
that he wished she would not make him hurt her.
There had been nothing at all to understand about her clients.  She had been
instructed by Marty of what was expected beforehand.  She had done as she was told.
They had taken their pleasure and left.
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She finally realized that what she should have done to begin with was to ask Blane
what she must do to please Alain.  Surely he would know.
Of course, she had thought that learning the customs and behavior of Orleans
would please him.  Blane had said he would expect it of her and she had assumed that
that meant that was what she must do to please him.  Now she realized that she must have
mistaken the matter.  Or, maybe, that was only part of it and she should have asked for
further instructions after Alain had come?
A twig snapped nearby and Jana whirled toward the sound, more than half
expecting that Alain had followed her as he had before.  Instead, it was Marty who
stepped from the brush.
Jana scrambled to her feet, feeling the blood drain from her head in such a
dizzying rush she thought for several moments that she would faint.  “Marty!” she
gasped, terrified, wondering which way to run, wondering if she could outrun him.
Chapter Ten
Marty grinned.  “I thought if I stayed around awhile I’d get the chance for a little
chat.”
 Jana found, for several moments, that she could not seem to think.   “I’ll scream if
you come near me!  Alain will come.”
He chuckled, leaning back against a tree.  “I don’t think so.  I saw him leave about
an hour ago, right after his brother.”
Jana studied him, wondering if he was lying.  “Someone would come.”
Marty shrugged.  “I only came to talk.”
She didn’t believe him, but she was fairly certain she couldn’t run fast enough to
elude him.  She rose, climbing off the fallen tree on the side opposite him, so that she had
at least that much of a barrier to protect her.  “Why?”
“I thought if we talked, I could make you see reason.”
“Go back with you, you mean?”
Marty shrugged.  “We could make other arrangements.  If you don’t want to work
for me at The House, I could sell you to someone else.”
Jana paled.  “No!”
“I didn’t mean as a courtesan.  I could arrange to have you conditioned as some
other sort of menial … perhaps a nanny?  I couldn’t help but notice the other day that you
seemed fond of the rug rats.”
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Jana studied him, unnerved to realize he had been watching her, but unwilling to
allow him to see the effect his words had on her.  “You wouldn’t do that.  You would not
get nearly the credits you paid for me.”
Again, he shrugged.  “Better some than none.  It’s not like I’d be losing money,
after all.  I did make back some of your price, and I could get enough if I sold you to even
make a little profit.  It all depends, naturally, on what you decided you wanted to do.”
Jana didn’t believe him.  Whatever he said now, Marty was never satisfied only
with a little profit.  He would either return her to the House, or he would sell her as a
courtesan to another house.  She shook her head.  “I want to stay with Alain.”
For a moment, Jana thought he would loose his temper.  It took an effort, but after
wrestling with himself, he managed a faint smile.  “Why?  You will be expected to
service him.  If you’re willing to service one, why not more than one?”
Jana frowned.  “Because….”  She realized she didn’t know how to answer the
question.  She didn’t know why she was glad to serve Alain but wanted no one else.  It
was true that he was the only man who had ever given her pleasure, but she didn’t think
that was the only reason.  In fact, she was certain it wasn’t.  She had not known he could
give her pleasure when she had decided she wanted to belong to him.  She had just
realized when he had said that she was his and he would share her with no one else that
she wanted to belong to him.
Marty started laughing, at first with an effort, and finally with genuine
amusement.  
Jana stared at him, feeling anger slowly replacing her fear.
“That is so hilarious!” he said, wiping his eyes, trying to get his laughter under
control.
“I don’t see why,” she said stiffly.
“You … you … think you’re in love with him!” he stammered, bending double as
laughter got the better of him again.
The word was incomprehensible to Jana.  “Love?  What is this word?” Jana asked
suspiciously.
“Exactly!” Marty said, laughing harder.  “So much for modern science!”
“I don’t understand,” Jana said, her anger mounting.
Marty sobered.  “You’re not really human, you know.  You’re a genetically
engineered, biological organism … a drone … a slave.  You have no family, no past, no
future.  Unlike human beings, you have not been taught to feel love.  A person, a human,
has to be loved by someone before they can learn how to love.  You were bred in a lab, by
scientists.  You have been conditioned to feel none of the ‘human’ emotions, only to react
to them!
But you feel it, don’t you?  That fluttering in your heart when he’s near you?
Fear and excitement all at the same time?  Feel like you need to cry your eyes out when
he doesn’t seem to care for you?  That’s why you were out here, isn’t it?  You decided he
didn’t care about you and you came out her to try to figure out why you felt like you were
going to die from the pain of it all?  Oh, woe is me?”  He giggled.  “No.  Don’t tell me.  I
can see it on your face!”
Jana glared at him.  “I am human.”
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Marty shook his head.  “You breathe, you bleed, you’ll age, eventually, you’ll die,
but you’re not human … not like the rest of us.”  He settled back against the tree trunk,
studying her.  “You’ve got no clue of what this place is really like, do you?”
“I do.  Everyone believes I am from Orleans.  I behave ex actly like everyone else.”
“But you don’t know what’s going to happen if you stay, if you continue to
service Alain.”
Jana looked at him distrustingly.  “What?”
“You’ve been genetically engineered to be infertile, so you might just get lucky,
but I’m thinking Alain likes his new toy and he’s going to be using it, you, regularly and
sooner or later his seed is going to take root.  You will cease to have your woman’s cycle
and your belly will begin to swell up, because there will be an infant growing inside of
you.  Humans, real humans, are like parasites.  They attach themselves to your insides
and suck their nourishment right out of their mother.  You probably don’t know what the
word ‘mother’ means either.”
She did—sort of.  She just didn’t entirely understand it.  As for the rest, she had
figured it out from what she had been told, but she supposed she had not really accepted it
in the sense that she had understood it could apply to her.  The thought terrified her, and
yet others did it.  Val-risa had seemed pleased that she had an infant growing inside of
her.
 “Then, after carrying this thing around for almost a year, comes the hard part.
Giving birth.  From what I understand, it is far more painful than losing your virginity,
and they are not allowed neuro-blockers here.  You’d have no choice but to endure it.”
He stood away from the tree and took a couple of steps toward her.  “You’d be better off
to come back with me.  I made you an offer.  I’ll stand by it.”
Jana took a step back, glancing around to find a clear path of escape.
He stopped.   “Have you even been listening to me?  You don’t belong here!  You
can not adapt … certainly not to the ways of this world.”
“I can,” Jana said stubbornly.
Marty lost his sense of humor.  “You stupid whore!  Stupid, stupid whore!  You
really think he’ll keep you for his companion now that he knows you’re a high priced
whore?  These people here are archaic!  They think a woman who has had sex with more
than one man is … is beneath them!  Not fit to be kept as a companion!”
Jana stared at him.  That was why Alain had been so insistent about her being
virtuous?  That was what they had meant by disgrace?  It wasn’t just Alain.  It was the
accepted behavior on this world?
The tight pain returned to Jana’s chest, harder than before as she realized that this,
at least, was no lie that Marty had told her.  And there was nothing she could do to change
it, for she had been ‘disgraced’ well before she came to Orleans.  This must be why Alain
had decided to share her with the strange man.  Tears welled, unbidden, into her eyes.
As if he had been waiting for just such an opportunity, Marty rushed her.
Jana dashed the tears from her eyes and whirled to flee.  She managed to cross the
clearing and duck onto the path, but she’d gone no more than a few yards when she
crashed into something that felt as solid and unyielding as a rock.  She bounced back and
would have fallen had he not caught her in his arms.  Still terrified, Jana looked up
quickly.  Relief flooded her as she realized that it was Alain.
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He brushed the tears from her cheeks with his hand.  “Did he hurt you?”
Jana shook her head.
He put her away from him.  “Go to the house.”
“But….”
“Go!”
Jana fled.  She didn’t stop until she’d reached her room and bolted the door
behind her.
 ***
Marty was so intent on the chase that he was almost upon Alain before he realized
it.  He came to an abrupt halt, staring at the larger man in stunned surprise.
Alain reached him in two strides, wrapping one large hand around his throat and
lifting him off of his feet.  Marty’s eyes bulged, the blood pooling in his head as Alain
effectively cut off both blood circulation and his air.  “Do you have some reason for being
here that I don’t know about?”  Alain asked coldly.
Marty opened his mouth, but found that nothing more than a gurgle emerged.
Alain pulled him closer, until they were almost nose to nose.  “I didn’t catch that.”
Black spots had begun to swarm around his eyes.  It took a supreme effort to
shake his head.
Alain set him on his feet, but he did not release his throat, merely lessened the
pressure sufficiently for Marty to drag in a breath of air.  “I see I should explain
something to you.   If I see you near my wife again, for any reason at all, I will gut you
like a fish and leave you to die a slow and very painful death.  Do you understand me?”
Marty stared at him bug eyed.
“Nod if you understand.”
Marty nodded.
“Do you understand that this is no idle threat?”
Marty nodded again.
Alain released him, standing over him as Marty wilted to the ground, coughed,
gagged, and finally caught his breath.  “What did you say to her?”
Marty shook his head.  “Nothing.”
Alain squatted in front of him, catching him by the throat again.  “I really don’t
like to repeat myself.”
“I told her she didn’t belong here, that she wouldn’t fit in.  I tried to talk her into
going back with me.”
Alain’s eyes narrowed.  “She refused, so you tried to take her anyway.”
Marty gazed at him with pure hatred blazing in his eyes.   “She’s mine!”
“She is mine.  Your life may well depend upon remembering that.”
Alain released him and stood up.
Slowly, Marty crawled to a nearby tree and used it to pull himself to his feet.  He
stood unsteadily for several moments, looking around and finally started back along the
trail that led to the plantation.
“Not that way.”
“But … my Zell!  I tied it near the house.”
“But you are not allowed to go near the house, are you?”
Marty swallowed with some difficulty.  “But, how can I leave?”
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Alain nodded toward the trail in the opposite direction.  “That will lead you,
eventually, to town.”
“But ... it’s miles to town!”
“Precisely, and nearing dark.  I’d hurry if I were you.  The camar come out at
night.”
 Marty staggered off in the direction Alain had indicated, but stopped when he had
put some distance between them.  He turned and smiled.  “I’ll have the last laugh, you
know.  I can overturn your contract.  All I have to do is bide my time.”
“It’s been consummated,” Alain said coldly.
Marty giggled.  “You still haven’t figured it out, have you?  She was genetically
bred to be a virgin.   It doesn’t matter how many times you pop her cherry, it’ll grow back
in a matter of days, intact, as if she’d never been touched by a man!”
The look Alain gave him was so deadly, Marty whirled and launched himself into
a scrambling run, expecting any moment to feel the blade of a knife in his back.
***
As hungry as she was, Jana found it difficult to swallow.  After several attempts to
eat, she resorted to stirring her food around in her plate in a pretense of eating.  Not that
she thought Alain would notice.
He had not said one word to her when he had returned to the house.  He had
looked at her speculatively for several nerve wracking minutes and then strode into his
study, closing the door firmly behind him.
Jana hadn’t been able to think of anything to do with herself and had been almost
grateful when dinner was announced.  Blane had not returned and she thought, at first,
that she would be dining alone.  When Alain had finally arrived, she wished she had been.
He smelled strongly of the alcoholic beverage known as Brie, a potent mixture
that could, and had, put Blane out cold after no more than two or three glasses.  From the
looks of the decanter Alain brought in with him, however, Alain had already had more
than twice that and still showed no indication of passing his limit.
He had eaten no more, if as much, as she had, and the dinner began to seem
interminable.  Ordinarily, the meal was not officially over until Alain finished.  When it
began to seem that he was too inebriated even to think of it, Jana nerved herself to rise
from the table.
Alain gave her a look.
She sat.
“Your … friend, Marty had a bit of interesting news for me,” he said
conversationally.  “Can you guess what that might be?”
Jana stared at him wide eyed, wondering if she really wanted to know what Marty
had told him, if it had been something ‘true’ and terrible, or a fabrication that was as bad
or worse.  She shook her head.
Alain rose abruptly.  “I believe this conversation requires a bit more privacy.”
Jana stood up, watching him warily, wondering if he could walk.
He steadied himself, held out a hand to her.
She wasn’t altogether certain she wanted to go to him in his present condition, but
after a moment, she did.  To her surprise, the moment she placed her hand in his he
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snatched her to him and, bending, scooped her into his arms.  Without a word, he grabbed
the decanter and left the dining room, heading for the stairs.
The butler met them at the foot of the stairs.  “Will you be turning in, sir?”
“Indeed I will,” Alain retorted agreeably.  “In point of fact, my wife and I have
decided we need some time alone to get to know one another.  We are not at home to
visitors. Tell cook we’ll expect to be served in our suite for the next few days.”
“Yes, sir,” the butler responded, bowing.
Jana looked at Alain in dismay, wondering what had come over him.  Was it the
drink?  Or something that Marty had said?
She wasn’t certain she should ask.  Blane had, at least on one occasion, become
rather belligerent when he had drunk heavily of the beverage.  As unnerving as that had
been, Alain in the same condition was something she was certain she could not deal with.
He did not release her until they had entered her room.  When he had set her on
her feet, he turned, set the decanter on the nearest table and bolted the door.
Jana eyed him warily as he turned to face her once more, leaning back against the
door.  His lips curled in a faint smile.
She took a step back, wondering if it was at all possible that she could make it to
the other door and through it before Alain caught up with her.
“Don’t even think it.”
Startled, she looked at him questioningly.
Alain tugged his coat off and tossed it to the floor.  “Did I ever tell you,” he said
conversationally, “that I think you are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen in my
life?”
 Jana glanced at the door again and took another step back.
Alain loosened his cravat and tossed it in the direction he’d tossed his coat.  His
waist coat followed.
Jana took another step back and fell backwards on the bed.  Alain leapt at her.
Jana rolled, coming to her feet on the other side just as Alain landed on the bed so hard
the sound of splintering wood filled the air.  She darted for the door but was jerked to a
halt before she’d taken more than three steps.  She turned and discovered Alain held a
fistful of her skirts.  He gave the fabric a sharp tug and Jana flew toward him.  Catching
her in his arms, he rolled until she lay beneath him.
She stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes.
He studied her face for a long moment and finally sighed, rolling off of her so that
he lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling.  Jana was too unnerved to move for several
moments, but finally her curiosity got the better of her.  She turned to look at him.  He
had not, as she’d suspected, passed out.  “Alain?”
“Are you in love with my brother?” he asked quietly.
Jana felt her jaw drop.  Marty had said she thought she was in love with Alain.
Now Alain was suggesting she was in love with his brother.  How, she wondered, could
she not have heard of this before when it seemed to be something that was of deep
concern to everyone?  “Blane?”
He turned to look at her, waiting.
She didn’t know what answer to give him.  She liked Blane.  She thought of him
as a friend, but she was confused about the nuances of the word love.  Everyone she had
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asked had told her something different.  One had said there were many different kinds of
love.  One had said wanting to share yourself was love.  Another had said it was liking,
but more.  Did he want her to speak honestly?  Or tell him what he wanted to hear?  And
if it was the latter, what did he want to hear?   “I don’t know,” she said finally.
He sat up abruptly, turning away from her so that he was sitting on the edge of the
bed.  After a moment, Jana touched his shoulder tentatively.  “You’re angry with me
now?” she asked hesitantly.
He shook his head.  “Would you prefer to contract with Blane as his companion?”
Jana sat back on her heels, wondering if he was telling her that was what he
wanted.  “You don’t want me?”
Alain buried his face in his hands for several moments and finally shot to his feet,
pacing the room unsteadily.  “If I said yes would it make a difference?”
Jana studied him for several moments and finally climbed off of the bed, moving
to stand in front of him.  She looked up at him steadily for several moments and finally
dropped her gaze to his shirt.  Lifting her hands, she began to unbutton his shirt.  When
she reached the waistband of his breeches, she tugged the tail of his shirt free.  Below his
waistband, something huge and elongated bulged the front of his trousers—his sex tool.
Her heart leapt at the sight, began to race.  She put her hand over it, cupping her fingers
around his erection, sliding her hand along it to measure it’s length.  It had always seemed
enormous to her.  Now, molded by his breeches, it seemed even larger, but she felt a
pleasurable surge of anticipation, not fear, to feel it inside her.
She stepped closer, pressing her cheek against his bare chest, nuzzling it as she
breathed in his scent.  Her heart pounded out a faster rhythm.  Warmth spread through
her, centering in her lower belly.  A weakness filtered through her body, into her limbs, so
that she began to tremble with the effort to remain standing.
She moved her hands, placing them on his belly, wanting to touch his bare skin, to
feel the warm silkiness of it, and the roughness of the hair on his belly and chest glide
beneath her palms.  A tremor ran through him as she pressed her lips against his chest,
above his heart.  He cupped the back of her head with one palm.  Digging his fingers into
her hair, he tugged gently, urging her to lift her head.
When she looked up at him, he caught her face between his hands, bent down and
covered her mouth with his own, kissing her deeply, hungrily, his tongue a sweet invader
of her mouth.  A groan rumbled from deep inside his chest, and he reached down,
cupping her buttocks and lifting her up.  She wrapped her legs around his waist as he
lifted her up, curled her arms around his shoulders, clinging to him.
He moved, pressing her back against the door for leverage, fumbling with her
skirts until his hand found the slit in her pantaloons, pushing past it.  Moisture had
gathered in her femininity even as she neared him, drenched her as she breathed in his
scent, touched him, tasted him.  She was ready for him, aching for his possession.
He kissed her all the while he fumbled to free his erection from the confines of his
breeches, kissed her as he aligned their bodies, working the swollen head of his erection
into her and finally drove his distended flesh deeply inside of her.
Jana gasped when she felt her body adjusting, molding to his flesh, felt him deeply
inside of her, stunned as much by the fact that she had felt only a slight discomfort, no
pain, as she was by the bolt of pleasure that went through her with the joining of their
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bodies.  He groaned, tearing his mouth from hers as he withdrew and plunged again.  She
kissed his cheek, his throat, the side of his neck, bit down gently on the ridge of flesh that
ran from his neck to shoulder.   He shuddered, surging into her faster, harder, deeper.
Slipping one arm beneath her buttocks to support her, he sank his fingers into her
hair and brought her mouth to his once more, thrusting his tongue into her mouth in the
same rhythm that he drove the hard length of his manhood inside her.  Jana closed her
mouth around his tongue, sucking hard as she felt her body tense on the edge of
culmination, making little cries of pleasure as it suddenly quaked through her.  He
groaned, caught up in his own crisis, his body jerking, trembling, before he went still,
breathing raggedly as echoes of ecstasy still shook him.
Slowly, he released his grip on her, allowing her to slide down until her feet
touched the floor.  Her knees almost gave way, but he held her against him still,
supporting her, his forehead pressed against the wood of the door.  Moments passed while
she fought to regulate her breathing, the pounding of her heart, felt his struggle to do the
same.
 Finally, he pulled away from her so that he could look down at her, cupping her
face in his hand, leaning down to kiss her lightly on the lips.  He bent down then, lifted
her into his arms and carried her to the bed, dropping her so that she bounced.
He straightened, pulled his shirt from his shoulders and tossed it to the floor, then
removed his breeches, boots and stockings, tossing them to land where they might.
Jana watched him with interest, making no attempt to remove her own clothes.
When he’d finished undressing, he reached for her, removing her dress and
petticoats, her chemise, her pantaloons, until she was as naked as he was.
He slipped into bed beside her then and pulled her against his length.
To her surprise she felt the flesh of his manhood immediately grow hard and erect.
She pulled away, looked at him questioningly.  She had thought he had found his
pleasure, as well.  Now she wondered if he had not.
He smiled wryly.  “A side effect of the Brie.”
Her brows rose.  “Does it hurt?”
He chuckled and pulled her against him once more.  “I’ll live … more likely, I
think, if I ignore it for now.  I’m not sure my heart could take any more at the moment.”
Jana glanced up at him with alarm.
He placed a fingertip on her lips.
Finally, she settled back, snuggling against him.
After a while it occurred to her that she liked this part as much as she liked the
other—in a different way, but it still gave her a great deal of pleasure.  She thought, even
if sharing their bodies had not given her pleasure she would have enjoyed this part very
much.
 She stopped at that thought, backtracking, until she realized she had thought of the
sex act as ‘sharing their bodies’, not sharing herself.  She wondered if he thought of it as
sharing himself with her.
If he had, though, would he have behaved so coolly toward her afterward, as he
had this morning?  After a moment, it occurred to her that his behavior had not really
deviated from her own when she had shared her body with other men.  She had performed
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as expected, but put it from her mind once she was finished and rarely thought of it again,
unless it had been particularly unpleasant and the client had returned.
It was her perception that had changed then.  Because she enjoyed the sharing so
much that she was happy long afterward, felt happy only to be around him?  Or was it
love, as Marty had said?
He was wrong to think that she had thought of it before.  She hadn’t, not
consciously anyway.  She hadn’t even thought to wonder why she was happy sometimes
for no apparent reason, sad others, also for no apparent reason.  She didn’t recall that she
had ever even heard anyone use the word.   If she had, she had dismissed it simply
because it had had no significance to her.  Why would he believe she thought she felt it?
Did she?  Were the years she’d spent in conditioning crumbling around her,
leaving her open to learn from her senses, her experiences?  Or was she still just reacting
to the emotions of others, as Marty had said she had been conditioned to do?
“What thoughts are running through that head of yours?
Jana looked up quickly.  She’d thought he’d fallen asleep.
She looked away again.  “Why did you share me with that man who came?”
He stiffened.  “Doctor Jenk?”
She nodded.  He said nothing for so long that she thought he wouldn’t answer.
“What happened?”
She told him.
“Did you enjoy it?” he asked, keeping his voice carefully neutral.
“No.  But I never have before.  I’m supposed to give pleasure.  It is not given to
me.”
 “Did he enjoy it?” he asked, his voice tinged with anger now.
Jana thought about it.  “I couldn’t tell.”
Alain was silent for several moments. “That was not a sharing.  And it most
certainly was not my intention to share you.”
“No?”
“NO!”
“What was it?”
Alain let out an exasperated sigh.  “Are you telling me you’ve never been
examined by a doctor before, ever?”
“No.  What’s a doctor?”
“A man of medicine.  When people are ill….”
“I’m ill?”
He put his hand over her mouth to silence her.  “No.  He examined you … for
something else.  He knows the science of the body, and when a body becomes diseased,
or injured, he knows what to do to make it well again.”
Enlightenment dawned.  She pushed his hand away.  “A scientist!  I was never
studied like that though.”
“Orleans is very different than Earth.”
“I didn’t like that.”
His arm tightened.  “I’m sorry.  Blane was right.  I should have explained.  It was
thoughtless of me, but I assumed you would be familiar with doctors.”
“I am not ill.”
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“No.”
“I mean I am never ill.  I have not been evaluated since Marty bought me.”
Alain said nothing for several moments.  “You’re stronger than you look if you’ve
not been ill in … what?  Eighteen years?”
Jana bit her lip, wondering if she should tell him the truth.  “I was designed with
an enhanced immune system—super-immuno, they called it, to make me resistant to
diseases and also to heal very rapidly when … if I am injured.”
“Designed?”
“In the Bondage Lab.  I was only de-canted two years ago,” she added
apologectically.  “I did hear them say, though, that I was fully developed and equal in
maturity to a sixteen to twenty year old human.”
“De-canted?”
“Yes.  Removed from the development chamber.  They began conditioning as
soon as my brain had developed sufficiently to begin to assimilate and process thought,
though, so I had a full five years of conditioning.  In general, they said, they spent ten
years, but I had accelerated growth introduced, so they also accelerated the
conditioning—Marty said that was why I was defective, that they had rushed
conditioning.”
Alain pushed her to her back, coming up on his elbows so that he could look
down at her, studying her face.  Lifting one hand, he gently brushed the hair from her
face, then, with one fingertip, traced the arch of her brows, the slope of her nose, the
shape of her lips.  It tickled, but Jana remained perfectly still, controlling her breath so
that she breathed only shallowly, allowing him to examine her as thoroughly as he
wished, though she wondered why he did so.
“I see no defect, only perfection … unless one accepted that you are too beautiful
to be real,” he murmured.
The words were strangely hurtful.  Jana closed her eyes, tried to turn her face
away.  He wouldn’t allow it, catching her chin and forcing her to face him once more.
He was smiling faintly, wryly, when she opened her eyes.  “That was meant as a
compliment, not to hurt you.  I had not thought I was so awkward at wooing a woman.”
She looked as confused as she felt.  “What is wooing?”
He rolled away from her, chuckling.  “I believe I need another drink.”
Jana sat up, staring at him as he strode across the room.  “I wish you would not.”
He collected the decanter and looked around for a glass.  Seeing none, he drank
from the decanter before he moved back to the bed, setting the decanter solidly on the bed
side table.  He reached for her hand then, tugged until she moved toward him.  He placed
her hand over his erection, cupping her fingers around him.  “Do you feel that?”
She gave him a look, and he grinned.
“This, my darling, is the sword I must use to slay the dragon and win my princess.
I can not allow it to … uh … waver.  Or I risk losing my princess forever.”
He chuckled when he saw Jana was looking at him as if he’d lost his mind.  He
thought it was possible he had.  Jana had the disconcerting effect of making logical
thought nearly impossible for him.
“You have drank too much,” she said accusingly.
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“Yes.  And it has loosened my tongue, but it’s a small price to pay for a hard
shaft, the better to win my lady,” he said, placing a knee on the bed and one hand on her
shoulder.  He pushed her flat, rising over her.
Chapter Eleven
“What is wooing?” Jana asked breathlessly as his mouth settled over her breast.
He nipped the tender flesh gently and she jumped.  “Be quiet,” he mumbled
around the nipple he held in his mouth.  “I’m saving you.”
Jana chuckled.  “I thought this was sharing ourselves.”
He nudged her nipple with his tongue, sucked it and finally, reluctantly, released
it, rising up to prop on one elbow so that he could look at her.  “Making love.”
Jana’s brows rose.  “How do you make it?”
He had been idly drawing circles around her breasts with one fingertip.  At that,
he looked up, frowning.  After a moment, he moved down the bed.  Jana watched him
curiously as he grasped one of her legs and placed it on his shoulder.  He repeated the
process with her other leg.  “Like this,” he murmured, placing his mouth over her
femininity.
Jana’s eyes widened, but as she felt the hot moisture of his mouth, felt the brush
of his tongue, a bolt of exquisite pleasure shot threw her, so powerful the muscles in her
belly clenched almost painfully.  She closed her eyes as a moan seemed to be ripped from
her from the sheer intensity of her body’s reaction.  She grasped his hair, trying to push
him away, but he refused to budge, refused to allow her to escape the sensation that was
almost unbearably acute.
Within moments, she’d lost all desire to move away, grasping two fistfuls of the
sheets as thundering waves of passion crashed along her nerve endings, rapidly growing
harder and more intense until the tension growing inside of her seemed almost to shatter
into a thousand tiny pinpricks of rapture, rushing throughout her entire body.
She was barely conscious when he moved over her, pushing his hardened, man
flesh into her.
“And like this,” he said, gritting teeth at the sharpness of his own pleasure as he
sank deeply, began moving inside of her.
Jana cried out.  She felt no building toward release this time.  Her body simply
exploded again almost the moment he thrust inside of her.
His own culmination was almost as immediate and ex plosive.
He shuddered and collapsed on top of her, almost crushing her with his weight.
She wrapped her arms around him anyway, sinking deeper into oblivion.  Finally, he
roused himself enough to roll off of her, but sank limply to the bed immediately beside
her, struggling to catch his breath.
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***
A tapping on the door woke Jana.  She stretched, unwilling to open her eyes, then
snuggled closer to the warm body next to her own.
A hand came down against her bare buttock, not hard enough to hurt, but hard
enough to sting.  Jana sat bolt upright, looking around in confusion.  Alain, she saw, was
propped up against her pillows, grinning at her lazily.  She rubbed her backside, not
entirely certain what he’d intended.
“Breakfast is at the door.”
She looked toward the door as the knock came again, wondering if he meant she
was supposed to fetch it.  Finally, she decided she was and tossed the covers aside.  He
caught her, dragged her down once more and, grasping the covers, dragged them up and
over both of them, covering even their heads.  She stared up at him curiously.
“Come!”
She heard the door open, the tread of feet as the servant crossed the room, the
rattle of dishes.  Alain grinned lazily at the expression of confusion on her face.  When
the servant had left again, closing the door, Alain tossed the covers off and sat up.
He was acting very strangely, not at all the way she was accustomed to.  She
wondered if he was still in the grips of the beverage he’d been drinking the night before.
She dismissed her thoughts, however, when Alain picked up the tray of food and set it on
the mattress between them.
He picked up a thin, crispy piece of meat and held it to her lips.  “Eat!” he
ordered.
Jana took a bite … bit down on his finger.
He snatched his finger back, sucking it, but chuckled.  “Not me.  The food.”
Jana felt her face heat with embarrassment.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to bite
you.”
 He picked up a piece of bread and took a bite.  “Take care, I might decide to bite
you back.”
For some reason, instead of feeling alarmed, his words sent a thrill of anticipation
through her.
Alain gave her a smoldering look.  “If you keep looking at me like that, breakfast
will go to waste and I’ll be too weak to move.”
Jana realized he was teasing.  She chuckled, grabbed a piece of meat and held it to
his lips.  “That wouldn’t do at all.”
He ate the meat, but when she would have withdrawn her hand, he caught her
wrist, closing his mouth over her fingers and sucking the juices of the meat from them.  A
pleasant wave of heat washed through her.  More than a little surprised, Jana glanced
from her fingers to his face.
Alain studied her a long moment, then grasped the tray and blindly set it behind
him.  It caught the edge of the bed side table and landed in the floor with a clatter of
dishes.  He ignored the racket. “You asked for it.”
He made love to her slowly, thoroughly.  Unlike the night before, he did not, at
first, seem to feel the urgency he’d felt then, not really surprising since they had shared
themselves over and over the night before.  He kissed her—everywhere, from the tip of
her nose, to the tip of her toes.  When she began to feel desperate to have him inside of
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her, began to urge him to join with her, he surprised her by rolling onto his back and
pulling her on top of him.   Aligning their bodies, he grasped her hips, pushing until he
was buried deeply inside of her, guiding her hips with his hands until she realized that he
was allowing her to set the rhythm.  She sat upright, rotating her hips experimentally.
He groaned, closed his eyes.
She began to move then, watching his face, feeling her own body respond to the
building ecstasy reflected on his features.  They reached culmination together, shuddering
with release.
When they had recovered from thoroughly pleasuring each other, Alain sat up,
looking down at the tray and scattered dishes on the floor.  “I fear we’ve made a mess.”
Jana sat up.  “We?”
He gave her a look.  “It was your fault.”
Jana felt her jaw drop.
He tucked his finger under her chin and pushed it up, then kissed her on the lips.
“You tempted me.”
He rolled over her then, and climbed from the bed on the other side.  Striding
toward the door, he opened it.  “Sam?”
“Yes, sir?”
“A bath.  And then we’ll need someone to clean up.  Jana dropped the tray.  We’ll
need another tray, as well.”
Jana was glaring at him indignantly when he turned around.
He chuckled.
“I did not drop the tray.”
He moved back to the bed, stretching out beside her, propping his head on one
hand.  “It’s a progression of logic,” he said smoothly, his features serious, although
amusement lit his golden eyes.
Jana felt her lips curl despite her best efforts.  “And you arrived at this how?”
“You tempted me, demanded my complete attention, even though I was selflessly
attempting to feed you.  Then, when I tried to remove the barrier between us so that I
could accommodate you, you distracted me.”
Jana chuckled, reaching up to caress his cheek with her fingers.  A dark stubble of
whiskers covered his cheeks and chin now.  His eyes were tired from little sleep,
reddened from the Brie he’d drunk the night before, but, somehow, he looked younger
than he had ever seemed to her before, more relaxed.  She liked his face; rugged and
slightly unkempt as it was now, flawlessly groomed, taut with desire, relaxed with
amusement--enjoyed the stark beauty of it even when he was angry with her.  Each time
she beheld it, even when he seemed completely unaware of her, she felt gladness fill her
whole being.
He placed his hand over hers for a moment, squeezing gently, then pulled her
hand away, studying her fingers.  After a moment, he lifted her hand again, turning it
palm upward and placed a kiss in the center.
When he released her, he ran his hand over the stubble on his cheeks and gave her
a rueful look.  “I’m surprised you didn’t faint when you woke beside me.  Bath!”  He got
up but grasped her hand, tugging, urging her to follow him.  “You can watch me shave.”
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Jana had no clear idea of what he meant by shaving, but she followed him
willingly enough to the small room where the bathing tub was set up.  He climbed into
the tub, dragging her in with him.  Water surged to the top, crested, moved outward from
the tub in a wave.
Ignoring it, he lathered a cloth, soaped himself down, and then spent thirty
minutes bathing her.  His thoroughness almost led to another bout of love making, but he
resolutely turned her away from him and began to lather her hair.
Jana was accustomed to being bathed.  At the House, the handlers had often done
so.  But this experience differed as night to day.  “Why will you not tell me the meaning
of wooing?”
He hesitated.  “You are tenacious,” he murmured dryly.
“This is bad?”
“Sometimes.”
She fell silent.  He finished washing her hair and carefully rinsed the soap from it.
When she would have risen from the tub, however, he wrapped his arms around her,
pulling her back against his chest.  “It pertains to love,” he said quietly.
Jana digested that.  “Like making love?”
“Sometimes.”
She frowned.  “But sometimes not?”
“Many people refer to sharing their bodies as making love, but they don’t
necessarily love each other.”
“Oh.”
“You understand now?”
“No.”
He sighed in exasperation.  “I’m not at all certain I can ex plain it to your
satisfaction.”
Jana shrugged.  “It does not matter.”
He pulled her around until she was facing him, studying her.  She forced a smile.
“I think our breakfast is getting cold.”
He ran a hand over his whiskers.  “It’ll have to wait until I’ve shaved.  You, go.”
When Jana had dried herself, she debated briefly about whether or not to dress.
Alain had said the previous night that they would stay in her room for days, but he had
been drinking very heavily.  He surely had not meant it.
She dressed.
He frowned when he saw that she was fully dressed, but said nothing, moving
instead to pull on his breeches before he approached the tray of food.  They ate in silence.
When they’d finished, Jana placed the tray outside the door, but Alain did not
seem inclined to leave so she shut the door again.  “You are not going out?” she asked
finally.
 Alain studied her a long moment.  “We are not going out.”
Jana moved to the bench and sat down, wondering what he meant to do now.
Alain bunched pillows against the headboard and sprawled on the bed, watching
her.  “Bored with me already?” he asked coolly.
Jana blinked, cocking her head curiously.  
“Restless?  Eager to rush out and be about your business?”
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She thought about it and was surprised to realize that she wasn’t.  It might have
been because, before she had come to Orleans, she had been expected to spend most of
her time in her suite and was, therefore, accustomed to having time weigh on her hands.
But, she had been bored then, restless, desperate to be freed from her golden cage, if only
for a short while.  “No.  It’s just … I did not realize that you were serious when you said
that about staying in my room.”
“But, I am.  Deadly serious.”
Jana thought about it for several moments.  “Is this a custom?”
“Come here.”
She looked at him doubtfully a moment, but rose and moved to the bed, sitting on
the edge beside him.  He was not satisfied with that.  He pulled her onto the bed so that
she was lying against him, her head resting on his chest.  He said nothing for several
minutes.  “I realize the life you had before you came to Orleans was vastly different.  If
you had been the woman I had made arrangements with, there would still have been
adjustments, but I felt that I understood her background and what would be required.  I do
not understand yours.  I need to if I am to protect you.  Most specifically what you
understand about the virgin gene.”
Jana stiffened, but Alain would not allow her to pull away.  She looked up at him,
realizing this must be why he’d seemed to become so coolly distant when he’d returned
from the creek.  “Marty…?”
He nodded.  “Yes.  I was … not pleased, but not so angry that I couldn’t see that it
was not a subterfuge of your making.”
Jana relaxed fractionally.  “I was afraid to tell you.”
“And afraid to allow me to touch you, because then I would know,” he said, but
he could not, as much as he would have liked to, completely convince himself that that
was the only reason she seemed to keep a wall of resistance between them from the
beginning.
She frowned.  “Not at first.  In the beginning, I did not realize that it would matter,
but later, yes.  Then I became worried that you did not seem to want me and was afraid
that if you didn’t then you would give me back to Marty if he found me.”
“I see your difficulties.  Unfortunately, I knew you were hiding something, that
you were not who you were supposed to be.  I knew if I consummated the agreement it
would be final and I could not break it without a great deal of time and expense.  As it
happens, it probably turned out for the best.  If I had consummated the match earlier--if I
had not realized you and I had been together before and that you were a virgin still, when
you should not have been, then I might well have been caught off guard.  Marty might
have been able to ‘prove’ the contract unconsummated, would have been able to take you
back.
 We will not leave this room until I am certain he can not find grounds to dissolve
our contract.  So, if you will, explain.”
Jana frowned, surprised to discover he had remembered her when he had shown
no indication that he did, uncertain whether to be pleased that he had, or disconcerted that
she had been unaware of the fact that she’d felt safe from discovery when in fact, her
subterfuge had already been detected.  She dismissed it, deciding it didn’t matter now,
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and turned her attention to his question. “I’m not entirely sure I understand it myself.  All
I know is that, given time, it heals and it will always heal intact.”
“How much time?”
She shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Marty always said I must wait a week, just in
case.”
 “He said it in those words?”
She thought about it a moment.  “Not exactly in those words.”
“Then tell me the precise words he used.”
It was difficult to remember the specific words he’d used.  He’d threatened her, or
beat her, or both.  She’d been afraid and hurt, but she finally remembered what he’d said
the last time he’d berated her.  “He said, ‘I should have made my money back ten times
over and you have not even earned back your price!  You only need a few days, a week at
the very most, which means you should be able to service a bare minimum of 52
customers a year.  Instead of which, I can count them on one hand!’”
Alain said nothing for so long that she looked up at him.  His expression was
stony.  Her heart skipped a beat.  Belatedly, she realized that she probably should not
have told him everything, for now he knew that she had given herself to several men
before him.  She’d thought he must understand that since he knew where she had come
from.  She thought that he had decided it didn’t matter when he decided to keep her
anyway, but it was also possible that he had simply ignored the probability that he had not
been the first she had shared her body with.   “You’re angry?”
He looked at her for a long moment.  “Not with you.”
She wasn’t certain she believed him.  He guarded his thoughts, and the emotions
they engendered, so well most of the time that she was rarely certain of where she stood.
“What do we do now?”
He smiled faintly and turned, pushing her to her back.  “Get to know each other
… intimately.  I think there might be one or two tiny little spots that I have not thoroughly
explored.”
 ***
Midday on their third day of discovery, the servant who brought their lunch
informed Alain that ‘that man’ and a Doctor Mansil were downstairs.  Alain rose,
dressed and went downstairs.  Jana waited, expecting that she was to be examined again.
Instead, Alain returned.  He had not seemed inclined to talk, but he had assured her that
Marty would not be returning.
Jana wasn’t convinced.  Marty, to use the word Alain had given her, was
tenacious.  To her surprise, however, days passed and Marty did not return.  They
resumed their routine of before, except that Alain now spent his nights in her bed.  To her
distress, he’d become withdrawn, remote, cool after Marty’s second visit, but never when
he came to her at night.  Then, at least, she was allowed to enjoy more than just his
passion.
When a week passed, and then another with no sign of Marty, Jana began to feel
that Alain must have been right.
A letter arrived for her from her friend Val-risa.  Jana could not read it, but she
was fairly certain she knew what the letter was about.  Val-risa had either been unable to
arrange passage for her, or she had arranged it.  Jana was no longer interested in leaving.
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As doubtful as she had been at first that Alain truly meant to keep her, it seemed that he
did and her first impulse was to simply tear the message up and destroy it.  However, she
couldn’t entirely dismiss her fears regarding Marty and finally decided she should at least
discover, if she could, what the message said.
That presented a problem.  Blane and Alain were the only people she knew who
could read and she did not dare ask either of them to read the message to her.  She might,
she finally decided, be able to figure out a way to ask for Blane’s help, but she didn’t
think it would be safe to simply give him the message, or even copy large parts of it.
After a while, she hit on the idea of asking him to teach her how to read and write, then
she could ask him about one word at the time until she understood the message.
To be completely safe, she chose words at random and asked Blane what each
was.  It took her a little over a week to understand the entire message and by that time she
was beginning to have second thoughts about staying on Orleans.
 
 Chapter Twelve
Between her anxiety about Marty and her enjoyment of Alain’s attention, at least
at night in her room, Jana didn’t notice a change to her body until she realized that she
was two weeks past the time for her female cycle to begin.  At first she was only puzzled,
certain she had miscounted.  When another week passed, and then another, she realized
she had not miscounted.  Something was not right.
Since she had never had anything wrong with her body, she wasn’t certain whom
to ask about it.  She didn’t feel comfortable discussing it with Alain, and, at any rate, he
was not a woman.  She doubted, somehow, that he would know.
Finally, she decided to ask Lill.  Lill did not seem to be a terribly intelligent being,
but she was a female, and it was at least possible she would have some idea of what Jana
should do.
When Jana asked Lill what might be wrong with her when her female cycle had
stopped, Lill grinned broadly.  “You’re pregnant!”
Jana stared at her uncertainly.  Lill obviously did not seem to think it would be
anything terrible or she would not seem so pleased to hear it.  On the other hand, Jana
found it difficult to figure out why Lill would be pleased about it at all.  Perhaps the grin
did not denote pleasure, but something else?  The word was not in her vocabulary.  It
seemed, though, that Lill was certain she knew what the problem was.  “What is
pregnant?”
Lill looked taken aback.  “You got Master Camar’s seed growing in your belly.”
“Seed?” Jana said faintly, but there was a rushing sound in her ears that made it
difficult to hear.  She kept thinking about Marty’s gloating words in the clearing near the
creek.
 “Baby—infant … like little Mr. Behn here and Miss Marly.”
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Jana felt for several moments that her lunch was going to erupt from her stomach.
Instead, everything around her went black.   She was dimly aware of the rush of the
ceiling past her vision, and then nothing.
Something cold and wet touched her face.  Jana gasped, opening her eyes.  She
saw Alain’s face above hers, his skin almost colorless.  The tremors she felt were coming,
she finally realized, from him, from the arms he’d wrapped around her.
“What happened?”
“You fainted.”
Jana tried to get up, but Alain wouldn’t allow it.  “Be still.  You shouldn’t get up
just yet.”
Jana subsided, glancing around, then frowned when she realized she was lying on
the bed in her room.  “How did I get in here?  I was in the nursery with Lill.”
Alain drew in a ragged breath.  “You fainted.  Lill screamed like someone had
been murdered.  When I got upstairs, you were lying on the floor.”  He released her,
moved away and finally got off of the bed, tossing the damp cloth in the general direction
of the wash stand.  “I’ve sent for the doctor, though I’m not so sure I’ll feel any better
when the old quack has looked at you,” he muttered, pacing the floor.
Jana sat upright.  “Don’t!  Please!  I don’t want him to touch me again, Alain.”
Alain stopped, stared at her a long moment and finally strode toward her, taking
her hands in his.  “He won’t hurt you, princess.  I’ll stay, if you like, but there’s
something wrong.  He needs to examine you.”
“I’m fine,” Jana lied, feeling her eyes fill immediately with tears of absolute
terror.  She wasn’t fine.  She was pregnant.
Alain gripped her arms.  “Jana you nearly scared the life out of me.  I have to
know what’s wrong.  You said you’d never been ill,” he said almost accusingly.
“I’m not ill.”
“You fainted.  People don’t just faint.  And this isn’t the first time.”
Jana glared at him.  “Because I was afraid.  And these … things I have to wear
around my waist would not allow me to catch my breath.”
“The corset?  You’re afraid?  Of what?  Marty…?”
“No!” Jana covered her face with her hands, trying to fight down the panic that
had surged through her before.  Her stomach protested again and suddenly she knew that
this time she would throw up.  She got up abruptly and rushed into the bathing room
where the chamber pot was kept.  When she’d finished, she was so weak she could hardly
stand.  She moved back into the bedroom, steadying herself by keeping one hand on the
wall as she made her way to the wash stand.  Scooping cool water into her hands, she
washed her face, then rinsed the foul taste from her mouth.
Alain, she saw when she managed to make it back to the bed, was still standing as
he had been when she’d fled the room, looking decidedly gray.  He followed her to the
bed, standing over her, staring at her in baffled concern. “For God’s sake, Jana, tell me
what’s wrong!”
She fell back against the pillows.  “I’m pregnant,” she said baldly.
Alain dropped onto the bed beside her, staring blankly at the opposite wall.  After
several moments passed, a faint smile began to curl his lips.  He turned to look at her,
placing his hand carefully on top of her abdomen.
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 The gesture was too horrific a reminder that something was growing there, when
she would far rather have been able to push it completely from her mind so that she could
think without panic to churn her mind into a chaotic jumble of half thoughts. Jana pushed
his hand away, turned on her side away from him.
He studied her for a long moment, saying nothing.  “You don’t want to be
pregnant?” he asked coolly.
Jana turned to look at him as if he’d lost his mind.  “I’ve got some--thing growing
inside of me.  Would you want something growing inside of you?”
“It’s not a thing,” he said tightly.  “It’s my baby—mine.”
Jana turned her back to him, unable to bear the look in his eyes.
After a moment, she heard his tread as he moved swiftly to the door and slammed
it behind him.
She tried to dismiss that look from her mind, but it became one more anxiety to
deal with when she felt she had more to deal with already than she could manage.
She heard sounds of an arrival some time later.  She sat up on the bed, listening,
but Alain had said he’d sent for the doctor.  She knew it must be him.  Leaping from the
bed, she raced to the door and bolted it.  She relaxed fractionally, until she turned and
looked at the other door.
There was no bolt on it.
Moving across the room, she stared at it in consternation for several moments,
then looked around.  There was a chest at the foot of the bed.  She tested it and
discovered it was heavy, impossible to lift.  She began pushing it, slowly but surely
toward the door to the bathing room and finally wedged the weighty trunk against the
door.
 She’d no sooner done so that she heard a tap on the other door.  The trunk had
made so much noise as she pushed it across the floor that she hadn’t heard the sound of
approaching footsteps, and had no way of knowing whether it was the doctor, or Alain,
demanding entrance.  She wondered, briefly, if she should answer, or simply tell him to
go away, but it seemed likely that most anything she said would only fuel Alain’s anger.
Instead, she returned to the bed, climbing into the middle of the mattress where she could
watch both doors.
“Problem?”
That was definitely Alain’s voice.
“She did not answer.”
She recognized the second voice, as well—Doctor Jenk.
Someone tried the door knob, and Jana started nervously.
The next moment, the door burst open with a splintering of wood.  Wide-eyed,
Jana met Alain’s gaze across the room for several, long, uncomfortable moments.  He
turned away.  “It seems to have been stuck.”
That single look from Alain was enough.  Jana said nothing as he and the doctor
moved into the room, pushing the broken door to behind them.
If possible, the examination was even worse than the first time, primarily because
Alain stood beside the bed.
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Doctor Jenk chuckled when he’d finished, moving to the wash stand.  “There is
nothing wrong with your wife, sir, aside from the happy circumstance that she is with
child.”
 Jana stared at the man’s back, refusing to look at Alain.  “Could it be undone?”
Doctor Jenk threw her a startled look.
“Removed?”
He laughed.  “Give it time.  It’ll ‘remove’ itself.  In … about seven months, I’d
say, give or take a few weeks.”
Jana did not clarify her question.  She would have been willing to chance angering
Alain further—as if he could be more angry—except that it was obvious that Doctor Jenk
did not have the knowledge of such things.  She had not really expected that he would,
but she had been desperate enough to ask anyway.
The two men left together, Doctor Jenk instructing Alain on a list of things that
Jana could, and could not, do, things she should eat, and should not eat.
Alain said nothing at all, and Jana made no effort to listen.  Alain was back
shortly, carrying some sort of tool.   Without a word, he removed the bolt from her door
and the splintered wood from the door frame.  He set the tool and the debris aside, strode
across the room and lifted the chest.  Carrying it back to the foot of the bed, he set it
down, then collected the broken wood, the bolt and his tool and left.
Jana spent the rest of the day in her room, thinking, trying not to think, pacing the
floor part of the time.  She heard Alain come up stairs in the evening, knew he must be
dressing for dinner.  She was not hungry and was tempted to just stay in her room, but
finally decided to go downstairs.
She found it impossible to swallow more than a few bites of food.  Alain sat at the
head of the table in stony silence, a bottle of Brie at his elbow.  Blane, although present,
said nothing either, glancing occasionally from Jana to Alain.  Jana refused to allow him
to catch her eye, although she was aware of several attempts on his part.
At long last, the interminable meal ended.  Jana had been waiting for the servants
to leave the room.  She knew that, any moment, Alain would rise and leave.
“I would like to return to Earth,” she blurted finally.
For the first time since she’d entered the room, Alain looked directly at her.
Blane knocked his glass over, spilling a crimson trail of wine across the white
table cloth.
“No.”
“I think it would be best for … everyone.”
A dark brow lifted and Jana felt a blush climbing her cheeks, aware of what he
had implied, even if he had not said it.  He was right.  Mostly, she was thinking it would
be best for her, but that was not entirely the case.  It had occurred to her as she paced her
room that Alain had expected that the woman he chose would incubate his children.  It
was the way on Orleans.  Undoubtedly, the woman he’d meant to contract with had
understood that part of the arrangement even though she had not.  If the contract between
her and Alain were to be broken, then he could contract with the woman he’d chosen to
begin with.  “If you send me back, then you will be able to contract with the woman you
chose.”
“No.”  He got up abruptly and left the room.
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Blane, she discovered, would not look at her now, but he had been kind to her
since she had come.  Surely he would understand and help her?  She rose from her chair
and met him at the door when he would have left, grasping his wrist and giving it a jerk
until he looked at her.  “Please make him understand, Blane!”
Blane looked at her angrily.  “How can I make him understand when I don’t?”
“This thing,” she said, hysteria edging her voice.  “It’s growing.  I have to go
back, so it can be removed.”
Blane paled, shook her hand free.  “You’d kill it?  Alain’s baby?  What kind of
woman are you?”
Jana stared at him blankly.  “Kill?”
“You think it could survive outside your body?”
“But they do!  They put them in a tube.  I was grown that way!  Everyone is—on
Earth!  It’s much better.  Everything is regulated, defective genes or undesirable ones are
replaced with better ones.  They are given the perfect blend of nutrients to make them
grow healthy and strong, free of genetic diseases.”
He looked almost as repelled by that as he had when he’d accused her of wanting
to kill the infant—which had never once entered her mind!  She was appalled that he, and
apparently Alain, as well, believed that of her.  She had never caused injury to a single
living organism.   “It’s unnatural,” he said tightly.  “Human beings are meant to be
carried, and born, by their mothers.  Without that, they lose their humanity.  They’re …
less than human.”
Jana blinked at him, stepped away, feeling as if he’d slapped her.  “Men grow
these humans inside them?”
He looked taken aback. “NO!”
“Then you can not know what it’s like.  You will never have to experience it.  It’s
easy to despise someone for not doing something you will never have to do.”
“You don’t know what it’s like either!  Your body was designed for it.  It’s the
most natural thing in the world!”
“How do you know that?”
“What?”
“That my body was designed for it?  I was not supposed to be a companion!  I was
designed to be a courtesan.”
He stared at her for several moments.  “If you had not been designed for it, you
could not be carrying a child now,” he said, but doubt threaded his words.
“I’m afraid.”
He grasped both of her shoulders.  “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
She looked away, wondering, now, why she’d thought he would be able to
understand.  How could he when it was something he would never have to face?  In any
case, he saw her as Marty did—less than human.  Most people rarely if ever concerned
themselves about the way their cultural or economic inferiors felt.  They felt less than
nothing about the possible feelings of any creature they did not even consider human.
Perhaps they thought they had no feelings?
Alain did not come to share his body with her in her bed that night, or the night
afterward, or the night after that.  Jana was relieved because she felt closed inside herself
and she did not feel like she could bear to open herself to share, knew instinctively that
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she had some protection by distancing herself from emotions she couldn’t seem to deal
with.  For days she wandered around the house in a state of disbelief, hardly eating or
sleeping.  All she could think about was that Marty had warned her this would happen to
her and she hadn’t believed him.
It wasn’t that she had not been able to believe what everyone had told her about
the process of producing infants on this world.  She knew everyone was not lying to her,
though, if she’d heard it only from Marty she would probably not have believed it at all.
But she had not believed it could possibly happen to her, whatever Marty, or Val-
risa had said.  She had not believed that she would have to pay such a horrendous price
for enjoying sharing herself with Alain.
She imagined she could see her belly beginning to bulge already.
Before long, she began to think she should have stayed with Marty.  She had
thought she hated the life she had.  In retrospect, it didn’t seem quite as bad when the
alternative was watching her body slowly growing larger and larger while some alien
thing grew inside her until it reached a time when it was ready to tear itself from her
body.
 The more she thought about Marty, the stronger her conviction became that he had
not given up and returned to Earth.  He was probably still waiting, watching, to see if he
could catch her alone.  She probably wouldn’t even have to find him.  She probably
wouldn’t have to do anything at all except slip far enough away from the house that he
wouldn’t be afraid of Alain catching him.
 He would not allow her to become swollen and horribly distorted.  He would
arrange to remove the growing thing from her body.  He could probably even arrange to
have it properly grown in a tube once she’d gotten back to Earth.  Then Alain could have
the infant once it was de-canted.
She could not forget the look on his face.  He had wanted it.  She could tell that he
did.
 She decided she would make that part of the agreement, make Marty swear he
would protect it for Alain.  She could not allow any harm to come to it, for it was
important to Alain.
But she had to leave Orleans.
Val-risa had managed to arrange passage for her on a ship that was scheduled to
arrive in Orleans within the next few months, but Jana didn’t feel she could wait for it.
She would not be able to pay her passage in any case, unless she managed to think of a
way to steal the credits, or to steal something to barter in place of credits.  Although Alain
had said that he had arranged for her to have money he had never explained to her how
she was to get it and she did not think it would be safe, now, to ask him.
Beyond those considerations, she’d specifically requested passage to another
world, not Earth.  She had no way of knowing whether the ship would take her to a world
that was technologically Earth’s equal, or one like Orleans, and if she ended on a world
like Orleans, she would be no better off.
All in all, it seemed safest to simply return to Marty.
Alain would not allow it, which meant that she would have to slip away.
After a great deal of thought, it occurred to her that she would be able to travel
more easily if she dressed as a male.  Women were not allowed to travel alone on
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Orleans.  If she was seen, the circumstance would be so unusual that it would be no
trouble at all for Alain to discover where she’d gone.
He was bound to figure it out, of course, eventually, but she was fairly certain he
would not come after her once she had returned to Earth, and Marty.
Having decided upon that course, she had one problem to resolve, where to find
male clothing that might come reasonably close to fitting her.  Alain’s clothes were
attainable, but entirely out of the question.  Pretty much the same could be said of
Blane’s, although she supposed they might do if she rolled the sleeves and pant legs up.
Blane was thinner than Alain, still larger than her, but at least closer to her size.
She really did not want to go to Blane’s room.  If she was discovered there, by
either Blane or Alain—she shuddered.
It occurred to her after a while that old things were stored in the attic.  She’d
helped Lill pack and move the infants’ outgrown clothing up into the attic once.  The area
under the roof had been filled almost to overflowing with all sorts of things, from trunks,
to furniture to old portraits of people no one seemed to know.
She did not want to get caught, either rummaging for clothing, or coming from the
attic with evidence in her hands.  Alain was generally out of the house for most of the
day, overseeing the work on the plantation, and Blane was never around during the day,
rarely even at night anymore.   So, as uneasy as the thought was of stealing the clothing in
the light of day, she realized it was still the best time to avoid getting caught.
 When she reached the attic, she hesitated on the threshold for several moments.
There were trunks everywhere, some stacked two or three high, some on top of or under
pieces of furniture.  It made her nervous, being where she knew she should not be, doing
something she knew she should not do.  All she really wanted was to find something
quickly, snatch it up and return to her room as quickly as possible.
It seemed unlikely, however, that she would be able to.
Finally, realizing she would get no where until she started, she moved to the first
chest, pushed the lid back and looked inside.  It was the infants’ clothing.  She closed the
lid, lifted the small trunk and set it aside so that she could look at the trunk beneath.  It,
too, contained infant clothing.
Frustrated, she closed the lid and, just to be safe, placed the small trunk back on
top before she moved further into the room, squeezing between two large pieces of
furniture to reach a trunk that was easily twice the size of the first two put together.
Hopeful, she lifted the lid.  It was full of women’s clothing.  She stared at the
gowns for several moments in stunned surprise before she realized that these clothes,
undoubtedly, had belonged to Alain’s former wife, Caro.
She was on the point of closing the lid again, but curiosity got the better of her.
She removed the gown on top—a beautiful dress of soft, slick fabric in a deep shade of
blue, holding the dress up to inspect it.  After a moment, she held it against herself.  A
good six inches of fabric dragged the floor.  Caro had been a good bit taller than her and
also a bit larger in the waist—about the size of the woman Alain had contracted with, the
‘real’ Jana.
A sharp pang of something she couldn’t, and didn’t want, to identify went through
her.  Casting the gown aside, she dug deeper, pulling one gown after another out of the
trunk.  There seemed to be no end to them, in almost every color imaginable, in all sorts
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of fabrics.  What had the woman done with so many dresses?  She had probably not worn
the same one twice.   It was stunning even to imagine someone having so many.
She had almost been embarrassed at the number of gowns she’d found in her own
closet and there were not half so many.
At the bottom, she found a portrait.  Her heart skipped a beat.  She was tempted to
toss the dresses back into the trunk without taking a closer look at the smiling woman, but
somehow she found she couldn’t.  She leaned into the trunk until she could reach the
framed image and carefully lifted it out.
The woman was beautiful, her eyes dark, almost almond shaped, her hair a rich,
glossy shade somewhere between red and brown.
From nowhere, a lump formed in Jana’s throat.  She returned the picture as
carefully as she’d removed it, folding the gowns and laying them on top.
She sat down on the small chest behind her.
Alain had loved the woman.  Blane had told her that once when he’d been telling
her about his brother, before Alain had come back from his business trip.  She’d
forgotten.  She supposed she simply hadn’t been paying much attention.  She had not
known Alain then.  She’d had no idea what Blane was talking about anyway and, except
for that once, he’d never mentioned it again.
She still wasn’t certain that she understood what it was, but she thought it was
some part of Alain that she had not been given.
Thinking of it made her heart tighten painfully.  She thrust the thought aside, got
to her feet and looked around, realizing suddenly that she had been in the attic far longer
already than she’d intended.
Nervous now because she'd thought to collect the clothes and be gone in a matter
of minutes, fearing that Alain would return any moment and discover her, she began to
work more quickly … and found trunk after trunk of gowns that had obviously all
belonged to Caro.  After a thorough search that took nearly an hour and left her perspiring
from the heat and dirty from the accumulation of dust, she still hadn't located a single
trunk that contained male clothing.
She stood dispiritedly in the center of the room, brushing the grime from her
hands onto the skirts of her dress as she stared at a dust mote, wondering if she should
simply give up on the idea altogether.  After a moment, she lifted her chin determinedly.
There had to be something here that she could use!
She’d checked every chest that was in plain view and easily reached.  She began
moving the smaller pieces of furniture and stacks of papers around, searching for others.
She found a smallest chest that was surprisingly heavy.  Opening it, she saw it
held some interesting bric-a-brac, papers and a couple of worn leather bound books, but
no clothing.  She lifted a couple of old valises and shook them.  Empty.  She glanced
around again.
Her gaze fell on the corner of what looked to be a chest under a stack of old quilts.
She moved quickly toward it, removing the quilts and stacking them on the floor, then
kneeling to lift the lid of the trunk.
She sat back and stared at the contents, stunned, almost afraid to touch it.    It was
unlike anything she had ever seen before, some sort of clothing, but not of cloth.  It
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looked as if it had been made from … skin—animal skin, she hoped.  It had been
embellished all over with all sorts of strange designs in some sort of tiny, colored stones.
It was formed in straight lines, had very little shape about it, but for some reason
Jana felt that it had been designed for and worn by a female.  It looked far more primitive
even than the clothing she’d had to wear since she had come to Orleans.
"It belonged to my mother."
 ***
Startled, Jana dropped the garment guiltily, whirling at the sound of Alain’s voice,
her heart knocking against her ribs.  Typically, the sight of Alain, angry, was sufficient to
make her mind go perfectly blank.
He stood in the doorway, his feet slightly apart, flicking his riding crop against the
top of his boot.  Mesmerized by the movement, Jana stared at the crop for several
moments, then slowly lifted her gaze to his face.
"How long have you known?" he asked quietly.
Jana sidled away from the trunk as he approached, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Known?"
He lifted the dress from the trunk and smoothed it carefully as if he hadn't heard
her. "She was Camarl—the ‘civilized’ race of Orleans refer to them as Reduns—because
of the red tint to our skin,”  he said, turning to pin her with his piercing golden eyes.
She found she was having a great deal of difficulty understanding what Alain was
telling her.  She thought, partly, it was because he was scaring her, but partly it was
because she understood that there was some significance to what he’d told her that simply
escaped her.  “You are not … outworlder?”
His lips twisted derisively.  "Half-breed."
Jana decided there was something definitely menacing in his attitude and sidled a
little closer to the door.  "Half-breed?"
He smiled, but somehow he didn't look amused.  Perhaps it was the cold glitter in
his eyes?
"You thought, perhaps, that I was a full blooded primitive?  Which is worse, I
wonder?  Half a savage or all?" His features hardened when she said nothing, but then he
really hadn't expected a reply.   "My father was a … slave.  A bondage for women’s
sport.”
 Jana’s eyes widened in surprise.
“He had escaped, ended up here, on Orleans.  The other outworlders knew him for
what he was, naturally, and so he was not considered acceptable as a companion.  The
ruling race of Orleans did not know, but he was not acceptable to them because he had no
bloodlines to make him so.  So he chose a mate among the Camarl, a race considered by
both outworlder and Orleans alike as little more than intelligent animals.
Caro found that particularly unpalatable … not enough to turn down my offer of
marriage when she was in desperate need of a husband to save her from disgrace, but …
unacceptable nonetheless.  Is that sordid enough to satisfy your curiosity, my dear?”
Jana nodded jerkily instead of telling him that she really hadn't been curious at all.
She had already discovered far more than she wished to know.  She glanced nervously
toward the door, wondering if she could excuse herself without further exacerbating his
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wrath.   He seemed … distracted.  She made her way toward the door.  She hadn't quite
made it when her wrist was seized in a steely grip that jerked her to a halt.
"You didn't answer my question."
"What question?" Jana asked breathlessly.
"How long have you known?"
"Known what?"
Alain gripped her shoulders.  "Damn it, Jana.  I'm not in the mood for one of your
games now.  Tell me!" he ground out angrily.
"I didn't know! I don’t understand … any of it.”  It was not altogether true.  She
did understand that what he’d told her was a source of great pain to him and that his anger
was his way of dealing with that pain.  Tears blinded her, pooling in her eyes before they
ran down her cheeks.
He gazed down at her in baffled fury, trying to decide whether she was lying
because he'd frightened her or whether she was telling the truth.  And, if it was true, then
why?  If it wasn't his mixed blood she found so repulsive, so impossible to accept, why
was she so disgusted at the thought of carrying his child? 
Despite his frustration, at the sight of her tears, he found himself struggling
against a welling of tenderness that formed a tight, painful knot in his chest.  Lifting his
hand, he brushed them from her cheeks.
She wanted no part of him.  He knew that now though he’d refused to see it, or
accept, it before.  But he wanted her with an aching intensity that drove all rational
thought from him.  For now it was enough that he wanted her. 
"I don't want to hurt you," he said hoarsely, pulling her roughly against him and
smothering her protest with his lips in a kiss that belied his words, a kiss that was hard
and brutal, almost punishing.
He released her almost as abruptly as he'd seized her, staring at her for a long
moment.  Jana backed away a step.  When he made no move to stop her, she whirled and
fled the attic, more than half expecting him to follow her.
She didn’t know whether to be relieved, or devastated, when he did not.
Chapter Thirteen
Jana thought, at first, that she was dreaming when she felt his touch.  Days had
passed since their last unpleasant encounter, in the attic, more than a week since she had
turned him away from her in disgust because of her terror over the ‘natural’ reproduction
practiced on this primitive world.
He had not come to her once, in all that time.  After the way Blane had looked at
her, she was certain Alain was as disgusted with her as Blane was, saw her now as less
than human.
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She had convinced herself, at first, that she was glad.  Truthfully, she’d only been
relieved at first, but then it had occurred to her that the damage was done.  There was no
point in avoiding sexual gratification when the worst had already happened.  There was
no sense in depriving herself of the comfort she derived from being held by Alain
afterward.
But he had not wanted to share himself, and he had not offered the comfort, and
she’d finally had misery to top off her fear, which had made her even more desperate to
leave.  Unfortunately, asking had not gained what she sought.  It had only made Alain
suspicious enough to have her watched whenever she was not in her room.
She knew he had.  She could not even step outside without discovering one or
another of the servants was trailing nearby … or Blane … or Alain.  They always acted as
if unaware of her, always busy doing something else, but she was always in view of
someone.  She had been guarded her entire life.  Until she’d come to Orleans, she had not
known what it was like even to have a little freedom.
There was probably far more that she didn’t understand than there was that she
did, but she understood captivity completely.
She stiffened as she came awake enough to realize that she was not dreaming, not
because she didn’t want to share herself, but because the smell of Brie was unmistakable.
Even as she opened her eyes, however, his mouth opened hungrily over hers and
she found that she was drowning in the sensations his kiss always evoked in her.  He
pushed her onto her back, his tongue plunging inside her mouth and retreating in a kiss
that was sensuously evocative, frightening in intensity, setting her heart to thundering
wildly.  His hand moved down to cup one breast and a pleasant languor settled over her
as he teased the taut peak.  She gasped, wanting to feel the warm tug of his mouth on her.
Instead, he lifted his head and gazed down at her.  "Look at me."
She opened her eyes and stared up at him in bewilderment.
"I want to see your eyes when I touch you," he murmured softly as he moved his
hand to her other breast, tracing a tantalizing circle around its rosy peak till it, too, rose
against his palm.  “I want to know you are not clinging to another man’s picture in your
mind while I’m making love to you.”
His words made no sense to her, disturbed her, but she dismissed her puzzlement
as his hand moved lower in a languid caress along her ribs then to the soft, trembling
hollow of her abdomen, spreading tingling warmth throughout her body till her flesh
quivered with sensitivity.  His fingers traced lightly over her hip, raising goose flesh, then
across her thigh, moving upwards once more along the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh
to cup her femininity, probing gently.  She caught her breath on a gasp, her eyelids sliding
half closed.
Alain gazed deeply into her eyes, watching them darken, glaze with her rising
passion.  He drew a ragged breath, fighting the rising tension in his own body, wanting
her with an intensity that was near torture and yet holding himself back, needing to see
that she wanted him as badly as he wanted her.
He slid his hand up to cup her breast and he began a slow, tortuous, mind
numbing assault on her senses, drinking deeply of her lips, a slow, languid kiss that left
her dizzy and weak.  And when his lips left hers, it was only to blaze a trail of burning
kisses to the hollow of her throat and along her neck to her shoulder.
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Jana choked back a moan of pleasure as his mouth covered her breast.  The gentle
nipping of his teeth, the moist warmth of his mouth, the roughness of his tongue as he
teased the hard tip sent shock waves of fire coursing through her veins, building a hot,
burgeoning tension deep inside her femininity.  His mouth moved to her other breast and
she clutched the sheets, focusing on the rising tide of want and need within her.
When she was gasping for breath, he moved lower, brushing hot, moist kisses
against the trembling hollow of her abdomen, and lower still, parting her thighs and
nipping at the soft, sensitive skin along her inner thighs, moving slowly upwards again.  
“No," she gasped, trying to push him away, fearing she would find her release the
moment he touched her there with his mouth.  She needed to feel the hard flesh of his
manhood driving into her, desperately wanted him inside her when she found her release.
He gripped her hands, forcing them to her sides against the bed, his eyes
smoldering as they bored into hers.  Then he lowered his head and stroked the tightened
bud of her femininity with the rough warmth of his tongue, and she thought she would die
with the pleasure of it.  A moan escaped her.  He lifted his head and gazed at her.  "You
want me to stop?" he murmured softly.
She twisted her head from side to side, burning, feverish with the need he had
built in her, torn between divergent desires, her body screaming for immediate release,
her mind longing to feel him as part of her when she came.
He kissed her again, languidly, teasing the tightened, sensitive bud till she was
moaning with pleasure, her breath coming raggedly in her throat as she fought to hold off
her release.
He released her hands, rising above her, gazing down at her with longing.  His
own face was tight with his need as he paused, probing gently with the head of his
erection, the muscles in his chest and arms taut and bulging as he held himself poised
above her.  "Princess," he said in a ragged whisper.
Despite his command for her to look at him,  her eyes had drifted closed of their
own accord as she focused on the mounting pleasure, but she looked up at him through a
haze of desire when he spoke.
He whispered harshly, "I want you."
She put her arms around him, pulling him to her.  Opening her thighs wide to him,
she arched her hips to receive him fully, gasping out a sharp cry of pleasure as he plunged
deep inside her, so wrapped up in desire that it was several moments before she realized
she’d felt neither pain, nor discomfort, when he thrust fully inside her.  The thought
seemed unimportant, slipped away from her as her mind focused once more on the joy of
feeling him inside her.  Urging him to take her hard and rough as he thrust again and
again, she lifted her hips to receive each plunging thrust till the fire that had burgeoned
inside her exploded, shock waves racking her body endlessly with spasms of ecstasy.
Watching her, Alain found his own surcease, uttering a ragged groan and thrusting
deep to spill his seed in a soul shattering release before he went still atop her, spent.
He knew she wept even before he managed to roll off of her.  He felt the scalding
tears against his chest.  He reached for her to pull her into his arms, but even as he did so
she curled on her side away from him.  He allowed his hand to drop, staring at her back
while pain and anger twisted inside him.
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He rolled onto his back, staring up at ceiling.  After a while, she lay quietly beside
him.  He thought she slept.  He'd tensed, on the point of rising, when she spoke.
"Alain?"
He relaxed against the pillows.  "What?"
"Why....?" Jana bit her lip.  What she didn't understand, and wanted to, was why
he seemed to have changed toward her.  Why had her not wanting to produce as the
primitives did angered him so much when he was an outworlder, as well.  She found,
however, that she simply couldn't ask him that, couldn’t think of a way to ask him, feared
what he might tell her.  It occurred to her, though, that he’d said he was only half.
Perhaps that was why the natural way seemed ‘right’ to him and the other seemed
unacceptable.  But, if that were the case, then why had he chosen to live in the most
civilized manner allowed on Orleans?  “Why did you decide to live … here, rather than
with your mother’s people?”
His hand clenched around a fistful of sheet.  "You think I should have stayed with
my own kind?" he asked softly.  "My mother was Camarl … my father outworlder….
Which world do you think I belong in?"
Startled, Jana turned to look at him.  He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.
She could read nothing of his thoughts from his profile.  "I don’t know.  I was just …
trying to understand.  Both, I guess."
His lips curled into a smile that was more a grimace.  "In fact, neither.  The ruling
race, the whites, those who suspect, despise me for being half savage....  The Camarl
despise me for being half white … I didn't choose.  I grew up on my father's plantation
like any other farm boy.  I don't think I even realized I was different until my mother died
and my father chose a woman to take my mother’s place....
I went to live with my mother's people for a time after that, but I didn't understand
any of their ways or customs.  They were as alien to me as they would be to you.   I'd
discovered that long before the whites rounded them up like animals and herded them
onto a reserve, that I didn't belong with them."
Jana blinked, not certain she’d understood him correctly.
His smile was unpleasant.  "They were savages, and a good deal more trouble than
the whites were willing to put up with.  They formed a great army, drove them before
them until they found the most barren, useless land they could find and then imprisoned
them there, building walls to keep them in.
"So you see ... I have no place, except the one I've made for myself.  No people."
Jana was so shocked by what he’d told her that she could think of nothing to say
for several moments.  “But, your brother … the infants.  You have them...."
His face hardened.  "They are not mine."
Jana stared at him blankly.  "But … Lill said they had come from Caro’s body."
His lips curled derisively.  "There's always the chance Caro lied, of course.  Then
again, the child she miscarried wasn't mine."
She thought back to what Lill had told her before, trying to remember exactly
what the servant had said. "The one that killed her?"
Alain's lips tightened.  "It wasn't a miscarriage that killed her.  I was referring to
the one she was carrying when she agreed to marry me.  Imagine her chagrin when she
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found herself tied to a savage ... and for nothing.  If she'd only waited a few weeks more it
wouldn't even have been necessary to go through with our farce of a marriage."
"But I heard...."
"What?  That I killed her?  That my baby did?  Or that she killed herself because
she couldn't bear the humiliation of being tied to a man rumor had it was a savage?
Which, in fact, she knew before she ever agreed to the marriage.  Or that she killed
herself when she found out she'd be giving birth to a 'breed'?  Which did you hear, Jana?
All of them?  Which did you believe?"
"I didn't believe.  I didn't know what to think."
His lips curled derisively.  "How forgiving of you!  Do you want to hear what
really happened?"
Jana didn't really think she did.  She said nothing, wishing she'd never brought it
up … any of it.  Despite his anger, she saw very clearly now that it hurt Alain to talk
about it.  She didn't want to hurt him.  She ached to take him in her arms and soothe him.
She couldn't do it.  She didn't know how to approach him when he became so cold, so
remote.
He rose, pulling on his breeches, thrusting his arms into his shirt.
"The truth is," Alain said after a long moment, "a little of all, I suppose.  She flew
into one of her rages when she discovered she was pregnant again … this time by me.
She threw everything she could lay hand to at me and every insult she could lay tongue to.
I tossed a few insults back and left.  She followed me, screaming at the top of her lungs.  I
was almost halfway down the stairs before she reached the top stair.  She threw
something … what, I can't remember.  It flew past my head.  When I turned, she was
already plunging past me.  I couldn't honestly say whether she lost her balance when she
launched her last missile ... or if she was lunging at me.  Regardless, I was too late to
catch her.  She rolled to the bottom.  She broke her neck in the fall.  If you want to know
more, ask the servants.  Or better yet, the neighbors.  There were at least a half a dozen
witnesses to Caro's grand exit."
He strode to the door that connected his room to hers by way of the bathing room
then, closing it firmly behind him.
Jana stared at the closed door, feeling, strangely, as if something important had
been wrenched from her grasp, that it had been offered and then snatched away again
before she even realized that it was something dearly desired.   She felt much like the day
that Marty had come and taken her from Bondage Inc.  She’d been afraid because she
didn’t know where she was going or what would happen to her.  She’d felt lost because
Bondage Inc. and the technicians there were all that was familiar to her and she knew she
would not see them again.  Then, it had felt as if something important had been torn away
from her, almost as if it was a part of herself she was leaving behind.
The unhappiness she sensed in Alain made her feel much the same, hurt,
frightened, lost.
She realized finally that she had lost it before he’d left, that he’d withdrawn from
her when he’d felt her tears.  She should not have cried.  He’d noticed and he’d thought it
was because of him.  She supposed in a way it had been.  She should have controlled
herself.  It was not logical anyway to cry only because the one thing in her life that had
been a constant source of fear and pain was gone.
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But she had realized the moment desire ceased to control her whole being that she
was no longer a virgin and that meant she could never go back to the life she’d known
before no matter how badly she might want to.
***
Jana discovered that it was far easier to allow herself to become completely self-
absorbed than to allow her thoughts to dwell on Alain.  She had hurt him, made him
angry, made him unhappy, and she couldn’t bear to dwell on it, or think of it at all.  It was
easier to push it firmly from her mind and concentrate on her problem, as awful as that
was.
 Alain had succeeded in doing something she had not thought could be done.  He
had taken her virginity.  She was no longer salable merchandise.  Her choices had
narrowed to two.  She could contact Val-risa and let her friend know that she would need
the passage off world, or she could stay.  If she stayed, it seemed very likely that she
would only continue to make Alain unhappy, and she would be facing something she
couldn’t even begin to imagine—and discovered she did not want to.  Or she could take
the ship when it came and hope that she would end up on a more civilized world where
something could be done for her.
In truth, it all boiled down to one choice.
She had come to realize that Alain no longer kept her because he wanted to, but
because there was no longer an option not to.
Even if that had not been the case, even if Alain had seemed to want her still, she
didn’t think she was strong enough face what she would have to face if she stayed.
Blane, evidently thinking he was helping, had dragged her out to the stables to
witness the birth of a young Zell.  Jana had had no idea that that was what he had in mind
or he would have had to drag her out to the barn kicking and screaming.
Far from helping her feelings, witnessing the birth of the Zell gave her
nightmares.  She could not close her eyes without imagining herself in the place of the
animal, screaming with pain while her body convulsed and finally expelled something
huge and bloody and coated with disgusting mucus.  She’d thrown up when the creature
emerged from the body of it’s mother, tangled in a bloody membrane, then passed out and
had to be carried in the house.
It had terrorized her so thoroughly that she had actually, briefly, considered taking
a leap from the top of the stairs as Caro had.
The moment she realized the train of her thoughts, she knew she could not hide in
her room anymore.  She could not hide from her fears by staying there.  They were
beginning to take control of her mind, making it impossible to think with any semblance
of logic.
She had to do something.  Even knowing she had many weeks that she must wait
before she could leave, she knew she would lose her mind if she did nothing at all but
wait.
 She crept up to the attic again and searched until she found men’s clothing that
she could wear.  Grabbing several pairs of breeches and several shirts, she slipped
downstairs again, hiding the sets of clothing in different locations so that if any were
discovered, there remained the chance that the others would not be.  She would slip away
and tell Val-risa that she would need the passage, find out where she would need to meet
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the craft, and learn what would be needed to arrange payment.  It was something that had
to be done.  She could not send a written message to Val-risa as Val-risa had sent to her
and she feared that if she didn’t let her know Val-risa would decide she didn’t need the
passage after all.
Afterwards, she had nothing to do but to wait until an opportunity arose.  A week
passed and Jana was beginning to think she would have to risk slipping away without any
sort of distraction.  Then, a friend of Alain’s arrived late one afternoon for a visit.  It
occurred to Jana that, men being what they were, it was very likely they would be
drinking Brie and swapping stories throughout half the night.  Since Alain was to be
occupied, she decided that the opportunity she'd been awaiting had arrived.  She was
determined to seize it.  As soon as they'd dined that evening, she made her excuses and
retired.
 Alain favored her with one of those unnervingly piercing looks, but she dismissed
it.  There was no reason that she could see for him to be suspicious.  She spent most of
her time in her room now anyway.
As soon as she'd made a great show of ascending the stairs, she paused only long
enough to be certain that Alain and John still lingered over their after dinner drinks and
then tiptoed back down again.  She hadn't covered half the distance from the foot of the
stairs to the door when she heard the sounds of their imminent departure and ducked out
of sight in the darkened front parlor barely in time to escape detection.
To her relief, they moved down to Alain's study, where they once again closeted
themselves.  A few hundred thudding heartbeats later, Jana slipped quietly out the door
and made a mad dash toward the distant barn, arriving so winded that for several
unnerving moments she thought she would faint.  It was only by a supreme effort of will
that she hadn't succumbed to unconsciousness, for her stays were already miserably
uncomfortable since her waist had thickened considerably.
The Zell handler slept at the far end of the barn in one of the unoccupied stalls, so
she didn't dare light a lantern.  She lost valuable time in creeping stealthily through the
murky darkness while she located the clothing she’d stashed.  She didn't bother with tack
other than securing a bridle.  She would, she decided, simply have to ride bareback.  Not
only did she doubt both her ability to secure a saddle in silence, or lift it once she'd
located it, but she didn't have the faintest idea of how to put it on the animal.
It was as she stripped, struggling with some difficulty in the darkness with ribbons
and buttons and corset ties, that the unthinkable happened.  She wasn't aware of the
voices at first, probably because she'd managed by some means totally unknown to her to
knot the ties of her corset and was by this time so frantic to remove the suffocating thing
that all her concentration was focused on it and not on her surroundings.
The first inkling she had that she was soon to have company was when she
noticed that the stable was no longer pitch black but was getting lighter by the second.  In
the next moment, she recognized Alain's voice and for several agonizing minutes she
simply froze, casting around for a place to hide despite the fact that her mental functions
seemed to have ceased altogether.
There was no place to hide.  No place near enough at any rate that she could reach
it, and there certainly wasn't enough time to put on the clothes it had taken her nearly
thirty minutes to shed.  She couldn't simply stand there, however, and with one swoop,
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she scooped up the pile of clothes at her feet and dashed for the corner of the barn,
flattening herself against the wall as she closed her eyes, hoping the light would not reach
so far that they would be able to detect her presence.
After what seemed at eternity of silence, she opened her eyes a crack and peered
toward the doorway.  Alain’s friend was just exiting, having decided discretion demanded
a hasty retreat as soon as he'd recovered sufficiently to pick his jaw up off the floor.  Even
the back of his neck was beet red, so Jana was left in no doubt whatsoever that he'd seen
her.
 Alain was rather red, too, beneath his tan, but she decided that although there was
a fair chance that he, too, was embarrassed at having found his unclothed wife in the barn
in the middle of the night, there was an even better chance that he was furious.  Perhaps it
had something to do with the deadly look he was giving her, or the way his mouth was set
in a thin, hard line.  Somehow, the way the light from the lantern he held in a white
knuckled fist fell across his face made the snapping fire in his golden eyes even more
pronounced and gave him a distinctly demonic appearance, she decided.  She swallowed
with some difficulty and smiled weakly.
Following the line of his gaze downward, she realized she still clutched the bundle
of clothing and the bridle she'd found for her Zell and thrust them behind her back
guiltily.  "I can explain," she finally managed to get out.
One very black brow rose in disbelief and she felt the heat of a fiery blush
pounding in her cheeks.  Now, think up something brilliant.  She couldn't of course.  The
most nimble mind in the world couldn't have.  And Jana, ever aware of her failings, knew
she was not a quick thinker, particularly when under fire.  What could she say?  She
decided to go for a stroll?  She had felt an insect crawling and had stripped to find it
before it could bite her?  She had decided to go for a swim?  What difference did it make
if she was two miles from the creek?  That story was as believable as the others.
"I thought you were talking with your friend in your study," she said feebly.
"That much is obvious, Madam," Alain said through gritted teeth.  "Now, unless
you would like to be paraded across the plantation in your underwear, I suggest you put
your clothes on."
She dressed, too frightened by the look on his face to argue further, trembling so
badly she couldn't fasten the buttons she had so hastily unbuttoned only moments before.
Alain didn't offer to help and after one look at him, she decided not to ask.  She was near
tears when he grasped her wrist in a bruising grip and hauled her back to the house.  His
stride was so rapid in his fury that she could only stumble along in his wake, trying
desperately to stay on her feet as she fumbled with her dragging skirts and the armful of
petticoats she carried, bruising her bare feet on sticks and sharp stones till she was certain
she would be crippled for life.
The scene, once they'd gained the privacy of her chamber, was the substance of
nightmares.  Alain didn't beat her as she'd more than half expected him to, but it was so
obviously because he was afraid to touch her for fear he'd kill her that there was little
comfort in it.  She made no further attempts to explain herself since there was no possible
excuse that came to mind.
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It took almost a week to gather her courage to try again.  She wasn’t certain she
would’ve been able to then, except that it had become firmly fixed in her mind that she
would miss her last chance of leaving if she did not get word to Val-risa.
She was not likely to get another ‘opportunity’ like the one she’d had before, she
realized fairly quickly.  She would simply have to try to slip away as she had evaded
Marty when she left the House.
The night she decided to go, she dug out another of her stashes of men’s clothing
as soon as she went to her room after the evening meal, stripped her clothing off and
changed.  Examining herself in the mirror, she realized that no one would think she was a
man, or even a boy, if they saw her.
She shrugged it off.  She did not intend to allow anyone to see her if she could
help it and it was night.  If anyone spotted her from a distance they would think she was a
boy only because of the clothing.
After rolling up the legs of the breeches and the cuffs of the sleeves so that they
no longer dangled past her feet and hands, she found a hair ribbon and tied it around her
waist to keep the breeches from falling off.
Screwing up her courage, she crept into Alain’s room and took one of his old hats
to complete the disguise, then raced back into her own room and closed the door firmly
behind her.  Moving to the nearest window then, she opened it wide, leaned out and
looked down to gauge the distance.  Her stomach clenched.  It was much too far to simply
jump.  She was bound to break something if she tried, or sprain her ankle again.  She
scanned the walls, wondering if she could scale them.  After a moment, her shoulders
slumped.  There was nothing—not a single thing that could be used as a foothold, and the
tree she’d hoped she might use to climb down was much too far away unless she could
learn to fly.
She moved to the other window, but it was no more promising than the last.  She
turned away, fighting a sense of defeat.  After a moment, however, she set her jaw
determinedly and glanced about for anything that could be used as a rope, her gaze
settling speculatively on the bed.  In a moment she had stripped the linens from it and was
busily knotting them together.  When she'd finished, she looked around for a suitable
anchor, finally settling on the bed once again since it was the closest piece of heavy
furniture to the window.
Moving to the bed, she tugged at it with all her strength.  It didn't budge an inch.
That circumstance was disappointing since she would've rather moved it a little closer to
the window, but she finally decided that it was actually a good thing.  At least now she
knew it wouldn't come skittering across the floor to bang against the wall and alert the
household the moment she suspended her weight from it.  Satisfied, she secured one end
of her makeshift rope to the heavy bedpost and tossed the other out the nearest window.
Having decided, just in case of need, that she would carry a change of women’s
clothing with her, she collected them, tied them into a small bundle and, moving to the
window, dropped it out.  She stared down at the bundle for several moments, feeling her
stomach go weightless.  A shaft of dread sliced through her and for long moments she
was absolutely certain she couldn't get up enough nerve to drop herself out that window
with nothing between her and almost certain death but an old bed linen.
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Firmly, she pushed it from her mind.  If she could do nothing at all for her fears,
then she might just as well jump without the rope.  She would not be here if she had not
had the courage before to face her fears and seize the opportunity to make a change.  The
only way to have what she wanted was to go after it.
With that thought bolstering her, she hoisted herself onto the window sill, grasped
the sheets, swung herself out and hung suspended over the ground.
Her heart leapt suffocatingly to her throat, then fell to knocking against her ribs as
if determined to beat its way out as she cast a measuring glance over her shoulder.  Her
head swam dizzily with the swaying of her rope, beads of moisture breaking out on her
brow.  For what seemed an agonizing eternity, the only thought in her mind was climbing
right back in the window.
Unfortunately, she quickly discovered that wasn't an option.  After several frantic
attempts, she simply hung limply and closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath while she
did her best to ignore the fact that her arms felt like they were being slowly pulled from
their sockets and her hands, where she clutched the sheets in a death-lock, felt as if they
were on fire.
After what seemed hours instead of seconds, it occurred to her that, since she
couldn't get back in the window, she'd best try to climb down before she lost her grip.
Otherwise, she had no hope whatsoever of lessening the chances of breaking her neck.
With that lovely thought for company, she began a slow, agonizing, nightmarish descent.
***
Alain finished writing the last of the instructions on the last report.  Closing it
firmly, he tossed it atop the formidable stack at his right hand, then sat back and rubbed
his tired eyes.  It had been a very long, very tiring day, but there was a measure of
satisfaction in having completed the work on his desk.  He rose and stretched all over,
massaging the kinks from his neck as he moved to the decanter on the cellarette near the
window.
Pouring himself a drink, he stared musingly into the dark amber liquid before he
raised it to his lips.  Work, he thought derisively, had provided another success of sorts.
He'd been much too occupied to think of his charming and devoted wife above a two
dozen times in the course of the day.
He arched his back in another all over stretch, thinking how utterly weary he was,
in body and in spirit.  Despite that, he had no desire to seek his bed where thoughts of
making love to Jana made sleeping almost impossible.  After a moment, he moved to the
doors that stood open to catch the cool night air and stepped outside to stretch his legs.
He had been pacing the terrace for a time, blessedly thinking of nothing in
particular when his attention was caught by a slight sound.  Pausing, he glanced around.
He saw nothing at first, but finally his gaze fixed upon a small, rounded bundle several
yards away.  He stared at it in puzzlement for several moments.  Even as he moved
forward to ex amine it, however, he was halted by another sound and he looked around
once more for this newest source.  The sound came again and he looked up and froze.
Strangely enough, or perhaps not so strangely in light of his suspicions concerning
Jana, his first thought was that he'd happened upon a young man climbing into Jana's
window.  Before that realization with its attendant fury had quite crystallized, however,
his piercing scrutiny focused with awful clarity on the slight figure that struggled high
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above him and he realized with a sinking sensation of dread that he hadn't caught
someone climbing into Jana's room.  He'd caught Jana climbing out.
For several agonizing moments as he watched her struggle and fall limp, mind
numbing fear held him transfixed to the spot.  A cold sweat broke out on his brow as he
realized she was hanging more than twenty feet above the ground, more than far enough
to kill or cause serious injuries if she fell.  Even as he turned to reenter the house,
however, to race up the stairs in an attempt to reach her before she fell, she began a slow
descent.
He realized then that he couldn't reach her in time, feared that if he called up to
her he might startle her so that she lost her grip.  He could do absolutely nothing to help
her he realized with a sense of frustrated helplessness ... And so he waited, unable to tear
his eyes from her, holding his breath each time she seemed to falter on the point of
falling.
 The waiting and watching were tortuous.  Each time she slipped, he felt a fresh
stab of pain in his chest.  It seemed he could neither move nor think clearly in that
eternity between the time he'd first discovered her and the time she finally managed to
lower herself to a less death defying height.  As she reached a point of relative safety, he
relaxed slightly, releasing a pent up breath, realizing that he was shaking with relief.
In that moment he saw red as his fear for her gave way to pure, rolling rage so
potent that he felt almost physically ill as he fought the insane urge to beat her senseless
for scaring him so badly.
It was at about that time that Jana and Alain reached a mutual conclusion.  The
rope—or sheets Alain realized with a fresh, if inexplicable, flare of fury—fell far short of
the ground, about eight feet short to be exact.
Jana reached the end of her rope and stared down at the ground in dismay as the
rope swung lazily, twisting slightly from her movements.  It still looked awfully far from
the ground and she felt absolutely no desire to release her death-lock on her lifeline.
Unfortunately, she had neither the strength to climb back up nor even to hold on much
longer.  As she felt her grip slipping, she closed her eyes, offering up a silent prayer that
she wouldn't break anything when she struck the ground.
"What in the bloody hell are you doing?" asked a voice of such deadly coldness
that a totally different fear stabbed her.  The blood in her veins seemed to turn to ice
water.  Her eyes snapped open.  Her heart dropped to her toes as she gazed down into
deadly golden feline eyes.
Never had she seen such naked, blazing fury, and she decided with a shudder that
she would die happy if she never did again.  His eyes seemed to pierce right through her,
blazing with golden fire through narrowed slits.
She smiled weakly as inspiration struck her.  "A wager?" she suggested hopefully,
wondering idly if her arms had slipped from their sockets.  She wanted to ask him where
he'd come from but somehow it didn't seem quite the right time for it.
Alain placed his hands on his hips and regarded her in silence for several
moments.  "With whom?" he asked, arching one dark brow in sardonic inquiry.
"Whom?" Jana repeated blankly, having forgotten her lie almost the moment it
left her mouth.
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"Really, Jana," Alain murmured icily.  "I'm not at all fond of these little games of
yours.  The wager," he prompted coldly.
"Oh!" she ex claimed, enlightened.  "Blane, of course."
"Of course," Alain murmured dryly.  "I believe I shall have to beat some sense
into him when next I see him," he added musingly.
"Oh!  You can't do that!" Jana ex claimed in dismay.  "You wouldn't!" she added
without conviction.  A dark eyebrow arched sardonically and she stared down at him in
dismay, wishing she hadn't been so stupid as to implicate Blane.  Now she would have to
confess her lie.  In the next moment she realized that Blane was safely out of reach at
present and she decided cravenly that since Blane wasn't likely to feel the weight of his
brother's hand anytime in the near future, there wasn't any real reason to confess
immediately.  "Do you think that you could help me down?" she asked instead.
"What?  And spoil your wager?" Alain asked sarcastically.  "I wouldn't dream of
it.  It can't be more than six feet to the ground and you're so close to success!" he added
nastily.
 Jana bit her lip and wished a few vile curses on Alain's head.  She wasn't about to
ask again, however, so she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and released her grip.
He caught her and allowed her to slide gently to the ground, much to her surprise.
She gazed up at him doubtfully, realizing quite suddenly that although he didn't seem
quite as murderous as he had before, there lingered a definite dangerous glitter in his eyes.
She moistened her lips and tried for a bright smile.  "I think I'll just go to bed now," she
whispered breathlessly and moved to pass him.
He caught her arm and whirled her about to face him once more.  "Just a
moment," he snapped tersely.  "Those clothes," he ground out as his eyes raked her
contemptuously.  "I suppose those, too, are part of this mythical wager?"
"Mythical?" Jana repeated warily.  "I ... uh ... yes … yes, they were.   At least, I
could see it would make it easier, you see."
"Enough!" Alain rapped out angrily so that Jana shook all over and felt the blood
drain from her dace in a rush.  "I have had enough of your lies and machinations!  And
these...." he floundered for words, "these clothes.  If I ever see you in such as this again, I
can practically guarantee you will regret it.”
Jerking her off her feet, he slung her over his shoulder before she even realized his
intention.
 Chapter Fourteen
Her stomach struck his hard shoulder with a force that knocked the breath out of
her.  It stunned her so that he'd entered the house and strode purposefully toward the stairs
before she had recovered sufficiently to worry about what he had in mind.
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She pushed against his back, trying to right herself.  She’d long since lost her hat,
and her hair pins, loosened by the jarring impact of Alain’s shoulder, fell out.  Her hair
tumbled about her face and trailed along the floor in Alain's wake, blinding her ... which
was probably just as well since it kept her from seeing Lill's surprised face when they
reached the upstairs landing.
Blood pounded in her head till she thought it would explode from the pressure.
"Alain!  Put me down!"
In the next moment he tossed her onto the bed.  She glared up at him and grabbed
the first thing that came to hand.  Unfortunately it was only a pillow.  As soon as she
smacked him in the face with it, she knew she'd made a mistake.
For several moments all Jana could do was gape at him in dismay while the blood
seemed to freeze in her veins.  In a moment she recovered sufficiently to allow the primal
instinct for survival to filter through to her numbed mind.
Scrambling to her knees, she rolled off on the opposite side of the bed.  He dove
for her.  She dashed around the end of the bed and made for the door.  Alain reached it
first.  Jana skittered to a halt and changed directions as he reached for her, leaving him
holding only a handful of shirt.
Unfortunately, it was a very old shirt, the fabric weakened by time and rot.  As she
darted away, she felt a sharp tug followed by the sound of rending cloth and she left the
shreds of her shirt in Alain's hand.
She didn't stop, however, until she'd put the bed between them once more.  When
she whirled to face him, she discovered he stood where she'd left him, staring down at the
fabric in his hands, stunned.  He raised his head then and for a moment their gazes locked
before his traveled downwards to her heaving chest.  She looked down, as well,
discovering she was bare to the waist.
He tossed the fabric aside and advanced on her purposefully. “Now, the
breeches.”
Jana gaped at him.  Instead of making any attempt to remove them, however, she
focused on the dressing room door, trying to judged the distance.  If she waited till he
rounded the end of the bed, she decided, she might well have a chance of getting away
yet.  Where she would go if successful, she wasn't at present concerned with.
Alain noted the flicker of her eyes from him to the door and tensed as he moved
slowly around the bed.  The moment she made her move, he sprang, catching her in the
middle of the bed and pushing her flat on her back.  Before she could even recover from
her surprise, he had jerked her breeches halfway down her hips.
It would've been difficult for Jana to explain whether fear or fury was uppermost
in her struggles.  Regardless, each contributed.  She’d gone beyond thought, reacting only
on instinct.
She fought so ferociously that Alain nearly lost his grip on her twice before he
managed to jerk the breeches off of her.  He was forced to straddle her then, purely out of
self-defense, to keep her from kicking him, grasping her arms and pinning them above her
head.  Mildly amazed that such a tiny woman could pack such a wallop, he wondered
then with totally unexpected, though grim, humor how he was now going to get loose
from her.
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He glared down at her, breathing somewhat raggedly after their struggles.  He was
angry still,  but, having succeeded in his aim (which contrary to her fears was merely to
remove her offending garments), it was entirely possible he would've released her as soon
as she'd quieted sufficiently that he was certain she wouldn't try to punch him in the nose
again.  She had almost succeeded the first time.  His jaw still smarted where she'd struck
him a glancing blow.
She glared up at him, for the first time without a touch of fear. "Don’t touch me,"
she said evenly.
Alain paled, feeling as if he'd just been punched in the stomach.  With the sharp
pain came a certain numbness, and then his anger returned. "You’re mistaken if you think
I’ve any desire to.”
He rolled off the bed and stood up.
“You took my clothes!” she snapped angrily.
“Yours?”
She couldn’t prevent a blush.  “I was wearing them,” she said tightly.
His eyes narrowed.  “And if you’d succeeded in leaving the plantation dressed in
that manner, and any man had caught you, the chances are great that you would have had
far more to contend with than having your clothes removed.  Decent women of Orleans
do not dress in this manner.  And any woman who does not fall under that category is fair
game for any man looking for a woman, whether she’s willing to share herself or not.”
She looked away.  “What does that matter now?  I was not willing before.  I had
no choice.”
“Liar,” Alain said tightly.
Jana looked at him, startled.  As she watched, he began to remove his clothes with
angrily deliberation.  "What are you doing?"
He tossed his trousers aside and paused, giving her a look filled with intent.
“Alain?” she said warily, sitting bolt upright.
He caught her as she scrambled for the edge of the bed,  straddling her once more,
capturing both her wrists in one hand easily and pinning them to the bed above her head.
She arched her back, trying to dislodge him, but froze at the look that came into his eyes.
“This is not making love," she said quietly, wanting him, but not as the angry
stranger he was now.
A muscle tightened and leapt in his jaw, but she saw his anger had vanished at her
words.  He studied her for a long moment, then bent his head.  His lips touched hers, with
such infinite tenderness that she was stunned into acquiescence.
"Let me make love to you," came his anguished whisper against her lips, the soft
coaxing words barely more than a sigh, incomprehensible through the whirling, dizzying
sensations that had gripped her almost from the moment his lips had first touched hers.
He loved her then, with an aching tenderness that built the fire slowly, from
budding warm to a raging inferno.  He brought her body to thrumming life as he had
before, drugging her senses with his kisses, his touch.  And when he joined their bodies
and moved within her, she learned what it was to shatter with pleasure, to feel body and
soul unite in blinding splendor.
  ***
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Jana stirred and shifted towards the warmth.  Frowning slightly when she
discovered it was still out of reach, she shifted once more, searching sleepily for that as
yet undefined source of comfort.  She was completely alone in the large bed and she sat
up with a jerk, suddenly wide awake.
Alain was gone.  Sighing, she rose and began her morning ritual.
She skidded to a halt when she reached the breakfast parlor, surprised to discover
that Alain was seated at the table.   Blane looked up as she entered, giving her a
questioning look.  Alain, his nose buried in a newspaper, gave no indication that he was
even aware of her arrival.
After a moment, she moved to the buffet and served herself, but she discovered
she had little appetite.  She wasn’t certain what she had ex pected, but she rather thought
that she had hoped Alain would not still behave so coldly toward her, that he’d been
transformed once more by the things they’d shared the night before into the man who’d
once gaze at her with warmth and tenderness.
Alain was almost as much an enigma to her as she was to herself.  She knew she
had no right even to want things to be the same between them as before.  Too much had
passed between them since, and in any case, she knew she simply could not stay.
But she missed the way it had been.
She wished, desperately, that she’d never come to Orleans at all.
She wished she had been, as Blane had once said, perfect for Alain.
Focusing her attention on her plate finally, she tried to consume at least a part of
the food she’d heaped upon it.
She’d been stirring the remains for perhaps ten minutes when Alain rose abruptly,
set his cup down and departed.
Disappointed that he’d said nothing at all to her, she watched him depart, feeling
as she so often did that something was terribly wrong and would never be right again.
“I hope you’re satisfied,” Blane said abruptly.
Jana looked at him in surprise.  “What?”
Blane’s lips tightened.  “I don’t understand you.”
She looked down at her plate.  “I don’t understand me either.”
“I can scarcely sleep at night for kicking myself.  This is my fault and I know it,
but….  Damn it!  You two have made the damnedest mess I’ve ever seen in my life!  It
seems to me that at least one of you ought to be able to keep their wits about them.”
Jana felt a knot of misery forming in her chest.  It was kind of him to say that
‘they’ had made a mess of things, but she knew very well it was her that had bungled it
all.   It was just as Marty had said, she never got anything right.  Even Alain had asked if
trouble followed her around.   She’d been angry about it at the time, but he’d been right.
“I did not intend to make him unhappy.  It’s just … I am not very skilled with people.  I
always seem to say, or do, the wrong thing.”
“Unhappy?  You’ve got him running around like a madman!  Poor fool doesn’t
know which way is up anymore.  I could count the number of times I’ve seen Alain lose
his temper on one hand … before you came.  He’s always been a stickler for self-control.
Now, anytime anybody even looks at him sideways he’s in a thundering rage.”
It was almost a relief to know that she was not the only person who seemed to
regularly anger Alain.  She’d begun to think it was just her.
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She pushed her plate aside and covered her face with her hands.  “I would undo it
all if I could.  I did not mean for any of this to happen!”
Blane sighed.  “Don’t you care anything at all about him, Jana?  Even a little?”
Jana looked up at him.
“He’s in love with you, you know.  That’s why its tearing him apart that he can’t
get through to you.”
Jana felt the blood rush from her face.  “In love?”
Blane looked at her in disgust.  “What did you think was wrong with him?”
“Me.”
His brows rose.  “Ex actly.”
“He is always angry with me now.  He hardly ever shares himself with me, unless
I make him so furious that he wants to beat me, and then he makes love to me instead.”
Blane turned red.  “Don’t!  For God’s sake!  Didn’t I tell you you were not to talk
about such things with anyone?”
Jana looked at him guiltily.  “But I have no one else to talk to.  And, you
asked….”
“NOT about that!”
Jana was silent for several moments. “But you said he loved me and I was trying
to tell you he doesn’t!  Not hardly ever anymore.”
Blane dug his fingers in his hair, looking for several moments as if he meant to
tear it out.  “It’s not the same thing!”
Jana’s brows rose.  “It’s not?”
“I really don’t want to discuss the fine points of this.  Alain would slay me dead
on the spot if he came in and caught me discussing … that with you.”
“Well, I don’t understand it at all,” Jana snapped irritably.  “Everyone says
something different!  Alain said that was what it was!  And I don’t see how you can
expect me to understand if you won’t explain it to me!”
Blane studied her for several moments.  “Fine!  I want you to know I’m damned
uncomfortable about this whole business.  But the way I see it is I got you and Alain into
it.  The least I can do is try to fix the muddle you two have made of it.  I’ll distract Alain.
You meet me by the creek.  Then you can say anything you like, ask me anything, and I’ll
explain it the best I can.”
 ***
“Jana?”
Jana stood up, peering cautiously through the bush she’d been hiding behind.
Relieved to see it was Blane, she moved into the clearing.
“What the devil were you doing back there?”
“I didn’t want to take a chance on running into Marty again,” Jana said, still
looking around nervously.
His brows rose, but he looked at her suspiciously.  “I thought you were anxious to
go back to Marty.”
Jana sighed.  Now even Blane looked upon her with distrust.  She thought,
though, that he probably would not want her to explain that she was no longer a virgin
and Marty would have no use for her.  “I can not.”
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Blane shrugged, dismissing it.  “It’s just as well you changed your mind.  Alain
told him he’d kill him if he ever set eyes on him again.”
Jana’s eyes widened in surprise. “He did?”  She thought about it for several
moments, wondering why she felt pleased when she should have been horrified.  Another
thought occurred to her presently.  “Do you think that means that Marty left for Earth?”
“Depends.  Is he stupid?”
Jana thought about it.  “He seems clever enough.”
“Then I expect he’s back on Earth.”
Jana stared at him a moment and finally moved to the fallen tree, taking a seat.
“He would not want me back anyway,” she said dejectedly.  She had not liked Marty.
She had not truly wanted to return to that life, but it would have been simpler.  She was
tired of complications, tired of her confusion.
“There’s no reason for you to go anywhere.  You have a home here.  Alain
worships you.  He’d do anything for you.”
She looked at Blane in surprise, then frowned.  “What does that mean?”
Blane rolled his eyes.  “He’s in love with you, goose.  I already told you that.”
Jana looked away, angry suddenly. “Everyone talks about love, but no one will
explain so I can understand!  And even if it’s the truth, I don’t see how that makes a
difference. ”
“Well, if no one’s explained, that’s because it’s damned hard to explain!  Look, if
I described a leaf to you and you’d never seen a leaf, would you be able to understand
what I was talking about?”
Jana’s face fell.  “You’re saying what Marty said.  No one taught me love so I
don’t know what it is and can not feel it.”
“I knew I should have beat that little bastard to a pile of jelly when I had the
chance!  I’m sure as hell not saying that, and I don’t believe it.  I’m just saying you’re not
seeing it and recognizing it for what it is!  It’s the word you’re not familiar with, not the
emotion!” Blane said angrily.  “At least, I suppose you had no one to care about you
before, so it’s not familiar, but Alain loves you … and I damn sure don’t see why you
can’t love him too.  He’s a good man!  I know he might seem, sometimes, that he’s cold
and unfeeling, but he’d not like that at all inside, that’s just … well, it’s because of …
things that happened to him.  He’s always like that until he knows he can trust someone.
Cautious.”
“What does a person feel like when they feel love?  How do they know that’s
what it is?”
Blane scratched his head, suddenly looking doubtful.  “Between a man and a
woman?  I’m not so sure.  There’s been a couple of times when I thought….  But it turned
out it wasn’t.  Alain loves you.  Can’t you tell from the way he looks at you?  From the
way he acts?”
Jana stared at him, taken aback.  “It’s being angry all the time?  I don’t think I
want that.”
Blane burst out laughing.  “I must say it serves that madman right!  If he wasn’t
scared to death you were going to break his heart and run off and leave him he wouldn’t
be acting like such an ass!  If that isn’t just like someone in love I don’t know what is!
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Look, people do really, really stupid things when they’re madly in love.  It’s kind
of like being insane—that’s why they call it madly.  You do and say all the wrong things
and get just the results you were scared to death you were going to get.”
Jana digested that thoughtfully, wondering if there was truth to it.  She had not
been behaving in an altogether sane manner herself.  If she’d thought about it at all,
though, she would’ve considered it was because she was scared out of her mind.  “You
think, because he’s so angry all the time, that that means he’s in love with me?” she asked
doubtfully.  Marty had been angry all the time too, or most of the time, but he hadn’t
seemed to think he was in love with her.
“I know he’s in love with you.  I can tell by the way he looks at you.”
“He hardly looks at me at all!  And when he does, he’s usually glaring at me
because I’ve done something, or he thinks I’ve done something he doesn’t like!” Jana said
angrily.  “That can not be right.”
“I’m talking about the way he looks at you when he thinks no one will see,” Blane
said dryly.  “Look, he’s got his pride.  He’d rather show his temper than allow anyone,
especially you, to see his weakness.  He might be crazy about you, but he doesn’t trust
you and he isn’t going to let you see, or tell you, he loves you when he knows it would be
something you could use against him if you don’t love him.”
She could understand that … or some of it, anyway.  She supposed it was a need
to protect oneself from emotional pain.  “He was very, very angry with me the other
night.”
 “When you climbed out the window?” Blane asked coolly.  “Of all the hair
brained things you’ve done, that was absolutely the worst.  You nearly scared the man to
death!  Of course he was angry.  I’d have wrung your neck if you’d scared me that badly!”
Jana blushed but then sighed.  Her head hurt from trying to make sense of
everything he’d told her.  She didn’t think she would ever understand it, no matter how he
tried to explain it to her. “I do not think I will ever understand your ways.  I have not
lived as you have lived, Blane.”
“I know that!  You’re forgetting, I was the one that picked you out for Alain.”
She shook her head.  “I have no brothers, no sisters, no mother, no father.  More
accurately, I suppose, I have many of each, but it is not at all the same.  I do not know any
of them.  None of the courtesans know, because we are the same.  We were genetically
engineered to be … whatever a customer might choose.  You were wrong to choose me
for Alain.  I am not perfect for him.”
Blane began to pace the creek bank.  “All right, so I didn’t … don’t understand,
not completely anyway, but I still think it would work if you’d let it.”
Jana gaped at him, feeling a surge of anger that she was always blamed for what
she did or didn’t do, even when she tried very hard to behave just as she ought.  She could
accept that it was partly her fault.  She knew that she had done things she shouldn’t.  She
could accept that there were things she should have done, but had been too ignorant to
know she was supposed to and that that, also, was her fault for being as she was.  But it
seemed unjust to blame everything on her.
It was partly Alain’s fault, too.  If he had at least tried to explain things to her
instead of expecting her to figure it out on her own, she might not have said or done some
of the things that had turned out to be the wrong thing.
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It occurred to her, however, that it really made little difference now who’s fault it
was.  Whatever might have been was no longer a possibility.
“Alain is disgusted with me because I am afraid to grow his child in the primitive
custom of Orleans.  He does not love me.  I was so frightened when I discovered it.  I told
him that I could not do it, that I had to have it removed, and he is not at all the same
anymore.   He is always angry with me, even when I haven’t done anything wrong … that
I know of.  I know you think I am disgusting too, but I can not help it.  I did not even
know until I came to Orleans that such a thing was possible.  It is not the way I know.
“And Lill has told me such tales!  I had not believed her.  I had thought she must
be making up lies only to see how horrified I was.  When I learned that they were true I
thought I would die of fright, and then I was sorry I didn’t, because now, unless I can go
to a place where they can remove it, then I will die a slow, horrible death and I don’t think
I can face that.”
Blane held up his hand.  “Stop.  Look, I don’t know what that lame brain told you,
but you can’t believe the half of it.  Common sense ought to have told you everybody
wouldn’t be happy about it if we ex pected you to die a slow, horrible death.”
“Oh,” Jana said thoughtfully.  “I had not thought about that.  I was so afraid I
couldn’t think of anything but what she’d said…. The young Zell was huge when it was
de-canted.  There was so much blood!  And the insides came out.  Do they put them back
in?”
 “You’re not having a Zell, nit wit!  And the mother Zell’s insides didn’t come out!
That was afterbirth.  It’s supposed to come out when the baby’s born.  What’s de-
canted?”
“It will not be big like that?--You’re just saying that to make me not be afraid!
How can it not be big when I must carry it almost a year before it is de-canted?”
“Born, you mean?  Are you talking about when it comes out?”
Jana nodded.
“Well of all the lame brained things I’ve ever heard!  You aren’t bigger than a
minute yourself!  How the hell did you get the idea that it could be anywhere near that
big?  It probably won’t be any bigger than you were when you were born!”
Jana looked like she might faint—or throw up.
“As large as that!”
She jumped to her feet, wringing her hands, looking as if she wanted to run but
couldn’t figure out where to run to.
 Blane strode over to her, grasped her shoulders and forced her to sit down.
“I can’t!  I can not do this!  Please, Blane!  I have to get it removed—NOW!
Before it gets any bigger!”
“Good God!  How big were you when you were born?”
“As I am now,”  Jana gasped breathlessly.
“I mean when you were born,” Blane said dryly.
“As I am now!” Jana snapped.  “I was de-canted as I am now!”
“That’s not possible!”  Blane snapped, looking like he was torn between disbelief
and the urge to laugh.
“It is possible.  I was de-canted two years ago.  I have not grown at all!”
“How long were you in that thing?” Blane demanded, appalled.
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“Five years.  I was accelerated, though.  Usually it takes ten to produce a fully
developed bondage.  But I do not know how it grows … this way.”
“It doesn’t grow like that!” Blane snapped, obviously horrified.  He balled up his
fist.  “It’s probably about this big right now.  When it’s born it’ll be about this big.”  He
held up his hands.
It still looked big for something she was going to have to expel from her body, but
not nearly as frightening as she’d imagined.  “Truly?  You’re not just saying this because
you don’t want me to be afraid?”
“It’s the truth.”
She digested that, then frowned when she thought of a flaw in his answer.  “How
could it live if it is so small?”
Blane sighed.  “Look, I’m no woman.  I don’t know that much about babies
myself, not as much as you need to know, at any rate.   They’re tiny.  They’re weak.
They’re fragile little things, and without someone to feed them and take care of them,
they do die.  That’s why they need a mother.  They can not survive without one.”  He sat
down on the log, facing her, then took her hand and placed her palm against her belly.
“Has it moved?”
Jana nodded jerkily.  “I think so.”
“This little baby is part you and part Alain.  It’s not a thing.  It’ll look like you, or
Alain, or maybe a little bit like both of you,” he said quietly.  “It can not live without you.
It needs you.  It needs your love.  If you will stop thinking of it as something that
shouldn’t be there, some alien thing, and start thinking of it as a tiny copy of Alain, or of
yourself, you will find that you can not help but love it.”
“Like Alain?” Jana said a little breathlessly, feeling something like wonder as the
image filled her mind.  The loud snap of a branch distracted her.  She jumped, looked
around quickly, more than half expecting to see Marty, despite Blane had said.
Alain was standing no more than three yards from where they sat.  Blane jerked
his hand back guiltily.  For several moments, no one so much as blinked.  Slowly, Blane
stood up to face the rage on his brother’s face.
No one said anything for long, interminable moments. Alain had stared at her for
so long, Jana felt as if his gaze had burned through her.  When he’d transferred his gaze
to Blane, however, fear seemed to freeze her blood.
Jana could not help but wonder how long Alain had been watching them.
Somehow, though, she did not think he’d heard what Blane had said or, surely, he would
not be looking as if he wanted to kill Blane on the spot.
“This is not what you’re thinking, Alain,” Blane said hoarsely, his face almost as
pale as Alain’s.
“You know me so well then?”
“We came to talk.”
“And stayed to touch?”
“I knew you’d misconstrue the situation!” Blane said angrily.
Alain flushed, obviously holding his temper by a thread.  “You fabricate some
hair brained excuse to speak with me, then disappear—and next I find that Jana has
disappeared, as well.  I suppose it’s only my low mind that makes me think it a strange
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sort of coincidence that the two of you happened to think of taking a walk to the creek at
almost the same time?”
Blane reddened.  “I know how it must look to you, but you are making a mistake,
Alain ... one we’re both liable to regret.  She needed someone to talk to.  What was I
supposed to do?  Ignore her like you do!”
Alain looked for several moments as if he would launch himself at Blane.  After
an inner struggle, however, while Jana waited in absolute terror that they would fight and
that one, or both of them, would be hurt, he turned and strode in the direction from which
he’d come.
Blane stared after him, unmoving.  Jana found that she could not move either.
Finally, she rose shakily.  “He thinks we are sharing ourselves?”
“What?”
She moved closer, took Blane’s hand and gave him a little shake.  He looked
down at her, flung her hand off.  “Yes.  That’s exactly what he thinks.  What the hell did
you think he’d believe if he caught us sneaking off to talk?”
Jana backed away a step.
Blane glared at her angrily for several moments and finally raked his fingers
through his hair.  “I can’t stay here now.  I’ve got to … go away for a while.  I love Alain,
even if he is behaving like a madman these days.  If I stay, one of us is going to say, or
do, something completely unforgivable.”
Chapter Fifteen  
It was worse when Blane left.  Jana had not thought anything could be worse than
it already was, but after the confrontation between the brothers, Alain began to spend
most of his time in his study, rarely coming out even to eat.
The few times she saw him alarmed her.  He looked as if he was deathly ill.  He
was pale.  He’d lost weight.  His eyes were bloodshot from Brie.
The hope Jana had felt after speaking with Blane died.
Her fears about being pregnant might not be nearly as paralyzing.  Her certainty
that she most go where she could have it removed might have faltered, but she had done
something far, far worse.
She had turned Alain against his brother.
She had to go.  If she stayed, she would be destroying something vitally important
to both Blane and Alain, might already have done so.  She could not bear to think that it
was her fault.
She was so relieved when she realized the time had come at last when the ship
would be arriving that she did something she had never done in her life, something she’d
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thought she was incapable of.  She wept.  There were no tears filling her eyes and flowing
gently down her cheeks.  Hoarse, painful sobs tore from her chest as if her whole body
was being ripped apart by them—for  hours and hours, it seemed, until she couldn’t
breathe, until her nose turned red and runny, until she was so exhausted with effort that
she fell asleep.
It was late into the night when she awoke at last.   The house was as still and silent
as death.
Slowly, she dragged herself from the bed and dressed.  She debated briefly about
whether or not to take clothes with her besides those she wore, but she had no idea of
where she might be going.  It seemed doubtful that the clothing she wore on Orleans
would be appropriate on another world.  Finally, she decided to take at least a change of
clothes, and her own that she’d worn from Earth.
She’d gathered up valuables to use to barter her passage.  She felt badly about
taking them when they did not belong to her, but she could not leave otherwise.  She
would not be given passage without something of value to ex change.  She just hoped she
had enough.  It was impossible for her to tell.  If Blane had not told her the gold metal and
stones were valuable, she wouldn’t even have known that much.
It seemed unlikely that Alain would try to stop her from leaving, now, after
everything that had happened.  It also seemed unlikely that he would know it.  He had
been drinking heavily of Brie earlier.  She thought it probable that he was sleeping off the
effects by now, which meant she needn’t worry overmuch about being quiet.
She thought it safer not to take a chance, however, and took her bundle and
moved as quietly as possible down the stairs.  She was startled to see that Alain’s study
door was open.  Easing up to the door frame, she peeked around the corner.
He was sprawled in his chair, facing the window.  Her heart skipped a beat, but
then she noticed there was a bonelessness about him that indicated sleep.
She crept past the door.  She was on the point of leaving the house when
something stopped her, some urge she couldn’t quite name.   After a moment, she set her
bundle down and returned to the study.
Alain lay as he had, looking as if he would slide from his chair and onto the floor
at any moment.  Something painful knotted in her chest as she studied him.
She knew she should just go, but found she couldn’t.
She would never, ever see him again.  She felt she had to look at him just once
more, just so she could memorize his face.
She moved into the room, studying his face to make certain he really was asleep.
When he didn’t so much as flinch, she crept closer until she was standing over him.
She was glad that she had come.  In the dim light filtering through the window
from Orleans’ tiny pink moon, he did not look pale, ill, angry.  He looked young, without
care, handsome as she remembered him before she had made him so unhappy.
Her insides knotted in misery.  It hurt to look at him.  It wounded her to realize
how much pain she’d caused him.  But more even than either of those circumstances, the
thought of leaving him and never seeing him again made her feel as if she would die from
the terrible pain.
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And, in that moment, she knew.  She loved him with every fiber of her being, with
everything that she was.  It was strange that she’d spent so much time trying to define it
and understand it and now realized without any explanation at all that she felt it.
The pain was blinding, worse than she could ever have imagined hurting only from an
emotion and she wondered why anyone would wish to find love if it could mean hurting
this badly.
That was why she had to go.  Maybe that was why she’d always felt that she must
leave.  She loved him too much to cause him any more pain.  He would be happy again
when she wasn’t here to hurt him.
She thought for several moments that she was going to break down and sob as
she’d done before.  It took an effort to calm herself.
She wanted to touch him.  It was not enough, she realized only to look.  She
wanted to be near enough that she could breathe his scent, feel his skin, remember what it
had been like when they’d shared themselves with each other.   She wanted to tell him
she loved him.
She could not do any of that.
He would wake.  He would stare at her angrily, demand to know what she was
doing.
 She backed away.  Turning, she left the room as quietly as she’d entered, collected
her bundle and eased outside.   She’d nearly reached the barn before she realized tears
were streaming down her cheeks.  A sob caught her unaware and she clapped her hand to
her mouth, breathing deeply to regain control.  Now that she’d learned to release the
horrendous emotions dammed inside of her, though, she found it took everything she had
to hold it inside.
She did not saddle the Zell.  She had no idea of how to do so, and didn’t think she
could lift the heavy thing anyway.  Instead, she tossed a blanket over it’s back and placed
the halter on it’s head.  She hoped she could stay on its back without a saddle.  She didn’t
have any choice.
The ship was scheduled to arrive tomorrow just after nightfall.  Before then, she
would have to ride all the way to Val-risa’s home and discover where it was to land.  It
might be the same place where the ship had landed when she arrived, but it might not.  It
seemed doubtful that it would, but she would not know for certain until she’d asked.  In
any case, she needed Val-risa to look at the valuables she’d brought to barter for passage
so she would know if it was enough.  She didn’t know what she’d do if it wasn’t, but she
couldn’t deal with those doubts now.  She would worry about it when, and if, she had to.
Clutching her bundle in one hand and the reins in the other, she led the Zell from
the barn as quietly as she could, holding her breath for fear the handler would wake.
When she’d reached the chopping block in the kitchen yard, she made the Zell stand
beside it, then climbed onto the block and finally managed to swing her leg over the
animal’s back.  Settling her bundle before her, she straightened her skirts and urged the
animal forward.
 ***
It was almost laughable, Alain thought wryly, that waking, sleeping, or dead
drunk off of Brie, his senses responded instantly to Jana’s nearness.  If he had not been so
certain he was dreaming again, he would have given himself away when Jana had come
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into his study to stare down at him.  As it was, it had taken a supreme effort of will to
remain unmoving—that and curiosity.
Almost as laughable—he’d felt a jolt of hope that she’d come to him.  Her back
had been to the light filtering through the window and he had not even been able to tell
her expression, had no clue of what she’d been thinking, but she had said nothing, hadn’t
even touched him to see if he was still sleeping. Disappointment had coalesced into anger
when he realized his mistake, but he had been determined to find out what she was up to
this time and had restrained himself with a supreme effort.
He’d felt sick when he saw she had packed, watched her make her way to the
stable.  She was leaving.  Going to Blane?  Had they arranged something?
He waited in the shadows until she’d come out of the stable once more, leading
her Zell.
He watched until she had mounted and disappeared into the gloom.
He saddled his own Zell then, taking the time to tie cloths over it’s hooves to
muffle the sound it’s hooves would otherwise make.  She’d been riding slowly.   He
thought it unlikely that she would get far before he could catch up to her.
Regardless, he was tense and uneasy until he heard the tread of her mount in front
of him. Risking detection, he closed the gap.  He had to be sure it was her before he
dropped back to a safer distance to follow.
The moon was full.  It shed very little light for all that, but it was sufficient that he
managed to keep her in sight most of the time.  He realized after a while that they were
nearing Jaxon.  It occurred to him that she might not be going to meet Blane after all.  Her
friend, Val-risa lived nearby.  Perhaps she was going there?
He dismissed it.  She would not go to visit a friend in the dead of night.
To his surprise, that was exactly where she went.
He pulled his Zell to a halt some distance away.  The house was dark, its
occupants obviously sleeping.  They could not have been ex pecting her.  Why had she
come here?  Why slip away in the middle of the night?
Obviously, he was still laboring under the influence of the Brie.  None of it made
any sense to him.  He decided to wait and watch.
Jana tossed her bundle to the ground and slid off the Zell.  After tethering the
beast, she picked up her bundle and moved to the front door, tapping on the wood.
Alain dismounted, tethered his own mount and moved closer.
In a matter of moments, the door was opened.  Val-risa stood in the opening
holding a lantern.
Undoubtedly, he’d mistaken the matter.  Val-risa was ex pecting her.
“Jana?  What in the world are you doing here at this time of night?”
Maybe not.
As Val-risa and Jana moved inside, closing the door, Alain worked his way closer,
watching the windows to see which room they entered.
The light appeared in the front room to the right of the entrance hall.  Alain
moved to the window.  Like all the windows on the front of the house, it stood half ajar,
to catch the cooling night breezes.
 ***
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“I apologize,” Jana said breathlessly, relieved beyond measure that she had not
had to go to any great lengths to get her friend’s attention, but then it occurred to her to
wonder why Val-risa had been downstairs in the middle of the night.  “Did I wake you?”
“No.  I was already downstairs.  What are you doing here?  Has something
happened?”  Val-risa asked quickly, sounding more than a little breathless herself.
Jana burst into tears.  Somehow, she could not seem to stop herself.  “Yes!  Alain
thinks I have been sharing myself with his brother and they have fought and now Blane
has gone away because he said he loved Alain and if he stayed they would do or say
something unforgivable to each other….  And I must leave!  I have to!”
Val-risa blinked at her.  “Slow down.  I didn’t catch half of what you just said.
Your husband thinks you’ve been … carrying on with his brother?”
Jana nodded, mopping the tears from her face with the skirt of her dress since she
had nothing else.
“Why would he think that?”
Jana dropped into the nearest chair and covered her face.  “Because Blane was
trying to explain … some things I didn’t understand and he knew Alain wouldn’t like to
find out what we were talking about and we slipped off to the creek so he could talk to
me and not make Alain angry, but he found us and he thought….”
Val-risa held up a hand.  “Stop.  You’re giving me a headache.  It’s no wonder he
thought the worst!  Anybody would have under those circumstances.  I would have
thought Blane was old enough to know better!”
“It wasn’t Blane’s fault.  It was mine.  I shouldn’t have gone.”
“No, you shouldn’t!” Val-risa snapped, but then clutched her stomach, bending
over slightly.
Jana was taken aback by Val-risa’s attitude, and hurt.  She’d expected that Val-
risa, at least, would understand.  When she saw her friend was obviously in pain,
however, she realized that that was most likely the reason she was irritable.  Alain was
certainly very nasty when he was hurt.  Of course, that was emotional, not physical, but
then she had come to realize that emotions could hurt as much, or more, than wounds.
She dismissed her own concerns, worried now about Val-risa.  “Are you hurt?”
Val-risa took a deep breath.  “I think I might be in labor.  That’s why I was
downstairs.  I didn’t want to wake Vin until I was certain.  He’s been driving me crazy
now that my time’s near, jumping up every time I grunt and heading for the door to fetch
the doctor.  He’s terrified I’ll have the baby with nobody here but him and the servants.”
Jana stared at her blankly.  “I don’t think I understand … any of that.”
Val-risa glared at her, but in the next moment gasped and looked down.
Jana automatically looked down as well.  To her horror, she saw fluid gushing
from between Val-risa’s legs onto the floor.  “What is that?”
Val-risa blinked at her, looking frightened now.  “I think my water broke.”
“You made water?” Jana asked, repulsed.
“The baby!” Val-risa snapped.  “It’s coming!”
Jana jumped to her feet.  “Not now!”
“Now!”
“But … but I have to know where to find the ship!  I have to know if I brought
enough to trade for passage.  You can’t do that now!”
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“Vin!” Val-risa screamed.
In a moment, Jana heard the pounding of feet above them, then a great crash and
several smaller ones.  Vin limped into the room.  “Fell down the blasted stairs!” he
muttered.  “You scared the hell out of me!  What are you screaming about, woman!”
“The baby!  It’s coming … now!”
Vin stared at her a moment, turning white.  His eyes rolled back into his head.
For a moment he teetered while both Jana and Val-risa stared at him in shocked dismay,
then he tipped over.
Val-risa screamed, trying to catch him as he fell.  Instinctively, Jana rushed to
help.  They caught him, but he was far too heavy to hold and both of them went down
under his weight.
Jana was too stunned to move for several moments, then Vin moved.  She glanced
at him, but saw that he was still unconscious.  When she looked up, she discovered Alain
was standing over the tangle of bodies the three of them made in the middle of the floor.
He rolled Vin’s limp form off of the two of them, then reached down to help Jana to her
feet.
 Val-risa had crawled over to her fallen husband on her hands and knees.  She was
clutching his nightshirt in both hands.  “Vin?  Dear heart!  Are you hurt?”
His eyes fluttered, opened.  He stared up at her.  “What happened?”
Val-risa sat back, clutching her bulging belly with both hands, groaning.
Vin’s eyes rolled back into his head.
Alain cursed, strode across the room to a vase of flowers and snatched it off the
table.  Tossing the flowers to one side, he dashed the water into Vin’s face.  Vin came up
coughing and sputtering.  “What happened?”
Val-risa gritted her teeth.  “So help me, Vin!  If you faint again I swear I’ll take
that vase he’s holding and clobber you with it.”
He looked at her in alarm.  “The baby’s coming?”
She punched him on the shoulder.  “Go get the doctor!” she screamed.
He scrambled to get to his feet, but his knees looked like rubber.  He wobbled to
toward the nearest chair.  Alain grasped him under one arm and helped him to a seat, then
returned to help Val-risa.  Bending, he scooped her into his arms and lifted her from the
floor.
 He turned to Vin.  “Get hold of yourself, man!  Go get the doctor!”
Jana could do nothing but watch, too stunned to feel anything, too stunned even to
think.
 As Alain strode past her, however, Val-risa cried out, reaching for her.  “Jana!
Please!  Stay with me!  I’m afraid to be alone.”
Quite suddenly, Jana felt as if the floor had dropped out from under her.  She
thought for several moments she would faint.
“Jana!” Alain snapped.
She looked at him.
“Your friend needs you.”
Jana nodded jerkily, took several deep breaths and managed to follow Alain and
Val-risa up the stairs.
138

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As he gently laid Val-risa on her bed, the servant who’d met them at the head of
the stairs pushed past them and rushed into the room.  She went immediately to the
opposite side of the bed, leaning over and laying her hand on Val-risa’s stomach.  “Good!
That’s a good, hard contraction, Ms. Val-risa.  Don’t you worry about a thing!  You’re
doing good.  It’ll all be over before you know it.
“I don’t know if the doctor’s going to get here before this baby,” she muttered as
she moved away and began jerking sheets from a chest.  “A man don’t have no business
in the room during a birthing.   Don’t know what that man’s standing over there for, or
what he thinks he’s going to do, unless it’s to grow roots.”
When she returned, she folded the sheets and instructed Val-risa to lift her hips.
Val-risa merely groaned.  Alain and Jana who’d been standing in the middle of the floor
as if frozen, both surged forward at once, helping the servant to work the folded cloth
beneath Val-risa’s hips.
Taking another sheet, the servant opened it out and tossed it across Val-risa,
arranging it so that it covered her from her waist down.  She reached beneath it then and
pushed Val-risa’s gown up, grasped her pantaloons and pulled them off.  Alain backed
away hastily as she dropped the blood and mucus soaked pantaloons to the floor.
Jana stared down at the discarded underwear for several moments in horrified
fascination, then looked up at Alain.  He was as white as Vin had been.  Her heart
skipped a beat.  If he fell, he was going to take out half the room.  After a moment,
however, he turned and walked a little unsteadily to a chair and sat down.
Jana would have loved to sit down, as well, or better yet, to run from the room.
She couldn’t.  Val-risa held her hand in a bone crushing grip.  Each time Jana tried to pry
her hand loose, Val-risa tightened her hold.  Finally, she subsided.
When she realized, at last, that she was not going to be able to escape, her panic
subsided, and she looked down at her friend.  Val-risa was obviously in a lot of pain.  She
wanted Jana to stay with her.  Jana just wasn’t certain what Val-risa thought she could do
to help.  “Val-risa?”
“Stay with me!  Don’t leave me by myself!”  Val-risa pleaded.
Jana felt ashamed, suddenly, that she’d wanted to do just that.  She didn’t point
out that Val-risa would not be alone if she left.  The servant was there, and obviously
knew what she was doing.  She would be far more help than Jana would, but Jana
realized Val-risa needed the comfort of contact.
“I won’t leave you.”
“Where’s Vin?”
“I think he went to get the doctor.”
Val-risa half rose.  “Go make sure he’s all right.  He fell.  Maybe he was hurt?”
Jana and the servant pushed her back down.
“He’s just fine!  I saw him run out to get the doctor myself,” the servant lied,
glaring at Jana.
Jana nodded hastily.  “Yes.  That’s right.”
Val-risa relax ed, but in the nex t moment her face contorted and she began a long,
keening scream.
Jana winced, but she couldn’t have escaped by then if she’d wanted to.  The
louder Val-risa screamed, the harder she clutched Jana’s hand.
139

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“There goes another contraction!” the servant said, sounding satisfied, although
Jana felt it was totally unnecessary for her to announce it when no one in the room
could’ve been in any doubt.  “I told you it wouldn’t be long.  Not long at all.”
Jana stared at the woman, wondering if she was lying again to make Val-risa feel
better.  She wasn’t certain which would be worse—having to wait, or having to watch.
Either the servant had lied, or her conception of ‘not long’ was not the same as
Jana’s.  Jana lost all feeling in her hand as time went on.  Her feet, legs and back began to
ache from standing so long, for she could not move far enough away to sit and she could
only shift from one foot to the other.  She began to loose hearing in the ear closest to Val-
risa’s surprisingly powerful lungs.  Each time Val-risa rested, Jana tried to wiggle her
fingers to see if she could get circulation into her hand, but no sooner did she begin to feel
a tingle of blood flow than it began all over again.  After a while, her eardrum began to
rattle.  Val-risa asked about Vin every few minutes.  Each time, Jana or the servant had to
reassure her that Vin was fine.
Her alternate question was to ask where Vin was.
After a while, the servant flipped Val-risa’s gown up, pushing her legs up on the
bed until she was lying with her knees bent.  “It’s crowned,” she said in a satisfied voice.
She patted Val-risa’s leg.  “I told you it wouldn’t take long.  Any time now.”
Jana could not see what the servant was talking about—for which she would be
eternally grateful—but she was relieved to hear it was almost over.  She wasn’t sure she’d
ever be able to hear again.   She thought she might have broken bones in her hand, though
she couldn’t be certain since she had lost all feeling in that hand some time previously.
Glancing toward the chair where Alain had been sitting, she discovered he was
gone.  She hadn’t noticed when he’d gotten up and left and she felt a pang of distress, the
urge to go look for him.
A stampede of footsteps distracted her.  She looked toward the door, waiting as
the racing steps came closer.  An elderly man rushed into the room.  Vin was directly
behind him, trying to thrust the man out of his way.  He came up short at the sight that
greeted him, paled.  The man grasped his arm and hustled him from the room, slamming
the door behind him.
Jana heard something fall, but she decided it wasn’t a loud enough noise to have
been Vin.  He must have stumbled over something.
The man, she quickly discovered, was the long awaited doctor.  The servant had
miscalculated.  The doctor managed to arrive in time to catch the baby as Val-risa,
screaming like someone had stabbed her, thrust the creature from her body.
She collapsed back on the pillows weakly afterward, gasping.  In a moment,
however, she lifted her head, fear etching her tired features.  A loud wail rent the air.
Relief flooded her features.  She smiled.  “Let me see.  Let me see my baby.”
“In a moment,” the doctor said, working on something Jana could not see on the
bed between Val-risa’s legs.
“Is it … all right?” Val-risa asked fearfully.
The doctor spared a moment to smile at her reassuringly.  “A fine, healthy boy.”
Val-risa laughed weakly, but tears streamed down her cheeks.
Watching her, Jana felt confusion fill her.
140

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Finally, the doctor lifted a small bundle of cloth, and moved around the bed,
placing it gently in the arms Val-risa held up.  She cradled it carefully, pulling the cloth
back to look.  Jana stared at the horrible, red faced thing.  It’s eyes were squeezed tightly
shut, it’s mouth so wide she could see gums that held no teeth.
She was still staring at it in revulsion when the doctor went to the door.  “You can
come in now.”
Vin rushed inside, his eyes wild, his hair standing on end.
Val-risa smiled at him tiredly.  “It’s a son!” she said triumphantly.
A dopey grin split Vin’s face.  He stumbled forward, pushing Jana aside.  It
wasn’t until then that she realized that Val-risa had, finally, released her.  She felt as if
she was rooted to the spot, however, could not take her eyes from the wriggling thing
Val-risa and her husband, Vin, were beaming at while they carefully peeled the cloth
away and studied the infant with fascination.
Vin laughed.  “He’s fine!  He’s a beautiful son!  Thank you, dearest!  I’m so proud
of you!”
Jana blinked, shifting a little so that she could get a better look.
The infant was red all over, apparently from screaming, for he had done so
virtually non-stop since he’d been deposited on the bed.  Some disgusting looking cream
coated him from the top of his bald head to the tips of his toes, and blood.  His skin was
wrinkled, as if it was too big for him, or he’d just emerged from soaking in water.  He had
no teeth, and he’d drawn his knees up to his tiny belly so that he resembled nothing so
much as a frog … except he wasn’t quite as purple as the Orleans frog.
Val-risa chuckled happily.  “He is beautiful, isn’t he?  He looks just like his
daddy, don’t you sweety?” she cooed, touching the infant’s hand.
Jana glanced at Vin.  Instead of looking insulted, he was grinning senselessly.
“He’s got your beautiful eyes,” he disputed.
Jana studied the ‘beautiful eyes’.  The infant had ceased squalling and managed to
pry his eyes open.  His whole face was screwed up with the effort.  He looked like he was
glaring at his doting parents.
Val-risa tore her gaze from the infant and looked up at Vin, smiling, her eyes
shinning with happiness, and something Jana found hard to define.  “I love you.”
Vin leaned over and kissed her.  “I love you, too.”
The servant grasped Jana’s hand and led her from the room.
She stood in the hallway for sometime, vaguely aware of  Vin and Val-risa’s
voices as the continued to discuss the wonder of their infant.
Finally, she made her way slowly down the upper hallway and then the stairs.
When she reached the bottom, she stopped, still puzzling over the horrific event she’d
just experienced.  After a time, she became aware that she was being watched and looked
around.   Alain was seated in a chair in the front parlor, studying her through the open
doorway.
“Did she—is she all right?”
Jana stared at him uncomprehendingly for several moments and finally nodded.
“The baby?”
“I think so.”
“What did they say?
141

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Jana thought about it.  “They said it was beautiful.  It wasn’t … isn’t.  It’s the
ugliest, most horrible thing I’ve ever seen.  Maybe it wasn’t ready yet?”
“His lungs sounded well enough developed,” Alain said.
“They’re supposed to look like that?”
“I didn’t see him.”  He looked away, studying the liquid that remained in the glass
he held in his hand as if he’d forgotten he was holding it.  Finally, he put the glass to his
lips and drank, setting the empty glass on the table beside the chair.  He looked at her
again.  “I will take you to the landing site.”
Jana felt something painful jolt through her.  “You?”
He swallowed painfully.  “Yes.”
She studied him, realizing that she saw him, finally, just as he was.  Why had she
not been able to see the things he felt?  Had she simply not looked?  Had she had been
blinded by ignorance?  Or was it simply because she was too caught up in herself to see
it?  She knew, finally, what love looked like, what it felt like, how it was shown.
She’d seen Val-risa, almost crippled by the birth pains, but crawling toward her
husband because he meant more to her than her own suffering, because she was afraid for
him … because he mattered more to her than she mattered to herself.  She’d seen Vin’s
love in his absolute terror, and in his eyes when he’d looked at that frightful thing and
seen beauty, because it was his and Val-risa’s.
And she’d realized that it was never too late as long as there was love, that it was
worth whatever struggle it took to have it. “Why?” she asked at last.
He looked down at his hands.  Jana saw that they trembled slightly.  “I can’t let
you go through that.  I was … angry with you because you didn’t want to, but I was
wrong.  I can’t expect you to go through something like that.”
“Why?”  Jana asked again, moving slowly toward him.
He didn’t look at her.  “I couldn’t live with myself if anything … went wrong.  If
anything happened to you.”
Jana had reached him by then.  She took his hands, lifting his arms away, then
climbed onto his lap, settling his arms around her.  He looked startled.  She smiled
faintly.  “Why?”
“Because….”
“Because?” she prompted.
He glared at her.  “I love you, damn it!”
Jana laughed.  He looked affronted.  “That’s what I thought,” she said with
satisfaction, reaching up to caress his cheek.
“I fail to see anything humorous about … what I said,” he said tightly.
Jana shook her head, but smiled.
“Why are you smiling then?” he asked irritably.
“Because I just realized something.”
“What?”
She took his hand and placed it palm down on the swell of her belly.  “I’m having
your baby.”
He looked down at his hand, and then up at her face in consternation.  “Jana …
You’ve known that.  We both have.”
142

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Jana couldn’t help but chuckle.  He was looking at her worriedly, as if he thought
she’d loss her mind, but she sobered almost at once.  “I just realized that you gave me the
baby because you love me.  That it’s part of being loved by you and that I should feel
fortunate that I was born a woman and have the gift of being able to carry your baby.”
He looked more confused instead of less.  “You’re not afraid now?  After you saw
that?”
 “I’m not as afraid,” she corrected.  “But it’s not altogether because I saw Val-risa
having her baby.  It’s because I realized how much I love you.”
He stared at her blankly a moment, but a smile began to tug at his lips.  “You love
me?”
 She snuggled against him and sighed deeply.  “Yes!”
The End
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