Part 15 (1/2)
”Worse. He's got his eye on Mia.”
”Gaius pesters Brovik for her. Let this play out. She could be the key for us. Brovik could put Dirk's obsession to good use. Careful though- we don't want her hurt.”
”I wouldn't allow that.”
”I could stay here on this terrace under the moon, smelling the perfume of these roses forever.” Philip sighed and looked over the water. ”The view here is magnificent at twilight.”
”One wonders how it is by day.”
”You two are a picture of melancholia,” I said.
Ethan lovingly swept his eyes over me. ”We were admiring the view. It's brightened considerably with your presence.”
”Here... a present,” Philip said, presenting me with an antique mandolin. ”The poor child needs amus.e.m.e.nt. You know- she might take to piano. I know an excellent tutor.”
”Bit far to travel for lessons.”
”Afraid of other lessons she might learn?”
”From the master perhaps- not the apprentice- that would really surprise me.”
Phillip took the mandolin and sat down on the stone bench, strumming it. ”Nevertheless, you must go.
”Oh mistress mine where are you roaming?
Oh mistress mine, where are you roaming?
Can't you hear your true loves calling?
Who can sing both high and low?”
”Philip, please,” Ethan begged. ”Cease, your noise.”
”He has a fine voice!” I protested.
”You see- this one has taste.”
”Sing something else,” I pleaded.
Philip c.o.c.ked his head and changed keys, singing mournfully.
”Fortune my foe, why dost thou frown on me?
And will my favors never greater be?
Wilt thou, I say, forever breed me pain?
And wilt thou not restore my joys again?”
Ethan s.n.a.t.c.hed the mandolin away. ”Enough, unless you'd like to sport this over that obscene tie. Put it away before he sings again.”
I took the instrument inside, and then joined them on the terrace again. Philip now reclined picturesquely on the bal.u.s.trade, admiring a rosebud he'd plucked. ”Did you ever see such a garden?”
”Not since Eden,” I replied.
Philip smiled, dangling his fingers on the paving stones and pulling out moss that grew between the cracks. ”Our Eve is certainly destined to bring about the fall. She'll not rest until she's eaten of the tree of knowledge.”
”Indeed,” Ethan answered, leaning gracefully against a column with folded arms over his chest. ”She's sparred with Gaius.”
”The old Wolf? She is bold. She knows about that lot?”
”I enlightened her.”
”What do you think of him, Mia?”
I made a face. ”Not much.”
They laughed.
”If her wits match her audacity, you may have something here.”
”Had her wings singed the first time, now she plays him cool and slow.”
”Ethan won't take me to meet his women.”
Philip sat up, running his hand through his curls. ”Oh my dear, you can't be serious? They aren't women. They aren't anything resembling women.” A slow hungry smile appeared on his face. ”Well, some parts of 'em... ”
I challenged him. ”And I suppose you aren't men anymore?”
”In Philip's case the jury was decided before it convened,” Ethan said, dryly.
”Your slights on my manhood aren't to be borne.”
”So if I am an Immortyl Immortyl, I'm no longer a woman?”
Philip looked at me closely, clearing his throat. ”There are certain qualities one considers desirable in your s.e.x.”
”I wouldn't if I were you Philip,” Ethan said, shaking his head.
”Such as?” I insisted.
Philip cast about for an answer, a look of adorable bewilderment on his face.
”Get out of this one, I dare you.”
”You've tampered with her mind!”
Ethan laughed, crossing to the bench where I sat and pulling me to my feet. ”I a.s.sure you she came this way- a new breed, that sees the feminine frills for what they are, useful weapons. I'm her helpless victim.”
”Bulls.h.i.+t!” I broke away and looked out on the bay. The moon was high and full, the waters calm and black along the ribbon of light. I climbed up and walked along the narrow marble bal.u.s.trade in the manner of a tightrope walker, gracefully maintaining my balance with outstretched arms.