Ravendorf Ch. 01

She was incredibly aware of Lila moving beside her. She knew the gypsy’s skin would smell fresh from her bath. She had reached the clearing so quickly that she had not dried her body, and her clothing stuck to the sections of her skin that were still damp. Margaret wanted to ask so many questions of the woman, but she didn’t trust her voice.

“It is a nice night for a swim,” Lila agreed. She did Margaret a service by not asking why the girl had changed her mind. Margaret stole glances at Lila as they walked, memorizing little details of her profile each time. She didn’t think the girl was older than twenty-five, but Lila had a worldliness to her that made her seem much older. Beside the gypsy, Margaret felt much younger than her eighteen years.

They made no sound on the dirt path as the castle loomed into view. Margaret found herself walking slower, not wanting the journey to end. Lila matched the pace perfectly. They stepped through the hedge and into the rose garden. Margaret looked at the window of her room. She could see the lantern still burning beside the bed. Lila paused just inside the garden, her eyes following Margaret’s. When Margaret realized Lila had stopped, she turned around with a puzzled look. “You’ll be safe from here.”

“Oh,” Margaret muttered. “Thank you for the escort.” She knew she should turn and walk away, but for some reason she did not want to give up the moment. Lila also stood at the edge of the garden, not offering to return to her camp. A silence that had been a little awkward now seemed unbearable. “I’m Margaret.”

“I know, Milady. I am Lila.”

“Lila,” Margaret repeated. Saying the woman’s name sent chills racing across her spine. She did not understand her reaction to the stranger and while it surprised her and made her feel uncomfortable, she also did not want it to stop. “That is a beautiful name.”

Lila smiled and it took Margaret’s breath. It was a soft smile. Her lips curled slightly and her eyelids lowered. “You are a beautiful woman,” Lila said in her husky voice. There was something different in it this time. Margaret couldn’t name it, but it made her blood run faster. “Your fiancé is very lucky.”

Margaret shrugged, sitting down on one of the low benches in the garden. “I suppose I should consider myself lucky that my father made such a good match for me. Without any brothers, everyone knew that the son-in-law would inherit Ravendorf. Phillip is a good man. He is gentle and kind and handsome. He’ll be a good husband and a good father.” The sigh that followed her statement betrayed all her pent up emotions about the upcoming wedding and her life with Phillip.

“Arranged marriages must be difficult. I am lucky in that regard. No one is beating down Poppa’s door because they want his money. Quinn would like to be more, I think, but he is more like a brother to me.” Lila kept her distance from Margaret, not moving from her spot near the trees. Margaret stared at her through the darkness. Her face was partly shielded by the shadow of the branches. In her white, she was almost an apparition. Margaret was trying to think of a way to respond when Lila continued. “Have you kissed him?”

Margaret’s eyes widened in surprise and she felt her blush brighten. Her face had felt like it was on fire since Lila had started her dance. She looked away demurely as she answered. “No. I mean, we have kissed on the cheek, but not . . . like a man kisses his wife.” Lila laughed at Margaret’s admission and Margaret angrily sprang to her feet. “I am a proper lady and Phillip is a gentleman. Just because you like a wanton lifestyle, it gives you no excuse to laugh at my morals.”

“Get off your high horse, Milady,” Lila said, still laughing. “I was laughing at how shy you were, not at the fact that you have never really been kissed. I think you’d feel a lot better about marrying Herr von Goring if you would kiss him.” She walked to Margaret’s side now, sitting down on the bench. When she spoke, her voice again had that sultry quality that made Margaret’s stomach flutter. “Do you know how to kiss, Milady?”

Margaret’s eyes fell on Lila’s full lips. As she watched, Lila’s tongue darted out and moistened them. Margaret was having trouble breathing. Her world had shrunk to be nothing but the rose garden and Lila. She could smell the woman’s freshly washed skin and hair. She saw nothing but Lila. Her tongue mimicked Lila’s. She could hear her own harsh breathing and Lila’s question echoing over and over in her head. She couldn’t force herself to answer, so Lila leaned forward, laying her fingertips on Margaret’s cheek, and kissed the young girl softly.

Margaret remained perfectly still as Lila’s lips pressed to hers. It was a firm pressure though her lips were soft. Instinctively, Margaret’s lips opened a little, returning the pressure. Lila’s fingertips on her cheek were rougher than she expected them to be, but not unpleasant. Lila took the opening that Margaret gave, pushing her tongue into the small opening. Her lips were no longer steady, but moving and urging Margaret’s to move as well. Margaret could feel the woman’s tongue in her mouth, rubbing along the roof, behind the teeth, and into the cheeks. When Margaret’s own tongue got in the way of Lila’s assault and the two rough, sensitive pads brushed together, Margaret moaned.

Lila slid her hand beneath the robe and found Margaret’s breast as she continued the kiss, her lips pushing against Margaret so that she could go deeper into the girl’s mouth. Her tongue was now tickling the back of Margaret’s throat as she massaged the small hard breast beneath her palm.

She sucked Margaret’s tongue into her own mouth, closing her lips around it. Margaret did not protest, pressing her body into Lila. Her own hands were clinched tightly in her lap, but she dipped her shoulder in order to increase the pressure that Lila’s hand was putting on her sensitive globes.

Lila was slow to pull away. Her hand dropped and her kiss eased until it was small nibbles on Margaret’s lips. When the woman sat up completely, air separating the two of them, Margaret moaned in regret and loss. She forced her dreamy eyes open and focused on Lila’s sultry smile. “That’s how a person kisses the person they love,” the singer whispered.

Lila stood without further comment and disappeared the way they had come. Margaret sat on the bench for another few minutes. She could still taste Lila’s mouth. She put her fingers to her lips, and then pulled back as if she expected blood to be on them. Her body was thrumming now. She could feel herself vibrating with the undercurrents of Lila’s touch. Still sitting on the bench, she scooted to the edge and parted her robe. She pulled the nightgown up and slid her hand underneath the material, touching her curls. She could feel a heat and dampness she had never experienced before pouring from that part of her body. For a moment, she wandered if she was sick and if she should hurry in the house and wake her father.

Instead, she slid her finger deeper, parting the swollen hot lips. She was surprised at how easily it slipped between her legs and into the darker recesses of her body. She thought of the way the Lila had moaned earlier and she moved her finger, seeking a spot that would make her do the same.

She heard the dogs barking before she saw the guards. She quickly pulled her finger out and pushed her gown down. She crouched behind the bench, watching the guard make his nightly round. When he had rounded the corner, she ran across the open courtyard and scrambled sure-footedly up the lattice work to her bedroom window. She threw off the coat and shoes and fell onto her bed. Her body still burned. She rolled onto her side, pressing her legs tightly together, and sought a fitful sleep, unaware that Lila had returned the earlier favor.

Lila had watched Margaret from the shadows.