The Lily Brand Read Online Free

that was even more certain to put the plan on the line.
    Lillian blinked.
    Besides, would she be capable of simply ending the life of a human being? Somebody who was just as entrapped in Camille’s web as she herself was?
    His eyes met hers.
    Perhaps. If it meant sparing him the fate that awaited him at the end of the four weeks: either a life as Camille’s toy, or the mines.

Chapter 2
    Lillian thought about taking a sleeping potion herself. But as she had to rise before dawn to get the man ready, she chose a sleepless night instead, listening to his even breathing. Sometimes he would grow restless, his muscles fighting against the strain of the chains.
    When the horizon blushed with the first touch of the sun, she roused him so that she could put the gag back in place. She saw his skin ripple with gooseflesh from the cold. Or perhaps it wasn’t from the cold at all.
    Lillian looked out of the window and forced herself not to care.
    When Camille finally walked into the room, black silks rustling, Lillian was cool and poised. Clad in muted gray, she felt as if the mists outside had risen to gather around her body, to freeze her heart and soul.
    “ Bonjour, chérie .” Cold red lips touched her cheek.
    “ Bonjour, maman .”
    Behind Camille stood Maurice, her stepmother’s golden shadow for today. Arms folded across his naked chest, he wore his face in an expressionless mask. The red marks on his skin were badges of honor. Like all of Camille’s favorites, he seemed to crave his mistress’s touch.
    Camille’s gaze shifted to the man in chains, and her lips lifted in the travesty that was her smile. “It looks even better in broad daylight, n’est-ce pas ?” Slowly, she walked around the construction, appraising the well-made form and shape of the prisoner. Her fingernail trailed down his long backbone, making his muscles ripple in revulsion and herself laugh. “Stubborn, is it? Maurice…” She turned. “See to it that it learns the error of its ways.”
    Lillian’s eyes darted to the bound man’s face. Did he know the meaning of this? Could he guess?
    Her stepmother finished her tour in front of the construction. She patted the man’s cheek while his eyes shot blue fire at her. “Teach it,” she said softly, her fingers mimicking a caress, “that stubbornness is a flaw which we do not tolerate.”
    In a whirl of black, she turned to Lillian. “We should have breakfast now, chérie . Maurice will see after your present.” Thoughtfully she touched her fingers to her chin. “Should we put it back here, do you think, or should we consider the cage?”
    Lillian stood straight and unblinking. “This morning, I have a desire for a walk in the garden, I think. Could that be arranged?”
    “Of course. Maurice will prepare everything. Now come, chérie , before the chocolate grows cold in our cups.” Well aware that her stepmother’s loyal golden shadow regarded her every move, Lillian followed Camille from the room without once looking back at the spread-eagled man. She did not know why she had spared him the cage. It was just a postponement of the things to come.
    ~*~
    All the weeks since her birthday had not yet managed to accustom Lillian to the meals in the dining room. Golden decorations blazed with the light of the early morning, filling the room with a thousand small suns. Hercule was standing next to the sideboard where the chocolate was kept warm, so still he could have been a statue carved out of darkest ebony. Young Gérard of the rosy face cowered beside his mistress to feed her bits of fruit and sweet roll. If the mood took her, she bit his fingers.
    Lillian’s eyes remained cool over the rim of her cup. The chocolate tasted like acid. On her plate, the sweet rolls crumbled to sand.
    A snap of Camille’s fingers sent Gérard spreading himself on the table so she could eat the fruits off his body and scorch his skin with droplets of hot chocolate. Hercule brought the pot to fill her cup when