A Great and Terrible Beauty

"What are they doing?" Ann asks, turning quickly away.



"She's lying back and thinking of England!" Pippa shrieks, invoking the phrase that every English mother tells her daughter about carnal acts. We're not supposed to enjoy it. We're just supposed to put our mind on making babies for the future of the Empire and to please our husbands. For some reason, it's Kartik's face that swims inside my eyes. Those heavily fringed orbs of his coming closer, making my lips part. A strange warmth starts in my belly and seeps under every edge of me.



"Ann, don't tell me you don't know what men and women do when they're together. Shall I show you?" Felicity slithers off the rock and drags herself along the ground with her hands, leaning close to Ann, who recoils, her back against the cave wall.



"No, thank you," she whispers.



Felicity holds her gaze for a moment, then licks Ann's cheek in one long stroke. Horrified, Ann wipes at herself. Felicity only laughs and falls back against a low rock, stretching her arms over her head. Her full br**sts strain at the bodice of her gown. She stares at a point beyond our heads. "I'm going to have many men." She says this matter-of-factly, as if commenting on the weather, but she has to know she's being scandalous.



Pippa doesn't know whether to gasp or giggle so she does both. "Felicity, that's shocking!"



Felicity smells blood. She's on the scent of our discomfort and won't let go. "I am. Hordes of men! Members of Parliament and stable boys. Moors and Irishmen. Disgraced dukes! Kings!"



Pippa has her hands over her ears. "No!" she screams. "Don't tell me any more!" But she's laughing, too. She loves Felicity's brazenness.



Felicity is up, dancing, throwing herself around like a whirling dervish. "I'm going to have presidents and captains of industry! Actors and Gypsies! Poets and artists and men who will die just to touch the hem of my dress!"



"You forgot princes!" Ann shouts, giving a small, guilty smile.



"Princes!" Felicity shouts with glee. She takes Ann's hands, dances her around in circles, Felicity's blond hair whipping at the air.



Pippa is up, joining the circle. "And troubadours!" "And troubadours who sing about the sapphires of my eyes!"



I'm joining them, caught up in the swirl of it all. "Don't forget jugglers and acrobats and admirals!"



Felicity stops. Her voice is cold. "No. No admirals."



"I'm sorry, Felicity. I didn't mean anything by it," I say, straightening my dress while Pippa and Ann stare awkwardly at their feet. The silence is raw electricity between us all--one touch, one wrong word and we'll burn up. The bottle is in Felicity's hand. She takes a long, hard draw on it, doubles over from the force of the whiskey and rakes the back of her pale hand across her lips, dark with drink.



"Let's have a ritual, shall we?"



"Wh-wh-what sort of r-r-ritual?" Ann doesn't realize that she's taken a few steps away from us, toward the yawning mouth of the cave.



"I knowwe could make up an oath!" Pippa is rather pleased with herself.



"It needs to be more binding than that," Felicity says, her eyes faraway. "Promises can be forgotten. Let's do a blood ritual. We need something sharp." Her eyes fall even with my amulet, which is hanging free. "That would do nicely, I think."



Instinctively, my hand goes to it. "What are you going to do?"



Felicity exhales, rolling her eyes dramatically. "I'm going to eviscerate you and leave your organs on a pike in the yard as a warning to those who wear large jewelry."



"It was my mother's," I say. Everyone is looking at me, waiting. Finally, I bow to the silent pressure and hand over the necklace.



" Merci ." Felicity curtsies. With one quick motion she brings down the edge of the moon and slices into the pad of her finger. Blood bubbles up instantly.



"Here," she says, streaking her blood across both of my cheeks." We'll mark one another. Form a pact."



She passes the necklace to Pippa, who makes a face. "I can't believe you want me to do this. It's so animalistic. I hate the sight of blood."



"Fine. I'll do it for you, then. Shut your eyes." Felicity breaks Pippa's skin and Pippa screams as if she's been mortally wounded. "Good heavens, you're still breathing, aren't you ? Don't be such a ninny." Using Pippa's fingers, she streaks the blood over Ann's ruddy cheeks. In return, Ann wipes her bloody fingers on Pippa's porcelain skin.