The Cyclops burst into tears. A waterfall of misery poured out of her single eye to break upon soul-wrenching, body-shaking sobs. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to comfort herself as best she could.
The worst part of this was that she was doing this in front of D’Arbignal. She wanted so much for him to like her, and all she had done was get caught sneaking in his tent and then to cry like a baby in front of him the very next day.
“That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting,” D’Arbignal said, looking nonplussed. “Let’s try that again.”
He ducked out of the tent. She stared at where he had been in open-mouthed astonishment.
Then he reappeared at the open tent-flap.
“I’m guessing that conversation didn’t go very well.” His voice was resonant and theatrical, his arms akimbo. “But I’m betting that what I have in this bag” —and here, he waved his hand over the sack like a magician—“will bring a smile back to that face!”
He presented his hands in a mime’s appeal for applause.
The Cyclops blinked in surprise, her sorrow momentarily forgotten in the bizarre moment. She could have imagined a number of reactions D’Arbignal might have had to her misery. This would not have been one of them.
“There, that’s better!” he said. He entered the tent, and spun around, his arms spread expansively. “Yes, this place will be perfectly suitable. Lock the door, will you, Maria?”
She started to get up, and then sat again, blinking.
“Um,” she said, “we’re in a tent.”
D’Arbignal had already moved passed her to her dressing table, and was shoving Pahula's cosmetics and beauty tools aside.
“Never mind,” he said, a whirlwind of activity. “It was joke; it’s not important. What’s important is that you trust me. Do you trust me, Maria?”
It took her a moment to realize that he was expecting a response. She shrugged, hesitant, unsure what he wanted from her.
“I guess that’ll have to do,” he said with a theatrical sigh.
He reached forward and gently cupped the sides of her face with his hands. She inhaled sharply at the unexpected sensation, and shuddered in near-orgasmic pleasure.
“Now close your eye,” he said, “and I’ll work my magic on you.”
YOU ARE READING
A Lesson for the Cyclops
RomanceDare to Hope? Maria leads a lonely existence of silent misery. Horribly disfigured, she earns a meager living as a sideshow freak. Her very existence is one of mockery, contempt, and ridicule. She has no hope, no dreams. No future. But when a dashin...
