Marcelle's POV:
It is amazing how long a kiss can linger on your lips. It had been five days since I had last seen dear Elizabeth, but still the taste of her mouth and breasts stayed on.
I sat on my bed on the brink of tears. I had gotten up and dressed and even applied heavy white make-up before reflecting on how pointless it all was seeing as I had nowhere to go. I missed Elizabeth, this was quite possibly the longest I had ever gone without talking to her and I longed to hear her gentle voice. I wondered whether she was missing me, or whether she hated me for what we did.
There was a knock on my door. "Hello?" I called out, clearing my throat of the lump that had built up.
"Your gentleman friend is awaiting you downstairs m'Lady," I heard my butler call in to me.
"Alright, I shall be down in a moment," I replied. What on Earth was John doing here? Thoughts ran through my mind about why he should call on me, before I decided to go and find out.
My breath caught in the back of my throat as I saw John-Laurent Lopez. He was sat in a reclined position in the padded armchair, his big brown eyes scanning the ceiling. His matching brown hair was flicked back, showig his handsome face and the way he was sat with his legs slightly open made me want to jump on him. I blinked and shook my head; my goodness what was happening to me? I was turning into an animal!
I stood in the doorway until he noticed me and grinne cheekily. Oh how I wanted him. "Come in, I cannot feel your beauty from all the way over there," he said.
I smiled shyly and sat down opposite him, "Honestly John, you should not say such things."
"Oh come now, you know you love it! How are you Marcelle?" he asked.
"Why did you call around John?" I asked.
"You have not answered my question yet," he answered, laughingly.
I sighed, "I am very well thank you John, now why did you call round?"
"You have not even asked how I am yet m'Lady, how awfully rude," he teased.
"Oh John!" I snapped and sat forward in defiance. In a childish attempt to imitate me, he sat forward too and we began to laugh until we realised how close our faces were to each other. A jolt of desire rushed through me and I closed my eyes. Our noses were touching and for a breif second, his lips brushed mine before we kissed for the first time. His lips felt so soft and warm against mine and I felt myself being enveloped in a velvety happiness, a world away from the raw passion I had felt with Elizabeth. I knew which one I should prefer, and I knew which one I did and there was no velvet about it.
I pulled away slowly, my whole body tingling, but not in pleasure. I turned aroud, concerned for the fact that anyone could have walked in and seen us. Satisfyed that they had not, I faced John, who was smirking at me. I smiled shyly and in an attempt to break the silence, said coyly, "You still did not answer my question Mr Lopez."
"Oh, Mr Lopez is it now, Miss de Lamone?" He bowed his head in mock earnest and I giggled.
"Yes Mr Lopez, and why did you call around?" I grinned.
He raised his head and his serious expression made my grin vanish. "I actually called around to ask why you and Elizabeth have not seen each other for such a log time," he said.
I gasped and clasped my hand to my mouth. I felt myself turn white and begin to shake. I bowed my head in shock, but upon feeling John's confused eyes burrow into the top of my head, the colour returned to my cheeks and they flamed red.
"John, I..." I stoped and put my hand up to my chest. I could not breathe under such direct confrontation.
"Marcelle?" John's face filled with worry and as much as I wanted to run away from the room, my shaking legs were taking me nowhere. "Have you and Elizabeth fallen out? Tom says she has not been herself for days and neither have you."
"John, something happened. Something happened and it was all my fault and now I fear she shall never forgive me, and oh John, I just cannot bear it!" I began to cry.
"Hey now," he cooed, and wrapped me up in his powerful arms. I lay my head on his shoulder as Elizabeth had done to me and let the tears come pouring out. "Do not cry Marcelle, I hate it when you do. I never ever want to see you cry."
"We are not going to have much luck if you never want to see me cry John," I said. "For I actually cry quite often."
"Then I shall go away and never bear wittness to it," John said, still holding me.
There was a pause and then I said very quietly, "But I shall need you to hold me like this again to quench my tears John."
He let go and smiled into my eyes. He began to stroke my cheek with his thumb and said, "And quench your tears I shall. Marcelle, are you aware that we are expected to marry?"
I nodded, "Yes."
He paused and then, "How do you feel about that?"
I thought about it. I would love to marry John, he was incredably handsome, funny (if not slightly vulgar), half French to match my full French and he loved me. but then my thoughts turned to Elizabeth and those huge breasts and all of that fell away. How could I marry this gorgeous, decent and kind man when I was in love with a woman? Wait, in love with her; did I just say that? Am I in love with Elizabeth?
"Marcelle?" John's face was filled with worry.
"Oh John, I have not even thought about getting married, the thought scares me immensly. But if there was anyone I should want to be married to, then it is you John," I said, alarmed at the girly trills that were emerging in my voice.
"I am so glad," he said. I took a deep breath, what had I just done?
Elizabeth's POV:
Upon my beckoning, my butler entered my bedchamber. "Your gentleman friend called to leave you some flowers m'Lady. He said he does not want you to get out of bed if you are ill, but he does not think it is appropriate to come to your bedchamber," he said.
I said up," Where is he now?"
"Well naturally m'Lady, he left," the butler said.
"Oh do go and see if you can catch up with him," I pleaded.
"Very well m'Lady," he said.
When I heard a single set of footsteps ascending the stairs a few moments later, I assumed Tom had already left, but it was in fact him who entered the room.
"Hello," I said. "You did not have to go, come and sit down on the bed."
He sat down, and his eyes roamed about in wonder. "This is the first time I have been into another girl's room apart from my Mother and sister. It is beautiful," he said.
I smiled, "Why thank you Sir."
He laughed and said, "you are very welcome Madame."
There was a pause and then I said to him, "Tom, can I ask you something?"
I lay my hand on his shoulder and and he nodded. "What would you say if I said I have the sudden urge to kiss you?"
His eyes widened until they were nearly popping out of his sockets and I bit my lip nervously. As much as I knew that women should not make sexual advances towards men for fear of being called a slut and a whore, I had gotten it into my head that the more I did with Tom, the more I could cancel out what had already been done with Marcelle.
"I would be very surprised, and I would ask when you became so outgoing, but I would eventually say yes," Tom replied.
Our eyes locked first and then our lips. My body seemed to explode as we kissed. Despite my pleasure, I could not help thinking that this should be my first kiss, but it wasn't. My first kiss was with a woman...
He pulled away and I let out a little moan that sent my cheeks up in flames.
"That good huh?" Tom grinned at me. He drew me in close to him, before announcing that he had to leave.
I lay back on my bed, relishing the good feeling that I held inside and smiling at the prospect of being alone with my thoughts for a while. Or so I though.
It turns out that I wa not alone for more than a few minutes, before there was a knock at my bedchamber door.
"Come in?" I called out uncertainly, assuming Tom had left something here but not being able to guess what.
But it was not Tom, as I soon discovered when Marcelle's head poked around the door. "It is me darling, may I come in?"
My eyes widened in shock, but I nodded. "Why did you come?"
She bowed her head and wrung her hands together, a trait that I could trace back to childhood. "I missed you Lizzie."
"Do not call me that," I said coldly.
She looked up with glistening eyes, "But you said you loved it when I called you that."
"That was then and this is now," I said. I had to fight to stop my voice from breaking with the emotion that threatened to flood it. Her tears were breaking my heart into pieces, but at the same time I just wanted her to go.
"Oh Elizabeth, I am so sorry about what happenedd I swear. I know it was my fault, it went too far and it was sinful and evil I know. But plase, please do not hate me!" She cried.
Suddenly I could bear it no longer and I leaped from my bed and ran across the room to her. I threw my arms over her shoulders and kissed her, letting all the familier electric charges run up my body. When I pulled away, I realised that both of our faces were stained with tears.
"Please Marcelle, you cannot come here again," I told her. It felt like someone was wrenching my heart out and pulling it apart in front of me, but this could not continue and we both knew it.
That is why she nodded in a strange kind of acceptance, but then said, "I love you Lizzie."
My heart began to pount in my chest and suddenly I knew the answer, "I love you too Marcelle. You were my best friend and then you were my ... my lover and now you are going to have to be nothing because what we did was wrong."
"I know," she said simply. Her face was so stained with tears that she may as well not have put any make up on before she left her house and I imagined I looked much the same. We made no noise as we cried, mourning for each other before she had even gone. We looked at each other and in a strange way, we both accepted that this was the end.
** I have decided to end the book here because I am a huge fan of sad endings! I'm so sorry guys, and I know that lots of you did not want this but the truth is, I ran out of inspiration for it! I know, I know, and one day I may write a sequel to it. I'm not just saying that either, I do have an idea but right now I think I need to work on other things. I cannot believe how many followers I have gotten from this and how many people liked this book! :) Love you guys and thank you so much for reading! **