Birds of Prey - Smith Wilbur (версия книг TXT) 📗

She spat like a cat at the thought.

Twice she had tried to kill him. Once with a dagger and once with poison. Now he made her taste every dish or bowl she served him, but the thought sustained her that one day she might succeed and watch his death throes.

"She does seem to have an angelic presence," Katinka agreed, knowing instinctively that the description would enrage its subject. "Come here, Sukeena," she ordered, and the girl came to her moving like a reed in the wind.

"Kneel down!" said Katinka, and Sukeena knelt before her, her eyes modestly downcast. "Look at me!" She raised her head.

Katinka studied her face, and spoke to Kleinhans without looking at him. "You say she is healthy?"

"Young and healthy, never a day's illness in her life."

"Is she pregnant?" Katinka asked, and ran her hand lightly over the girl's stomach. It was flat and hard.

"No! No!" Kleinhans exclaimed. "She is a virgin."

"There is never any guarantee of that state. The devil enters even the most heavily barred fortress." Katinka smiled. "But I will accept your word on it. I want to see her teeth. Open your mouth." For a moment she thought Sukeena would refuse, but then her lips parted, and her small teeth sparkled in the sunlight, whiter than freshly carved ivory.

Katinka laid the tip of her finger on the girl's lower lip. It felt soft as a rose petal, and Katinka let the moment hang, drawing out the pleasure, prolonging Sukeena's humiliation. Then, slowly and voluptuously, she ran her finger between the girl's lips. "The gesture was sexually fraught, a parody of the masculine penetration of the woman. As he watched, Kleinhans'hand began to tremble so violently that the sweet Constantia wine spilled over the rim of the glass he held. Cornelius Schreuder scowled and moved uneasily in his seat, crossing one leg over the other.

The inside of Sukeena's mouth was soft and moist. The two women stared at each other. Then Katinka began to move her finger slowly back and forth, exploring and probing while she asked Kleinhans, "Her father, this Englishman, what happened to him? If he loved his concubine, as you say he did, why did he allow her children to be sold on the slave block?"

"He was one of the English bandits that were executed while I was Governor of Batavia. I am sure you are acquainted with the incident, are you not, Mevrouw?"

"Yes, I recall it well, The accused men were tortured by the Company executioner to ascertain the extent of their villainy," Katinka said softly, still gazing into Sukeena's eyes. The extremity of the suffering she saw in them amazed and intrigued her. "I did not know that you were the Governor at that time. The girl's father was executed at your orders, then?" Katinka asked, and Sukeena's lips quivered and closed softly around Katinka's long white finger.

"I have heard that they were crucified," Katinka breathed huskily, and Sukeena's eyes filled with tears although her features remained serene. "I have heard that burning sulphur flares were applied to their feet," Katinka said, and felt the girl's tongue slide over her finger as she swallowed her grief. "And then the flares were held under their hands." Sukeena's sharp little teeth closed on her finger, not hard enough to be painful and certainly not hard enough to break or mark the white skin, but the threat was in her eyes, which were filled with hatred.

"I regret that it was necessary. The man's obstinacy was extraordinary. It must be a national trait of the English." Kleinhans nodded. "To endorse the punishment I ordered that the condemned man's concubine, her name was Ashreth, be made to watch the execution, she and the two children. Of course, at the time I knew nothing of Sukeena and her brother. It was not idle cruelty on my part but Company policy. These people do not respond to kindness, which they mistake for weakness." Kleinhans gave a sigh of regret at such intransigence.

The tears were sliding silently down Sukeena's cheeks as Kleinhans went on, "Once they had fully confessed their guilt, the criminals were burned. The flares were thrown onto the faggots of wood at their feet and the whole lot went up in the flames, which was a merciful release for all of us."

With a small shudder Katinka withdrew her finger from between the girl's trembling lips. With the tenderness of a satisfied lover she stroked the satiny cheek, her finger still wet with the girl's saliva leaving damp streaks on the amber skin.

"What happened to the woman, the concubine? Was she also sold into slavery with the children?" Katinka asked, not taking her gaze from those grief-wet eyes in front of her.

"No," Kleinhans said. "That is the strange part of the story. Ashreth threw herself into the flames and perished on the same pyre as her English lover. There is no understanding the native mind, is there?"

There was a long silence, and when a cloud passed over the sun the day seemed suddenly dark and chill.

"I will take her," Katinka said, so softly that Kleinhans cupped a hand to his ear.

"Please excuse me, Mevrouw, but I did not catch what you said."

"I will take her," Katinka repeated. "This girl, Sukeena, I will buy her from you."

"We have not yet agreed a price." Kleinhans looked startled. he had not expected it to be so easy.

"I am certain your price will be reasonable that is, if you also wish to sell me the other slaves in your span."

"You are a lady of great compassion." Kleinhans shook his head in admiration. "I see that Sukeena's story has touched your heart and that you want to take her into your care. Thank you. I know you will treat her kindly.-" Hal hung on the grating of the cell window and called his sighting to Aboli, who held him on his shoulders.