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Ravendorf Ch. 01

By: Belle_in_south



It was summer in Bavaria. The jagged snow-capped peaks of the Alps extended above the lush evergreens. Margaret of Ravendorf stood on the small balcony outside her bedroom, gazing to the Zugpitz and the Austrian border. She could see the glistening of Ravendorf Lake a quarter of a mile away from her father’s castle. The water was like crystal. Even from this difference, she could see the sun reflecting off the blue surface. A pleasant breeze coasted down the glacial valleys, ruffling her blonde hair and the folds of her heavy dress.

She thought about Austria as she gazed across the German valley that bore her father’s name. Her father occasionally traveled to Vienna and had once taken her. She had loved the scenery through the winding mountain paths and the way her pulse had seemed to quicken while walking down the streets in Vienna. She longed to go back someday. She wanted to travel to Athens and visit the ruins of the Greek gods. She hungered for Florence where artists and scholars were flourishing. Ravendorf had even see visitors from Paris. Whenever travelers sought to board on Ravendorf’s grounds, she yearned to hear of their adventures. She loved Garmisch, the town that linked Ravendorf with the other manors in the area, but she wanted to see the rest of the world for herself. She wanted to go beyond Munich.

Near the lake, she could see the brightly colored tents and wagons of the traveling musicians who would be performing at the banquet hall tonight. She wanted to know where they had been and where they were going, but it was inappropriate for the Lady of Ravendorf to speak to the minstrels without her father’s presence.

“Mistress,” a soft voice whispered behind her. She sighed, turning from the majestic view that offered so much unspoken opportunity. Her maid, Elaine, stood just inside the door. Elaine was a small woman close to Margaret’s age. In their childhood, they played near the lake together. She had been called into service as Margaret’s maid when she was thirteen and Margaret was glad to have her friend nearby. “Your father is calling for you.” She motioned for Margaret to have a seat so that she could fix her windblown hair. Margaret sat down and Elaine began using combs to pin hair away from her face. “Master Phillip has arrived. He is so handsome. Your father made a smart match for you.”

“Yes,” Margaret replied, releasing a long breath. Phillip von Goring was her fiancé. The marriage had been arranged before Margaret was a year old. Phillip would take her back to Vienna where he would work in service of the Holy Roman Emperor. He was from a wealthy family, but as the second son he had not inherited the Baron’s title or land. Margaret was an only child. After the wedding, Phillip would have the Ravendorf lands and title.

Phillip was not a stranger to Margaret. She knew many of her contemporaries dealt with that fate. Some of them never even saw their betrothed until their wedding night, but Phillip had been to Ravendorf many times. She had visited him on her trip to Vienna. He was a gentle man. He would be good to her. Elaine was right. He was a handsome man and a smart match.

She looked longingly toward the open window one last time before following Elaine into the corridor.

The great hall was filled with flowers and the wafting smell of the hog roasting outside. Father had personally selected the meal for Phillip’s arrival and Margaret had overseen the decorating. The room was filled with vases of flowers from every field on Ravendorf’s property. On the main table were two bouquets of roses from her mother’s rose garden. She had insisted on the roses. Her mother had spent hours among the bushes. The presence of the delicate red buds made her feel like her mother was there. 

“Everything looks so beautiful, Miss,” Elaine said in the same soft, subservient voice that Margaret was accustomed to. She turned to Margaret one more time, making a few final touches to the girl’s hair and dress. “So do you. You will take Master Phillip’s breath away.”

“She always does,” a deep voice rumbled from behind. Both of the women turned to find Phillip standing nearby. He was tall, with sandy brown wavy hair and warm grey eyes. “You look ravishing, Lady Margaret,” he said, taking her hand and bending over it. His soft lips touched the back of her hand. “Hello, Elaine.”

“Master von Goring,” she mumbled, backing away from him hurriedly, her cheeks a bright pink.

Margaret laughed lightly, looking into Phillip’s face. “I think she wishes she could marry you instead of me.” She slid her hand into the offered arm and allowed Phillip to guide her into the great hall. “How was the trip, Sir?” she asked casually as he escorted her to her father.

“It was long and dusty but uneventful, thank goodness. I will be glad when we are married and are able to stay in one place. Thieves and marauders like the seclusion of the mountain roads. I am surprised that I have made as many trips as I have without being ambushed.”

“That’s because you travel with your guards and under the banner of the Emperor,” she laughed. “We’ll stay in Vienna, won’t we?”

Phillip’s brow creased as he thought about his answer. “I will one day be Lord of Ravendorf. I think we should stay here so I can work with your father and learn all I need to know about the land and the people.”

Margaret felt the blood drain from her face. She had so wanted to escape Ravendorf for a while, even if it was only to Vienna. “What will you do about your duties at court, Sir? The Emperor relies on you.”

“The Emperor needs a governor in this district,” Phillip replied. They had reached the head table and her father. Phillip bowed sharply before shaking the hand of his future father. “Lord Ravendorf, your hospitality is generous as always.”

Margaret quietly kissed her father’s cheek and sat down at the table between him and her betrothed. Neither man noticed her sullen silence as other visitors entered the great hall and graciously greeted their hosts and the future Lord of Ravendorf. Margaret politely greeted those who spoke to her. They were mostly people she had known her entire life. The other nobles from the Garmisch district and their families had come to inspect the man who would soon be their neighbor.

Margaret wasn’t aware of the musicians entering the hall until the first gentle cords of the lute filled the cavernous room. The crowd had enjoyed Lord Ravendorf’s food and wine and were well sated as the garishly dress minstrels played a familiar tune. There were five men in the group and one woman. 

Margaret’s eyes were drawn to the woman as she moved to the center of the floor and began to dance. The woman had long, midnight black hair that swirled around her body as she moved to the music. Her skin was olive and after a moment of her twirling it glistened in the firelight. She wore a gauzy white blouse and a billowing skirt that wrapped around her waist. The bright red of the skirt flared as she danced and swayed across the floor. Her hips were slender and her legs were long. 

Margaret felt her mouth go dry and she sipped at the wine in her glass, trying to look at anything but the dancing woman. As her eyes swept the guests, she noticed most of the men were also enraptured by the swirling mass in the center of the room. . 


Margaret was sorry that the dance was coming to an end. The gypsy was smiling as she moved around the room, her long, olive arms flailing in rhythm. Her entire body was involved in the music. Her hips swayed and the gauze slid over her breasts. She batted her eyelids, the full dark lashes fanning on her cheeks. She was breathless as the music came to the stop and the captured audience broke into an appreciative round of applause.

The gypsy bowed deeply and Margaret thought she saw a few men straining to see through the gap the bow created between her shirt and her skin. She backed away and three of the men came forward to do some acrobatics. Margaret tried to concentrate on the performance, but her mind returned to the gypsy. The dark woman was talking quietly with the older man who seemed to be the leader of the group. 

When the acrobats finished, the men returned to their instruments. The wooden flute played a haunting melody. The voice of the woodwind was soon joined by an even more haunting sound. The lovely gypsy was singing now. Margaret focused on the movement of the full red lips as the woman lamented a forbidden love lost. Her voice was husky and strong. Margaret felt goose bumps form on her skin as she listened to the melody. She leaned forward in her chair, moistening her lips. She was transfixed.

The night was a series of climaxes and plateaus for Margaret as the woman would perform and then step to the back of the stage. Later, she couldn’t recall what the other acts were. She only remembered the heady sound of the gypsy’s voice and the way the woman’s body moved in perfect time.

Elaine was waiting in Margaret’s room when Phillip escorted his bride-to-be down the hall. She helped Margaret undress, asking questions about the party and the entertainment. “I watched from the entrance to the kitchen,” she whispered. “That woman had a beautiful voice.”

“Yes, she did,” Margaret mused distractedly as she slipped her sleeping gown over her head. The arms were cinched and the hem brushed against her ankles. The bodice of the gown had laces across it, but she never tied them very securely. She stood in the open window, again staring across the valley to the mountains. The campfires of the minstrels’ camp caught her eye and she gazed longingly in the direction. The gypsy’s face flashed across her mind again. Margaret closed her eyes, reliving the incredible dance sway to sensuous sway. 

Her mouth went dry again. She felt her breasts straining at the bodice of the sheer gown. There was a yearning in the pit of her stomach. Her nipples, brushing against the fabric, were connected directly to the juncture of her thighs. She heard the door connecting her room to Elaine’s close and she turned to see the handmaid had turned back the blankets. With the burning between her thighs, the bed was the last place Margaret wanted to go. She slipped into a pair of soft shoes and put a heavy robe over her arms. She went to the window and looked over the grounds, making sure that no one was nearby. She swung her leg over the edge of the balcony and with sure footing made her way down the latticework.

She strolled through the rose garden, wishing her mother was there. She longed to talk to her mother about the turmoil she felt. She liked Phillip. Her mind told her that he was a good man and she would learn to love him. Her heart screamed for her to escape Ravendorf before Phillip took her to his bed. Her mother would clear her head. She breathed deeply of the roses, loving the fragrance.

She did not linger in the rose garden. Soon the heavy scent of the roses had her mind back on the gypsy. She didn’t even have to close her eyes to picture a rose tucked into the entertainer’s bosom. Margaret wanted to know what kind of smell the woman had. Phillip always smelled of tobacco and horses.

Her wondering thoughts were not easing the throbbing in her body. She couldn’t put a name to her feelings, but she knew what would ease them. Elaine had made her feel this way when they were young teenagers. Elaine’s shift would cling to her body when they swam. Elaine had developed faster than Margaret, and Margaret had been unable to help staring. She had felt the same stirring then as she did now, though it was much more intense now than it ever had been with Elaine. 

Ravendorf Lake had offered her solace as a thirteen year old. The cold water had always quenched the thrilling sensations. She glanced toward the house to make sure that no one was watching or following her before she slipped through the hedge and into the forest. The moon in the cloudless sky was full, but she wouldn’t have needed a light anyway. She knew the path to the lake well. Her steps became quicker and surer as she walked along the hard dirt path toward the calling crystal water. She shed the heavy robe as she ran. She removed her shoes to feel the soft grass and sand near the lake. Her fingers worked on the laces at the bodice of the gown. By the time she was a few feet from the lake, she was completely nude, her pale body glowing in the moonlight. She was about to dive into the cool water when nearby splashing froze her. 

She froze in mid-step, grateful that she had not yet passed the last clearing of trees. She stopped and crouched, hoping to make herself invisible as she peered through a break in the hedge. The gypsy woman was in the water, enjoying the coolness as much as Margaret had anticipated that she would. The stranger was a good distance away from the camp and Margaret suspected that the woman had sought a spot far away from the potentially prying eyes of her band mates. Margaret knew she should retreat and allow the woman to continue her bath in private, but she felt glued to her spot. She was as transfixed now as she had been during the dance earlier.

Her black hair seemed to be just a shadow in the darkness. It was wet and clung to her head and back. When she stood, the tips of it brushed the backs of her thighs. Margaret yearned to touch it. She wanted to feel the weight. She could imagine the smoothness of her hair. She wanted the woman to lay her head in her lap and spread that black mane like a blanket over her thighs. She wanted to put her nose to it and breathe deeply.

The woman exploded out of the water with a powerful thrust of her legs. Margaret’s breath caught as the dark body was silhouetted against the moon. The water pearled on her body and in this light glistened like pieces of gold. Margaret strained to get a better view. Unbound, her breasts were heavy. Her nipples were surprisingly light for the darkness of her body. Margaret did not have to struggle to see that the woman’s nipples were hard. She wondered what they felt like and blushed as she thought about how they must taste. Unconsciously, Margaret’s fingers moved to her own small, pert breasts. They were half the size of the woman’s globes. Her fingers brushed her nipples, rolling them between her fingers. She bit back a moan as she imagined that her own hands were the woman’s.

Margaret’s eyes followed the drops of water down the gypsy’s smooth stomach. As if she knew she was on display, the woman spread her legs a little, bracing herself in the soft sand that formed the foundation of the lake. Margaret shifted a little, trying to see in the darkness the juncture of the woman’s thighs. The apex was smooth. When the woman lifted her hands over her head, the moon light seemed to highlight the area. Wishing she could get a clearer view, Margaret’s hand now snaked between her legs, touching her own soft blonde curls in curiosity. She had never paid that much attention to that part of her body but she couldn’t pull her eyes away from the gypsy’s dark sex.

The woman turned her back to Margaret. Margaret allowed her eyes to study the gypsy’s bottom. It was firm from her dancing. Margaret was most captivated by the consistently of the woman’s coloring. There was no change in colors where her clothes should be. The olive tint that had captured Margaret’s attention during the dance didn’t just touch the woman’s arms and face, but her breasts, legs, and that inviting smooth juncture at the top of the long legs.

Margaret almost moaned in disappointment when the gypsy sat down in the water. It broke the spell for a moment and she started to turn away, but the gypsy moved again. She lay back in the shallow water, arching her body to the moon. She rested on one elbow. The other hand moved over her breast, touching and tugging her nipple. The hand snaked over the olive ribcage and into the dark valley. Margaret returned to her hiding place, leaning forward. She could only see the woman’s profile. Her neck was tilted back and her breasts thrust toward the cloudless sky. She could not see what the woman’s hand was doing between her legs, but when a low moan escaped the gypsy’s throat, Margaret shuddered. Her eyes widened at the incredible sensation and she lost her balance, tilting noisily into the shrubbery.

She gasped and stumbled back, scrambling away from the bush as the gypsy quickly sat up and turned toward the shadows. Margaret heard the water sloshing as the stranger rose from the lake bed. Margaret grabbed her nightgown and shoes, hugging them to her as she hurried in a low crouch through the trees, hoping she would be far enough away that the woman would never catch her. She bent to pick up the long robe that she had shed in her desire to cool herself in the lake, never breaking her stride.

As she rose, she ran straight into a wall. She staggered back for a moment, adjusting her eyes to the shadow. She was certain there had never been a wall in this part of the forest before. It was not a wall, but the tall barrel-chested man who had formed the base of all the human pyramids during the performance tonight. He had sandy brown hair, but the rest of his body was hidden in the moonlight. Margaret stepped back, using the bundle of clothing to attempt to cover her breasts.

“Well, well, well,” he said in a deep, menacing voice. Margaret wished that the ground would swallow her. She glanced around nervously, trying to find a means of escape. “What do we have here?” He easily pulled the bundle from Margaret’s arms, his eyes sweeping over her nude body. He reached out to touch her breast and she cringed as his rough fingers moved across her soft flesh. “Don’t be so shy, missy. A young lass who wanders around the woods without any clothes on must be looking for something. It seems something has found you.”

“That’s enough, Quinn,” a husky voice hissed from behind Margaret. They both turned as the woman emerged from the bushes. Her clothing clung to her wet body as she stepped into the clearing and bent to pick up Margaret’s clothing. Margaret tried not to stare at the outline of the nipples on the gauzy material. “This is the Lady of Ravendorf. You’ll keep your hands to yourself or Poppa will break them.”

Quinn scowled at the woman as her body blocked his view of Margaret. She bunched the material of the gown in her hands and held it above Margaret’s head. “Damn it, Lila, she’s naked. She was watching you take your bath.”

Meekly, Margaret held up her arms as Lila dropped the gown into place. “Speaking of my bath, what are you doing so close while I am taking a bath? Poppa will do more than break your hands over that.” She handed the robe and shoes to Margaret and turned on Quinn. He was nearly half a foot taller than the woman, but she did not back down a bit. “We are under the protection of Lord Ravendorf. If his daughter was to show up soiled, they wouldn’t have to look far to point an accusing finger, and this time they would be right. You would find yourself on the business end of a long sword, I think. I don’t care if she was running around the camp naked; you will keep your hands to yourself.”

Quinn glowered at Lila, his jaw set in frustration, but took a step back. He put a finger in Lila’s face. “Watch yourself, girl,” he warned before turning and stomping through the forest for the camp.

Lila looked over her shoulder at Margaret, who had finished putting on her shoes and pulled the robe over her shoulders. She still wished the ground would consume her. “Quinn really isn’t a beast, but he can be a dangerous man when he’s had too much wine. I should walk you back to the castle. What are you doing out alone tonight, anyway?”

“I had thought I would take a swim,” Margaret answered timidly. She was surprised to hear Elaine’s submissive tone in her reply. She fell into step beside Lila, still embarrassed to have been caught watching Lila bathing. A red flush crept into her cheeks as she thought about what else she had seen Lila doing. The flush flowed down her body in the silence as they walked. Her nipples tingled and the lower portion of her body burned. She would never fall to sleep now. There would be no relief for her body tonight.


Ravendorf Ch. 01



She was incredibly aware of Lila moving beside her. She knew the gypsy’s skin would smell fresh from her bath. She had reached the clearing so quickly that she had not dried her body, and her clothing stuck to the sections of her skin that were still damp. Margaret wanted to ask so many questions of the woman, but she didn’t trust her voice.

“It is a nice night for a swim,” Lila agreed. She did Margaret a service by not asking why the girl had changed her mind. Margaret stole glances at Lila as they walked, memorizing little details of her profile each time. She didn’t think the girl was older than twenty-five, but Lila had a worldliness to her that made her seem much older. Beside the gypsy, Margaret felt much younger than her eighteen years. 

They made no sound on the dirt path as the castle loomed into view. Margaret found herself walking slower, not wanting the journey to end. Lila matched the pace perfectly. They stepped through the hedge and into the rose garden. Margaret looked at the window of her room. She could see the lantern still burning beside the bed. Lila paused just inside the garden, her eyes following Margaret’s. When Margaret realized Lila had stopped, she turned around with a puzzled look. “You’ll be safe from here.”


“Oh,” Margaret muttered. “Thank you for the escort.” She knew she should turn and walk away, but for some reason she did not want to give up the moment. Lila also stood at the edge of the garden, not offering to return to her camp. A silence that had been a little awkward now seemed unbearable. “I’m Margaret.”

“I know, Milady. I am Lila.”

“Lila,” Margaret repeated. Saying the woman’s name sent chills racing across her spine. She did not understand her reaction to the stranger and while it surprised her and made her feel uncomfortable, she also did not want it to stop. “That is a beautiful name.”

Lila smiled and it took Margaret’s breath. It was a soft smile. Her lips curled slightly and her eyelids lowered. “You are a beautiful woman,” Lila said in her husky voice. There was something different in it this time. Margaret couldn’t name it, but it made her blood run faster. “Your fiancé is very lucky.”

Margaret shrugged, sitting down on one of the low benches in the garden. “I suppose I should consider myself lucky that my father made such a good match for me. Without any brothers, everyone knew that the son would inherit Ravendorf. Phillip is a good man. He is gentle and kind and handsome. He’ll be a good husband and a good father.” The sigh that followed her statement betrayed all her pent up emotions about the upcoming wedding and her life with Phillip. 

“Arranged marriages must be difficult. I am lucky in that regard. No one is beating down Poppa’s door because they want his money. Quinn would like to be more, I think, but he is more like a brother to me.” Lila kept her distance from Margaret, not moving from her spot near the trees. Margaret stared at her through the darkness. Her face was partly shielded by the shadow of the branches. In her white, she was almost an apparition. Margaret was trying to think of a way to respond when Lila continued. “Have you kissed him?”

Margaret’s eyes widened in surprise and she felt her blush brighten. Her face had felt like it was on fire since Lila had started her dance. She looked away demurely as she answered. “No. I mean, we have kissed on the cheek, but not . . . like a man kisses his wife.” Lila laughed at Margaret’s admission and Margaret angrily sprang to her feet. “I am a proper lady and Phillip is a gentleman. Just because you like a wanton lifestyle, it gives you no excuse to laugh at my morals.”

“Get off your high horse, Milady,” Lila said, still laughing. “I was laughing at how shy you were, not at the fact that you have never really been kissed. I think you’d feel a lot better about marrying Herr von Goring if you would kiss him.” She walked to Margaret’s side now, sitting down on the bench. When she spoke, her voice again had that sultry quality that made Margaret’s stomach flutter. “Do you know how to kiss, Milady?”

Margaret’s eyes fell on Lila’s full lips. As she watched, Lila’s tongue darted out and moistened them. Margaret was having trouble breathing. Her world had shrunk to be nothing but the rose garden and Lila. She could smell the woman’s freshly washed skin and hair. She saw nothing but Lila. Her tongue mimicked Lila’s. She could hear her own harsh breathing and Lila’s question echoing over and over in her head. She couldn’t force herself to answer, so Lila leaned forward, laying her fingertips on Margaret’s cheek, and kissed the young girl softly.

Margaret remained perfectly still as Lila’s lips pressed to hers. It was a firm pressure though her lips were soft. Instinctively, Margaret’s lips opened a little, returning the pressure. Lila’s fingertips on her cheek were rougher than she expected them to be, but not unpleasant. Lila took the opening that Margaret gave, pushing her tongue into the small opening. Her lips were no longer steady, but moving and urging Margaret’s to move as well. Margaret could feel the woman’s tongue in her mouth, rubbing along the roof, behind the teeth, and into the cheeks. When Margaret’s own tongue got in the way of Lila’s assault and the two rough, sensitive pads brushed together, Margaret moaned.

Lila slid her hand beneath the robe and found Margaret’s breast as she continued the kiss, her lips pushing against Margaret so that she could go deeper into the girl’s mouth. Her tongue was now tickling the back of Margaret’s throat as she massaged the small hard breast beneath her palm.

She sucked Margaret’s tongue into her own mouth, closing her lips around it. Margaret did not protest, pressing her body into Lila. Her own hands were clinched tightly in her lap, but she dipped her shoulder in order to increase the pressure that Lila’s hand was putting on her sensitive globes.

Lila was slow to pull away. Her hand dropped and her kiss eased until it was small nibbles on Margaret’s lips. When the woman sat up completely, air separating the two of them, Margaret moaned in regret and loss. She forced her dreamy eyes open and focused on Lila’s sultry smile. “That’s how a person kisses the person they love,” the singer whispered.

Lila stood without further comment and disappeared the way they had come. Margaret sat on the bench for another few minutes. She could still taste Lila’s mouth. She put her fingers to her lips, and then pulled back as if she expected blood to be on them. Her body was thrumming now. She could feel herself vibrating with the undercurrents of Lila’s touch. Still sitting on the bench, she scooted to the edge and parted her robe. She pulled the nightgown up and slid her hand underneath the material, touching her curls. She could feel a heat and dampness she had never experienced before pouring from that part of her body. For a moment, she wandered if she was sick and if she should hurry in the house and wake her father.

Instead, she slid her finger deeper, parting the swollen hot lips. She was surprised at how easily it slipped between her legs and into the darker recesses of her body. She thought of the way the Lila had moaned earlier and she moved her finger, seeking a spot that would make her do the same. 

She heard the dogs barking before she saw the guards. She quickly pulled her finger out and pushed her gown down. She crouched behind the bench, watching the guard make his nightly round. When he had rounded the corner, she ran across the open courtyard and scrambled sure-footedly up the lattice work to her bedroom window. She threw off the coat and shoes and fell onto her bed. Her body still burned. She rolled onto her side, pressing her legs tightly together, and sought a fitful sleep, unaware that Lila had returned the earlier favor.

Lila had watched Margaret from the shadows.



Ravendorf Ch. 02



The horse's hooves pounded on the ground as Margaret pushed the mare across the open meadow. She wore her hair loose and it flowed behind her as she urged her mount to go faster. She enjoyed the feeling of the animal's strong flanks on the inside of her legs and the way the saddle rubbed against her body as she urged the majestic creature through the forest.

She had not slept well at all during the night. Every time she had closed her eyes, she had seen Lila's wet body. Even in the morning light, she could picture the way the moonlight had glistened over the woman's dark skin. She could still taste Lila's sweet lips and feel the tongue that had expertly explored her mouth in the rose garden. 

Elaine had chattered about the upcoming nuptials as she had helped Margaret dress. Partly from exhaustion and partly because of her churning mind, Margaret had barely commented. Phillip and Father had talked about the property and things at court all morning. She usually loved to hear about the excitement in the King's palace, but this morning she couldn't even enjoy the intrigue. Breakfast had been followed by a visit with the seamstress for a final fitting of her wedding gown. She had been poked and prodded by the seamstress and her assistants for an hour. She finally lost herself in her thoughts, imagining that the assistants' hands were Lila's. Those thoughts had left her nipples pushing against the fabric of her gown and the juncture between her legs throbbing again. She knew the seamstress had to notice the nipples pressing through the material. A blush crept into her cheeks and she tried to focus on something else.

When the seamstress had finished, Margaret went to the kitchen and filled a canvas sack with fruit and cheese. She thought about going to sit by the lake to enjoy her lunch, but she was afraid that Lila would be there, so she had decided on a long ride through the mountains would ease her body. The groomsman had helped her prepare the roan mare and Margaret had escaped.

Her mind had stayed with her, though. Lila came back again and again. No matter how hard she had pushed, the dark woman had lingered just outside her conscious thoughts. She had thought the ride would ease her discomfort, but instead the rocking on the saddle had spurred the throbbing between her legs to a new height. When she dismounted near the cool creek, she stood beside the horse for a few minutes, breathing hard and making sure her legs were secure underneath her. 

She secured the mare with a long rope and dipped her toes into the creek. The frigid water helped cool the sweat from her forehead and eased the heat that flowed through her blood as well. She spread the blanket on the soft creek bank and sat down to enjoy her cheese and fruit. She usually enjoyed being alone and having the time to think, but today she quickly found herself regretting her decision. Without Elaine or Phillip there to distract her, all she could think about was Lila. 

"Perhaps a trip to the priest for confession would have been more productive than this ride," she grumbled to herself, lying back on the blanket with closed eyes. When she opened them, she cried out in surprise. Lila was standing at the edge of the trees. She wasn't hiding, but she had come up quietly. Margaret let out a little scream and sat up, turning her body halfway toward the woman as she did. 

Lila threw her head back and laughed at Margaret's shock. It allowed Margaret a moment to take in the gypsy. Her hair was again flowing loosely around her face in a mass of busy curls. The sleeves had been removed from the blouse she wore. Shirt, Margaret corrected. It looked like she was wearing a man's shirt. Only two of the buttons were fastened. The one directly over her breasts and the next one down hid the globes from view but did not cover her flat brown stomach. Margaret was surprised to see the woman wearing man's breeches. They fit snugly and did nothing to hide Lila's curves. She wore boots and her pants were tucked into the tops. She was leading a big black horse. 

Silently, Lila led her mount to the creek side. She did not bother tethering the huge animal. She stood beside him, rubbing her hands over his flanks and talking softly in a language Margaret did not understand. "Seems you and I think alike," Lila said to Margaret as she released the animal and turned to the smaller woman. She put her hands on her hips and stared down at Margaret. From this angle, she seemed to tower over the noblewoman. "It seems you and I must think alike often. We both wanted to swim last night and chose to ride today." Her voice dropped to the same husky tone that had sent Margaret into turmoil in the clearing the night before. "I just want to know if you are running from the same things that I am."

"Who said anything about running?" Margaret snapped, not liking the feelings that Lila stirred inside her. She pulled herself to an upright position, trying to keep herself angry. Just being close to Lila was making her insides warm. Her breasts were starting to tighten at the same time the lower part of her body was turning loose. 

Lila laughed again, the sound musical. "Okay, so you aren't running away from anything, which only leads me to wonder why you are as far from the castle as you could get this close to your wedding day." Margaret sighed and lowered her shoulders, staring at the soft quilt. Lila sat down next to her, taking Margaret's face in her rough fingers. "Sometimes, it is easier to talk to a stranger," she said softly, caressing Margaret's cheek.

Margaret remained very still, not wanting to enjoy Lila's touch but feeling sparks of pleasure rush through her body nonetheless. She did not pull away and found herself not wanting the gentle caress to end. Margaret's lips were parted slightly, and she unconsciously extended her tongue to wet her lips. Lila's dark eyes dropped to Margaret's shiny lips, focusing on them. Lila leaned forward, touching her mouth to Margaret's. Margaret did not attempt to move away as Lila's tongue teased her lips farther apart. The gypsy's tongue slipped into Margaret's mouth and explored the dark cave. 

She teased Margaret's tongue, urging the young girl to explore as well. Tentatively, Margaret pushed her tongue into the hot trap of Lila's lips and attempted to mimic Lila's movements. Lila tasted of bread and strawberries. She enjoyed the taste and the feel of the woman's mouth.

Margaret was so involved in the kiss that she was surprised when she felt a hand on her breast. Lila's fingers had left her face and were now caressing her breast through the material of her dress. Her nipple was hard and pushing against the material. Lila's hands were brushing over the outline. A moan caught in the back of her throat and spilled into Lila's mouth. She could feel the area between her legs throbbing again. The sensation seemed even more concentrated today than it had the previous night. 

Margaret pulled away from Lila, her breathing ragged. Lila's hand fell away from the small breast, lightly caressing Margaret's arm. Her fingertips tickled up and down the inside of Margaret's arm. Even though Margaret was turned away, she could still hear the woman struggle for breath. "It's all right, Milady."

Margaret's shoulders were shaking, a sign to Lila that the noblewoman was crying. She slid closer, wanting to comfort the small woman. She kissed her neck and shoulder, sliding her arm around Margaret's waist. "Phillip wants to stay at Ravendorf," Margaret whispered. "He holds a position at court. I want to go to Vienna. I want to see the world." She turned suddenly, blinking her shining eyes at Lila. Her voice had a new eagerness to it. "Tell me about your life, Lila. Tell me about the places you have been."

Lila smiled indulgently and shrugged. "I don't think of my life as being anything special. It's all I have ever known. My father is a musician. My mother followed him everywhere, and so have my brothers and I. We have been all across Eastern Europe, but it isn't necessarily a glamorous life."

"It is," Margaret insisted. "Life in a castle isn't great. It's stuffy and confined and you have to know all the rules of being a proper lady. I have been to Vienna once, but never any place else. I want to see more of the world than Bavaria."

Lila smiled, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. She held her breath for a moment, and then exhaled softly. "Bavaria is my favorite part of the world, Milady. I think the air is sweeter here, the grass is softer, and the water is cooler." Margaret turned her attention to Lila as she spoke. "There is something about rising into the mountains that makes one feel closer to God."

Lila's eyes were closed and her face upturned in an offering to God. Margaret leaned across the short distance and pressed her lips to Lila's again, unable to resist the temptation of the inviting lips. Lila froze for a moment, and then returned the kiss, allowing the inexperienced woman to take the lead. Margaret's tongue prodded and parted Lila's lips, tasting and exploring the warm cave.

Lila's hand moved to the flimsy bodice of Margaret's gown and covered the young girl's small breast. Margaret pressed into Lila's hand as she tilted her head and changed the kiss. She felt her nipple tighten at the warm touch. 

Lila unlaced the bodice, pulling it apart, keeping Margaret's attention with her mouth. She pulled away the undergarment and her hand brushed the soft skin, and then touched the hard nipple. Margaret shuddered and moaned. "It's all right," Lila whispered.

"Last night," Margaret muttered with a voice that was breathless and heated. Lila could hear the urgency. "When you were in the lake, you were touching yourself."

"Yes," Lila replied, surprised at the passion she heard in her own voice. 

"Show me how," Margaret pleaded. Her body was straining toward Lila. The gypsy sat back to study the young girl. There was no shyness in her face. She looked eager and ready. Her lips were moist and parted. Her breath was shallow. The soft globes of her breasts were spilling from the parted bodice. "Please, Lila," Margaret pressed, leaning even closer. The bodice fell away more and Lila caught a glimpse of the pink areola. 

The sight made her breath catch. Lila tenderly caressed Margaret's cheek, knowing the girl did not know what she was asking. She tried to list in her head all the reasons why granting Margaret's request was a bad idea. Margaret was a child in more ways than her age. She had been sheltered by her father behind the thick walls of the castle, unexposed to the world and unable to make her own decisions. She hadn't even kissed her fiancé. 

Margaret's lack of maturity was not the only reason that Lila knew she should get up and run away. She had told Quinn last night that if Lord Ravendorf's daughter was injured in anyway, their family would lose his protection. The threat had served to sooth Quinn, but today the knowledge did little to persuade her to release the girl. 

Instead, the reasons why it would be good filled her head. When she had come upon Quinn and the girl last night, she had been struck by Margaret's beauty. Her naked body was without imperfections. Her breasts were small and pert. In her excitement, Margaret's nipples had been hard. She had interfered less because she feared for Quinn's safety as she had felt a streak of green jealousy flush through her body. She didn't want anybody touching that beautiful body.

She had noticed Margaret watching her during the performance. The girl's green eyes had stayed with Lila as she had journeyed to the secluded spot for her bath. In fact, those penetrating green eyes had been floating in her mind when she had started touching herself in the shallow water. For some reason, she hadn't been surprised when she had discovered that it was Margaret who had been watching her from the edge of the lake. 

The vision of the woman had stayed with her all night. She had tossed and turned in her small bed, unable to find rest. She had gone riding in an effort to wear herself to exhaustion. Her hope was to be so tired that she couldn't think when she laid down. She hoped to forget the pretty heiress.

However, she wasn't disappointed to have found Margaret sunning herself beside the creek, and she wasn't disappointed with Margaret's request. She wanted to fill it more than anything. Her thumb traced Margaret's parted lips, followed by the tip of her tongue. She sealed her lips over Margaret's, slipping her tongue into the warm entrance. She teased Margaret's tongue into her mouth, showing her how to explore and taste.

While their mouths dueled, Lila slid her hand down the slim column of the girl's neck. Her fingertips traced the material of the bodice, brushing lightly against the full breasts. Her mouth followed her fingers. Margaret tilted her head back and released a soft moan. Lila finished unlacing the bodice, pushing the sleeves off Margaret's shoulders. The top of the gown now hung around Margaret's trim waist. Her upper body was bare. Lila pulled back to look. A flush crept into Margaret and her first impulse was to cover herself, but she saw the admiration in Lila's face and restrained her arms.

Lila used her body to push Margaret into the blanket. She lay with part of her body at the side of the girl and part of her body over Margaret. Lila's mouth was moving on Margaret's neck, bathing the small hollow at the base of her throat. Margaret stayed perfectly still, her arms above her head, unsure what to do as Lila continued her investigation. Her mouth continued downward, into the valley between Margaret's small breasts. She started up the right breast, her kisses small and quick as she reached the puckered areola. Margaret moaned again as Lila's tongue reached out and flicked the edge of the hard nipple. Her body lifted, offering more of her breast to the gypsy. Lila's mouth opened and she sucked the nipple, and then the breast into her mouth. Her tongue moved rapidly in long strokes against the bud as her lips suckled softly. 

Margaret writhed under the attentions of Lila's mouth, her body twitching and rocking in time to the gentle pulls of Lila's lips. Lila switched her attention to the other breast, treating it to the same sweet ecstasy. Margaret's body was so attuned to Lila's mouth that she was unaware of Lila's hand sliding up her leg. Lila's hand caressed softly the calf, the back of the knee, and the inside of her thigh. When her fingertips touched the forest of curls, Margaret's body stiffened. She gasped.

Lila's finger stroked the outside of Margaret's sex in soft circles, the pads of her fingers parting the curls. Lila pulled her mouth from Margaret's breast, whispering soft assurances in her ear as her fingers began tickling along the swollen slit. Margaret whimpered, but her body began to relax. Lila was muttering to her in her native tongue instead of German, but the sound of her voice was still assuring. Instinctively, she lifted her knees and parted her thighs more.

Lila slid her fingers between the gentle folds, moving slowly and giving Margaret time to adjust. She moved then back and forth, pleased at the girl's wetness. She knew the moment that she touched the small nub in Margaret's depths. Margaret cried out and her whole body shuddered. Lila pulled back quickly, wanting the sensations to last for Margaret.

The girl lifted her hips in a silent plea. Lila smiled and bent her mouth the Margaret's breast again. Her fingers found the swollen button and began rocking it back and forth in a steady rhythm. Margaret's hips began moving in the same time, lifting up and meeting Lila's strokes. Certain Margaret was ready Lila found the entrance to Margaret's depths with one of her fingers. She began muttering again in her Roma language. Margaret focused on the woman's voice as she pushed one finger into the cave. It was uncomfortable for the girl at first, but she found herself relaxing. With one finger fully encased, Lila rotated her thumb over the heart of Margaret's sex. Margaret was soon moaning in pleasure again and lifting her hips to encourage Lila.

Lila smiled and propped herself on her free elbow so she could watch Margaret's face and body as her finger started pumping in and out of the tight canal. Margaret was gasping and mumbling incoherently. She tossed her head from side to side, making pleas to God. Lila wasn't sure if the girl was begging for the pleasure to stop or continue. Lila knew it would only continue. She added a second finger and grinned as Margaret's eyes widened. The bliss was evident on Margaret's face. Lila began moving quicker, her movement effortless in the damp tunnel.

She could tell the girl was getting close to her finishing point as she was displaying those signs that all passionate lovers exhibited. Her body was arching from the ground, her eyes were closed and her mouth open. She was moaning constantly now, her cries growing louder. Her breasts were erect and pointed to the sky. Her thighs clenched and Lila could feel the muscles gripping her fingers.

Despite the build up, it hit suddenly. Margaret screamed; her body bucked. Lila held on, allowing her finger to move as Margaret's hips thrashed. She kept her thumb pressed to the button of pleasure, massaging it as she felt it spasm. Nor did Margaret come down quickly. Sweet aftershocks continued to rack her body even after Lila pulled out. Her muscles flinched in little jerks here and there. Lila kissed her stomach, her breasts, her neck, cheeks, jaw, eyes, forehead, and lips. The girl closed her eyes and breathed deeply. 

Lila sat up, pulling away slightly. She put her back to Margaret while the girl recovered, pulling open her breeches. She placed her feet flat on the ground, bending her knees and parting her own thighs. She slid her fingers into the opening and pushed them between her own swollen and wet lips, stroking herself until she was panting and moaning. While she continued to push herself, Margaret regained consciousness. She rose up to watch as Lila's body shuddered. The woman threw her dark hair back and cried out to the sky in her native tongue. Margaret closed her eyes tightly, feeling another shudder race through her body.

Lila sat panting when she finished. Margaret finished sitting up and scooted closer to the gypsy. "That was beautiful," she whispered, unable to think of any other words. Lila turned her head and pressed her lips to Margaret's as they enjoyed the quiet moment. "Thank you for giving that to me."

"I should have warned you that it is a curse," Lila said, suddenly rising and gathering herself together. "Once you have experienced extreme pleasure, you will crave it. You'll be unable to wait until your fiancé takes you to the marriage bed."

She was now standing next to her mount, her back to Margaret. Margaret did not move from her seat on the ground, confused by Lila's actions. She frowned but could think of nothing to say as Lila swung onto the horse and straddled the animal's powerful body. Margaret had never seen a woman ride anything but side saddle and she was surprised by her body's reaction to the powerful image. Lila clicked her tongue and turned the animal. She spurred him into a gallop and soon disappeared. 



Ravendorf Ch. 03



Leaves, grass, and pine needles quietly crunched underfoot as the duo walked silently through the towering trees. Quinn scowled as he followed Lila’s sullen lead. A painful throb shot through his head as the sun broke the canopy and pierced his blue eyes. He squinted and grunted. “Did you have too much to drink last night?” Lila asked, her voice a whisper in the wilderness.

He chuckled, rubbing his hand over his unshaven face. “These local breweries can make some strong stuff,” he answered. He regarded Lila from the corner of his eye as they walked. He knew something was troubling the woman he thought of as his sister. Her family had practically adopted him when he was just a little boy, and everyone assumed Quinn and Lila would one day be husband and wife. 

She had barely said anything since she had returned from her ride yesterday. She had brushed her horse in quick motions, keeping her back to the other members of their small band of travelers. She had disappeared into her tent soon afterward and not even emerged to eat some of the succulent roast pig that Lord Ravendorf had sent them as a gift for their excellent performance. He had invited her to go with the boys to the local tavern. Lila’s voice and lithe dancing body never failed to earn them some free drinks and the attention of the local ladies.

Instead, he’d had to buy all his drinks and had gone home without easing the ache in his lower extremities. “You should have gone with us last night,” he mused. “There were several beautiful ladies at the tavern.”

“I spend so much time rejecting the local married men with their roots hanging out that it’s a waste of my time to travel with you and the boys.” She picked up a rock as she walked, studying the smooth contours of the pebble. “It’s really too bad that I’m not interested. I could make enough money in one night that we could stay in one place all year long.” She tossed the rock into the woods and exhaled slowly.

“Except your father would have your hide and mine, too, if that happened.” He tried to laugh, but the action made his head hurt more, so he returned to his squinted scowl. “I like when you travel with us. It’s easier to take home ladies when you get them all worked up, then only choose one.”

A wind whipped around the trunks of the trees. Lila’s dark, heavy hair flew around her face and she tried to force it to stay in place. She wore a purple blouse today that folded across her bosom. Her breasts swayed freely as she walked. The wind pushed her skirt against her strong legs. Quinn loved Lila’s body. He fantasized about how it would feel trembling against his own powerful muscles. He had tried once to make Lila share his fantasy, but she had promptly silenced him.

Ravendorf Manor loomed against the bright sky as they cleared the forest. Lila’s step faltered slightly and Quinn reached out to steady his friend. His rough fingers curled around her elbow. She resisted the urge to lean into him. Quinn had always been her safety net. Any time the wrong man had attempted to approach her in any of the local taverns, Quinn had been her protector. He’d taken the heat from jealous husbands and angry fathers for her. He’d suffered a broken nose and countless black eyes for her. 

Lila led him to the rose garden gate without hesitation. He didn’t question her intimate knowledge of the Ravendorf grounds. Wherever they went, Lila often explored the area around their camp. They stepped through the gate and trod along the path surrounded by the climbing rose bushes. They fell into silence again as the path wound toward the courtyard. A movement to the left caught their attention and Lila’s stumbled again. She stopped. Quinn also halted, following Lila’s eyes to gaze through the greenery. A young woman knelt near one of the bushes, her hands pulling weeds and kneading the dirt around the base of the plant. Lila took a step toward the thick vegetation, pausing at the edge of the path. She leaned forward, watching the girl’s body move.

Quinn glanced from Lila to the young girl, then back to his friend. Even though the girl was dressed in little more than rags and had her blonde hair tied beneath a kerchief, Quinn recognized the young Mistress of Ravendorf and von Goring’s intended. He also recognized the look in Lila’s dark eyes. He gripped her elbow again, pulling her away from the vision on the ground. “I seem to recall a warning that involvement with that girl would end with a long sword,” he hissed.

Lila shrugged out of his grasp. “Go on to the garden, Quinn,” she ordered. 

His frown deepened and he opened his mouth to continue his warning. “She’s engaged, Lila,” he growled through clenched teeth.

“I’ll end it,” she promised, handing him the basket she had carried from the camp. 

He hesitated but knew that Lila had made her decision. “Be quick about it,” he snapped, taking the basket and storming away from the rose garden. 

Lila took a deep breath and moved to the edge of the path again, peering at Margaret as she worked unassumingly with the rose bushes. She wore a plain yellow dress with a simple apron. Lila admired the curve of the noblewoman’s back and her round, slightly upturned bottom. 

She hadn’t lied to Quinn. She intended to make sure things were over with Margaret. She didn’t want the young girl to have any misconceptions. She admired the small body, remembering the timid but curious way that Margaret had responded in the glade yesterday. Lila hadn’t responded to another person the way that she reacted to Margaret in a very long time. She had lovers. They didn’t camp many places where Lila didn’t join the boys in bedding a local peasant’s daughter. She’d had better luck than Quinn with the ladies. She could even list a queen as one of her conquests. Only one other woman had pushed her to distraction the way that Margaret did.

She glanced over her shoulder, knowing it would be best to join Quinn and never step foot on Ravendorf Manor’s grounds again. Instead, she tilted her shoulder and broke through the bushes. “This is not a job for the lady of the manor to be doing the week of her wedding.”

“You keep reminding me it is the week of my wedding,” Margaret responded without looking at Lila. Lila flinched a little at the lack of tenderness in the girl’s voice. Margaret sat up, wiping her hands on her apron. “This was my mother’s special place,” she continued, plucking at dead buds and leaves. “I feel close to her whenever I am here. The bushes were mother’s other children.”

“What happened to your mother?” Lila questioned, folding her arms around her middle. This awkwardness was a new feeling to the gypsy. She had always been in total control of her relationships. With Margaret, she could not keep her senses from somersaulting.

“She died in childbirth along with my brother,” Margaret answered. 

“Your father visited the camp this morning. He invited us to come get vegetables from the manor while we are here.” Lila hated trying to fill the silence. She enjoyed the comfortable quiet that had accompanied them home from the lake two nights ago. Now, the silence felt oppressive.

“I know,” Margaret said, still not turning to look at the gypsy. She shifted her attention to another plant. “Did I do something wrong yesterday?”

“No,” Lila replied urgently. “No. You did nothing wrong.”

Margaret finally turned to Lila and the gypsy felt burned. Margaret’s green eyes, red-rimmed and swollen, held hatred, an emotion that Lila didn’t think the girl possessed. Lila loathed herself for making it possible for Margaret to know hate. “Then why did you treat me like a common whore?”

Lila fell to her knees beside Margaret, taking the dirty hands in her own, using her thumb to catch a tear and wipe it away. “I left because of this,” the Roma insisted. “The more we are together, the harder it is going to get to be apart. I don’t want to do anything that would make you not want to marry Herr von Goring.”

“I already don’t want to marry him,” Margaret admitted, allowing her fingers to entwine with Lila’s. “I didn’t want to marry him long before I met you, but I will. I will marry him because it is what is expected of me. Ravendorf Manor will need a lord after my father dies. He needs an heir. Phillip is . . .”

“A good match,” Lila finished. “You’ve said that.”

Margaret released Lila’s hands and went back to her rose bush. She tore at the weeds. “I asked you to show me . . . to make me feel good,” she said as she worked. “Instead, you used me, and left me alone, confused, and scared.”

Lila sprang, grabbing Margaret’s shoulders and pushing her to the ground. “I didn’t use you!” she snarled. “You asked for my help and I gave it willingly.”

“That doesn’t change the way you left me,” Margaret cried, trying to twist away. 

Lila put one leg over Margaret’s body, holding both of the girl’s wrists in her palms to prevent escape. “Stop fighting me and listen to me!” Lila yelled. When Margaret still did not give way, the gypsy bent and pressed her lips to the noblewoman’s. Margaret continued to struggle for a moment, struggling against the strong body holding her prisoner. Lila’s kiss was hard, her teeth scraping against Margaret’s lips. Her tongue pushed until Margaret whimpered and opened to the invader. 

Lila knew the moment that Margaret surrendered. The stiffness left her body and she relaxed into the yielding ground. Her lips softened, closing around the tongue exploring in her mouth. Their tongues rubbed together, sending electric shocks through both of them. Lila released Margaret’s hands, prepared to wrestle again if it proved necessary. Margaret’s arms circled Lila’s neck, holding her lover in the kiss. Lila pulled away, reluctant to leave Margaret’s sweet tasting lips. “You belong to someone else,” she whispered. “You could never belong to me.”

“Why do I have to belong to anyone?” Margaret asked in a breathless voice. She focused on Lila’s face, staring into the dark brown eyes that had haunted her sleep for two nights. 

Lila stroked Margaret’s hair off her cheeks. “You said it yourself, that is the way the world works. You are going to marry him. If I let myself get attached to you, then I’m going to end up hurt. I’m sorry I upset you yesterday, but I have to protect myself.”

“Let me up, please,” Margaret requested, her voice a quiet, wounded whisper.

“Will you run?”

“No, I’ll stay,” she promised. Lila pulled away from Margaret, sitting at the young girl’s side. Margaret scooted away a little before sitting up. Lila attempted to stroke Margaret’s leg, but the girl pulled out of reach. “I am not your first girl.”

Lila heard the declaration in Margaret’s statement and shook her head honestly. “No, honey, you’re not.”

Margaret’s brow furrowed as she attempted to form her next question. “Have you only been involved with girls?”

Lila’s lips pinched together as she carefully considered her answer. “There have been men. I have not enjoyed those experiences.” She slid a little closer to Margaret. “I love the feel of a woman’s slim body pressed against me.” Lila’s fingertips touched Margaret’s breasts through the material of the dress, circling the nipple till it hardened and pushed against the material. “I love a woman’s breasts. I enjoy the way they respond to my touch. I could spend hours nursing at yours.” 

A flush crept up Margaret’s neck to her cheeks and she lowered her eyes. “Men don’t blush the way that you just did, and I find that endearing. I want to make her blush more. I want to feel the heat as the color creeps up her body.” Lila’s thumb moved over Margaret’s slightly parted pink lips. “A woman’s lips are so soft, and inviting, and taste so wonderful. Her tongue, a small dart, dueling with my own, can make me melt. Soft, long hair, brushing against my face, my breasts, and my thighs is a delicious sensation.”

She leaned closer, her breath warm on Margaret’s face. She had not intended to seduce the noblewoman, but she could not stop herself. “I love to feel her breath, short and hot, on my neck, like yours is now. I love to hear a woman’s soft moans of pleasure turn to rapturous screams of delight.”

Margaret’s breathing was ragged by the time Lila finished her impassioned speech. Her breasts were rising and falling and she felt a pulse between her legs. She was leaning toward Lila, her body yearning for the gypsy’s touch. “I won’t belong to Phillip for a few more days.”

Lila shook her head. “You already do, darling.”

“Before I enter into this arranged marriage and am tied to Phillip for the rest of my life, show me what it means to be really loved.” She saw Lila’s hesitation. “Let me love you the way you loved me yesterday.”

Lila frowned, wanting nothing more than to grant Margaret’s request. For a few minutes, Lila wanted to not care about having her heart broken. She wanted to find bliss in Margaret’s arms. She leaned forward, placing her hand on Margaret’s hip. Her free hand combed through the long, blonde, healthy hair. She tilted her head, parting her lips.

Margaret placed her hand on Lila’s thigh, opening herself for the kiss. Lila’s firm lips touched hers. She didn’t resist at all. Her tongue met Lila’s, twisting with the playful intruder. Their lips rubbed against each other, trying to make the kiss deeper. Lila’s hands moved from Margaret’s face to her shoulders before cupping the small breasts through the dress. She squeezed, massaged, and caressed until a soft moan escaped from Margaret’s throat and floated into Lila’s mouth. Lila pulled back, her eyes focused on Margaret’s, and opened her own blouse, pushing it off of her shoulders. 

Margaret gasped, her eyes focused on the large, brown globes. Lila’s skin was a consistent color and her nipples large and brown. Margaret wet her lips, lifting a shaking hand. Lila took Margaret’s pale hand and placed it over one of her breasts. Together, they stared at the contrast of Margaret’s light skin on the olive colored knoll. Margaret felt the nipple pucker and push into the center of her palm. Lila leaned in for another kiss, her hand moving on Margaret’s breast again, showing her young lover the touches that felt good. Lila’s tongue danced along the roof of Margaret’s mouth, behind the perfect teeth, and against the rough tongue. 

The now familiar throbbing had started the moment Margaret had sensed Lila lurking at the edge of the bushes. The knowledge that the woman was nearby had made her blood quicken. It had been difficult for her to remain on her knees with her hands in the dirt while smelling Lila’s heavy scent. It had been even harder to remain angry once Lila had started speaking. Now, her anger had melted and all that mattered was Lila’s taste and touch. All that mattered was the girl’s eagerness to please her patient tutor. 

Margaret’s fingers began exploring, at first mimicking Lila’s touch, then searching on her own. She used her fingertips to stroke the hardening nipple, and then rolled it. Lila whispered her pleasure and encouragement in Margaret’s ear as the young girl shifted her hand to the other breast. 

Lila’s hands were working on the opening of Margaret’s dress. She worked the material off the smooth shoulders, her mouth following the descent of the material, kissing toward the peak of the first milky white orb. 

Margaret exhaled sharply as Lila’s mouth covered her nipple. Her hand left Lila’s breast and delved into the thick black hair. She held Lila’s head to her breast, pushing into the wet warmth. Eagerly, Lila opened her mouth wider, suckling more into her mouth until her cheeks were full. She closed her eyes, enjoying Margaret’s soft sounds of pleasure and the gentle caress of Margaret’s hands. She curled her hand around Margaret’s ankle and worked slowly up the curve of her calf. Margaret groaned, her body twitching as Lila’s hand touched the inside of her thigh.

“Lila!” a voice boomed into the thicket. The voice did not penetrate the gypsy right away. Instead, she quickened her ministrations. Margaret’s body stiffened, and she pushed against Lila’s head, trying to pull away from the strong lips. Slowly, Lila became aware of the change in Margaret’s body. “Lila,” the voice growled.

Lila pulled away from Margaret’s body, looking briefly at her lover before turning to the source of the voice. Quinn was standing over them, holding the basket of vegetables in his hands, and glaring at his friend. “This isn’t ending it,” he hissed.

“Quinn,” she mumbled, dropping her eyes back to Margaret. Margaret was busy covering herself, trying not to look at either of the musicians. “Go on back to camp.”

“Not without you,” he insisted. 

“I’ll be along shortly!” she yelled, her voice rising in pitch. She could see Margaret shutting down and knew she only had a few minutes before the window of opportunity would close. 

“Get dressed, girl,” he ordered. 

Lila cut her eyes to Quinn. “Give me a moment,” she requested. He hesitated, and then nodded his head, stepping back onto the path. The gypsy returned her attention to Margaret, who now had her back turned. Instinctively, Lila knew her lover was crying again. She crawled to kneel behind Margaret, touching her lips to the back of the smooth neck. “I’m sorry.”

“You talked about us?” Margaret asked in an unsteady voice.

“Quinn knows me well, sweet Maggie,” Lila explained, readjusting her blouse. “Maybe it is best that we were stopped. If we have another time, we’ll always want one more time. That’s not very fair to any of us, including Herr von Goring.”

“I don’t care about being fair to him!” Margaret snapped, pressing her face into her hand. Lila put her hand on Margaret’s shoulder, trying to find the words to comfort and explain. She stroked the girl’s arm. Margaret jerked away. “Just go. He’s waiting.”

In a panic, Lila tried to find a solution that would satisfy everyone. “Meet me tomorrow, in the glade.”

“No,” Margaret sighed, gathering her few belongings together and standing. “You’re right. Tell him that it is over.” She burst through the rose garden, glancing briefly at Quinn before sprinting away.

Lila tore after her, fighting through the thorns that tore at her skin, but Quinn kept her from chasing the young girl. “We’ve done this before, Lila, and I’ll not let you do it again,” he growled in her ear, his hands wrapped around her arms. “You are out of control. The last time you were out of control, we almost didn’t get you back. You have that look in your eye. You have the same look you had with Aidan.”

Lila spun on her friend, fire in her eyes. Her hand flew back and her palm landed with a snap across his cheek. He didn’t flinch.



Ravendorf Ch. 04



Aidan. Lila shook with rage as she stormed into camp. Quinn was following at a rapid pace, but he had allowed her to seethe in silence as they left Ravendorf Manor and returned to their camp. If she was angry, then she would forget about the Lady of Ravendorf until they could get out of Garmisch. 

Aidan. The name pounded in Lila’s head over and over. She thought that she had exorcized Aidan a long time ago. She didn’t know if she was more furious that Quinn had compared sweet, innocent Margaret to manipulative, worldly Aidan, or that he was right about her reaction. 

Aidan. The memory was a curse. Quinn was right; she had lost control where Aidan had been concerned. It had taken over a year for Lila to recover. Her family had been incredibly patient and supportive. Quinn had watched over her like a hawk, as if he expected her to harm herself. She knew she probably would have if it had not been for her family and Quinn.

Aidan. Lila pushed into her tent, her wrath pulsing through her veins. She could feel it throbbing against her temple. There were starbursts exploding in front of her eyes. She felt nauseous. The world spun as the dark haired woman dropped to her knees, and then fell forward into darkness

Aidan. She made her way up the sloped path toward the walled German city of Rothenberg, the name a song ringing in her ears. A chill hung in the autumn air, the leaves exploding in brilliant color all around her. She stepped through the gate and weaved among the crowds of people on the narrow streets. She carried a basket but did not stop at any of the booths along the market. She made her way by the cathedral and through the town square. She angled her way across a crooked cobblestone street and slipped into an alley. She glanced to her left and right and opened a door. She stepped inside and pulled the hood of her cloak off her dark hair, shaking it out. 

Immediately, lips were pressed against hers, a quick tongue invading her mouth. She leaned against the door, returning the kiss. Hands moved to the tie of her cloak, loosening the knots as teeth scraped and tongues dueled. The cloak slipped to the floor with a heavy rustle and delicate hands covered her large breasts.

Aidan’s lips left Lila’s, drifting down her lover’s neck. The gypsy’s skin had a slight chill to it from her brisk walk from the camp but was quickly regaining heat. Her hair held the scent of autumn and Aidan breathed deeply. “Mother has been gone for an hour,” the girl whispered. “I thought you’d never come.”

Aidan stepped away from Lila, allowing the gypsy to admire her. Aidan loved to be adored and Lila loved to look at her lover. Aidan had curly red hair and piercing green eyes. Her mother was from the British Isles and had softened her sharp German features. Her fair skin was a distinct contrast to Lila’s earthy complexion. She had hypnotized Lila from the moment they had met. 

Aidan’s gown has made of silk and velvet. The bodice was trimmed with lace. The sleeves clung to her shoulders and hugged the curves of her breasts, barely covering her large, pink nipples. Lila found her eyes focused along the line of the dress, knowing what was beneath the material. A seductive grin touched Aidan’s lips. She sucked her finger into her mouth, and then traced a wet line over the peaks and valley of her breasts.

Lila felt incredibly inadequate. She wore only a simple patterned dress that her mother had stitched. The sleeves were long with a ruffle at the wrist. Tiny hooks secured the dress at the neck. The waist came to a point at her small hips, accentuating her dancer’s body. The skirt was straight and the hem brushed her ankles. She wore a contrasting apron. 

The girls were both twenty, but it was the only thing that they had in common. Aidan’s father was a wealthy merchant in Rothenberg. He traveled all over Europe collecting goods to trade. He had even been to the Near East where he had bought silk and spices. Aidan had everything that she wanted. She would continue her life of luxury into old age. She was promised to the son of a distant noble, but she hadn’t given him any thought since Lila had first kissed her three weeks earlier.

Lila never went hungry, but life in the camp was not a life of leisure. She was not a stranger to fine women, and occasionally they had given her expensive gifts. Aidan had servants who did everything for her. Lila sweated over the cook fire and her fingers wrinkled when she washed clothes. Her father, though also a traveler, had hands that were calloused from gathering wood and playing his instrument. 

Aidan spun, the tail of the gown billowing about her, and tossed a smile over her shoulder. She said nothing, but gave a slight tilt of her head before starting up the winding stairs. Lila, a love struck smile on her face, followed. When she took her first step, Aidan giggled and began running. Lila shot after her lover, racing up the steps on Aidan’s heels. They were both giggling as they fell on the large feather bed in Aidan’s room. Lila straddled the girl, bending to press her lips to Aidan’s full, red ones. She danced her tongue along the outline of Aidan’s lips, tasting and teasing as Aidan twisted, trying to capture Lila’s tongue. She finally succeeded, imprisoning the dart between her teeth and biting lightly.

Aidan suckled softly before releasing her hostage. Her hands roamed over Lila’s shoulders, searching for the hooks that fastened Lila’s plain dress. The material parted and she dragged her fingernails over Lila’s backbone. Lila felt shivers course through her body as Aidan’s mouth moved over her cheek, down her neck, and to the neckline of the dress. She left a trail of tiny kisses along the neckline, dampening Lila’s skin. The cool air touched the trail as Aidan continued her exploration.

Lila placed her hands on either side of Aidan’s head and pushed herself upward, her lower body pressing into Aidan. Their legs and hips rubbed together, the layers of clothing creating additional friction. Lila rocked her hips, increasing the sensation. Her back arched and her breasts, still enclosed in the rough cotton of the dress, thrust toward her lover. Her nipples pushed against the material. Aidan lifted her head and closed her teeth around one of the buds and tugged.

Lila growled low in her throat, pulling away from Aidan. Aidan licked her lips hungrily as Lila rose and finished removing her clothing. She wore nothing underneath. The autumn sun spilled through the window, making a glow around her shapely body. Her breasts were large and upturned with the nipples focal points in the picture her body painted. Her wild hair billowed around her face and shoulders, concealing part of one breast. Her stomach was flat and faded into her smooth mound. Her legs were muscular, the tendons flexing as she moved toward Aidan.

Aidan came to her knees on the side of the bed as Lila’s legs touched the edge. Aidan smiled, her fingers trailing over the lovely globes, circling puckered nipples. Lila’s breasts tightened, goose bumps breaking out over her skin. Aidan’s mouth followed her hand, her lips closing around the areola. Her tongue rubbed the flesh, the nipple lengthening. Lila lowered her eyes, watching as Aidan’s red mouth suckled. Her cheeks flexed in rhythm. 

Aidan broke the contact for a moment, and Lila whimpered, but the connection resumed on the other breast. The air continued the caress and Lila drove her fingers through Aidan’s red hair as the pleasure increased. She tilted her head back, her mouth parted as she panted. Aidan put her hand on the other breast, squeezing, massaging, and stroking. 

Lila’s whole body was throbbing in time with Aidan’s ministrations. The light spilling through the window seemed to bend in time with her heart beat. She felt her body careening toward the pinnacle of release. A gentle keening had joined her panting and she was whispering Aidan’s name repeatedly. Aidan intensified her attack, taking more of Lila’s breast into her mouth. Her tongue circled and teased Lila’s flesh. Lila pushed deeper, pulling Aidan’s hair as she rushed nearer to climax. 

Spasms started in her breasts and rushed down her abdomen to the juncture of her thighs. For the first time, she became aware of the vicious pulsation in her sex. Aidan’s free hand was there, cupping and stroking her smooth mound without penetrating. Lila’s hips were thrusting back and forth as Aidan’s finger tip slide along her slit, still not finding its way inside. “Please!” Lila screamed. 

On command, Aidan slid her finger between Lila’s moist lips and circled the vibrating nub before touching it. Her finger rocked back and forth over Lila’s hard clit. Lila’s entire body was alive and on fire. As Aidan pushed three fingers inside her tunnel, Lila exploded with a rending scream. Aidan did not stop. She kept rubbing her fingers in and out of Lila’s deep hole, curling her fingers and stroking the inner walls. She paused to flick the nub, and then returned to her gentle but quick caress.

As the second orgasm tore through Lila’s body, she thought she would die. She almost fell to the floor, but Aidan caught her lover. Lila slouched forward, trying to catch her breath. Aidan held her lover, keeping her fingers buried as they lay back together. “I love you,” Lila murmured, eyes drooping with the heavy passion. Aidan withdrew slowly, rolling away from Lila while the gypsy dozed. She washed and turned back to the bed. Lila’s eyes were open and she wore a sated smile. 

Aidan did not return the smile. Instead, she wore a thoughtful expression as she crossed back to the bed. She sat down on the edge without meeting Lila’s eyes. Lila sat up, the dreamy expression leaving her face. She reached out and put her hand on Aidan’s wrist, grabbing her lover’s attention. “What’s wrong?”

Aidan glanced around her room without answering. Lila followed the green eyes. Except for the bed, the room was practically empty. Packed trunks sat around the room. Lila’s brow crinkled and she frowned as she studied the space. Her mind searched for the connection, but she did not like the only explanation that registered in her head. She did not want to accept the inevitable message. “My father will be home this evening,” Aidan finally answered. “We leave for Pieter’s tomorrow.”

Lila released Aidan and scooted away, pulling her legs close to her body and looking away from her lover. She had avoided thinking about the inevitable, but apparently it had been on Aidan’s mind. All of her beautiful dresses were in the trunks. Tomorrow, the trunks would be loaded into a wagon. Aidan would board a carriage with her mother and father and head toward Pieter Melovic’s Prussian estate. 

Aidan moved close to Lila, caressing the smooth, strong calf and thigh. “Don’t pull away from me, Lila. Please don’t close me out on our last day together.” Lila sniffled slightly, tensing beneath the same touch she had craved thirty minutes earlier. Aidan’s caress became more familiar, sliding to the inside of Lila’s thigh. Her fingertips brushed against the outer lips of the gypsy’s mound. 

Lila reached down and grabbed Aidan’s wrist, pushing her aggressive partner away. “You can’t fix all problems with sex, Aidan,” she growled, rising from the bed. She wrapped herself in a blanket and went to the window, looking over the jagged rooftops. 

“You knew about Pieter,” Aidan insisted. “I told you we would be leaving as soon as Father returned.” 

“Don’t go,” Lila pleaded. “Tell your father you don’t want to marry Pieter.”

“It wouldn’t matter to Father what I wanted,” Aidan sighed. Aidan left the bed and crossed to Lila, curling her hands around the girl’s shoulders. She kissed the back of Lila’s neck, inhaling her wonderful scent. “It doesn’t have to end. Come to Prussia with me. You can be my lady in waiting.”

Lila jerked away again, fire in her eyes. “I am no one’s servant.”

“I’m not asking you to be my servant. I’m trying the only way I know how to keep us together. Come to Prussia with me, and Pieter will never question our closeness.”

Lila shook her head. “It’s not the life for me,” she muttered. “I love life in the camp. I adore never being in the same place for too long. I could never give up the music. I don’t want to be cooped up in a castle in Eastern Prussia as your slave girl.”

Aidan grinned playfully. “Hmmm? You don’t want to be my slave girl? I like that thought. Be my slave girl, Lila.” She reached out to caress Lila’s cheek.

“Now is not the time for games.”

“Now is the only time for games if you are not going to follow me to Prussia,” Aidan responded. She took a step back, smiling seductively as she loosened the ties of her dress. It whispered down her body into a pile. She stepped out of the mass of material, taking a step toward Lila again. Even though Lila’s expression was still angry, her eyes were transfixed on Aidan’s body. Aidan removed her corset, her breasts spilling free. They were larger than Lila’s, with coin sized areoles and thick nipples. Her waist was trim and her legs pale. Lila’s eyes focused on the nest of red hair at the juncture of Aidan’s legs. “Are you sure you don’t want to be my slave girl?”

Lila came into Aidan’s outstretched arms. Aidan wrapped her arms around Lila, smiling into her lover’s eyes. Their bodies pressed against each other. Lila could feel Aidan’s nipples rubbing against her skin and the prickle of the middle class woman’s bush brushing against her own smooth sex. Aidan rotated against Lila, controlling her lover with her body. Lila exhaled, trying to ignore the sensations, but she couldn’t defeat her body’s reaction. Her nipples tightened and grew longer. Warmth rushed between her legs, a steady, wet throbbing. Her heart thudded and she pressed closer to Aidan’s body.

They fell back on the bed as they kissed, their tongues fighting for mastery of the other. They rolled until Lila was above the wealthy woman. She straddled the girl, kissing down the valley between Aidan’s breasts. She blew across each nipple, teasing them with light tongue strokes. She used her teeth to nip the plump flesh before trailing her way down Aidan’s stomach. 

She pressed her lips together and blew against Aidan’s mound, her shoulders between spread thighs. The curls waved in the breeze, parting a path to the damp slit. Lila’s dancing, teasing tongue glided along the opening. Aidan groaned, thrusting upward. Lila’s tongue slipped between the wet lips, moving along the damp gash and seeking the swollen clit. 

Lila made her tongue stiff and rubbed against the nub. She flicked up and down, dragging the length of her tongue along Aidan’s root. Aidan moaned, tightening her thighs around Lila’s head. Lila kept her licking steady, not stopping her assault as Aidan thrashed on the bed. 

Aidan’s body stiffened and she cried out. Her body convulsed violently, slamming up and down on the soft mattress. Her legs clenched on Lila’s head, shutting out all sound. Lila held on, enjoying the wild ride that Aidan gave as she filled her lover’s mouth.

Aidan relaxed slowly, releasing her prisoner. Lila slid upward, kissing Aidan’s stomach again. She teased the large nipples again, touching each one only briefly. She smiled down at Aidan, kissing her lips tenderly. “Do you really want me for your slave girl?” she teased.

“Oh, yes,” Aidan insisted, stroking Lila’s dark hair.

“Run away with me,” Lila whispered impassionedly. “Don’t even tell your father. Just run away with me. You and I will leave tomorrow morning. We can find a place to hide near Heidelberg. That’s where my father is going next. We’ll rejoin the band there.” She paused for a moment, searching Aidan’s face. “Come on, Aidan. Let me show you my world. In time, we can come back here and your parents will understand. We’ll stay away long enough for Pieter to choose someone else.”

“Lila,” Aidan sighed, still fondling her lover’s curls. She couldn’t say more as she looked into the dark eyes begging her to say yes. “It would never work.”

“Why wouldn’t it?”

“My father needs this contact with Pieter for his business. He would hunt us and he would find us. I shudder to think about the way things would be. He would drag me to Prussia and force me to marry Pieter right away. I don’t know what kind of man Pieter is. If he had to wait for me, he might hurt me.”

“That is all the more reason for you to run away with me. Pieter might be violent anyway; he might abuse you. I would protect you. Quinn and my brothers would see that no harm would come to us. They wouldn’t let your father take you away from me.”

Tears clouded Aidan’s eyes as she gazed up at Lila. She could see the sincerity and desire in Lila’s face and hear it in her voice. “You make it sound so simple.”

“It is. Love is always simple. Things aren’t normally simple for people like us. People who love the way we do can’t always love in open, but with the life I lead, we can. There are no barriers in our camp.”

Lila watched Aidan struggle with her decision. The emotions ranged across her face. “Okay!” she finally agreed in a voice breathless and eager. She threw her arms around Lila’s neck. “Okay!”

Lila rose to her knees, smiling broadly. “Okay? Really?” Aidan grinned and nodded, squeezing her lover’s neck. Lila was off the bed and pulling on her clothes. “All right. I’ll go and get ready. I’ll pack everything we need. You bring a small bag and meet me first thing in the morning by the creek.” 

Lila came back to Aidan. They embraced again. “You’ll not regret this, Aidan. You’ll see. This will be wonderful. We’ll be together forever.”

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Aidan promised, kissing Lila tenderly. Their lips pressed firmly against each other as they said a sweet good-bye.

Lila felt like racing through town, but she made herself match the pace of the other city dwellers. She weaved again, even more purpose to her steps as she exited through the city gate and headed toward the camp. 

The next morning, she waited by the creek, her eye on the road as she waited for Aidan to join her. Two horses were tethered in the trees, ready for their getaway. She had packed her tent and belongings. Her mother had prepared some food for them. She had spent hours talking with her father about the best route to take and when to be in Heidelberg. 

Her feelings were mixed. She had never been away from her parents and Quinn, but she was certain that she could take care of her lover. Excitement and a sense of adventure beat in her heart. A smile danced on her lips.

The sun crested the peak of the nearby mountains and rose higher in the sky. Lila waited as the golden orb reached its zenith and started settling in the west. Her heart grew heavier as the evening drew near. As the moon made its first appearance, Lila edged back into town and again found the narrow, jagged alleyway that led to Aidan’s home. The house was dark. 

In a daze, Lila wandered back to camp. Why had Aidan changed her mind? She had been so eager when they separated yesterday. Had she gotten nervous? Had her father caught her? Her heart pounding, Lila quickened her pace. If Aidan’s father was forcing his daughter to Prussia, Lila was determined to stop him from taking her lover. 

She retrieved the horse loaded with her belongings, and began racing eastward into the approaching night. She rode until sleep overtook her. She woke early the next morning after a fitful night. Traveling alone, she caught the caravan before nightfall. She kept her distance, keeping watch and waiting for the right moment. 

She could see Aidan and her family moving among the open field, along with guards her father had hired for the journey. She studied her girlfriend. Aidan didn’t seem to be in any danger. The guards were not following her. She gave no appearance of being coerced. Troubled, Lila lingered on a ridge top trying to determine her next move. Surely Aidan had not changed her mind. She had professed her love to Lila. Lila paused, trying to remember if Aidan had said those words.




Ravendorf Ch. 04



She fell asleep before she made any decisions. She woke to the sounds of the caravan preparing to move out. She again followed at a close distance, making certain no one ever saw her even as she never lost sight of the wagons. Aidan was riding her horse most of the day. She kept pace with the travelers. She never looked back.

They reached Pieter’s castle before the sun had begun to settle behind the trees. Lila got as close as she dared. She could hear and smell the sounds of the celebrations as Pieter welcomed his new bride and her family. 

Under the cover of darkness, Lila crept into the castle, pausing whenever she heard a sound. Her own heart thudded in her ear. She could hear her breathing and was certain that it echoed through the whole castle. She had to check every door in an effort to locate her girlfriend. She finally found her at the end of a long hallway. She pushed open the door and allowed it to fall silently into place. The heavy wood thudded and she flinched, freezing as she waited for the whole army to race to arrest her. “Who’s there?” a voice whispered across the room.

Lila turned toward the shadow sitting up in the bed and moved until the moon light spilling through the window glowed on her face. “It’s me,” she answered.

“Lila!” Aidan exclaimed, climbing from beneath the heavy blankets and closing the distance in a rush. She folded her arms around the slight gypsy. She pressed her lips to Lila’s, the touch firm as she slipped her tongue into Lila’s mouth. Lila returned the hungry kiss. The two days of traveling had been the first time they had been apart in three weeks. “I knew you would come!” she exclaimed in an excited whisper after they broke apart.

Lila broke away, searching the room as she spoke. “Quick. Get changed and pack your belongings. We need to leave right away. If we travel all night, they’ll never catch us.”

Aidan did not move, her eyes following Lila in the dim light. “I can’t leave. I’m getting married tomorrow.”

Lila stopped moving, turning back to Aidan. “I thought you didn’t want to marry him. You were going to run away with me. What happened? I waited by the creek for you.”

Aidan laughed. “That was just talk, Lila. I was wrapped up in all you made me feel. I can’t run away with you. I can’t believe you thought I was serious.”

“You never gave me any reason to doubt you,” Lila replied. “We belong together, Aidan. I know it could work.”

“It’s a nice thought,” Aidan sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “But I can’t run away from my responsibility. I guess, living as you have lived, you wouldn’t understand that feeling of responsibility.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lila demanded. “Just because my family doesn’t live in a house and we travel, do you think we don’t have responsibility? We have more responsibility than you can imagine. I don’t have a servant that waits on me hand and foot. We have to cook and set camp and practice for our performances. I know about responsibility.”

Aidan closed her eyes, trying to think of something that would placate the young gypsy. “I didn’t mean that, Lila. I’m talking about responsibility to my family and to my father. He needs my marriage to Pieter to secure his business. Your father would never ask you to compromise your life for that purpose.” She stood, shaking out her hair as she moved toward Lila again. She placed her hands on her lover’s hips. “Besides, I don’t think I could live without servants. I’m not the type who can cook and set up tent stakes. Your life is not the life for me.”

Lila stepped away from Aidan, trying to keep her anger at the front of her emotions. If she allowed her anger to slip, the pain would be too intense. “Your life is not for me,” she echoed. “I would feel like a caged animal within these walls. I would not be satisfied to simply wait on you to be in the mood for me. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life lying in the room next door to you, listening to you be with Pieter, and then taking the leftovers.”

She pushed away Aidan’s outstretched hands and rushed by her former lover to escape the encroaching walls. If she didn’t flee immediately, the building would collapse on her. She would give in to Aidan’s desires.

She fled into the forest before collapsing in tears. 

When she hadn’t shown up in Heidelberg, Quinn had started searching for her. He found her in Berlin, wasting away to almost anything. She was living on what money she made from selling her body. It was not easy for him to convince her to return to the camp. Even when she had, she had not recovered from the emptiness in her heart for a very long time.

Aidan. Quinn was right. She was falling into the trap again. Margaret was beautiful and unattainable, and that made her even more desirable to Lila. The symptoms were evident. She didn’t want to think that Margaret could be as cold and calculating as Aidan had been, but Quinn was right.



Ravendorf Ch. 05



Margaret stood on the small balcony beside her bedroom, gazing over the mountains and feeling the cool breeze sweep through the valley, over the water, and into the villa. Her eyes were drawn uncontrollably toward the gypsy's camp and the soft glow of their fires. There was no music floating on the wind and no laughter soaring over the trees. Her sleeping gown clung to her, the lace moving against her now sensitive breasts and nipples. The movement sparked her newly awakened sex. The throbbing between her legs was unending. Lila's dance had stirred those swollen lips and her fingers had finally teased them. The thoughts caused her blood to circle back and forth in her body, following the path that Lila's mouth had taken twice. She had sent Lila away that afternoon, after the man the gypsies called Quinn had interrupted them, but she had regretted it a thousand times. She had started down the path toward the gypsy camp half a dozen times only to remind herself that she should not torment herself with what she could not keep.

"Mistress?" a soft voice asked. Elaine, of childhood laughter and adult servitude, stood behind her employer. Elaine, who moved like a ghost through the house, doing things that Margaret never thought about having to be done, stood a few steps behind Margaret. "Your bed is ready."

Margaret did not answer immediately. She continued to stare at the flickering light of the gypsies' fires. "Elaine, have you ever been with a man?" She paused, but not enough time for the servant to answer. "Don't talk to me as the Mistress of Ravendorf. Talk to me as the friend you used to play with."

Elaine did not answer right away, but Margaret could not bring herself to turn around and face her old friend. "I have," was the woman's final, quiet answer. 

"I haven't," Margaret answered. "Did your mother talk to you about . . . what it would be like?"

"Some, but I learned most of what I knew from the girls in town. They told me what it was like for them, so I knew what to expect."

"Was it what you expected?"

Elaine waited again, carefully forming her answer. "More than I expected," she finally decided. "I understand if you are nervous about marrying Master Phillip. I know that he will be gentle with you on your wedding night." She hesitated. When her hand curled over Margaret's shoulder, the Mistress of Ravendorf jumped. "Would you like to ask me some questions?"

Margaret lowered her eyes from the distant fires. She had many questions, most of them raised in the last few days by the exotic gypsy with the dark eyes. Margaret knew she would be unsatisfied with answers from anyone except Lila. "Thank you." 

"Will that be all, Miss?" Elaine questioned softly.

Margaret wanted to say no. She didn't want to be left alone with the energy and feelings flowing through her body, but she could think of no legitimate reason to keep Elaine at her side. "Rest well," she muttered, wondering which fire Lila crouched beside. 

Elaine retreated quietly, as she always did. Margaret wondered how Elaine managed to move throughout Ravendorf like a spirit. Even that mystery could not hold her attention, though. She moved away from the window and lay down on the bed, letting the breeze waft over her from the mountains. She shifted, trying to find a position that offered her some relief. The lace of the gown brushed and rubbed against her sensitive nipples, making her breasts feel heavier. That slight scratching connected to her belly and the damp spot between her legs.

She rolled to her back, raising her knees and allowing the long gown to fall to her waist. She glided her hand along the inside of her thigh, toward the moist juncture of her thighs. She thought of how Lila's hand had caressed her so softly. She worked her hands up to her thatch of thick curls, unsurprised to find them damp. She combed her fingertips through the forest, thinking of Lila's smooth mound and wondering what it would feel like. Her fingertips danced along the slit between her throbbing lips and she felt her nipples tighten even more. A groan of pleasure escaped her lips, surprising herself. She yanked her hand away and sat up, her face flushed. She had to stop thinking about Lila.

She pushed her gown down and stood up, pacing the floor of the room, her thoughts wondering. Her mind bounced. Her body yearned. There was one thing that would distract her from Lila. She grabbed her robe and pushed out of her bedroom, padding quietly down the hall. She tiptoed passed her father's room and paused outside of Phillip's bedroom. The only thing that would make her forget Lila's touch was some one else's touch. She would offer herself to her husband-to-be, even though their wedding was still days away. He would make love to her and his love would drive the thought of Lila's passion far away.

She lifted her fist to rap her knuckles against the hard wood of the door, but hesitated before she tapped. Phillip would welcome her into his bed. She was certain he would receive her, but it wouldn't make her forget Lila. It might make him lose respect for her. She could live with her yearnings for a few days.

She trailed her fingers over the wood, her mind and body whirling. Her knees trembling slightly with desire and need, she returned to her room. She crossed to the balcony again, looking across at the soft glow of the fires of the gypsy camp. She imagined Lila kneeling beside one of those fires. Her dark skin would be warm from the heat radiating from the pit. The flames would cast dancing illuminations on her face. The smoke would snake into her thick, dark hair and the smell would linger as they moved away from the fire into the darkness of a tent.

Margaret started when her bare feet touched the cool grass. She wasn't even aware that she had climbed over the balcony and scampered down the trellis. In her vivid imagination, she had blocked out the real world. Her body longed for Lila so much that it had taken control of her actions. She hesitated, gripping the lattice work in her fingers and staring up at the balcony. She shook her head and tried to pull back up to her room. Her eyes drifted over her shoulder to the dark forest. She could feel Lila's touch on her skin and imagine the woman's voice whispering in her ear. Lila was calling to her.

She disentangled herself from the lattice and sprinted across the courtyard. She didn't even pause in the rose garden to seek her mother's direction. She tore through the soft blanket of the woods, the soles of her feet crunching on the bed of dry leaves. She reached the lake and steered toward the gypsy camp, her feet kicking sand either direction. She was breathless by the time she reached the edge of the gypsy camp. She skidded to a halt and crouched behind a bush, her eyes skimming the camp activity for her heart's desire. 

A group of men and town ladies were laughing together on one side of the camp. Her eyes studied every face, making certain that Lila was not among the harlots. Quinn was sitting on a tree stump with a girl on each knee. He had his arms around their waists and was taking turns being kissed by them. Neither woman was Lila. One tent's flaps were folded back, revealing the dancing shadows of a lantern on the face of the older man who led the gypsies. He was Lila's father. Did she still share a tent with her parents? Margaret pinched her lips together, trying to decide what to do. 

Even as she was contemplating returning to the manor, a rustle at the side of the camp attracted her attention. Lila emerged from a tent on the outskirts of the camp. Margaret felt her breath catch and restrained herself from making a dash across the open camp. The ladies from town might see her though, and word would drift back to her father and Phillip. 

She watched as Lila drifted to one of the fires. The gypsy woman seemed to float. Margaret could feel her heart pounding in her ears in excitement and anticipation. Lila bent near the fire, her dress spread around her, and reached for a pot. The Roma poured herself a cup of coffee. Keeping to the shadows and not allowing her eyes to drift away from Lila, Margaret maneuvered herself around the camp toward the now vacant tent. Quinn called Lila's name and she turned her attention to the big man. Margaret was too far away to hear their words. She reached the empty tent and carefully slipped through the flaps. 

Her heart was drumming even harder now. She couldn't catch her breath. She placed her hands on her knees, fighting all her conflicting emotions. She was here. She would not flee. She took a deep breath and managed to stand, looking around the sparse tent. A lantern cast a soft glow over part of the room that shifted as the wind rustled. There was a soft pallet of quilts in the corner and Margaret knew that it would hold Lila's heavy smell. A trunk made a table and chair. 

She jumped when the flap opened suddenly. "Listen, baby, I appreciate the offer, but I told Quinn I wasn't interested. You are off the hook. Go on."

Margaret turned toward the voice, confusion on her face. Lila stopped talking, taking two steps to close the distance between them. She grabbed Margaret's hands. "What are you doing here?"

Margaret's mouth moved wordlessly. She didn't know why she was there and she was so overcome with emotion that words would not form anyway. She pushed toward the gypsy, pressing her body to Lila's and lifting to her tiptoes to press her lips to Lila's. Lila only hesitated a second before returning the kiss. Their lips met firmly. Margaret tilted her head and parted her lips, sucking on Lila's lower lip. Lila slipped her tongue between Margaret's open lips, swirling and exploring tenderly. Margaret lifted her arms and wrapped them around Lila's neck. Lila's arms locked around Margaret's waist as they deepened their kiss. 

When they finally pulled away, Margaret was still breathless. She laid her head on Lila's shoulder. "I couldn't stay away. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

A tender expression crossed Lila's face as she stroked Margaret's hair. "Don't be foolish."

Margaret shook her head. "I'm not being foolish. I've not been able to stop thinking about you since the first time I saw you. I was here before I even realized what I was doing."

"You aren't thinking clearly," Lila insisted.

"No, I'm not," Margaret admitted. "My thoughts are going in a thousand different directions. I almost gave myself to Phillip tonight, hoping that would make me forget you." She saw Lila's jaw tighten and knew the gypsy did not like the thought of her in Phillip's arms. "I couldn't do it. It's more than . . ." she paused, lowering her eyes as her face flushed. "It's more than what you do to me physically. Phillip would take care of that, but he can't take care of what's in my heart."

"You are still going to marry him," Lila muttered.

"I have to. You may think living in the manor house is easy, but it is not. There are things that are expected of me, and marrying Phillip is one of them. It will be a loveless marriage, but he will be kind to me. We will produce heirs for my father and for his. Before I commit myself to him, can't you show me real love?"

"Do you really think you can be content to have a few days of my love and then go on to marry him and find happiness?"

"No. I don't. I don't think I'll ever find happiness. I think it is too late for happiness."

Lila reached up and wiped away the tear escaping from Margaret's eye. She touched her lips to Margaret's again. "I've been hurt before, sweet Maggie. Don't lie to me and don't make promises that you don't plan to keep."

"I will marry Phillip; it's expected of me."

"So you keep saying." Lila pressed her mouth to Margaret's, tracing the girl's lips with her tongue. She touched her tongue along the roof of her mouth, tasting the sweetness. Margaret pressed into Lila. She kissed and nibbled her way down Margaret's neck. Margaret lifted her head and closed her eyes, keeping a soft moan from escaping. Lila's mouth danced along the bodice of her gown, tracing over the soft globes with her tongue and lips. "I'll give you one more chance to stop," Lila whispered, her breath warm on Margaret's now damp flesh.

"No. Please don't stop again. Finish. Show me all that there is to know."

Lila returned to kissing Margaret's breast along the bodice, moving her face into the warm valley. "You want an education, Maggie? You want me to teach you what you have not learned in your books and your finishing classes?"

"Please," Margaret begged, her voice breathless as Lila's teeth nipped at the nipple pressing against the material of the lace gown. 

Lila put her hands on Margaret's hips and sank into the soft blankets, pulling the young girl with her. She rolled Margaret to her back, their lips meeting in a firm, fierce kiss. Lila coaxed Margaret's tongue into her mouth, showing the inexperienced girl how to tease and explore. Margaret's tongue whirled in Lila's mouth, rubbing the inside of her cheeks, behind her teeth, and the roof of her mouth. Their tongues scrubbed against one another, the kiss growing more intense as Margaret followed her tutor's direction.

Reluctantly, Lila left Margaret's lips and trailed her own down the slim pale column of the girl's neck. Her deft fingers freed the strings at the bodice of the gown, parting the material as her mouth worked lower. Lila's lips, teeth, and tongue nipped along Margaret's ribcage and stomach, circling her navel. By the time Lila made her way back to Margaret's lips, the lady of Ravendorf was panting and trembling. Her normally pale skin was tinged a soft passion pink.

They shared another long kiss, Margaret's tongue the willing intruder into the hot cave of Lila's mouth. Lila allowed Margaret to take the lead, enjoying the tentative practice of her pupil. Margaret sucked at Lila's lips and tongue, capturing and releasing the dark woman's flesh. Lila sat up on her knees, not taking her eyes from Margaret's face as she slipped her blouse from her shoulders. 

Margaret's eyes dropped to Lila's dark breasts and the deep nipples peering into the dim light. Lila put her hands on either side of Margaret's head, lowering herself slowly to brush her nipples back and forth over Margaret's gasping lips. Margaret closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of the stiff nipple and the puckered flesh gliding over her damp lips. Lila's movement teased Margaret's lips wider until the large breast filled the girl's mouth. Her lips stretched over the flesh. Instinctively, Margaret began to suckle, feeding at the gypsy's offering. Her tongue brushed over Lila's nipple. Lila moaned in support. Her soft sounds of pleasure encouraged Margaret. Her tongue stroked faster against Lila's nipple. Lila began rocking into Margaret's mouth, their bodies rubbing against each other, generating friction between them. Had they been sticks of dry wood, fire would have erupted between them

Clothing melted away until their nude bodies lay entwined on the quilts. Margaret wanted to touch every inch of Lila's smooth body and she did. When she was finished nursing at the generous breasts, she followed her hands down the hard stomach, her lips blazing a trail as her hands caressed the Roma's bottom. Her fingers glided over the dancer's muscular thighs and calves, but her eyes were riveted to the smooth triangle and swollen lips of Lila's sex.

A silence stretched between them while Margaret devoured Lila with her eyes. Lila rolled to her elbows, studying her young, inexperienced lover. Margaret's eyes had not wavered from Lila's mound, but she was nervously chewing her lips. "You're all right," Lila whispered, the first actual words that had penetrated the warm tent since Lila had pulled Margaret to the blankets other than soft sighs of encouragement and pleasure. 

"I don't know what to do," Margaret confessed.

Lila smiled, a tender expression on her face. She was not mocking Margaret and Margaret did not think that was her lover's intention. She sat up, wrapping her arms around Margaret. "I will show you."

Moving like fluid, they switched positions, Margaret now lying back on the blankets as Lila moved between her legs. She caressed the back of Margaret's knee, who flinched a little and giggled. Lila smiled at Margaret over the small hills of the girl's breasts. She kissed the inside of Margaret's thigh and thrilled at the soft moan that fled Lady Ravendorf's throat. She moved up Margaret's thigh, breathing deeply of her lover's aroused scent. Her fingertips combed through the prickly hairs at Margaret's entrance, teasing along the slick lips as her mouth moved closer to the mound. 

Lila reached the apex of Margaret's thighs and kissed the mound firmly. She laid butterfly kisses all around Margaret's sex, avoiding the damp, swollen, eager lips. Soon, Margaret was thrusting up, her soft whimpers pleading for Lila to penetrate her moist recess. Only then did Lila press her mouth to the thick folds. She placed little kisses along them, listening to Margaret's cries of passion. She danced the tip of her tongue along the slit, delving deeper and deeper.

Margaret tasted like no other lover Lila had ever had. It was a sweet flavor and Lila thought that she could become addicted. Margaret's moans of pleasure were growing louder now, but Lila did not care who heard them. She slid deeper, pressing her face fully to Margaret's opening. She lapped against Margaret's insides until she found the girl's hard bud of pleasure. She placed her tongue against that nub and pushed in and out. Margaret gasped, thrusting up forcefully. Lila took the encouragement and began rubbing quicker against Margaret's button, her tongue curling, lifting the hood, and smoothing it down. Margaret writhed on the blankets, pleading with her lover to continue the pleasure. 

The gypsy slid her tongue to the lady's deep opening, rolling it into her and sliding it deep before fattening it. She began a steady stroking, twisting her tongue inside her lover as she did. She licked the walls of Margaret's inner depths, searching for the spot that would bring the girl the most pleasure. When they finished, Margaret would no longer be a girl, but be a woman. A sharp yelp from Margaret as Lila's dancing tongue scraped allowed the gypsy to know that she had found Margaret's sweet spot and she concentrated there, rubbing up and down and pressing that spot with the tip of her tongue.

Margaret thrashed on the blankets, her hand pulling Lila's hair as she bucked against her lover's face. She was moaning constantly now, but the sound was muffled to Lila by the thighs wrapped around her head. She jerked and quivered and groaned. She screamed in pleasure, offering herself fully to Lila. Lila stayed deep as Margaret descended from her mountain of pleasure, carrying her lover down gently. She pulled out as Margaret collapsed, stretching up to kiss the trembling belly. Margaret's hands fell from Lila's hair. Lila worked upward, looking into Margaret's sleeping face. The gypsy smiled and tucked her body close to Margaret. She pulled the blankets over their bodies and closed her own eyes.

Sleep didn't come quickly for Lila, though she rested. She was filled with Margaret's smell and nearness. She didn't want to ever let Lady Ravendorf go. Quinn was right. She was in a new dilemma, but for now, she was content with what she could get from Margaret. She could love the girl without falling in love with her. Margaret would not be a repeat of Aidan, but it was too late for Lila to say no to her.



Ravendorf Ch. 06



The sun broke over Ravendorf Manor and glistened on the far mountains. The sound of morning birds flittered into Margaret's bedroom. She inhaled deeply and nestled closer to the warm body next to her, a smile on her face. Their legs and arms were intertwined, a knot of love tangled in the blankets of the featherbed. Margaret rubbed her cheek on her lover's chest, feeling a nipple harden beneath her face. She turned her head to kiss the nipple, closing her lips around the bud. She sucked lightly, gliding her fingertips down her mate's stomach. 

Her fingers touched the juncture of her partner's legs and stroked lightly for a moment with the tips of her digits. A soft, sleepy moan escaped her lover's throat and Margaret smiled, increasing the speed of her caress. "You are going to wear it out," a groggy voice chuckled.

"I can't help it. I love the way it feels." Margaret shifted to smile up the dark body as she slipped her fingers between the folds of skin. She blew across the wet nipple, watching it respond as her fingers glided along the damp layers. Her fingers found the little bud and began stroking it. Her finger slid back and forth over the bud, flicking it lightly and pausing to rotate and massage it.

A groan escaped Lila's throat as she combed her fingers through Margaret's hair. Margaret curled her fingers and slid them into Lila's canal, pumping lightly. Lila began rocking her hips, meeting Margaret's caress and encouraging her young lover. She moaned in pleasure, her body starting to quiver. Margaret wrapped her lips around the large breast near her cheek, her teeth scraping the nipple. 

Lila's whole body was involved in the action of lovemaking now. She was lifting her hips in time with Margaret's fingers, her breath becoming short as Margaret quickened the pace. Her head tossed on the pillow and she bit her lip, aware of Elaine sleeping in the next room. She barked through her clenched teeth as Margaret pushed her higher, the girl's mouth suckling harder. Her tongue swept over the nipple again and again. 

Lila's body slammed up and down, her feet giving her leverage as Margaret worked her magic. She bit down hard enough to draw blood as her body exploded in waves of pleasure. She collapsed slowly, feeling Margaret's fingers return to their gentle massage of her smooth mound. She relinquished the nipple she had captured and returned to snuggling against the gypsy. 

"You've gotten very good at that," Lila laughed huskily when she was able to trust her voice. 

"I had a good teacher," Margaret replied, hugging close to Lila. Her fingers trailed lightly up and down her lover's smooth side. They lay in a thoughtful silence as the sun continued to push to the sky. Lila would slip from the blankets in a few minutes and hurry down the trellis. She would not risk being caught when Elaine entered into the chamber to wake the Lady of Ravendorf. Neither one wanted to think about the fact that this was their last morning together. The preparations were ready. Tonight, Margaret would be legally in Phillip's bed and the gypsy band would be departing from Ravendorf grounds. "How different will it be?"

"Hmmmm?" Lila asked, roused from a light, sated doze. 

"How different will it be with a man?"

Lila sighed, her fingers stroking up and down Margaret's shoulder and arm. "It will hurt the first time, my little love. There will be blood. You've told me many times that Phillip is a good man. I'm sure that he will be as gentle as he can be."

Margaret shook her head. "But will the pleasure be the same?"

"It's different for everyone. I have never enjoyed being with a man. He will enjoy you being brave and exploring with your hands and mouth, as you have done with me." Lila slipped away from Margaret's arms and climbed out of the bed. She began dressing while Margaret watched quietly from the bed. 

"Lila," Margaret whispered. Lila sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at her young lover. She tried not to show the sadness in her eyes. The Lady of Ravendorf had become a passionate lover, eager to know how to pleasure her partner. Margaret had responded ardently to Lila's every touch and kiss and caress. However, Lila knew the ache in her heart did not come from losing a sexual partner. 

They had spent every moment available together since Margaret had crept into her tent. They had gone riding together, Margaret showing her new friend all her favorite places in Bavaria. They had gone swimming in the cool water of Ravendorf Lake, dunking and splashing each other and laughing merrily. Lila grinned as she thought of the way that Margaret's chemise had clung to her small curves and her cold, hard nipples. Their play had turned to love. They had lain in a field, staring at the stars, talking about the things that they wanted from life. There had been nothing sexual about the grass scratching their bare skin and the cool breeze sweeping off the Zugpitz. They had held hands but they had not made love. 

The sorrow that Lila felt now, the grief that was threatening to tear her apart, stemmed from those moments together. There would be other lovers. Lila had no doubt about that. She would miss Margaret terribly, but she had finally forgotten Aidan. She was finally ready to move beyond the spoiled merchant's daughter. She wouldn't be ready to start a new relationship in the next town, but for the first time in a long while, she felt whole. There would never be a companion like Margaret, though. Aidan's friendship had not been like Margaret's. Aidan had only been interested in the physical side of their relationship. Margaret had wanted to know the person. Lila was going to miss her friend.

"The part that is going to hurt . . . I know that you would be gentle . . . can you do that for me?"

Lila paused, rubbing her fingertips over Margaret's pale stomach and breasts. She sat thoughtfully as she made circles and other designs lightly with her nails. She dropped her eyes. Every part of her wanted to grant the noblewoman's request. She would love to fully take Margaret, to break the girl and claim her as her own. Despite what her heart and body wanted, though, Lila shook her head no.

"Please!" Margaret begged. "I am so scared an so frightened and nervous. I wouldn't be with you."

"When Phillip didn't draw blood tonight, it would be your downfall, my sweet darling. There are ways that I could do it. I have tools made for that purpose. I've used them on lovers who are no longer virgins. If Phillip doesn't break you tonight, then he will think that you have been unfaithful. He'll divorce you or worse, he'll stay married to you and treat you like a servant. I won't leave you to a life of shame."

"But I'm asking you to do it. It's my choice."

"You don't realize what you are asking. You are expected to be a virgin tonight. If you are not, it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Please, my love, don't ask me again. I'm not strong enough to keep resisting your request."

"Then stop."

Lila whimpered, her resistance weakening, and bent her body over Margaret. She curled her tongue around each nipple, dipped her tongue in Lady Ravendorf's navel before she inched lower. The tip of her tongue danced along the slit of Margaret's lips, feeling the bristly hairs tickle her cheeks. A soft, sad moan escaped Margaret's throat and she lifted her hips, offering her body as a sacrifice to Lila.

Lila's tongue glided along the outside of Margaret's eager swollen lips, tasting the girl's anticipation. She dipped a little deeper and Margaret groaned enthusiastically, parting her thighs. Lila glided inside her partner, curling her tongue to scrape the walls and capture as much of Margaret's sweetness as she could. She savored the tasted of her lover, wanting to be able to recall it on the long nights in the future when her heart would ache for the girl.

She lapped harder, finding Margaret's button of pleasure with the tip of her tongue. She circled and flicked it. Margaret moaned and thrust upward, keeping her hips raised off the bed. Lila reached around and grabbed Margaret's rump, holding the girl to her as she rubbed against the nub. Margaret bit her lip, leaving dents in her skin as she tried to hold her sounds of pleasure inside. Lila's tongue stiffened as she found Margaret's hole, thrusting in and out of there, her eyes watching the girl's face. Again, she curled her tongue, scraping the walls and pushing as deep as she could. 

The Lady of Ravendorf writhed on her bed, a prisoner to the pleasure and love that the gypsy bestowed upon her. She gripped the sheets in her hands as her body strained toward Lila's thrusting, dancing, diving, flicking, moving tongue. Lila's tongue twisted and curved, pumping in and out faster as Margaret's body and voice exhibited encouragement. 

She dove deep, sucking at Margaret's inner being as her partner's body showed the now familiar and glorious signs of release. Margaret bucked violently, but Lila's hands on her rear did not allow the seeking hungry mouth to escape.

Margaret's body melted and Lila's tongue continued to work, cleaning the results of her mouth away from her lover's body. She tasted and drank every drop she could find, knowing it would be the last that she would ever taste. As she sat up, she saw a tears racing down Margaret's cheek. She lay across Margaret, resting her head against the girl's breast. "We knew it would be this way," the dancer said.

"I know." Margaret stroked her fingers through Lila's long, dark hair. Her mind tried to search for the right words to say.

There were no words. After a moment, Lila stood, finished dressing, and slipped over the balcony. Margaret rolled to her side, putting her back to the window, the German Alps, and the rest of the world. She covered her head with the pillow and prayed that the tears would stop before Elaine emerged. 



Ravendorf Ch. 07



The sun had crested over the Alps, glided over the peak of the sky, and was now sinking toward the western shadows of Ravendorf Manor. The grounds were filled with people coming from all over Bavaria to celebrate the wedding of Lord Ravendorf’s daughter and only child. She was marrying well, too. Phillip von Goring was a member of the Holy Roman Emperor’s court. He worked in the palace in Vienna. The next Lord Ravendorf would be a well established man and that would bring prominence to Garmisch. Even the poorest farmer had left the fields early to prepare for the festivities. Many of them had never entered the gates of the wall surrounding Ravendorf until today. They had gotten there early to see as much as they could see, to sample as much of the free food that they could, and to taste the Ravendorf wine. Lord Ravendorf had spared nothing to celebrate the wedding of his daughter.

The young mistress of Ravendorf stood at the doors of her bedroom balcony, watching as the servants prepared for the ceremony and party that would follow. She could smell the hogs roasting over the open pit. Every vegetable from their garden and every ripe piece of fruit had been harvested over the last few days and were now piled on tables for people to sample. She had wanted to be married in her mother’s rose garden, but Father had said that was too small. Her mother’s bushes had been pruned and buds scattered over every thing that would stand still. Elaine, Margaret’s lady-in-waiting and childhood friend, and Margaret had selected the flowers that would make up the bouquet that Lady Ravendorf would carry. Margaret brought the bundle of pink and red roses to her nose and inhaled deeply. The smell of roses always brought her mother to her. She wished her mother was there now.

Elaine curled her hand over Margaret’s shoulder, pulling the girl away from the balcony. “It is not good for people to see the bride before she is dressed, Milady.”

Margaret looked down her body. She wore a simple silk chemise. Numbly, she sat aside the bundle of flowers and followed Elaine into the dressing room. Elaine chattered as she helped her employer into her beautiful wedding gown. Margaret went through the motions with little comment. When Elaine told her to lift her arms or sit or stand, Margaret obeyed. “You act more like a criminal sentenced to beheading when you are innocent than a very lucky young lady about to marry a handsome, wealthy, wonderful man,” Elaine finally commented. “In fact, you’ve been acting like this for a week.” She sat down beside her mistress and patted the woman’s hand softly. “What’s wrong, Milady?” Margaret dropped her eyes, unwilling and unable to answer Elaine. She wanted to pour out her sorrow about marrying Phillip when her heart belonged to a gypsy. Women of the Lady of Ravendorf’s station did not marry gypsies. They certainly did not refuse to marry men of Phillip von Goring’s station in order to run away with a dark-haired, dark-skinned gypsy woman. “Are you still afraid of the wedding night, Milady?”

She was no longer worried about the pain that consummating her marriage with Phillip would bring. Instead, she was afraid that Phillip would never be able to bring her to the level of pleasure that her Roma lover had given her. She was terrified she would spend the rest of her life longing for the beautiful voice of the dancer. Phillip could never touch her in the way the musician had. It wasn’t just the physical touch of Lila that she would crave for eternity. Margaret would crave the wanderer’s love for the duration of her arranged marriage.

“I suppose I am just tired,” Margaret finally answered in her soft voice. It was an acceptable answer. She had spent every waking moment in preparation for the wedding. She should be exhausted. Elaine didn’t need to know that those moments that had not been centered on the nuptials had been expended in the arms of the gypsy. Margaret could close her eyes and still feel Lila’s hands and mouth moving over her body. It gave her a shiver of delight and brought a soft smile to her lips.

“You’ll get to rest soon,” Elaine assured as she finished threading Margaret’s light brown hair with a tangled wreath of rose buds. The lady-in-waiting stepped back to observe her handiwork. She beamed. “You look beautiful, Milady.”

Margaret examined herself in the mirror. Her dress had been made especially for her by the local seamstress. Lace and silk flowed down her body, accentuating her slight curves. Elaine had shaped her tresses into a thousand curls bound only by the vines of the flowers. She barely recognized herself. She turned to Elaine, who stood aside silently, her own eyes shimmering with tears. Margaret reached over and hugged Elaine tightly. They had been friends since childhood and Elaine had come willingly into the service of her friend when a lady had been needed. Margaret embraced Elaine, holding her friend so closely she could feel Elaine’s fluttering heart and trembling arms.

“Thank you, Elaine,” she whispered in a passionate voice. “Thank you for everything you have ever done for me.”

“It’s not good-bye, Milady,” Elaine assured. “I will be traveling with you. Your marriage or location does not weaken my commitment to you. There is nothing to keep me in Garmisch. I will follow you wherever Master von Goring takes you.”

Margaret backed away, still wearing an odd smile. She bent and kissed Elaine softly, touching her lips to the young peasant girl’s. It was a kiss of friendship and lasted only briefly. When they pulled away from each other, Elaine had a slight flush in her cheeks. She quickly stepped around Margaret, focusing her attention on cleaning up the mess that had been made while dressing the noblewoman. “Your father is waiting,” she muttered. 

Margaret took one last look at her reflection, and then turned slowly in her bedroom. She was starting a new life today. She would leave the room the young Mistress of Ravendorf. When she returned, she would be Lady von Goring. Phillip would take her to Vienna for a while, and then they would return so he could be the Lord Ravendorf.

She stepped into the hall and found her father waiting. He was standing with his back to her, his hands clasped behind him as he studied a painting. She cleared her throat lightly. “Father?” she called.

He turned and made his way down the long hall toward her, but stopped suddenly before he reached her. “Annabelle,” he whispered, saying his wife’s name reverently before recovering and fully focusing on his daughter. “Oh, Margaret! My beautiful little girl! Where is my little girl?”

“About to become Phillip’s wife,” she answered.

He closed the distance, gripping her wrists in his hands and studying her. “You are so beautiful. I see your mother in you. You are every bit as breath-taking as she was the day she became my wife. I hope that you and Phillip are as happy as your mother and I were.” He leaned forward and kissed the corner of her mouth, then kissed the opposite corner. He touched one of the wild curls, smiling warmly. Offering his daughter his elbow, he guided her down the long, curving stairwell and out the door into the open courtyard filled with guests. 

The audience fell silent, all turning in awe to the beautiful bride. They stepped to the side to allow Lord Ravendorf and his daughter to pass. Margaret could hear the whispering admiration. She had always hated the attention that came with her father’s title. In town, people had always stepped aside to allow her to pass. They always averted their eyes and only spoke to her when it was necessary. Now, they gazed upon the beautiful dress her father’s money had bought while enjoying her father’s food and wine and envied his position as their overseer. 

Would things be different in Vienna? Phillip was an advisor to the Emperor. She would be a member of the royal court when she reached the city. She would always be expected to perform for the audience of royalty and subjects. Elaine had said she would find rest, but Margaret suspected that there would never be rest for von Goring or his wife.

Quinn and Lila’s father and brothers stood to the side, watching the proceedings. Margaret looked their direction, hoping to catch a glimpse of her dark lover. Instead, she only saw Quinn glaring fiercely at her. She could tell by their positions that Lila had not come to the wedding. She did not blame her lover for staying away. She would not have been able to bare the loss of seeing her love given to another for eternity. 

They reached Phillip and the father handed the daughter to the groom. Phillip smiled into the face of his bride. “My lady, you are more beautiful and glorious than I ever imagined you could be.”

“So, you did not think me glorious or beautiful before?” she asked teasingly. She had known Phillip since she was a child and they had always had a good relationship. She tried to remind herself of her friendship with her soon-to-be-husband. She did love Phillip and knew he loved her. He would provide well for her and any children that they might have in the future. He would care for her father in his old age and honor the Ravendorf name in Garmisch. 

Phillip faltered awkwardly, thrown by her question. “Today, even angels hide because they are jealous of your beauty.” He offered her his elbow and reluctantly, her father released her. Phillip gently patted her hand, feeling it tremble against him. He led her across the courtyard to the altar that had been constructed for the purpose of the wedding. The bishop from Munich stood at the end of the long aisle, arrayed in fabulously colored robes with gold trim. 

Margaret could feel her heart pounding against her breast. It thundered in her ears. She could feel it pulsing through her veins. Her breathing was shallow and suddenly she couldn’t breath. Her eyes welled with panicked tears. She was only able to keep going because Phillip did not stop. He pulled her to the altar and she was relieved to be able to kneel before the priest for the nuptials. When it came time to say her vows, she had a difficult time forming the words. 

They danced and ate and as darkness approached, the villagers showed no sign of leaving the party. Margaret moved through the evening in a fog. She knew what she was supposed to do, but she didn’t remember anything. In a rare quiet moment, she found Quinn standing beside her. “Where is Lila?” she asked quietly, her eyes following Phillip, hoping that her new husband would not see her talking to the handsome, powerful gypsy. How would she explain knowing him well enough to speak to him?

“She is at the camp getting ready to leave this place. Please let her leave, Lady von Goring.” He spoke her married name as a curse. She could hear his hatred. It radiated from him. She supposed she should be grateful that Lila had a friend who loved her and protected her as much as Quinn did. Instead, his words hurt. They burned.

She dropped her eyes, wishing that there were words that could make up for the pain she had caused Lila. Margaret tried to remind herself that Lila had known the circumstances surrounding their relationship. The gypsy had first seen the noblewoman at an engagement party. She wished that she had some meaningful message that she could pass along to her lover, but her words were stuck in her throat. All she could do was walk away from Quinn in acceptance of his plea. She went to Phillip, who rested his hand at the small of her back in order to lead her into the crowd. She looked over her should once at Quinn, feeling his icy eyes boring into her. He watched for a moment, then placed his violin underneath his chin and began playing a mournful melody.

The haunting sound of the music from Quinn’s instrument broke Margaret’s heart even more. She knew she would always associate the tune with heartache. It would always remind her of the dark-haired woman who had introduced her to physical love. Lila had done more than show her physical pleasure. Lila had stolen her heart.

Her step faltered as the thought flew through her mind. Phillip stopped and looked at her, concern on his gentle, caring face. “Are you all right, my dear?”

Margaret did not trust her voice immediately. She swallowed with difficulty. “I am just tired,” she answered. 

She saw a change cross Phillip’s face and immediately regretted her words. She knew he was about to suggest they go inside and prepare for bed. The bedroom was the last place she wanted to be. Suddenly, she was terrified to be alone with her new husband. She didn’t want him to touch her, especially in the intimate, loving way that Lila had touched her. She knew that Phillip must be eager for the consummation of their marriage. She did not doubt that he had been entertained by ladies in Vienna. It was acceptable for a man to be experienced. However, he had anticipated his marriage to Margaret since she had become a young woman. He would have expectations when they reached his bedchamber, expectations that she was not ready to meet.

“Then we’ll make our excuses, dear,” he said.

“Let’s be less obvious about leaving,” she said quickly. “That way we won’t be disturbed by drunken jokers later. I’ll go ahead and slip out now. You join me a little later.” She tried not to hold her breath as she waited for his answer. If they left together, in thirty minutes, there would be singing outside their window. If they left separately, the rabble-rousers would be less likely to notice. 

He grinned, touching her nose playfully. “Such a clever woman is my new wife. I’ll be along soon.”

“No rush. We have the rest of our lives together. Enjoy the party for as long as you wish.”

“I don’t want to find my bride asleep. Go on, now.” He steered her toward the manor but hung back, taking another glass of ale and saluting another farmer. He watched her with one eye until she disappeared from view. 

She stopped when she was out of sight of the party, looking around to see if anyone was watching. She gathered the tail of her dress and hurried down the path to the barn. She crept along the soft grass, staying in the shadows as much as she could until she reached the wooden stable. Even the liveryman was at the festivities, so she quietly fumbled through the dark until she reached the stall of her horse. She rubbed his muzzle and muttered soft assurances to him. She opened the gate and led him out the rear door, keeping close to the wall surrounding the manor until she reached an opening in the stone fortress. She pulled herself onto the back, thinking of the way Lila had ridden her mighty stallion bareback. She bent over the neck of the horse, whispering softly to him. “Be easy and swift.” 

She spurred the animal and raced through the forest, headed toward the lake. She could feel the mighty muscles of the horse’s back rubbing against her legs. She bent low, enjoying the sensation of the animal’s movements. She had never ridden bareback before and could understand Lila’s passion for it. Thoughts of Lila pushed her to gallop faster. She couldn’t think of the consequences of her actions. She just wanted to be with Lila for the rest of her life.

She reached the gypsy camp with her heart thundering in her chest. She moved quickly, knowing if she hesitated for even a moment that she would lose her nerve. She dismounted in front of Lila’s tent, pushing back the flap as she entered without announcement. Lila was kneeling in front of a trunk, tucking items into the heavy chest. “I love you,” Margaret announced.

Lila continued packing, not turning to look at her lover. “You are married.”

“I don’t care,” Margaret insisted. “I don’t care about anything but spending the rest of my life with you.”

“What about your husband?”

Margaret watched as Lila methodically continued her packing. She still had not turned her attention to Lady von Goring, but the noblewoman answered in a passionate voice. “He will try to find me, but I will not go with him. I would rather die than not be with you.”

“You don’t know what you are saying, Frau von Goring.”

Margaret closed the distance and touched Lila’s back. “Please look at me.” Lila sighed and rose, facing her lover. Margaret could see that Lila’s eyes were swollen and red. Her dark skin seemed sallow. “I’ve made my decision. In time, Phillip can get an annulment. Father has his heir. I want to be with you.”

“You were so beautiful today,” Lila answered, finally reaching out to caress Margaret’s cheek. Margaret turned into the touch, pressing into Lila’s fingers, her eyes closed. “I wanted to stop the wedding, but we had made our choice.”

“We chose wrong.” A sound outside distracted Margaret and she turned urgently toward the entrance of the tent. “I don’t know how long I have before they discover that I am missing.”

“Where do you suggest we go?” Lila questioned, wanting to measure how much Margaret had thought through running away from her marriage and her life.

“You’re family is moving on. We can just move with them. I’ll stay hidden if Phillip and Father come here to look for me.” She took Lila’s hands in hers, squeezing them as she pleaded with the older woman. With her brown eyes, she begged Lila to love her and protect her and accept her. 

“I don’t think that would be safe,” Lila said, pulling away from Margaret and going back to the trunk. Margaret felt her heart crash. Lila was sending her away. She had known it was a possibility, but she had not allowed herself to really believe that it would happen. Dejected, Margaret turned toward the opening of the tent flap. Perhaps she would reach the manor before Phillip or Elaine discovered that she was missing. She would grieve for awhile, and then force herself to find happiness with Phillip.

Lila rummaged through the trunk, her own mind whirling with Margaret’s presence and confession. There were many reasons to refuse Margaret’s offer of love. She suspected that the young girl did not realize the consequences of her actions. This was a permanent decision. There would be no returning to her marriage with von Goring. She would be a marked woman living a life of regret and no escape. However, Lila could not refuse Margaret’s request. She did not want to spend her life without Margaret when that was what the woman was offering. 

“You can’t keep riding in that dress,” Lila announced.

Margaret stopped halfway out of the tent and turned back to Lila with a puzzled expression. Lila was extending a pair of her own riding pants toward her lover. “Put those on. I’ll saddle your mount with my own saddle. I can ride bareback farther than you.” Margaret stood, clutching the material of specially tailored men’s pants, staring at them in confusion. Her heart thundered in her chest. Lila took Margaret’s face in her hands and kissed the young woman softly and warmly. “Hurry, my love, we haven’t much time.”

Lila peeked out of the tent flap, making certain that no one was around the camp. She saw nothing in the fading light except for Margaret’s beautiful horse stamping near the fire pit. She slipped into the twilight to gather her own horse and saddle. Margaret had changed by the time Lila returned. She was carefully folding her wedding dress, tears streaking her face. Lila went to her, taking the dress away and clasping Margaret’s hands in her own. “Are you absolutely certain about this, Margaret? You can turn around now. Tell your husband that you needed some air and got turned around in the woods. I wouldn’t haunt you.”

“Yes, you would. You would haunt my heart every day for the rest of my life.” Lila studied her lover for a moment, trying to judge Margaret’s sincerity and clear thinking. She knew that they did not have long to make second guesses. They had to make their escape immediately if escape was their goal. She gave a slight tug on Lady Ravendorf’s hand. Margaret read the signal and followed Lila.




Ravendorf Ch. 07



They raced into the darkness, galloping along the trail to skirt the village. Lila hesitated a moment, deciding that hiding in Austria would be the safest for the couple. Her father had planned to head for Berlin. He would not change his plans. They could circle through Austria and rejoin the family in Frankfurt. 

They reached the ridge of the mountain and Margaret brought her horse to a stop. She gazed over the valley of her childhood, seeking the dark shadow of Ravendorf Manor. Lila turned back, studying Margaret’s face. The day’s activities showed in the young bride’s face. 

Here, the wind was cooler. Autumn would race down the mountain in a few weeks. The leaves would explode in color before being released from the trees. Lila decided this would be the place to stay the night. They could take shelter in the trees and Margaret could take one last look over her valley in the morning.

They did not make love after they made their pallet in the trees. They held each other in the darkness, borrowing each other’s warmth. At one point, Lila thought she heard horses and movement so she disentangled herself from Margaret and peered over the ridge. She saw a campfire and knew their pursuers had stopped to rest. As dawn broke over the mountains, she turned to Margaret, waking her lover with gentle caresses and soft kisses. Margaret muttered softly in her throat, the sound a noise of pleasure as she stretched her body toward Lila’s. Lila smiled, brushing hair off Margaret’s cheek, feeling relief when Margaret returned the smile. 

Lila closed the short distance and pressed her lips firmly to Margaret’s supple ones. Margaret put her arm around Lila’s shoulders, rolling onto her back and opening her lips for her lover’s tongue. The tip of Lila’s tongue danced along the opening, teasing Margaret’s lips. She slid along the inside of Margaret’s mouth, tasting her lover’s mouth. Their tongues rubbed against each other and Lila drew Margaret’s tongue into her own mouth, suckling softly.

Margaret held onto Lila as the gypsy’s hand glided upward to open the blouse she had given the noblewoman the night before. Her fingertips walked up the small, pale globe, making their way to circle the hardening nipple. Margaret moaned into Lila’s mouth, arching into her lover’s knowledge hands. Lila smiled, tilting her head to deepen the kiss and change the intensity. Her mouth now danced against the inside of Margaret’s cheeks. Her fingers rolled Margaret’s nipple, enjoying the instant way that the Lady of Ravendorf’s body responded to her touch. She squeezed, hearing the sound of gratification that escaped from deep in the small woman’s throat. The dancer’s fingers brushed and pulled and pinched, pushing Margaret’s enjoyment higher. Margaret’s kiss had grown hungrier as her bliss had built. Her mouth was now the aggressor.

Lila broke away, her lips dragging down Margaret’s noble chin and the fine line of her neck. She felt Margaret’s thundering pulse against her lips. Margaret’s hand tangled into the dark hair, attempting to pull Lila back to her mouth. Lila’s mouth climbed the peak to Margaret’s neglected breast, closing her lips around the nipple and tugging, then sucking more of the firm young flesh into her mouth. Margaret watched Lila’s cheeks flex for a moment, but was only able to concentrate for that moment. She closed her eyes and dropped her head backwards, moaning louder now. 

Her legs moved restlessly, her hips rising and falling, trying to bring herself into contact with Lila in order to relieve the throbbing tenderness pulsing between her legs. Lila thwarted her concentrated effort. Margaret was whimpering, unable to form the words to plead for release. She almost sobbed with relief as Lila’s hands opened the fastenings on the riding pants. She lifted her hips, feeling the cool air touch her heated body. The breeze flowing through the trees only heightened her senses. Lila’s mouth stayed busy against Margaret’s breast, suckling and teasing the sensitive flesh surrounding her swollen nipple.

Lila’s hand left the other breast, fingers moving lightly over the smooth flesh of the noblewoman’s stomach. Margaret’s breath became shallow and quick as Lila’s hand snaked closer to her warm center. Margaret opened her thighs for Lila and moaned deeper as fingers combed through the blonde forest. Lila’s teeth nipped at the hard bud that filled her mouth. Margaret’s hips came up against Lila’s hand, forcing Lila to part her. Lila’s long fingers sliced through the damp lips and teased the swollen, eager blossom. Margaret moaned, flexing her hips up and down against Lila’s talented fingers.

Lila listened carefully as Margaret’s breathing changed. She watched her lover’s body with a practiced eye, gauging the young, inexperienced girl’s readiness level. Margaret’s head tossed on the quilt and her skin was flushed. Her breasts were rising and falling in short hitches as her body pushed closer to release.

Margaret cried out when Lila pulled away. The air grazed over her wet breast and her inner folds felt incredibly empty. Panting, she raised up on her elbows to watch Lila, trying to determine why she had been left alone. Lila placed her back to Margaret as she revealed her back and then removed her own riding pants. Margaret admired the strong lines of Lila’s olive back and the supple roundness of her buttocks. Lila knelt beside the small bag she had hurriedly packed the night before and Margaret sat up more, her brow crinkled in concern. She could feel her heart pounding. Her nipples were tight. Shots of electricity radiated from those pinpoints. 

When Lila turned, Margaret gasped. There were silk bands wrapped around her thighs and waist. Those straps secured a long, thin leather sack. Lila quickly knelt next to Margaret, kissing her lover slowly. She took Margaret’s hand and guided it to the pouch. It was filled to the top to make it hard but the leather was smooth. Margaret’s hand easily curled around it. It extended a little beyond her closed first. She slid her hand up and down easily, barely feeling the seams that held the material together. Lila’s mouth and hands stayed busy on Margaret’s face and shoulders, her touch soothing. “You can still back out,” Lila whispered, her breath warming Margaret’s cheek. 

Margaret moved her trembling hand to Lila’s firm thigh. “No,” she whispered. “No.” She lay back, opening arms into which Lila came willingly. They lay in the embrace for what felt like an eternity, their mouths kind and passionate and familiar lovers. The false member rested against the inside of Margaret’s thighs and she soon she felt her body longing to feel it sliding into her.

Sensing Margaret’s desire, Lila shifted so that she lay between her lover’s legs. She pressed against the wet lips, moving the heavy sac between them to moisten it. When Margaret was moaning mindlessly again, her hips thrusting wildly and eagerly, Lila reached down to steady the leather. She pressed it to Margaret’s opening and nudged a little with her hips.

Margaret’s moan was different and Lila hesitated. “Are you sure, my love?”

“Yes, please,” Margaret groaned.

“This will hurt.” Lila thrust forward a little at a time, finding that the false member slid easily into her excited lover. “Don’t tense,” she whispered when she felt resistance. Margaret’s cry of pain as the limb broke her filled Lila with regret. Tears filled the virgin’s eyes and she bit her lip, whimpering as she adjusted to the fullness. Lila rested over Margaret’s body, stroking the blonde hair and muttering sweet assurances of love without moving. Her lips teased Margaret’s, urging her to forget the discomfort. 

Soon, Margaret’s body completely accepted the intruder and her hips began moving, causing the leather to scrub against her inner walls. Lila responded, carefully rocking her hips to slide the full staff in and out of Margaret’s stretched tunnel. Margaret responded as Lila had hoped, meeting the tender thrusts. She put her hands on Lila’s soft buttocks, urging the gypsy to move faster. She moaned in pleasure, thrashing and pushing upward with her heels. Lila panted as she drove harder, driving the false member quicker and deeper. 

Margaret cried out, her fingernails digging into Lila’s flesh as the leather rubbed against her thick nub of pleasure. Her stomach clenched and hard waves of relief and release washed over her. Lila kept moving until Margaret’s eyes regained their focus. The gypsy pulled out, unlacing the straps so quickly that she fumbled with the ties. She scooted up Margaret’s body as soon as the apparatus fell away and lowered herself over Margaret’s mouth.

Margaret could smell Lila’s heady, eager odor. Her tongue moved against the salty slit, tasting the desire in the wetness of her lover. She wiggled her tongue deep, alternating between Lila’s hard bud and deep channel. Lila rocked on Margaret’s tongue, moaning as the woman’s lips tugged at her clit and sucked on it. Lila shuddered and flooded Margaret’s mouth as she found her own release.

They lay side-by-side as the sun finished cresting the peak of the Alps. When Lila opened her eyes and looked at Margaret, she saw that a path of tears had cleared a trail on the Lady of Ravendorf’s cheek. Lila wiped at the tear. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, certain that Margaret cried because she was hurt or because she had regret.

“You are sorry for something so beautiful?” 

Lila felt relief wash through her and she bent to tenderly kiss Margaret. They exchanged endearments of love. Wordlessly, they dressed and mounted their horses. They picked their way along the mountain trail and descended into Austria, stopping as darkness descended and making sweet love whenever they weren’t too tired. 

Phillip and Margaret’s father did not find catch them for several days, but two young women traveling alone were noticeable. They were easy to track. Phillip pointed his firearm at Lila and yelled. Margaret and her father cried. Lila stood firm. “She’s broken.”

“Then I’ll kill you both,” Phillip growled.

Lila stood between Phillip and her lover, but it was Margaret whose calm voice penetrated the morning dew. “Phillip! Please, you can tell the people that I died. To you that’s what I am.”

Phillip’s hand trembled, the barrel of the firearm bouncing nervously. Lord Ravendorf laid his hand on von Goring’s arm. “Margaret, is this life what you want?”

“I love her, Father. I know to the church that I am a sinner. I’ll accept my punishment, but there would be no worse punishment that having to live one day without her.” Margaret stepped from behind Lila and went to her father, taking his hand and kissing the palm. “Phillip will be a good heir for you. Allow him to remarry and love his children as you would have loved mine. Forget me.”

“I could not do that, but if you chose to be dead, and this is what makes you happy, I will not force you into anything else.” Lord Ravendorf shifted his eyes to Lila. “I regret things had to happen as they did. I would have enjoyed having another daughter.”

He turned his mount and moved toward the trail to Garmisch. “Come along, Phillip.”

Phillip lowered his firearm and studied Margaret, watching the tears streak down her cheeks. The silence of two hurting friends passed between them before he jerked the reigns and galloped out of sight. Lord Ravendorf’s horse moved slower and Margaret was aware that she had never seen her father look so old. “Papa!” she called just before he left her view. “I love you, Papa!” Lord Ravendorf did not turn back.

It was ten years before a band of gypsies traveled through the Garmisch region with a woman so pale many speculated that the Roma were baby thieves as the legend said. There was a little girl that favored the big man who led the tribe but had the pale woman’s light colored hair. The pale woman and the beautiful, dark-skinned dancer were rarely separated and the girl shared their tent.

The Mistress of Ravendorf would never be Lady Ravendorf, even though she had lived in the manor the majority of her life. She had given Phillip von Goring a child and Lord Ravendorf had loved the boy. 

When the pale gypsy came to Ravendorf Manor with the girl, the Mistress of Ravendorf was in the rose garden. She cared for the roses as the two previous women of the manor had done. The women embraced and cried. Von Goring welcomed the woman and her family with a feast. Lord Ravendorf smiled and held the girl on his lap. 

The tribe did not stay away as long the next time they left. The little gypsy girl and the young Master Ravendorf played together in the crystal clear lake whenever the tribe camped along its banks. At ten, the boy announced that he would marry the girl, and no one disapproved.