AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He takes me hand. “I’ve seen that. And it endears you to me. How could it not? That you love the love of my life in perhaps the same way I do? It makes me love you, Mina. It makes me see how badly we need you.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand. You need me?”
I’m shocked when his eyes brim with tears. “He’s sick, you see, my lovely Séverin. He needs more love than even I can give him. And so do I. And I’ll need it that much more when he’s gone.”
Chapter Ten
Oh, my heart is breaking. I shake my head, willing his words away.
“No…”
“I feel the same, darling. I don’t know how I’ll bear it.”
“But… Sick how?”
“He has cancer. He beat it two years ago, but it’s come back with a vengeance. If we’re lucky, we’ll have him another year or two.”
“No,” I repeat, as if that will do any good.
“You must understand, he hates to be seen as weak, even by me. He doesn’t open up with people; not with anyone but me. He doesn’t want to burden anyone. But this is too much for me to carry alone, and far too much for him. And…I believe he might let me carry some of that weight if I’m not doing it alone. But we are not enlisting you as a nursemaid; there’s plenty of money to hire nurses when the time comes. It’s the weight in our hearts that gets to be too much. And you are the first person who makes that a little easier. We’ve talked about it; how you’ve become important to us both. How you ease us with your mere presence. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what it is, and neither is he. Your empathy, maybe. It’s a sense of you we both have. That you might be good for us as we go through this. I know it’s a lot to ask of someone, and slave or not, we must ask you this. This sort of thing isn’t covered in your contract. But Mina, if you’ll have us, we need you. He needs you, more than he’s ready to admit.”
I wipe at my tears with the back of my hand, and it’s only then I realize my Master hasn’t even noticed I’m crying again. He’s too caught in his own sadness.
But if sadness is what brings us together, so be it.
He’s right. I’ve carried my own load alone my whole life. Slavehood offers me some relief, but I’ve never had any idea what will actually heal me. I’ve always assumed nothing would.
But love…
It’s not something I’ve ever considered. Not for me. Yet that seems to be what he’s offering.
I clear my throat. “And so, you’d want me to stay with you?”
He nods. “I can contact Mistress Clara at any time to discuss buying out your contract. Certain things would change. We would likely have you in the bed with us more often. And…when Séverin really gets sick, I can’t tell you exactly how we’ll all change then. But I want you to come into this knowing. It has to be your choice, because this is no simple transfer of a contract.”
My poor Master Séverin! How could I possibly bear watching him fade away? Watch him lose his strength? He’s endured far too much already. Yet, how could I go away from this place, never knowing what happened to him? Knowing I might have been able to help?
“What do we do now?” I ask.
He smiles, although it’s wistful at best. “I will send Séverin out to you to talk. The two of you will make the final decision.”
“Yes, Master. Must I keep the shirt on? It feels…strange.”
“For now, yes. The two of you will talk as we just have—human to human, despite the dynamic. Stay here.”
He gets up and moves into the cabin, and a few minutes later Master Séverin appears, and sits down with me on the bench.
“Erek has related your conversation to me. It’s not one I can bear having. I’m sure he mentioned that. Tell me, what do you think about this new arrangement going forward?”
His eyes are so shadowed, I can’t see into their depths, and I notice again that he’s pale beneath his tan.
“I…I can’t imagine not being able to stay with you. To help you, Master.”
He shakes his head. “It will be Erek you’ll really be helping. I’m a bit afraid of what will happen to him once I’ve left this earth. And before things get bad, I want to celebrate life in the only way I know how. But because I’m ill, it must be with people I trust completely.
“I’ll be honest; I don’t know exactly what it is about you. How we ended up here on our lovely, twisted, fucked-up holiday. I had no idea we would find you. But I feel something from you—some sort of understanding. That, and the way you endure everything so beautifully. You’re strong, Mina. We need that strength. But tell me, how do you feel about all of this? About us?”
I twist my fingers together in my lap, partly because I’m afraid to say the wrong thing, and partly because sitting here clothed and speaking to a Master is so alien to me.
