Page 76 of Frankly, My Dear

His luminous eyes held hers captive, smoldering, while conflicting emotions swept his tight features—anger and passion. Anger, no doubt, because he did not like the complications she posed to his very controlled life. Passion, which he could not control, despite his best efforts, despite his plans to send her away.

Selene remembered her vow earlier that day to make him sorry for sending her away. She wanted him to regret not loving her. With that in mind, she smiled with ageless, wanton intent.

He stiffened, recognizing the challenge.

Slowing her chant and her body movements to a more sexual rhythm, Selene watched his fists clench and his jaw tighten, but he seemed unable to tear his eyes away from her. She arched her breasts and felt them peak against the taut fabric. She held her pelvic thrusts higher than necessary, tantalizing his senses.

With outrageous insolence, James palmed himself, showing her his arousal. Clearly he was throwing the gauntlet in answer to her challenge.

She gasped and turned away, realizing that teasing could be a two-edged sword. In the taunting of his desire, she had kindled her own, as well. And he knew it.

When she turned back to the window, James was gone. With a groan, Selene stopped her chants and stretched out flat on the floor. “Party’s over, ladies. Time to get back to work.”

But her thoughts still dwelled on James. Hold onto your chauvinistic butt, Rhett. Here comes Scarlett. Believe me, this war’s not over yet. Not by a twentieth-century long shot. And don’t think for a minute that I’m settling for “Tomorrow is another day.”

By the end of the afternoon, Selene had spent three concentrated hours with Etienne in the schoolroom, setting out lesson plans and daily schedules. First she reviewed the basics in a number of subjects, like arithmetic, reading, writing, and elementary science, to get a feel for his abilities.

The boy was a genius.

Selene should have guessed that a child with Etienne’s talent for mischief was gifted intellectually. Not only was his reading level that of at least a ten-year-old, but he had a quick grasp of the sciences, probably due to his fascination with the bayou biological wonderland that surrounded him.

“Why are you frowning? You look like a bullfrog when you make those wrinkles in your forehead,” he said.

“How nice of you to notice!”

He smiled, guilelessly for once, and she ruffled his clean hair. James had apparently given his son strict orders to bathe once a day, wash his face and hands before every meal and before his tutoring sessions. Selene didn’t know what threat James held over Etienne’s head to get such compliance, but it must have been a powerful one.

She sat watching him solve yet another long addition problem, biting his tongue in concentration as his pencil skimmed the page. The brat loved challenges of any kind.

“How many minutes did that one take?” he asked, putting his pencil down resoundingly. They both peered up at the banjo clock on the wall.

“Three minutes,” Selene said, checking his answer for accuracy. Her grimace told him his answer was correct, again.

“I win. I win. Tomorrow you gotta go into the swamp with me to study…what did you call it?”

“Biology.” She shuddered at the prospect of entering that haven of snakes and bats and who knew what kind of slimy creatures. But she’d foolishly promised Etienne that some of their classes could be outdoors if he solved three of her more difficult problems within five minutes. Her entire session today had been one bargaining match after another. “Are you sure it’s safe, Etienne?”

Standing, he put his hands on hips and glared at her.

“E.T. I forgot.”

“You always forget. And, oui, you’re safe with me,” he boasted. “Will you draw a picture of E.T. for me now?”

“Will you read some more of Oliver Twist for me?”

“Merde! Read, read, read. My head is swimming.”

“Etienne…E.T.,” she amended at his immediate scowl, “didn’t you agree to stop swearing?”

“I don’t remember. Did I?” he asked, kicking at a ball of paper on the floor. Then, seeing that she wasn’t going to give in on the reading deal, he growled, “Oh, all right. I’ll read one more page, but then you have to draw a picture of E.T. for me. I promised Cain and Abel I would show it to them.”

Selene glanced through the open doorway where the two black children sat in the hallway waiting patiently for Etienne’s lesson to end. Actually, they listened so avidly that they probably soaked in as much information as he did. Selene intended to ask James about including the other children in the lessons.

When he finished reading, stumbling over the harder words, Selene drew a rudimentary pencil sketch of an E.T. style figure and even added a spaceship in the background.

Etienne gaped in awe at the drawing. Then he turned his dazzling eyes on her in appreciation and smiled. Selene could have sworn he almost hugged her in thanks. Her heart expanded with warmth.

After Etienne left, she tidied the room a bit, then returned to the second floor where the servants, under Iris’s orders, had already laid clean rush matting. They finished polishing the furniture and returned it to the two parlors and the dining room.