Zane Pella: Fanchon_s Book

"Madame… please!"

It was an effort. But she sounded peevish and I couldn't blame the little darling; I had promised to do it her way. So I clicked the switch, pulling the igloo of darkness over my head again, not happy about it but deeply conscious of the need to comply with her wish. Her every wish, somehow, now that I had seen the nude glory of her. Certainly I had no desire to make her angry or distrustful of me. Not ever.

Fairy tale princess-and mine, all mine! Only I would have to woo and win her first, surmount the obstacles, break the spell, climb the ladder of flaxen hair to the top of the tall tower; ah, would that I were a knight on a white charger!-how tidy it all was in those days, how simple to rescue the fair damsel and carry her off to have and to hold and be listed in the record books forevermore.

I sat there in the darkness, loath to click the switch and dissolve the vision I was still seeing. The pretty pink-nip pled breasts, the creamy S-curves of waist and hip (like parentheses embracing the exquisitely lewd toison d' or) and the legs, the impossible legs, could such beauty be real? Oh, I had some heavy wooing and winning to do, but with that kind of incentive I knew I was damn well going to do it. Cajole her, flatter her, tell her how beautiful she was-and bind her close to me. Bind her with the chains of love.

"Ma'm?"

"Hmm? Oh. Yes, of course." I brought the lights back on, blinking away my dream.

"Were you sitting in the dark all that time?"

"It couldn't have been very long, Kristi." I glanced significantly at her bare feet and legs below the hem of the uniform. "You got dressed in a hurry, I see."

"Well, it was so near bedtime. But I'll put my shoes and stockings on if you-"

"No, don't bother. You could have left everything off, now that I've seen you."

She giggled. "Oh, no. That show is over." Then, just a bit timorously, "Ma'am? Was it all right?" She knelt and started unplugging the electric wires. "Did you like what I did?"

"I liked it very much. Your show was fine."

"Oh, I'm so glad… "

There was a note of genuine relief in her tone; I watched her moving around to set the lamps back in their places, bending this way and that with a kind of nervous exhilaration; she had pleased me and was obviously happy about it. And so was I, of course, far more than I had let on. Perhaps it was only the infection of her mood that I caught, but it didn't seem right that I should sit so quietly nonchalant while she practically bubbled over. I got up from my chair to lend a hand.

"I'll help you, Kristi."

"No need for that, ma'm. I can do it."

The job was nearly finished, anyway. But I still wanted to do something to show what I felt-my gratitude, my elation, the joy of knowing that I had at last managed to put a crack in the wall between us. Much of it had been Kristi's doing, I realized, the peepshow had been entirely her own idea; by this time I was certain that the sweet child was in love with me but just didn't know how to go about saying so. She deserved a reward, a token of my appreciation, something more tangible than the compliments I planned showering upon her. It was up to me to sustain this cordial glow of camaraderie.

"Kristi, I have something for you."

"Ma'm?"

"A present. To thank you for such a charming performance."

"Oh. Is that it? Perfume?"

I nodded, somewhat taken aback by her lack of enthusiasm. It was good perfume, a brand ranked among the best, and I had broken the seal on the flacon only a few days ago. But she didn't seem overwhelmed by my expensive gift.

"You don't care for perfume, Kristi?"

"Oh yes, I do, ma'am. And thank you. But I'd rather not take it, if you don't mind."

"You-you don't want it?"

"Please, ma'm, don't be offended. It's just that-well, I didn't put on my show in hopes of earning payment for it." She smiled mischievously, the green eyes glistening. "Besides, if I needed perfume I could use yours and you wouldn't even know about it. And even if you did, I'll bet you wouldn't scold me."

"'Hmph! Little rascal. All right, I think I understand. We'll share the perfume. You may go ahead and use it any time you care to. And that goes for all my cosmetics and hairspray and lotions and things. Fair enough?"

"Uh… yes, ma'am. Thank you."

"But I still want to do something for you. Now, I mean. Because your show pleased me so much. Kristi, you were beautiful. When the lights went on, you took my breath away. From the top of your head right down to your pretty toes, you were perfect. And I'll be unhappy unless you let me reward you in some way. Now be honest with me, my dear. What would you really like?"

"Ma'm? You-you mean it?"

"Yes, dear. What can I give-"

"No. Not that. I don't want any presents. But did you really think I was beautiful? Even my toes?" She giggled again, a sharp sound, more like a peal of giddy excitement. "Ma'm, I know what you can do for me. Uh, it will be such fun. Let me put on another show for you sometime. Will you do that?"

"Another show? But "of course, my dear. I'd like that very much. But then you'd be giving me a gift, wouldn't you?"

"Well… " She hesitated. un-no, ma'm, not exactly. It's kind of funny and I'm not sure how to tell you. Please, ma'm, you won't be angry with me? Promise?"

"Silly girl. I promise."

"It's silly, I'll admit. I guess I'm even a little bit ashamed of it. But as long as I'm going to work for you, then it wouldn't be right to keep secrets and' hide-"

"Kristi, stop that. There's nothing to be ashamed of. At least not in front of me. Whatever it is, I'll understand and I'll sympathize and I'll love you as much as ever. So come now, you sweet thing, just turn your beautiful face up and tell me all about it. Don't keep me in suspense."

"Well… it's about my being an actress."

"Hmm? An actress?"

"Uh, not a real one, ma'm, just make-believe. I know I could never be in the movies or anything like that. But it's a kind of game I play when I'm by myself-I think up a part and then try to act it out. And sometimes I get so wrapped up in it that I even forget I'm acting. Isn't that awful?"

"Awful? Why, no, Kristi, I think it's cute. But you mustn't frighten me like that; the way you were talking, I thought you were hiding some terrible, horrible vice that might bring the gendarmes down on our necks."

"Uh. I'm sorry, ma'm."

"Nothing to be sorry about. But tell me, uh, this game you play, was that what you were doing when you posed under the lights? Were you being an actress then?"

"Yes, ma'am. Couldn't you tell?" A sheepish grin curved the corners of her lips. "I guess you think I'm pretty silly."

"Not at all, my dear. I only wish I had known about it beforehand. Maybe I would have played the game right along with you. Hmm, now that's an idea, isn't it?"

It was an idea, all right, an important idea, even though I spoke in a bantering tone. So the little imp wanted to be an actress, eh? Well, why not? What a marvelous opportunity for both of us! The more I thought about it, the more I recognized the possibilities involved, wild, erotic; oh, there was no end to the number of delightful scenes we might play together. With a little inventiveness, I could have her eating out of my hand in no time.

"Ma'm? I-I don't understand. You mean you would have stood up and come under the lights with me?"

"Something like that. But only if we had figured out what parts we were going to play. Next time we'll do that, shall we? We'll make up something and have fun."

"Oooh, yes! Ma'm, would you really do that?"

"If it would make you happy. Since I can't reward you with a gift, I suppose I ought to do it in the way you like best. Yes, dear, I'll play your game with you. In fact, we might even attempt it right now."