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.Something wasn't right with these letters.She understood why Marie's husband was named Damien.Itwas a family name.Okay.The first Damien du Bourg had built the house, and Marie was his wife fromFrance.Sure, fine, whatever.But how in the hell could the woman Marie saw her husband cheating onher with be named Rosa?She ran down the stairs, her footsteps echoing in the empty house.It hadn't bothered her to be alonehere the night before when she had retreated from Damien to the big house, but suddenly she was awarejust how vast and shadowed the structure really was, even in the strong sunlight of mid-morning.With ashiver, she jogged out the front door.So the Rosa that Marie had described didn't really sound like the Rosa that Marley had met twice, butshe still thought it was an unusual coincidence.One that made her uncomfortable.Avoiding the side of the house with the pigeonnier, since she didn't want Damien seeing her out of thewindow and questioning her destination, Marley ducked around to the north side of the house and hopedshe could remember the way to Anna's cottage.Since she was practically running, five minutes later sheburst out in front of the house, winded and sweaty.Anna was on the porch."Mornin', Marley.Didn't expect to see you today, but it's a pleasure.Come onup here and have a chat."Wiping her palms on her denim shorts, Marley sucked in her breath and climbed onto the porch."How are you, Anna?" she forced herself to ask."Still here.That's something.How about you? I thought you left, thought you were heading back north."Marley shook her head."I decided to stay in the house until Damien's next party& I'm hoping my sisterwill show up.""Mmm-hmm." Anna raised an eyebrow."Was that Damien's idea?""Yes." She would not blush, would not blush& too late."He's hard to say no to, isn't he? All the du Bourg men are like that.""Actually, I wanted to ask you about Marie's letters.She mentioned a woman named Rosa, a womanthat her husband was, well, you know, with." God, how old was she? She couldn't even bring herself tosay sex out loud."Don't you think it's strange that the current Damien du Bourg knows a Rosa too?"And who was the present Rosa exactly? But Marley supposed if she wanted the answer to that, sheshould ask Damien.Anna just shrugged, her lilac T-shirt slipping off her bony shoulder."Not so much.These families roundhere all use the same names, generation after generation.The du Bourgs only have two names: Phillipeand Damien.They just switch them out." "For two hundred years?""Yes.""What about when they have girls?""They don't have girls.""Ever?" How was that genetically possible?"Never.They're not a real fertile folk.""Why do you live here, Anna?" Marley kind of thought Anna was a retired nanny or housekeeper, but itoccurred to her she had no reason to assume anything."My great-grandmother was the quadroon mistress of one of the Damiens.He gave her this house in1834.My family has lived here ever since.""Oh.Well, that was nice of him." Marley was embarrassed.That was a really stupid thing to say, but ithad just slipped out, Anna's explanation shocking her.Anna laughed, the sound trailing off into a cough."Suppose it was.But I'm sure my great-grandmother,Marissabelle, earned it.It's not easy to keep a du Bourg man pleased and satisfied."Great.Just what she wanted to hear.Like Marley didn't have enough anxiety over sleeping with Damien,now she had to hear it was in his genetics to be unsatisfied."Because they're rude and arrogant? Orbecause they're, you know, always wanting attention?""All of the above.And Marissabelle wasn't an obvious choice for that Damien& she was too old to beinnocent and fresh, too young to be a jaded sophisticate, both of which might appeal to a man like that.Instead, she was right in the middle, twenty-five years old, the daughter of a mulatto slave and her whitemaster, not much loved by either.But while they were never the most caring of parents, her father didpay for her to receive an education and for gowns, and the usual frills for a young girl.""How did she meet Damien?" Marley pulled her shirt off her sticky back and leaned closer to Anna.Hervoice was soft and soothing, but hard to hear, genteel Southern, and Marley wanted to know the story,hear what had happened between Anna's ancestor and yet another Damien du Bourg."That's a long story.""I have time."Anna stared at her for a second, then made a sound with her teeth."Well, when Marissabelle waseighteen, her father planned to marry her off to some white man he knew who didn't mind her blackblood, and who welcomed the money her father offered.Since an interracial marriage would have beenillegal, they planned to pass her off as white.But Marissabelle had fallen in love with a slave on theplantation she had grown up on, and he got her with child.When the baby was born black, her fatherbeat her for ruining her chances to make something better out of herself.She ran to the baby's father, theman she loved, but he turned her out.He wasn't going to risk trouble just for a woman he'd taken atumble with.""God, that's horrible.""Yes, it was." Anna glanced over at her."Picture a young girl, raised to think she was beautiful, a bit spoiled materially, knowing nothing about the hard truths in life, not understanding the brutal reality ofracism.She didn't understand that no matter her father being white, she was still a black girl.Her motherwasn't going to stand up to her father, and her father wanted her to abandon the baby, pass it off asbelonging to another one of the slaves on his plantation.Her man had broken her heart.And when shewent to her father's friend, the one who had thought to marry her, he told her he could tolerate marrying aquadroon, but he'd never marry a slut.However, he had a deal for her.He'd find her a place to stay, lether keep her baby, pay for all her and the babe's needs, if she would just spread her legs for himwhenever he asked her to."Marley looked at Anna in horror.For some reason, she had not seen that coming."Men are disgusting.""And women are practical.She took the offer, of course, so she could keep her child." Anna closed hereyes briefly."Have you ever loved a child, Marley? Do you understand why she did what she did? Shecouldn't leave that baby at the mercies of anyone else, couldn't imagine life without her flesh and blood inher arms.She would have done anything to keep her son with her."Marley swallowed hard."I know how she feels, even though I don't have a child.I'd do anything toprotect my sister, and even more to keep my nephew happy and healthy.I can't imagine giving up mybaby.""The man was decent to her.He kept his word, finding her a nice place to live, a shotgun cottage in theFrench Quarter, getting her a housemaid to help with the baby.And he taught her what her impatient firstlover hadn't how to draw out pleasure, how to pull your heart right out of the bedroom and let yourbody be all of you.No love, no emotion, just eye-rolling ecstasy.You can have that, you know, pleasurejust for the sake of pleasure, and you can learn each other's bodies, be comfortable together and stillnever feel anything for the other."Marley wanted that too, just once, wanted to have an affair that felt good, that pleased her but meantnothing.That's what she wanted from Damien, just selfish sex."She never loved that man, but she learned to welcome his attentions, learned to look forward to hisvisits.Learned to take for herself what she wanted, and manipulate him by turning his desire for heragainst him.Yes, Miss Marley, she learned a lot about how to tease and coax and please a man, andhow to please herself along the way.She had two daughters with that man because she loved childrenand he was decent to her son
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