Read The Kingdom on the Edge of Reality for Free Online Page A

in around here, Jenna?"
    "Wherever I want."
    "Are you Albert's girlfriend?"
    "I don't belong to Albert or anybody else."
    "But are you Albert's girlfriend?"
    She turned angrily away. "Oh, you are so bourgeois!"
    We rode home without talking. The auction was winding down for the day. After we had turned Cassie and Pollux over to the stableman, Jenna said, "I think that unless Albert comes back, we will dine out on the terrace, just the two of us. Will that be all right?"
    "I'd like that, Jenna."
    "Let's eat at seven. No need to dress."
    "I have only that one set of clothes anyway."
    "Look in your closet," she said over her shoulder as she walked away. "You'll find a few other things."
    Sure enough, there were several changes of clothes in the closet of my old room, all my size and very thoughtfully chosen. For dinner on the terrace I chose slacks and a light sweater, but when I came downstairs, there didn't seem to be anyone home. The house seemed empty and hollow after the ravages of the auction, which was obviously not just the kind you have to clean out the attic. No, this was the hardcore, going-out-of-business kind of auction: everything must go! What wasn't already gone was rolled up, stacked up, or lined up on its way to the block.
    I could see where some living space had been temporarily improvised, like a mini-living room consisting of a table and a few chairs near a nice window in the corner of a large and empty room. But mostly it was a ghost mansion now. It echoed; and the shades of Albert's ancestors slipped from room to room shaking their heads in dismay.
    Dinner had been served on the terrace, and sat waiting on a candlelit table. It seemed a little spooky to me, like a magic dinner in a fairy tale. I was sipping a bit of brandy when Jenna finally appeared. She floated in wearing something that was a mixture of evening gown and negligee. It was very silky and looked like it would be easy to slip off.
    I held her chair as she sat down, and she smiled at me coyly over her shoulder. When I was seated she began to serve me; every time she leaned forward she was showing me her perfect breasts nestled in the silky folds of her dress. After she served me, she stole things back from my plate and fed me little bites from hers. She poured my wine and then took sips from my glass. It was very exciting. She transformed eating dinner into a silent conversation about sex, and she did it with grace and style and humor. She was melting me down.
    "The house seems very empty," I said.
    "Yes, I thought all the servants could use a night out."
    "Jenna, everybody is going to know."
    "So what?"
    "Well, they're Albert's servants."
    "And?"
    "Do you want Albert to know?"
    "Jack, don't spoil everything. Aren't we having a nice time? I told you I don't belong to Albert, and that's the truth. Also, Albert doesn't
want
to know, so no one is going to tell him, don't you see?"
    "But . . ."
    "No, Jack, no buts. Now for the rest of the night we're not going to mention Albert's name, do you understand?"
    I could have gone upstairs and locked myself in my room until morning, but I didn't. I was having a wonderful time with this beautiful woman, and it was easy to convince myself that the pleasure would outweigh the consequences. I had at least one thing in common with Jenna: life often seemed boring, wasted, pointless. To reject such an exciting encounter for the sake of a scruple seemed ungrateful, like throwing away a gift from the gods. Reality, I chose to let myself dream, had been suspended indefinitely. The night would last forever, and we would live happily ever after.
    "Darling?" she said, lifting her warm, moist lips from my tingling body. We were upstairs in her candlelit suite, lying on satin sheets in her canopy bed. Beyond that was the gentle night, the moon and stars. There was no stress or strain, no poverty or violence, no lack or need. All undesirable things had been remedied and healed. There was nothing left in the world but