Lina strolled through the manor looking for the young artist, Jaco. Her loins were on fire, burning with need, and she thought the handsome young man had just the thing to put it out. The laughter in her head rang out gleefully and she listened to and obeyed it. It was so much easier that way. The Duke didn't want her, and neither did his over-jealous wife. The laughter in her head was her new Master. It gave her the direction she desperately needed. Her life had always been one of a slave, and the laughter filled the role as Master nicely. It was demanding and expected her to obey, and she was happy to.
She smiled to herself as she made her way to the artist's new studio. Over the last few days, she noticed the way Jaco stared after the Duchess longingly. It was the same way she used to stare after the Duke. But the laughter had freed her from that. She no longer pined after him like a love-sick youth. She lived only to serve the laughter and fulfill its wishes. She brazenly burst through the doors of the studio, startling the young man as he sketched at an easel. His questioning eyes were fixed on her as she swayed over to him.
"The Duke sent me to check on the progress of his bust," she lied, seductively.
"I...I'm almost finished with the sketches," he stammered. "Perhaps when I'm finished the Duke would like to see them."
She stopped a few inches from him with a smile on her face and then slowly turned her head to look at the sketch he was working on. "A good likeness," she said truthfully, "but it has taken you several days to get this far. The Duke is becoming impatient."
"Well, this isn't my first sketch," he protested.
"Let me see," said. Before Jaco could stop her, she was shuffling through the sheets underneath the one he was working on.
"Please, let me do that!" he shouted, but it was too late.
"Somehow, I don't think this is the bust the Duke wanted you to work on," Lina chuckled as she pulled out a nude sketch of the Duchess. Jaco's face burned with embarrassment, and his eyes went to the floor. "Did the Duchess pose for this?" Lina asked.
"No," Jaco admitted. "Please, don't tell anyone," he pleaded, "I'll lose my patronage."
Lina swayed back over to him with the offending picture in hand. "At best," she confirmed. "The Duke may have you strung up if he's in the wrong mood," she exaggerated. "I've seen the way you look at the Duchess. You have eyes for no other. It's a wonder that you've managed a single sketch of the Duke, for all the attention you pay towards his wife."
Jaco almost feigned ignorance, but he knew he was caught. He hung his head, his face blazing red in embarrassment. Sensing his vulnerability, Lina softened her voice and rubbed the young man's arm affectionately.
"I have no desire to betray you to the Duke," she said. "I only wished to demonstrate how transparent you were, and to suggest a solution."
"Wha...what did you have in mind?" he asked hesitantly.
"Distract yourself with someone else," she said moving her hand from his arm to his chest.
"Wh...who?" he said nervously. He looked down at her hand and his eyes were wide with what looked like fear.
"Me, of course," she replied.
"You?" he queried hardly believing his ears.
"Of course," she told him. "I know I'm not as attractive as the Duchess, but I am available, and I think you're very handsome."
"I think you're every bit as attractive as the Duchess," Jaco assured her, finally finding his voice as he thought he was trying to reassure a self-conscious woman.
"You think I'm attractive?" she asked innocently.
"I think you're beautiful!" he blurted and then quickly looked back down at the floor. His ears started to turn as red as his face.
"You're just teasing," she said turning away from him and trying to appear shy herself. "A handsome man like you would never be interested in someone like me."
"Of course I'm interested," he said reaching out and gently turning her back around so that he could look her in the face.
"Can I spend the day with you, so we can get to know one another better," she asked in a quiet voice.
"Sure," he replied, "I'm almost finished here anyway. Maybe we could walk around the city," he suggested.
"I'd like that," she said with a smile. "I'll just dispose of this for you," she said taking the drawing and heading toward the fireplace. He started to stop her, but decided it was probably for the best that it was destroyed. He watched it burn with mixed feelings.
"There," Lina said with satisfaction. "Now you can put her behind you." She turned and smiled brightly at him and he tried his best to smile back, wondering exactly what had just transpired.
***
Lina was weary as they trudged back to the manor. It had been a thoroughly boring and tiring day for her. She was exhausted from displaying a false air of interest in Jaco's ramblings, and her face hurt from smiling all day. It had been worth it though; the young man appeared completely smitten with her, and she was sure they would be spending the night together as well. She wasn't sure why it was important to do so, only that the laughter in her head wanted it done.