Free CarnalDevices by Helena Harker Page A

itself.”
    “I see,” says Ambrose, clearly relieved by Phineas’
assertions. “Men should be more tolerant of differences in others. Take George
Quentin’s sentence. It seems drastic to confine a man to a year’s hard labor
for so little. He is not hurting anyone else, after all.”
    “So it is indeed possible to be drawn to both sexes
then, Phineas?” I ask.
    “Yes, I believe so.”
    I decide to make a confession. “I once had an encounter with
a woman, a brief yet highly pleasurable one.” Their eyes meet mine and then
each other’s. “Do you believe you might be aroused by a similar encounter with
an individual of the same sex?”
    Phineas pauses and licks his lips. “Yes, I do. My career
involves sexuality, after all, and I believe experimentation is good for mental
and physical health. There is nothing perverse about it.”
    Ambrose says nothing, so I try to coax a response out of
him. “And you?”
    “Me? Aroused by a man?” Ambrose’s voice trembles. His Adam’s
apple bobs as he swallows and finally speaks. The words wrench out of him
slowly, painfully. “I have always been taught such feelings are an aberration,
but I believe that, perhaps, under the right circumstances, I would be.”
    He must have spent much time questioning his feelings,
believing them to be aberrant. Believing himself to be an aberration.
    The carriage clatters along on the cobblestones. Our
curtains are open and a cool breeze drifts in through the window.
    “Yet you both enjoy the company of women.”
    “Yes,” they reply in unison.
    “Phineas, you have bedded me. Ambrose, I can tell by your
expression that you wish to bed me.” Once more, their gazes fixate on me. “I
should most like to see you bed each other.”
    Their eyes widen. Oh, how I wish I could see into their
minds. Are they picturing each other locked in a naked embrace, their
sweat-sheened bodies tangled in rough, passionate lovemaking?
    “Lay hands on each other. Here. In this carriage,” I say.
“Later you can share me. No one will know of this. It will be our secret.” The
thought thrills me. I will have such power over them. I will be the one to free
Ambrose from his fears of inadequacy and I will give Phineas the opportunity to
experiment with a man.
    They are statues. Motionless. Mute. Ambrose stares blankly
out the window. Phineas peers with great interest at my feet.
    Granted, it is a big step to admit to a mutual attraction
and a bigger one to act on it. I draw the curtains closed, fastening them so
they do not blow open in the wind. There. We have privacy. Faint light from the
street lamps streams in through the thin curtains. In the shadows, the men
appear to be chiseled from the finest Italian marble. Still, they make no effort
to touch.
    They need encouragement. I take Phineas’ hand and place it
on Ambrose’s thigh. Ambrose turns to Phineas, but refrains from making physical
contact. I take Ambrose’s hand and place it on Phineas’ cheek.
    “Now kiss.”
    My words break their inertia. Their heads bow toward each
another, the distance between them closes, and their lips touch. A tingle runs
down my spine. Their forbidden gesture arouses me, and my fingers slide down
the front of my sari to my mound.
    They are tentative and awkward, similar to boys learning to
kiss for the first time. It does not take long before passion ignites and their
fingers twist roughly in each other’s hair. Their mouths become demanding,
their kisses hard and bruising. They are beasts set afire by carnal appetites. This
is so different from a union between a man and a woman. There is no tenderness.
They wholeheartedly and fiercely take what they want. Now that their shyness is
gone, I see their true natures, base and lustful, consumed by physical need.
    Their hunger consumes me as well. My sari is wrapped around
my body so tightly my fingers cannot find their way to my slit, which aches for
my touch. I squirm in my seat, my blood heating at the sight of these