Dangerous Illusions

Chapter 4

"He that falls into sin is a man; that grieves at it, is a saint; that boasteth of it, is a devil."

-Thomas Fuller

***

"It's a heart."

Kieran turned the Valentine card over in his hand. "It doesn't look anything like a heart," he said.

"No one would want to buy it if it looked like a real heart," said Briony, stretching out on the seat; her long legs took up most of one side of the limo. Kieran sat opposite her, holding the valentine with the tips of two fingers like a used tissue, while Adam sat in the other corner, looking out the window and saying nothing. Outside was Rome.

"I got it in St. Bathans," Briony said. "You could say thank you, since I bought it just for you, because it's Valentine's Day tomorrow. It means I think you're special. You can tell because it says 'You're Special.' Right there in the heart."

Kieran looked at Adam. "How far to the hotel?"

"It's on the Via Babuino," said Adam. He was still looking out the window.

"Is this champagne? Kieran, there's champagne!" Briony held up the bottle.

"I see that," Kieran said and turned back to Adam. "So who is this friend we're meeting?"

"His name's Inus," Adam said. "He's some kind of promoter. We only met once."

"You only met him once but he paid for the limo to pick us up from the airport?" said Briony. "That was nice of him. Kieran, don't you think that was nice of him?"

"He got interested after I told him about our family's problem—"

"You told him?!" Kieran said, choking, and even Briony went pale.

"Not the whole thing," Adam rushed to add. "Not, you know, what it actually is. But I told him the bit about Valentine's Day. In general terms."

"How general?" said Kieran.

"Very general."

"You shouldn't have told him anything at all," said Kieran.

"I know that," said Adam. "It was an...awkward situation. I don't really want to talk about it." Briony peered very closely; was Adam blushing? "The point is he can get us to the saint. We're meeting for dinner tonight."

Then the champagne cork popped and wine fountained onto the leather seats and Briony laughed. "Don't open that!" Adam said. Briony giggled. The bottle was still in her hands the bubbles tickling her fingers. Adam sighed. "You shouldn't have done that," he said.

"Why not?" said Briony. "They must have expected we'd drink it if they put it in here. Are there glasses?"

"Here," Kieran said. Adam gave him a dirty look but he shrugged. "Well we can't un-open it now," Kieran said. He let Briony fill his glass halfway, but Adam refused his. Briony pouted.

"Don't be a beast," she said. "We're family and we haven't seen each other in ages. And we're in Rome—Rome! Have some fun already."

"We're not here for fun," Adam said.

"Family business can be still fun," Briony said. Kieran passed her a glass but she took a drink out of the bottle instead. It fizzled on her tongue. "Besides, I had a birthday a week ago and you never even called me. Not that I'm mad; I don't expect you to remember. Nobody ever remembers."

"You don't remember ours," said Adam.

"Maura's is February 1st," Briony said, "and she's 49. Adam yours is February 29th, and you'll be 42. Kieran yours is the 22nd, and you'll be 35. and of course I'm 28 now. See, I know the whole family, so that means you have to help me drink this, to console me for my brothers not calling me on my birthday, not that I expected them to and by the way I'm not even a little mad."

She handed Adam a glass and he took it, but didn't drink. Briony stretched all the way out so that when she drank from the bottle it spilled a little; she liked the feeling of the bubbles fizzing on the sinews of her neck. "I wish Maura was here," she said.

"She has a family of her own to think about," said Aidan. "The twins are seven now. This'll be their first year."

"Poor little pups," said Briony. Then she sat up. "But if the saint helps then maybe it won't be their first year. Maybe it won't happen at all this year, or ever again! And then we can be a real family who calls each other on their birthdays and visits on holidays and everything." She looked at Kieran. "Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Wonderful," Kieran said, drinking his entire glass all at once. "I still think this is a stupid idea."

Before Adam could reply the intercom buzzed and the driver informed them they'd arrived. Without waiting Briony sprang from the limo and let the Mediterranean sun shine on her long, bare limbs. "Rome!" she said again, "It's Rome, we're here, we're here!"

"Yes," said Kieran, climbing out of the limo after her, "it's Rome." He shrugged. And Adam sighed.

***

Dinner at il Sanlorenzo: shimmering crystal chandeliers, wine goblets so clear they were scarcely visible, and small portions of steaming shellfish so richly seasoned Briony almost couldn't put them in her mouth. She ate flats of raw oysters, hot and sweet; Kieran cracked crab legs with his fingers and drew the meat out with his teeth, working his way down each segment and leaving the broken bits in a porcelain dish; Adam's scabbard fish still had its head on and stared up at him with one glum, yellow eye. He wasn't eating.

Inus was in his early 40s, with a high forehead and salt and pepper beard. He wore a tightly fitting suit with a dove-grey undershirt and silver cufflinks, and ate a plate of pasta garnished with raw sea urchins. "Most of the fish here is served raw," he explained, stabbing one with his fork.

"I like raw," said Briony, dropping an oyster shell. Inus smiled at her.

"And we're actually sitting on the ruins of the Theater of Pompey right now," he added. His accent was not Italian

"Respectful," said Kieran. He cracked a crab claw. Inus smiled again.

"I'm not really one for taboos. I think I told Adam that when we met." Adam blushed again and tried to hide it in his wine glass. "How do you like the hotel?"

"Kieran's room is bigger than mine," Briony said. She stuck her lower lip out for a second. "And his bed is springier. I tried to talk him into trading but he won't. Maybe we'll just have to share it."

Adam choked. Kieran said nothing. Inus chuckled. "So what do you do here?" Kieran said, brushing bits of crab shell off his sleeve.

"Imports, mostly," said Inus.

"Adam said you were a promoter. Which is it?"

"I'm sure he does both," Briony said, before Inus had to answer. "I'm sure he does a lot of things. Oh, I'm out of wine and I'm out of oysters."

"We'll fix that," Inus said, signaling for a waiter. "And you're right, I do a lot of different things, including some promotions. But it's very special kinds of promotion: the quiet kind, for events that only want to attract certain kinds of people."

"Like this party tomorrow?" Briony said.

"Yes, exactly. It's a small gathering I do every year at Valentine's Day for the benefit of certain charming and uninhibited individuals who ought to all get to know each other better in an illuminating atmosphere."

"Sounds like an orgy," Kieran said.

"It is," said Adam.

Without missing a beat Kieran said, "Guess I'll have to leave my wedding ring in the hotel."

"You'd probably have better luck if you kept it on," said Inus, and Briony laughed very loud. "Anyway, you won't have to do anything you don't want to, but Adam said he thought you'd all be interested and I must say I was intrigued to meet his family."

"Will you be there?" Briony said, leaning forward.

"I always attend."

"And will the saint be there?" Kieran said.

"I wouldn't leave out our guest of honor. Although I have never met anyone so interested."

"It's a family thing. How much is this costing us?" said Kieran.

"That's already taken care of," Adam said. The waiter was refilling all of their glasses.

"But you took care of it with the foundation's money, so I still want to know."

"Don't be such a pill, Kieran," Briony said, balling up her napkin and tossing it at him. "If you and Adam are going to argue go do it outside and let me enjoy myself. Go on, shoo, both of you; I want time alone with our host." She dragged her chair around to Inus' side of the table and picked an urchin off his plate.

Inus watched the brothers leave, frowning. "I hope there's no trouble. I thought everyone understood the particulars?"

"No trouble at all, they're always like that. If they didn't have something to argue about they'd make something up. They'll both be there tomorrow and so will I. I love Valentine's Day. Everyone else in the family hates it, but I love it. You're out of urchins."

"You're out of oysters."

"I'm not hungry now. Do you live in Rome?"

"I live a lot of places, but this isn't one of them."

"So you have a hotel?"

"Yes."

"Is your room nicer than mine too?"

"Would you like to find out?"

"My hand is in your pocket."

"I noticed."

"I'm looking for your room key."

"Have you found it?"

"Not quite."

***

Briony watched the champagne bubbles rise in her glass. "I think I'm drunk," she said.

"Is that so?" said Inus. The words were muffled, of course, since his face was buried in her crotch. She was naked on the bed of his penthouse suite except for her white stockings, and while Inus' beard scratched the inside of her thighs she sipped the champagne slowly, letting it run cool and easy down her throat.

"I had most of a bottle in the limo, and then three glasses of wine at dinner, and then..." She looked at the now-empty bottle lying on the bed, "However much of this. So yes. I think that does it."

Inus had, among other things, a rather versatile tongue and a nice-looking ass, and Briony kept an eye on one while she enjoyed the other. The curtains were drawn but she could still imagine the great glistening panorama of Rome outside. It, more than the pleasing tickle of Inus' tongue up and down her cunt, gave her gooseflesh on her arms.

"This party tomorrow," she said, setting the empty glass on the nightstand. "is it really going to be worth the trip? I've been thinking maybe I won't go."

"Your reservation is already paid for," Inus said. "It'll go to waste if you don't. And I think your brothers are counting on you being there."

"Kieran doesn't care where I am or what I'm doing, and Adam wants to see me at an orgy about as much as he wants to step on a light bulb." Her voice trembled a little as the tip of his tongue tickled the inside of her lips. "Do a circle like that again, please. Mmm. Good."

"They both seem to think it's very important that you're there. I still don't really understand why your brother is so interested. He doesn't seem the type."

"You're talking too much." She pushed on the back of his head and wrapped her legs around him, stretching out and twining her fingers through the lattice of the headboard. "It's because of Valentine's Day. There's a family superstition...we're not really supposed to talk about it, but bad things happen to us on Valentine's Day. They say it's a curse going all the way back to Old Rome. And do you know, it's really true?"

"Is that so?"

"No talking." He resumed his lapping and soon the room was filled with the scent of her wetness and the faint sound of his licking tongue. "Mmmph. Well yes, it's really true. I mean, I don't know about the exact story, so much, but it's true that bad things always happen to us on Valentine's Day. It's the hardest for poor Adam, for some reason."

"What about you?" Inus said. He rose from her, wiping his mouth on the back of his arm. Briony crawled across the bed, taking his half-erect c**k in her hands and squeezing the base of it.