A city was like a person, or vice-versa, she thought to herself. No, multidimensional! There was the delicate carvings, the beautiful serene streets around Travestere, the intricacies of La Pieta and there was this, this terrible ugly monstrosity. We live our lives as if there was some concrete truth, or identity, but there wasn't, there was only incongruence, discrepancy, confusion.
She only needed to look at herself, to think back to the previous night and how she had enjoyed being laid out on that table, been belted and abused by those vulgar boys. How thrilling she had found it, how wonderful. That was part of her too. She could not deny it. She could not deny any aspect of herself, for they all, however distressing it might be for her to understand, formed part of who she was. And what was true of herself might also be true of her father.
From the Pallazio she walked slowly back to her hotel, looking at all the excavations of emperors, the columns, the statues, the flesh cast in stone, life reduced to marble glorification. Is this what Hyde-Lee wanted from her, from this biography?
She saw Everton as soon as entered the foyer, sitting up as straight as he could on a plush leather sofa.
She was terrified by his presence. How did he know she was here? There was something different about his face, an edge of anxiety in the eyes, betraying the usual implacable calm. He stood up nervously and went to greet her. She momentarily froze on the spot.
'Everton, what are you doing here?'
'It's Mr Hyde-Lee.'
'Yes, what about him?'
'You must come. He's dying.'
Willingham was absolutely furious. On his brother's return, Willingham had been informed that somebody had been through his brother's personal things and that a volume of his secret diaries was missing.
'What diaries?' he said.
'I've been keeping diaries all these years of the things, you know, some of the things we have got up to.'
'You never told me. Why didn't you put them under lock and key?'
'They were! Well they were in my room. I was in the process of locking them in the safe when I had to go to the hospital.'
'It's the girl, isn't it? Where is she?'
'I don't know.'
'You mean she was left here all alone when you went into the hospital.'
'I didn't have any choice. You were away...'
'I had to go away,' Willingham's voice was getting increasingly loud. 'I had to take the Polish girl back, didn't I?'
'But I left her here with Sonia.'
'Where is Sonia then?'
'Downstairs, I think.'
Willingham stormed out of the room and went to fetch Sonia. He dragged her back three minutes later, pulling her into the room by her raven-black hair.
'What on earth are you doing letting the English girl walk around the house like that?'
'Oh... I didn't, I...'
'But you did, you silly girl!' Willingham flung her across the room, and as he did she lost her balance and landed on the parquet floor.
'Where is she now?'
'I don't know.'
It was obvious to Willingham that the girl was lying. 'I will not have such insubordination in my house, my girl,' he screamed at her, dragging her to her feet by her hair and then pushing her against the back of a black leather sofa. 'Go and fetch the whip!'
Sonia's eyes dilated in her fear. Willingham had only whipped her once before and it had been so excruciatingly painful. There were limits even for Sonia, and although she didn't mind occasionally been stroked with the strap if the punishment was not too severe, or even a cane, the whip was just too painful to think about. She looked to Hyde-Lee for protection, but he averted his eyes. She knew Willingham was by far the stronger of the two brothers and that he was the one who made all the important decisions in the house. Hyde-Lee could not really go against him.
How Sonia wished it was Hyde-Lee who was going to punish her. She even enjoyed it sometimes when he would take her over his knee, pull up her black maid's uniform, pull down her panties, and smack her across her bare bottom. It made her bottom sting but she couldn't really say he hurt her that much, but Lord Willingham, she knew, would really hurt her.
'Don't hesitate, girl, just go and do it!'
Sonia went out to fetch the whip, which was located in Willingham's private room.
'We'll get to the bottom of this. I knew you should never have let that girl come here, that she would be nothing but trouble.' Willingham was still in a rage.
'But Lance, you know that I didn't really have much of an option. If I hadn't have had to go into hospital she would have been and gone by now.'
'And this is better? We don't know where she is. She's got your diary and enough information about us and our friends to bring down a government, to bring down several in fact, and to ruin all of us completely.'
'But Lance...'
'For such a clever writer, James, really sometimes you are such a stupid man.'
Hyde-Lee cast his eye down at the admonishment of his brother.
Sonia returned with the whip, holding it away from her body, detesting having it anywhere near her.
'Kneel on the chair, you stupid girl,' Willingham commanded, the power of his voice making Sonia tremble. She hated this position the most, because with her bottom plumped so high up when the lash descended on her it would jar her hips against the back of the dining chair.
'I am so angry with you, Sonia. You are a disgrace...' Willingham said as he pulled up the maid's uniform and rested it in the hollow of her back before roughly tugging down her black panties, exposing the firm cheeks of her bottom. He yanked them down with one angry tug, pulling them over her knees before throwing them across the room.
She was already sobbing.
'I know what you've been doing you disgusting little bitch. You've been playing with that girl, haven't you?'
'No, master!' Sonia said through her sobbing. She was always expected to call him master when he punished her.
'You're lying. I'm not stupid, you're lying!' He stood back a couple of paces and brought the whip down firmly on her bottom, the sound of the lash reverberating around the room. Her bottom wriggled with the terrific force of the blow. The stinging pain was unbearable and lasted long after Willingham had withdrawn the whip from her.
'Well, tell me!'
She had promised she wouldn't, but she knew she couldn't fool Willingham for long. That last night it had all happened so naturally. She had taken Lillian in her arms and they kissed, just like sisters. But then the kissing had grown more passionate, and before either of them had really realized what was happening, they had both spontaneously taken off their panties and Sonia had spread Lillian's legs wide and licked her sex. It had all been so gentle and kind. Lillian had reciprocated so sweetly. She had told Sonia that she hadn't had much sex with other women, but the way she lapped at her and then furled her tongue around the hard knot of her clitoris made her doubt her.
Afterwards they had lain together and Lillian told her of her plans to visit Anna Bertini and somehow inveigled her telephone number from Sonia. Sonia had promised not to tell the others where she had gone.
That had been such a sweet, such an intimate experience, and completely the opposite of the hard violence that Lance Willingham was now inflicting on her.
Another lash! She let out a piercing scream.
'Stop your noise and tell me. Did you sleep with that girl?'
Still Sonia did not say anything.
'The insolence.' Another firm lash. 'I have all day. You will tell me!'
The back of the dining chair was digging hard into her hips, her bottom seemed ablaze with such ruthless correction.
'Did you sleep with the English girl?' Willingham lashed her again.
'Oh! yes...' she murmured through her sobs.
'So you know where she has gone?' He lashed her again.
Sonia was biting her lip. She really didn't want to betray Lillian. If they were being this violent with her, what would they do to Lillian? There had been stories...
'Oh!' Her consciousness was brought back into sharp focus by another lash of the whip.
'Where has she gone?' Willingham's stentorian tone sent a shiver through her. She knew it was no good, but how could she betray Lillian?
Willingham moved closer to her. With one hand he stretched her swollen buttocks, and with the other he raised the whip to shoulder level. He brought the whip down between her legs so that its tapered end caught Sonia between the legs. It made her labial lips tingle. He hadn't hit her hard. Sonia knew what he was doing, knew that it was a warning that if she didn't tell him he would hit her twice as hard.
'Where has she gone?' Willingham repeated.
'Rome... she's gone to Rome...'
Willingham lashed her again, a little harder, catching the little button of her anus. Sonia yelped. She didn't understand that if she was telling him what he wanted to know why he was still hitting her so hard.
'Why has she gone to Rome?' He lashed again, catching her in exactly the same part.
'She's... oh! Gone to see Anna...'
'Anna who?
'Oh! Oh...! Bertini!'
'Has she indeed?'
'Oh...! Yes!'
Willingham threw the whip to the floor. 'Get up you stupid girl.'
Sonia slowly climbed off the chair. Huge tears rolled from her big oval brown eyes. She was sniffing and sobbing.
'I am very angry with you, Sonia, and I am going to punish you severely. I am not even sure after I punish you whether I can even allow you to stay in this house a moment longer. You know how important obedience is to your master.'
'Yes, sir.'
'And have you been obedient?'
'No, sir.'
'You have caused Mr Hyde-Lee and myself a lot of trouble.'
'Yes, sir.'
'So you know that you have to be punished.'
'Yes, sir.'
'I think the cellar for a while. Take all your clothes off and wait for me down there.'
Sonia shuddered at the mention of the cellar. Only one other time had she been locked down there and it had been the most frightening experience of her life. 'No please, sir, not the cellar!' she whined.
'It's either the cellar, or we terminate your contract now...'
'But the cellar!' She remembered the last time when she had been locked in the cellar. It had only been for an hour. She had been completely naked and chained to the wall. Her legs had been bound. She had been left like that, her naked body against the cold stone floor, and then the horrible noises of rats scurrying around. She could not see them but they came closer and closer and...'
'Yes, and you will stay there until we get this woman back. Do you understand?'
'Yes, sir,' she said, standing completely naked before them, tears streaming down her face.
'And stop that sniffling, it's unbearable.'
After Sonia had left for the cellar, Willingham hatched the plan. With his contacts with the Roman police it wouldn't be very hard to track Lillian down.
'James, you are going to leave everything to me from now on. I will sort this woman out one way or another.'
'But I was told you were dying!' Lillian was astonished to see the figure of a more robust Hyde-Lee than she had imagined seeing. He stood by the window, gazing vacantly out on to the lawn, not looking at Lillian at all.
'Just a ploy, my dear, to get you back here,' Willingham replied.
'So you got me here on false pretences. He's not ill at all!' Her attention was turned on Lord Willingham. He was smiling at her, but there seemed something cruel and sinister about his smile.
'I think we are perfectly within our rights to lie to somebody who has stolen private property,' Willingham said calmly.
'What property?'
'The diaries you have taken. You don't deny it, do you?'
Lillian didn't say anything.
'I didn't know that common thieves masqueraded as biographers these days. You have got it in your possession, haven't you?'
'I don't know what you're talking about.'
'Oh yes you do, you English bitch.'
Lillian raised her eyebrows at the insult. 'How dare you?'
'Of course we dare. We are most definitely going to make you suffer for this terrible abuse of our hospitality.'
She cast her eyes over to Hyde-Lee for some kind of protection. He was gazing at his brother. She knew that he was part of this and he had no intention of trying to help her.
'Everton, search her bags.'
Lillian walked over to where she had deposited her bags on the floor and stood in front of them. 'You have no right...' she said. She was blushing furiously. She was aware that her hands were trembling and her heart was racing.
'We have every right.'
'I shall call the police.' The words sounded limp in her voice, for she had taken the book. Her intention had been to return it and place it where she had found it, but when Everton had told her that Hyde-Lee was dying she thought that if she kept it nobody would be the wiser. That was why she had been so shocked to see a relatively healthy Hyde-Lee standing in the room before her. She realized then that she had been set-up.
'Oh, the police. I don't think you will, will you Lillian?'
'Yes, right at this moment.' She strode over to where her bags were with the intention of picking them up and walking straight out of the house, but both Everton and Willingham stood between her and the luggage.
'You are a very tiresome girl and it is about time I gave you a lesson. He grabbed her roughly by the wrist and pulled her to the same dining room chair where he had already whipped Sonia. He pulled her roughly over him. Lillian could not stop him; the force of his pull was too great. Her feet stumbled over each other as she tried to maintain balance.
Lillian was amazed at what was happening to her. How Willingham had dragged her over him, spreading her across her lap, one of his powerful hands holding down her head, the other placed over her thighs to try and prevent her legs from wriggling free. Her hands flayed out behind her to try and push Willingham so that she could release herself. Lillian was screaming at him, 'Get off me... get off me!'