Chapter 5

Arlene slipped back into her room carefully and closed the door soundlessly behind her. She had been listening all night for the return of the various members of the family, and it was some surprise to her to look out of her window and see a taxi pulling up to the side entrance. To her wonderment, she saw Sylvie hurriedly getting out of the cab and run into the house. She was all by herself! Arlene got a good look at her younger cousin as she was climbing the stairs and saw that she was in a totally disheveled state.

"My goodness!" she said to herself now, "what has Sylvie been up to?"

When a few moments later she heard the sounds of another car, this time toward the front of the house, Arlene put a robe on over her usual sleeping outfit, her naked skin, and went to investigate. From her hiding place at the top of the stairs she could see Erick Cassidy coming in the front door and he looked madder than a red hornet! Arlene cunningly slipped behind a pillar as he climbed the stairs. To her amazement, he went directly to Sylvie Cassidy's door and knocked on it.

"You open this door or I'm going to break it down!" Erick declared. He knew that his brothers Tim and Ron would not yet have returned home and that Sylvie was alone in there. He stood fuming outside the door listening for some sign of motion inside. The little bitch! he thought, running out on me like that!

It had been an easy matter for Sylvie to dash out the separate exit door of the private room at the club. She was still fully dressed despite the torn state of her panties and the ravishment of her loins by her brother-in-law's persistent tongue. As for Erick, he was stark naked and could not chase after her until he had finished dressing.

There was no answer from Sylvie's room.

"You got your nookie and that's enough for you!" Erick declared unpleasantly, "I wasn't licking your cunt all night for nothing, you know!" he growled and turned away, storming toward his own room further down the long hall.

As Sylvie trembled in her bed, deeply ensconced beneath the covers, her cousin Arlene listened, outside in the hall, to the retreating footsteps of Erick Cassidy with burning ears.

"SO THAT'S IT!" she thought. Her prim little cousin was actually a promiscuous runaround.

"How could she!" Arlene thought, scandalized, "and with Tim's own brother, too!" She was outraged as she went back to her room to mull the whole thing over.

"Poor Tim," she thought, "poor, poor Tim!"

Arlene let all her bad feelings and thoughts about her young blonde cousin's ineptness come to the fore as she sat before the small cocktail table in her room and tried to think of what to do about what she'd just learned. The first thing Arlene wanted to do was to make sure that Tim did not suffer too much at the hands of his uncaring wife, and Arlene decided she would go downstairs and wait for his return home. That was something Sylvie ought to be doing... any decent wife would, she thought huffily as she changed into a flowing hostess gown of a deep emerald green.

The thought that she might take Sylvie's place in more ways than one had not yet fully formulated itself in her mind as she tip-toed down to the large empty living room and without turning the lights on, sat waiting for the sound of Tim's car on the gravel outside.

She was about to drift off to sleep... (it had been a long, hard day for her, too, and she felt emotionally exhausted by the tumultuous events in the Cassidy household) when at last she heard the sound of doors closing and then the tell-tale crunch of footsteps up the walk. The chauffeur driven car started up again and down toward the garage. Tim often left his own car in town when the occasion called for him to use a chauffeur.

"Good night, Ron!" Arlene heard Tim calling to the middle brother of the family as the latter went upstairs.

"See you in the morning, Tim!"

She had forgotten that Tim was rarely alone, but now, luck was with her. The fatigued district attorney probably intended to have a quiet nightcap by himself in the living room. She sat silently, holding her breath in anticipation. Every fiber of her being was tensed toward the wonderful man who was entering the living room. She thought about it now, he was truly her idol, even more so now that she knew more about him. Now that she was living right in his house!

The overhead lights went on suddenly, and Arlene sat up, blinking.

"Well, hello there!" Tim said. "What a pleasant surprise!"

Arlene rose and greeted her cousin's husband, thankful that he did not directly ask her what she was doing there although the question seemed to hang in the air between them.

She saw Tim taking in the softly clinging lines of her emerald green gown, and she was grateful that she saw approval in his eyes. A trifle more sure of herself, she offered to get Tim a drink.

"Yes..." Tim said slowly, sinking into his favorite easy chair. "I'd like that! Any sign of Sylvie?"

Arlene was already busying herself over at the bar, fixing the dry martinis that she had been told Tim Cassidy drank. Her legs felt weak as she stood with her back to him, divining that his eyes were matter-of-factly taking in the swelling curves of her buttocks while she stirred the frosty liquid in a tall crystal pitcher.

"S... Sylvie?" she stammered. She wanted to blurt out the whole truth, to tell this decent dedicated man exactly what his wife had been up to, but she felt that she really couldn't do that. "Yes... she came in about an hour ago... and Erick, too!" she added, hoping that Tim might guess by her voice that something was wrong... that his wife had indeed been out doing the most depraved things with his very own younger brother! But Tim seemed to notice nothing. His blonde head lay back on the chair and he stared up at the large chandelier that hung from the high ceiling above him.

"Yes... they went to the club, I suppose... Wish I'd had a chance to go myself." He was thinking about the meeting that he had been to and about the things he had to promise. He was a little disgusted with himself about giving in to Grady like that, but he needed the votes that the older politician controlled. Politics made strange bedfellows all right, he mused, but he never thought he'd end up kissing Grady's ass.

As Arlene approached with the drink, she'd made one for herself, too, Tim automatically stretched out his hand for it. He didn't bother to look at the comely new addition to his household, but his mind was already at work on what reasons she might have for being in the living room in the dark, all by herself in the middle of the night.

He had learned from both Ron and Erick, as well as his wife, that the 26 year old brunette was not only working out extremely well, but that she gave every promise of being excellent at her job as liaison between Sylvie and the large household. Tim was always glad when things were going smoothly, and he sipped his martini thoughtfully, trying to blot out old Grady's face from his memory.

"What's the matter with this drink?" he suddenly asked, opening his eyes and looking directly across at Arlene. She sat poised on the sofa across from him taking in every handsome detail of Tim Cassidy's face. His strong, aquiline nose, his thin yet sensuous lips, the firm chin. Now she nearly jumped out of her skin as suddenly his imperious blue eyes were focused directly upon her and nowhere else.

"I... I don't know... perhaps I did something wrong..." she stammered, rushing to take his glass from him. "I'll make it over!" she offered.

"I'll bet you didn't use the Beefeaters," Tim said, his lips suddenly breaking into a smile. "Forget it... might as well go along with what the peasants drink..." he laughed easily, waving her back to her seat.

Arlene saw nothing wrong with the taste of the martini, but she was not very accustomed to drinking, and knew that she was no real judge. She had not even noticed what brand of gin she'd used for the drinks, having only made certain that the bottle said Gin. Now, she made a mental note that she must always ask the brand before making any future drinks for anyone.

"I'm so sorry..." she apologized. Tim was looking at her with frank curiosity, and she blushed as she saw that his mind had obviously left the subject of the martinis some time ago.

"My wife is very happy that you are here," he said, still looking at her steadily.

Arlene felt a rush of anger. If only he knew! She ached inside so, she wanted to tell him so very badly it was difficult for her to contain herself. If she were Tim's wife she knew that she would never so much as look at another man!

"I'm glad to be here... she answered. "I really... like being here. Helping out!"

"Yes," Tim replied, "one thing I'll say for us Cassidy's, we need a lot of help. We also get the best, always!"

Arlene was not sure whether or not that was intended as a compliment for her. She decided that she would just smile. She couldn't help thinking that one day Tim Cassidy was going to be Senator, and then, more than likely, he would be President of the United States. The thought was staggering. Nevertheless, the martini was giving her a pleasant glow that made her feel more comfortable, and much more confident than before. After all, she had every right to be there chatting with him. She was now an integral part of his household, and she reminded herself, she must do for him what his uncaring wife neglected to do!

She thought resentfully of Sylvie upstairs in bed, not even knowing that her husband had come home, probably thinking over her excitement of that evening with young Erick Cassidy! With a start Arlene noticed that Tim's glass was empty.

"I'll make this one with Beefeaters," she declared, taking it from him. Tim did not protest, but this time she was sure he was watching her. She turned around to see, and his eyes met hers in a knowing exchange.

"Making yourself one, too?" he inquired. Tim recognized the coquetry behind his wife's cousin's actions now. It reminded him of something and he was trying to think of what.

"I guess so..." Arlene replied, feeling a little spark of desire germinating in her belly. His eyes... so blue... so full of... she knew not what. She only knew that Tim Cassidy was the most exciting man she had ever been in the same room with.

"Better be careful," Tim cautioned in a joking manner, "alcohol does strange things to little girls!"

Arlene flushed angrily. Turning, she said, levelly, "I am not a little girl, Tim... you should be able to see that much. And you'd better watch out or Women's Lib is going to get you!"

"Oh, yes, Women's Lib..." Tim said. "Are you one of those?" he asked. "You must fill me in... most of the advisors are males as you know, and I can't afford to make a fatal slip. I presume that you've forgiven me by now for calling you a little girl?"

Arlene handed him his new drink and he sipped from it reflectively, watching Arlene as she sat down again across from him.

"Of course," Arlene replied. She would forgive him anything, she thought impetuously. "And, I'll be glad to tell you everything that I know."

"Tell me about you, then!" Tim said. He knew now what she reminded him of... his own wife, Sylvie the night before. "Christ," he thought, "Women's Lib or not, when a woman wants fucking you can tell it a mile away!"

As Arlene began to talk, at first hesitantly, then easily, Tim mulled over in his mind whether or not he ought to. He needed some sleep, but then again he needed a little fun, too. Sylvie would be sound asleep by now anyway, and he had a feeling that Arlene was just hot-blooded enough to blot out the ugliness of old Grady's deal in his mind for that night at least. Tomorrow he would feel better about the whole thing, but tonight, he was still the honest dedicated D.A. Just one time wouldn't hurt anything he finally decided, watching Arlene's full, red lips as she spoke. Maybe twice, and that would be the end of it.