Chapter 4

Paul could not believe it when she walked in, threw her arms around him and kissed him. He was still in his robe having just showered and shaved, preparing to go out looking for her; when there she stood like a vision, showering him with love that he felt he had no right to accept after the abominable manner in which he had treated her on her wedding night.

Her arms were around his neck and her lush lips flush against his own as she clung to him... and he could only guess, but he would almost bet one of her tiny feet was raised knee-high behind her.

"Darling, I've been to Doctor Leduc," she was saying, her eyes sparkling, her lips two wet treasured jewels in themselves. He sampled them once more. She pulled free and said, "He is also a marriage counselor in Paris. Isn't that wonderful? I feel grand."

She swung away from him, throwing herself onto the bed and kicking her feet into the air, almost baring her delectable thighs all the way to her nylon panties and making him gulp heavily. "W-What happened?" he stammered.

She sprung from the bed throwing her arms around his neck in a little dance and smiling. "Nothing, except I love you, I love you, my darling!" she spewed at him.

He kissed her again, feeling his member throbbing between his legs and began to weigh his chances of hauling her down to the bed for a taste of conjugal bliss. God, how he wanted to fuck her when she was like this! He tried... but she swung free of him and held up her finger as if to say, naughty, naughty.

"Let me change and we'll go up on deck," she exhilarated. "I want for us to enjoy this day so that we remember it forever... don't you, Darling?"

"Y-Yes... of course, I do," he managed.

He didn't intend to press his good fortune. He could wait until the night, until she was ready once more and then he would make up for all of this agony and shame he had brought her. By God, he'd be the perfect lover. He would treat her like a baby. Her every whim would be his command. What an ugly brute of a fool he had been... and the way she was taking it, as if it had never happened. This Leduc must be a genius. He would certainly have to have a chat with him. It seemed that he owed the disgingue docteur a great deal more than he could ever pay him.

And the day passed splendidly, as hand in hand they explored the massive liner, mingled with the passengers, enjoyed the brilliant warm sun from their deck chairs, until mid-afternoon when Janet left him to have her hair attended and Paul wandered to the lounge enjoying a particular warmth inside he had not known for some time.

He had no more than climbed onto a stool at the bar, ordered a tall scotch and soda, when the unctuous voice of Doctor Leduc spoke to him.

"Ah oui, M'sieu' Arden, I was going to look you up after dinner and suggest we have a word together," the tall, suave Frenchman said with a smile, climbing onto the adjacent stool and ordering a cognac.

Paul returned his smile. "Strangely enough, I intended to drop around and see you, Doctor. I-I wanted to thank you for attending Mrs. Arden," he said, sensing his face reddening. "I... I fear she was in quite a state... and understandably so...

Leduc raised his hand slightly, as if to say self-chastisement was unnecessary, then offered a little mundane wink of the eye. "Man's lust is one of the curses the Deity saw fit to plague us with, so we must live with it, M'sieu'... and our women take us for better or for worse which, unfortunately, places them in a more sufferable position."

"I'm afraid I... I lost my head entirely, Doctor," Paul said, feeling his guilt and the need to acknowledge it to this qualified listener. He lifted his glass and drank heavily. "I... I don't know what the devil got into me... unless... yes, I suppose that was just what it was... the devil got into me."

Leduc smiled understandingly, almost sympathetically. He said, "I venture he spends a great deal of time playing about in most of us, M'sieu'. However, I wouldn't let this trouble me too much if I were you. I... I don't believe that any approach, regardless of how gentle, would have been receptive to Madame Arden at that point."

His comment jarred Paul. He turned to study the slender, handsome face closer. The physician's discerning dark eyes were focused upon the glass in his hand and he seemed to be avoiding the act of looking at him. He said, "I don't follow you, Doctor. Be a little more explicit."

Leduc shrugged in the characteristic French gesture. He set down his glass and touched his finger-tips together, still not looking at Paul.

"I doubt that I can be very explicit, M'sieu'... that is, I have only made a preliminary examination, you understand. More extensive consultations, mind probing, et cetera, et cetera, would have to be done..."

Paul caught at his arm. "What are you saying, Doctor? Is something physically wrong with Janet?" He tried to draw the French physician's direct gaze so that he could see into his eyes, but they continued to avoid him. "Look at me, man! What's wrong with her?"

Leduc eyed him levelly. "I am not sure, M'sieu', without further examination. I hesitate to diagnose at this stage... however, I assure you there's nothing physical troubling the Madame."

Paul stared at him. "You're saying that... that she has a... a mental problem?" he heard himself question.

"M'sieu'... please, understand that I can say nothing more definite at this time," said Doctor Leduc, compassion in his voice. "Further examination... many of them, perhaps, must be made to form a final conclusion. This morning, in the short time she was with me, I detected... definite signs of emotional instability that are... well, to say the least, M'sieu'... alarming."

"Emotional instability... !" Paul repeated, his brain suddenly in a whirl. A twinge of anger welled up inside him. The man was a fool. Janet... emotionally unstable?

"If we were in Paris, M'sieu' Arden, with the facilities of my clinic, I would certainly be more definitive," Leduc was saying, interrupting his thoughts. "However, we must do with what we have at hand. This morning I administered a tranquilizer I often use in these cases, which seemed to have a satisfactory affect. I would suggest that she see me daily throughout the voyage for a booster... else we might see a recurrence of these emotional seizures..."

"Emotional seizures? These cases... ?" Paul reiterated, his phrases piqued with an anxiety of his own. "I don't know what you're talking about, Doctor."

Leduc studied him. "I see," he said finally. "Undoubtedly, M'sieu' Arden, you are truly unaware of these seizures... or perhaps it is simply that you do not recognize them for what they are. I feel safe in saying that regardless of what manner of love-making you had employed last night that you would have brought about the same reactions in the Madame. Your wife, M'sieu', is suffering from a form of Dementia praecox."

"Dementia prae... prae... What the hell is that in English?" Paul blurted.

"Schizophrenia... in English, M'sieu'," Leduc replied, never losing his professional composure. "And from what I have seen so far, quite curable with proper treatment."

Paul sighed heavily. "Well... thank God for that anyway," he said, draining his glass in one nervous gulp and motioning the barman for another round. He commenced shaking his head. "I... I had no idea."

"I understand, but let us not get alarmed, M'sieu' Arden... and let us not in any case mention to the Madame what we fear. It could only serve to worsen her condition, and as I've said, with proper treatment I am sure she will come about nicely."

"Yes... yes, of course, Doctor," Paul agreed. "I'll see that she stops by your office daily... in fact, I'll bring her by..."

Leduc raised his hand. "No. I would caution you not to do that, M'sieu'. Let her act through her own initiative. The thought of forced treatment often does more harm than good with the schizophrenic."

"All right," agreed Paul once more. "Whatever you say, Doctor Leduc. I have to place her in your hands now."

Briefly, the doctor's eyes narrowed but Paul Arden did not see this. Both men raised their drinks and sipped. A hollow empty gnawing at his entrails had begun in Paul's abdomen. He still could not comprehend the blow. Finally, Leduc said, "Just one more word, M'sieu'... if I may... should the Madame be willing to copulate, then by all means accommodate her, but should she not, I suggest you be... shall we say... understanding?"

Paul felt his face redden. "Naturally," he snapped, as the French physician slipped from his stool.

Leduc smiled and bowed curtly. "Bonjour, M'sieu'."

Paul gave him a short nod. "Bonjour," he bade, turning back to the barman and ordering another. He sat contemplatively, his brow knitted in worried thought. So, now he realized the source of her elation when she had returned to the stateroom after consulting Leduc. The good doctor had plied her with some sort of tranquilizer. Split personality! Dear God, he'd had no idea, but now that he thought back on different things it all seemed to make sense. And to think of the way he had forced himself upon her last night... Rape! Pure rape! Nothing else... Good Lord, he ought to be horse-whipped!

Except for the soreness between her legs and of her breasts, Janet felt in the finest of spirits. She had in her heart, although she had said nothing to him yet, forgiven Paul entirely for last night. The day had been a beautiful one and her darling had leaped at her slightest caprice. And dinner had been so romantic with his holding her hand at every opportunity, dancing so gallantly when she knew how he despised it, walking in the moonlight and stopping to kiss her in the same manner he had when she used to fly down to Princeton to visit him on the weekends.

She thought of these things as she prepared to go to him and give herself as she had not done last night. She thought of Doctor Leduc and the genteel, professional manner in which he had soothed her jangled nerves. She had damn sure been on the verge of doing something drastic... her whole world had been so shattered. But now, all seemed well once more... yet, she could remember very little of what had taken place in his quarters after he had given her the tranquilizer shot... with the exception of the wild, hallucinatory dreams... and those she had not mentioned even to the Doctor.

She blushed a bright crimson as the vague, lewd visions again brushed through her mind and little butterfly-like sensations flitted about in her tummy. The amazing, shameful part of them was that her partner in these sexual fantasies had been the noble doctor himself. Dear God, how debased can one get... even in thought? Still, as guilty and disgusted as she felt with herself, she realized the libidinous affect those dreams were having upon her and how her darling Paul was about to profit from them.