Dune_ House Atreides - Brian Herbert [141]
Trying to comfort her, Mother Superior Harishka came over to the table. “We need your strength now, Sister, not your despair. We will make certain you get another chance with the Baron.” She folded her arms across her chest, and with a rustling of her robe departed from the birthing room, followed by her aides.
In his balcony chambers at Harkonnen Keep, the Baron admired himself naked in the mirror, as he frequently liked to do. There were many mirrors in his extensive apartment wing, and plenty of light, so that he might constantly enjoy the perfection of form that Nature had bestowed upon him. He was lean and muscular, with good skin tone—especially when his male lovers took the time to rub perfumed oils into every pore. He feathered his fingers over the washboard ridges on his abdomen. Magnificent.
No wonder the witches had requested that he breed with them a second time. He was, after all, extraordinarily beautiful. With their breeding programs, they would naturally desire the best stock. His first child by that warthog Mohiam must have been so perfect that they wanted another. Though he loathed the prospect, he asked himself if that was truly so horrible.
But he wished he knew how his offspring fit into the long-term plans of those devious, secretive women. They had multiple breeding programs, and no one but a Bene Gesserit seemed to understand any of them. Could this be used to his advantage somehow . . . or did they intend to turn the daughter against him at a later date? They had been careful not to provide any bastard heirs, thus avoiding dynastic squabbles, not that he much cared anyway. But what was in it for him? Even Piter de Vries had been at a loss to offer an explanation.
“You have not given us your response, Baron,” Sister Margot Rashino-Zea said from behind him. She seemed not to show any discomfort whatsoever at his nakedness.
In the reflecting glass he saw the beautiful, golden-haired Sister. Did they think her beauty could tempt him, her shapeliness, her fine features? Would he rather mate with her than with the other one? Neither prospect appealed to him at all.
Representing the scheming Sisterhood, Margot had just spoken of the “need” for him to copulate a second time with the witch Mohiam. It hadn’t even been a year yet. The gall of these creatures! Margot, at least, used slippery words and a little finesse, rather than the brutish demands Mohiam had made of him that night long ago. At least the witches had sent a better mouthpiece this time.
In front of the beautiful woman, he refused to put on any clothing, especially in the wake of her request. Nude, he flaunted himself for her, but pretended not to notice. Wouldn’t that sleek beauty love to rut with someone like me.
“Mohiam was rather too plain for my tastes,” he said, finally turning to face the Sisterhood’s emissary. “Tell me, witch, was my first child a daughter, as I was promised?”
“How could it possibly make any difference to you?” Margot’s gray-green eyes remained locked on his, but he could tell she wanted to let her gaze roam over his body, his muscles and his golden skin.
“I didn’t say it made any difference, foolish woman—but I am of noble station and I asked you a question. Answer me or die.”
“The Bene Gesserit do not fear death, Baron,” Margot said, in the calmest of tones. Her serenity both irritated and intrigued him. “Yes, your first child was a girl,” she continued. “We Bene Gesserit can influence these things. A son would have been of no use to us.”
“I see. So why are you back?”
“I am not authorized to reveal more.”
“I find your Sisterhood’s second request deeply offensive. I told the Bene Gesserit never to bother me again. I could have you killed for defying me. This is my planet and my Keep.”
“Violence would not be wise.” Steady tone, with a threatening undercurrent. How could she appear so strong and monstrous in such a deceptively lovely body?
“You threatened