As he watched Ellora serving Marina, Phillip suddenly realized that his heart was pounding.  The three of them together like this -- the Noble Lord, his current consort, and his intended future consort -- was the makings for a very, [I]very[/I] awkward situation.  And when Marina took the offered cup and drank down its contents in one lift, Phillip was certain his night was going to end much differently than that for which he had hoped.

What exactly was it for which he [I]had[/I] hoped?  Well, he'd hoped that after an hour or so of politely hosting the young peasant girl that she'd understand and accept that she was here to provide him with sexual pleasure … and then … he would fuck her.  Pretty simple.

And yet, as Phillip looked upon her now, he began to realize that he wasn't that man.  He wasn't that Noble that -- unknown to him, of course -- Marina of Echo Valley presumed he was.  Before going off to war, Phillip had only been with one woman -- the love of his young life -- and he'd only been with her that night before he left to become part of the Woodland Warriors.

After that, during the war itself, he'd been with a handful of camp whores, again just once per.  He'd had [I]the need[/I] and fed it, and yet he'd never wanted to be with any of the [I]professional[/I] girls a second time.  There had been something about knowing that the woman was only doing what she was doing because there would be a coin at the end of it all.  

Later, after the war and after he'd been given a Noble title, it had been pretty much the same thing only with a higher class of whore.  

Until [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/04/c6/9b/04c69b678f6e307004d5e32de2e38963.jpg]Ellora[/url], that was.  From the start, she'd made Phillip understand that she could be more to him than just a body with which he could find gratification.  She'd helped him understand his new role as a Lord in ways Terrano or the other Counselors could.  She'd given him truths when others only told him what they thought he wanted to hear.  And, of course, she kept him warm at night and drove him to heights of pleasure he'd never before known.

Phillip could have fallen in love with Ellora, but she hadn't allowed it.  She'd made it clear from the beginning who and what he was, who and what she was, and how the twain could never be together.  Besides, Ellora had a mission in life, and while she wouldn't fully explain it to him, Phillip honored her dedication to seeing it through.

So, here he stood now, conflicted.  One half of his brain was telling him to send Ellora to small, nearby tent that was her own so that he could strip Marina to the flesh and fulfill that [I]need[/I] that had drawn him to her upon seeing her that first time; the other half was telling him that after he did, he would have to provide her with a small pile of coin and then exile her to some distant village so as to never see her again.

"Your dress is beautiful."

Ellora's compliment pulled Phillip from his reverie.  He turned his full attention back to them as his bed partner began a slow encirclement of Marina.  She made note of the amount of detail that had gone into the stitching, asking Marina for permission before reaching out to feel the intricate lace at the back of the collar.

Phillip wasn't sure whether Ellora was being sincere or was making fun of Marina.  Ellora's dress was simpler in design, but it was made of the finest Capital fabrics, and fitted to fit her and her alone.  When it had been created, it hadn't been for a simple whore; it had been for an Earl's consort, which made it [I]nearly[/I] fit for a Lady of the Court.

"Come," Ellora suddenly demanded with a smile of the other young woman.  She took Marina by the hand and began backing toward the portal connecting the working and living sections of the tent.  "Come, let me show you m'lord's home."

She laughed and she essentially dragged the farm girl with her, correcting, "His home for [I]now[/I], I mean.  Soon, Lord Phillip will be back in the Keep, and you will have your own bed chamber, and you will be surrounded by wood and stone rather than all this fabric and canvas that billows in the night when the winds howl."

Phillip didn't realize it but his eyes had widened and his mouth had fallen open a bit as he watched his current lover lead his prospective one away into the other chamber.  Ellora sprung into an explanation of the tent, its contents, how they were kept, cleaned, replaced, and what not.  

Phillip, for his part, only stood there and stared in confusion; when Ellora had first entered, he'd almost expected a [I]cat fight[/I], and yet Ellora was giving Marina the same polite explanation of how things were and how they were to be as she had with him so many months ago.  There was no animus from the woman whose place in his bed would be filled before it even got cold.

But … [I]would[/I] it?  Again, as he watched the two young women together and recalled his feelings about his past [I]relationships[/I] with women, Phillip knew that he couldn't treat Marina like just another whore with whom he could find [I]feed his need[/I] whenever it arose.