Warning: This chapter contains both erotic situations and sexually aggressive behaviour that's based on the author's very personal ideas she's had for a very long time. Such behaviour is wrong but not meant to offend the readers.
THE FIRE OF PASSION, CHAPTER THREE
Yvette stood at one of the windows in the belltower. Her thoughts were restless; she wanted to leave the Cathedral, and she would never ask Quasimodo to bring her up in the tower again. She pressed her head to the window jamb, sighing. Clopin… Maybe he would never leave her and the bellringer alone, and Yvette didn't want him to hurt any other woman because he couldn't have her. Besides – horrible as this was – Yvette was fascinated by the thought Clopin would do anything he wanted to her – but only once and only to ensure he wouldn't harass her any more after she would marry Quasimodo.
She felt anxious when remembering Esmeralda's warning. What if Clopin thought she was a whore because she wasn't one of his people? Or even worse, what if he wanted to disgrace Quasimodo? Yvette might agree to get seduced, but not to the bellringer getting disgraced. True, she knew Quasi wasn't worried about his own honour but about her safety. The only possibility was to meet Clopin and to try appealing to him.
Meanwhile, in the Court of Miracles, Élodie, the new woman Quasimodo had told Yvette about, was trying to adapt to the lifestyle of the hideout. She heard the people talk about Yvette who had left her parents and was now treated as a member of the vagabond community but had been bound to return to the city and to hide – but when Élodie asked why, the vagabonds ceased speaking or looked embarrassed.
One night after Yvette had stayed in the Cathedral for a little longer than three weeks, she said to the gargoyles: "I'll have to talk to Clopin, even if he doesn't listen to me. The right to stay in a sanctuary is meant for those sentenced to death, not for women someone wishes to seduce. I am leaving now, but maybe I'll have to return some time."
"Be careful!" the gargoyles said to her.
Yvette walked down the tower steps, sneaked out of the Cathedral and started her trail to the Court of Miracles. She was excited, even afraid. She was definitely not going to say a word to anyone she might see on her way; she knew the pretenders were on the move in the hideout at this time of the evening, and Quasi, Esmeralda and Phoebus had often warned her to avoid those scoundrels.
She arrived at the catacombs and continued walking as quietly and slowly as possible. Suddenly, she was startled by a woman's voice saying: "Where are you coming from? Maybe you shouldn't be here." A rather small blonde woman was walking by her side. Yvette was surprised at how much the stranger resembled her.
"Good evening! The vagabond community knows me – I am Yvette, the future wife of Quasimodo, the bellringer of Notre Dame. But who are you? I think I haven't seen you here before." She talked fast in an undertone.
The other woman smiled, abatedly. "Hello! My name is Élodie, and I joined the vagabonds only about two weeks ago. I haven't actually met the bellringer, but I think I know whom you mean."
Yvette was sure this woman was the one Quasi had told about. "How are you getting used to living in the Court of Miracles?" she asked.
"I've spent vagabond life before, so it's not very difficult for me to adapt to the lifestyle", said Élodie. Then she added, more seriously: "I'm just a bit confused about how the Gypsy leader has behaved towards me a couple of times."
Yvette was abated; obviously, Clopin had taken an interest in this girl instead of her. She asked: "With whom did you come to the Court? Do you have anyone to protect you if you get into trouble?"
"I arrived here with my brother Rémy. We came to the city a month ago, shortly after our parents died, and we heard about the Court of Miracles. So, we decided to try settling in there."
At the very moment, Clopin walked toward the women in the darkness of the passageway. Yvette motioned Élodie to stay behind her and slowly continued walking.
Clopin smiled triumphantly. "Girlie, you have returned! Now, I think I'll take you somewhere we can be by ourselves."
Élodie began to shudder. In two different situations, Clopin had made advances to her, but he had never looked at her with such passion as he was now looking at Yvette. He strode in front of Yvette, put his arm round her shoulders and caressed her bosom. Next, he bowed over the young woman, whispering: "Tonight, we will do what I've wanted for long."
"Let go of me!" said Yvette sharply. "I've been thinking a lot about your wishes. Tell me: Is the truth that you think I am a strumpet because I'm not a Gypsy? Did you think it was wrong I came to speak directly to you when I had lived in Paris only for a short time? Or do you want to disgrace Quasimodo by forcing yourself on his sweetheart?"
Clopin slowly smoothed down the girl's back. "Yvette, I understand why you've happened to think of those possibilities. But this is not about Quasimodo – and I did not tell you I was going to take you by force…" His hold tightened. Yvette looked at his face and felt the threat did exist. She snapped: "Men don't say such a thing! But what is this all about, then? You know it's impossible we would become lovers."
Clopin held her from the shoulders. "This is a great, burning passion", he assured, "I know you love Quasi, so after you hid I thought I might satisfy my desire with some other woman – but when I saw you were back it was clear I didn't want anyone but you." He grimaced again and slowly revealed Yvette's shoulders and bosom. The girl gasped, and when Clopin pressed his face against her breasts, she exclaimed: "Quasi told me a new woman had arrived here, and he said you might be interested in her. I suppose it's Élodie. Actually, I did even deliberate agreeing to your suggestion, for I can't let you take advantage of anybody because of me!"
Élodie was startled and approached them shyly. "Yvette – it's true he has harassed me. Did you really find it possible to give in to him? What do you think the bellringer would say then?"
The Gypsy leader gently pushed Yvette against the wall, put his arm round her and pressed himself to her. In alarm, the young woman explained to Élodie: "I retired in Notre Dame to be safe from – this, but when I realised he wouldn't give up I decided to return and see what I could do to solve the problem."
"Would you have succumbed even if he really had tried to take you?" Élodie exclaimed, but then Clopin snapped: "Stop talking about that, both of you! If I had decided to do that I most definitely wouldn't tell anyone."
Yvette deliberated carefully what she should do. Giving in to Clopin would be unavoidable if she left with him now. She couldn't let him go any further in a place like this, for she was absolutely sure he would be tempted to use violence, and besides, anyone from the community might show up here quite suddenly.
"Clopin", she panted, pushed the man away and carefully covered her shoulders again, "I'll come with you. We can't act like this in these catacombs, and I really do want to find a sulution. Élodie, I trust you now: Never tell anyone what happened, or even that you saw Clopin and me together! Remember this: Whatever I'll have to do next, I'll do to save my future marriage to Quasi. Namely, less than a year ago, one of the Gypsy girls of the Court was in a situation very much like my dilemma with Clopin. She was bound to choose between disgracing herself or dying, but fortunately, my Quasi rescued her. Now, it's time for me to make my choice, because this will have to come to an end."
When he and Yvette were by themselves Clopin drew the girl near himself, grazed her breasts and asked: "Did I get it right – do you agree?"
Yvette lowered her head, ashamed. What she was going to do was wrong – she would betray the man she loved and who loved her, and no honourable woman would agree to sleep with a man who wanted her only for that purpose. But she had seen the glow in Clopin's eyes and understood what it meant: He was bound to have her, in one way or another.
"Yes, I do", she said slowly, "I won't let the whole vagabond community, let alone the entire city, get into chaos and overcome by dread because you lust after me!"
"Nor will I", said the Gypsy man, took Yvette in his arms and breathed against her neck and shoulder in agitation. The girl snapped: "Put me down", trying to detach herself from him. Clopin did lay her down, but when they were walking toward the city he put his hand on her buttocks, and she realised once again she couldn't resist. So, she let the man lead her to his caravan. Clopin held her hand, opened the door and led her inside.
He looked at Yvette, without even trying to hide his desire. The young woman lowered her head and looked at him again. Before she had time to say anything, he pushed her against the wall and started to open her dress. He slowly revealed her shoulders and bosom, lifted his hands on her breasts and eagerly kissed the shoulders.
"I suppose you understand you can't avoid sleeping with me now", he said, smiling and caressing Yvette's breasts.
"Yes, I do", whispered Yvette, "but I will agree on one condition only: You must never ever say a word about this to anyone, and you'll have to leave me completely in peace after you've got what you wanted. Promise this to me!"
Clopin did understand her, but at the moment, he wasn't interested in anything but caressing her. He crushed her to himself, sat down on his bed and, while kissing and snapping her bosom, continued undressing her. He lifted up her hem, and his hand found its way between her legs. Yvette panted when Clopin fingered at her. The Gypsy man drew her dress down over her waist, lifted her standing and let the clothes fall on the floor.
Yvette blushed and lowered her head. Clopin put his hand between her legs, and she exclaimed weakly when she felt his finger inside her. The Gypsy leader smiled triumphantly, moving it back and forth. Next, he quickly undressed himself. Yvette looked at his body in excitement. She was aware of his strength in a different way than Quasimodo's. For a while, she felt depressed; if Quasi knew about this he would certainly be afraid she would compare him with Clopin. True, the bellringer hadn't said anything about his own appearance during the dilemma, but Yvette knew he still was painfully aware of his deformity.
The young woman looked at Clopin in an appealing manner. He didn't seem to notice that but took her in his arms, laid her on the bed, bowed down above her and put his head between her legs. Yvette's thoughts were contradictory. She did enjoy the caresses of the Gypsy man, but she was anxious because Quasimodo often did exactly the same Clopin was doing at the moment.
"Clopin…", she whispered weakly, "I…don't…want to go any further. You shouldn't do…the same as Quasi."
The Gypsy man raised his head and crushed the girl to himself. "You will not refuse in a situation like this! Don't you understand how long I've desired to make you mine?" He slowly opened Yvette's legs. She resisted, struggling. "No! I don't want anyone but Quasimodo to do that to me!"
Clopin slapped her sharply on the cheek. "I'll do this, no matter what you say!" He threw himself on Yvette, and she felt pain. Clopin moved inside her more and more roughly, and when seeing the expression on his face Yvette felt despair. Was this what the man really wanted – to hurt her in such a painful way?
When Clopin finally drew back, the young woman lay still, trying to realise what had occurred. She did not cry. She had secretly wished for a lover who would treat her like Clopin – in everything but the pain he had caused to her. She knew Quasi, no matter how strong he was, would never ever force himself on her or, at least, hurt her the way Clopin had done. Yet, Yvette did not hope the bellringer would have come to her rescue.
The Gypsy man smoothed down her body. He looked content, and when seeing that the young woman jumped up, exclaiming: "Never touch me again! I would have enjoyed what you did to me, but do you even realise how badly I was hurt?"
"You would have enjoyed? But you did refuse!" Clopin said in confusion. "Yes, I did – and I understand you didn't want to let me, but I had no idea you were ready to treat me so violently!"
"Girlie, that's what it means when a man has a burning desire for a woman", the Gypsy leader tried to explain. "Do you think Frollo wouldn't have used force with Esmeralda? I am absolutely sure even Quasimodo doesn't let you refuse if he is actually aflame."
"Quasi would never in his life hurt me in that way", assured Yvette. "At least, it was better this happened to me than to Esmeralda. Anyway, this was the first and last time you touched me, remember that! If you do anything like this one more time, I will take care the entire community finds out how you harass young women."
"Yvette, you are going to lose your reputation in our community and in the city if people hear about what happened", warned Clopin.
The girl glanced chillingly at him. Did he think it had been right what he had done to her? Then, however, she remained silent. Clopin did not want her life to be ruined - both of them knew she would indeed be regarded as a whore if the townspeople found out she had agreed to sleep with a Gypsy, even though he had ended up forcing himself on her. She dressed up quickly and said, before opening the door of the caravan: "If you have the slightest idea of what's right or wrong, you will never more disturb my life."
She ran out of the door and straight to the Court of Miracles. She glanced behind twice and was abated that Clopin did not follow her. She wanted to be near Quasimodo, so she didn't even think about returning to the belltower. It was past midnight, so she sneaked quietly and carefully in the hideout and opened the door of her dwelling almost soundlessly. Quasi was asleep, and Yvette lay down beside him.
When she closed her eyes, she saw on her mind what had happened, and only then did she burst into tears. In despair, she pressed her head to the bed-clothes, trying to suffocate her sobs. She had been violated, disgraced – but worst of all was that she herself had been ready to betray the man who loved her and with whom she had promised to spend the rest of her life! What Clopin finally had done was a punishment of her unfaithfulness. Yet, she knew Quasi would be out of his mind of rage if he found out how his sweetheart had been treated. She was depressed by the thought that after they would get married she maybe wouldn't be able to hide the truth from the bellringer.
Finally, Yvette fell asleep. She slept restlessly. More than once she saw Clopin in her dream, felt his slaps and heard him say what he wanted or was going to do to her – even though he hadn't talked like that in the actual situation. She felt stimulated, yet she shuddered and was afraid. Half awake, she took Quasi's hand and held it till she felt safe again.
Early in the morning, Quasimodo woke up and made ready to go ringing the morning bells. He was surprised to see Yvette by his side. He lightly touched her cheek but didn't want to wake her so early. So, he went to Notre Dame and, after fulfilling his task, returned to sleep beside his sweetheart.
After a few hours, both of them woke up. Quasimodo put his arms round Yvette, pressing her against himself. The girl pressed her face to his cheek. The bellringer furtively caressed her but asked seriously: "My love, why did you leave the tower in the middle of the night? It's dangerous to enter this secret hideout when the entire city is dark. Did you miss me too much?"
Yvette felt more depressed than ever. She couldn't possibly tell her beloved she had wanted to talk to Clopin – and she shuddered at the thought he would find out what had really happened. At first, she decided not to answer at all, but finally, she whispered: "Yes, I did miss you." That was true as well.
The young man smiled, smoothing down her hair. "Do you remember what I said I would do the day you were going to step out of your sanctuary?" Yvette's eyes flashed, but then she remembered how badly Clopin had hurt her. She didn't want to be entered now, not even by her beloved – but he lusted after her, and besides, he would soon have his marital rights. Yvette did not want to deny them, but… Clopin had enjoyed taking her by force, and she only needed to think about opening her legs – as he had told her to do in her dream – and she was full of anxiety.
The bellringer saw her hesitate. "My love, you don't need to, if you don't want it now", he said, embracing Yvette. The girl put her head on his shoulder. Quasi's tenderness was heart-warming, but she didn't like her lover to talk to her like that. That was something Clopin wouldn't have done. She started to cry; how could she think like this about a man who had treated her in such a brutal manner?
Quasimodo took her in his arms. "Yvette, my dear, what's the matter with you? Have you been through something I should know? Did someone hurt you? Tell me!"
Yvette controlled herself and stopped crying, little by little. She was appalled by the thought she should tell Quasi. Another man had touched her, by force to crown the lot – but she did not want her beloved to take revenge for her, even though she knew he actually should have done that.
"My dear", said the young man, "maybe you can stay here for a few days, but if Clopin starts harassing you again you'll have to stay in Notre Dame till we get married."
Yvette did her best not to react when he said Clopin's name. She did not want to meet the Gypsy leader or have anything to do with him, for she was afraid he would take her again. On the other hand, she was curious to get to know the new woman, Élodie, better, and she wanted to spend time with Esmeralda and Phoebus.
Later that day, she stayed in the hideout and did meet Élodie there. "Hello, nice to meet you again", she smiled. They retired in Yvette and Quasi's dwelling. Although they didn't know each other well, Yvette felt she needed to warn the other woman.
"I see you have returned here", said Élodie. "Is everything well with you and the leader?"
Yvette lowered her head, flushed, turned pale and got tears in her eyes. She did not look at Élodie but said quietly: "I don't want to talk about what happened then, I just want to make sure you are careful if he still makes advances to you. He has no scruples, he can just take what he wants." The other woman was startled and gently touched her arm. Yvette added: "So, don't even talk to him if you can avoid that!"
Élodie looked embarrassed. "Actually, I am interested in him to some extent", she confessed. "Anyway, thanks for warning me. Take care of yourself."
Yvette was abated by her confession, but she quivered at the thought Clopin might force himself on Élodie as well. However, she didn't want to tell her or anyone about her painful experience. Again, she was depressed; how could she keep the accident hidden from Quasimodo?
Élodie stood up. "I need to go now", she said. "We'll meet again soon."
Yvette let her go before herself. She decided to wait till she could leave the Court accompanied by some other people. To her delight, she saw Esmeralda near the entrance and went to her.
"Yvette, I've been worried about you." The dancer hugged her. "I'm glad you came back here, but Quasi told me you were very sad last night. Is something wrong with you?"
Yvette turned away. "I'll tell you some other time. You know what? The new girl, Élodie, said to me she is interested in Clopin. Think about if he does something to her!"
"I can't do anything about that", said Esmeralda. "At least, then you wouldn't need to be afraid of him any more." Then the girls sneaked in the catacombs, followed by a small group of vagabonds.
When they arrived at the Cathedral square, Yvette saw Élodie near Clopin's caravan. She gave a signal to Esmeralda and observed in alarm how the Gypsy man opened the shutters and motioned Élodie to come to him, and she did.
After his night with Yvette Clopin had carefully thought about the dilemma. If he was completely honest to himself he did understand he had done wrong – not only because he had used violence but above all because Yvette belonged to Quasimodo. On the other hand, he still had a desire for the young woman, and he wanted to be a demanding and dominating lover. He knew that if he and Yvette met by themselves he would sleep with her one more time – maybe even repeatedly. Fortunately, Élodie who looked much like Yvette had arrived at the vagabond community. She wasn't married or engaged to anyone, and obviously, she wasn't too honourable either because she had furtively approached him in spite of knowing about his passion for another girl. Now, he looked at Yvette and Esmeralda over Élodie's head, rejected his restlessness and said to the new girl:
"I have noticed you would like to make better acquaintance with are a newcomer in our community, and you are rather attractive as well." He smiled a little. Élodie flushed. The Gypsy man continued: "Before I can decide what I really think about you I'll need to know some more about you. So, could you find it possible to move in with me, at least for some time?"
Élodie was surprised and a bit in alarm. She remembered how Clopin had made advances to Yvette in the underground catacombs, and how Yvette had avoided the entire topic when meeting her the same day. She was also sure her brother wouldn't accept her moving in with Clopin, even though he was the leader of the vagabonds. On the other hand, she noticed how lustfully the Gypsy still gazed at Yvette. She knew Clopin needed something new to think about, or else Yvette's romance with the bellringer might be ruined. So, she looked hard in the vagabond leader's eyes and said: "Yes, it might be interesting to live together with you, but you'll need to remember I am not ready to give myself to someone I hardly know." When having said that she lowered her head, ashamed.