Across the valley from L'Institut Fernwood was a boys' military school. By the time Eve was seventeen, nearly every student and almost half the instructors were involved with her. She flirted outrageously and had affairs indiscriminately, but this time she took proper precautions, for she had no intention of ever getting pregnant again. She enjoyed sex, but it was not the act itself Eve loved, it was the power it gave her. She was the one in control. She gloated over the pleading looks of the boys and men who wanted to take her to bed and make love to her. She enjoyed teasing them and watching their hunger grow. She enjoyedthe lying promises they made in order to possess her. But most of all, Eve enjoyed the power she had over their bodies. She could bring them to an erection with a kiss, and wither them with a word. She did not need them, they needed her. She controlled them totally, and it was a tremendous feeling. Within minutes she could measure a man's strengths and weaknesses. She decided men were fools, all of them.
Eve was beautiful and intelligent and an heiress to one of the world's great fortunes, and she had had more than a dozen serious proposals of marriage. She was not interested. The only boys who attracted her were the ones Alexandra liked.
At a Saturday-night school dance, Alexandra met an attentive young French student named Rene Mallot. He was not handsome, but he was intelligent and sensitive, and Alexandra thought he was wonderful. They arranged to meet in town the following Saturday.
"Seven o'clock," Rene said.
"I'll be waiting."
In their room that night, Alexandra told Eve about her new friend. "He's not like the other boys. He's rather shy and sweet. We're going to the theater Saturday."
"You like him a lot, don't you, little sister?" Eve teased.
Alexandra blushed. "I just met him, but he seems - Well, you know."
Eve lay back on her bed, hands clasped behind her head. "No, I don't know. Tell me. Did he try to take you to bed?"
"Eve! He's not that kind of boy at all. I told you...he's - he's shy."
"Well, well. My little sister's in love."
"Of course I'm not! Now I wish I hadn't told you."
"I'm glad you did," Eve said sincerely.
When Alexandra arrived in front of the theater the following Saturday, Rene was nowhere in sight. Alexandra waited on the street corner for more than an hour, ignoring the stares of passers-by, feeling like a fool. Finally she had a bad dinner alone in a small cafe and returned to school, miserable. Eve was not in their room. Alexandra read until curfew and then turned out the lights. It was almost two A.M. when Alexandra heard Eve sneak into the room.
"I was getting worried about you," Alexandra whispered.
"I ran into some old friends. How was your evening - divine?"
"It was dreadful. He never even bothered to show up."
"That's a shame," Eve said sympathetically. "But you must learn never to trust a man."
"You don't think anything could have happened to him?"
"No, Alex. I think he probably found somebody he liked better."
Of course he did, Alexandra thought. She was not really surprised. She had no idea how beautiful she was, or how admirable. She had lived all her life in the shadow of her twin sister. She adored her, and it seemed only right to Alexandra that everyone should be attracted to Eve. She felt inferior to Eve, but it never occurred to her that her sister had been carefully nourishing that feeling since they were children.
There were other broken dates. Boys Alexandra liked would seem to respond to her, and then she would never see them again. One weekend she ran into Rene unexpectedly on the streets of Lausanne. He hurried up to her and said, "What happened? You promised you would call me."
"Call you? What are you talking about?"
He stepped back, suddenly wary. "Eve...?"
"No, Alexandra."
His face flushed. "I - I'm sorry. I have to go." And he hurried away, leaving her staring after him in confusion.
That evening when Alexandra told Eve about the incident, Eve shrugged and said, "He's obviously fou. You're much better off without him, Alex."
In spite of her feeling of expertise about men, there was one male weakness of which Eve was unaware, and it almost proved to be her undoing. From the beginning of time, men have boasted of their conquests, and the students at the military school were no different. They discussed Eve Blackwell with admiration and awe.
"When she was through with me, I couldn't move..."
"I never thought I'd have a piece of ass like that..."
"She's got a pussy that talks to you..."
"God, she's like a tigress in bed!"
Since at least two dozen boys and half a dozen teachers were praising Eve's libidinous talents, it soon became the school's worst-kept secret. One of the instructors at the military school mentioned the gossip to a teacher at L'Institut Fernwood, and she in turn reported it to Mrs. Collins, the headmistress. A discreet investigation was begun, and the result was a meeting between the headmistress and Eve.
"I think it would be better for the reputation of this school if you left immediately."
Eve stared at Mrs. Collins as though the lady were demented. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the fact that you have been servicing half the military academy. The other half seems to be lined up, eagerly waiting."
"I've never heard such terrible lies in my whole life." Eve's voice was quivering with indignation. "Don't think I'm not going to report this to my grandmother. When she hears - "
"I will spare you the trouble," the headmistress interrupted. "I would prefer to avoid embarrassment to L'Institut Fernwood, but if you do not leave quietly, I have a list of names I intend to send to your grandmother."