“Oh, Herbert!” Her cry was indeed one of apparent despair, yet few women are at a total loss even in such a situation. Throwing herself into his arms, she clung to him and began to ooze forth such tears as to her seemed requisite to the occasion. Her spouse, however, remained unyielding.
“Well, Esmeralda?” he demanded, the while that his hands reached out to soothe the bottoms of his nieces. It was a gesture that Esmeralda clearly did not miss despite all her well-acted appearances of grief.
“Yes, Herbert,” came then her muffled reply. It was enough. Priscilla and Kate bit their lips and smiled, though endeavouring to appear not to. What hidden jealousies, what secrecies of desires, what previously concealed thoughts were momentarily revealed therein! Such moments are food for reflection indeed.
I said naught but turned, went from the room and gathered up my bonnet and cloak in the hall as did Selina and Emily theirs. The occasion was not one for further interruptions by ourselves. The front door closed upon us quietly. The carriage in which they had arrived stood waiting still, I having dismissed my own upon arrival. A reflective silence fell upon us as we rumbled down the drive and made into the lanes.
“Quite adorable were they not?” ventured Selina then.
I smiled at her, for she was echoing my own thoughts. I would have fain had Priscilla and Kate abed with me that very night, as well she would have done. “Not only adorable and so sweetly curved, but at a most interesting stage, too,” I replied, not gazing at her directly but smiling to myself through the dust-hazed window of the carriage.
“Go on, Arabella, tell us what you are really thinking,” urged Emily, stroking my arm fondly.
“How brief such adventures can be. We are there one moment and then gone,” I mused. “Of course, if one had a house of one's own, how pleasant it would be to continue exercising Priscilla and Kate-in the company of gentlemen, naturally-and not only the twins, for there are several other likely young ladies in the neighbourhood who would much benefit from our attentions as we thereafter would benefit from theirs.”
I allowed my voice to die away and waited. The idea of having my own centre of pleasures without ever wandering afield began to enchant me the more that I thought on it.
“If one had one's own house, yes,” ventured Selina and threw a questioning glance at Emily who, however, cast her eyes down and seemed not to know how to respond. At that very moment, however, fate took a helpful turn about me, for the carriage began to slow down at the approach of three riders in the narrow lane. I knew them vaguely, and-calling to our coachman to stop-waved as they approached. The first to do so was a girl of twenty with such long golden hair that she seemed as a perfect goddess. Coming immediately behind her was her younger sister whom I knew as Maude. Their companion was a handsome gentleman who introduced himself as Robert.
“We are at home tonight. Would you perhaps care to come to dinner?” I enquired after we had exchanged the usual pleasantries. Robert's eyes met mine more deeply than they had before. A shimmer of understanding passed between us such as can sometimes occur to people who meet for the first time. He, accepting for them, there was a further small flustering of voices and then all was agreed. With a wave and a gentle jingling of the harness of our horses, we were gone. Peering then quickly from the window, Selina noted well the pertly-rounded bottoms of the two sisters in their riding. Then, settling herself again, she awarded me a huge smile.
“If we had a house of our own-as you were saying,” she remarked.
“Such as Lord C.'s, yes,” I responded, whereat Emily appeared to wake up.
“You do not mean it? Oh, you could not possibly! What will Papa say? Besides, you have invited those three to dinner,” she said wonderingly as if she had just fallen upon the fact.
“Not only to dinner, my pet, but to stay the night, if they but knew it,” I responded, holding my eyes full in her own so that an understanding flush began to appear upon her cheeks.
“Oh, but…wh…what will Papa do?” she asked, her mouth most prettily open.
“Emily, you are the last person to ask that question now,” laughed Selina, whereat we all burst into giggles, though my own veiled such continuing thoughts as I was then having. Lord C. would soon be persuaded. I knew that well. On the morrow we could invite Herbert, Priscilla and Kate to join us. Although he knew it little now, Lord C.'s mansion was soon to become a veritable house of pleasure.
Ah, it was the old familiar ritual. I tired to reconcile it as part of my job.
“There's no need to overly concern ourselves with this Witherspoon business,” she gushed. “I'm sure that we can come to… er… some sort of agreement.” Her painted mouth stretched in a leer.
I was right once again: Madam Renoir expected a definite, and utterly ancient, payment for her assistance. And I was in no position to argue, for if I declined to submit to her advances I would have to depend on the dubious alliance of the Hoggs. Therefore I performed one of the most heroic acts in the history of mankind; I smiled seductively at the matron and began unbuckling my belt.
“You know that I've always been attracted to you, Sam,” she continued in a bedroom contralto, as she locked the door and turned back to me. “The first time I saw you,” she went on, reaching behind her to unfasten the hooks of her heavy green gown, “something told me that you were a real man.”