Had I lived in the times when Courts of Love were held, I should have proposed the question:-Whether a lover was happier who saw his mistress naked than he who saw her en grande tenue, and I should have required at the hands of every member of the tribunal a written and closely reasoned judgment.
For another aspect now presents itself of the question. If I was in possession of my mistress naked, I should wish to be clothed! Here my soliloquy was interrupted by Elise opening the door.
Elise! I dreaded to see her again.
Maud also had her own cogitations, for the moment before Elise's arrival she had remarked to me: "I do not think Mademoiselle will dare to say much to me when she hears that I know she shewed you the way.
She shewed him the way, she shewed him the way to woo," hummed Maud.
There was no time for reply. But it struck me that we might be a very happy family and the father and mother of a whole generation if things were only properly and sensibly managed. On the other hand even at that age I plainly, with a boy's acuteness, perceived that if Mademoiselle Hortense de Chambonnard found that she was becoming entangled and in danger of losing prestige, she would choose the most favourable opportunity for bursting the whole thing up. There was one thing I could plainly perceive my Haughty governess would never endure and that was restraint of any description. I believe my father himself was afraid of her.
Mademoiselle had all my letters and the only news she vouchsafed to me was that my parents were quite well and glad to hear that I had arrived safely and that they hoped I would be very good and obey Mademoiselle in all things.
CHAPTER 2
"Now, you beast, you horrid pig! I cannot bear to touch you! I wonder Mademoiselle has left you close to your cousin whom you have outraged-lent to her, taken to her studio-to abuse these favours-to outrage her-to put that beastly rank thing into her. Ah! Miss Maud, if I had my way, I would put something hot into his arse."
Elise unstrapped us.
"Why do I not send for a dog whip from the hall? Why do I not lash you both on the floor? Hein! I should enjoy it! What will become of me? What will Mademoiselle not charge me with? I trusted you. Miss Maud, you betrayed me. Mademoiselle has said nothing, not at all. Dat is worse," went on Elise, in her fright forgetting her English, which she usually spoke with great correctness. "Dat is ver bad. When Mademoiselle say notink, she mean a vast deal. She will turn me out-out into de guttah, and all becos dis beast, dis animal, dis lecherous goat here. And I had pinched him, and smacked him, and pulled him, till I thought he was emasculate. I did; and den he go and get you with tild. Beast! Sacre-."
I arose; so did Maud. Elise grasped Maud's arm, led her to the bedstead, and passing her arms round one of its posts, strapped Maud's hands behind her, confining her to the bed.
Full of my reflections, I gazed into her eyes. Her form was displayed to me and there was no pain to distract my contemplation of it. She flushed a lovely pink as I gazed, and instantly recalling my own nakedness I averted my eyes.
This was due to the presence of a third person. Hereafter, when one mode of Beatrice's chastisement of my fault is narrated, this will be remembered.
Elise, who was exceedingly crestfallen, then took me by the ear with her left hand. She gave me several sounding spanks upon my sore bottom and finally slipped her hand through, from the back, to my testicles.
Of course he soon reared his head.
Elise turned me towards Maud: "Now, Miss Maud, if I had my way you should be made to suck that thing with your mouth-yes, with your mouth."
I hung my head in ignominious captivity, Elise nipping my ear. Maud said never a word. Ignoring Elise, she looked at me significantly, and perhaps a little sadly. What a lovely prisoner she made. Would that I had been in the room alone with her fixed in that manner, her breast, her body, her limbs exposed and helpless.
Elise led me out into the passage, along it, and down the stairs, perfectly naked.
"I won't go naked," I had exclaimed, and had received such a blow in reply that I went. The blow had been administered upwards from behind, just avoiding what it might have seriously injured; and then Elise again slipped her hand through, and holding my ear with the left hand and my virility with the right, marched me on.
"Where are you taking me to?"
"Where do you think? To Mademoiselle."
We met Agnes on the way.
"Oh, Elise," she exclaimed, gazing at me, "stop a moment." She blushed all over. Elise vigorously fingered me. "Oh, let me look at him! Oh! Oh! Oh!" and she was plainly overcome by her feelings.
Elise told Agnes to be ashamed of herself; and quickly pushing me along the corridor, ushered me into Mademoiselle's bedroom.
"Perhaps you would like Miss Agnes, you pig!"
"There, I told you that you would have cause to remember this room. Mary pointed it out to you the very first day of your arrival. Get in, you pig," giving my ear an extra pinch and jerk. "I hope she will leave you to me. If she does-"
The twilight of the May evening had already fallen when Elise opened Mademoiselle's door, and I found the curtains drawn and the lamps lighted.
Mademoiselle had taken off her riding attire and was clothed in the softest and most bewitching dishabille. Her tea wrapper of delicate pink batiste showed her bosom beneath it; her feet in morocco slippers and pink stockings, dangled over the side of the couch on which she luxuriously reclined. Beside her, on a delicate little table, was a Sevres tea service, and the room was redolent of orange Pekoe. Her dark eyes were full of light, not of anger, but of pleasure I think, as I was led naked into her presence and bidden stand before her. She raised herself and directed Elise to retire and wait downstairs until rung for.
"So, Master Julian," she quietly said, "so, Master Julian, or how am I to call you with that great thing wagging in front of you?" I covered my face with my hands. "Mock modesty, I declare, I declare," she cried. "You seem shame-faced before me, but yet you put that thing into your cousin between her soft legs," moving, "into her warm flesh-so, you beast, you animal, you were determined in spite of all my lessons, to pluck the forbidden fruit!"
"Oh, Mademoiselle!"
"Yes, and although you professed such love, and such admiration for me-what are all your professions worth? What shall I do to you, 146
wretch? You have ruined Maud, I shall write to your father-yes-I shall disgrace you."
"Oh! Mademoiselle!"
"I shall disgrace you; unless body and soul you give yourself up to whatever fate I may determine for you. You will?"
"Yes."
"Kneel down. You shall be naked for three days in that room," pointing, "and here you shall have two hours' exercise naked, daily, and I will take care your cousins play with you. You shall be birched every morning first by Maud, next by Beatrice, and then by Agnes; then I shall take you to town and you shall be unsexed."
"Oh! Oh! Oh!"
"Circumcised."
"Oh! Oh! Oh!"
"Castrated-that thing cut off-so that you will be for ever unable to take any more maidenheads. You wretch, how could I otherwise keep you!"
I held my tongue. Why place obstacles in a torrent's way, to make it eddy, and whirl, and foam?
"Will you submit to all this, or shall I write by this post to your father?"
"Oh, Mademoiselle, I will," said I trembling, "submit to you." Strange infatuation, but any fate out of her hands, would, I felt, be certainly worse than any in them.