And then there came his long-drawn groan as his wick was dampened by that rapacious and insatiable candle-snuffer which Georgette housed between her plump straining thighs.
They sighed together like a pair of turtle doves as at last he must have drawn himself out, well tapped for the nonce. And then after a lengthy pause, he said, in a wan voice which suggested that he had bestowed perhaps more spunk upon her pussy than he had intended to, “If you must keep that candle as memento, Georgette, do you at least take a pairing knife and whittle it in some reasonable semblance of my pole. Yet you would do well to begin with a thicker candle, my daughter, for even though at this moment my own pole is vastly diminished down to the leanness of the taper which brought us to this lair of Bacchus, remember that unlike the candle, it can swell and aggrandize itself to mighty measurements. And now, a last kiss, my daughter, and then let us drink this good Anjou together to each other's health and fortune and to a safe voyage across the Channel for my pole.”
A languid sigh and a murmured, “Oui, oui, mon Pere!” from Georgette told me in conclusion that she had at last grasped Father Lawrence's little play on words. For she had assuredly been thoroughly poled, and by now she needs must know the pole was by far superior to any candle.
CHAPTER NINE
When at last Father Lawrence and that forward hussy Georgette had emerged from the wine cellar, the worthy landlord was already coming down the stairs from his own room to ascertain his daughter's whereabouts so that she might aid him in preparing the evening meal for all their guests. With some little experience in the matter, the good English ecclesiastic had first ascended from the wine cellar and engaged his host in chitchat, while the sly minx slipped off towards the kitchen. But the landlord was in a most irritable mood and because his eyes were wandering about even while Father Lawrence was engaging him in conversation, he chanced to espy Georgette. Whereupon he angrily bellowed for her to give account of herself and to explain why, although he had called out her name no fewer than three times, she had now come to answer that summons.
“I feel that I must take the blame for that, my worthy host,” the ever gallant Father Lawrence responded. “Since my three wards are young, mere babes scarcely weaned away from their mothers' milk, and since they asked me whether they might be permitted this one indulgence of good wine to drink a farewell toast to la belle France, I did engage Georgette to accompany me to the cellar there to seek the beatific and moderate vintage which would not have intoxicating effect upon these virginal damsels. Your daughter, my good man, displayed such good knowledge of the wines of this country that I was rapt in listening to her and in considering one over the other, and therefore I fear I kept her longer than I should.”
With this, he drew out his purse and laid down a piece of gold. “I wish to settle my score, and you will of course include the supper which your daughter will bring presently to my wards. To my reckoning, also, whatever nourishment you have for a humble priest this evening to give him strength before he sets foot upon the deck of the vessel that takes us to England.”
Seeing that his host hesitated, he took out yet another gold piece, and with a lordly gesture clinked it down upon the first, saying, “Whatever there is left from those two coins, let it be as a pourboire for you and Georgette to drink my health and to wish me well when I am embarked upon the rolling sea of the Channel.”
This grandiloquent gesture erased the final suspicion from Georgette's father's brain, for he burst into a torrent of French expletives, the gist of which was that in all his years as owner of this humble inn, he had never entertained so worthy and gracious a guest as Father Lawrence, no, not even nobility. “And it has been good for my wayward daughter, who is an only child, may heaven defend her,” he added effusively.
“Amen to that!” Father Lawrence interposed in his fluent French, sending a surreptitious glance towards the bridling hoyden, who pretended to busy herself with pouring out wine from an ewer.
“As I was saying,” her father obsequiously pursued, “the presence here of Votre Grace has brought great peace of mind to me, for, look you, this strapping and handsome demoiselle makes calf's eyes at every man that wears trousers. Ah, but Votre Grace, when you first entered my humble inn, I told myself that now Georgette would be under your protection and would be blessed as well as saved from any wrongdoing.”
“And so she has been, for she is a worthy girl, with only her father's best interests at heart. I have already given her my blessing, and that, too, was why she was delayed in responding to your parental summons.”
“You are much too kind, Votre Grace. Georgette, hasten to the kitchen and make certain that the repast Son Eminence has ordered for his three young wards will be brought to them directly. See to it also that he has the very best of what is cooking this eventide.”
“I would not give him anything that is not of the very best, mon Pere,” Georgette cooed. “Ah, I wish I could have seen her winsome face when she responded so ambiguously to her father. For of course the French term for 'father' is exactly the same that a reverent and dutiful demoiselle accords a man of the cloth such as Father Lawrence was! And she had certainly given the latter all of her best and most energetically and ardently as well, unless my sense of hearing had totally deceived me. That is how, by the way, I was able to discern that she was pouring from an ewer, because the splash of the liquid from such a container is more fulsome than from a mere bottle. You see, we fleas are not only the pestiferous creatures which you humans upbraid and swear at when we sting you; and remember that when we do, it is only to prolong our own lives, and that we take only a very tiny bit of blood, far less injurious to your systems than, if I may be precise, the vitality which Father Lawrence lost each time he jetted his bubbling spunk into the sweet cunt of a novice like Georgette. Not quite two hours later, supper had been partaken of by all concerned, Georgette's father had outdone himself in florid rhetoric to bid his worthy and distinguished guest adieu, and Louisette, Denise, and Marisia, demurely attired for their journey out upon the Channel this night, got into the carriage which the landlord himself had graciously summoned to take them to the wharf where their vessel awaited.
There was only a slight difficulty when they boarded the good ship Bonaventura. The captain, whose voice was gruff and surly, grudgingly explained that because the sailing had been delayed so long in view of the inclement weather, there were now more passengers bound for Dover than he had originally expected. He could not possibly assign cabins to the three charming demoiselles who accompanied the English ecclesiastic.
“Good captain,” Father Lawrence flatteringly replied in polished French, “I would not think to encumber you with the petty matter of providing bunks for your passengers, when you are burdened with the great responsibility of all our lives in keeping the wheel ever so straight upon the course and braving the angry gusts that seek to flounder your sturdy vessel! A single cabin will do, good captain. You see by my raiment that I am a man of the cloth, and these poor orphans are my wards whom I am taking back as neophytes to the Seminary of St. Thaddeus. As for me, I am yet vigorous with my years, and my flesh is not weak, so it matters not where or how I sleep.”
This little speech so impressed the surly captain that he barked an order to a seaman to escort “le bon et digne Pere” to a cabin which should be across from that occupied by the first mate. Father Lawrence then turned to his charges and said to them gently, “Do you not see, my daughters, that the Lord will provide even in the face of what seems insurmountable obstacles? Now we shall become snugly ensconced, and I am glad of this, for it gives me an opportunity to hold intimate converse with you and to fortify you for your entry as neophytes. It is an undertaking which must sober your most mature reflections, and that is why I am delighted to be so close to you this night that we may share the thoughts that undeniably must be passing through your young impressionable minds.”