Not till after our fourth act of coition did my powers begin to shew signs of flagging, when the girl's red mouth and clinging tongue were swiftly applied to their delicious task of resuscitation, and under this enchanting stimulus, the member in question soon regained the necessary length and stiffness and repaid the luscious service of her lips by burying himself in her womb.
For three hours locked in each other's arms, we envied not the gods their famed Elysium!
On the following day, I was greatly astonished at the extraordinary conduct of my charming Bessy, for notwithstanding our late rupture, she could not betray any signs of anger in the presence of Emma without exciting her suspicions; I consequently took advantage of an opportunity which presented itself on seeing the two ladies together of walking in as though no unpleasant squabble had ever taken place, when the look of reproach with which she eyed me left no doubt upon my mind as to her being perfectly aware of the preceding night; and as her reserve grew less upon each succeeding day, I became the more confirmed in this opinion; more particularly as on one occasion, I being rather depressed in spirits, she, with a look of peculiar meaning, continued to sing-as though unconsciously amusing herself, portions of an old ballad, the burthen of which runs thus:
Oh, I could tell you how, love, and when, The very first hour, and the place, While I vowed I'd ne'er heed the oaths of men.
You prevailed, and I mourn my disgrace.
In short, her allusions became so very pointed that one day, being alone with her, I ventured to demand an explanation. Notwithstanding her assumed cheerfulness, a tear involuntarily starting dimmed the lustre of her sparkling eye. She at length informed me, that for a long time my attentions to Emma had excited her suspicion and having heard me enter her apartment so shortly after my last offence she felt persuaded that Emma had found a way to console me for what I might term my own unkindness; she acknowledged also, that the torturing pangs of jealousy had kept her awake throughout the whole of that eventful night; and although I had used the utmost caution in my movements, nothing had escaped the acute fineness of her sense of hearing-nay, such was the particular manner in which she depicted the most minute incidents of my frailty, that, perfectly astounded, it was some moments ere I could gain sufficient assurance to assert my innocence, and even then the protestation was made in such bungling terms that my confusion only added to my conviction and at once proclaimed my guilt.
Clearly detected, I endeavoured to palliate my crime, urging the powerful incentives I had experienced and vowed a thousand times that love for Emma had not induced me to act, but that, maddened by my disappointed hopes and fearing that my offence was beyond forgiveness, I had recourse to drink, till urged on by grief, despair, revenge, intoxication, and convenient temptation I had fallen.
At length my Bessy, like a pitying angel, moved by my tears and visible remorse, awarded pardon to her suffering penitent; at the same time kindly pledged her word that the knowledge she had so artfully obtained should be forever confined to her own breast; before we parted, however, she extorted from me a promise that the guilty commerce should never be repeated, for which she rewarded me with a delightful kiss, and we parted, if possible, better friends than ever.
Not wishing to hurt the feelings of the kind and gentle Emma by an appearance of indifference, I took an opportunity of informing her that I had reason to believe that Mr. E. entertained suspicions that an improper intimacy had taken place between us; and, in order to remove this impression and preserve her reputation, it would be
expedient to affect a distant carriage towards each other; she appreciated my motives, and feigning a slight quarrel we ultimately succeeded in deceiving the penetration of Bessy, to whom I certainly kept my word as sacred-as possible-for my intercourse with her rival was discontinued forever-in her house.
Shortly after this Mr. E., still eagerly intent upon his favourite pursuit of accumulating money, determined upon letting one of his parlours, and his wife-for reasons best known to herself-prevailed on him to request that I would make it my sleeping room, urging as a motive that being on the same floor with themselves it would be much more convenient for her to attend to, as it would save much trouble and she need not then be continually running up and down stairs; that as I was not often at home until late at night they could have the apartment during the day; the upper room which would thus become vacant would immediately be let, and we then should appear to be forming one family, his gains of course increasing in proportion; this latter argument at once decided him, and the same evening he proposed the project in a very roundabout manner and concluded by asking if I had any objection to an exchange.
I at once perceived the cunning motive of my jealous Bessy, which was in fact merely to remove me from the dangerous vicinity of my fair neighbour; but as I foresaw also numberless advantages to myself (which in the one object that engrossed her thoughts she had evidently overlooked) I instantly consented, and the next evening took possession of my new dormitory.
It will be here necessary, in order that the following incidents may be clearly understood, to describe more particularly the situation of my present sleeping room,
The house consisted of six rooms-not one behind the other, as in most modern buildings, but each apartment overlooked the street. I have before mentioned, in describing my former chamber, that a small landing-place divided it from Emma's and that our doors faced each other; in like manner was my new abode divided from that of Mr. and Mrs. E. merely by the width of the passage; at the extreme end of which the stairs leading to the upper rooms were situated.
From the exterior, the two parlours were divided by the street door, which when closed, and the parlour doors thrown open, three paces would convey me from one room to the other, my shoulder nearly brushing the street door in passing; in each apartment was a kind of closet, large enough to contain a bedstead if required; but as I was never partial to a confined atmosphere, particularly while sleeping, I made my recess answer the purpose of a wardrobe, and consequently my bed occupied the centre of the room.
The reader will perceive the necessity of my being thus particular as to the situation of the rooms in the course of these memoirs; in fact they would find it exceedingly difficult to form an idea of many circumstances hereafter to be related had I been less explicit.
All diffidence was now banished between myself and Bessy, and perfect confidence restored, the past seemed buried in oblivion, and our days passed in the same sportive manner as before. To be sure, when romping with Emma, the eyes of Bessy never failed to put me on my guard, and my eyes no longer enjoyed the freedoms they formerly indulged in.
I must, however, acknowledge that an accidental meeting would occasionally occur, away from home; I would then exert my best endeavours to make her ample amends for every seeming slight; and as she really possessed a tolerable share of common sense, we always parted perfectly satisfied with each other. True it is, that I would much rather have discontinued this connexion, but I could not prevail on myself, by coldness or neglect, to hurt the feelings of any woman who had sacrificed her all for my gratification.
To proceed to my narrative, I soon became perfectly inured to my change of quarters; and what added greatly to my satisfaction was that I could overhear mostly every word that passed between Mr. E. and his wife, and the tone of disgust with which she sometimes answered his pettishness afforded me real pleasure, as I felt convinced that it was her increasing affection for myself that made him appear each day more odious to her sight.