At the present time the stables were apparently vacant with the exception of the custodian, a stalwart lad of about eighteen, of rough but handsome appearance. He stood by respectfully while both girls inspected the stables, answering all of their questions in regard to the horses and dogs and the estate in general. Caroline, noting the vast hayloft that filled the upper portion of the barn, asked her sister Freda if she had visited it upon her previous tour.
“Why, no,” cried Freda. “Let's go up and see it, Caroline.”
“Would it be all right if we went up and inspected the hayloft?” inquired Caroline of the boy.
“Certainly, miss,” he answered. “You may go anywhere you wish. If you will wait a moment, I will get the ladder.”
Caroline's gaze followed the handsome youth as he turned to go for the ladder. He was a fine manly specimen of youthful vigor, and after her experience of last night with her sensual uncle, persons of the male sex aroused in her a curious interest. She wondered if this handsome stableboy, like her uncle, possessed hidden in his trousers an article of gigantic dimensions; whether it were more or less in size and virility.
Musing thus, she awaited his return, and in the meanwhile bent a thoughtful gaze upon her little sister. Freda was growing up, no doubt about it. Already two plump little mounds were pressing out her breast; her legs, so much as Caroline could see of them, were full and rounded, no longer like sticks; her little backside was undoubtedly filling out and a very definite curved shape was pushing out the back of her skirt, giving promise of a lovely form concealed therein.
How long would this child just budding into womanhood be safe from the assaults of her lecherous uncle? Caroline sighed as she thought of it. But realizing fully that these unmistakable signs of approaching womanhood in her younger sister would not be without effect on her sensual guardian, she saw no way of forestalling his advances, did he choose to make them; and a tear dimmed her eye as she thought of the helplessness of herself and her young sister, penniless and forlorn as they were, in the clutches of this pampered uncle of theirs, whose desires ruled his life and whose conscience seemed to be completely atrophied.
At this point in her musings, the boy returned with the ladder, which he placed against the side of the haymow, and up which the girl leaped nimbly. As she clambered upward, the ladder being a long one, her stocky legs and well-formed underpinnings were brought into relief to both spectators' eyes, due to the shortness of her childish dress.
Casting a sidewise glance at the stableboy as he stood there beside her, Caroline noted that his eyes were turned directly upward toward Freda's legs, as the young girl advanced higher and higher, her white cambric panties and a portion of her delicious bare thighs were revealed to the eager boy's enraptured gaze.
His sparkling eyes seemed riveted upon Freda's shapely form, and Caroline, taking advantage of his interest in this desirable, lascivious sight, ventured a glance down at the front of his pantaloons and was amused to note a distinct swelling in the neighborhood of what she knew was the center of his sexual emotions. Finally, Freda, gaining the top, disappeared over the edge of the haymow and the boy motioned to Caroline to ascend.
“Oh, no!” murmured Caroline in a confused manner, her mind in a conflict of emotions due to the sight she had caught of the youth's swollen engine through his trousers and remembering the sight of her sister's bare thighs exposed to view. “I–I-J will go up after; you go up now. I will wait till you are up, then I will come.”
“No, miss,” he said respectfully. “I couldn't allow you to risk it. The ladder is shaky and if I don't hold it, it might topple over with you and you might be seriously injured. The master would never forgive me if anything should happen to you.” He bowed and, raising his eyes, regarded her intently.
Caroline, feeling that this youth was reading her thoughts, blushed confusedly and, not knowing what else to do, decided to carry on. Gathering her skirts about her ankles so that the presumptuous youth should have no more of a view than was necessary, she prepared to ascend. The boy grasped her arm gently and helped her mount the lowest rung of the ladder. The pressure of his warm hand through her thin waist gave her an almost electric shock, a most peculiar sensation, which she found impossible to classify as she slowly mounted the ladder. Turning to him she said, “What is your name, young man? Mine is Caroline, that of my sister is Freda. We are Lord Roxboro's nieces.”
“My name is Carl-Miss Caroline-Carl Silvers,” he answered, his vibrant voice seeming to thrill her to her soul as he still held her firmly by the arm.
“I suppose we will see you often, Carl,” she said, casting a coquettish look upon him as she started to climb. He released his grasp of her arm and she started to ascend the ladder. She found it impossible to control her dress about her legs and cling to the ladder at the same time.
Sacrificing her modesty for safety, she tried to climb upward as quickly as possible, knowing the boy's eager eyes must be intently fastened upon her legs under the open garment, and almost slipped and fell as her foot missed a rung.
“Careful, miss!” came that vibrant voice from below. “Be careful or you will fall; please hold tightly to the sides of the ladder.”
She ventured a look downward at this youth who affected her so strangely, and as she had expected, his sparkling eyes were directed upward. A hot flush of shame enveloped her as she thought of the wide expanse of her most secret charms that must be, by now, unveiled to those greedy eyes. Hurriedly ascending the remaining rungs, she clambered onto the haymow.
The boy, with agility, speedily followed, and together with Freda, Caroline inspected the large store of hay. Carl seemed respectful and polite to a degree that Caroline was somewhat surprised to find in a stableboy, and he bore a certain air of refinement and charm that was rather strange in one of his station.
They shortly descended to the floor of the stable and in a few moments were ready to depart. “Glad to have met you, ladies,” the boy said. “I hope you will like it here at Roxboro Manor and if there is anything you would like me to do, I will be only too gratified to serve you.” With a bow he showed them out of his domain.
“Isn't he a nice boy, Carrie?” inquired Freda as the two girls left.
“Yes, he is,” replied Caroline, “but remember, he is only a stableboy, and one mustn't be too friendly with the servants, you know.”
“Oh, I'll remember, all right,” replied the child.
“Freda,” said Caroline, “let us step over to this summer-house for a few moments. I would like to talk to you. We have had very few opportunities to talk together confidentially, and there are a few things I would like to discuss with you.” With this the two girls, arms entwined, walked over to an inviting little vine-covered summerhouse on the edge of a small lake which lay in the grounds. Seating themselves on a bench, Caroline continued: “Freda, you must realize that I have never had an opportunity to talk frankly to you as an older sister to a younger. You know by now that you are just entering into real womanhood. There are many changes that are taking place in you physically, changes that may come as a surprise to you but which are common to girls of your age. Do you really know what I mean, dear?”
“I think perhaps I do, Carrie dear,” answered Freda in a low tone. “I think I know exactly what you mean. The girls and I were talking at the convent and they told me lots of things. In a little while I will fill out and get big and be like you, Carrie. I will have nice, big breasts and nice legs and be a grown-up lady like you are.”
Yes, thought Caroline, you will be like me: ruined, your virginity sacrificed, a plaything of a man's passion. She wondered how much her younger sister knew of woman's common enemy, man-she wondered how much she herself knew of that strange animal. She knew that some of the girls in convents and boarding schools frequently were quite precocious; they learned things from older girls, some of them false and some of them enlightening. She intended at the earliest opportunity to quiz the child to find out just how far her knowledge went, just what she had learned from her schoolmates. She decided not to do it at this time, however.