Presently, my father returned from the business trip that had kept him away for some time. He was a merchant, trading grains, wine, spices, cloths, and all sorts of different wares. Commerce, as he often reminded us, is a risky activity that rewards the brave and the intelligent.
My father always liked to remind us of these facts, and how our fortune was tied to his own abilities. He had risen from nothing and created a small commercial empire that stretched from the silver mines of South America all the way to the coffee plantations of Indonesia.
Many times, a hot season had spoilt my father's designs by making wine prices drop without notice. Many times, stormy seas had delayed a shipment, which had cost my father all his profit. But every time, he had been able to avoid the arrows of an adverse fortune and temper the flames that had attacked his house.
My father came home under a cloud, and it was immediately clear to all that another assault to our prosperity was under way.
He walked the rooms in silence. If anyone approached him, he would quickly give them such a stern look that everyone left running for fear of his wrath.
'He will manage things,' my mother told us.
She seemed unconcerned about his business dealings. My father had always provided for us, and it was foolish to worry about the little ups and downs that were a natural course of trade.
In fact, I remember that my mother ordered new dresses and jewels in those days, sure that whatever problem her husband was facing was temporary.
My father spent his days ruminating in silence. When he was not pacing up and down with his arms behind his back, his chin deep in his chest, and a sombre look in his eyes, he was writing letters, which were promptly dispatched by one of the servants, or he was reviewing his accounting books.
Once, my brother Blaise walked into the room where my father was working. I think he wanted to ask for a new horse, but he didn't have a chance to even broach the topic. He said:
'Father…'
And an ink bottle was sent flying in his direction across the room.
Blaise left in a hurry, certain that whatever beast he was in the habit of riding with was absolutely perfect for him, and that there was no need for a new horse to crowd the stables.
I had worries of my own too.
Wherever I went I found Margot, the maid who had so solicitously attended to my needs a few days before, standing by, waiting for a word. She never said anything to me, but her eyes followed me with an expectant look that was hard to miss. Even at the dinner table, she was always pouring water, offering another serving of food, and seemed to attend to my person so promptly that everybody began to notice.
'Eloise has a little suitor,' Armand said one evening.
'Does she?' my mother said, amused.
'Haven't you noticed, Mother?' Blaise remarked.
Presently, Margot walked into the room with a tray of sweets, and my mother could not be mistaken the way the maid looked at her daughter.
'I believe you're right,' my mother said.
I felt my face burning with shame. I couldn't say anything. Maybe, I should have mentioned my brothers' adventure with Ursula, but I didn't dare.
My father looked at me, then at the servant, who had understood she was the topic of conversation and whose face was now as red as mine was.
'Eloise,' my father said. 'Remember these words: a lady, such as I hope you have now become, may have her dalliances. Nobody would judge her for it, as long as she's discreet. Do you understand me?'
'Yes, father,' I said, secretly wanting to run away from the room as fast as I could.
'And…' he continued, 'Since a lady cannot directly earn her livelihood, but must depend on others, she should never bind herself to an inferior who will not be in a position to maintain the lifestyle to which she's accustomed. What I am saying is that a lady of rank shall never be bound to anyone who could barely make ends meet.'
I nodded, trying not to look at my brothers or my mother or Margot, who hadn't been dismissed and was still standing by the table.
'But,' my father added, 'if a lady can keep her business to herself, she can certainly enjoy the company of a friend. Especially, if this is a friend who will be able to grant her happiness without the risk of saddling her with children.'
'Father, I think you are mistaken…' I whispered.
'Be as it may, one day you will need to find your own way into the world. You will not always be able to depend on your family for your expenses… In any case, I said my piece. Now,' he added looking at Margot, 'bring us the coffee. Then you can leave. I feel we have embarrassed you enough.'
His tone was very serious and stern. It was the first time he had actually hinted at the fact that his children might have money concern to contend to in the future. Until that moment, we all lived with the idea that we had an infinite amount of time to enjoy the lifestyle to which we were accustomed.
I quickly glanced at Margot. I saw she had tears to her eyes and was trembling all over. The young woman ran away to fetch the coffee, thankful for being released.
The room was silent. My brothers felt surprised that their joke had been taken so seriously by our father. My mother was also lost in thought, and I wondered if my father, when talking to me, was also secretly talking to her, telling her he was aware of her secrets, and letting her know that, as she had already broken his trust, he wished she could at least be discreet and maintain his reputation intact.
My father now seemed impatient. He didn't wait for the coffee. Instead, he stood up and announced:
'I have much work to do tonight, and I wish not to be disturbed.'
With that, he left the room.
We stayed in silence for a while. My brothers had lost any will to tease their sister, and my mother was now lost in thought.
'Mother, is Father in trouble?' Armand asked. 'Are we in trouble?'
Mother stood up and spoke with much emotion in her voice:
'You have nothing to worry about. Father has encountered problems and worked through them many times. We also have my title and my connections to depend upon.'
Without delay, she left the room.
Armand and Blaise talked among them, in hushed tones, as if they were grown men, of the difficulties of business in today's world, but I could see they were talking in generalities, having not worked a day in their lives.
I listened to them, much humiliated from their comments about Margot's attention and vexed about the thought of Father being in trouble and of not having anyone else to rely upon. In fact, I could see that my brothers were ill-equipped to help the family, should our present situation, of which in fact I knew very little but of which I feared the worst, not be resolved.
I quietly left the room and walked towards my room.
I was feeling dejected. Abruptly, I was filled with worries of a future I couldn't predict. Was my father truly ruined, and, if so, what was it to be of me, my brothers, and my parents? Were we to abandon our ancestral home? I imagined myself living in destitution, unable to provide for myself, abandoned by all. There would be no more chocolates and coffee served by a maid in uniform, no more tenants growing crops on our land, no more fine clothes or aimless walks through our property with nothing to do and nowhere to go.
I imagined myself running from shop to shop, asking for a job, begging for an opportunity. I made the picture all the bleaker by reminding myself that I had never learnt a profession: I could not sew; I could not manage a household; I could not tend to the fields. I had been raised to appreciate art, and music, and classic literature. What good was this knowledge, if my father hadn't been providing for me and my brothers all along?
But I quickly forgot these secret cares, when, almost at my bedroom door, I heard someone whisper my name:
'Miss Eloise.'
I turned around.
Margot had been waiting for me, standing awkwardly, tormenting her hands. I could tell she desperately wanted to talk to me about something important.
'Yes, Margot?' I said, taken aback by this apparition.
'I wanted to beg your forgiveness, Miss. It seems that your brothers made fun of the way I was looking at you during dinner, and your father alluded to it as well.'
I looked at Margot. She was a few years older than me, but her modest and deferential demeanour made her seem younger than me.
I laughed and embraced her tenderly.
'My dear Margot, you have revealed so much to me that I will forever be thankful to you. It is probably my fault for not being able to dissimulate my thoughts with my family.'
The girl smiled timidly.
'If you don't mind me saying so, Miss, I find that I'm growing very much attached to you, and I am thankful for the confidence you have granted me a few days ago.'
I kissed her on the cheek.
'Then, let's be friends, my good Margot. I believe I still have so much more to learn, and there is no one to ask but you.'
I introduced her into my chambers, and I asked her to sit next to me on the bed.
After some resistance, she agreed and, very stiffly and full of embarrassment for this unexpected confidence from a woman so superior to her in station, Margot sat down.
I was thankful for this diversion that distracted me from the dark thoughts my father's comments had plunged me into. I was very keen to stay away from such thoughts for as long as possible, and, having Margot next to me, I was keenly reminded of the pleasure she had showed me.
'I want to return the favour,' I told her. 'Would you let me?'
She blushed and whispered:
'I have to confess that I have indeed dreamed of sharing the confidence you have granted me once more, but I have not thought proper to demand it.'
I laughed again at her awkwardness. All my life, I had been treated as the baby of the house, as I am but the youngest among my siblings. I had indeed been used to defer to everyone around me: my parents, my brothers, my tutor, even the servants appeared to be so superior to me. Margot, however, was so humble and shy, and I cherished the feeling of being her superior. In fact, I was sure I could demand anything, and, in her admiration for me, she would have done it.
'Well,' I said, 'Then let me better see your body. After all, you have seen me naked before.'
Margot promptly began losing her clothes. Under the heavy skirts and the bodice, she was wearing, she wore but a simple linen gown. I watched her as she unbuttoned it and let it drop on the floor.
The young woman was now fully naked except for a beaded necklace and a crucifix around her neck. I was surprised by their quality, as this rosary appeared to be quite expensive.
Margot had a pretty figure. Her features were minute except for the two large breasts that hung low on a rounded stomach, and her bottom which was round and generous.
'You're very beautiful,' I told her.
She lowered her eyes and said nothing.
'Do you mind if I kiss you?' I asked her.
Again, she said nothing, but she smiled.
I then hugged her, and I felt her lean in and sink into the embrace her.
'I never would have hoped… A lady none the less…' she said.
I gave her a kiss on the lips, and, at the same time, I moved my hand lower to reach the tuft of light brown hair between her thighs.
I was excited to touch another woman's private parts, to search for them through the thick fur, to feel the elastic texture of the labia.
'Miss Eloise…' she whined.
'Why don't you lie on my bed?' I asked and guided her towards the mattress.
When she was lying down, I lay before her, with my head between her legs. I was determined not to rush and instead explore her anatomy. I parted the hair to get a good view of the fat mound of flesh. I ran my fingers along the smaller labia that rose from its centre. I lingered on the clitoris, then moved lower, spreading the lips apart to get a better view of the entry to the canal used for copulation, and finally indulged on the anus, which was tightly shut.
I took my time, while I listened to Margot's expectant breathing, which trembled as I touched the various areas of her secret anatomy.
I then looked up at her and smiled, silently asking whether she was happy for me to continue.
Margot smiled shyly, and I began licking her all over.
I knew that she had concentrated on my clitoris when she had masturbated me in front of the mirror, but I was determined to be more adventurous and thorough. So, I began with the clitoris, as she had showed me: I sucked it slowly, then I uncovered its head, which was turgid under my tongue, and I licked it longingly; then I moved down to the vagina whose opening I licked in circular motions until I began penetrating it with my tongue.
Margot was panting loudly, giving out little cries, calling my name:
'Miss… Oh, Miss Eloise, you are so good… I have never been treated like this.'
I licked and licked, and, remembering how my brothers had serviced Ursula in the park, also giving her anus little stabs with my tongue and little sucks with my puckered lips.
'Yes, lick my ass,' Margot called out.
I then let some saliva fall on my two fingers to aid lubrication, and I slid them into the maid's vagina, while I licked her clitoris with great vigour. I moved the fingers in and out to resemble the movement of a male organ, and I felt the passage become easier from the juices that, in her excitement, Margot was producing.
I knew she was enjoying herself because she was crying out, moaning, and grunting. Also, her thighs were shaking as if an electric current was running through them.
Finally, I felt her vagina tighten around my fingers and almost push them out, and Margot gave a loud, high cry:
'I'm coming, Miss Eloise!'
I kept going, licking harder than ever.
'It's too much!' she moaned, but I kept licking.
Margot grasped the sheets with her hands and was shaken all over.
'Miss! It's too much…'
But I was possessed, and I didn't know what I was doing. I kept licking her, and I kept moving my fingers in and out of her.
'Ow!' she moped. 'I can't take much more of this…'
'Yes, there is more. I won't stop until you come for me again!'
I was unable to stop. I removed my fingers from her vagina and began rubbing her clitoris very hard with my fingers, while I moved my tongue lower to her anus.
'Oh, my good Miss, what are you doing to poor little Margot?' she cried.
I gave her clitoris a few slaps.
'Ouch!'
'I will make you come all over my face.'
'Please… I don't think I can! Oh, but it's so good!'
I licked and licked and rubbed and I wouldn't stop. I listened to her cries of pleasure.
'I think I'm coming again, Miss!' she said eventually.
I stuck my tongue out and entered her anus, while furiously rubbing her clit with my fingers.
'Yes, yes… You're making me come again!' she cried out.
Finally, her legs began trembling again, but, this time, her stomach also contracted and her back arched in a great spasm.
Margot gave out another cry:
'Fuuuuck! Miss! Oh, fuuuuck!'
This time, the signs of her pleasure were more manifest, not hidden like I had grown to believe it was customary for all women, because from her genitals came out a little jet of clear liquid, in the fashion that is more typical of men.
I was surprised by this and ceased all activities.
The maid was now crying and shaking caught by the great and unusual pleasure I had caused her.
I hugged her in my arms and kissed her on the lips. I caressed her hair until she stopped sobbing.
'I have never felt such pleasure,' she told me.
'The pupil has surpassed the master,' I joked.
When she was a little calmer, Margot turned around to reach for her clothes and get dressed, and I noticed that the skin of her bottom was all purple, and that on her back were signs of her having been whipped but recently.
'What happened to you, Margot?' I demanded with much urgency.
She reached out with a hand towards her back, taking a minute to realise what I was referring to. Then she seemed much diverted by it:
'That is your tutor, Miss.'
'Mr Clement?'
I was incredulous. He seemed such a mild-mannered man, and I couldn't understand how a solicitous person such as Margot could deserve such punishment.
I then prayed the maid to stay a little longer, join me under the covers, and to tell me her story and how those signs came to be.