I was listening intently to what Margot was telling me. I could tell from her demeanour that, these light events would lead to much more serious ones, and I was apprehensive over their nature. I then urged her to continue.
She indicated that the memory was painful to her but that she would tell me all for my sake.
This second part of the journey passed in the same manner as the first, namely in grave silence. We arrived in the city of Nantes. This was the first time I had travelled so far from that part of the country I was born in, and I was surprised by the large boulevards, the beautiful buildings, and the number of people that inhabited this city.
We arrived at a building, located in a side street that departed from a large square. The construction appeared to be very noble in aspect, and I believe it was some sort of establishment that people engaged in commerce and trade used for their business.
Your father seemed very familiar with the establishment, and he was greeted warmly by a gentleman who came to meet us once we arrived.
I gathered from their conversation that your father used the port of Nantes for many of his trades, and many of his affairs were conducted in this city. This establishment allowed his members to make use of it to conduct meetings and to even lodge, if they had to detain themselves in town.
The gentleman I spoke of before informed us that the chambers my master had reserved were ready in the manner he had instructed.
I helped my mistress descend from the carriage and followed our guide to the first floor.
'We have the whole floor free today,' the gentleman who was accompanying us said, 'you will make use of these rooms at the end of the corridor.'
Here, he opened a large set of doors to reveal a large space with a big table in the middle, which, I imagined, was used for gatherings, dinners, and to conduct business meetings. The room had a few small cabinets where liquor was kept, along with various stationary to draft and sign documents. But, apart from these items, the room was quite essentially furnished.
On one side of the room, I noticed another door, which led to some other room. This, however, our guide did not show us.
You father asked if the other room was prepared in the manner that he had described, to which the other gentleman assented.
My master dismissed the gentleman with many thanks, and we were left alone.
Our trunks had been brought up by a valet and were stored in another room nearby.
My mistress asked me to accompany her to this room to help her change out of her travel attire, while your father prepared some papers he had brought with him.
In the little boudoir, my lady undressed completely. She washed her body and applied creams and ointments to mollify her skin. Finally, she dressed in so elegant a fashion I had never seen before. She wore a pale blue dress with many ornaments. Resting on her cleavage, which was so tightly wrapped by that beautiful dress to assume a great rotundness, was a necklace of rubies and emeralds. This was paired by earrings of similar fashion, rings and bracelets.
I styled her hair, braiding pearls through it, while she perfumed herself. I told her I much admired her looks, and, if possible, she looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her.
'Your husband will be very pleased,' I said.
My mistress laughed at this comment:
'You will see what pleasure he will receive tonight.'
I said no more, as I felt that my compliment had not been well received. In fact, I believe I had said something very inappropriate without intending to.
My lady gave me some clean clothes to wear. I marvelled at them, for I had never worn anything so handsome in my life. I protested that these were too fine garments, but she insisted I washed and perfumed myself before wearing them.
Then, she ordered me to walk downstairs and eat, as she believed I could request some food to sustain me, as this would be a long night. When I inquired, she informed me that she didn't have much of an appetite, and that she would not require any dinner.
I dined in the kitchen along with some of the servants of this fine establishment. I noticed that everyone spoke in a much more refined manner and comported themselves with finer taste than the people in our town, and, even though I was wearing much finer clothes than anyone else, I felt quite ashamed of the way I spoke and how I held my cutlery, so that I didn't speak to anybody.
When I walked upstairs, I was surprised to see that the hall that led to the room assigned to us was already full of gentlemen and their valets.
Presently, my master clapped his hands to quiet the noise.
'My friends, thank you for answering my letters and joining us tonight. I request that anyone who accompanied you tonight remains out here, and that only the people my missives were addressed to come in for our assembly.'
We all walked into the room.
The gentlemen, which I believe were in the number of thirty-seven, sat around the large table. Those who couldn't find a seat, sat on the chairs that were along the wall.
My master sat at the table, while my mistress and I sat on a little divan that rested in a corner of the room.
'Welcome!' your father began, 'As I told you in my letters, I find myself in great difficulty at present. I believe this situation to be short-lived, and that you, as my closest partners, might assist me.'
Everyone was silent, and everyone was watching the speaker with great attention. I now understood that these gentlemen were people my master had traded with in the past, and he must have known them to be people of great means.
I must confess I was surprised to hear of the difficulties your father was going through, and I too began listening with great interest to what he was saying.
'Here is a frank account of how my affairs stand at present,' my master said, and he passed around some papers, of which everyone got a copy.
This document contained a list of what your family possessed, what they owed to creditors, and any other interest they might have.
'I will be frank, as I request your assistance. I will not hide anything from you. As you can see, my situation is dire. The estates I possessed are sold, except for the property on which my family and I live, but this is now mortgaged. I have some debts, which are duly listed. In the past year, I had some expectations that were not realised. I now await the return of a great ship, and I believe that, once its content is sold, my situation will be restored to my satisfaction…'
'What's the ship?' someone enquired.
I searched the room to see who had spoken, and I was much surprised to see that it was that Mr LeClair with whom I was acquainted earlier in the day.
I was taken aback by this discovery, and I wasn't sure whether to feel happy to see this gentleman again or to be apprehensive for maybe it had been improper to associate with someone my master had dealings with.
My master replied:
'It is the Saint Mary that sailed from Sisimiut and carries a cargo that is more scarce than the milk of queens.'
The other gentleman laughed in a horrible manner and said:
'I believe the Saint Mary to be sunk, my friend.'
The room was suddenly filled with noise, as everyone began talking to one another, as they understood this to be the ruin of my master.
I was at once worried for my master and very upset with Mr LeClair for his comment.
'No, no,' my master said calmly, 'I have received no intelligence of this.'
This seemed to quiet the room once more.
'As you can see,' my master continued, 'my situation is difficult, but not all is lost. I have found myself in peril before, and I have always been able to turn my difficulties into great profit. I now require an extension of credit until the Saint Mary arrives. I expect such a handsome return from the sale of its content, that I will be happy to part with half of my profit with whoever is prepared to loan me the necessary funds I ask of.'
'What if this ship doesn't arrive?' someone else asked.
'If it doesn't arrive, I will have to utilise some of the credit for another speculation to receive some profit, which I will equally share with the loaner. I have therefore invited all of you in the hope that some of you will assist me for the time being.'
I saw many shaking their heads, and I saw many people grin.
Everyone believed my master could not recover from this situation. They also believed that the Saint Mary was equally lost, and that any loan against it would be a foolish investment. Furthermore, I believed that many people in this room were happy to see my master fail, as they probably believed him to be more of a competitor than a partner in their trade.
'Do you have any other security?' someone asked.
My master hesitated. Then, he said:
'Is anyone willing to accept the request, as I made it?'
Nobody answered.
'In this case, I will say that I have another security I can put against this loan.'
People were looking through the document my master had given them.
'It's not on that list, as it is something that is not usually on a balance sheet.'
Here, I was surprised to see my mistress stand up and advance to join my master.
He said nothing further, but everyone understood my lady to be that security he was putting up for sale.
'One night,' he said. 'In exchange for that line of credit I requested.'
The room was filled with a great noise: everyone was commenting with great animation. This unusual offer seemed to excite these gentlemen more than the prospect of money.
My lady appeared very beautiful tonight, and I believed that most of these gentlemen had had opportunities to see and admire her before.
Presently, the bidding began.
'I offer one fifty,' said one with much eagerness.
'That's much less than I requested, my friend. You see what's on offer here, don't you?' my master rebuked him.
'One seventy,' said another.
To this, my master said nothing, as he now understood that everyone in the room believed they could purchase such a rare item for very little, as your father was now a desperate and lost man.
Someone else offered one eighty, after which there was a long pause. Everyone wanted to see if your father would debase himself to such an extent.
'Anyone else?' he asked.
'I have fucked your maid today, and I believe I will fuck your wife for free quite soon. I don't need to pay,' said Mr LeClair loudly.
I was much embarrassed. I felt tears coming to my eyes, and I wanted to run away, such was my shame, but I knew I had to maintain my composure. After all, my mistress was undergoing a much greater humiliation, and, all along, she was smiling pleasantly to the people in the room.
My master invited Mr LeClair to leave.
'Anyone who's not seriously going to bid might leave the room at once,' he said.
A few people stood up and left. Mr LeClair was among them, and, as he walked past me, he gave me a look so spiteful that made my blood go cold and my heart stop for a moment. I now knew he hadn't met me by chance at the inn, but he very well knew I was at the service of your family, and he had sought me out.
Now, the people who remained knew they were obliged to make serious offers, so another party said:
'Five hundred.'
I saw my master's shoulders lift as he took a deep breath, and I knew that this offer was more aligned to his wishes.
'Five fifty,' said another.
Every time an offer was made, my mistress smiled pleasantly to the gentleman who had spoken, as if to thank him of a compliment. She also tilted her head with much coquetry, and, now and then, the ran a hand on her side or her breasts.
These movements made the offers go higher.
Finally, someone said:
'One thousand.'
The room went really quiet, as this was a much greater offer than anyone had yet made.
'But,' the person who had spoken said, 'it will be both myself and Mr de La Tour.'
'That can't be!' my master said.
But my mistress shook her head, and, for the first time, she spoke in a voice that was clear and calm:
'Mr Gramont, that will be fine.'
My master looked at her, then asked:
'Any more offers?'
But the room was silent. That offer had been so high that nobody was prepared to surpass it.
After a pause, my master announced:
'The offer of Mr de La Tour and Gramont is accepted. I thank you all, and I beg you to keep what passed tonight a secret.'
People now began to leave. Everyone shook my master's hand, wishing him great luck.
Finally, it was only the two gentlemen who had made the winning bid, my masters, and myself left in the room.
My mistress asked me to accompany her in the adjacent room to help her get ready, while my master and the two gentlemen discussed what was about to pass.
I was then led into another room through that other door I had alluded to.
The space was dimly lit by many candles rather than gas lights, and the décor of this room much surprised me. This room had been converted into a bedroom. In its midst, was a large bed. On the furniture were many vases filled with pink peonies, irises of blue and yellow, and then dahlias, roses, begonias, lilies. The air had a wonderful smell of all these flowers.
My mistress asked me to help her undress, which I did with much fear. I couldn't speak, although I wanted to. Wasn't there any other way to resolve the difficulty my master was in? How was it that she had offered herself?
But she appeared calm, and I believed her demeanour was meant to reassure me. I also understood that she needed me to help her, and I was not supposed to confuse her in any way.
She then lay on the bed awaiting, while she asked me to sit somewhere comfortable, in case she needed me that night.
Presently, my master and the two gentlemen arrived.
'I will remain in the room,' my master said, 'to ensure that everything is done in a manner that is suitable. While you have purchased the right to spend some time with my wife, she is still a lady that demands respect.'
Mr de La Tour and Mr Gramont nodded politely, then they looked at my mistress, who was completely naked, with great desire.
My master sat on an armchair next to me. He didn't look at me. He just observed the scene in silence.
The two men appeared unsure of what to do. Now, they looked at each other, wanting to see how the other might proceed, and I saw they finally found the courage, so that they began to undress.
I will now have to describe Mr de La Tour and Mr Gramont.
They both were of about fifty-five, maybe sixty.
The first was sallow, with rare and fine grey hair. He stooped a little, and he kept squinting, as if he was used to reading small figures off a ledger. As he undressed, he revealed a body that was all bones. The skin hung loose on them with many wrinkles.
The second gentleman was short and round. He had no hair left on his head, but for a pair of white moustaches and a small pointy beard on his chin. His cheeks and nose were red. In the same manner of his friend, old age had robbed his body of any beauty.
The wavering light of the candles made their appearance even more horrid, as the shadows within the hollows and underneath the protrusions on their bodies exaggerated them.
Both gentlemen had small penises, which they now were beginning to be stimulated by the thought of possessing such a fine lady. Emboldened, the two began to laugh a little.
'We're going to have a party,' one whispered to the other.
'Where will we start?' the other asked.
They walked closer to the bed.
My mistress smiled at them and said:
'My friends, it's great to see you again. I believe we will now get to know each other intimately. I ask you to behave as you wish, and to request what pleases you. I'm at your service.'