Grin continued his narration, now almost oblivious of my presence. At times, he raised his hands and looked at objects only his mind could see, such was the transport of the emotion he was under. He spoke without pause:
'I returned after two years of absence from home. I had witnessed war and prison. Many men I knew well had perished, either torn by the bayonet or reduced to nothing by cold and starvation. While our march into Italy had been a triumph, under the guide of Captain Rifle, my return to France was the fearful race of the mouse that will not have the courage to look behind to see if the cat is still chasing him, but that always feels his claws and its teeth behind him.
'I walked at night, sleeping in ditches, eating what I could find scratching the frozen surface of the barren fields I walked across. Whether in my wake or in my dreams, I always feared the ball of a musket and the hand of the gaoler. Death itself was accompanying me, laughing at my attempts to escape her and to outsmart her.
'When I finally walked into Rennes and saw the old streets, not much changed, the people walking about, the signs of the shops filled with their wares, I fell on my knees and cried. I must have looked mad to those people who had lived their normal lives while war was raging all around me.
'I finally saw a familiar face, a friend. I hugged him and cried, as if he was the first living creature I had seen in many months.
'The man pushed me away. "Who are you?" he asked.
'He could not recognise me, such was the transformation I had gone through.
' "I am Grin," I said. I reminded him of the nights we spent drinking, or the women we had shared.
'He could hardly believe I was the same man.
' "What happened to you?" he asked me, when he finally recovered.
' "War," I whispered. "Auguste and I left with many others, and only I return."
'The man laughed at my words: "Auguste? But he lives. And well."
'I asked him to tell me more. Had my old friend survived? I had lost him during the charge of our camp. I believed he too had died, like many others that morning.
' "Go see for yourself," that friend said, and he gave me the address.
'I came to this very house. The one you've been living in. As I walked through the gate, I was surprised by the largess of the property and believed that Auguste was now employed as a servant of the master of the house.
'I knocked at the door.
'A woman opened the door. My appearance must have frightened her: I was dirty and scared and hunger had removed all flesh from my bones so that I must have resembled the dancing skeletons you see carved on the headstones of the graveyard.
' "Is Auguste in?" I asked.
'I was eager to see my old friend. I wanted to ask him how he had escaped and what had happened to him.
'Imagine my surprise when the woman informed me that her master was not to be disturbed.
'Her master! This woman must have been playing a practical joke…
'The woman looked at me with worried eyes, and I understood that this was no joke, and she had taken me for a beggar.
' "Would you tell Auguste – your master – that Grin lives and is here to see him?" I asked her.
'But Auguste must have heard my voice from within the house for he was soon at the door. He was dressed like a gentleman, and he bore little resemblance to the prisoners I had shared my captivity with.
' "Auguste, my friend…" I said.
'If he was surprised or glad to see me, he wouldn't show him. He smiled and calmly invited me to come in.
' "You look hungry," he said.
'I said I was, and he brought me into the kitchen, where he offered me some food.
'I was now very humble indeed, feeling dirty and famished, eating before my old friend, as if I was accepting the charity from a much superior man, and not from a companion who had lived the same life as I.
'I wanted to ask many questions to August, but I felt suddenly ashamed of my condition and much in awe of his station. I knew not how to speak to my old friend anymore.
' "How long have you been in town?" he asked.
' "I arrived only today," I replied.
'Auguste asked me if I had a bed to sleep for the night, and whether I had some money.
'I replied I had neither.
' "Here, Grin,' he said, handing me a coin.
'I thanked him repeatedly, now wanting to leave his company, such was my shame before such a superior man, but he said that, if I needed a bed and some money, I could work for him.
' "I will need someone to run house for me. Someone I can trust," he said.
'I didn't need to think about it and readily accepted.
' "Then you might wash first," he said, now betraying his disgust for the way I looked. "Dauphine!" he called.
'The woman that had opened the door, that I had taken for a maid, reappeared. Having recognised the name, I looked at her better, and I saw plainly that this was the same woman that August had been in love with. She was the daughter of his employer.
' "Delphine," he told her, "this is my good friend Grin. He will be our Major Domo. He will run the house for us, and I wish you give him whatever assistance he requires to get to know what's required.
'The woman smiled at Auguste and said, in a voice that trembled with reverence, that she would do as he commanded.
'Delphine then accompanied to my room, where I could wash and change.
' "If you wish, Mr Grin," she said, "I can have your clothes washed and procure you some fresh ones."
'I could not understand how this woman, who I believed to be very wealthy and who had acted so superior towards Auguste while he was courting her, was now addressing me in such humble terms, as if she was but a common servant in the house.
'When I was in my room, Delphine asked me if I needed some assistance, and, when I said that I thanked her very much, but I didn't require anything further, she insisted, saying: "I know my husband's requirements, Mr Grin, please allow me to help you with your clothes."
'These words surprised me more than anything that day: Auguste had married Delphine! I couldn't understand what had changed her father's heart, how Auguste had convinced the old man to give his only daughter away to a man without a title or a fortune. And then, why was now this lady offering to assist a dirty urchin such as I with his bath?
'Delphine was a very beautiful woman: she was tall with a long erect neck, fine hair, and long hands. She moved with grace as it's typical of women of her upbringing.
'I therefore felt a thrill when she rested her fingers on my body and helped me disrobe. I must have looked a piteous sight, emaciated from the months of privation and, having not washed in nearly two years, very soiled. I tried to cover myself, to hide my shameful parts, but Delphine didn't see to mind my nudity, and she showed neither contempt nor disgust for my current state. She was much obliging and careful with her touch, as if she feared she might hurt me.
'She walked me to a bathroom, where I could wash. But, before I could run some water, Delphine was beside me. "Why don't you help me with my dress, Mr Grin?" she asked.
' "But Auguste…" I began.
'She smiled such a sad smile and repeated: "I know my husband's taste," after which, she began to undress.
'Her skin, that Nature had made of the purest marble, was crossed in many parts by scabs and old scars.
' "Mr Grin, why don't you take me?" she asked me, almost surprised that I hadn't done so already. She then came closer and said: "Don't you see that I want you?"
'I was very much surprised by these words, and I certainly didn't want to offend my old friend by lying with his wife, but my animal spirits awoke at her touch.
' "I am honoured to see you desire me," she said, now staring at my cock that had become quite hard at the sight of her naked body.
'I protested once more, saying that I was too dirty for her.
' "But that's what I deserve…" she replied. "Allow me, Mr Grin," she said, taking my dick in her hand. "Oh, how bad you smell," she said coming even closer.
'I once again offered to wash the dirt away, but Delphine began to masturbate me, repeating: "You are so filthy, and you will soil me all over…" as if this was her greatest desire, rather than something that would repel her. "I want to taste your mouth, Mr Grin," and when she kissed me, I felt her body shiver and her throat wretch with disgust.
'I was confused by these actions and wished to spare her such indignity, but I was now so inflamed with passion that I dared not resist any longer. I grabbed her sides with my hand and pulled her towards me.
' "Yes, Mr Grin!" Delphine exclaimed.
'I made her lie on the floor.
'She readily spread her legs and, sliding two fingers into her vagina, pried her pussy wide open.
'I could not wait any longer and lay on top of her. I entered, pushing my dick into her.
'Delphine asked me to fuck her harder. "Slap my little tits," she said.
'She seemed to receive great enjoyment from these hits, and, emboldened by this, I squeezed her nipples hard until she cried: "Spit on my face, I beg you!"
'Once again, I did as she asked me.
' "More!" she cried.
'So, I spat once more, until her face was covered by my drool. As I did so, she used a hand to spread my saliva on her face and neck and onto her chest. When she begged me to spit in her mouth, she drank it with great relish, as if this was a much-needed medicine that could cure that passion that had taken her.
'All the while, I was fucking her without restraint. With each hit of my tool into her, she screamed louder and louder: "Fuck me harder! – Spit on me! – I'm a dirty sow! – Ahhh! Mr Grin, how I come!"
'I then abandoned any restraint. While she was still under me, I took my dick out of her pussy and, making her raise her legs, I entered her anus.
'This inflamed her further and caused her an even greater pleasure. "Yes… In my ass… Ahhh! How big you are!" Such was her desire that she put two fingers into her pussy to increase her pleasure. This seemed not to be sufficient, so she put all five fingers inside that opening, and, slowly, fit her whole fist inside her. As I was fucking her ass and she was fisting herself, she cried out with great transport, her eyes rolling in her socket, as if all this pleasure might drive her mad. Finally, she removed her fist, which appeared very wet. "See?" she asked, "I'm dripping all over!" Having said that, she promptly began to lick to taste the flavour of her own horniness, making loud slurping sound: "Mmmh! I taste like a true whore!"
'I then gave a great push with my dick, and a great gushing of urine came from her pussy, as Delphine seemed unable to contain herself. "Aaaaah! Oh, my fucking God! Screw the Virgin Mary!" she blasphemed. In this position, much of this liquid flew onto her body, and this seemed to please her greatly. "You made me piss myself, like a little bitch…. Mmmh… Yes!"
'This scene, although so unnatural and strange, filled me with such pleasure that I could not contain myself further, and I fucked her in great strong swings in that tight hole as she screamed, grabbing her sides and drawing her towards me.
' "Don't stop! – Aaah! – Fuck it! – Stretch it! – Oooh, yeah! Slap me, slap me, slap me!", she screamed.
'I slapped her face, and after each hit she cried: "Yes, again!", and, knowing I was about to come, I yelled: "Take it! Yes… Take it! Oooh, shit!" until I came inside her.
' "Thank you, Mr Grin, how this pleases me," she said, now appearing calmer and breathing heavily from the great effort, feeling the warm sperm flood and rest inside her asshole. "Now, let me clean you, if you please," she added, and she made me rest with dick close to her mouth, so that she could lick it thoroughly, sucking any drop that was left inside it, cleaning the tip, then then shaft. Finally, she begged me to sit on her face and offer my anus to her, so that she could lick it over and over with her tongue.
' "Did I do well, Mr Grin," she then asked me meekly. "Look at what I mess you've made of this poor girl."
'I contemplated the effect: she was lying on the floor, the dirt that had been on my body now had smeared onto her skin; she had my spit on her face and her piss all over her body; on her fist was her own sticky pleasure; from my dick she had tasted her own ass and my semen; finally, she had licked my ass.
'She asked me again if she had done well. "Have I satisfied you?" she asked and appeared in a state of great calm and happiness once I assured her that I was very satisfied.
' "I know what men really want from a woman, and I wish I could give it to all of them over and over, like a very obedient girl," she said.