Chapter 7

Jenny was, indeed, walking on her own as they approached the manor. Her malady was more one of the mind, rather than some physical illness that required time to heal. In truth, the normalcy of the three of them caring for her had done much to banish the shock that had so immobilized the girl.

Of course I was aware that the three of them were approaching. Cynthia, the parlor maid, notified me.

I suppose I should explain that. There may be some among you who are not familiar with life as it proceeds on an estate such as that ruled by The Earl of Haversham. Of primary importance on a peer's estate is that he and his lady (and their children, to a very slightly lesser degree) must never be made to wait to pursue whatever activity is planned. The entire staff is in place to ensure that the Lord and Lady remain happy and satisfied. It is simply the natural state of affairs, among the nobility.

To that end, servants on an estate - good ones, that is - cultivate the ability to discern, without being told, what the master and mistress might be in need of in any random situation. Say, for instance, that Cynthia, the parlor maid, happens to look out a window, and sees Her Ladyship, in somewhat disheveled condition, with bits of straw clinging to her hair, which is down, rather than coiffed. And say that Cynthia also sees her lady's two maids, looking like they had been dragged behind a wagon. Such would be an unusual sight for Cynthia to see. It is likely, in Cynthia's mind, that something untoward has happened to her lady, and that she may need to be attended to. Normally, that would fall to her maids, but since they, too, have been involved in whatever catastrophe has struck ... then perhaps Wadsworth should be advised of the situation.

That is how things work, and an excellent example of why I am capable of filling in so many details in this story. I have eyes and ears everywhere. And fact is fact, whether it is going on at the moment, or being recounted from a place in the past.

They tried to sneak in, but I intercepted them, of course.

"May I be of service, My Lady?" I asked, as they entered the scullery door.

"Wadsworth!" gasped Penelope. I confess I actually smiled. It was quite difficult to startle this interesting woman. But she recovered apace. "Jenny has fainted, and needs time to recover her senses. I am taking her to my rooms, where it will be quiet."

"I will see to refreshment," I said. She knew I would not ask why the girl had fainted. Nor would I inquire why they had used the scullery entrance, rather than the one to the sitting room, which would have been a more direct route to her chambers. If I needed to know, she would tell me. I glanced at Sally, whose eyes were cast down. That informed me that whatever adventure they had been on, it was a nefarious one. I would speak with her later. While it was improper for me to interrogate Her Ladyship, such was not the case when it came to the help. In any case, I had other ways of gathering information. I had resisted using them, to this point, but I suspected that resistance would begin to fade very soon.

"Thank you, Wadsworth," said Penny.

I went to the kitchen and instructed cook to prepare a snack of fresh fruit for Marie, the kitchen maid, to take to Her Ladyship's chambers. Then I sought out the housekeeper and told her to get a bottle of light, sweet wine and have Jane, the housemaid, take it to Her Ladyship's rooms. Understand that, to this point in time, all I knew was that I was Her Ladyship's confederate, in terms of some sexual adventure. I had not yet learned all the details I have laid out for you. But I had a duty to the young men and women I supervised, and now that Jenny and Sally had apparently been involved in some reckless adventure, it was time for me to make closer inquiries. Of course, to do that, I must involve others of the staff, who were, in fact, my eyes and ears.

Woe, woe is me. Had I only known I was merely throwing more innocent younglings into the fiery pit of immorality, I would never have arranged that simple afternoon snack. Or, at least, I would have taken it to them myself. But that is not what happened, and I must live with that for the rest of my life. Such are the travails of the righteous.

No matter. I will bear my burdens, one of which is resuming the tale.

To that end, I confess that I began to use the secret passageways and peepholes that day. There was one associated with Her Ladyship's chamber, of course. It was originally an escape tunnel. Some cretin had bored peepholes in the walls at some point after escape tunnels were no longer needed. Other cretins had, no doubt, used those peepholes for their own prurient pleasure, since they all let into bedchambers and such. I, of course, merely used them to gather needed information, so that I could properly perform my duties.

I went to the peephole that let into Her Ladyship's chambers now. I removed the scrap of canvas upon which someone had painted an eye. On the other side of the wall hung a portrait.

My eye would now take the place of the painted one.

I think Her Ladyship knew that a corner of some sort had been turned. She was aware that both her maids were now privy to more of the secrets of adult sex, even if they had only been secret observers, rather than participants. It is normal for a doer of wickedness to seduce others into performing the same sin. The intent is to make everyone arrive at the conclusion that the sin in question isn't a sin at all. Rather, it is merely part of normal life. Or at least the guilt of going wrong is shared by all, leaving none to point the finger of righteousness.

It is for this reason (I believe) that Penelope's first act upon getting her maids back into the sanctuary of her chambers was to require they strip down and bathe together. Admittedly, they were dusty and disheveled, but they could have bathed separately, as a decent woman does. And then, to turn the screws (torture, by then was a thing of the past, at least as far as actual thumbscrews, but Her Ladyship had a way of forcing people into doing things, ) she dropped her clothing and climbed in with them as well!

The tub was most generously sized for one person. The previous Lady of the Manor had been generously sized herself. The material needed for just one of her gowns would make two or three for Penelope. I was a young man when the tub arrived, and of course I had no knowledge of where it came from. It was an ornate thing, made of beaten copper, with scenes of Sapphic orgies tooled into its surfaces. The images were tiny, so the casual observer didn't notice what their subject was, but I had seen them up close over the years. Now, those images came to life inside the tub.

Do not ask me why I didn't find it odd that the tub was already filled with water. It couldn't have been warm water, but the day was quite warm, and cool water refreshes. In any case, I didn't give that a thought.

As I was saying, the tub was quite large for one normal sized person. Two fit in it quite nicely, especially if they were girls in their mid to late teens. Add a third - and a grown woman at that - and things got very personal. Now add in slippery, scented soap, three women whose emotions were still roiling, and passion that was only partly assuaged, or assuaged not at all.

Again, Penelope's talent for introducing a piece of sexual insanity into normal life, and making it seem quite at home there, came into play.

"Are you sure you're all right?" asked Her Ladyship, taking her lady's maid into her naked embrace.

"I was ... disconcerted," admitted Jenny, who found the embrace of her mistress rather comforting, instead of odd, or perverse.

"As could be expected," said Penny. "It wasn't intended for you to see that." (She lied. I'm sure of it!) She reached for Sally, and pulled her into the three-way naked embrace. "Neither were you. How fared you during your unwise peeping episode?"

The tip of the iceberg was thus revealed. They had, in fact, been peeping. They would be punished for that. Any lady's maid would expect that. Any servant of any kind would expect that. Her Ladyship would succor them, initially, to ensure they were not damaged ... because she intended to damage them herself, when she punished them.

At least that's how it would have been in any decent house.

Sally was thus distracted from the wet, naked skin of other women rubbing up against her own wet, naked skin. I'm telling you, Penelope was a genius of seduction, and knew uncanny ways to pull innocents into her web of lust!

"We're so sorry," cried Sally. "And it was my fault. I made Jenny come with me. I just wanted to see."

"See what?" asked Penny.

Now in normal circumstances, most girls would have said, "See what we just saw, of course!" But being in a tub of water, with your mistress's slippery hands rubbing up and down your back, and along your arms, has a way of casting things in a slightly different light. Especially if your blood is already boiling to begin with. And, as everyone knows, girls form closer bonds between themselves than boys form with other boys.

"Well ... whatever you were going to do with Jack," said Sally.

"I suspect you knew what I was going to do with Jack," said Her Ladyship.

A faint tapping came on the door.

"Yes?" called out Her Ladyship.

The door opened and Marie entered with a plate of sliced apples and biscuits. She stopped, as if frozen when she saw the three women in the tub, but then curtsied, for some abstruse reason. It certainly wasn't a curtsying situation. Penelope wasn't even dressed! "Mum," she said, so softly I could barely hear it.

"Delightful, Marie," said the mistress, smiling as if everything in the room were quite normal. "Put them on the table."

The girl scurried to do so and quickly left the room. I wasn't worried that Marie would gossip about what she'd just seen. Marie barely ever spoke to anyone.

"Now," said Her Ladyship. "I believe you were about to admit that you knew exactly what you'd see when you peeked."

"I suppose so," sighed Sally, as the mistress' hand accidentally slid across her firm, young breast.

Penny looked at her otherlady's maid, who was still flushed, and more than just a little touching in a bath would cause.

"You knew what we were going to do, as well," she said. "Why did you torment yourself by going to watch?"

"I was worried," said Jenny, being truthful.

"Whatever were you worried about?"

"I don't want to answer," said Jenny. "You'll be cross with me."

"Why don't we let me decide if I'm going to be cross or not," said the lady. Her other hand was also sliding all over Jenny's back and arms. There was just enough extra accent on the "me" that the usual relationship between mistress and servant was restored ... at least temporarily.

"His face," whispered Jenny. She looked fearful, but closed her eyes and went on. "I know he didn't fall off his horse."

"And how do you know this?" asked Penny. There was an edge to her voice. If Jack had told anyone about her discipline, she was going to be very unhappy.

"He's too good a rider," said Jenny. "He's spent too many years in the saddle, riding horses that were wild, some barely broken. It's just impossible."

"So how did his face get marked, then?" The edge was gone from her voice.

Jenny looked at her mistress. Her mouth worked, but nothing came out.

"Go on," said Penelope, gently.

"I think you put the marks there," she whispered.

"You saw me with him today," said the lady. "Did it appear there was any enmity between us?"

"No." Jenny said it in a tiny, soft voice.

There was a knock at the door. Jane, the housemaid, put her head in the doorway. When she saw the tub full of women, she looked shocked, and then away.

"I have the bottle of wine Wadsworth instructed me to bring, Mum. And Jack, the groom is here. He says he has a message for you, Mum."

"Thank you, Jane," said Penelope, as if she were merely sitting in a chair, fully clothed, stitching or some such thing. "Put the wine on the table there, and tell the groom to wait in the anteroom. You need not wait with him. He will not disturb us. I'll get to him bye and bye."

"Mum," said Jane, ducking her head. The door closed.

It was quiet for perhaps a minute, until the lady of the manor turned to Jenny.

"Remember when Louis needed a bath, and his clothing needed a washing as well? Sally helped her brother with these tasks. Now your brother waits without, and is in need of exactly the same treatment. Hop out, girl, and go invite him in."

The response, of course, was a wide-eyed, shocked girl.

"Go on," said Penelope, sliding her hand down to goose the girl's soft bottom.

"But I'm naked!" gasped the girl.

"As was Sally in front of her brother."

"But this is different," whined Jenny. "I have seen you ... with my brother!"

"Did I not suck the nectar from sweet Louis in front of his sister as well?"

Jenny blinked. Her mouth opened. She looked from the lady to Sally, who was equally nonplussed, and then back to Her Ladyship.

"If I go and let him in, the bed is much closer to the door than the bath is," she said, slyly. "I fear I'd not make it back to the bath before being spread on the bed first. Is that what you wish to see again?"

Jenny scurried, climbing out of the bath and walking to the door. She dripped along the way, and left footprints in her wake. She was so unnerved when she got there that she opened the door in the usual manner, standing there upright, and swinging the door wide.

Jack had seated himself on the floor, and was confronted with his naked sister. His gulp was audible.

Habit is a refuge, and Jenny used it.

"Her Ladyship requests your presence," she said, formally.

He stood, looked both ways, and then stepped into the chamber.

Her Ladyship, flanked by Sally in the bath, looked at him with interest.

"You have a message for me?"

"No," he said. "You told me to come."

"Lower your trousers, young man," said the woman who was only two or three years senior to the man in question.

He hesitated, which Jenny expected him to do, but then worked at the rope he wore as a belt. That, she did not expect. Not with Sally and her present, anyway. When he pushed them down, his rampant pole was displayed, and his reaction to seeing his sister in her current condition was no longer secret.

"Ahhhh, there is the message you have brought us." Penelope grinned. "The girls needed a bath. You do too. The water is used, but not completely. Come. Let us not waste it."

Both women stood. Sally fairly leapt out of the tub, and went to get a towel. She also retrieved a chemise, which she prepared to put on.

"No, no, no," said Her Ladyship, wagging her finger at her maid. "I suspect Jack likes the view exactly as it is."

Sally flushed, but ducked her head and placed the unneeded garment on the bed. She brought the towel to her mistress, who took it and languidly stroked her body.

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Penelope, Mistress of the Manor

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