Rebellion in Her Touch
Copyright© 2026 by Rachael Jane
Chapter 7: The Storm
One Sunday afternoon in late spring, Colette and Jean-Paul return from their now regular walk along the riverbank to find Louis visiting his uncle.
“You are looking particularly radiant this afternoon, cousin,” simpers Louis to Colette.
“Thank you, cousin. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company,” replies Colette in an icy tone.
“I am merely paying my respects to my beautiful cousin before I depart on business for a few weeks.”
“And where are you off to this time, Louis?” asks Colette out of politeness rather than any real interest in Louis’s movements.
“My business takes me to Besançon and Belfort,” replies Louis. “Isn’t Besançon near where your family resides, Jean-Paul?”
“I’ve no living family in that region these days,” replies Jeanne, suspicious of Louis’s reason for asking.
After an hour of stilted conversation, their unwelcome guest departs. Colette makes an excuse to retire to her room to shake off her embarrassment at some of Louis’s sexual innuendos directed at her. She’s more than a little annoyed that her father didn’t intervene and defend her honour. That was left to Jean-Paul, even though he was under no obligation to do so.
With Louis away, the regular household routine resumes. During the week, Jeanne is kept busy at the factory, running errands and generally assisting Henri manage his business. Although Jeanne has no interest in becoming a factory manager, she nevertheless quickly learns the trade. Before long the supervisors and foremen at the factory respect Jeanne’s advice and decisions without double-checking with Henri.
While Jeanne is at work, Colette develops her passion for painting and music. She even manages to sell a small painting at a charity event. Since Anaïs is the only one of her friends who shares an interest in both music and art, Colette spends much of her free time in the company of Anaïs. Their close liaison also gives Colette an insight into the dark and slightly perverted world in which Anaïs chooses to live.
Colette has known for a while that Anaïs willingly submits to treatment from her male friends that Colette would instantly reject. It’s only Anaïs’s insistence that she likes men to treat her like the dirt beneath their feet that prevents Colette from taking further action. Colette could never submit to a man in the way Anaïs does instinctively. However, Colette would be the first to admit that her sexual experiences are extremely limited, so she simply takes a passive observer role.
While spending time with Anaïs, Colette’s mind is opened to a whole new world of sexual perversions that are both exciting and terrifying. While every bourgeois woman is taught to be subservient to her father and husband, Anaïs takes that subservience to a whole new level of pseudo-slavery. Never in a million years could Colette submit to a man in the same way as Anaïs. However, Colette is less certain whether she would resist submitting to a woman with the same abhorrence.
What provokes further reflection by Colette on the subject, and considerable confusion, is where she would place Jean-Paul in her thoughts about submitting to another person. The subject is muddied by what Colette regards as submission. To Colette’s mind, Anaïs goes too far in humbling herself at the whim of a man. Indeed, Colette struggles to define what is submission, as opposed to being congenial and helpful? That Colette is even thinking about the issue is a revelation to her. Even so, the subject remains unresolved for now.
As spring turns towards summer, the traditional Sunday promenade along the river bank draws larger crowds. During winter and early spring the walk is typically the sole domain of courting couples. The river becomes a popular for bathing once the river level drops after the spring snow melt has finished. Neither Colette nor Jeanne intend to join the young people happily splashing about in the shallower parts of the river. In Colette’s case, that’s because bourgeois ladies should never be seen frolicking in the river with commoners. Jean-Paul chooses to stay fully clothed for obvious reasons.
Although the weather remains fine in Lyon, the residents can see the dark clouds of a fierce storm over the mountains far to the east. Those with local knowledge are wary in such weather. The docile river can quickly swell as the run-off from the mountains makes a headlong charge for the sea. However, neither Colette nor Jeanne are aware of this piece of wisdom. Educating young bourgeois ladies in such facts is considered a waste of time by their menfolk.
While there are fewer than the usual number of bathers this particular Sunday, it seems that Colette and Jeanne aren’t the only ones unaware of the pending danger posed by the distant storm. As the pair stroll along the riverbank, Jeanne is the first to notice a sudden change in the flow of the river. At first she doesn’t think it poses any danger, so she and Colette continue their walk. It’s only when Colette points out branches being swept along by the fast current does the first hint of trouble register in their minds. Many of the bathers also become alert to the increasing current, and the hazards posed by floating debris. Almost as one, they scramble for the bank as quickly as possible.
One young boy isn’t quick enough to seek safety. The current has become too strong for him to make it safely to shore. He is being dragged along by the current into the deeper waters of the commercial docks. A score of people on the riverbank raise the alarm, but only Jeanne is brave enough to enter the water to rescue the young boy. It’s a perilous task, but Jeanne doesn’t consider the risks to herself as she half-wades and half-swims to the struggling boy. Twice she must change course to avoid floating debris barrelling along like torpedos. Shouts of encouragement and advice are shouted from the riverbank, none of which is of any help to Jeanne. Fortunately one man has had the foresight to locate a long length of rope, although his attempts to throw one end to Jeanne are thwarted by the strong current.
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