Rebellion in Her Touch
Copyright© 2026 by Rachael Jane
Chapter 8: The Proposal
While Colette is delighted at receiving her father’s support for Jean-Paul and Colette to marry, she is frustrated that she needed to ask her father in the first place. Ever since she was old enough to understand the differences between men and women, Colette has felt the stifling oppression heaped on bourgeois women by their menfolk, and society in general.
Even during their first meeting, Colette has felt a sense of hidden opportunity with Jean-Paul. Prior to that, men ... particularly those like her odious cousin Louis ... have attempted to dominate and demean her. With Jean-Paul, she feels that she has finally met a man who respects her as an equal. Of course, no bourgeois man and woman can be equals in the real sense of the word. A man is educated and trained from childhood, while girls are simply taught to be pretty ornaments, adorning the arm of her man.
Under Jean-Paul’s guidance, Colette has read widely, and she follows current affairs despite the constraints of bourgeois society. She has her own opinions on numerous topics, several of which are contrary to the views of her own father. Colette is delighted that Jean-Paul doesn’t discourage her from holding such views. Colette even has forthright opinions about sex, despite it being a taboo subject in her father’s household. It’s a ridiculous ban that underscores how little her father understands his own domain. Has he never noticed that the footmen and maids aren’t busy fucking each other in the quieter corners of the house?
Colette’s own personal maid, Sophie, has a reputation for lifting her skirts for any man who shows the slightest interest in ploughing her. That’s how Sophie first became suspicious of Jean-Paul. Here was a young man who didn’t leap at the offer Sophie was blatantly making. Of course, Sophie wasn’t so foolish as to admit to her mistress that Jean-Paul’s lack of interest in sex with her was the cause of Sophie’s suspicion. However, Sophie’s loyalty to Colette meant that she felt obliged to alert her to something strange about Jean-Paul.
“Don’t spread idle gossip,” warns Colette, when Sophie tells her of the latest round of gossip about Jean-Paul that is circulating the servants’ quarters. “Tell the other servants to mind their tongues or they will find themselves in trouble.”
“Yes, Mademoiselle,” replies Sophie. “But don’t you think it strange that your young man always refuses the services of a valet?”
“That’s none of your business, Sophie. There are plenty of other men about willing to sample your cunny. Leave Jean-Paul alone. He’s mine, and I don’t tolerate competition.”
There are times when Sophie oversteps her role as a personal maid. She is six years older than Colette and has been her personal maid since Colette was seven years old. In the early years they were like playmates, and a close friendship developed. However, once Colette became of marriageable age their relationship turned towards a more socially acceptable mistress and maid arrangement. Nevertheless there are times when their close bond re-emerges. Despite Colette needing to reprimand Sophie from time to time, she could no more dismiss Sophie than cut off her own arm.
“Do you know where Jean-Paul is at the moment?” asks Colette of Sophie.
“He is usually reading in the library at this time of day,” replies Sophie.
Colette doesn’t ask how Sophie knows so much about Jean-Paul’s movements. There is very little that happens in the house that one or other of the servants doesn’t know about. They talk among themselves at mealtimes, so Sophie’s knowledge is hardly surprising.
Colette finds Jean-Paul in the library, just as Sophie said he would be. He is busy reading one of the more recent newspapers from Paris. Invariably the Paris newspapers are several days old by the time they reach Lyon, despite the railway linking the two cities.
“What news from Paris?” asks Colette as a means of opening a conversation.
“The government seems to be gaining full control over the city,” replies Jean-Paul. “Life there appears to be returning to normal.”
“Are they still hunting down rebels from the Paris Commune?” asks Colette.
“There’s no mention of any recent arrests, so perhaps the witch-hunts are over.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Paris,” says Colette. “I love painting and I hear there are so many beautiful scenes to paint in Paris.”
“Then perhaps you will allow me to escort you there one day,” says Jeanne, without thinking about what such a proposal signifies.
“That would be lovely, but you will need to talk with my father first,” says Colette.
Trapped by her own carelessness, Jeanne agrees to talk with Henri about a more formal relationship between Jeanne and Colette. Were Jeanne a man, then she would ask Henri for permission to marry Colette. But that’s an impossible dream between two women. Jeanne would love nothing more than being Colette’s partner in life, but that means revealing her subterfuge first. Jeanne isn’t sure that she’s ready to do that just yet, but she knows that time is running out.
“What are your intentions towards my daughter?” asks Henri of Jean-Paul when they are alone in the sitting room.
“Sir?” queries Jean-Paul, surprised by the directness of Henri’s question. “Colette and I are close friends. I would do nothing to dishonour her.”
“If I thought you were likely to dishonour her you would already be out on the street. No. My question is when do you intend to ask her to marry you?”
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