never have met me! But don't you know that a woman can and does love to… amuse… herself with women as well as with men? I can, for instance!'
'Yes! that may be! — but there aren't many like you! Most girls go after either girls or men. You are essentially a woman of pleasure, devoted to pleasure, loving pleasure for the sake of pleasure, — ready to taste it in any form, with complete indifference to the sex of the person that is communicating pleasure to you!'
'I am not worse than you, my friend!'
'I'm not reproaching you! I'm simply stating a fact, which explains why we understand each other so splendidly! You have learnt how men can induce pleasure and how women can impart it, — and so you go from sex to sex audaciously experimenting, without being able to decide which you like the best!'
'I'm exactly like you in this respect, my friend!'
'Yes! but with this one important difference, — the feminine sex satisfies my exigencies and my curiosity and generally in every direction in which I may be tempted to pursue my researches!'
'Prettily spoken, my friend! — Still, had I your present sweetheart as a pupil, I would soon inculcate in her quite as excellent principles only more in accord with my tastes; I would impress her with myself as an example and also to keep her from concentrating herself on any one person, be it male or female! More over, unless I am deceived by the look of her eyes, she possesses the right temperament for my teaching; and I fancy it would not be long before your little innocent friend is ready and willing to lend herself to all sorts of salacious variations of carnal love, — and who knows?
— may become the mistress both of yourself and of myself!'
Mme. de Liancourt laughed merrily, then continued, — 'But I won't ask for so much! I would like just to give her one lesson for your special benefit, — and I would even allow you to listen behind the door, so that you can judge for yourself whether I overstep the bounds of what a girl ought really to know!'
I fell in with her fantasy and I agreed to her suggestion. In my secret heart, the idea of having a woman as my rival in the affections of another woman was to me exceedingly piquant, — and I gladly left her to carry out her caprice.
Mme. de Liancourt accompanied me one day when I had arranged to meet Martha; and as soon as we discovered the latter she went forward by herself to meet her as from me, while I slipped off to her chambers. Mme. de Liancourt told Martha that the latter's husband was suspicious, and was endeavouring to have a watch kept on her. — And this was why I had not come to the rendez-vous, — that I had asked her to come instead to explain and to bring her to where I was awaiting her. After a little hesitation, Martha consented to accompany her to the Rue de Suresnes.
Presently (hidden in the small boudoir) I saw them come in and pass into the bedroom.
'You're quite safe here! You're in my own rooms! Here you can bill and coo as much as you please with your lover!'
Martha coloured to the tips of her little ears.
'But, Madame, Monsieur R. isn't my lover! We have never…'
'Really? My child, you have done well to tell me this, — you need fear no indiscretion on my part, for I also have a lover! The danger you were running has made me take an interest in you, and this is why I gladly brought you here at the request of Monsieur R… Really it was almost heroic of me to do so, for there are not many women who would go out of their way to bring to a mutual male friend another woman younger and prettier than herself I But it is so, dear, for you are certainly prettier than me!'
She kissed Martha. Then she invited her to lake off her wraps and to make herself at home. But when she observed that Martha remained fully dressed with the exception of her mantle, she said to her.
'Don't be afraid, dear! do make yourself at home and do as I do! You mustn't remain as you are and receive your lover so, — for men like to see their sweethearts in some dishabille when they come to visit them, — besides this, I have to change my dress for my evening's engagements. It will be pleasant to take advantage of this and see how some of my dresses will look on you, — an excellent idea — for should any one have followed us here and finds us so engaged, it will completely throw them off the scent!'
I admired the cleverness of this argument!
Mme. de Liancourt rapidly divested herself of her dress, corset, and petticoats till she had on her chemise only; then she proceeded to reduce Martha to a similar condition of undress, in spite of the latter's hesitation especially as to removing her corset, as she alleged that she should keep this on if she was to try on any dresses! This Mme. de Liancourt would not agree to!
'You wear very pretty under-clothing, dear! — no doubt you study his tastes in such details?'
This was a good guess, — for Martha had put on the corset we had bought together, also the lace petticoats and the delicately trimmed chemise. How delicate is the female instinct in the matter of attracting the male amorous desires!
'I do not know whether my dress will fit you, dear,' continued Mme. de Liancourt. 'I think I am bigger than you are in the bust!'
Under this pretext she threw open her chemise and exhibited her breasts, which she set to work to compare with those of Martha, after having first unfastened and opened the latter's chemise.
'What deliciously white and firm little bubbies you have, dear! I expect you have often been complimented on them! A very fortunate man is your lover, — of course I don't mean your husband, — for if the latter saw you thus, I suppose he would trop to spoil these little darlings, where as your lover would know how to show his appreciation of them by his caresses.'
'Suppose he should suddenly turn up and catch us as we are!
'I should rush off into any corner that I could!' replied Mme. de Liancourt with a smile she endeavoured vainly to repress! She added:
'But at a ball we women show quite as much of ourselves as you and I are now doing! I, at all events, have my dresses cut low enough to let my nipples be seen! Besides, it is only a woman with a bad figure that objects to be found naked or practically so! I'm not one of that lot! — see!'
With a touch, she caused her chemise to fall to her feet, and stepped forward out of it in all her glorious nudity, the effect being heightened by the contrast caused by triangular patch of tawny golden hair at the junction of her belly and thighs and her black silk stockings with their rose-tinted garters worn above the knees!
'This is how I meet my lover!' she said.
Martha became scarlet!
'How you are blushing, dear! Is it because of the sight of me standing naked? If so, you remind me of one of my girl friends who declares that the sight of me naked excites her much more than the sight of a naked man would do! Every time she comes to see me, she insists on my undressing myself completely in front of her! — and then you should see how she kisses and embraces me juste as if she was playing with a naked man! Then she will go and do a thousand and one improper and indecent things to me which at first used to make me feel horribly ashamed, but which now I really like — ever to the length of paying her back in the same coin! Ot! it's lovely! And mind you, we're not deceiving our husbands! Strange, but true! isn't it, eh?'
She kissed the blushing Martha, and continued:
'Even since, I have had lovers and… enjoyed them; I still recollect how delicious those tete-a-tetes with my girl friend were! We used to caress and kiss each others breasts, like this…'
'Oh! you're biting me!'
'Doesn't your lover do this to you?… Oh! see how the pretty little nipples are stiffening and standing out!'
'Oh! Madame, you're tickling me!.. Oh I take away your hand!.. Oh! what are you doing!.. No!.. no!.. I don't want it!'
Mme. de Liancourt had seized Martha and was passionately clasping her against herself, holding her tightly with one arm round her waist while she slipped her other hand between Martha's thighs! The latter, utterly surprised by this sudden attack, could only struggle feebly!
'Oh!.. but Madame, what… are you going… to do… to me?'
'Make love with you, darling! I'm gone on you! Don't you know how one woman can adore another? — how two women can mutually prove their love for each other? — Let me show you! But you surely must know all about it! At school, didn't one of the bigger girls take charge of you, and teach you… this? Ah! — you're blushing now. Oh! you little humbug!..'
