two of slippers, a dozen or so pairs of stockings. That's for you. Now, you may also buy for me, while you are shopping-” Here he stopped and looked at her quizzically. “I reserve the right of having you purchase some articles of feminine apparel that are for my especial benefit.”
“For you, uncle?” exclaimed the girl, her eyes wide with astonishment. “Why, uncle! What can it be that you wish me to get for you?”
“Not for me, exactly,” he replied, kissing her. “What I want you to get is a half dozen pair of the finest, sheerest, thinnest drawers that you can find in the town. I will derive the satisfaction of seeing you appareled within them!”
“Oh, uncle,” murmured the girl, dropping her head and blushing in confusion, “you shame me so.” It did seem embarrassing to her to discuss such intimate articles of apparel with a man, and she blushed furiously.
“I want you,” said Lord Roxboro, placing a finger beneath her chin and tilting her face upward until he looked straight into her eyes, “I want you to get the thinnest, sheerest, silkiest, and laciest drawers that you can find in the shops. Be sure that they fit you tightly so that they will outline that divine form of yours. And open ones! Be sure of that! Get the ones that open as wide as possible and are slit down the back! None of the closed type, such as your present wardrobe possesses. Perhaps you can guess whether we may have need in the future for the open style.”
“But, uncle,” whispered the girl, “I have never worn the kind of-the kind of drawers that you mention. The open ones, especially! You know, the girls in the convent only wear the thick, closed kind!”
“You are no longer in the convent, my dear child,” said Lord Roxboro, bending over and kissing-the delicious girl, “and you are no longer a child, nor should you conduct yourself as such. You are now a woman and will henceforth wear a woman's garments; see that your clothes are stylish and of the best quality, you are fit to wear the best, with your beauty.”
“Very well, uncle,” said she demurely. “I will do exactly as you direct.”
“Good,” said Lord Roxboro. “I will have the coachman waiting at the side entrance as soon as you are ready to go. You may get your cloak, and I will order the carriage for you.”
With this the girl departed for her room to prepare herself for the shopping tour. Upon returning downstairs, she found the coach awaiting her. Lord Roxboro had already informed the coachman as to his desires, and Caroline, after seating herself within the carriage, leaned back against its silken cushions, and while musing over the exciting adventures that had occurred to her in the last twenty-four hours, she was rapidly driven to the town.
The coach presently stopped before what appeared to be an exclusive establishment and Caroline accepted the coachman's arm as he assisted her to alight. Upon entering, she was greeted by the proprietor, who informed her that Lord Roxboro had directed that she was to select anything she might desire, to be charged to his account.
Caroline immediately busied herself in the selection of gowns, shoes, hats, etc., then asked to be shown some lingerie. The shopkeeper displayed for her inspection some underthings of cambric such as were in vogue for girls of Caroline's age, but she brushed them aside, inquiring for better material.
The shopwoman then showed her a fine assortment of shimmering, foamy, lacy, silken garments, of the sheerest, thinnest texture and extreme lightness. Caroline selected six pairs of elegant drawers and an equal number of chemises, being careful to select the open style as per her uncle's directions.
Fingering the delightful texture and noting the extreme thinness and diaphanous nature of the garments, which would reveal more than they would conceal, she could not help a feeling of modesty at the thought of securing such lovely garments for the purpose of exposing herself to her uncle's delighted gaze, yet what woman wouldn't have been thrilled at the thought of wearing such beautiful garments?
Completing her purchases with several pairs of the sheerest of silken hose and several pairs of beautiful garters, she summoned the coachman, had him convey her purchases into the coach, and, seating herself therein, was driven rapidly back to the mansion.
Lord Roxboro was not in evidence upon her return, but calling the maid, she had her bundles transported to her boudoir, where she quickly unpacked them, delighted herself with admiring them, and then packed them away in the chest. Then making her way to the living room, she found her uncle had returned and was engaged in conversation with her sister, Freda.
Freda had evidently enjoyed her trip about the estate, and her cheeks were a fine, rosy color, her eyes sparkling with youthful health and spirits as she prattled on about the lakes, animals, etc., that had been the objects of her inspection.
As Caroline entered the room, Lord Roxboro rose to his feet and made her a courtly bow; she curtsied in return and seated herself on the couch to listen to Freda's prattle. Caroline could hardly realize that this man, this courtly gentleman, man of rank, had but a few short hours before assaulted her most brutally in his lust and had sacrificed her bleeding hymen upon the altar of his desires! A tenant of this house a bare twenty-four hours and no longer possessed of her virginity! It seemed scarcely credible. And yet, she could not feel badly toward him. He had been her first lover- perhaps not the type she would have selected had it been left to her romantic, girlish wishes, and yet certainly a virile, handsome man. Her eyes stayed to the front of his trousers, where was lodged that terrible engine that had so brutally outraged her virginity on the preceding night. Lord Roxboro, after the fashion of the time, wore a pair of rather light-colored and tightly fitting trousers, which outlined the shape of his legs and showed a decided lump where rested his manly organs. Glancing at Caroline, he noted that her eyes were fastened upon this part of his person; she suddenly looked up to meet his eyes, and immediately dropped her own, her face flaming crimson at the thought of having been detected in gazing at that portion of his body.
However, Freda was prattling on, and in the small talk that followed, the incident was allowed to pass apparently without notice.
In a few moments Lord Roxboro retired, leaving the girls by themselves. This gave them their first opportunity to converse together since the day before, at dinner.
“How do you like it here, Carrie?” queried Freda.
“Oh, it is very nice, indeed,” she replied. “I think we shall love it here with uncle. Do you like it here, Freda, as well as the convent?”
“Oh, yes,” the child replied, “I like it very much. Uncle is very nice to us and I hope he will allow us to remain here always. Oh, Carrie, you really should know how big and vast this estate is! And the chickens! And the horses! And the big stables! Come, I will show them to you, if you will walk with me.”
“Perhaps we had better first ask uncle's permission,” said Caroline, looking toward the door and wondering if her uncle was arranging for a further plaguing of her person. “It will be best, Freda, that we always tell uncle where we will be, at least until we have been here for a time. Wait until he returns and I will ask him if it will be all right for us to walk about the place. We must be very obedient and respectful to uncle, you know.”
At this juncture, Lord Roxboro appeared in the doorway, and Caroline in a demure voice inquired if it would be all right for the two girls to take a walk about the grounds.
“Oh, certainly,” he replied, patting her upon the shoulder and pinching Freda's cheek. “Run along and inspect the place. You haven't had a chance to do so as yet.” Apparently as an afterthought, he asked, “Oh, by the way, Caroline, did you take care of the errand I spoke to you about?”
“Oh, yes, uncle,” she replied. “Just as you instructed; I secured the material you ordered and it is in my room upstairs.”
“That is wonderful,” he said, rubbing his hands and beaming upon the two girls. “When you have returned I wish to see you in the library, girls. Be gone now, darlings, so you will have time to look about and be back in time for luncheon.”
With this the girls departed, and under Freda's eager guidance Caroline was conducted on a tour of the grounds. They were extensive, covered with rolling fields and green meadows. The stables were large and in splendid order, Lord Roxboro owning a string of fine-blooded horses, which he bred upon his estate.
At the present time the stables were apparently vacant with the exception of the custodian, a stalwart lad of about eighteen, of rough but handsome appearance. He stood by respectfully while both girls inspected the stables, answering all of their questions in regard to the horses and dogs and the estate in general. Caroline, noting the vast hayloft that filled the upper portion of the barn, asked her sister Freda if she had visited it upon her previous tour.
“Why, no,” cried Freda. “Let's go up and see it, Caroline.”
“Would it be all right if we went up and inspected the hayloft?” inquired Caroline of the boy.
