CHAPTER II
Three Pretty Milliners 'My cousin, Charlie Warner, just from the country to become a medical student. Miss Bessie, Annie, and Rosa Robinson, three as pretty and lovely little milliners as you ever saw or will see again,' said Harry, making the introduction as they entered.
The brothers kissed all three girls, and as it seemed the correct thing Charlie was not slow to follow their example, beginning with Rosa, the youngest, a fair, golden-haired, little beauty of seventeen; then Annie, with her light brown hair and hazel eyes, and finishing with Miss Bessie, a twentyyear-old darling, with dark auburn hair, and such a pair of glancing eyes as would almost ravish the soul of any softhearted youth who had not a stronger mind than our young hero, who looked on all girls as playthings rather than as being worthy of serious love.
'What a pretty supper the confectioners have sent in for you — fowls, tongue, and champagne — it made us rather expect something unusual, and we are so pleased to see Mr.
Warner; besides you know there is no jealousy here, and his fair face is a delightful contrast to you two rather dark gentlemen,' said Annie, adding, 'and you, Frank, are my partner for the evening, as Harry was my cavalier last time; and I'm so glad there's Mr. Warner for Rosa, although Bessie and I shall feel rather jealous about it, we can wait for our turns another day.'
'This is the jolliest place I know of,' said Harry, handing Bessie to her seat at the table; 'everything ready to hand, and nothing cleared away till we are gone; no flunkeys or parlourmaids to wait on us or listen to every word, and we can do as we like.'
'Not exactly, Sir,' put in Annie, 'even when the light is out you must behave yourselves.'
'We have a little longer this evening for our dark seance,' said Frank; 'we are taking Charlie to the theatre, and to Scott's for supper, so they don't expect us till half past
twelve or so, and the housekeeper will sit up for her reward, won't she, Harry?'
'What's that,' pouted Rosa, giving a sly look; 'oh, those two boys are dreadful, just as if they would want any more of 'that' when they got home.'
'Oh, she never tells tales, so we kiss her,' answered Frank.
'Tell that to your grandmother. As if you could kiss without taking other liberties, Sir,' said Annie.
This kind of badinage lasted all supper time, but Charlie pledged the sisters one after the other so as not to show any marked preference, still at the same time in a quiet sort of way he tried all he could to make himself particularly agreeable to Rosa, who evidently was rather taken with him.
'It's so nice to have you to myself,' she said archly, as the supper had come to an end, 'but mind you are not too naughty when they turn out the gas.'
Something in her deep blue eyes and look so fired his feelings that taking her unresisting hand under the table he placed it on his thigh, just over the most sensitive member of the male organisation, and was at once rewarded by the gentle pressures of her fingers, which assured him she quite understood the delicate attention. The others were too absorbed in some similar manipulation to notice Charlie and Rosa, as he adroitly unfastened about three buttons of his trousers, and directing her hand to the place, and presently felt she had quite grasped the naked truth, which fluttered under the delicious fingering in such a way that very few motions of her delicate hand brought on such an ecstatic flood of bliss as quite to astonish Miss Rosa, and necessitate the sly application of a mouchoir to her slimy fingers, as at the same time she crimsoned to the roots of her hair, and looked quite confused, whilst he could feel that a perceptible tremor shot through her whole frame. Fortunately just at that moment Bessie turned off the gas, and instinctively the lips of Charlie and Rosa met in a long impassioned kiss.
Tongue to tongue they revelled in a blissful osculation.
He could hear a slight shuffling, and one or two deepdrawn sighs, as if the ladies felt rather agitated.
There was a convenient sofa in a recess just behind Charlie's chair, and Rosa seemed to understand him so well that he effected a strategic movement to the more commodious seat under cover of the darkness. There he had the delightful girl close to his side, with his right arm round her waist, whilst his left hand found no resistance in its voyage of discovery under her clothes. What mossy treasures his fingers searched out, whilst for her part one arm was round his neck, and the warm touches of her right hand amply repaid his Cytherian investigations in the regions of bliss. His fiery kisses roved from her lips all over her face and neck, till by a little manoeuvring he managed to take possession of the heaving globes of her bosom. How she shuddered with ecstasy as his lips drew in one of her nipples, and gently sucked the delicious morsel; a very few moments of this exciting dalliance was too much for her. She sank back on the couch, so that he naturally took his proper position, and in almost less time than it takes to write it, the last act of love was an accomplished fact.
Then followed delicious kissings and toyings; no part of her person was neglected, and when, as a finale, she surrendered the moist, dewy lips of the grotto of love itself to his warm tonguings, the excess of voluptuous emotion so overcame her that she almost screamed with delight, when the crisis came again and again in that rapid succession only possible with girls of her age.
They had been too well occupied to hear or notice anything about Bessie and Annie with their partners, but now an almost perfect silence prevailed in the apartment, till presently Harry spoke out, saying, 'I think the spirits have had long enough to amuse themselves; what do you say to a light?'
This was agreed to, and they spent another half hour with the ladies before taking leave of them for the night. It was as curious a feast of love as Charlie could possibly have imagined, and he was quite puzzled to make out what manner of girls these three sisters could be who bashfully objected to a light on their actions, and yet were as free with their partners as any of the mercenary members of the demimonde could have been.
'What a darling you are!' whispered Rosa to Charlie as he took a parting kiss, 'but I shan't have you next time unless there is an undress romp in the dark.'
Bessie pressed them to come to an early tea on Sunday, and have a long evening, when they would arrange some pretty game to amuse them. This was agreed to with many sweet kisses and au revolt, Sec.
CHAPTER III
Mrs. Lovejoy and the Servants in Bloomsbury Square It was nearly one a.m. when the boys got home to the Mortimer mansion in Bloomsbury Square.
'How late you are,' said Mrs. Lovejoy, the housekeeper, opening the door to them, 'and you have brought Master Charlie with you. I'm so glad to see him; your father has gone to bed hours ago, and I thought you would like a second course after your oyster supper at Scott's, so there's a little spread in my own room upstairs, only we mustn't keep it up too late.'
'You're a brick,' said Harry, 'we'll go upstairs so quietly past dad's door, and kiss you when we see what you have got for us/'
Mr. Mortimer pere being a rather stout gentleman, who objected to many stairs, had his bedroom on the first floor;
Harry and Frank's room was on the next flight, where their sisters also had their rooms when at home from school; the two servants and Mrs. Lovejoy located above them.
'There's my kiss,' said Frank, as on entering Mrs. Lovejoy's cosy room he saw a game pie and bottle of Burgundy set out for their refreshment.
Harry and Charlie also in turn embraced the amorous housekeeper, who fairly shivered with emotion as she met the luscious kiss of the latter.
'He's only going to stay this one night, so it's no good taking a fancy to my cousin; besides, can't you be content with Frank and myself?' whispered Harry to her.
'But you are such unfaithful boys, and prefer Mary Anne or Maria to me at any time,' she replied, pettishly.
'Yes, and Charlie is no better; he hasn't been in London one whole day yet without making up to the pretty
