as they lay listlessly in each others arms, with their eyes shut, and their limbs loosely but lightly intertwined.
After this I stayed with them rather over a year, and during that time assisted at many of their little parties of pleasure.
At length Mr. Royston, who was really very fond of me, thought I ought to learn a business, so they brought me to town, and apprenticed me to Madame Coulisse, a fashionable milliner, who occupied the whole of the upper part of a large house in New Bond Street.
She had six young ladies as assistants, besides myself and three others as apprentices or improvers, as well as Miss Wallis, the cutter out and sub-manageress under herself.
Our hours were tolerably easy, in fact much more so than I had expected, after all the tales I had heard about overwork, etc. We were only kept to business from nine a.m. to six p.m. daily, in fact there never seemed a great abundance of work about, a few ladies certainly came every day upon business, but Madame evidently did not give great satisfaction, as I heard them complain of the work, and customers very seldom seemed to favour her with a second order.
The apprentices were sent to bed about eight o'clock, and we often heard loud laughing as if gentlemen were in the house, and a great deal of running up and down stairs.
Madame seemed very fond of me, and I was treated with great kindness, in fact she soon had me to act as a lady's maid to herself, and being often alone with her she got from me the complete tale of my previous life.
'Ma foi,' she exclaimed, when I had told her all, for she regularly wormed it all from me,
'but you are von leetle cocotte, I will soon make you grand lady. Phoebe is too common a name for my house, I will call you Vanessa, from Milord Byron — good name make fortune.'
Then she explained to me that her millinery business was all a sham to keep the house respectable, and that every evening gentlemen came to see the young ladies. 'You have gentlemans, and I give you Ane clothes, and no nothing to do.'
So the bargain was concluded as it were without my even saying a word.
CHAPTER II
It took a day or two for Madame Coulisse to rig me out with all new clothes. She actually sent me to another milliner to have my things made in the best possible fashion, then one Sunday afternoon she took me and two of her young ladies for a drive in Hyde Park, during which I noticed several gentlemen stop and speak to her in a lew tone, as they looked at me rather significantly. This was her market.
I was sold to advantage before we drove back to the house.
The same evening, about ten o'clock. MadLune sent for me to her boudoir, she had previously told me to make myself look my very best, as she expected to be able to introduce me to a very nice gentleman during the evening (of course keeping to herself the fact of having sold my maidenhead for a couple of hundred pounds).
On entering I saw a fine aristocratic-looking man seated by her side on a sofa.
'Allow me, Milord, to introduce Mdlle. Vanessa. Have you ever seen a prettier little thing, she is barely thirteen, and I warrant her genuine.' Then turning to me, 'This gentleman, Vanessa, wishes to honour you with his love, be as good a girl as you promised, my dear, and you will have nothing but happiness to look forward to in my house,' saying which she vanished from the room, and left me vis-a-vis with his lordship, who rose, kissed my lips, and drew me to his side on the sofa.
'So my little dear you are willing to make love with me, look, if I am pleased I shall give you these sovereigns,' showing me a handful of gold. 'When I make love I don't like crying and sulks, it takes it all out of me.'
I blushed awfully, but when he kissed me again I gave him a little one in return, as I clung round his neck, and promised to try and please him if he would not hurt me much.
'Ah, then you know a little, my dear?'
'Yes, madame has told me it hurts first, and gives great delight afterwards — I–I want to be a woman, sir!'
'And so you shall, let us undress, and try what yonder spring bed will do for us, by Jove! I'll take you and keep you if you please me, Vanessa, I want a girl no one has ever had.'
We were both soon reduced to a state of complete nudity, except stockings and garters, then lifting me on the bed he jumped up beside me, and began to examine all my charms, first my firm round little bubbies, then my mount just sprouting as it was with a light silky growth of hair, but the spot below was too attractive for him to linger long before he put his 6nger there.
It made me wince, the passage was too narrow and tender.
'You love!' he exclaimed, Ms eyes almost darting 6re as he spoke, whilst I actually saw his manly affair quite suddenly lift its head, which had up to this been only partially erected.
'You love! you're a real virgin, are you not?
How I shall love you, Vanessa! Now? be good, and bear a little pain for the sake of the pleasure to come, then I will pay the old bitch her money, and take you away. I won't leave such a jewel in her care for a moment, she would sell you again before to-morrow night. No, darling, you must belong to me alone!'
Then raising my buttocks, he put a pillow under my bottom, and getting between my legs, his fingers gently opened the lips of my pussey, and pointing the head of his moderate-sized
dart of love to the entrance, he pushed as far as it would go, then feeling the obstruction of my hymen, he paused for a moment, then thrust so suddenly and fiercely that I fainted from the excessive pain, but he effected his purpose at once, so that my defloweration was complete, and he was buried to the roots of his hair when I came to myself in a minute or two.
Presently he began to move, thrusting slowly in and out, with a poking kind of motion, then I felt his warm juice spurt right up into my vitals as it were, and so oil the wounded passage that I soon began to feel some pleasureable sensations, which increased as he went on again till I began to meet him with all the ardour of my warm temperament, now fairly aroused for the first time to the true joys of womanhood.
How we struggled, lovingly and yet almost furiously, to get more love from each other.
My champion was a good man, and his size just suited me, we swam in delight three times before he was compelled to cry a go.
Then embracing me most tenderly, he sponged my lacerated parts till he had cooled them, and removed all trace of the havoc he had committed. I really loved him for his tender kindness, and when he made me dress and took me in his carriage, in spite of all Madame's protestations that she would not have me taken away, I threw my arms round his neck and sobbed with tears of gratitude.
We went to a fine hotel, and the next day saw me installed as his mistress in a pretty suite of chambers at the West End, near Belgrave Square.
I do not want to mention his name, but shall simply call him My Lord, he was so kind to me, and I believe from the first almost loved me to distraction, he got French, English, and musical governesses for me, and took the greatest possible pleasure in seeing me do the honours of his table when a friend or friends visited at our chambers, but it was not to last long, only two brief happy, happy years, and then all was blown to the winds, at least of that real and pure happiness which I enjoyed with him.
He had a bosom friend, a Mr. Gower, in fact a regular chum, who spent hours with him every day, they were partners in every sport, on turf and in everything. He was a much younger and handsomer man than his lordship, and being so often in his company, sometimes he would call and catch me alone, and wait for my protector.
My God! what an oily tongue that serpent had!
How he flattered me and led me on till I really loved him as much as his friend, it was rank adultery. I felt I must have him, and that he would soon ask me to be unfaithful to my pro98 THE PEARL tector, to whom I owed my happiness, my all; still I knew I should yield, I had a fancy and couldn't help myself.
At last the fatal promise was given, but we had to wait for an opportunity for the feast of love we were to
