having a very good time, but he was curious to know what went on at Nellie's. He had decided to try debauchery, so he probably ought to see the evening out, not quit halfway, he thought in the end.
Nellie's was in Princes Street, off Leicester Square. There were two uniformed commissionaires at the door. As the three young men arrived, the commissionaires were turning away a middle- aged man in a bowler hat. 'Evening dress only,' said one of the commissionaires over the man's protests.
They seemed to know Edward and Micky, for one touched his hat and the other opened the door. They went down a long passage to another door. They were inspected through a peephole, and then the door opened.
It was a bit like walking into a drawing room in a big London house. Fires blazed in two large grates, there were sofas, chairs and small tables everywhere, and the room was full of men and women in evening dress.
However, it only took another moment to see that this was no ordinary drawing room. Most of the men had their hats on. About half of them were smoking--something that was not permitted in polite drawing rooms--and some had their coats off and their ties undone. Most of the women were fully dressed but a few seemed to be in their underwear. Some of them were sitting on men's laps, others were kissing men, and one or two were permitting themselves to be fondled intimately.
For the first time in his life Hugh was in a brothel.
It was noisy, with men shouting jokes, women laughing, and a fiddler somewhere playing a waltz. Hugh followed Micky and Edward as they walked the length of the room. The walls were hung with pictures of naked women and copulating couples, and Hugh began to feel aroused. At the far end, under a huge oil painting of a complex outdoor orgy, sat the fattest person Hugh had ever seen: a vast-bosomed, heavily painted woman in a silk gown like a purple tent. She was sitting on a big regal chair and surrounded by girls. Behind her was a broad, red-carpeted staircase that presumably led up to bedrooms.
Edward and Micky approached the throne and bowed, and Hugh followed suit.
Edward said: 'Nell, my pet, allow me to present my cousin, Mr. Hugh Pilaster.'
'Welcome, boys,' said Nell. 'Come and entertain these beautiful girls.'
'In a while, Nell. Is there a game tonight?'
'There's always a game at Nellie's,' she said, and waved toward a door at one side of the room.
Edward bowed again and said: 'We'll be back.'
'Don't fail me, boys!'
They moved off. 'She acts like royalty!' Hugh murmured.
Edward laughed. 'This is the top stew in London. Some of the people who bow to her tonight will be bowing to the Queen in the morning.'
They went into the next room, where twelve or fifteen men were sitting around two baccarat tables. Each table had a white line chalked about a foot from its edge, and the players pushed colored counters across the line to place bets. Most of them had drinks beside them, and the air was full of cigar smoke.
There were a few empty chairs at one of the tables, and Edward and Micky immediately sat down. A waiter brought them some counters, and they each signed a receipt. Hugh said quietly to Edward: 'What are the stakes?'
'A pound minimum.'
It occurred to Hugh that if he played and won he could afford one of the women in the next room. He did not actually have as much as a pound in his pockets, but obviously Edward's credit was good here.... Then he remembered Tonio's losing ten guineas at the ratting. 'I shan't play,' he said.
Micky said languidly: 'We never imagined you would.'
Hugh felt awkward. He wondered whether to ask a waiter to bring him a drink, then he reflected that it would probably cost him a week's wages. The banker dealt cards from a shoe and Micky and Edward placed bets. Hugh decided to slip away.
He returned to the main drawing room. Looking more closely at the furniture, he could see that it was quite tawdry: there were stains on the velvet upholstery and burn marks on the polished wood, and the carpets were worn and ripped. Beside him a drunk man was on his knees, singing to a whore, while two of his friends laughed uproariously. On the next couch a couple were kissing with their mouths open. Hugh had heard that people did this but he had never seen it. He watched, mesmerized, as the man unbuttoned the front of the woman's dress and started to caress her breasts. They were white and flabby, with big dark-red nipples. The whole scene aroused and revolted Hugh at the same time. Despite his distaste, his prick grew hard. The man on the couch bent his head to the woman's bosom and began to kiss her breasts. Hugh could not believe what he was seeing. The woman looked over the top of the man's head, caught Hugh's eye, and winked.
A voice in Hugh's ear said: 'You could do that to me, if you like.'
He spun round, feeling as guilty as if he had been caught doing something shameful. Beside him was a dark-haired girl of about his own age, heavily rouged. He could not help glancing down at her bosom. He looked away again quickly, feeling embarrassed.
'Don't be shy,' she said. 'Look as long as you want. They're for you to enjoy.' To his horror he felt her hand on his groin. She found his stiff prick and squeezed it. 'My goodness, you are excited,' she said. Hugh was suffering exquisite anguish. He felt about to explode. The girl tilted her head up and kissed his lips, rubbing his prick at the same time.
It was too much. Unable to control himself, Hugh ejaculated into his underwear.
The girl felt it. For a moment she just looked surprised, then she burst out laughing. 'My God, you are a green one!' she said loudly. Hugh felt humiliated. The girl looked around and said to the nearest whore: 'I only touched him, and he creamed himself!' Several people laughed.
Hugh turned away and headed for the exit. The laughter seemed to follow him the length of the room. He had to restrain himself from running. At last he reached the door. A moment later he was out in the street.
The night had cooled a little, and he took a deep breath and paused to calm himself. If this was dissipation, he did not like it. The dollymop Maisie had been rude about his father; the ratting had been revolting; the whores had laughed at him. The whole lot of them could go to the devil.
A commissionaire gave him a sympathetic look. 'Decided to have an early night, sir?'
'What a good idea,' said Hugh, and he walked away.
Micky was losing money. He could cheat at baccarat if he had the bank, but tonight the bank would not come to him. He was secretly relieved when Edward said: 'Let's get a couple of girls.'
'You go,' he said, feigning indifference. 'I'll play on.'
A gleam of panic showed in Edward's eyes. 'It's getting late.'
'I'm trying to win back my losses,' Micky said stubbornly.
Edward lowered his voice. 'I'll pay for your chips.'
Micky pretended to hesitate, then give in. 'Oh, all right.'
Edward smiled.
He settled up and they went into the main room. Almost immediately, a blond girl with large breasts came up to Edward. He put his arm around her bare shoulders, and she pressed her bosom against his chest.
