Deceived

'May I not remain?' her stepdaughter replied. 'You are going to speak to Cally of the physical side of marriage, aren't you, Mama? I might as well hear it now, as you probably won't be with me when I marry.'

'But you are not departing for England for several months,' Oralia replied. 'We will speak then, Aurora.'

'I would rather hear it all with Cally, Mama.'

'Oh, please let her stay,' Cally begged prettily.

Oralia shrugged. She was uncomfortable enough as it was. It was actually a very practical idea to get this little speech all over and done with just once. 'Very well,' she acquiesced. 'Marriage has many aspects to it,' she began. 'A good wife respects her husband. She keeps his house, and if he so desires, she may even offer him her counsel. But a woman's chief duty, my girls, is to give her husband children. In order to do this, she must cojoin her body to his and receive his seed into her womb. For some women this is a pleasant duty, and she may even enjoy her husband's passion.'

'Did you?' Aurora asked frankly.

Oralia blushed. 'I did with your father,' she said low.

'But not with mine?' Cally asked.

Oralia bit her lip, but then said candidly, 'Your father was not as gentle a man as was Robert Kimberly. While all men are basically alike in their forms, each is different in the manner in which he makes love to his wife. You must be prepared for this, both of you. Cally, I believe your duke will be kind and patient. Permit him the freedom of your body, for it is his right. You must not deny him.'

'What will he do?' Cally asked curiously.

'Each man has an… um… um… an…'

'Appendage?' Aurora suggested.

'How on earth did you know that?' her mother gasped.

'I remember seeing George had one when we swam together as children,' Aurora said calmly. 'It was a bit small, however.'

'They grow as the male grows,' Oralia told them weakly, thinking this was probably the worst thing she had ever had to do in her life. 'This appendage is the means by which a man joins his body with his wife.'

'How?' Cally said.

'There is an opening in a female's body,' her mother said. 'It can be found between your legs. As a man's desire grows, this appendage will thicken, and grow. It is then ready to enter your body, which your husband, if he is thoughtful, will prepare for his entry.'

'How?' Cally again.

'He will stroke you,' Oralia said.

'Like a cat?' Cally sounded disbelieving.

'You know what you need to know,' Oralia said. 'Valerian will answer any other questions you have, Calandra.'

'How does a baby get into my body?' Cally persisted.

'Your husband will deliver his seed into your womb by means of his appendage. This seed will grow if you are fertile at the time it enters your body, for you will not always be fertile to his seed, and the seed evolves into a baby. It generally takes about nine months for a child to come to full term. At that point it will push itself from your body through the same opening by which it entered it.'

'Will it be a son or daughter?' Cally was not yet satisfied.

'You will not know until the child is born,' her mother said. 'Now, Calandra, Aurora, I think you have more than enough information. It is time for you to go to sleep. Tomorrow is a very important day for you, Calandra. You will marry, and you will leave St. Timothy as the Duchess of Farminster. You must get your rest.'

'Let Aurora stay for a while,' Cally asked her mother. 'It is the last night we will have each other's company for a long time, and when we meet again, everything will be different.'

Oralia nodded, understanding, and then, standing up, she left the room. She and Robert had been so fortunate in their marriage and in their children. She wanted that for both of the girls.

When she had gone, Cally said, 'I wonder what part of me he will stroke.' Then she giggled nervously. 'It is all quite silly.'

'Men, I have noted, have an appreciation of women's breasts. Perhaps he will stroke your breasts,' Aurora said. 'Have you ever touched yourself, Cally?'

'Have you?'

Aurora nodded. Then she undid the ribbons on her nightgown, exposing her upper torso to her sister's view. 'Undo yours,' she commanded.

Cally complied with the request. 'I've never done this before,' she whispered. 'Is it naughty?'

'Probably,' Aurora responded, her hands cupping her round little breasts. 'Do what I do, Cally.'

Cally's bosom was only slightly larger than her sister's. Her breasts were cone-shaped, and had large nipples. Shyly, she slipped her hands beneath them, all the while watching as Aurora began to rub her nipples with her thumbs. Cally followed suit. Her nipples grew hard beneath her touch, but she felt more irritation than anything else. Aurora, however, closed her eyes and sighed. She slipped one hand down her body, pushing her nightgown away, until her fingers were lost in the tight curls of her bush. Cally watched wide- eyed as Aurora thrust a finger between the folds of flesh and began to rub herself.

'What are you doing?' she said, half shocked.

'You do it too,' her sister said softly. 'Ummmm, it feels so good. If this is what a man does to you, I can hardly wait to marry!'

'I cannot do that,' Cally protested, but she was fascinated.

'Yes… you can,' Aurora murmured. 'Oh! Oh! Oh! That was so nice, Cally. Go ahead! Try it. You'll feel so good afterward!'

Nervously, Calandra followed her sister's instructions. Soon her body began to tingle in a way she had never known before, and she did not think she liked it. Her fingers were slickly sticky with some kind of juice her body seemed to be emitting. Then she gave a little shudder. 'Ohhh!' she cried. 'Ohhhh!'

'There now, wasn't that nice?' Aurora said mischievously.

'I don't think I liked it at all,' Cally said, arising from the bed where they were both sitting to wash her fingers off. 'How did you ever learn such a thing?' She scrubbed her hand fiercely.

Aurora shrugged. 'I don't really know. I just did it one day, and I liked it. Valerian will probably touch you that way. I think the gooey fluid that comes from that place is what Mama meant when she said he would prepare you for his entry. I imagine the appendage goes in far more easily when it is greased than if you were dry.'

'I think it is nasty, and I shall not do it!' Cally said.

'Oh, don't be silly, Cally. Of course you'll do it. You have to if you're going to have a baby, and, as Mama says, it's your first duty to the Hawkesworth family to give them an heir. You'll probably like it better when Valerian does it to you. Has he kissed you yet?'

'I wouldn't let him,' Cally said.

'Well, you'll have to after the wedding,' Aurora told her sister in practical tones. Then she arose from the bed, retying her nightgown. 'I'm off for bed, sweeting. Happy dreams, little sister. I will miss you. See you on the morrow.'

'Aurora!'