'I am not afraid,' she told him. 'There is no other way I can whet their appetites; no other way in which I may turn them one against the other; no way in which I may have real revenge unless I do this. For the rest of their lives they will remember coupling with me before their companions, crying with their pleasure, hearing me cry with mine, and knowing that never again will they have such delight. Each must marry for his own family's sake. While it may be unfair to the women they wed, no woman will ever again satisfy them like I did. And as the years go by, the memory of that September night will take on greater proportions, growing more vivid in their imaginations. They will suffer as they have made other women suffer.'
'You are as fierce as an ancient warrior,' he said.
'My father often said had I been a boy I would have, like William, my eldest brother, made a good soldier,' Lucinda told him. 'Will you agree to be my lover, Robert?'
'Yes,' he said, 'and I shall send the footmen away.'
'Oh, no!' Lucinda said wisely. 'The Devil's Disciples sent them to you, and if you send them away now, they will report back to whoever is their true master. Let them remain and help you with my education as they have in the past. I know there is a great deal more I need to learn about sensuality, Robbie.
So began the most wonderful summer of their lives. The Master gathered his three randy footmen about him and ex-plained that Lady Lucinda, being a real lady, must be mastered in an entirely different way. He told them he had gained her cooperation and from now on they would be lovers.
'She will learn more this way,' he assured them. 'Your part in all of this, I regret, will not be as involved as usual; but this is an unusual case, and we have been well remunerated for our efforts.'
'Then,' said John, who was the cleverest of the trio, 'we are to treat Lady Lucinda as if she were your mistress, and your guest, m'lord?'
'Exactly,' he said. 'But my identity must still remain a mystery to her. It is better that way should we ever meet socially. She will, however, call me by one of my Christian names, Robert, so do not be surprised if you hear her use it. Her late husband was called Robert. I thought the name would comfort her.'
'You are indeed a master, m'lord,' John said admiringly. 'You could sell King George his own crown, and him none the wiser,' chuckled the stocky footman.
The other two footmen chuckled also, but then Dick said, 'Will we gets to have a little orgy with her before she leaves us, m'lord? We ain't never had a lady before as you know.'
'We must see how things progress,' The Master told them. 'I will indeed need you for certain things Lady Lucinda needs to learn. She is a most eager pupil. Our employers will be very pleased come September when we meet again.'
Polly finally made an appearance before her mistress later that day. She looked tired, and worn. 'Well,' she said sourly, 'I hope you don't really have to choose one of them lordlings who want to marry you, m'lady. The duke howls while he fucks; the marquess almost crushed me with his weight, and his lordship seems to prefer a woman's arse to her cunny. I'm sore all over, inside and out.'
Lucinda was sitting up in her bed, looking most fetching. One would have never guessed she had spent the entire morn-ing with a wicked little dildo stuffed up her. 'The Master and I have come to an arrangement,' she told her servant. 'I promise you I shall marry none of them, Polly. Now call the footmen, and have them draw me a bath. I stink of lust, I fear.'
'Well, thank heavens for your decision. But what kind of an arrangement has you made with The Master, m'lady, and can you be certain he will keep his word?'
'He will keep his word, Polly. Now, go and tell John I want a bath. I shall then explain to you what I have done.'
Polly hurried off, and when she returned, Lucinda elucidated the situation as it now stood. 'But what will yer brother say?' was Polly's concern when her mistress had finished her account of her several conversations with The Master.
'My brother, the villain, is involved up to his chasuble in this matter,' Lucinda said. 'He can do nothing but my will from now on, else I expose him to the archbishop.'
'Ohhh, m'lady, you does have the whiphand,' Polly replied admiringly. 'Then we will live in London?'
'Perhaps,' came the answer, and Lucinda smiled mysteriously.
The bath was quickly set up, and with no care for the three footmen, Lucinda stepped naked from her bed and into the tub. 'John,' she said, 'do see the bed is remade with fresh linens immediately.'
'Yes, m'lady,' he replied, and sent the other two for the lavender-scented sheets. 'Shall I do your back, m'lady?' he asked her.
'Ohhh, yer the bold one!' Polly cried, shocked. 'I'm perfectly capable of washing my lady without yer help!' She knelt and, taking up the washing cloth, began to soap it vigorously. Then she began to wash Lucinda, muttering all the while beneath her breath about the cheekiness of certain people.
With a mischievous wink at Lucinda the footman crept up behind Polly and, kneeling down, reached about to cup her two plump breasts in his big, rough hands.
Polly squealed, surprised, trying to slap him away.
Lucinda laughed, but then she said, 'Let her alone, John. If you are at a loss for something to do, please go and fetch me something to eat. I have not been fed since yesterday afternoon. I do not believe it is The Master's intention to starve me.'
John arose, but not before giving Polly's nipples a pinch which caused her to squeak again. 'At once, m'lady,' the footman said. He hurried out as Dick and Martin returned with the fresh bedding.
'Make the bed quickly, and then be gone,' Lucinda told them in a stern voice. Then she said to Polly, 'My hair needs washing, too. All that dusty travel two days ago.'
'Yes, m'lady,' the maid replied, her equilibrium returning.
The two footmen were gone by the time Lucinda stepped from her bath. Polly dried her quickly after wrapping her mistress's hair in a towel first. Then she slipped a scented night garment over her lady, and Lucinda sat by the fire as her maid toweled her thick hair dry, first with the cloth, and then with Lucinda's silver and boar's bristle brush which she had taken from her lady's luggage.
'Am I to unpack everything, m'lady?' she asked as she tied Lucinda's hair back with a blue silk ribbon.
'Of course,' came the reply. 'It is as if we had gone to Ireland to visit my sister for the summer, Polly. I fear, however, that you shall be required to do the laundry as this house appears to have no servants other than the footmen.'
'There's an old lady in the kitchens who is the cook,' Polly informed her lady, 'and there must be someone to do the linens.'
'There well may be, but I doubt The Master wishes his business known to any of the locals. No woman has remained here for more than a week he tells me. You and I, however, will be here for several months. Ask him before you seek any help for yourself. If you must care for me alone, it is only for a short time, eh?'
The door to the chamber opened, and John came in followed by The Master. The footman was carrying a heavy silver tray. He set it carefully upon the table near the fireplace. Delicious aromas arose from the covered dishes.
'Good!' Lucinda said. 'I am ravenous!'
'Polly and John are dismissed,' The Master said. 'I shall serve you myself, Lucinda.'
Polly looked nervously to her mistress, but Lucinda said, 'While we are in this house, Polly, you will obey The Master. And, John, you may not seduce my servant unless she wants it. Is that understood, you randy billygoat of a mankin?'
'Yes, m'lady,' the footman said, but there was a devilish light in his eyes.
Polly curtsied, and the two servants departed the bedchamber.
'Feed me!' Lucinda commanded. 'I have not eaten since that delicate little meal I was served yesterday afternoon in your garden shed.'
He grinned at her and drew the table nearer, sitting next to her on the small settee by the fire. Lifting a lid from the first dish, he took up a raw oyster and tipped it into her open mouth. She swallowed it down and looked to him for more. He fed her a full dozen, serving himself an equal amount as she swallowed each time. Lifting another of the silver domes, he displayed a small chicken. He tore it in half and took a bite, then offered her one. They alternated bites of the fowl as they had the oysters until it was eaten. The next dish, a long, rectangular one, offered asparagus dripping with a vinegarette. Lucinda picked one up and slowly licked the sauce from the lengthy
