Elizabeth 01: An Introduction

"Oh, God, Fred, I heard about that boy!" Katherine chimed in. "Poor dear. Have you heard this story, Elizabeth?" Katherine gave her a knowing look, but so far as Elizabeth could tell, Fred was not aware of what Katherine had seen so many times in the baths.

"Yes, I have, and I found their treatment of him repulsive," Elizabeth said firmly. "Poor thing must have been embarrassed to death."

"I'd certainly have been if I were anything like that bloke," Fred sneered. "Join us in the bar?"

"Shortly, yes," Elizabeth said, remembering to keep her true feelings to herself. "I'm waiting for a couple of friends first."

"As you wish, dear," Katherine said. Elizabeth nodded silently and watched them disappear into the lively room.

"Talkin' about Jon-boy, were they?!" Elizabeth turned to see George, the tailor at Miles' and the former lover she had spotted earlier. She forced a smile as he stumbled up to greet her. "I doubt if he'll be back tonight, we put him out but good the other evening. But from what I hear, he'd probably like you, Elizabeth. You ought to give him a try if the little snot shows his face in here tonight."

"I plan to," Elizabeth said with a crisp smile.

"Aw, dear, I'm only kidding! He's only a boy and he'd only be interested in one thing about you!"

"The same one thing you told me I ought to rid myself of any way I could, George?"

"I was only being honest with you, my girl. You'd have been so much hotter without such a blasted forest down that way. A woman shouldn't look so much like a man underneath. But I mean, you were okay besides that. Even if you didn't care for me, you'll be grateful someday when a man who does tickle your fancy comes along. Then you'll know how to please a gentleman. What do you say we go for a round of drinks and then talk about another try? Old times' sake?"

Elizabeth was still trying to formulate a ladylike but suitably firm response when she was saved by the outside door swinging open. In came Irene, swathed in a beautiful crimson gown and a radiant look on her face. Her far more reluctant looking cousin trailed on her arm, forcing a smile but looking like he would rather be nearly anywhere else. Elizabeth could identify all too well, and despite his discomfort she found him even more attractive than she recalled from their previous meeting. Mustn't come on too strong, she reminded herself as she left George unceremoniously to greet her friends.

"Irene, so happy to see you, dear!" Elizabeth gushed, and the two women clasped arms gently. "And you must be Jonathan. So happy to meet you at last." She offered his cheek a chaste kiss. He accepted it and looked a bit less uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry we're late, Elizabeth," Irene said. "I couldn't wait to leave, but Jonathan needed some time to dress."

"Oh, please, Irene!" Jonathan said, but he let a laugh escape as he did. "I love my cousin dearly," he told Elizabeth, "But dressing for a party quickly is hardly her strong point, I can tell you."

"Oh, I know," Elizabeth said with a saucy grin. "Irene and I have dressed together before."

"Oh my!" Jonathan looked back and forth at the two women. "I do love the city."

"Sorry, Irene," Elizabeth added. "I could hardly resist, is all."

"Oh, no offense taken," Irene assured her. "Jonathan knows I frequent the baths, and he knows how much we share there. I've encouraged him to try the men's bath as well, but he's shy."

"We all are at first," Elizabeth said, brushing his hand with hers and feeling a flash of delight as she did. "But once you grow accustomed to it, nothing is as reinvigorating as an evening in that water in the company of friends. I can only hope the setting is as cosy for the gentlemen."

"I'm afraid I've been disappointed in that respect," Jonathan confessed. "I don't suppose Irene has told you, I've made a bit of a fool of myself this week in engaging in too much intimate talk among friends."

"But you have nothing to be ashamed of, my dear," Irene interjected, "And I am sure had Elizabeth been here she would have agreed. Shall we join the party now?" She gave Elizabeth a look that said unmistakeably that there was to be no mention of their conversation after the bath. This was more than agreeable to Elizabeth, for she enjoyed the belief that Jonathan was neither privy to her own secret. Should the evening end with them together in her room, the surprise for him would be all the more delightful.

"Indeed, I am past ready for my first drink," Elizabeth agreed. Taking Jonathan's other arm, she joined Irene in tugging him gently to the barroom door. Both women could feel Jonathan resist slightly, but he soon relented. Elizabeth had little doubt that his return to the barroom felt a bit like her own return to the locker room back at school. But if she could overcome the taunts, so could he.

If there were any hoots or rude comments upon the threesome's entrance, the room was too crowded for them to be noticeable. The evening was in full swing and there were couples dancing to the band in the corner. Elizabeth looked forward to joining them, but refreshments were in order first. After a bit of jostling, Irene found a table that was just being vacated, and they were soon seated and a bottle of red wine ordered. "Are you reminded of the uni, Jonathan?" Irene asked him as soon as they were settled.

"Quite, but for the ladies," Jonathan said. Turning to Elizabeth, he explained, "My university had a pub much like this, and it was usually quite crowded on weekend nights. But with no ladies at our school, it was all men playing cards and dice and arguing about sports and politics."

"Where's the fun in that?" Elizabeth concurred. "Similar to my university, indeed, where we girls all got dressed up for one another and sipped our sherry. Beautiful but boring." To Irene she asked, "Don't you prefer the city, dear?"

"Heavens, yes!" Irene said. "Aren't we a fortunate generation, where a lady can have some fun of her own now!"

"Us too," Jonathan said. "I much prefer the mixed company. Provided I can keep my mouth shut."

"Darling, stop that!" Irene chided him. "Had there been more ladies here that night, I guarantee you they'd have come to your defence. You might have even caught the ear of one who fancied you."

"Must we discuss this in front of Elizabeth?" Jonathan said. "She doesn't need to know what a stupid, vulgar thing I said!"

"On the contrary, Jonathan, I thrive on vulgarity," Elizabeth told him with a wicked grin. "I know not just what Irene has told you about the conversations that transpire in the ladies' bath, but I assure you we talk of a great deal more than the weather!"

Jonathan seemed to relax a bit more, and the arrival of the wine saved Elizabeth from having to continue pretending she knew not what he had said earlier that week. She longed so to tell him that she did know and that she was falling madly for him as a result; but waiting for the right moment would make that all the sweeter.

"I am relieved to hear you ladies are just as capable of dirty talk in the baths as we are," Jonathan allowed once the wine was poured. "But I do not suppose I wish to hear the fruits of my own cousin's dirty talk."

"I suppose not," Elizabeth concurred, grinning at Irene, "But I can assure you, Jonathan, she is among our more discrete sisters."

"You, I take it, are not," Jonathan said as the wine relaxed his tongue.

"Quite right, Jonathan," Irene chimed in. "Elizabeth is delightfully uninhibited. And quite good company, I might add."

"Well thank you, Irene!" Elizabeth beamed. "Really, though, there is no need for us to indulge in salacious talk if Jonathan is uncomfortable hearing such things from a relative or a woman, or both."

"Oh, it's quite all right with me if it is with the both of you, I suppose," Jonathan allowed. And at last, with the wine taking hold on all three of them, he provided Elizabeth with a brief recollection of the recent incident. Irene, if she felt any embarrassment at the tale, kept it to herself. Elizabeth's own dirty mind wandered a bit into the territory of just how intimate the cousins' relationship might be, as there seemed to be little shame on either of their parts. But she focused mostly on sympathizing with Jonathan and keeping her titillation at it all tamped down for the time being.

The tale dragged into a second bottle, which was roundly welcomed by all three. As Jonathan finally completed his side of the story, he said to Elizabeth, "I feel I should apologize again if I have shared too much. You can see I am less than skilled at such topics even with other men, much less with women."

"Hardly," Elizabeth reassured him, taking his free hand in hers atop the table while they each held their wine glasses in their other hands. "Why should we not take an interest in what a lovely man like yourself looks for in us, or in how discerning you are in the company you keep?"

"Then you are not repulsed by my unusual tastes?" he asked warily.

"My friend, everyone has some unusual tastes!" Elizabeth assured him. "There is no shame in sharing your interests with people you trust. Those other men are the ones who would have repulsed me had I been there, so very undeserving of your trust."

"I told you she would understand!" said Irene triumphantly. "Excuse me now." Delighted by the intimate turn the conversation had taken between them, she stood up and took a cursory look round the room. She soon spotted a lone man nursing a drink at a nearby table and was off to ask him to dance.

"I've learned a lot about women from Irene," Jonathan said admiringly as they both watched her lead her new partner to the floor. "It looks as though that shall serve me well here in the city. Back home a lady would never have asked for a dance like that. I'm so proud of her for not being such a shrinking violet."

"It's a new era for us all," Elizabeth said. "Why should men have all the work or all the fun?"

She was increasingly afraid that he was so shy she would have to follow Irene's lead; but after a final gulp of wine, Jonathan proved her pleasantly wrong. "Why indeed? Shall we have a dance as well?" He stood up and offered his hand. Elizabeth took it, her heart aglow and her loins even hotter. A discreet look below Jonathan's belt had her suspicious that he was equally aroused, and once again she was grateful that such things were less visible with women. The party was quite lively by then, and as they made their way hand in hand to the dance floor, Elizabeth noted the knowing glances of several women and at least two men who knew just how well-matched the new couple were. There was even a catcall or two from the more obnoxious of the bunch. Elizabeth skilfully kept Jonathan's attention with small talk about how she loved the parties on the weekends, especially when the weather was so rough outside, and he remained oblivious to any offending comments. Irene spotted them as they joined the dancers, and looked elated at the turn of events.

For all his awkwardness in conversation, Jonathan proved to be an expert dancer, and he waltzed Elizabeth delightfully around the floor for the next several numbers. Her arm felt just right around his back, just as she had anticipated, and slowly but surely the tension in his eyes melted into the pure enjoyment she was also feeling. The last vestige of nervousness was defeated early on when he asked her, "Is it uncomfortable where my hand is?"

"Why would it be uncomfortable?" Elizabeth asked. His hand was just where it belonged, in the midst of her back.

"Just, I was worried you might be uncomfortable with what I could feel there."

"What you can feel? If I didn't want you touching me I wouldn't have accepted your offer to dance, you silly boy!" Then it struck her -- he could feel her brassiere through the fabric of her dress. The poor boy was beyond shy, he was terrified of intimacy! But she could help him out of it, she was sure. "Jonathan," she said gently as they twirled about.

"Yes?"

"I only now realize why you were concerned for my comfort. Perhaps I should ask you, do you think I would prefer that you believe I did not wear a brassiere?"

Jonathan's firm look melted into an embarrassed smile, and then into a laugh. They laughed together, and at the height of their gaiety he drew his arms tighter about Elizabeth. Their dancing slowed to a halt as his gentle embrace turned to an all-out squeeze, and she returned the gesture. Her earlier suspicion was correct, she now knew as she felt his hardness bulge deliciously against her lower abdomen. She could only hope the sensation of her breasts pressed tightly against him felt as wonderful for him. His lips touched her cheek, and she responded in kind. Then they kissed one another again closer in, and again, until their lips met and opened.

Elizabeth's heart pounded as the room fell away and she felt his heart against hers. Now was the time, she knew, and he would be hers. When at last their lips parted, she whispered in his ear, "Let us finish this dance, and then perhaps have another drink in a more private setting."

He looked wide-eyed at her. "Are you inviting me..."

"Of course I am!"

"But Irene --"

"No doubt she planned everything!" Elizabeth exclaimed. She wanted with all her heart to remind Jonathan that his cousin had seen her in the nude and let him draw his own conclusions about what she looked like underneath. But she thought it probably wiser to save that for later. Especially now that it would not be much later!

She rather suspected Jonathan had put two and two together by the time they braved the knowing looks -- and there were many by now -- and made their way for the door. After collecting their coats, they emerged into the frigid night air hand in hand. Elizabeth would have braved the cold and waited for the next streetcar, for now that she knew she would be getting what she wanted, a short additional wait was downright titillating. But Jonathan was not to be delayed, and he insisted upon paying for a hired cab back to the mansion. In the musty but warm interior of the cab, keeping her hands to herself was no small task, but she succeeded.

The ground floor of the mansion was, for once, dark. A shame that the lady of the house would not see Elizabeth with a man of her own, she thought to herself, as she guided Jonathan upstairs to her floor. But she would not let such petty concerns upset her at a time like this! Jonathan willingly followed, squeezing her hand affectionately on the way, and Elizabeth eagerly anticipated squeezing other things.

Once again the bedroom was cold but the fireplace was prepared. "Have a seat," Elizabeth invited Jonathan as she removed her cloak and then tended to lighting the fire. "It will be warm before you know it. Drop of wine for you?"

"Please," Jonathan said with a nervous grin.

"Very well." Elizabeth ducked out of the room and was off to retrieve her best wine from the pantry. She stopped along the way for the water closet, for the wine already consumed at the dance was now making its presence known rather loudly. She wondered if Jonathan mightn't be similarly desperate. More than likely he was not -- after all, men could hold their water for ages -- and he could always ask if the need arose. Nevertheless, the polite thing to do was ask, she supposed.

No need, she discovered upon returning with the wine. Jonathan was standing at the mantelpiece. "Before I drink anymore, could you tell me --" he began.

"Down the hall on the right," she said with a grin. "I've just been there myself, I know the feeling."

"How very unladylike of us both to discuss such things!" he said. "I love it!"

"Me too," she reassured him.

Alone for the moment in her room, Elizabeth poured the wine and willed the fire to heat up the room just a bit faster than it seemed to be doing. Then she turned down the bed, there no longer being any question as to what was to happen. With no sign of Jonathan just yet, she wondered should she undress now and surprise him? No, she quickly decided, no use in depriving him of the fun of lifting up her skirt, and it was still quite cold for that in any case. She did, though, remove her stockings, and was in the last step of pulling the second one off when Jonathan reappeared in the doorway.

"Ready for bed, are you?" he asked, noticing her activity and the sheets pulled back.

"Heavens, yes!" Elizabeth replied. Jonathan had found the two glasses of wine on the mantelpiece, and handed her one. They clinked glasses and took a sip each. Elizabeth switched off the electric lights, and the room was a warm dim glow of fire against every surface.

The air was warming up nicely, the wine was delightful -- neither found any further need for words. They both drank up, drinking in as well the sight of one another and the delicious knowledge of what was about to transpire. It was perfectly fluid when it did at last begin: Jonathan set down his empty glass and gathered Elizabeth -- who had already polished off her wine by then -- into his eager embrace. She detected no hesitation this time, and offered none of her own -- how she had hungered for this moment! From the very instant that Irene had told her of her cousin those three long days before, it had all been meant to lead to this.

The first kiss was longer and deeper than back at the dance, now that they had the room to themselves. His arms stayed put around her back at first, no longer embarrassed by their awareness of her undergarment, of which Elizabeth was now eager to be relieved -- it seemed so itchy and confining in the heat of the moment! She would, she soon realized, have to take the lead on getting them both undressed. To that end, she pulled her hands slowly around his front and reached inside his coat, probing gaily with her fingers along the contours of his shirt. She evidently tickled him, for he let loose with an intense laugh between kisses. Elizabeth responded by rubbing harder, also to his audible delight. She then gently pushed his coat off his chest, and he drew his hands back long enough to shrug off the sleeves.

Jonathan looked happy at this development, but still evidently too shy to respond in kind. Elizabeth did not let her frustration show -- yet. Instead she kissed him again, and with him thusly distracted, she set to work unbuttoning his shirt. He let out a delighted moan as her fingernails grazed his chest, which had sparse and fine hair much as she had suspected -- opposites do indeed attract, she mused! Elizabeth pulled his shirt out of his still-fastened pants and rubbed his chest harder. She made no move to remove the shirt just yet, but he shrugged it off as he had done with the coat. She rewarded him with firmer rubs on his chest, which was broad and firm and delightful to look at and touch.

Elizabeth's own body was now itching to be touched as well. Though Jonathan's face showed no bashfulness and he seemed to enjoy her hands on his body, he once again reached around her back. Concluding that she would just have to take matters into her own hands, Elizabeth took both his hands in hers before he could plant them again on the safety of her back. Jonathan recoiled ever so slightly as he seemed to sense a gentle reproof. His discomfort turned to a mix of elation and intimidation as Elizabeth placed both his hands gently on her breasts. His touch, awkward at first, soon grew confident and expertly gentle, and Elizabeth felt wonderful shocks throughout her body at the kneading of her flesh that she had dreamed of all week.

All concerns about the room being too cold were now long gone as they explored one another's body carefully, but the best was yet to come. Elizabeth knew it, and she suspected Jonathan did too. Between ever-longer kisses, she undid his belt buckle and unzipped his pants, and slipped her hand inside. He was wearing a sturdy undergarment of his own, of flannel from the feel of it, and she searched in vain for a button to undo. But she could feel that he was rock-hard underneath, and he moaned in approval as she rubbed at the bulge. Emboldened with her intense desire, she undid the button of his pants with her free hand, and soon had them down around his knees. His shorts were grey and fuzzy and tight, and immediately Elizabeth knew she would never be embarrassed about her own dowdy underpants in his presence.