Arcadia Pt. 03

"And the men like it because it keeps us on our toes. Isn't that right, dear?"

Robert mumbled something without looking up from the last morsels of his tiramisù.

After dinner and once kitchen duty was over, we three joined the master in the living room. There were two large, opulent armchairs. One was occupied by Robert. The other remained vacant while Alice sat demurely at one end of the sofa as Alice and I reclined on oversized cushions. These were very comfortable, so I had no complaint. We read in cozy silence for a couple of hours, soothed by a background of classical music -- Debussy, Liszt, Mozart, Chopin, etcetera -- and a crackling fire which Robert occasionally stoked. Alice made us women cocoa and poured a brandy for Robert. And when she and he went upstairs, there was no indication that Lucy and I should also retire. Even so, Lucy departed soon afterwards. When I eventually came to bed, I found that she had taken the left, balcony side.

Although the main light was switched off, a small bedside lamp cast a soft, yellow glow. The room was warm and the duvet had been turned down. Lucy was lying on top of the sheets. The French doors were open and the air wafting past the billowing lace curtains brushed across her beautiful, undraped body. She was asleep. Her eyelids flickered, her thighs twitched and she emitted a soft whimper. It must have been a lovely dream and I didn't want to wake her. But as the weight of my body depressed my side of the mattress, she purred and her hand touched my shoulder. She ran her fingers down over my breast and belly to rest between my thighs. But then they went limp; she had gone back to sleep.

I didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed.