Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 2)

"Can it? Are you sure?"

"I appreciate your concern, Alex," Elizabeth said, forcing a smile now. "But if you know so many of my secrets, you know I am quite accustomed to holding off on all that when I must. Now, as I was saying, I do understand you are frightened and nervous about leaving for school. But your mother and father have had quite all they can take of your surly behaviour of late, and I can tell you from experience it shall serve you no purpose at school!"

Alexandria jumped up and glared at Elizabeth. "Exactly why do you care what my mother and father think? And why should I, for that matter, when they are sending me off to the slaughter?! If they care so much, why ask you to appease me when they don't even like you?!"

"Alex!" Elizabeth was now at her own limit, though she was already quite aware of Aunt's low opinion of her. "There is no excuse for you to talk like that, especially not of your parents and not with someone who loves you as I do!"

"You think they care?! You think they know anything? Not if they asked you to soothe me!"

"They asked me to soothe you because they know I love you, Alex, and –"

"They know nothing of me!" Alexandria snapped. "And I doubt they know enough of you, if they asked you to help me. You think they want their daughter prancing around the city, the cafes, knowing half the young men in town so very well?!" She paused just long enough to savour the look of outrage on Elizabeth's face as her horrible words registered. Sensing she had won the battle, she then dove in for the kill. "And queen of the public baths to boot!"

"You little bitch." Elizabeth heard the words slip out before she could clamp down to stop them.

"I am sure Father shall appreciate you calling me that!" Alexandria gloated, turning on her heel to prance downstairs. She timed her final comment perfectly so that Elizabeth would have no opportunity to respond: "Now get up off my cushion before you wet it!"

Though she was indeed absolutely desperate for the water closet, Elizabeth remained seated for a few more minutes, digesting in horror all the knowledge Alexandria had revealed. How on earth had the wretched girl learned so very much?

I, of course, had had a few days to ponder that question by then, and I had concocted a few theories. A friend from primary school with a loose lipped cousin or uncle. An overheard conversation between her father and a business colleague – many of them were acquainted with Elizabeth in the city. Maybe even a case of her mother's usual snide conjectures about Elizabeth, which I knew were based in nothing more than jealousy. But in the heat of that deeply uncomfortable moment, Elizabeth was not so clearheaded as to think of any of those explanations. Her first and only thought was of my comment outside the café the day before: "That reminds me, Uncle has said he wishes you to do just that." She knew, then, that I had been somewhat privy to the matter of Alexandria's horrible attitude. Naïve young Agnes, living right there in the mansion, and heaven only knew what she might have let slip in the presence of the children!

I had, of course, done no such thing. But I was not present to defend myself, nor had I taken the opportunity to forewarn Elizabeth of Alexandria's knowledge. As I said, dear reader, a serious mistake.

I was fortunate enough to have gone to the office for the day, catching up on some work to alleviate the lingering effects of the liquor from the night before. So I was not available to answer Elizabeth's furious rap at my bedroom door shortly after lunch, nor did I receive immediately the gracious letter Benjamin had written in response to my apology. The latter would have been a delightful antidote to the former, to be sure; but I was aware of neither for the time being.

Instead, Jonathan was to be the first of us to reconnect with Benjamin. In light of the poor weather and Elizabeth being busy with the children for the day, Jonathan had opted for an afternoon at the baths. He had followed Elizabeth's lead in avoiding the matter of Irene's indiscretion, and so had had no contact with Benjamin since his return to the city. But upon arriving at the baths – and here, dear reader, I must detour from our story to confess that although I never saw the men's baths, I imagined them in no small amount of detail, most especially the entrance all my male friends made in all their naked glory; and so while I have no idea if Jonathan strode into their bath chamber with the elegant, proud poise with which Elizabeth always entered ours, in my imagination he certainly did so! Be that fact or fiction, however, Jonathan arrived at the baths a bit past one o'clock, and found them crowded due to the rain. Amidst the hearty welcomes and the colourful inquiries after Elizabeth's well-being ("Made it another week without getting lost in your lady's jungle, I see!"), which he acknowledged politely as usual, Jonathan chanced to see Benjamin in a corner of the pool, looking rather nervous at his arrival.

A confrontation could hardly be avoided, Jonathan knew. And so, after lowering himself into the steamy water and the necessary round of greetings and handshakes, he waded in Benjamin's direction. "Good afternoon," he said as confidently as he could.

"Hullo, Jonathan," Benjamin said. "I take it you had a fine trip with Elizabeth?"

"Wonderful, yes, thanks. An adventure and a half as it always is with her." He groped for the next comment. "I..."

To his surprise, Benjamin smiled. "No need to beat around the bush, Jon, I can see you are aware of what happened in our absence."

"Yes," Jonathan admitted. "And I'm sorry."

"Ain't your fault, is it?"

"I guess not," Jonathan said. "But you know, Elizabeth does feel partially responsible."

"Oh, no," Benjamin said. "She wasn't even there, after all. Of course, if she had been..."

Jonathan could not suppress a laugh. "She would have found a way to make it all much more interesting, no doubt!"

"Indeed. And inclusive, one hopes. But no, I do not blame Elizabeth. I blame Irene, and I blame Agnes, although she was decent enough to send me an apology and I have accepted it."

Jonathan longed to ask if he had forgiven Irene. But he knew better than to ask.

In the event, Benjamin was not finished. "I suppose a thing like this was inevitable. All of us young and spunky and uninhibited, and having had that one very intimate outing in the country already. I understand Agnes is bitterly disappointed at having missed that, you know."

"She certainly is," Jonathan said. "I say, it's none of my business, but have you heard of your own role in the fantasy Irene confessed to?"

Benjamin laughed, and acknowledged the matter with a glance down at his hairy chest and midsection glistening delightfully in the hot water. "Yes, Irene told me all about it when she confessed. And you know, I would be all for it had she but asked. Agnes, too, if it came to that. I mean, why not, my good man, as long as we are all given a chance to participate? But they had to go and do it behind my back. I guess you are fortunate that Elizabeth wasn't there to join them, aren't you?"

"You do know all three of them had a bit of an encounter once, aren't you?" Jonathan asked.

"What?!"

"It was news to me too," Jonathan said. "I only just learned of it. But apparently Agnes had never learned how to please herself, and Irene and Elizabeth treated her to a live demonstration."

"Well, that sounds perfectly..." Benjamin began, trying hard to sound disapproving. But, the baths being what they were and the male body being what it is, a glimpse into the water proved his disapproval was purely feigned. Jonathan – who was also hard as a rock – looked back and forth at Benjamin's face and his cock, and Benjamin gave up his charade as they both burst into embarrassed laughter. "Oh, hell, no sense in pretending we don't find that whole idea perfectly wonderful, is there?"

"Indeed," Jonathan agreed. Their laughter had been boisterous enough to earn the attention of a few of their fellow bathers; any worries that word would get out of the pair of them acting inappropriately together were washed away immediately by the knowledge that Elizabeth and Irene would surely find the truth perfectly delightful. "Yes, when Elizabeth told me of it all, I felt no jealousy, only regret that I was not there to witness it."

"I wonder would they have allowed that?" Benjamin said. "Agnes in particular, I can't imagine she would have wanted male company that evening." (While he was undoubtedly correct on that matter, dear reader, I feel I must add that any such reticence had long since been disposed of by the time of this conversation!)

"Then, probably not," Jonathan agreed. "But you know, Elizabeth made a most interesting suggestion yesterday, after Agnes told us of what had happened. A holiday for the five of us. A clearing of the air of sorts."

"Is it really such a good idea for us all to have a retreat together when Irene and Agnes are already struggling in vain to keep their hands off one another?"

"The idea," Jonathan said with a deep breath, in a low voice lest he be overheard by their nosy compatriots, "Is to have one last opportunity for us all to do as we like with one another. Get it all out of our systems, if you will, before we set about living our adult lives and keeping our friends at an appropriate distance again."

Benjamin drank in the salacious proposal, and Jonathan could not help but notice his erection did not recede. "Well, I'd be lying to say I did not find the idea appealing in its way," he admitted. "But I do worry about the effect it might have on our relationships. Certain things cannot be forgotten once they're done, and all that."

"I'm afraid we're already there, though, Ben," Jonathan said. "We all know these desires and fantasies are flying about among the five of us; we simply have not acted on them. Or rather, not all of us have."

"My concerns exactly."

"Well, at the risk of stepping on your toes, Ben, perhaps facing these matters head on is a step you and Irene must take. It's none of my business, I know, but the future of your relationship may well depend on your ability to accept and trust one another through these things."

Benjamin would later confess that he was rather irritated with Jonathan's unsolicited advice in his hour of frustration with his true love. Rather than allow that discomfort to bubble to the surface, however, he followed Irene's favourite rebuttal to both Elizabeth and Jonathan when she wished to needle them. "Trust?!" he asked with a grin. "Am I not sharing a bath with a fellow who needs to wee all the time? That, my friend, is trust!"

"Oho!" Jonathan forced a laugh of his own now. He was rather less thick-skinned on that topic than Elizabeth was, perhaps because he had far less experience in being teased on matters so personal, or because she had been a voracious tea-drinker far longer than he had and thus the condition was far newer to him. Regardless, he kept his irritation to himself. "Benjamin, you had better make amends with Iron Bladder Irene. Clearly the two of you belong together!"

"Indeed we do," Benjamin said. "Indeed we do."

Elizabeth was once again saddled with watching the children for the long, rainy afternoon. Her rage at Alexandria having subsided but her disgust remaining, she wordlessly but firmly gook the girl by the arm when she returned to the nursery after lunch, and directed her to a chair in the corner. "Ow! Elizabeth, what are you doing?!" Alexandria demanded. "Just leave me alone!"

"I shall leave you alone, all right," Elizabeth replied icily. "Alone in the corner." She gave Alexandria a rough push, and the girl landed on the chair with an exaggerated plop. "You are to sit here all afternoon, facing the wall."

"You can't make me do that!" Alexandria roared, standing back up and straining to look Elizabeth, who was several inches taller than she, in the eye. "You are not my nurse!"

"Indeed I am not. But if you do not do as I say, I shall let Nurse know all about it." That was no idle threat, and Alexandria slunk back down into the chair in defeat. "Now, should you wish to share your concerns with me about what awaits you at school, dear, I will be more than happy to listen and reassure you if I can. But neither I nor your parents are going to stand for any more of your nastiness, Alex, no matter how frightened you are."

With that, Elizabeth turned on her heel and walked across the room to find Thomas and Joy had been frightened into burying their noses in books. They were both on their best behaviour for the afternoon, but their quiet agreeability left Elizabeth little to do but to stew further over Alexandria's revelation and my role in the matter. Had I been there to answer her call at my door, perhaps a confrontation would have ultimately had an agreeable ending. The lack thereof made its effects all too well known on Elizabeth's mind throughout the long afternoon.

I received the full effects of all that compressed anger on my return that evening. I was relaxing with a mindless novel after the long afternoon at work when once again she banged upon my door. "Agnes!" she howled.

"Elizabeth?" I stood up just in time for her to wrench open the door.

"Exactly what have you been telling the children about me?!" she demanded.

In that awful moment, I understood my mistake; but in the same instant I made another misstep. "Alexandria!" I said with a knowing nod. "That little wretch." I then made eye contact with Elizabeth to set the record straight, only to discover I had given her the wrong idea entirely.

"Then you have been talking to her behind my back, on matters that are none of her concern and far beyond her age!" Elizabeth snapped.

"No!" I insisted. I wanted to step forward and meet my friend, but every inch of her presence screamed at me to do no such thing.

"No? Well then do tell, how does she know of the baths, and all else we do in town, and probably my body as well?!"

"I have no idea, Elizabeth! I don't!" Now I was growing quite angry myself. "Do you truly believe I would tell a child such a thing?! Particularly that child?"

"But it was you who told me your uncle wanted me to have a word with her, Agnes! And when I do reach out to her, she knows all manner of things she should never have known about me!"

I drew in a deep breath. "I should have told you, then..."

"No, Agnes, you should never have told anyone anything!"

"Elizabeth! No! You do not understand –"

"I understand all too well! I take a holiday I do not even want to take, and you ruin everything in my absence! What on earth has become of you, Agnes?"

Now I was as furious as she. "What has become of me? For starters, I have become quite tired of your refusal to listen to me, that is what! If you are going to believe I would do such a horrid thing, then off with you!" I turned and sat back in my chair, fighting back tears and hungering for the sound of Elizabeth slamming the door and retreating into the hall. After an excruciating moment, I was rewarded thusly.

What became of me next is of little interest: I simply spent a lonely evening pondering the misunderstanding and trying in vain to focus on my book. Though angry and sad, I comforted myself with optimism that Elizabeth would recognize the reality of what had and had not occurred once her fury had passed. Clearly we all needed her proposed retreat more than even I had recognized. Naturally, that thought gave way to delightful images of sexual abandon with all my friends; but even that could not cheer me appreciably on that dark evening.

I likely would have been rather resentful had I known what was transpiring on the other side of the mansion, in Elizabeth's room, while I coped alone with my angst. Fortunately, I was not to know of it all for quite some time. Elizabeth and Jonathan had, on parting that morning, settled upon his coming to spend the night in her room. Due to her nasty altercations with Alexandria and his uneasy conversation with Benjamin, neither was in a particularly romantic mood when he arrived shortly after Elizabeth had taken her leave of me. That the rain had returned in full force did not help matters, for Jonathan had been caught off-guard and was soaked to the bone when he appeared in her doorway.

Nevertheless, Elizabeth's heart rose a bit when the rap came at her door, and she could not help but be amused at her true love's dishevelled presence. She tried to suppress her laughter at the stray raindrops now falling from his nose, hair and clothes; but she did not succeed completely. "Oh dear, Jonathan, I am sorry, but..."

"I know, I know," Jonathan said, tearing off his sopping coat. "I am sure I look a state to you, Elizabeth. Don't we both always amuse our friends with our looks!" Just as Elizabeth had failed to hide her amusement, now Jonathan failed to hide his irritation.

"I am sorry, Jonathan. Here, let me call for some tea to warm you up..."

"No!" He paused for a deep breath, his shirt half-unbuttoned and his soaked pants still hanging limply about his hips. "Sorry, Elizabeth, but tea is the last thing I want tonight, thank you very much."

"Why on earth not, Jonathan? We love our tea, don't we? What does Irene always say?"

"Precisely," Jonathan grumbled. "And I am sick to death of those comments!"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Jonathan, grow up! After the day I had with Alexandria, that is not a matter on which I have any sympathy for you! You know as well as I that Irene only began teasing us about all that because she was jealous of our love!"

"Yes, and I suppose now she once again has reason to be," Jonathan said. He was now down to his short pants and socks, and Elizabeth was finding her titillation outweighing her anger. She sat back on the edge of her bed and admired his body as he finished undressing. "I had a most awkward chat with Benjamin today at the baths, and he just had to...to..."

"Comment on your frequent need to wee?" Elizabeth asked. Jonathan acknowledging the accuracy of her query with a silent nod, she continued. "I endured the same from little Alexandria today. All these years I believed the children had no idea of my private joke with the kitchen maid – 'Elizabeth, you are free!' – free to run off to the water closet, of course. It seems Alexandria knew all about it. That and a lot more."

"I'm so sorry, darling," Jonathan said, his voice softening for the first time. "I was so wrapped up in my own annoyance at Benjamin's comment, I had no idea."

"Oh, I hardly care about that, really," Elizabeth replied. Jonathan was fully nude now, towelling himself off, and the sight was magnificent in spite of the uncomfortable topic of conversation. "You know me, fully accustomed to rude comments about my body. It was more a matter of just who it was who knew it. I try so very hard to keep my private life private from the children. After all, it is only appropriate! It is quite different with our friends."

"Perhaps for you it is," Jonathan said. "But the very idea, that I would piss in the baths, for heaven's sake!"

"Oh, Jonathan, he knows you would never do that! It is simply his and Irene's most convenient way of lashing out at us when they feel the need to! You know it was a joke with Irene well before she even met Benjamin."

"And it ate at me then, too, if you must know."

"Oh please, my darling, you know as well as I it was a naughty thrill for the two of us to have that matter in common! Just one more way in which we were perfect for one another!" Her outrage at Alexandria was now mostly gone, for the first time since lunchtime. Jonathan was looking wonderfully vulnerable standing there with his towel in his hands and not a stitch of clothing. Elizabeth stood up and slipped her arms around him. "Don't you recall our very first evening together, how we both had all that wine and then when we got back here..."