Indian Spice

"Only women and the Maharaja himself are permitted beyond this point. The only exception is the Hijra. The eunuchs."

She glanced at the guard as she spoke and I stifled a gasp that I was looking at someone who was no longer a full man. I'd only read of such things. I'd never expected to see a eunuch in real life.

Maya pulled back the heavy curtains that separated the house from this forbidden area and I stepped through into a luxurious hall. It was open on three sides through great arches. Ornate furniture filled the space and the walls and ceilings were decorated with life-size murals of Indian...

"Oh my."

I gasped as my eyes focused on them. Colourful depictions of naked people engaging in various carnal pursuits. Some in twos. Some involving three people. Many were just of girls, touching themselves in ways that made me blush. I looked away. Such lewd and lascivious depictions I'd never laid eyes on before. And to my horror, I felt twinges of self-betrayal in my belly. Unexplainable desires demanding that I turn back and look at the murals.

Maya sensed my discomfort.

"The British are a very knowledgeable people. You are great engineers, lawmakers and explorers. But when it comes to pleasures of the flesh you are not so worldly wise."

She laughed at my naivety.

"It's..." I wanted to say disgusting but it wasn't what I felt. If anything I was overcome with a deep sense of curiosity. And there was that feeling of want that had come over me in the drawing room again. So unlike me.

"It's very un-lady-like." I uttered with evident embarrassment.

Maya turned and looked over the images without a hint of embarrassment.

"What is depicted here is inspired by the Kama Sutra. A guide on how to live well and find emotional fulfilment."

I focused on one image. An upright man holding a woman upside down with her mouth... I looked to another. A man lifting a woman onto his oversized, rigid staff...

"Oh, Lord."

Again I pulled my eyes away.

"Living well? But it is all pictures of... carnal sin."

"The Kama Sutra is an ancient text. A philosophical work that understands the power of love in human affairs. And love can only truly be expressed by the physical act."

"I disagree. Companionship and agreeable conversation is the display of love."

I stood straight and held on to my Englishness in the fight against the bright display of embarrassment now glowing in my cheeks.

Maya remained as calm and elegant as ever. She just waved an encompassing arm across the lewd display, looking up at it as I might a work by Constable or Holgarth.

"Very fine sentiments. But would you not agree this is a far more pleasurable way to express your love?"

Her eyes burned into me, searching out my true thoughts. I gave them as I saw them.

"How is there pleasure in such an act? Especially for a woman?" I was quite incredulous at the notion.

Again she just smiled.

"Much of it is focused on a woman's pleasure specifically. Some believe it was written by the wife of the God of Love."

I shook my head.

"To me, this is about a man's... perversions. No woman aside from a hedge-whore would view this as a way to live one's life."

Maya's ever-present smile did not waver.

"Follow me."

I did as she asked, crossing the hall and walking along a corridor until passing through an open archway, and finding myself in a great open space. A garden of luscious flowers and small trees. Ornamental statutes of local gods poked from amongst the foliage and a large pool sat in the middle of a lawned area every bit as manicured as some stately home in England. In the centre of the pool, a fountain sprayed crystal clear water in a continuous curtain around itself.

But it wasn't the garden or the pool that caught my attention.

Now I was swallowed by real embarrassment. Perhaps twenty girls. All around my age or maybe a little older. Two swam naked in the pool while others sat around in small groups. Some were dressed, others just partially clothed. To my eyes, it was a bastion of depravity. This was the barbaric nature of the undeveloped world. Savages without God. It disgusted me.

"I cannot be here." I protested.

"Do not be so foolish."

The first time her words had been sharp with me. Instantly the calmness returned and she continued.

"This is a place where women are free of the rules of men. We are ourselves and do as we wish."

My eyes went wide as they fell on a young girl lying on the ground, over by some tall bushes. It took me a moment to process what was happening. She lay back with her bosom exposed, evidently happy and oblivious to my presence while another girl pushed up her lower garment and opened her legs. It was a slow, relaxed display of carnal intent and my blood ran hot at the vision.

I was held fast in my gaze at the sight of her most private parts exposed before the other girl's head obscured my view.

"Oh my God.

I feel faint."

Never had I seen such a thing.

"Come. Sit by the pool."

I let her guide me to a small bench and I sat to catch my breath.

"Why did you bring me here?"

She seemed to consider her answer carefully.

"You came to India in search of something. Perhaps I understand what you are searching for better than you."

"I think not."

One of the naked swimming girls lifted herself from the water and sat on the grass looking at me. I managed a smile to be polite and she giggled. Her flesh, flesh that I should never have seen, jiggled and I felt a strange sensation race over my skin.

"English?"

"Yes."

"Do you know the Empress?"

I laughed at that.

"No. England is a very large place. And our Queen only sees very important people."

"Oh." She seemed disappointed.

Maya said something in Punjabi and the girl smiled before falling back into the water.

"Does everyone speak English here?"

"Not all. But most to some extent.

These are not common girls as you think. They all come from good families. Wealthy families. Some are wives like myself. Others, concubines that have arrived as gifts."

"Gifts?

Gifts to who?" I already knew the answer.

"The Maharaja."

"People are not gifts to be given away."

"No one is here by force. Everyone has come willingly."

I glanced around again. A small paradise. An oasis, a garden of Eden. But soiled by sin.

"You all live here together?"

"Yes. We want for nothing. It is a paradise in a world of evil."

"And your Maharaja? Does he come here too?"

"He is the one man who is allowed here. He rarely visits. He sends for whichever girl he requires and we go to him."

"Requires?"

I was horrified at the word. I felt sure I understood what she meant by it, but when she replied it was obvious she saw it very differently to me.

"When he requires pleasure. He will send a servant to fetch his selected girl. It is an honour."

My heart was racing now. My head screamed for me to leave this place. But something held me and forced me to question and understand."

"And what do you do for his... pleasure?" Why was I asking the obvious?

"Whatever he wishes.

He is a kind and gentle man. Well-versed in the art of lovemaking."

"Oh."

I shuddered. Tiny tremors raced from my womb and turned my stomach into a churning cauldron. Lower down, a raging fire took hold and I felt tortured as never before.

"They do what is in the pictures?" I asked tentatively.

"In England, you drink tea and have a polite conversation about the weather." She laughed at me.

"I promise you these girls are more fulfilled after they have demonstrated their love to our Maharaja, and he in return.

As I am."

"I could never do that. I wouldn't know how."

I fanned a hand in front of my face to quell the rising heat burning my cheeks.

"It is an art. Learnt through education and experience. That's why we live here together. We satisfy our longings when we are not with the Maharaja and teach each other our skills."

Another shock to me. I knew perfectly well what she implied. I was not that naive. Another sin before God. I shook my head.

"I could never do such a thing. Not... That. Or to go to a man I hardly know and..."

I didn't dare think about it as the painted images came rushing back into my head.

"You came here to find a husband did you not?

A man you don't know? And on his say-so that he is a good man you will give yourself to him?"

"Yes. But that's different."

"How so?" Her eyes held me as if searching my soul.

"I... I don't know."

Truly I didn't.

"Do you... give yourself to the Maharaja?" I asked, suddenly aware that she seemed to hold a position much different to these other girls.

"I am charged with the orderly running of this Purdah. I have very many privileges including the freedom to come and go as I wish, but yes, I am summoned just as the other girls."

I stared in disbelief that this elegant, well-bred woman could partake in such debauchery as I'd seen displayed on the walls.

"And... you enjoy it?"

Again that disarming smile seemed to mock my naivety.

"We all go willingly. And yes, it is very pleasurable. Perhaps the greatest pleasure one can experience."

I found that at odds with my observations.

"You have much to learn about the art of love. It is not how you think it is."

For a moment I remembered those times I sat on the edge of the bed with my legs held up and apart while George had his way. An unsatisfactory and messy affair of animal grunting before he filled me with his pearly cream. Suddenly, there was a glimpse that there may be much I had missed. That perhaps there was a further pleasure, as I had heard from other girls, than I had experienced.

"Your late husband. Did you lay with him?"

It was as though she could see my thoughts. This subject that we did not discuss in public, but I felt compelled to answer.

"Yes."

"Naked?"

"No. Never."

"So he lifted your dress and took pleasure at his whim. He summoned you and you obliged him."

She had it so exactly as it had been. This was a conversation I would not have had with anyone but I felt compelled to answer.

"Yes."

"Then I think you have never felt the pleasure and delight of orgasm."

My mouth fell open in shock that she could talk so freely about such things. But again I was unable to answer in anything but truth.

"No."

My voice quivered with the realisation that I had no real idea what an orgasm was. The fire inside me raged like an inferno. I wished I was anywhere but here.

"Let me show you."

Every part of my being screamed for me to run. To escape this place and never return. But my curiosity and the firm guiding hands of Maya kept me in place as she led me back to the couple who had so shocked me.

"Watch." She said.

I was fixated.

Both girls were naked now. One laid back squirming on the grass as the other pushed two fingers into her secret place. Slowly moving them in and out imitating the movement of a husband in the throes of taking his pleasure. An almost imperceptible squelch from her wet cunny accompanied by small groans, not dissimilar to those that had on occasion escaped my own lips drifted up on the air to my ears.

The girls glanced in my direction and smiled but neither were dissuaded from their activity. I saw savages. I saw native whores. I saw ungodliness. But still, I watched.

"Lovemaking is beautiful." I heard close to my ear. So close that I could smell her aroma, like sweet spring cherry blossom.

"Watch as her fire burns."

I watched. Mesmerised. The girl whose fingers moved so expertly lowered her head, her tongue now massaging between the other's thighs, seeking out that tiny button I knew often excited me when I accidentally brushed against it while bathing.

"Oh, my Lord." I exclaimed.

Never had I experienced or even dreamt of such a thing myself as I saw now.

"It is wrong. Girls should not lay with girls." I muttered.

"Love is spiritual. It's universal. It doesn't matter if it is between a man and a woman or two women."

Before my eyes, fingers gently prised that pearl of delight free of its hiding place until it stood proud and red against the girl's darker flesh. It glistened with a wetness of lady juice. It was all I could see. Everything around had faded into nothing.

"Oh my."

I felt faint again as a tongue flicked and lips kissed the girl's tiny button with the gentleness of a songbird. Soft pliable flesh dimpled under exploring fingers and spread wetness that glistened in the bright sunlight. To my horror, I saw every detail. The involuntary twitch of muscles, the beads of sweat, her dampness.

Maya's hands moved over my shoulders and stroked down my arms. It was as if she was holding me in place, ready to stop me if I tried to flee. My knees were weak and my stomach queasy with the flutter of butterflies. Lower down I felt an agony I couldn't ignore. A growing pressure, an ache that demanded I rub my cloven inlet like a common hedge whore.

The Indian girl bucked and arched her back. Her moans became louder and ever more urgent.

"See how her fire burns. Does yours also burn?"

"I..."

Maya was tight against my back. I could feel the heat of her body. Her bosom pushed against me and her hands moved over my bodice to caress my stomach. The warmth of her body and the light brush of her breath added to my pain.

Deep under the layers of clothing I wore the fire did indeed rage in my special place. It was becoming unbearable. To my disgust, I wished it was me that lay on the grass. I wished it was me who was sinning so openly.

"Oh my."

I put a hand to my mouth in shock as the girl gave out a final cry of what could only be described as great joy. I was held to the spot as she writhed before gently calming.

"I must go." I gasped.

I could take no more. With exploding panic I pulled myself away from Maya and ran back the way I had come, almost closing my eyes as I passed the murals. I kept up my flight until I was through the great entrance hall.

Once outside I gulped great gasps of air and fanned myself to cool the fire rushing through my veins. I hurried back to the safety of the homestead.

That night in my room I was plagued with memories of what I'd witnessed and by the devil that resided between my loins.

I skipped prayers, too guilty to put myself before the Lord and climbed into bed. In the dark, I hitched up my nightgown and allowed my fingers to explore my thatched cottage.

"Uhh."

I cringed at the unexpected tingle driving a grunt from between my lips. Womanly juices coated my fingers as I pushed two inside me, trying to emulate the actions of the Indian girl.

"Oh my God."

I cursed at using the Lord's name but the sensations riding through me pushed the guilt away, overriding my sensibilities. I was writhing with unbound delight, as though possessed by Satan himself. I no longer cared such was the thrill I felt.

The fingers of my other hand found the tiny button of fire and it came alive, forcing me to satisfy it. I pushed my legs wide until my hips hurt. I teased it and rubbed it. The fire burned as a furnace writhing like a serpent in my belly.

"Huh. Ohh."

I bit my lip so as not to wake the household and turned my head into the pillow.

"Mmmm. Uh."

I bucked uncontrollably like an angry mule as my body was absorbed with a glorious wave of such delight I could not believe it wasn't heavenly sent.

Then it subsided away and I felt nothing but relaxation and comfort. I slept that night more soundly than ever before.

THREE

I was shocked to see Maya the next morning on my stroll. Almost as if she had been waiting for me.

"Good morning."

Maya brought her palms together in front of her chest and gave a slight nod of her head, greeting me just as she had at the villa.

"May I walk with you?"

"Of course."

I was unsure if I should but it would have been impolite to refuse.

"You knew I was widowed?" I asked striking up a conversation as we made our way through the crowds of people.

Everywhere was so busy. A never-ending torrent of natives rushing around with an urgency seldom seen in Woking.

"You are new here. An object of curiosity to many as all newcomers are at first. It is hard to keep secrets so there is much I know about you Rayne."

"You sound as though you have spies watching me."

"Not spies. But people who tell me things. People who keep me abreast of what happens in this province.

Any new arrival is always noted. As you were when you first stepped from your carriage."

"And do you invite all the new young ladies to your villa?"

"No.

You are the only one."

"Why?

Why me?"

I felt a swell of renewed disgust at yesterday's events. That I should be singled out for such a display. Then came the confusion of the ungodly excitement it'd given birth to inside of me. The disgust was more of myself than the girls.

"Why did you show me those things?"

"You are searching for a new life. You think it is to be found with a man. Any man that fits your ideal of a husband. I simply offer you an alternative to your traditional views. A glimpse of what it is you should seek."

"But why?"

I still didn't understand why me.

"You think that kind of debauchery is an alternative I might wish to be part of?"

"I see your aura. I see you are spiritual and have the potential to widen your horizons beyond what polite society seems appropriate."

"Widen my horizons? What is it you want from me?"

I asked my fear outright.

"Do you want for me to become a... a concubine?"

I laughed thinking I was making a joke. But by the time I took my next breath, I was of the opinion that my moment of humour may be close to the truth.

"I want you to be happy. And I want my Maharaja to be happy." Maya answered.

I found myself led to a small tea house, manoeuvred without my knowledge to be held in polite captivity while she worked her magic on me. Maya ordered us a pot of tea and found a table to sit at. Around us English soldiers from the Garrison were the main customers and I couldn't help but notice we generated interest amongst them. I blushed and avoided their gaze. Instead, I looked at Maya. A flawless woman of great beauty. A princess. How could someone so elegant...

"I don't understand how you can be happy that your husband has... relations with other women." I blurted out.

Maya remained as poised as ever.

"As I said. An alternative to your traditional views."

She studied me as a lepidopterist would observe a butterfly or rare moth.

"How good did your husband make you feel? Did he give you the sensations you experienced in the privacy of your chambers last night or did he leave you feeling empty as you wiped away his seed?"

I gasped. How did she know what I had done? I realised she was guessing but I felt disgusted at the memory. Vowing never to do such a thing again.

Maya pushed on. My silence having confirmed her assumptions.

"You could have those feelings all the time. And you have but scratched the surface of what your body can do. It is the key to accepting greater things.

But first, you must open that mind just a little. Body and soul will grow together."

I hurried my tea wishing I was anywhere but with this captivating woman. I just didn't understand what magic she held over me. I was terrified to pursue this conversation further. Maya had other ideas and pushed on.

"You think your God tells you it is a sin. But it is men who made it a sin, to keep you in their control. God gave you these pleasures to enjoy just as he gave them to men. The true sin is to deny yourself."

I looked out over the throng of natives passing by. A noisy mass of people filled the dirt roads of this town.

"Your girls live in a prison and you talk of men keeping control."

"Purdah is no prison. It is a sanctuary."