Jacqueline de Belleville Pt. 04

"Dinner will be at eight, mademoiselle," says the servant as he leaves me to freshen up and take a short rest.

A few hours later I join Angelique for our evening meal. The food is plain but there's plenty of it. Apparently wine is only served on special occasions ... and it seems as though my visit qualifies as just such an occasion. I had expected Hugo, and possibly some of the others, to join us, but they've clearly not been invited.

As Angelique tells me more about how things operate here I begin to understand how Angelique has survived for all these years. She exudes a natural air of authority many would find intimidating. But I'm no stranger to commanding men, so I'm less awed by her assertive behaviour than those who have grown up as serfs, or as the children of serfs. Angelique treats those around her as though they are still her property to order about as she likes. The revolution abolished such a medieval practise, but in this château it's as though time has stood still. Bizarrely those affected seem content for Angelique to treat them the way she does.

The food is served by two young girls dressed in maids uniforms, and the wine is served by a male servant. This château is like a small island of pre-revolution French aristocracy sat in the middle of an egalitarian ocean.

"Would you prefer a man or a woman in your bed?" asks Angelique.

"Huh? Umm ... what do you mean?"

"This château gets freezing cold at night and new blankets are difficult to purchase. You will want someone to keep you warm in bed."

"Um ... okay ... um ... do you have anyone in mind?"

"Jean-Claude is a fine young stud if you want a good fuck, or there's Hélène. She's a sweet young thing who likes to service women far more than she likes to fuck men."

After my time with Georges Lebranleur I'm not sure I'm quite ready for more cock, so I ask for Hélène. Angelique seems to approve of my choice as I suspect Jean-Claude is her preference for her own bed.

Later that evening I say goodnight to Angelique and go to my room. Hélène is already waiting patiently for me in my room. She steps forward to help me undress. The room is already chilly despite it being well into Spring. Having undressed me, Hélène immediately starts to run her hands over my body. Any belief that our bed sharing would be platonic is soon dismissed from my mind. Hélène clearly expects our encounter to be sexual, and she has no hesitation in starting the ball rolling.

We kiss while we fondle each other's bodies. Despite her initial advances, Hélène clearly wants me to take the dominant role. She's a year or two younger than me, but she's clearly no stranger to sex with a woman. We get into bed and bury ourselves under the covers. Once inside our private tent I guide her face between my legs and let her go to work on my clit and cunt. She sets about her task with enthusiasm and she quickly brings me to an orgasm which I make no effort to restrain. For the next hour we tease and arouse each other towards numerous orgasms before we collapse into an exhausted deep sleep.

The hour before dawn is the coldest part of the night. Hélène and I automatically draw each other close to get the benefit of each other's warm body. It's a delightful way to start the day and I'm really glad Angelique invited me to stay. Despite being treated as little more than a slave, Hélène shows no sign of disliking her duties in Angelique's house. Far from it. She was an eager participant in our sexual games last night.

I join Angelique for breakfast before setting off on my return trip. By mid afternoon I'm back at the inn and ready to face the wrath of the innkeeper for returning late with his horse. But he doesn't seem too put out by my broken promise to return yesterday. Of course he demands to fuck me once more as compensation, but that's no more than I expected. He's too excited to savour the moment and the whole transaction is concluded in less than five minutes.

My visit to Belleville proved more informative than I was expecting. Angelique seemed to take to me despite her general hostility towards my father's illegitimate children. Nevertheless, she made it clear that I'll get no money from her. I suppose that out there somewhere I have half-brothers and half-sisters I've never met, but I've no particular desire to find them even if I could. While my mother occasionally talked about her daughter, Julieta, she never talked about my father's other children. Of course, she may have been unaware of their existence. Angelique certainly had a very low opinion of them, but then her thoughts are likely to be biased. She never mentioned any children of her own, so I presume ownership of the château will pass to some distant cousin of my father in due course.

Where to next? Paris, I suppose. Georges left me with an invitation to visit. But how do I get there? It's a long way to walk and I've insufficient money to pay for a coach ride. As usual, fate takes a hand and my best laid plans never quite work out as expected. Only in this case I didn't even get as far as making a plan.

But that's another story.

A'isha reads my story and goes thoughtful for a while. There's clearly something I've written which troubles her.

"Is there a problem?" I ask.

"Not a problem, as such. But you mentioned a man by the name of Georges Lebranleur. It's an unusual family name. Hassan and I knew a man by the name of Louis Lebranleur about eight years ago. I suppose it could be a coincidence. The man we knew would be about fifty by now. About your height, dark hair, brown eyes, and he had a small scar on his right cheek."

"Hmm. It could be Georges' father. The age is about right and Louis had a scar on his right cheek. I only saw Louis Lebranleur a few times, but your description fits. Georges once told me that his father was working in Morocco, but I don't think it was anywhere near here."

"At the time we were staying in Marrakesh, which is where we met Louis Lebranleur. I always thought he was pompous and arrogant, but Hassan seemed more tolerant of his faults. Which is probably why Lebranleur latched onto Hassan as his friend."

"I didn't think Louis Lebranleur was capable of having any friends. Even Georges didn't like him. He tended to use people to further his own ends. In that regard, Georges was the same. Georges used me shamelessly during our time together, but that suited me fine as I achieved what I wanted to achieve thanks to him."

"I wish I could say the same. There are times when I wished Hassan had kept Louis Lebranleur well away from me. Anyway, I'm sure Hassan will want to ask you more about him. They didn't part on good terms. Now, I think you should get something to eat before this afternoon's dancing practise."

By now I've learned that A'isha's suggestions should be regarded as a direct order. Anyway, my mornings efforts have left me feeling hungry and I can expect this afternoon to be even more demanding on my stamina. I go to the kitchen and help myself to some food.

Catherine, Sally, Elena, Ruth, Julia and I gather for what promises to be an exhausting dancing session. In our practise sessions so far, we have performed individual routines and only later tried to dance as a coordinated group. Fatima, who has been hired to train us, is moderately impressed by our individual performances, but horrified at our inability to dance in unison. At least, that's what she tells us. Personally I don't think we are all that bad, but I'm not in a position to argue.

To Fatima's mind, our assortment of clothes is a partial cause of our lack of coordination. Being told to dance naked isn't something which unduly bothers me, but Catherine, Ruth and Elena are all upper crust ladies who have only recently become used to bathing naked with the rest of us. To their mind, bathing is fine, but prancing about on a dance floor without a stitch of clothing is something entirely different. Sally also undresses without a fuss, but the other four are very reluctant to do as they are told. It's a battle of wills which Fatima resolves by briefly leaving us in order to fetch Samed.

Of the six of us, I'm the only one so far to have been on the wrong end of Samed's cane. That was on the day after our arrival and it isn't an experience I want to repeat. Getting whacked on the soles of your feet is excruciatingly painful. But it's a punishment which Samed can't deliver today if we are to continue with our dancing practise. That doesn't mean an alternative target can't be found.

"Catherine, don't be a stubborn ass," I say. "None of us is going to mind seeing you jiggling your tits."

I've picked on Catherine as she is generally regarded as our leader, even if she appointed herself to the position. Not that there's been a need for us to have a leader at Wadi Halaf. A'isha is the voice of authority inside the harem and anyone she puts in charge of us carries her full support. This is a battle of wills which isn't worth fighting, and it can have only one outcome.

Catherine relents and removes her clothing. The others follow suit. Finally Fatima dismisses Samed and we get down to business. We practise dancing in pairs, and then in threes. Our coordination improves but it's still less than perfect. Fatima doesn't consider us ready to practise a routine with all six of us together today, so we try several other routines in our small groups instead. Finally Fatima decides that we've done enough for today. By this time we are glistening with sweat and feeling exhausted. The initial embarrassment over nudity is long forgotten and we all share a group hug to celebrate our success. Pressing our naked bodies close is probably the most sexual thing several of them have ever done with another woman, but none of us hold back. I don't know about the others, but this is making me think about sex with one or more of my fellow captives. It's the first time since our arrival at Wadi Halaf that I've looked at any of the others in this way.

"Go to the baths and freshen up," orders Fatima. "Tomorrow I'll bring matching costumes for you to wear."

We've lived in close proximity to each other for several days inside the harem at Wadi Halaf. Although we are all kept busy, we still have time to relax and socialise. I suppose it's inevitable that sexual attractions start to blossom. So far I've not heard about anyone succumbing to the urge to do more than admire the target of her attraction from a distance, but I guess it's only a matter of time. The harem rules don't mention the subject of sex between women, although the general rule forbidding bullying and the like would also prohibit any form of non-consensual sex.

The six of us splash about and play in the baths as we unwind from the exertions of our dancing. As we do so, I realise that I'm not the only one aroused by our intimate play. Catherine, Elena and Ruth all seem drawn to one another. Only Sally seems unaffected by it all. Meanwhile Julia's body language is giving me an open invitation to explore her delights. An invitation I shall accept later tonight.

[End of part 4]