Laundry Tales 10: Lady of Misrule

"Yes. I was engaged to the second coachman. He seemed a nice enough man..."

"...but already had a wife elsewhere."

"Yes, James. I found out a few months later, and he was discharged for dishonesty, mainly for lying to me."

"I wanted to kiss you, Esther, but I couldn't kiss an engaged woman. That was the last time I felt the desire to kiss a woman. There were no others around anywhere near my age."

I mentally hugged myself. James had wanted to kiss me. OK, that was years ago, but if he had wanted to then, maybe there was hope that he could or would kiss me before the end of the day.

"I'm not engaged now," I said encouragingly.

"No, Esther. You're not. Why not?"

"No one suitable has asked," I retorted.

"Then maybe you too have a problem," James said. "You need a husband..."

"And you will need a wife. That can't be me."

It couldn't. A servant woman couldn't marry the heir to the estate. He had to marry someone of his own class, if only to produce an heir.

"So, Lady of Misrule, what have you in store for me today? I have admitted why..."

"Eventually I am going to take you to the Servants' Hall, to meet the three other young ladies who aren't motherly. They expect to be greeted and will welcome you. None of them will smell of gin, nor of anything except healthy young women perhaps with a hint of Rose Water or Lavender. Their task is to show you that women can be friendly and not threatening..."

"And if I don't obey, Esther?"

"I can't order you to. In theory I could, but you can refuse. My powers as Lady of Misrule only exist by consent. I hope you will enjoy today, find it educational, and find out how much your servants love you..."

"Love me? Surely you are overstating that, Esther?"

"No. I'm not. I'm here, willingly, as your friend. Any of the unattached young women would have taken my place if your father had asked. He thought I might be the one most acceptable to you."

"What exactly do I have to do?"

"Kiss them. All of them. The young ones and the older motherly ones. It need only be a peck on the cheek. They'd like more, but a token kiss would be a start."

"I have never..."

"You've said so. If we could go somewhere more secluded, you could practise -- with me. Shall I make that an order, James?"

"No, Esther. I accept with gratitude. I hope you will forgive any awkwardness..."

"Of course I will. But I expect you to be more than a beginner before you face the assembled servants. The men will make themselves scarce so that you won't be embarrassed."

"I will be, Esther. It will be an ordeal."

"I and we will try to make certain that it will be enjoyable. But practice first, sir. Now!"

James took my hand. We walked back into the Rose Garden, and into an arbour. He stood facing me. His face was pale. His hands were shaking. I held both of them, and lifted them one by one to my lips. I pulled one of his arms around my waist. The other followed. I held his head between my hands before gently pulling him to meet my lips. He reacted as if startled. He nearly pulled away. My hands made sure that he didn't.

I was enjoying myself. My lips were kissing a handsome adult gentleman, and I was the first woman he had ever kissed. How many women would want to be a man's first?

His arms tightened around my waist. It was a subtle movement but encouraging. My hands weren't needed to hold him still. I slid one hand behind his neck. We continued to kiss for at least a minute before he withdrew slightly.

"Mistress Esther," James said, "that was wonderful."

"Then why, sir, did you stop?" I asked.

His answer was satisfactory. He kissed me. This time there was almost passion in his kiss. When that kiss ended he pulled me deeper into the arbour towards the bench. His arms lifted me as he sat down, and I was sitting on his lap. My skirt covered his legs. This position was much more pleasant. Our heads were on a level and our kissing was deeper. I dared to do more. I lifted one of his hands and put it on one of my breasts. He resisted at first, and then began to stroke my breast through my blouse.

The next time our lips parted, I said:

"We need to move to the next lesson, James."

"We do? And that is?"

"Kiss me where your hand is now resting."

"Is that an order, Lady?"

"I hope you will do it without compulsion, sir," I replied.

"But you might order me?"

"Yes."

"Very well, Esther, but please be patient with me. This is very new. Pleasant, but frightening too."

"It should be enjoyable, not frightening. Feel how soft I am there. I'd like to be kissed so you can know how soft a woman can be."

As he moved his hand away and bent his head towards me, I opened my blouse. His eyes were shut as his lips approached. Those eyes opened wide as his lips met bare flesh. My hand cradled the back of his head so that he couldn't pull away. I didn't need to apply any pressure. He relaxed against my breast as if he had been kissing breasts for years. I stroked his hair as his lips explored the bare skin I had exposed.

I gently pulled my blouse lower.

"That nipple would like some attention, please," I said.

His eyes opened wide again.

"Am I allowed to?"

"Not allowed, sir. Expected to. Please?"

My nipples were erect. His lips parted slightly and the nipple slid into his mouth. Gently, as if playing a fish on a line, I eased more of my breast into his mouth. His eyes turned upwards towards my face, disbelieving. But he continued. That was what mattered. Master James, on his first encounter with a woman, was taking direction properly. I could feel warmth between my legs under my skirt. I was enjoying his attentions. I had the avid attention of the young master. If we could do this within the first hour, what could we do in a whole day?

The church clock struck ten. Very gently I lifted James' head away from my breast.

"I am very pleased with my student, James. For a beginner you have accepted my instruction beautifully. As you can tell, neither my breath nor my body stink..."

"They don't. Your lips and your..." James paused. I think he couldn't bring himself to say breast, "...skin are soft and delicious."

"And so they should be. But we have an appointment in the Servants' Hall. I will introduce you to the ladies who serve your family. The older married ones will expect a kiss on a cheek at least, and then they will depart, leaving you with me and the other three younger ladies. The four of us will continue your education, gently and with humour, and perhaps love."

"Love?" That had startled James.

"I mean that they love you, as the young master who has treated them with consideration despite refusing to acknowledge their womanliness. That we will try to correct without going too far. It is too soon, even for such a diligent student as you have shown yourself this morning. As I said earlier, if you feel that the experience is too much, you can stop. My powers as Lady of Misrule cannot compel you, and I wouldn't want to. None of us will abuse you, nor embarrass you. Please? Will you come?"

"I suppose I have to. I rely on you, Esther, to protect me -- please?"

"You won't need my protection, James. Any of us would wish you well, and they do. Come."

I climbed off James' lap, rearranged my bodice so that my assets were covered, and held out my hand. James took it. I led him towards the servants' entrance to the lower ground floor. Just before we entered the Servants' Hall I stopped to kiss him.

As we came through the door I felt James stiffen. He was afraid of what he might have to face. Mrs Clerk, the Housekeeper and the Butler's wife, was just inside the door. She opened her arms to Master James. He had to bend down to kiss her on both cheeks.

I heard her whisper to him: "Well done, Master James."

"Can I introduce you to your senior staff?" Mrs Clerk said aloud.

"Certainly, Mistress Clerk," James replied. "I will be delighted to meet them."

I was proud of him. He kissed the cook, the head dairymaid, the assistant housekeeper, and the senior maids. They were beaming with delight as he made his way down the line. They hadn't expected such a change in him in so short a time.

James returned to Mrs Clerk. He put an arm around her waist and pulled her into a light hug.

"Thank you, ladies, for such a pleasant set of greetings. And thank you, Lady of Misrule, for bringing me to meet you all."

He kissed Mrs Clerk again. She blushed. I didn't think she still could. It reminded me of my early days as a servant when Mrs Clerk was much younger, and a very attractive woman. James' kiss had shown that she still was, under the stern pose she maintained as the Head of the female staff.

"We will leave you now," Mrs Clerk announced, "to the younger ladies who want to meet you too. Mistress Esther will introduce you to them."

She eased herself out of James' hug, curtsied, and led the senior women away to have tea and cakes in her room. The three remaining women looked hopeful. They hadn't expected Master James to kiss anyone, yet he had performed brilliantly with the older women.

"This is Abigail," I said.

I took James' hand and led him to stand in front of Abigail. She curtsied to him. As she came up from the curtsey James took her in his arms, leant forward, and kissed Abigail full on the mouth. She responded as I thought she would. Abigail is a little baggage who loves kissing men, any men who are willing. Most are willing. Abigail is a delightful young woman. Her arms went around his head to pull him closer. That was a real stretch for her because she is so small.

"I am delighted to meet you, Abigail," James said as they broke for air. "That was a better way to say hello..."

Helen tapped Abigail on the shoulder. Abigail released James with reluctance.

"This is Helen," I announced.

Helen didn't bother with the curtsey. She grabbed James and pulled him straight into a kiss. One of her hands pulled James' arm around her waist as she kissed him. His other arm soon followed, lifting her off her feet. Her skirt swayed as she clasped her arms around his shoulders.

The third woman was waiting patiently. She moved forward to interrupt Helen's kiss. I gestured for her to hold back a while. James and Helen were enjoying themselves.

When James restored Helen to her feet I said:

"And this is Margaret."

Margaret did a very graceful curtsey before almost jumping into James' arms. She didn't wait for him to pick her up. He had no choice as she swung from his shoulders. He pulled her up, because her lips were below his chin, and they too kissed satisfactorily. I let them kiss for several minutes, slightly longer than the other two. I hadn't expected Margaret to be so enthusiastic but she was kissing James very effectively. I tapped her on the shoulder.

"Must I?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied. "It's my turn."

James picked me up, carried me over to the settle, and sat down with me on his lap.

"How?" Abigail asked. I knew what she meant. How had I persuaded Master James, who had never shown any sign of an interest in women, to kiss them so well.

"That's a secret of the Lady of Misrule," I started to say, before James' lips stopped my words.

Out of James' sight, I gestured for the other three to join us. Abigail squeezed against his right side, Margaret to his left, and Helen stood against his legs. When James stopped kissing me, he looked around.

"I'm surrounded," he said. "What do I expect now?"

"It's what we expect, Master James," I said. "we four are all shorter than you. Although we can kiss, it would be easier if you were lower down. Please put me down, and kneel in front of Helen."

Helen blushed. She knew what was coming. James eased himself out from under me and dropped to his knees in front of Helen. He turned his face upwards, expecting a kiss. He didn't expect Helen to pull his head between her blouse covered breasts and hold him there. His hands waggled helplessly beside his body before he wrapped them around her hips.

"That isn't motherly," I stated. James might have made a reply. Helen's breasts muffled what he might have said. He gasped for breath as she released him.

Margaret pushed Helen aside and dragged James into her cleavage. She let him breathe from time to time as she wiggled her tits over his face.

Abigail, although less well developed than the other three of us, startled James. Her breasts were bare with her blouse open to her waist. Her erect nipples teased his lips. She let him take one and then squeezed her breasts together to put both nipples at once into his mouth.

James' eyes turned towards me. Did he want a break? I didn't let him have one. Before Abigail released him I had unfastened my bodice and blouse. I took his head from Abigail's breasts to my own. I was really enjoying myself as his lips caressed my bare bosom. Abigail winked at me before she pushed her breasts around the back of his head. James was held in a two woman breast embrace.

When we let him go, Margaret and Helen had already stripped to their waist too. Their four breasts cradled him while I and Abigail hugged them tighter around him.

"Well, Master James," I asked, "is that a satisfactory way to greet your staff?"

He struggled gently to free himself from Margaret's cleavage.

"Lady of Misrule, that is more than satisfactory. I hadn't realised how talented my staff were, nor how delightful..."

He might have said more but Margaret hugged him into silence.

"As Lady of Misrule, I would like to give you an order."

James eyes turned towards me. One of Margaret's breasts was gagging him.

"Whenever you meet one of us four ladies in a suitable location, I expect you to kneel, as you are kneeling now, and be greeted as Margaret is now doing. Will you obey?"

Margaret eased her breast out of James' mouth.

"Yes, Esther. I will, if that is what they want. Is it?"

All four of us said "Yes'" together.

"And although my reign ends with today, will you do it after today as well?"

"You're sure?"

I nodded.

"Then I will. Whenever appropriate, that is with no one else around, I will kneel before each of you so that you can hug me."

"Hug he calls it!" Abigail protested. "Titty smothering is what we'll do."

"Whatever pleases you," James replied.

"And it pleases you?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "I am honoured by your condescension, and love."

"You are right, Master James," I said. "We do love you. So do the rest of the staff. Even Mistress Clerk might titty smother you if she wanted to, but as a married lady she shouldn't."

I sighed.

"My task as Lady of Misrule is almost completed. Soon the other three will be teasing the male staff who are trying ineffectually to do the women's work. There is one last lesson for you, Master James. I and we have been delighted with your progress so far. The last task might be the hardest and I ask the others to turn their backs..."

Margaret let James go. I sat down on the settle.

"Please come here and kneel before me, Master James. I will whisper the last instruction in your ear."

I spread my skirt wide. James leant forward.

"Ladies have two sets of lips," I whispered. "You have kissed the ones on our face. I want you to try to kiss the other ones on me."

James paled. He must have been remembering that ancient Oxford prostitute.

"You will find that they are clean and sweet smelling," I continued "You might even like their natural perfume. Will you make the attempt?"

"I will try, Esther, but you have set me a hard task for my first day," he replied.

"It is the last one," I whispered back, "and if you cannot, I will understand. But please?"

He shuffled backwards and lowered his head towards my lap. I hitched the masses of skirt upwards, spreading my legs. My lower lips were exposed to his gaze. He glanced up at me, as if seeking reassurance. I stroked his head, taking care not to press it towards me.

I jumped slightly as his face touched my inner thighs. I knew I was heated down there and damp. His head moved closer until his nose was touching my lips. He raised his head slightly. His nose pressed against my mound and his lips gently, very delicately, kissed me. I held my breath. He was so close and yet obviously reluctant. Whatever I did, I couldn't help him. It must be his own freely given consent or everything we had done today would be in vain. All I could do was spread my thighs even wider.

As if making a momentous decision, James' head slid deeper. His lips were kissing me. I slumped backwards, overcome with the enormity of what he had managed. In my excitement I let my skirt slip from my hands. It slid over his head and down on to his shoulders. He was in darkness pressed against my sex.

Whether the concealment helped? I don't know, but James began to kiss me properly. I covered my mouth with a hand. I could barely stop myself from squealing in ecstasy as his tongue slid inside me. For an inexperienced lover, James' actions were perfect. I knew the other three women were jealous. They knew, even if they couldn't see, what I would want James to do.

But I shouldn't push him too far. I lifted my skirt, uncovering him, before gently lifting his head from between my legs. I pushed my skirt down before lowering his head to my lap. I stroked his head.

"Well done," I whispered.

I pulled him back up to my still naked breasts.

"You can turn around now," I said in a normal voice.

The three of them knew I had been successful. They swamped us with naked tits, kissing James again and again.

I hugged him tight. I was relieved. My task had proved ridiculously easy. Once James had admitted his unfortunate experience in Oxford, all I needed to do was provide clean sweet-smelling female flesh. His natural instincts took over once he had kissed me. I would always remember that I was the first woman Master James had kissed, the first woman since his mother who had held him to her breasts, as I was doing now.

And I was the first he had kissed under her skirt. Whatever happened now, I would have the memory of his head pressed against me.

"Well done, Master James," Margaret said as she fastened her blouse. "We three have to go to tease the male servants, but the Lady of Misrule will keep you company for the rest of today."

"But remember," Abigail added, "If you meet any of us four, please kneel so that we can do this..."

Abigail pulled James' head between her breasts.

"And this..."

Abigail kissed James fiercely on the lips.

"The older women would like acknowledgement too," Helen said. "All you need to do for them is kiss a hand, or give them a gentle hug. As married ladies they shouldn't accept more, but they might be daring and kiss you properly. Not when their husbands are near, but they love you too."

Helen kissed James. She was reluctant to end that kiss. I thought James was reluctant too.

The three of them stood in front of James, pointedly adjusted their blouses and curtsied to him, before leaving me alone with him.

Once they had left James asked: "What now, Esther, Lady of Misrule?"

"A walk in the gardens before lunch?"

"I would be honoured," he said, "but I think you might need to rearrange your dress first..."

I looked down. My breasts, with erect nipples, were still exposed. James stood up as I fastened my blouse and bodice.

Most of the rest of the day was an anticlimax. As Lady of Misrule I had achieved everything and more. While James was attentive, and kissed me frequently, I didn't ask him to go further. I thought I had pushed his tolerance to the limit. After all, I am one of his father's servants, not James' potential lover.

Just before the evening meal, when I had agreed with James that I would cease to be the Lady of Misrule, he took me back to the Rose Garden. In the gathering darkness he burrowed deep under my heavy skirt and kissed me hard and often. I writhed helplessly as he brought me to an orgasm. He had proved that my pupil had learned his lesson too well.