Taking and Liberating of Penelope Ch. 04

The following two weeks became an exhausting blur for Penelope. She woke each day; shared a meal with her new 'sister'; worked until her arms, legs, hands, feet and back were sore, then worked some more; ate another frugal meal; continued to labor harder than she had ever previously endured; then retired to her room to for a retreat into sleep that was never quite sufficient; and finally awoke to repeat the entire process. All the while, she exchanged the English names of various objects in her surroundings for the Peshtu (the language of the region) terms for those same objects with Pradeep.

By the end of the second week, each girl could ask the other for nearly any tool in the kitchen in the other's language, and expect to receive it. By the end of the third week, they progressed beyond nouns only and onto verbs and simple sentences.

The labor itself was very taxing, but Penelope was determined that, if she could not somehow pay the fines, she would give the solicitor and his wife as little cause for mistreatment as it was possible for her to give. Still, her anxiety grew daily, and the long delay between out-going and in-coming posts from Britain did little to assuage her fears. Indeed, each night she dreamed of receiving repeated injuries and insults at the hand of Mrs..... whatever-her-name-was... and she awoke frequently with the dread that it was NOT a mere nightmare.

It was during her third week of instruction in the skills of serving, while she and Pradeep were reaching to point of being able to have real -- if limited -- conversations, that Penelope witnessed something that disturbed her on multiple levels. She had just finished cleaning her own room and Pradeep's to the latter's specifications, and was searching for the native woman to find other tasks, when she opened the door to "Buddy's" study and froze in shock. Pradeep was there, but she was facing the wall of the study, her hands bracing against that wall, while she appeared to be unclothed from the waist down. Behind her, the master of the house was making thrusting motions with his hips, while his hands on the raven-haired girls waist pulled her towards him. Pradeep, for her part, was making cries that Penelope first took to be sounds of pain, but an instant later recognized as the Peshtu equivalent of "yes, yes, yes" and so must actually have been the utterances of transporting pleasure. Penelope retreated to her own room, but left the door slightly ajar so that she might see when either of the occupants left the study.

A few minutes later, the Englishwoman's efforts were rewarded, for she noticed Pradeep exiting the study with a smile of deep satisfaction. Waiting until the other woman had gone towards the kitchen, Penelope approached the study door and knocked, waiting for permission to enter before opening the door and facing the young gentleman within.

"Sir," she said, humbly, "there is something I wish to speak with you about. Once before, I witnessed something that I obviously did not understand, and took exception to it. My own prejudices and cultural biases led me to speak out against you and to assault a girl -- a woman -- who had done me no harm and who I now count as the closest thing I have to a friend. For that, I was chastised, and rightly so. I do not wish to repeat that mistake, but I saw something in this room a few minutes ago that deeply concerns me."

"Please, speak freely, Miss Smythe-Worthington."

"I know that in many ways, I am quite naive... extremely so, in some matters. But I was raised around livestock and I know the basic mechanics of breeding. I believe you to be a man of honor, and that you have been instructed by your local..."queen"?... that Pradeep is to remain a virgin until her marriage, or at least until her 22nd birthday. I believe that date to be at least 6 months away, and yet what I appeared to have witnessed would be contrary to that mandate. Please, sir... tell me if I have misinterpreted what took place, and if so, what it was that truly happened. I do not wish to think ill of you or of the one who has accepted me as her sister -- as I have accepted her in return -- but what I thought I saw disturbs me greatly!"

"Thank you for coming to me first, for I know you must think me unfaithful to either my ranee -- my 'queen' as you say -- or to my bride to be. But things are not quite as they seem. It is true that Pradeep and I were engaged in a very intimate congress, and yet her maidenhead remains intact."

"But how can that be!? Unless... did she...? Oh." And then Penelope blushed deeply, for she had divined what must have taken place.

"I can see that you may have guessed the truth, for she did indeed offer me an alternative passage to her depths. I would never have thought to use her so, and even if such a thought had occurred to me, I would never have acted upon it. But Pradeep herself, in one of her trips to visit her aunt, has spoken to several of her aunt's courtiers, and one of them informed her that, if my need or hers were great, a few moments of pain on her part could reap great benefits of mutual pleasure for us both. She has since then used this technique on several occasions, but only when she feels the need to be as close to me as is possible, or when she believes I am under great stress. I regret that seeing us in this fashion has caused you distress, but be assured that -- according to our culture -- nothing untoward has taken place."

Penelope accepted this explanation and thanked him for it, but still, for reasons she could not fathom, felt unsettled for the rest of the day. Images of her host and his bride-to-be engaged in what she considered unseemly behavior kept intruding on her thoughts, and her dreams that night -- although she could not recall them afterward -- left her disturbed when she awoke. Thus it was that, while they were working together, she mentioned her concerns to Pradeep.

"Dear sister, I saw what you did with your beloved in his study yesterday, and apologize for having trespassed on your privacy. I cannot help but wonder, though, how it is that you came to do such a thing."

The Indian girl answered in the broken English that had become the means of their main communications, "Ranee Indra say must not have *lingam*" -which by the context in which it was used, Penelope understood to be the Peshtu word for 'male member' -- "in *yoni* and "gurulidh* say Ranee Indra must be obey. But Pradeep want to feel *gurulidh* so close. Lady Gurdeep say that if do as you see, *lingam* make feel much, much good, and she say true! When marry, Pradeep want give *gurulidh* many, many baby!"

"But still, sister, how can you do anything so... so... disgusting?"

The dark-haired woman turned to Mr. Krishnamurtmi, who happened to be in the room at the time, and asked him to translate the Englishwoman's question. When she received his reply, she turned and gave her response, with a slightly puzzled look on her face. "It because *gurulidh* is.... *gurulidh*" and seemed to think no other answer was possible nor, indeed, necessary.

Some time later that day, Penelope approached Mr. Krishnamurtmi and asked him a question. "Sir, a few times today, and on several occasions previously, Pradeep has referred to Mr. Bhu... Mr. Bhuwall... uh..."

"You are meaning Mr. Bhuwalliput?"

"Yes, thank you. She has many times referred to him as *gurulidh*. Is this a name or a title? Is it something I ought to be calling him, since I am serving in a similar capacity to her in this household?"

"Oh no, indeed, Miss. *Gurulidh* is meaning something for which, to the best of my knowledge, there is no English word. It is not meaning 'teacher,' exactly, nor is it quite the same as 'beloved,' but is meaning something almost the same as both."

"Then if my mathematics instructor in school, of whom I was quite fond, were here, this is a term I might use for him?"

"It is possible, Miss, but I am thinking I am not explaining properly. *Gurulidh* is not meaning the same as 'beloved teacher,' but rather more the idea of "one who is teaching me to love or be beloved'. I am apologizing for my explanation. My English is not as good as Mr. Bhuwalliput's."

Penelope paused for a moment, then changed the subject. "Mr. Krishnamurtmi, it occurs to me that during the weeks I have been here, I have not seen -- nor have I heard you mention -- a Mrs. Krishnamurtmi. Are you, perchance, widowed, sir?"

"No, Miss, I am not... although at times, I almost wish that I was, for then I would have had some time to look back on and remember the state of being married. You see, I am always being the scholar, intent upon learning English and improving myself. When I became a clerk for Mr. Bhuwalliput, my studies became even more intense, so that I might prove worthy of the position he has placed me in. By the time I am becoming aware of a certain lack in my life, I am looking around and discovering that all the women I am feeling attraction to and wishing for a close bond with have already found husbands of their own. And I am finding that the women who might find me an acceptable husband are either older than myself, or have an appearance I would not wish to awaken beside daily."

"What? In so populous a country as this, is there no woman available that you and she might find mutually attractive?"

"Alas, Miss, as I am nearly 40 years old, I am despairing of ever finding such a dream inhabiting my waking hours. And so I am thinking that it is my fate to be either in a marriage I would not find any joy in, or departing this world without ever knowing the love of a woman."

"Be of good cheer, Mr. Krishnamurtmi, for I feel certain that surely there must be some woman somewhere who is still comely in her appearance, and yet having the discernment to appreciate a man of your good looks and position."

Over the next few days, Penelope began to think of matters outside her own dire fate and began to find sympathy for Mr. Krishnamurtmi. And it occurred to her that her words of encouragement to that gentleman were not mere flattery only. She and Pradeep had often observed the two men of the household as they girded their loins and walked into the river to bathe, and while it was true that Mr. Bhuwalliput had his youthful vigor to recommend him, Mr. Krishnamurtmi had experience and wisdom showing in his face and stature that the younger man had not yet attained. The local administrator showed the strength of a pine tree in every delineation of his frame, whereas that man's clerk exhibited the solidity of an oak in his every posture and movement. While the former, with his face clean-shaven in the Oxford fashion, projected the clear determination of a born leader of men, the latter, with his luxurious full mustaches, had the look of a seasoned warrior stalwartly defending a just cause. Penelope felt certain that if there were any justice at all in the world that there must indeed be some young woman with the good judgement to observe the finer qualities inherent in the older man.

Finally, the day that Penelope had both hoped for and feared arrived, and she was presented with the answers to the letters she had sent to England. After reading these, she went to see "Buddy" in his study.

"Mr. Bhuwalliput... I do hope that I have pronounced that correctly... I have just received a response to my correspondence back home, and while it is not quite so bad as I had feared, still it is not as helpful as I had hoped. The Anglican church, despite having sent my father to this posting, denies any responsibility for his actions or my welfare. My uncle, the Earl, states that he sympathizes with my plight, but finds his coffers lacking in ability to be of assistance. The manager of the family estate promises to send what funds are available, but as the harvest has been rather poor of late, he has sent a draught for 500 Pounds, saying that such an amount is all that can be found at this time. In short, I am unable to pay the assessed fines which, seeing things in the light of what I now understand to be the norms of your people, you were quite correct in assigning to my case. I know I have no recourse but to allow you to hand me over to Mr. Prawanahol to work off my debt to him and his wife as their house-servant."

"My dear Miss Smythe-Worthington..."

"Please sir, before you finish that thought, may I speak further? I have been made aware that, according to your laws, you as adjudicator in the case and as administrator for the district have the authority to present Mr. Prawanahol with a sum equal to the assessed fines and take my service for yourself. Further, that you have the funds to do so, but because of what you see as my probable reaction... which is to say, thinking that you would take advantage of me in such a situation... you have forborne to do so. Sir, whatever my reactions might have been at the time, I now know you to be not only a man of high principle and a man of honor, but a man who is devoted to Pradeep and who would not take any action against the one she sees as a sister. And so it is, sir, that I humbly beg of you: do not send me into the hands of a woman who by all accounts would take harsh revenge on my person for the hurts done to her husband. If you will accept my service to you and to Pradeep, I swear that I will pay you any monies that I receive from the family estate as they become available to me, and will serve you faithfully until my debt is paid in Pounds or in labor."

"Miss, I was about to inform you that Pradeep has already spoken to me on your behalf, and I was merely waiting for your report of financial standing to let you know that I do, indeed, intend to assume your debt for the time being. I have seen the effort you have made to take on the responsibilities that my intended has been bearing, and as she will soon become of age to marry me, I will no longer have her as my servant but as my wife. It is therefore fitting that you take over those duties, and I welcome you, not as a guest, but as well-loved servant in this household."

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