The Virtuous Wife's Tale Ch. 08

Another day dawned. More lessons. Needlework, French, Deportment and yet, Isabella could only think of the previous night, of how she had been brought to the edge of rapture with the lightest touch of a feather. Her master had taken to a place where her basest instinct screamed to be satisfied, but he knew how to control, to push her to the limit of endurance and then push a little further. Isabella felt frustrated and strangely content that she had not lost control.

Breakfast was eaten in silence as usual with Miss Frobisher looking on. After the pupils had finished they were given details of their lessons for the day. Hannah was to improve her French, as her aunt had a notion to undertake a tour of Europe in the following spring, and Celia was to join Isabella in Mrs Hancock's embroidery lesson. The other girls were ordered to their own lessons and a few were instructed to remain behind for Special instruction from their masters.

Isabella wondered if it would involve feathers or maybe some other interesting method of instruction, but was soon hustled out of the dining hall.

Mrs Hancock pursed her lips and picked up Celia's embroidery hoop. 'Terrible, just terrible,' she said, staring at Celia. 'I will have to speak with Miss Frobisher about your slovenly and lazy ways, I am sure your master will be disappointed in you.'

'But, I do try, I really do,' Celia was shaking. 'I will do better please do not tell my master, he has already...' Celia was already crying, unable to continue.

Mrs Hancock clapped her hands. 'No more of this nonsense Celia. Now ladies I expect you to get on with your work in silence. Isabella will you bring your work to me.'

Isabella picked up her embroidery hoop and walked slowly to towards the sewing mistress. She wanted to comfort Celia, to ask her why she was so afraid of making a mistake with her work, but she dare not.

'Your embroidery is improving. Your Chastity is complete and it is time to work on another of your virtues.'

Isabella watched as Mrs Hancock ran her fingers over her carefully embroidered sampler, the word Chastity outlined in dark virgin blood red. Even so she was uncomfortable with the way Mrs Hancock's fingers stroked the work as if it were part of her, and she had said your Chastity as if she knew that Isabella was not to touch or pleasure herself while at Pendragon House.

'Good, good,' purred Miss Hancock. 'Now Isabella, your next word is Temperance. Do you know the meaning of this virtue?'

'I believe it is the virtue of abstinence and self-denial,' Isabella replied.

'You are correct and what is the vice you have to control by being temperate with you behaviour?'

'Vice, Mrs Hancock?'

'Surely you are aware that Gluttony is a vice, wantonness is a vice, using others for your own pleasure is a vice.'

'Yes,' Isabella said.

Was she being warned what to expect next? What would her lesson in Temperance entail? Isabella returned to her seat and began working on the letter T in thread the colour of storm clouds, grey and menacing.

When the lesson was finished Isabella slipped out of the room and waited for Celia. 'Why is Mrs Hancock to horrible to you?' Isabella asked, slipping her arm through Celia's as they walked towards the dining hall.

'It is because I am no good at any of my lessons, she thinks I am lazy but I'm not, really I'm not Isabella,' Celia said, her voice wavering. 'My uncle, well I call him my uncle but he is my guardian. My parents entrusted me into his care, said I was a useless girl with little prospect of marriage. Uncle promised to educate and improve me so I could find a suitable husband. But I think he had other plans for me.'

Isabella squeezed Celia's arm, encouraging her to continue.

'He has sent me here to learn how to be strong and dominating. I try my hardest but it is not in my nature. But my master is losing patience with me and last night he made me...' Celia lent closer to Isabella, excitement in her voice. 'I had to admonish him, to be strong and order him to do whatever I wished. I must say Isabella I did enjoy it. I even...and don't think badly of me, I even took pleasure in making him crawl on the floor and lick my feet.'

So they all had special lessons from their masters. Isabella tried hard not to smile.

'Do you think badly of me, Isabella?'

'No I don't, I think that we are all here to discover a part of ourselves that we would rather keep hidden, my master came to be last night and...'

Isabella and Celia walked slowly, arm in arm, down the corridor towards the dining hall. Isabella told Celia about her master and of how he had teased her with a feather and how she had to resist her desires. Celia giggled and then gave Isabella a huge hug.

'We all have our secrets to share,' whispered Celia.

And Isabella was certain there were more secrets to discover, as they entered the dining hall together.