The Way Things Are

"Hypocritical, Leo?"

"Please join me, darling. Don't bother putting your robe on, the room is warm and I rejoice in the sight of your considerable charms. I assume the young John was overwhelmed by the sight and awkward at best and rushed at worst."

"You, you are not upset at me?"

He snorted. "A bit, but manageable. Unless you do not share a drink with me, have a heart-to-heart talk, and welcome me home again deliriously afterwards."

Slightly hesitantly she slipped from the bed, and actually blushed slightly as she walked, naked and slightly damp, across the carpet in the flickering fire light. Her anxiety was lessened by his appreciative smile. He stood as she approached, held the other chair for her, seated her delicately and returned to his own chair. He lifted one of the two Viennese crystal glasses she had loved and he had sought out for her.

"To - eternal love and growing old together!"

Sophia blushed slightly but clinked glasses and took a drink. She could feel the warmth tumble down to her stomach and then sparkle out through her body. The aroma lifted her head and made her feel slightly giddy, as potent wine on an empty stomach will.

"John is the youngest son of your best friend, Gina Gambini, is he not?" her husband noted.

"Yes," Sophia admitted cautiously. "How did you...? How could you possibly... know what she said to me, and why would you be hypocritical?"

"Because, my dear, my own dear mother, rest her soul, made the same request of her best friend, Celia Bartoletti, many years ago - and to her I joyfully surrendered my virginity and learned many valuable skills in pleasing women, which I hope you appreciated when we wed. I love you so much, with all my heart, that I would have been crushed had I been awkward and unskilled between the sheets on our wedding night. When you sighed in such complete contentment and fell asleep with your satisfied smile in my arms for the very first time, I thanked God for bringing us together, and Celia Bartolleti for her patient instruction." He chuckled warmly at his wife's astonished expression, reached across the table and rested his hand lovingly on his wife's. After a moment she intertwined her fingers with his, and took another sip of wine. "And I admit to being a slow learner - I spent fifteen evenings, no less, in her intimate tutelage, while her husband worked late at the forge." He chuckled again in good humor and continued, "Though age and wisdom cause me to suspect that she might have hinted to him that coming home late on certain nights might find her in an extra loving and grateful mood. Knowing her, I am sure he would have had no complaints."

"You, you would not object to my continued - tutoring, of young John?" she asked, slightly incredulously.

"I cannot, though I admit that part of me would like to." He sighed again. "My dearest darling - in honor I find I am practically forced to insist. You promised his mother, and our family keeps its promises. And after the trauma of this evening, if it is not salvaged, he will no doubt be worse off than before. Antonio Gambini, his father, is an old school friend of mine, and for the sake of the happiness of his future daughter-in-law and the grandchildren he cannot wait to dandle upon his knee, I would not only not object, but would reluctantly encourage your most intense - instruction. Though I will expect similar treatment immediately afterward, or at least after you freshen up," he added archly. "Besides, that will be a very influential favor they would owe us." He leaned across the table and kissed her quite passionately, and then sighed happily against her lips. Before he could withdraw, she found herself leaning forward and kissing him with equal fervor, surprising herself with the heat that was rushing, not only to her head, but to groin. "At a quiet word from you, I will find a perfectly legitimate and socially acceptable reason to be out quite late or away overnight. Though even if he were a slow learner, I think that fifteen sessions total - fourteen more - would be sufficient; if he still hasn't gotten it by then, he is not worthy of your further tuition. Is that agreeable?"

"Agreeable? It is heart-warming, dear Leo. That you would let me indulge myself with a spray of youth. I certainly agree."

"You will school him in the noble arts of seduction and sexual pleasure, AND must ALSO school him in the arts of DISCRETION, my dear. Overt or blatant infidelity would be socially awkward and result in much - trouble. Sly winks, discreet nudges, and quick smiles at social fictions are nothing but the fabric of life. My friend, Luciano, overlooked his wife's occasional dalliance with the family groomsman; after all she denied him nothing in bed, and did not remark on his own occasional tarrying at the seamstress's shop. No one remarked upon their arrangements at all... until she ran off with him. The humiliation! The contempt! His business suffered badly. And when his wife was left in her turn by the feckless lover, and came, remorsefully back, he could not take her in, though his heart screamed out to do so. All pride would have been lost. He would have been a pauper in a month. So he had to publicly harangue her and throw her out, all the while whispering in her ear. He salvaged his pride and his business. And only his closest friends, such as myself, know that she now resides in a beautiful little cottage on a mountain slope overlooking the deep blue of the sea, with three FEMALE servants in constant attendance to her every need. And that his quite frequent travels always seem to include an overnight stay in that self-same cottage. Last month she even accompanied him - in disguise no less, as his mistress - to a craftsman's fair in Rome, where he wined her and dined her as a husband usually only does for a beloved mistress who warms his bed quite soundly. He then returned her, quietly, to her cottage. He plans to retire there in two years. I and a very few other of his best friends best know of this, for we are sworn, that if anything should happen to him, that she would be taken care of until she joins him eternally."

He sighed at his wife's huge, round eyes. The way he wove his long, engaging tales was one of the reasons she fell in love with him; she loved to be regaled by him with stories, both true and fictional. "So both of you accidently falling naked out of a carriage in the middle of the town square would be most unfortunate. To preserve our family fortune and my public honor I would have to be publicly extremely irate, and cast you out... to an even more beautiful cottage on that same gorgeous slope, which I would visit VERY frequently, bearing flowers and delicacies and perfumes - and all my love. So DISCRETION will be his very next lesson. And even our own servants must see nothing."

"But he knows now that YOU know. What shall we do about that?"

Leo noted that she had used, completely subconsciously, 'we' in her sentence, and he smiled. "You are correct. And I suggest that you run into him by chance, say tomorrow, and note that I was irate and ranted and raved, but you plied me with several glasses of strong drink, swore to make it up to me, and then I stumbled when I went to use the chamber pot, and struck my head. You were horrified, but got me into bed and watched over me anxiously all night.

When I woke in the morning with an ungodly pain in my head, you found, to your relief, that I had forgotten the entire incident. So he is safe. Make sure he has told no one. If he has told no one, arrange for a little late tryst back here, under cover of darkness, of course, and I will stay at work quite late awaiting an urgent shipment. If he has told anyone, ask who, reprimand him and remind him what is at stake, and then you and I will plan what to do to get out of that awkwardness. We may need to involve Celia and Antonio in a meeting-that-never-happened to head off any unpleasantness, though that is a last resort."

"You are as clever at politics as you are at business, my dear. And you are not a hypocrite."

He had the grace to actually blush, and had a hard time meeting her eyes. "My dear, I must confess that I have had some guilt, and have brought home some extravagant gifts to expiate it, that I, too, have missed you on long trips. I begrudge each night I must be away from you; and will welcome that time, in only a few more years, when I can retire and turn over running of my business to competent employees such that we will seldom have to be parted, except, alas, for a while by death."

"Leo," she murmured hoarsely, clutching his hand.

"My confession is incomplete, dearest heart. On a few of the longer trips, when my longing for you could be slaked in no other way, I found an attractive young lady, clean and of good breeding, and entertained her in my lonely bed. I had no intention of seeking any replacement wife, and I fear I would insult the most accommodating young ladies if I were to confess to them that we were in darkness because I wanted, in my mind's eye, to pretend it was YOU in my arms." He heaved an embarrassed sigh and tried to look through her eyes into her heart. "They were poor but willing substitutes. Their families were amply - compensated - by valuable and reasonable trade deals, and their patriarchs, and matriarchs, remain good friends, and all are quite clear that what happened once will never happen again."

Sophia looked astonished, then chuckled; then laughed. "Is that where the pearl necklace came from, that overwhelmed me, and made me the envy of all my friends?"

He nodded sheepishly.

"And the diamond earrings that prompted our pastor to give a homily on excess? And made me, again, the envy of all my friends?"

He bit his lip and nodded again.

She squinted at him and tried to hide behind a seriously upset face. "And so, how many over the years...?"

"Seven in total my dear. I confess fully and beg your gracious forgiveness."

Instead of shocked or disapproving, her expression was thoughtful. "So I could," she ventured, slowly, "tutor six more young men?"

Leo stared at her, guffawed loudly, and then kissed her again. "You have been around me too long, my dear, you are a shrewd bargainer. So let us bargain. I retire in three years, God willing. I note that tutoring up to seven young men, for possibly fifteen lessons each, would be a hundred and five extra-marital assignations. That seems excess penance for seven one-night dalliances in the past."

"You wish to tutor young, socially awkward girls?" Sophia's sculpted eyebrows lifted, but she smiled wickedly as she said it.

"Perish the thought my dear. I have no interest in any but you. We currently have marital relations at least twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays, usually, plus special occasions and holidays. This would easily leave an evening, possibly two, open in the week for the tutoring of such as John. Once your pupil has drunk freely of your charms and has discreetly crept away home down the secret backstairs, I would expect the same consideration from my playfully passionate wife. Especially as she has been recently infused with the frisky seed of youth. So I expect to profit personally and substantially from your tutoring."

"Oh, Leo, I would certainly agree with that. Especially after the early and most likely unsatisfying lessons."

"Very well, my dearest, dulcet darling. Over that time until retirement, should the RARE request come from a distraught mother for you to tutor a clean boy of good character into a man of taste and discretion, I shall look the other way, if not actively aid you, as long as it is discreet and in good taste. You are NOT to advertise, for I admit, given the perfection of your breasts and the garden of heavenly delights between your thighs, you would have every young man, inexperienced or worldly, lined up at the door craving tuition. That would not be discreet. So in exchange for my - support -- you could, upon earnest request, tutor one or two more young men, before my retirement. Not seven!" His sardonic smile took some sting out of the emphasis. And if either of you start developing any more feelings than lust, gratitude or a mild affection, that you tell me and end it immediately. And also, after each 'lesson' I get to reclaim my bride, showing her my appreciation for her charms and she showing me her lusty appreciation of my understanding."

Sophia stood and struck a pose. "You still find me alluring?"

"My dear, you are a feast for the eyes. Beware in any travels! Should you be shipwrecked upon a heathen coast they would have you upon a spit in a trice. And I prefer you to be on my personal spit."

Sophia giggled and sat back down. "And I will understand, that if for perfectly legitimate business reasons you must be away from me for more than two weeks, that I will not remark upon a single, one-night dalliance with a woman of good character -- and look forward to whatever trinket you might bestow on me for the exorcism of the ghost of your guilt."

He nodded, slowly. "Remember, my dear, no advertising. If the pleased whispers of a satisfied mother meet the desperate ears of the mother of another suitable candidate - and I expect that I will have veto over proposed candidates -- then we shall see. If you receive a future request, if you are inclined to take it, protest for the look of the thing, eventually be persuaded to consider it, and then we will discuss it. If we agree, you may give your gracious, reluctant consent, and we will schedule your sessions carefully to avoid any awkward confrontations such as tonight."

"Leo, I will rely upon your insight, both into the libido of young men and your worldliness. Not every lesson should be in this bed. A sophisticated young man should know how to turn a brief, chance encounter or illicit meeting into a sweet, lifelong memory. I have no wish to, as you said, tumble naked into the town square from a carriage, much as I look forward to our retirement villa. I will need your assistance in my seductions. I hope you will not mind?" she added timidly.

"Sophia, I shall have envy and jealousy curdling in my very bowels - but I am your husband and one true lover, and I want you to hide nothing from me, as I should hide nothing from you. I will approach any problem you present for my consideration as a challenging trade deal and render my best advice. And trust to your undying gratitude afterwards. And I must emphasize once again that of everything, discretion is the most important. No one other than you should know of my acquiescence to your libidinous hobby. Use me as the troll or ogre. Make certain that each lad knows that no one can be aware of this, not even their most dear friends. That in and of itself should be a premier lesson. Not only must no one ever find out, but your husband, Leo, must never even suspect, else his blade should reap their blood."

"Of, course, dear. I have no desire to become a social pariah, or cost us our wonderful life style."

"My dear, I believe we have a deal." They kissed over the candle, and he helped her up and escorted her over to their bed, their eyes never leaving those of their lover. "And dear, in total honesty, can you give me any pointers as to how to make eager young John last longer? He was disappointingly quick - I barely knew he had entered me when he was gasping in spent passion. It required great patience on my part. Setting aside my mortal embarrassment earlier, I was very glad to have you in me."

"I shall be most delighted, my dear." He finished his wine and stood. "But after we lustily celebrate my homecoming and our -- agreement."

Her warm hands caressed his rapidly reviving erection and led him toward the bed with a playful giggle. "Of course, dearest Leo. Of course."