Chapter 11: The Card Game
I make my way to La Contessa's games salon where I wait patiently beside the card table as I've been directed. The other household servants are not put out by having a naked servant wander around the house wearing no more than a collar and a few leather straps. I get the odd admiring glance at my manhood from the younger, female servants. But they know not to linger too long in admiring my physique or they'll get a reprimand from old Lucio.
The centrepiece of the salon is a billiard table, but there are also several card tables, one laid out for a game. There's a chair arranged on one side of the table and four on the opposite side. In front of each setting is a stack of chips fashioned from ivory, each with a distinctive coloured marking on it. There's a decanter of
malvasie
and glasses set out around the table at each place setting.
The table is set out for a game of faro, a hugely popular card game in Venice for many years. Il Ridotto, the gaming houses sanctioned by the Venetian state, are full of people playing faro. I once visited the largest of these gambling houses in Calle de Ridotto. It was an eye opener; a vast candlelit hall with over a hundred gaming tables packed with gamblers. It's hugely popular though I've never been tempted to partake. I've seen and heard of too many lives ruined from fortunes lost at the gaming table. I know how popular the game is with the aristocratic elite of Venice so it doesn't surprise me La Contessa should invite guests to play with her.
The green baize has a suit of spades set out in classic formation with a row containing ace to six, another row with eight to the king, and the seven to one side on its own. Faro is simple and fast moving, hence why it's so popular and how people lose so much money playing it. Basically, people play against the dealer by placing bets on the cards.
At the start of the game three cards are turned up from the pack. The first isn't used in the game and is discarded to the left of the pack. The next card is the 'loser' and is placed in front of the dealer whilst the card left face up on the pack is the 'winner'. 'Loser' cards win for the banker who takes the stakes from the card on the board while 'winner' cards win for the players who've bet on that card. After each 'turn' of the two cards the bets are settled and the stakes of the cards not turned over stay on the table.
I admit to being intrigued about the role I'm meant to play in the game. I imagine La Contessa will add a sexual twist to it, or maybe she wants me as a decoration to stand there naked in my leather straps.
I hear a commotion of chatting and giggling from the other side of the door before it's flung open by Lucio dressed in formal attire for the occasion. Lucio sees me standing by the card table and shoots me a disdainful stare across the room. La Contessa enters with her four guests.
They are a bizarre sight dressed with the formal extravagance of Venetian court life. Julia has done a remarkable job in transforming her mistress into the epitome of current Venetian fashion. The wigs are enormous, even by the standards of the day. It's as if they've entered a competition for the tallest wig, which, inevitably, La Contessa has won, as hers is several inches higher than the others. They are embellished with jewels and enormous feathers so that, even in the high ceiling of the salon, they nearly touch the roof. In fact, I believe the size of La Contessa's wig is so preposterous a parody of the fashion of the day, or even a mockery of her guests, is suggested. She has the statuesque figure and poise to pull it off but, though I'd dare not hint it to her, as a group they appear rather ridiculous.
It's not only the enormous wigs. Their faces are powdered white, their lips rouged and their faces adorned with false moles in the shape of hearts or spades. Their gowns are sumptuous; the quality of the material, their cut, and vibrant colours are stunning. They walk stiffly, encumbered as they are by their wigs, bustles, and layers of undergarments.
As they enter one of La Contessa's guests is nattering away to the others in good Italian with a strange accent, which I take to be English, "I'm enjoying Venice exceedingly. I must say, much to my surprise, so is Lord Rudston. I was most worried he'd be bored away from his estate and his hunting, but he seems to have taken such an interest in the architecture here. You know, he has taken to regular constitutional walks where he simply insists on going out on his own to explore Venice. I'm most delighted he's shown an interest in things other than his hunting, it's most refreshing."
I have to restrain myself from laughing. I catch La Contessa's gaze and we exchange discreet smiles. We both know where Lord Rudston's been! He's taken himself off to the brothels of the Cannaregio. He's probably fucked every prostitute in Venice by now without Lady Rudston suspecting a thing. Well, I say every prostitute; that would be some achievement given there are several thousand of them!
From the introductions made by Lucio I can identify La Contessa's guests. There's Lady Rudston, with a short round body and spherical face looking absurd in her massive wig. Apparently, Lord Rudston owns huge estates in a part of England I've never heard of called 'Yorkshire'. There's Archduchess Hofburg from Salzburg, who is tall, angular and pointed, Anastasia Petrova, allegedly a Russian Princess and finally, and most interestingly, Mademoiselle Marie La Tour, the wealthy heiress to the Gobelins tapestry factory in Paris, who is young and pretty. They make for a strange party.
Now, from the point of view of La Contessa's plans for her soiree, they have each come with a male servant, dressed like me in combinations of leather straps and thongs. I expect La Contessa has loaned this attire as I can't imagine this being normal dress in these aristocratic houses. They are directed to stand next alongside me at one end of the card table.
The ladies take their seats at the table and Lucio pours out a glass of
malvasie
for each of them. They unfold their enormous fans, decorated with hand-painted Japanese geishas, which must be the latest fashion. I appreciate it must be hot under the thick velvet and damask dresses but the salon is not so warm. I can only think the fans are an affectation or, it occurs to me, they might be used for coded messages if the players had conspired to cheat La Contessa, as I know fans are used in this way. But I consider this highly unlikely. Indeed, it's hard to imagine Lady Rudston having the wits to cheat anybody.
La Contessa explains the rules of her game, "I know you are familiar with the rules of faro. I shall play the role of dealer. You can bet up to five stakes for each turn. There is a delightful little twist to my version of the game though. After each turn your winning stakes are converted into punishments for our respective servants. So, if the dealer, that's me, wins, then I get to punish your servant. If a player wins, then you get the chance to punish my slave. So, there you are ladies, it's really win-win for you, either you administer corporal punishment or you watch it being delivered to another servant."
As La Contessa explains her rules I stand there mentally calculating the likely odds. Surely that means with four against the dealer I have four times more chance of being punished than the other servants? Oh well, I was expecting there to be a twist, and it doesn't surprise me La Contessa would load the odds against me.
"This is good. I am looking forward to game. Salons of St Petersburg do not permit such goings-on. We are not so, how do you say, opening of minds as in Venice," explains the Princess Anastasia in broken Italian.
"Oh my goodness! If only Lord Rudston knew what I'm getting up to whilst he's wandering around Venice looking at churches. He's such a stick-in-the mud," laughs Lady Rudston. "He'd never imagine I'd be doing anything as naughty as this whilst his back's turned!"
"I was once invited by the Comte du Conde to a masked spanking ball at the palace of Vaux le Vicomte," added Mademoiselle La Tour, "it was great fun. Thank you for inviting me Contessa, I'm looking forward to this."
The thin Austrian archduchess looks across at her haughtily, "I'm surprised Le Comte would invite a tradesman and commoner to his palace."
Mademoiselle stares daggers at her, "Money opens doors, as you'll no doubt discover soon Herr Hofburg. Nobody will talk to an impoverished aristocrat as I expect you'll soon find out after your husband has settled his debts at
Il Ridotto
."
This afternoon could be fun! But La Contessa has no time for this squabbling amongst her guests and rapidly pulls them back to the game at hand.
"Lucio, lay-out the instruments of punishment for me," she orders.
He fetches an armful of implements and arraigns them on the green baize of an adjoining card table. There is a collection of whips, riding crops, tawses, straps, slippers, and canes of varying sizes, materials, and flexibility all capable of delivering severe corporal punishment. The servants of the other aristocratic guests stare nervously at the tools arraigned before them.
"I will add a little more interest to the game by giving a value to the implements. I believe the canes are the harshest so they need two winning stakes before you can use them. For the overall winner, the player with the most winning stakes, I have a special treat. So, shall we begin ladies?"
La Contessa nestles into the dealer's chair. The ladies place their stakes on the cards. She shuffles the deck and places it face up in front of her on the table. The card showing is the first card, known as the soda, and this is discarded and placed to the left of the pack. The next card is the two of diamonds; this is the 'loser' and is placed between the discarded card and the pack. The card showing at the top of the pack is the eight of clubs, and is the 'winner'.
Lady Rudston has placed a stake on the two of spades on the board, this means she has lost to the dealer and, under the rules of this version of the game, La Contessa can punish Lady Rudston's servant.
She's in fits of giggles over it, "Oh, I'm so sorry, James. I was never any good at cards! Lord Rudston has always said I've no luck in card games and he's right. This is such fun."
I glance at the deck. Two guests, Mademoiselle La Tour and the Archduchess Hofburg have put stakes on the eight which means I receive one stroke from each of them. I think I might enjoy being whipped by the pretty French heiress and the Archduchess looks so feeble, I'd be surprised if she can even lift a riding crop!
Lady Rudston's servant, James, bends over dutifully to receive his punishment. La Contessa leaves him there as she adds another detail to the rules.
"I should have mentioned that a lady can opt to use her hand to deliver a spanking instead of the implements, if she prefers. I choose to use my bare hand."
