Courage is a virtue highly praised by people who sit in the comfort and safety of their homes. The same people like the spirit of a survivor. In real life, however, doesn't the one often exclude the other?
Juliana woke up feeling broken. Her head ached and all her muscles felt as if she'd just done the Olympic Decathlon. She stretched her limbs, wincing softly. She was naked under a satin sheet.
Through a haze she remembered being scooped up at the dining table by the butler, last night, and carried in his arms through chilly corridors. She must have fainted from the massive climax that had swallowed her. She didn't remember having stripped before going to bed. And now she didn't want to remember.
"Good morning, Mrs. Austin."
The voice was the butler's. His knocking on the door must have woken her. He stood at the foot of the ancient poster bed, carrying a tray. She saw a teapot, triangles of toasted bread and a silver dome that he lifted off a plate. The aroma of eggs and bacon reached her nostrils; she felt a pang of hunger in the pit of her stomach.
"Good morning, John," she said, blushing as she imagined the intimacy of him undressing her last night. She sat up, holding on to the sheet to cover her chest.
John put her breakfast on an old fashioned folding table that he set in front of her. She avoided his eyes.
"Thank you, John," she said. "It looks delicious."
He poured her tea. She picked up a piece of toast and spread some scrambled egg on it. It tasted heavenly.
The butler smiled before turning away. She'd never seen him doing that.
"John," she called out before he reached the door. He turned towards her.
"Ma'am," he said, his eyebrows raised.
"Thank you for taking such good care of me." She hated the rising glow of another blush.
"It was my job," he said. "And also my pleasure."
"John?" He once more checked his departure.
"Ma'am?"
"What has he planned for me today?" His smile shrank until there was only a thin line.
"I am not privy of Dr. Charrier's plans, Ma'am," he said. "I am the butler." And he left.
After eating the last crumb of the delicious breakfast, Juliana showered. She returned to the bedroom wearing the fluffy white robe she found.
The only item in her closet was a short, baby blue dress. It was thin and felt like cotton. Buttons ran from its collar to its hem. On the bottom of the closet stood a pair of sandals. The heels were taller than she'd ever worn.
She searched the drawers for underwear. All she found was a pair of string-like panties. She sighed, stepping into them. They felt tight and left tufts of pubic hair uncovered. She put on the dress, closing all the buttons. Would she ever get used to the free movement of her breasts? She pulled the irritating fabric away from her nipples.
Sitting down at the make-up table, Juliana picked up a brush. Pulling it through her short, tangled hair, she watched her eyes in the mirror. They looked tired and puffed. Remembering the heavily made up face of the big-breasted dancer, last night, she took stock of the table. Was she supposed to use all this: the powders and the shadows, the lipsticks and the eyeliners? There were puffs and sponges and an array of soft brushes. She also saw a number of items she didn't even know the names of.
Her attention was diverted by a soft knock on her door. It was the small Asian girl that had done her hair and nails the day before. She looked like a porcelain doll.
"You dress already," the girl said, frowning.
"Yes," Juliana responded, laying her hands on her chest. "I thought... I found it in the closet... I mean the dress, I..." She babbled. She wondered why. Why was she always on the defensive in here? The woman smiled.
"Is alrigh," she said with her singsong accent. "But now you take it off again, please."
The tiny woman walked past her to the bathroom, leaving a sweet cloud of perfume in her wake. Juliana heard taps being opened and water gushing into the tub. She stood undecided. Her fingers were at her collar, touching the uppermost button.
"You undress now!" the woman insisted from the door. "I have no all day." Juliana's fingers undid the first button and stopped. Why hesitate? After all, the girl was a woman, wasn't she? No need to be shy.
The second button popped from its tiny slit, followed by the third and fourth. There were so many.
After the fifth the fabric yielded, showing off the soft curve of her modest breast. She stopped, taking a deep breath. Being brought up to not even dare look at oneself wasn't something that disappeared overnight. With Alec she'd undressed in the bathroom.
One hand held the gap closed while the other lingered at the next button. Juliana knew she was being silly. After what happened yesterday, every try at modesty was ludicrous, wasn't it? She'd spread her naked thighs wide, showing off her most intimate parts; a butler had undressed her. And now she was shy? Four more buttons went, then another three until she reached the hem. She slowly straightened her back, letting the two halves fall apart.
The little Asian clapped her doll's hands.
"Beautiful!" she said, smiling her pearly teeth bare. Juliana smiled. She knew she blushed like crazy. She didn't care. Shrugging her shoulders, she let the thin cotton slide off her body.
"What is your name?" she asked the girl. "I'm Juliana."
The girl said she was Mei. Then she waved Juliana closer and into the bathroom. Clouds of fragrant steam welcomed them. When Juliana walked over to the bathtub, Mei clacked her tongue, pointing at the white cotton thong. She giggled and so did Juliana as she pushed her thumbs into the elastic band and slid the panties down.
"So much hair," Mei said, shaking her head left and right. "No good. No beautiful."
Juliana looked down. She was a natural blonde. The hair on her mound and vagina was thick and curly. She had no thoughts about it being beautiful or not. It was just there, ever since she grew up. It was like her eyebrows - and her armpits.
Mei clacked her tongue again, frowning as she lifted one of Juliana's arms.
"You in water," she said. "I come back."
Mountains of foam covered the scalding water. Juliana sank down very slowly, an inch at the time. When her ass cheeks touched the water and she shied up again with a soft squeal, she heard the rumbling laughter of a male voice. Crying out, she tried to jump out of the tub and run. But two strong hands grabbed her, and wrestled her down into the splashing water.
"You stay down, Mrs. Austin," the voice said. Through the clouds she saw the shape of Dr. Charrier. He wore a white bathrobe, soaked with water from their little struggle. He let go of her arms. She sank deeper, covered with suds, and panting.
"No," she said. "No, no, no." He chuckled yet again.
"Oh yes, darling," he said. "So very yes." He straightened up and walked over to a bench that stood against the tiled wall. There he sat down facing her, knees wide and big hands resting on them. Like one of those Japanese wrestlers, she thought. Sommo,
Summo
...
"Now," he went on, "when sweet Mei returns, you do exactly what she tells you, understood?
Exactly
."
She just stared and nodded. Moist heat soaked her skin. She felt dizzy.
Mei ignored the doctor when she returned. She carried a tray; Juliana couldn't see what was on it. The girl set the tray on a commode. Then she walked over to the tub, smiling and nodding.
"You rise, please," she said. The girl stood at the foot of the tub, blocking the doctor's view for now. But Juliana knew what he would see, the moment she'd step aside.
"Do I have to?" she asked, hating the childish whine in her voice. Mei just smiled and nodded again.