Ch.15: The Group Grows : Part 1
Alfred thought about his life. His whole life had been chasing the dream of leading a better life. His family had been fortunate but not well off, his father a clerk. He himself had risen up through hard work and ability from being a mere clerk like his father to being entrusted with accounting responsibilities. Valery had recognised his ability and listened to his advice. He had been trusted and groomed for upper management. He would always be grateful for that.
It was at times like these, he reflected, when he considered what had motivated him. To lead a better life, to work in well furnished offices and not in a cold clerk's room. To have money with which to buy the lifestyle he aspired. To be able to impress and afford the women he wanted. He had found a suitable woman but she had tied him down, persuading him to marry. It was a good match, he had done as well as anyone expected, but in the process his dreams of the very best of womanhood had been lost. His new responsibilities had not brought the leisure to enjoy his new wealth and his wife. The promise of the bright future had only partially rewarded him. He wondered sometimes whether the wealth he had worked for was worth all the effort he had invested. Of course it must be worth it. If he had not achieved what he had he would be a lowly clerk or a hard worked accountant and life would have been less rewarding. He would have worked hard still but at jobs more dull than he currently enjoyed, and his wife would have admired him less.
Disappointment had haunted him. He had hoped for more than this but he was conscious of time passing. Soon he would begin to grow old. It was beginning already. Already his wife was not as attractive as she had been when he married her. He could still find her attractive but was always aware of the signs of decline from her youth. She seemed to realise his diminishing interest too and this reflected in her mood. Perhaps she found him less attractive than she had or was merely bored. She seemed to value him more for the gifts he could bring her and the lifestyle he could provide her with than for himself, although there were times when they still got on well. She seemed generally less interested in the act of sex than she had once been and seemed to regard it as a childish pleasure that she had mostly outgrown. Alfred had felt himself regretting that he was missing his chance to mix with the younger and more attractive women whose bodies he most admired. He had found himself wishing that access to other women had been easier. He was ready to experience other partners before he grew much older. He had even come to the personal opinion that if sex was more freely available and came without a price everyone would begin to be more sexually content. The simplest pleasures should be free, but in his world unfortunately they were instead a binding contract, a constant feeling of guilt and responsibility, and usually required a gift of wealth.
The lovers could not be together all the time and Danella would not have wanted it that way. She was here to explore Dumis and her curiosity continued. Both Mireau and Valery had responsibilities and work to perform. Mireau had a wife and family to look after. Ravelleon would be back soon from Pirion and he would be demanding of her time. The 'group' was not yet for the General. He was too 'principled' and too jealous for that. Philippe, Lady Arabella and Alfred were all invited to join the 'group' and no secret was made of the passions which had been allowed to run free among them. Philippe and Arabella resisted for a while. They had each other, and Philippe his wife. Danella could see with her understanding of human sexual nature that both were tempted, although neither would admit it openly. They professed interest and treated the subject with humour when it arose, as if to pretend that the events described had not really happened or were the practices of people more childlike than they. Alfred however was interested from the beginning, as he had hinted to Danella on the first evening. She had intended to visit him alone, but Jeanette begged her to let her come along. Jeanette had quickly become a protΓ©gΓ© more enthusiastic than Danella who had known sexual fulfilment ever since she had been invited to join the adult groupings in Shanla.
Great was Alfred's surprise when both gorgeous ladies came to his house when his family were not there. He had been expecting only Danella but stories of group boding had caused him to dream of what he then enjoyed.
"Danella," he greeted with enthusiasm as his servants showed the women into the lounge where he sat, "and Jeanette." The enthusiasm in his voice waned as he caught sight of the second woman. It was obvious that he had expected only the Priestess. To any Prancirian man the arrival of more than one woman to his door meant a goodbye to the possibility of any lovemaking, despite any fantasies his imagination had played in the last few days. Few men in Prancir ever dreamed of more than one woman at the same time in his bed. Maybe a few particularly rich and perverse gentlemen might pay well over the odds for the company of two prostitutes, but most gentlemen would steer clear of such arrangements knowing them to be an invitation to be fleeced of their money.
"Do not be alarmed Alfred," said Jeanette. "Danella said she had arranged to visit you and I decided I would like to come along, to watch of course," She joked.
Alfred, who knew Jeanette well of course, was for once lost for words. He was familiar with her as a friend and evening companion, but this unpredicted meeting was embarrassing to him for he knew not what to expect. Was this all some elaborate joke played on him by his friends? Did Jeanette mean what she said when she said she had come to watch him make love to Danella? If so he was not sure he could with they eyes of a friend he knew so well from so many more safe and genteel situations upon him. Was Danella sincere in the promise she had so openly made to him when last they had met? Could she really be trusted when she had broken her promise of privacy?
"You need not fear Alfred," said the lovely foreign woman who he had hoped to have all to himself. "Jeanette is not here to prevent you from making love to me. She wants to encourage you. You see we believe that making love is good for us all."
"I do want to watch you perform for me with Danella," said Jeanette, "but first we thought we could get you in the mood a little first.
Danella lifted Jeanette's skirt at the back and parted her legs a little, detaching the skirt at its belt and allowing it to fall gently to the floor. Now Danella was revealed a leather thong around her loins but her delicious breasts swung free. Jeanette too was naked as her panties came off. A bra covered her breasts.
"She has an exquisite figure doesn't she?" declared Danella as she smoothed her hands over Jeanette.