The following two weeks became an exhausting blur for Penelope. She woke each day; shared a meal with her new 'sister'; worked until her arms, legs, hands, feet and back were sore, then worked some more; ate another frugal meal; continued to labor harder than she had ever previously endured; then retired to her room to for a retreat into sleep that was never quite sufficient; and finally awoke to repeat the entire process. All the while, she exchanged the English names of various objects in her surroundings for the Peshtu (the language of the region) terms for those same objects with Pradeep.
By the end of the second week, each girl could ask the other for nearly any tool in the kitchen in the other's language, and expect to receive it. By the end of the third week, they progressed beyond nouns only and onto verbs and simple sentences.
The labor itself was very taxing, but Penelope was determined that, if she could not somehow pay the fines, she would give the solicitor and his wife as little cause for mistreatment as it was possible for her to give. Still, her anxiety grew daily, and the long delay between out-going and in-coming posts from Britain did little to assuage her fears. Indeed, each night she dreamed of receiving repeated injuries and insults at the hand of Mrs..... whatever-her-name-was... and she awoke frequently with the dread that it was NOT a mere nightmare.
It was during her third week of instruction in the skills of serving, while she and Pradeep were reaching to point of being able to have real -- if limited -- conversations, that Penelope witnessed something that disturbed her on multiple levels. She had just finished cleaning her own room and Pradeep's to the latter's specifications, and was searching for the native woman to find other tasks, when she opened the door to "Buddy's" study and froze in shock. Pradeep was there, but she was facing the wall of the study, her hands bracing against that wall, while she appeared to be unclothed from the waist down. Behind her, the master of the house was making thrusting motions with his hips, while his hands on the raven-haired girls waist pulled her towards him. Pradeep, for her part, was making cries that Penelope first took to be sounds of pain, but an instant later recognized as the Peshtu equivalent of "yes, yes, yes" and so must actually have been the utterances of transporting pleasure. Penelope retreated to her own room, but left the door slightly ajar so that she might see when either of the occupants left the study.
A few minutes later, the Englishwoman's efforts were rewarded, for she noticed Pradeep exiting the study with a smile of deep satisfaction. Waiting until the other woman had gone towards the kitchen, Penelope approached the study door and knocked, waiting for permission to enter before opening the door and facing the young gentleman within.
"Sir," she said, humbly, "there is something I wish to speak with you about. Once before, I witnessed something that I obviously did not understand, and took exception to it. My own prejudices and cultural biases led me to speak out against you and to assault a girl -- a woman -- who had done me no harm and who I now count as the closest thing I have to a friend. For that, I was chastised, and rightly so. I do not wish to repeat that mistake, but I saw something in this room a few minutes ago that deeply concerns me."
"Please, speak freely, Miss Smythe-Worthington."
"I know that in many ways, I am quite naive... extremely so, in some matters. But I was raised around livestock and I know the basic mechanics of breeding. I believe you to be a man of honor, and that you have been instructed by your local..."queen"?... that Pradeep is to remain a virgin until her marriage, or at least until her 22nd birthday. I believe that date to be at least 6 months away, and yet what I appeared to have witnessed would be contrary to that mandate. Please, sir... tell me if I have misinterpreted what took place, and if so, what it was that truly happened. I do not wish to think ill of you or of the one who has accepted me as her sister -- as I have accepted her in return -- but what I thought I saw disturbs me greatly!"
"Thank you for coming to me first, for I know you must think me unfaithful to either my ranee -- my 'queen' as you say -- or to my bride to be. But things are not quite as they seem. It is true that Pradeep and I were engaged in a very intimate congress, and yet her maidenhead remains intact."
"But how can that be!? Unless... did she...? Oh." And then Penelope blushed deeply, for she had divined what must have taken place.
"I can see that you may have guessed the truth, for she did indeed offer me an alternative passage to her depths. I would never have thought to use her so, and even if such a thought had occurred to me, I would never have acted upon it. But Pradeep herself, in one of her trips to visit her aunt, has spoken to several of her aunt's courtiers, and one of them informed her that, if my need or hers were great, a few moments of pain on her part could reap great benefits of mutual pleasure for us both. She has since then used this technique on several occasions, but only when she feels the need to be as close to me as is possible, or when she believes I am under great stress. I regret that seeing us in this fashion has caused you distress, but be assured that -- according to our culture -- nothing untoward has taken place."
