This was very satisfactory news for me, as my handwriting might have been recognised. So turning to the young girl with a cheerful countenance, said, laughingly, 'Well, my dear young friend, all is well that ends well; now let us make plans for the future. In the first place, it seems to me that you are formed for the joys of love. It is true I am not quite so young a lover as you might desire; but I am more fit for amorous combats than many younger men. I am rich, and though not absolutely a man of rank I am a scion of a noble house. What do you say? I know your secret. I have already seen all your charms; shall we make a match of it? Will you marry me?'
'Indeed, sir,' said the dear girl, 'your gallantry in attacking those ruffians and defending my honour would alone have been sufficient to win my heart; but as my father, the duke, has designs of wedding me to a man older than himself, an old creature whom I detest, I deem this meeting with you a most fortunate one and will accept your offer with the same ingenuous frankness with which you have made it. You say, truly, mat you have already viewed my person with pleasure; take it, dear sir, and do what you please with me. I am yours forever.'
I was quite enraptured with this decision, and it was determined that the duke should be written to in the morning and informed that his daughter, entertaining an insuperable objection to the match he had in store for her, had eloped with the man of her choice.
This affair settled, and Phoebe with many sly glances having made up a bed on one of the sofas, I shut the windows and hastened to undress my future bride. She was exquisitely formed, with the most lovely breasts in the world; and as for her bottom and thighs, nothing could be finer.
We were soon in bed, and all that her finger and the wanton tongue of madame had left of her maidenhead, I soon possessed myself of. Dawn found us still in dalliance; but at length, being both quite fatigued, with a last sweet kiss we fell asleep. The next day we were to be privately married by licence.
So now, my dear Sappho, I must conclude this long letter by saying to you, 'Do thou go and do likewise.'
To Julia
Your letter, giving me an account of your adventure with the Marquis at Ranelagh Gardens, diverted me vastly. Meantime, I have not been idle.
Since you were last here, I have colonised one corner of my grounds. A discreet old creature called Jukes has been placed in charge of that pretty cottage covered with roses and jasmine which you admired so much; and in the dairy she is assisted by the freshest and most charming of country girls. Positively you must come and pay me a visit, if only for the pleasure you will experience in the sight of Phoebe's perfections; but this is a digression and I know you hate digressions; therefore to proceed.
Phoebe and I, you must know, quite understand each other, but she is so pretty, brisk, loving and lively, and time, place and opportunity so frequently presented themselves, that I nearly killed myself with luscious fatigue and, having fucked her in every imaginable attitude, having gamahuched her and been gamahuched in return, I at length felt it begin to cloy and looked about for some new stimulant; but alas, Madame R did not call; I saw nothing of Mrs. H. To write to them was not in accordance with my usual prudence. What was to be done? I was in despair. At this juncture, that dear old Jukes came to my aid, though very innocently, as I believe. With many curtseys and 'Hope your honour's worship won't be offended at my making so bold,' etc., she told me that she would be greatly beholden if I would allow her to have a little orphan grandchild of hers to live with her and Phoebe in the cottage.
She told me that her little girl was a sweet pretty creature, ten years of age, and as she knew that I liked to amuse myself with children sometimes (?), poor innocent soul, she thought I might like to have her.
I at once consented, and in a few days arrived one of the sweetest flowers that ever blushed unseen in the woods of Hampshire. I was charmed, and lost no time in providing suitable clothes for the little pet, and, with the aid of Phoebe, her frocks were so contrived that they only reached her knees. This, you will readily understand, was for the purpose of giving me facilities for seeing her young beauties without doing anything that might alarm her young innocence. We soon became great friends, and she took at once to Phoebe, the swing, the goldfish, strawberries and cream, the rambles in the woods and, above all, her handsome new clothes; all combined to render little Chloe as happy as a princess; while her old granddam would follow her about exclaiming, 'Lawk a mercy! well I never!' and so on.
In the course of a few days, our young rustic had quite rubbed off her first shyness and would run in and out of my room, sit on my knee, hide my snuff box, kiss me of her own accord and play all sorts of innocent tricks, like other children, in swinging, climbing up trees and tumbling about on the grass; the little puss not merely showing her legs but everything else besides.
At first Mrs. Jukes tried to stop it, and told her it was rude to behave so before the gentleman, but I begged she would take no notice in future as I did not mind it and liked to see the little girl unrestrained and happy.
Now old Jukes always went to bed at sunset; I therefore arranged with Phoebe that after the old crone was gone to rest she should wash Chloe all over every night before putting her to bed; and that it might be done properly, I used to go and witness the operation, for it gave me a pleasurable sensation to see the child naked when Phoebe was present.
Phoebe was a clever girl and did not require much telling, so that none of the most secret charms of my little Venus were concealed from my lascivious gaze.
At one moment Phoebe would lay Chloe across her lap, giving me a full view of her little dimpled bum, holding open those white globes and exposing everything beneath. Then she would lay the girl on her back and spread out her thighs, as if to dry them with the towel. In fact, she put her into almost every wanton attitude into which she had seen me place myself. The little innocent girl, meanwhile, seemed to think this washing process capital fun, and would run and skip naked about the room in the exuberance of her animal spirits.
In this amusement I found all the excitement I desired, and should perhaps have been content with viewing her beauties without attacking her innocence but for a circumstance that occurred.
One evening, after the usual performance of washing, skipping about, etc., the little saucebox came and jumped on my knees, putting a leg on either side of them, and began courting a romp. Had I been a saint, whereas you know I am but a sinner, I could not have resisted such an attack on my virtue as this.
Only imagine, my dear Julia, this graceful lovely creature in all the bloom of early girlhood, stark naked except her stockings, her beautiful brown hair flowing over her exquisite shoulders; imagine her position, and how near she had placed herself to the fire and then, say, can you blame me?
In fine, I slid my hand down and released that poor stiff prisoner, who for the last half hour had nearly burst open his prison; as a natural consequence he slid along between her thighs and his crested head appeared (as I could see by the reflection in an old mirror) impudently snowing his face, between her buttocks on the rear side. She would perhaps have noticed it, were it not that my finger had long been busy in her little slit already, 'tickling' as she called it, and she was laughing heartily and tickling me under the arms in return.
Suddenly, as if a thought struck her, she said, 'Do you know that-'
She paused. Never did man wait with more exemplary patience.
'That-that-'
Another pause.
'That I saw-'