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Chapter 7
A week after her summons to the Headmistress’ office, Anne was surprised when, on the Sunday following lunch, instead of retiring to the sitting room to read, Perkins put her walking bonnet and fleur de bouche on and led her out to a waiting car. She tried to ask using her eyes as she had been taught to and evidently she had learnt well for her maid caught her glance and once they were seated inside, explained.
“At Miss Garner’s Institute it is common for the pupils to visit elderly members of the community – respectable members – so as to provide them with a little refined company on the Lord’s Day and also to the pupils themselves get used to socialising. Today we are visiting Capt. Hope whom has been assigned as your elderly companion. He is a former naval officer of sixty-four years who had to retire due to a leg injury. Not only has he had to suffer that, but also his wife died of influenza some six years ago and so he is now very much alone. Your visit should provide him with some joy.”
Upon arrival at Capt. Hope’s townhouse, a maid opened the door and directed them into the sitting room where the captain, a jovial looking fellow with a large grey beard and twinkling eyes sat by the fire which was roaring brightly despite the fact that it was a warm day outside. “Greetings! Greetings! So you are the new girl from Miss Garner’s then? How wonderful to have you in my home. And what is your name, Miss?”
“Her name is Miss Anne Curzon,” replied Perkins.
“Wonderful, wonderful! I do so enjoy having you girls pop round and see me. I’ve been quite lonely you know ever since young Clarissa got married, but it was a wonderful wedding, it truly was and she looked so lovely in her gown. Now Miss Curzon, would you like some tea?”
“She would love some, Captain.”
“Excellent! Martha, tea for three please. Now, please, tell me all about yourself, Miss Curzon.”
“My mistress is sixteen years old, Captain and she is the ward of Lord Curzon of Kedleston. Her heritage however, is quite interesting, as she lived for many years in Russia before coming here. Her father you see, was a diplomat in the city of Moskva.”
“Russia, or should I say the Soviet Union? Indeed, a fine country, very modern. I was there several times, though only to Leningrad, never Moskva. A beautiful city though, the Hermitage is a remarkable museum. Ah, here is the tea!”
From the outset Anne liked Capt. Hope. He was a friendly man with a kind smile and she was pleased to meet someone else who had been to her country. If only she could speak to him! Alas of course, her fleur de bouche prevented that, and it would be impolite to speak when it was removed for tea drinking. Anne resigned herself to letting Perkins speak for her.
They sat and drank tea whilst Perkins made some general chit-chat and Capt. Hope enquired how Anne was liking Miss Garner’s. Then, after he had drank half a cup, the captain excused himself and left the room. Immediately, Perkins came over to her and whispered in her ear, “I shall be leaving myself for a while now Miss. Whatever he does, do not be alarmed, it is as it should be.” These words mystified Anne somewhat and she was wondering what they could mean when Capt. Hope returned, beaming as before and Perkins stood up. “Captain, I do apologise but there is an errand that I have to do; Miss Curzon here has a new set of stays waiting at the post office and I must collect it. Would you mind awfully if I left?”
“Not at all, not at all. We can stay here and chat about Leningrad and Moskva can’t we Miss Curzon?”
Now Anne really was confused! She knew nothing about a new pair of stays, (although to be fair, she was rarely informed about things concerning her these days), but what she did know was that the post office was shut on Sundays! Why was Perkins leaving?
Whatever the reason, leave she did and Anne found herself alone with Capt. Hope who was still beaming and sipping his tea. Once she had left though he changed his countenance to a more serious one, and moved nearer to Anne. “Now Miss Curzon, I am sure that your servant’s excuse has not fooled you, particularly since the post offices are closed on a Sunday in this country, (although not in the USSR I seem to recall), but do not fear, it was all for a reason that is to your benefit. You see, the thing is, you were not brought here merely to keep an old man company, although I must say your presence is charming, but instead, to help with your education. Now, I am about to do something, do not be alarmed. Are you sure that you will not be startled, Miss Curzon?”
As her mouth was filled with the fleur de bouche, Anne could merely nod, and that action too was slight due to her neck corset.
“Right, now, have you seen one of these before?” And to her shock the captain undid his trousers and pulled out his manhood and waved it in front of her. Anne gasped but then, remembering her promise, nodded. “Good, now that is a start, as many girls have not you know and are quite overcome at the first sight. In the USSR though, I appreciate that things are quite different and so I suppose that it is there that you… observed…?” Anne nodded slowly. “I see. Now, would you mind if I removed your fleur de bouche?” Anne shook her head and the captain removed it with a smile. “Excellent, things are moving well. Do you know what, we don’t often get to this stage by even the second visit with many girls; Clarissa took a month. Now Miss Curzon, I am sure that you are quite confused by all this, so would you like to ask me any questions?”
“Captain, sir… you have done this before… to young ladies?”
“Ever since my wife died six years I have been dfoing this every Sunday to young ladies from Miss Garner’s. We must never talk of it of course, not even to your maid and certainly not to your husband, but Miss Garner knows and promotes it. You see, she needs her pupils to learn certain skills which can only be learnt well first hand, whilst I, well, after my dear Prudence died, I fell into quite a state of depression and when I went to see the physician about it, he said that it was due to a build up of sexual fluids in my body and that I required regular release for the state of my health. And so we have a situation that suits us all, I teach you, you help me keep my health and the reputation of Miss Garner’s Institute remains high.”
“So are you saying that you have… sex with girls…?”
“Not exactly, no for that is impossible due to your chastity belts, and besides, it is immoral also. No, what I do is teach the young ladies how to pleasure their future husbands with their mouths and hands, although as you are bound today, then the latter will have to wait. Now, would you be willing to take my member in your mouth, Miss Curzon?”
“I do not know Captain, I have never done such a thing before…”
“That is fine, this must be done in your own time. Whenever you are comfortable. I can sit here and wait and whilst we wait we shall talk. So, tell me about life in Moskva then…”
Anne started to tell the captain all about her life in the USSR and he did seem genuinely interested, but it was most off-putting with him sat there with his penis hanging out and so in the end she stopped the conversation and said, “I should like to try, Captain.”
And so it was that he came over and placed it in her mouth. It was hard and had a slight salty taste to it, but it smelt alright and it was obvious that the Captain was a most hygienic man indeed. “Try sucking it a little,” he said. She did so and it stiffened further. “Try using your tongue, Miss Curzon,” advised Capt. Hope. This she did and was beginning to get into the rhythm when there was a knock on the door. “Your maid has returned,” he announced, withdrawing his tool and fastening his trousers up again, before replacing the fleur de bouche in her mouth. “Miss Curzon, you have made an excellent start indeed, really good. You can be proud of yourself; it took Clarissa over a month to achieve such results. Well done!”
There was aknock on the door and the Captain said, “Enter!” Perkins walked in. “Oh Capt. Hope, sir, I’m so sorry, but I completely forgot, the post office is closed on a Sunday isn’t it? I do hope that you weren’t bored here all alone with my mistress?”
“Not at all, not at all, Miss Curzon is quite satisfactory company indeed. However, I fear that it is time for her to leave now.”
“Yes, that it is Captain, sir. We’ll be off now but seeing you again next week, like.”
“I shall count the days. Good day to you, Miss Curzon.”
Anne curtseyed and left the house, still a little shocked at the difference between the public face and private reality in English aristocratic life.
Chapter 8
The visits to Capt. Hope on a Sunday afternoon became a regular part of Anne’s weekly routine. On the second week Perkin’s informed them that her sister who lived in the city was ill and would it be alright if she visited her to provide “a modicum of Christian comfort?” Capt. Hope of course agreed and this time Anne had a little longer with the old seaman and she managed to make him cum in her mouth although she did not manage to do it quickly or to swallow it. The Captain told her that these results would come in time and indeed they did. After the act though he sat her on his knee, and let her chat to him without the impediment of her fleur de bouche, whilst he gave her lessons from his vast life experience. Very soon she began to look forward to those Sabbath meetings regularly, as Capt. Hope was such a jolly old man, like the grandfather that she’d never had and he was an excellent and patient teacher besides. Lovingly he would stroke her hair whilst he explained how to improve her technique and when, after she had mastered the basics of oral stimulation and Perkins dressed her in a dress with unbound arms so that she could learn the art of manual stimulation, he would hold her hand afterwards as she sat on his knee, not replacing her locking muff until Perkins knocked on the door following her visit to her perennially-ill sister.
Life in the school also began to change in the months that followed her introduction to Capt. Hope. Her Diction and Deportment were declared ‘adequate’ and both she and Oksana were moved into the main class with the other girls. This was much less tedious and far more enjoyable as they learnt such things as polite conversation, the Classics, Shakespeare and Art History. Miss Garner explained that in other schools girls were not taught anything academic as their role in life was not to be clever but merely ornamental, but she believed in a different ethos. “After all,” she explained to her pupils one morning, “how many men tire of their women once their beauty starts to fade or get frustrated with them when they are travelling in Greece or Italy and all the girl can comment on is that those ancient ruins are ‘pretty’. Whilst they will never admit it, men need some intellectual stimulation as well as the sexual and emotive from their spouses and thus it is that here you shall learn all that you need to know on Art, Music, Theatre, Literature, History and Sport. Never try to dazzle your husbands with what you have learnt, always make sure that they are more knowledgeable than you, but woo them with it and bind them closer to you by it.”
This ethos was one that Anne wholeheartedly concurred with and she loved her lessons in Ancient History and Literature whilst he heart soared when they visited the theatre or a renowned violinist came into the school for a recital. Even in Moskva, with the world-class Bolshoi, she had never been able to indulge in the Arts as wholly as she could at Miss Garner’s – something practical always interfered – but here, hampered as she was by her clothing to do anything else, she immersed herself in them and emerged most refreshed.
In her lessons she also got to know her fellow students better for at certain periods they were allowed to sit and chatter without the impediment of their fleurs de bouche. Slowly Anne became friendly with Cecilia, the chestnut-haired daughter of Baron Mowbray, Camilla Stanley, daughter of the Prime Minister, the Earl of Derby, Susan Arrowsmith, daughter of the Bishop of Durham and Heather Graham, daughter of the Marquess of Montrose. Best of all though was Clare Hawkins, the daughter of Albert Hawkins, the great Manchester industrialist who mills and pottery banks generated more wealth than ten Earldoms. Generally those not of the gentry were not admitted into Miss Garner’s but Hawkins had paid a fortune as he wanted his daughter to marry a peer and so she had got in as an exception. Immediately Anne was drawn to her as, like herself, she was something of an outsider, but mostly because she had the sweetest, kindest heart that Anne had ever known and her bright blue eyes, framed by her blonde curls were a pleasure to behold. Within days the two had become soul mates, telling each other every little detail of their lives and whenever the girls were asked to work in pairs, Anne always chose Clare. This was to Miss Garner’s liking too, as Anne was much more able academically and so could help Sarah to learn some of the subjects that she struggled with whilst Clare excelled in Deportment and Etiquette and could help the inexperienced and often unsteady Anne.
One lesson that the girls particularly enjoyed was that of Intimacy. Every so often the pupils would be paired off and Miss Garner would instruct them on how one should be intimate with one’s husband, practicing of course on one’s partner. You might think that being intimate is virtually impossible when one is laced into an enormous dress with one’s arms disabled, but even so, one can still kiss and this is what they would do. From a simple peck on the cheek and brush on the cheek to lengthy and stirring kisses using tongues, Miss Garner would instruct the girls on how to perfect the Art of the Kiss. Anne always enjoyed kissing Clare and when it came to a deep, loving kiss she felt such a desire in her nether regions that she almost fainted. Miss Garner explained that this was quite usual and indeed, even desirable and their effort was declared the best of the class and they had to repeat for the others to observe; an experience that neither girl resented.
Whilst all this was going on, Anne’s costume was gradually getting more extreme in preparation for the big day of the Easter Ball. Miss Garner had explained in her induction into the school that for the Ball a minimum waist of fifteen inches was stipulated, but that in her opinion fourteen inches was not beyond the reach of Anne. And so it was that weekly Anne’s waist was reduced until she could hardly feel it at times and often fainted from the slightest exertion. When she eventually did reach fifteen inches in November, things were compounded by the fact that Miss Garner then decreed that she attain a stem waist of a couple of inches which basically entailed stretching her torso somewhat on the lacing bar so that she could wear a corset with an in-built circular metal belt in it that gave her waist an unusual and elegant shape. Unusual and elegant it may have been, but alas, it was also very painful and caused her to lose much feeling below the waist. She confided these woes to Clare who confessed that she was much the same, and that for her a final waist circumference of thirteen and a half inches had been decreed, but with a stem of no less than three inches. Neither of the girls could decide who was worse off.
As well as the waist, Anne’s neck also came in for a rough time. Miss Garner had given them a lecture one afternoon on future fashions and announced that it was predicted that over the coming five years, “Necks will get longer whilst skirts will get more bunched at the rear, leading perhaps to a re-emergence of the bustle.” Following this prediction, (Anne did not know where Miss Garner divined her ideas from although as the years passed, they proved to be accurate divinations), the girls all began to receive training in the use and wearing of bustles and also extra attention given to their necks which meant having them stretched to the maximum and laced into longer neck corsets than before which left them staring at the ceiling, rasping for breath.
And with different fashions come differing arm restraints. Miss Garner explained that the enormous gigot sleeves disguising folded arms was just one way of restraining the arms and over the years past and to come, many more had or would be used, often in ways that gloried in the restriction of the wearer rather than tried to hide it. The most common was that pioneered by the great Duchess of Hamilton herself, the monoglove whereby the arms are held, ramrod-straight, pinned behind the back in a most graceful yet tiring position. Thus it was that all the ladies were expected to spend two afternoons a week bound in such a glove, reading or listening to a musical recital. At first Anne hated it, but gradually she found it a welcome change from the gigot sleeves. It was interesting – yet infuriating also – that in these gloves, tailor-made for each wearer as they were, that even the fingers could not be bent, pinned as they were against each other, splayed out in all their glory. The restriction was total, which made Anne hate it yet at the same time it excited her which was disturbing. Why should restriction be exciting, even something that one looks forward to? One afternoon she went so far as to put the question to the Headmistress.
“Miss Curzon, you cite an excellent point, and one that is passed over in most establishments. A foreign observer views the restriction under which a Lady of Leisure conducts her life and pities her, concluding that she is miserable, and oppressed by her sadistic and controlling spouse. How wrong they are! Yes indeed, many a man has admired and been excited by restraining a woman, it is a natural impulse, yet too many a woman has yearned for it and sought it. Perhaps the most representative heroine of this English ideal is Mrs. Grace Attenborough of whom the wags said, “By day all holy, by night all whore!” By that it was not meant that she ever sought pleasure outside of the marriage bed of course, for if she had done, she would not be a heroine to us. No, what it referred to was an attitude that differed greatly between the public and the private. Mrs. Attenborough was a woman of great intellect, wit and sanctity. She attended church daily and held salons in her house where the most pressing political issues and latest art trends were discussed. The number of distinguished personages who attended those salons was endless, from the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Castlereagh, to the poet Wordsworth and the painter Turner. All was in excellent taste, all was beautiful and all was refined. However, every evening at eight she would make her excuses and retire, whereupon in her room she would order her maid to strip her naked, bathe, and then have herself laced in to the utmost degree – thirteen inches it was said. She would then have her legs bound so that the toes pressed against the buttocks and then have an enormous gag inserted into her mouth. Then she would decree that her arms be bound in the most difficult manner of all, the elegant yet painful ‘reverse prayer’ position and then she would order the maid to toss a coin. If the coin fell on heads, she would have the maid arrange her on the bed so that her vagina was on full view and easy to access and thereupon the girl would paint with make-up lips upon the vagina so as to make it all the more appealing. If the coin landed on tails however, she would be propped up with her buttocks in the air and her anal hole similarly decorated. And then she would wait – never for long I suspect – for her husband to come and take his pleasure. Can you see girls how she completely encapsulated the ideal of a lady. Outwardly, all propriety and elegance, yet privately, whilst sensual, never sinful. Mrs. Attenborough was educated and intelligent, witty and urbane, yet in private she would submit to the greatest restraints, yet at the same time, in a fashion, never totally submit. After all, it was her – or the coin – that decreed in which manner her husband would take his pleasure and she decided the posture in which she was tied. He had no say in any of it and not once did he ever try to have a say. By submitting, she dictated. Let her be a lesson and an inspiration to you all; you could do far worse than follow the example of Grace Attenborough.”1
Grace Attenborough’s reverse-prayer position was the next one in which the ladies were introduced to and like Miss Garner had said, it was the most difficult of all to obtain and when obtained, came with much discomfort. In the reverse-prayer position, as the names suggests, one’s hands are placed as they would be in prayer except behind, rather than in front of the torso. This however, was only the first part of achieving a ‘perfect’ reverse-prayer posture, (as Miss Garner termed it). After that the arms had to be slowly drawn together, (a process done in stages over several weeks), until the elbows touched and they could be encased in a single kid leather gloves similar to the monoglove. The result was incredibly compact and elegant, particularly when worn with a bustle, (for which it had been designed when the bustle first came into fashion back in the 1870s), but by gosh was in difficult and painful too, only really becoming bearable when the extreme position cut the circulation off and the whole ensemble when dead. Because of such reasons, it was not advisable to wear it for long periods, (when bustles were in fashion, it was usual for going out in the evening or walking in the park, rarely at home), but even so, after she had managed to attain it, Anne was forced to wear it every Friday evening which she was allowed to spend in her room with Clare, (who was also similarly encumbered), a time that the two of them greatly enjoyed, as they were allowed to be without their fleurs de bouche and they could chatter, kiss and cuddle up to each other on the bed.
And so it was that life continued much restricted and restrained but not without its pleasures until the Christmas holidays came and Anne returned to Kedleston to enjoy the festive season.
1 In our world the English fetish is renowned to be spanking, yet this does not seem to be the case in Anne’s world. This is perhaps due to the public school playing a much more crucial role in our world; in Anne’s most males of consequence were educated at home or in schools which they only attended during the day. Restriction seems to have taken the place of spanking, particular amongst the females, although it must be noted that some spanking did take place for at weddings we hear of the grooms being presented with a paddle by their fathers-in-law in order to keep their wives in order, though this may have been ceremonial as much as practical.
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