Chapter Five

I slowly wake, emerging from a dream, not a visit with Benten but one of my normal dreams where I am helping someone build something to make their lives better. I lie there in the dark room, on a firm bed, Emi snuggled up to me, totally relaxed. I stretch, slowly so not to wake her. I think of what I could do today; sketch, take a walk around the garden, talk with Tobias, survey a site in the garden for the bath house, make a list of things to purchase, I could show Tilly how to make mayo ( if I do that I need a frig) , do some T'ai Chi (boy I need to get in that habit again), ask about some ankle socks and shorts (are those even a thing here?). Okay. lazy get your ass up, things to do, people to see.

Remembering what I told her just before I fell asleep, I am careful not to wake Emi as I slide off the bed. After I crack the door open so I can see, I use the chamber pot, washing up after. I sure miss toilet paper. I then don the clothes I worn last night. I put on a clean pair of knee length stockings and my slippers. I think I need a third pair of footwear, something heavier than slippers but lighter than the boots. I really shouldn't wear the slippers out side and I don't need the boots in the garden. I will need to price that. I need to pinch pennies, if I am going to do what needs to be done.

Taking my boots with me when I leave my rooms, I head down to the kitchen. Arriving I greet Tilly, "Good Morning, Tilly."

"Good Morning, your majesty. I wasn't expecting you so early, Emi told me you were going to sleep in, that is why I didn't wake you."

"I woke and felt like getting up. Emi is still asleep."

"What would you like for breakfast this morning, your majesty?"

"Do you know of omelets?"

"Omelets, your majesty? I haven't heard of such a thing."

"They are a two or three eggs beaten until they are well blended then fried in well greased pan. Once they are firm you can add diced cooked meats, vegetables, cheese or any combination of those before folding them over. Once on the plate a little more cheese can be placed on top along with herbs of your choice."

She looks a bit confused. "I'll show you how once Emi is awake. You could dice some ham and onions in preparation, a couple of tablespoons of each for each omelet. In the mean time I am going to talk to Tobias. What time is it?"

"It's about a 675, you didn't sleep much later than you normally do. What are going to talk to Tobias about?"

"Those plants we brought back yesterday."

"What are they?"

"Alkanets, the roots are used to make a red dye. I would like to establish a farm to grow them for sale."

"Ah, I remember that from the list last night. If Emi comes looking for you, I'll tell her you are with Tobias in the garden."

"Thank you, see you in a bit." With that I head to the garden to find Tobias. I am a short way down the hall, when I remember the notes on the alkanet's habitat, I should have those so detour to the study. I locate the notes then resume going to the garden. Once there I spy Tobias right off. He is tending the vegetable garden.

"Tobias do you have time to talk?"

"Ah, good morning princess. What do you wish to talk about?" He stands, wiping his hands on his breaches.

"Yesterday I recovered a plant from the forest that I would like grown." Looking at the notes, "It was found in a well lit area of very sandy soil, which was dry. Is there a place in the garden that would be suitable?"

He looks around the garden, pausing every now and a again then shakes his head. "Does it need to be in the garden princess? There is no place in the garden that matches where you dug it up from, but there are places in the orchard that would be suitable."

"That would be fine. Could you plant them for me please?"

"Of course princess. Where are they?"

"I had Emi place them in the pergola last night." I walked over to the covered area, looking about for the plants. "Here they are." They are laying in a small pile of sand, like the soil had fallen off. I hope they survive. I should have the location watched so if I need to gather seeds I can find them again. He walks up, looks at the plants then nods.

"Did you note how deep the roots were?"

I look at the notes. No depth, darn it. I replay that part of the day in my memory, "They were about this deep I believe." I hold my thumb and fore finger out showing him the depth. He picks up one of the plants, laying it on his palm.

"That appears correct. I'll get these planted then. Is there any thing else princess?"

"Not at this time. Thanks you Tobias." I give him a quick hug. He doesn't know what to do. I smile at him as I step back. "Would you watch them to see if they recover for me? If they don't I'll need to gather some seeds from some other plants."

"I'll keep a eye on them then."

"Thank you again. I'll talk to you later." I enter the palace, I had changed to my boots before I went out into the garden so changed back to my slippers. I then when to the kitchen.

"I'm back Tilly. Has Emi made an appearance yet?"

"Not yet, your majesty. Shall I wake her?"

"No I'll do it." I head up the stairs, when I get to the top I light one of the candles there, taking it with me. Entering my bed chamber I light another candle, placing the one I am carrying on the night stand. Emi is curled up, hugging my pillow, tail wrapped around her leg. The tip of her tail is twitching. She is probably having a good dream, her tail twitches when she happy.

I lean over, kissing her cheek. She doesn't respond. I stroke her bare leg ending at her bottom, cupping it. She sighs. My fingers slide between her thighs, caressing her mound. She starts to roll over to her back, my hand slides across her hip ending up laying on her leg at her crotch. I start caressing the top of her leg, getting closer and closer with each stroke. Her legs spread slightly, inviting in to touch her mound. Glancing at her face I see she is still asleep, though her nipples are becoming erect. I lean down, sucking the near one in to my mouth as my fingers stroking her slit. She starts moaning. My fingers have found her nubbin which I then rub and pinch lightly. Lightly biting the nipple in my mouth then suck hard on it, swirling my tongue around it. She gasps and starts shuttering, the hand at her crotch getting wet. I bring that hand to my mouth, licking some of the juices from it, then place one wet finger on her lips. She starts to suck on it. Her arm come up, pulling me towards her face. I remove my finger then kiss her, sucking her tongue when she offers it. I pulled away, "Good morning Love."

She stretches, "That is a nice way to wake up." She reaches out, pulling me in for another kiss. After the kiss, "You are wearing way too many clothes." Her hand is in my blouse, under the chemise, seeking my breasts.

"That because I let you sleep. I have been up doing things for half an hour already and am getting hungry so get up so I can show Tilly how to make breakfast. You got to sleep until after 700."

My mentioning food reminds her she is hungry too as her stomach rumbles. She rolls out the far side of the bed. After relieving herself and cleaning up, she dresses in the clothes she wore the night before. As she does that I wash up a bit, getting her juices off.

When she starts to put her stockings on, "You need not put those on yet, I would like to do the exercises we did the other day. You can bring them with you though." I open the door then blow out the candles. Taking her hand I lead her out to the garden, first telling Tilly we will be twenty minutes.

When we get to the entry I remove my slippers and stockings, telling Emi to leave hers here. We step out to the patio where we did T'ai Chi before.

"So what are we doing?"

"Exercise. More of what we did a few days ago. It is called T'ai Chi, originally a marital art, a way of fighting but over the years as turned into a meditation and exercise method. Depending on who you talk to, some say its nearly two thousand years old, others one thousand years old. Either way it's old."

"Do you remember the warm up exercises?" I start doing them, she took a few seconds to remember what I was talking about but was soon doing them. "Follow my lead, love." I continued the warm up stretches and moves then started on the forms I had done with her before. When we had finished those, "Alright, this is a new form, watch closely." I moved through the form, then repeated it twice, having her follow along. "Do you wish to do them all one more time?" She nods. I start again, Emi following half a second behind.

Dropping into the centering stance again, we finish. Holding it for near a minute, we stand breathing deeply. Opening my eyes, I look at her standing there, eyes closed, breathing deeply, totally relaxed. The gauge of her emotions, her tail, is wrapped around her waist but the tip is twitching so I know she is happy. I whisper, "Love you Emi."

"And I love you too, Fina." Her eyes open, looking at me. We are both smiling, big grins. Reaching out her hand, "Come, let's go have breakfast." I take the extended hand, squeezing it gently. Sitting on the bench, we don our footwear and head to the kitchen where we find Tilly working on dinner preparation.

"Sorry to be late, Tilly. Ready to make omelets?" I ask.

"Yes, your majesty." from Tilly. From Emi, "What are Omelets?"

"Omelets are a egg dish, usually served as breakfast but can be eaten as any meal. There are a multitude of ways to make them. Any cooked meat can be used, a large assortment of vegetables and different cheeses, hard and soft. Also herbs can be added. Oh, cheese, what types of cheese is available, Tilly?"

"I'm sorry, your majesty, we have no cheese. It's expensive and imported." replies Tilly.

"Oh well, cheese less it is then." I teach them how to make an ham and onion omelet, first sauteing the onions and ham which were set aside. Then whipping a couple of eggs, frying them in butter until firm, adding the onion and ham on one half. I explained that herbs and cheese could be added either inside or on top as I slid the eggs onto a plate, folding the eggs over the vegetables and meat. I then let Tilly try her hand at it, which doesn't turn out bad. Emi's attempt didn't turn out as well, the egg being uneven and a bit crisp around the edges, but still edible, which we processed to do.

After we had eaten, Emi helps Tilly clean up, I changed to my boots and returned to the garden. I wound my way to the corner I was thinking of placing the bathhouse in. I paced off the distance from the palace wall to the central path and from the wall to the pond. Very good, there is enough room. The bathhouse would be just off the path with the gray water filter bed between it and the wall. The filter would use a gravel bed planted with rushes to clean the water from the bath house before it entered the pond.

Reentering the house, I change shoes again then head to the study. There I sit at the desk, charcoal in hand, sketching the bath house plat plan as I imagine it. As I sketch I also start a materials list, clay, gravel, lumber, fieldstone, flagstone, wooden beams, clay pipe, mortar, shingles, clay flue pipe, bricks? and nails. Wow, a lot of different material, I wonder if they are all available. I make a note to ask Aden.

Consulting the list I made of the production ideas, I did a sketch of a Layen bee hive. I had settled on the Layen style hive when I keep bees so was most familiar with it.

When that was done, I sat thinking about the scythe cradle. As I sketched what I could remember of the one I had used in India, I remembered a video of a man in England that made one of a piece of copper pipe, a willow branch and some twine. I sketched this one in below the other. The pipe would be problem but if it could switched out with some thing it would be so much easier to make.

Next I started sketching machines to process flax, a breaker and a scutcher. The breaker is used to break the stems of the dried flax, releasing the fibers. The scutcher is the next stage of removing the non fiber parts of the stem. These are small hand powered machines. I didn't sketch a machine to heckle the flax, the only thing I could think of requires more than hand power,

I'm not sure I can design a machine to make thread, as the one in the video I remembered was a multistage monster, though if I could it would increase production by a thousand percent. Instead of one spool of thread a day it could produce one in minutes. And looms,agh, I have no idea how a modern loom works, but I have the general idea how the flying shuffle works. Hand weaving is slow but not as slow as spinning.

Come to think of it, I not sure how lumber is made in the here and now. Is it done with a pit saw? or splitting and planing? Another note for Aden.

And another mill. That makes three at least, flour, lumber and flax.

I hear voices coming from the front door, glancing up I see it is Aden and Kalvin. They both have their hands full, Kalvin with a couple of large bags, Aden with a bag and a document case. Ah, they must be finished with the search of Lian's house and office. It also appears it's dinner time as here is Emi.

"Dinner is ready, your majesty. Shall I tell Tilly there two more for dinner?"

"Yes, please. It appears they have somethings for us to look though after dinner so will you and Tilly join us at that time."

"Yes, your majesty. I'll inform Tilly."

I stand and go greet Aden and Kalvin,"Did you have any problems this morning?"

"No, your majesty. We arrived at dawn, surrounded the house then announced ourselves loudly. As soon as he opened the door we grabbed him, telling him he was under arrest for maleficence and theft of domain property. He is now locked up on the second floor of the guard tower." Kalvin reports.

Aden continues with, "We then secured the assistance of freemen Henry and Charles to witness the removal of any items. We found a few interesting items and some very interesting ones, along with quite a large number of coins. As I know what Lian is paid annually I find this to be very suspicious. I found a fair amount of correspondence, which I didn't read, but placed here," holding up the document case. "We also found an packet of herbs and a corker, along with some corks."

"Well, well, place your loot on the far end of the table, we will look at it after we eat. You are both invited to dine so sit, eat, relax for a while as no doubt it has been a long morning."

Before I sit, I fetch the notes of the things I wanted to ask Aden. Aden held my chair again. He's quite the gentleman. As Emi and Tilly serve us, I ask Aden what he knows about lumber? He knows that several of the freemen operate pit saws that supply lumber and that some of the serfs work pits saws in the off season. They all buy the felled timber from the kingdom, which has serfs harvesting trees over winter. The branches from the felled trees are used to produce charcoal. It appears I'll need to build a saw mill.

As we eat I hand Aden the list of materials asking him if they were all available locally. He looks though the list, nodding. He tells me all of the items are available on the island except for mortar as cement as an ingredient which is imported.

I then ask about the harvest, is it soon? As soon as next week, is the answer. I could start the bath house but it would get interrupted at harvest and planting time as nearly everyone on the island is involved with the harvest. If I want to have different crops planted in the coming season the merchants will need to show in the next week or so.

I ask the pair what Lian's punishment should be, imprisonment, forced labor, or exile? I don't like the idea of the death penalty, exile is just putting the problem out of sight and imprisonment is expensive with no return. Unless there are already other criminals doing forced labor it's more expensive than imprisonment but least it has a return. I ask about other criminals, are there many?

Kalvin is all for doing the red queen option, off with his head, that being the norm. Aden is for forced labor, though there aren't any other criminals in custody. I tell them my thoughts on the matter, giving pros and cons for each.

The death penalty - so final and I don't wish any ones death by my hand on my conscience.

Exile - the miscreant is free to cause mischief out the victim's sight which can cause problems.

Imprisonment - you have to feed, clothe and house the criminal while he does naught. if you don't feed them you may as well kill them.

Forced labor - all the expenses of imprisonment but you get work out the criminal.

Criminal justice sucks.

Kalvin suggests sending him to the mine as a slave which is the same as forced labor. That has possibilities. Though wouldn't the miners object? He didn't know why they would, him being like them, a slave.

I own slaves? Oh dear. Not only serfs but out right slaves. This does not make me happy at all, damn it. I fall into deep thought, trying to decide what to do about this.

Aden clears his throat sometime later. Emi has cleared the table already and is standing behind Aden. I look at everyone with a confused look. "What upset you, your majesty?" asks Aden. He is good at reading me or I let my emotions get the better of me.

"I wasn't aware that I owned slaves."

"Ah, most of them are descendants of slaves captured years ago during the last war. There also a few your father purchased a few years ago. I believe there are forty of them."

Damn it , damn it, Damn it. I have no time for this. I had been thinking of freeing the serfs then letting them share crop their farms, basically leasing them for a share of the crop. But that would not work with the mine, would it? I would likely have to pay the miners but the ores produced aren't sold except in very small quantities. I basically supply the blacksmith the ore which he refines into metal that is then used to make the tools my workers need. I then pay the blacksmith with a small amount of metal. Another drain on the treasury.

Focus Rufina, focus. Taking a deep breath then slowly letting it out. This a problem for later.

Standing, I walk around to the other end of the table where the bags and document case are. Opening the first bag I remove the contents, placing them on the table. The corker and corks and the herbs. "Kalvin, please go fetch Mistress Littel, we have need of her expertise."

After he left, I explained to the others what the problem was, "On Earth a war had been fought over the issue of slavery, the anti slave faction won, freeing the slaves. But resentment of the former slaves against the former owners and the feelings of superiority over the people that had been slaves by their former owners persisted for years, nearly a century. Even then the former slaves had a rough time finding work, getting schooling or finding housing. Slavery is abhorrent to most of my generation, serfdom is not much better. Then to find I own 40 people and I don't think I can just free them without causing other problems. And I do have other problems to worry about, what to do with Lian, how to fund the new crops, how to fund the projects that need funding, all while making sure the people are fed, clothed and sheltered, with clean water to drink. No wonder the presidents all age so quickly."

Emi comes up to me, gathers me into a hug. "Rufina, Rosa be calm, we are with you, you are not alone." I hug her back, tears forming in my eyes. Tilly and Aden join the hug.

Aden break the mood with,"What are presidents?"

Laughing I reply, "They are what the leaders of some countries are called, like a king, though not an inherited position, the people chose who will be the president. Or at least that is way it is suppose to work."

As I say that I empty another bag, this one holding valuable objects. It looks like Lian as been dipping farther in to the coffers than it appeared or as been taking bribes or kickbacks. The third bag contains coins, a great many coins, a few gold and copper but mostly silver.

I start to stack silver coins, but pause, asking, "How many silver to a gold coin?"

"Twenty silver to a gold, twenty copper to a silver," comes the reply.

I had been stacking them in piles of ten which I kept doing, just grouping two stacks together. Soon the others joined me in the stacking, making quick work of it. All total the bag held the equivalent of , 200.12.17, that is 200 gold, 12 silver and 17 copper or about twenty percent of the national treasury according to the last report. Where in the hell did he get so much? And that isn't counting the silver candlesticks and other objects in the second bag.

Just then Kalvin and Nora Littel entered. Mistress Littel bowed to me, "Your majesty."

Picking up the bag of herb, I hand it to her. "Would you identify this, please?"

While mistress Littel examined the herb, I ask Aden to get pen and paper. When he had returned I had him write the following, "I, Nora Littel, have to the best of my ability identified the contents of bag marked 001 to be the herb ***********. Nora Littel, herbalist. Duly witnessed by " I had him print Kalvin's, Emi's and Tilly's names below the witnessed by line, leaving space to have them write their names.

I didn't know it at the time but I was establishing precedent for criminal case evidence procedure. It appears I watched too many crime shows growing up, though I don't remember having the time to do that.

Nora confirmed the herb was the same as in the bottle, she signed the affidavit which the others then signed. I took five of the copper coins and handed them to her saying, "For your time and the inconvenience."

I had Kalvin escort Nora back to her home. And Aden fetched five coppers, which was placed in the bag which the coins had been returned to. Then I had Tilly and Emi make a set of tags for the bags and items, numbering them 001 thru 020, I had Tilly fetch a length of yarn to tie the tags to the bags and Emi a chest to store the bags and the items in. Then an inventory was written up, listing all the items in all the bags, which was placed in a new document case. We then confirmed where each item had been located in Lian's home or office. A item number was assigned, noted on the proper affidavit and placed in the case. We now had a evidence trail for the items, from Lian's possession to ours, with witnesses.

Now it is time to sort though the correspondence, there were about thirty in all. With the four of us reading it didn't take long. Most of them were from the ministers of my other holdings about matters concerning the farms but two were different. Those were written on a high quality paper, but held nothing to identify the writer. They had been folded to be their own envelope, sealed with a plain stamp on the wax. The first was a single line, "Thank you for the information, please contact my agent.". The second, "The items you requested has been dispatched, my agent will contact you.". Very mysterious sounding. I ask Aden if a record of who arrives and departs the island is kept. He replies, "The official arrivals, yes."

So we have no reliable way of confirming a person's arrival on the island. And even if they arrived legitimately, how would we identify if they were the agent.

An idea popped into my head, "Aden, does Lian kept an appointment book?"

"Yes , I believe he does."

"Did you bring it?"

"I'm sorry, no."

"Well, go fetch it. It appears we need it and the arrival records,too. " Aden takes off in a hurry.

While Aden was off to the town hall, I suggested to Tilly and Emi that we could make some sandwiches for supper. Tilly will cut the meat, Emi the bread and I will go to the garden for some lettuce. I head out to the garden while they take up knives. I pluck ten sandwich size leaves of lettuce, noting the state of the other vegetables. Returning to the kitchen I give the lettuce a quick rinse before handing them off to Tilly to use in sandwich assembly. She spreads a bit of mustard on the bread before placing the meat and lettuce between the bread.

While she is doing that Emi brews a pot of tea and I collect the cups and saucers placing them on a tray. After the sandwiches are finished Tilly slices each one in half and places them on the platter. The platter then joins the cups on the tray, soon joined by the teapot.

As Emi carries the tray to the table, Kalvin and Aden return from their errands. They join us at the head of the table, Emi pouring tea, Tilly distributing sandwiches. When Tilly was making the sandwiches I had had a thought, so I asked Aden, "Is there someone in town that does pottery?"

"Yes, your majesty. There are a couple of people who work in clay."

"Good, Tomorrow would you bring them here to meet with me, please. Early, at about 700 I think. On second thought, you could you arrange for them to meet me just after they start their work day, knowing how it annoys me to be interrupted in the middle of doing something. Tell them I have several jobs for them to bid on."

"Bid on, your majesty?"

"To give a estimate of price for a item or job to be done."

"Did you find the appointment book? and the arrival records."

"Right here, your majesty."

"Alright, may I see the appointment book, please."

Aden hands it to me, I find the last entries, yesterday. There are a few, with names and times. Going back, there is only one, The Queen early, TH. The next day is the same, Looking at Aden I ask, "When did the last ship arrive in port?"

Aden looks at the arrival report, "Five weeks ago, your majesty, in the evening."

I skipped back to that page, but it's mostly blank, ah, right, the appointments would the next day. Turning to the next day, there are several, starting in mid morning. Most are for merchant x or merchant y. There is one though, for X at 1460, the last of the day. But there are no others for X.

"And when did the ship before that arrive? And when did it leave?" Boy, Lian is a lousy spy.

"Three weeks before that, they stayed five days, leaving the morning of the sixth. Have you found something?"

Turning back even farther, I find the correct date. There it is, the last appointment of the day. Paging forward I scan each day, on the fifth day was another entry. And on the morning of the sixth, very early. "Who were the last people to board ship on the sixth day?"

"The merchant S, merchant T, the captain and the first mate."

"Was it the same ship?"

"No, a different ship."

"Are there any people that were on both ships?"

"Well , well. One of the merchants and the first mate."

"Was the merchant S or T?"

"No, it's merchant x."

"And there is the agent, the first mate." I declare.

"How do you know, your majesty." ask Tilly and Emi, almost as one.

"Lian met with someone in the morning before the earlier ship sailed. The only person that was on both ships and boarded on the morning of the sixth day was the first mate. Ergo, the agent."

"I assume the guards are the ones to log the persons embarking onto and disembarking from ships. Kalvin, inform the captain of the guard to be on the look out for that man, the first mate. If he should arrive, have him discretely followed, with his movements and the identities of those he meets reported."

The atrium had grown dark while we deducted the identity of the agent, I decided that was enough for one day. "Kalvin thank you for your assistance today, I will send for you if I have need. Aden, don't forget the potters for the morning. Do you have an idea of when they start their day?"

"At about 700, your majesty. Most of the craftspeople start then."

"Very well, I'll plan for then. You hear that Emi, wake up calls is 600. And Tilly breakfast at 650. I have some plans to sketch so excuse me." as I rise, heading to the study.

Emi picks up one of the candlesticks and leads the way. After she lights the candles on the desk, she departs.

I quickly sketch a non powered refrigerator, a old design, used in the deserts of Earth for many years. It consists of two fired clay pots, one placed in the other with 2 inches of wet sand between them. It should work well in this climate, it being hot and dry. Not so sure about during winter though. If it fails, the pots can still be of use as planters.

Next are clay pipes, modeled after black iron pipe. These are for the drainage system for the bathhouse. Four inches in diameter should be big enough. How many though? 18 straight, 3 elbows and a t joint. Fired, yes. Glazed, yes. More for other projects later.

Then the heater for the hot tub. Should I try clay or go straight to metal? A good question, I'm not sure that clay will hold up, but I'm sure metal will be expensive. I have seen pictures of immersion heaters, so I know they work. But building one that doesn't leak or break is going to be a bugger. Maybe I should go with pots over a fire to start until I can get more money coming in.

What was that idea I had earlier, hmm, reading, Kalvin not being a reader, teach reading, school, flash cards, ah, that's it, flash cards. Word and letter flashcards to teach reading and spelling.

Darn it, something I forgot to ask about. Is there a well or is it all rain catchment. I'll have to ask Tobias.

Bah, time for bed. Getting tired. Picking up one of the candles and snuffing the others, out the door I go. And nearly run into Emi. "I'm off to bed, Emi, you have a good night. Are you ready for more T'ai Chi in the morning?"

"Must I, your majesty?"

"Please, Emi. It's just 20 minutes a day. I don't want to do it alone."

"Alright, whiny princess, I'll do it." I break into giggles, which soon sets her off. She leads the way up the stairs, opening the door to my rooms. I lead the way to my chamber, where I light two candlesticks. "Do you want some hot water tonight, Rufina?"

"Yes and another basin, please." handing the candle to Emi.

"I'll be right back."

After she returns and mixes the water, she starts washing me. As she washes under my arms I ask, "Emi, can you use a razor?"

"Yes, why?"

"I am tired of this." reaching down and tugging on my pubic hair. "As Rosa I didn't have any, I had it removed when I was young. I would prefer to do without."

"You could do it yourself, you know."

"I have never used a straight razor befo..., It is a straight razor, isn't it?"

"Yes it's a straight razor. What did you use on Earth?"

"We had different types of razors, there still were straight razors but most people used what are call 'electric razors' , small powered razors with spinning blades. Others used disposable razors, handles with multiply blades mounted in them. The use of straight razors was a dying art, with barbers and hair stylists about the only ones to still use them. I won't trust myself with a razor here," giving my pubes another tug.

"Alright, I'll ask to borrow Aden's razor tomorrow evening."

"Thank you, love."

She continues bathing me. When she reaches my feet, she sits me on the chest then scrubs and messages my feet, which feels wonderful. When both have been messaged and washed she hands me the cloth. We switch places, and I start on her feet, messaging then washing them. I work my way up her legs then stand her up to wash the rest of her. After I wash her back, I soap up my hands then take her tail, giving it a good soaping. The fur on it is about half an inch long, laying flat, pointing to the tip. When I slide my hand toward the base it stands up, which cause her to hiss. "Sorry, love. No ruffling your tail." I quickly run my hand from the base to the tip, smoothing the fur back down. She sighs, almost purring. I start stroking the length of her tail, gently at first then with more pressure, she is purring now. Hugging her from the back, I fondle her breasts, kiss the nape of her neck.

She twists around in my arms, taking my head in her hands she kisses me, hard, with passion. Backing up until she reaches the bed, she then throws me onto it. Pining my hand above my head she starts kissing me as her free hand is rubbing my crotch. That hand soon starts rubbing my breasts while her leg continues rubbing my crotch. My nipples are hard and erect and are soon being sucked on. I am moaning, my crotch aching. She stands, grabs my ankles, pulling me to the edge of the bed then bends me almost double, lifting my bottom, exposing my crotch. She buries her face in my folds, sucking and licking them, kissing my nubbin, her tongue exploring my channel. I start to shudder and shake, my juice flow, I climax hard.

I come to, laying in bed, being held by her. The candles are out. She is asleep, breathing slowly. I reach a hand up, stroking her ears. She purrs, I can feel it on my shoulder. Leaning towards her I kiss her. Then laying back, I too sleep.