John Stanley – 25th August 1355

John glanced back up the tunnel wondering why he had been dismissed, what else he didn’t know, and more to the point; what could possibly be secret about making new clothes.

He did not have to wait long to find out. The following night Ximene did not exercise and left the room for a surprisingly long time. When she reappeared she was wearing a serving maids outfit similar the one she had worn on the first night at Muret. No! that was not true. It was different. She paused at the end of the bed where John had been dozing. She carried a tray on which was a jug of wine, bread and cheese.
“ Time to eat M’ Lord’ she announced.

John was instantly awake. The outfit she was wearing had a  chemise, which buttoned down the front. It had a laced bodice which was not much wider than a belt. The shoulder straps from the bodice were extremely narrow and were obviously designed for little else but decoration. The skirt touched the ground at one side but was only four or five inches long at the other revealing that the chemise was nearly as long as the skirt and  was almost transparent. John could clearly see the outline of Ximene’s leg, framed in candlelight.

She bent forward to place the tray on the bed. Her bodice was loosly laced. John was able to see nearly to her waist.

He was astonished to find himself instantly aroused. For weeks he had seen her naked but now she was fully clothed … well nearly fully clothed…he found it incredibly exiting.

She stood up again arms akimbo.
She then very carefully undid two buttons of her chemise and pulled it first off one shoulder then off the other. The straps of her bodice now hung loosely against the sleeves of her chemise.

Some of the very few personal effects she had brought with her were now revealed. She produced a small leather bag and reaching inside pulled out a small polished silver mirror and three small bottles each with its own brush. She placed the mirror on the table. She opened one of the bottles, dipped a brush into the bottle and applied silver blue cosmetic paint excruciatingly carefully to her eyelids. She opened a second bottle and applied a neutral paint to her cheeks. The paint was matched to her natural skin colour. It was in fact slightly darker than her natural skin. The effect was to emphasize the hollow of her cheeks and accentuate the contour of her cheekbones.

Obviously pleased with the result she turned to John. He again was aroused by the resultant effect. His mind whirled, what is she doing to me? He remembered the game and tried had to conceal his excitement. From a third bottle, she applied red paint to her fingernails and then her toenails, lifting her skirt far higher than was really necessary to perform the latter task.

John found it almost impossible to conceal his exitement. He wriggled. It is meant to excite. How strange, he was puzzled that in itself was what he found exciting.

 John watched enthralled. When she had completed the self-imposed task, she came to sit on the end of the bed where John sat transfixed temporarily unable to move. She pulled back her hair and flickered her eyelids. Some silver had emerged from the blue and in the half-light, it was for all the world as though Ximene had captured two delicate, intensely coloured butterflies from the valley, which fluttered above her eyes.

She then extended her fingers, raising and lowering each one, in turn, perfectly synchronized and choreographed to emphasise the painted nails. Standing again, she put one foot and then the other, on the bed alongside John so that he could admire the toe nails.

She stretched out her hands grasping her leg above the ankle and slowly pulled her hands upwards making sure that her skirt and chemise was raised above the knee and that the nails were only a visual entry point for an extensive view of her leg and thigh.

‘Would there be anything else you require m’lord?’

With one leg still extended she bent over and picked up a long slice of bread. She picked up a piece of soft cheese and spread it along the bread with her fingers. She then pushed the bread into her mouth and proceeded to remove the cheese by sucking and licking. Her eyes shone with mischief.

‘You did not answer m’lord, is there anything else you require.’

John nodded but he struggled to speak. “ You are teasing me Ximene, I know that and it is fun, but yes, as you have asked I will tell you, I would like you to remove your skirt. Ximene fiddled with the ties of her skirt and allowed to fall to the floor, stepping away from it decorously. Framed in the candlelight, she pirouetted gently allowing John to see through her chemise from every angle.

‘I think you chose badly milord, it would perhaps have been more interesting if you had asked me to remove my chemise first. It would have been a struggle but the result would have been more interesting… for you. Perhaps you might choose that option… tomorrow night.’

She dipped her knees, scooped up her skirt and left the room hurriedly extinguishing the candle as she went. John stared into the darkness in disbelief.

He was left with an image in his mind of Ximene clad in only the skirt and the bodice, her breasts inevitably naked. She returned almost immediately and climbed naked into bed. Despite her closeness and the warmth of her embrace her John could not dismiss the other image from his mind.

It is a gentle form of sorcery, where did she learn to do these things? From her Grandmother? Incredible, Lady Eleanor seems so removed from worldly matters!

Ximene did give John the option of choosing what she should remove the next night but was wearing a much deeper corset which just covered her breasts. The game continued for several nights with Ximene making many subtle changes to her dress to keep it interesting until she brought it to an end by completely disrobing without offering John any options. John had no complaints, she took over half an hour to remove her clothes.