Beatrice is kneeling in a corner of the small living-room. Lady Alexandra has placed her there for a good hour, her face to the wall, her hands on her head, the hem of her dress tucked high on her back. The red marks of the flogger are still very obvious on her buttocks.

- Beatrice?

- Yes, Madam.

- You may stand.

- Thank you, Madam.

- Don’t go, stay here, I still need you. When it comes to housework, your standard is barely passable, but when it comes to the rest, I feel it’s even worse! You don’t know much about life yet, do you, innocent little thing?

- Oh yes I do, Madam.

- And how is that?

- Madam has already shown me how to masturbate a man.

- Ah yes, you’re right, it had slipped from my mind, that’s the very least, but it’s far from enough!

- I have put your lessons into practice, Madam.

- What do you mean by that?

- I was waiting for an opportunity to tell Madam, but since Madam taught me, I practice regularly to keep my hand in, as it were, or, if Madam prefers, to be quite ready, when the time comes for Madam to ask me.

- But I forbid you to “practice”, as you say, you little slut! And with whom, pray, do you “practice”?

- With William, your nephew, Madam. Every time, I really put my heart into it and he also enjoys every bit of it. I do not wish to boast, Madam, but I believe I have made real progress.

- Just let me get hold of that boy, he’ll soon hear from me. Fetch him at once! Oh, actually, no, stay here, I’ll attend to that later.

- Madam seems angry! Yet I do this only to please Madam and to try and achieve perfection.

- Silence, Beatrice, or you’ll get another spanking. Under your mock butter-melts-in-my-mouth airs, you’re nothing but a hussy and a hypocrite. [Aside: this is perfect, I couldn’t have hoped for someone better, that’s how I like them.] Well, as you’re the very devil, you’ll not regret it, just wait and see! George? Where on earth has he slunk off to?

- [Appearing behind her, like a silent ghost emerging from a curtain] Madam called me?

- George, tell Andrew to report to me at once.

- Yes, Madam.

A towering and muscular figure soon appears at the door. The gardener, intrigued, has just had time to change into proper clothes, wash his hands and run some water over his bristly hair.

- Beatrice, let me introduce you to Andrew, our gardener. I trust him entirely, he’s a strong and hard-working Scot.

- If I may say so, Madam, we have already met.

- What do you mean, you aren’t going to tell me that you have also “practiced” with Andrew?

- [The latter, ill at ease] Miss Beatrice simply means I was present in the living-room the day she was taking Madam’s orders.

- Ah yes, that may well be, I don’t remember. Come here, Andrew, that’s it, stand next to me. You may remove your jacket, you’ll be more comfortable. As for you, Beatrice, kneel before him, I am curious to see how you tackle the job.

Excited by the idea of showing off her know-how and of feeling submissive again at a man’s feet, the maid starts stroking his crotch gently, gradually increasing her pressure on the growing bulge. She has held her breath to make herself look pink and guilty. Seen from above, she guesses Andrew will be aroused by the sight of her deep cleavage and of her eyelashes, demurely lowered over her eyes, like those of a sleeping porcelain doll. She simpers while lowering the zip fastener of his trousers. Hesitates, pretending she is trying to withstand temptation. The gardener encourages her by stroking her hair and earlobe. His fingers trace the outline of her mouth, slip in between her lips, suggesting she indulge in a form of entertainment whose rules she pretends to still ignore. What began simply as an exercise, a lesson learnt and rehearsed, gradually becomes an irresistible urge. Lady Alexandra watches the scene in rapture. Her maid delves into the opening, feels through the material for the protuberance, now hugely swollen, pulls the trousers firmly down and cannot hide her surprise upon beholding her discovery: a long, thick, turgid cock, with a colossal glans whose point juts out under the skin at the end of the penis, and a scarlet vein running along it. As rigid as a cannon-barrel, the member is mounted on a pair of Herculean, throbbing, testicles, as full as two juicy kiwis maturing under the lazy tropical sun.

- But Madam, this is incredible, I had never seen such a contraption before!

- You have seen very little so far, Beatrice and by the way, this isn’t a contraption. With gardeners, they’re known as dibbles. Andrew has a splendid dibble and that’s why I hired him!

- May I continue, Madam?

- Wait a moment, so far you have been perfect, but I must now teach you something new. I want to make you into a good cock-sucker. So, listen carefully, it’s very important for the future, because this will fall within your duties when I have guests.

- Yes, Madam.

- You shall now pull the skin gently back, just like I showed you, to expose the glans fully. Perfect, look, it’s just ripe. To excite him further, keep him waiting. With your tongue, gently caress his cock, from top to bottom, and refrain for the time being from touching its tip.

- As if I were licking a choc-ice, Madam?

- Err…yes, if you like, and by the way remember to fondle his balls, tease them from below with the tip of your tongue and continue by sucking each of them between your lips, as if you were preparing to enjoy a fruit. Don’t forget to keep smiling and show him you are enjoying yourself also.

- That isn’t hard, Madam, I’m having a great time!

- I knew it, you little slut! Knowing your greed, I’ll have to keep a close eye on you. Later on, I’ll tie your arms behind your back, but for the time being, you must use both your mouth and your hand, and above all you must learn to synchronize both movements. Remain gentle and concentrated. While you move slowly up and down, your mouth must now mainly attend to the glans, that’s the most sensitive part.

- May I pretend to nibble it, Madam?

- Not on your life! Never bite a glans, teeth are the arch-enemy of fellatio. On the contrary, your tongue must lick him lovingly, explore each fold, each bulge of flesh. That’s right, carry on, and now, swallow him whole to suck him. Enjoy him in that way for a few seconds, let go, then start all over again. You’ll drive him crazy in no time.

Beatrice, her eyes half-closed, hears no longer and groans in sync with Andrew’s movements. Her style of cock-sucking seems infinitely variable, be it in the way her head moves, the way her fingers knead, the strength of her suction, or the speed of her tongue’s fluttering. She knows, guesses, and chooses whether to calm things down or stimulate them further, until the final acceleration, when she feels the pleasure growing, the glans hitting the back of her throat time and time again, finally releasing its whitish sap in powerful spasms, in an ultimate thrust.

- [After having allowed a lengthy silence to settle over the room] Beatrice?

- [Breathless, her cheeks scarlet, her headdress askew and her blouse stained] Yes, Madam.

- [Looking her straight in the eye] I warn you, from now on, I forbid you to continue “practicing” without my permission, is that understood?

Under the mind-reading gaze of those green eyes, the maid lowers her own, confused. But she raises them at once and silently but provocatively, stares back at Lady Alexandra, who seems to enjoy the challenge.