Horrible Harvest

When I reached the door, Lady Faye bent down and wrapped me up in a big ol’ bear hug. “I’ll tell you a secret, little mister. Males are my least favorite of the genders, but when they’re as cute as you, even I fall all kinds of in love.” She stood and put her arm around my shoulder. “C’mon, boy. Let’s get you inside and stuff you with Groundnut Cakes.”

I stepped inside the house and seen a half-dozen women in various stages of undress in a sitting room. Two were in full dress like Lady Faye, but two others were in corset and skirt, while two others were in nothing but something called a chemise and a pair of stockings. They was all tickled by my presence. It was as if they ain’t never seen a boy my age before. They all agreed I was handsome and cute as a button. And all of them raced to kiss my cheek and tussle my hair. Daddy was nowheres in sight, but I was not in want of his company, so I give his absence no more than a passing thought.

Once the group of ladies had pawed me to near death and my cheeks was wet from their kisses, Lady Faye marched me into the kitchen, where I took a seat at the table. A plateful of the Groundnut Cakes she’d promised was set before me, and I was told to et until my belly couldn’t hold no more. A glass of milk was set next to the plate by the time I took my first bite.

“Now don’t tell your sweet momma, you had Groundnut Cakes when you get home. She’ll be none too happy if she knows the recipe calls for brandy. Better yet, you don’t wanna tell your momma nothing about this place.”

I nodded and took a bigger bite of the cake. It was flakey, nutty, and slightly sweet. The more I et, the more I was sure I wouldn’t be able to stop ‘til the plate was empty.

“I’ve known your daddy a lot of years. You know that?”

I shook my head after gulping down some milk.

“I don’t expect you would. Men don’t usually tell their families about me and my girls.”

I looked over my shoulder toward the sitting room and then back at her. “Those are your girls?”

“They are,” she said with a smile. “My beautiful girls. Got a few ugly ones, but we keep them hid in the back.”

I give her face a good long look. I didn’t see no lines or sadness that come from being someone’s ma. “You don’t look hardly old enough to be their ma.”

She laughed and placed her hand over her heart. “Oh, darling, that is so sweet. For so many reasons, that is so sweet. I’m not their mother. I’m their – That is to say, they are my wards. I take care of them. Give them a place to stay and eat and earn. I am their mother by way of surrogate. You understand?”

I shrugged. “No ma’am. Not exactly.”

She patted my hand. “Better you don’t.”

A topless redheaded girl of about sixteen descended the servants’ staircase and entered the kitchen with nary a regard for neither Lady Faye nor me. She run her long slender fingers through her wavy hair and pulled the mane entire over her left breast, exposing the right for all to see. It was plump and pert, and her nipple was in a high state of salute. My mind flashed back to the nakedness of Miss Barker in Galtville and even to Momma’s, which I had occasion to see. She bore a scar or two on account of Daddy, and it shamed her to give notice to it. The redheaded girl had a liking for her own curves and jiggle. It was a sight to see. Not the nakedness itself, but the pride she had in it. ‘Fore that moment, a woman in her bareness brought death and cruelty to my young mind. The nudity before me in Lady Faye’s kitchen stirred inside me a curiosity. It wasn’t lustful in nature in the least. I just marveled at her structure. It wasn’t tarnished by violence nor time. That single act, of exposing herself, the act of her pulling her hair to one side, the curve of her neck, the pale, freckled skin, all of it would have been fare for fantasy for any other boy, but it didn’t affect me in such a manner. It just give me hope that not everything turns to blight and rot.

The girl went to the cupboard and found herself a glass. “Ten-second Tennyson is in rare form today,” she said as she crossed to the rear of the kitchen. “He’s already fired off his first shot, and now he’s reloaded and ready to take aim again.” She uncorked a bottle of liquor and filled her glass.

“Mind your tongue and cover yourself, Penelope,” Lady Faye said sternly.

“I’m just saying you’d make a bundle off that man if we charged him by the emission instead of the hour.” She lifted the glass to her mouth to take a sip, but stopped when she seen me. “Well, what have we got here?”

“We’ve got a boy of impressionable age, and you’re making the wrong impression, dear.”

She made no attempt to cover herself. “He’s a cutey, he is. What’s your name, kiddo?”

I didn’t have sense to answer. It seemed wrong to talk to a female in her altogether.

She giggled and grabbed her breast, squeezing ever so gently. “It’s called a tit, boy. One of these days, it’s gonna be your favorite thing in this whole wide world.”

Lady Faye threw a napkin at her. “Hush, girl, and cover your bumps and curves before you corrupt this child.”

Penelope held the napkin over her bare breast and let out a hearty laugh. “Corruption is our trade, Faye, or did you forget?”

“We don’t corrupt, young lady. We sell to the corrupt. There’s a difference. Anyway, this is Augustus. Tennyson,” she added after a pause.

Penelope almost spit out her mouthful of liquor. Swallowing with effort, she said, “This is ten-second Tennyson’s boy?”

I smiled at the way she said “ten-second Tennyson.” I didn’t have no idea what the name meant, but it brought her satisfaction to say it.

“Shut your mouth, and get on up to your room, girl. I can guarantee the boy’s father is counting the minutes you’re gone, and he’ll be asking me to cut his rate because of your absence.”

She waved Lady Faye off. “He’s the one who sent me down. I’m to tell you to put him down for another hour and to send up two more girls. Rachel and Colleen.”

“He’s barely into his first hour, and he wants a second?”

“Says he’s celebrating.”

Lady Faye looked at me. “Your Daddy come into money, boy?”

I shrugged and swallowed some Groundnut Cake. “He’s got business he’s doing with a rich fella.”

“Which rich fella? I know them all. Can’t see any of them doing business with your daddy. No offense.”

“Name’s Miller. He’s new around here. You know him?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I know of him. He’s not rich, sweety. Not just. He’s richer than rich. And you’re daddy has business dealings with him?”

“Yes, ma’am. Hands were shook and everything. I was there.”

She give Penelope a look. “Watch the boy.” She stood. “I gotta have a word with his daddy.”

“Suit yourself, but he ain’t in the mood for words. You know how he gets.”

“I’m not giving his daddy a roomful of parlor girls unless I know what’s brewing.” She said before climbing the stairs.

Red-headed Penelope looked after her until she was out of sight and then turnt to me, giving me a wink while sipping on her liquor.

I was mesmerized by her. Not a sexual thought crossed my mind. Her confidence absorbed near all my attention entire. I didn’t imagine nothing like her to have ever existed in this world. I loved her without knowing I loved her. I can’t explain it. I had a desire to be around her, but I didn’t have a desire for her. It wasn’t like meeting Kenneth. He stirred nerves in me. He made me unsettled in a good way. Penelope – She brought me ease, and while I felt that comforting, I felt it confusing as hell, too. I didn’t feel like no one else on this planet, and I weren’t sure what to do with myself from that moment on. I was different, and it was the last thing I wanted to be.