The Confessions of Jenny Wright Ch. 01

"Oh, I'm not sure, I mean, if you think..." Jenny replied, feeling her blush spread from her cheeks to her ears now.

"Look, I'm just wearing me drawers," Rose insisted, and Jenny didn't know where to look as the girl tugged the sheets down exposing her modest yet perky apple-sized breasts.

"Very well," Jenny mumbled as she quickly pulled the chemise up over her head, tossing it onto the pile of clothes on the chair with one hand. Turning around, she saw Rose assessing her naked curves and she modestly wrapped an arm across her breasts as she climbed into bed.

Jenny noticed the amused grin forming on Rose's lips as she quickly slipped under the covers in just her white drawers, relieved for her body to be concealed once more.

"Well, goodnight then," Jenny said, rolling over and hoping that Rose would take the hint and blow out the candles.

"Don't I get a kiss?" Rose asked.

Jenny twisted to face her new friend. In the soft glow of the candles and without her make-up, Rose looked young and pretty, perhaps twenty-four or twenty-five, with pale, creamy skin, dark eyes and plump, pink lips. She could see a faint scattering of freckles on the women's forehead and a faint scare above her right eye. Jenny lifted her head from the pillow, briefly pressing her lips against Rose's.

"Well now, that was hardly a proper kiss, was it?" Rose chuckled, as their lips parted. She slid a hand along Jenny's smooth cheek, and cradled the back of her head as she leaned forward. Jenny waited passively, closing her eyes as she felt those soft, pink lips press against hers again, drawing her into a slow, lingering kiss.

"There now, that's a proper kiss," Rose said, as she drew back a little, her lips curling into a smile. "You're such an innocent-looking young fing, I bet you ain't had much experience with kissing, eh?"

"Well, not with kissing like that," Jenny replied, feeling herself blush once more.

"Well, we shall 'ave to make sure you have plenty of practice then, shan't we?" Rose said, their eyes locked together as she slid one of her hands smoothly down beneath the sheets over her new friend's body, exploring the curve of her breasts, the plane of her belly and eventually settling between her thighs.

"Oh! Um, what are you doing?" Jenny asked, her body rigid, her hands tightly grasping the sheet under her chin as she felt Rose's hand begin to stroke between her legs.

"Just being friendly. You want us to be best friends, don't you?" Rose said, her fingers sliding up and down the thin fabric of Jenny's drawers.

"Yes, but I'm really not sure..." Jenny said, squeezing her thighs together.

"Come on, dearie, let me help you relax a little," Rose insisted, gently but firmly easing Jenny knees apart.

"That's kind of you but..."

"You've had such a vexing day, dear. I'm just giving you a little stroke to help you get to

sleep."

"I really don't think..." Jenny said, wriggling uncomfortably as Rose's fingers slipped between her warm thighs and began to stroke the gentle curve of her mound.

"Come now, dearie, it's just a little stroke," Rose said, as she lightly kissed Jenny's ear.

"No, that's kind, but I don't think this is right," Jenny protested as she felt her body begin to respond to the girl's inquisitive fingers.

"Come now, no need to make a fuss."

"Yes, but it's wrong, Rose," Jenny insisted breathlessly as her friend's fingers swirled around the secret place between her legs, creating wicked, forbidden, yet delicious sensations.

"What's the matter, don't you like it?" Rose said, a knowing smile forming on her moist lips as she slid her hand inside the girl's baggy drawers, her fingers stroking the silky thatch of hair covering her mons and exploring the slick contours of her naked quim.

"Well yes, but it isn't right, that's why the church warns us against such sinful behaviour," Jenny gasped, feeling the heat build in her molten centre. Her body betraying her, her legs drifting apart. her hips tilting upwards as Rose's skilful fingers drew the hot, wet heat from her body.

"But if it's so wicked and wrong, why would the good Lord make it feel so nice?" Rose argued, brushing her lips against Jenny's neck in a way that made her skin, tingle, made her shiver hotly, made her want more

Even though she was a humble and modest young lady, Jenny considered herself quite well-read and ordinarily she would enjoy this kind of philosophical debate. But at this moment, with Rose's dextrous fingers exploring that secret place between her legs, she was finding it difficult to articulate her thoughts, to focus on anything other than the lovely sensations radiating out from her very centre, and making her insides melt like warm candle wax.

"Perhaps the Lord's testing us, to see if we can resist temptation," Jenny managed to gasp as Rose's eager fingers danced over her slick folds.

"Well now, it would be a cruel Lord to devise such a pleasurable trap, wouldn't it? Do you think the good Lord would be so malicious?"

"No, I mean, but..."

"Do you think He'd create such pleasure, if he didn't want us to experience it? Would He be so cruel?"

"Well, they say He does move in mysterious..."

"Shh, you just lie back and let Rose take care of you," the young woman whispered, gently but firmly pushing Jenny's shoulders back against the bed. Jenny closed her eyes, wrapping a hand over her mouth to suppress her increasingly loud moans as she felt Rose's soft lips leaving a trail of light kisses along the slope of her breast, then her tongue flicking over one of her rose-pink nipples, patiently coaxing it into a stiff peak. She sighed longingly, feeling another surge of warm wetness as she Rose's slick fingers spread her swollen labia and stroke the moist, delicate pink flesh within.

Although she'd never lain with a man, Jenny had touched herself down there before. Not often, but often enough to know the kind of shameful, indecent pleasure that could be extracted from one's own body. She knew it was wrong though and often stopped, regaining control of her senses although once or twice she'd gotten carried away, unable to stop herself, wantonly continuing until she'd experienced the kind of euphoric release that would make her feel ashamed for days afterwards.

After all, everyone knew what happened to the kind of woman who indulged in such sinful activities, everyone had a story of a wayward friend or a thoughtless neighbourhood girl who'd lain with a man before marriage, gotten pregnant and had ended up throwing herself on the mercy of the local workhouse.

"Oh, Rose, stop, please," she was moaning now, her hot young body writhing as Rose's experienced fingers, swirled around her wet cunny and her lips sucked at her turgid nipples. She felt herself surrendering to the hot, lewd sensations as the pressure built and built, Rose's fingers moving faster, delving deep between Jenny's tight wet lips.

The pleasure was so novel and unexpected that Jenny quickly found herself losing all sense of control and decency, writhing hotly, the sheet tented over her widely spread knees as Rose's wicked fingers caused her to experience the kind of intense pleasure she'd only previously known in the privacy of her own bedroom.

"Rose, oh stop, oh please!" Jenny moaned as each stroke brought her close to the edge, her crisis fast approaching now.

"Oh, oh!" she cried hoarsely as she climaxed, her chest heaving, head thumping against the pillow as her body twisted and writhed feverishly. The sublime pleasure washed over her body for several long seconds, and when she finally opened her eyes she saw that

Rose was leaning over and smiling down at her, her head propped up against her hand.

"There now, I bet you feel better now. All the worries of the day forgotten, eh Jenny?"

"Yes, um, that was lovely, thank-you," Jenny said meekly as she drew the sheet up over her naked breasts.

"So polite and well-mannered! You shall go far," Rose chuckled, using her fingers to comb Jenny's neat chestnut-coloured fringe away from her hot forehead, and softly kissing the moist skin beneath her hairline.

"Um, what are you doing?" Jenny muttered as she felt Rose grasp her wrist, drawing her hand beneath the sheets. Her large doe eyes opened wide as Rose drew her hand between her warm thighs, all too aware that her new friend had wriggled out of her drawers and was quite naked.

"You want us to be friends, don't you Jenny?" the girl answered with a playful grin.

"Is this what friends do for each other in London?" Jenny asked innocently, as Rose encouraged her to slide her fingers along the warm, smooth skin of her inner thighs.

"Well, it's what special friends do for each other. You do want us to be the very best of friends, don't ya?"

"Well, yes, of course."

"And you want me to sleep well too?"

"Well, I suppose..." Jenny said, as Rose spread her legs and drew Jenny's fingers along the smooth skin of her inner thighs and the moist, swollen contours of her cunny.

"There now you just stroke me a little, eh? Nice and slow, there's a good girl," Rose said, reclining on the bed, her hands sliding up over her bare skin and cupping her pert breasts.

"But I'm still not entirely sure what to do," Jenny protested, as she tentatively massaged Rose's soft, warm folds in slow circles, sensing the humid heat, feeling her nether lips become even wetter and more swollen as her new friend moaned encouragingly.

"Oh don't you worry, it will be my pleasure to show you exactly what to do," Rose purred, her eyes closing, her lips forming a lazy smile as she spread her thighs a little wider, inviting Jenny to explore a little further as she gently plucked at one of her swollen pink nipples. "Even if it takes all night."

--

The next morning Jenny awoke slowly from troubled dreams, dreams of running down endless darkened alleyways, pushing through the crowds as she chased her uncle, who always seemed to be disappearing just around the next corner, unable to hear her desperate shouts, as she avoided drunks lurching from doorways their outstretched hands clutching at her skirts.

The sounds from downstairs gradually drew her fully awake: chairs scraping on the wooden floor, plates clattering against the kitchen table, the sound of conversation carrying up the stairs and through the gaps in the rough wooden floorboards. She still felt quite tired, having struggled to get to sleep in this new bed with all sorts of strange noises drifting through the walls last night: heavy boots on stairs, a bed rhythmically knocking against the wall, gruff male voices, some muffled feminine moaning.

She stretched, yawned and rolling onto one side noticed that Rose had already gone. After a visit to the bathroom, she dressed and went down to breakfast. There were a number of young women sitting around a table in the kitchen, and they seemed to be divided into small groups. There were Rose and Daisy, of course, chatting away. Opposite them, seating around one corner of the large table were a group of three girls who seemed to be talking amongst themselves, whom she was introduced to as Beth, Angel and Cath. Then at the other end of the table was a group of three older-looking women: Lucy, Katy and Meg.

"Good morning," Jenny said, taking a seat next to Daisy.

"Is this the stray that you took in last night?" Beth muttered looking up from a bowl of porridge and examining Jenny's slight frame with her small, black eyes. "Another mouth to feed, eh?"

"Give it a rest," Rose countered wearily.

"Don't worry about Beth, she's as sour as vinegar and mean too, 'specially first fing in the morning," Daisy said, leaning closer and whispering. "That's why she works downstairs."

Jenny nodded amiably, although she didn't understand exactly what she meant.

The porridge looked a bit thinner than she was used to and made with water rather than milk, so she breakfasted on cheese and stale bread. Afterwards, Madam directed her to the kitchen, where she was introduced to 'Cook', a large, matronly womanly who seemed to have a permanent scowl on her face.

"Hope you like 'ard work," Cook said, looking her up and down with a stern expression.

"Of course," Jenny said, before starting on peeling a mountain of carrots and potatoes that took her the rest of the morning.

--

"So, are you sure your Uncle owned a pub around 'ere?" Rose asked as they left the Rose and Crown.

The afternoon had brought brighter weather, the streets sparkling wetly in the sunshine as Rose and Daisy showed Jenny around the local pubs. London was so much busier and noisier than York, the narrow streets and alleyways crowded with well-dressed men in dark suits and women in fashionable dresses and hats, all seemingly rushing to get somewhere urgently.

Jenny was surprised that her new friends seemed to know all the local pubs and their landlords and landladies. So far, they'd been to the Eight Bells, the Highwayman, the Duke of Cambridge, the Coopers Arms, the Bull and Star and the Captain Cook but had had no luck in any of them.

"Well, I thought so, but we haven't heard from him in some time," Jenny replied.

"So he could be in Hammersmith or Barons Court? Or even Westminster?" Daisy asked.

Jenny had to confess that this was true.

"Well, never mind, dearie, we'll ask around. I'm sure we'll find him sooner or later," Rose said, seeing the dismayed look on Jenny's face and squeezing her arm reassuringly.

"I really need to find him to tell him about the death of my father and mother. He's my father's brother, you see. My brother Harold and I sent a letter, but I can't be sure he got it."

"Well, you're a good girl to come all this way to make sure he knows," Rose replied.

"To be quite honest, I've always wanted to come down here. My brother's getting married soon, so it's best I move out of the family home. It seemed an ideal opportunity to come and seek my fortune."

They walked on for a while, Rose and Daisy leading them on towards yet another pub, called the Kings Head. Jenny couldn't help noticing the differing reactions of the people that they passed. The women, especially the well-dressed ones, would turn away and flash them a look of disdain or sometimes pity. Some would whisper to one another, a gloved hand over their mouths, provoking a nod or knowing shake of the head from their companion.

The men, on the other hand, would often flash Rose or Daisy a grin or a jaunty wink. Or sometimes, pretend not to know them, although the flushed pink of their cheeks would tell a different story as they abruptly changed direction, disappearing into a side alley as the women approached.

As they crossed the street, Jenny asked: "So, how did you end up at Madam Chloe's?"

"Well, love, my story is short but not too sweet. I spent my childhood in an orphanage, never knew my parents. When I was sixteen, they told me I had to leave, and I found myself on the streets beggin' for food which a bunch of other street urchins in Covent Garden. That's where I met Daisy," Rose said.

"Yer, I'd had a difficult childhood too. My mother died when I was young, and my father was a brute, took to beating me with a belt whenever the fancy took him. So as soon as I was old enough I ran away. I tell ya life on the streets was tough, but not as tough as living with that cruel bastard, if you'll pardon my language," Daisy added.

"Oh dear, I am sorry for your troubles," Jenny said, realising how lucky she was to have grown up in a relatively stable and well-off family.

"Then, one day, we approached this fine-looking lady and asked for a few pennies. And she turned out to be Madam Chloe," Daisy continued.

"And she took a shine to us, and to cut a long story short, so we ended up at the house, working with the rest of the girls," Rose added.

"So, um, what exactly is it that you girls do?"

"Do?" Rose repeated.

"I mean to say, someone must pay for your food and clothes, and I couldn't help noticing those men in the lounge last night..."

Rose and Daisy exchanged a glance before answering.

"Well, let's just say that we make a modest living entertaining gentlemen of an evening," Daisy said, in a rough approximation of Madam's clipped, proper English as they crossed the street.

"Yes, and some of 'em require a lot of entertaining!" Rose giggled.

"Some of them need entertaining several times a night!" Daisy added with a dirty laugh.

"You mean it's a house of ill repute?" Jenny said, a horrified expression on her face as she leant in close and whispered. "A brothel?"

Rose and Daisy couldn't help laughing at her shocked expression.

"The look on your face!" Rose exclaimed, throwing her head back and laughing loudly. "You really are such a sweet, innocent young thing, ain't ya?"

"Well, Madam likes to call it a Maison de Plaisir," Daisy added, her lips struggling to get a grip on the French phrase. "But there's plenty of more common names: knocking shop, house of ill repute..."

"Bordello," Daisy offered.

"Oh! I see," Jenny said.

"Well, it's not exactly a common-or-garden bawdy house, we get a better class of gentleman there, don't we, Daisy?" Rose said.

"Yer, anyway don't you worry, dearie. Madam's got a good 'eart. You'll not be made to do anything you don't want to. I think she has other plans for you," Daisy said as they entered yet another pub.

--

Despite all of the pubs they visited, they were unable to find anyone who had seen any sign of her auntie and uncle. Later that evening, Jenny found herself lying on Rose's bed, trying not to feel too disconsolate as she read a book that she'd borrowed from Madam's extensive library. As night drew in, she was finding it increasingly hard to concentrate on the text as the sounds of music, raucous laughter and the squeals of the girls drifted up through the bare floorboards of the room. She kept wondering what she'd do if she couldn't find her uncle. It was kind of the Madam to put her up here, but was it really proper for a young lady to stay in a brothel? She knew that if they were still alive her parents wouldn't approve, and Harold would be very troubled if he found out. Of course, she didn't have much choice at the moment, unless she returned to York. But she would feel like such a failure if she returned home after only a couple of days without finding her long lost relatives.

It had been another long, tiring day walking the streets of Putney and she soon found herself drifting off. She was awoken some time later and opening her eyes found Rose shaking her shoulder.

"You remember that earlier you were asking what it is that we do to earn a crust? Care to have a quick butchers?" she asked with a wicked grin.

--

She led Jenny by the hand along the corridor and up the stairs to a small closet. On opening the door, they found an excited looking Daisy inside, squeezed in amongst the brooms and mops, her blonde hair glowing in the light spilling in from the open door.

"What's going on? I don't understand," Jenny protested as they all squeezed inside, and Rose drew the door shut behind them. In the darkness, she could see light shining through some small knotholes on one side of the old wooden boards that made up the partition wall. Encouraged by her two friends, Jenny pressed her eye against one, and found herself peering into the bedroom on the other side, a large room dimly lit by candles burning in front of a large gilt mirror, opulent burgundy curtains and carpet, and dominated by a large four-poster bed.

"Shhh!" Rose said. "You'll see soon enough."

After a minute or so, a girl that Jenny recognised as Lucy entered the room, followed by a tall, thick-set man with a barrel chest and a bushy moustache. Although she hadn't been there long, she knew Lucy was one of the older girls, buxom with generous curves and much experienced in 'entertaining' gentlemen.