Maude Cameron And Her Guardian Read online

  “ Oh, fie, no indeed, Mr. Cameron,” Maude Rivers protested. She blushed divinely. Charles Cameron’ s keen eye swiftly rode over her face and form, and this blush assured him that she was of a sanguine temperament which augured well for his own sensual interests. It was not without a certain foreknowledge that he found himself enraptured by the sensuous charms of this golden- haired young girl, for after all she had been entrusted to him by a dying man, and he was honor bound to give her every tender care and aid in this her hour of great loss. But he had already come to the reflection that he would be her legal guardian, under the terms of Douglas Rivers’ letter, and that even in a court of law the lovely creature beside him would be handed over to him until her twenty- first birthday.

  For the first time he began to be conscious of his great good fortune, and he began to congratulate himself on his foresight in having agreed to Douglas Rivers’ plea.

  “ Oh, what a lovely mare!” cried Maude. “ It was very nice of you to come to meet me. My father spoke highly of you, you know,” her high, sweet voice assured him. Charles Cameron helped her into the surrey, not forgetting to feast his eyes on the neatly turned ankles which she exhibited, chastely veiled in rather drab and unprepossessing black cotton hose. She behaved quite like a little lady, holding her skirts just so, and there was a proud bearing to her. Yet the softness and loveliness of her curvaceous body had already begun to excite him. He reflected to himself that the old adage about casting bread upon the waters and having it returned a thousand- fold had never been more truthfully borne out than on this particular day.

  On the way back to his house, Charles Cameron put himself out to behave as affably as possible, so as to make the best possible impression on his lovely young ward. For her part, Maude chattered away like a veritable magpie, exclaiming over the natural beauties of the scenery around her, the peacefulness of the landscape and he general neighborhood. Interspersed with these amenities, she provided spontaneous tidbits of information about herself and her father which helped document Charles Cameron on the cruel set of circumstances which had brought her to this virtual orphan’ s estate. She revealed also, unwittingly to be sure, that her elderly and ailing father had practiced a kind of deception on her new guardian: Douglas Rivers had purposely neglected to inform Charles Cameron as to his daughter’ s actual age, preferring to have the younger man suppose that Maude was a very little girl.

  “ But I promise I shan’ t be the least trouble to you, Mr. Cameron,” she exuberantly declared as the vivacious mare at last stopped before the house. “ I learned quite a few things in school and from Father’ s housekeeper, you see, and I can sew and cook rather well and I shall try to make myself very useful to you, Mr. Cameron, in return for all you are going to do for me.”

  “ No, now,” he chided with a pleasant smile, “ there is certainly no need to try and compensate me for taking care of you. After all, I was your father’ s good friend, and it is little enough to do for so fine a man.” This sentimental speech which Charles Cameron made without unction, and, indeed, with a definite effort to keep from smiling and thus revealing how hypocritical it really was, seemed to delight the lovely golden- haired young girl She clasped her hands together, sighed, and gave him a dazzlingly beatific look from those enormous and expressive soft blue eyes of hers. That look alone repaid Charles Cameron for having disrupted his placid schedule in going to the railway station to meet his unexpectedly grownup ward.

  “ Oh, thank you, thank you,” she cried delightedly. “ But just bear in mind, Mr. Cameron, all you need to do is just tell me what you wish, and I shall learn to try to anticipate your desires. I wish to make myself useful to the extreme in this my new home.”

  Had he been more cynically inclined, the handsome mature bachelor would have retorted that there were innumerable ways in which she could do precisely that. But as to that subject, which was far too titillating and risquй in that day and age for a young lady’ s ears, he contented himself with a smiling nod and the noncommittal retort that he would try not to make too many demands upon her good nature.

  Her delight was unbounded after he had taken her through the house and shown her the room on the second floor, to the left rear, which was to be her very own. She found his accommodations extremely spacious and much more handsome than she had been used to in London, and she innocently inquired, “ But this must be quite a bit of work for you, Mr. Cameron, to take care of so large a house all by yourself. And you say you don’ t even have a housekeeper to look after you? Now I know how I can repay you- I shall be your housekeeper.”

  Laughingly, he took her soft little hand, brought it to his lips as a Continental cavalier might do, and kissed it, saying, “ Then assuredly no house in all England could ever boast a more lovely housekeeper.” He was rewarded by seeing the soft satiny pink cheeks of his new ward crimson vividly, which made him, connoisseur that he was of female aptitudes and instincts, aware of the intensely and emotionally excitable temperament which his new ward must certainly possess. It would, he thought, augur quite well for the future. For already he had made up his mind to enjoy his authority and his legal tenure of this mouthwatering specimen of young, unprofaned femininity by adroitly, consummately and deliberately seducing her. He had not in all his career as a bon vivant and amorist ever had the opportunity to enjoy an intimate relationship with so young and ravishingly lovely a partner. There were, to be sure, certain technical grounds, and he being a member of the legal profession knew them better than most men, which might cause difficulty in attaining to such a degree of felicitous collaboration with the charming young Maude, but his agile and ingenious mind was already leaping far ahead to determine just how to circumvent even these temporary obstacles.

  From some of Maude Rivers’ comments along the return journey home, Charles Cameron had deduced that for all her sweet docility she evinced a certain latent spirit all her own. Now, he told himself, if judiciously he could arrive at provoking her disobedience against his edicts, by challenging that very spirit which he sensed lay within her innermost psyche, then she would be certain to rebel and, naturally, being under age and completely in his realm of authority and power, such rebellion might be exquisitely chastised in the manner which he himself most enjoyed.

  By this, dear reader, it must be known that Charles Cameron, though to this date no scandal had ever been bruited about his name and conduct with the fair sex, had a predilection for the use of the rod as a stimulant to those flights of Cythera on which he was wont to pilgrimage on occasion. Now it was also true that not all of his paramours in the past were complacent to this manner of seduction, but it was equally true that a number of others, notably bolder and more intrepid divorcees and young matrons who had traveled as he had on the Continent, were quite willing to lend themselves to this fascinating sport.

  But since in the main he could not always be certain that an amorous conquest would permit him to indulge himself as his secret and erotic nature yearned to do, Charles Cameron had provided himself with a magnificent library, of which at least a third was devoted to works of erotology in several languages, handsomely bound in buckram, tooled leather and hand- canvas, for his leisurely perusal. These books, French, German and also some from the Orient, were kept in a special bookcase under lock and key, and it came to Charles Cameron’ s mind that this very safeguard might be used as the very first pretext under which he could subjugate his lovely ward, Accordingly, having shown Maude through the house, he led her into the library and pointed out the fateful bookcase.

  “ I am sure,” he sententiously declared, “ that you will wish to continue your studies and your comprehensive knowledge of cultural things, my dear, and here you will find many excellent books for that purpose. However, the books in that case with the green baize drape over the top are those which I do not wish you to read, and I have consequently locked the doors with a key which I keep on the hook beside it on the wall. I trust that you will observe my one little domestic rule, as otherwi
se I should regretfully be compelled to punish you for disobeying.”

  The golden- haired young girl uttered a charming little laugh, and her pink cheeks colored divinely as she retorted, not without a flair of sauciness, “ My gracious Mr. Cameron. However would you do that? I shall be seventeen on my next birthday, which is only a month from today, ‘ I’ ll have you know. And Father never punished me at all, except perhaps to scold me when I did something he didn’ t quite like. I shall try to be very good, of course, and I will do what you tell me to.”

  “ So long as you remember that cardinal principle, my dear,” he at once replied with an affectionate smile which hid his true feelings, “ I am sure we shall get along famously.”

  From the roguish glance which the golden- haired young girl gave him, Charles Cameron felt certain that she would essay to show her independence against this categorical tenet, which of course he had made up on the spur of the moment.

  The rest of the day passed quite pleasantly and, having been a lonely bachelor for longer than he cared to remember, Charles Cameron found himself looking forward almost impatiently to the evening, when intuition told him he would have the very first opportunity of taking emprise of Maude. There was, to be sure, a feudal concept involved, whereby to all intents and purposes the virginal, lovely creature whom the dying old Rivers had trustingly put into his custody would actually become his little slave- girl. For Charles Cameron, being in the legal profession himself, was well aware that he could exert the sum total of parental authority in his capacity as Maude’ s guardian- and that is what he proposed to do. It would, he was certain, be much more logical if the pretty minx would give him the opportunity he sought without his taking the first step, he assured himself. In that way she could bring upon herself the logical outcome of having flaunted his authority.

  He allowed her to prepare supper, and found that she could make good her boast of being quite able to cook. It was a pleasant contrast to have a charming young girl opposite him at the table to wile away the evening which would otherwise be spent in locking himself up with his beloved books and conjuring up fantasies of those secret erotic intricacies which had become so keenly absorbing to his desires. And the prospect of having a flesh and blood virginal ingenuous and totally helpless partner at his disposal for experimental purposes in carrying out these fantasies was absolutely breathtaking.

  At about nine- thirty, he judged that the day had been sufficiently exciting to the newcomer in his mйnage, and so tactfully suggested that Maude would feel more receptive with a good night’ s sleep. Accordingly, he rose and with a final smiling reminder that she might, if she so chose, sit up for a little bit and amuse herself with all the books in his library except those in the locked bookcase which he had already pointed out, he took himself off to bed. His own master bedroom was on the first floor at the back, so that Maude was directly above him, and the thought that only a flight of stairs and a door separated him from her virginal bed was positively intoxicating. Pouring himself a glass of sherry from the cut- glass decanter which he kept on the little buffet stand hear his bed, he savoringly sipped it and, closing his eyes, let his mind run riot with the most vivid and speculative pictures of delights to come.

  About an hour later, having donned his dressing gown over his night shirt, and slipping his feet into a pair of heavy felt slippers, Charles Cameron tiptoed from his room and went down the hall to the library. It took only a moment to ascertain that his spirited ward had defied his interdiction referring to the forbidden books: true, the case was still locked and the key remained on its hook as before, but there was a noticeable gap on the first shelf, and two books had been tilted rather naively to hide the loss of one which obviously the charming Maude had taken off to bed with her. Another glance told him that the book was none other than “ Life at Miss Belissa’ s Boarding School,” an extremely spicy volume which told of the experiences of two attractive teenaged sisters who discovered that at the private school to which their aunt had sent them, they would be introduced to not only corporal punishment when merited, but also scandalous clandestine nocturnal encounters with their female classmates, who would seek to initiate them into the tender rituals of Lesbos.

  Charles Cameron smiled with zestful anticipation upon discovering the title of the volume which his ward had seen fit to pilfer. Of course, there was no clue to let him know whether she had simply made a random choice or had simply had spent time enough perusing the various tomes on the shelf and thereby acquainted herself with the extremely candid and lasciviously outspoken volumes of his erotic collection. In either instance, she deserved chastisement for having first defied him and secondly taken reading matter which he had forbidden her on the grounds of her tender years. There remained only to catch the culprit in flagrante delicto and then apply the requisite penalty.

  Chapter Three

  Charles Cameron felt the blood pounding in his veins and that exquisitely indescribable feeling which always is the prelude to carnal adventure as he tiptoed down the hall to Maude’ s bedroom. In preparation for what he fully anticipated would be required- which is to say, the very first chastisement of his beautiful young ward at his hands under his own roof- he had pot into the pocket of his dressing gown a flexible, stingy metal leafcutter which had hitherto been used to cut the pages of newly issued French novels which his London book agent frequently purchased for him, since Charles Cameron read French as fluently as he did his native tongue. He stood before Maude’ s door, made certain that his gown was belted and that he observed- at least at the outset- the strictest propriety of demeanor. Suitably, he adopted a stern expression on his handsome face and then knocked at the door.

  Listening intently, he could at once detect that Maude was flustered by his unexpected visit, for he heard movements, a little gasp, and then after a few moments a quavering gasp, “ Who is it?”

  The sly little minx, he told himself with a grin. She intends to play Miss Innocent to the very hilt. So much the better! “ It is I, Charles Cameron,” he called sternly. “ Open the door at once.”

  “ Yes, Mr. Cameron. I- I was just going to bed.” He heard the stammered and obviously frightened reply, closer to the door this time. He waited, standing patiently and erect as befitted a mature guardian of so tender a ward, until at last he heard the bolt slip back and the door opened.

  Maude was absolutely breathtaking, as she stood there blushingly, her eyes big and round as saucers. Over her nightgown she had hurriedly drawn a robe of rather dull grey cotton twill and had belted it circumspectly. Her golden hair was tousled, indicating that she had gotten out of bed in a hurry.

  “ Whatever is it, Mr. Cameron?” she ingenuously demanded.

  “ I am sorry to see that on your very first day in my house, my dear, you have seen fit to disobey me,” was the stern rejoinder.

  “ But I don’ t understand what you’ re saying, Mr. Cameron!” the lovely blue- eyed face expressed wonder and not a little apprehension. “ I read a little bit, and I was just now going to bed when you knocked.”

  “ I am quite certain that is true, my dear, but you remember that I expressly forbade you the use of books which are far beyond your years and which are kept under lock and key in a particular space in my library.”

  “ Oh, I remember that you said that, Mr. Cameron, and I took pains not to disobey you, truly I did,” she hastened to explain. “ I was reading a novel by Bertha Southworth. I brought it off to bed with me- perhaps I shouldn’ t have and I’ m sorry.”

  “ It is not with that book I am concerned, Maude. Let me see for myself.” With this lie walked toward the bed, and Maude hastened after him, wringing her soft little hands, her brows arched and her rosy mouth a delicious circle of adolescent apprehension.

  “ But I am telling you the truth, Mr. Cameron,” her voice nervously persisted. “ I- I put the book under my pillow, you see.”

  “ I told you that I am not concerned with that innocuous piece of trash. But one of my other books i
s missing, and I have reason to suspect it may be concealed somewhere in this room,” and with this he reached under the two fluffed- up pillows and drew out the book to which his ward had referred.

  “ There! You see?” she triumphantly exclaimed.

  “ Yes, I see the one but not the other. Let us have a more extensive look, if you don’ t object, Maude,” he retorted, and he began to thrust his hands down beneath the covers which she had drawn up almost to the pillows. Maude bit her lip and stared at him with growing alarm. He felt a bulge over to the side of the bed, and his fingers at last encountered the volume and drew it forth.

  “ And what do you say to this, pray?” he confronted her, holding up the telltale book in his right hand.

  Maude was speechless in her fright at having been found out both in deception and a lie. “ My gracious,” she tried her best to recover her aplomb. “ I must have brought that along and never noticed. Truly, that’ s how it happened.”

  “ I should be inclined to believe that, Maude, if it had not been necessary for you to obtain that book by taking down the key, opened the bookcase, and selected it from among the various shelves and their contents,” he said deliberately. “ And I daresay that you took pains to glance through the other books, all of which were forbidden to you. This is a fine way to repay my kindness in taking you in as my ward, you know.”

  The lovely blonde was very nearly in tears, and with clasped hands before her, her lips trembling, she stammered an almost inarticulate explanation which he impatiently silenced with a wave of his hand: “ Do not try to add to the seriousness of your offense by inventing implausible explanations, my dear. I can see exactly what you have done, against my express request. I am afraid I shall have to punish you, Maude. If I am to be your guardian and have every authority over you, you must allow me to regulate your conduct as I see fit, being many years your elder. Now, to temper the enormity of your fault with your confession, which might lead me to leniency with you, I will ask you if it is not true that you took my remark about the forbidden case as a kind of challenge and decided you would see if you could get away with it. Isn’ t that so?”