Charlotte visits Ellen Tomkins

Charlotte made an appointment to see Ellen Tomkins at the end of her open office hours. She consulted the directory and followed the corridors of the old Forestry Building back and up through an old back staircase to a wing of professors' offices.

She saw Professor Evans look her way as she passed his office. Charlotte met his look and smiled blandly. The man was suspicious as usual. His work in the field was first-rate, though he struggled to get institutional recognition. Tanith had said he was jealous of Ellen Tomkins for advancing to professor before he did.

It occurred to Charlotte that she should visit Evans on her way out and offer him a fuck. It would be the politic thing, and Tanith would certainly do it. Charlotte grinned. Tanith would probably insist on a fuck.

Her shoes clacked on the old linoleum floor tiles. There were strings of cobweb on the dusty light fixtures. To her eye, the Forestry Building was showing not just age, but neglect. At least the wood of the doors and frames showed some beauty in their material and detailing.

Charlotte came to the end of the hall and found a small waiting area outside Ellen's office. Her nose tickled with the whiff of youthful genital juices. One of the common smells at college, where eager and anxious young people were in complex and stressful situations far from their natural social habitat, the matriarchal household. The odor of sexual funk tended to cling to offices where students met with professors, counselors, or administrators.

There was a young woman already there, wearing a white sundress and hat like she had just come from an ice cream social. To her surprise, it was Asteratrice Tritonelle, one of Charlotte's advisory students.

"Ah, Miss Rue-Bee!" she said, jumping up from the vinyl-covered bench. She greeted Charlotte with a hug and a kiss on each cheek. "Such good news, I have the scholarship! Thank you so much for helping me."

"Congratulations, Miss Tritonelle," Charlotte said. "You truly merit the recognition." Asteratrice had plenty of intelligence and energy, so Charlotte's help had largely been in lending her ear to the young woman's worries, nodding calmly, and saying, 'I see.'

"Oh, that reminds me, I must get your vibrator back to you," Asteratrice said. "It helped so much, to calm me down so I could concentrate and finish my application."

"No, no, consider it a gift, Miss Tritonelle," Charlotte said. "Perhaps you will be in the position of offering similar help to a promising young woman some day." She cleared her throat. "And I have a little news. Mistress Tanith Rue is going to Washington to join the new administration. I am emancipated, and now head my household as Mistress Beechcombe."

"Oh how wonderful!" Asteratrice gushed. "Will you be taking a new wife?"

"Perhaps in the fullness of time," Charlotte said. It was obvious in the young woman's face that she was angling to fill any open position. "Marry in haste, repent at leisure. Now, I presume you are here for Professor Tomkins?"

"Yes, yes," Asteratrice said. "Just this paper to sign."

"Then let us sit and wait," Charlotte said. She extended her arm to Miss Tritonelle and steadied her as they sat down on the dull vinyl couch.

With a moment of quiet, they could hear through Ellen Tomkins' door as she met with the previous appointment.

"You can see the better approach would be..." Pages flipped. "There, like that. Now, you've put in a lot of effort here, so here's what I suggest to salvage it for your final draft."

A deeper but uncertain voice replied, a young man. Charlotte raised her eyebrows. But then again, forestry was like any other field of study at Artemis College; more and more men were taking it up, bringing new energy and new ideals. Evans was in his way a pioneer who had struggled against adversity to clear the path for the young man in Ellen's office today.

"No, no, don't worry," Ellen said, replying to an anxious question. "Just put it together the best you can, you still have a week."

"Thank you," the young man replied. "Professor, may I...?"

"Of course," Ellen said. "Come sit here by me. There, that's better now. Now open your hand...there."

The wet sounds of comfort nursing came from behind the door, soon joined by the slick strokes of a lubricated hand going up and down the length of a penis.

"Oooh," Asteratrice cooed. Her cheeks colored from the proximity of sex, and she looked toward Charlotte, blinking her long eyelashes. "Mistress Bee, Do you think I could look?"

"Do not break the moment, Miss Tritonelle," Charlotte said. "The young man needs comfort and release, not distraction." Charlotte could sympathize with the younger woman. The sounds from Ellen's office were arousing to anyone with a particle of erotic imagination, and Charlotte felt moisture grow between her legs.

"Oh," Asteratrice said. She pouted momentarily, then went back to listening. Charlotte could see Miss Tritonelle's nostrils flare as the younger woman listened from her seat. "Oh, Mistress Bee, do you think we could...?"