It would be rude to refuse

Dear Sir Williard,

Once again, I am proven to be a fool. I was just in the process of putting on paper the success of my plan to exhaust my muscles to avoid the effects of Rajah's Blush when Akemi came into my library to announce dinner. I had by now made my way back down the river to my home after spending a pleasant hour at the estate of the X family. Forgive me again my Lord, for I find it best not to use their actual names although in this case nothing untoward happened between me and the foursome that practically dragged me from my punt.

I was sitting at my desk writing of the details of my morning scull and congratulating myself on the results of using hard musculature exertion on countering the Blush. Those base urges that Dr. Miller had warned me about have been eating away at my character like an acid bath will corrode even the finest stainless steel, but at that time I truly believed that I had passed a most extreme trial when confronted with that nearly naked foursome. The group consisted of two pairs of siblings, Alice and John X, and their friends Felicia and Kyle who come from another notable family here on Rajah-4, visiting New Thames from Rajakesh. I tried not to stare at the lovely bodies on display, the young gentleman's physiques were notable for their sleek chests, broad shoulders and slender waists, but I assure you that I was far more interested in their enticing companions.

When these gay youngsters pulled on the loose clothing they had discarded before jumping into the water, it helped a little to alleviate my discomfort, but as I said before Sir Williard, the clothing barely covered their exposed skin. The oldest of the four, Alice, was the buxom young woman, and Felicia the slender brunette was the youngest. All four moved easily both in the water and on land, but Felicia had the light-hearted spirit and energy of an elfin maiden. When I first saw her glide through the water I mentally compared her to a nymph, and once on land her lithe young form twirled and danced like a pixie from some fairy-tale of my childhood. John X, seemed much taken by her antics and immediately joined her in a spontaneous game of tag. Soon enough the rest of us were pulled into the mad game of chase, when I was tagged I found it impossible to catch up with either of the two boys as we made our way up the hill, or even the nimble Felicia but thankfully, as I chased after them Alice stumbled at my feet and I was able to slap her firm thigh before she could roll away.

Shortly after this small success, we all reached the terrace of the magnificent mansion. I entered the hallway laughing with the others; it was remarkable how good it felt to interact with other young men and women. It occurs to me as I write this that my years of diligent studying had robbed me of these youthful frivolities. Perhaps if I had more experience with this type of spirited interaction I would be less disturbed by the physical nature of the game. I must confess Sir Williard, that even hours later I have been unable to forget how smooth and warm the soft skin of Alice's thigh had felt nor can I deny that I was excited by the idea of chasing down those lively young ladies. Perhaps that might explain what happened when Akemi entered my private library shortly afterwards - but for now let me recount my meeting with Lord and Lady X.

In the morning room that overlooked the gardens and wide elbow in the Arjun below, I was introduced to the owners of this impressive estate. Lady X sent the youngsters off to their rooms to change into more appropriate clothes with good-natured scolding and then joined Lord X and myself as he told me about the horses I had seen in the pastures as I had rowed past. It seems that all four had been descendants of embryos that had arrived on one of the early transports along with just three mares who had foaled the first generation of all the horses that currently were found on Rajah-4.

Sooner than I thought possible, the two gentlemen arrived with the young ladies on their arms dressed in the style of the planet, which compared to what they had been wearing now seemed quite modest even if the arms and lower legs of the young ladies were still bare and the gentlemen wore only waistcoats instead of the full jacket of Lord X.

Lady X was very well informed, for example she asked me how I found my duties in Dr. Miller's clinic and if I was settling in at the Alterson cottage. I sensed, Sir Williard, rather than actually saw the grins on the faces of the men but chose to answer my hostess without any reference to the extraordinary duties I had agreed to undertake. Miss Alice drifted to my side as we spoke, standing perhaps slightly closer than what was perfectly appropriate for a young woman of her status, in a brief lull in the conversation she surprised me with a question of her own.

"Have you seen the haunting at your new abode?" She asked me in a lull in the conversation and when she saw my look of confusion Alice explained that a dear friend of hers, Katheryn Alterson had drowned tragically two years ago and after her heartbroken parents had abandoned the property her apparition had been sighted wandering the grounds of her childhood by at least four different witnesses. "Are you sure, Dr. Baxter, that you haven't seen dear Katie or heard her mournful crying?"

John laughed quite openly at Miss Alice, mocking his sister for her willingness to accept the occultists nonsense of her 'psychic' friends. I found myself a little offput by the young man's rude tone, but I could not help agree with his dismissal of the idea of spirits haunting the place of their tragic deaths. For well over one hundred years, as you well know Sir Williard, this spiritualist nonsense has been soundly debunked; I find it incredulous that well bred members of our great empire educated in the finest schools still cling to this type of unscientific hysteria.

It was shortly after this that I made my excuses, explaining to Lady X when she invited me to stay for luncheon that I really had to return to my cottage and see to my duties at home. Lady Alice insisted that she be allowed to walk me back to my punt and through some silent feminine mystique communicated to Felicia that she and the boys were not welcome.

And so it was that I walked hand in hand with the earnest young woman back to my small boat. I was acutely conscious of the fact that the morning room high above us gave Miss Alice's parents, brother and potentially jealous boyfriend a clear view of both of us as she clung to my arm and flirted quite boldly with me. However, the memory of the water flowing between her breasts, and of my chasing her down in the game of tag made me willing to risk the displeasure of her family for a chance to feel her body pressed against mine again.

"Come visit me here again." Alice insisted before she let me slide my light boat into the smooth water. "If you can't, I will have to ask my parents to bring me to Dr. Miller's clinic so you can treat me." I cannot say if she understood the manner of treatments that lovely young women like her received at Dr. Miller's establishment, but rather than let a fine young lady like her fall into the clutches of a licentious lech like your former acquaintance, I assured Miss Alice that I would be sure to call on her family again at my earliest convenience.

The boat ride home was a little faster as the current was working with me, also my lord, I worked with most earnest intent at the oars in an attempt to wipe away those improper desires imparted by the young lady's youthful admiration, and the notion of what might be befall her if she found herself on Dr. Miller's examination table.

Sadly, Sir Williard, when Akemi entered my library the two days of rigorous abstinence combined with the latent desires for the lovely Lady Alice, my best intentions were for naught and I took the lithe Nipponese woman swiftly and with great enthusiasm as she lay across my great desk. The only good I can salvage from this failing is that at least it was my pretty maid and not an unblemished citizen of our great empire that suffered as a result of my weakness.