The House of Beardsley

Chapter Eleven

Since it would be tiresome to get water for everyone, usually a group shared water. In our case, it was us four girls. The water would only be hot for the first person, pretty warm for the second and third, but cold for the fourth. That's why about a few days ago, Clo and Beth developed a system of bathing together to save time and not allow the water to get cold, and it helped everyone.

I quickly stepped out of my boots, dress, then corset and undergarments before washing myself with soap and water, and finally bathing in the bath.

Clo also did, and I watched as she did.

Clo was probably the most feminine of all despite her occasional crassness.

After unbuttoning her dress she slid it down her shoulder, then body, and then she tiptoed out of the hem, revealing her hourglass figure in a corset.

It was beige, and plain, and contrasted her dark skin, and when she unbuttoned it you could see the outline of her big breasts under her blouse, and when she took off her stocking you saw her supple, strong calves. It was almost hypnotizing, in a way.

"Shuyan," she said. "You're watching me in a weird way."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I just thought about how mature and beautiful you looked." I stopped. "Not in a strange way, though! More like I was appreciating art."

She laughed her carefree laugh, making me sigh.

"Art? I've been called many thing in my life, but not that. I like it quite a lot. Thank you."

I smiled. "You're welcome."

As she began to take off more of her clothing I tried to find a topic to talk about.

"How old are you?"

"I'm twenty this year. People think I'm older, maybe because of my make-up."

"I'm eighteen."

"I always thought you were sixteen," she said, "and Rhiannon thought the same, but we were wrong, surprisingly."

"Sixteen?" I laughed. "I mean, that's the age one usually starts working, but still, it is young."

"Beth is sixteen, did you know?"

"I thought she was younger," I said, "but no, I didn't know.

"Do you know Rhiannon's age?"

"No, you never asked?" Clo shrugged, and I smiled. "We can always ask her."

"Never-mind that. You said you wanted advice, what is it?"

I thought about how to phrase the question for a while.

"I told you a bit about it before. I never really grew up with my own beliefs. Everything I had, I adopted from the orphanage, like putting others before me, being polite, and selfless. However, after coming here, I realized there's other ways to live."

"Like what I said?" Clo asked. I nodded.

"But there was someone else who also said something that really touched me." I laughed at the thought. "It changed my outlook on life and I want to thank them for it, but I don't think they know how truly great they are."