He laughed softly.
"Very good, my dear, you are learning already. Never answer such a question as that. It could be taken as a complaint if you did. Any time you are asked if you have been punished too much or suffered too much, or anything of that sort, be clever enough to blush."
But even as he spoke almost affectionately, he began washing her br**sts just as calmly as he had washed the rest of her, and Beauty's blushes became more painful. She could feel her ni**les harden, and she was certain though she could see nothing but the soapy water before her, that he was noticing this, as his hands slowed slightly, and then he pushed at her inner thigh gently. "Spread your legs, dearest," he said.
She obeyed, kneeling with her legs farther apart, and then farther as he pushed her. He had become still, and now drying his hand on the towel at his waist, he touched her sex and she felt herself shudder.
Her sex was moist and swollen with her desire, and to her horror, his had touched a small hard knot in which much of her craving was accumulated. She drew back involuntarily.
"Ah." He withdrew his fingers, and turning called to Lord Gregory.
"A very lovely flower, this," he said. "Have you observed?"
Beauty was crimson. Her eyes overflowed with tears. It took all her control not to drop her hands to cover her sex as she felt Leon part her legs even wider now and gently touch the moisture there.
Lord Gregory gave a soft laugh.
"Yes, a truly remarkable Princess," he said. "I should have watched her more carefully."
Beauty gave a little muffled sob of shame and yet the driving desire between her legs would not stop, and her face was stinging as Lord Gregory spoke to her.
"Most of our little Princesses are too frightened in the first few days to show such willingness to serve, Beauty," he said in the same cold voice. "They must be awakened and educated. But I see you are very passionate and much enamored of your new masters and all they wish to teach you."
Beauty struggled against her tears. This was more humiliating surely than anything that had happened to her.
And now Lord Gregory was taking her chin as the Prince had taken Prince Alexi's chin and forcing her to look at him.
"Beauty, this is a great virtue in you. You have no cause to be ashamed. It only means that you must learn yet another form of discipline. You are awakened to the desires of your master as you should be, but you must learn to control that desire just as you see the male slaves control it."
"Yes, my Lord," Beauty whispered.
Leon withdrew and a moment later he returned with a small white tray on which were laid several little objects Beauty could not see.
But to her terror, Lord Gregory parted her legs and affixed to that little hard kernel of tormented flesh a plaster of sorts that covered it and adhered to it. He shaped it quickly with his fingers as if he did not wish to have Beauty enjoy this.
And Beauty was all the more relieved, for had she felt the ultimate pleasure, had she commenced to shudder and to blush with the final release from this torment, she would have been absolutely mortified.
But now the little plaster gave her an added torment. What could it mean?
It seemed Lord Gregory read her thoughts.
"That will prevent you from all too easily satisfying your newfound and undisciplined desire, Beauty. It will not alleviate it. It will merely prevent, shall we say, accidental release, until you have gained the proper control of yourself. I had not thought to commence this detailed instruction so soon, but I shall tell you now that you are never allowed to experience full pleasure save at the whims of your master or mistress. Never, never, must you be caught touching your private parts with your own hands, nor trying more secretly to alleviate your obvious...misery."
"Well-chosen words," Beauty thought, "for all his coldness to me."
But he was immediately gone, and once more Leon was bathing her.
"Don't be so frightened and so ashamed," he said. "You don't realize what a great advantage it is. To be taught to feel such pleasure is very difficult, and far more humiliating. And your passion gives a bloom to you that cannot be achieved otherwise."
Beauty cried softly. The little plaster between her legs made her all the more conscious of her feelings there. Yet Leon's hands and voice were soothing her.
Finally he told her she must lie down in the bath and he must wash her long beautiful hair for her. She let the warm water close over her and thought for a moment that she was covered by it and that felt extremely good to her.
As soon as she had been rinsed and dried, Beauty was put down on one of the beds nearby, and arranged on her face so that Leon could rub an aromatic oil into her skin.
It felt delicious to her.
"Now, surely," he said as he was massaging her shoulders, "there must be questions that you should like to ask me. You may do that if you like. It is not good for you to be confused about things unnecessarily. There is enough for you to fear without fears that are imaginary."