It was a warm day. The sun shone relentlessly from a clear blue sky, a slight haze lying over the still water of the harbour. Neither man nor beast moved around if at all possible to avoid doing so; the stifling heat would have you drenched with sweat after even the least vigorous exercise. So the pace of the world had slowed down to almost, but not a complete, standstill. Even the flies were paralysed by the heat and sat fat and lazy on the warm surfaces of brick walls or wherever else they had found an opportune resting place.
One as it happened had landed in the windowsill of a large, rather elegantly looking house. Despite the neighbourhood being one of less repute, this house stood out with its well kept façade, detailed décor and general appearance of wealth. Here it had found quite a leisurely spot, as a soft breeze was playing lightly with the thin curtains, making the heat less stifling up here. A fly in such a place of comfort, would often fall victim to a swatting hand or a newspaper aimed at its destruction. The fly, had it been a thinking animal and realised its luck, would probably had felt a surge of joy by the realisation that the occupants of this room were otherwise engaged and in no hurry to end the life of one little insignificant fly. But the fly was only a fly and thus not able to draw any such conclusion, and just sat silently, observing the world without ever really seeing it. At least not seeing and perceiving it as we see it – who knows what truths the multi facetted eyes of a fly really sees?
Unbeknownst to any of the occupants of the room, insect as well as humans, and completely irrelevant to this particular story, the saving of this fly would eventually serve the purpose of saving a dark haired girl with aristocratic features suffering from her first heartbreak. Had this fly not lived on, one of its descendants would not have been able to unknowingly change the course of this particular girl's life. One warm summer afternoon, a couple of years away, this girl would come flying down a long flight of stairs, red rimmed teary eyes and a heart wrenchingly sad expression on her face. She had just been told some awful news, news that had roughly shattered all she had hoped and dreamed for in her life. Her intention was to run away and never come back, leaving all she had known behind. Instead with her hand on the doorknob to freedom she had paused momentarily, her attention caught by a lone zooming fly that landed lightly on her arm. For a moment she had pondered at the simplicity of the life of such a creature, and had envied it. Her small pause would be just enough for her Mammy to catch up with her, and with firm yet lovingly coaxing words convince her to stay. Had she not been stopped by this fly, she would blindly have stormed out, meeting an all too early ending under a set of metal shod hooves on the street.
Of course no one ever knew of this connection between seemingly unrelated events, nor the fatal consequences that could so easily have come to pass. Unrecognised event such as this are, whether acknowledged or not part of the life of all living souls. Magic moments that can alter the course of many a person's life.
Well that of course was in the future. A future of which our little friend in a small corner of a windowsill knew nothing, it was just content with its lot in life, and the peace and quiet it had been granted.
Had it been able to interpret what its eyes were seeing and put it into context, it would have been witness to quite a sensational happening. Not significant to mankind in general perhaps, but quite important and significant to at least one of the persons involved. And thus also the people that this person would go on to meet and interact with later on in his existence, which were coincidentally quite closely linked to the girl I just mentioned above. One could say that this event was even rather significant for the generations that would follow, as they would spend quite a bit of time pondering over the life of at least one of the occupants of the room.
Alas! Again I am getting ahead of myself, mixing in snippets of a tale that are not meant to be told right now. So let us focus on what was actually transpiring in this version of the present.
The room into which the fly looked was a handsome room, though fairly simply decorated. Not quite the interior that one would expect of a place such as this. Cream coloured tapestry on the walls, a tall four poster mahogany bed, hung with loosely draped light coloured muslin, a gilded mirror hung over a faded red settee. This last being the only piece of furniture that smelled of decadence, faded red with heavy brocade pillows resting on it, inviting any guests to make themselves comfortable while being entertained.
As of now, only two people were present in the room.
One was a woman of indefinable age. She was youngish looking, but clearly no longer a girl. Though on second thought; with the right dress, she would look no older than the debutants that each year was presented in their flouncing white gowns at the prestigious debutante ball that was hosted by the Charleston Society at Hibernian Hall. Her skin, a dark cream colour with a bronzed tone, would forever ban her from participating in such an event. Her facial features also told the tale of her mixed parentage. Her full lips and her hair long thick black hair was a clear inheritance from her coloured mother, while her finely build straight nose and high cheekbones told the tale of a father of aristocratic lineage. A mulatto was the stamp society had put on her. She was therefore unwanted in both circles of society – disregarded by white upper class as well as in the coloured serving class – as her kind served as a constant reminder of the liberties a master could take over the female slaves in his household.
Had any one ever asked her about her story – she could have told a heart wrenching tale of being an outcast – living her life in the in-between. Her path in life had been filled with shadow, loss and simply being without, until one day a saving hand had come from an unexpected place. She had been offered a future, not perhaps particularly bright but at least she would be free from hunger and could live her life in relative comfort. The price for this new existence would to some people seem unreasonably high, but she had rationalised, that better to give freely what might otherwise be taken from her forcefully without the fringe benefits that she now enjoyed.
She had lived at this place for several years now. So long that her life before coming to this place seemed like something from a bad dream. The memories of that life and her arrival to this place blurred. Now only images with smeared edges as a painting left for too long in the sun, colours faded almost into white. She felt lucky, and most of the time not too resentful about her lot in life. Not that her current occupation was one she would have chosen had she been given a choice. But she hadn't and she had long ago come to terms with her place in life. As a means of survival perhaps she never allowed herself to dive into the corner of her mind where her first encounters with life as a courtesan was stored – those as well had been bleached into something next to unrecognisable. She was a skilled entertainer, a popular hostess to the many gentlemen frequenting the house. Though her speciality and what she took the greatest pleasure in, was exactly the situation she found herself in this afternoon. A gentle guide, a teacher, a mentor? Something about this particular task gratified her. Her somewhat strange hope was that by her actions, she would lead her guests into a path that would make them better and gentler husbands when they one day married. Had her own father learned in this way – she might not have been here, and her mother might not have ended up as she had.
The other occupant of the room was a boy, quite some years younger than the woman. Actually it was unfair to simply call him a boy; at least he would have been fairly offended if he knew that he had been dismissed as just a boy. He was a boy going rapidly towards manhood. His ventures this day was to him a very important step in that direction.
The name of this young boy was Rhett Butler. The eldest son of one of the most prominent citizens of Charleston. Rhett Butler's father was a very wealthy man and a most respected citizen; a man setting great store by giving his offspring a good education. An education that would ensure that his sons would grow into noble gentlemen; and his daughters - though so far he only had one who was just a small baby still - into elegant ladies of society. The elder Mr Butler was seen as a generous man, paying his due to society, ruling fairly yet with a firm hand over his family. He was a man with a strong character and adhered to his moral principles with ferocity, a ferocity which might have raised a disapproving eyebrow from the other peers of the town had they been able to see that far beneath the well polished surface of this gentleman.
This last thing was exactly why Rhett Butler found himself where he did today.
In these days it was common for a gentleman to ensure that his male offspring would not only get a proper scholarly education, but would also be educated in the finer arts that were considered appropriate for a man of noble heritage to be familiar with. Those were horseback riding, sword fighting, dancing, hunting and other pursuits of that sort. Less talked about but just as important to the education of a well bred young man was his less public introduction into the more worldly aspects of life. It was thus expected that a young gentleman not only learned to play cards with a cool head and hold his liquor with dignity but also, and this was the least publicly discussed, though by no means the least important area of education, namely that of a young man's initiation into the intimate relations between a man and a woman.
Rhett Butler's father who was such a strong advocate for any other aspect of a gentleman's education – even reluctantly approving of the liquor and gaming aspect – had decided to totally neglect this particular educational topic. He was a firm believer in the dogma of a lustful soul leading to a corrupted mind.
At first the Butler boy had simply believed his father to be forgetful as to this part of his son's education. But as more and more of the boys in his year at school had been subjected to this rite of passage, he decided that this forgetfulness was probably quite deliberate. The proving point had been a whispered conversation he had accidentally overheard between his father and his father's cousin not to long ago. The core of the matter being one person being adamant in his argument against such an event taking place; whilst the other had been arguing strongly though less eloquently for the opposite opinion. Eavesdropping had once again proved to be a very efficient way of learning what he really wanted.
Rhett Butler more than anything else, hated to be left behind. He hated to be the last one in on a joke – a thing that rarely happened due to his sharp wit and quick tongue. And if he saw that anyone was to outshine him in any venture he would stubbornly struggle until he again was on top of his game. If life was a competition, Rhett Butler would not be the one crossing the finishing line last. Here however these traits that normally proved helpful would be of little use to him if he suddenly found himself in a situation where his friends and all the other boys of his acquaintance had been through this initiation. He knew that many of the boys would revel in this chance to for once tease and torment him. And far worse than the torment he would have to endure, he alone would be left behind in boyhood while his friends hastened into manhood.
He had discussed the matter multiple times with himself as he was too proud to outright ask even his best friends what all the commotion was actually about. Also instead of admitting his inferior knowledge he chose the path that could of course lead to even more mockery if he was found out – namely pretending that he already had been through the "ordeal". He knew however that it was a façade that would be too difficult to hold on to and maintain for too long so lately his monologues had concentrated about how to get him out of this fix he was in.
Also, recently he had felt something stir within him. A curiosity had been awakened. A haunting awareness of a truth and an exploration just out of his grasp. A longing that he knew not how to fulfil. His dreams had been haunted by unknown sensations, manifesting themselves as vivid images of naked women.
At first he had simply started to look more carefully for a glimpse of a naked ankle under a hoop skirt, or had admired the slender shoulders and softly rounded arms of the ladies in his circle of society. This only served to stir his disturbed longing even further and he had taken to spying on the Negro women at his father's plantation as they walked to the river to wash themselves. Revelling in small glimpses of naked flesh: a breast, a thigh, a slender neck, a flat golden dark stomach. However, a spring morning not more than four weeks ago this little pastime had come to an abrupt end, as he had been discovered by his father's overseer who had dragged him by the ear into his father's office. Here he had been received by a white faced narrow lipped version of his father who had given him a sound spanking. Not a word had been uttered while his grim faced father had let the whip fall against his bared back, but the meaning and the purpose had been clear.
He hadn't been able to sleep on his back for several days after this incident, but it hadn't quelled is curiosity about women.
So he had started to enjoy nightly visits to the great library at the plantation. Since his back had ached too much for him to lie down and sleep, he had started this nightly excursion as a nice distracting alternative. For many nights his search had been futile, but a couple of days prior to this day, he had found something worthy of his interest. The joke wasn't lost on him, in his attempt to quell all dirty thoughts and urges in him, his father had actually helped him on his way.
It was an old battered volume. The words in it were indiscernible as the book was set with some near gothic types, but the images in the book were beautiful. Colourful paintings and small sketches all featuring women bared to the flesh. Women of various shapes and forms slung themselves over the pages and tickled his imagination, urging him to explore further what was really hidden beneath all those layers of fabric that were a necessary part of a lady's attire.
This had sent the ever resourceful Rhett's head into a spin as he contemplated how to obtain the knowledge he so craved now that no doubt was left in his mind that his father refused to do the proper thing.
The solution hit him in the head one sunny afternoon with such almighty clarity that he wondered why he had not considered it before. He would just go by himself. It was as simple as that.
After all a man of 14 soon to be 15 had to know what it was all about, hadn't he?
He would always heatedly deny any sort of semblance to his father, but his unrelenting stubborn mind and his sometimes ruthless way with those who did not do as he wanted was definitely a clear heritage from the elder Mr. Butler. Not that these traits in him were yet completely developed, but though they right now served him well, later in his life they would come to cost him some of the things he held closest to his heart. But again that is another story to tell. So we will simply leave it at that, with a strong mind and a determined heart Rhett Butler set out on his quest.
At first the planning of it all had cost him a lot of thought and mulling over different approaches. It would perhaps be considered odd if he went to a place like this all by himself – as normally a gentleman of his age would show up only accompanied by an older gentleman – father or guardian most commonly.
In the end however it had turned out to be rather uncomplicated - the least part of it had been to actually get into this room.
He had entered into this house at the tail of some elegantly looking stranger. He had been hanging out by the train depot, looking for some sort of entertainment on what was looking out to be a rather boring day when this man had caught his attention. Tall, well dressed, with a look of adventure about him – a perfect distraction from boredom and perhaps a chance for mischief. He had followed him on a whim of curiosity – hoping that he could discover the secrets that an adventurer – so he had labelled the man – was sure to hold. He had not even considered that this would end up being the day where he would set foot in one of these so called establishments of joy. However after a bit of idle walking around the almost deserted town, when Rhett had been close to deciding that his initial assessment of the man as an adventurer had been erroneous, the gentleman had headed straight for this place and the young man had chosen to follow.
The women who had greeted him at the door had been smiling and helpful. She was rather thickly built, but moved around with a smooth nimble elegance that had surprised him. Her dress was elaborately decorated with ribbons and golden garlands, something quite different from the more frugal elegance of the attires he normally saw in the "Salons du the" or Ballrooms that were the natural environment of the ladies of his acquaintance.
She had at first naturally assumed that he was there in the company of the older man, and had smiled welcoming at them both. After all it was a fairly common sight for her to see such a pair entering for what was the gesture a father granted his son, when he were to leave childhood irrevocably behind. She had however also been quick to turn to him with a helpful friendly smile on her lips in the face of the acute embarrassment, which had threatened to make him turn around and run away, when the gentleman he had tailed had headed straight for the bar in the lounge. She had unbeknownst to him shot him a long searching look under her long black lashes, but decided that that well dressed youngster was not a customer one would dismiss simply because he was alone and had momentarily lost the ability to speak. Especially not on a rather slow going day such as this. This decision had of course been helped under way by the fact that he looked like someone who would be able to pay for any services granted – and she had therefore taken matters into her own hands. Divining the unspoken wish of the youngster she had consequently guided him to this room.
Now that he was actually there he felt that the swagger and bravado that had convinced him to come here and had guided his steps was loosening its grip on him, and he felt rather nervous in this foreign situation.
Yet had he been given the option to leave, he would despite his slight discomfort have wanted to stay. No one could call him a coward. Also the scenery that unfolded before his eyes where altogether to interesting to turn his back to, even if he had been less brave.
The sun fell in through the window and added a soft golden glow to the woman's skin tone, adding a raven glow to her hair, turning her in the eyes of the young Rhett Butler into quite a beauty. Her garment a loosely draped silk robe clung to her just enough to reveal her sensual curves. The sun playing with the shadows of the fabric so as to make out her silhouette beneath it quite clearly.
He looked at the woman in front of him with large eyes, transfixed by her languid movements as she slowly started to undress herself, revealing her bronzed body bit by bit, button by button.
He had never seen a woman like this before. The closest thing he had ever been to see what the complete undressed female form looked like was in that particular book that was hidden in the farthest corner of the great library at Dunmore Landing. However they had only been imitations of reality. However lifelike the drawings had been in the flickering light of a single waxed candle it did not measure up to the real life version in front of him.
He wondered briefly why it had been decided to hide such beauty underneath plentiful skirts and tight corsets.
Her skin looked so soft and smooth, he wondered what it would feel like to touch it. He imagined himself running his hands slowly up her arms, savouring in the feel of her warm skin against his hands, and the tickle he was sure to feel from the light nearly invisible downy hairs that covered her arms.
With a final shake of her arms she freed herself from her dressing gown, and the light garment slowly fell to the floor. Landing with a soft rustle; thus creating a pool of silk at her feet.
It was lucky that there was no need for him to speak, for at that moment the normally snappy tongued Rhett Butler wouldn't have been able to utter a word even if his life was at stake. He was to mesmerized by the reality he was facing to consider anything but it.
There she stood completely bared in front of him. Her hair hanging loosely over her shoulders, her whole body available for his eyes eager perusal. And he revelled in this opportunity. Her breasts were high and pert, her limps slender yet full. At first his eyes did not seem to be able to stray far from her breasts. Arms and legs after all were a part of his own anatomy, but these two mounds of soft flesh piqued his curiosity. Slowly and shyly he let his gaze creep further down until again he found a resting place for his curiosity. He glanced embarrassed at the hairy triangle between the woman's legs. For a moment he seemed completely frozen, his eyes transfixed to this place on the woman's body, which apparently was the key to what he was set out to discover. He felt a rush of discomfort at his blatant staring but the woman didn't seem to mind which encouraged him to let his gaze move more freely. His eyes took in every detail of her anatomy, from her long slender yet strong legs, rounded hips that curved inwards at the waist and outwards again to give room to her two plump breasts.
Slowly the woman approached Rhett Butler.
She reached out and placed one of his hands on her breast; she smiled at him but did not speak.
As his hand made contact with the soft flesh he was hit by another wave of embarrassed shyness, and he immediately felt like retracting his hand. How strange it was to be this close, this intimate to someone he didn't know.
The soft skin of the woman's breast though was too tempting an invitation and he let his hand rest there for a moment, at odds as to how to move on from this situation.
The woman however seemed to anticipate this, and she started to move his hands in slow circles over her nipples, which to the utter astonishment of Rhett Butler, seemed to swell under his touch.
"It is ok you can touch me" Her voice was low and gentle. He raised his eyes to her face and looked at her hesitantly, as if he needed more encouragement.
She smiled at him – this was not the first young man that she guided through his first sexual encounter with a woman. She recognised the immediate shyness, but also the curiosity, and knew that the latter would win over the other emotion.
The boy breathed heavily and in an attempt to defy himself he started to move his hands along the arms of the woman, at first his touch was hesitant and fairy light, but as she didn't seem to take it in a bad way he slowly gained confidence and his touch gained confidence.
The only other live thing he had touched so freely was the dogs and horses at his fathers plantation, and though the warmth radiating from the body of those animals where the same. All other comparison ended here.
He savoured the feeling of soft skin underneath his hands, enjoyed the warmth of her body, pausing here and there before continuing his explorations. He felt like he could sit there for hours just gently stroking the arms, breasts and belly of the woman – the novelty of being given free rein to touch and feel another human body engrossed him, and he was fascinated by the beauty of the woman's body. He had never really considered his own body as some thing to marvel about, which made the experience even more overwhelming.
As she felt that the young man was starting to relax, she decided that he might be ready for the next step, and she gently leaned over him to give him a kiss. Some of the boys she encountered would have gained a brief chaste kiss from a girl they had courted, but she knew that by her teachings they would discover that there was much more to kissing than the feel of a pair lips against the corner of your mouth.
Her moist lips against his mouth was again something new, he had of course received the odd peck on the cheek or lips from some of the girls at one of the many tea parties he was obliged to attend, but nothing that even resembled the warm fullness of lips that this woman presented to him.
Her lips against his was gentle at first but then grew firmer, as if demanding something from him. In response he tried to mimic her action, and let his mouth move slowly against hers. The sensation created within him was a little bit odd, but after a moments consideration he decided that it was not altogether unpleasant, and he started to enjoy the feeling. A split second later however, he withdrew his lips startled as he felt something a bit harder prodding against his lips.
He looked the women into the eyes unsure as to what had gone wrong.
Again she just smiled at him and added in her deep voice,
"Don't worry - open your mouth just a bit, I am sure you will enjoy it"
He looked questioningly into her eyes, but decided to obey, given that so far he had enjoyed everything the woman had encouraged him to do. And he parted his lips ever so slightly as she again leaned over him and placed her warm mouth on his.
Slowly she let the tip of her tongue slide in between his slightly parted lips, until it met with his tongue.
His initial reaction was to retract himself from her again, not really knowing what would be the correct response to this prodding piece of flesh invading his mouth. Again her steady hand on his shoulder held him in place, and as she gently slid her tongue against his, it sent pleasurable shivers down his spine, and all thoughts of turning away faded into nothing, as he felt the stir of desire rise within him.
He didn't dare move scared to ruin the magic he felt in that moment, so he just sat receiving her gentle kisses. Slowly her lips slid from his moth down his neck, and she started to unbutton his shirt, as slowly as she had undressed herself earlier, all the while administering slow kisses to his face and neck, her hands shifting between undressing him and caressing the bared pieces of skin, arms, chest, stomach, until finally he was as completely naked as she.
He thought for a moment that he ought to be completely embarrassed by his nudity along with hers, but he was so engrossed in the sensation of her touch against his skin, that it made him forget. Forget his nerves and his shyness, and just enjoy this unexpected feeling of closeness. He smiled slowly to himself, content with just being in this place.
Again she encouraged him to explore her body, even as she continued caressing him.
And thus she guided, instructed and led him along the path that he had so longed to explore. She showed him the pleasure that could be derived from close contact with another human being. Closeness, warmth, sweetness, and a small clumsy attempt at the first ecstasy of intimacy.
How ironic that the boy who seemingly had everything in the world had to seek the company of worlds unwanted existences to learn those thing. An Ironic twist that probably would have earned the young Rhett another sound spanking had his father known of it.
The outcome was nevertheless that the young Butler boy in spite of his father got the answer to his questions and discovered the pleasures that could be derived from being with a woman.
The first feeling that entered the boy lying by the nameless woman's side was a wild surge of love. An overwhelming feeling of just wanting to freeze the moment, shutting out the world and stay in their little cocoon where nothing by this new closeness existed for him. He wanted to feel that way again. Feeling like he mattered to someone, and also feeling elated at the thought that he could actually make another person feel the same way. Receiving and giving pleasure. What an all exhilarating feeling.
As he had left the house reality had slowly kicked in leaving with him no illusions as to her feelings. He might be young but he was not naive, and understood that the pleasure he had bought had mainly been for him.
This however did not mar the experience too much for him.
It was not just the release he had enjoyed at the final act. But perhaps primarily the fascination of what simply touching the female body could do for him. This was something that he thirsted to delve deeper into. Something he wanted to explore with the same enthusiasm as he applied to every other topic of life that interested him.
And as we know something that would influence the course his life took to a great extent.