The Sisterhood of Sappho – Part One Judi allowed the Bentley to coast gently up the drive towards where Aldrington Hall lay nestling regally in a verdant fold in the Surrey hillside. It was hard to imagine a more quintessentially English scene, she thought, as she drank in the imposing façade, slumbering gently in the golden light of the afternoons lengthening shadows; the great British stately home, glorious residence of generations of landed gentry. Actually, she knew this to be an illusion – the Hall had actually been built in the middle of the nineteenth century by a local railway Baron – but that made it no less impressive, and the mock Georgian style the builder had employed fooled all but the keenest student of architecture. With a crunch of gravel, Judi brought the Bentley to a gentle halt near the base of the steps that ran from the gravel drive up to the impressive portico that topped the main doors, and pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head. In the sudden silence, devoid of engine and wind noise, she could hear the metronomic ticking of cooling metal. Alongside where she was parked was a bright red convertible Ferrari which bore the number plate “KT 69”, which caused her to allow herself a wry smile at this evidence that the passing years had not diminished her old friend’s irreverent sense of humour. As Judi reached for the door handle, she saw a smartly dressed woman of Asian appearance, wearing a demure ensemble of dark blue skirt and short-sleeved blouse, sweep gracefully down the steps and across the forecourt, arriving by the open door as Judi swung her legs elegantly out of the car. She waited politely as the blonde woman straightened up and then extended her hand with a small inclination of the head and a broad smile. “Hello.” Her voice was soft and husky, with just a trace of an accent. “You must be Judi, Kayti told me to keep and eye out for you. I’m Suki, her P.A.” Judi shook the proffered hand with a smile, her practiced eye sizing the other woman up in an instant. Immediately she saw that her initial assessment had been wrong, Suki was dressed in an outfit that would not have been out of place in any office around the world, but for the fact that the skirt was just a little too short, the heels just a little too high, and the blouse unbuttoned just a little to low. Added to the impossibly pretty face, with almond eyes and flawless bronzed skin, and the promise of the curves beneath the elegantly cut cloth, the overall effect was stunning. “Pleased to meet you”, Judi smiled. “I hope I’m not too early?” “Not at all. Kayti asked me to offer her apologies, but she will be with you shortly as soon as she has finished her meeting. Can I show you too your room?” Suki held her hand out. “If you let me have the keys I’ll get Jo to park the car for you, and arrange for you luggage to follow”. A tall suntanned blonde in another short dark skirt, low cut blouse and heels appeared at Suki’s side and smiled broadly at Judi. Not for the first time on visiting Kayti, Judi had the feeling she had inadvertently wandered onto the set of a Bond movie. While the tall girl wrestled with controls of the electric seat mechanism prior to settling herself behind the wheel of the Bentley, Judi followed Suki up the stone steps to the main entrance of the building. Behind her the engine roared into life, and with rather more revs and considerably more redistribution of the gravel than were strictly necessary, the big car disappeared towards the adjoining stable block. Having visited Aldrington Hall on several occasions previously, Judi was familiar with the general layout. This being the centre of Kayti’s business empire as well as her home, the two wings which extended at right angles to the rear of the front of the Hall accommodated offices and studios, while the downstairs of the main building was given over to conference and entertainment facilities, including a restaurant and ballroom. The floor above contained guest suites, with Kayti’s own substantial apartment to the rear, and above that, in the old servants’ quarters, were the rooms currently occupied by live in staff. Passing through the high wooden front double doors and into the sudden coolness darkness of the tiled hallway, Suki led Judi up the imposing luxuriously carpeted main staircase to the landing above and then to dark wood door opposite, which she opened with a small Yale key. “Kayti said you were to have the main suite.” Suki smiled another devastating smile. “I hope you will be comfortable. Jo will be up in a moment with your luggage”. She held out the key and gestured towards the phone on the bedside table. “If there is anything at all you require, dial zero and ask for me.” “Thank you” Judi took the key and returned the smile. “This is lovely. Thank you very much” Suki gave another inclination of the head, this time closer to a bow. “If you’ll excuse me I have some things to attend to. Kayti won’t be very long, I’m sure.” “That’s fine; I need Anadolu Yakası Escort to freshen up, after that drive.” The door closed silently behind Suki, and Judi slipped the key into her pocket as she took a slow look around the room. It was a substantial size, big enough to accommodate a large wooden four-poster bed, and still have room for a seating area with a leather sofa and chairs grouped around and enormous flat screen television. The décor gave off an air of understated luxury, the dark wood panels of the walls offset by the burgundy leather of the sofa and chairs. Only the television seemed slightly out of place, jarringly sleek, modern and monochrome against the organic beauty of the rest of the timeless furniture. She investigated a door in the far wall and found a beautifully equipped modern tiled bathroom, complete with hot tub. Returning to the main room, she stood by one of the three windows that ran nearly the full height from ceiling to floor, and gazed with pleasure across the parkland to the front of the Hall, savouring the wonderful golden light of late afternoon. Behind her there was a gentle tap at the door. “Come in.” The tall blonde Suki had called Jo appeared, pulling the small suitcase Judi had packed her few overnight things in behind her. “Hi, do you want this anywhere particular?” The voice had a strong Australian accent, and her whole demeanour suggested a healthy outdoor life style. She wore little make-up, and radiated a fresh, athletic, clean limbed beauty; a mass of straight sun-streaked blonde hair pinned on the back of her head with a leather clasp. Tall, too, Judi observed. With her heels and her long tanned legs she must have easily topped six feet. “No, just there is fine thanks.” Judi smiled at her. “Did you manage to get the seat far enough back?” “You what?” Jo laughed revealing a mass of white teeth. “Oh yeah, right! Sorry about that getaway – I don’t get much chance to drive that amount of power very often. Miss Chamberlain’s pretty fussy about people messing up her gravel drive.” “Don’t worry, I’ll say I did it.” Judi noted her use of her employer’s formal title, and drew an instant comparison with Suki’s familiar use of her first name. “Thanks for bringing that up.” “No worries.” Jo smiled at her. “Anything else I can get you? Drink, maybe?” “Thanks but no – it’s a little too early for me.” “OK, no probs. Let me know if you want anything.” “Thanks, I will,” Jo gave her another flash of white teeth and left, closing the door behind her. Judi smiled to herself and bent to lift the bag up onto the bed. As she did so she noticed for the first time the design embossed in the wood on the headboard of the bed: two touching adjacent circles, each containing a cross, the emblem of the Sisterhood of Sappho. ______________________ Thirty miles to the south, Judi’s daughter Suzi was standing idly in the hallway of the large Victorian Villa where Helen’s family lived, peering with casual interest at the framed photographs that sat on the table by the door. After they had returned from their morning ride, and their mounts had been returned to the stables, the two girls had gone back the coach house to change, and then spent several hours enjoying a leisurely lunch and each others company in the garden of a country pub. As a result it was nearly four o’clock by the time they headed off to Helen’s house. Not that it mattered, Suzi thought, as she picked up a silver frame, surveying with amused interest the image of a dark haired girl with pig-tails, proud in her school uniform. Helen had already spoken to her mother on her mobile and explained that she would be staying with a friend for a few days, and when they had arrived they had found the place unoccupied. She was surprised by the size of the house, though. Knowing the area, she had expected a large detached house of significant value, but this rambling three story Victorian edifice set on the side of a hill within it’s own substantial walled grounds and with views sweeping down to the sea must be worth at least a couple of million, not the mention the opulent furnishings she could glimpse through the open door to the living room. Well protected too; the substantial wrought iron gates had been closed when they arrived, and Helen had had to get out of the car to enter a code into a numerical pad mounted on the wall, at which point they had swung silently open. Then there was another alarm in the porch as they came through the front door. “Dad’s a bit obsessive about security” Helen had muttered apologetically as she entered another code. Suzi laughed at her. “Don’t tell me, it’s to keep all those blokes from trying to get at you!” Helen smiled back and took her hand, “Well, he hasn’t got any worries on that score any more, has he?” Perhaps not, Suzi thought, replacing the frame on the table, but she had a strong suspicion that not all fathers would be necessarily overjoyed at the revelation that Anadolu Yakası Escort Bayan their daughter was having a lesbian relationship. Come to think of it, she wasn’t completely sure her own mother would necessarily approve, but that was a bridge she’d cross when she came to it. She turned and called up the banisters: “Come on babe, can always come back if you forget something! It’s not like we’re going abroad or anything.” Her voice rang hollowly in the empty hallway. “Hang on, I’m coming. Honestly Suze, you have no patience.” Helen appeared at the top of the stairs in a simple yellow sun dress that coupled with her slender tanned limbs somehow conspired to make her look demure and sexy at the same time. She was dragging a sizable wheeled suitcase behind her. “Are you sure you’ve packed enough stuff?” Suzi queried, eying the suitcase. Helen raised an eyebrow. “And this from the girl who can’t go more than two hours without changing her outfit!” “Touche” Suzi looked at her approvingly. “God, Miss Chapman, you are lovely.” “Thank you Miss Breakspeare, you’re not so bad yourself.” Suzi slid her hands around Helens waist and kissed her gently on the lips. She felt the soft material of the dress feel cool against her hands, and the warmth of her lover’s lips moist against her own, and once again she fought down a shudder of desire that threatened to consume her. For a moment the two girls remained frozen, locked together in the pose, each lost for a moment in the other. Then Helen broke away, looked at the picture frames on the table, and raised her eyebrows. “Oh God, I hope you haven’t been having a good giggle at all the ones of me with pigtails.” “Certainly not. I had a good chortle at all of them actually.” Suzi indicated a large frame which contained a photo of a good looking, dark haired, middle aged man. “Is that your Dad?” “Yes”. Helen started towards the door trailing her suitcase. Suzi turned to follow. “He looks ever so familiar. What does he do?” “Oh, he works for the Government, up in London.” Helen said, over her shoulder. She struggled to negotiate the suitcase down the step and through the door into the porch. “Everyone says that though. He must have that kind of a face. Come on Suzi, I can’t set the alarm with you standing there.” The two girls made their way out into the porch, slamming the panelled door behind them. For a minute or two the dust eddies swirled and danced in the twin shafts of afternoon sunlight that streamed in through the stained glass, and then slowly they settled back down to floating gently in the rich beams to the monotonous tick of the big grandfather clock by the living room door. ______________________ The Sisterhood was entirely Kayti’s idea; she had conceived it, she had drawn up the rules and code of conduct, and it was she who had seen it grow from a few friends meeting informally, to an organisation with members all over the country, and for all Judi knew, all over the world. Its genesis lay in the few months following her divorce from Sir Robin Morris, when her former husband vented his fury on his ex-wife via medium of those titles in his newspaper group that he had retained. Articles and editorials appeared in droves, branding her as a gold-digger, a prostitute, and a sexual deviant, although never in a manner that would enable her to pursue a successful libel action against them, even if she had cared to. All this was water off a ducks back to Kayti, who had already decided that she had better things to do than give her former husband the satisfaction of a reply. It was not until an article appeared in a normally liberal broadsheet written by a well-known and outspoken feminist, entitled “The backwards trend”, that Kayti found herself galvanised into action. The article, which was written in a rather acerbic tone, implied that Kayti (and women like her – several other names were mentioned) were setting the cause on feminism back fifty years with their willingness to become the chattels of wealthy men and by allowing themselves to become little more than sexual playthings. It went on to suggest that such a use of female sexuality implied a lack of ambition and intelligence, and that no truly intelligent woman could possibly enjoy the libertine lifestyle that was so widely reported to have been lived by the former Lady Morris. Kayti was incensed. It was bad enough being the target of attacks from her ex-husbands cronies and business partners, she complained, but to be attacked by those purporting to represent her own sex was treachery of the highest order. Frustrated that she had no real way of retaliating or answering the accusations levelled against her, she vowed to do everything she could to promote her own unique and radical brand of feminism and to assist and protect those women who subscribed to it. Kayti firmly believed in the sexual superiority of women over men. Just as she had no problem with accepting that Escort Anadolu Yakası men were physically stronger than women, she espoused the view that women were sexually stronger than men. She backed this view up by pointing out that in most primitive cultures women were revered for their sexuality and fecundity, their ability to bring forth new life – the concepts of Mother Nature and Mother Earth reflected this. It was male dominated organised religions, she argued, which had gone out of their way over the last thousand years to suppress the glory of female sexuality, quite simply because they were terrified of the potential power wielded by the sexually confident female. “A man cums once, and he’s asleep in two minutes snoring his head off”, she had explained to Judi, as they lay in bed one sunny spring morning, “Whereas a liberated and sensuous woman can keep on making love for as long as she wants, as you have just proved. A woman can cum longer, harder and more frequently than any man. I’m not saying that all women can right now; too many of us are still held back by repressive male attitudes, but we all have the capacity to.” Brought to a head by the traumatic events surrounding her divorce, Kayti began refining her beliefs into an organised form, and in doing so laid the foundations of the Sisterhood, a secret society dedicated to protecting, promoting and assisting women who shared her views. “It’s going to be like the Masons, only female, and much sexier and more fun,” she told the initial group of five friends who were to become the founder members. “Sisters will help and protect each other in any way they can, in business or their private lives – and of course, celebrate the beauty of our sexuality by helping each other have lots of lovely orgasms!” Judi had no idea how large the Sisterhood of Sappho had grown from that initial meeting of six women, but she was pretty sure that membership now numbered several thousand, divided into a strict hierarchy. The six founder members, including Judi, were High Priestesses, with pivotal roles at ceremonies and some administrative responsibility; although in practice this latter was mostly handled by Kayti’s business organisation. Below them were the Priestesses who organised and officiated at local meetings, and then the vast body of members who were referred to as Acolytes. New members had to go through an induction period as Neophytes before they were fully initiated into the organisation. Membership was by invitation only, and all potential Neophytes were carefully screened by Kayti prior to acceptance. Essential requirements were a certain standard of attractiveness, discretion, sexual confidence, and to be either bisexual or lesbian. Central to the creed of the Sisterhood was the right for its members to have guilt-free safe sex with each other, and the belief that a woman’s sexuality could only be truly understood by another woman. No member of the society could reasonably refuse the sexual advances of another, provided that the correct phrase, prefaced with the greeting “Sister…” was used, unless they were already in a lesbian relationship recognised by the Sisterhood. Judi was aware that the vast majority of the Sisterhood’s membership, like herself, enjoyed heterosexual relationships in the public eye – many were also married – but indulged in clandestine liaisons at secret locations with other Sisters to satisfy their secret desires and fantasies. And naturally, Kayti had designed the ceremonies and rituals which members of the Sisterhood were required to attend, with a strong emphasis on sex. But the benefits of Sisterhood membership weren’t entirely sexual. Like the Masons the Sisters looked after their own, giving preference in recruitment and business dealings to other Sisters. Almost all of Kayti’s employees, and certainly all of those who “lived in” at Aldrington Hall were members, and Judi was aware of several other female run businesses where similar policies were adopted. To identify themselves to other members, many Sisters wore jewellery which displayed the emblem Judi could see reproduced on the headboard of the bed in her room, two adjacent circles, each containing a cross. The design was Kayti’s own, based on the universal symbol of the female, the circle with the cross beneath it. She had overlaid one on another “in a sixty-nine” as she put it, to provide a symbol that was both highly appropriate and suitably discreet. Judi wore it on a silver locket around her neck which contained a lock of Suzi’s baby hair, and on several occasions it has stood her in good stead, gaining her access to places and work she might otherwise have been refused. Breaking off from her reverie, and wondering how long she had been lost in thought, Judi quickly unpacked her bag and hung the clothes in the wardrobe. As she tucked the empty suitcase away on the stand at the foot of the bed, there was another gentle tap at the door. This time Judi elected to open it herself, and found Suki waiting outside. “Hi. Kayti is free now; she’s asked me to show you down to her study. Are you ready, or do you want a little more time?” Judi moved out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. “No, I’m fine. I’ll have plenty of time to get ready for the ceremony later.” Suki performed another of her small bows.