While Cassius sat there, silently wrestling with the difference between what he'd expected of the onlooking maids and the reality of their intrigued, even aroused, reactions, the truth of the matter ran much deeper than he could have guessed.
In fact, Cassius—and the inexperienced Isabelle, too—remained unaware of the full scope of the maids' thoughts.
The truth was that the women who encircled them weren't foolish or indiscriminate; they prided themselves on belonging to a prestigious household, maintaining both their dignity and discipline in public settings.
They had no desire to behave like a gaggle of gossiping, wide-eyed girls at the slightest hint of impropriety.
Yet it was precisely this performance—the slow, intimate way Cassius had lavished attention on Isabelle—that stirred something in them that was far from common.
To understand why, one must know how :making love' worked in this world.
