They both laughed lightly. The one in the tub introduced herself as Aryana and my guide as Ila.
“Why did you speak in a whisper?” Aryana asked.
“It feels wrong not to. Everything here is quiet and peaceful. I didn’t want to disturb that.”
Ila reached over and patted my arm with a smile.
“That is the heart of why we speak as we do. To bring peace to others, we must keep peace in ourselves at all times. We struggle; but when we do, we surround ourselves with our fellow sisters until peace returns. Speaking as we do comes with practice, but also deep peace.”
“Drinking the tea every day doesn’t hurt either,” Aryana wryly interjected. “After prolonged drinking, the tea roughens our voices, making it uncomfortable to speak above a whisper. It also adds the husky quality that most find appealing.”
“Ah,” I said, feeling enlightened. Now that I had a little knowledge, I wanted more. “Why so many bathing tubs?”
They both laughed again.
“Definitely curious, this one,” Aryana whispered with a wide smile. “Benella, the knowledge of this house is kept within the sisters and the clients we serve.”
She didn’t say it harshly, but I still felt embarrassed for assuming too much.
“I’m truly sorry. I meant no offense.”
“Such a sweet girl,” she said thoughtfully. “I can see you ask out of innocent curiosity, and I am willing to answer any questions you may have on one condition.”
I nodded eagerly.
“You must never speak of what you learn here to another person. If you can swear to that, I will tell you anything you like about our sisterhood.”
Quickly swearing to her that I wouldn’t dare speak of it—she laughed at that—she willingly explained about the tubs.
“We open our doors to our clients after ten in the morning. Many seek our comforts later in the evening. No matter when they seek us, we strive to have everything ready for them. Men are, by nature, aggressive and brash to some degree. Oh, women can be too, but we only serve men here so that is our focus. Their tendencies along with their strength can cause issues if we do not bring them peace quickly enough. The smoke helps as soon as they walk through the door. What the smoke cannot cleanse, a bath and body rub can.”
I frowned slightly, recalling my bathing experiences. The feeling of warm water surrounding me certainly did have a calming effect, but the water cooled so quickly it didn’t stay soothing for long. Frowning further, I recalled Father’s tendencies to wash with cold water from a bucket. When he did require a full bath, we typically left the cottage for a walk, and when we returned, he already had everything cleaned up and back in place.
“Do men really enjoy bathing?”
Aryana smiled while Ila took a turn explaining.
“New clients do hesitate, but when they see one of us rise from the water, they are usually willing to join us.”
“Oh.” In my mind, the experience turned from cleaning to frolicking in the open. I eyed the other tubs in plain view of this one.
“Make no assumptions, Benella,” Aryana said. “State your thoughts and ask your questions. I wouldn’t like for you to leave with incorrect notions.”
“Do you have sex with your clients in the tubs where everyone can see?” I asked bluntly and without censor.
Ila laughed loudly, a deep sound that had me looking at her with concern. Aryana chuckled.
“I will certainly tell the other sisters you evoked a true laugh from Ila. Something that hasn’t been done in a long while.”
I opened my mouth to ask how what I said was funny, but she cut me off.
“We do not pleasure our clients that way within the tubs. It would be a messy experience, and require more water changes and tub washing than time would permit.” She rose from the water and stepped gracefully from the tub. Holding out a hand, she helped me to my feet.
“Come. We will show you.”
We walked through the room toward the curtain. On the other side of the curtain, a large stove radiated heat. The adolescent boy tending the stove gave my dress a curious look but said nothing.
To the side of the boy, a square stone trough, about a foot deep, sunk into the floor.
“Here we heat the water we need and drain away the old water.” Ila pointed to the hole in the bottom corner of the wall at the base of the trough. “When we bring a client to the bathing chambers, we walk him through the bathing chambers so he can see others enjoying the communal bath. This is especially important for a new client. The sight of the sisters naked and bathing inspires cooperation where there might otherwise exist hesitation or belligerence. In this room, we have the client stand in the trough and give him a cool water scrub. It initiates our time together and cleans him within and without so he is ready for the tubs.”