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  ‘There, Miss Hetty, what do you think?’ Jane finally broke the awkward silence. She lifted the ebony hand mirror lying on the dressing table and showed Hetty her handiwork.

  ‘Very good, Jane, you have pleated it beautifully and set the combs well.’

  ‘But your hair is so easy to work with, not like Lady Alice’s. Hers is so thin and dry.’

  ‘Have you made up any of her favourite pomade?’

  ‘No, I did not know the recipe, Miss Hetty. There is still a little left in the pot.’

  ‘Show me.’

  She opened a drawer and drew out a small earthenware pot Hetty recognised as the one she had filled with pomade when she was last at Longton. There was only a tiny smear left in the bottom.

  ‘Good gracious, Jane, you are not still using this?’ She held it up to her nose. ‘Ugh! It is far from fresh and should have been thrown away ages ago. Come, let us go to the stillroom and make up a new batch. You will find her ladyship’s hair much easier to handle if you use some fresh pomade.’

  As they neared the stillroom, their footsteps echoing on the flagstones, Hetty felt her heart fluttering with apprehension. She knew now the place continued to be a favourite haunt of Sir Victor’s, even in his wheelchair, and of the fearsome Nanny Baines as well. They both seemed to possess a kind of sixth sense about when the room was occupied by a young, vulnerable woman.

  She closed the door behind them and settled down to show Jane how to make the kind of scented hair cream Lady Alice preferred. As time passed, and no one appeared to disturb them, they were lulled into a sense of false security heating up herbal essences on the little stove with purified lard and olive oil. Soon the room smelt pungently of rosemary, elderflower and camomile.

  ‘Clean the old jar thoroughly,’ Hetty instructed. ‘You will need to use soda and pumice to get rid of the grease.’

  Then suddenly the door of the stillroom flew open and Nanny Baines filled the threshold with her impressive bulk. ‘I thought I would find you here,’ she said almost accusingly. ‘Is that Hungary water ready yet?’

  Before Hetty could intervene Jane reached for the bottle. ‘Yes, Nanny Baines.’

  ‘Then come with me,’ the nurse ordered brusquely. ‘Sir Victor wishes to have it applied to his limbs.’

  ‘You mean… you mean he wants me to apply it?’

  ‘He asked expressly for you. Your hands are more gentle and softer than mine. Come, girl, what are you waiting for? The poor man longs for some relief.’

  Hetty felt a sense of foreboding as she watched the ill-matched pair disappear down the corridor, Jane clutching the bottle to her breast and half running to keep up with the taller woman’s long strides. She tidied up the stillroom and went up to her room feeling strangely listless. After drawing the curtains, she lay down on the bed to rest, but shortly thereafter was roused from her nap by her husband.

  ‘Hetty, dear,’ he murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed and caressing her cheek. ‘Asleep in the afternoon? Do you have a headache?’

  ‘No.’ She smiled up at him. ‘I suppose, truth to tell, I was feeling rather bored.’

  ‘Well I could do with a rest myself,’ he declared, taking off his boots and stretching out beside her. ‘I have been struggling in that lower field all afternoon, but have made little progress. The summerhouse is coming along well, though. All the rubbish has been cleared out and the roof mended. It will dry out when we get some fine weather and—’

  She planted her lips on his to silence him and gave him a lingering kiss. ‘I do not want to hear another word about the affairs of the estate,’ she told him. ‘It is all you ever talk about these days. I would rather know more about what is going on inside this house than outside of it. Nanny Baines, for example.’

  ‘What about her?’

  ‘You said it would be a good idea to get her on our side, yet she seems distant and formal whenever I meet her. How has she been with you?’

  ‘Much the same,’ he admitted. ‘You would never think she spanked my bottom when I was a child, or fed me with a spoon or tucked me up at night. I have watched her with father and she treats him like a big baby, too, yet he seems to relish it.’

  ‘Right now she is making poor Jane rub Hungary water into his limbs, and heaven knows what else. I am anxious about the girl, Leo. You know how lecherous your father can be and she is such a pretty thing.’

  ‘Is she? I had not noticed.’

  ‘That is not like you, my love. When we were in Paris you could not keep your eyes off the French girls. I used to be quite jealous.’

  He sighed, and held her closer. ‘Things were so different then, Hetty.’ He planted a kiss on her forehead. ‘Although we were dirt poor towards the end, we had more time for each other. I did not realise how much time we would be spending apart here.’

  ‘Nor did I. Oh Leo,’ she sighed, ‘I miss our intimacy so much…’

  ‘I have been wondering… about our old friend George. What if he paid us a visit soon?’

  She giggled. ‘He cannot, Leo, poor George has no clothes to wear. Would you have him turn up naked?’

  ‘By no means, he shall have some fine new clothes. I have been thinking, now we have some more money we could go into town together and you could try on some clothes for him.’

  ‘What, in public? Have you taken leave of your senses, Leo?’

  ‘No, you could borrow some things of mine just to fool the shop assistants. What do you say, my love, are you game?’

  It sounded like a most wonderful adventure, and just the thing to allay her boredom at Longton. She nodded enthusiastically, but then became aware of a strange longing that seemed to come out of nowhere and filled her with a peculiar sense of regret…

  And the truth suddenly revealed itself to her with a shock. She wanted to go into town with Jane as well as with Leo. She wanted Jane to see her dressed as George, to admire the fine figure she cut and become enamoured of her.

  ‘Hetty, you have gone very quiet. Is something wrong?’

  ‘No, Leo, I am fine,’ she replied with false brightness. ‘When shall we go?’

  ‘I thought tomorrow afternoon would be lovely.’

  ‘Tomorrow afternoon it shall be, then.’

  But as they settled down for a quiet nap together, she felt the same wistful longing fill her soul. She moved restlessly against him, desiring his body even while she thought of Jane’s. He began caressing her sleepily, and soon his ardour grew.

  ‘My love, remove your outer garments,’ he whispered.

  She did as she was told, and soon his eager hands were fondling her breasts, making her nipples peak with desire. Her hips moved all the more energetically against his, and soon his hands were parting her thighs, seeking the soft dampness of her sex.

  ‘You are ready for me,’ he observed. ‘Alas, I wish I could say the same about my own useless organ. It is as washed out as the rest of me, I fear.’

  ‘Then find other ways to pleasure me,’ she begged softly. ‘I am hovering on the brink and it will not take much.’

  He obliged her by gently parting the lips of her labia with his fingers while caressing the sensitive swell of her clitoris with his thumb. She could feel her juices flowing as he rubbed her firmly in the spot guaranteed to afford her the keenest sensation, and she moaned as she felt the rapid rise towards ultimate bliss carrying her away on it. She arched her back so her mons was thrust firmly against his wrist, and with practiced ease repeatedly circled her hips feeling a hot tingling surging through her lower body. Frigging her clit hard with the tips of his rigid fingers, from time to time he stopped and thrust them into her, filling up her cunny with as much of his hand as he could. Then he pulled them out again and resumed his concentrated caressing of her feminine seed, bringing her nearer to bursting with fulfilment each time, and at last she felt the first exultant waves of a climax
cresting through her pelvis. ‘Now, my love,’ she gasped, ‘put them inside me now!’

  He penetrated her with his bunched fingers again and she groaned aloud as an orgasm blinded her with an intense, stabbing rapture. ‘Oh Leo,’ she sighed, as the wonderful feelings slowly faded and left her flesh glowing like a candle. ‘I have not felt like that in such a long time…’

  He held her close. ‘I am sorry, Hetty. I know I have neglected you. I could plead overwork, and it is true I have been very tired after so much manual labour, but there is another reason.’

  She opened her eyes and stared at him in concern. ‘What reason, Leo?’

  ‘I do not know if it is because of what happened in Paris, or whether it is because I have lost the urge for some other reason, but my appetite for love has been very low ever since we returned to Longton. That side of life has been quite out of my mind.’

  ‘Perhaps it is because we are living with your father and mother, Leo. It must be strange to be married and yet still under the same roof where you lived as a child.’

  ‘There may be something in that. You are wise in the affairs of the heart, Hetty, but we shall see how we get on tomorrow on our shopping spree. Perhaps the return of dear George will prove my salvation. After all, he used to help me a great deal when I was last at Longton.’

  Chapter 6

  Messrs. Atkinson and Broadbent stood on the corner of the main square in the little market town nearest to Longton Hall. The men in Leo’s family had shopped there for generations, and he was welcomed kindly by old Mr Broadbent and his young assistant, Roger.

  After the usual pleasantries, Leo introduced Hetty as his friend, George, who was in need of some casual attire for a country house party. She was feeling self-conscious in her husband’s clothes, especially since the shirt was too large and had to be pinned beneath the jacket. She was also wearing elastic bands around her arms to shorten the sleeves, and her hands were tingling because her circulation was half cut off. Fortunately, there were no other customers in the shop.

  Broadbent said, ‘Measure the gentleman’s inside leg would you, Roger?’

  She felt her pulse racing as the young man knelt beside her and applied the tape measure. His hands brushed against her in a stimulating fashion, and it was all she could do not to gasp self-consciously as sexual excitement coursed through her. In a kind of trance, she obeyed his instructions to raise her arms and then her legs and then to turn around. Her collar size was taken, and watching the procedure, Broadbent commented on her slim build.

  ‘I think, if sir will excuse the suggestion, that he would be better advised to try one of our youth’s jackets. There are some serge trousers to match this one. Or would sir prefer a more casual outfit? This tweed jacket is very popular in this particular shade of green, which I am sure will be very becoming with sir’s colouring. We also have a range of checked suits.’

  Hetty had never received such assiduous attention while being fitted for clothes before. She could see Leo was trying hard not to laugh and she felt a similar urge come over her she hastily covered up with a cough. ‘Um, anything you say, Mr Broadbent,’ she muttered, and was ushered into a changing cubicle with a pile of clothes.

  She tried on several combinations until she found the one she preferred – a checked suit in sage green tweed with a cream shirt and a dark green tie – and when she emerged from the changing room there was a brief flurry of applause from the three men.

  ‘Suits you, sir, right down to the ground,’ Roger declared.

  ‘Perfect!’ Leo approached her and fingered the sleeve of her jacket as if to assess the quality of the material. ‘I can hardly wait to see you in this at home.’ He took advantage of his proximity to whisper in her ear, ‘Dear George.’

  The bill was paid and the pair of them returned to Longton by carriage in high spirits, and no sooner had they entered their bedroom than Leo begged her to put her new outfit on while he went about some business, promising to return in ten minutes. She gladly obeyed and waited breathlessly for his arrival, admiring her new look in the mirror. With her hair tucked beneath a cloth cap and her breasts bound beneath the shirt, she could easily be taken for a young man. She assumed a jaunty stance and twirled an imaginary handlebar moustache.

  When Leo reappeared he embraced her warmly. ‘George! To what do we owe the honour of this visit?’

  ‘I am calling on some relatives up north,’ she replied in a deep voice, ‘and I came to see Hetty. Is your wife at home?’

  ‘Alas, not at the moment, she is accompanying Lady Alice on a visit, but she will be back shortly. Meanwhile, sit down here, George, and tell me all your news. Have you had any adventures lately?’

  ‘Oh, one or two.’

  Leo drew up another chair and leaned forward eagerly, his hands clasped on his knees. ‘Then tell me about them at once. You are such a rogue, George, and so beloved by the ladies. I love to hear about your escapades now I am a staid married man and not permitted such liberties.’

  She smiled. ‘Did I ever tell you about delectable Delia? She is half Greek and dark of colouring with the most exquisite black hair and eyes. But her father, Dimitri, is very strict with her and she leads him a merry dance. Not even the thought of a beating can stop her sneaking out of her bedroom at night when a young man has taken her fancy.’

  ‘And I suppose you were one of those young men?’

  ‘Naturally. I courted her with billets doux dropped into her basket when she was out shopping in the village. Soon she was hot and panting for me, so I wrote suggesting a rendezvous at midnight. I was there in the moonlight throwing pebbles at her window, and she was ready for me. Oh, the sight of her leaning out of her window in her pretty embroidered nightgown with her raven hair tumbling over her décolletage… I tell you, Leo, you would have fainted with desire, as I nearly did.’

  ‘Tell me more,’ he pleaded quietly, his breath hot on her cheek as he leaned in closer.

  ‘Soon she was in my arms and my hands were roving all over her exquisite form.’ Hetty was feeling excited beneath the constricting trousers as she pursued her tale. ‘She had breasts like pumpkins and a bottom like two well filled cushions. I could hardly wait to discover more of her charms. We crept away to a nearby barn, where I had already prepared a bed for us with blankets thrown over the straw.’

  ‘A veritable romp in the hay,’ Leo commented with a smile.

  ‘Yes, and not for the first time, so far as Delia was concerned. She was bold as brass, stripping off her nightgown at once to display her charms to the full. Already her large brown nipples were enticingly hard and her full breasts heaved with anticipation. I could scarcely keep my eyes off them and soon my hands were caressing them. She moaned and sighed as my lips sucked on her tumid teats, then she got down on all fours like a beast and waggled her behind at me.’

  ‘A clear invitation.’

  ‘I thought so, and began undoing my fly buttons in order to take her from behind, but she shook her head and slapped her bottom to give me the idea. I looked around the stable and saw a riding crop hanging on the wall. I pointed to it, and she nodded vigorously.’

  ‘She wanted you to whip her arse?’ Leo asked in mock disbelief.

  ‘Precisely. So I seized the whip and knelt down behind that divine posterior. She arched her back and thrust her buttocks out even more provocatively with her thighs spread apart, so I could see the dark rose of her anus and beneath it her sweetly pouting labia. You can imagine how hot I was for her, yet I realised if I did her bidding and lambasted her first my satisfaction, and hers, would be all the greater afterwards.’

  ‘So you applied the whip?’

  ‘Yes, I raised the leather in my right hand and brought it down sharply upon her up thrust bottom. But then the voluptuous sigh of pain issuing from her lips caused me to stay my hand I was so moved.’

  ‘How did she respond to the delay?�
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  ‘By urging me on even more fervently. Therefore, I kept bringing the crop down sharply on her shapely arse until a red lattice was patterned upon it. Her tender cheeks must have been smarting terribly. Her groans were louder now, and as she moved her hips from side to side, I could see her heavy breasts swaying like bells beneath her. My lust for her was extreme, so throwing aside the whip I tore off my nether garments and fell upon her. My hands clasped the full ripeness of her bosom as my rigid tool found the hot slot into her sex, and thrust deep. She cried out as I impaled her and jerked her hips back and forth in a practiced manner, squeezing me all the while within.’

  Leo pretended to be shocked. ‘The dirty creature!’

  ‘Yes, and she received her comeuppance when the barn door suddenly burst open and her irate father strode in. I shot my load hastily and withdrew as she collapsed across the hay and rolled onto her back. There she was, her naked sex exposed to the gaze of her own father, yet she stared up at him saucily from her bed of shame. I tell you, Leo, I was astounded by her temerity.’

  ‘He must have been furious.’

  ‘Indeed, I have never seen a man so beside himself with rage. His cheeks were purple and the veins stood out in his neck and forehead. I thought he would have a heart attack, but instead he picked up the riding crop from where I had so carelessly thrown it and advanced on his daughter.’

  ‘What did she do?’

  ‘On all fours again, she tried to crawl away like some frightened animal. But with a great roar he lunged at her retreating buttocks and managed to deliver a couple of vicious strokes across them. I decided to make my exit while he was so distracted, for I feared I should be his next victim. The cries of that shameless girl followed me out of the yard and into the road.’

  ‘And did you ever see her again?’

  ‘No, Leo, I was too afraid to return.’

  ‘Well, you had your fun with her, anyway. I wish I had been there to witness it, but your account was graphic enough to get me fully aroused.’