Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (74) The Roespring Verger

 

Downshire is a relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in, a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in the north and our story begins in the affluent village of Roespring.

 

As part of his recuperation Mark Adams took an extended walk around his neighbourhood in Roespring and after about forty minutes he began to tire so he headed towards home.

He had been in and out of hospital for the previous ten years following a bad car accident just after his 15th birthday.

As he got close to home he turned into Bridge Farm lane which led past the back of St Catherine’s Church and that was when he met Abigail Evans coming the other way and his heart fluttered because he was in love with her.

She was the verger at St Catherine’s where her Uncle, James Hall, was the vicar.

She had her curly red hair tied up and hidden beneath a broad floppy hat and was wearing a green summer dress and a pashmina around her shoulders.

Abigail didn’t see him because she was looking at her sandals as they were shuffling and scuffing down the lane, if she had seen him her heart would have raced, but she just ambled along and she almost walked into him.

“Oh hello Mark” she said when she finally looked up

 

He really liked Abigail, he had got to know her during his years of recuperation, and she had been very kind in providing assistance to his family, respite care, parochial support and pastoral care.

They were similar ages, and got on very well, but despite that in many ways they were chalk and cheese.

Abigail was a very confident young woman, in fact she was ultra-confident and self-assured.

While he was shy, socially awkward and riddled with self-doubt especially around the opposite sex.

For ten years his only contact with woman were nurses and doctors so he was completely inexperienced in their regard.

She was also pretty which made him even more conscious of his own inadequacies.

Although they had become good friends, Abigail was the driving force in their friendship, she was bold and bubbly and pushed him along which made him feel more confident, and she gave him the daring to do things he would never have done on his own.

And he would have been perfectly happy living life on her coat tails because without her he would founder.

The problem was he had absolutely no idea how to move thing along however or even if she would want him to.

“Hi Abigail” he responded

“So what have you been up to?” she enquired

“Just walking” he replied “What about you?”

“I’ve been to a BBQ at aunt Sian’s” she answered, “I left early because I caught the sun a bit”

She lifted the pashmina off her shoulder so he could see.

“Oooh” he said “is it sore?”

“A little”

“Have you put something on it?” he asked and Abigail shook her head

“That’s going to burn if you don’t,” he told her

“Well come to the vicarage then and you can do it for me”

“Ok” he replied cheerfully “You have the wrong complexion for sitting in the sun”

“I know”

“You need to be careful with your lovely pale skin” he added and blushed when he realized he had said it out loud.

They went inside the house and she removed her floppy hat and said

“Make yourself at home I’ll just get the after sun”

 

It was about ten minutes later when she returned and the pashmina had gone and she had untied her hair glorious red mane.

“Where would you like me?” she asked

“In my arms” he replied in his head, but out loud he said

“On a dining chair I think”

Mark stood behind it as Abigail sat on the chair and let the straps fall off her shoulders so he had access to all the affected area.

The sunburn was nowhere near as bad as it first looked but he didn’t tell her that because he wanted to touch her, he longed to touch her, he just hoped he could prevent his hands from shaking while he did it.

“This might hurt a little, but let me know if you want me to stop” he said

“Ok” she answered meekly.

Mark squirted some cream on her back and began to gently rub in the lotion.

“How does that feel?” he asked

“Oooh lovely” Abigail replied as she thought the lotion was cool on her skin but as he rubbed it in it made her feel hot and her imagination went into overdrive so after a few minutes she turned and looked up at him with pleading eyes, but although he made eye contact with her he was clueless what to do next.

Abigail realized in that instance that he was not going to act so she grabbed his wrists and pulled him down towards her so that his mouth was in range and she kissed his mouth.

“At last” she thought and after a few moments she suddenly leapt up out of the chair so she could get a proper hold on him.

 

The kiss became frenzied and haphazard as their hands explored and caressed until Abigail took hold of his hand and said through hot panting lips

“Come to bed”

“What? No” he retorted

“Make love to me Mark” she implored

“But what about the vicar?” he asked still holding her hand

“Make love to me” She repeated as she pulled him towards the door “He won’t be back until late”

“But…” he began

“Shush I want you to take me to bed and make love to me”

“Ok,” he said meekly

“Come on then,” she said forcefully and Abigail led him by the hand all the way upstairs and into her bedroom.

She walked to the other side of the room and drew the curtains and then standing with her back to him she quickly divested herself of her dress and scrambled under the covers.

From where she then removed her pants and dropped them on the floor and then her eyes peered at him over the top of the duvet as he did the same and then as he slipped under the duvet she cuddled up close to him.

“I’ve never done this before” she said

“What in the vicarage you mean?”

“No, I’ve never done “this” before” she said quietly “I’ve never done “it””

Abigail suddenly looked quite childlike and unsure, the complete opposite of her normal demeanour, he assumed because she was so ultra-confident and self-assured that she was experienced, in all the ways that he was not.

“Nor have I” he said and laughed

“Really?” Abigail said “I’m so glad”

“You don’t mind?” Mark asked

“No, it makes this extra special” she replied “and you won’t notice how rubbish I am”

“Nor me” he remarked

“I think it will be perfect” she whispered

“You’re perfect” he responded and kissed her lips softly.

 

As they lay entwined together beneath the covers on a hot June afternoon they were feeling very pleased with themselves as they basked in the afterglow of the their first time.

Although they didn’t know it at the time what they had just experience wouldn’t even make it to the best one hundred times in the not to distant future but on that afternoon they were very happy.