Downshire Diary – (26) Captain of her Heart

 

The village of Highfinch sits just on the edge of the Pepperstock Hills and the Lily Green Hollows Golf Club separates the village from the Hamlet of Lily Green, and the combination of those two and Kingfisherbridge made up the parish of St Martins.

 

Among the residents of Highfinch was Lorraine Weaving, a beautiful 29 year old with hazel eyes, 5 foot 7 inches tall, athletically built and completely bald.

She was completely devoid of any hair at all, no eyebrows, body hair and as everyone was always asking her, nothing down there as well.

And the answer to the other question she was always being asked, was that she fell out of a tree when she was six.

 

Lorraine was originally born in Childean, but in her 29 years she had lived all over the Finchbottom Vale which nestles comfortably between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest to the south and the rolling Pepperstock Hills in the north, those who are lucky enough to live there think of it as the rose between two thorns.

The Vale was once a great wetland that centuries earlier stretched from Mornington in the East to Childean in the west and from Shallowfield in the south to Purplemere in the north.

But over the many centuries the vast majority had been drained for agriculture, a feat achieved largely by the efforts of the famous Mornington Mills, of which only three had survived to the present day and even those were no longer functional and were in various states of repair.  

There were only three small bodies of water left in the Vale by the 21st Century, one in Mornington, and one in Childean and third of course was in Purplemere.

Throughout its history the Finchbottom Vale was largely dependent on agriculture and so it remained into the 21st century but many and varied occupations and endeavour’s thrived alongside the traditional rural livelihood’s but it was in agriculture that the Weaving family had earned their livings for centuries but Lorraine, who loved her family and the Vale in equal measure, decided pretty early on in her life that agriculture was not for her.

 

She could have chosen almost any Town or Village in the Vale to start her change of career but she chose Highfinch, partly because she had a great aunt living in the village who offered her a roof over her head but mainly because she held a particular affinity for the village because it was in Hawks Wood where she parted company with her hair.

 

She did a variety of menial jobs in her teens, but it was after she started working for the Lily Green Hollows Gold Club that her life really got going.

It was her willingness to do any job she was given without a word of complaint that got her noticed, and when there were functions and extra staff were needed she was always on the list, and after two years, David Pike, who was then the assistant manager offered her a full time job.

She stayed there for eight years before applying for the Practice Managers position at the Doctors surgery, which she got on the back of David Pikes recommendation.

 

When Lorraine Weaving took over as practice manager of the Highfinch Surgery she quickly made new friends as she made her mark in her quiet and unassuming way and Lorraine was well liked by staff and patients alike and she firmly believed she had found her niche.

So she had a nice little house in the village a job that she loved and wonderful friends and she was as content as she had ever been, but all of that changed on the 1st of July.

 

The practice nurse/district nurse had returned from her very busy morning of home visits and was back in the surgery running the clinic and it was as Lorraine and Marina were walking towards reception that it happened.

As they approached the seating area Marina spotted her wounded soldier, who was waiting for his physio appointment.

“Come on Lorraine I’ll introduce you to my soldier”

“Oh ok” Lorraine retorted, who actually had no interest whatsoever in meeting Paul Russell, her wounded soldier, whom she suspected Marina thought of as more than her patient.

He had been severely wounded by an IED in Afghanistan his left leg had gone below the knee and his right just above it and Marina had nursed him to the point of falling in love with him.

“Hello serge” Marina said and then realised he was not alone

“Hi Marina, This if my CO” Paul said “Captain Loosemore”

“Pleased to meet you Captain” Marina said “This is my colleague Lorraine Weaving”

“Peter” he said and shook Lorraine’s hand

Lorraine liked him, his handshake was firm, his handsome face was warm and open and his voice was like honey on her ears.

“Peter” she said as he stared at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and the fact the she was completely bald didn’t detract from that in any way to his mind.

“I’ll take you through Paul” Marina said and left the Captain and Lorraine in reception still shaking hands.

After a minute or so they became aware of the fact they still had each other by the hand and let go as they both coloured up.

“Do you live locally?” she asked

“In a manner of speaking” he replied and when he saw the quizzical look on her face it was obvious to him that his answer was too vague by half, so he elaborated.

“My “Home” is with the regiment in Nettlefield but when I’m on leave as I am at present I stay with my parents in the Dulcets”

Before she could elicit any further information from him Marina returned and the nature of the converse changed and then after five minute she was called away for a telephone call and when she had finished Peter and Marina’s soldier were gone.

 

She did think she might quiz Marina about the Captain but she was out all day on Thursday and Friday was her day off.

Lorraine had Friday afternoon off herself to get ready for the Summer Ball.

So after lunch she went to Mazzone’s to have a manicure, pedicure and a facial which took most of the afternoon

 

The Annual Finchbottom Vale Health Care Summer Ball was for health employees of the Vale and its environs and that year it was being held at the Clayton Manor Hotel in the village of Clayton.

It was always a grand affair, Dinner jackets and evening dresses were compulsory and tickets were always in great demand.

Each surgery in the Vale got an allocation and every year there was a tremendous excitement as to who would get them and that year Lorraine was one of the lucky ones.   

Lorraine was wearing a knee length emerald green dress that hugged her figure beautifully,

She was a tall girl, athletically built with a lovely shape and stunning legs clad in black, and her shoes were green to match her dress.

“Hello” he said “its nurse Lorraine isn’t it?”

“Yes” she replied

Despite the fact she had only met him the once, and briefly at that, she recognised him instantly even in a dinner suit.

“Hello Captain”

“Call me Peter” he said

“No uniform tonight Peter?” she asked

“I love a man in uniform” and then she inexplicably blushed she never normally blushed, but then she wasn’t normally flirting.

In her head she chastised herself for behaving like a schoolgirl.

“You’re 29 for god’s sake so start acting like it, and whatever you do don’t ask…”

“Are you here with someone?” she asked

“Yes and no” he replied

Lorraine only heard the word yes and was very disappointed

“I’m here with my brother Bob” he continued.

“Bob?” she asked

“Yes Dr Loosemore”

“Oh I see” Lorraine said

She had heard the name but didn’t know the man personally.

That wasn’t important, the Captain was “alone” and that was.

“I was sorry to have missed you when you left the surgery the other day” she said

“Yes me too” he agreed “But I had to get back to camp, the Regiment is deploying again”

“Oh” she said “when?”

“Tomorrow” Peter replied

“Tomorrow?” she said disappointed again

“You can’t say where I suppose?”

“No”

“But nowhere nice?” She asked

“Definitely not somewhere nice” he agreed

A comfortable silence settled around them and Lorraine’s mind drifted.

She really liked him, if she didn’t like him so much she wouldn’t have been so dithery, but it had been a while since she had fancied anyone, and she was desperately trying to think how to proceed when he asked.

“Would you like to dance?”

“Love to” she replied with relief

Peter took her hand and led her to the dance floor and they danced through

“I’m not in love” by10cc

“James Blunts “You’re Beautiful”

Barbara Streisand’s “The way we were”

“I will always love you” by Whitney Houston

And Fleetwood Macs “Albatross”

When Peter was tapped on the shoulder, he reluctantly relinquished his hold on Lorraine and turned around

“Come on bro” a man said “it’s time”

“Ok Bob” he said “I’ll be right there”

Bob nodded and walked towards the door

“I’m afraid I need to go” Peter said

“I understand” she said   

“It was nice seeing you again” he said

“Perhaps when I return I could call you?”

“Yes” Lorraine said “I’d like that”

And then he was gone.

 

After dancing with Captain Loosemore at the Summer Ball she had been able to think of little else.

As the practice manager she was kept very busy but still her mind wandered so she was dreading the August Bank Holiday weekend so she spent the three days in her little house doing chores.

It had been eight weeks since she had danced the night away with her Captain and she still hadn’t heard from him.

Which was why when the Bank Holiday arrived she decided to spring clean the house from top to bottom to keep herself occupied.  

She dusted, vacuumed, washed, mopped and polished, and all the bedding was washed as was every curtain.

So by Monday lunchtime the whole house was gleaming and she put the kettle on and stood back and admired her handiwork.

 

However once all the work was done she had too much time to think again, so wearing knee length blue and white striped dungarees over a white vest top she drove round to White Rose Cottage to ask Sgt Russell about Captain Loosemore but there was no one home so she went home again and switched on the TV and the lead story on the evening news was that six British soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan and she cried.

 

Her closest friend, Doctor Jade Flowers, had noticed she was a little down for a number of weeks, although she hadn’t been able to ascertain the reason, so when she was invited to a dinner Party at the Vicarage she took her along.

 

She knew everyone present, Jade Flowers obviously, Jenna Lawton, the de facto Vicar, The two redoubtable village good eggs, middle-aged buddies Vicki Paulding and Julia Thomas, and their best friend Cressida van Meeuwen.

Local celebrity TV presenter Nick Faulkner, furniture maker Farron Sutherland and Dentist Jonathon Walters.

They were a mixed bunch, varying ages and occupations, a mix of the Godly and the heathen, the old and the young the sublime and the ridiculous, then bang on 8 o’clock another Dentist Lianne Martin arrived and she was surprised to be told that she was the last.

“Come in” the Vicar said and handed her a menu “we’ve all chosen”

 

They had an excellent curry and a liberal quantity of beer and wine was consumed, apart from Jade who was on call.

The conversation ebbed and flowed and the overall atmosphere was very congenial and as the evening wore on the Trivial Pursuit appeared to universal acclaim.

Sadly after about an hour and with their team winning, Jade was paged and had to leave and so Lorraine left with her.

 

Jade and Lorraine were disappointed to have to leave, it was really good fun, but Lorraine’s mood improved after Jade dropped her home.

She went inside and put on the kettle and while she was waiting for it to boil she went on her tablet, which was when she discovered the email from her Captain.

 

Lorraine’s head was in a spin after finally getting word from Captain Loosemore.

It was strange the effect of not hearing from him for so long had had on her, after all she had only met him twice, once briefly at the surgery and a second time at the Summer Ball. 

Yet he had filled her thoughts every day since the Ball.

His regiment had left Afghanistan and because it had been a particularly bloody tour, which had cost 11 dead and 8 wounded from the Downshire’s it was currently in Germany for R&R before returning to the UK and this period prompted a flurry of emails between the two of them and they had begun the process of getting to know each other.

It was a kind of Q & A back and forth so they could slowly build up a picture of each other.

Peter told her that the thought of seeing her again had kept him going at his lowest moments and she told him how much she had looked forward to seeing him again.

 

She told him everything about herself and held nothing back she was not some little princess or in any way an innocent, which may not have fitted with the girl he stood on the pedestal.

She didn’t want any falsehoods about her past, which wasn’t as posh as his, she wanted whatever feelings, or the glimmer of feelings, that they might have for each other to be given every possible chance to mature.

 

Peter, despite being a soldier was not as worldly wise when it came to women and he had a much less colourful sex life than some of his comrades.

In fact he hadn’t been entirely truthful with her in that regard either, in fact he had rather exaggerated the number of his lovers.

He knew she was more experienced that he was and didn’t expect a woman approaching 30 to be unblemished and wasn’t blind to the fact that he had seen the ugly side of life and would not be naïve or an innocent. 

 

The correspondence continued between them for several weeks while the regiment was in Germany.

The general content of their correspondence was the first date kind of stuff finding out each other’s likes and dislikes, their backgrounds and their aspirations.

This was interspersed with outrageous flirtation and even a degree of lovemaking.

This was a new experience certainly for her and she hoped for him also.

 

But there were anxieties as well because Lorraine was nervous about seeing him again, while being excited at the same time.

On the day of their date she was up early, way too early which under the circumstances was a mistake because it gave her far too much time to think.

She wanted the date to be so perfect and all she could think of was all the things that might go wrong.

 

Lorraine was still nervous when she arrived in Purplemere on the evening of their date and despite her best efforts she was about half an hour early, which gave her half an hour in which to conceive of a thousand and one scenarios in which the evening could go horribly wrong.

But as she waited outside the Runcible Spoon Restaurant Lorraine was ridiculously happy, a happiness that she was meeting Captain Loosemore again.

She looked at her watch and the time was imminent and Lorraine had a strange feeling, she actually had butterflies in her tummy, she had never had that happen before except when she was a school girl, Lorraine Weaving was well and truly smitten.

She wondered if the effect of not hearing from him for so long had intensified her feelings, and the fear that he might have been killed or injured might have heightened them further.

After all she had only met him twice, once briefly at the surgery and a second time at the Summer Ball, but whatever the reason for it he had filled her thoughts every day since the Ball.

 

The last time Peter had seen her was at the Annual Finchbottom Vale Health Care Summer Ball annual Summer Ball the Clayton Manor Hotel in the village of Clayton when Lorraine was wearing a knee length emerald green dress that hugged her figure beautifully,

The image of the athletically built tall girl, with a lovely shape and stunning legs clad in black, and green shoes to match her dress was burned into his brain, unfortunately she wouldn’t be wearing that outfit to the restaurant, and that was his biggest fear, that he wouldn’t be able to recognise her.

He knew Lorraine was a tall girl, five feet seven inches tall, with a lovely shape and stunning legs.

But his great fear was that he wouldn’t recognize her out of context and then he remembered then that she was completely bald.

 

When Peter walked into the plaza there she was, Lorraine Weaving the beautiful practice manager with her glorious hairless head, standing nervously, looking vulnerable and childlike and every bit as beautiful as he remembered.

When she spotted him out of the corner of her eye her skin instantly flushed pink and she looked like she had been freshly scrubbed.

She daren’t turn around to watch him approach so she took a deep breath and resolutely looked in the opposite direction.

“Hello Lorraine” Peter said

“Oh hi” she said acting surprised

 

Any fears or apprehensions they may have had at the beginning had long since disappeared by the end of evening.

Lorraine thought he was even more handsome than she remembered and she really liked him, really, really liked him.

And she believed that by the way he was looking at her during the evening that he really liked her too.

But when they got to their cars much to her disappointment he just kissed her cheek and thanked her for a lovely evening and watched her drive away.

 

Further dates followed and they always went the same way they would have an immensely enjoyable evening ending with a kiss either by her car or on the doorstep of her house.

 

Following their meal in Purplemere, there were further dates over the next few months and they always went the same way, they would have an immensely enjoyable evening ending with a kiss either by her car or on the doorstep of her house.

 

She knew that he fancied her as much as she did him so she didn’t understand why he hadn’t wanted to take it any further.

Admittedly the quality and quantity of kissing had increased exponentially with each successive date, but she wanted him to seduce her, she wanted to be wooed and courted but most of all she wanted him to make love to her.

But if she couldn’t get him into her house there was no chance of him getting her into her bed.

 

Now a woman of Lorraine’s undoubted self-confidence could easily have forced the issue if she chose but she wanted him to make the running and she wanted their first time to be perfect, she just didn’t know how long she could wait for perfection to put in an appearance.

So she had to seduce him in such a way that he would think he was seducing her, and she went about this by inviting Peter to her house for supper for their next date a week before Christmas.

 

After Peter accepted the invitation for supper Lorraine was faced with two problems.

The first one was that if she was to succeed in her goal then subtlety would be the order of the day which was not a quality she possessed in any significant quantity.

While the second was something rather more fundamental she couldn’t really cook, in fact she couldn’t cook at all.

However the second problem was easily solved in the end as her friend Jade Flowers was a great cook and when she asked her for advice on what to serve she volunteered to cook it for her and then she would just need to warm it through on the night and she even made the deserts.

Lorrain’s one and only contribution to the menu was to make the prawn cocktail starters and of course her other contribution was to make herself look gorgeous and eminently beddable.

So came the night and Lorraine looked stunning, wearing a simple little black dress and quite frankly looked as edible as any other offering on the menu.

 

The meal was a great success and was consumed heartily along with a quantity of wine.

They ended up on the sofa and Lorraine was burning with desire, Peter meanwhile was trying to summon up the courage to kiss her and was looking anxious.

Lorraine wanted him so badly and she was just coming to the conclusion that perfection wasn’t all it was cracked up to be when he leant over and kissed her.

 

The kissing on the sofa progressed very satisfactorily and she was getting increasingly hot, and increasingly impatient.

Their lips parted and Peter looked deeply into her eyes and said

“I want you”

“Thank you God” Lorraine screamed in her head, but out loud she just said

“I want you too”

If she hadn’t wanted their first time to be special she would have made love with him on the sofa but she was nonetheless surprised to hear herself say 

“Let me go up first and get ready”

She didn’t have a clue where it had come from but judging by the look on his face it seemed to have been well received by Peter.

Lorraine smiled and kissed him gently on the lips and added

“Give me five minutes”

She got up from the sofa and went upstairs slowly and controlled, but inside her head she was singing and dancing and the moment she got into her bedroom she stripped naked in thirty seconds flat.

 

The door closed behind him after he entered Lorraine’s room and he saw she was lying in bed with only her head and shoulders visible and was wearing as far as he could tell absolutely nothing.

When he got down to his pants he turned his back to her and quickly slipped into bed.

This act of shyness endeared him to her even more and she rolled over to greet him.

“It was the thought of this moment that kept me going in Afghanistan” He said

“Really?” she replied “I hope you’re not disappointed”

“So far so good” he said and cuddled up closer to her.

“Well hon I’ve been waiting for this moment too” Lorraine said

And in response he kissed her lips softly and when she responded the kiss grew in intensity as their tongues entwined and the pent up want and need was released as their hands explored and caressed each other’s bodies beneath the duvet.

 

As they lay panting in the afterglow Lorraine said breathlessly

“Oh Peter, I love you”

And in response he kissed her hot panting mouth and replied.

“I love you too”

 

That was an entirely unexpected outcome for Lorraine, the thought that she loved him had never even crossed her mind.

She knew that she liked him from the first moment she met him but was that love? 

To her great relief Peter said that he loved her too, but did he?

In the post coital hours they discussed at length the implications of their declarations and the basis on which they made them.

The outcome of their deliberations was that they were indeed in love and were victims of love at first sight.

This was something they had both heard of but didn’t actually believe was possible in reality.

They thought it was just the stuff of Romantic comedies.

However the implications of their joint declarations were self-evident and before they made love for a second time Peter made and Lorraine accepted his proposal of marriage.