Monday, 22 May 2017
Downshire Diary – (59) Heatherlands – Doctor in Clover
(Part 01)
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 but our story begins slightly further south equidistant between Nettlefield and the Oxley’s, in the beautiful village of Heathervale.
When Chris Palmer moved to Nettlefield from Purplemere following a very acrimonious divorce he had sworn off women for good.
But he was a relatively good looking man who was fast approaching his 40th birthday, with a good physique and short sandy hair, greying at the temples and was possessed of piercing blue eyes, so he didn’t go unnoticed.
His reason for moving to Nettlefield in particular, over all the other places he might have chosen either in Downshire or beyond, was the Heatherlands District Health Centre.
It was a large practise that serviced a large area, covering Nettlefield itself, Oxley Green, Heathervale, Oxley Ridge and Tipton and Chris had been fortunate enough to land the job as practice manager and he also found himself a nice little flat in Nettlefield.
The senior partner, and Chris’s boss, at the Health Centre was Dr Clarisse Lowe, a tall statuesque woman who dressed in tweed, with Chestnut hair, a voluptuous figure, lovely long legs and a generous frontage, who was in her mid-forties and was just the kind of woman Chris would have fallen for in his previous life.
Clarisse had been married to Edward Lowe, who had been an eminent surgeon in Downshire, he had also been twenty years older when he married her and he had two children from his first marriage, Josie being the oldest.
The marriage was a happy one but only lasted five years because Edward died suddenly on the Tipton Twelve Trees Golf course after suffering a heart attack.
She had been a widow for 10 years when Chris arrived in her life, her widowhood had left her lonely but also afraid of risking her heart on someone who might end that loneliness
But apart from the fact that she had vowed not to risk her broken heart again she also had instigated a policy at the practise forbidding fraternisation between members of staff, so even if she were so inclined toward Chris she wouldn’t be disposed to go against her own edict.
But the heart wants what the heart wants which was why two people who despite their reluctance to expose themselves to love again and who were very definitely not looking for a relationship, let alone love, found it anyway.
And as a by-product of the loving relationship she scrapped the “No Fraternizing policy” which meant that the surgical gloves were off in regard to work place relationships.
(Part 02)
As a bi-product of the loving relationship she began with Chris, Clarisse scrapped the “No Fraternizing policy” which meant that the surgical gloves were off in regard to work place relationships which was just what the doctor ordered for a lot of the staff, but for doctors
Tony Dark and Denise Guilford it made no difference at all because they had been romantically involved for two years.
The scrapping of the relationship ban should have given them the green light to come out of the closet but the simple truth was that they rather liked the closet, they enjoyed the sneaking around.
When they were around other people at the health centre they were cold and aloof, but in private they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, so whenever an opportunity to enjoy some intimacy presented itself they grabbed it with both hands.
And from the first moment when Denise made the decision to seduce Tony it opened up a whole new world of sensual pleasure, dirty, lustful, naked pleasure.
They both loved the excitement of sneaking around and it made them very aroused and they had to indulge themselves wherever they could.
Sometimes they did it in his house, occasionally in hers, at times they met at hotels and from time to time they did it at the surgery and even on occasion in her car, but never in his as it was far too small.
One evening they found themselves alone at the Health Centre and decided to indulge in a “private consultation” in his office,
The normal plots and plans made it all the more exciting, but that excitement didn’t diminish when an unexpected opportunity presented itself.
As all the other staff appeared to have left for the day they went into his office and closed the door and she immediately walked over to him and kissed him.
“This is a nice surprise” he said
“Yes but we don’t know how much time we have” she replied “So less talk and more action”
After the event Tony was sitting at his desk, naked from the waist down, and was watching Denise redressing herself by the door and she was just buttoning her blouse when the door opened and Nurse Josie Minter appeared and asked
“Hi Tony, have you seen Dr Guilford?”
“Not since this afternoon” he lied “Was it something important?”
“No nothing that won’t keep until tomorrow” she said “but if you see her can you tell her I had to go on a home visit at Mrs Cooper’s”
“Sure thing” he said “See you tomorrow”
And then the door closed and Denise began unbuttoning her blouse again.
Sunday, 21 May 2017
Downshire Diary – (58) Their First Holiday
(Part 01)
Neil Etherington was an average man approaching his thirtieth birthday not that he was a bad looking man, he wasn’t, but he wasn’t stunning, sexy or buff, he was strictly middling but his girlfriend
Samantha Barraclough was anything but, she was an absolute beauty three years younger, elegant, daintily petite, intelligent, funny, sexy and with a perfectly beautiful angelic voice, pure Carrington Chase educated perfection, Carrington Chase being Downshire’s version of Roedean, although those in Downshire thought it was the other way around, and it was a voice that made Charlotte Green sound common.
He pinched himself at the start of everyday, especially the ones on which he woke up beside her, just to check he wasn’t dreaming.
Because the good fortune that brought Samantha into his life was the type of thing that didn’t happen to him, and everyone who witnessed them together unanimously agreed that he was punching well above his weight.
They first encountered each other at a business meeting at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, where she was a potential new client and he was trying to win a new account, but the meeting was unresolved as it was love at first sight.
Neil worked for a firm of architects called New Horizons whose head office was in Sharpington by Sea while Samantha Barraclough was approaching her 28th birthday and was a project consultant for the family business, Barraclough Ventures and the project that Samantha’s company was heading up was the regeneration of the former Industrial Power House of the county, Northchapel.
The love that bloomed between Samantha Barraclough and Neil Etherington in Abbottsford in June went from strength to strength
However things had not been all plain sailing since they had met, though not between the two of them they were completely simpatico.
The problems stemmed from a different quarter entirely and from those who should have been the most delighted for them, their close friends and family.
Neil and Samantha were the victims of snobbery, inverted and otherwise.
Her family thought she had set her sights to low while his nearest and dearest believed he had set his too high.
Her friends thought he was common while his thought she was a snob.
Only their closest friends Jonathon Hardman and Isabelle Decoene stuck by them.
So as a result they had found it difficult to fit inside each other’s worlds, but the couple believed that love will out and Samantha drew a line under the difficulties when she said
“If you can’t live in my world and I can’t live in yours we shall just have to make a world of our own”
If he hadn’t been in love with her already he certainly would have been after that speech
As part of “making a world of their own” and to increase the time they got to spend with each other they decided to plan a holiday together.
Obviously there were certain stipulations, it had to be for at least two weeks, they had to go somewhere they were unlikely to run into any of their friends and ideally it had to be somewhere or something they had never been or done before and Neil left it to Sam to make the arrangements because he knew she would come up trumps.
Samantha gave him no indication of what she had planned, where they were going or what they were doing but Neil didn’t mind in the slightest as long as he was with her.
(Part 02)
It was a pleasant morning as Neil Etherington stood waiting outside his Brocklington cottage for Samantha to arrive and he looked at the sky and hoped it would stay fine.
It was warmer than it had been over the previous week, with the skies a mainly blue expanse, broken only by the occasional passing cloud of fluffy white.
And it was when he was surveying the sky that she appeared in typical Samantha style on time to the minute and was looking as lovely as the weather, and she was immaculately turned out as usual.
She was wearing a large peaked white cap with her blonde hair scraped into a ponytail sticking out the back.
The rest of her outfit was all matching, predominately white with jade trim, Polo shirt, short flared skirt and ankle socks.
Her ensemble was then finished off with white pumps.
“Neil darling” she said as she launched herself at him for a kiss.
“I’m a bit excited”
“Good I like it when you’re excited” he said and she gave him a look
“You look really gorgeous”
“I look gorgeous do I?” she said and kissed him
“God yes” he replied
“That’s just goes to show what wonderful taste you have” She said smugly
Samantha opened the boot so he could throw his bag in and as she rearranged the boot to accommodate it he got a lingering look at the girl he loved so much and as she was bent over he gave her a playful slap.
“You can stop that Neil” she chastised “you can spank me when we get there”
“Well the sooner we get going then the better” he retorted
“Get in the car then” she snapped
“So you want to be punished then” he said
“Just get in the car,” she ordered and smiled, so he did what she said and got in the car and buckled up tight as he knew it was going to be a white-knuckle ride.
Samantha raced out of the side road and headed off away from the village and they sped off across the Vale.
He had no idea where they were headed and every time he thought he knew, she sped past the turning.
It was when they were on the main Abbottsford road when he had convinced himself that that was their destination when Samantha indicated left and turned off into the country where she race along narrow lanes that he was unfamiliar with and they drove for about 45 nerve-jangling minutes until she suddenly turned off into a little car park by the canal and came sharply to a halt.
“We have arrived,” she said
“Where are we?” he asked genuinely not knowing where the hell they were.
Where they were precisely was in a carpark beside The Downshire Navigation, part of the canal network which ran between Nettlefield in the north, down through Millmoor and the Oakhams to Northchapel, Abbeyvale and then to its most southerly point, Abbottsford, where it again headed north, this time to Childean, Purplemere and Finchbottom where it joined the River Finch.
(Part 03)
Where they were precisely was in a carpark beside The Downshire Navigation, part of the canal network which ran between Nettlefield in the north, down through Millmoor and the Oakhams to Northchapel, Abbeyvale and then to its most southerly point, Abbottsford, where it again headed north, this time to Childean, Purplemere and Finchbottom where it joined the River Finch.
“Come on” she instructed and got out the car and opened the boot.
“But where are we?” he asked again
“Shut up and grab the bags” she retorted, and again he did as he was told but they only went about 20 yards along the canal bank before she climbed aboard a narrow boat.
“Hey what are you doing?” he said with alarm and looking around to see if anyone was looking.
“Don’t panic” Samantha said mockingly as she picked up a plant pot and recovered a key that was hidden underneath it.
“This is our boat, come on” she said brandishing the key like a trophy.
“Oh, ok” he said and climbed aboard.
By the time he’d climbed down the companionway with the bags and closed the hatch behind him Samantha was already unpacking the bags that she carried aboard.
“I think I should say right from the outset, as this is our first holiday together, that on this trip I am the captain so don’t get any ideas” she said and laughed
“So what am I then, your first mate?” He asked
“No you’re the cabin boy” she replied and completely disitergrated into laughter at her clever joke
“Well I have just one thing to say to you” he said
“Whats that?” she asked between giggles
“Mutiny” he said and propelled her along the cabin to the sleeping compartment with her giggling all the way.
The barge was moored on a stretch of cut between Abbottsford and Applesford, the latter being a quaint country village, which would at a later date have great significance in their lives.
And for the next week they poodled along the canal enjoying eachother and the stunning downshire scenery, by which time they had reached the Northeast corner of the Finchbottom Vale where they turned around and headed back the way they came.
On the journey back to Applesford Samantha said
“I’ve really enjoyed our holiday”
“Me too”
“I’ve enjoyed being with you all the time” Sam said
“It’s been great hasn’t it?” he agreed
“I wish we could be together all the time” she mused
“You as well?” He asked
“You mean that’s what you want?” She queried and he nodded
“So you want us to live together?”
“I do” he said
“In Tipton or in Brocklington?” she asked
Her house was up in Tipton, although she was rarely in it as she spent more time living in hotels than she did her house so it had never felt like home to her, but she thought it might if she had someone to share it with but Neil had a nice cottage in Brocklington and that would also be lovely so when he replied.
“Neither”
To her question, she was taken aback.
“Neither?” she asked
“I think we should buy somewhere new, a blank canvas, somewhere that will be ours and not yours or mine” he replied and a she exclaimed
“That’s perfect, that’s brilliant, why didn’t I think of that” she said and she hugged him tightly and said
“You’re perfect and I really love you”
Neil Etherington was an average man approaching his thirtieth birthday not that he was a bad looking man, he wasn’t, but he wasn’t stunning, sexy or buff, he was strictly middling but his girlfriend
Samantha Barraclough was anything but, she was an absolute beauty three years younger, elegant, daintily petite, intelligent, funny, sexy and with a perfectly beautiful angelic voice, pure Carrington Chase educated perfection, Carrington Chase being Downshire’s version of Roedean, although those in Downshire thought it was the other way around, and it was a voice that made Charlotte Green sound common.
He pinched himself at the start of everyday, especially the ones on which he woke up beside her, just to check he wasn’t dreaming.
Because the good fortune that brought Samantha into his life was the type of thing that didn’t happen to him, and everyone who witnessed them together unanimously agreed that he was punching well above his weight.
They first encountered each other at a business meeting at the Abbottsford Regents Hotel, where she was a potential new client and he was trying to win a new account, but the meeting was unresolved as it was love at first sight.
Neil worked for a firm of architects called New Horizons whose head office was in Sharpington by Sea while Samantha Barraclough was approaching her 28th birthday and was a project consultant for the family business, Barraclough Ventures and the project that Samantha’s company was heading up was the regeneration of the former Industrial Power House of the county, Northchapel.
The love that bloomed between Samantha Barraclough and Neil Etherington in Abbottsford in June went from strength to strength
However things had not been all plain sailing since they had met, though not between the two of them they were completely simpatico.
The problems stemmed from a different quarter entirely and from those who should have been the most delighted for them, their close friends and family.
Neil and Samantha were the victims of snobbery, inverted and otherwise.
Her family thought she had set her sights to low while his nearest and dearest believed he had set his too high.
Her friends thought he was common while his thought she was a snob.
Only their closest friends Jonathon Hardman and Isabelle Decoene stuck by them.
So as a result they had found it difficult to fit inside each other’s worlds, but the couple believed that love will out and Samantha drew a line under the difficulties when she said
“If you can’t live in my world and I can’t live in yours we shall just have to make a world of our own”
If he hadn’t been in love with her already he certainly would have been after that speech
As part of “making a world of their own” and to increase the time they got to spend with each other they decided to plan a holiday together.
Obviously there were certain stipulations, it had to be for at least two weeks, they had to go somewhere they were unlikely to run into any of their friends and ideally it had to be somewhere or something they had never been or done before and Neil left it to Sam to make the arrangements because he knew she would come up trumps.
Samantha gave him no indication of what she had planned, where they were going or what they were doing but Neil didn’t mind in the slightest as long as he was with her.
(Part 02)
It was a pleasant morning as Neil Etherington stood waiting outside his Brocklington cottage for Samantha to arrive and he looked at the sky and hoped it would stay fine.
It was warmer than it had been over the previous week, with the skies a mainly blue expanse, broken only by the occasional passing cloud of fluffy white.
And it was when he was surveying the sky that she appeared in typical Samantha style on time to the minute and was looking as lovely as the weather, and she was immaculately turned out as usual.
She was wearing a large peaked white cap with her blonde hair scraped into a ponytail sticking out the back.
The rest of her outfit was all matching, predominately white with jade trim, Polo shirt, short flared skirt and ankle socks.
Her ensemble was then finished off with white pumps.
“Neil darling” she said as she launched herself at him for a kiss.
“I’m a bit excited”
“Good I like it when you’re excited” he said and she gave him a look
“You look really gorgeous”
“I look gorgeous do I?” she said and kissed him
“God yes” he replied
“That’s just goes to show what wonderful taste you have” She said smugly
Samantha opened the boot so he could throw his bag in and as she rearranged the boot to accommodate it he got a lingering look at the girl he loved so much and as she was bent over he gave her a playful slap.
“You can stop that Neil” she chastised “you can spank me when we get there”
“Well the sooner we get going then the better” he retorted
“Get in the car then” she snapped
“So you want to be punished then” he said
“Just get in the car,” she ordered and smiled, so he did what she said and got in the car and buckled up tight as he knew it was going to be a white-knuckle ride.
Samantha raced out of the side road and headed off away from the village and they sped off across the Vale.
He had no idea where they were headed and every time he thought he knew, she sped past the turning.
It was when they were on the main Abbottsford road when he had convinced himself that that was their destination when Samantha indicated left and turned off into the country where she race along narrow lanes that he was unfamiliar with and they drove for about 45 nerve-jangling minutes until she suddenly turned off into a little car park by the canal and came sharply to a halt.
“We have arrived,” she said
“Where are we?” he asked genuinely not knowing where the hell they were.
Where they were precisely was in a carpark beside The Downshire Navigation, part of the canal network which ran between Nettlefield in the north, down through Millmoor and the Oakhams to Northchapel, Abbeyvale and then to its most southerly point, Abbottsford, where it again headed north, this time to Childean, Purplemere and Finchbottom where it joined the River Finch.
(Part 03)
Where they were precisely was in a carpark beside The Downshire Navigation, part of the canal network which ran between Nettlefield in the north, down through Millmoor and the Oakhams to Northchapel, Abbeyvale and then to its most southerly point, Abbottsford, where it again headed north, this time to Childean, Purplemere and Finchbottom where it joined the River Finch.
“Come on” she instructed and got out the car and opened the boot.
“But where are we?” he asked again
“Shut up and grab the bags” she retorted, and again he did as he was told but they only went about 20 yards along the canal bank before she climbed aboard a narrow boat.
“Hey what are you doing?” he said with alarm and looking around to see if anyone was looking.
“Don’t panic” Samantha said mockingly as she picked up a plant pot and recovered a key that was hidden underneath it.
“This is our boat, come on” she said brandishing the key like a trophy.
“Oh, ok” he said and climbed aboard.
By the time he’d climbed down the companionway with the bags and closed the hatch behind him Samantha was already unpacking the bags that she carried aboard.
“I think I should say right from the outset, as this is our first holiday together, that on this trip I am the captain so don’t get any ideas” she said and laughed
“So what am I then, your first mate?” He asked
“No you’re the cabin boy” she replied and completely disitergrated into laughter at her clever joke
“Well I have just one thing to say to you” he said
“Whats that?” she asked between giggles
“Mutiny” he said and propelled her along the cabin to the sleeping compartment with her giggling all the way.
The barge was moored on a stretch of cut between Abbottsford and Applesford, the latter being a quaint country village, which would at a later date have great significance in their lives.
And for the next week they poodled along the canal enjoying eachother and the stunning downshire scenery, by which time they had reached the Northeast corner of the Finchbottom Vale where they turned around and headed back the way they came.
On the journey back to Applesford Samantha said
“I’ve really enjoyed our holiday”
“Me too”
“I’ve enjoyed being with you all the time” Sam said
“It’s been great hasn’t it?” he agreed
“I wish we could be together all the time” she mused
“You as well?” He asked
“You mean that’s what you want?” She queried and he nodded
“So you want us to live together?”
“I do” he said
“In Tipton or in Brocklington?” she asked
Her house was up in Tipton, although she was rarely in it as she spent more time living in hotels than she did her house so it had never felt like home to her, but she thought it might if she had someone to share it with but Neil had a nice cottage in Brocklington and that would also be lovely so when he replied.
“Neither”
To her question, she was taken aback.
“Neither?” she asked
“I think we should buy somewhere new, a blank canvas, somewhere that will be ours and not yours or mine” he replied and a she exclaimed
“That’s perfect, that’s brilliant, why didn’t I think of that” she said and she hugged him tightly and said
“You’re perfect and I really love you”
Downshire Diary – (57) The Distraught Muse
(Part 01)
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, but our story begins in the East, or more precisely, 20 miles inland from Sharpington-By-Sea, equidistant between Finchbottom and Pepperstock Green, in the sprawling village of Denmead.
Owen Carrington’s Uncle Glyn died on New Year’s Day and left him his Cottage and a small cash sum, more than enough to keep him going for a few more years.
He left it to him because he felt they were kindred spirits, he wanted to be a writer himself but his father made him get a proper job, Owen really liked him and he was a great story teller, and it was his Uncles colourful tales that helped him when he was writing his novels.
His death came as a great shock as it was sudden though not unsurprising given his life health.
So that was how he found himself living in a lovely Victorian Cottage in the quaint Downshire Village of Denmead.
It was a very tranquil place though not without its distractions.
From his study he could look out through the open French windows and across the expanse of lawn to a stand of ancient woodland, there was no fence to separate garden and wood the two just merged.
And on the other side of the wood was the hub of the village, the Green Oak, everyone seemed to go there at some point, either for a drink, the restaurant or the coffee suite.
Owen’s star was definitely in the ascendency after the success of his first Romantic novel “The Maiden Muse” but the change in the fortunes of his writing career were not universally well received, his publisher liked it, his new agent loved it, the bank manager was ecstatic about it but his mother was disappointed by it because she thought it was a bit girlie.
But it wasn’t just his writing career that was climbing high, so was his love life thanks to his muse and lover, Juliana Molesworth, who had brought his writers block to an end, and since she had become his muse he had become a writer of bodice ripping romances which had proved to be an occupation which suited him very well indeed.
And it suited him in many ways, but the main benefit was that he was able to work at home, so he had no tedious commute every day and his working day was flexible to the point that some days he didn’t write at all.
This afforded him the opportunity of playing a round of Golf during the working week when most people had their noses to the grindstone or even taking a day out to go fishing.
(Part 02)
But all the normally enjoyable pastimes that would ordinarily keep him entertained didn’t distract him for the time Juliana was away at University, but he poured all his love and longing into his second novel instead.
However as much as the time may have dragged, the time of his lonely exile did come to an end.
Juliana she returned from Abbottsford on Friday night with her parents as Owen was in Nettlefield at his publishers.
He spent Friday night in the Prince Royal Hotel hoping to relax and catch his breath, after all the frenetic activity of the day not to mention a long boozy lunch and the associated meetings and he was completely knackered and he was understandably looking forward to a good night’s sleep before Juliana’s return from University.
However there is a well-known saying about “the best laid plans”.
Things began to go wrong at about 2 am when the people in the room next door got drunk and started to trash the place.
Then after the night manager had dealt with the disturbance he just drifted off to sleep when a crack of thunder almost blew him out of bed and then the storm rumbled round for hours after that, making sleep nearly impossible, he would just doze off and then Boom, then things would calm down again and then Boom.
He gave up eventually because after the 9th or 10th time the fire alarm went off so he went downstairs and checked out and set off on the drive to Denmead.
When he got back to the village and went to his bed but he’d not been asleep more than an hour when he was woken from his slumber, not this time by drunks, thunder claps or fire alarms but by the persistent ringing of his mobile phone.
He reached a hand out from beneath the duvet and grabbed the phone
“Hello” he said sleepily and he was snapped awake by the sound of unrestrained tears coming from a distraught Juliana.
Once he had calmed her down sufficiently that she could speak and having determined no one had died he quickly washed and dressed and went out into the rainy morning and trudged the relatively short distance to her house.
She was still in tears when he arrived; though much calmer.
Her parents were both out at Stephenson’s Supermarket where they worked so she had to unload it all on him.
It took him about half an hour of soothing words to get her to the point where she could tell him what was wrong without bursting into tears again.
Ruth was returning to the University at Roehampton at the weekend in time for her final year although her first lecture was still two weeks away.
Juliana had worked her socks off all summer at the Green Oak pub in order to earn enough to enable her not to need to get another job in Abbottsford.
She already had a little job in the University Library, which although it didn’t pay well it fitted in perfectly with her studies, but she didn’t want to have to take another job as well.
She had calculated that with all the shifts she had done, on top of her future earnings from the library added to the meagre savings she had left from the previous year, she had sufficient to meet her needs and leave her enough to treat herself to a new laptop, her old one being on its last legs.
But when she had gone to the pub first thing that morning to pick up her wages she found that she had been under paid by the sum of £300.
(Part 03)
Juliana had worked her socks off all summer at the Green Oak pub in order to earn enough to enable her not to need to get another job in Abbottsford.
She already had a little job in the University Library, which although it didn’t pay well it fitted in perfectly with her studies, but she didn’t want to have to take another job as well.
She had calculated that with all the shifts she had done, on top of her future earnings from the library added to the meagre savings she had left from the previous year, she had sufficient to meet her needs and leave her enough to treat herself to a new laptop, her old one being on its last legs.
But when she had gone to the pub first thing that morning to pick up her wages she found that she had been under paid by the sum of £300.
Furthermore, even though it was the landlord’s mistake, he and his wife were on holiday and the manager was unable to make reparation until they returned.
All of this meant that after all the other out goings she wasn’t going to have enough to fund her new laptop until she was home next.
She really wanted that particular laptop but she said that she would just have to get something cheaper and gave a weak smile.
Owen managed to persuade her not to settle for less than she really wanted and just soldier on with what she had for a couple more months and as every cloud had a silver lining by the time she was ready to buy it would be at an even better price.
Juliana punched him for his sunny optimism but seemed happier with life.
He then offered to go into town with her and keep her company while she did her other shopping.
She gave him a hug and a kiss and said
“No that’s ok, I’m meeting mum for lunch”
When he left her at the door she was altogether happier, he on the other hand was less so.
In the meantime he walked briskly, through the now pouring rain, to the cottage and got in the car and drove into Finchbottom, he knew he could get there and back before Juliana returned to the village.
The reason for his sojourn was to purchase her a new laptop, printer and accessories so she would have them to take with her when she returned to University after the weekend.
Her parents would have done the same thing if they could have afforded it, but they couldn’t, they were nice hard working people and had no great wealth but considered themselves rich beyond measure because of what they did have.
The last thing he wanted to do was to step on their toes and steal their limelight so he planned that they would present it as a joint gift.
They were all going out for a meal that evening at the Leathern Bottle in Finchbottom but they were meeting first at the Molesworth’s so they could present it to her before they left for the restaurant.
He drove back to the village, and when he got indoors he called her dad Greg, he span him a line about getting it at a knock down price through a friend who used his staff discount.
Owen thought he wanted to believe him more than actually believing him but he was pleased his daughter was getting her laptop.
He repeatedly insisted on paying something towards it and Owen repeatedly declined his offer and in the end they compromised.
He would let Owen pay for the gift if he let him and Lavinia take Juliana back to University on Monday morning and they verbally shook on the deal.
He knew Juliana wouldn’t mind as they had already discussed the possibility.
Her parents struggled at times to reconcile themselves with the changing nature of their relationship, Greg in particular was feeling more than a little redundant.
It was undoubtedly the way of the world but it was hard for a father to take in and Juliana and he had no intention of exacerbating the situation.
(Part 04)
That evening he drove through the rain with the gifts in black sacks to keep them dry, and he arrived at the Molesworth household at the allotted time and was met by Greg who was standing by the open garage door.
This allowed them to smuggle Juliana’s gift into the house unseen through the internal door.
Lavinia was in the kitchen and indicated the coast was clear so he stepped in and placed the packages onto the counter.
As soon as his hands were free Lavinia kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly.
“Thank you Owen” she said, filling up, although he wasn’t sure what exactly she was thanking him for.
Was it for buying the laptop or letting them take Juliana to Abbottsford or for making their daughter happy.
It could have been any or all of the above.
He patted her on the back and she released her grip and turned away to wipe her eyes and Owen did the manly thing and shook hands with Greg.
A few minutes later Juliana came into the kitchen, looking as lovely as ever, to find the three of them standing in close order on one side of the room.
“Hello darling” she said as she walked over and kissed him
“I didn’t know you were here, I didn’t hear the doorbell”
Then she realised something was amiss
“Why are you all huddled over here?” she said suspiciously and tried to peer behind them.
“Well there is something we want to do before we leave for the restaurant” Gregory said falteringly
“Owen? Would you like to do the honours?”
“No Greg you have the floor, the honour is yours” he replied rather pompously.
“Well we know how disappointed you were this morning and also because we think you deserve it” her dad said proudly
“So we got you this as a going away present”
And with military precision and not unlike the red sea, they parted to reveal the brightly wrapped parcels.
“What’s all this?” she said
“Open them and you’ll find out” Owen said
So she set about the task and as she ripped off the paper her eyes widened with delight and she smiled broadly
“You shouldn’t have,” she said with a frown that lasted a Nano second and then she was smiling again.
Gregory and Lavinia were hugging as they watched their daughter’s joy, no doubt remembering long passed moments from her childhood, then Juliana hugged and kissed her parents and when she turned to Owen he was expecting the same treatment but instead she poked him, hard.
“As for you” she said sternly and poked him again “all that tosh you spouted this morning, “every cloud has a silver lining””
Another poke
“And all the time”
Poke
“You were planning this”
Another poke, and Owen nodded
“Pretty much” he confirmed and then he got his hug and kiss
“I love you,” she said
“Steady” he said you’ll make me blush
“I love you too”
That kind of set the tone for the rest of the evening and they had a lovely time.
Midway through the evening while her mum was in the loo and Greg had gone in search of the wine waiter he took the opportunity to tell her that her mum and dad would be taking her back to University and why he thought it was a good idea.
She leant over and kissed him on the lips
“I really do love you Owen Carrington,” she said
“And I really do love you too” he replied just at that moment her parents returned to the table and the moment was gone and it was such a great evening that he didn’t think of it again.
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, but our story begins in the East, or more precisely, 20 miles inland from Sharpington-By-Sea, equidistant between Finchbottom and Pepperstock Green, in the sprawling village of Denmead.
Owen Carrington’s Uncle Glyn died on New Year’s Day and left him his Cottage and a small cash sum, more than enough to keep him going for a few more years.
He left it to him because he felt they were kindred spirits, he wanted to be a writer himself but his father made him get a proper job, Owen really liked him and he was a great story teller, and it was his Uncles colourful tales that helped him when he was writing his novels.
His death came as a great shock as it was sudden though not unsurprising given his life health.
So that was how he found himself living in a lovely Victorian Cottage in the quaint Downshire Village of Denmead.
It was a very tranquil place though not without its distractions.
From his study he could look out through the open French windows and across the expanse of lawn to a stand of ancient woodland, there was no fence to separate garden and wood the two just merged.
And on the other side of the wood was the hub of the village, the Green Oak, everyone seemed to go there at some point, either for a drink, the restaurant or the coffee suite.
Owen’s star was definitely in the ascendency after the success of his first Romantic novel “The Maiden Muse” but the change in the fortunes of his writing career were not universally well received, his publisher liked it, his new agent loved it, the bank manager was ecstatic about it but his mother was disappointed by it because she thought it was a bit girlie.
But it wasn’t just his writing career that was climbing high, so was his love life thanks to his muse and lover, Juliana Molesworth, who had brought his writers block to an end, and since she had become his muse he had become a writer of bodice ripping romances which had proved to be an occupation which suited him very well indeed.
And it suited him in many ways, but the main benefit was that he was able to work at home, so he had no tedious commute every day and his working day was flexible to the point that some days he didn’t write at all.
This afforded him the opportunity of playing a round of Golf during the working week when most people had their noses to the grindstone or even taking a day out to go fishing.
(Part 02)
But all the normally enjoyable pastimes that would ordinarily keep him entertained didn’t distract him for the time Juliana was away at University, but he poured all his love and longing into his second novel instead.
However as much as the time may have dragged, the time of his lonely exile did come to an end.
Juliana she returned from Abbottsford on Friday night with her parents as Owen was in Nettlefield at his publishers.
He spent Friday night in the Prince Royal Hotel hoping to relax and catch his breath, after all the frenetic activity of the day not to mention a long boozy lunch and the associated meetings and he was completely knackered and he was understandably looking forward to a good night’s sleep before Juliana’s return from University.
However there is a well-known saying about “the best laid plans”.
Things began to go wrong at about 2 am when the people in the room next door got drunk and started to trash the place.
Then after the night manager had dealt with the disturbance he just drifted off to sleep when a crack of thunder almost blew him out of bed and then the storm rumbled round for hours after that, making sleep nearly impossible, he would just doze off and then Boom, then things would calm down again and then Boom.
He gave up eventually because after the 9th or 10th time the fire alarm went off so he went downstairs and checked out and set off on the drive to Denmead.
When he got back to the village and went to his bed but he’d not been asleep more than an hour when he was woken from his slumber, not this time by drunks, thunder claps or fire alarms but by the persistent ringing of his mobile phone.
He reached a hand out from beneath the duvet and grabbed the phone
“Hello” he said sleepily and he was snapped awake by the sound of unrestrained tears coming from a distraught Juliana.
Once he had calmed her down sufficiently that she could speak and having determined no one had died he quickly washed and dressed and went out into the rainy morning and trudged the relatively short distance to her house.
She was still in tears when he arrived; though much calmer.
Her parents were both out at Stephenson’s Supermarket where they worked so she had to unload it all on him.
It took him about half an hour of soothing words to get her to the point where she could tell him what was wrong without bursting into tears again.
Ruth was returning to the University at Roehampton at the weekend in time for her final year although her first lecture was still two weeks away.
Juliana had worked her socks off all summer at the Green Oak pub in order to earn enough to enable her not to need to get another job in Abbottsford.
She already had a little job in the University Library, which although it didn’t pay well it fitted in perfectly with her studies, but she didn’t want to have to take another job as well.
She had calculated that with all the shifts she had done, on top of her future earnings from the library added to the meagre savings she had left from the previous year, she had sufficient to meet her needs and leave her enough to treat herself to a new laptop, her old one being on its last legs.
But when she had gone to the pub first thing that morning to pick up her wages she found that she had been under paid by the sum of £300.
(Part 03)
Juliana had worked her socks off all summer at the Green Oak pub in order to earn enough to enable her not to need to get another job in Abbottsford.
She already had a little job in the University Library, which although it didn’t pay well it fitted in perfectly with her studies, but she didn’t want to have to take another job as well.
She had calculated that with all the shifts she had done, on top of her future earnings from the library added to the meagre savings she had left from the previous year, she had sufficient to meet her needs and leave her enough to treat herself to a new laptop, her old one being on its last legs.
But when she had gone to the pub first thing that morning to pick up her wages she found that she had been under paid by the sum of £300.
Furthermore, even though it was the landlord’s mistake, he and his wife were on holiday and the manager was unable to make reparation until they returned.
All of this meant that after all the other out goings she wasn’t going to have enough to fund her new laptop until she was home next.
She really wanted that particular laptop but she said that she would just have to get something cheaper and gave a weak smile.
Owen managed to persuade her not to settle for less than she really wanted and just soldier on with what she had for a couple more months and as every cloud had a silver lining by the time she was ready to buy it would be at an even better price.
Juliana punched him for his sunny optimism but seemed happier with life.
He then offered to go into town with her and keep her company while she did her other shopping.
She gave him a hug and a kiss and said
“No that’s ok, I’m meeting mum for lunch”
When he left her at the door she was altogether happier, he on the other hand was less so.
In the meantime he walked briskly, through the now pouring rain, to the cottage and got in the car and drove into Finchbottom, he knew he could get there and back before Juliana returned to the village.
The reason for his sojourn was to purchase her a new laptop, printer and accessories so she would have them to take with her when she returned to University after the weekend.
Her parents would have done the same thing if they could have afforded it, but they couldn’t, they were nice hard working people and had no great wealth but considered themselves rich beyond measure because of what they did have.
The last thing he wanted to do was to step on their toes and steal their limelight so he planned that they would present it as a joint gift.
They were all going out for a meal that evening at the Leathern Bottle in Finchbottom but they were meeting first at the Molesworth’s so they could present it to her before they left for the restaurant.
He drove back to the village, and when he got indoors he called her dad Greg, he span him a line about getting it at a knock down price through a friend who used his staff discount.
Owen thought he wanted to believe him more than actually believing him but he was pleased his daughter was getting her laptop.
He repeatedly insisted on paying something towards it and Owen repeatedly declined his offer and in the end they compromised.
He would let Owen pay for the gift if he let him and Lavinia take Juliana back to University on Monday morning and they verbally shook on the deal.
He knew Juliana wouldn’t mind as they had already discussed the possibility.
Her parents struggled at times to reconcile themselves with the changing nature of their relationship, Greg in particular was feeling more than a little redundant.
It was undoubtedly the way of the world but it was hard for a father to take in and Juliana and he had no intention of exacerbating the situation.
(Part 04)
That evening he drove through the rain with the gifts in black sacks to keep them dry, and he arrived at the Molesworth household at the allotted time and was met by Greg who was standing by the open garage door.
This allowed them to smuggle Juliana’s gift into the house unseen through the internal door.
Lavinia was in the kitchen and indicated the coast was clear so he stepped in and placed the packages onto the counter.
As soon as his hands were free Lavinia kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly.
“Thank you Owen” she said, filling up, although he wasn’t sure what exactly she was thanking him for.
Was it for buying the laptop or letting them take Juliana to Abbottsford or for making their daughter happy.
It could have been any or all of the above.
He patted her on the back and she released her grip and turned away to wipe her eyes and Owen did the manly thing and shook hands with Greg.
A few minutes later Juliana came into the kitchen, looking as lovely as ever, to find the three of them standing in close order on one side of the room.
“Hello darling” she said as she walked over and kissed him
“I didn’t know you were here, I didn’t hear the doorbell”
Then she realised something was amiss
“Why are you all huddled over here?” she said suspiciously and tried to peer behind them.
“Well there is something we want to do before we leave for the restaurant” Gregory said falteringly
“Owen? Would you like to do the honours?”
“No Greg you have the floor, the honour is yours” he replied rather pompously.
“Well we know how disappointed you were this morning and also because we think you deserve it” her dad said proudly
“So we got you this as a going away present”
And with military precision and not unlike the red sea, they parted to reveal the brightly wrapped parcels.
“What’s all this?” she said
“Open them and you’ll find out” Owen said
So she set about the task and as she ripped off the paper her eyes widened with delight and she smiled broadly
“You shouldn’t have,” she said with a frown that lasted a Nano second and then she was smiling again.
Gregory and Lavinia were hugging as they watched their daughter’s joy, no doubt remembering long passed moments from her childhood, then Juliana hugged and kissed her parents and when she turned to Owen he was expecting the same treatment but instead she poked him, hard.
“As for you” she said sternly and poked him again “all that tosh you spouted this morning, “every cloud has a silver lining””
Another poke
“And all the time”
Poke
“You were planning this”
Another poke, and Owen nodded
“Pretty much” he confirmed and then he got his hug and kiss
“I love you,” she said
“Steady” he said you’ll make me blush
“I love you too”
That kind of set the tone for the rest of the evening and they had a lovely time.
Midway through the evening while her mum was in the loo and Greg had gone in search of the wine waiter he took the opportunity to tell her that her mum and dad would be taking her back to University and why he thought it was a good idea.
She leant over and kissed him on the lips
“I really do love you Owen Carrington,” she said
“And I really do love you too” he replied just at that moment her parents returned to the table and the moment was gone and it was such a great evening that he didn’t think of it again.
Downshire Diary – (56) The Banks Wood Maiden
(Part 01)
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 which is where our story begins.
Andy Parish was born and raised on Nettle Green Farm which nestled on the lower slopes of the Tipton Hills in the lee of the Town of Nettlefield.
He was a tall lean man with a well-toned physique and a weathered complexion born out of a lifetime spent in the open air.
Andy had happy memories of the farm and nearby hamlet of Nettle Green but it became a cold and bitter place after his mother died so at the age of 19 he left the farm for University and never returned until his father died 9 years later.
He was always very close to his father but when Andy’s mother died he climbed inside a bottle and never came out, and the farm went to rack and ruin.
But despite their estrangement the farm was left to him, such as it was, so he gave up his job as a farm manager in Great Trottwood and returned to Nettle Green Farm to breathe new life into his old family home.
He had been back just over a month and had already employed a couple of labourers to do some general repairs about the place when he got an email from the local forestry authority in regard to Banks Wood, which was situated on the Northeast corner of the farm, and could he meet one of their tree surgeon in the wood at 10 am the next morning, he hit reply and typed an affirmative response.
As with the rest of the farm the woodlands had suffered due to neglect at his father’s hand so it was hardly a surprise that the forestry people were concerned about Banks Wood.
He walked up to the wood the next morning and when he got up there the happy memories of his childhood flooded back and he was lost in the thoughts of those happy days when he heard a voice behind him.
“Hello Andy”
He turned around to see that the voice belonged to an attractive looking woman, pretty face, blue eyes, soft shoulder length brown hair, 5ft 5 or 6, early twenties, nice figure, wearing a Hi-Viz vest over a t-shirt, knee length shorts, work boots and carrying a hard hat, whom he vaguely recognized.
“I’m sorry, I know that we’ve met but I can’t place you” he said
“Well that’s not very flattering” she said “Especially after I showed you my underwear in these very woods”
“Toni Henderson” he said
“Ah so you do remember me” she said with a giggle
“How could I forget” Andy said “White with little pink flowers if I’m not mistaken”
“My God you do remember” she said and blushed
“As I said hard to forget, young girl, pink petals, all very Freudian”
“I think I preferred it when you didn’t remember me” she said and laughed
“In your defense you were only seven” he said
(Part 02)
“I’m sorry, I know that we’ve met but I can’t place you” he said
“Well that’s not very flattering” she said “Especially after I showed you my underwear in these very woods”
“Toni Henderson” he said
“Ah so you do remember me” she said with a giggle
“How could I forget” Andy said “White with little pink flowers if I’m not mistaken”
“My God you do remember” she said and blushed
“As I said hard to forget, young girl, pink petals, all very Freudian”
“I think I preferred it when you didn’t remember me” she said and laughed
“In your defense you were only seven” he said
“I was older the last time we were in these woods though” Toni added
“There was no flashing involved on that occasion though” he pointed out
“There would have been if I’d had my way” she said “But you rebuffed my advances”
“I know but you were only just 15 and I was 19”
“That didn’t bother me” Toni retorted
“It wouldn’t have been right” he said “no matter how much I might have wanted to”
“You wanted to?” she asked with surprise
“Of course” he admitted
“I didn’t think you did” she remarked “I thought you didn’t fancy me”
“Even after the kiss?” he asked
Toni and Andy had been to the same house party in Nettlefield, although they didn’t go there together, but when it was all over they walked the mile or so back to Nettle Green together, she lived in the hamlet, on the other side of Banks Wood from the farm.
Even though it was a route she had taken a thousand times he wasn’t going to let her walk through the woods on her own after midnight so he offered to walk her home, which she accepted without question and that was because she planned to ambush him in the dark.
It happened when they were halfway through the wood when she pinned him against a tree and planted a kiss on him, a kiss which he reciprocated in spades.
A kiss which could easily have led to something else had he allowed himself to take advantage of the situation.
It was a long kiss, a hot kiss, a passionate kiss and overall a perfect kiss, a kiss against which every kiss that followed would be compared to.
“Ah the kiss” she said wistfully “That was some kiss”
“Yes it was” he agreed and then they both stood looking around, lost in remembrance of that night almost a decade before.
“We used to have a lot of fun in these woods when we were kids didn’t we” Andy said
“We did” she agreed and then they spent the next half an hour reminiscing.
“So why have you lured me into the woods today?” he asked “Are you planning on flashing your drawers again?”
“Definitely not” she said and laughed
“But you don’t deny that I have been lured here?” he asked suspiciously
“I have perfectly innocent intentions” she said
“So what are they?”
“Trees” she replied
(Part 03)
Toni worked for the forestry and managed the local woodland but they didn’t have control of it all, there was still about 10 percent of the local Woodlands in private ownership mainly on the Tipton side of the area and Nettle Green Farm had about 5 acres which had been badly neglected over the previous ten years of the farms decline.
The main concern being that there were a number of dead trees, one in particular was quite sizable and could, if it were to be allowed to fall unchecked, take a number of healthy trees with it.
Andy just stood back and admired Toni as she spoke with great knowledge and passion on the subject.
She was still as pretty as she always was, blue smiling eyes and soft brown hair dancing on her shoulders, he suspected that she would normally have it tied back when she was working, but he was pretty sure she wanted to make an impression.
“We’ll I’m happy for you to do whatever you need to do” he said
“That’s good to know” Toni retorted and smiled
They saw quite a lot of each other over the next couple of days as Toni and her team tackled the dead trees and on Sunday he took her for lunch at His Lordships Arms, which was a foody pub on the outskirts of Nettlefield.
It was a beautiful early summer’s day so they decided to walk the mile to the pub, he met her on the edge of Banks Wood and when she emerged wearing a floral summer dress she took his breath away.
In the weeks since they had met again they had settled into such an easy association so they chatted companionably as they walked and it occurred to him that the near decade that had passed felt more like ten days such was the easy conviviality between them.
The two of them enjoyed a pleasant lunch and several drinks and they walked hand in hand on the way back and as they neared Nettle Green she suggested
“We can take a shortcut through the wood”
“Oh no, you just want to get me in there so you can flash me your knickers again” he remarked
“Honestly, I have no intention of showing you my knickers” she promised “I’m not that kind of girl”
“Alright then” he said and she led him by the hand but after a few yards she ran off and shouted over her shoulder
“Come on old man try and keep up”
He stood smiling for a second and then ran after her and he eventually found her standing against a familiar tree looking very alluring.
And as he approached she smiled and said
“Do you recognise this tree?”
“Yes” he replied “this is the spot where you ambushed me 10 years ago”
“If you mean it’s the place where we shared the most perfect kiss I’ve ever had, then yes it is” she retorted
“Well I think we might be able to improve on it back at the farm” he suggested
“No, our first kiss for 10 years has to be in the wood, it must be in our wood” she replied “And it has to be by our tree”
And so more than nine years after that first special kiss in Banks Wood Andy kissed Toni, who had been in love with Andy since she was fifteen years old and she had all but given up any hope of getting him but that summer all her dreams came true and Toni got her man, the only man she had ever wanted as Andy pledged his love beneath her beloved tree.
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 which is where our story begins.
Andy Parish was born and raised on Nettle Green Farm which nestled on the lower slopes of the Tipton Hills in the lee of the Town of Nettlefield.
He was a tall lean man with a well-toned physique and a weathered complexion born out of a lifetime spent in the open air.
Andy had happy memories of the farm and nearby hamlet of Nettle Green but it became a cold and bitter place after his mother died so at the age of 19 he left the farm for University and never returned until his father died 9 years later.
He was always very close to his father but when Andy’s mother died he climbed inside a bottle and never came out, and the farm went to rack and ruin.
But despite their estrangement the farm was left to him, such as it was, so he gave up his job as a farm manager in Great Trottwood and returned to Nettle Green Farm to breathe new life into his old family home.
He had been back just over a month and had already employed a couple of labourers to do some general repairs about the place when he got an email from the local forestry authority in regard to Banks Wood, which was situated on the Northeast corner of the farm, and could he meet one of their tree surgeon in the wood at 10 am the next morning, he hit reply and typed an affirmative response.
As with the rest of the farm the woodlands had suffered due to neglect at his father’s hand so it was hardly a surprise that the forestry people were concerned about Banks Wood.
He walked up to the wood the next morning and when he got up there the happy memories of his childhood flooded back and he was lost in the thoughts of those happy days when he heard a voice behind him.
“Hello Andy”
He turned around to see that the voice belonged to an attractive looking woman, pretty face, blue eyes, soft shoulder length brown hair, 5ft 5 or 6, early twenties, nice figure, wearing a Hi-Viz vest over a t-shirt, knee length shorts, work boots and carrying a hard hat, whom he vaguely recognized.
“I’m sorry, I know that we’ve met but I can’t place you” he said
“Well that’s not very flattering” she said “Especially after I showed you my underwear in these very woods”
“Toni Henderson” he said
“Ah so you do remember me” she said with a giggle
“How could I forget” Andy said “White with little pink flowers if I’m not mistaken”
“My God you do remember” she said and blushed
“As I said hard to forget, young girl, pink petals, all very Freudian”
“I think I preferred it when you didn’t remember me” she said and laughed
“In your defense you were only seven” he said
(Part 02)
“I’m sorry, I know that we’ve met but I can’t place you” he said
“Well that’s not very flattering” she said “Especially after I showed you my underwear in these very woods”
“Toni Henderson” he said
“Ah so you do remember me” she said with a giggle
“How could I forget” Andy said “White with little pink flowers if I’m not mistaken”
“My God you do remember” she said and blushed
“As I said hard to forget, young girl, pink petals, all very Freudian”
“I think I preferred it when you didn’t remember me” she said and laughed
“In your defense you were only seven” he said
“I was older the last time we were in these woods though” Toni added
“There was no flashing involved on that occasion though” he pointed out
“There would have been if I’d had my way” she said “But you rebuffed my advances”
“I know but you were only just 15 and I was 19”
“That didn’t bother me” Toni retorted
“It wouldn’t have been right” he said “no matter how much I might have wanted to”
“You wanted to?” she asked with surprise
“Of course” he admitted
“I didn’t think you did” she remarked “I thought you didn’t fancy me”
“Even after the kiss?” he asked
Toni and Andy had been to the same house party in Nettlefield, although they didn’t go there together, but when it was all over they walked the mile or so back to Nettle Green together, she lived in the hamlet, on the other side of Banks Wood from the farm.
Even though it was a route she had taken a thousand times he wasn’t going to let her walk through the woods on her own after midnight so he offered to walk her home, which she accepted without question and that was because she planned to ambush him in the dark.
It happened when they were halfway through the wood when she pinned him against a tree and planted a kiss on him, a kiss which he reciprocated in spades.
A kiss which could easily have led to something else had he allowed himself to take advantage of the situation.
It was a long kiss, a hot kiss, a passionate kiss and overall a perfect kiss, a kiss against which every kiss that followed would be compared to.
“Ah the kiss” she said wistfully “That was some kiss”
“Yes it was” he agreed and then they both stood looking around, lost in remembrance of that night almost a decade before.
“We used to have a lot of fun in these woods when we were kids didn’t we” Andy said
“We did” she agreed and then they spent the next half an hour reminiscing.
“So why have you lured me into the woods today?” he asked “Are you planning on flashing your drawers again?”
“Definitely not” she said and laughed
“But you don’t deny that I have been lured here?” he asked suspiciously
“I have perfectly innocent intentions” she said
“So what are they?”
“Trees” she replied
(Part 03)
Toni worked for the forestry and managed the local woodland but they didn’t have control of it all, there was still about 10 percent of the local Woodlands in private ownership mainly on the Tipton side of the area and Nettle Green Farm had about 5 acres which had been badly neglected over the previous ten years of the farms decline.
The main concern being that there were a number of dead trees, one in particular was quite sizable and could, if it were to be allowed to fall unchecked, take a number of healthy trees with it.
Andy just stood back and admired Toni as she spoke with great knowledge and passion on the subject.
She was still as pretty as she always was, blue smiling eyes and soft brown hair dancing on her shoulders, he suspected that she would normally have it tied back when she was working, but he was pretty sure she wanted to make an impression.
“We’ll I’m happy for you to do whatever you need to do” he said
“That’s good to know” Toni retorted and smiled
They saw quite a lot of each other over the next couple of days as Toni and her team tackled the dead trees and on Sunday he took her for lunch at His Lordships Arms, which was a foody pub on the outskirts of Nettlefield.
It was a beautiful early summer’s day so they decided to walk the mile to the pub, he met her on the edge of Banks Wood and when she emerged wearing a floral summer dress she took his breath away.
In the weeks since they had met again they had settled into such an easy association so they chatted companionably as they walked and it occurred to him that the near decade that had passed felt more like ten days such was the easy conviviality between them.
The two of them enjoyed a pleasant lunch and several drinks and they walked hand in hand on the way back and as they neared Nettle Green she suggested
“We can take a shortcut through the wood”
“Oh no, you just want to get me in there so you can flash me your knickers again” he remarked
“Honestly, I have no intention of showing you my knickers” she promised “I’m not that kind of girl”
“Alright then” he said and she led him by the hand but after a few yards she ran off and shouted over her shoulder
“Come on old man try and keep up”
He stood smiling for a second and then ran after her and he eventually found her standing against a familiar tree looking very alluring.
And as he approached she smiled and said
“Do you recognise this tree?”
“Yes” he replied “this is the spot where you ambushed me 10 years ago”
“If you mean it’s the place where we shared the most perfect kiss I’ve ever had, then yes it is” she retorted
“Well I think we might be able to improve on it back at the farm” he suggested
“No, our first kiss for 10 years has to be in the wood, it must be in our wood” she replied “And it has to be by our tree”
And so more than nine years after that first special kiss in Banks Wood Andy kissed Toni, who had been in love with Andy since she was fifteen years old and she had all but given up any hope of getting him but that summer all her dreams came true and Toni got her man, the only man she had ever wanted as Andy pledged his love beneath her beloved tree.
Saturday, 20 May 2017
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (60) Christmas Came Early
(Part 01)
Twenty eight year old Paul Ingram was involved with an older woman, a forty year old woman to be precise, who was a beautiful unhappily married, soon to be divorced Carrington Chase educated woman, called Francesca Carrington-Webber.
Paul and Francesca both lived in the village of Forest Dean situated equidistant between Shallowfield and Childean, she lived in a huge house that backed onto the The Forest Ridge Golf Club, and coincidentally Paul worked for the Golf Club.
They became involved after three chance meetings, two on a train and the third more significant one was on the Promenade in Sharpington, where he came upon her small huddled figure on the bench ahead of him in some distress and after some tender moments of consolation lead to them making love in his caravan.
Since that night they had had a non-physical relationship and on the rare occasions that they managed to get to spend some time together they always made the most of it, sometimes they had to create opportunities and sometimes they just happened and sometimes one of them managed to surprise the other but the biggest surprise came on the Halloween weekend when she arrived at his caravan dressed as a witch and announced that not only was she divorcing her husband David but that she was staying the night.
But after that, on the rare occasions that they managed to get to spend the night together they always made the most of it, but most of the time they just stole a few hours here and there.
However in December, for a variety of reasons, several weeks had passed and they hadn’t been able to grab even a few minutes together.
In fact the first time he had seen her in a fortnight was on the day when he had driven over to Abbottsford to do a bit of Christmas shopping, which was when he bumped into Francesca coming out of a very expensive lingerie shop, Silk and Lace, in the Phoenix Shopping Centre.
“Hello darling” she said and air kissed him and then she spotted him looking at the designer carrier bag she was carrying.
“No you can’t look at them” she replied to his unasked question
“Ok I don’t mind seeing them on you, if you insist” he offered
“You’re incorrigible,” she said
“Is that a maybe?” he asked
Unmoved she shook her head disappointedly.
“The chance would be a fine thing anyway” she said quietly
“Have you got time for a coffee?”
“I do” he replied
They went into the Espresso Phoenix coffee house, a really nice one, not one of the chains, and he ordered the drinks as Francesca sat in the corner.
When he joined her he asked
“How about Saturday?”
“For what?” she asked innocently
“To show me your new underwear” he said
“No” she replied
“Why not?” he asked,
“I have to go to a dinner party at Mornington Manor”
She replied “but I don’t really want to go”
He looked at her with puzzlement and then said
“So don’t go, and let me spend the night doing all those things to you that fill your imagination when you’re alone”
That made her blush scarlet and avert her gaze but after a few moments she looked back at him and smiled.
“I have to go, I’m expected” she said but she reached under the table and held his hand
“But I want what you want”
“I understand” he said
“It will be soon though wont it?” she asked earnestly and held his hand tightly under the table.
“Yes” he replied
When they left the coffee house they air kissed and went their separate ways.
(Part 02)
Paul was working all day Saturday, so he wasn’t able to get away to the caravan in Sharpington, as he normally would, so he was at home in his flat and spent Saturday night watching a movie and drinking wine but at some point he leant back against the cushions and promptly fell asleep.
He woke up just after eleven o’clock, and he only woke up then because he needed a pee, so he got up and attended to the matter in hand.
When he finished answering his call of nature he was decidedly peckish so he went to the kitchen and made himself a snack.
Paul then returned to his sofa, restarted the movie he had begun watching four hours earlier and sat eating cheese and biscuits’ as he watched Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood taking on the Nazis.
At the end of the film he was still wide-awake so he got up and chose another DVD off the shelf.
He was about a quarter of the way through “The Fifth Element” when he detected the tell-tale clip clop sound of a woman in high heels from outside in the corridor.
He glanced at the clock and thought it must be his neighbour Elaine arriving home from somewhere so he returned his attention back to the action.
A moment later there was a knock on the front door and he checked the clock again before he got up and walked out into the hall, he guessed that Elaine had locked herself out and was knocking for the spare key.
So he opened the door and to his surprise a rather tipsy Francesca almost fell through it.
“Hello Paulie” she said with a flourish.
Francesca was immaculately dressed as usual in a full length green halter necked designer evening dress and a lavish faux fur shrug.
“Wow” he said, “you look stunning”
“Bless you darling” she responded
“You had a nice time then” he said as he helped her into the house.
“I had a wonderful time” she exclaimed
She tottered a few steps then kicked off her shoes, which made her a little more stable on her feet, and then she quickly progressed into the lounge.
All the while talking nine to the dozen about how marvelous the evening was, who was there, what they ate, who said what, and to who.
“And plenty of wine” he asked as she plopped down on the sofa.
“I did,” she said smiling and giggling
“I’m glad you had fun” he said
“Me too” she said coyly
“Good” Paul said as he sat down next to her
“So what are you doing here then?”
“Well I saw your lights were still on from the taxi and I thought I’d come and tell you all about my evening” she explained.
“Why were you in a taxi?” he asked, “I thought you went there with the Conway’s”
“I did” Francesca said
“So why didn’t you come back with them?” he asked
“They left early” she said
“Could no one else give you a lift?” he asked
“David someone offered” she replied
“So why didn’t you accept?”
“What kind of a woman do you think I am? I couldn’t get in a car with a complete stranger” she said affronted
“You weren’t that discerning with me” he said
“That’s different” she said “with you it doesn’t really count because you’re such a tart”
The statement caused her to roar with laughter to such an extent that she ended up collapsing in a heap with her head and shoulders on his lap.
“You’re my bit of rough” she said and then she disintegrated into laughter again.
“So you decided not to have David drive you home” he said
“It would have been cruel to tantalize him with my gorgeousness for the whole journey only to dash his hopes” she said
(Part 03)
“So you decided not to have David drive you home” he said
“It would have been cruel to tantalize him with my gorgeousness for the whole journey only to dash his hopes” she said
This bought about another burst of laughter and when she eventually composed herself she was laying at full stretch on her back looking up at Paul
“Do you still think I’m gorgeous?” she asked, regally draped before him.
“Quite gorgeous” he conceded
“Well quite gorgeous won’t get you a look at the new underwear I bought in Abbottsford the other day” she said
“I bet it does,” he said as he slowly moved his right hand, which had been resting on her chuckling belly, up to caress the roundness of her breast.
“Well maybe” Francesca murmured as she tipped her head back and closed her eyes and then he began tickling her and she was giggling so much she could barely breathe and Francesca wriggled and squirmed beneath his gaze.
But when she got control, Francesca suddenly sat bolt upright and she squealed frantically
“Ok, I’ll let you see my knickers”
And then she pulled herself up so she was seated on his lap and kissed him, he loved kissing her, he thought she was such a great kisser, the best in his experience.
The quality of a kiss is difficult to define and it is like many other things of a sexual nature, which is dependent on the perspective of the participants.
With kissing it can be the thickness of the lips, the width of the mouth, the size of the tongue, the size of the oral cavity and the amount of saliva produced.
For Paul, Francesca scored highly on every criterion and as she kissed him, he thought he had died and gone to heaven.
Once they had finished she stood up and looked at him smugly and then took hold of his hand and she said.
“Now come and enjoy my gorgeousness”
Paul got to his feet and they kissed again and then he said
“Just one question before your deliciousness distracts me”
“What’s that darling” she retorted
“How are we going to get you out of here in the morning dressed like that, without anyone noticing?” Paul said
“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it darling” She purred
“I just might have to stay here with you all day, until I can leave again under the cover of darkness”
“That sounds like a wonderful plan” Paul said and walked her towards the bedroom and took Francesca off to bed and let her take him to paradise.
Christmas came early for Paul and Francesca as she did indeed stay with him until after dark on Sunday afternoon.
She would have stayed longer but she had to get back for the girls.
Getting her out of the flat unnoticed was less of a problem than either of them anticipated as he had a draw full of his sisters clothes in the spare room and they fitted his lover well enough and as he walked her home across the golf course they were aided in their stealth by some well-timed freezing fog.
Twenty eight year old Paul Ingram was involved with an older woman, a forty year old woman to be precise, who was a beautiful unhappily married, soon to be divorced Carrington Chase educated woman, called Francesca Carrington-Webber.
Paul and Francesca both lived in the village of Forest Dean situated equidistant between Shallowfield and Childean, she lived in a huge house that backed onto the The Forest Ridge Golf Club, and coincidentally Paul worked for the Golf Club.
They became involved after three chance meetings, two on a train and the third more significant one was on the Promenade in Sharpington, where he came upon her small huddled figure on the bench ahead of him in some distress and after some tender moments of consolation lead to them making love in his caravan.
Since that night they had had a non-physical relationship and on the rare occasions that they managed to get to spend some time together they always made the most of it, sometimes they had to create opportunities and sometimes they just happened and sometimes one of them managed to surprise the other but the biggest surprise came on the Halloween weekend when she arrived at his caravan dressed as a witch and announced that not only was she divorcing her husband David but that she was staying the night.
But after that, on the rare occasions that they managed to get to spend the night together they always made the most of it, but most of the time they just stole a few hours here and there.
However in December, for a variety of reasons, several weeks had passed and they hadn’t been able to grab even a few minutes together.
In fact the first time he had seen her in a fortnight was on the day when he had driven over to Abbottsford to do a bit of Christmas shopping, which was when he bumped into Francesca coming out of a very expensive lingerie shop, Silk and Lace, in the Phoenix Shopping Centre.
“Hello darling” she said and air kissed him and then she spotted him looking at the designer carrier bag she was carrying.
“No you can’t look at them” she replied to his unasked question
“Ok I don’t mind seeing them on you, if you insist” he offered
“You’re incorrigible,” she said
“Is that a maybe?” he asked
Unmoved she shook her head disappointedly.
“The chance would be a fine thing anyway” she said quietly
“Have you got time for a coffee?”
“I do” he replied
They went into the Espresso Phoenix coffee house, a really nice one, not one of the chains, and he ordered the drinks as Francesca sat in the corner.
When he joined her he asked
“How about Saturday?”
“For what?” she asked innocently
“To show me your new underwear” he said
“No” she replied
“Why not?” he asked,
“I have to go to a dinner party at Mornington Manor”
She replied “but I don’t really want to go”
He looked at her with puzzlement and then said
“So don’t go, and let me spend the night doing all those things to you that fill your imagination when you’re alone”
That made her blush scarlet and avert her gaze but after a few moments she looked back at him and smiled.
“I have to go, I’m expected” she said but she reached under the table and held his hand
“But I want what you want”
“I understand” he said
“It will be soon though wont it?” she asked earnestly and held his hand tightly under the table.
“Yes” he replied
When they left the coffee house they air kissed and went their separate ways.
(Part 02)
Paul was working all day Saturday, so he wasn’t able to get away to the caravan in Sharpington, as he normally would, so he was at home in his flat and spent Saturday night watching a movie and drinking wine but at some point he leant back against the cushions and promptly fell asleep.
He woke up just after eleven o’clock, and he only woke up then because he needed a pee, so he got up and attended to the matter in hand.
When he finished answering his call of nature he was decidedly peckish so he went to the kitchen and made himself a snack.
Paul then returned to his sofa, restarted the movie he had begun watching four hours earlier and sat eating cheese and biscuits’ as he watched Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood taking on the Nazis.
At the end of the film he was still wide-awake so he got up and chose another DVD off the shelf.
He was about a quarter of the way through “The Fifth Element” when he detected the tell-tale clip clop sound of a woman in high heels from outside in the corridor.
He glanced at the clock and thought it must be his neighbour Elaine arriving home from somewhere so he returned his attention back to the action.
A moment later there was a knock on the front door and he checked the clock again before he got up and walked out into the hall, he guessed that Elaine had locked herself out and was knocking for the spare key.
So he opened the door and to his surprise a rather tipsy Francesca almost fell through it.
“Hello Paulie” she said with a flourish.
Francesca was immaculately dressed as usual in a full length green halter necked designer evening dress and a lavish faux fur shrug.
“Wow” he said, “you look stunning”
“Bless you darling” she responded
“You had a nice time then” he said as he helped her into the house.
“I had a wonderful time” she exclaimed
She tottered a few steps then kicked off her shoes, which made her a little more stable on her feet, and then she quickly progressed into the lounge.
All the while talking nine to the dozen about how marvelous the evening was, who was there, what they ate, who said what, and to who.
“And plenty of wine” he asked as she plopped down on the sofa.
“I did,” she said smiling and giggling
“I’m glad you had fun” he said
“Me too” she said coyly
“Good” Paul said as he sat down next to her
“So what are you doing here then?”
“Well I saw your lights were still on from the taxi and I thought I’d come and tell you all about my evening” she explained.
“Why were you in a taxi?” he asked, “I thought you went there with the Conway’s”
“I did” Francesca said
“So why didn’t you come back with them?” he asked
“They left early” she said
“Could no one else give you a lift?” he asked
“David someone offered” she replied
“So why didn’t you accept?”
“What kind of a woman do you think I am? I couldn’t get in a car with a complete stranger” she said affronted
“You weren’t that discerning with me” he said
“That’s different” she said “with you it doesn’t really count because you’re such a tart”
The statement caused her to roar with laughter to such an extent that she ended up collapsing in a heap with her head and shoulders on his lap.
“You’re my bit of rough” she said and then she disintegrated into laughter again.
“So you decided not to have David drive you home” he said
“It would have been cruel to tantalize him with my gorgeousness for the whole journey only to dash his hopes” she said
(Part 03)
“So you decided not to have David drive you home” he said
“It would have been cruel to tantalize him with my gorgeousness for the whole journey only to dash his hopes” she said
This bought about another burst of laughter and when she eventually composed herself she was laying at full stretch on her back looking up at Paul
“Do you still think I’m gorgeous?” she asked, regally draped before him.
“Quite gorgeous” he conceded
“Well quite gorgeous won’t get you a look at the new underwear I bought in Abbottsford the other day” she said
“I bet it does,” he said as he slowly moved his right hand, which had been resting on her chuckling belly, up to caress the roundness of her breast.
“Well maybe” Francesca murmured as she tipped her head back and closed her eyes and then he began tickling her and she was giggling so much she could barely breathe and Francesca wriggled and squirmed beneath his gaze.
But when she got control, Francesca suddenly sat bolt upright and she squealed frantically
“Ok, I’ll let you see my knickers”
And then she pulled herself up so she was seated on his lap and kissed him, he loved kissing her, he thought she was such a great kisser, the best in his experience.
The quality of a kiss is difficult to define and it is like many other things of a sexual nature, which is dependent on the perspective of the participants.
With kissing it can be the thickness of the lips, the width of the mouth, the size of the tongue, the size of the oral cavity and the amount of saliva produced.
For Paul, Francesca scored highly on every criterion and as she kissed him, he thought he had died and gone to heaven.
Once they had finished she stood up and looked at him smugly and then took hold of his hand and she said.
“Now come and enjoy my gorgeousness”
Paul got to his feet and they kissed again and then he said
“Just one question before your deliciousness distracts me”
“What’s that darling” she retorted
“How are we going to get you out of here in the morning dressed like that, without anyone noticing?” Paul said
“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it darling” She purred
“I just might have to stay here with you all day, until I can leave again under the cover of darkness”
“That sounds like a wonderful plan” Paul said and walked her towards the bedroom and took Francesca off to bed and let her take him to paradise.
Christmas came early for Paul and Francesca as she did indeed stay with him until after dark on Sunday afternoon.
She would have stayed longer but she had to get back for the girls.
Getting her out of the flat unnoticed was less of a problem than either of them anticipated as he had a draw full of his sisters clothes in the spare room and they fitted his lover well enough and as he walked her home across the golf course they were aided in their stealth by some well-timed freezing fog.
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (59) The Gentle Giant and the Kitchen Maid
(Part 01)
Aaron Keller was a great bear of a man, standing 6’ 6” tall, barrell chested with hands like shovels.
But he was brought to his knees by a skinny Little waif standind 4’ 11” by the name of Toni Kendall.
They were both in their mid twenties, both had flaming red hair but he was a gentle giant who barely spoke and she was a little livewire who never shut up.
The other thing that they had in common was more significant and that was the fact that they were in love, though neither of them knew that they were the recipient of that love.
Aaron couldn’t imagine that a beautiful little thing like Toni could ever be interested in him, and she thought he was probably looking for someone as quiet as him.
They both worked at Maxlin’s Holiday Camp in Sharpinghead, she was a chalet maid and he was a general handyman.
Aaron lived in Sharpinghead but Toni was from Finchbottom and as the summer season was coming to an end she was running out of time, if nothing happened between them they would go their separate ways and they would be unlikely to see each other again, but if she got her way, and got her man, she would stay on.
She had been following him around the camp for the whole summer in the hope that he would take her in his arms, but no matter how much she flirted with him the result was the same and she cursed his shyness.
Toni finally got her man when they were on what was known as mothball duties, closing down those chalet that would not be needed during the winter season, which meant a major clean and then all the furniture was sheeted.
Because she was so tiny she managed to enlist the help of the gentle giant with moving the furniture, though she was more than capable of doing it herself, because she was much stronger than she looked, she just used it as an excuse to get close to him.
But despite her managing to get Aaron to help her, it didn’t really help her in the way she wanted because she was such a chatterbox, so even if he could have found the words he wanted to use he would have struggled to get a word in edgeways.
However every thing came good in the end when They were on their fifth chalet and all was not going well for Toni as she was hoping he might have made a move on her by that stage, afterall they were alone and had been in very close proximity on many occasions.
She was also annoyed at her self because although she was a confident sparky girl she hadnt just come out with it and ask him out.
What Toni wanted though was for him to ask her but nothing happened so she decided that she had to make him get physical.
Toni started by undoing the braces on his overall as he picked things up and when he reatached that one she undid the other and so on and so fourth until he took action.
However she didn’t know when she started messing around quite how physical he would get.
But she wasn’t complaining when the gentle giant had her draped over his shoulder and he was playfully smaking her knicker clad buttocks while he watched the reflexion of his handywork in the mirror.
(Part 02)
Toni didn’t know when she started messing around with Aaron quite how physical he would get.
But she wasn’t complaining when the gentle giant had her draped over his shoulder and he was playfully smaking her knicker clad buttocks while he watched the reflexion of his handywork in the mirror.
However he only gave her another two strokes before Toni called a halt to proceedings.
“Put me down” she screamed “Put me down now”
“What’s wrong baby girl?” he said playfully “Have you had enough?”
“Just put me down” she insisted, and as he lowered her to the floor he cursed himself under his breath for going too far, but he couldn’t help it, he was really having fun.
“I’m sorry” he said when she was stood looking up at him “I went too far didn’t I?”
“Don’t be sorry” she snapped and pushed him backwards onto a chair “You haven’t gone far enough yet”
“Oh?” he responded as she inched towards him and when they were nose to nose she kissed him.
After that first time they couldn’t keep there hands off eachother and suffice is to say that she didn’t return home to Finchbottom and stayed on at Maxlin’s and the prospect of spending all winter kissing and canoodling kept them warm.
Though they didn’t have many opportunities for work time kissing and cuddling as they didn’t often work together but when they weren’t working they didn’t go out in the world much.
But halfway through the winter they got to work together again when they had to reopen some of the chalets they had mothballed earlier in the year in preparation of the Christmas season.
As they unlocked the first chalet Toni was wearing the usual Maxlin’s uniform, a blue denim skirt, a pale blue blouse and a white cardigan while Aaron had on his familiar Blue bib and brace overalls over a pale blue T-shirt.
“You realise that this is the chalet that you first kissed me in?” he said
“How could I forget” she replied wistfully but other than that she was uncharacteristically quiet.
“We don’t have time for that today” she insisted “We have a lot to do”
“That’s a shame” he said
“That’s as maybe” she replied curtly
The pair of them were making very good time and ploughed through the workload very well mainly because Toni wasn’t saying anything.
They decided to do one more chalet before lunch and were about half way through when Toni cursed
“Oh bugger”
“What’s up babe?” Aaron asked
“I’ve left my duster on the kitchen counter” she replied
“I’ll get it” he offered
“No it’s alright honey I can reach it through the hatch” she responded and opened the serving hatch.
She was on tiptoe reaching for the duster which was obviously just out of reach, so she boosted herself up so her belly was resting on the bottom of the hatch and her feet were off the ground.
Where Toni’s tiny body was draped over the hatch opening her pale blue knickers were on full display and he remembered the first time he’d seen her cute little fleshy cheeks visible below the hem of her denim skirt in those blue knickers and he couldn’t resist giving her a little love slap.
(Part 03)
Where Toni’s tiny body was draped over the hatch opening her pale blue knickers were on full display and he remembered the first time he’d seen her cute little fleshy cheeks visible below the hem of her denim skirt in those blue knickers and he couldn’t resist giving her a little love slap.
“What are you doing?” he heard her ask and then she added angrily “We don’t have time for any funny business”
“What’s the matter?” he said “you’re not yourself today”
“Why? Just because I won’t let you grope me when you feel like it” she said as she emerged from the hatch holding the duster.
“Oh pardon me, I wasn’t aware I was groping, I thought I was just playfully smacking the bum of the girl I love” he said and turned around to carry on with what he was doing
“What?” she said
“It doesn’t matter” he replied
“Oh yes it does, what did you say?” she insisted
“I said I was just playing” he said
“No, you said more than that” Toni said “What did you say exactly?”
Aaron frowned while he recapped in his head and then voiced it
“I said I was smacking the bum of the girl I love”
And the moment the words left his lips she was kissing them.
“You never said you loved me before” she said between kisses
“I was waiting for a more romantic moment” he said and she kissed him again
“That’s why I was sad, because I love you and I didn’t think that you felt the same” she said and began to cry
“Do you mean that you love me then?” he asked
“Of course I do” she said through the tears and thumped his barrel chest.
He scooped her up and stood her on the bed and said
“Just wait there”
Then he went and locked the door and drew the curtains.
“What are you doing?” she asked and he replied
“I’m giving us some privacy so I can make love to the girl I love”
After they had made love they had lost all the time they had made in the morning and were late for lunch and still hadn’t finished the chalet and on top of that the bed needed to be remade as well.
Aaron Keller was a great bear of a man, standing 6’ 6” tall, barrell chested with hands like shovels.
But he was brought to his knees by a skinny Little waif standind 4’ 11” by the name of Toni Kendall.
They were both in their mid twenties, both had flaming red hair but he was a gentle giant who barely spoke and she was a little livewire who never shut up.
The other thing that they had in common was more significant and that was the fact that they were in love, though neither of them knew that they were the recipient of that love.
Aaron couldn’t imagine that a beautiful little thing like Toni could ever be interested in him, and she thought he was probably looking for someone as quiet as him.
They both worked at Maxlin’s Holiday Camp in Sharpinghead, she was a chalet maid and he was a general handyman.
Aaron lived in Sharpinghead but Toni was from Finchbottom and as the summer season was coming to an end she was running out of time, if nothing happened between them they would go their separate ways and they would be unlikely to see each other again, but if she got her way, and got her man, she would stay on.
She had been following him around the camp for the whole summer in the hope that he would take her in his arms, but no matter how much she flirted with him the result was the same and she cursed his shyness.
Toni finally got her man when they were on what was known as mothball duties, closing down those chalet that would not be needed during the winter season, which meant a major clean and then all the furniture was sheeted.
Because she was so tiny she managed to enlist the help of the gentle giant with moving the furniture, though she was more than capable of doing it herself, because she was much stronger than she looked, she just used it as an excuse to get close to him.
But despite her managing to get Aaron to help her, it didn’t really help her in the way she wanted because she was such a chatterbox, so even if he could have found the words he wanted to use he would have struggled to get a word in edgeways.
However every thing came good in the end when They were on their fifth chalet and all was not going well for Toni as she was hoping he might have made a move on her by that stage, afterall they were alone and had been in very close proximity on many occasions.
She was also annoyed at her self because although she was a confident sparky girl she hadnt just come out with it and ask him out.
What Toni wanted though was for him to ask her but nothing happened so she decided that she had to make him get physical.
Toni started by undoing the braces on his overall as he picked things up and when he reatached that one she undid the other and so on and so fourth until he took action.
However she didn’t know when she started messing around quite how physical he would get.
But she wasn’t complaining when the gentle giant had her draped over his shoulder and he was playfully smaking her knicker clad buttocks while he watched the reflexion of his handywork in the mirror.
(Part 02)
Toni didn’t know when she started messing around with Aaron quite how physical he would get.
But she wasn’t complaining when the gentle giant had her draped over his shoulder and he was playfully smaking her knicker clad buttocks while he watched the reflexion of his handywork in the mirror.
However he only gave her another two strokes before Toni called a halt to proceedings.
“Put me down” she screamed “Put me down now”
“What’s wrong baby girl?” he said playfully “Have you had enough?”
“Just put me down” she insisted, and as he lowered her to the floor he cursed himself under his breath for going too far, but he couldn’t help it, he was really having fun.
“I’m sorry” he said when she was stood looking up at him “I went too far didn’t I?”
“Don’t be sorry” she snapped and pushed him backwards onto a chair “You haven’t gone far enough yet”
“Oh?” he responded as she inched towards him and when they were nose to nose she kissed him.
After that first time they couldn’t keep there hands off eachother and suffice is to say that she didn’t return home to Finchbottom and stayed on at Maxlin’s and the prospect of spending all winter kissing and canoodling kept them warm.
Though they didn’t have many opportunities for work time kissing and cuddling as they didn’t often work together but when they weren’t working they didn’t go out in the world much.
But halfway through the winter they got to work together again when they had to reopen some of the chalets they had mothballed earlier in the year in preparation of the Christmas season.
As they unlocked the first chalet Toni was wearing the usual Maxlin’s uniform, a blue denim skirt, a pale blue blouse and a white cardigan while Aaron had on his familiar Blue bib and brace overalls over a pale blue T-shirt.
“You realise that this is the chalet that you first kissed me in?” he said
“How could I forget” she replied wistfully but other than that she was uncharacteristically quiet.
“We don’t have time for that today” she insisted “We have a lot to do”
“That’s a shame” he said
“That’s as maybe” she replied curtly
The pair of them were making very good time and ploughed through the workload very well mainly because Toni wasn’t saying anything.
They decided to do one more chalet before lunch and were about half way through when Toni cursed
“Oh bugger”
“What’s up babe?” Aaron asked
“I’ve left my duster on the kitchen counter” she replied
“I’ll get it” he offered
“No it’s alright honey I can reach it through the hatch” she responded and opened the serving hatch.
She was on tiptoe reaching for the duster which was obviously just out of reach, so she boosted herself up so her belly was resting on the bottom of the hatch and her feet were off the ground.
Where Toni’s tiny body was draped over the hatch opening her pale blue knickers were on full display and he remembered the first time he’d seen her cute little fleshy cheeks visible below the hem of her denim skirt in those blue knickers and he couldn’t resist giving her a little love slap.
(Part 03)
Where Toni’s tiny body was draped over the hatch opening her pale blue knickers were on full display and he remembered the first time he’d seen her cute little fleshy cheeks visible below the hem of her denim skirt in those blue knickers and he couldn’t resist giving her a little love slap.
“What are you doing?” he heard her ask and then she added angrily “We don’t have time for any funny business”
“What’s the matter?” he said “you’re not yourself today”
“Why? Just because I won’t let you grope me when you feel like it” she said as she emerged from the hatch holding the duster.
“Oh pardon me, I wasn’t aware I was groping, I thought I was just playfully smacking the bum of the girl I love” he said and turned around to carry on with what he was doing
“What?” she said
“It doesn’t matter” he replied
“Oh yes it does, what did you say?” she insisted
“I said I was just playing” he said
“No, you said more than that” Toni said “What did you say exactly?”
Aaron frowned while he recapped in his head and then voiced it
“I said I was smacking the bum of the girl I love”
And the moment the words left his lips she was kissing them.
“You never said you loved me before” she said between kisses
“I was waiting for a more romantic moment” he said and she kissed him again
“That’s why I was sad, because I love you and I didn’t think that you felt the same” she said and began to cry
“Do you mean that you love me then?” he asked
“Of course I do” she said through the tears and thumped his barrel chest.
He scooped her up and stood her on the bed and said
“Just wait there”
Then he went and locked the door and drew the curtains.
“What are you doing?” she asked and he replied
“I’m giving us some privacy so I can make love to the girl I love”
After they had made love they had lost all the time they had made in the morning and were late for lunch and still hadn’t finished the chalet and on top of that the bed needed to be remade as well.
Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (58) Halloween Surprise
(Part 01)
Twenty eight year old Paul Ingram was involved with an older woman, a forty year old woman to be precise, who was a beautiful unhappily married, Carrington Chase educated woman called, Francesca Carrington-Webber.
Paul and Francesca both lived in the village of Forest Dean situated equidistant between Shallowfield and Childean, she lived in a huge house that backed onto the The Forest Ridge Golf Club, and coincidentally Paul worked for the Golf Club.
They became involved after three chance meetings, two on a train and the third more significant one was on the Promenade in Sharpington, where he came upon her small huddled figure on the bench ahead of him in some distress and after some tender moments of consolation lead to them making love in his caravan.
Since that night they had had a non-physical relationship and on the rare occasions that they managed to get to spend some time together they always made the most of it, sometimes they had to create opportunities and sometimes they just happened and sometimes one of them managed to surprise the other but the biggest surprise came on the Halloween weekend.
Francesca had been invited to the Lutchford’s Annual Halloween party up at their home, Forest Lodge, on Teardrop Lake.
Peter Lutchford was a renowned film director and producer and had his own production company, Teardrop Productions, and his wife Claire was the senior partner at The Dancingdean Health Centre.
It was a great privilege to get an invite to the Lutchford’s and so no one ever turned it down.
So with little chance of grabbing even five minutes with Francesca Paul decided to spend the Halloween weekend in Sharpington in his caravan at Whitecliff Hill.
He wasn’t big on Halloween, it was not his favourite holiday time.
He would have preferred to have spent the evening with the love of his life but that wasn’t an option.
So he spent part of the day in Sharpington and then as darkness fell the temperature dropped like a stone he returned to the caravan with a fish and chip supper and once inside he drew the curtains and turned on the fire.
Then he settled down with his supper on his lap and watched TV.
When he’d finished eating and cleared away he found he wasn’t getting any warmer so he decided to have a hot shower.
It was about an hour later as he was coming out of the bedroom wearing his fleecy dressing gown that there was a knock on the door.
He had no idea who it might be, he certainly wasn’t expecting anyone, he just hoped it wasn’t trick or treaters.
When he opened the door his heart sank and his worse fears were realised when he saw a woman dressed as a witch, but on closer inspection he was surprised to see it was Francesca standing on his doorstep.
“Hello” he said with genuine surprise
“Hello Darling” Francesca said, “Can I come in? It’s bloody freezing”
(Part 02)
“Hello” he said with genuine surprise
“Hello Darling” Francesca said, “Can I come in? It’s bloody freezing”
“Of course” he said fussily “come in, come in”
Francesca stepped inside and he closed the door behind her and he watched her walk by and he thought she looked absolutely gorgeous in her witch’s outfit, all black except for the white stripes on her socks and the red laces in her high-heeled ankle boots.
“Have you come to give me a trick or a treat?”
“Well you’ll have to be the judge of that” she replied and took off her witch’s hat and threw it on the floor before the little witch kissed him and he took her in his arms.
“This is a nice surprise” he said “I thought you were going to the fancy dress party”
“I know” Francesca said as she sat down “I was going to the party but…”
“But?” he asked
“I couldn’t face everyone quizzing me about David”
“About what?” he asked and Francesca took a deep breath
“I’ve asked for a divorce, and he’s gone” she replied, “And I don’t want him back because I’m moving on”
“I’m sorry,” he said inadequately, although inside he wasn’t sorry at all
“I’m not” she said surprisingly “though it’s your fault”
“Then I should be sorry,” he admitted
“No you shouldn’t, you opened my eyes and showed me that I’m still an attractive woman, still a sexy woman, David didn’t appreciate that, and I need to be with someone who sees me the way that you do”
“Am I allowed to be pleased?” he asked hopefully
“Yes” she replied “but that doesn’t mean I’m going to shack up with you, even though that would be nice, but I have to think of the children”
“I understand” Paul said
“So that’s why I couldn’t face the party” Francesca said and smiled
“Well you’re more than welcome to while away the evening here” he said
“Well thank you kind sir” Francesca said “I could murder a drink”
Paul walked to the kitchen are and opened the fridge and took out an open bottle of wine.
“Is wine ok?” he asked
“Yes please” she replied
So he took two large wine glasses from the cupboard and filled them both with wine.
When he walked back to the seating area Francesca stood up and walked towards him.
He expected her to take a wine glass from his hand but instead she walked between his outstretched hands and kissed him.
As they were in the middle of the room he couldn’t put the drinks down so he could wrap his arms around her.
He was quite happy to be stood in the middle of the room being passionately kissed but he was interested to know where it was going so when she came up for air he asked
“So what exactly does your divorce mean for us?”
“Well” she replied as she took the glasses from him and put them on the table
“It means you can buy me breakfast in the morning”
And before he could respond she was kissing him again.
Twenty eight year old Paul Ingram was involved with an older woman, a forty year old woman to be precise, who was a beautiful unhappily married, Carrington Chase educated woman called, Francesca Carrington-Webber.
Paul and Francesca both lived in the village of Forest Dean situated equidistant between Shallowfield and Childean, she lived in a huge house that backed onto the The Forest Ridge Golf Club, and coincidentally Paul worked for the Golf Club.
They became involved after three chance meetings, two on a train and the third more significant one was on the Promenade in Sharpington, where he came upon her small huddled figure on the bench ahead of him in some distress and after some tender moments of consolation lead to them making love in his caravan.
Since that night they had had a non-physical relationship and on the rare occasions that they managed to get to spend some time together they always made the most of it, sometimes they had to create opportunities and sometimes they just happened and sometimes one of them managed to surprise the other but the biggest surprise came on the Halloween weekend.
Francesca had been invited to the Lutchford’s Annual Halloween party up at their home, Forest Lodge, on Teardrop Lake.
Peter Lutchford was a renowned film director and producer and had his own production company, Teardrop Productions, and his wife Claire was the senior partner at The Dancingdean Health Centre.
It was a great privilege to get an invite to the Lutchford’s and so no one ever turned it down.
So with little chance of grabbing even five minutes with Francesca Paul decided to spend the Halloween weekend in Sharpington in his caravan at Whitecliff Hill.
He wasn’t big on Halloween, it was not his favourite holiday time.
He would have preferred to have spent the evening with the love of his life but that wasn’t an option.
So he spent part of the day in Sharpington and then as darkness fell the temperature dropped like a stone he returned to the caravan with a fish and chip supper and once inside he drew the curtains and turned on the fire.
Then he settled down with his supper on his lap and watched TV.
When he’d finished eating and cleared away he found he wasn’t getting any warmer so he decided to have a hot shower.
It was about an hour later as he was coming out of the bedroom wearing his fleecy dressing gown that there was a knock on the door.
He had no idea who it might be, he certainly wasn’t expecting anyone, he just hoped it wasn’t trick or treaters.
When he opened the door his heart sank and his worse fears were realised when he saw a woman dressed as a witch, but on closer inspection he was surprised to see it was Francesca standing on his doorstep.
“Hello” he said with genuine surprise
“Hello Darling” Francesca said, “Can I come in? It’s bloody freezing”
(Part 02)
“Hello” he said with genuine surprise
“Hello Darling” Francesca said, “Can I come in? It’s bloody freezing”
“Of course” he said fussily “come in, come in”
Francesca stepped inside and he closed the door behind her and he watched her walk by and he thought she looked absolutely gorgeous in her witch’s outfit, all black except for the white stripes on her socks and the red laces in her high-heeled ankle boots.
“Have you come to give me a trick or a treat?”
“Well you’ll have to be the judge of that” she replied and took off her witch’s hat and threw it on the floor before the little witch kissed him and he took her in his arms.
“This is a nice surprise” he said “I thought you were going to the fancy dress party”
“I know” Francesca said as she sat down “I was going to the party but…”
“But?” he asked
“I couldn’t face everyone quizzing me about David”
“About what?” he asked and Francesca took a deep breath
“I’ve asked for a divorce, and he’s gone” she replied, “And I don’t want him back because I’m moving on”
“I’m sorry,” he said inadequately, although inside he wasn’t sorry at all
“I’m not” she said surprisingly “though it’s your fault”
“Then I should be sorry,” he admitted
“No you shouldn’t, you opened my eyes and showed me that I’m still an attractive woman, still a sexy woman, David didn’t appreciate that, and I need to be with someone who sees me the way that you do”
“Am I allowed to be pleased?” he asked hopefully
“Yes” she replied “but that doesn’t mean I’m going to shack up with you, even though that would be nice, but I have to think of the children”
“I understand” Paul said
“So that’s why I couldn’t face the party” Francesca said and smiled
“Well you’re more than welcome to while away the evening here” he said
“Well thank you kind sir” Francesca said “I could murder a drink”
Paul walked to the kitchen are and opened the fridge and took out an open bottle of wine.
“Is wine ok?” he asked
“Yes please” she replied
So he took two large wine glasses from the cupboard and filled them both with wine.
When he walked back to the seating area Francesca stood up and walked towards him.
He expected her to take a wine glass from his hand but instead she walked between his outstretched hands and kissed him.
As they were in the middle of the room he couldn’t put the drinks down so he could wrap his arms around her.
He was quite happy to be stood in the middle of the room being passionately kissed but he was interested to know where it was going so when she came up for air he asked
“So what exactly does your divorce mean for us?”
“Well” she replied as she took the glasses from him and put them on the table
“It means you can buy me breakfast in the morning”
And before he could respond she was kissing him again.
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