Spy Games

by Jillian Boyd

  He brought one hand round and brushed against her clit with his thumb. He circled it round and round, caressing with a feather-light touch. She felt herself turning to jelly, unable to do anything other than allow him to wind her tighter and tighter. The sensations made her clench against his cock as it dipped in and out, and as she tipped her head back to welcome her orgasm, he pulled her down hard onto his shaft. His cock filled her and she clamped around it as wave after wave of blissful contractions shuddered up and down her body.

  Ciara collapsed forwards like a rag doll, exhausted by Ben’s ministrations, but he was not done with her. Rolling round across the huge bed, he flipped her onto her back and thrust deeply into her, pumping hard as he reached for his climax too. She reached round, digging her fingernails into his back, gripping on tightly as she came down from her own high. It spurred Ben on and he pushed a few last times before dropping himself down on her.

  He lay heavily on top of Ciara, smelling of sweat and sex. She breathed deeply a few times, mentally fixing the moment in her head, until she heard the sounds of a trolley in the corridor outside the suite.

  Shit! In her desperation for a kinky session with Ben she’d completely lost track of time and, more importantly, the job she was supposed to be doing. She pushed him over, and he lay back on the bed, a grin on his face. He looked to her like he was in a state of post-coital bliss and she jumped to her feet taking advantage of his stupor.

  “I... I’ve got to go. I’m so late, I hope they don’t fire me.” She hastily glanced round for her panties and stuffed them in her pocket before heading for the vacuum cleaner and all the evidence of her clandestine activities.

  Ben glanced at her. “Come back tomorrow and I’ll see whether you can make the bed better than you can dust.” He cocked an eyebrow to make his point and Ciara grimaced to herself. Of course he’d never see her again. The sexy session she’d just shared with him was an unexpected bonus of her job.

  She grabbed her equipment and dashed out the room. Unseen by Ben, she hooked the “do not disturb” sign on the outside of the door as she left. She didn’t want the real room service to knock on the door and rouse suspicion.

  ***

  Hours later Ciara sat in her hotel room. She stared at her laptop screen, tapping her fingers on the desk in frustration. She knew that sooner or later she’d see the data her current employer wanted: passwords and crucial financial figures from Ben’s newest potential investment. In the right hands, she’d been told, those figures were worth their weight in gold. Quite literally so.

  But now, her mind was a mess. She’d never met her mark on an assignment before. It was something she’d always planned to avoid, thinking she’d find it harder to carry out her job when she met the victim of her work. And after her session with Ben this morning, she’d realised that she’d been right. The problem was she liked him, and didn’t want to sell him out. Her contractor wasn’t a big supplier of work, but they had a strong network and she didn’t want to let them down. It could be disastrous for future contracts.

  She wiggled in her seat, still feeling the after-effects of the spanking she’d received earlier, a rosy bruising glow slowly permeating through her body. Brooding, she wondered what she should do. Ben seemed decent enough, investing in small start-ups when they couldn’t raise funding elsewhere, and he was definitely her type. Damn, I’m letting my groin rule again...

  Suddenly, her laptop screen leapt into life. Everything Ben typed appeared on-screen in plain text, captured by the software she was running. There were obvious login details, some basic trading statistics, a mention of an upcoming deal. Ciara sighed; it was time for her to decide what to do...

  She leant forward, frowning impatiently. It looked like Ben had jumped into an online chat with somebody. She waited as the words appeared on-screen. He was talking about their encounter. Phrases jumped out at her, making her head swim. “...silly little maid...yeah, course I used protection...ha, I kept her going for hours mate...”

  Ciara sat back, lips pursed and eyes narrowed; there had been no choice to make. It had been her mistake to not stay impartial, and she had nearly lost a lot of money because of the arrogant son of a bitch. Her cheeks flushed with being made to feel like a fool, and taking a second to clear her head, she dialled a pre-programmed number in her phone. “Hi, it’s me. Yes I have the figures.” She clicked a few buttons on the keyboard. “I’m transmitting them to you now...”

  A Great Conspiracy of Spies

  Slave Nano

  Sir Francis Walsingham to Gilbert Gifford

  At Hampton Court, 10th March in the yeare of our Lord 1586

  Sir, I must write to advise you on the vital importance of your endeavour for the safety of our sovereign, Elizabeth, and the defence of the kingdom and its religion. The many plots and conspiracies, wherein the very security of the realm is threatened, are known to me. I hath no doubt that Mary, Queen of the Scots, is a threat to the stability of the commonweal and that, whilst she lives, her presence doth act as a rallying point for those who wouldst seek to overthrow her Majestie and return us back to Popery. It is known to me that, through secret counsels, she doth communicate with the agents of the princes of France and Spain and wouldst seek their support for any uprising of the Catholics that she and her supporters wouldst encourage.

  Her Majestie hath been advised of these threats and dangers by her counsellors. Notwithstanding this advice and the evidences that hath been presented to her of the threat from these rebels and traitors, in her wisdom, she is reluctant to act directly against her cousin both for fear of the principle of executing a sovereign monarch and also of the risk to her popularity if such action is taken without incontrovertible evidence of Mary’s guilt in such conspiracies against her Majestie’s person.

  My opinion is thus: the state and her Majestie will not be safe until Mary is permanently removed, and herein is the vital importance of your endeavour. I hath evidence of plots to rescue the Queen of the Scots from her confinement, but these do nothing to implicate Mary herself. I require you to infiltrate her household with the purpose of acquiring such information as will prove beyond doubt that she is implicated directly in those plots to assassinate her Majestie. Shouldst such evidences be unearthed, I believe her Majestie wouldst then be willing to enact the advice of her counsellors and take such decisive actions against Mary as are required to insure the stability of the realm.

  You will know from our earlier conversations that I act as her Majestie’s spymaster. It doth fall upon me to acquire, by whatever means necessary, such knowledge as wouldst be needed to protect her Majestie from these pernicious plots of the Papists against her person. Much of this you are acquainted with, sir, for you hath been party to such plots and are personally acquainted with some of those traitors in such conspiracies, which is why, with such confidences you have within Mary’s party, you hath been chosen as the ideal candidate for this expedition.

  I wouldst remind you of our conversation in London, following your arrest. I am your paymaster now and I shouldst not need to emphasise that I expect the necessary results from this expedition that wouldst prove beyond doubt Mary’s guilt in these conspiracies. I am sure I do not need to elaborate on the consequences of failure or betrayal in this exploit. You escaped the Tower once before by agreeing to turn spy for me; shouldst you fail now, you will not be so fortunate another time.

  To this end, with appropriate forged letters of introduction, I have arranged for you to be placed as a valet in the household of Mary, Queen of the Scots. She was transferred to Chartley Castle before the end of the year 1585 and therein is held in confinement under the guardianship of Sir Amias Paulet, a loyalist and Puritan, who doth loathe Mary’s Catholic faith. You must use your wiles, which I am assured from our acquaintance are many, to infiltrate the closest confidantes of Mary, with a view to securing letters or other evidences that doth prove her involv
ement in any plot to either assassinate her Majestie, invite the princes of either France or Spain to invade, or restore the Popish religion.

  I will leave it to your wits to decide by what means you will achieve this and expect my servant to report back at regular intervals as to the progress that hath been made.

  Yours, most assuredly, Sir Francis Walsingham.

  Gilbert Gifford to Sir Francis Walsingham

  At Chartley Castle, 15th March in the yeare of our Lord 1586

  Your Honour, let me assure you of my utmost loyalty in these proceedings. If it may please your Honour, I write to make a report as to the progress of my investigations.

  It doth please me to report my journey to Staffordshire was most satisfactory. Your Honour’s choice of Chartley Castle as a place of confinement for the Queen of the Scots is a most favourable one. The site is isolated, far removed from any centres of population or escape via the sea and the castle itself is moated and secure. I hath not acquainted Sir Amias Paulet of my mission or of the information I am your creature in his castle, yet I canst see he is most zealous in the supervision of his prisoner. The quarters of the Queen of the Scots are commodious and she has a full retinue of her secretaries, ladies-in-waiting and household staff, as befitting her standing and the respect shown her by our most beloved Majestie.

  It is known to me, both from my earlier acquaintances and from such confidences as I hath been able to extract whilst residing here at Chartley, that Mary is in communication with John Ballard, who is a Popish priest and agent of the Catholic Church. This notorious rebel is a known initiator of plots against her Majestie and, to this pernicious end, hath been in communication with foreign powers to secure their support in the event of an insurrection. This John Ballard is also known to have recruited Sir Anthony Babington to rally the Catholics in the North of England and one John Savage, a traitorous ex-soldier who hath been recruited as part of this plot, to assassinate her Majestie. It is known to me that, as recently as this month of March, John Ballard hath been in England and met with this John Savage to further their vile schemes. Furthermore, there are other conspirators who are party to this plot whose names are known to me. I trust these informations are of value to your Honour.

  I hath not been able to work my way into Mary’s inner circle and thus, as yet, do not have ready access to her living quarters to further my investigations or the opportunity to search her belongings for such writings as would incriminate her in the above plot. Nonetheless, your honour, I do believe I have found a means of access to her, which I hope will suffice.

  You hath advised me I shouldst use whatever means necessary to continue the pursuit of my investigations and no doubt your honour doth appreciate the tools of the spy are both multifarious and wily. For, your Honour, there is no better spy than one who wouldst act out of love, for a person in this felicitous state will take such risks that a more cautious spy dare not. Let me elucidate; I have secured the attachment of a girl who is close to Mary. This girl, who doth go by the name Anne Bennett, is one of the Queen of the Scots’s ladies in waiting and a trusted confidante of Mary, as close to her as any that doth serve in her household.

  I will explain in more detail the nature of this liaison so your Honour can be assured of its potential to expose these heinous plots. I didst have the opportunity to partake of some dancing in the great hall to which certain members of Mary’s household, including this Anne Bennett, didst frequent. I didst first espy her from across the hall and immediately recognise her as one of the ladies in waiting that doth attend Mary. Most assuredly, she is a creature of great poise and beauty; her complexion lilywhite and her bosom most fulsome. Our eyes didst meet from across the hall. I couldst see she was drawn to me, which I must confess was of no surprise, as I am assuredly most attractive to women and, being dressed handsomely, wouldst have appeared a most dashing figure.

  Therefore I took it upon myself to introduce myself to this girl and immediately didst sense a mutual attraction. At close quarters she didst smell of exotic spices and her breast did swell and heave from under her dress. During the course of the evening, and under cover of the dances, we didst engage in such subtle intimacies that sealed a bond betwixt us. When our fingers touched as we didst dance the Paval there was a tingle of attraction about us and when we didst kiss each other during the Gavotte our lips didst linger far longer than was seemly. During these dances I didst flatter her charms and extol her beauty and mutter endearments into her ear, which she didst receive with the utmost pleasure.

  Finally, we didst dance la Volta. No doubt your Honour is familiar with the lewdness of this dance and the opportunities afforded by it for seduction. I couldst place my right hand on the girl’s back and my left below her bust wherein I could feel its most delicious swelling and then, pressing my thigh against her buttocks, didst turn her and lift her into the air so that her breasts were at my eye level, much to my delight. We didst circle the hall in a sprightly dance, and with each lift my hand didst drift downwards so that by the end of the dance whilst my thigh was pressed lustily against her rear, my hand was pressed against her crotch, thereby causing her to gasp and swoon with the pleasure therein. She didst nothing to object to my attentions, giving every indication of enjoyment of them.

  After several dances of la Volta we were both so flushed and aroused we didst leave the hall for some fresh air, wherein I hadst the opportunity to interrogate her more closely on her place within Mary’s household. Doubtless flushed with her desire for me, she didst speak most loosely. She is one of Mary’s closest confidantes and has access to her private chambers at all times. She didst speak openly of Mary’s Catholic faith and reported that she didst meet secretly with Catholic priests for confession and to receive absolution and, furthermore, didst openly refer to the name of John Ballard as the Jesuit who doth act as one of her supporters. She also spoke of a wooden chest, which she reported was kept locked at all times with the key being held on Mary’s person, that doth contain such privy letters as she hath received. I didst also learn that, in addition to those letters of Mary’s that are already checked by your agents, there are further letters written in cypher, and that Anne is entrusted with delivering these. Your Honour, I couldst not believe my good fortune that this girl wouldst so openly and disarmingly respond to the most gentle of enquiries relating to her place in Mary’s household.

  Before returning to the dance floor I didst take her into my arms and kiss her. She succumbed willingly to my approaches and we didst kiss most passionately. She didst declare her love for me and protest she hath never before felt so swept away with desire for a man. I confess to being flattered by this and I didst return her felicitations with those of my own, extolling her beauty and confessing the ardour I felt for her.

  Your Honour, this is a liaison that I wouldst cultivate for I firmly believe that it couldst afford the means by which I gain access to the Queen of Scots privy letters. I trust, my Honour, you approve of my reports.

  Your Lordship’s bounden, Gilbert Gifford

  Sir Francis Walsingham to Gilbert Gifford

  At Hampton Court, 14th April in the yeare of our Lord 1586

  Sir, I am in receipt of your letter and find both encouragement and cause for concern in its contents.

  The observations on the conspiracies of Babington, Ballard and Savage you present are nothing new to me. Their correspondence hath been intercepted by my agents for some considerable time and I am acquainted with their plots. I couldst arrest them forthwith and have them executed, but my intent is to play a longer game, which requires they be left free to prosecute their treasons until such time as they directly implicate Mary herself. For so long as this devilish woman doth live, her Majestie cannot be assured of the continued quiet possession of her crown.

  Your account of your seduction of the girl, Anne Bennett, amuses me, but I wouldst proffer a word of warning to you, my friend. I wouldst
seek your assurances that you are not merely infatuated with her and that she is not playing you. The speed with which she succumbed to your attentions bothers me, for it appears that your vanity in the apparent seduction of this girl might blind you. The words you doth say about love are true and you wouldst not be the first spy to be undone by the machinations of a beautiful woman. I offer this to you as advice so that you may proceed in this venture with greater caution.

  Notwithstanding this warning, I am still of the opinion that this association is worth pursuing. It is imperative to use whatever means necessary as might bring success in this venture and if this girl is, as you claim, such a close confidante of Mary then this should be exploited. I wouldst remind you that your investigations be focused on implicating the Queen of the Scots in these conspiracies.

  I wouldst have you report back to me on how this matter proceeds.

  Yours, most assuredly, Sir Francis Walsingham.

  Gilbert Gifford to Sir Francis Walsingham

  At Chartley Castle, 20th April in the yeare of our Lord 1586

  Your Honour, the affairs at Chartley have proceeded apace since your letter, which I have lately received. I doth heed your Honour’s warning, but have gained further proof from her behaviour that Anne Bennett is infatuated and wouldst do all I ask of her, and risk all for her love of me.

  The day after the night of the foresaid dance I didst manipulate a further meeting whereby I couldst further inflame her lusts, for the corridors of Chartley Castle provide opportunities for all manner of surreptitious liaisons. I didst watch her mistress’s chamber and then most privily pursue her as she left on some errand. By taking a circuitous route I didst turn a corner and bump into her whilst seeming that the meeting was a mere accident.