Jed’s father and Tom were next to go. They muttered something about ‘fetching in the cattle’ and thanked Alice for the ‘spread’.
Finally, just Dan was left with Jed and Alice amidst an array of plates and remnants of food.
“You two leave this to me,” suggested Dan. “I reckon you’ll want to be getting back to your own place now.”
“Oh no, Dan, let us help, there’s no hurry,” argued Alice.
“I’ll be hearing no more about it. Off you two go now.”
Alice and Jed walked back through Frampton as husband and wife with a sense of elation and optimism about the future. Already they had achieved much more than was usual for young people of their age and a whole lifetime lay ahead.
“Tell me, Alice,” said Jed, “where do you see us in ten years time? How do you picture us then?”
“In ten years time? That’s a difficult one. I suppose I’d like to see the house all finished and furnished. I’d like to see you doing well with the business and I’d like you and me to be getting older happily.”
The conversation paused for a while as they walked on towards Duck Lane.
“But haven’t you forgotten something?”
“Have I? What’s that?”
“Isn’t there something missing from what you just said? What about a family? What about children?”
“Well, yes, of course, children,” answered Alice, slightly nervously. “I’m sure they’ll come all in good time.”
As they walked along Duck Lane and rounded a bend, Hope Cottage suddenly came into view. The trees obscuring the plot had been felled and a neat white fence erected in their place. The front garden was still full of rubble but beyond that Hope Cottage stood gleaming and new. Alice and Jed arrived at the front door.
“I think I got to lift you over the threshold, Alice, isn’t that the custom?” said Jed, grinning broadly.
“You mind how you go then. Remember, there’s no step there yet and I don’t want you killing me on our wedding day.”
With a powerful sweep of his arms, Jed lifted Alice up to his chest and clasped her to his body as he climbed into the house. The entrance hall was bare and Alice and Jed made their way through to the parlour which was furnished simply. A wood burning cooking range had been installed and took up most of one wall. In the centre of the room stood a simple oak table and two matching chairs that Dan had given them as a wedding present. A wooden dresser completed the furniture, resplendent with a bunch of red roses that Alice had put there earlier.
They stood looking out towards what would become the garden, now a tangle of thorns and nettles. Birds chirped their evening song and an owl hooted in a distant field. They sat on the floor in silence, Jed with his arm around Alice. Jed felt at peace with the world and himself. Alice was beginning to worry about what would happen in the bedroom shortly.
By ten o’clock the sun was setting and they made their way upstairs. Only one bedroom had been furnished and the bathroom was operational. It was Alice’s pride and joy with its large white porcelain tub, matching wash basin and imposing WC.
As they mounted the stairs, Jed felt an almost imperceptible change of mood, a sense of anxiousness coming between them. As they entered the room, Jed took Alice in his arms and kissed her.
“You once said, Alice, that marriage was made here in the bedroom and now it’s our chance to make our marriage real.”
Alice was strangely quiet and excused herself to go to the bathroom. Jed sat on the side of the bed, rubbing his hands over the new eiderdown. He’d always expected that this would be the difficult part but he trusted Alice to make it work as she had made so many other things work.
Jed went to a drawer and pulled out a white and blue night shirt. He’d given some thought as to what he should wear on this first night. His father and Tom had always worn nightshirts and so he had followed suit.
He looked up as Alice came back into the bedroom dressed in a plain cotton nightgown which reached down to her calves. It clung to her body revealing the shape of her breasts, stomach and thighs in more detail than Jed had ever seen before. Her thick auburn hair lay like a curtain over her shoulders and a sweet perfume filled the air. Their eyes met and for a moment they stared nervously at each other wondering what lay ahead.
Jed made his excuses and went to the bathroom. He splashed water onto his face and relieved himself in the WC, trying hard to pee on the side of the bowl so as not to make too much noise.
He stripped his clothes off and struggled into his nightshirt. As he was about to leave the bathroom, he caught sight of a strange figure in the mirror – an apparition enveloped in a large white shroud.
“Oh my God,” Jed thought to himself. “I can’t go to her like this. She’ll fall out of bed laughing.”
There was only one course of action open to him. He pulled off the nightshirt and stood naked in front of the mirror. The apparition had now gone to be replaced by a young man with a well developed torso and strong muscular thighs. He felt much more confident that this was the image Alice would prefer on their first night. He also noticed with pride that his male member was now noticeably bigger than usual, surely a good sign.
As Jed made his way back into the bedroom, his arrival was greeted by an audible gasp from Alice who had settled herself in bed under the sheets. At the sight of a totally naked Jed she hauled the sheets further up under her chin until only her eyes and forehead were visible peeping over the crisp white bed linen.
“It’s alright, Alice,” said Jed moving towards her and causing the sheet to be hauled even higher. “It’s alright now ‘cos we’re married. We belong to each other and it’s OK to be naked.”
“But it’s a bit soon,” replied Alice in a faltering voice. “I thought we’d take our time, you know, get to know each other slowly.”
Jed felt his erection shrinking rapidly so he moved towards the bed to hide his body beneath the sheets.
“I think you’re supposed to do it on the first night, you know, Alice. It’s what they call ‘consummating the marriage’. If you don’t do it I’ve heard it said that you’re not considered married.”
Alice looked shocked and released her grip slightly on the sheet that she was clutching to her face.
“Are you sure that’s true, Jed? Can’t we wait a few days?”
“I’m only tellin’ you what I hears, Alice.”
Alice took in the room around her. Blue drapes hung in the open window. A wooden dresser stood opposite, decorated with lavender. The bed was large and the mattress was soft. It was the first time she had slept in a bed of this size. All this was hers now. She had worked so hard to get here. She couldn’t possibly let it all go now.
“Alright, Jed, my love, let’s give it a try. You do what you has to do.”
This wasn’t quite how Jed had expected it to be. In most other areas of life, Alice took the lead and he was happy to follow. Now, in this matter where he had the least experience of all, he was suddenly expected to be dominant.
“If you prefers me to take the initiative, my love, that’s fine. But I think we got to get closer and I’ve got to get on top of you.”
Alice looked momentarily startled but she obliged by letting go of the sheets and moving closer to him. Jed felt passion rise inside himself again as he took in her slender and inviting body. Pulling her to him, he began to kiss her, moving from her mouth to her breasts. He was relieved to feel his erection responding immediately. He levered himself over Alice’s left leg and found himself lying between her thighs, his face level with her breasts. He heaved himself further up her body, ignoring her indignant grunts.
“I think we’re getting somewhere now, my love.”
He started to wrestle with her night dress which had somehow become entangled with the sheets. He tugged hard at a piece of bedding which had wrapped itself around her leg but his hand slipped and he elbowed Alice in the ribs. She shouted with pain and pushed Jed’s head away.
“I’m sorry, my
love, but you’ll have to help me. We’ve got to do this together.”
He lay once more between her thighs and tried to lift the night dress. This time Alice obliged by lifting herself off the mattress and allowing the nightdress to slip up. Jed now felt the warmth of her flesh on his. Moving his trunk between her thighs, he attempted to make love, but his unfamiliarity with the terrain in which he now found himself made it difficult to judge what was actually happening.
“Are we doing it, Alice? Am I doing it right my love?
“I think so. Maybe if I move my back down the bed a bit ...”
By now, the urgency being felt by Jed was uncontrollable. Suddenly, he had an overwhelming sense of release and he gripped Alice hard as he lost control of his body. She shouted with surprise and Jed gasped as he climaxed. Then he collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily.
“Have we consumed the marriage now, Jed, my love. Are we properly married?”
“We’ve consummated it, Alice, I’m pretty certain we have. So yes, we’re properly man and wife.” They lay together for a short while until the need to remake the bed caused them to move.
Later, when Alice had put on her night dress and Jed had found some underwear to replace his nightgown, they lay in bed talking quietly. This was how they functioned well together, talking like close friends, sharing ideas and enjoying each other’s company. As Jed turned to look at Alice with the moonlight casting a soft glow over the whiteness of her body, a nagging worry began to form in his mind that the bedroom might not be the bedrock of their marriage in the way that he had hoped.
The Guest Who Stayed: Chapter 9 – Summer 1921
Jack motored into the centre of London in the Austin Tourer. It was a sunny day so he had lowered the canvas hood. As he made his way down Piccadilly to the Mayfair Hotel where Hoester had established his UK base, he felt more alive than he had done for almost a year. Working for Hoester and Deltic Sewing Machines had been hard. There were production targets to meet, new facilities to be installed and a succession of American executives passing through who had to be entertained. But today, Friday, 22nd July 1921, he was finished – done. In just a short while he would be receiving a bankers draft from Hoester for twenty three thousand pounds – the balance of his promised payment.
Jack tried to stifle a coughing fit that threatened to grip his body but it exploded into choking paroxysms which caused him to pull the car to an emergency stop by the curb. He fought to regain his breath. He was determined to survive the two or three years that his doctor had promised him – perhaps even cheat death and live a few years longer. He had given himself a week to clear up his affairs in London and then he would take off on the open road to ‘who knows where’. But first he had to get as far as the Mayfair Hotel and lay his hands on that money.
After the wedding, life for Jed and Alice returned surprisingly quickly to a familiar routine. Alice continued to work in the bakery during the day but spent most evenings making furnishings and fitments for rooms that were still little more than shells. Though not taught to be practical, Alice had a natural ability to fathom out how things worked and to produce competent, if not always artistic, household items. Curtains were created from old parachute fabric that Jed had seen on sale in Frampton market. Cushions were sewn in a patchwork using discarded clothing and rugs were cut from old sacking.
Jed was working longer and longer hours in Dan’s business and often when he returned home in the evening would complain to Alice at length about Dan’s absence.
“Seems to me, Alice, that Dan’s leaving me to pick up more and more of the work. I had to have words with him ‘cos he’d gone off early yesterday to meet some cronies down the Fox and Hounds and left me to finish off a job that was needed for this morning. I think now we got this house he seems to think he owns us. Like he’s done us this big favour and we’re supposed to tug our forelock and be grateful to ‘im.”
“Well, in that case, Jed, you got to make a move to take over the business. If Dan’s not pullin’ his weight then you got to take over the reins and no more messin’ about. The sooner you take control the better and then you can start paying yourself a bigger wage too.”
At bedtime Alice and Jed would lay in each other’s arms talking and drifting in and out of sleep. Making love seemed to require more effort than either of them could muster. But by some unspoken agreement Friday was designated the night when they would try again to consummate their union.
From the moment they opened their eyes on a Friday morning, palpable tension was in the air.
“What time are you back this evening, Alice?”
“Why are you asking? You know what time I’m back. It ain’t no different because it’s Friday.”
“I know it makes no difference, my love. I was just wondering if you might be doing anything else after work, that’s all.”
“Like what?”
“No need to be like that,” growled Jed grumpily as he cleared his plate from the table. “I was only trying to be a bit civil with you, that’s all.”
Friday evenings were even more tense. Neither Alice nor Jed had the vocabulary or the depth of understanding to discuss the problems openly. Instead, after various diversionary tactics such as rinsing clothes or preparing the next day’s meal, they would end up in bed together facing the same dilemma.
“Alice, my love, shall we do it?”
Jed was still haunted by the experience of looking after his dying mother. When other boys in their adolescence were beginning to discover the excitement of their own sexuality, Jed was attending to the physical needs of a dying woman. And when his contemporaries began to hone their dating skills and learn the art of sexual negotiation, Jed was locked into a joyless existence from which the death of his mother would be the only release. Jed’s perception of making love was therefore based on technical competence as opposed to emotional warmth.
“I got an idea, my love. Let’s try putting a pillow underneath you.”
Jed’s approach to love making was like an incendiary device to someone like Alice who battled low self esteem. Raised in a household with a drunken father she was used to frequent verbal abuse and to disparaging remarks about her appearance. Now, in bed with Jed, she craved some sign of adoration. Did he like her breasts? Were they too large or too small? Did she turn him on? He had never told her. Instead, the Friday night ritual was more like being measured for a coffin.
“Just lift your knees up a bit and then I think it’ll be OK.”
Alice had not given much thought to the idea of ‘being in love’. Her objective had been to escape from the shackles which bound her to a life she so despised and in this one objective she had been singularly successful. But now as she lay in bed watching Jed making final technical adjustments, Alice began to wonder if there was another dimension to this whole business of relationships which she had overlooked.
The dullness of the daily routine was broken early in July by one surprising event. Blue skies had been replaced by low cloud which hung over the countryside like a grey blanket depositing a fine coating of misty rain over the landscape. Alice was serving as usual in the bakery when the door of the shop was flung open by an unusually exuberant Flora.
“Alice, Alice, I got something to tell you; something that’ll amaze you.”
Other customers looked on with eager anticipation, keen to share in the news that would amaze them but Alice guessed that the news was not something that Flora would wish to share with the entire town.
“Come to my place tonight, Flora. Will it wait till then?”
“Yes, yes. I’ll be there about sixish. See you then.”
And with that and hardly a glance at the other shoppers, Flora turned and rushed from the shop.
That night at just gone six, there was a light tap at the door of Hope Cottage. Alice opened the door to let in a severely drenched Flora.
“Oh, Alice, I’m sorry about this morning but I just couldn’t stop myself. I was bursting to tell someone.”
“Come into the parlour and sit by the fire. Tell me what’s brought this on.”
Alice led Flora into the parlour and sat her by the fire then poured a large mug of tea from a pot that was gently sizzling on the range.
“Well, you’ll never believe it, Alice, but the Brotherhood that Ma and Pa belongs to and what I was forced to join, well, it’s broken up. It doesn’t exist in Frampton no more. It seems there was some big disagreement over meaning of the scriptures, something to do with being ‘separate’.”
“What’s all that about then?” inquired Alice.
“It’s about not having anything to do with outsiders – people like you and Jed – ‘cos you’re bound to be evil. Not that I’m saying you and Jed is evil. But it’s what the elders think. If you don’t belong to the brotherhood then you’ve got to be evil.”
“Well, that’s crazy and nasty. What’s happened to these elders?
They’ve closed the church down and gone to Norwich to start a new ministry. They reckoned the church was too small here to stay separate. They couldn’t avoid talking to sinners.”
“Well, good riddance to them is what I say. You’re much better off without them. What about your ma and pa – have they gone too?”
“Ma and Pa were always considered a bit on the outside ever since we were cast out for a while and, of course, that was all my fault. So no, they weren’t invited to join the elders. Them and a small group of others have been left behind. They’re leaderless, like lost sheep. They don’t know what to do.”
“So what about you, Flora? How do you feel?”
“It means I’m free – free at last of all that bigotry and them controlling every aspect of my life.”
Alice threw her arms around Flora who began to sob quietly as the magnitude of the change fully dawned upon her.
“You know what this means, Flora? I’ve got my friend back again. You and me, it’ll be like old times.”
The Guest Who Stayed Page 10
