by Sarah Thorn
When he arrived at the scene, he was deeply shocked. In front of him on the path lay his brother with a man on top of him. To the right, Sophia bent over a tree with her breasts hanging out and her skirt raised.''
''Who are you may I ask?'' the Duke said to Charles.
''Charles Argyle. I am a neighbor. Half of this wood belongs to my property. I was enjoying a stroll after lunch when I saw this man assault two women. It was the most savage attack, and I apprehended him.'' He looked across at Sophia and gestured towards her. ''Just in time by the look of it.''
''Wait here,'' Alice said to Georgina. ''I'm going to finish this now.'' Alice ran into the wood and stopped next to the Duke. She surveyed the scene, and ran to Sophia. She put her arm around her, and spoke loudly, so that Philip could hear her.
''Oh my dear Sophia, I am so sorry. Please forgive me, I didn't think he would do this again after what happened to me. Will you ever forgive me?''
Sophia nodded. She was extremely embarrassed that the two gentlemen could see her breasts, but she had agreed to do it for the sake of her friend.
As Alice was helping Sophia, Eleanor appeared. ''Please excuse me, my Lord. I am a maid at Stanley Hall, and on Sunday afternoons, I walk in the woods. I saw this gentleman attack two ladies,'' she said pointing at Reymond. ''I was so afraid, I ran and hid behind a tree. It is only now that I dare come out of hiding. If it hadn't been for brave Mr Argyle, I dread to think what would have happened.''
*****
It was late when the Duke arrived back at Stanley Hall. Alice had arranged from them to stay there after the picnic, before traveling back to Winthrop Hall the next day. Alice was lying in her night gown when the Duke came into the bedroom. Alice didn't say anything, she could feel he wanted to unburden his heart.
''Alice, I have been a foolish man. Everything I assumed about you was wrong. He raped you on that evening, didn't he?''
Alice nodded.
''Oh Lord, help me,'' he whispered as his head sank into his hands. After he'd composed himself, he spoke again. ''In the last weeks, I have come to admire you. Not just your beauty, but your kindness and your undying faith that, one day, I would come to love you. Despite what I have done to you, you have remained resolute. You will never forgive me, I know, but I was trying to do the best for everyone under the circumstances, as I thought them to be. Why didn't you tell me, or your parents, what he did to you?''
''Because he is a gentleman, and I a mere woman. Whose word would everyone believe?''
''You are right. Oh Alice, please forgive me. I will never be cold or unpleasant to you ever again.''
''And what have you done with Reymond?''
''He is in the police station in Northampton.''
''And what will happen to him?''
''I assume he will go to prison. Mr Argyle and Miss Eleanor will surely bear witness to the attack.''
''Yes, they most certainly will,'' Emily said, knowing full well what she had agreed with them.
''Then he will indeed be sentenced. Four witnesses against his word. I suppose a few years in prison will do him good. And it won't be easy for him. Men in prison don't like people who attack women.''
''So that's it, then. We can now live our lives together.''
''Yes, we can.'' He looked at her in her nightgown and for the first time felt his desire for her overwhelm him. ''My dear, do you think I could perhaps......''
''Is it cold outside?'' she asked.
''No, why?''
''Come with me.'' Alice got up from the bed, took his hand and crept downstairs. As quietly as she could, she opened the doors to the terrace and led him to the tent at the side of the lake.
''They won't take this down until tomorrow. Make love to me here. Take two cushions and lay them down here. I want to feel you inside me as I look at the stars.''
He walked into the tent and took two of the largest cushions, and laid them down right at the edge of the water.
He looked at her as she pulled her nightgown over her head. When he saw her naked, he felt his manhood becoming hard. He pulled her to him and kissed her. It was a kiss of such deep longing, that Alice gasped when he let go. She gasped more when he dropped to his knees and pulled her pubic area to his face. As his tongue slipped between her legs, she opened them wider and threw back her head. His tongue probed and delved into every fold, before settling on her clitoris. When he took the tiny bud into his mouth Alice's legs almost gave way. She pulled away and lay down on the cushions.
As he opened her legs and put his mouth on her again, Alice glanced over the lake. It was calm, just like she felt. He stopped licking her and took off his waistcoat, shirt and trousers. In just an undergarment, Alice could see that he was fully erect and ready for her. With her feet, she encouraged him to take off the remaining garment, which he did. She gasped when she saw how long his penis was.
He wasn't finished with his mouth though, and again he knelt between her open legs. He liked up and down the length of her wetness and then around her entrance. Suddenly she arched her back and dug her nails into the cushion as his mouth sucked her clitoris. He continued to suck and flick his tongue over her until he felt her explode on him. She rolled her head from side to side and stretched her legs out straight as one huge spasm engulfed her. It was several minutes until she stopped trembling.
The Duke held her and kissed her until her orgasm subsided. When she had recovered, he flipped her onto her belly, lifted her hips from the cushions and entered her. As he thrust into her, she knelt in front of him and looked over the lake. Somewhere a bird squawked and the sound echoed in the silence of the night. It was more erotic than she could have imagined. Being taken in this way as she looked over the place that was her home.
He quickened his rhythm, and his hips began to slap hard against her buttocks. The vibrations brought her to another orgasm. She threw her head back and looked at the sky as her muscles tensed and waves flew from her vagina.
Suddenly she pulled away from him and walked into the lake. ''What are you doing?'' he asked
''Isn't it obvious? Come in and make love to me in the water.''
The Duke followed her in and wished he hadn't because it was quite cold. ''My God, Alice, I'm not sure I can make love to you in this cold. You know what cold does to muscles, it makes them contract.''
''Nonsense. Swim with me and you'll warm up.''
They swam to the middle of the lake, almost to the point where she had been with her friends a few weeks earlier. Alice stopped and pulled him to her. He looked delicious with wet hair and she instantly wrapped her legs around his torso. ''Thrust into me,'' she ordered. He did and it sent shock after shock over her. It was hard work for him as he had to keep them afloat, and thrust at the same time. But soon he found a technique which worked. The water lapped around them and soon he was grunting with the effort. When Alice reached down and cupped his balls he groaned and thrust into her harder.
''Tell me when you come,'' she requested.
When he was almost there, he said, ''Now.''
She pushed him from her, and dived under the water. She found his penis, put her mouth over him and sucked. When he ejaculated into her mouth, he screamed.
''I love you, Alice,'' rang over the lake. Alice didn't hear him, but it was already obvious to her what he now felt.
*****
THE END
REGENCY Romance - A Rake’s Temptation
''Andrew, I am sick and tired of your lies,'' Oscar Hammond said as his son listened to him for the umpteenth time. ''Your mother and I have discussed your behavior, and we have come to the conclusion that the constant stream of women, who seem to enter and leave your life with alarming regularity, is having a negative influence on your children's behavior.'' One of Oscar’s beloved Springer Spaniels jumped up and tried to sit on Andrew's lap.
The two gentlemen were sitting in Oscar's study in Thorpe Hall, which had been in the Hammond family for seven hundred years since King John had bestowed it on Angre
d Hammond for slaughtering a group of men who had robbed his mail coach.
Oscar, at sixty-three, was a man of considerable wealth. He owned three thousand acres and had more than two thousand tenants in various villages scattered around the area. Tall and gray haired, he was a solemn man totally devoid of humor.
His son, Andrew, was twenty-nine and the proud father of three children. Agnes, John, and Sarah. Nine, six and four respectively.
Oscar and his wife had tried for many years to have children, and when Andrew was born, they'd been thrilled that, at last, they had an heir to the family fortune. Femke Hammond, the third daughter of a Dutch aristocrat, had pleased her husband by having two more children, Maurice, and Jacqueline.
''Our family has a reputation, and you seem to be doing you best to destroy it,'' Oscar added.
I'm only trying to find a wife, you despicable man, Andrew thought. Georgina, his lovely wife, had died while giving birth to Sarah and her loss had utterly destroyed him. Left to bring up three young children he had been out of his depth. After two years, he'd decided to look for a new wife, but he'd found it impossible to find someone as beautiful and talented as Georgina. In his quest, he'd invited many women to his house, all of whom proved to be less than suitable. Unable to find a wife to match Georgina, the process had turned Andrew into something of a sexual predator, with little regard for women and their feelings. Now he'd abandoned all hope of finding a new bride and was playing the field unashamedly.
Andrew had no trouble in attracting women. Georgina had always worried that he was far too handsome and that he would be seduced by some wanton woman. He was tall and had dark brown hair. Women were attracted by his eyes, which were an unusual color of turquoise blue. They also loved his sense of humor and his gentle and relaxed nature.
''Father, I am looking for a wife, as I have told you on so many occasions. As I haven't found anyone suitable, my search will go on.'' Andrew sat back in the armchair and crossed his lean legs.
''If you carry on like this, I will disinherit you. You are a disgrace. How is the search for a new governess coming along?''
''I am interviewing candidates at the moment,'' Andrews replied.
''Indeed,'' Oscar said sarcastically. ''Is that what you call it. Well, you'd better find one and fast.''
Andrew got up and left the small study. As he walked down the corridor filled with paintings of his ancestors he bumped into a maid called Susan. As quick as a flash, he pulled her through the drawing room door and closed it behind him. ''Susan, when will you give yourself to me? I cannot wait to make love to you,'' he said taking her in his arms.
Susan liked Andrew and was perfectly willing to let him have his way with her. But she was terrified of Oscar and his wife finding out, and banishing her from the house with no reference. ''Mr. Andrew, you know I like you, give me some more time,'' she said as his hands wandered over her buttocks.
''Alright, but I want you very soon, don't forget.''
Andrew went on his way again down the long corridor and into the entrance hall where he put on his coat. It was April and still bitterly cold. The Hammonds had a tradition. The heir to the family fortune always lived in the Lodge. The Lodge was a smaller house than Thorpe Hall but nonetheless contained sixteen bedrooms. It was located at the other side of the garden. Andrew took the flagstone path, which was slippery after a shower, and looked up at the Lodge house. It was painted white with a navy blue front door, and white painted windows. There were two stone lions on either side of the front door, and the door-knocker was a brass eagle.
''Daddy,'' Sarah shouted as she toddled across the black and white tiled floor to meet her father.
He lifted her up. ''And what have you been up to while I have been talking to grandfather?''
''Playing with Benji.''
Benji was the family Golden Retriever, and Sarah had learned that if you threw a ball, he would run after it and bring it back time after time.
''Don't go tiring him out Sarah. Benji doesn't know when he should stop.''
''Where is Mrs. Patterson?'' he asked his youngest daughter.
''She's in the kitchen with Agnes and John.''
Andrew went into the large family kitchen and saw Agnes and John sitting at the pine table rolling dough. Mrs. Patterson, the cook and housekeeper, was patiently watching over them. She was in her mid-forties and married to the gardener, a huge man who after years of bending to remove weeds from the immaculate flower beds had developed a terrible stoop. She was a superb cook and not one of the family complained about anything she put in front of them. She looked like a cook, she was rotund and wore her hair up in a large bun.
''Mrs. Patterson, would you please prepare the guest bedroom, I have a visitor from tomorrow.''
Mrs. Patterson nodded. How many was that this year? she asked herself.
*****
Julia glanced at her parents grave and wiped away a tear. It had been two years since the accident and Julia had been to see them every day since. Her father had told the coach driver that he thought one of the horses was lame, but he hadn't listened and in excruciating pain the horse had tried to free itself. The coach was off the road and into a deep gorge. There were no survivors. As she always did, she kissed her hand and put it top the stone before she began the walk back to her Aunt’s house.
Aunt Isabella lived in a cute little manor house in the village of Tunberry, West Sussex. It was a typical English village. It had a green with a maypole, two inns, and a fourteenth-century church. It was the kind of place where everybody knew each other. When Julia arrived back at her aunt's, she walked up the garden path and entered the house via the front door. There was a smell of fresh bread and tea. She took off her coat and bonnet and hung them up. She was about to go into the kitchen when she heard her aunt talking. When she heard the other person, she cringed. It was Mrs. Mallinson, the village gossip.
''She's such a beautiful girl, it's quite perplexing,'' Mrs. Mallinson said.
''Julia is indeed a real beauty, but she has no ambition, no drive or enthusiasm. All she seems to do is hang around in the graveyard and read books.''
''But she wasn't like that as a child,'' Mrs. Mallinson observed. ''She was quite a character. I remember scolding her for stealing apples from my garden.''
''No, as a child she was outgoing, almost boisterous. I'm sure it has something to do with the loss of her parents. A shock like that is bound to drive someone back into their shell.''
''But she's been in her shell for a long time now. What are you going to do with her?''
Aunt Isabella picked up her tea and took a sip while she thought. ''She's very intelligent, so I suppose she could become a governess.'
''That's a splendid idea.'' Mrs. Mallinson said as she bit into a piece of hot bread and butter.
Julia tiptoed up the stairs and into her bedroom. The room had a low ceiling and a small fireplace. She slept in a single bed next to a crammed bookcase. She lay on her bed and thought about what her aunt and Mrs. Mallinson had been talking about. They were right, before the death of her parents she'd been outgoing. But back then she'd been happy, and now her heart was broken, and she didn't feel like doing much at all. In fact, it was all she could do to get out of bed in the morning. Her parents had made her feel loved and provided a protected environment for her to grow up in. Now all she had was her aunt, and Julia knew that her aunt didn't much like her.
After an hour, she heard her aunt shouting her name. She rose from the bed and looked in the mirror to fix her blonde hair.
''Julia, have you given any thought to your future?'' her aunt asked when they were having dinner. They didn't have any servants; Aunt Isabella didn't have the money, and if she had had, no servant would have lasted very long in her employ. She was a know-all and never satisfied with anything.
''Not really,'' Julia said as she stared into space.
''I am going to send you to a place called Thorpe Hall in Surrey. Mr. Andrew Hammond lives there and has been looki
ng for a governess from some time. You will educate his three children.''
''If you wish,'' she said without giving the idea a moment's thought.
*****
When Andrew collected Julia from the railway station, Julia was pleased to see how handsome he was. She'd had nightmares about working for a very ugly man who would pester her for sex, but now she could lay that fear to rest. Julia was tall, slender, and blonde and Andrew, by now an expert, found the curves of her breasts and hips very appealing. She's here to educate the children, he reminded himself, as he put her bags into the trap.
''Jump up,'' he said. She sat down next to him, and Andrew touched the pony with the long whip. The black animal set off at a leisurely pace and Julia was relieved. Since her parents death in a coach, she was very fearful of anything pulled by a horse.
''Normally I send one of the footmen to pick people up from the station, but I wanted some fresh air today,'' he said as they left the town of Rotherford and entered the countryside.
''I am most grateful to you for collecting me,'' she replied.
''Your aunt told me you are eighteen and that you are an orphan. How did that happen?''
''An accident sir,''
''Please call me Mr. Andrew. Sir makes me feel so old. What kind of an accident?''
''My parents were traveling to London when their stagecoach left the road. They were killed.''
Andrew looked at her. He could see she was still grieving; he recognized the look on her face. For so long he had also worn the same expression. ''My wife died four years ago.''
''How awful,'' she said it as if she really meant it, unlike so many people Andrew knew. ''How did the children react?''
''John was just two, and my wife died having Sarah, so they were not affected, but Agnes was beside herself. She hasn't really been the same since.''
I know the feeling, Julia thought. Out of the town, Andrew gave the signal for the pony to increase the tempo. When it broke into a trot, Julia gasped and held onto Andrew's arm.
