Elizabeth 06: The Honeymoon

He was all set for a fight if it should come to that. But to his delight, he saw the man's lady friend reprimanding him in no uncertain terms, slapping away his hands as he tried to touch her to calm her down. As Jonathan gazed on in triumph, the troublemaker finally stood up and stomped off up the sand toward the hotel. Jonathan gave the woman a nod and a smile, and looked upon her just long enough to see that her bathing suit revealed that she was not endowed like Elizabeth, or even Linda. Delighted that it was not only others like them who would stand up for them, he turned back to join a hearty splash-fight that was already in progress among Elizabeth, Howard and Linda.

They frolicked about in the water far too long for either of them to take any notice of time. What they did notice, Elizabeth was to tell me upon her return, was that many others came and went in their game. Locals and tourists, men and women, every sort of reveller, and no one seemed to take any special note of her or Linda - except as a welcome splashing target. "I have never felt so liberated!" she told me. "It should always be so easy to be so open with oneself." For that day at that beach, at least, it was.

A week to the day after the wedding, even the most durable vestiges of the event had at last been swept away. As I took my breakfast with Thomas and Joy, I could not help but notice the palpable sense of the mundane that had once again taken over the mansion. As if reading my mind, little Joy greeted me with a reminder of Elizabeth's absence. "I do like Sandrine well enough," she was careful to note as their tutor was at the other end of the table, buried in her French newspaper, "But today would have been Elizabeth's day with us, wouldn't it?"

"No use in dwelling on that, Joy," Thomas said, though I had little doubt he was at least as devastated as his sister. "Besides, she'll visit with us when she gets back."

"But it won't be the same," Joy noted. "Will it, Auntie Agnes?"

"I don't suppose it will, no," I admitted. "But everything changes in this world, Joy. The sooner we learn to accept that, the better." If there was one thing my year in Westfordshire City had taught me, that was it!

"Do you miss her, too?" Joy asked.

"Terribly," I said. "But I just imagine how sweet it will be to see her again after the honeymoon. You can do that too, you know."

"I guess that is what I should do," Joy said. "I cannot wait to tell her of my new plan to fly around the world in a hot air balloon!"

At that, Thomas had to stifle a laugh and Sandrine saw fit to order them to finish their breakfast and go upstairs. A few quiet minutes later, they each bid me a polite good-day and were ushered off to the nursery. And so I was blissfully alone and most of the way through my second cup of tea when the doorman appeared with a letter just delivered for me. It was an invitation from James, to lunch at Miles. "I'll be there to buy a new suit and I could use your fashion advice," it explained. I felt my lips curl into a knowing grin: no one had ever accused me of having any fashion sense! But it was the perfect excuse to invite me, and I lost no time in scribbling down a note to say I would be there and posting it at the door.

I chose my most summery frock for the outing, a lovely white floral print dress that I rarely wore because it felt too flirtatious; but today I was indeed feeling too flirtatious! The late morning sun was dazzling on the streetcar through the high street to Miles, and I was feeling positively vivacious as I smiled hello to the others who came and went. It was only as we passed the stop for the baths (where no one exited today, it being rather early for that as well as too beautiful outside to remain inside) that I felt a twinge of the melancholy that had been so very familiar to me of late. To my delight, it evaporated just as quickly as it appeared, as I realized yet again that not everything had changed.

James' face lit up in the most adorable way when I stepped into the store lobby; and it occurred to me later on that perhaps mine did the same. "You're summertime itself today!" he said just before a chaste kiss on my cheek.

"Thank you," I said. "But I ought to warn you, I do not believe I have ever been of any help in choosing other people's wardrobes. Men in particular." He was wearing a perfectly nice pale green shirt and tan pants himself; a bit dandy, but I had no complaint.

"An amateur opinion is just what the doctor ordered, I think," he said as we made our way through the fragrance section and the women's shoes. "Honestly, Agnes, I simply want to know what you in particular think. If you find my choices attractive, then I'll be satisfied."

"James! You mustn't take us so seriously just yet!" But my heart was flying in flagrant disregard for my own advice, and I slipped my hand into his with hope someone we knew might take notice.

"Can't help it, I suppose," he said, rubbing my hand gently with his thumb. "Isn't love always wonderfully foolish in its early stages?"

"I certainly hope that explains it all," I said, for I was feeling quite wonderfully foolish at that moment.

We made our way up the stairs (Miles was soon to have a wooden escalator, the first in Westfordshire City; but that was a few years off on this occasion) to the men's dress clothing section, where I had never before had any cause to wander. The stuffy but bearable air carried a scent of musk and leather that was palpably masculine, and I felt almost comically out of place in my flowery dress. But I was made perfectly welcome as the salesman discussed patterns and cuts and fashions for the fall with James. Sitting on the couch by the fitting room door, I enjoyed the show as James tried on half a dozen different suits and was reminded once again how delightful the male body can be when clothed properly. "I hope we aren't boring you too terribly, madam," the salesman told me at one point.

"Quite the contrary," I reassured him. "I am enjoying the view greatly!"

James, at that point examining himself in the mirror in a blue suit, looked positively ready to burst with pride. "You can see why I wanted her along," he told the other man.

"Indeed," said the salesman, "I wish all the wives we had up here were so agreeable."

James did not correct the salesman's mistake; and following his lead, neither did I.

"I hope you don't mind that I let him believe you were my wife," James told me half an hour later, as we enjoyed our sandwiches and lemonade at the restaurant on the top floor of the store. He had chosen two grey suits, one light and one dark; the tailor would have them ready later in the week.

"Not in the least," I reassured him. "I rather enjoyed the idea, to be honest." James smiled but looked down at the table and suddenly seemed very shy, and made no response. "Are you all right?" I asked him.

"Never better," he said, looking back up at me. "It's only...I'm feeling so intense about everything related to you, ever since we - you know. I guess I just don't know what to make of it."

"I don't think you need to make anything of it, James. It was beautiful, and things have only improved since then. Except, of course, that we haven't had occasion to have any more...fun. Yet." I felt my face curl into my naughtiest grin.

"Well, now, I am all for some more of that!" James said with a chuckle. Then he took a long sip of lemonade and looked more serious. "Tell me, though, Agnes. You've been in love before, and I'm not at all certain that I ever have. Is it meant to feel this fleeting, as if it's all a dream and I'm going to wake up all too soon and find it gone?"

"Oh, well!" I hardly knew how to answer that, particularly since my last time in love had ended so poorly. Honesty being the best policy as usual, I acknowledged as much. "James, I don't know. I've been in love but once before, and I believe you know how that ended. What I do know is that if we both feel that wonderful uncertainty - and I am feeling it, too, ever since I got you alone on the stairwell - then perhaps it is best that we explore it together."

James seemed impressed. "I can assure you, in any event, our story will not end like you and Edward did," he said with a sly smile.

"I am well aware of that much, James," I told him. "You made that abundantly clear last week!"

"I am ever so glad I made a convincing case, then," he said, rather too seriously. I considered his comment for a moment, and then burst into laughter. He joined me, and the rest of our luncheon conversation centred on topics rather less serious.

"Will you be returning home?" James asked when we emerged from Miles shortly afterward.

I gazed down the busy high street and found I wanted nothing of it, or of Uncle's empty mansion for the time being. In the park alongside the store, there was a well-shaded path that led up into the hills overlooking the city. I took James by the hand and pointed at the park with my other hand. "Would you care to take a stroll in the hills instead?" I asked.

"With you, certainly!"

The park was the very epitome of summertime, with children playing in the fields and nannies walking babies in perambulators along the paths. We strolled along the lane in a wonderfully companionable silence, exchanging the occasional greeting with others who passed us; there was no need for conversation in such bucolic surroundings! The path into the hills was well-hidden in a particularly shady pass along the edge of the park; but I had been there before on a picnic with Elizabeth and Irene, and thus had no difficulty in finding the inconspicuous wooden stairwell embedded in the hill.

"I've never been up here before," James confessed as he followed me upwards, two steps behind me.

"I am told it is a well-kept secret," I said. "I saw few others on my last visit here, and Elizabeth told me it has a less than savoury reputation."

"Less than savoury!" James exclaimed. "I shouldn't be so lucky as to learn that is the reason why you suggested this outing?"

Awaiting him at the top of the steps with open arms, I declared, "Precisely."

Of course we had to find a spot rather more secluded than just off the stairway; and in any event the greenery in full bloom was a glory to behold. We meandered through the wooded hillsides, enjoying the view of the city below when we came to a clearing, and I told him how it reminded me of the village I'd grown up in. "The woods got ever so thick in August, you had the privacy to do most anything!" I recalled. "I suppose I should have known, about Edward, when I was the only one among my friends whose fellow never tried to talk me into the woods."

"I take it you never tried to talk him in?" James asked.

"Only once," I said. "I was almost relieved when it failed; all that good-girls-don't nonsense hung quite heavy in our little community!"

"I can imagine," James said. He'd grown up in one of the great northern factory towns in the years just before they became the unbearable slums we would come to know; the secrets of life had come to him in dingy cellars rather than in nature. "Just as well I didn't know you then, I suppose."

"Indeed," I agreed. "You certainly could have had your bit of fun with several of the other girls, though. We all said we didn't, but I believe most of us did."

"Are you really so sure?" he asked. "If you didn't, perhaps they didn't either?"

"To hear the boys talk, they all did!" I replied. "But then, they were boys."

"Yes, and you know how evil we are!" James quipped.

"I can only hope so at this moment!" I agreed. We had come to a clearing on a secluded ridge where the tall grass tickled my legs, and I was feeling increasingly overwhelmed by a more subtle tickle a bit further up. I stopped.

Following my lead, James took me in a fond embrace that felt more natural to me than any other he had offered to date. As our lips met, I enjoyed his gentle rubbing on my back, while half fearing and half hoping that he might even undress me there in the outdoors. I found the idea surprisingly agreeable, though I suppose I'd have given into my fears had he actually tried to do it. But he did not. Rather, he held me most fondly for what could have been seconds or hours for all I cared. We kissed passionately, our eyes closed to the dazzling sunshine and the buzzing of the insects our only accompaniment.

It all felt too pleasant to push things any further at first. But after several minutes of exulting in his arms around me and his lips touching mine so hungrily, I could restrain myself no further. I slid my hands gently down his back and around front to unbutton his pants. They were easy enough to undo, but his underclothes were of the cumbersome old fashioned type with no front opening. He was hard and long, of course, and the waistband did not have nearly enough give for me to liberate his cock from within. After a few failed efforts, I gave in and pushed the underpants down until it popped out of its own accord. James, who in the interim had taken to caressing my breasts most enjoyably, looked down and then around at the outdoor setting, and we laughed at the taboo we were committing.

"We shouldn't be letting that stay on display out here, should we?" he asked, taking it in one hand and waving it around in the most ostentatious way.

"Well, I guess I'd better cover it up," I agreed. Stepping back, I reached under my skirt and quickly pulled my panties, which of course were damp to the touch, out of the way. Still otherwise fully clothed, I tossed them aside and said, "Lie down, James. Relax." He did as I told, and I knelt over him and slid him effortlessly inside. The deed now done, we looked in one another's eyes and laughed a laugh that was equal parts relief and thrills. Anyone who happened along the trail not twenty feet away from us would likely have seen a young woman kneeling in the grass, perhaps to pick flowers.

Of course, they also likely would have wondered why she was fidgeting most energetically back and forth against what appeared to be the ground! In the event, we were not discovered, at least not to my knowledge. But my knowledge of the world beyond our immediate surroundings was most rudimentary in those lovely moments, for I was focused entirely on James. He was as beautiful as I had ever seen him, against the lush grass, at my tender mercy, rubbing my thighs and occasionally my bush as I rocked back and forth in luscious rhythm. Both our voices blended in with the sounds of nature that prevailed everywhere around us.

Perhaps having grown too comfortable with our vulnerability to being discovered, I was thoroughly uninhibited when I came; and a moment later James was just as vocal in his own climax. To finish it off, I leaned in and let my hair shield us both from the entire world for a moment as we shared a triumphant kiss. An awkward shuffling of clothing and bodies ensued as I pulled his pants back up (but did not, for the moment, fasten them) and then settled myself by his side to cuddle and admire the trees and the sky together.

"I've never felt half so brazen in my life!" James whispered to me when we emerged from the hidden stairway back into the afternoon sunshine several minutes later.

"Nor I!" I agreed. "Isn't it wonderful!"

He took my hand and we strolled out into the busy path, the very picture of innocence. "You know, it really is," he said.

I could not help but fear that I gave off some sort of aura - a scent, or perhaps a blush tone - that gave away what we had done up in the hills. But no one confronted us or even gave us a second look, and we enjoyed an uninterrupted leisurely stroll all the way back to James' flat several blocks downtown. The summer heat and the lingering effects of our rolling about on the ground having taken full effect, we lost no time in tearing one another's clothing off for a long, hot shower. James let me lather up his pubes and scrub the shaft of his cock to my heart's content, and I more than willingly let him return the favour with my breasts. "I guess I've got the cleanest dirty pillows in the city," I quipped when he finally rinsed them off.

"Until the next time you let me at them," he said.

That proved to be only minutes later, for as we had towelled one another dry, I confessed to him that "There is one part of me you shan't be able to dry with a towel, I fear."

"But I know just what I can do about that," he said, fingering his once again rigid cock; and we retired to his bedroom to make love again. Afterwards, we both fell fast asleep through the rest of the lazy afternoon.

I awoke some time after dark, to the sound of James splashing about in the bath. Curious, I got out of bed and went to investigate. He was on his knees before the bathtub, which was full of sudsy water. A further moment's investigation revealed that he was washing my dress. "Why, thank you," I said, startling him a bit as he had not heard me behind him.

"Oh!" He turned and smiled at me. "Hello. You're very welcome."

"But what am I to wear until that is dry?" I was still in the nude, both of us having slept that way; and I was enjoying the thrill of being thusly attired in his presence while he had changed into a fresh shirt and pants. But it did dawn on me that now I was something of a prisoner until that dress was ready to wear again.

"I've got some spare trousers and shirts that ought to fit you in the meantime," he said. "The shirts might be a bit tight on your breasts, but they'll do for now I trust. And of course you're welcome to spend the night here in any event."

"Lovely, James." I found I liked the idea both of staying overnight and of wearing his clothing. But I also felt gloriously comfortable and safe in his presence, and was in no hurry to cover up after all. It was in that moment, as I stood there on display and welcomed his deeply appreciative looks at my body, that I resolved to stop worrying about his misperceptions regarding my bush. There was next to no chance of his ever seeing Elizabeth in the nude and discovering his error, and he was clearly more than enamoured with my body; why disabuse him of a harmless belief?

After James was done with the washing, we made dinner together. Since it would hardly do for me to be naked in the kitchen, I did take him up on his offer to lend me some of his own clothes; and so I had the pleasure of wearing trousers for the first time in my life. "I feel a bit boxed in, really," I said when he asked how I liked them, "But I can certainly see the convenience. Irene has always told me I'd love it if only I would try it. I'm not sure if I agree with her, but I do like them."

"It's not the only part of you that's boxed in, I'm afraid," he quipped, pointing at my breasts; he had been all too correct about their getting in the way of his shirts. "I do hope that's not too uncomfortable."

"It's as comfortable as I could get without a brassiere in any case," I reassured him, my underwear having also been laundered and not yet dry. "I can't recall the last time I went this long without one. But your shirt keeps everything nearly in place." I slipped into a laugh towards the end of that sentence, scarcely believing all I was sharing.

"Well, you look absolutely adorable in any event," he reassured me just as we sat down to eat. "But I do hope I don't put you off wearing dresses for good!"

"Little chance of that," I told him. "Then how would I flash old man Thompson whenever he makes a stupid comment?"

"How would you what?!"

"Oh dear, James, I suppose I haven't told you about that. Well, there is a lot we still don't know about one another even after today, isn't there?"

And so I set about telling him all about my difficult relationship with Mr. Thompson and his old fashioned attitudes about women. From there, the conversation transitioned to our love and hate for our work, and we talked quite late into the night about it all. Both of us being rather too refreshed to go to sleep at a decent hour owing to our long afternoon repose, we were up until well past midnight, sipping wine and chatting. I never once looked at the clock, and as far as I could tell neither did James. When at last we did retire, there was still enough energy for our third roll in one another's arms before we were at last off to our dreams.