Mistress Agnes Ch. 10

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Part 10 of the 22 part series

Updated 06/07/2023
Created 01/09/2016
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Soon they reached the tailor's house, and were let in by Maria's mother, a stout lady with more than a little grey in her hair, but kind and in excellent health. She took to Dick immediately, his shyness combined with his tall, strong person were very appealing, and he was dressed very neatly, and groomed immaculately. They had been told by neighbours that Dick Parsons was a dimwit and subject to temper tantrums only his father could manage, with a whip, but Maria had brought home entirely different reports.

No, Maria was a sensible girl to have decided to see for herself, when Beatrice Atkins dropped by to propose her visiting the manor to meet Dick Parsons, who was looking for a girl to settle with. Her mother did wonder what Beatrice had told her daughter to make the young man appealing enough to consider a meeting, contrary to gossip Maria had had at least two potential suitors, farmers' sons both, but she had snubbed them consistently, saying they were bossy louts, who never treated girls with respect and drank too much whenever they had the opportunity.

Well she supposed Maria knew, they had al gone to school together, except Dick, whose mother had not allowed him to go, apparently because he was to stupid to learn. Eventually, they had moved away to a larger farm, and Dick and his parents had been mostly forgotten, except for the occasional gossip about his temper.

After meeting him, Maria was indignant, Dick could read pretty well, and though he was very shy, it was clear he was not dimwitted at all, just slow and thoughtful. And she said he was very calm and almost meek, not the kind to fly in a rage. Something must have been terribly wrong in that family for poor Dick to become unmanageable. Beatrice had assured her that Dick was the model servant, working hard, never complaining, liked by all, even Mrs Beauchamp.

Then Maria would fall silent, as if she knew something about Dick Beatrice had told her, that she couldn't tell her parents. Seeing a certain blush on Maria's cheek, her hair newly done up, both young people almost bonelessly relaxed despite the importance of this visit, the connection between them almost tangible despite them having known each other just over two weeks, Mrs Woods thought she knew what Beatrice had told Maria.

Dick Parsons was probably a lover of notable skill, everyone knew what was going on at the manor house, with Mrs Beauchamp keeping house with an all-male staff. John Atkins had been rumoured to be involved with her, and Beatrice certainly often had that same look Maria now had, a kind of sated superiority, the knowledge her husband pleased her where most others only thought to please themselves.

Mrs Beauchamp had probably broken Dick to loving a lady with skill, and Maria was going to harvest the fruits of the lady's efforts, had already done so. And keeping him sated had solved his temper spells, as well as having him work for a living no doubt, and teaching him useful other skills, like reading. And friendship, of which Maria had proof herself, she had been so well received at the manor, 'They eat like princes, mother, the mistress, as they call Mrs Beauchamp, is a superb huntress and everything she brings home is shared. And then she has a fabulous cook, we had such dainties at tea, and Dick didn't bat an eye, he is clearly used to getting ragouts and game pie and stuffed pheasant.'

All this was buzzing through Mrs Woods' mind as she led her daughter and future son-in-law to the workshop of her husband, where he had asked to meet the young couple.

Maria must have convinced Dick to try out the little dell under the outcrop, halfway down the manor house, and it looked as if they tried it very thoroughly, they practically exuded satiation and a strong connection.

As Dick was bashfully shaking hands with his new father-in-law, Mrs Woods nudged her daughter and asked sotto voce, 'And, was he as good as Beatrice promised?'

It was always such fun to be one step ahead of Maria, she was the smartest of her children and difficult to catch at anything. This was a direct hit, the girl, actually a woman already, froze, looked at her mother with abhorrence, and cried out, 'What? How'd you know?'

Shushing Maria, laughing her ears off but mostly on the inside, Mrs Woods replied, 'It shows. You look smug, both of you, and young Dick is much more relaxed than I'd expected him to be. I did wonder why you went to see him when you'd dismissed all the others. Beatrice must have told you something you were pleased to hear.'

'Mum, you're smarter than me. I admit it. Are you angry? Will you tell dad? Will he see it for himself, is it that obvious?'

The poor girl was getting distraught, and Mrs Woods replied quietly and calmly, 'He will not find out, not by himself, and not from me. You know we did exactly the same? It's a good tradition in these parts, I think few boys and girls enter their marriage unblemished here. Just make sure not to get caught, Maria.'

'We won't mum, thank you. And yes, he was fabulous.'

Her daughter's face showed that her first experience had not been the sweaty disappointment she remembered from her own first time.

'But it's not just that, though Beatrice did tempt me over with reports of his size and his prowess. I truly liked him from the first, he's so sweet and so caring, and at the same time strong enough to lift a horse. I love him already, mum, and I never expected to find a man I could love. I certainly never met a boy I even liked, let alone could imagine loving.'

Mrs Woods hugged her daughter, and said, 'I'm glad to hear that, love, now go help him out, your father seems on the verge of undressing him to see who made his coat.'

For indeed, Mr Woods was very impressed by Dick's outfit, and wanted to know who made it. Dick, of course, didn't know, he had stood still for what had seemed hours, in his underpants, for a neatly groomed gentleman in a handsome suit, who had measured every part of Dick's body to write little wriggly figures down in a notebook.

Then he had shown him a book with pieces of cloth, and Dick had chosen colours and fabrics. Well, actually Patrick and Guy had, with Dennis barging in if they went too dandy on the colours and the patterns.

A week later, the man had come back, fitted the whole to him there and then, adjusted a few seams no-one would ever see, then gone back to the mistress' study, for payment, or to deliver other garments, Dick didn't know.

He merely hung up the suit on a neat peg, put his working clothes back on, and went back to work.

'I think Mrs Beauchamp has her clothes made in London, father. Maybe she had a tailor from town over this time. It doesn't look like anything made locally, and I don't think there is a maker's mark in it. Dick is just a servant, you know. It's a miracle Mrs Beauchamp thought to give him a suit at all.'

'Mrs Beauchamp, there is a woman who knows how to dress.'

Her father obviously admired the lady, who did look very sophisticated even in church. And lately she had been accompanied by her new man, whom Dick seemed to like very much.

'He's my best friend, Dennis is. He took me fishing in the moors, the mistress taught him how to find his way and not to drown in the swamps, so he helped with my chores and then we went out together and I caught five large fish. He watched me fish, he said he'd eat my catch no problem, but he was never going to kill a living creature again. He was in the army, you see, and he killed countless French, and saw nearly all his mates die horribly.

So he left and came to live with us.'

He must have been an officer, this Dennis, for he had the bearing of a nobleman, and the looks. Maria thought Mrs Beauchamp would probably marry him, and maybe finally have some children.

But though Dick was not as handsome, Maria still thought she had the best catch of the two, Dick earned his own keep, and no-one could be as fabulous in making love as him, it just couldn't be. Once Mrs Beauchamp realized that it would be too late, he would be Maria's, and they'd be the happiest couple ever.

After the talking, they went to the living-room to drink tea and chat some more, and an hour later, Maria walked Dick back to the manor, of course he could find his way back there, but she wanted to be with him just a little longer.

They had set a date for the wedding in six weeks, Dick said the mistress had begged him to have the party at the manor, and to live there together in a new set of rooms until they had found their own place.

And then he dropped his bombshell, Mrs Beauchamp must have ordered him to keep it a secret up to that moment, for Dick was not the type to be able to keep secrets from someone he liked.

'The mistress told me she'd buy a cottage for us as soon as we found one we liked. She found out I had never been paid for the work I did, and she promised me to make up for it by giving me and my wife a place to live, as soon as I got married.'

Maria had been stunned, and a bit suspicious. Was that Mrs Beauchamp trying to keep Dick connected to her? But she seemed so attached to her new man, and Dick would never cuckold his wife, would he? She couldn't believe it, this was just his mistress' generosity towards her servants, she fed them venison after all, and dressed them in tailor-made suits.

Whatever the truth, the die had been cast, Maria would marry Dick Parsons in six weeks, and she was looking forward to a smashing party at the manor, and years of happiness after that. They'd find their cottage, and use Maria's savings to buy one of those newfangled sewing-machines, and build a future in which Dick would bring in the basic wages, and Maria would take care of the extras, and then there would be nothing left to wish for but a couple of strapping children.

Dick feared they would be slow like himself, but Maria didn't worry, Dick had obviously been hindered by his overprotective mother and his crude father, their own children would grow up in love and understanding, and would be allowed to make mistakes and find things out for themselves, as Maria and her sisters had been.

When they passed the turnoff to the outcrop, Dick looked at her and smiled broadly, and Maria was tempted to go back there and repeat everything they had done before. But Dick wouldn't go for that, she was sure, he had work to do with most of the manor's inhabitants preparing for a three week stay in London.

Instead, they kissed deeply, excited by the memory of their tryst, and Dick urged Maria to turn back now, and leave him to walk the rest by himself.

'I'm a large man, Maria, no harm will come to me. I don't want you to be walking me home, then walk back all by yourself. I don't think you need me walking you home either, you took great care of yourself for at least ten years. So let's split the distance, and take each other half-way each time, maybe fool around a little at the outcrop sometimes. In six weeks we can do most of the things together.

Will you walk to the village to work for your dad until we have our own place?'

'I will, Dick, but I do not want to buy our cottage in this village. Let's live across the valley, where no-one knows us, and we can build our own life.'

Better let him get used to the idea slowly, and not mention her own business yet. She might upset him, and that would be bad. Or not. The idea of him losing himself was rather hot, he would never hurt her, but he might take her again. It would bear thinking about, she could after all just ask him to take her.

For now, they kissed ardently, and each went his own way, still radiating their fulfilment after their special moment that very morning.

Of course Dick went out to find Dennis immediately, to share his success and his secret tryst at the local meeting spot for young people. Dennis was suitably impressed by Maria's eagerness to discover loving, somehow it gave him a good feeling about this whole marriage, it confirmed his impression that Maria truly cared about Dick, knew about and appreciated his skills in loving, and would make him happy.

A week later, Agnes was on her way to town with Dennis, and Patrick and Guy had objected so strenuously to be left behind that she had included them in the party after all. They were right, in a way, Dennis would require Patrick's help to dress and keep his image believable, and Guy would be invaluable checking her editor's contracts and payments. He very much wanted to check up on the staff as well, there were just the housekeeper living in, and a maid and a gardener coming over three times a week for maintenance, but they needed some supervision, and the housekeeper would appreciate an opportunity to discuss problems and ideas with Guy, who kept his mistress' records and managed her fortune.

Not by himself, Agnes herself knew quite a lot about investments, interest and capital, but Guy was a genius and he didn't mind doing the boring parts of the finances. Agnes suspected calculating things made him feel very calm and happy.

When she still kept Dennis as a slave in her attic, Patrick had walked the house restlessly, sneaking upstairs whenever he thought Agnes was busy, and she suspected when she was out hunting, and he had avoided her except when he just couldn't, helping her bathe, and dress, and the occasional loving together with Guy. Agnes had clearly noticed Patrick didn't approve, and even reproached her for taking someone's freedom to please herself.

But Guy had seemed his usual self, calm and quiet, getting things done, not spending any attention on their prisoner, doing his duty to the mistress if she bade him to, and keeping Patrick in line and respectful to his mistress.

Only when things had come to a dramatic conclusion, had she realized he hated it as much as Patrick had, but Guy would just retreat to his own study and do the accounts or the household books, inventory stock, order new supplies. Half an hour was enough to settle him, but he usually stayed away for hours.

But when she had finally decided to let Dennis go, and probably disappear from her life as fast as his wasted legs could carry him, Guy, not Patrick, had come to her and told her frankly what a despicable thing she had done. He really wanted her to feel the impact of what she had done to a fellow being.

While Patrick was attending to his good friend, Guy had taken the risk of stepping over the gap between social status and position in life to force her to face her responsibility to the man he thought had been permanently damaged by her wilfulness and selfishness.

And when Agnes and Dennis had accidentally ran into each other on the moors, and she had declared him her love and begged him to stay, Guy had urged Dennis to think about it, to not let himself be lured into dependence again, be indentured to the mistress once more, but mentally this time.

Dennis had told them things would be different, and Guy had let things lie, but when Agnes heard about this from Dennis, she knew she had a debt to both Guy and Patrick she would have to fulfil.

When she told hem that night they had to talk, both had shied from her, her crimes against Dennis had obviously made more victims than just the man she had wronged so badly. Her bond with Patrick and Guy had also been damaged significantly, and she quickly convinced them there would not be repercussions for their loyalty towards Dennis.

'I love him, guys, I loved him all this time, I can't live without him, and without your care and your reproaching looks, I would have let him die on me. I was that far gone in selfishness and paranoia, I really thought he was playing me for a fool when he was desperately unhappy.

I had never gotten to know him as you did, I didn't even suspect he was playing a part, well, my subconscious did for it fell in love with him, but without you, I would have killed an innocent man, and robbed all of us of his friendship and love.

I owe you a major apology, and I promise you things will change from now on. I want you to tell me frankly if I do something selfish or merely stupid, and I want you to live for yourselves a little more, and a little less for me. Can you do that?'

Patrick took her hand and kissed her, but chastely, tears streaming down his face.

'I hated you mistress, for a few weeks I truly hated you. For making me accomplice to torture and abuse, and myself too cowardly to call you out. I wanted Dennis to stay because I truly loved him, but I wanted him to run as far away from you as he could, for fear that you would take whatever was left of his will, and steal his freedom forever.

But it was no use, he was lost, totally smitten, and until we both noticed things had changed between you, that you two had started talking, that you were actually helping him for once instead of bringing him down further, I cried myself to sleep every night. Guy comforted me and told me it was not my fault or my responsibility, but still I worried.

I'm glad you have finally acknowledged this, mistress, for I had started to love you less, and resent you ever more. And that hurt me, for we used to be so close.'

'Oh Patrick, why didn't you ever tell me? I felt you were different, but hate... I owe you two everything, I would never have ignored you or sent you away, I love you, both of you.

I will never demand physical loving from you again, I knew you didn't really like it, but I needed it, I needed your love, and your attention.'

'That is not quite true, Mrs Beauchamp,' Guy now objected.

'I never disliked pleasing you, I enjoyed making you shudder and help you find release. Whenever you did things I didn't like, or Patrick didn't like, you always stopped. You never forced us into anything, and you've taken great care of us and allowed us to be who we are. If we had shown our true affiliation at your aunt's, we would have been cast out and fired without references. We bloom here with you, and except for this one transgression, you have always been more than fair to the people depending on you.

Besides, you've cured Dennis of his wheezing, and his nightmares. He is truly happy now, and he has never reproached you with anything, though we have talked to him about it, to help him process his experiences. They'd become a whole set of new nightmares, you know, if we hadn't forced him to talk about it. We knew it was still too fresh for the two of you.'

That was so sweet of them, and she just had to cuddle both of them. They hugged her back sincerely, no reticence, things would be all right again from now on, no distrust or resentment between them.

They talked for another half hour, then promised they'd be open to each other, and Agnes asked her boys to be less deferential to her, if they could.

'Impossible, Mrs Beauchamp, I've been a servant all my working life, I think if I were able to love a woman and were to get married, I'd call my wife Mrs. I have to work hard to call Dennis by his first name, he's starting to become so gentleman-like, I have real trouble to stay familiar with him.'

Agnes laughed merrily, she was so proud of Dennis, but she said cheekily, 'Ask him to talk to you like he did on the streets. Your ears'll blister, and you will call him Dennis, or bro, for weeks, no trouble at all.'

Patrick now loosened up considerably, the very thought of calling the mistress by her first name had shocked him terribly.

'He did that to me once, when I accidentally said 'sir' to him. He replied to my question in the most awful brogue, every third word a curse or foulness, though it might have been every second word, I didn't understand half the gibberish he spoke. He translated it for me, then laughed at me.

'Still about to start bowing and scraping to me, Patrick?'

He looked so cheeky, I just couldn't help it, I had to laugh, too, though I felt rather foolish, and quite shocked to hear him say such indecent things. I don't think he would have done them to me, either, just for calling him 'sir'. Regrettably.

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