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Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 1)

By: YDB95



"Tell me once again," I implored Irene as we enjoyed the mellow aftereffects of our now-depleted bottle of wine, the café buzzing pleasantly just beyond our cosy table, "That time we all played together...you were imagining doing what to Elizabeth and Benjamin?"

Irene cringed, but she laughed as well. "Oh, how I rue the day I let that tidbit slip! Just promise me, Agnes, you will never tell Elizabeth I told you of that!"

"I never have and I never will," I vowed, grateful that Elizabeth and Jonathan were away visiting each of their parents on their engagement tour, and Benjamin was out of town on business. How I had longed for one evening alone with Irene to extract more details of her beautiful fantasy -- and here we were! It was not likely to happen again given how close we had all grown, a fact for which I was deeply grateful as I had spent the summer recovering from a broken heart. 

"Of course," Irene confirmed. Then she took a look around the café to ensure no one was close enough to hear what was to follow. "Yes. Anyway. You know now that the four of us, a few months before you came to town, had occasion to bathe together in a private tub. Our little way of sending off an old nemesis of Elizabeth's by making her as uncomfortable as we could."

"Heavens, I wish I had been present," I confessed. The spring and summer with Elizabeth and her friends had been a godsend for me, but there were so many steamy adventures I had missed out on prior to my arrival!

"I do think you'd have enjoyed it," Irene concurred. "And don't despair of it ever happening again, Agnes. Where Elizabeth is concerned, that sort of intimacy is always a real possibility, you know." We shared a laugh in honour of our mutual best friend, and she went on. "In any event, this was immediately after Benjamin and I had made love for the first time, and I had discovered to my delight that Benjamin rivals Elizabeth with respect to her intimate forestation, if you will." She paused for a girlish giggle at her euphemism, on which I joined in. I, of course, knew exactly what Irene spoke of, having seen Elizabeth in the nude many times by then and having heard of her large, dense ladygarden even before I had ever seen it for myself. My imagination ran wild at the thought of a man with a similarly huge forest of curls enveloping his lovely cock, and I longed for just a look at Irene's beloved. Why not, if Elizabeth had had one?! 

But Irene was not finished: "My very first thought, Agnes...well, no, my very first thought was how delightful that Benjamin was about to make love to me, for I adored him even then and I had been awfully lonely in the months leading up to that night. But my second thought was, I say, how very like Elizabeth, and how I would love to compare the two up close and try to determine just which of the two is the hairier! Who has more actual hair, whose hair covers a wider area and is it thicker or thinner than the other. And most of all, to see how they would each react to meeting someone so much like themselves."

"And you did get to see that." I hid my envy behind a curious tone, or at least I tried to do so. 

"I was a very lucky lady that afternoon," Irene agreed. "Such a thrill to watch them bond, and to admire two of the most beautiful people I've ever met in such proximity! But as I said, I wanted more, Agnes. I truly longed to reach out a hand to both their nether-regions and play. Just to run my fingers through their bushes, tease them, tickle them, anything! It was so utterly tempting. And it remains my favourite image when it comes time to indulge myself."

I sat up straighter in my seat and took a deep breath, for what was to follow would not be an easy thing for me to ask. But after a late-afternoon soak with Irene at the baths and such steamy conversation over dinner and my own heart and loins longing for companionship all summer, I could no longer keep my prurient interests in check. "Irene, if you don't mind my asking..." I paused, hoping she would assure me that she did not.

"With all we have been sharing tonight, I can't imagine I will mind," Irene allowed with a grin.

"Thank you. Do you think, Irene, given what you have fantasized of doing to Elizabeth, do you think you could be like Edward?" There! I had gotten it out! Edward was my former fiancé, of whom I have written elsewhere, who had ended our engagement that spring after coming to realize that he preferred the affections of men to women. Now that I knew such people were real and as normal as any of us, I had naturally come to wonder if they mightn't be far more common than I had once imagined. 

"Is that all you were so embarrassed about asking?" Irene said, to my relief. "That is quite all right, Agnes. And to answer your question, I know I am not exactly like Edward: I do love men far too much to settle for only women. Heavens, the feeling of Benjamin's hard cock inside me...I could never give that up willingly! But the thought has crossed my mind that perhaps I have a strong affection for both."

I nodded, deep in thought on the matter and now tempted with a more intimate request. Feeling somewhat emboldened, I admired my friend in her summer frock -- a rare sight, for Irene was among the few young women in Westfordshire City who favoured trousers -- and felt tickled at the idea that she may have even admired my body discreetly at the baths. But I feared I might need more wine before I could continue the conversation as I wished it to continue. 

Fortunately, Irene was rather less inhibited than I, as she and Elizabeth usually were. "Might I ask why you wondered that?" she asked me. 

I was more than willing to explain. "Well, first, Irene, I suppose what happened with Edward has me wondering about everyone I know. Secondly, your sheer lack of inhibition at the baths -- which I admire greatly, but I do not yet share. I wish I could, but you and especially Elizabeth, so wonderfully brazen. And third..."

"And third, what I told you I wanted to do to Elizabeth and Benjamin?"

I nodded nervously. "That as well. And we had such fun indulging ourselves that night with Elizabeth, you know...well, since Edward left, I've had plenty of time to think about that."

"I think about it as well," Irene acknowledged. "It was a beautiful experience." Her mouth now curling up into a grin that looked as shy as I was feeling, she asked, "Are you inviting me to join you for some play again, Agnes?"

My heart was pounding. "I should never wish to overstep any boundaries of our friendship, Irene, or of your relationship with Benjamin, I assure you! But it has been a very lonely summer for me, as you know, and, well...I have had a great deal of practice with my hands since that night."

Irene reached across the table and grasped my hand. "Agnes, I had no desire to go home to an empty flat tonight in any case!"

"And Benjamin won't mind?" Happy as I was, I could not dismiss that concern. 

Irene looked thoughtful. "Perhaps if we touch only ourselves, that boundary will not be crossed."

"I can settle for that," I agreed, "Though I had been hoping" -- at this point I dropped my voice to a whisper -- "You might do to me what you had wished to do to Elizabeth."

"Do not tempt me," Irene warned as she stood up and opened her pocketbook to pay the bill. "It will already be difficult to keep my hands to myself tonight." 

"Frustrated, are we?" I teased. Benjamin had been gone all week. I, at least, had a great deal more practice at sleeping alone of late. 

"And how!" Irene gave my hand an affectionate squeeze as I handed her my share of the money, and I walked out into the lobby to wait for a cab home. 

My only regret in that intensely happy moment was that Elizabeth, whom we both admired so very much, would be absent. Unbeknownst to Irene and myself until later, though, Elizabeth and Jonathan were enjoying a brazen adventure of their own even as we spoke. We would have hardly been surprised had we known, of course, for Elizabeth was unparalleled in her sexual appetite and adventuresome nature. I had indeed been wondering just how she had been coping with sleeping alone in her childhood bed for those past few days while visiting her family, with Jonathan alone in the guestroom. 

Not well, I would learn when she related the tale later on, and as Jonathan learned on their very first moment alone together at the train station earlier that afternoon. "Heavens, I'm randy, darling!" she announced in a husky whisper as soon as they were settled in a pleasantly dark corner of the station teahouse, moments after her mother and father had at last taken their leave to return home, the latter having held out to the last that Jonathan might ask permission to marry his daughter; Jonathan, to his credit, had refused. He knew it was Elizabeth's decision alone. "Lovely to see Mother and Father, and even Mandy although I wish she could have swallowed her jealousy for the time being; but all this time with you right there and yet off limits! I shall never know how I endured."

"You think you were randy!" Jonathan replied. "How do you think I fared knowing we were in the very house where you came of age and first learned all these lovely secrets about yourself?! And you prancing around in those clothes to boot!" The summer being in full force and Elizabeth several years removed now from her conservative upbringing, she had spent the entire visit in scandalously short skirts that barely grazed her knees, much to her parents' silent but palpable consternation. That day found her in a particularly delightful white floral print one, and an equally breezy knitted blouse with short sleeves.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said. "You know how I have wanted to give bare legs a try for ages, and here I had the advantage of not making a fool of myself with all our friends if the look did not suit me." She crossed her legs, and her skirt rode scandalously yet further up her thighs. "But evidently it does. And was a nice little rebellion against my family as well."

"Yes, and speaking of which, having your sister there to wonder about as well!" Jonathan added with the sense of security that could only come with a love like theirs. "It has been a long few days for me as well, dear."

Jonathan was fortunate that the waiter chose that moment to appear. They ordered a pot of tea each, and if I know them, there was undoubtedly a knowing glance as they imagined Irene teasing them both about putting the water closet on the train to good use. But Elizabeth's demeanour turned firmer once the waiter had retreated. "Wonder about my sister, Jonathan? What on earth had you in mind about her?"

"Oh, heavens, Elizabeth," Jonathan said cautiously, "I would never behave inappropriately with her, you know that. I merely meant, family traits being what they are, it was irresistible to imagine that she might well be nearly as well-endowed as you are down below. The thought crossed my mind regarding your mother as well, but I daren't imagine that."

Elizabeth allowed a relieved laugh, though she remained slightly annoyed. "I am loath to destroy your fantasies, Jonathan, but I have seen Mandy in the nude on occasion and, though she has my eyes and nose, she does not have my pubic hair. No more than I have her breasts, which I thank you for not ogling, incidentally." Mandy, a year older than Elizabeth, was slightly shorter and rather heavier, particularly on top. Her own latest beau having lately taken to the road, she had also spent the past three days of their mutual visit gazing longingly at Jonathan, a matter that was not lost on Elizabeth now. 

"Well then, I guess you truly won the genetic lottery, did you not?" Jonathan replied. "And I certainly won it as far as your family is concerned."

"I am happy you feel that way," Elizabeth replied. "I trust there is no need for me to remind you that was not my own view for many years when we were growing up."

"I know all too well how miserable those years were for you," Jonathan reminded her. "And you know how proud I am of you for overcoming those experiences. I do hope your sister never bullied you like the girls at school did."

"Never," Elizabeth said. "To tell the truth, I have never known for certain that she was even aware I was unusual. We did not lounge around in the nude, I assure you, not like I do with Agnes and Irene, after all. Mandy and I were never so close. But I did see her changing clothes and in the bath enough times to know she has a perfectly ordinary, dainty little bush. Absolutely nothing like mine."

"From your mother then, perhaps?" Jonathan mused, obviously much too titillated to let go of his favourite topic. "Or your father?"

"I have never seen either of them in the nude," Elizabeth said. "But given how formal and stiff they are, I cannot imagine either is responsible for my own horniness. And by extension, they likely do not share you-know-what either. I am afraid I'm one of a kind in that respect, my darling."

"Amen." It was all Jonathan had a chance to say before the waiter brought their tea. Jonathan paid the bill and thanked the waiter, and turned back to his beloved as soon as they were alone again. "I assure you, Elizabeth, I never had any doubt that you were unique. I only wish I knew what twist of genetic fate inspired it all, just how this miracle came to be."

"I'm glad to hear you still feel that way," Elizabeth said, flushing with the compliment, "But I have to admit that I take a rather less romantic view of it all. Especially at a time like this when we've been forced to play nice for the week or more. I would so much rather have a more controllable urge to play!"

"A jolly good thing we have this train ride to look forward to, then," Jonathan said with a grin. He then took a long sip of his tea and enjoyed Elizabeth's bemused reaction. 

"What are you suggesting, then, Jonathan, that we go to the water closet together?!" Elizabeth demanded. "Mind you, it would be an amusing response the next time Irene teases us about our bladders, but..."

"Heavens, no," Jonathan said, and with a flourish he pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket. "I was quite worried your parents would wish to stay with us until the train arrived, Elizabeth. Thank heavens they did not." He handed her the paper, and enjoyed the view as her face broke into the salacious grin she always sported when a roll in his arms was in the near future. 

"Jonathan! A private compartment?!"

"I paid for the upgrade in cash, back in Westfordshire," Jonathan explained. "I knew all too well both our families would have us sleeping in separate rooms, after all, and why should we have to wait all week when there would be nothing else to do on this leg of the trip?"

Elizabeth looked longingly at her watch. "We've all too much time to enjoy our tea first, haven't we?"

"Think of it as anticipation," said Jonathan. 

"More like torture," said Elizabeth, uncrossing and recrossing her legs in frustration. Little doubt she was already growing wet, she knew. More than half an hour to go before the train even arrived at the station, and it would likely be another ten minutes before they would pull away from the station...it had been difficult but manageable to banish any thought of making love from her mind with three days to go before the return to Westfordshire. Now, with it all close enough to taste all of a sudden...damn that beautiful, wonderful Jonathan! Shamelessly she glanced over the table to examine his lap, and was rewarded with the sight of her favourite bulge in his pants. They laughed together, and made do with holding hands across the table. 

The weather outside was hot and hazy, but the clouds were rolling in by the time the train arrived, and the skies were quite threatening as Elizabeth and Jonathan stowed their trunks in their compartment. Just before they took their seats, Elizabeth reached under her skirt and pulled her panties down just as matter-of-factly as a gentleman might remove his hat, and set them folded neatly on the empty seat beside hers. "Best we have those out of the way, isn't it?" she asked Jonathan as she took her seat across from him, with her legs a few enticing inches apart in her short skirt. 

When at last the train made its delightful jerk forward, the clouds looked ready to burst -- with the same storm that was to reach us in Westfordshire City that evening -- and Elizabeth felt quite similarly near her own bursting point. The first drops might have fallen upon the greenery beyond their window when Elizabeth climbed upon Jonathan's lap; they were surely on their way, but neither Elizabeth nor Jonathan was minding the weather just then. Elizabeth lost no time in throwing her arms around Jonathan and squeezing him as tightly as she could while he kissed her passionately. The long-denied sensation of his body against hers and her tongue running along his teeth were every bit as refreshing as the rain on the parched earth rushing by them outside, and the sense of release from every inch of her body was a lovely rush of pleasure. 

Normally, Jonathan was the type to savour the anticipation and treat Elizabeth to a great deal of gentle foreplay; on occasion she even thought him too ambitious in that respect. But today was no time for that. Elizabeth did not think the train was even up to full speed before Jonathan had her skirt up and out of the way and she was enjoying his wonderful caresses all around and through her thick ladygarden. He knew his way around her body very well, and lost no time in working her up into a lather of desire, which he quenched promptly with two fingers in her ravenous vagina. Elizabeth opened her eyes and gazed gratefully into his as he caressed her effortlessly into an intense orgasm. She rocked with the sensation, doing her best to rub her breasts against his chest and loving the splash of delight from her nipples each time she did, and then kissed him again as the climax washed away. 

With the kiss still in full force, she reached down and unbuttoned his pants, finding the last two difficult to undo because the fabric was so tight over his hard cock. Elizabeth had no time to get her hands out of the way after releasing the final button before it sprang to attention. It felt delightful in her hands, hard and full and ready for action, and Jonathan moaned loudly at her touch. But she was in at least as much of a hurry as he had been, and it was but the work of a moment to position herself just right and envelop him in her wet, welcoming vagina. Now it was his turn to give in to helpless pleasure as she bobbed up and down before him on the seat. They were sure to leave a wet spot on the leather, the thought crossed her mind fleetingly, but that only added to the forbidden joy of it all. 

Owing to their three days of enforced chastity, it was as brief as it was intense. But it was also as positively joyful as any long and lustful night in Elizabeth's room back home, and she was able to bring herself off again just before she felt Jonathan's telltale splash inside her. When it was over, she stopped moving but did not release him from her loins, instead clinging tightly to him and enjoying the rhythm of the rails below as the rainy afternoon roared past outside. "What a lovely idea, Jonathan," she said. "Thank you. I don't know how I ever would have made it through three more days without that."

"Nor I," said Jonathan, "Believe it or not." His own somewhat lesser libido being an occasional point of contention between them, he often felt it necessary to reassure Elizabeth that he enjoyed their lovemaking just as much as she did.

Elizabeth laughed, not a doubt in her mind this time. "I know, my darling, I assure you I know!" They shared a laugh, and at long last Elizabeth stood up and put her panties back on while Jonathan redid his pants. The remainder of the trip passed in easy silence as they watched the storm blow through the picturesque villages on the way to Jonathan's hometown. 


Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 1)



The same storm was in full force when Irene and I left the café that evening, so we had to wait for some time before securing a cab for the ride back to my uncle's mansion. By the time we were safely in the back of the motorcar, our hair and dresses were damp and our feet were absolutely soaked. But I welcomed the unpleasant wetness, as it would only make undressing together all the more pleasurable. Irene appeared to agree, for when I turned to look at her, we both burst into comfortable laughter. 

"It is too bad Elizabeth shan't be joining us," I said once the giggles had passed. 

"She hardly has to always be at the centre of all our fun," Irene said. "I do get a bit tired of all that now and then."

"Do you?" I asked. 

"I am afraid I do," Irene said. "Think of all the attention she always gets at the baths. I mean, Agnes, she is beautiful, and she did have to overcome a lot of abuse over her body when she was younger, and I do not begrudge her that at all. But I do sometimes feel as though I am playing second-fiddle to her. Surely you have noticed it too."

Indeed I had. Just as well, perhaps, that Irene and I were able to bond in her absence. There had been some tension early on about the pair of us vying for Elizabeth's attention, and that hardly seemed right given the bonds we now shared. And yet I could not help but regret that it would not be the three of us tonight; that, perhaps, would have felt a bit less like we were cheating on poor Benjamin. 

I had, by this time, become a permanent boarder at my uncle and aunt's mansion, which Elizabeth also called home. Having arrived several months before for a brief stay with Edward while he worked on his paintings, I had planned to stay only for a fortnight or so. But two things had occurred to change my life forever: Edward realized he would never love me as I deserved to be loved; and Elizabeth's fiancé, Jonathan, had arranged for me to take a job in his office. Edward having been summarily moved out of the mansion and into Westfordshire city after breaking off our engagement, Uncle had told me I was welcome to stay on until I could arrange a flat for myself in town. But in the ensuing weeks, a vacancy had opened in a boarder-room in the mansion; and in my delicate state after losing Edward, I was in no great hurry to live alone. Uncle and Aunt had attempted to dissuade me from paying rent; but I was proud to be making a living on my own, and had insisted on paying my way like any other boarder would. As the spring and summer had passed, I found I would never choose to live anywhere else if I could help it. 

I was nearly shaking in anticipation as Irene and I arrived at the front door and let ourselves in. We were just in time to see my youngest cousin, Joy, being led up the stairs to bed. "Agnes! Auntie Irene! You're all wet!" she exclaimed. 

"Are we, now?" Irene asked with a grin. "I say, Joy, I had never noticed!" 

We all shared a laugh, and to my surprise, Uncle joined in from the sitting room doorway where he stood. "Welcome home, ladies," he said. 

"Is Auntie Elizabeth coming home tonight?" Joy asked hopefully, just before her nurse curtly pulled at her arm to continue dragging her upstairs with a stern reminder that it was bedtime. 

"Not until the weekend," I told her.

"Go on to bed now, Joy," Uncle directed her. Turning to us, he added, "Sorry, Agnes, I do not wish to delay you in drying off, but could you tell me when Elizabeth will be back exactly?"

"I believe they are due on the afternoon train on Saturday," Irene told him. "She said she would be most grateful for the tour to be done and they would not put it off until Sunday."

"I can imagine," Uncle said with a chuckle. "When she does arrive, could you please let her know I want a word with her? Alexandria has been an absolute terror about leaving for school at the end of the month, and I should like very much for Elizabeth to have a woman-to-woman talk with her. She has a touch that Alexandria's mother never has, you see."

"Too true, Uncle," I admitted. "We will tell her." I was a touch jealous that I, who had known Alexandria since she was a baby, was not worthy of the job. But there was no denying that among us all, Elizabeth had the most experience in coping with the strife of one's teen years. Having heard many of her stories, I was privately grateful that I was not so well qualified as she in that regard. 

"Thank you," Uncle said. "Now please, both of you go dry off before you catch your death! Irene, would you like a room for the night?"

"That won't be necessary, thank you," Irene reassured him. He nodded and returned to the sitting room, leaving us both to wonder if he had deduced where Irene would be sleeping that night. Elizabeth, who served as a part time au pair to the children and also did some work in Uncle's office, had always wondered just how much he might know of her intimate life in town; now, as a boarder in their home, I had come to wonder as well. 

"Poor Alexandria," I mused as we slopped up the stairs carefully. 

"I am quite certain Elizabeth will be able to set her somewhat at ease," Irene said. "She does have a gift for that."

"Amazing that she doesn't just bury all her memories now that she has overcome all that she went through, isn't it?" I asked. 

"Truly. But you know she just wants to make sure no one else has to suffer as she did. And that is why I can usually keep my envy of her in check."

"Usually," I agreed. And suddenly I was no longer sorry to have Irene to myself for the night. 

I did not even have time to light the lamp on my dresser before Irene had shut the bedroom door and set about removing her dress. "This feels like a wet towel!" she exclaimed. 

"For me as well!" I agreed, following her lead in undressing. Once I had my dress off, Irene was already pulling down the straps of her lacy one-piece leotard-style underwear, which I had admired in silence back at the baths. "Has Elizabeth seen you in that yet?" I asked. 

"No," Irene said. "I am unsure as to whether or not I want her to. Sometimes I think I tease her too much about how she and Jonathan always need to wee, and that is why she has never bought a garment like this. Too much trouble to undress every time, and all that."

I laughed. "Heavens, that was one of the very first things she ever told me about herself and you." Elizabeth and Jonathan drank more tea than anyone I had ever known, and they knew where every water closet in Westfordshire City was.

"That's right, you met in the ladies', didn't you?" Irene asked. "How very fitting, I recall thinking."

Amidst the idle chat about our absent friend, I had gone to the closet to retrieve two fresh towels. On turning back to face Irene, I saw she was now nude. Though I had seen her in all her natural glory numerous times at the baths by then, her body held a different and superior aura altogether now. "Oh, Irene," I whispered as I admired her supple breasts and elegant hips. "No more talk of Elizabeth, please. Tonight is ours."

"Indeed," Irene said as she accepted one of the towels from me and patted herself dry. I admired her without a twinge of shame as I quickly removed my own underclothes. They felt silly compared to her lovely garment; perhaps I would buy one of those for myself. Though my sexual awakening had been in full force ever since that wonderful evening with Irene and Elizabeth months before, there was still so much more to discover about myself!

I followed Irene's lead in patting myself dry; as I did it, we made eye-contact and burst into nervous laughter together. I scarcely knew what to do next. I rarely did when I was in such a state of arousal as I was in that moment; but more often than not in the past it had been a simple matter of retiring to my room to play with myself. From my awkward first time -- which Irene had witnessed -- I had come to be a regular expert on my own body. With that thought, I simply climbed atop the pillows my bed and bade Irene join me on the other end. "I shan't touch you if that is your wish," I told her, "But I do not think I can resist looking at you."

"Nor I you," Irene agreed, following my lead onto the bed. "I did agree to this, after all." In the pleasant dim light we found ourselves spread-legged, facing one another, each with a clear view of one another. This led to another nervous laugh as neither of us seemed up to being the first to begin playing. "What are you thinking now, Agnes?" Irene asked, and at last she reached down and parted her large vulva, which was ever so distinctive in its own way as Elizabeth's hidden one.

"I'm thinking..." I said as I admired her first gentle caresses of herself. No option but to be honest in such an intimate setting, I concluded. "It is interesting how we look...different. Down there. You know?"

"I know," Irene said. "I've been insecure about that just like Elizabeth, or anyone else, really. But it's all a part of how every woman is different in some way."

"Well, I hope you've worked past it just like she has," I told Irene. Her full, prominent lips looked nothing but beautiful to me, then and always. "I mean, I think it's beautiful how unique you are too."

"Thank you, Agnes; and yes, I have. Benjamin loves it, you know." 

"I wonder what might be unique about myself?" I thought out loud. I was neither as hairy as Elizabeth nor as fleshy as Irene.

"Well, your ability to talk your friends into bed is certainly impressive," Irene offered. "But are you going to just sit there and let me have all the fun, dear?"

"Certainly not," and I followed suit with my hands, parting my lips with the left and teasing my clitoris with my right. The first wonderful rush of sensation shot through me, and knowing Irene was feeling the same only added to it. I closed my eyes and imagined that lovely day out in the country that I had missed. Now, though, I was there, perhaps taking the place of the detested Tamara, and admiring both Jonathan and especially Benjamin in the altogether. And drinking in the reaction as he and Elizabeth realized their bond.

"Are you thinking what I think you are?" Irene asked me. "All of us in the hot tub?"

"And you and I side by side, admiring Elizabeth and Benjamin as they discover their shared secret," I said, my eyes closed as I concentrated on the delicious sensations. 

"The way they looked one another up and down and then laughed together," Irene recalled, "Oh, it was delicious, Agnes. And we can both see it now, can't we? Beautiful!"

"You and I hold hands, and with our free hands..." I began.

"Our free hands disappear in the jungle of curls!" Irene giggled. Her intense tone inspired me to open my eyes, and I saw her rubbing herself hard. The beautiful sight allowed me to let go of the last shred of inhibition I had possessed up to that moment, and I followed suit with intense strokes. Irene, her eyes still closed, continued. "My hand in Benjamin's bush, my palm resting on his hard cock, and yours in Elizabeth's..."

"And we tickle them!" I squealed, feeling quite ticklish down below myself by then. 

"Oooh, I think I'd like that!" Irene cooed. "Just imagine the pair of them squirming at our touch!"

"I only hope Elizabeth has been to the water closet recently!" I added.

"Hasn't she always, though?" Irene replied, now laughing through her arousal. "And that's where Jonathan is now, of course! Poor thing, he's missing such a show!"

"Indeed!" I agreed. "And now I have Elizabeth whipped up in such a tizzy, she's dying for a firmer touch..."

"And Benjamin is rock hard...and I have an idea," Irene said. "I take your other hand, Agnes, and wrap it around his cock..."

I was snapped out of my reverie. "Irene, are you sure? He is your true love!"

"And it's my fantasy, isn't it?" Irene asked. "Yes, I'm sure!"

"But I hardly know what to do with that!"

"I assure you, Agnes, a woman learns very quickly how to pleasure a man like that. Just imagine moving your hand up and down slowly, and let his beautiful response guide you. Faster, slower, you will know."

And so I did imagine his lovely plump cock hard in my hand, and my touch working him into a lather. "So beautiful," I mused, my eyes now closed again as I imagined all his manly glory at my command. "But what about Elizabeth?"

"I shall see after her," Irene replied. And I could see her in the corner of my mind's eye, teasing Elizabeth to orgasm with both hands and maybe more now, as I stroked Benjamin up and down, running my other hand through his wonderful bush as I brought him to a heaving, loud orgasm. The spell was broken only when my own very real orgasm washed over me, and I cried aloud with joy as it did. Catching my breath at last, I opened my eyes to see Irene gazing adoringly at me as she continued rubbing herself gently.

"Have you come too?" I asked her.

"Not yet," she whispered. "I have simply been loving the view too much to want it over with so quickly! I do hope you don't mind, Agnes."

"Hardly!" I reassured her. 

"Could you do me a favour, then?" I nodded, and she continued. "Could you stand up, by the closet door there where I will have a clear view?"

I was flattered and bemused and a bit embarrassed all at once. "You wish to gaze upon me for your orgasm, Irene?" I asked.

"If you don't mind," she said. "I shan't touch you, a promise is a promise. It is only that I have never had such an opportunity to simply admire another woman one to one as now, and I wish to make the most of this wonderful occasion!" She stretched her legs out wide now, so that one of her feet grazed my own leg as it went by. I longed to do far more than only pose for her! 

But I acquiesced and stood up as she had requested, one leg curled playfully to the side, and smiled down at my friend as she drank in my body and rubbed herself harder than before. Feeling newly aroused myself, I reached down and stroked gently at my own pubic hair, never reaching in too far but drawing all Irene's attention upon my triangle. "Just imagine I'm Elizabeth," I said, "Out for a play in my ladygarden! Mustn't get lost in there, now!"

And that brought on her orgasm. That, though, does not do justice to the exhilaration of the moment when Irene came: screeching in joy, wiggling both legs as her fingers continued in their tight circle, an absolutely uninhibited look in her eyes which locked on with mine! Nothing I had seen, not even that wonderful evening with her and Elizabeth those months before, could ever hope to compare with the sight and sound of Irene in that moment of triumph. 

Then, her principles defeated at last, Irene stretched out on my bed and held up an arm. "Come hold me, Agnes," she whispered. And without a twinge of reluctance, I did.

I cannot recall if it was still raining in Westfordshire City by that time; the weather was rather far from my mind as I lay in Irene's embrace. I do know the storm had passed in Jonathan's village when he and Elizabeth arrived there. Though they had kept their clothes on and their hands to themselves after their earlier romp was done, Elizabeth was finding herself once again in a mood for play as she stepped down from the train. Perhaps it was the knowledge that they would once again never be alone for the next few days, she told me later. Or perhaps it was the same thing Jonathan had experienced at her home, finding herself immersed in the venue of her true love's sexual awakening, within the very walls where he had so often played with himself while learning the techniques that would one day satisfy her so.

"Or maybe," I would suggest with a gentle grin, "It is simply a matter of you being you, Elizabeth. When are you ever not ready for a bit of fun?"

"Quite right," Elizabeth would confess. "Such a blessing and a curse it is! But I suppose it is well worth it for what Jonathan and I can share."

That revelation, in any event, was far from her mind as Jonathan's mother and father awaited them on the platform. "Jonathan!" his mother called out with joy as he followed Elizabeth off the train, struggling with both their suitcases. "Put down the luggage and give your mother a proper greeting!" He did, throwing his arms around her in a fond embrace that made Elizabeth beam with the reminder of just what a treasure he was. "And Elizabeth!" she said, turning to the younger woman when Jonathan had retreated. "Welcome, dear." And Elizabeth was treated to a tender embrace as well, though the two women had never met before. 

"Good trip, I trust?" asked Jonathan's father, shaking his son's hand.

"The best," Jonathan said with a sly grin. "Very comfortable ride."

Elizabeth managed to keep a straight face as her future father shook her hand and then took the liberty of kissing it. "Welcome to the family, Elizabeth," he said with all the formality he could muster. "I hope Jonathan has assured you of our delight at the news."

"That he has, sir," Elizabeth replied.

"Call me Father, please! Or Dad." The older man shared Jonathan's shy smile, she now saw. "'Sir' is ever so formal for the daughter I never had."

"You do recall they aren't married yet, Warren," Jonathan's mother piped up.

"Nothing but formalities, Molly, you know that." Over Jonathan's objections, he collected both their suitcases. "Now let us get you kids home. Horribly humid day, but there's a cold ale for each of you in the icebox, even a bath if you should like."

Elizabeth had never before met a man her parents' age who was half so openminded about women and drink; but she had long found Jonathan to be a bottomless source of surprises. "Now I see where you got your healthy attitude about women, darling," she whispered to Jonathan as they made their way to his parents' home.

"How do you know it wasn't I who instilled that attitude in him?" Jonathan offered with a grin. 

It was a large house, not a mansion like the Marlstons', but quite large for only an older couple like Jonathan's parents; and a servant was waiting at the door to carry their suitcases. That, though, was the first and last sign of ostentation that Elizabeth saw anywhere, as hers-to-be proved remarkably personable for their evident wealth. "We could manage on our own," Jonathan's father explained as Jonathan showed Elizabeth into the sitting room, "But James is good company in this big old house."

"It is a lovely house!" Elizabeth was still unsure of what to make of the large yet humble abode. She had known all along that Jonathan's parents were quite well off; for that reason she had expected rather more pomp and formality such as was always on tap at her own family's home. The change was quite refreshing, but difficult to adjust to as well. As Jonathan settled himself beside her on the sofa, she asked as furtively as she could, "Was he serious about the ale, darling?"

"He certainly was," answered the older man before Jonathan could reply. He had appeared in the doorway with three open bottles on a tray. "My wife is a teetotaller, but she copes well enough with my tastes and I welcome anyone who shares them."

"I do hope Jonathan hasn't got you thinking I get him tipsy on a regular basis...Father." Elizabeth had to force the final word out, but she found she liked it. 

"Not at all," he reassured her. "Only that you and he are enjoying the good life in Westfordshire."

"Yes, I have heard it is a delightful place to be young," Jonathan's mother added, settling regally in her chair at the head of the room. Elizabeth, who enjoyed a racy reputation in the city, could not help but detect a hint of a smile on her future mother's lips. Could it be she knew just what sort of free spirit her son was marrying?

There was little time or cause to concern herself with that. A toast to the happy couple and their future was the first order of business, and Jonathan soon had the window open to allow the cool summer breeze into the room. The rest of the evening was mellow and comfortable, and mercifully short as Elizabeth was feeling quite fatigued from the train ride. She struggled to hold back the first yawn, but Jonathan's mother took notice. "I second that, Elizabeth," she said with an agreeable nod. "Shall I show you your bedroom?"




Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 1)



"That would be lovely, thanks," Elizabeth said. "I am quite sorry, but it has been a long day."

"Indeed," Jonathan's father agreed. "In any event, Jonathan, I believe I mentioned to you that your mother and I have taken over the downstairs back room to sleep in? Much cooler in the summer."

"Uh..." Jonathan struggled to recall. "Fair enough, Dad."

His father chuckled. "No worries if you don't recall, son. Hardly important. In any event, your mother and I have instructed James to prepare your grandmother's old room for Elizabeth. You can have your old room, of course."

"And I trust you shall respect Elizabeth's dignity while she sleeps next door," his mother warned. "I am sure she does not need to remind you, you are not married yet."

"Naturally, Mother." Jonathan was nearly in pain with effort to avoid laughing; Elizabeth could tell because she was experiencing the same dilemma. 

"I shall show Elizabeth upstairs," Jonathan's mother announced, oblivious to the reaction to her prior declaration. "Perhaps you have matters to discuss with Jonathan then, Warren."

"Well, right," said his father awkwardly. Elizabeth suddenly felt just as awkward, knowing all too well that the older woman simply wanted a word alone with her, probably something about who was and was not a blood relative regardless of whom Jonathan loved. Resigned to an uncomfortable confrontation, she followed up the narrow stairwell.

She needn't have worried, for Jonathan's mother was all smiles at the top of the stairs. "Silly boys will drag out a good-night all night long if you let them," she reassured Elizabeth. "Probably want to talk of rugby or some such. Nothing we need fill our heads with while struggling to remain awake! And I am sure you would prefer your time alone now in any event." She led Elizabeth down the long hall to a small, ornately decorated room with a double bed taking most of the space, not unlike many of the guest rooms at the Marlstons'. "My mother slept here for many years, as I said," she explained. "Jonathan was quite close to her, I am sure he has told you, and so we had his room just next to hers." She pointed at the wall opposite the bed. "Quite convenient for when they were up late chatting about anything and nothing, as one couldn't hear their noise at the far end of the hall, much less downstairs."

Elizabeth gave her a bewildered look, wondering for the moment if she was being drawn into a cloaked woman-to-woman conversation. 

Her suspicion was promptly proven false. The older woman dropped her voice to a whisper. "I insisted upon having you sleep here, dear, because I trust Jonathan's respect for his grandmother will keep his baser male longings intact."

Though utterly bewildered, Elizabeth found herself oddly relieved as well -- evidently her hairy and horny reputation had not reached her future mother's ears after all. "Well...thank you," she said, sounding more uncertain than she felt. 

"He is rather too much like his father in some ways, I fear." She turned to leave Elizabeth alone in the spotless, stuffy bedroom. "Welcome to the family, and do have a pleasant night!"

Elizabeth wanted to kiss her, but that seemed improper. "And good night to you as well." Once the door was shut, she sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, unsure of whether to laugh or cry at all she had just learned. Jonathan, whose libido was never as intense as Elizabeth's, was "too much like his father"? Little wonder, then, that his mother seemed such a cold fish! It was unkind, but Elizabeth could not help thinking it. 

Their delicious tryst on the train having only served to inflame her usual appetite, Elizabeth dearly hoped Jonathan would not let his grandmother's ghost keep him at bay. But with no sound of him next door (perhaps he and his father really were talking of rugby?), there was nothing but to wait and hope and make the best of whatever situation was to emerge. Fortunately, Elizabeth had two good hands and years of practice in their use. First things first, she got up and opened the window to let in the pleasant summer breeze. With the music of the insects and wildlife outside, she drew the shade and set about undressing. Jonathan or no Jonathan, the lovely surroundings and the soft bed were ripe for christening with her favourite pastime. 

An uncomfortable-looking old chair sat in the corner by the window; Elizabeth soon had her skirt and blouse draped over it and her panties discreetly kicked underneath. Keeping her brassiere on for the moment, she padded quietly around the bed, drinking in the lavish décor and recalling Jonathan's words from earlier in the afternoon about enjoying the venue of her sexual awakening, and now imagining the same of Jonathan. Mightn't he have crept into that very room in his grandmother's absence, in search of all things feminine? That wonderful memory of all fantasies and mysteries being brand new flooded over her as she envisioned her own Jonathan experiencing the same. Just as well that they did not meet until adulthood, she knew, as they were ever so much more experienced; but oh! To have had her very first time with lovely Jonathan! And in such a room as this!

His mother's words about "dignity" and "male longings" only tickling her fancy further, Elizabeth reached down and began running her fingers through her lush bush just as Irene and I were imagining doing a few hundred miles away. (Neither of us would have been surprised in the least; Elizabeth alone in a bedroom could only ever lead to one thing!) Finding herself just as wet to the touch as she had anticipated, she wasted no time in settling herself on the bed with her legs spread and her hands between them. There were fleeting thoughts of pausing to remove her brassiere, but she found the taboo of being not-quite-naked enjoyable and the satin on her hard nipples quite erotic. A new room, a new bed, a new variation on her usual procedure -- how utterly delightful with or without Jonathan! 

She was still lost in leisurely memories of the train and various other favourite sessions with Jonathan when the rap came at the door at last. "Elizabeth?" He said her name loudly enough that she could only hope his mother was right about hearing nothing from downstairs. 

"Come in," she said as loudly as she dared, stifling a giggle at his likely reaction. 

Jonathan appeared in the doorway, dressed in a raggedy bathrobe emblazoned in his university colours -- now rather faded. He looked freshly scrubbed and eager to join in with his true love, but he did not look surprised at all at her erotic pose. "I had rather feared you would get a head start without me," he said, grinning as he removed his bathrobe to reveal that he was predictably aroused at the sight. As always, the beautiful sight of his rigid cock only drove Elizabeth to further distraction.

"I wonder," she sighed, eyeing him hungrily as he made his way around the little room, "Just exactly what does it say about me that you are utterly unsurprised to find me playing with myself in your grandmother's bed?"

"I know only what it says about me, Elizabeth," Jonathan replied. "It says I really am amazingly lucky. What I did to deserve your love, I shall never know." He climbed onto the bed alongside her and she eagerly let his hands take the place of hers in her bush. "I trust my mother has told you, however accidentally, that we can do anything we like in here and they shall never hear us downstairs."

"Indeed, and I was wondering did she even realize what she had told me?" Elizabeth said just before giving in to the lusty gasps and squirms that she could always trust his loving fingers to bring. 

Jonathan propped himself up on one elbow alongside Elizabeth, his other hand now gently probing her vagina. "Most likely not," he said, enjoying the sights and sounds of her response to his loving caresses. "My grandmother was my lifeline growing up, you know, always my trusty source for whatever I needed to know about girls -- I mean, anything -- and Mother never overheard our conversations. Felt absolutely safe discussing anything on our minds here, and she never knew." 

He continued stroking as he spoke, and Elizabeth was well into her usual erotic lather as a result. "But...onhhhh, yes! But I mean...oooooohhhhhh...your talks weren't loud, were they? Loud as I get when youuuuuuuu...ohhhhh...when you make me come?"

"Well, admittedly, no," Jonathan said. "But I...sometimes the conversations were on very intimate topics, Elizabeth, and once Grandmother was safely out of the house, I would enjoy myself in here, just as you were doing. You know how sometimes I can be rather loud as well, but Mother never knew."

"Why not -- OOHHHHHHH! Yes! Unhhhhh. Why not your own room, Jonathan?" Elizabeth was just as titillated by the stories he was sharing as by his touch. 

"This room was at least a little further away," he said. "Besides, Grandma had some art books she used to let me peruse. She said it was nothing to be ashamed of and better that I learn these things from tasteful paintings than from, well, the other options available to me back then."

"Jonathan!" Elizabeth lay still, catching her breath from her first orgasm. "That is -- well, odd and rather creepy when I think of grandmothers, but it's beautiful! She wanted to make sure you had a safe outlet for your urges...how I wish my mother had been so open-minded!"

"My mother wasn't either," Jonathan reminded her. "But then Grandmother never entirely approved of her. As I got older, I could see why." Sensing Elizabeth was satiated for the moment, he withdrew his damp fingers but continued running them playfully through her abundant pubic hair. 

"So you used to do just as you saw me doing, in this very bed?"

"Precisely," Jonathan said. "Tell me, did you have a preferred place to play at your home? Please tell me it was the bed I slept in!"

"I'd have surely told you that already if it were the case," Elizabeth said. "You know that. No, my only refuge was the cellar, I am afraid."

"The cellar? How very unromantic!" Jonathan was climbing atop Elizabeth as he said it, and as naturally as breathing she reached down to guide him inside her. 

"Unromantic but safe," she explained. "No risk of my sister walking in on me if I appeared to just be lying on the old couch reading books we had stored there. Not that she ever cared to read much in any event! But if she, or anyone else, did open the cellar door, I had all the time I needed to pull my skirt back down and look like I was only reading." She was laughing by the time she finished her reminiscence, as well as gasping with pleasure at Jonathan's delightful presence in her body. "No one ever knew!"

"I shall have to remember to visit your cellar the next time we are there," Jonathan teased as he slowly began his rhythmic pushing. And then there was no more use or time for words, as they were both soon lost in the throes of quiet passion, Elizabeth struggling to keep her moans to a low volume and barely succeeding as Jonathan thrusted his way to two more orgasms for her and one for himself. She fell asleep not long afterwards, and he made his discreet way back to his own room hours before anyone would have any chance at being the wiser. 

It was one of the great ironies of our friendship, I suppose, that Elizabeth and Jonathan made love so casually and comfortably and then spent the night in separate beds, whereas Irene and I spent the night in a passionate embrace after our awkward playtime. Had that been the worst of it, I have little doubt that our evening together would remain but an hour or so of harmless fun in our memories. 

Alas, that was not to be. Neither Irene nor I ever knew with any certainty which of us initiated it, or indeed if it were the result of actions either of us took while awake; but it mattered little. What did matter was that when we came to full consciousness in the warm light of the following morning, our eager but chaste hug had given way to rather more carnal pursuits. Hands all about one another's hips, breasts and pussy, both of us eagerly wet to the touch and frolicking about the bed, it was the most natural and delightful play I had ever yet experienced. 

Until I snapped fully awake. "Heavens, Irene!" I said, her lips nearly brushing mine as I did. "I'm so sorry!"

"I'm not!" she said lustily. "No time to moralize now when we've torn down the wall, Agnes! Here!" She grabbed at my head and pulled me down to her generous breasts. Her supple flesh and firm nipples tasted as beautiful as they looked, and nothing could have felt more natural than my lips on them. Or her fingers in my pussy, which I was suddenly very much aware of. I was scarcely aware of my first shriek of pleasure until I heard it myself. I must have had a very amusing look on my face as I realized my own vocalisation, for Irene burst into laughter and I joined her. I then dove back into her breasts, drawing similar screeches from her as she rubbed me effortlessly to orgasm. Emboldened, I reached down and did the same, the taboo of it all melting away in the moist folds of my dear friend's vagina. Sensing she was near, I straightened up and kissed her on the mouth just in time to muffle her beautiful screams, which I instead felt up and down my own body. 

After the lovely moment had passed, we both lay back on our own pillows, not touching and not talking for several minutes. Or so it felt in any event. At long last, Irene spoke, her voice tinged with regret. "I shall have to tell Benjamin," she said, as if fighting back tears. 

"But..." I began, but could think of no objection. "Yes, I suppose we must."

"Not 'we', Agnes. I must tell him. It would never be fair to involve you."

"But how can you say I am not involved, Irene?" I demanded. 

"Because it was my responsibility to hold you at an appropriate distance last night," she said. "I could have said 'no,' and I am sorry, Agnes, but I should have said it. But I did not." And then the tears did begin. 

"Oh, Irene." 

I rolled over and attempted to take her in a comforting embrace, but she pushed me away. "Please!" she snapped. "Please, do not touch me again, not here at least. I know it is your bed, Agnes, but I should appreciate very much if you would put on your clothes and then give me some privacy to do the same."

"Certainly," I said. I rolled out of bed, peering over my shoulder only to verify that Irene was not looking at me; she was not. In that moment, in the privacy of my own bedroom, I knew all too well the difference between nudity and nakedness. And I felt very much the latter. 

Irene saw her own way out while I was bathing; she would later tell me she had put on yesterday's dress and hoped for few prying eyes on the streetcar into Westfordshire City. Feeling rather embarrassed and sorry for what I had done, yet exhilarated with the memory of Irene's body against mine, I put on one of my usual conservative work dresses and made my way down to breakfast. My three cousins were there, and nearly finished when I arrived. Joy, the youngest, was delighted to see me as always. "Agnes!" she called out with a cheerful wave. 

"Good morning, Joy," I replied. And in quick succession I also greeted Thomas, who smiled a polite hello but showed none of the enthusiasm he always showed for Elizabeth (I was amused rather than hurt by this; his adulation for my friend was most adorable), and Alexandria. True to her father's commentary of the night before, Alexandria acknowledged me only with a curt, eye-rolling nod. 

"Father says you must forgive Alexandria, Agnes," Joy piped up as I busied myself with the teapot. 

"Shut up, you!" Alexandria snapped. "Agnes didn't ask your advice about me or anything else!"

"Children! Zat eess enough!" Sandrine, the children's tutor, made her presence known in no uncertain terms at the far end of the table. "I am zorry, Agnes," she said, pronouncing my name French-style as usual, with the stress on the latter syllable; it always made me feel quite elegant. 

"That is quite all right, Sandrine," I assured her. "I remember being Alex's age all too well." As I sat down with my tea, I forced myself to smile at Alexandria.

"You were never my age," Alexandria grumbled, throwing her spoon down hard against her plate. 

Sandrine stood up. "Thomas, Joy, let us go upstairs now." When Alexandria shoved her chair back with a dirty look, Sandrine continued, "Not you, Alexandria. We shall have a word with your nurse before lessons."

Alexandria's gruff façade vanished. "Not that! Sandrine, please! I'm sorry! I will be good today!"

"I should think you certainly will, my dear," Sandrine said, unable to hide her amused smirk as she guided the two younger children away. They all lived in fear of their nurse's temper, and with very good reason. 

As they receded to the foyer and then the stairs, Alexandria stared down at her empty plate, looking near tears. Then she looked up at me. "Can you help me, Agnes? You know what Nurse is like!"

"Yes, but I also know what you have been like of late, Alex," I reminded her. "I should never wish her temper on anyone, but what do you expect when you are so surly all the time?"

"Why would I not be?!" Alexandria demanded. "Father is pulling all my world out from underneath me and all the grown-ups say they know what's best for me, and those two little brats are just living their joyful little lives as if there is nothing wrong!"

"Alex," I said more gently than I was feeling, "You are not the only person to be presented with a path in life that you did not want. You are not even the first one in this house." I knew all too well that she recalled the week in spring when I could not stop crying over Edward. 

"Yes, but you had Auntie Elizabeth to help you through that!" Alexandria replied. Then, for the first time, her face softened a bit. "Speaking of Auntie Elizabeth, when is she returning? She is the only grown-up who even might understand me. Perhaps there is something she could say to Father."

"Auntie Elizabeth?" I repeated. "Since when do you ever call her that?" I had heard no such thing from Alexandria in the past. Joy called Elizabeth her auntie because she addressed all of her adult friends as such, and Thomas did the same because he had a crush on Elizabeth; but to Alexandria she had always been simply Elizabeth, and usually addressed begrudgingly even as such. 

"Well," Alexandria said with a defeated sigh, "She is...I mean, Agnes, she is a silly, square grown-up who drinks too much tea and indulges Joy far too much, and heaven only knows what she and you and the rest of your friends are up to in those baths in the city -- yes, Agnes, I have heard of all that, and I shan't tell you how -- but at least she cares. No one else does, just now, that I can tell."

Alexandria was rewarded with the sight of me dropping my toast in surprise as I learned how much she knew of our private affairs at the baths, and then I was rewarded with her triumph turning ever so quickly to terror as the nurse appeared in the doorway with a bloodcurdling order to follow her. 

I was alone now in the cavernous dining room, and so I did not care that my hands were shaking a bit as I resumed eating. Elizabeth had often wondered just what her host family knew of her reputation in the city, and so by extension had the rest of our circle of friends and lovers. But I did not believe we had ever considered the possibility that the children might have got wind of it all. Little wonder how enamoured little Thomas was of Elizabeth, then! 

Blissfully unaware of what their two best friends had been up to back in Westfordshire, Elizabeth and Jonathan were enjoying a dusty walk along the village back roads later on that morning. It had taken some time to break free of his mother's prying efforts at conversation, but Elizabeth was mildly amused at it all now that they were alone again at last. "I do adore her concern for you, my darling," she told Jonathan. "But tell me, is she really ever so unaware of our lifestyle?"




Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 1)



"By choice, undoubtedly," Jonathan replied. "There are none so blind as those who choose not to see, and all that. So many of our parents' generation are of that mind, you know. And yes, she always has been that way. Heaven knows how she and Dad ever came to go about creating me."

"I know that feeling all too well," Elizabeth acknowledged. "But it seems your grandmother was quite the exception?"

"Feisty in her old age, I suppose," Jonathan admitted. "I do hope I did not give you the idea that she was any sort of pervert, Elizabeth. She never acted inappropriately with me in any way, I assure you."

"Of course," Elizabeth said, but she knew it sounded uncertain. 

"She merely wanted me to understand the facts of life, and she knew my mother well enough to know she -- Mother -- would never tell me certain things a boy ought to know. Besides, Elizabeth, I think she may have been something like yourself when she was younger. She shared few details, but I often got the impression she had had a rather wild youth. I don't know just how Dad turned out so much more conservative."

"How can we ensure that our children won't make that same mistake, do you suppose?" Elizabeth mused. "Perhaps we need to avoid being too forward, do you think?"

"I think that may have been Grandmother's mistake, as it happens," Jonathan said. "I suspect that was why she was so upfront with me about sharing so openly. Perhaps she did not want to repeat the mistakes that had made Dad so uptight."

Elizabeth was silent for the next few steps, and then began laughing gently. "I do apologize, Jonathan, but I cannot stop imagining just what all this may have been like!"

"More chaste than you can imagine, believe it or not," Jonathan said. "All perfectly natural and healthy. Of course, when she was out and about and I could get those art books to myself..." He did not finish his thought, for they were both laughing quite hard by then. 

It was in the easy silence that followed their laughs that they heard other whoops and hollers from somewhere beyond the thick woods alongside the road. "Oh, heavens, that's a disappointment," Jonathan said.

"What, that we're not alone?" Elizabeth asked, thinking it would be far less like Jonathan than herself to have dreamed up such a plan.

"Well, yes," Jonathan conceded. "I could hardly explain it in my parents' presence, but I did have an ulterior motive for this walk, I'm afraid." His face grew into a reluctant grin, which he finally gave up trying to hide. "Just beyond those trees is our beloved swimming pond, as the gents all called it. Home from university in the summer, you went there to swim in the altogether, and to try to convince the ladies to do the same. Every now and then we succeeded."

It was no surprise to Jonathan that Elizabeth was perfectly delighted. "That sounds absolutely lovely! Especially in this heat, and all the dust...a swim is just what the doctor ordered, isn't it, darling?" She stepped gingerly off the road and into the tall grass bordering the trees, already on the lookout for the young swimmers on the other side of the wood.

"Yes, but Elizabeth -- company!" Jonathan protested, nevertheless following in her footsteps. 

"The more the merrier, Jonathan."

"I must warn you, though, usually it's all or mostly male..." his voice trailed away as he realized that would only make the prospect all the more attractive to his beloved Elizabeth.

He was correct. "Young and inexperienced men, then, Jonathan? All the better that they see an unorthodox beauty like mine and come to appreciate that most women do not look like those paintings your grandmother gave you!"

Jonathan burst into nervous laughter, and admitted happy defeat as Elizabeth took his hand and found her way through the trees. The woods were as thick as Jonathan recalled, and they were nearly to the clearing before either of them could see their fellow summer revellers, though they could be heard all the way back on the road. Mostly male from the sound of it, as Jonathan had warned, but there was at least one female voice among the cacophony. 

One female voice and two other women holding their tongues, Elizabeth and Jonathan discovered as they emerged into the dazzling sunshine that reflected ever so brightly on the water. They were seated on an old log on the bank, all fully clothed in the fashionable lacy off-white university dresses of the day, two brunettes and a pale blonde; the loud voice belonged to the latter, who was teasing the nude men in the water. Three of them as well, from the looks of it, all frolicking barely-decent in the muddy water. "Somersaults, then!" called out the blonde. "Show us all what you've got if you're so eager to bare all!"

"Going to join us when we do, then?" called back one of the men.

"Wouldn't you love to know!" she replied. Turning to her companions, she added, "Right, girls?"

"You'll never get me in there in the presence of any of you!" replied the taller and plumper of the two brunettes. "Man, woman or both, forget it!"

"Heavens, I remember feeling that way!" Elizabeth exclaimed quietly as they stepped out into the open. She was not quite quiet enough, for the three young women heard her and all turned to see her and Jonathan.

"Company, then," said the blonde, with an uncertain smile. "Hope you don't mind the view!"

"Not in the least," Elizabeth said, gazing happily out at the pond, where the three bathers seemed by turns titillated and intimidated at her presence. "Such a shame, though, that you ladies aren't also enjoying the water. Aren't you horribly hot and sticky in those dresses, and the refreshing water right here for us all?"

"It's a man's game, isn't it?" suggested the brunette who had just proclaimed her privacy. "As long as they don't mind, why should we have to pretend to be like them?"

"I rather think it is how you are not like them that appeals to them," Elizabeth said with a chuckle. She then extended her hand to shake. "My name is Elizabeth, by the way, and this is my fiancé Jonathan."

"Jonathan Wright, from town!" came one of the male voices, followed by the splashing of water as the owner of that voice made for the shore. "I'll be damned!"

Elizabeth had just enough time to learn her new friend's name was Frances, and her two compatriots were Molly (the other brunette) and Gretchen (the loud blonde) before the urge to turn around and greet the nude man on the bank became irresistible. He was dripping but utterly uninhibited as he made his way up the bank. "Jonathan, you devil! I heard you were engaged. How's Westfordshire City?"

Elizabeth tore her gaze away from the stranger's lovely male body to look at Jonathan. She could see that he was struggling to recognize the man. At long last it came to him. "Keith!" he exclaimed. "Our neighbour," he explained to Elizabeth. "I am sorry, Keith, I hadn't recognized you. All wet and all grown up, you see." Turning to Elizabeth, he said, "He was barely into his teens when I left for university. I take it you're there now, Keith?"

"Indeed!" Keith said. "Summer term is out for a week. Brought back my closest pals and our girls for a swim -- Mum and Dad are abroad and don't even know we're here -- but you can see we haven't had a lot of luck coaxing them into the water." He turned to Elizabeth. "And your name...Elizabeth, was it?"

"That's right," and they shook hands, Elizabeth recalling her manners just in time to look him only in the eye. "And you will have no trouble coaxing me into the water, if your dearly beloved don't object to you having female company?"

Keith looked down at his naked body. "I am hardly in a position to complain." Even as he said it, he -- and all assembled -- saw his cock growing stiff at the anticipation of Elizabeth undressing. The other women on the bank looked on in wonder at the spectacle, though they all remained seated. "Oh, I am sorry about that," he said, looking back and forth to her and Jonathan. "Can't be helped, but perhaps I should hide in the water."

"Nonsense!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Jonathan will tell you, I do not embarrass easily. At least not when it comes to such things as that." Turning to him, she asked, "Shall we?"

"Absolutely," Jonathan said, swallowing his mild embarrassment at the prospect of going nude in the presence of Frances, Molly and Gretchen. It would hardly do for him to remain shy forever if he were to be spending his life with Elizabeth and her delightful lack of inhibition, after all. He loosened his belt buckle, pausing there when Elizabeth presented her back to him so he could untie her dress. 

"Come on in when you're ready!" Keith said, and he turned to join the other men in the water. 

"I had hoped you might get to meet some of my hometown friends," Jonathan said as he pulled Elizabeth's dress down carefully around her middle and her hips, thus regaling the unsuspecting audience with the first hint of her big bush, barely contained in her bulging panties and readily visible around the edges. It would soon occur to Elizabeth that this was the first time in years that her reputation had not preceded her in this regard. The other women stared shamelessly, in any event, while Keith and his friends did their best to look without staring. "But most of the lads I grew up with are long gone just like me. And Keith, well," his voice dropped to a whisper as Elizabeth stepped out of the dress and he lay it carefully on a rock. "He was only a kid when I knew him."

"He certainly isn't that anymore," Elizabeth said as she reached back to undo her brassiere while Jonathan kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his pants. He was just as hard as Keith, whether out of nervousness or titillation, and he did not begrudge the admiring looks from Frances, Gretchen and Molly. In light of subsequent events, though, he could not be sure that Frances was not paying more attention to Elizabeth than to him. 

"Lovely looking, there!" Gretchen encouraged him. 

"Why, thank you." Jonathan swallowed the last of his inhibitions and pulled his shirt off. Elizabeth was fully nude by the time he had it off, much to the delight of Keith and his friends. She and Jonathan both wondered for a moment if her huge bush would not go over well with them; but if any of the men had any such complaint, it was well hidden. And that was all that was hidden as Elizabeth pranced into the cool water. Jonathan, now equally bare, dared one last shy look at the women before he turned to follow Elizabeth in. "Sure you don't care to join us?" he asked. 

"I think I might," Frances announced, a pleased look on her face. She was looking at Elizabeth rather than at him, and all at once Jonathan understood both her earlier reticence and her change of heart. So, naturally, did Elizabeth, who gave Frances a knowing smile just before she splashed into the water.

"You?!" Molly exclaimed; she, unlike Frances, was admiring Jonathan's nude body. "You've been the one holding us all back!"

"I've done no such thing, Molly!" Frances protested. "You could have joined the guys anytime you wished! You've just sat there just like me."

"No need for me to say anything when you were so adamant," Molly argued.

"She's right, Frances," Gretchen said. "You've been the prude here."

"I didn't see you tearing your dress off!" Frances exclaimed. 

"I just didn't want to be the only one of us among the guys!" Gretchen shot back, loudly enough to be overheard by everyone in the pond. "And now that I won't be..." Jonathan saw her stand up and take the sash of her dress in both hands; he turned away to offer her a modicum of privacy and was greeted with the happy sight of Elizabeth frolicking about with her new friends. Any jealousy he might have felt was easily overcome as he saw the men were all careful not to get too close; they were happy just to gaze upon her body. Elizabeth had no reservations about returning that favour. Jonathan knew her well enough not to let that distress him. Or to have any similar qualms about admiring Gretchen's lithe, pale body as she splashed into the water among them. Her smallish breasts swung carelessly about, and Jonathan noted that she was, like himself, endowed only with a modest thatch of pale hair. He had just enough time to take that sight in before her lower body disappeared into the water. 

"Yea! There's the stuff!" called out one of Keith's friends. 

"Dare we ask if you've seen it before, Frank?" Keith asked.

"Does it look to you as though he has?" Gretchen teased, throwing herself at the man just identified as Frank. "Congratulations, dearie, you finally got me naked!" There was laughter all around, and if Frank resented the revelation of their chaste-to-date relationship, he hid it well. 

"Isn't it a wonderful feeling, Gretchen?" Elizabeth offered. "So liberating!"

"Certainly is," Gretchen admitted. "Something you do all the time in the city, is it?"

"Hardly," Jonathan said.

"Not in mixed company," Elizabeth clarified. "But perhaps you have heard of the baths in Westfordshire City."

"Thought that was a joke," said the man whose name they had yet to learn. "You hear all sorts of crazy stories up this way about that."

"They're all true," Jonathan said. "Great fun, but they are single-sex."

"What a shame," Keith said. 

"My thoughts exactly at a time like this!" Elizabeth replied. 

"Jonathan," Keith said, "Please tell me there are many more like her in the city!"

"Hate to disappoint you, Keith, but she is truly one of a kind," Jonathan said proudly. "Besides, aren't you with one of the others up there?" He turned towards the shore, only to see Molly eagerly pulling her underwear off. "Oh, more company, I see!" he added. 

"Yes, but the other one is mine," Keith said. "Frances. Poor dear is awfully shy, and I don't even know why. Guess you've already figured out, we've never..."

"Well, yes, I had guessed that," Jonathan said, though he was gazing shamelessly upon now-nude Molly as she waded in to join them. 

"Molly is William's girl," Keith explained, gesturing towards the man to whom Jonathan and Elizabeth had not been introduced. "And I'm guessing this is nothing he hasn't seen before." The nonchalant look on William's face as Molly bobbed up to join them led Jonathan to the same conclusion. 

"Welcome in, dear," William said, looking happy but unsurprised. "I was hoping you would beat your inhibitions down soon enough."

"Yes, you're just that irresistible to me," Molly said with a sarcastic laugh that was contagious among the others. 

"Such a shame about Frances," Elizabeth said, looking up at the last holdout just beyond the water. 

"Well, not everyone can be as free-spirited as you are, Elizabeth," Keith said. 

"Believe me, I know," Elizabeth told him. "I used to be just like her."

"You were?" Keith, William and Frank asked in surprised unison. "Why?" Keith probed.

Elizabeth paused to consider giving a frank answer, and Jonathan jumped in to her rescue. "Fellows, you'll notice Gretchen and Molly here weren't surprised. Perhaps it's a female matter."

Frank grimaced. "You mean it's Frances'...time?"

"No, not that!" Jonathan quickly corrected himself.

"Well, it could be, now that you mention it," Elizabeth said. "But no, guys, I was rather thinking it's a matter of something more personal. It certainly was with me."

"What was that?" Keith asked brazenly, still clueless on the entire matter. "I mean, look, I mean no disrespect, it's only that I love Frances and yet she gets so very nervous when it comes to intimacy, always pushing me away."

"We shall see if and when Frances joins us," Elizabeth told him. "In the meantime, well..." She looked down at her own body, most of which was visible albeit barely in the dark water, and continued. "Where were your eyes drawn to when you saw me in the nude?" Before Keith could answer, Elizabeth kicked back into the water and did an elegant backstroke off to the deeper reaches of the pond. In the event that she was correct about Frances, she thought, it might be best to give the poor girl a chance to bond with her alone. Jonathan knew her well enough not to follow her; the others followed his lead. 

"What did I think?" Keith repeated when Elizabeth had swum away. "I thought she was beautiful, of course. What's not to like?"

"Quite sure she was talking about her pussy, Keith," Gretchen said. "Surely you noticed how...well adorned it was?"

"I did," William admitted. "Just like us boys, I'm sorry to say, Jonathan, but that's what came to mind."

"Not like this boy," Jonathan pointed out. The fact that he was far less hairy down below than his beloved was a longstanding point of amusement among them, so he had no trouble laughing at the matter. 

"Sorry, then," William said. "But yes, I noticed it. But so what? Like Jonathan said, not all men are alike as far as that goes either."

"You have clearly never had to live with that sort of thing as a woman," Molly told him gently. "I shudder to think what her school chums might have had to say about it all."

"Indeed," Jonathan confirmed. "She was teased horribly." 

"Jealous, I bet," Keith said. "I mean, look at her, she's beautiful! I'll bet the other girls just wished they could be unique like that too."

"Shame Frances can't hear you say that," Jonathan mused. "Might make all the difference."

On that note, Keith turned toward Frances' perch on the edge of the pond, as if inspired to confront her about it all. He then realized he and his friends were both a moment too late and joyfully correct in their suspicions, for Frances had undressed and was now braving her way into the water unadorned and uninhibited. She wore a determined smile as her eyes met Keith's, and her nervous arms made as if to cover up her nudity, only to have her plant her hands on her hips against her natural modesty. From between her thighs blossomed the second most robust ladygarden any of the others had ever had the pleasure of viewing. Scarcely smaller than Elizabeth's but no less dark and thick, it stood out against her pale skin like a lovely erotic cloak. 

"Oh, Frances," Keith exhaled in an awestruck tone. "So beautiful."

"Worth the wait, was I?" Frances asked, her voice a nervous chuckle.

"And how!"

Jonathan turned back to call for Elizabeth, only to see her already hurrying back from her self-imposed exile in the deeper water. She would later tell me she had been nearly certain of Frances' secret from the moment the younger woman had seen her in the nude: "I know the look of fascination other women so often give me, including you on the first occasion, Agnes; and I know the look of attraction or repulsion men give me. Frances' look -- first at my body and then in my eyes -- was neither. The only other time I had inspired such a look as hers was from Benjamin, and you know why he looked at me the way he did! I had no doubt Frances was just like me underneath, and I could only hope my own comfort and pride in my body would inspire her to the same. And it did!"

There was, of course, no time for such analysis in that wonderful moment when Frances waded through the water to her true love. "So beautiful," Keith repeated just loudly enough for everyone to hear as Frances melted into his arms while the others applauded. 

"Well done, you," Jonathan whispered to Elizabeth, slipping his arms around her just as she arrived at his side.

"What on earth do you believe I did, my darling?" Elizabeth asked. 

"I'm quite sure I do not need to answer that!" he said, and he kissed her ear playfully.

I suppose Elizabeth and Jonathan and their new friends played quite late into the afternoon. In my randy imagination, there may have even been a frank discussion of the wonders of pubic hair once they were out of the water and sunning themselves dry on the grass. In all honesty, dear reader, I cannot report exactly what transpired as I was rather too bold in my subsequent questioning of Elizabeth on the matter. "Please, Elizabeth, tell me when the swimming was over, your new friends took turns admiring you and Frances up close and running their fingers gently through both of your bushes! How I'd have loved to see that!"




Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 1)



"Wouldn't you like to know just what happened, Agnes!" she replied with a laugh that made it all too clear our conversation was done. In all likelihood, what truly happened was likely rather less salacious than what I imagined; but where Elizabeth was concerned, all things were plausible! 

What I do know is that both Frances and Keith thanked Elizabeth after the swim was over, for setting such a brave example. "I should never have known there were others out there so like myself!" Frances whispered to her on the bank while the others were still frolicking about in the water. "Tell me, how long did it take you to come to terms with being so very different?"

"Far too long," Elizabeth admitted. "But it has been ever so worth the pain to learn how beautiful so many people find women like us!"

"So I am now discovering," Frances agreed; and both women looked to see most of the others admiring them, Jonathan and Keith most of all. "Do you suppose it is something in this water that inspires the men of this town to have such wonderful taste, Elizabeth?" she quipped. 

Elizabeth laughed. "I prefer to believe there are simply more men of impeccable taste than one is led to believe in this day and age! Believe me, Frances, they are everywhere. Should your relationship with Keith fail, I assure you there are many others who will adore you."

"How can I thank you?" Keith added shortly afterward, when the sun was sinking and they were all dressing for the walk home.

"Thank me for what?" Elizabeth asked, though she knew full well. 

"Setting such a beautiful example!" Keith replied in a gushing tone. "If the truth be told, I have always hoped my Frances had a dense, lush ladygarden to admire and play with -- pardon my crudity, Elizabeth; but given our state of undress all afternoon I feel perhaps a bit too comfortable discussing such things with a lady -- and I had always been very much aware that it was likely a sort of insecurity that kept her hiding in her clothes no matter how emotionally intimate we became. Embarrassing to admit it never occurred to me that she had just the sort of intimate adornment I dreamed of and that was the cause of her insecurity! I can't imagine how I missed it, to tell you the truth."

"I can," Elizabeth said with a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You never knew what it was like to be a woman with such an unorthodox aspect to her body. Only then could you understand fully how embarrassing and discomfiting it can be, Keith."

"Right, thank you, that makes sense. In any event, Elizabeth, surely you see how you inspired her with your own comfort with your body. That is all for which I wish to thank you!"

"Keith, the pleasure was all mine, I assure you. And now it shall be yours and Frances' both, of that I am quite certain." A chaste hug followed, which I know to be chaste because Elizabeth, in the aftermath of my overzealous questioning, was very careful to explain as much.

Though it was also a beautiful day back in Westfordshire City, it was a far less cheerful one. Benjamin was due in town on the noon train, and I recalled Irene telling me at the baths the day before that she would be meeting him on her lunch break between classes. I, of course, was not welcome at the reunion, and could thus do nothing but bury myself in my work and hope an irate Benjamin would not appear in the office at any moment through the afternoon. 

He did no such thing, of course, and the end of the day came as inevitably as always. I took the streetcar home through the busy evening, a watchful eye out for Irene or Benjamin or both, knowing by now the bad news had surely been delivered and desperately wishing there were something I could do. Naturally there was no sight of them, and I was very much left to my own devices that night in the lonely mansion. The memory of Irene that morning and the evening before stood me in very good stead, but there was a melancholy to it all the same as I masturbated my way to sleep that night. 





Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 2)



Irene did tell Benjamin what had happened between us; that much I do know. Exactly what she told him or how he received the news was to remain a mystery, for she never told me (or Elizabeth that I know of) anything of it all. I knew well enough not to look either of them up in the ensuing days, and so all the angst and mystery of the day after were still very much in force when Elizabeth and Jonathan returned to Westfordshire City on Saturday. Though I did not know with certainty which train they were on, I was quite desperate to see my friends again and, on an educated guess, went to the station in time to meet the afternoon train. 

They shone like a pair of diamonds amongst the crowd emerging from the train, and I was nearly bursting with joy when I flagged them down. "Agnes!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "What a pleasant surprise! You hardly needed to come meet us, you know!"

"Oh yes I did!" I replied, enveloping them both in a hug at once. "Yes, I certainly did."

"What on earth has gone wrong, then?" Jonathan asked. 

"Wrong?" I was suddenly reluctant to talk about it, though I knew it must be done.

"Anyone can see you are quite agitated about something," Elizabeth agreed. "Shall we go for a round of wine in town, after Jonathan and I are rid of our luggage?"

"Please!" I agreed. "I'll tell you everything once we're settled there. No need to worry you in the meantime."

And so it was that I accompanied them to Jonathan's downtown flat, where they left their suitcases, and then it was around the corner to the café. Elizabeth squeezed my hand and provided me with sympathetic, non-judgmental looks periodically throughout the wait. 

With few afternoon customers in the warm summer weather, we were able to secure an intimate corner table at the café, where Elizabeth and Jonathan lost no time in fortifying me with a lovely glass of chilled white wine. "Gulp down as much as you need, dear, and please tell us what is going on," Elizabeth prodded as soon as the barmaid had retreated. 

With a few large sips out of the way, I was finally able to open up. "Irene and I, the other night – or morning actually – well, night and morning..."

"Oh, good heavens!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "You and Irene – in bed?!"

"She didn't actually say that, Elizabeth," Jonathan said. "Let us not jump to conclusions."

"I am afraid she jumped to the correct conclusion." I said it staring down at the table, unable to make eye contact with either of my friends. 

"Oh, dear." Jonathan sounded almost frightened as he said it. 

"Well..." Elizabeth stammered, "That is a lot to take in, Agnes. I mean, it is not my place to get angry with you, but..."

"But you are?" I asked, finally looking my friend in the eye.

"Well...no. Like I said, it's not my place. But I am, well, hurt. I mean, we are all so very close, and what will happen now that you and Irene have hurt Benjamin like that?"

"I know!" I said, near tears once again. "How I know. And yet, the pull to play was ever so irresistible, and Irene did say she was willing to a point."

"To a point?" Jonathan probed.

"We were to play only with ourselves," I recalled. "We could look but not touch, but then we woke up together and we were in fact touching, and neither of us could stop." I paused and waited for a reproof for one or both of my friends. None coming, I continued. "I blame only myself, I assure you! It is just that Benjamin was gone, and here I am still ever so alone when I had thought Edward and I should be married by now, and Irene did say she had interest in women as well as men..." My voice trailed away a moment too late as I recalled that she had never told Elizabeth of that matter that I was aware of. But I could not un-ring the bell!

"Irene said what?!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "My word, we do miss some interesting developments when we go to the country, Jonathan!"

"My dear, have you never noticed how Irene looks at you when she has had too much wine?" Jonathan asked. "And Agnes too, now that I think of it?"

"You knew?" Elizabeth demanded. 

"Not formally, no," Jonathan reassured her. "She is your best friend and but my cousin, and surely she would have told you first. But it was not something I needed to be told, I suppose."

"You are not suggesting Irene has designs on me, though," Elizabeth said. Then, turning to me, she asked, "Does she?"

"I am so sorry, I have already said far too much on the matter," I said.

"Then you had just as well not stop now!" I could tell Elizabeth was struggling not to sound frustrated; but she did not quite succeed. 

A deep breath, and I continued. "She and I both, I suppose, had this wonderful image of you and Benjamin side by side, and us running our fingers through both your..." I could not go on for fear I should die of embarrassment.

Jonathan, perhaps surprisingly, found the revelation amusing. "That does sound positively adorable, Elizabeth, does it not?"

Elizabeth was silent for a moment, and at long last she allowed a smile. "Rather enjoyable for Benjamin and myself as well, I confess," she admitted. Then she took my hand in both of hers. "I suppose it is a bit my own fault, given all the randy situations I have led you and Irene through, that one or two of us ultimately lost control."

"No!" I reassured her. "I blame no one but myself, Elizabeth! I have two good hands and a wonderful imagination, and I should have left it at that."

"Yes, but I suppose our frequenting the baths and talking so openly about all things intimate, not to mention that night in my room –" At that mention, I instinctively looked at Jonathan and could see he did not know what she referred to, but Elizabeth was not to be deterred. "Sorry, Jonathan, I never told you; several months ago Irene and I spent a night in my room teaching Agnes to masturbate. I assure you we did not touch her, nor she us, but the three of us did spend the night in my bed together."

"I see." Jonathan looked more titillated than angry, bless his patient heart.

"In any event, Agnes, I cannot help but feel I set the stage for something like this to occur sooner or later, particularly while you remain single. But I must say I had not anticipated what you have told me about Irene."

"I do not blame you at all," I repeated. "Perhaps you were as powerless against all this as I was, Elizabeth, you and your hunger. The hairy ones are the horny ones, after all!"

"I'll drink to that," Jonathan added with a mischievous grin.

"Thank you so much," Elizabeth replied with a look of her own that appeared to say this matter would be settled later on in bed – or perhaps it wouldn't be settled. "Perhaps you are right, Agnes. Regardless of fault, though, I suppose something must be done to relieve the tension between us all if we are to remain friends. There are bridges to rebuild and doors we must unlock."

"Do you say that for my sake only?" I asked suspiciously.

"Hardly!" Elizabeth replied. "Jonathan and I enjoyed a very eventful holiday, you see." (You must recall, dear reader, that at this point I had no knowledge of the events with Frances or their other new friends; Elizabeth was to tell me of all this several days later.) "And we learned yet more about the importance of communicating with those closest to you. One is never too old to learn, I suppose. We met a wonderful group of young friends who had been beset with some communication troubles of their own, and had I known what was waiting for us back here, I'd have spent the entire trip turning it all over in my mind. Now that we are up to date, Agnes, no need for that."

"I know not what you are suggesting," I admitted.

"Nor I, and I was there," Jonathan added. 

"When Jonathan and I are married," Elizabeth continued, "That shall change the dynamic of our circle of friends. I am afraid it must, whether we wish it to or not. The same shall be true should Irene and Benjamin marry, and I assure you, Agnes, you will find your special one as well in good time. Whether we like it or not, our days as a gang of chums are numbered. Less than a year now until the wedding, as a matter of fact. So this is no time for any of us to repress our feelings for one another or to wreak havoc behind one another's backs. My dears, I believe a holiday of our own is most in order."

Little else was said on that matter before we paid our bill and left the café. Jonathan struggled to look disapproving, but Elizabeth and I could tell he was most intrigued by her vague yet thrilling suggestion. I, for my part, made no effort to hide my own titillation; after all, my own secrets were already in the open and her suggestion was the perfect complement to them. Elizabeth tidied up the proposal with a firm reassurance that more concrete plans could be made later. "We must discuss the matter with Irene and Benjamin as well, after all," she said as we emerged into the hazy sunshine. "And also, I believe little Alexandria is off to school shortly. I should like to see her off with a woman-to-woman talk, I think, before we take our own leave."

"That reminds me, Uncle has said he wishes you to do just that," I told Elizabeth. And at that point, dear reader, I made a serious mistake. For reasons I understood neither then nor now, I did not tell her what Alexandria had revealed as to her knowledge of Elizabeth and the city baths. Perhaps I did not wish to discuss the matter in public, perhaps I was restrained by the lack of any detailed awareness of just what Alexandria did know – she had, after all, said only that she did not know just what we "were up to in those baths" – but whatever the reason, I held my tongue on that uncomfortable subject. 

"I should be more than glad to have a chat with her," Elizabeth told me in that long last moment when I could have added all I knew, but did not. "If there is anything I can do to save her or any other girl from the nightmares I endured, then I shall certainly do it." And with a round of chaste kisses on the cheek, she and Jonathan were off and I was alone at the stop. 

That afternoon I wrote a letter of apology each to Irene and Benjamin, divulging no inappropriate information to either of them and proffering my sincere hope that our friendship would heal in good time. After posting the letters, a nap relieved me of the effects of the wine, but the memory of Elizabeth's proposal and the angst of not knowing the reactions to my letters had me most nervous. In spite of myself, my mind once again wandered to the memory of Irene so soft and lovely against my body. As I sat up on my bed and gazed out the window at the hazy summer landscape I had so loved for so long, I strove to turn my thoughts anywhere but to what Irene and I had done. 

It was no use, however, as I saw not the serene empty field that was in fact beyond my window, but rather Irene and myself frolicking joyfully nude in the soft grass, caressing one another and shrieking with uninhibited delight in our naughty play. The emptiness of my room offering no comfort or any alternative to my busy imagination, I gave in and spent the next quarter of an hour lying back with my gaze out the window and my hands up my skirt. My own still-inexperienced touch was a poor substitute for Irene's delightfully crafty fingers all about my vulva, but the memory of her in my arms and in my thighs was perfectly delightful nevertheless. I rubbed myself to two lovely orgasms as I envisioned Irene's beautiful body, her shy smile, her uninhibited touch and kiss, and myself fearlessly returning the favour. 

The following morning had grey, threatening skies, as if a summer downpour might appear at any moment. I slept poorly due to overindulgence on wine the evening before, and forced myself to arise for breakfast in hope that would alleviate my suffering. I had the good stroke of luck to find little Joy and Thomas at breakfast when I arrived. "Agnes!" Joy squealed when she saw me. "But where is Auntie Elizabeth?"

"Well, I don't know," I said. "Perhaps she is waiting for you in the nursery?" It was Sandrine's day off, and Elizabeth filled in for her on such days in return for reduced rent. 

"No, she is not," declared their nurse in her usual dour tone. "And she had better present herself there shortly!" As if to follow through on her unspoken threat, the tense woman arose and strode purposefully out to the hall and the stairwell. 

Thomas dared look over his shoulder to see she was gone. Seeing the coast was clear, he said to me, "I agree, she'd better be there. Who would want to sit with Nurse all morning when we could have Auntie Elizabeth?!"

"I want to hear all about her lovely trip!" Joy continued. "I have a new idea for my first trip, when I'm old enough. I'm going to go to Australia!" Thomas smirked at her, but said nothing; he knew better than to say anything negative that might come to Elizabeth's ears and deprive him of her usual embrace. 

"I am sure Elizabeth will be delighted to hear of that, Joy," I said. "But where is your sister? I believe your father wishes for Elizabeth to have a word with her."

"Already up in the nursery," Thomas explained. "She was fresh with Nurse this morning so she didn't get any breakfast. I can't wait for her to be off to school!"

I knew I should tell Thomas not to say such things. But I found I could not condemn him for wishing to be free of his sister's difficult company. 

At that moment, I heard the front door of the mansion burst open. I guessed – correctly – that it would be Elizabeth, rushing in from Jonathan's flat in the city, freshly washed and dressed as if she had just come from her own room. Sometimes rushed, but never unprepared, that was our Elizabeth. "Good morning, children!" she exclaimed as she brushed through the dining room, grabbing up a biscuit and some fruit. "And Agnes! Molly, is my tea ready upstairs?" she asked the kitchen maid.

"Brewing now, milady," Molly reassured her. "And no, the mister and missus haven't been round."

"Oh good, then!" Elizabeth exclaimed, and she sat down to eat her breakfast most quickly.

"Why is that good?" Thomas asked with a hungry grin, always deathly curious of Elizabeth's life outside the nursery. 

"That is none of your concern, Thomas, is it?" I interjected. 

"I suppose not," he admitted, while Elizabeth flashed me a grateful silent look. "It is only that Father and Mother should hardly care, long as she is here on time, isn't that right?"

"Quite right, Thomas," Elizabeth said. "Quite right." 

Her impromptu breakfast eaten as quickly as it had been assembled, Elizabeth was off upstairs just before the nurse reappeared to collect Thomas and Joy. 

The threatened rain came not long afterward, but Elizabeth created a pleasant haven in the nursery with her appropriately sanitized recount of her and Jonathan's travels. Joy hung onto every word about train stations and compartment cars and the view of the world rushing by, while Thomas no doubt thrilled to the opportunity to simply look at Elizabeth as she told the tale. Alexandria, having ignored the invitation to join her brother and sister around the table, spent the morning curled up on the window seat, gazing out at the rain and saying not a word. Elizabeth cast a hopeful eye in her direction now and again, through the story and then through the subsequent playtime while she sipped her tea and supervised Thomas and Joy; but Alexandria never rewarded her with a glance. 

Little wonder, Elizabeth thought to herself, if the poor girl had heard any such stories as her own of life as a first-year boarder. Difficult as Alexandria had been of late, it was not something Elizabeth could condemn in light of her own nasty memories of those days. But perhaps had she known something of what to expect...no, she did not suppose that would have helped. What, then, would? Elizabeth asked herself that question time and again as she sipped her tea through the late morning. Only one answer emerged with any plausibility to speak of, and it came to Elizabeth again and again even as she groped for some other option: hearing from an adult who had survived and thrived in the face of all the unpleasantness. 

At least she could offer Alexandria that, Elizabeth knew. In light of Alexandria's attitude of late, she had precious little desire to attempt it. But there was no other option at her disposal, and she had agreed to Uncle's request. With ten minutes or so to lunchtime and the younger children happily ensconced in their own activities, Elizabeth took a deep breath and approached the window seat gingerly. "Alex," she said gently as she sat at the far end of the seat from where the girl was curled up. "Your father has asked me to talk to you about things."

"Things," Alexandria repeated the word as if it were the epitome of stupidity. "What things are those, Elizabeth?"

"I think you know, my dear," Elizabeth said. "Leaving for school, and your attitude." She reached for Alexandria's hand, but the girl drew away and curled up tighter, as if frightened. "Believe me, I can imagine how intimidated you are. But it is hardly fair to your family for you to act like this."

"What do you know about fair, Elizabeth?" Alexandria replied. "Ever so well-adjusted, with your lovely fiancé and your wonderful life? Just what do you know?"

"More than you think," Elizabeth began gingerly, still unsure just how much of her own past she wished to share, to say nothing of her present. "Much more than you think indeed. Be that as it may, though, Alex, I just want you to know I am here to share your fears with. I know more than you think I do."

A few silent minutes followed, Elizabeth uncrossing and recrossing her legs but otherwise not moving, as she waited and hoped for a break-through. Alexandria looked to be fighting back tears, but she said nothing for the moment. Finally, the wretched girl's lips curled into a smile, and Elizabeth thought for a moment that the first skirmish had been won. "You know, Auntie Elizabeth," she said in a sugary tone, "I know much more than you think as well."

Elizabeth was not alarmed, for she had misinterpreted the wretched girl's remark entirely. "Undoubtedly you do, Alex. Most girls your age do know a great deal more about life than their parents like to believe. There is nothing wrong with that."

"Not about life, Elizabeth," Alexandria said. "What is there to know about life from this godforsaken house? No, I know more about you than you think."

Elizabeth let out a nervous chuckle. She had always been so very careful to keep all details of her private life out of the nursery; whatever Alexandria might be insinuating could hardly be anything pertaining to all that. Treading carefully, she made to continue, but was interrupted by the opening of the nursery door. 

It was the kitchen maid, coming to collect Elizabeth's teapot and dismiss the children for lunch. As usual, she made her ritual announcement: "Elizabeth, you're free!"

"Thank you," Elizabeth said with her usual grateful smile. But Alexandria did not rise from her seat to follow her brother and sister downstairs, so neither did Elizabeth. Turning back to Alexandria, she chose to plough through the hazardous waters. "If you know more about me than I think, Alex, then you know I do indeed know what you are fearing. And so, if you wish to talk about it, you know I will likely understand."

"Didn't you hear the maid, Elizabeth? She said you're free!" Alexandria looked at Elizabeth and smirked. "You're free, she said. We children all know what she means by that, you know. Aren't you dying for a wee as usual? Why don't you go already?"

Elizabeth smiled through her annoyance and embarrassment, and recalled just in time that she had re-crossed her legs four or five times since joining Alexandria in her corner; of course the little brat had figured that out. "That can wait, Alex," she said. 




Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 2)



"Can it? Are you sure?"

"I appreciate your concern, Alex," Elizabeth said, forcing a smile now. "But if you know so many of my secrets, you know I am quite accustomed to holding off on all that when I must. Now, as I was saying, I do understand you are frightened and nervous about leaving for school. But your mother and father have had quite all they can take of your surly behaviour of late, and I can tell you from experience it shall serve you no purpose at school!"

Alexandria jumped up and glared at Elizabeth. "Exactly why do you care what my mother and father think? And why should I, for that matter, when they are sending me off to the slaughter?! If they care so much, why ask you to appease me when they don't even like you?!"

"Alex!" Elizabeth was now at her own limit, though she was already quite aware of Aunt's low opinion of her. "There is no excuse for you to talk like that, especially not of your parents and not with someone who loves you as I do!"

"You think they care?! You think they know anything? Not if they asked you to soothe me!"

"They asked me to soothe you because they know I love you, Alex, and –"

"They know nothing of me!" Alexandria snapped. "And I doubt they know enough of you, if they asked you to help me. You think they want their daughter prancing around the city, the cafes, knowing half the young men in town so very well?!" She paused just long enough to savour the look of outrage on Elizabeth's face as her horrible words registered. Sensing she had won the battle, she then dove in for the kill. "And queen of the public baths to boot!"

"You little bitch." Elizabeth heard the words slip out before she could clamp down to stop them. 

"I am sure Father shall appreciate you calling me that!" Alexandria gloated, turning on her heel to prance downstairs. She timed her final comment perfectly so that Elizabeth would have no opportunity to respond: "Now get up off my cushion before you wet it!"

Though she was indeed absolutely desperate for the water closet, Elizabeth remained seated for a few more minutes, digesting in horror all the knowledge Alexandria had revealed. How on earth had the wretched girl learned so very much? 

I, of course, had had a few days to ponder that question by then, and I had concocted a few theories. A friend from primary school with a loose lipped cousin or uncle. An overheard conversation between her father and a business colleague – many of them were acquainted with Elizabeth in the city. Maybe even a case of her mother's usual snide conjectures about Elizabeth, which I knew were based in nothing more than jealousy. But in the heat of that deeply uncomfortable moment, Elizabeth was not so clearheaded as to think of any of those explanations. Her first and only thought was of my comment outside the café the day before: "That reminds me, Uncle has said he wishes you to do just that." She knew, then, that I had been somewhat privy to the matter of Alexandria's horrible attitude. Naïve young Agnes, living right there in the mansion, and heaven only knew what she might have let slip in the presence of the children!

I had, of course, done no such thing. But I was not present to defend myself, nor had I taken the opportunity to forewarn Elizabeth of Alexandria's knowledge. As I said, dear reader, a serious mistake. 

I was fortunate enough to have gone to the office for the day, catching up on some work to alleviate the lingering effects of the liquor from the night before. So I was not available to answer Elizabeth's furious rap at my bedroom door shortly after lunch, nor did I receive immediately the gracious letter Benjamin had written in response to my apology. The latter would have been a delightful antidote to the former, to be sure; but I was aware of neither for the time being. 

Instead, Jonathan was to be the first of us to reconnect with Benjamin. In light of the poor weather and Elizabeth being busy with the children for the day, Jonathan had opted for an afternoon at the baths. He had followed Elizabeth's lead in avoiding the matter of Irene's indiscretion, and so had had no contact with Benjamin since his return to the city. But upon arriving at the baths – and here, dear reader, I must detour from our story to confess that although I never saw the men's baths, I imagined them in no small amount of detail, most especially the entrance all my male friends made in all their naked glory; and so while I have no idea if Jonathan strode into their bath chamber with the elegant, proud poise with which Elizabeth always entered ours, in my imagination he certainly did so! Be that fact or fiction, however, Jonathan arrived at the baths a bit past one o'clock, and found them crowded due to the rain. Amidst the hearty welcomes and the colourful inquiries after Elizabeth's well-being ("Made it another week without getting lost in your lady's jungle, I see!"), which he acknowledged politely as usual, Jonathan chanced to see Benjamin in a corner of the pool, looking rather nervous at his arrival. 

A confrontation could hardly be avoided, Jonathan knew. And so, after lowering himself into the steamy water and the necessary round of greetings and handshakes, he waded in Benjamin's direction. "Good afternoon," he said as confidently as he could.

"Hullo, Jonathan," Benjamin said. "I take it you had a fine trip with Elizabeth?"

"Wonderful, yes, thanks. An adventure and a half as it always is with her." He groped for the next comment. "I..."

To his surprise, Benjamin smiled. "No need to beat around the bush, Jon, I can see you are aware of what happened in our absence."

"Yes," Jonathan admitted. "And I'm sorry."

"Ain't your fault, is it?"

"I guess not," Jonathan said. "But you know, Elizabeth does feel partially responsible."

"Oh, no," Benjamin said. "She wasn't even there, after all. Of course, if she had been..."

Jonathan could not suppress a laugh. "She would have found a way to make it all much more interesting, no doubt!"

"Indeed. And inclusive, one hopes. But no, I do not blame Elizabeth. I blame Irene, and I blame Agnes, although she was decent enough to send me an apology and I have accepted it."

Jonathan longed to ask if he had forgiven Irene. But he knew better than to ask. 

In the event, Benjamin was not finished. "I suppose a thing like this was inevitable. All of us young and spunky and uninhibited, and having had that one very intimate outing in the country already. I understand Agnes is bitterly disappointed at having missed that, you know."

"She certainly is," Jonathan said. "I say, it's none of my business, but have you heard of your own role in the fantasy Irene confessed to?"

Benjamin laughed, and acknowledged the matter with a glance down at his hairy chest and midsection glistening delightfully in the hot water. "Yes, Irene told me all about it when she confessed. And you know, I would be all for it had she but asked. Agnes, too, if it came to that. I mean, why not, my good man, as long as we are all given a chance to participate? But they had to go and do it behind my back. I guess you are fortunate that Elizabeth wasn't there to join them, aren't you?"

"You do know all three of them had a bit of an encounter once, aren't you?" Jonathan asked. 

"What?!"

"It was news to me too," Jonathan said. "I only just learned of it. But apparently Agnes had never learned how to please herself, and Irene and Elizabeth treated her to a live demonstration."

"Well, that sounds perfectly..." Benjamin began, trying hard to sound disapproving. But, the baths being what they were and the male body being what it is, a glimpse into the water proved his disapproval was purely feigned. Jonathan – who was also hard as a rock – looked back and forth at Benjamin's face and his cock, and Benjamin gave up his charade as they both burst into embarrassed laughter. "Oh, hell, no sense in pretending we don't find that whole idea perfectly wonderful, is there?"

"Indeed," Jonathan agreed. Their laughter had been boisterous enough to earn the attention of a few of their fellow bathers; any worries that word would get out of the pair of them acting inappropriately together were washed away immediately by the knowledge that Elizabeth and Irene would surely find the truth perfectly delightful. "Yes, when Elizabeth told me of it all, I felt no jealousy, only regret that I was not there to witness it."

"I wonder would they have allowed that?" Benjamin said. "Agnes in particular, I can't imagine she would have wanted male company that evening." (While he was undoubtedly correct on that matter, dear reader, I feel I must add that any such reticence had long since been disposed of by the time of this conversation!)

"Then, probably not," Jonathan agreed. "But you know, Elizabeth made a most interesting suggestion yesterday, after Agnes told us of what had happened. A holiday for the five of us. A clearing of the air of sorts."

"Is it really such a good idea for us all to have a retreat together when Irene and Agnes are already struggling in vain to keep their hands off one another?"

"The idea," Jonathan said with a deep breath, in a low voice lest he be overheard by their nosy compatriots, "Is to have one last opportunity for us all to do as we like with one another. Get it all out of our systems, if you will, before we set about living our adult lives and keeping our friends at an appropriate distance again."

Benjamin drank in the salacious proposal, and Jonathan could not help but notice his erection did not recede. "Well, I'd be lying to say I did not find the idea appealing in its way," he admitted. "But I do worry about the effect it might have on our relationships. Certain things cannot be forgotten once they're done, and all that."

"I'm afraid we're already there, though, Ben," Jonathan said. "We all know these desires and fantasies are flying about among the five of us; we simply have not acted on them. Or rather, not all of us have."

"My concerns exactly."

"Well, at the risk of stepping on your toes, Ben, perhaps facing these matters head on is a step you and Irene must take. It's none of my business, I know, but the future of your relationship may well depend on your ability to accept and trust one another through these things."

Benjamin would later confess that he was rather irritated with Jonathan's unsolicited advice in his hour of frustration with his true love. Rather than allow that discomfort to bubble to the surface, however, he followed Irene's favourite rebuttal to both Elizabeth and Jonathan when she wished to needle them. "Trust?!" he asked with a grin. "Am I not sharing a bath with a fellow who needs to wee all the time? That, my friend, is trust!"

"Oho!" Jonathan forced a laugh of his own now. He was rather less thick-skinned on that topic than Elizabeth was, perhaps because he had far less experience in being teased on matters so personal, or because she had been a voracious tea-drinker far longer than he had and thus the condition was far newer to him. Regardless, he kept his irritation to himself. "Benjamin, you had better make amends with Iron Bladder Irene. Clearly the two of you belong together!"

"Indeed we do," Benjamin said. "Indeed we do."

Elizabeth was once again saddled with watching the children for the long, rainy afternoon. Her rage at Alexandria having subsided but her disgust remaining, she wordlessly but firmly gook the girl by the arm when she returned to the nursery after lunch, and directed her to a chair in the corner. "Ow! Elizabeth, what are you doing?!" Alexandria demanded. "Just leave me alone!"

"I shall leave you alone, all right," Elizabeth replied icily. "Alone in the corner." She gave Alexandria a rough push, and the girl landed on the chair with an exaggerated plop. "You are to sit here all afternoon, facing the wall."

"You can't make me do that!" Alexandria roared, standing back up and straining to look Elizabeth, who was several inches taller than she, in the eye. "You are not my nurse!"

"Indeed I am not. But if you do not do as I say, I shall let Nurse know all about it." That was no idle threat, and Alexandria slunk back down into the chair in defeat. "Now, should you wish to share your concerns with me about what awaits you at school, dear, I will be more than happy to listen and reassure you if I can. But neither I nor your parents are going to stand for any more of your nastiness, Alex, no matter how frightened you are." 

With that, Elizabeth turned on her heel and walked across the room to find Thomas and Joy had been frightened into burying their noses in books. They were both on their best behaviour for the afternoon, but their quiet agreeability left Elizabeth little to do but to stew further over Alexandria's revelation and my role in the matter. Had I been there to answer her call at my door, perhaps a confrontation would have ultimately had an agreeable ending. The lack thereof made its effects all too well known on Elizabeth's mind throughout the long afternoon. 

I received the full effects of all that compressed anger on my return that evening. I was relaxing with a mindless novel after the long afternoon at work when once again she banged upon my door. "Agnes!" she howled. 

"Elizabeth?" I stood up just in time for her to wrench open the door. 

"Exactly what have you been telling the children about me?!" she demanded. 

In that awful moment, I understood my mistake; but in the same instant I made another misstep. "Alexandria!" I said with a knowing nod. "That little wretch." I then made eye contact with Elizabeth to set the record straight, only to discover I had given her the wrong idea entirely. 

"Then you have been talking to her behind my back, on matters that are none of her concern and far beyond her age!" Elizabeth snapped. 

"No!" I insisted. I wanted to step forward and meet my friend, but every inch of her presence screamed at me to do no such thing. 

"No? Well then do tell, how does she know of the baths, and all else we do in town, and probably my body as well?!"

"I have no idea, Elizabeth! I don't!" Now I was growing quite angry myself. "Do you truly believe I would tell a child such a thing?! Particularly that child?"

"But it was you who told me your uncle wanted me to have a word with her, Agnes! And when I do reach out to her, she knows all manner of things she should never have known about me!"

I drew in a deep breath. "I should have told you, then..."

"No, Agnes, you should never have told anyone anything!"

"Elizabeth! No! You do not understand –"

"I understand all too well! I take a holiday I do not even want to take, and you ruin everything in my absence! What on earth has become of you, Agnes?"

Now I was as furious as she. "What has become of me? For starters, I have become quite tired of your refusal to listen to me, that is what! If you are going to believe I would do such a horrid thing, then off with you!" I turned and sat back in my chair, fighting back tears and hungering for the sound of Elizabeth slamming the door and retreating into the hall. After an excruciating moment, I was rewarded thusly. 

What became of me next is of little interest: I simply spent a lonely evening pondering the misunderstanding and trying in vain to focus on my book. Though angry and sad, I comforted myself with optimism that Elizabeth would recognize the reality of what had and had not occurred once her fury had passed. Clearly we all needed her proposed retreat more than even I had recognized. Naturally, that thought gave way to delightful images of sexual abandon with all my friends; but even that could not cheer me appreciably on that dark evening. 

I likely would have been rather resentful had I known what was transpiring on the other side of the mansion, in Elizabeth's room, while I coped alone with my angst. Fortunately, I was not to know of it all for quite some time. Elizabeth and Jonathan had, on parting that morning, settled upon his coming to spend the night in her room. Due to her nasty altercations with Alexandria and his uneasy conversation with Benjamin, neither was in a particularly romantic mood when he arrived shortly after Elizabeth had taken her leave of me. That the rain had returned in full force did not help matters, for Jonathan had been caught off-guard and was soaked to the bone when he appeared in her doorway. 

Nevertheless, Elizabeth's heart rose a bit when the rap came at her door, and she could not help but be amused at her true love's dishevelled presence. She tried to suppress her laughter at the stray raindrops now falling from his nose, hair and clothes; but she did not succeed completely. "Oh dear, Jonathan, I am sorry, but..."

"I know, I know," Jonathan said, tearing off his sopping coat. "I am sure I look a state to you, Elizabeth. Don't we both always amuse our friends with our looks!" Just as Elizabeth had failed to hide her amusement, now Jonathan failed to hide his irritation. 

"I am sorry, Jonathan. Here, let me call for some tea to warm you up..."

"No!" He paused for a deep breath, his shirt half-unbuttoned and his soaked pants still hanging limply about his hips. "Sorry, Elizabeth, but tea is the last thing I want tonight, thank you very much."

"Why on earth not, Jonathan? We love our tea, don't we? What does Irene always say?"

"Precisely," Jonathan grumbled. "And I am sick to death of those comments!"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Jonathan, grow up! After the day I had with Alexandria, that is not a matter on which I have any sympathy for you! You know as well as I that Irene only began teasing us about all that because she was jealous of our love!"

"Yes, and I suppose now she once again has reason to be," Jonathan said. He was now down to his short pants and socks, and Elizabeth was finding her titillation outweighing her anger. She sat back on the edge of her bed and admired his body as he finished undressing. "I had a most awkward chat with Benjamin today at the baths, and he just had to...to..."

"Comment on your frequent need to wee?" Elizabeth asked. Jonathan acknowledging the accuracy of her query with a silent nod, she continued. "I endured the same from little Alexandria today. All these years I believed the children had no idea of my private joke with the kitchen maid – 'Elizabeth, you are free!' – free to run off to the water closet, of course. It seems Alexandria knew all about it. That and a lot more."

"I'm so sorry, darling," Jonathan said, his voice softening for the first time. "I was so wrapped up in my own annoyance at Benjamin's comment, I had no idea."

"Oh, I hardly care about that, really," Elizabeth replied. Jonathan was fully nude now, towelling himself off, and the sight was magnificent in spite of the uncomfortable topic of conversation. "You know me, fully accustomed to rude comments about my body. It was more a matter of just who it was who knew it. I try so very hard to keep my private life private from the children. After all, it is only appropriate! It is quite different with our friends."

"Perhaps for you it is," Jonathan said. "But the very idea, that I would piss in the baths, for heaven's sake!"

"Oh, Jonathan, he knows you would never do that! It is simply his and Irene's most convenient way of lashing out at us when they feel the need to! You know it was a joke with Irene well before she even met Benjamin."

"And it ate at me then, too, if you must know."

"Oh please, my darling, you know as well as I it was a naughty thrill for the two of us to have that matter in common! Just one more way in which we were perfect for one another!" Her outrage at Alexandria was now mostly gone, for the first time since lunchtime. Jonathan was looking wonderfully vulnerable standing there with his towel in his hands and not a stitch of clothing. Elizabeth stood up and slipped her arms around him. "Don't you recall our very first evening together, how we both had all that wine and then when we got back here..."




Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 2)



"We both tried to keep it to ourselves," Jonathan recalled. 

"The way you tried so hard to be gentlemanly about it all," Elizabeth added, rubbing his back. "Then and now, we have nothing to be ashamed of! So what if we like rather more tea and wine than Irene and Benjamin do?"

"Or Alexandria," Jonathan agreed. 

"Oh, heavens, that little brat," Elizabeth said. She let Jonathan continue to hold her, but the mood was broken for the moment. "I am afraid there is much more where she is concerned, Jonathan. It seems she knows all about my life at the baths, the pub, and even my body!" There was no need to tell Jonathan what aspect of her body she referred to; it was, after all, what Elizabeth was known best for in certain circles. "And the worst of it all is that Agnes seems to have told her all about it!"

Jonathan, to his eternal credit, was sceptical. "Agnes? Are you sure she would tell the children such things? Darling, she is not that naïve and certainly not that disrespectful of you! Or of any of us."

"But you heard her, outside the pub yesterday! About how Mr. Marlston wanted me to talk to Alexandria."

"Yes, and that is all she said."

"About Alexandria! Think of all she let slip about Irene! And me, for that matter!" 

"All that pertained directly to her, though, Elizabeth. It makes no sense that she would tell Alexandria your secrets!"

Elizabeth slipped out of his embrace, and Jonathan looked around for something to cover himself in. With the changing of the mood, he now felt naked rather than nude. But there was nothing at hand, and a racy thought in the back of his troubled mind suggested it would help for Elizabeth to have an uninhibited view of his body. "It makes no sense that anyone would share that information with a fourteen year old girl!" she countered. "But clearly someone did!"

"Or she overheard it," Jonathan suggested. 

"From whom?! Who would say a thing like that in her presence?"

"Someone who did not know she was listening?" Jonathan suggested. "Remember who we are discussing here, Elizabeth. Alexandria is hardly respectful of adult boundaries, is she? How many of her father's business associates might have made inappropriate comments about you over cigars and brandy in his study?"

Elizabeth nodded with an embarrassed smile. There had been several male visitors over the years who knew all about her hairy and horny reputation, a few of them first-hand. She had long suspected Mr. Marlston knew most of her secrets but was gentlemanly enough to keep such things mostly to himself. A stray look or word from him now and again had often raised her suspicions, as did his wife's frosty demeanour towards Elizabeth, but there had never been any proof. 

"But Mr. Marlston would never discuss such things with his children!" Elizabeth finally protested. 

"I never suggested he would. But darling, Alex is a little sneak, you know that. Is it really so hard to believe she may have taken to listening in on his meetings now and then, perhaps through an air duct?"

Elizabeth cringed, and Jonathan saw the unmistakeable look of one who has just put two and two together. "Heavens, Jonathan, that's it! How could I have forgotten that?"

"Forgotten what?" Jonathan asked. "Have you been to her bedroom? Is it just above her father's office, perhaps?"

"I haven't been there, no," Elizabeth said. "But every now and then she has complained of the stink of his cigars in her bedroom! One day she came to the nursery in tears and said she'd been whacked by the nurse for opening her bedroom window on a cold night. Of course I wondered why on earth she had done such a thing, and she explained how her father had been in a late night meeting in his study and the smoke from all the cigars had wafted up to her room. I remember it because I had been present at the meeting, and she was right, the air was positively dense with smoke. I could still smell it in my hair the following morning myself."

"So if the smoke was keeping her awake," Jonathan said, "the little wretch would no doubt be thrilled to sit by the vent and wait for some juicy gossip."

"And once she heard one intimate comment about me," Elizabeth continued.

"She would always be on the lookout afterward for more!" Jonathan concluded. 

Elizabeth ran her fingers through her thick mane in frustration. "Dear God, I owe Agnes a lavish apology," she said. "Perhaps I should go to her room now..."

"Perhaps you should take some time to relax first," Jonathan countered. "Allow cooler minds to prevail. He touched her shoulder gently, and she arose and returned to his waiting embrace. The crisis over, she now allowed herself to enjoy his nudity once again; his bare body was delightful as ever in her arms! "Do you still want that tea?" he asked her now. 

Elizabeth laughed. "Jonathan, I had no idea you felt any shame over the matter of our tea drinking!"

"I have had less practice than you in such things," he said.

"Well, I am capable of letting it upset me as well from time to time," Elizabeth admitted. "Alexandria certainly knew how to hurt me with it this morning. But never mind her now," she said, relaxing in Jonathan's arms. They swayed together in intimate comfort for a few moments, and Jonathan finally reached up to untie her dress. Just as he had the bow undone, Elizabeth frowned anew. "Oh, good heavens!" she exclaimed.

"What now?" Jonathan asked.

"If Alexandria knows so many of my secrets, is it not very likely that little Thomas does as well?"

"Elizabeth..." Jonathan began gingerly, with a grin he could not hide.

Elizabeth saw the grin. "You find that amusing, do you?"

"Hardly," Jonathan reassured her, taking her hand in both of his. Her dress slipped off her shoulders as he did, and neither of them tried to stop it or help it along. "It is only that Thomas is madly in love with you. You know that as well as I."

"I know it only too well," Elizabeth conceded, now pulling her arms out of her sleeves. Her dress floated gracefully to the floor and she stood before Jonathan in her brassiere and panties, which were bursting with hair at every edge as usual. "That is why it concerns me that he may have heard more than he should know about me."

"I assure you, Elizabeth, whether he has heard any of these things or not, in his imagination he knows all about your body – or at least his ideal of it! Remember, I was a twelve-year-old boy once, with a teacher I adored. I never heard the first thing about her private life, but I imagined at least as many steamy little details as I know about you in real life!" He stroked her bush gently through her panties as he explained. "Including what I wanted to believe she looked like in the nude."

Elizabeth allowed a relieved sigh. "I suppose this teacher of yours was as hairy as I am," she said with a chuckle. 

"Nearly," Jonathan allowed. "And nearly as fond of sex as well." He now had her panties off and was running his fingers gently through her large triangle while Elizabeth squirmed in pleasure at his touch. "I say, Elizabeth, did you never have a male teacher – or some adult in your life – at that age to whom you were attracted?"

Elizabeth dissolved into quiet but salacious laughter, as she recalled the butler's young assistant her parents had hired the year before she had been sent off to school. "Mr. Penton," she recalled. "I do not believe I ever even knew his first name, yet somehow I knew all about what his body looked like underneath that crisp uniform of his. I knew just how long his cock was, and how thick it grew when hard, and...well, those were the days when I believed all adults were ever so hairy down below as I already was by then – this was before I was aware of how unusual I was, you will recall – and I would imagine him disrobing casually for me to admire, and maybe even let me touch it...oh, dear, and Thomas probably imagines me doing such things for him all the time!"

"And so what if he does, Elizabeth?" Jonathan reassured her. "This Mr. Penton never did anything inappropriate with you, did he?"

"True, he did not," Elizabeth agreed. "And I would never be inappropriate with Thomas."

"Then there is no harm done. Indeed, Elizabeth, perhaps it is best that he has you to practice growing up on from a safe distance."

"Jonathan, that's a perfectly lovely thought!"

"Perfectly lovely is correct," Jonathan whispered in her ear, and simultaneously he eased his middle finger into her perpetually hungry vagina. 

Elizabeth felt her breath catch in her throat as she lay back on her bed and indulged in his expert inner massage. There were no more thoughts of the children – or of me, I suppose – as he rubbed her slowly and teasingly into a lather. "Oh, Jonathan...ohhhhhhhhh!" She wriggled in delight as his fingers disappeared into her lush bush time and again, only to reappear glistening wet a moment later. She opened her eyes but once, to be satisfied with the sight of his fully-engorged cock at the ready. That only increased her hunger as she feasted on his gentle fingers. 

Just as Elizabeth's moans were reaching their telltale fevered pitch, Jonathan slipped his fingers inside and held them still. Her ecstasy turned to sweet frustration, she opened her eyes to see him grinning innocently at her. "You marvellous torturer, you!" she exclaimed, squeezing her inner muscles around his still-unmoving fingers. 

"Why, thank you!" Jonathan slipped his fingers out, a sensation that was pleasant but too slight to satisfy her longing; and he climbed atop her. 

With a relieved sigh, Elizabeth took his cock in her hands and guided him in. With a satisfied grunt, she whispered, "That was worth waiting for."

"I am ever so glad it was!" Jonathan whispered. But he was not done teasing Elizabeth. He pulled back nearly out, very, very slowly, and then eased back in just as slowly. Gazing lovingly into her eyes, with no sound but the rain against the windows, he continued to make love to her but an inch at a time. Gliding steadily, slowly, in and out, he went on for how long neither of them knew or cared. 

With only Elizabeth's mellow moans to mark the time, Jonathan was nearly ready to graduate to a higher pace when she spoke at last. "Jonathan, this is beautiful!" she whispered. "Make it last forever!" And with that encouragement, he did not increase the pace one bit. The frustration of her just-missed orgasm now forgotten, Elizabeth indulged herself completely in the gentle sensation he was inspiring within her. The occasional further encouragement escaped her lips – "This is unbelievable...Never stop!" – but nothing else disturbed the magic in which they were enveloped. 

Jonathan lasted so long he was tempted to look at the clock; but he knew better than to do so. He hoped – in vain towards the end – that Elizabeth would come, yet he knew it was unlikely at such a slow pace. For many minutes he was likewise in no danger of bringing the magic to a close; but inevitably, he did feel the gathering storm deep within his loins. Try as he might to put it off, his orgasm washed over him and he came to rest buried deep inside Elizabeth. When the moment arrived and he collapsed atop her, she threw her arms around him and all was quiet. 

All was quiet for a moment or two, in any case, before Elizabeth broke the silence with her weeping. 

Jonathan propped himself up on his elbows. "Elizabeth? What's the matter?"

"Sorry, Jonathan, no one has ever been that gentle before," she said through her tears of joy. 

Realizing now that they were tears of joy, Jonathan pressed his body up close against hers once again, and she squeezed him as tightly as she could. There were no more words for several minutes. 

But Jonathan suspected that Elizabeth, although delighted, was not finished. When at last he had rolled off her and onto his back, she confirmed as much with a playful hand around his now-soft cock. "Is the poor dear asleep already?" she cooed. 

"It would appear not," Jonathan conceded, as he felt himself stiffening once again. Though he was now ready to sleep, he could hardly deny Elizabeth a second helping after such a wonderful session.

"How can I persuade you to take another round?" she wondered aloud, both of them knowing the rigidity in her hand rendered the point moot. 

"It appears you needn't persuade me, now doesn't it?" Jonathan asked. And with no more words, Elizabeth climbed onto him and once again enveloped him. 

She went at him just as hard and fast as he had been gentle in the earlier session. She rocked hard back and forth, even leaning back on her palms and moaning at the ceiling. Jonathan was tired, but not too tired to reach up and run his fingers merrily through her bush as he knew she loved, even reaching in with one thumb to graze her clitoris. Elizabeth yelped loudly at his touch, and ground hard into him as her belated, intense orgasm at last washed over her. Jonathan had no trouble in joining her moments afterward. Satisfied at last, Elizabeth lay down to kiss him, still clamping him within until she felt his erection receding, and soon they were fast asleep in a joyful jumble of arms and legs.

I, who knew none of what had transpired in Elizabeth's room, was caught unawares at breakfast the following morning when they both appeared in the doorway. Instinctively, I tore my gaze away and wished I had a newspaper to bury my face in. The discomfort was fleeting, for Elizabeth and Jonathan both joined me at the table with apologetic smiles. "Agnes, I am sorry," Elizabeth announced. "I believe you didn't tell Alex anything."

"You believe?" I was relieved, but still rather upset. "Does that mean you are sure?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said. "Completely. I still don't know just how she learned what she knew, but Jonathan and I have a good idea of it."

"How, then?" I asked. "If you wish me to forgive and forget, I'd like to know what bright idea came over you."

"The air ducts," Jonathan said. "We think she heard someone – maybe several someones – talking about Elizabeth in Mr. Marlston's office, from her room."

"Listening through the air ducts?" I asked. "Yes, that makes as much sense as anything. But I won't lie to you, Elizabeth: I am hurt."

"I do not blame you," Elizabeth said. "I truly don't."

"Just what has overcome all of us lately anyhow?" I demanded. "Suddenly we are all so angry at one another, and all for no good reason." After a pause, I conceded, "Okay, Benjamin has a good reason."

"But he's not angry at you," Jonathan countered. "Not anymore, in any event. I spoke to him yesterday."

Now, that was a relief! "He got my letter, then?"

"Yes, and he accepts your apology. And..." Jonathan looked around to ensure neither the children nor the servants were present to overhear him, and they were not. "...Well, Agnes, let's just say I saw his reaction when we talked of your fun with Irene and Elizabeth, and clearly he did not find it fully disagreeable."

It took me a moment to understand just what he meant, but in good time I made sense of it. We then shared a laugh and I enjoyed a jolt of titillation within. 

"I think we are badly overdue for our retreat together," Elizabeth concluded. "Don't you both agree?"

"Completely," Jonathan and I said in unison. 

The issue remained of Irene and Benjamin and their relationship. None of us wished to pry, of course, and at least we knew Benjamin knew and approved of Elizabeth's proposal. Though we had little doubt Irene would be open to joining us, none of us knew just how – or even if – to address her just then. 

As usual, Elizabeth was more than up to the task. Unbeknownst to Jonathan and myself, she sent Irene an invitation to meet for lunch that day. Though Irene did not respond to the invitation, she did arrive unannounced shortly before noon. Because the secretary knew her well, she bade Irene see herself to Elizabeth's office. "Yes?" Elizabeth asked when the door opened, not looking up from her work. 

"Erm, hello," Irene said, more nervous than she had ever felt with Elizabeth since their awkward first meeting in the baths. 

"Irene!" Delighted, Elizabeth set down her drafting pencil and rushed around the desk to embrace her friend. "It has been far too long!"

"I'm sorry I did not respond to your invitation," Irene said, somewhat reluctantly returning the hug. "I was uncertain as to whether I was up to coming by today."

"That is perfectly all right," Elizabeth said. 

"You say that, but I'm afraid there are some things you don't know about what went on while you and Jonathan were away," Irene told her. 

"Agnes told us all about it," Elizabeth said as gently as she could. 

"Oh, dear God!" Irene looked horrified in the instant Elizabeth could see her face, before she turned away and retreated behind Elizabeth's desk to stare out the window. 

Elizabeth gave her friend the space she so clearly needed in that moment. But she addressed her from behind. "Irene, it is all perfectly all right as far as I am concerned. What you and Agnes did is none of my business, and I understand Benjamin has forgiven you both."

"Then Agnes did not tell you about...my private desires?"

"I am afraid she did, and I am most sorry she violated your trust, Irene. But I take no offense at your thoughts." She paused and hoped Irene would look back at her, but she did not. "Indeed," Elizabeth pressed on, "It sounds like great fun. For Benjamin and me both."

Irene still did not turn to look at her friend, but she did allow for a nervous laugh which slowly grew heartier and more comfortable. At long last, she did turn around. "I appreciate your open-mindedness, Elizabeth," she finally said. "I do, really. But I am absolutely mortified nevertheless."

"What have you to be mortified about, Irene?" Sensing it was now welcome, Elizabeth reached out and slowly took her friend in her arms. "How much time have we spent together at the baths? You knew my body before you knew my name, and we did have that night with Agnes!"

"Thank you, yes," Irene admitted. "But I still feel a poor excuse for a friend for not telling you myself. And it was most unfair to Benjamin as well."

"Have you spoken to Benjamin since you confessed to him?" Elizabeth asked. 

Irene shook her head.

"Well, then," Elizabeth said, turning to lock the office door. "You will be delighted to know he and Jonathan had a chat about it at the baths yesterday, and the very idea had him harder than a rock."

Irene dissolved into relieved laughter. "What a lovely image that is! Lest you think I care only for women anymore, Elizabeth, I can assure you..."

"No explanation necessary, dear," Elizabeth told her. "I know perfectly well how fond you are of Benjamin and all parts of his body." It then occurred to her that Irene was the last of the gang to have no knowledge of her holiday plans. "And on that topic, Irene, there is a wonderful idea I had after Irene broke the news to me. We all had a rather unpleasant weekend, if the truth be told, and the more I think about it, the more I believe it is an idea whose time has come."

"What would that be?" Irene asked. 

"A private retreat for the five of us, at the seashore perhaps."

"A private retreat?" Irene asked?

"Exactly what you are thinking," Elizabeth reassured her. "A chance for us all to clear the air, and act out any fantasy with which we are all comfortable. Sort of a last hurrah before Jonathan and I are married – and you and Benjamin should it come to that."

"He hasn't proposed," Irene said. "And now I'm not certain he ever will."

"Perhaps," Elizabeth told her. "But he has agreed to my proposal. So have Jonathan and Agnes. But if you are uncomfortable with it –"

"I'm not!" Irene said it so quickly and emphatically that soon they were both laughing together at her eagerness. "Thank you, no, I am most interested." After a comfortable lull in the conversation, she spoke up again. "Of course, this could change everything between us all, you know."




Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 2)



"That is part of the idea," Elizabeth said. "If our relationships are not strong enough to withstand ideas that have been lurking in all our minds, it is best that we learn of it now."

"Well said," Irene agreed. Then she grinned. "All of our minds?" 

"I must confess, Irene, ever since Agnes spilled the beans, I have been imagining you with one hand in Benjamin's bush and one in mine."

Irene laughed again, but now it was a nervous laugh. "I am ever so humiliated at all that."

"There is no need to be," Elizabeth reassured her. Stepping back, she gathered her skirt up around her hips and stood facing her friend. "If you would care to practice a bit, you are most welcome," she said with the salacious grin she usually reserved for Jonathan.

"Elizabeth!" Irene exclaimed in a husky whisper, looking at the door.

"I locked it, didn't I?" Elizabeth reminded her. 

Irene was torn; Elizabeth could see that, but she did not let her skirt back down. 

Reluctantly at first, as if she were struggling to keep her hands at her side, Irene reached out. She looked her friend in the eye as if to ask was she quite sure. Seeing nothing but welcome in her face, Irene placed her hands on Elizabeth's hips and slid her panties down. Then, as if handling a delicate treasure, she reached her right hand into her bush. Lush and thick as ever, it was a bit matted from the panties, but Irene's touch had the hair fluffed back to its normal prominence in no time. Her fingers felt electrified with nervous delight as they frolicked at last in her friend's vast bush, and her titillation only grew as Elizabeth began to shake and laugh at her touch. "Is it too much?" Irene asked. 

"Not at all!" Elizabeth said. "It's perfectly delightful! I may well need to tickle myself as well after you've gone, though; you're making me quite eager!"

Irene let her fingers dance all the way down to Elizabeth's cleft, and she found it was wet to the touch. She had little doubt that her own pussy was similarly lubricated by then, and the thought of lowering her trousers to let Elizabeth return the favour crossed her mind. But that seemed a bridge too far just yet, and so Irene contented herself with tickling Elizabeth's bush for the moment. 

When she had Elizabeth squirming so much she was nearly feeling guilty, Irene forced herself to stop. Reverently she pulled Elizabeth's panties back up with both hands, amused at the idea of trying in vain to cover all her hair with the thin swath of fabric. "It's a good job you don't care about these not covering everything," she told Elizabeth.

"I do care about that, actually," Elizabeth confessed, adjusting them slightly before she let her skirt down at last. "But Jonathan doesn't seem to mind, so I accept it."

"Jonathan is a lucky guy," Irene said, leaning in to kiss Elizabeth's cheek. "Thank you for...this."

Irene found she needed to visit the water closet before she left the building; but it was not only to make water. In the makeshift privacy the stall offered, she quickly brought herself to an intense orgasm. She would have been more titillated still to know that Elizabeth was similarly engaged in the privacy of her still-locked office at precisely the same time. 

Having still not heard directly from Benjamin, Irene took the bull by the horns and rang his doorbell that evening with a single red rose and a bottle of wine in her hand. He looked neither surprised nor angry when he opened the door. 

"Come in," he said with a cordial smile. After shutting the door, he accepted the rose with a thank-you and went to the cupboard for a vase. "It's nice to see you again," he said, not unkindly. 

"I understand Agnes has apologized to you," Irene said. 

"Yes, and I have accepted. That goes for you, too, but I do wish we could have discussed all this beforehand."

"It was absolutely unplanned," Irene told him. "At least by me. I now know Agnes had been interested in an encounter for some time."

"Ever since you taught her to please herself."

"Evidently. Benjamin, I'm sorry I didn't tell you of that encounter either, but I assure you, on that occasion I never touched Agnes or Elizabeth."

Benjamin smiled for the first time. "But you wanted to touch Elizabeth. And me. At once."

"You've heard, I see," Irene said. "Little point in trying to keep secrets among our friends anymore, is there?"

"I must admit, Irene, I rather liked the idea myself when I heard it."

"So did Elizabeth," Irene said. "Speaking of whom, I should probably tell you, we had a bit of a tryst at her office today. I hope that's okay. I figured, since we are planning on that outing anyway..."

"Perfectly okay, I assure you," Benjamin said, though he looked less than delighted. "On one condition."

"You wish to have your turn with her as well, I suppose," Irene said. 

"I love you dearly, Irene," Benjamin said. "But as we both acknowledged on that occasion at the hotel, Elizabeth and I do have a unique bond."

"I could not agree more," Irene said. "And yes, of course it is all right with me. It is only fair, after all."

Benjamin had settled himself on his bed by then. "But tell me one thing, Irene," he said. "Knowing what you now know about your interest in women as well as men, are you quite sure you love me?"

"Certain," Irene said. "Elizabeth and Agnes are friends – close friends, but only friends, just like Jonathan is. You have never been insecure about my friendship with him, have you?"

"He is your cousin," Benjamin reminded her.

Irene burst into embarrassed laughter. "Quite right. But yes, Benjamin. What I did with Agnes and Elizabeth was good fun, perhaps satisfying because it was finally being honest with myself about a matter that has eaten at me since I first started noticing boys. I started noticing girls, too, but I always told myself it wasn't really so. I now see it was. But it is you I love, and that is so much more than just good fun."

"I believe you," Benjamin said. But he made no move to act upon his declaration. 

That evening, Benjamin made dinner for Irene and they shared her wine, and talked late into the evening. They talked of their past several months together, and of the future, and of life beyond Westfordshire City and where it might take one or both of them. But he never even touched her, and she followed his lead and kept to her side of the table as well. At half past ten, with the wine long gone, Irene was growing tired and she sensed she would not be welcome to stay the night. Masking her regret behind a smile, she stood up. "I guess I ought to be going home," she said with a forced smile. "Thank you for dinner."

Benjamin stood up. "It was my pleasure, Irene. I'll look forward to seeing you on...Saturday? Have they set a date for the outing?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll see you whenever the date is."

"Wonderful, then. Good night."

"Good night, Benjamin."

And neither of them made any attempt to contact the other for the remainder of that week. 

With all five of us in favour of her proposal, Elizabeth lost no time in making plans for our weekend by the sea. An awkward but pleasant reunion with Irene and myself at the baths later that week confirmed that we all needed some time together in a safe place all our own. Although Irene and I got along fairly well, her news of the rocky reconciliation with Benjamin was unwelcome news. "I am so very sorry to hear of all this," Elizabeth told her gently after a recounting of it all. We were huddled together in one corner of the pool, just out of earshot of the boisterous regulars at the other end. 

"Thank you, but perhaps it is just as well," Irene said. "Perhaps a line has been crossed." Irene then turned to me to see I was gazing apologetically at her, with no desire at that moment but to comfort my friend in any way I could. "I do not blame you, Agnes, I assure you. It does take two, after all."

"I suppose so," I concurred. "But I still feel horribly guilty over it all."

"You shouldn't."

"But I do."

Elizabeth cut in. "And that is exactly why we need to get out of the city for a bit, now isn't it? To work all these things out among us all?"

"I do miss how perfectly comfortable things were," Irene admitted. "That in-the-baths feeling, it's gone, even here in the baths, and I can only hope we can reclaim it."

"Is it really, though?" I asked, wading out a bit into the water so they both had a better view of my body. I was rewarded with admiring looks from both of my friends. 

"Ah, I can hardly wait to have some gentle fun with you," Elizabeth said. "But I do hope you realize this could change things between us."

"Things already have changed," Irene said. "Like it or not."

We were set to leave on Saturday. There was one order of business before then: Alexandria was off to school on Friday. On Thursday evening, Uncle asked Elizabeth and me for a word in his study. This, of course, afforded us a marvellous opportunity to test our theory regarding Alexandria's eavesdropping. However, neither of us broached that subject immediately as Uncle poured three glasses of whiskey for us, accompanying the gesture as usual with an expression of amazement at how women could drink like men these days. "I can cut yours with water if you'd prefer, Agnes," he said. There was no need to ask Elizabeth; he knew she took her drinks straight. 

"That won't be necessary, thank you," I told him, accepting the glass from him. Then, as brazenly as I dared, I said, "I take it this concerns Alexandria?" I looked up at the vent near the ceiling, and saw Elizabeth doing the same.

"Indeed it does," Uncle said, sitting down at his desk and nodding at us to have a seat in the chairs before him. "I suspect I owe one or both of you an apology. I do not know what my daughter may have told either of you, but judging from the scuttlebutt I have been able to piece together from my other children and their nurse, she has been most ungracious towards all your efforts to soothe her apprehension regarding her departure for school. I had hoped you would be able to reach her in a way her mother and I could not, one young woman to another. But I suppose I underestimated her determination to be miserable. She is her mother's daughter in that regard, I am afraid."

Elizabeth was, as usual, both gracious and in control of the situation. With another knowing glance at the vent, she said, "There is no need to apologize. In all sincerity, it may well be for the best that Alex brings her current attitude to school with her."

"What on earth do you mean?" Uncle asked. I silently wondered the same – for the moment. 

"Well," Elizabeth began, "As you know, I was also sent off to boarding school at her age. I was not world-weary like Alexandria, though. I was a naïve little girl who anticipated a lovely time at school rather than the harsh, cold reality that greets new students upon their arrival. Now, as you may already be aware, sir, I was bullied relentlessly at school."

"How would I know that?" Uncle asked. I must credit him with betraying no indication that he did know.

"Perhaps I should apologize to you now," Elizabeth continued gingerly, "But I have found that rumours often reach the wrong ears in this house, and some of your business associates have known me right well at one time or another. You are, of course, too much of a gentleman to comment on such things, and I thank you for that; but I have no way of knowing which of my secrets may have reached your ears."

"I confess that I have received information that ought not be repeated in polite company," Uncle replied. "But I have heard of nothing that might have inspired bullying in your younger years. In any event, your private life is none of my business and I have always made every effort to treat it as such."

"Yes, thank you," Elizabeth acknowledged. "As I was saying, then, I was bullied horribly at school. I am afraid the fact that I had anticipated such a lovely time only made reality all the worse to cope with. Had I been expecting a horrible time as little Alex is, well, I should at least have not been disappointed!" She allowed a mild laugh, as we both hoped Alexandria was listening in. "She expects the worst, clearly, so at the very least what she does find will be no worse than her expectations."

"At best, perhaps she will be among the bullies," I added. 

"Why should that be best?" Uncle asked. 

"It is very much in keeping with her attitude of late, is it not?" Elizabeth suggested. 

"Quite," Uncle admitted. "She has certainly succeeded in spreading her misery here, has she not? Why should we keep such things all to ourselves here at home?"

By now we were all laughing. "And she is quite good at it, isn't she?" I said. 

"I knew a bully or two myself in my time," Uncle said. "Perhaps it is best that she gets it out of her system early on. I can only hope she will grow out of it; we have all done all we could to help, haven't we?"

We clinked glasses and drank up. Just as Elizabeth and I were taking our leave, Uncle had one more question. "I say, Elizabeth, just what was the cause of the bullying you suffered? I cannot think of anything sufficiently unusual about you that I have ever been aware of."

Elizabeth had, I knew, long anticipated and dreaded Uncle broaching that subject. But she handled it beautifully: "It is something the loose-lipped young men who know me might have mentioned to you. If they have not, I assure you it is not something you wish to hear."

"Quite right," Uncle agreed, betraying not whether he was aware of her reference. "But do tell me, is it something Alexandria can also expect?"

"I doubt it," Elizabeth said. "She has never given me any indication that she knows or loves herself in the way I did before the other girls discovered my secret."

"I see," said Uncle, though I suspected he did not. 

Once Elizabeth and I were safely away on the stair, I asked, "Just what did you mean about knowing and loving yourself?"

Elizabeth looked around to be sure we were alone. Quietly she explained, "I used to love knowing how different I was, before the girls at school made me feel so hideous about it. I would be willing to predict Benjamin would tell you the same about himself. Alex has never – and recall, I have known her since well before she was old enough for this to be an issue at all – she has never given me any indication that she has any such fondness for her own body. It's sad, really, and you are probably correct that it will inspire her to be a bully. But at least you and I can say we tried to instil a better attitude in her."

"Do you think she was listening to our conversation?" I asked.

"Every word, I hope," Elizabeth said. 

The next morning, we discovered that she most probably had been listening. Appearing late at breakfast in her best frock, her hair tied back so tightly it looked painful, she gave every indication of having been in tears quite recently; but her eyes were now dry. After a cursory greeting to her parents, she strode to the corner table where Elizabeth and I were enjoying our tea and fruit. We looked up, speechless, as she approached.

"Agnes? Elizabeth? I owe you both an apology."

"Well, yes, Alexandria, you do," Elizabeth said in a polite but firm tone. "But it's good of you to acknowledge as much. I do hope you also apologize to your father for listening to his private conversations."

Alexandria's eyes grew wide as saucers. "You knew I was..."

"We made an educated guess," I said. "But that does not mean we didn't really mean every word we said about you last night."

"You are a first-rate bully, Alexandria," Elizabeth said. "But you also have it entirely in your power to change that if you do not like it, you know."

"That is why I came to apologize to you," Alexandria admitted. "I see now that I bullied you, and that is not what I wish to be known for in my new life, however it may be for me from now on." Now her eyes grew moist. "I promise you, Elizabeth, I will never bully any girl at school, whatever I may think of the lot of them. I will prove to you that I can change."

"Well, that's wonderful," Elizabeth said. She reached out and gave Alexandria's hand a squeeze. "I forgive you." Alexandria looked hopeful that Elizabeth or I might stand up and embrace her; but neither of us was feeling that much forgiveness. "I think you will find, if you can keep this new attitude of yours, you will enjoy school a lot more than you think you will, you know," Elizabeth added. 

"Thank you, and I will try!" Alexandria promised, smiling through her disappointment that we remained seated. "I promise." She turned to join her parents at their table, then reconsidered. "One last question, Elizabeth, since you know I heard everything last night anyway, and I do want to know how to avoid subjecting anyone to the abuse you suffered...just what was it you would not tell Father, that you were bullied over?"

"That is no more your business than his," Elizabeth told her. "But I shall tell you this: you will be living in close proximity to your schoolmates, with limited privacy, and you are likely to be seeing one another in various states of undress now and then. Remember that we are all different in one way or another, and differences can be hard to hide when you are in the nude. No one deserves to be subjected to abuse over the natural state of her body."

Alexandria looked Elizabeth up and down, clearly in a state of desperate curiosity as to just what she referred to. But she said only, "Thank you, I shall remember that," and then she was off. 

"Then she doesn't know after all," I said. 

"Or she only wanted to hear me say, 'Who, me? Oh, I have a hairy pussy,'" Elizabeth said, so quietly I had to lean in to hear her; and then we both burst into naughty laughter. 

Elizabeth and I were off to the office shortly afterward, and so were spared any long goodbyes for Alexandria. This was most definitely a relief, for although we appreciated her apology, neither of us was terribly sorry to see her go. She would be home in four months for Christmas in any event, and, Elizabeth predicted, "Rather a sadder but wiser girl then. If so, then I shall be able to forgive her completely."

"How will you know she is sincere, though?" I asked. "She could be bullying the fat girl or the short girl or the hairy girl and we would never know if she tells you the right thing when she gets home."

"A true bully doesn't have the shame to hide it," Elizabeth replied. "Believe me, we will know."

I was not persuaded, but I did not care to argue with Elizabeth about a topic she knew so intimately and painfully. 

Elizabeth spent that night at Jonathan's flat, so I was on my own for the journey to the train station the next morning. It was a hazy late summer day, perfect weather for a trip to the seashore, and I was fairly bursting with anticipation of what was to come. But I also felt a touch of melancholy as the streetcar approached the station, for reasons I could not quite place. As the station grew into view, I realized exactly why; but I smiled through my unpleasant realization until I found my friends waiting on the platform. 

Irene and Benjamin were holding hands chastely, but looking cheerful at least. Elizabeth and Jonathan were, of course, as tight as ever. "Good morning," they all chorused. "Ready for the holiday of a lifetime?" Benjamin asked, somewhat to my surprise. 

"I certainly am," I said. Then, since Benjamin seemed not to mind, I whispered in his ear, "Can't wait to see you naked, dear."

"Nor I you," he said, and I was rewarded with a sultry grin. Irene did not ask what we had said; perhaps she had guessed it. 

"Are you okay, Agnes?" Elizabeth asked. Leave it to her to see through my brave face!

"Oh, I'm wonderful," I said. "It is only...I just realized on the way here, the last time we were all at the train station together..."




Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 2)



"The day we saw Edward off," Jonathan said. "That's right, I hadn't given that any thought."

"Well, you wouldn't, would you?" I asked. "You didn't nearly marry the man."

"But aren't you glad you didn't!" Irene reminded me in no uncertain terms. 

I had to admit that I was glad, and then she continued. It had, in any case, been a lovely day, Edward so eager for his new life overseas and I relieved to be shutting the door on a very difficult chapter of my life. I had, by that time, had several weeks to realize fully just how poorly matched Edward and I had been and how much better romance would be with a man who could and would love me for who I really was. Perhaps that was why the memory was a less than pleasant one today: besides the unwelcome reminder of losing my lifelong companion forever, I also now realized that after all these weeks and months, there was still no one new. 

On our return trip, I would be grateful for that in a way. But that was yet to be seen on that morning just before the train rolled in. 

As soon as we were settled in our private compartment, Elizabeth revealed to me that they had all wondered if I might not show up. "We would certainly have understood if you had developed cold feet in the end," she reassured me. "But none of us expected you to be the last one to arrive." 

"I wouldn't miss this for all the world," I said. "I suppose I just wanted to look good for the occasion." It had, I now realized, taken me rather a long time to choose my dress for the trip. But the short bright yellow one I had ultimately selected was quite flattering and fitting for the cheerful occasion. Elizabeth and, to my surprise, Irene were similarly attired, while Jonathan and Benjamin were both wearing loose cotton trousers and wonderfully tight short-sleeved shirts. We did make an attractive bunch, even on a casual holiday. As the train raced on, so did my imagination with wonder at whether anyone else aboard might guess what we five had planned for the weekend. 

Of course, even we had no definite plans. That was part of the fun!

The others were as nervous as I was. This I could tell because of the unusually subdued conversation, which did not rise above small talk for well over an hour. The atmosphere was punctuated only by first Elizabeth and then Jonathan stepping out to visit the water closet. Irene, to my surprise, did not tease them about it as she normally would have; perhaps word of Jonathan's testy response to Benjamin's needling had reached her ears. 

Naturally, it was Elizabeth who at last found a way to break the ice. After an especially long period of silence, she broke into a quiet laugh. "I do not know whether to feel flattered or offended here," she declared. "Here we are on our way to a holiday where our main end is sexual abandon with me at the centre for some of you, and you're acting more like we are on our way to a funeral!"

Benjamin, perhaps the most morose of us up to that point, joined in the laughter and took Elizabeth's hand. I glanced at Jonathan just long enough to see that he made no objection, and turned back just in time to see Benjamin add his contribution. "Well, Elizabeth, there may be some concerns about getting lost in our hair, after all."

"That should be great fun for us, though, shan't it?" Elizabeth rejoined, and she kissed Benjamin on the cheek. 

"For us too!" Irene admitted. "Wouldn't you say, Agnes?"

"I am most afraid I forgot my handheld mirror," I confessed. "Should I be lost in there, I hope you shall hear my screams!"

"They are most fortunate that we already love them, aren't they, Benjamin?" Elizabeth asked. 

"As are we that they love us," Benjamin said, and the look of relief on Irene's face at that moment was palpable. "I say, it is most regrettable that things have been so uncomfortable of late just because of a moment's weakness that I think we have all had at one time or another."

"Oh, Ben, thank you!" Irene said. "I do hope this is a wonderful experience for us all, and especially for you!"

Jonathan had not said a word, and so I looked at him. He was grinning and not looking at all left out, and at that moment it occurred to me that there was no reason why he should. I was just as eager to play with him as with the others, after all! In the event that he was hiding his disappointment behind a smile, I reached over and rubbed his leg playfully, and uncrossed my legs to allow him a preview. He looked down and smiled appreciatively, and I couldn't help but recall what Elizabeth had told me about their tryst on the train just a couple of weeks before. The temptation seized me to stand up and take my panties off as Elizabeth had done then; but then Jonathan might deduce that Elizabeth had been sharing such intimate details with me. 

But then, weren't we there to share such things in any event?

I very nearly did stand up and take the initiative, and I have little doubt Elizabeth and Irene would have followed suit. But in light of our short skirts and the often-gusty winds at the seaside, my better judgment got the best of me...barely. 

We were, therefore, still all fully clothed and in great spirits when at last the train arrived. It also seemed my gesture to Jonathan was most appreciated, as he embraced me eagerly as soon as we were all off the train. "I am ever so glad you and Irene created a need for this outing!" he said to me, and kissed me on the cheek. 

"Well, thank you!" I said, and cast a nervous look at Elizabeth, only to see she clearly did not object. Rather, she was gazing out at the beach and the waves, just down the hill from the station. The beach was dotted with fellow revellers, but it was not overly crowded despite the hot and beautiful afternoon. 

"Come on, let's get ourselves settled and changed!" she told us. "I can hardly wait to get in that water."

"Nor I," Benjamin added, and taking up Irene's suitcase along with his own, he set off toward our hotel. We had been fortunate enough to find a suite in a lovely hotel just across the street from the beach; evidently there had been rumours of a storm that weekend that had not come to fruition. 

On the walk to the hotel, I whispered to Elizabeth my earlier thoughts of us going barebottom on the train. She laughed with me and said, "Oh, my darling, you should have done it! I would have joined you, and I imagine Irene would have as well!"

"Doesn't the wind here concern you?" I asked. 

"You forget how accustomed I am to people in general knowing that particular secret of mine," Elizabeth replied, putting her arm around me for a friendly squeeze. "There is no greater freedom than being unashamed of your body!"

Checking in was no more efficient or less boring than it ever is at any hotel (though in those days I had fairly little experience in that regard; how that was to change!). But the staff were courteous and quick in carrying our luggage upstairs to our suite; and what a lovely suite it was! Three bedrooms (I had the centre one, the smallest of course) linked to a sitting area with a lovely view of the sea, and at the far end, a shower-bath chamber complete with a private tub large enough for us all. I needed only to look at the others to determine if this was like the one they had once shared before I met them; Irene replied with a silent nod. She looked ready to take a dip immediately; but Elizabeth was set on the beach first, and I found I preferred that to the main event as well. 

Another awkward silence as we all stood fully clothed in our private sitting room. This time it was Benjamin who broke the silence. "Well, then, let us all retire to dress, and then off to the beach!" Amid mildly relieved tacit agreement that the time was not yet right for our intimate encounter, we all did as he said. 

With the sun streaming pleasantly into my little bedroom, I tamped down my mild jealousy at being the only one who would be changing without an audience. It would, after all, be soon. Upon removing my panties, I found the anticipation had left me quite well-lubricated, and I was tempted to throw myself upon the bed then and there for a quick round of fun. But I did not wish to hold up the party, even if I would have enjoyed the kick of knowing they would surely guess the reason for my tardiness! And so I continued undressing and then pulled on my bathing suit. An elegant emerald-green one-piece model that I had purchased just for the trip, it framed my bust and hips deliciously. It also somehow managed to just hide my bush, which, though smaller than Elizabeth's, was large enough to have me believing up to that moment that I could never wear such a revealing suit. Seeing now that it did cover all the essentials, I felt thrilled in my daring at revealing as much as it did! 

Eagerly I stepped back out into the sitting room, only to find I likely could have gotten away with masturbating first after all. The other doors remained closed, and once again I longed to be sharing the moment with someone! At least there was not long to wait, as Irene and Benjamin emerged not long after I had, she in a red suit not unlike mine and he in beautifully small and tight trunks that left little indeed to my wild imagination. He clearly was equally thrilled at the sight of me, and our eyes met in pleasant embarrassment before I allowed another look at his hairy, muscular chest. Tonight would be such fun! 

The three of us set about donning the dressing gowns provided by the hotel for the walk to the beach while we waited for Elizabeth and Jonathan. I had just finished tying the sash of mine when they emerged, Jonathan looking just as ravishing to me as Benjamin had been while Elizabeth wore a black suit with a skirt for modesty – naturally there had not been a swimsuit in all Westfordshire City that could have hidden her pubes without one. As if to remind us all that she had nothing to be ashamed of in spite of that, Elizabeth opted not to wear a robe. "So silly of all of you to hide in your clothes when we're going to be frolicking about half-naked out there anyway!" she teased as she opened the suite door for us, no one daring to point out that she was dressed more modestly than any of us beneath our robes!

It is easy for me to forget now how new the outside world really was to me in those early days of my friendship with Elizabeth. Though I was by this time quite comfortable with going nude in the pools back in Westfordshire, wearing my bathing suit on the beach was something else again. As I let my robe drop and stood there in my skintight green suit, I looked around me and enjoyed the naughty rush I felt while my friends all ran off into the waves. Plenty of men gave me the eye, of course, and I felt beautiful. 

At least one of the men who admired me found me beautiful as well, for he lost no time in ambling over from his blanket to make my acquaintance. I was soon to learn, of course, that the most forward of men are often the least desirable; but as I have said, I was rather naïve as of that day. I was, at least, soon to learn a valuable lesson when the dapper young man with the handlebar moustache approached me. "Good afternoon, madam!" he said in a posh accent so unlike mine in those days. "My name is Leroy, and I can tell you are new to this area."

"Well, hello, Leroy," I said in my best flirtatious voice, for he was quite attractive at that moment: topless, his broad chest well-bronzed by the sun, and his tight shorts left very little to the imagination as to what he thought of me. "I'm Agnes, and yes, this is my first visit." I presented my hand, and his moustache tickled me pleasantly when he kissed it. 

"Do you know how I can tell?" he asked, still eyeing me shamelessly up and down, but I did not object because I was doing the same to him. "You have the air of one who is not yet jaded. Not like your friends who all ran straight for the surf; you wanted a few moments to drink in the scene and bask in the beauty you added to it. And that's wonderful, Agnes."

I struggled not to laugh, for he seemed so sincere! "You sound like my former fiancé," I told him instead. "He was an artist, always talking about everything the way you just did."

"Your former fiancé?" Leroy asked. "If he could not see the artistic value in you, he was a fool indeed!"

"Oh, that was not quite his problem," I said, setting off now for the water and my friends, for I was quickly growing irritated with Leroy. But he followed along like a puppy might, and so I continued talking. "He certainly was able to see the beauty of the female form, if that is what you are wondering. He painted three beautiful paintings of my friend Elizabeth, two of them nudes."

"Dear God, he left you for this Elizabeth?" Leroy asked. 

"Hardly! She is happily engaged to someone else, and they are both among my friends that you saw run for the waves." I pointed at Elizabeth and Jonathan, who were splashing each other joyfully in the tide. 

"Elizabeth, then, is the one in black?" Leroy asked. "Ah, yes, the one who hadn't time to shave for the holiday. But I understand we are sometimes too busy for grooming properly nowadays."

I stopped cold in the damp sand and glared at Leroy. "What, exactly, makes you believe she 'forgot to shave', and what business is that of yours?" I demanded. 

"Madam, I am here throughout the season. In these days of ever-more-revealing swimwear, I simply know what it means when a woman wears a suit with a skirt like your friend has. There is no shame in that; it is just the way things work. I am sure she made a lovely painting subject when she did have the time to groom properly." And then, demonstrating once and for all that he had misread my reaction most utterly, he took my hand again and rubbed it between both of his. My inclination was to tear it away and perhaps even slap him, but I did not wish to make a scene. Besides, it occurred to me immediately after tamping down my instincts, Elizabeth would surely want the opportunity to put him in his place. And so I smiled and feigned approval while he continued. "In any event, whatever came between you and your former fiancé, I must confess I feel most fortunate to learn that he is that, and I should like to hear more about your friends' penchant for nude paintings besides! Would you do me the honour of joining me for a swim?" 

For the sole reason that I hoped to arrange a confrontation with Elizabeth and the others, I consented to his taking my hand and leading me into the water. By then my friends had all spotted us, and were looking on shamelessly at my new acquaintance. I would rather have been frolicking about with them; but at least the crashing of the water meant Leroy could no longer make the situation even worse with his mouth. Instead, articulation gave in to silly screeches and laughs from us both as we splashed about. I was not at all surprised the first time Leroy "accidentally" touched my breast; but I was alert enough to make certain there was no second time. 

Before long, of course, the others found their way over to us, and introductions were in order. "Elizabeth, I presume," Leroy declared when she appeared at our side with Jonathan close behind. "Agnes has been a most ardent defender of your honour in your absence, I must assure you." Then, to Jonathan: "And you must be the fortunate fiancé?"

"I am, and exactly what has Agnes been compelled to defend regarding her honour?" Jonathan demanded, while Elizabeth looked at me in disbelief of my new 'friend's' comment.

"My good man, it is a topic that is not to be discussed in polite company, and from one gentleman to another I am quite certain you know that of which I speak." I was beginning to wonder if Leroy wanted us all to despise him. He was certainly doing an admirable job to that end. 

Jonathan was still looking flabbergasted and groping for an appropriate response when Irene and Benjamin arrived at our side. "Agnes, have you got a new friend already?" Irene asked cheerfully, having of course not yet been exposed to Leroy's regrettable personality. 

"Indeed she has," Leroy declared, offering his hand to her and then, less willingly, to Benjamin. "I am afraid she told me Elizabeth's name but not yours, my dear," he added, thus striking to the heart of Irene's frequent sense of feeling overshadowed by Elizabeth. I was left to marvel at how any human being could be so adept at saying precisely the wrong thing at every turn in such a short span of time!

"Is that so," Irene said in a clipped tone. "Yes, well, Elizabeth has been on Agnes' mind a great deal of late." She flashed me a stern look, and much of that morning's goodwill was instantly undone for me. Fortunately, I managed to shake my head "no" while Leroy was assessing Benjamin and inquiring as to whether he and Elizabeth were related. Irene looked mollified, but Benjamin looked set to shove Leroy under the waves at that point, a sentiment for which I did not blame him. 

Elizabeth, who after all was exceptionally experienced in coping with extremely tactless people, spoke up then with a smile I could tell was forced. "Leroy, I am terribly sorry, but this holiday is intended for us to reconnect as friends and enjoy some quality time together. That requires some privacy, as I am certain you understand, so –"

"Need say no more, my friend!" Leroy proclaimed. "You wish for a more secluded place than the beach. I know just the thing! Beyond that rock over there –" he pointed to a boulder protruding from the sand a hundred yards or so behind us, behind which the sand disappeared around a bend – "there is a tidal pool that forms when the tide is low as it is now. The sun warms the water delightfully and one feels just like bathing in an outdoor heated tub. It is one of the best-kept secrets of the locals, my friends. Shall we meander there?"

I will always and forever regret that I was not looking at Elizabeth and Jonathan at that moment, and so I will never know if they exchanged knowing looks. Given what was to happen next, though, I must assume they did. As it was, though, we were all beyond surprised when Elizabeth said, "Yes, Leroy, that is a delightful idea. Let us go."

"But Elizabeth..." Irene began.

"I said let us go!" Elizabeth repeated. "I want very much to see this natural pool of Leroy's. Indeed, I think Jonathan and I both are in rather a hurry to see it."

Irene did not look convinced, but something about our friend's tone settled the matter, and off we walked through the low tide. Elizabeth and Jonathan led the way, walking briskly hand in hand, while Irene and Benjamin followed them. After a moment's hesitation, they also held hands. I brought up the rear, my arms folded over my breasts both to prevent Leroy from staring at them and to disabuse him of any idea that I might also let him hold my hand. Showing no signs of being put off, he splashed his way alongside us, sprinting up to chat Elizabeth up and then dropping back to take his turn by my side. "My old man owns a spread just inland, you know," he prattled. "Cost him a pretty penny when he got back from the service, but it's such a great location. Perfect for lounging about the beach all the time while I wait for my boat to come in. Literally and figuratively, I mean, you'll understand. No telling what the world is going to bring me sooner or later, after all!"

Perhaps it was my imagination that Elizabeth and Jonathan picked up their pace as we approached the big rock. But it was all to make sense later on that perhaps they really did. The view out onto the endless sea and the mystery just beyond the rock were worth putting up with Leroy's nonsense in any event, I had to admit, though I did wonder why on earth Elizabeth had given in. 

The promised secluded pool was deserted, and it was all Leroy had promised. Formed of a few rocks smoothed out by millennia of tides and a natural rise in the ground at just the right angle from the water, it was full of salty water trapped from the receded waves, warmed by the sun to feel like an outdoor bath. If one didn't mind the seaweed-laden banks, the view of the ocean and the now-setting sun was magnificent. 




Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 2)



Elizabeth, for one, definitely did not mind the seaweed. "Oh, Leroy, you are quite right," she said, sliding into the warm water. "This is indeed delightful." The water was murky, but not so murky that everyone including Leroy could fail to see the skirt of her bathing suit billow up and reveal the rarely-kept secret of her pubic hair. Naturally, Leroy made no effort to hide his repulsion at the sight; but Jonathan had already joined Elizabeth with a sigh of approval and a hearty invitation to join them. 

"Erm...well, yes, of course," Leroy conceded. Gingerly he stepped into the water, positioning himself at an angle from Elizabeth; anyone could see he wished to avoid having to take any further notice of her peeping pubes. Equally unsurprising was the way he looked at me immediately after he was settled. "Surely you will be joining us, Agnes?" he asked, one arm held up to his side where I was apparently supposed to have some desire of sliding in. 

I tried to smile through my discomfort, and wracked my brain in search of a plausible excuse. 

"Oh, Leroy, I am afraid Agnes has some private affairs to attend to with Irene and Benjamin," Elizabeth said. "Perhaps the three of them can wander off into the surf and address the matter, and join us a bit later."

"Thank you, Elizabeth," I said, though I had no earthly idea what she may have been alluding to. I could see in Irene's eyes that she was similarly mystified but grateful. "Sorry, Leroy, I could not think of a polite way to extricate myself, but Elizabeth is quite good at such things."

"Indeed," mumbled Benjamin. "Come, then, ladies?" And so we did. 

As soon as we were beyond Leroy's earshot, I asked, "I do not suppose either of you has any idea what Elizabeth was on about?"

"I do not," Irene said, "But I trust she has a plan and we shall be delighted with it once it is done with."

"In any event, we certainly owe her our thanks for allowing an escape from your new friend, Agnes," Benjamin said. "Dare I ask what attracted you to him?"

"Absolutely nothing, I assure you. I am merely guilty of having been a bit liberal in returning a friendly greeting. Of all the men on the beach..."

"We have all been telling you, Agnes, there will be other men who are right for you," Irene said. "I suppose we neglected to tell you there will be many others who are not."

Irene and Benjamin were soon splashing about like the old friends they nearly were; seeing no discomfort in the atmosphere, I joined them. Our wild abandon lasted perhaps ten minutes, during which all of the angst of the preceding weeks and months was wonderfully absent. The knowledge of what Irene and I had done, of what Edward and I were never to do, were present only as one remembers a dream as we enjoyed ourselves like children in the pleasant shallow water. As for concerns that Leroy would see we were not in fact taking ourselves seriously at all, I do not believe any of the three of us cared in the least. 

Indeed, the first and last thing we heard from Leroy was a stern, exaggerated "Right, then!" in response to which the three of us saw him climb out of the pool and storm off without a proper goodbye. The battle being won, we set off back up the beach just as Elizabeth and Jonathan were emerging from the pool. 

"Aren't you going to stay and let us join you?" Irene asked. 

"Oh, you do not want to go in that water, Irene, I assure you of that!" Elizabeth said. "And we won't be going back in until after the tide has come and gone."

"Oh, surely Leroy couldn't have been as bad as all that!" Benjamin remarked, though he did follow their advice and abstain from slipping into the pool. 

"No indeed," Jonathan said. "He was not. One tasteless remark about Elizabeth's...well, you know, and when I told him in great detail how much I appreciated it, well, the man was absolutely deflated. Tried to treat it all as a joke, he did, but he certainly left in a hurry when I didn't laugh."

"But not before we gave him his just deserts," Elizabeth added, beaming as she took Jonathan's arm and squeezed it. 

"But what has all that to do with not wanting to go in the water?" I asked. 

"Or is it just that the two of you need a break?" Irene asked. "I suppose one or both of you are dying to go to the water closet, is that it?"

Elizabeth and Jonathan looked at one another and burst into nervous-sounding laughter. "Why, I don't need to go at all," Elizabeth said rather too innocently. 

"Nor I," agreed Jonathan, "But I must say I am in rather dire need of a hot shower."

"As am I, and soon," Elizabeth said. 

They were both roaring with laughter by the time Irene, Benjamin and I all understood. Instinctively we all stepped away from the tidal pool. "Elizabeth, that is perfectly disgusting!" Irene declared, though she was struggling not to laugh. 

"Yes, but ever so well-deserved," Jonathan said, turning back towards our hotel; we all followed his lead. "And just think, our friend Leroy will never even know."

I was morbidly curious. "If you don't mind my asking, how did you ever communicate about this plan without Leroy knowing?"

"Do you recall when Elizabeth suggested she and I were both in a hurry to see the pool?" Jonathan asked. 

"And of course you both knew what that really meant," Irene said.

"I am rather surprised you did not also read between the lines, Irene," Elizabeth said. "You are ever so quick with a joke on that particular topic, after all. In any event, yes, we both were of one mind on the matter. Once you three were off and Leroy was making an ass of himself, it was simply a matter of choosing the right moment. When he started lecturing me about grooming, Jonathan looked over at me and we both nodded, and that was that."

"Remind me, Irene, never to follow in your footsteps with teasing Elizabeth and Jonathan about their tea-drinking!" I said. I was rewarded with a round of laughs that, I could only hope, might have caught Leroy's attention if he were still lurking about in the crowd. 

We collected our robes back at our initial site, although I chose to follow Elizabeth's lead and not wear mine; I was finding I rather enjoyed showing off my body in the green bathing suit. My heart was aflutter with excitement as we strode back to the hotel, our conversation addressing everything except what we were about to do. No need, after all, to talk about what we already knew; the time was clearly right!

An awkward lull was perhaps inevitable, and it finally arrived as Irene was unlocking the door to our suite. "Well then," she said, looking at Elizabeth and Jonathan, "I suppose the two of you will be needing that shower straight away."

"Indeed," Jonathan said. "And if Elizabeth has no objection, you are all welcome to join us as you see fit."

I smiled shyly and said nothing, but my heart was very much aflutter with anticipation as I retired to my bedroom. Allowing myself no time to lose my courage, I peeled off my wet bathing suit as soon as the door was shut. Standing nude and hopeful just inside the door, I lay my hand on the doorknob; but I forced myself to count to a hundred and give Elizabeth and Jonathan a fair chance to wash off. After what they had done, I had no desire to share in that particular ritual. But my mind did run wild with a vision of them soaping one another up joyfully. Once again I longed for such companionship of my own; but the thought of Leroy joining our private affair was enough for me to defeat my self-pity. As I waited, I was quite tempted for a close look at my body in the mirror; but fortunately I resisted the temptation to give in to my insecurity. I did allow myself to run my fingers once through my bush to fluff out the matted hair as best I might, though I knew there was no hope of comparing to Elizabeth in that regard. 

When I had finished counting, I held my breath and opened the door. Irene and Benjamin were evidently still in their room, while the shower was still audible in the bath chamber. Fancying myself as confident as Elizabeth at the baths, I stepped out into the common area and, surprised to realize I did not need to force a smile, walked briskly toward the sound of the steamy water and steamier sounds of Elizabeth and Jonathan. 

The heady warm air enveloped my body in a delightful sensation as I stepped in, and I found myself remarkably devoid of self-consciousness as Jonathan looked up from his hands on Elizabeth's breasts to see me. He turned and afforded me my first look at a man's body, his adorable penis emerging from its modest garden of curls (which appeared smaller still in contrast to Elizabeth's wonderful forest) and growing turgid before my eyes as he admired my body. I smiled in silence and welcomed his admiring gaze. "Agnes! Welcome!" he called out. 

Elizabeth gave me a similar welcome, but I had seen her in the nude countless times and was focused on Jonathan's beautiful hard cock, which seemed to be pointing directly at me now. I laughed at the wonderful sight, and Jonathan joined in. "I knew you would be beautiful," he purred as I joined them both in the hot spray. 

"I have told you as much!" Elizabeth reminded him. With that she rubbed some liquid soap into my hair and was soon working up a pleasant lather. Sensing some inhibition on my part, she whispered, "Go ahead, I know you're dying to play with it!"

"And I am dying for you to do it, too," Jonathan reassured me. And so it was with no further ado that I took his hardness in both of my curious hands. I squeezed gently, and he sighed in approval. Then, recalling something I had overheard in the baths, I tickled the underside lightly. Jonathan wiggled and let out a throaty laugh. "Heavens, you're crafty for a beginner!" he exclaimed. 

"Haven't I told you how remarkably easy it is to reduce a man to a bowl of jelly if you know how to handle his cock?" Elizabeth reminded me. By then she had her arms around me from behind and was rubbing my breasts gently. "I can't even tell you how many times at the baths I have wished I could do this, Agnes," she added. 

"Or all the times since that day at the café when I have imagined Irene doing this to you," Jonathan added, and before I was fully aware of what was going on he had gently pushed two fingers inside me. Now it was my turn to squirm delightedly as he had just done at my touch. His fingers probed me gently, deliciously, and I allowed a joyful moan at both his touch and Elizabeth's on my breasts. 

"He is remarkably good at that, isn't he?" Elizabeth asked, not a twinge of jealousy in her voice. 

"Good God, he is!" I exclaimed. For all the very many times I had caressed myself, nothing was half so magical as the gentle touch of another. Particularly not that of one so reverent of a woman's body as Jonathan was; Elizabeth had told me as much, and now Jonathan was proving himself worthy of her esteem. I was nearly lost in the lovely waves of pleasure, but not quite so lost as to forget my own gentle rhythmic strokes on him. 

"Well, I hope we are only a bit late to the party!" sang out Irene's voice behind me. Still enveloped between Elizabeth and Jonathan, I turned to see her and Benjamin joining us in the steamy spray. 

"Indeed we have only just finished washing ourselves off," Elizabeth confirmed. "Welcome!" She turned and embraced both Irene and Benjamin, also kissing them in turn, to everyone's delight. 

I was in no condition to offer a proper greeting, as Jonathan had by now worked me up to the brink of orgasm. When it at last arrived, I nearly lost my balance in the lovely moment that I put on such a loud expression of joy for all my friends; but a hand on my back steadied me. After the stars had stopped flashing in my eyes, I turned to see the hand belonged to Benjamin. "Thank you," I whispered, and then I drank in my first close look at his body. A bit taller and rather a lot hairier than Jonathan, yet just as delightfully vulnerable to my touch as I took him in the soft grip of my left hand. With Jonathan still clutched in my right, I found myself with two men at my mercy in the final moments of my virginity. I felt magnificent, and evidently looked it too as they both caressed my breasts and back gently while I stroked them. Elizabeth and Irene, meanwhile, were now locked in a passionate embrace, sharing a deep kiss ever so much like the one I had awakened to with Irene not so long before. 

I had just enough time to imagine something of a contest between my two hands – nearly like milking the cows back on the farm, but ever so much more fun than that – before I felt Jonathan's hand clamp down rather harder on my right breast as he let out a yelp. Elizabeth and Irene turned to look just in time to see him squirt delightfully into the spray. "Lovely, darling!" Elizabeth said. "Hasn't she a magic touch?" 

"I should say so!" Jonathan agreed, and he kissed me wetly on the cheek. 

"Now we must help Benjamin along, mustn't we?" Elizabeth added. And so, like Irene before me, I was now allowed a close look at our two hirsute friends in proximity as Elizabeth rubbed her fingers up and down Benjamin's chest and even down into his pubes while I bore down rather harder than before with my left fist. "My, it feels queer to lose my fingers in someone else's bush like this," Elizabeth cooed. "Now I see why Jonathan loves it so!"

"So...do...I!" Benjamin grunted, as at last I brought him off just as triumphantly as I had with Jonathan. This brought applause from all as Benjamin slowly regained control, and finally rewarded me with a kiss on the mouth – deep, rewarding and just as I had always imagined Edward might one day do. Having now received that satisfaction from another man, I was yet another step removed from my hopeless childhood sweetheart, and thank heavens. 

"Okay, everyone, let's rinse off and retire to the sitting room!" Irene suggested firmly, and none of us were averse to the recommendation. 

We were a joyful, uninhibited cacophony of squeals and laughs as we dried one another off with the fresh white towels; and thanks to our foreplay there was no hesitating as we emerged into the suite. I stood by the door for only a moment before Elizabeth took charge. "Benjamin, dear," she said, reaching out her hand which he took, "I believe Irene wishes to tickle us, if you don't mind."

"I've been looking forward to it for quite some time, to tell you the truth," Benjamin agreed, and they stood side by side. Like Irene before me, I still could not decide which of the two was more pubically endowed; it was more than sufficient for me to conclude that they were both magnificent on display before us. 

They did not remain on display for very long, for Irene lost no time in accepting their invitation. "I – I still cannot believe I allowed this secret to get out," she stammered, kneeling before them. 

"We have no secrets this afternoon, Irene," Elizabeth admonished her. 

I nearly felt Irene's rush vicariously as she touched their lower bellies with one hand each and then grazed her fingers downward into their bushes. "So amazing, both of you," she murmured, and slowly she began dancing her fingers about in the abundant hair. "Thank you so much for this!"

Benjamin was evidently the more ticklish of the two, for he began buckling his knees and laughing first. Elizabeth was not far behind, and soon they were hanging on to one another for balance and sharing a knowing look in one another's eyes as they laughed together. The look and the laugh led to a perfectly natural kiss that silenced their giggles at last, although Irene was still fingering them both mercilessly. Their erotic squirming had me longing for more release of my own; the kiss was the final straw that brought my hands between my thighs to play along. Jonathan, as if on cue, drew me into a warm embrace from behind and then set his hands gently on my breasts. His gentle rubbing and tweaking soon had me moaning loudly enough to compete with Elizabeth and Benjamin's laughter. 

Jonathan bit my neck lightly and nibbled, just as my own rubbing grew to full intensity. I wanted him, and after all, Elizabeth was busy with the others. 

"God, Jonathan, let's do it," I whispered, loudly enough for the others to hear, though I was not sure that they did hear. 

"Yes please," Jonathan replied, and he drew his hands down from my breasts to my hands. "Over here," and he prodded me to the larger of the two couches. Hey lay down, his shoulders propped up on the bolster cushion, and bade me climb atop him. 

There was no time for pondering the matter of my losing my virginity to my dearest friend's fiancé while she was in the room with another friend's fingers in her vagina; and really, what could anyone make of all that in any event?! Rather, I straddled him and took his once again hard cock in both hands, and slowly but surely I discovered the joy of enveloping a man in my body for the very first time. I had heard stories of bleeding and pain on the first occasion; but countless instances of rough horseback rides and climbing trees when I was younger had evidently conspired to spare me that unpleasantness, for I had little resistance and no discomfort in guiding Jonathan inside. 

And what a delightful sensation it was! Feeling his pulsing hardness rubbing so firm yet gentle and moist against my own inner flesh, I was scarcely able to catch my breath as some instinct took over and I felt my hips grinding into him. As the initial ecstasy of the moment dissipated and the enormity of what was happening dawned on me in full, I felt the need to apologize, however half-heartedly. "I do hope my smaller ladygarden is satisfactory to you," I said with a lusty grin that was mostly involuntary. 

"It is most enjoyable, I assure you!" Jonathan replied, gazing into my eyes. 

"Shall we follow their lead, Benjamin?" came Elizabeth's voice. 

"Please do!" Irene said, and I turned to see her lying back now to watch Elizabeth and Benjamin embrace and fall onto the couch together. I paid little attention as I was of course focused on Jonathan, but I did hear Irene add, "Only natural the two of you should have a go with one another!"

"I'd have to agree," Elizabeth said. That was the last I heard from her or Benjamin for the time being, save for a great deal of moaning and grunting, intermingled with cheers from Irene, who was masturbating furiously on the floor. The knowledge of all that only feet from us made me all the hungrier as I pushed Jonathan as deep as he would go into me again and again. 

"Coming!" I half-whispered, half-grunted it at the moment I knew there was no turning back, and I squeezed harder than ever on Jonathan as my first orgasm washed over both of us. I yelped in delight as it did, understanding for the very first time just how beautiful it can be to share that moment with another person. 

"Me too...harder!" Jonathan commanded. And so, as soon as the final delicious jolts had washed away, I ground in harder and faster than before. I could feel another round all set to burst from my loins when at last Jonathan's moans grew to outright screeches and he exploded wonderfully inside me. That beautiful sensation pushed me to my limit once again, and I dove in for a last deep kiss as I exulted in another climax. 

Elizabeth and Benjamin's own beautiful music came into focus for us both as we relaxed in the afterglow, and with me still on top and him still in me, Jonathan and I turned to admire them on the other couch. I was nearly feeling sorry for Irene, but she was quite wrapped up in her own play and did not appear to be lonely. If the hairy ones are indeed the horny ones, I now saw they are also the noisy ones when that longing is satiated, for they were both bellowing most wonderfully as they both came within seconds of one another. The rest of us were absolutely riveted by the earthshattering performance they put on in that moment. 




Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 2)



When it was over, only Irene remained still busy with any play. I could take no more of seeing her on her own on the floor, and I kissed Jonathan one last time and slid off him to join Irene. "Come now, darling, you deserve some fun too," I said, and in no time I had her lying back on a discarded cushion and my face buried in her pussy. 

"Oh God, yes!" she called out, this time utterly devoid of the twinges of regret and inhibition that had marred our previous encounter. "Yes! Agnes!" I pushed a finger in gently while still teasing her with my tongue, and her boisterous joy grew louder still. 

I was aware then of Elizabeth joining us on the floor. "You were so very good at tickling me with your fingers," she said to Irene. "Let's see what you can do with your tongue!" With that she sat gently on Irene's chest and slid down her neck, and Irene's mouth rose to the challenge. I could not see it from my vantage point, of course, but I could hear that her moans were suddenly muffled, and then joined by Elizabeth's own throaty responses. 

"Beautiful, ladies!" came Benjamin's voice, and I looked up long enough to see him stroking himself. "Absolutely lovely!"

"Indeed!" agreed Jonathan, and I looked up again to see him doing the same. 

Although Irene could no longer moan audibly while she was busy with Elizabeth, I could tell when she came by the shuddering and sudden jolt her hips gave. To confirm, she broke away from Elizabeth just for a moment to yelp in delight. My neck and tongue being rather tired by then, I sat back up to admire the grand finale. And what a finale it was! Elizabeth – beautiful, amazing Elizabeth, who had so successfully overcome her self loathing to teach all of us in that room how to love ourselves and shed our inhibitions – at that moment she was once again showing us just how magical intimacy can be. Shuddering and roaring with pleasure, she let Irene lick her into the most intense orgasm of that whole steamy afternoon – or so it sounded to us all. We were all speechless with admiration. 

Elizabeth was still breathing heavily when at last she slid off Irene and curled up beside her. "Thank you, Irene," she said, with a final, oddly chaste kiss on her cheek. 

Irene looked up just in time to see Benjamin, Jonathan and myself joining them in a joyful embrace on the carpet. "Well, I guess our mission was a success," she quipped. 

"It's a good job summer is nearly over," Jonathan said. "I don't see how we could top this."

"That was the point, wasn't it?" Elizabeth said. "Now that we've got it all out of our system, we can go back to normal back home."

"I don't know that 'normal' is possible after all this," Benjamin said. "But we can certainly set about putting things right again now."

I silently shared his doubts, but hoped he was correct. If the truth be told, I was only too happy to return to Westfordshire and to platonic relations with all four of my friends, as I was by then deep in that sense of emotional enormity that comes just after a first sexual encounter. With the ice finally broken, I was ready to find love elsewhere at last, and to once again relate to my friends as just that. 

But I was also content to put reality on hold for one day more, at least, as I exulted in the uninhibited embrace of all my dear friends. I looked up through my sleepy eyes to see the sun sinking outside. With Jonathan's arms around me and Elizabeth's breasts close against my face, I was content to let the final hours of our summer take their course.