Home of the White Dolphin - Segment 21

Chapter 101

February 12, 1858 At the Edgeworth mansion in Derbyshire

Jane finally got to her knees, remaining there until her belly pain weakened enough for her to stand. It took another few minutes before she had the strength to find her dress and pull it over her head. “Now where are my shoes?” Looking around, Jane failed to see where Ciaran had thrown them behind a wooden table. On that table was a child-size saddle decorated with fancy silver inlays.

Jane decided she could manage the short walk back to the mansion barefoot. She picked up the fur coat and had it on before noticing the slight dampness. Where the men had enjoyed her on the ermine fur, the mingled vaginal and seminal fluids had leaked through to the coat’s silk lining. “Oh damn, why are men so messy? Now I’ve got to throw this away before Ronald sees it.” Still complaining loudly, Jane left the tack room and started walking through the long stable.

The minute she disappeared from sight, Jason rapidly climbed down the ladder from where he’d been hiding in the loft. Earlier in the day, the 10-year-old had sneaked in to see the new saddle his father had bought him. The last time he’d come into the stables, Ciaran threatened to whip him if he ever saw the boy there again. For this reason, Jason had stayed out of sight until he reached the safety of the tack room.

When he heard footsteps coming his way, Jason frantically looked around for a hiding place before scampering up the ladder to the loft. From where he was lying between boxes of old equipment, Jason watched what went on below between his mother and the men. None of them looked up to notice him or knew what he learned that day would influence his whole life.

His excited whisper went unheard as Ciaran forced Jane to the floor and stripped off her clothing. “Men aren’t all weak like my father. If you’re stronger than women, it’s okay to prove it.” Jason moved closer to the edge of the loft in time to watch the other four stable hands attacking his mother like a pack of ravenous animals.

Seeing the men were enjoying themselves and laughing at Jane’s sobbing pleas for mercy, Jason absorbed his second fact of life. He heard his mother moaning as she lay on her back with her legs spread. Although he was too young to know what the man was doing, Jason watched Sweeney stretch out between her legs and bury his head in her groin. Jason thought, It’s all right for a man to do anything to a woman. Since she’s too weak to fight back, he can enjoy himself in any way he wants.

Only after the men, including Ciaran, had finished and left the tack room did Jason learn his third fact of life. Still not daring to make a sound, he saw his mother staring up at the ceiling, a satisfied look of contentment on her face. Jason thought for a minute or two about the contradiction he was seeing. It was obvious to him that Jane experienced pleasure from the men’s treatment of her, despite her terrified screams.

Carefully staying out of sight, he followed his mother through the stable. He watched Jane walk by the stable hands while they laughed and called out lewd comments. They believed she had her head bowed in shame as she hurried by them. Jason knew differently, that she was trying to hide her triumphant smile.

Until that day an innocent and loving child, Jason had learned a valuable lesson from the stable hands. Ducking out into the cold weather, he grinned while thinking, a man shouldn’t pay attention to a woman’s screams and cries for him to stop.

His second thought, which was the more brutal the man is toward her, the more she will want him, had him impatient to become a man and try out this newfound knowledge.

Chapter 102

February 12, 1858 At the Edgeworth mansion in Derbyshire

Jason silently followed his mother until she reached her bedroom. He listened at the partly open door until he heard the sound of her fancy tub filling. This was a new addition to the mansion, and Jason knew his mother enjoyed bathing in the hot water on cold winter days like this.

He quietly crept into her bedroom and crossed over to the opening into her private bathing area. Peeking around the corner, he watched as she tossed the filthy fur coat on the floor. Her dress followed, and Jason was able to see her body covered in bruises. There were also some white stains that he didn’t recognize as dried semen.

Just as Jane stepped into the tub, she heard a strange sound out in her bedroom. Jason had accidentally bumped into a small table and caused the lamp on it to tip over.

“Is someone out there?” called out Jane, sensing she wasn’t alone. “Hello? Who is it?”

Jason entered the room and walked without hesitation to stand at the side of the tub. “Mother, why’s your pretty coat on the floor?” He picked it up and held it to his nose. “Oh, it smells nice.”

“Yes, I know it smells, and I’d like you to put it in the dustbin before your father sees it.” She forced a smile and continued, “After you do that, I need to talk with your father about something important. Go ask him to come and see me.” As she watched the boy leave on her errands, she began framing in her mind how she’d tell Ronald that again he was going to be a father. Thank goodness I planned for something like this, she thought, smiling at her brilliance. “He knows Jason isn’t his, but I’ve let Ronald in my bed enough lately to convince him that he’s the father of Ciaran’s bastard.”

When Jason left his mother’s rooms, he first stopped at his own rooms. Quickly tossing the fur coat inside, he closed the door and ran to find his father. Jason knew Ronald usually was in the other wing of the mansion where he handled estate business in his father’s old study.

For the past few months, that had become Ronald’s refuge from Jane’s constant sexual overtures. He occasionally forced himself into bed with his wife, since he realized this was a duty required of a husband. Other than that, Ronald remained celibate by sleeping on the small cot in his art gallery.

Jane had finished her bath when Ronald eventually made his way to her rooms. She was lying on her bed and wearing a beautiful quilted robe that covered all of her body. “Well, that boy sure took his time finding you.” She motioned her husband to come closer to the bed.

“Are you sick? Why are you in bed so early in the day?” Ronald noticed how pale she looked. He didn’t know she had liberally applied rice powder to cover the facial bruises caused by Ciaran’s huge fist.

Jane patted the bed in a silent invitation for her husband to join her. Since he remained standing, she forced some tears while giving him her most pitiful smile. “I fell, Ronald. I slipped and fell in the snow, and I don’t want to lose your baby like that.” Jane watched the news of her pregnancy slowly sinking in.

Ronald finally came and sat on the bed. “You’re carrying my child? When did we…?

“I saw the doctor last week,” Jane interrupted him, “and he said I’ll have the baby later this spring or early summer. Remember when you got a wee bit drunk around Christmas? Aren’t you pleased that Jason will have a little brother or sister soon?”

Unseen by his parents, Jason stood just outside in the hallway listening to their conversation. The fact he was going to be a brother in a few months was of no interest to him. Who cares about a stupid baby? his unhappy thoughts went, before he remembered his mother’s ermine coat waiting for him on his bedroom’s floor.

He hurried back to his room and locked the door. Picking up the still damp coat, he started crying. “Mother,” he whispered to the empty room, “you have me. Why can’t you just love me?” Jason held the soft fur to his nose and breathed in his mother’s scent.

“When I grow up, I’ll be strong so you’ll love me. I promise.” With that, the troubled child lay down on the floor. Pulling the coat around him, he fell asleep wrapped in warm fur folds.

Chapter 103

December 26, 2008 – In the Walkers’ apartment

The early morning sun coming through the bedroom window woke Walker, even though he hadn’t been asleep for long. He stretched like a big lazy cat, every fiber of his naked body totally relaxed. When he gave a small sigh of utter contentment, he felt movement on the bed behind him.

“Did I wake you, honey?” he whispered, rolling over to face Samantha. “Shh, go back to sleep. It’s still early.” Like Walker, she was nude with only a wrinkled sheet draped over a few inches of her stomach. Her eyes had fluttered open at hearing his sigh, and she gave him a tired smile before falling back to sleep.

Walker reached over and gently brushed strands of her auburn hair off her face. The rest of her long hair fanned out on the pillow, and he saw her body still was flushed with a thin sheen of perspiration from their recent lovemaking. What did I ever do to deserve a perfect woman like you, Sam? Walker thought, remembering how their wedding night began.

* * *

Once Samantha had come out of the bathroom, after saying she needed to freshen up, Walker followed her into their bedroom. Although he had already stripped down to his slacks, Walker noticed a barefoot Samantha still had on her reception dress. “You need help, Sam?” Walker asked, coming up behind her. He put one arm around her waist to pull her close against him. He then moved his other hand underneath her long hair and untied the dark-green silk bow at the nape of her neck.

“Hold still, sweetheart, while I get your zipper.” Walker bent and kissed her shoulder, trying to distract Samantha, while his hand caressed its way down her back. It didn’t help, though, when he whispered, “I bet you taste as good as you feel.”

Walker finished undoing the dress, and he turned Samantha around to face him. Samantha hadn’t said a word since leaving the bathroom, and Walker now saw she had her eyes closed. “It’s going to be okay, Sam. We’ll go slowly until you’re ready for me.” He waited until Samantha opened her eyes before tugging the two pieces of untied silk off her neck, letting them fall down to her waist.

Once he finished removing her dress, he smiled at the sight of the two plain garters holding up her white stockings. “Randall might have your fancy blue garter, but those two are mine.” Walker’s gaze left her legs and slowly went further up her body, stopping momentarily at her lace panties. Not yet, too soon. I have to know she wants me. Walker then took Samantha’s hand in his and went with her to the side of his king-size bed.

* * *

After a night of passionate lovemaking, Walker looked over at his sleeping wife. He smiled, remembering the sound of her giggling when he playfully pushed her down on the bed and reached for one of the garters. Pinning her wiggling leg down with one firm hand, Walker used his teeth to remove the garter. After dropping the garter on the bed, he went back with his free hand and slowly began pulling the white stocking off. He eventually tossed the stocking on top of the garter and took aim at the other garter. Samantha’s shyness had disappeared with this bit of silliness by the time he’d laid bare both legs.

Out of breath from laughing, Walker leaned back on the bed and waited. When Samantha sat up and reached again to undo his slacks, Walker didn’t stop her. He watched her face as she took off his slacks and then, even more slowly, his boxer shorts. Walker knew she was ready for him by the way she looked at his body. Samantha showed no fear or nervousness at the sight of his obvious state of arousal.

Now at dawn, Walker knew he should be exhausted and ready to go back to sleep. Instead, he felt his body reacting once more, his desire for Samantha as strong as it was that first time.

Chapter 104

December 27, 2008 – At Walker's Maison du Renard Rouge

“Very strange.” Jack started reading the letter before realizing it wasn’t from Jane Edgeworth. He looked down at the bottom of the parchment page to check the signature. “This is from somebody who signed it Lord Edgeworth.”

“Who?” Randall’s curiosity showed in that one word. He had opened Elizabeth’s diary, but was finding the entries rather boring. Closing it, he gave all his attention to Jack and the letter from Lord Edgeworth. “What does he say? When’s it dated?”

“He wrote it some time in 1863. The rest of the date is smudged.” Jack shrugged and started reading. “Dear Captain Whiting, as my mother is terribly remiss in her correspondence, it has fallen on me to inform you of the sad news. Your brother Ronald passed away a week ago. Although only in his 50’s, my father had a weak body and died of consumption. I believe his weakness came from years of addiction to absinthe and an unhealthy life style.

“In any case, at the age of 15, I have gained the title of Lord Edgeworth with all the responsibilities that go with it. This includes caring for my mother, who seems to be living in a world of her own, as well as my four-year-old sister Isabelle.

“My father, on his deathbed, had me promise to stay in touch with you and your family. I am also to pass on this promise to my own children before my death. For that reason, I am writing this letter and hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience with news of my aunt and cousin. Your nephew, Lord Jason Edgeworth.”

While Jack was reading the letter to him, Randall had opened the ship’s log to the next unread entry. When Jack finished, Randall took over. “Hey, Jack, this should interest you. Our good captain wrote this shortly after he must have received news of his brother’s death.”

Jack stuffed the letter back into the log’s back pocket before asking, “What’s he say?”

“It’s dated, let’s see, August 1864.” Randall silently read a few sentences before Jack impatiently nudged him in the ribs to read the entry out loud. “After receiving Jason’s letter about my brother’s death, it got me thinking about what would happen when I died.”

Jack interrupted him. “How old do you think Whiting is at that time? About 40 or so?”

Randall nodded. “Yeah, about that. I guess life expectancy was shorter back then. Now, let me finish.” He found where he had left off and began reading. “Before Cripton retired and bought that small piece of land up on the Scotland coast, he trained Robbie to take over as his replacement. I have to admit the scruffy boy I found in that dive so long ago has turned into an excellent first mate for my White Dolphin.

“With the future of my ship secure in Robbie’s competent hands, Elizabeth and I discussed last night the future of our impetuous daughter. She came up with the perfect idea, and I bow to her devious plan.” Randall turned the page and noted the August 1864 entry ended there. The next entry wasn’t until two years later and not in the same handwriting.

Before he could read further, he heard someone loudly knocking on the apartment’s front door. Putting the log down on the coffee table next to Elizabeth’s diary, he followed Jack down the hallway to the door.

When Jack opened it, the huge bear of a man standing with his hand upraised to knock again made Randall feel short and puny. He barely noticed the giant gray dog by the man’s side until it stood up on hind legs and placed a furry foreleg on each side of his neck.

Standing there eye to eye with an overly friendly Irish Wolfhound was a new and slightly intimidating experience for Randall.

Chapter 105

January 14, 2009 – At the Machu Picchu ruins in Peru

After arriving at Cusco on the 12th, Walker went with Samantha to the office of the tour he had booked before the wedding. According to their online site, the trip started with a guided tour of the Sacred Valley that included the Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo.

Hearing of the tour’s details for the first time, Samantha whispered to Walker, “Did you know we’ll have to hike for four days before we get to Machu Picchu?”

Walker nodded, and with a big grin, whispered back, “Don’t you think I have enough energy to hike that far?” He turned to the waiting office worker. “My wife is worried about how strenuous the hike might be.”

The elderly Peruvian woman looked Walker and Samantha over, estimating their ages. Seeing the American couple seemed to appear fit and in the best of health, she told Walker, “You’ll be hiking for up to eight hours a day in rather high altitude. Too much for you?”

“Not at all,” said Walker, ignoring Samantha’s look of panic. When the woman left them to finish the paperwork, he tried to reassure Samantha. “Sweetheart, I understand you’re worried, but I think last night showed we’ve got energy enough to survive that hike. Unless you don’t want to go?”

Samantha thought for a few seconds before shaking her head. “No, I’m okay.”

* * *

Arriving at the Machu Picchu ruins days later, a tired but exhilarated Walker watched Samantha start twirling in excitement, laughing with her arms held wide. “Don’t fall, Sam,” he yelled, while enjoying the unusual sight of her wearing slacks. Years before, he had a heated fight with her when she wore a dress while exploring the mansion’s dangerous underground caverns.

Only after the tour guide insisted it was a rule to wear apparel that covered the legs on the rugged trail did she reluctantly buy her first pair of slacks. Walker planned on giving the guide an extremely generous tip to thank him for this rule. Even though the guide hadn’t told her to wear clothes that clung so enticingly to her shapely bottom, Walker wasn’t about to complain.

When Samantha calmed down enough to begin exploring the ruins, Walker climbed to sit high up on a stone wall and stretched out his aching legs. He paid no attention to the handful of other tourists walking around the ruins.

His eyes followed Samantha wherever she went, but his mind kept replaying the lazy days and sensual nights since their wedding.

Continued in next segment

Home of the White Dolphin - Segment 22  (GC) Chapters 106 thru 110 #2091663 by J. A. Buxton