When she came the second time, and wanted to take his dick to give him a return of the bliss, he pushed her back to the bed gently, and spread her legs resolutely, almost overcome with heat. Agnes did not protest, but she was clearly in doubt whether he should do this already, still, he was showing such lust it couldn't be healthy to keep that pent up either.
As he plunged in happily, all seemed well, Agnes groaned with satisfaction to have him back to himself, but it was too early. For his heat drove him to go too far, he pumped with such fervour after taking things very easy for three weeks, the first few minutes he seemed fine, but then he got nauseous and started seeing spots, and had to give up.
Soon he was lying in Agnes' arms, still dizzy and nauseous, with a blinding headache. He couldn't see her face, everything was spinning, and she asked with concern, 'Oh Dennis, my love, are you all right?'
'No I'm not,' he managed to croak, 'careful, I may be sick, need a painkiller.'
He hoped she'd get the message and keep him a little upright and very still, or he'd vomit all over the bed. The headache left him unable to think or do anything but moan softly.
Strong hands held him even straighter, very slowly, careful not to make him nauseous. Then a hand offered him a spoon to his lips, and Dennis slowly opened his mouth to take the powder. It was horribly sour, and a glass touched his lips to help him swallow it with a sip of water. Still blinded by the headache he gave himself up to Agnes' loving arms, and she gently and very unobtrusively stroked him until the headache receded a little and his vision cleared.
'That was a foolish thing to do, my love,' he admitted to his beloved, 'I felt such joy to be back home, as if nothing had ever gone wrong. I know better now. You can tuck me in if you are needed somewhere, just check on me in an hour or so.'
'I'm not going to leave you again, Dennis, you'll feel abandoned again.
Nothing matters to me more than you, I'll just pick up a book and read, or have my writing material brought and start to draft my new book, I've some pretty good ideas just waiting to be written down. You take your rest, and hopefully you'll feel better by lunch.'
And she did indeed stay by his side all morning, every time he woke a little to turn around he felt her against him, and she stroked him until he fell asleep once more. When he finally woke up altogether she was merely watching him with a soft expression, giving him a sweet kiss as soon as she noticed his eyes were open.
'Feel better?'
He nodded carefully and it didn't hurt.
'I'm hungry and I want to see Dick. I'm so curious how things are with Maria.'
That got him another kiss and Agnes said, 'He came by to see you but you were asleep, which worried him badly, he had heard you got hurt in London and wanted to assure himself you were all right. He'll be very relieved to find you up and hungry.'
'I shouldn't have tried to make love that firmly, it was too much. I've learned my lesson, I'll be more careful for another three weeks, as the doctor said.
Too bad Dick's engaged, he'd be pleased to give you some rough loving.'
Agnes smiled and did show some fond remembrance of Dick's energetic loving.
'Guy is very obliging, love, I'll be fine. Though you're the best for me.'
They had lunch in the kitchen with the staff because Dennis wanted to very much.
'You're awake, Dennis! I've missed you! Are you all right?'
Dick was overjoyed to see his friend again, but he didn't hug him as he clearly wanted to, he knew he was very strong and was afraid to inadvertently hurt him. But Dennis wouldn't have that, he got up slowly and embraced his large friend.
'You can hug me, just take it easy, Dick.'
Dick took the smaller man in his arms as if he was a day-old chick, Dennis could see he was doing really well, Dick's plain face was calm and happy, and he seemed more a man and less a boy. His approaching marriage was good for him, that much was clear.
'You look incredibly well, Dick, how are things with Maria?'
There were hours of talk behind his friend's open smile, Dennis could see he was aching to tell everything that had happened in the last three weeks in detail, and he laughed and offered, 'Let's eat and sit in the haystack afterwards, and you can tell me everything.'
'I'd love that, Dennis, she is so sweet and so good to me, and she truly loves me. But you're right, let's eat first, and talk about London, and the mistress'
book, and how you got hurt. Then later I will tell you all about Maria, outside in the sunshine.'
They ate heartily, and after lunch Agnes went to the stables to see to the hunters and the hounds. John never rode out onto the moors, he merely exercised the horses on the paths and the road a bit further away, they would be pleased to have a good run with the mistress, though one hunter would have to wait until tomorrow since Dennis would not be riding for quite some time, yet.
'We can use some fresh meat, too, ma'am,' Cook said, 'I'd like to make something special to celebrate your return, but there is not much left and it's so gamy by now I'd prefer to not serve it to you.'
'I'll see what I can get, I'm not going to shoot any animal with young, maybe Dick can go out this week and get some fish.'
Of course that lighted up Dick's face even more, and the cook obviously approved.
'A superb idea, ma'am, I have some new ideas for fish that I think you'll love.'
'Will you come with me again, Dennis? I'm still a bit afraid on the moors on my own, my mother always told the most horrible stories of people drowning and being taken by creatures of mud and dripping weeds. I know people told those to keep their children off the moors and safe, but they caused me nightmares. I thought they were real.
Oh, but you're sick, you can't come. That is such a shame, we always have such a good time!'
'Walking across the moors and lying next to a pond with you is not very demanding, Dick, I'll manage. I'm not actually sick, I was hit over the head and my brain got hurt. The first days all my memories were mixed up, as if they had been shaken together. Fortunately I remember everything in the right order again, but I need to take everything easy or I get dizzy and nauseous.'
That afternoon, they sat in the haystack and talked about everything that had happened.
'We met every day, Dennis, and without someone checking on us. Maria said her mum told her she was nearly thirty and old and wise enough to not get into trouble.
And we didn't.
But we did sin a lot, Maria said it didn't matter much since we were going to get married, and I know you're not married and Guy and Patrick are two guys, and you're all pretty good people, so I didn't mind that much.
We did it everywhere, in the little dell, but also against that tree where we set up the mistress, and in this very haystack, and my little room and the bath. It's so good to be together, Dennis, I didn't know it would be like that. We fucked a lot, but we also talked a lot, Maria is so smart, but she doesn't mind at all that I take a little more time to think. You know Maria wants to get our little cottage on the other side of the valley? She says no-one there will say I'm slow, they don't know me, so we can make a new start. Isn't that nice of her?
It's just one more week and we'll be married, I'm so excited!'
They talked about everything and anything, and before Dennis had missed her, Agnes came riding by on her own hunter, it needed the exercise most, the hounds greeting Dick and Dennis with enthusiasm. She had two large birds dangling from her saddle.
'Bachelors, both of them. Better be glad you're spoken for, Dick, being a bachelor is dangerous out there on the moors.'
Dick smiled, he suspected she was teasing him from her tone though it took him a moment to understand everything.
'I'll make sure not to go out there until I'm married, mistress, or does taking another bachelor along make it safer? Dennis is not married either.'
'You see, Dennis, Dick thinks you should marry me!'
That of course was not what he had said at all, but Dick again knew thi
s was said in jest, and he merely smiled and said, 'I'm so excited about the wedding, mistress, and the rooms you gave us, they're so beautiful. Thank you so much. Maria's mother wants to visit next week, to meet all of you and help with the wedding. Is that all right, mistress?'
'Sure, Dick, just let us know when she wants to come, there will be plenty to do even with the help we hired.'
During the rest of that week Dennis mended fast. Apparently the constant engagements had taken their toll on him, for in the peace and quiet of the sunny late spring in the country his dizziness and faint spells passed and he could even read a little again. So far the letters had all been wriggling and dancing on the page in front of him whenever he tried to read.
But now Agnes seemed to be feeling less than perfect, she wrote and rode, but she ate very little and even then she sometimes ran off suddenly and came back looking grey and unwell.
'Something is wrong with you, my love,' Dennis said, worried out of his mind, 'you hardly eat and keep little down. It's not as it should be, you're already slight, there will be nothing left of you.'
But Agnes made little of it.
'I don't feel bad, beloved, let's have Dick's wedding over with first, and if this hasn't passed by then, we'll send for a doctor. You know doctors are no good anyway, they'll just kill me with their bloodlettings.'
And she tried to be as lively as ever, working tirelessly on her book, hunting, but Dennis knew something was really wrong for she didn't want to make love at all. She touched him eagerly, and lay in his arms with obvious relish, but she did not take his dick to please him, nor did she rub against him as she usually did when he stroked her.
But maybe she visited Guy and Patrick a lot, Dennis told himself, since the two of them had given up their resistance against fucking her they satisfied her need for rough loving quite adequately, maybe they had sated her. He decided to ask Guy, who really loved having sex with the mistress. He was surprised at Dennis' question.
'No, we have seen her just once since we moved back from town. I thought you were back to your former strength? And now you mention it, Mrs Beauchamp has eaten very little the last few days, even the fish Cook had prepared in such a special way, I noticed her plate coming back virtually untouched. Even Cook wasn't insulted so much as worried.
Dennis, I'm afraid the mistress has fallen ill, she needs a doctor, and not some village quack we don't know but Mrs Gilbert's cousin, or another really good doctor from town. Will you beg her to let me send an express?'
Agnes wouldn't even hear Dennis out.
'I'm fine, there is nothing wrong with me, I'm just not that hungry but it has been rather hot for the time of the year. Let it go, Dennis, trust me when I tell you I'm all right.'
What could he do? He went back to Guy.
'She's not fine, Dennis, she's losing weight, I can see it even with her dresses on, and you say she doesn't want to make love, just cuddle a lot. That is not like her at all!'
By now, the wedding was approaching fast, and Agnes seemed to brighten up a little with all the liveliness going on around her.
Hired staff were preparing a feast and decorations, the larder was filled with the best food, Cook was exerting himself in the kitchen. Dick did his work but in a kind of haze of excitement, not noticing Dennis' worry at all. Charles and John did, and on separate occasions warned Dennis in private that the mistress was ill and hiding it. They had seen her throw up several times, clearly trying to escape notice from the people in the house.
Dennis could do nothing but thank them for their kind concern and explain the mistress didn't want a doctor to be sent for. His worry and fear were obvious, and from that moment on he couldn't hide them anymore, he wore them on his face openly, afraid to spoil the wedding but unable to control his fear that Agnes was desperately ill and dying on him. When he expressed his fear to Guy, the harshness of his words caused that poor man to totally lose his usual calm, and he blurted out, 'Then we'll all be destitute as well as bereaved, Dennis. Her cousin from Mr Beauchamp's side will claim the property and we will all be out on our ears. You have to consent to marry her, she wants you to, and you'll get the house and we can all stay together.'
Dennis was almost angry, though Guy's obvious distress kept him from shouting at his friend.
'Guy, listen to yourself! I'm not a mercenary, if I don't want to marry the
mistress because she's too far above me, I can't marry her to inherit her property! I love Agnes, if something happens to her I don't care what happens to me after that. I'll just follow her, I have nothing to live for without her.'
Guy wasn't back to himself, not by far, but he did sound a lot more sensible.
'I'm sorry, Dennis, I don't know what came over me, I was just suddenly so afraid to see you back in the streets, bereaved and penniless. Patrick and I can take care of ourselves, we'd have to hide our involvement but we've done so before. And we'll take care of you, Dennis. But maybe it isn't all that bad, do you want me to send an express to the doctor in London in secret? You said you'd fight with the mistress if she was wrong, and she is wrong, Dennis, she needs a doctor!'
'Yes, Guy, please send the express if you think the local doctor isn't good enough. I don't care if she gets angry, the thought of losing her makes me feel physically ill, we can all see something's wrong, and this time, we're right.'
At that very moment, Agnes suddenly appeared from behind a curtain in the very room. Her face pale and drawn, she fell into Dennis' arms.
'I heard the two of you and I was planning to stay hidden, but I couldn't stay on my feet anymore. You are both right, boys, I'm not doing well. I feel weaker every day, I hate to spoil Dick's wedding, but I need a doctor. Please send the express, Guy, but keep it a secret from Dick and the rest. I want him to enjoy his day with Maria, I want him safely settled. And Dennis, please listen to Guy. Marry me, Dennis, please, let me secure your future and that of everyone else I love.'
Dennis had sat down on a padded chair, Agnes in his arms, and he seemed broken.
'I can't Agnes, I can't run an estate. I'm a thief and a private, not a landholder.
It would be a betrayal to your people, they would hate me and your memory.
Just don't leave me, Agnes, I can't live without you!'
That was a very bad moment, and the three of them sought solace with each other, afraid Agnes would prove to be deadly ill, leaving the rest of them in dire straits as well as sick with grief.
Then Dick burst into the room.
'Mrs Woods is here, mistress, and she asked to see you...'
He saw the three of them together and cried out, 'What is wrong, something's up, I can see it!'
The poor man just froze on the spot, he had been so excited about his wedding, and now the people he relied on were a total mess, all three of them!
As Guy regained his self-control and got up to tell Dick something, anything, a stout woman of middle age entered the room briskly, took a good look around and spoke politely, 'Excuse me, I was waiting for Dick but I could hear something upset him badly, I had to come in.'
Guy didn't shake her hand but merely explained, 'Mrs Beauchamp hasn't been eating well the last week or so, and we suddenly got scared something was terribly wrong. I'm going to send an express to the doctor in London straight away, it'll take him a day to get our message and at least two days to get here, there is no time to lose.'
'Dear sir,' the lady started, unsure who or what this beautiful and elegant man was in the household, 'Our local doctor is quite competent, I assure you. I suppose none of you have been really sick because you're all young adults. If you had been, you would have known.
Also, I've raised four children and I have several grandchildren, will you do me the honour of letting me have a look at your mistress first? I believe you have no women in your household, and while I have great faith in men cooking and cleaning, I am convinced a woman knows best how to care for others.'
Under normal circumstances, Guy might have prote
sted that he was very good at caring for others and Patrick even better, but shock and fear had taken his assertiveness altogether. He merely nodded, and tried to keep from flying in a panic not upset Dick on the day before his wedding.
Mrs Woods approached the grieving couple and took a chair opposite Agnes, checking her skin, her hair, her breath, her eyes, feeling her temperature with her hand. Then she had a question for Agnes.
'Mrs Beauchamp, what exactly is your problem?'
Agnes clearly felt better having someone in charge, and she answered faithfully.
'I cannot seem to keep any food down. Cook has been preparing the finest delicacies but the very smell of them disgusts me so I prefer not to eat. Most of what I eat despite feeling nauseous comes right back up. I'm starting to get weak, and I'm afraid I'm very sick and dying. Then my fiancée and staff will become destitute.'
Guy saw Dick blanch at this, and was ready to take him away before he got
truly upset, but Mrs Woods gestured them to stay put.
'You can stay, Dick, no-one is going to die or become destitute. You're going to get married, and I guess Mrs Beauchamp is going to follow soon after.'
Of course no-one understood anymore, except, apparently, Mrs Woods.
'Now tell me, Mrs Beauchamp, you're not married but I suppose as a widow you're seeing to certain needs, you know, those of the bedroom?'
Meekly, Agnes replied, 'Yes, Mrs Woods, I have those needs satisfied whenever they rise up.'
'And have you had your monthly bleed lately?'
Guessing where this was going, Agnes still answered the question.
'I have not for almost eight weeks. But I am often irregular and I have had three very busy and shocking weeks, we were almost robbed and Mr Parker here was seriously injured defending all of us.'
Mistress Agnes Page 18