by O. L. Casper
I’d believed it was just a casual relationship between them. Via the signal from Sophia’s phone, we were able to track her down in Inverness at a grocery store two days after our arrival. It was decided that I should enter the grocery store and approach her alone.
I walked into O’Reilly’s in a tracksuit and found Sophia near the back of the store picking out a jar of olives. When she saw me she did a double-take. Eyes wide, she leaned in to get a better look.
Chapter 22
Sophia Durant’s Diary (continued)
“You didn’t waste any time,” I said as soon as I saw him.
I was quite surprised to see him. His presence didn’t help the sinking feeling that had taken hold on my arrival in Scotland. I wondered if I would see him so soon again after arriving in Baku. We had set the trip for three days from the time of this entry. A trip I now looked forward to with increasing urgency.
“I thought I might find you here, Sophia,” the little man said with a diabolical smile.
“Oh? And what would make you expect that?”
He looked for something to say but apparently couldn’t find it.
“And what’s your purpose in coming to meet me here of all places?”
He hesitated.
“Can we get coffee somewhere?” he finally asked.
“No. I’m busy. As you undoubtedly know by now, we’re married and this is the honeymoon. I’d like you to keep your respectful distance—or at least appear to—till the phase has passed.”
“We could take you in.”
“So arrest me if you’re going to,” I said with raised voice.
He looked around nervously.
“No. Let’s not cause a scene. I will keep my distance for a while. I’ll be in touch by phone. I just have to ask one thing.”
I looked at him with contempt.
“Please let us know in advance if you plan to take any more trips by air anywhere. Agreed?”
I said in a whisper, “Agreed.”
As I walked to the register to purchase my groceries, I noticed him in the background out of the corner of my eye. He had become a menacing presence. I was increasingly distrustful of him and found him to be a terrible hypocrite when comparing his notes to our conversations. Also, though intelligent in the puzzle-solving sense, he had a distinct lack of intelligence in the affairs of people; in dealing with and relating to others. He was like a savant.
As I drove away from the grocer, I noticed an unmarked FBI car following me in the distance. It followed me all the way down the A82 and into the mountains to the gates of Skye Castle before turning back.
Email, Sophia Durant to Julie Cameron
December 23
Dearest Julie,
I’m writing from Scotland to invite you to Christmas at our new castle. I know it’s late notice and I regret not telling you sooner, but I’ve been married to Mark Stafford since we arrived in Inverness, Scotland on the 17. He decided to buy the castle we came to view. Julie, it’s extraordinary. I can’t begin to describe to you the surpassing beauty of the place. It’s a castle in the mountains near a cliff that drops off to the sea. It’s been foggy, gray, and cold and the castle is from the 16 century and seems to be full of strange presences. It really is like something out of a dream. I’ll stop going on about it and just say I have a tremendous desire for you to come and see for yourself. Mark is happy for you to come. We’ll all have such a wonderful time together. If you can, come at once. If it’s inconvenient, come all the same. I’ll wire the money for airfare to your account. See if you can fly standby and with any luck I’ll see you as soon as tomorrow.
Sophia’s Diary (continued)
I sent the email unsigned and received a reply within minutes. She instructed me to call her.
“Sophia?” her voice crackled through my earpiece.
“Julie! You have to come. I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
“I will come. Saves me a dull time with the family. And I’ve always wanted to see Scotland.” She laughed. “Oh, and congratulations on the marriage. I couldn’t quite get my head around it when I read the email. What’s going on? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I know, I know. I was surprised myself. I’ll explain everything when you get here. Fly to Inverness Airport. Text me when you board to let me know when you’ll be here. I’ll come get you at the airport.”
“Will do, my wonderful friend. Can’t wait.”
“Me too.”
I clicked end and set the handset on the end table by the bed as Stafford entered the room. He had a nervous expression on his face and I wondered what was bothering him, but decided it was best not to ask.
“Did you get ahold of Julie?”
“Yes. Just spoke with her. She’s on her way.”
“Good. I look forward to seeing her.”
I took a Land Rover to the airport and picked up Julie in the afternoon of the 24. She was bundled up in several layers and was relieved when we got in the car and out of the cold.
“I’m not a cold weather person. I’ve got three shirts on and three pairs of tights under my pants.” She laughed. “My God it’s beautiful here.”
“In spite of the dreary weather.”
It began to rain as we got on the A82.
“So—I almost forgot—you’re a married woman. Let me see your rocks.”
I showed her the simple platinum band sprinkled with tiny diamonds.
“It’s elegant. Simple. I like it. The big question is: what brought it on…now?”
“He asked, I accepted. It was on the flight over, actually.”
“Was there some ulterior motive? Did he just spring it on you and that was that, he wanted to be married right away?”
“He decided six months of hardcore sex was enough, I guess. I didn’t question it. It’s all so surreal.”
She was quiet for a moment, looking out the window.
“But it’s what you definitely want? You didn’t have to think about it?”
There was a hint of melancholy in her voice.
“I’ve wanted it from the start, I suppose. That’s the main reason I don’t want to question it. I never really expected it, but always wanted it. Now that it’s happened, it’s amazing and mystifying and I don’t want to allow any doubt to creep in.”
“That’s the sort of answer I never expected to hear coming from you. You’re usually so sure of yourself.”
“I never expected to be in this sort of situation.” I shrugged. Julie was always good with the tough questions.
“I’m happy for you. You’ve stuck to what you wanted and it worked out for you.”
She looked at me, the hint of melancholy returning to her eyes.
“It doesn’t change anything between us,” I said in a soothing voice.
“It better not.” She forced a smile.
“I’ve missed you more than you can know,” I said.
“And I’ve missed you, Sophia Durant.”
I kissed her on the lips, taking my eyes off the road for a split-second.
We arrived at the castle in the middle of a torrential downpour. Julie gasped when she saw it.
“This is incredible. Right out of a fairy tale or a dream.”
“That’s what I thought when I first saw it.”
“Is Mark here?”
“Yes. And Anna and a few others—staff.”
“Oh Sophia, we’re going to have such fun. I feel like a small child all over again. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I’m constantly wanting to pinch myself to wake up.”
“I know what you mean. I get the feeling often.”
That night Stafford, Julie, and I sat around the fire in our room. The temperature outside was expected to drop below freezing and we all hoped for snow. Julie and I watched Stafford in the flickering firelight as he told a story. He looked down into the flames as he spoke.
“It was when I went to France in my late twenties that I saw my first castle. I was on the train from Paris to
Bordeaux and I was looking at all the passing vineyards and the rolling hills. It was beautiful. We came around a bend and suddenly I saw it. It was a chateau where they made wine. I inquired about it and found out it was most likely from the sixteenth century. I was amazed. Ever since I had to have one.” He smiled and looked at us.
Julie looked down into the fire. Her eyelids were heavy.
“I’ll show you to your room, Julie. You need to get some rest.”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I feel like I’m slipping into a dream even now as we sit here.”
“Let’s go.”
I helped her to her feet.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Julie,” Stafford said as we stumbled out of the room.
Julie smiled but didn’t say anything.
Julie’s room was at the end of the hall at one of the corners of the castle. I turned on some lamps and put another piece of wood on a fire that had recently been started in one corner of the room. Julie shut the door and sauntered into bed.
“This is so beautiful, Sophia. Thank you so much. And thanks for having me. How the tables have turned. It used to be you who was the honored guest in my country home. Now I am the guest of honor in your castle. I still can’t believe it. It’s strange to say it.”
I walked over and sat on the bed next to her. She was curled up under the covers. I stroked her hair.
“Come in with me for a few minutes. I’m sure Mark won’t mind.”
After some hesitation I crawled under the covers with her. She pushed some of the hair back out of my face and gazed languorously into my eyes. I smiled.
“There’s that beautiful, old smile,” she said, struggling to keep her eyes open.
She smiled.
“And there’s yours.”
She leans in for the kiss. I close my eyes and feel her soft lips press against mine. I get a fleeting sensation of butterflies in my stomach and a tingling sensation between my legs. I kiss her some more, my tongue enters her mouth. I cup her breasts in my hands. Then in a quick movement I put my hands up under her layers of shirts and inside her sports bra and hold the bare flesh of her tits in my hands. I squeeze and stroke them. We kiss some more and she pulls one of my hands from her breasts and pushes it down inside her panties, touching my fingers to her gushing vagina.
I’m in a hurry to get her clothes off and get down to business. With my help she removes her layers of clothing till she is lying stark naked beneath the sheets. I remove my clothes and we hold each other close. I reach down her back, fondle her butt and move my fingers down to her labia, inserting one finger, then another into her soft, wet slit.
Suddenly there is the sound of the door creaking behind us. We both turn in fright.
Stafford peers into the room.
My heart skips a beat.
He smiles.
“Don’t let me interrupt. Carry on,” he says.
Julie and I look at each other. I look at him, then back to Julie.
“Would you like to join in?” I ask.
He laughs.
“I’d love to. Would that be okay with both of you girls?”
I look at Julie.
“Julie would that be alright?” I say, caressing her side.
She nods approval.
He smiles coolly and takes off his shoes. As he climbs onto the bed, I unbutton his shirt. Julie watches me with him for a moment before joining in. Stafford lies on his back and stretches out his arms and legs, eyes closed. We caress and kiss him from his shoulders, down his chest and stomach to his sharp, glistening hard-on. Julie looks at me as she tongues his balls. Slightly embarrassed, I lick the tip of his cock before sticking the rest of it deep in my mouth. Julie crawls up over Stafford’s head. Extending a thigh to either side of his face, she rubs her clit on his lips. I watch him lick it as she sways her hips. She gyrates her hips, rubbing her pussy in his face. I mount him and gently insert the length of his cock into my dripping vagina. Julie smiles at me. She leans in, as I do, and our lips touch. As we kiss, we form a pyramid over him and the feeling is electric. My mind explodes in the multiple bursts of an ecstatic joy like I have never known. I let myself go and I am consumed in the feeling. It’s pure electricity. A monstrous energy moves through us, reptilian in a sense, like a large, invisible snake—it links us, merges us, melds us into one. For a moment I feel fear, but soon I let go of that too. I open my eyes to see Julie’s looking back at me and for the briefest of moments—a split second—I see Julie’s pupils like two vertical daggers, snakes eyes. Instantaneously they widen back into the round pupils of a human. But the experience is no longer human. It’s somehow primal as well as transcendental, like we’re channeling parts of the animal kingdom—or even something else, entirely un-human.
A feeling surges in me, originating in the spot between my thighs and rising upward like a tremendous magnetic force. As the feeling comes to a climax, I feel Stafford pump his silvery fluid into me in large convulsions. His body, along with his cock, convulses as the blasts enter me. I feel a surging sense of power like I’m drawing the bursts into me as they come. As he releases into me, I’m kissing Julie and our lips feel magnetic. The power of the moment surges through the three of us.
Next day—I awoke early, at first light. I crept down to the kitchen to find Julie already there, drinking freshly brewed coffee. I filled a mug with the French roast, added milk and sat down with her.
“I hope everything’s alright between you. I hope what we did…” she trailed off.
“I’m glad it happened. It makes it feel more honest—the three different relationships sort of melded.”
She looked at me for a moment as though she was trying to gauge my sincerity.
“I’m glad you see it that way. Trust me, I never wanted to have something like that happen with you and him. I mean, with him I may have fantasized a little, but I never wanted it to become real. It just sort of happened.”
“You’re not guilty of any wrongdoing, Julie. He walked in on us. I initiated what happened next. You merely went along with it. Though I’m happy to know that you’re completely honest with me, even to the point of expressing your fantasies.”
She smiled.
“You’re my best friend, Sophia Durant. You always will be.”
I wanted to kiss her but resisted.
At that moment Stafford entered the kitchen.
“Good morning, ladies, and merry Christmas.”
“That’s right, it’s Christmas,” Julie said with a smile.
“Sorry,” he said. “I know it’s not much of a Christmas. I’m afraid we’re woefully unprepared.”
He laughed.
“I’d completely forgotten Christmas,” I admitted without much concern. “Weren’t we supposed to be heading to Azerbaijan today?”
“It’s been postponed. Another few days. We’ll probably be in Baku by New Year’s Eve. You’re welcome to come, Julie.”
“I’d love to see yet another country but I’m afraid school starts only a few days into January.”
“Another time,” Stafford said.
She nodded and looked at me. Her clear eyes glistened in the morning light. Her head dipped and she struggled to keep her eyes open.
“This jetlag is something fierce.”
“It’s worse when you fly this way. Going back shouldn’t be so bad,” Stafford said.
“Feel free to go get some more rest if you need it.”
“I think I will go back upstairs for a bit.”
“I’ll walk you to your room.”
I walked with her up the stone staircase to the fifth floor.
“I’m so grateful you invited me. I’m cherishing every moment.”
“We wanted to have an impromptu ceremony for the marriage. But we’re afraid if we do it now, it’ll feel too rushed. We’ll have to wait for a better time. When things are more relaxed.”
“I understand completely.”
“I definitely want you to be there.”
We sat d
own on her bed.
“So what’s it all really like, best friend to best friend?” She turned to me.
“It’s all going so fast I haven’t really stopped to think.” I looked at her. “Truthfully it’s depressing.”
“Depressing?”
“I thought the time would never come. I worked so hard at it. And now it’s finally happened. All my dreams are realized. And it’s depressing. It reminds me of Caesar crossing the Rubicon, defeating Pompeii and becoming the most powerful man in the world. And all he said about it was that it was depressing. He went into a six-month-long deep, dark depression. And he was exhausted. That’s how I feel—exhausted and depressed. Like I’ve won the greatest prize in the world and it’s all for nothing. I don’t even know if I’m doing a good job describing…it…anything, my head’s such a muddled blur, but that’s how I feel.”
“A very good depiction. I almost fell for it.”
She smiled.
“Fell for it?”
“I almost felt bad for you.”
She looked around the room with a little smile.
I smiled.
“I’m being serious.”
“I know. And it may really be depressing. I’m sure it is. But eventually you’ll come to your senses and realize what you’ve really got. This is…extraordinary. Really—it’s unbelievable. How few people in the world experience anything remotely like this? A handful of princes? Billionaires? You’re extraordinarily lucky. Extraordinarily blessed. Learn to enjoy it, bitch.”
She gazed hard into my eyes.
“You’re right. And I will.”
“I’ll trade places with you in a second. In a heartbeat. Unbelievable. Never thought I’d be calling you poor little rich girl. I thought that was me. Now, coming from money, I know money isn’t everything and often the harbinger of great troubles, but it can also lead to extraordinary experiences. Which, in your case, no doubt it will.”