The Gardens of Blackfell

by Ally Forbes

  ‘Bye Mr Johnstone and Annie. Thanks so much for your help,’ Tara managed to get in as she was pulled from the table. She was expecting him to sit at one of the free tables but he took her straight out of the coffee shop.

  ‘Arlen. Where’re we going? I thought we were going to have lunch?’

  He guided her across the street and to the huge Land Rover that was parked at the other side.

  ‘I made a picnic Tara and it’s a great day. I want to take you away for a while.’

  ‘Arlen. I can’t. I’m sorry.’

  He stopped and looked at her and raised a quizzical eyebrow.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘I’m here to do a job. I’ve hardly started. I can’t just please myself when I do and don’t work and at the moment I seem to be spending more time, well...,’ she paused to try and find the words, ‘pleasing myself with you.’

  And hastily added, ‘As lovely as that it.’ She shrugged apologetically.

  ‘I employed you Tara. Consider it a perk of the job. Now come on,’ he pulled her arm impatiently.

  ‘Is that what I am Arlen? A perk of the job?’ she pulled her arm from him.

  ‘Tara. I didn’t say that at all. It’s just that...that....I just want to take you somewhere special for lunch. Away from the prying eyes and the gossips,’ he nodded across to the cafe and she turned to see that a good number of the customers there were watching them.

  ‘What is it with you Arlen? You’re not just the gardener are you?’

  He hesitated.

  ‘Please Tara. Come with me just this once. Please.’ He donease.ran his hand down her arm and caught hold of her hand.

  He bent his head and kissed her.

  She pushed him gently away.

  ‘God Arlen. I think we’ve caused enough of a stir today.’ She smiled shyly at him.

  ‘Tara. Do I have to carry you into the car?’ he said it without smiling and by the tone in his voice, she wasn’t quite sure if he was joking.

  ‘That’s not necessary Arlen. But I really can’t spend too long away. Promise me you’ll take me back to the Garden after a quick lunch’, she emphasised the quick.

  ‘I’ll promise whatever it takes to get you in my car. Jump in. We have just a short distance to travel.’

  Tara climbed into the passenger seat of the huge car and clicked her seatbelt solidly into place.

  Arlen climbed in to the driver’s seat beside her and leaned towards her and unexpectedly kissed her neck.

  ‘Arlen. Don’t. We’re being watched,’ she laughed but pushed him gently from her.

  ‘I just don’t care Tara. I really don’t,’ he said irritably but he started the car and left the village, travelling the short distance to the far side of the village and on further away from the Estate.

  ‘I wanted you in my bed this morning. I felt empty when I woke and you weren’t there.’ He was concentrating on the bends on the road ahead, his expression sombre.

  They travelled through the beautiful countryside, through the purple heather-coated hills hardly passing another car on their journey and Tara started to wonder where he was taking her.

  ‘I’m sorry Arlen. I would’ve loved to have stayed but I’m here to work. I had to get home to get my clothes. Get the other stuff I needed.’

  She placed her hand on his hand, a gesture of apology and reassurance.

  His eyes didn’t leave the road.

  ‘I really had a great time Arlen.’

  He frowned.

  ‘It wasn’t just a one-night good time for me,’ and then he added, ‘I’ve had enough of those to know the difference.’

  Arlen turned off the minor road that they travelled on and up a steep rough track.

  ‘Arlen. I wasn’t joking when I said lunch need to be quick,’ she could hear the concern in her voice and it unnerved her. ‘Where are we going?’ She was unnerved by the remote location and the distance they had now travelled from Blackfell.

  She held on to the door hand bar as they were jolted over the rough track feeling anxious, feeling that loss of control once again. Arlen’s intensity troubled her.theroubled

  He didn’t answer and Tara remained quiet now.

  ‘We’re heading right here,’ he announced suddenly.

  The car drove up the narrow rough track alongside a small loch and towards a wooden hut. Blue smoke curled softly from the chimney on the one stone gable wall of the hut.

  The loch was dark and peaty and reflected the sky like a mirror. The place had a bleak beauty, the purple heather giving the landscape a velvety texture. The jagged mountains rose around them, austere and majestic.

  Arlen pulled the car up to the hut.

  ‘Come and see my secret den Tara,’ he pushed himself back in his seat and straightened his arms, looking at the hut with a wide smile on his face.

  Tara was first to leave the car and the first thing she noticed was the silence of the place. The day was still and warm and all she could hear was the cooling tick of the Land Rover’s engine. A solitary cry of a bird of prey circling far off in the distance broke the spell.

  Tara jumped as Arlen left the car and closed the door behind him, the noise loud and sharp in the tranquillity of the sound vacuum that seemed to envelop them.

  ‘This place is amazing,’ Tara was awestruck.

  ‘Come and get that lunch I promised you,’ and he lifted her unexpectedly off her feet and carried her to the small front door, which he pushed with his foot.

  It swung open and he carried her over threshold.

  Tara couldn’t help laughing. She felt safe in his arms and this place was so remote and magical that she felt that nothing could intrude on them. The feeling was liberating. She laid her head on his strong shoulder and then jumped down into a little piece of heaven.

  The inside of the hut, for it was no more than that, was simply furnished. The walls were unfinished wood and the floor too. There were two large rag rugs, one in front of the old range and fire that was embedded deep into the thick stone wall at the far end. There was a very simple kitchen consisting of a large slab of granite over a couple of oak cupboards, a small dresser and a small old table and a couple of chairs.

  There was a sofa, large bookshelf and bed covered with a thick white blanket. The fire in the range smouldered and the table was spread with sandwiches, salad and cake. Arlen walked to the range and put a metal coffee pot on to the range shelf to warm and a couple of blocks of peat on to the embers.

  ‘Arlen, this place..... it’s just the most wonderful, magical...’

  ‘You should know, Tara Applebee, that you’re the first person I‘ve ever taken up here,’ he smiled shyly, boyishly at her.

  She crossedwn >She cr the small room and stretched on her toes to kiss him.

  He responded immediately to her, closing his eyes as he pulled her into him. He ran his hand up inside her top, his hand pressing flat in the middle of her back, pushing her close to his chest. He fiddled with her bra clasp. Tara broke from his embrace.

  ‘We can’t let this food go to waste.’ She moved from him and picked up a plate. She could tell that the last thing Arlen wanted was the food on the table but he moved to pick a plate up himself.

  ‘Let’s take the food outside to the loch. It’s a rare day that you can sit out up here. Come on Tara.’

  He had picked up a sandwich and some salad and proceeded to grab a large rug that was draped over one of the arms of the sofa and headed out of the door. Tara chose her lunch from the generous spread on the table and followed him out of the door.

  She took a moment to find him. The sun was shining directly into her eyes and temporarily dazzled her. Shielding her eyes with her hands, she saw that he had spread the rug out at the side of the loch and had stretched out, enjoying the sun.

  He watched her walk to him and sat up, ‘Make yourself comfortable.’ He touched the rug beside him, motioning for her to sit next to him.

  Tara did as she was asked and then stretched out, lying
beside him, basking in the warmth of the day.

  ‘So you prepared all this earlier today?’ she questioned him.

  ‘I thought it would be a nice place for a picnic.’

  He placed his hand on her flat stomach and she jumped at his touch.

  ‘It’s OK Tara. Shhh.’ He moved his hand under her top and his touch was cool and firm on her the bare skin of her stomach.

  Her breathing quickened and she placed her hand over his, through her top.

  ‘Arlen.’ Her voice was low and reproachful and she pushed his hand out from under her top.

  She sat up quickly, ‘Come one Arlen, let’s eat.’ She took her sandwich and took a bite.

  ‘Tell me more about this place please.’ She was desperate to change the subject. She knew what he wanted but she really had to get back to her work. She scolded herself for allowing her herself to be persuaded to go to lunch with Arlen. It was so bloody unprofessional.

  He rolled on his back and sighed, closing his eyes.

  ‘Some land was up for sale about five years ago and on the spur of the moment I took this track up to take a look at the place. This little shepherd’s hut was dilapidated but this place....it was a place that I needed. An escape from....well, just an escape.’

  She watched him closely as he spoke. His eyes remained closed and Tara once again marvelled at his beauty. Herqui beauty eyes wandered down the length of his body and she couldn’t help noticing the subsiding swell in his trousers. She longed to touch him but instead took another bite of her sandwich.

  ‘It must’ve been a lot of work to restore,’ she prompted.

  ‘I spent most weekends up here and gathered the things I needed mostly from the renovations that were being done on the House on the Estate. The stuff that was going to be landfill.’

  ‘Do you still come up here a lot?’

  ‘Not as much as I’d like now. But I’m hoping that will change.’

  An easy silence followed and they finished their food.

  ‘What is it that you aren’t telling me?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well.., the people in the village treated you like you were, like you were,’ Tara struggled for the right words,

  ‘...like you were some kind of royalty.’

  She saw him stiffen slightly and hesitate,

  ‘You shouldn’t pay any attention. Anyone who works on the Estate is still treated with a bit of deference. I think it’s just a hangover from the days when the Estate employed most of the village and was such a big part of village life.’

  Tara remained silent, not convinced by his answer.

  Relaxing again, she lay beside him and closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on her skin.

  She felt his fingers trace down the side of her face and onto her neck. He was propped up on an elbow and watched her as she lay. His fingers moved down to her blouse and pushed open the lapels to expose more of her cleavage and then bent his head to kiss her bare skin.

  His fingers expertly undid the top button of her shirt.

  ‘Arlen. Please. I need to get back to work. Please run me back.’

  Tara moved to sit up, brushing his hand from her and pulling her shirt together again but Arlen pushed her back to the ground and held her arms, pinning them above her head.

  ‘Arlen! Please,’ she whispered.

  He held her arms easily with one of his big hands as she wriggled to try to free herself. With his other hand he pulled at the next button on her blouse. He couldn’t undo it and tugged at it ripping the fabric. Her lace bra was exposed and he let her hands go as he bent to kiss her breasts through the opaque material.

  Half heartedly she tried to push him from her but her body’s response to him was overwhelming. His power and magnetism held her hostage and Tara gave in to her own desire. He ripped the rest of her shirt from her and she gasped. The gentle man that she knew had turned into a dominant, unstoppable, powerful animal.

  He pulled her trousers and pants from her and undid his trouser button and zip, kneeling above her. He pushed open her legs and gently touched her exposed sex, cupping his hand over her protectively, his warmth and care surprising her after the ferocity of desire he showed when he ripped her shirt.

  Placing himself at her entrance, he moved slowly into her and Tara arched to meet him, gasping again at his size. The warm air on her naked skin and the freedom of making love in the silent wilderness added a dimension of intoxication to their lovemaking that to Tara seemed ethereal.

  He moved slowly in her, savouring each movement and Tara could bear it no longer. She clung to him, her whole body melting in orgasm, at one with the bleak, magic place that they lay in. Arlen spilled into her and cried out, an almost animal sound that echoed around them.

  They lay beside each other, heavy breathing subsiding slowly, a deep connection made between them, a pact sealed in the desolate, striking wilderness.

  Tara reached for her trousers, pulling them on and held the remnants of her shirt over her breasts.

  Arlen still lay beside her, watching her as she moved.

  ‘Tara Applebee. You do something to me.’

  She bent to stroke his head and kissed his brow. He gently touched her breast, exposed as her blouse opened as she leaned over him.

  Lying beside him, she stretched her arm around him, savouring the peace that surrounded them again.

  For some time they lay together, dissolving into the stillness.

  He slipped his hand inside the lace of her bra, touched her stomach and pulled her close in to him. He kissed the top of her head.

  ‘Move in with me Tara. You could move in while you work.’

  Tara propped herself up on her elbow and stroked his dark hair. She didn’t know what to make of his proposal. On one hand she had known him for such a short time but there was a spark and passion between them that made her feel as if she had known him for so much longer.

  ‘We’ve only just met....’

  ‘That doesn’t matter.I don’t want to waste time. I don’t want to be away from you.’

  ‘Arlen. I think we have to take this more slowly. I.....’

  ‘Why?’ he demanded.

  ‘Well.....,’ Tara stammered, taken aback by the challenging, questioning tone in his voice.

  ‘Well. I’ve only just met you. I need to concentrate on my job just now. It means a lot to me. I’m doing something I really love.

  ‘You can continue to work but stay with me.’

  ‘Sure but I don’t think.......... I don’t thin hedon’tk it’s a good idea. I’ve had a wonderful time with you since I arrived at Blackfell but it could easily turn...... sour. If I moved in and it didn’t work out, it would be awful Arlen. I’d have to give up the job, the house, risk my reputation,’ she ran her fingers through her hair, ‘It’s too much to risk..... too soon.’

  He sat up beside her and pulled her close to him, pushing her long plait of hair over her shoulder and kissing her neck.

  ‘OK, OK. I’ll give you some more time,’ he sighed in deep frustration. He cupped her breasts from behind her. She let him touch her, loving his deferent touch.

  ‘Arlen, I think we should be getting back.’

  ‘Not just now. Please Tara. I want you to stay here tonight. It’s an even more wonderful place at night. God, I’ve got so much to share with you.’

  She placed her hands over his, stopping them moving freely over her.

  She turned to kiss him.

  ‘Arlen I have to get back,’ she spoke firmly but with a smile, ‘I have to report to your boss.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I have to prepare a report on the progress in the garden. Every week. I need to get back to work.’

  ‘Jesus Christ. What exactly has he said to you?’

  He jumped up and stood straight beside her, pulling his hands roughly through his hair.

  Tara stammered, astonished by the abrupt change in his character.

  ‘He....he... wanted me to go
to Italy...in a couple of week....to look at the gardens there.. he wants reports on the progress at Blackfell.’

  Arlen threw his head back and yelled at the sky in fury.

  ‘What is it Arlen?’ concern and apprehension in her voice, not sure what the problem was.

  ‘Right, we’re leaving. Get your things.’

  ‘What’s wrong Arlen?’ but she said it to herself. He was back off to the hut.

  She knew that it was Italy and Xander that had brought about the abrupt change in Arlen. It was stupid, crazy that Xander sent him into this boiling rage. Tara and Arlen had a connection, Tara could feel it. Arlen could feel it. Why was he so insecure when it came to Xander? What did he know?

  Tara pulled her shirt together and walked swiftly back to the hut. Arlen was shoving the leftover food into bags, moving round the place like a whirlwind. His brows were knitted together and he did not acknowledge Tara standing at the doorway.

  ‘Arlen,’ Tara said softly.

  He ignored her, continuing to work round the place with a frenzy.

  Tara walked up to him and held his shoulders firmly to stop him moving.

  ‘Stop this Arlen. Please just stop this,’ her voice was forceful and stern.

  The ruined parts of her blouse pulled open. The fury in his stance and the taught muscles in his face all of a sudden relaxed and Arlen bent his head to her neck, resting his head on her bare skin.

  He sighed deeply.

  ‘Tara, you don’t understand.’

  ‘Tell me then Arlen. Please tell me. Because every time I mention Xander you fly into this inexplicable rage. I just don’t understand.’

  He pulled her close, inhaling her scent deeply but remained silent.

  ‘You’ve nothing to worry about Arlen. There’s something special between us. You don’t have to feel...well, however you feel. Threatened?’

  He lifted her off her feet and she gasped in surprise. Carrying her across to the sofa he sat down, placing her gently on his lap.

  His hand glided smoothly under her blouse and pulled her in to him and she happily laid her head on his shoulder.