Shock registered in her face when she saw David, but she recovered quickly.
“David, fancy meeting you here. I did not know you rode. Is Jeremy with you?”
“Back at the house.”
“You found a good shelter here. I was cutting around to avoid the rain myself.”
She stopped and stood her horse beside his. Both looked out at the rain.
“Should we make a gallop for it?” she offered.
“No, it’s too wet. Let’s wait, its bound to ease off. And I wanted to talk to you without Jeremy. Our last exchange at the party was a bit terse. Parties are not a good place for a serious discussion.”
They sat in silence.
“Do you love him?” David asked.
“Yes,” Dorothy said with an honest smile. “I really do. I surprises me, but I do.”
“Me too,” David said, a little glumly
Feeling confident Dorothy reached over and put her hand on David’s.
“Let’s be friends,” she offered.
“Why do you whip him?” David asked, pulling his hand away.
“I don’t, at least not too hard. He likes it. I like to be dominant. It's something between us. No big deal.”
Dorothy shrugged uncomfortably. She did not like discussing her sex life with a strange man.
“I like to be strong too,” David said.
He reached out and took Dorothy by the back of her neck. The dogs looked up but did not seem to notice anything amiss.
Dorothy stiffened but said nothing. She felt his grip like a vice and was afraid to move in case he broke her neck.
David leaned over and put his hand on Dorothy’s cheek. He drew her face towards him. She looked into warm blue eyes and the way he was looking at her disturbed her and her lips parted, sensuously.
He kissed her long and hard. The horses rustle and straps creaked. Dorothy felt warmth between her thighs and her breasts straining against her blouse as she absorbed the passion of him and the strength of his embrace. Finally he set her free.
“Bastard!” she hissed, raising her whip.
“Touch me with that and I’ll kill you here,” David said coldly.
Nervously Dorothy lowered her arm.
“I think I'll go back,” she said.
“Just a minute,” David replied.
Swiftly, expertly he swung off his horse and on to hers. He dropped the reins of his horse and she stood still.
David lifted Dorothy from sidesaddle to forward, standing on her spurs. Nervously the horse stood stationery. One of the dogs barked but Dorothy ignored him. She felt strangely excited. David was so strong. He pulled her riding jodhpurs and they came down to her knees with her pants.
“Please!” Dorothy said, alarmed and embarrassed.
“Ride facing front. I'm on the saddle and you sit forward front saddle. Ride slowly around the tree,” he instructed.
“Yup,” he said to the horse.
The horse began to canter forward and they rocked in unison.
“Where are we going?” Dorothy asked nervously.
She was shaking with excitement and a tremble came through her voice.
“I said you steer, just make sure we stay in the woods.”
David sounded calm.
With the rhythm of the horse they moved against each other. The horse slowed to a walk. Dorothy could feel the rain on her bare behind, his hands manipulating her balance, smell the wet trees and grass and feel the strength and power of David. Her climax came slow and warm and her legs trembled as she tried to keep her balance.
Then he took her back to his horse. Nothing was said between them.
As David expertly swung back onto his horse he took his crop from the saddle where he had left it and brought down hard on Dorothy's bare backside. “For Jeremy!” he shouted.
Dorothy screamed in pain, the dogs came alert and growled and the horse reared. David’s horse whirled but he brought it under control. Dorothy was unbalanced and fell off her horse as it reared. Her horse bolted for the stables.
With a wry grin David leaned down to her and offered a hand.
“Friends?” he offered.
“I hope you don't treat all your friends so roughly,” she retorted.
He smiled and nodded ‘no’ with his head. She took his hand. He leaned forward as she stood and kissed her hand.
“You better pull up your pants,” he said solemnly.
Dorothy knew this was a rite of passage. David was going to accept her. When Dorothy had fixed her clothes they rode back to the stables together. Little was said but somehow they had an understanding.
Jeremy was delighted to see them. The stable boy was still trying to catch Dorothy's horse.
Jeremy had got a terrible fright when the horse turned up without its rider. He had only relaxed when he saw the two emerge from the same direction astride the one horse. It pleased him that they seemed easy with each other.
“What happened?” he asked anxiously
“Relax Jeremy,” Dorothy said, “My horse just bolted when we were sheltering.”
David felt relaxed. If Jeremy was going to breed the bitch he might see if he could make sure one of the pups was his. Or at least might be.
Jeremy looked at David. You bastard, he thought, not unkindly, you have been up to something. Then he shrugged; it was good to see him pleased.
Better than his recent sullen demeanour. Clearly there had been a breakthrough between him and Dorothy.
“Come on!” Jeremy said. “Back to the house and dry off. Can't have anything happening to my two favourite people.”
They laughed and helped the stable boy to calm Dorothy's horse.
Dorothy’s excitement had turned into a black knot of worry.
But still her senses burned.
She looked at the two men stroking her horse. She decided she would have to tell Jeremy what had happened in the woods. But not yet, but she would in time as Jeremy deserved her trust. Maybe not the whole story, she’d see and judge from how he reacted.
But Dorothy had just realised something. First, that although Jeremy and David both loved each other, Jeremy still wanted her, and second she now realised that the connection of between Jeremy and David ran very deep indeed.
Dorothy felt herself tremble inside. David was so handsome and Jeremy so clever. A ‘ménage au tois’ for her to handle. What a challenge. Being married to Jeremy would never have a dull moment.
And they were both sophisticated people. All she had to do was to arrive at an understanding of her role. Then over time she’d see who would be dominant. Her money would be on Jeremy and she knew Jeremy needed her. She would talk to Jeremy and work it out.
Then laughing they ran back to the house holding hands as they ran followed by the barking dogs.
Dorothy was in the middle, and Jeremy was thinking happily, ‘maybe I'll be able to keep them both.’
Chapter forty-three
As Jeremy and David and Dorothy rounded the driveway they stopped and began to walk in a more sober manner, the reason being that two cars were pulling up in front of the house.
“The people getting out of the first car are Janet Simmons and Leo Crawford,” Dorothy explained as they slowed down to let the guests get into the house before they arrived at the top of the driveway.
“Any the other man in the second car?” Jeremy asked
“Kenny the Bank Examiner, I understand he is leading a consortium to make a counter bid. He is a senior partner in one of the big accounting practices.”
Peter and his father came out of the house and greeted their guests in turn.
Michael took Crawford and Kenny off to meet Colm O’Donoghue.
Peter fussed about and grabbed the opportunity to talk to Janet.
“I’ve told my parents about our engagement.”
Janet smiled. She wanted to ask him why he’d been so hard to contact, but decided to leave it until later.
“You look great,” Peter added, eyes m
elting.
“Don’t be mushy Peter, there is some business to do. We can announce our engagement after today.”
They stole a kiss. Down the driveway, unnoticed, Dorothy told David and Jeremy that the young lady was to be Peter’s wife.
“Very pretty too,” David remarked, “pity she’s not a model. We could use someone that good looking.”
Peter ushered Janet into the house. He wanted to introduce her to his mother before the talks with AF got under way.
“My Dad, Dorothy and me will need about a half hour to set up the meeting. We have two bidders, AF and a Consortium. I have no doubt AF will see them off,” Peter explained to Janet as they entered the hall.
“Peter, I want you to do what I am going to ask you to do,” Janet said.
“What?” Peter was puzzled.
“Crawford is having second thoughts.”
“Second thoughts…” Peter almost shouted in anxiety.
“Yes he will go up ten percent on the bid but no further. He has set a limit. I have spoken to him and he is happy that if the consortium goes higher you accept the bid. Don’t worry about your previous conversations with him.”
“I thought we had an arrangement?”
“Trust me Peter, we have another arrangement. Go with the flow and help your Dad get the best price.”
“If you say so Janet. Do you still love me?”
“Forever Peter.”
“Come and meet my mother.”
Michael introduced Crawford and Simmons to Kenny and O’Donoghue and offered them drinks. Peter and Janet joined them and then Dorothy. After the formal introductions, Michael explained his proposal for the bidding process.
They were all agreeable and Michael set a time for meeting in one hour. Then he would consider offers, assisted by Peter and Dorothy.
He suggested that the parties went to their rooms and freshened up and also reminded them that he had guests coming to the party that night, but this would not stand in the way of negotiations if that was necessary.
The group was agreeable and Janet and the men departed for their rooms. They would settled in and then reassemble for the meetings to follow. Peter and Doherty stayed behind with Michael to agree roles in the coming negotiations.
Colm O’Donoghue was in a contemplative mood. The exchange with O’Byrne was friendly, he decided. Kenny had given him a range for the Consortium of up to seventy million, based on a combination of cash plus share combinations, which John O’Malley had worked up initially, and Kenny and the merger team had refined. The discussions had left Colm with the discretion up to the maximum, and Kenny would advise.
Colm tried a couple of doors. Michael had directed him to the East wing of the house.
“Come in darling,” David said.
Colm grinned, embarrassed, he had blundered into the wrong room.
“Excuse me,” he said and backed out.
The next door led to Seamus. Colm breathed a sigh of relief.
“You are two doors down Granddad, the next after the bathroom, I think we share it from either side.”
“Thanks,” Colm said and went to change.
Downstairs the Caterers were in and the O’Byrne kitchen was in pandemonium.
Cook was up to ninety getting the dinner party organized alongside the professional caterers. Ann-Marie was sitting at the centre table in the kitchen complaining loudly about having to stay in and entertain dreary guests. Dwyer sat beside the cooker, observing the ordered chaos.
Nobody had the time to sit and listen. However Sheila, one of the parlour maids, who had been drafted in to help prepare the desert, was busily whipping some eggs and she talked to Ann-Marie and Dwyer as she worked.
“Begging your pardon Mr. Dwyer,” she said chattily, taking in Dwyer who was peeling potatoes in front of the cooker, “but the young man who came today in your Rolls was far from dreary, dishy I’d say.”
Dwyer, who had ingratiated himself with the cook by offering to peel the potatoes, kept peeling and just grunted without looking up.
“They are all boring,” Ann-Marie insisted.
She put the tip of her finger into a bowl the cook was mixing. Cook hit her on the finger with the wooden spoon.
“Get out of here, useless girl,” she said snappily, but her eyes smiled pleasurably, for she was very fond of Ann-Marie.
“I said I’d get the chambermaid to turn down his bed,” Sheila continued with a cheeky grin. “The young man blushed, would you credit that,” she laughed.
“The chamber maid is getting the cigars and port out of the store,” Cook reminded her, cross and busy.
“We should have a butler,” Sheila pouted, knowing this would draw in Dwyer who had told her that he was the O’Donoghue butler.
“Nonsense, who needs a butler?” Cook protested.
“I’m a butler,” Dwyer claimed.
Cook smiled at him. She had designs on Dwyer for later. He was a fine figure of a man for his years with a good lively eye. “Mr. Dwyer, you are the sort of man I’d have for a butler. But not one of those toffee nose types.”
Dwyer grunted.
“Ann-Marie,” Sheila suggested, a devil in her voice, but also trying to think of a way to get Ann-Marie out from under their feet.
“Why don’t you have a laugh and turn down the beds. It will save time and you might meet the young man?”
“Ha!” Ann-Marie laughed, eyes flashing. She liked the idea.
“Do you have a spare uniform?”
“In the closet.”
To Cooks embarrassment and Sheila’s amusement, Ann-Marie got the uniform out of the closet. She threw off her jeans and jumper and put it on. Dwyer seemed to be lost in peeling his potatoes.
“Don’t forget the cap for your hair,” Sheila threw in, enjoying the sport.
“Where is he? He’d better be dishy.”
“East wing.”
Ann-Marie flounced out leaving them giggling.
The first guest room was Jeremy. Carefully Ann-Marie turned down his bed. Jeremy was busy at the writing desk and hardly glanced up, other than to say thanks as she departed.
Ann-Marie was highly amused he had not recognized her in the maid’s uniform. She hoped he would make Dorothy a good husband.
She tried the next door.
David’s room. He was gracious and chatty.
Dishy, Ann-Marie decided, but old and dishy. He can’t be the young man Sheila referred to.
No answer to her discreet knock on the next door, so she went in to turn down the bed.
As she turned back the bedcovers Seamus came out of the bathroom, drying himself from the shower. Shocked he stood, the towel frozen where he held it against his hair. Ann-Marie turned.
“Oh sorry,” he said, flustered, lowering the towel to where her eyes had settled with a startled stare.
“Ann-Marie!” he was amazed.
“Seamus?” she said, looking at his face in surprise.
“Ann-Marie, I wanted to talk to you. You said you were a maid not the chamber-maid?”
Ann-Marie smiled, “What do you think?”
“What do I care,” Seamus said and gave a laugh as he threw his towel at her.
Ann-Marie giggled, “Seamus behave.”
Slowly he approached her, excited but careful not to scare her. She stared wide-eyed, half kneeling, half sitting on the bed.
“Seamus!” she appealed, shocked and now blushing at his nakedness. And now scared, scared because he attracted her so much she thought she would die.
“Never mind Ann-Marie,” he said gently, “you have led me a merry dance and now you are on my bed.”
“Seamus, we must not.”
Seamus ran his finger gently down her cheek and kissed her. Her hands flapped, not knowing where to put them, but as his kiss intensified she put her arms around his neck.
“Seamus,” she pleaded, still with her arms around his neck, hiding her face against his chest, while keeping his naked body away.
“You said I was to get a bed,” he said, amused.
“And a condom,” he added.
“No!” Ann-Marie said suddenly, pushing him away.
Seamus sat back against the dressing table and then suddenly embarrassed at the state of his nakedness, he covered as much as he could of himself with his hands.
Then she smiled.
Then he smiled.
Then he came to her again.
With a giggle Ann-Marie let him undress her.
Slowly he kissed every inch as he trembled with excitement.
Ann-Marie sighed, “Seamus, I pretended I was experienced. I’ve never gone all the way. Please…”
“So you don’t know how?” Seamus asked between the kisses.
“Of course I do,” she protested.
Then he pulled the covers over them both.
Wide-eyed Ann-Marie let him come over on top of her.
“You will have to marry me,” Seamus insisted afterwards.
They were both still fiercely clenched to each other and Seamus was starting again.
“You have no condom, once is enough,” Ann-Marie protested half-heartedly.
“Marry me?”
“Yes please...Oh Seamus!!!”
They did not notice the passage of time and they both jumped when they heard a hesitant knock on the door. Seamus grabbed the towel and opened the door.
Twisted Love and Money Page 31