She reached out and grasped his arm and almost pulled him down beside her.
“Look, I don’t want you to think-” he started to say.
“Too late,” she said with a knowing smile on her face. “That was the very first thing I thought of when I heard your knock.”
“Now I feel absolutely awful!”
“Well you shouldn’t. The honest truth is that if you hadn’t come, I was going to think up some excuse to come and see you!”
“You’re not just saying that?”
“Of course I’m not. You said to me that any time I wanted to, I could come to you; isn’t that so?”
“Well, yes, I suppose it is.”
“Well then, what is good for the goose is good for the gander! How can I possibly come to you if you cannot come to me? Why are we behaving like a pair of silly kids?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted honestly. “Now that you put it into words, I really don’t know at all.”
“Look Martin, if I didn’t trust you absolutely I wouldn’t even be in the house, let alone in a bedroom just along the landing and happy to invite you in.”
“No, I suppose not.”
“Well, now that you are here, what is the answer? I’ve been racking my brains ever since I came to bed and I’m no nearer now than I was when you first read out what was on that bit of paper!”
“It’s like I said, something so simple and obvious that we have overlooked it altogether.”
“Well, what is it?”
“My late uncle’s solicitors, JSC D: Jensen Smith and Carter, and the ‘D’ has to be Mr Dobson! Where else would my uncle put incriminating documents or whatever it is he wished to conceal? I’m pretty certain I saw on the sign outside the door of his office that they are open on a Saturday morning, so I will track him down tomorrow, and do exactly as the note says!”
“Martin, you are a genius!”
“Guess I am at that!”
“And you have a big head too!” she added with a laugh, and suddenly she reached over and kissed him.
He was taken by surprise, but the gesture was so spontaneous he couldn’t help but to return the kiss with interest. She felt so soft and warm, he felt himself responding to her, and suddenly alarm bells started ringing in his mind and he pulled back, thoroughly alarmed that he had all but been completely carried away with a sudden desire to possess her completely.
“Sorry,” he said thickly. “I guess I got a bit carried away; I’d better leave you now.”
“Why, is that what you want to do?”
He looked at her as she sat beside him on the edge of the bed, and the sheer physical desire he felt all bit overwhelmed him.
“No it isn’t,” he admitted candidly. “If you want the honest truth it will take all of my willpower to leave you now, but I gave you my word and I will not break it.”
“I know you wouldn’t, Martin, but if I release you from your word there’s no problem is there?”
“You mean?”
“I mean I want you to stay. When you knocked at my door I had been praying that you would do such a thing. I was having a fantasy of you coming to my bed and making real love to me, yet when I heard you knock I froze and panicked all over again.”
“I know, I should have realised; I’m truly sorry.”
“Don’t you see; it isn’t you, Martin, it’s me, and I cannot go on like this; wanting you night after night and then being terrified if you should come. You are here now, and if you leave me, I shall fear that I have failed.”
“You
really
want me to stay?” he asked seriously, watching her eyes for any sign of doubt.
She stood up slowly, eased off her dressing gown and stood before him in the same translucent nightdress that he had seen before. She reached down slowly, her arms going about his neck as she tipped his head upwards so that she could kiss him again. He raised his hands and slid them round her tiny waist, feeling the warmth of her body through the thin material of her nightdress, and he knew that he couldn’t leave her. He couldn’t leave her ever.
Presently he rose and dropped his dressing gown on the floor as she got into the bed, opening the covers so that he could slide in beside her. Once in the bed, he held her close, and she clung to him as if frightened that he might suddenly abandon her. They lay side by side for some time like that, and then suddenly she whispered into his ear the words he thought he would never hear.
“Martin, I want you to make love to me.”
“Are you really certain?”
“If I don’t do this now, I never will”
And so it was. Slowly and gently he kissed and caressed her, slowly rousing her passion to fever pitch. Lovingly and tenderly he caressed her whole body, feeling the silken texture of her skin, the delicate shape of her breasts, the curve of her buttocks, and all along the curve of her back. At first she was as rigid as a board, and then as the minutes passed she gradually relaxed. Nervously at first, she allowed herself to respond, and he kissed her and encouraged her, allowing her to build up her confidence in being a woman at her own pace. Presently he was aware of her releasing the last of her tensions and inhibitions as her body began to quiver with anticipation.
Slowly at first and with ascending passion they made love together, and for each of them it was an experience that transcended everything. They made love not once, but time and time again, finding in each other the fulfilment that they had both denied themselves for too long.
Finally they both slept from sheer exhaustion, still wrapped lovingly in each other’s arms.
Martin woke suddenly to realise that sunshine was streaming into the room. For a fleeting moment he couldn’t work out where he was, and then the memories of the night came flooding back. At first he thought that he was still dreaming, and then he realised it wasn’t his own bed that he was in! A faint rustle of movement caught his attention, and on looking round he saw June standing a few paces away from the edge of the bed.
She was dressing, standing there in the early morning sunlight wearing just the tiniest pair of briefs, and in the act of fastening a small lacy bra around her small but perfectly formed breasts. She heard the movement of bedclothes and looked across, her face breaking into a dazzling smile as she saw that he was awake.
“Oh Martin,” she cried softly, her eyes glistening with pleasure. “I’m so happy I could sing; you have freed me from a nightmare! I am not frightened anymore; you have turned me into a woman, a
real
woman! You have shown me what true love is; and I know that I could never love anyone as much as I love you!”
She stepped quickly across the room as she spoke and sprang on top of him, smothering his face with kisses. He responded with a will, throwing back the covers and drawing her in with him.
“I love you June,” he said between kisses, “I love you as I have never loved anyone. I never believed that happiness could come twice to man, but you have made me the happiest man in the world. I’m never going to let you go, do you hear?
Never!
”
There was no controlling their mutual passion, and in no time at all she was naked once more as again they made passionate yet infinitely tender love on the rumpled bed. Only as they paused to regain their breath did June finally disengage herself and resume her scattered underwear in between exchanging several passionate kisses.
“I honestly don’t want to go,” she whispered. “I’d love to spend all day making love to you, but the girls will be up soon.”
“Who cares,” he said recklessly. “I’m in love, and I don’t mind who knows!”
“Yes you do; now get back to your own room and try to look serious when you come downstairs a bit later, and not like a cat that’s just found the cream!”
“Now how can I possibly manage to look serious?”
“I don’t know,” she laughed. “You will just have to try!”
With one last lingering kiss he slipped on his dressing gown and tiptoed back to his own room, his head now in a total whirl. He gathered up his washing kit and vanished into the bathroom, and finally returned to his own room as June had suggested. About half an hour later he heard the girls pass by his door, and after a decent interval he descended the stairs, doing his best to look as if everything was the same as normal, yet secretly he was still absolutely seething with rampant desires and emotions!
Breakfast was a lively affair with the two girls full of excitement about the coming trip to the theme park, and even when Martin announced on the way to the car that he wouldn’t be with them, their temporary disappointment soon vanished. There was no opportunity for any personal conversation, but Martin couldn’t help but notice the sparkle in June’s eyes whenever she looked at him, and each time his heart leapt upwards. Sooner or later he would have to tell Beverley, but right there and then was not the time. When all was ready, he drove them to the station, having provided June with ample funds to ensure that the girls had a good time, and made June promise to phone him as soon as she was back on the train for the return journey so that he could be there with the car to collect them. He stood there on the platform waving to them until the train pulled out of sight.
Once he was back in the car, he sat there for several minutes lost in a romantic daydream, and only by a supreme effort did he bring his mind back to reality. That he was now hopelessly and completely in love was beyond question; he hadn’t felt even remotely like this since he had first met Alicia. He found that he could now think uninhibitedly of both women who had figured so much in his life without the old feeling of guilt. Somehow, he just knew that wherever she was, Alicia would approve of June, and that was all that mattered to him.
He drove back to Wellworthy at a leisurely rate, and having parked his car in its usual place he returned to the solicitor’s office. Miss Grayson recognised him at once, informing him that Mr Dobson was with a client, and should be free in about ten minutes. Thanking her, Martin asked if Mr Perkins was free, and a few minutes later he was sitting in a chair by the young man’s desk, a cup of tea ready to hand.
“Tell me,” Martin said after the usual pleasantries were out of the way, “do you happen to have any old plans of Springwater House tucked away here?”
“I really don’t know,” the clerk answered. “If we do, they are probably down in the cellar along with all sorts of odds and ends. I could look if you like?”
“Well, not right this minute; if you have time before weekend is out I wouldn’t mind having a look at them.”
“I’ll certainly see what I can do; is there a problem then?”
“No, not really, just something I wanted to check up on.”
“Do you want me to ring you if I can find anything?”
“Well, if it’s not too much out of your way, perhaps you could drop them off for me on your way home?”
“It’s no trouble at all Mr Isherwood. If you don’t mind me asking, how is everything going? I mean, have you decided what you are going to be doing with the place yet?”
“No, not really,” he hedged. “Tell me, have you any idea how the house got its name?”
The clerk scratched his head thoughtfully for a moment.
“I think there used to be a well there some time,” he said at last. “Quite a number of the older houses up that way had wells; they all fell into disuse years ago when a proper water supply was laid on. Even those places that still have wells can’t use them anymore. Since they put the pumping station in over at Rammington Hill the water table has dropped considerably. They are mostly used as ornamental features now.”
“Any idea whereabouts the one at Springwater House might be if it still exists?”
The younger man shrugged eloquently. “Search me,” he said. “Somewhere to the rear I should imagine, that’s where they usually were.”
“Well, if there was ever one there, I haven’t seen any sign of it.”