The Price of Desire (7 page)

She arrived at Bunnie's half an hour later. It was a grand three storey building, surrounded by gardens and acres of farmland. It was nowhere near as impressive as Marrington Manor, but it was beautiful and picturesque and more than enough for the two of them.

Bunnie's father died when they were kids, and Georgie remembered when it happened. She hadn't been allowed to go to the funeral, she was too young, but she had gone to the gathering afterwards. She remembered Bunnie dressed in her favourite pink dress, the only colour in a sea of black, clinging furiously to her mother. Georgie didn't speak to Bunnie that day; she didn't know what to say. She was only a child herself and had no idea of the enormity of the event. Bunnie had been more reserved in the months following her father's death, but the girls' close friendship seemed to bring her back out of herself, and in time she was the same lively girl that Georgie had always known. She had vowed that she would never let her friend down again and she would always be there for her.

Georgie's knock on the door was answered by a surprised Anneka. She beamed at the sight of her and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

‘Hello stranger, long time no see!' she exclaimed, releasing her and stepping back so Georgie could enter.

Bunnie was the spitting image of her mother. They were often mistaken for sisters as her mother looked nothing like her forty-five years. They were so alike that Georgie often felt irrationally flustered when they were in close proximity. Anneka's eyes were still a young, sparkling blue, her blonde hair tied in a French plait. In jeans and a tight grey sweater she could easily have passed for a student at Georgie's university.

‘Hello, Anneka, how are you?'

‘Very well, thanks Georgie, and happy birthday! Sorry I couldn't make your party last night but I had something I just couldn't get out of. But I was hoping you'd stop by as it's been ages since I've seen you. How's life in Cambridge?'

‘Good,' said Georgie. ‘It's hard work though. I've got my exams at the end of the year.'

‘Well I hope they aren't working you too hard. You should make sure you take some time for yourself too. I don't know if Bunnie's told you but my life coach has been teaching me tai chi...'

‘Oh mum, she doesn't want to hear about your latest fad.' Bunnie appeared in the hallway and walked over to give her friend a lingering hug. ‘Any news on Lily?'

Georgie shook her head.

‘Oh I'm so sorry, Georgie darling, I totally forgot to ask,' Anneka said. ‘Your mother called me this morning and told me Lily hadn't come home. You must be so worried.'

‘I've been asking around Coxham Marsh but nobody's see her.' She shot Bunnie a glance, hoping she would interpret the meaning correctly. She needed to talk to her in private.

‘Let's go through to the sitting room,' Bunnie said, and guided her down the hall.

‘I'll have cook send in some snacks,' Anneka called after them.

‘What's happened?' Bunnie asked once they were safely in her private living room.

‘I'll tell you in a moment. Can I call home first? I want to see if they've found her.' Georgie picked up the phone and dialled, and while in conversation with her mother a veritable feast was brought in, and Bunnie was sitting on the sofa, cross-legged, munching a sandwich while absentmindedly shuffling a deck of tarot cards.

‘Still no news?' she asked as Georgie hung up the phone.

‘No, nothing,' Georgie sighed, lighting a cigarette and tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair. ‘Dad called; he hasn't found her yet either but he's still out looking. Mum's not handling it very well. She's convinced she's been kidnapped or is lying in a ditch somewhere.'

Georgie looked down at the plate of food. Her stomach was churning with anxiety and she didn't think she could keep anything down. Bunnie noted her friend's expression and poured her a large brandy instead.

‘Drink this, it'll help,' she said, handing her the amber liquid. ‘So what do you think happened to her?'

Georgie took a sip of the brandy. It burned its way down her throat and hit her stomach. She then proceeded to tell Bunnie in detail everything that had happened in the church, including what the vicar had told her. Bunnie sat listening, slight shock registering on her face when Georgie got to the part about the price of the information, and what it cost her. But she looked more shocked to hear what the vicar had said about Lily.

‘You don't believe him?' Bunnie asked, once Georgie had finished her story.

‘I don't know,' she said, sounding deflated. ‘Ordinarily there'd be no way I'd believe it, but it's so out of character for her to go missing like this. And she missed my birthday. I just don't know what to think.'

‘Well I don't believe it. I know Lily and there's no way she would get involved in anything like that.'

‘But then, why would the vicar say it?'

‘To get a fuck out of you?' said Bunnie, matter of factly.

Georgie had considered that, and of course it was a possibility. The thought of it made her sick to her stomach; that she might have gone through all that and he was just playing her the whole time. But could she risk ignoring the information if there was the slightest possibility that he was telling the truth? ‘It can't hurt to check out the pub. Will you come with me? I won't say anything to my parents until we find out whether it's true or not.'

‘Of course I'll come with you,' Bunnie said. ‘But I've got a really bad feeling about this.'

 

It was half past ten and Georgie and Bunnie were on their second bottle of wine. They sat at the bar in the village pub. The Greenman was as old as the church and looked as if it hadn't been redecorated in the last fifty years. The wallpaper was peeling at the corners, threatening to fall off at any moment. The carpet may have been a red colour at some point, but was now just a filthy brown.

Bunnie leaned forward. ‘Are we going to ask someone or not?'

Georgie looked around. Apart from a group of rough-looking middle-aged men at the other end of the bar, they had been the only customers all night. She felt conspicuous, even though she had dressed down for the occasion in jeans and a T-shirt, her hair pulled into a ponytail, and she wore little make-up. Bunnie had done the same, discarding their usual designer labels and dressing down so they would hopefully pass as a couple of students from the town. If people found out she was Lady Georgina they may be less likely to give her the information she needed. Although, now they were here she began to think it wasn't such a good idea. Close-knit communities like this were always suspicious of strangers, and the group of locals kept shooting furtive glances in their direction.

‘Do you want me to ask them?' Bunnie said.

‘I don't know. I'm not so sure this is a good idea.'

The barman or landlord who had been serving them all evening reappeared from a door behind the bar. He was a large man in build as well as height, and he had to stoop to avoid a collision with the low beams of the pub. His head was a tangled mess of black hair and his face was hidden by an unkempt beard. He walked towards them wiping his hands on a dirty dishcloth, and looked at them through beetle-black eyes.

‘You still here then?' he barked at them, wiping the bar top with the same filthy rag.

If his appearance was intimidating it was nothing compared with his abrupt manner. Georgie was not accustomed to meeting men like him. The gruff figure before her would not look out of place in the wild. There was a power radiating from him, with an underlying air of danger. He scared Georgie, but she tried to dismiss the feeling. She was being silly, letting her imagination get the better of her. She took a sip of her wine and prepared to ask him the question she'd been rehearsing in her head, but Bunnie got in there first.

‘We're down here to visit our friend Lily, but she hasn't turned up. She's about my height, fair hair... has she been in today?' she asked, trying to sound casual.

The barman continued to eye them for a minute before answering. ‘I've never heard of her. Now drink up; we're closing early tonight.' He turned and walked to the other end of the bar and joined in conversation with the huddle of men.

‘Come on, let's get out of here,' Georgie said, draining the last of her wine. What a complete waste of time. Maybe her mother was right and they should just call the police.

As they left the pub Georgie felt the eyes of the men watching them leave, and walking to the car Georgie said, ‘I shouldn't drive. I've had too much to drink tonight'

‘Okay, I've only had a couple,' Bunnie offered.

Georgie fumbled for a moment in her handbag. ‘I can't find the keys. I don't believe this. I must have dropped them inside. I'll have to go back and get them.'

‘I'll come with you,' Bunnie said, and the girls made their way back to the pub entrance, but as they reached the door Georgie noticed all the lights were off and when she tried the handle she found the door locked.

‘They must have closed already, but I didn't see the others leave,' Georgie said, confused.

‘Let's check round the back,' Bunnie suggested. ‘Maybe we can find another way in.'

Georgie thought about the landlord and was positively terrified at the thought of barging in on him, but she couldn't think of another way to get her keys back, and it was a long walk home in the dark. So, with Bunnie in the lead they walked around the side of the building. They heard the sound of a door being slammed and silently tiptoed around the corner, peeking, and saw a small yard at the back of the pub, with stone steps leading down under ground level.

‘They must lead to the cellar,' Bunnie whispered, tentatively moving closer to get a better look.

At the bottom of the steps was a plain blue door, the paint cracked and peeling. On the side wall was a window, and this one was not in darkness. A flickering light danced inside and muffled voices could be heard from the other side of the door. Bunnie dashed down the steps before Georgie could stop her.

‘Come back you idiot,' she hissed, ‘you're going to get us caught!'

But Bunnie paid no attention. She was staring through the window, her eyes wide and her mouth sagging. Without looking away she beckoned Georgie down, who hesitated only for a second before curiosity got the better of her. She hurried beside Bunnie and looked in the window. It was a cellar, with most of the floor space taken up by barrels and crates. The light inside came from candles placed around the basement, casting elongated shadows on the exposed brickwork.

Georgie immediately saw what had caught Bunnie's attention. In the middle of the room stood the landlord of the pub and in front of him, on her knees, was a woman Georgie had never seen before. She appeared to be in her late forties and wore nothing but a bathrobe, which had been pulled open to reveal the fullness of her naked bosom. Georgie couldn't get a clear view of her face; she was leaning forward, both hands wrapped tightly around the landlord's erect shaft, her head bobbing as she swallowed it.

Georgie tore her eyes away to look at Bunnie, who was still staring avidly through the window, her expression unreadable.

Turning back to the scene in the cellar she saw with further amazement that there were other people there too. Half hidden in the shadows they were not noticeable at first. Even though she could not see their faces she was ready to bet they were the men from the bar, and she saw they too were watching the debauched scene. Then a sudden flutter in her stomach caused her to blush and she stared harder, hoping Bunnie hadn't noticed.

The landlord, still fully dressed, had his hands on his hips, looking down at the woman kneeling in front of him. Next to her Georgie heard Bunnie's breathing quicken. They should get out of there before they were seen. Georgie didn't want to imagine what would happen if they were caught.

The landlord began to thrust his hips and grasped handfuls of the woman's hair as he pushed his engorged cock deeper into her mouth. It lasted only seconds before he threw his head back and let out a guttural roar that both girls could hear from the other side of the window. Viscous liquid dribbled down the woman's chin as the landlord extracted his penis and zipped it back inside his trousers. The woman didn't move or even attempt to cover herself up, but remained kneeling on the stone floor.

‘What now?' whispered Bunnie.

A figure stepped out of the shadows, and Georgie was right; it was one of the men from the bar. He was a small, portly man with a large bulge visible in his dark corduroy trousers. His round face was blotchy and covered in a sweaty sheen, the excitement obvious on his features. He stopped in front of the woman, momentarily motionless.

Georgie realised she'd been holding her breath. Something was stirring inside her, a slow burning in the pit of her stomach, a delicious fear.

The man now centre stage undid his belt, allowing his trousers to fall to the floor, his cock clearly visible, straining to get out of his greying Y-fronts. Licking his rubbery lips he pulled down his pants and fed his erection to the woman waiting in front of him. She took his entire length in a single swallow, and as her lips closed around his flesh he closed his eyes, an expression of pure pleasure on his face. His hands remained on the woman's shoulders as he rocked rhythmically back and forth. But not for long. The short performance obviously surprised the woman as the man shuddered into his orgasm, and she began to choke on his seed. He hastily pulled up his trousers and retreated back to the shadows, leaving the woman coughing and spluttering on all fours.