Masters & Lovers Box Set One

Their reaction seems a bit overplayed....

But they're trying to smooth things too....

I find another quote. "Take big bites. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing."

Beth bursts out laughing, and this time it sounds genuine. "That's certainly Charlotte's philosophy...."

Ain't that the truth....

".... I'll have to try the book myself, if I could borrow it when you're finished."

"My pleasure, Beth."

A shadow appears at the door....

Oh, crap....

It's Marie....

"Oh... not again." And I realise I spoke out loud.

Richard thinks it's funny, eyes crinkling. He keeps his voice low. "She's still in hot pursuit then? We've been watching her all day, trailing you." "You have no idea...."

Oh, Jeez... I've got to be polite to the little airhead....

"Good evening, Marie. I hope you've had a good day?"

She simpers, taking my words as an invite and stepping into the room. "Hello, James. Yes, it's been a lovely day. Charlotte's very lucky, marrying someone like Michael." Retreating back into my seat, I tuck in my legs, crossing them at the knee. It's uncomfortable, but if I stretch out, it might look like an invitation. "As you said before, yes," I agree.

Richard has a twinkle in his eye. He murmurs something to Beth and she turns to him with a look of protest, but too late. "Richard.... No...."

Richard stands, indicating a seat, his tone cordial and friendly. "Good evening, Marie. I don't believe we were introduced. I'm Richard, a friend of the family, and this is my wife, Elizabeth. Why don't you come and join us? Pull up a chair." You bastard....

Marie does pull up a seat, right next to my own.

Double crap....

I take shelter in Dutch courage and a long gulp of the brandy.

"Wasn't it lovely? Such pretty flowers. And wasn't Charlotte's dress lovely too...." And she rattles on, and on and on.... One monotonous platitude after another.

She's a pretty enough girl, blond and tidy. If I'd met her with Michael in the clubs in my previous life, I might have been interested. After all, we weren't there to talk. But now....

I don't need to hear anything more about wedding dresses....

.... Or flower arrangements....

.... Or cakes....

Even Beth, who is interested in such things, glazes over as Marie babbles on, showing no sign of moving along. Perhaps, in the absence of charm, intelligence or any vestige of wit, Marie operates the 'limpet technique' to get her man. Enough!

Another gulp of brandy, to stiffen my resolve....

I stand. "Marie, would you like to step outside? Take a breath of air? It's a bit stuffy in here."

Another vacuous smile. "I'd love to, James."

Alarm marches across Beth's face but I droop an eyelid to her. As I offer a hand to the small of Marie's back, to guide her outside, she's turning on Richard with an expression of real fury....

Her Dom....

And I suck in a smile....

This is going to be the most entertaining moment I've had all day.

The terrace is cool and pleasant with the perfume of hawthorn blossom carrying on the breeze. Were I in such a lovely place with my mermaid, I would have very different intentions, but...

Marie gazes up at me, all starry-eyed. Taking her by the elbow, I steer her to a dark corner. "We don't have a lot of time, so just kneel down, here in the shadows...." She frowns. ".... They probably won't see us if they come outside...." She still doesn't get it.

Going to have to paint it on thick for this one....

".... Just so I know if I need to stand back when you're done, do you prefer to spit or swallow?"

Her jaw drops, and I make as though to unzip myself. At the rustle of fabric, she screams, her hand swinging up and across my face in a slap that rattles my brain and sets my ears ringing. Fleeing, she vanishes back inside at a run, still shrieking. The first real laugh I've had all day.

Gotcha!

Chuckling as I rub my face against the burn in my cheek and the buzzing in my ear, I head inside again. I'm still trying to relocate my jaw when I see the expressions of horror on Richard and Beth.

Marie is backed against the wall, face scarlet, gesticulating wildly in my general direction. "He's a fuckin' perv he is. Your friend! He.... He...."

And finally, she's lost for words.... With another shriek, she takes flight through the door.

Richard squares up to me, muscling in....

Never noticed before what a big bastard you are....

"What the hell did you do to the girl, James?"

Holding up pacifying hands, "Never laid a finger on her, I promise. I just told her what I planned to do to her when I got her alone...."

His face falls slack, then the pair collapse into laughter.

"Oh, God. I can imagine what you said to her." Richard wipes his eyes then slaps me on the shoulder. "Sorry, James. You made my blood run cold when you took her out there. I thought I was going to have to explain to Charlotte that...." That sobers me again....

Never....

Ever....

Jade....

"Never..."

Richard's smile fades as I reseat myself, reclaim my brandy and inhale the fumes. They're heady and soporific and I find myself gazing into space.

"James...." Richard scuffs at the carpet.... "Why? Why has Michael married her? He's a fine man. One of the best, but.... You love the girl. I know you do.... And she worships you. I saw...."

His eyes meet Beth's again.... "....We both saw, how she reacted when you were shot, and when you were in the hospital; She was utterly bereft. I think it was only Michael that kept her hanging on to her sanity."

I can't bear to think about it.....

My Jade unhappy, weeping....

For me....

"And there..." I say, ".... you have answered your own question...."

The pair look blankly at each other, then at me again. I continue. "Think of Charlotte's age. She's twenty-three, her whole life ahead of her. She will outlive me by decades. I don't want her bereft. And I know that Michael will be the best of husbands for her."

It's true. I know it's true. But a heaviness descends again, a slowness, and I can only wish....

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.... Wish I had met you twenty years ago....

Richard sits across from me, slowly shaking his head. He sips at his own drink. And as Beth sits beside him, he takes her hand, kissing the fingers. "You're a better man than I, James. I don't think I could have brought myself to do that with Elizabeth. And you and I have a similar situation; I am a lot older than she."

Beth stirs, as though to protest, but he continues. "The day will come when she will mourn me, but until then, we have the happiest of marriages."

"I don't want Charlotte to mourn me...."

Do I really mean that?

".... Well... not for too long anyway. Michael is her anchor. And meanwhile, they, and I, also will have the happiest of marriages."

As I raise my glass to sip again, Beth's eyes follow my hand, and the ring I wear, given to me by Charlotte. Michael wears one similar.

"Nice ring," she says. "I've seen another just like it. Two others in fact."

"Just so."

Here it comes....

Beth licks her lips. "Can I ask you?"

"You can ask. I don't guarantee a reply."

"It's not just about fun and games in the bedroom, is it? Charlotte does, in reality, have two husbands?"

"Yes, she does."

She's blinking hard. "And yet, tonight, you're sitting here, alone?"

My speech is slowing. I'm exhausted. I should say a polite goodnight, but.... I don't want to be alone.... .... In an empty bed....

"Oh, I'll see them in the morning. But I think it's important that Michael has tonight to call his own."

Beth leans forward. She's hesitant, almost asking permission, but places her hand over mine. "I think you're finding this harder than you admit to. Harder than you expected, perhaps? How many brandies did you have before we arrived?" Too many....

"Oh, a few. I'll probably have a couple more."

Her eyes are dark, lambent in the flickering amber light. "You're a good man, James," she says.

Really?

Really?

"Am I? I try to be, but sometimes I wonder."

"James. I watched you take a bullet to protect her. That's not the action of a bad man...."

And abruptly, I don't want to talk anymore. The memory, all unbidden, wells up.... Pain....

Blinding, shrieking, unholy agony....

But Beth is still talking, Richard regarding her in silence. "Do you still not remember it? When you were shot?"

I take refuge in the brandy again, inhaling from the warm glass. Like the drug it is, the fumes are heady and comforting. "The memory came back a few weeks ago. I've been trying not to dwell on it."

Screaming....

My Jade-Eyes screaming....

"It's giving you problems?"

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"I've had a few sleepless nights, yes. It's not a pleasant memory."

"I can imagine. But my point is...." Beth becomes intense, her body rigidly forward, her fingers clamping around mine ".... that you did it. And you did it with barely a thought, and without hesitation. I saw what happened, James. What you did was the action of a good man. Why should you doubt it?"

My Jade....

My Virgin....

I'm becoming fuddled, my speech difficult. "I bought her. I bought her at an auction. I took her virginity. And, without intending to, I made her mine. I didn't mean to do that....

Be honest....

.... at least with yourself....

".... not at first anyway, but I did it. And I changed the course of her life...."

She frowns, shaking her head. "For the better. Much, much for the better. Where would she be now, if she'd not met you?"

"I tell myself that...." Then I wave a finger at her....

At one of the two Beth's....

.... Too much brandy.....

Am I waving at the right one...?

"I know how the two of you met, and what happened afterwards.... your um, contract...."

Should I be saying this?

Who cares?

A flush rises up her neck and I chuckle....

Dom's privilege....

"..... Charlotte told me about it after Richard gave her permission...." Richard sucks at his cheeks, eyes creasing....".... The point is, although there are.... ah... parallels, between how you and Richard met, and how I met with Charlotte, the difference is that you were already a mature woman, and I'm guessing that you'd had relationships before...." She blinks hard again, eyes flicking to Richard, who seems unconcerned.

".... Richard wasn't your first, I don't think. With Charlotte, that wasn't the case. I was her first.... So much older than she. And I have dwelt long and hard on the morality of what I did." I down the last of my brandy. "I want to be sure that Charlotte's life goes well."

Her embarrassment fades, replaced by....

Sympathy...?

I don't want your sympathy....

"And so," she repeats, "tonight you sit here alone....?"

My glass is empty, but I use it as a baton, waving it at her. "No, not alone. I'm sitting with my friends...."

*****

Where am I?

Sleep-addled, I see low embers, their glow a mere crack amid white ashes behind a fireguard. A side-light casts a sort of light over where I'm sitting in an armchair.

A blanket covers my lap....

Beth....

.... And Richard....

This is when you find out who your friends are....

My neck is stiff, but I'm warm and otherwise comfortable.

And I think of the empty bed in my room....

I'll stay here for the night....

*****