Legs Wide Open

"You weather your washing on an outdoor clothesline."

He said thoughtfully that was a go idea.

"No it's out through that door in a lean-to where there's a wood burner to heat water and heat the house when it's cold. It also supplies water to the copper where clothes are washed and then put through a hand wringer, just like your grandmother would have done as a girl."

"Um yes. But washing that way can't be much fun?"

"Then don't do your washing and don't wash until you shower when you go home."

"But it would be easy to have a washing machine."

"Don't want one. Nor do I want a radio or TV or a food mixer or microwave."

"Well at least you have electricity."

"Yeah but it's not what you think. It's battery power. A generator in the barn recharges the batteries each morning. You can connect your computer to the internal supply because the computer has the technology installed to work off battery power. It will even charge your computer battery."

"What about my mobile phone?"

"What about it? You are outside cellphone coverage out here."

Jane thought, oh god, would he take her home if she asked or at least back to the edge of civilization.

She asked nervously, "How far away is the nearest village."

"Eight miles, why?"

She said vaguely she was just wondering and he grinned and said, "Thinking of getting a bus home or at least finding somewhere to have a shower?"

"I um no."

He grinned as if saying you are lying. How could he read her mind like that? And now he was at it again and she'd missed what he was saying.

"What was that?"

"I was saying you should stay here to write your next novel, based loosely on us, me the ruggedly handsome guy with a cock that makes your mouth water in anticipation attempting to satisfy Neolithic man while you, a thoroughly modern Milly, have arrived at this horrible basic outpost on the edge of civilization where every nerve in your body is screaming telling you to run home to your mother but you can't because for the first time in your life you are enjoying being fucked. You stay, he tries not to be grumpy when you complain. Jess the dog takes you and shows you the sheep who stand still and allow you to pat them and Jess then takes you to see the frogs and you see butterflies you've never seen before and a meter-long smooth snake scares the nuts off you and then Neolithic Man takes you walking and explains the inter-relationship between plants and insects and animals and birds and what would happen to the area they live in if it wasn't lightly grazed and you fall in love with the place and you fall in love with him and you marry and you take him back home where you're pregnant and ever so happy and he lies saying he's happy in the job you found for him as being waste control manager at the local mall. The end."

Jane gaped at him.

"What?"

"Nothing and I'm not even thinking it so you can't read my mind."

"Read your mind. What bullshit is that?"

"Nothing. Build me a shower and I'll stay for a while."

"Okay."

She looked dismayed and yelled, "I don't want to stay. You were supposed to say no way would you install a shower for me."

"You were spoilt by your parents, weren't you? You grew up having most of your demands met."

Jane felt the burning of her flush.

She ran to the toilet and slammed the door and reached to lock it but there was no lock.

Jane burst into tears.

She emerged almost fifteen minutes later, having tried to wash away the signs of crying, unsuccessfully she thought.

"Hi. I've made sandwiches. Would you like a cappuccino?"

"You have a coffee machine?" she asked in awe.

"Hell no. Mom left some of her fancy ready-made packs here. You just add water."

"Oh."

"Jane," he said gently. "Just allow your experiences and thoughts to run. You have landed suddenly into a very different place and a very different lifestyle than you are used to. Given the chance, your mind and body will adapt. Also I can give you great encouragement: You are a romantic and this environment will fit you like a cloak"

"You have to be kidding."

"Come now, eat your sandwich."

Jane began chewing and stopped and with food in her mouth said, "Is this one of your sheep?"

"Yes."

"It's... it really is lovely meat."

He said he was glad she thought so and said when he wanted sheep meat he'd take two sheep to a butcher who would slaughter and processed the kill. He'd return with his sheep meat and the two pelts and the butcher would retain the other carcass in payment.

She smiled gently and said, "You are capable of killing them and preparing the meat."

"Yes but I know each of my sheep by name."

Jane said she'd guessed that would be the reason.

The coffee actually tasted better than she'd expected and she told Leo that.

"Will you stay?"

"Yes, I have thought about it and I think you are right, this will be a wonderful environment for me to learn about myself and to learn about you and what you do. Um Jess won't take me to see the sheep will she?"

He smiled and said she had the choice of believing or disbelieving anything he said.

"I know that but that's not answering the question."

He smiled and asked her what her shoe size was? She replied.

"Good you should go for a short walk. Mum leaves a pair of Wellingtons (gumboots) here and a wind-jacket. Dress and go for a short walk."

"I might get lost."

"That's unlikely."

She asked why wasn't he going with her and he replied he was giving her some space.

They went outside and kissed.

"I think we should go back inside and ..."

He laughed and said there was plenty of time for that.

"Off you go. Head that way," he said pointing.

He then said to the dog, "Jess go with Jane. Go with Jane. Sheep."

Jess sped ahead of Jess, waiting till she'd almost caught on and then raced on another fifty feet.

When the same thing happened again Jess said aloud, "Omigod, Jess is taking me to the sheep."

They came to a hillside and the sheep were spread out grazing. There was about fifty of them and they stopped eating and calmly watched the intruders approach.

They were all horned, younger ones very black, the others looking more like chocolate and their eyes were bright amber or yellow-brown. They were smallish with long backs.

Jess went right up to a ewe and they appeared to kiss. The ewe stood fearlessly.

Jane thought how amazing, aware of stories of marauding dogs ripping open the throats of sheep. She noticed bright black hair on the ewe's face, tail and legs.

She held her hand out and approached it as Jess moved off. The ewe sniffed the hand and allowed Jane to feel its wool along its back without moving.

Jane turned and could see the roof of the cottage and so could have walked back unaided but as soon as she began walking off, Jess shot out in front of her and led her back.

"Hi," she called and Leo called hi and in a louder voice called, "Good girl Jess."

"I found only sixty sheep."

"Sixty-nine actually. The sheep graze their own territory on a free-roaming basis to reduce the impact on the environment. They are in three flocks and are farmed as three separate flocks, never mixing."

She found Leo in the bathroom where he was measuring.

"What are you doing?"

"Measuring for your shower. All I have to do is to plumb in extensions to the hot and cold water lines to the bath and have adjustment valves to direct water upwards to the showerhead. The pantry is directly behind this wall so I can take the shelves out, cut out a slab of the lining and do the plumbing from there, attach the lining slab back in position, fill the gaps, repaint that wall, replace the shelving and Bobs your Uncle."

Jane said, "Oh that's too much bother. I can make do with washing my hair in the bath and besides I may well head home on Sunday."

"I don't think so."

"Excuse me?

"We go to Bridport on Saturday for the Farmer's Market. You'll love that. And you will need days to explore the Jurassic Coast. Further does 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' and 'Under the Greenwood Tree' ring a bell?"

"Omigod, I'm in Thomas Hardy country."

"Indeed you are."

"I did English Lit at University and studied him also at high school."

"We can go to places used for settings in some of his books and visit monuments. This county has some wonderful historic towns and museums and we need to go on a boat tour of Poole harbor and spend time in larger centers such as Christchurch and Bournemouth and walk heathlands and..."

"Is there a place Hardy wrote about near here?"

"Of course, I go to Dorchester once a month to stock up. Dorchester is called Casterbridge in Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge and Dorset itself becomes South Wessex in his books."

"Oh stop, you are making my mind dizzy. God how crass of me ignoring the attractions and the great part Dorset has played in our country's history and in literature and being one of the most beautiful parts of England. To my shame I'd not even given a thought to Thomas Hardy.""

"Well I have several of his books and books written about him. The truth is I've rather ignored him myself."

Leo grinned. "Oh by the way, there's a walk called Hardy Way and goes through the West Country portrayed in his novels. It starts at Higher Bockhampton where he was born and finishes at Stinsford Churchyard where part of his remains lie buried beside his first wife."

"Oh if it's fine next Sunday might we do that walk? You'll can spare me a couple of hours surely?"

"Oh I forget to mention, Hardy Way runs for 212 miles."

Jane sighed and muttered a profanity and the said, "You look almost finished."

"Yes I have," he said, allowing the tape to roll back into its housing while he made a note of that measurement.

"Come to bed."

He frowned and looked at his watch and asked why?

"Because I like sex."

He muttered and Jane snapped "Well forget it."

She had just reached the kitchen when she was grabbed from behind. An arm wrapped around under her breasts to capture her and Leo's spare hand shot between the legs of her jeans and slammed into her pussy and pressed hard.

"Oh god," she yelled and twisted in his embraced and turned her face, mouth half open and as he kissed her she rammed her tongue into his mouth.

"Oh, oh," she whimpered. "Fuck me."

Fortunately the heavy wooden kitchen table was clear apart from salt and a bottle of tomato sauce.

Leo brushed them aside while Jane fumbled to drop her jeans. He bent her over the table, unzipping but not waiting to remove his jeans. He grabbed his hot pulsating erection and pulling aside a leg of her panties pushed it in and, oh boy, was she wet.

"Oh thanks, what a fucking delight," she moaned. "My body was screaming out for that."

"I'm not wearing a rubber."

"That's more or less okay. I'm protected."

"Get your tits out," he gritted, and she fumbled doing that, being very red-faced and perspiring.

"God I'm on heat."

"Oh I thought you were just bored," he puffed as he pounded her and Jane made whimpering and whining sounds as she did her best to push back. They were into it as if they'd not had sex for a year.

When he pulled out she said thanks, that was lovely, and then whined, "Oh god I'm dripping into my jeans."

Leo pulled of his T-shirt and wiped her crotch and then put the T-shirt back on.

"Oh god," Jane giggled, looking at the wet patches. "But I guess that's better than you using a tea towel and hanging it back into place."

Leo grinned.

They spent the next couple of hours in mild and gentle ecstasy in bed.

Leo prepared to leave for school next morning and said a little concerned, "Will you be okay left here alone and knowing I can't call you and you know no one will come to visit?"

"Yes."

"And you will you be happy?"

"I-I think so."

He looked very serious. "You could view it as living for the day in perfect peace."

She thought about that and said yes he could be quite correct. "It could be like a princess imprisoned in a tower and yet she found freedom in her thoughts."

"Yes and you do have the advantage of being a romantic. I was just happy to be left alone up here. Well it won't snow today."

"Of course not. It's almost summer."

He kissed her goodbye and said he'd just wanted to give her some certainty about her day.

Jane waved him off and thought well she was now certain it would be a day without snow. In fact he'd told her some winters it didn't snow at the cottage.

Leo was out of sight. Jess sat where she'd watched him depart and turned her head to look at Jane who went inside to put on a jacket and cap and pulled on the wellies.

"Come on Jess, walkies."

Jess bounded ahead and paused, waiting for Jane to catch up. The sixty-nine sheep they'd seen previously watched them approach.

Jane called out a greeting and that was received no response, not even a single baa.

She walked on and found the scenery changing with less pastureland and more scrubland. After a while they came to a gate and after she closed it she saw more sheep and they looked at her and Jess stoically. Well yes sheep were not noted for being wildly intelligent and she had been told these were a primitive breed of sheep.

The sheep were spread well apart, foraging in the small patches of native grasses amid stuff that grow beyond the overhangs of heather and taller scrub.

She went through another gate and closing it carefully, walked around the perimeter of several ponds. She heard rather than saw frogs croaking, some wading birds were fishing and water-fowl took to the air at their approach.

After half a mile she came to a thicket and Jess turned to the right but Jane decided to take the left-hand track.

Jess barked, the first time Jane had heard any sound from Jess apart from panting.

"Oh god, I best be a good girl and do what Jess says," she said lightly, enjoying the peace and having Jess with her.

They had a steep hillside to their right and the thicket on their left had become a stand of trees and gradually Jane could see more space between them and the trees were thicker and significantly taller as if they were growing on terrain more to their liking.

Jess stopped and stared into the trees.

Jane peered into that direction and then saw shadowy forms moving and by their size knew she what they were.

"Omigod deer. We have deer on our land, er Leo's land. Thanks Jess."

They walked on for about another quarter of a mile and Jane could see the tracks where Leo had driven along that route and obvious vehicle marks where he'd forged through bits of bog as in places the ground became very swamp like.

They came to another gate and Jane thought she'd walked far enough. She leaned over the wooden gate and eyed some of Flock Three. Within a minute the sheep had stopped staring at her and were grazing again.

"Well Jess, back we go."

Jess had gone.

Jane almost panicked but steadied her thinking, knowing she had a fair idea of the route she'd travelled. If she were careful she'd get back okay. If not as long as she continued down to lower land she'd come to improved farmland and could ask at a farmhouse for directions.

This part of the return was easy, the big hill was to her left and the trees were to her right. She came to the first bend in the track and found Jess waiting for her.

Jess allowed herself to be hugged and kissed on the back of her head.

Back at the house Jane made extensive notes about her day, from the time Leo had worried about leaving her alone.

She had lunch, cutting two thin slices of cold mutton after picking a barely-ripe tomato in the garden and cutting some stuff she had no idea what it was other than it was green and she assumed it was meant for the table. She'd tasted it and it seemed okay to eat raw.

After her lonely lunch with a glass of apple juice, Jane wrote to her publisher with a proposal for a novel about a new bride coming to live in a semi-wilderness alongside a protected ancient 150-acre heathland in a remote part of Western Dorset where her day companion was a Border Collie called Tess. Her new husband Tom was focused of having sex with his dismayed and disoriented bride who's never thought of living without computer games and her own car because... well because they were there. The 250-year old cottage she now lived in had no phone, was not connected to the national electricity grid and mobile phones were as useless as a kite without wind because cell phone coverage ceased some ten miles away. However, from Day One of being left alone, the dispirited blonde Regina Rudd as she was now called, having lost her lovely surname of Charleston when signing the marriage register, ventured out into the wilderness for the first time and Tess led her on to a discover that deer lived in their little forest. From the moment of watching those gentle animals move so gracefully in the gloom under the trees where no sunlight penetrated, Regina felt the call of nature. It was just a slight whisper, but it was a whisper of hope. She smiled, tentatively.

Jane sat back thoughtfully. If this proposal was accepted, she should stay her until she completed her research for her new novel. All would keep a diary and note everything she saw, heard and thought each day that might be useful for her novel and the damn thing would almost write itself. This environment she was in was so rich in everything.

She thought Leo was relaxed enough to know Regina was Jane and that Tom Rudd was loosely based on Leo McKenzie. But she'd tell Leo that Tom would be older than he was and would be a laid-off architect. Thomas Hardy had been an architect.

CHAPTER 3

Leo finished reading the proposal and grinned and drank some low-alcohol white wine.

"This plea... er this um...?"

"Proposal."

"Um in this proposal Regina and Tom appear based on you and me."

"Yes but if you are offended by that I can...."

"No it's fine. In fact I think it's amazingly you can be so manipulative."

He was smiling so Jane thought perhaps he was using that term in a more benign sense that she ever did.

"So you did go for a long walk and did see the deer?"

"Yes."

"And what you saw is beginning to change your attitude towards this environment?"

"Yes."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means if the editor accepts my proposal I'd like to stay on here and research for my next novel."

"And what if it's not accepted?"

"I'll pee in Piddle River and then jump in with a weight attached to a ring through my left nipple."

He frowned and said he was not sure that was appropriate and he was surprised she knew Piddle actually was a river in Dorset.

"They'll accept my proposal. The commissioning editor was born and raised in Poole in mid-east Dorset."

"Right. Well what does your heroine do while she resides here?"

"Her mother, Lady Hannah..."

"No leave out the peerage. Wet writers wallow in that stuff. Write for the New Age of female readers and the more conservative readers will read it to keep up with change."

"God that's useful advice."

"Well don't look surprised. Come for a walk. Jess needs to feel associated with me."

She hadn't replied and he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Oh just writing a log."

"What about? What I just said about me and Jess?"

"Yes. Writers can't invent every situation they write about."

Jane was about to sip her wine when he said, "That's good. I'll be pleased to supply new material. Perhaps I should introduce you to anal sex."

Jane only just managed to avoid dropping her glass in shock.

He grinned. She looked away.

Two pheasants rose up off the track ahead of Jess.

"Do you shoot game birds for the table?"

"No. I regard my land as a wildlife refuge. That's dedicated conservation land along our left-hand boundary and we get spill-over wildlife from there and I wish to encourage that, not deplete it. I swap some sheep meat for game birds shot by people I know."