Hannah & Kay

"Why don't we?" We chorused.

"Spend some money on the cemetery?" Kay finished for us.

"Why not? I'll make a few phone calls and find out who is responsible for its maintenance."

We found out that it was the Parish Council. We made an appointment to see the Parish Clerk in the afternoon. She was pleased to see us.

"We want to help tidy up the cemetery." I said baldly.

"We can always do with some help. Two or three of us go there once a month to do what we can. An extra pair of hands would be useful."

She looked pointedly at Kay's large bulge as if to say that Kay wouldn't be much help at present.

"That's not quite what we had in mind." Said Kay. "We meant financial help."

"Real money?" said the Clerk. "We have a budget of three hundred pounds a year for the cemetery. Most of that goes on two grass cutting sessions. The rest goes on transport of the debris. Even a few pounds would help."

"We weren't thinking of a few pounds," said Kay, "more like a few thousand…" She paused "… each year."

The Clerk was stunned into silence. We could see her struggling between shock and disbelief. She was almost afraid that we were pulling her leg. Then she realised who we were. I had inherited Hannah's estate and was now the richest man in the town by a long way.

"You really mean it, don't you?" she said.

"Yes." I replied. "Our ancestors are buried there. Today we arranged for one grave to be restored. We would like it to be shown in its appropriate setting of a neat and tidy cemetery. For that we are willing to pay."

"I'll have to put it to the Parish Council. I'm sure they'll be delighted. How much would you like me to tell them you are offering?"

I looked at Kay. She looked at me and mouthed "three".

"Three thousand pounds a year." I said.

"Three thousand pounds? A year?" The Clerk was stunned again.

"Yes." I said. "Would you like me to write a short note to the Parish Council?"

"That would help. They might not believe my word unsupported."

I scribbled a short letter to the Chairman of the Parish Council and passed it over.

"Thank you very much." Said the Clerk as we left.

"We can afford it, can't we Simon?" asked Kay.

"Of course. We could afford thirty thousand because of Hannah's bequest."

"So Hannah's money is being used to tidy up the cemetery and make Jem's grave look proper prime?"

"Yes. I hope Jem gets that message."

The rest of the day passed quietly. We had hoped for some word from Basher or Hannah. We went to bed slightly disappointed. Kay snuggled her back against me as we went to sleep.

Sometime in the night I woke up. I could feel that Kay was awake too. Then we heard it together.

"Kay?" This was a very faint thought from Hannah. I kept very still and tried not to think. I could feel Kay tense in my arms.

"Hannah?" Kay thought calmly, or as calmly as she could with our brains over-excited by Hannah's return.

"Yes. It's me."

"Hannah. We are sorry we frightened you away. Did Basher give you our apology?"

"Yes, Kay, he did. I need to apologise too. I promised and I broke my promise."

"That doesn't matter. We shouldn't have…"

Hannah's arms became visible and wrapped round us. Her naked breasts pressed against my back.

"I'm glad to be back." She said.

"We're glad to have you back," I replied.

"Basher is wonderful. I'm glad you thought of him."

"Has he fought The Miner yet?" I asked.

"No. The Miner's run away. Just like the cowardly bully he is according to Basher. Basher intends to make sure The Miner stands up to fight. That's why I'm here. I need a favour from Simon."

"What can I do?"

"Basher has found where The Miner puts the female ghosts he is abusing. Basher can release them but they need somewhere to hide. Basher thinks that The Miner will be so angry that he will fight."

"And I'm the hiding place?" I asked.

"I can't use Kay. I don't know anyone else human who would do it."

"How many of them are there?"

"We don't know."

"Hannah. When you first entered my body you nearly pushed me out. I'd like to help but I'm worried that several ghosts at once would kill me. That wouldn't help them at all."

"I know. I was frightened and running as fast as I could away from The Miner. I didn't know how to enter a human body safely. I do now."

"But do the others know? They will be frightened as you were."

"I'll be with you. I'll calm them down, sort them out, and protect your identity. Basher has shown me how to do that. He sent a message. Actually two messages. The first is to say thank you for what you have arranged to be done for the grave and he liked the idea of the cemetery being tidied as well. He also said thank you to me because it was my money that made it possible. He appreciated that you thought to mention that. The second message is to you alone, Simon. Basher says that he would be obliged if you would give temporary shelter to a hassle of frightened ladies and he assures you that "Miss Hannah" is capable of controlling any number of lady ghosts just by raising her voice. He actually told me that I am the most determined and cantankerous lady he has ever met, alive or dead, and he is grateful to you both for sending me to him for help. He says he has never met a lady up to his fighting weight before and he is expecting to enjoy his bouts with me." Hannah ended with a giggle.

"His bouts with you?" Kay asked. "Have there been any?"

"Yes. I have been enjoying myself. Basher is all man, and a gentleman. However I am getting past his reserve and encouraging him to make some advances. Being a much more modern person than him, I'd haul him into bed right away, but that would shock him too much. I'll get him there soon. So far we have only kissed and cuddled a few times."

"Did you know…?" I asked.

"About your deal with him? Yes. I am very pleased that he managed to ask to borrow your bodies. It shows that he is thinking ahead and what he has in mind for us. I'll get him there, and soon. He just has to defeat The Miner and he'll find that he is celebrating his victory in bed with me. Don't tell him that. It will be a surprise present. I know we have to wait to borrow your bodies until Kay is a few months past her delivery. Perhaps that can be our honeymoon night."

"I'm still worried about being invaded by an unknown number of female ghosts," I said.

"I'll look after you, Simon. I need you later on for an encounter with Basher Jem. I'm not going to let any number of female ghosts get in the way of that. It shouldn't be for more than a couple of days at the longest."

"A couple of days!" I protested.

"It isn't long in a lifetime. You might enjoy it. They will be very grateful ladies if Basher succeeds. They will be grateful anyway because it will be the first time for a long while that they are not either unconscious or being raped by the Basher. You will be somewhere to relax and discover themselves again. They will be weak and confused at first."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of Simon being possessed by "grateful" ladies. They could wear him out." objected Kay.

"Kay, you know that you can experience what I experience with Simon?"

"Yes?"

"Then come into him with me. Then you can see how little you can do to him without practice. The other ghosts will be as unfamiliar with their surroundings as you would be. Want to try?"

"Only if Simon agrees."

"I agree," I said, "My wife cannot be an intrusion, not like Hannah was when she first entered me."

"OK. Here we go, Kay."

I felt Hannah in my body again but this time she seemed to be holding hands with Kay.

"Kay," said Hannah, "Try to get Simon to do something, perhaps to scratch behind his left ear."

I felt Kay trying to influence me. I had a faint sensation that I ought to move my hand but it wasn't strong enough to overcome the inertia of my muscles.

"See. You can't." concluded Hannah. "But I can."

Hannah made my hand grab my tool and shake it. Then I started to resist. My hand opened and then pulled back to my waist.

"And he can stop me. I can make him do something if I catch him unawares but he can override my compulsion. If you and I worked together we might be slightly more successful but I doubt it. The other ghosts couldn't do as much as you can because they don't know Simon. Simon loves you so he is inclined to do what you ask him. The others won't have that advantage. Come on. We have spent enough time in Simon."

There was a faint wrench as they left. Kay's hand and Hannah's invisible one grabbed my tool and squeezed it.

"See. We can do much more outside him." said Hannah triumphantly.

"OK." I said. "I'm persuaded. I'll look after the female ghosts for you and Basher if Hannah will keep them in order."

I was still slightly worried. Hannah, and I by implication, had lied to Kay. Hannah could do things to me even when I was resisting with all my might.

"I agree as well," added Kay.

"Thank you. I'll tell Basher. They should be with you sometime this morning. I'll try to give you a few minutes warning and then I'll bring them with me."

Of course it didn't go as planned. The Miner had a sophisticated locking system on the place where he kept the unconscious female ghosts. It had an alarm system set to go off as soon as some other ghost tried to open it. That should have given The Miner enough time to arrive and stop the break-in. Several modern ghosts had tried and failed to bypass the alarm. Basher Jem didn't even attempt to beat the alarm. He just beat the door to pieces and charged it with his shoulder. The female ghosts were shaken up but rushed out. Basher and Hannah had a hard time rounding them up before The Miner arrived.

Hannah fled, dragging the female ghosts with her. They all arrived together in my body shortly after Kay and I had gone back to sleep. I had all the breath knocked out of my body by the impact and then I was aware of Hannah shouting at the others.

"Calm Down! You are safe now! He can't find you!"

Hannah kept shouting for a few minutes. The female ghosts were confused. So was I. Gradually they quietened down and I was aware of a large number of individual personalities. Each of them was weak but together they were formidable. Even Hannah had trouble controlling them. My body was shaking as if I had uncontrollable spasms. Kay was hanging on to me.

Hannah forced the female ghosts away from my muscles and I relaxed.

"Ladies!" Hannah shouted again. "You are in Simon's body. You are safe from any ghost while you are here. Please introduce yourselves to him one by one. You first." I was aware of Hannah pointing at one of the individual ghosts.

"Hello Simon. I'm Florence."

"Hello Florence," I replied.

"No. Not like that, Florence. Say something about yourself. Please tell him who you were, when you lived, how you died. Enough information so that he knows who Florence is. Then the others can introduce yourselves."

I felt Florence bracing herself as if for a major ordeal. My mind reached out to her and I gave her a virtual squeeze on her hand. She jumped then her hand squeezed back gently.

"Simon, I'm Florence. I was a milkmaid. I was born in 1730 here in this village. When I was twenty I was milking the cows in the barn by the church when a big wind blew the roof down on me. I was killed by a falling beam."

"That's a good start, Florence, but Simon doesn't know what you look like." said Hannah.

"So he doesn't. When I died I was about five foot three inches tall, I had long blonde hair which I kept curled up under my mob-cap, I was weaning my second baby boy so I had big tits that would leak when I bent over to milk the cows. Sometimes my milk got mixed in with the cow's milk. I stayed around to watch over my boys but they are long dead now. I am distantly related to your Kay."

"That's good, Florence. Can you demonstrate your leaky tits for Simon?"

"Can I? I'd like to."

Hannah seemed to whisper in Florence's ear. A soft breast caressed my face. A hand moved the nipple towards my lips. I opened my mouth for the nipple to slide in with part of the breast. The hand squeezed the breast making warm milk flow. I suckled feeling not just the milk but Florence's excitement. She was enjoying the sensation and her enjoyment was affecting the others. I could hear Hannah whispering in my ear.

"Keep sucking, Simon. She is turning the others on. That is good for them, and for you."

Florence swapped breasts and her milk started flowing again. I could feel other personalities inside me rapt in their involvement with Florence's breast. When Florence gently pulled her breast from my mouth I felt a collective sigh.

"Thank you, Florence," I thought. "That was very nice of you."

"My pleasure as well, Simon," she replied, "I'd like to do it again sometime."

"I'm sure you will," Hannah cut in. "Now someone else must introduce herself. You."

"Hello, Simon, I'm Natalie. I was named Natalie because I was born on Christmas Day 1812 in this village. I was trained for service and eventually became a Ladies Maid. The family took me up to London for the season when I was nineteen. The first season was wonderful if hard work. The next year I fell in love with one of the young ladies' gallants. He made love to me in the cupboard under the stairs and I became pregnant. As soon as he knew that he avoided me. I was discharged when my bump became obvious. I couldn't even offer my body for sale because I was too large. I was starving when I threw myself into the Thames off London Bridge. I came back here to haunt the young gentleman but he was so insensitive he never noticed me. Oh. I was just over five foot tall, slim, and I had long black hair. I'll show you."

Natalie's black hair brushed over my hands, up my torso, across my face, and then it was gone. It felt and smelt beautiful. My tool sprung to attention as a salute. Natalie giggled as she realised the effect she had produced.

"Next!" ordered Hannah.

"I'm Hortense. I never liked that name so I call myself Anne which was my second name."

"Hello Anne."

"Thank you, Simon. I was born in 1730, the same year as Florence. We were friends as children but I moved to the next village when I married their Blacksmith's son. I was pregnant nine times had three boys and two girls that survived but I died in childbirth with the second girl. I was twenty-six but I felt and looked much older because of the effort of child-bearing. I'm pleased that as a ghost I look and feel younger. I was a big girl for my day. I was five foot eight inches tall, which was the same height as my husband. I too have black hair but I kept it short. My best assets are my breasts. They are not milky like Florence's but are still firm. Feel."

My hands were filled with a pair of breasts. Anne was right. They were firm. I cupped them and gently nipped the nipples between finger and thumb. Anne's lips brushed mine.

"Thank you, Simon. I'd like you to hold my breasts for longer but there are more of us waiting."

My hands were suddenly empty.

Another pair of lips met mine.

"Stephanie," they announced. "Born 1920. Died 1940 in an air-raid. I was in the WAAF as a telephone operator. My fiancé was killed in the Battle of Britain. His plane crashed near here. I stayed a ghost to try to find him but I never did. Bottle blonde, previously mouse, my best bits are my legs."

Stephanie's legs wound round mine. They were long, slim and smooth. Her toes tickled mine.

"Back later." Stephanie was gone leaving a scent of Chanel No.5.

"I'm Josephine. I was born in 1870. I was a farmer's daughter just over the hill from here. I was engaged to be married but both of us were drowned trying to save the sheep from a flood in 1890. The silly thing is that most of the sheep managed to survive. I was five foot two inches tall and slender. I had brown hair, brown eyes and a darker skin than most village girls. I don't know what my best part is but he used to like my kissing."

Josephine mouth covered mine. I'm not surprised "he" liked her kissing. She had a sweet mouth and a mobile tongue that penetrated and teased gently. One kiss from Josephine and you would never forget her.

"Hold it there, Ladies," said Hannah "He'll never remember all of you if we go on like this. The rest of you will have to wait until morning. I'd like to explain more about what is happening. OK?"

There was a chorus of assent. I wondered how many more there were waiting to introduce themselves.

"My friend Basher Jem is going to fight The Miner. If he wins all of you are free from him. If he loses you are still safe here with Simon but you can't stay in him too long. I don't think Basher will lose but I'd like to be there. Florence? Can you look after Simon and all these ladies while I check with Basher, please?"

"Yes, Hannah, I will." Florence replied.

"Now listen, the lot of you. You do what Florence tells you to do just as if I was telling you. I'll be back soon. Please give Simon a break while I'm gone. Settle down. Rest. Enjoy the peace and quiet, the safety that Simon and his wife Kay are giving you. None of you are suffering now. You are aware and not threatened by anyone. OK?"

That met with agreement. Hannah left.

"Simon?"

"Yes, Florence."

"I think you should go back to sleep for a while."

"OK, Florence."

I felt her hand stroke my forehead. Other soft hands caressed me. Kay's arms enfolded me. I was aware that more hands were stroking Kay. We were asleep in seconds.

I woke up as the dawn lightened the curtains. My brain felt as full as my stomach does when I have eaten far too much. At least the occupants were being considerate. When they arrived my brain had been stirred as if it was in a blender. Now there was a reasonable feeling of overcrowded calm. I lay on the bed wondering how Basher had fared. I was confident that he would win but …

Then Hannah returned and the occupants of my brain boiled over with excitement. They were all talking at once.

"Shut up!" Hannah shouted. That wasn't enough. "SHUT UP!" she shouted at the top of her voice. Gradually the lady ghosts settled down.

"The good news is that Basher has won. The other news is that The Miner has gone forever. You can come out of Simon now. There is no danger to any of you."

I felt my brain and body emptying as the ghosts rushed out to surround Hannah. The relief was almost painful. Then I was aware that one ghost hadn't left with the others. Florence had stayed and was soothing my wrenched brain.

"Thank you, Florence," I thought at her.

"Thank you, Simon," she replied. "You did a great thing for us. We should be grateful but most of us are just too excited to remember our manners. Hannah asked me to look after you last night. I haven't been relieved yet so I'll keep looking after you and Kay. I'm deliriously happy. Can you feel it?"

I opened my thoughts to her cautiously. I had been blocking as many thoughts as possible while I was host to so many ghosts. Florence's relief and happiness flooded over me. It was an incredible feeling as if I had won a long battle, or scored the winning point in a game in the most important match of the season, or – I can't describe it except that I wasn't sure I'd ever sense someone else's happiness that clearly again.

"I think you and Kay should go back to sleep for a while until we ghosts have quietened down. We'll want all the details from Hannah and we need to discuss what we should do now we are free. That may take some time. You need the rest."

I agreed. I was drained and exhausted.

Florence's hands stroked my head. Then her warm breast entered my mouth. I sensed that her other breast was filling Kay's mouth. Warm milk flowed into me. I sucked gently and fell asleep still at Florence's breast.

When Kay and I woke again the sun was shining brightly.