1911 The Parson's Freewheeling Wife

"As you know, I pass this way every Thursday, My Love," Maud said.

Venn replied softly, "Why do you speak of love? You came here to be fucked. If it's affection you crave you could have stayed home."

Although she wouldn't have put it in those words exactly, Maud knew that he was right. What she didn't know was how he had the nerve to say such things. So outrageous, that they made her tremble from the knees to the stomach.

.........................................................

Maud realised that Augustine did give her affection. In the same way that an indulgent older brother would. She was grateful for everything he did.

Early in their marriage they had settled into a mutually supporting way of life. They both knew that he had unnatural leanings that, because of his religious convictions, he would never try to fulfil. Likewise, he would expect nothing less than restraint from her.

He was a kind man but she decided that there was nothing to be gained, by either of them, from telling him that she had broken her most solemn wedding vows.

...................................................

Maud could have easily reached the top of Linden Hill and gone no further on this warm but breezy Thursday morning but she really didn't want to let Clara down.

Besides, when she had reached the gate she couldn't see any sign of Venn. She opened the door of the house and called his name but there was no reply.

Maud continued her journey.

She made her visit with Clara as short as decency would permit. Maud strode up the final part of Linden Hill fully expecting him to be waiting at the gate. He wasn't.

She leaned the bicycle against the bench by the door. He would already be in the kitchen unable to control his anticipation, she knew. But again, he wasn't.

She called. Venn didn't answer.

True, he didn't say that he would be there but he didn't say he wouldn't.

Maud went home.

...........................................

Augustine Flowers and the rest of the village cricket team set off early on Saturday morning. Their opponents for the day played at some distance away.

Maud was welcome to go with them, if she wished. The prospect of a two hour journey in a motor charabanc on a hot Summer's day did not appeal to her. She would stay at home and read, if Augustine didn't mind.

That was what she did for the first hour or so. She could not settle. Maybe a bicycle ride would suit her better.

Maud made it to Linden Hill in good time.

She looked over the gate of the Small Holding. There was no sign of Venn. Maud opened the gate and pushed her bicycle through.

Looking to the left and right, she finally saw him some way off. He was working with a hoe between two rows of vegetables. He spotted her at the same time.

Venn smiled as he made his way towards her.

"I came on Thursday," she said.

"Yes, I was somewhere else," he said without any further explanation.

"Why have you come here?" he added.

"Oh, I was at a bit of a loose end and I thought tha..........."

"No! Why have you come here?" he said forcefully.

Maud coloured up a little, looked down at her boots and said quietly, "I have come here to be fucked." She hadn't wanted to say it out loud but she knew that he would accept nothing else.

"Better go inside then, unless you'd rather do it here," he said.

She knew that he said the most outrageous things and somehow he knew that they would bounce through her brain and down to her toes.

Maud pushed the bicycle to the shade by the door. She walked into the kitchen and stood with her back to the table. Out came the hatpin and the hairpins.

Venn walked straight past her and plunged his hands into a large tub of water that lay in the corner. He washed his hands, his arms and his face and head. Drying them in an old grey towel, Venn ascended the ladder to the upper chamber of the house.

She wondered if he did what she didn't expect just because she didn't expect them.

Maud climbed the ladder. Venn was sitting on the bed unlacing and removing his boots.

It was a simple single room but it was clean. There was a window at each end that had the shutters thrown open to allow a breeze to blow through.

Maud got within three feet of Venn when he said, "Stop. Take your clothes off."

She hesitated for a moment. She must have expected it but once again the speaking of it out loud was shocking.

Maud undid her belt. She removed her shirt waist blouse, then she dropped and stepped out of her linen skirt. She removed her petticoat followed by the corset cover. And then the ventilated rear hip pad.

Maud unfastened the straps that fixed her stockings to her corset. She untied the laces of her corset that were wrapped twice around her waist and used her fingers to unclip the fastenings down the front of the under garment.

"Jesus, woman, it didn't take Colonel Badden-Powell this long to get us out of Mafeking. If it carries on much longer I shall forget why I came up here."

"Shh!" she said, sweetly.

She dropped the corset and then untied the side hip pads. Maud removed her chemise. She threw her luxuriant brown hair backwards.

Now she was standing in just her stockings, boots and open drawers. Venn caught an intriguing flash of pubic hair as Maud lifted one foot up and gently placed it on his lap.

"Kindly unbutton my boots," she asked, knowing that the toe was resting against his penis. It was obvious to her that he hadn't forgotten why he had come up here.

He did as he was bidden. Maud did the same with the other foot.

Then she turned, bent forward a little and lifted each foot in turn so that he could remove the boot.

The slit in her drawers extended just high enough for Venn to see the entrance to the Promised Land.

Maud faced forward to remove her stockings and at long last stepped out of her drawers.

It was the first time in her adult life that she had been naked in front of anyone. She didn't feel self-conscious in the slightest. It felt so natural.

She stepped back a pace to allow him enough room for him to undress. He didn't take as long as she had.

Maud thought that he would embrace her now that they were both naked but instead he sat back on the edge of the bed.

He held out his hand and she took it. Venn pulled her gently towards him. He kissed one nipple and then the other. She felt the thrill pass down past her waist.

He reached behind her and rested his hand in the crevasse between her buttocks. He used this to pull her closer as he closed his mouth over an engorged nipple. This left him a free hand to gently work on the other one.

Maud wasn't sure which of the three actions was giving her the most pleasure but she knew exactly which part of her was responding.

Venn worked like a man without time restraints. He knew that care spent now would pay dividends later.

At last, he judged that the time was right so he lowered Maud onto the bed. Venn lay beside her and slipped his hand gently between her knees. She did not resist.

He kissed her on the mouth just as he pushed his thumb into her vagina. Venn held the kiss while he moved the thumb in and out. Maud felt an electric pleasure build and then release.

Then an earthquake passed through her. She began to shake. Venn held her tight and kept his lips firmly against hers.

Long forgotten words from thirty years ago stole into Maud's mind. At school another girl had told her that once in a blue moon when a man kissed a woman, her ecstasy was so great that she shook all over. It was rare. It didn't happen to most women. For some lucky women it happened just once. If she experienced it twice in her lifetime the woman knew she was special.

It had happened to Maud. But what if it was her one and only time? She really wanted that feeling again.

Venn broke the spell.

Gently, he climbed over her leg and knelt upright between her knees. She looked up at his face. Such a rugged and manly face. Then down to his chest. No less rugged and no less manly. For the first time she was now staring at his penis. It was still swinging from side to side slightly until it came to rest pointing straight at her.

Maud had nothing to compare it with. Her previous experiences had either been in the dark or with Venn behind her. The dark encounters hadn't counted and the behind one felt large enough for her.

Besides, the way in which Venn was displaying it, he must be of the opinion that it was worth looking at.

He reached down and took her right hand. Venn brought it towards him and she closed her palm around the centre. Maud gave a gentle squeeze. It felt hard but somehow had a soft outer surface.

She knew that she was required to move her hand but unsure of exactly what form this should take she adopted a sort of back and forth rocking motion. This made his testicles swing to-and-fro. Venn didn't disapprove so she felt it must be alright.

She released her grip as he crept forward towards her. He reached between his legs to make a slight adjustment to the angle of his penis. She felt it against her opening. Without force he entered. She sucked in air.

Venn kissed her passionately but kept his hips perfectly still and but he pushed his arms out to lift the weight from her. As before her moistness enveloped him.

"Raise your knees, you will enjoy it more," he whispered.

That's what she did. Still he held his weight on his outstretched arm. Still he remained motionless.

He moved. At first slowly and then more forcefully.

"Ugh!" went Maud on each thrust.

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!"

Once more she felt the pleasure mount. Hard work had given him strength and stamina and he used them both.

Then she reached a level where the pleasure was just as intense but it didn't increase any. This plateau was where Maud wanted to live for evermore.

Without warning Venn rolled to one side. She had no choice but to roll with him. He employed the same strength that he had used to thrust to pull Maud on top of him.

He interlocked his fingers with hers and pushed her upwards so that she was on her knees astride him. For a fraction of a second she was unsure what to do next but then it occurred to Maud that she could use the muscles that had become strong from bicycling, to bob up and down.

Venn just lay still.

As Maud bobbed she exhaled every time she dropped onto Venn.

"Augh!" she went.

"Augh!"

"Augh!"

He released her hands but Maud kept her balance.

"Augh!"

"Augh!"

Venn pushed his thumb into the gap where her glistening pubic hair parted.

Now each fall brought her into contact with it.

The rising pleasure, the plateau and then the shaking. Maud tried to keep bobbing but instead she fell forward onto his chest.

"Damnation!" thought Maud, "A woman is only allotted two of those at most and I have used both of mine in one hour.

Venn bucked his hips. Once, twice, and on the third thrust he released his seed into Maud.

They lay there together, panting.

He enfolded her in his arms and they both slept.

...............................................

Many people agreed that if a man had to die, it was best that he died doing something he loved.

One or two unkind people suggested that he had taken his eye off the ball and not kept a straight bat.

The truth was that the long hot dry Summer had rendered the pitch a little unpredictable. A delivery from a particularly quick bowler had nipped up and caught the Reverend Doctor Augustine Flowers just under the heart. He probably died instantly. While Maud lay in the arms of Venn, Augustine was laying on a far off cricket pitch.

This presented a unique problem for the scorers.

When Augustine was struck he had fallen onto the stumps. Now, if he was still alive at that point then he should be given 'Out Hit Wicket'. If, as most suspected, death occurred instantly it should be recorded as 'Retired - Not out'. If your knowledge of cricket is slight, this could seem like a trivial point but not so. It could affect his batting average at the end of the season.

.................................................

Maud was grief stricken and guilt ridden not to mention distraught in the extreme.

Sympathy for the widow was universal. The church was packed for Augustine's funeral.

The Bishop himself conducted the service. He and Augustine had shared rooms at Cambridge. It was noted that as he was giving the eulogy the Bishop had to wipe tears from his eyes.

On several occasions during the weeks that followed the Right Reverend Gentleman came to visit Maud. Afterwards, he would spend time just gazing at the grave.

Although he stated that there was no hurry he had to remind Maud that the Parsonage would have to be vacated. Obviously, the stipend ceased. The allowance from Augustine's father's estate also ended.

Her husband had left every penny that he had to Maud so she was far from destitute.

Eventually, Maud had to make some decisions regarding her future.

She could, of course, return to her parents home. A prospect that held no attraction for her. She considered buying a cottage in the village but this wouldn't leave her with a lot to live on.

Her friend, Clara, being her friend, came to her rescue. They had a spare room at the Vicarage. Maud could live with them at least until she could decide what she wanted to do.

It wasn't until Maud was packing that she realised how few possessions she actually owned. Her clothes, a few items of jewellery and her bicycle.

These were contained in three trunks which now sat in the hallway of the Parsonage (not the bicycle, obviously). The trunks were to be collected by a man with a donkey cart and transported to Clara's. Maud would travel ahead on her bicycle.

....................................

This may come as a surprise to you but Maud broke her journey at Linden Hill. Venn was waiting at the gate.

She spoke first, "My husband..............."

"I know," he said.

"I don't know how I shall live with the guilt," she went on.

Venn looked a little shocked, "But he would have died whether you were there or not."

"But I was here," she said.

"And if you weren't, that would have saved him would it?

"You have nothing to be remorseful about," said Venn.

"What will you do now?" he asked.

"My friend says that I can live with them for a while," Maud explained.

Then Venn did something that is very difficult for a man, particularly for a man who has spent his life hiding from his feelings. He laid his soul bare and he made himself vulnerable.

"I hoped that you might come and live here," he declared.

"But you have no use for a wife," she stammered.

"And you have no use for a husband," he said.

Silence reigned.

"Do you think that you could live with me?" Maud asked, eventually.

Venn shook his head and said, "I don't know but it is my belief that I cannot live without you."

They waited for the donkey cart to bring her things.