Adultery on the High Seas

ADULTERY ON THE HIGH SEAS

- a wife's voyage into nymphomania

a novella by CADIZ

As a professional novelist and scriptwriter with over thirty books published in eleven countries, I felt like writing something erotic for a change. This novella is based on true events related to me years ago by one of those involved.

I wanted to offer a proper storyline, describing how the latent sexuality of a demure wife was fanned into nymphomania in the unusual setting of a troopship. It starts gently, but stick with it and I know you'll not be disappointed

ADULTERY ON THE HIGH SEAS

by CADIZ

CHAPTER ONE

Jane stood on the quayside at Southampton and stared in awe at the ship that was to take her a third of the way around the world. She had imagined a troopship to be low and lean, painted grey and bristling with guns, but the Empire Avon was a towering white liner with a blue band painted all around the hull and a massive yellow funnel.

As she stood on the edge of the group of officers' wives waiting to be ushered aboard, Jane heard a voice from close behind her.

'Better than the last old tub that took me to Cyprus!'.

Turning, she saw a woman with dark curly hair and a curvaceous figure. She was a few years older than Jane's twenty-six, and though not a beauty, her bright blue eyes and a mischievous smile were very attractive.

'You've done this before, then?' asked Jane, glad to have found someone to talk to so soon.

'God, yes! I've often had to follow my old man around in the call of duty - but this is the first time to the Far East.' She held out her hand. 'I'm Heidi Masters, by the way.'

Jane noticed that she had a slight continental accent, which went with the name and added to her rather exotic charm.

'And I'm Jane Kent -- all this is so new to me, I feel bewildered!'

'Stick with me, Jane, I'll see what I can manage when they hand out our cabin numbers.!'

She gave Jane a roguish wink as the group began to be ushered up the gangway towards the First Class accommodation high in the ship.

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

'This is great, Heidi! How did you manage it?'

Jane stood looking around the cabin, with its two wide berths, wardrobes, table and wash-basin The door had just closed on the stewards who had brought up their luggage .

' Didn't you see that dishy ship's officer -- the one with the pointed beard?' said her new friend gaily. 'I made straight for him. He's the Assistant Purser, almost as important as the captain!'

'But how did you get us this nice place - all the other women were being put four in a cabin?'

Heidi grinned and made an exaggerated pout of her full lips.

'Fluttered my eye-lashes at him and showed him a bit of cleavage when I leaned over his desk. Sailors are suckers for that sort of thing - and I rather fancied him, anyway.'

Jane's eyebrows lifted - travelling with Heidi promised to be interesting. She was no prude, but the older woman's frank attitude on such a short acquaintance was a little surprising. Heidi seemed to sense this and threw an arm around Jane's shoulders.

'This is an opportunity not to be missed, my girl!', she said gaily. 'There's only a handful of younger women aboard who don't have husbands or a brood of kids with them -- and we've got the officers of a whole infantry battalion going as far as Mombasa, as well as the ship's junior officers all the way to Singapore. So make the most of it, Jane! You'll not get a chance like this again.'

In spite of her new friend's rather brash flirtatiousness, Jane had to smile at Heidi's obvious delight at the prospect of a month at sea, marooned with an ample supply of virile young men.

'Remember I'm a married woman, Heidi,' she answered with mock severity. 'I haven't seen my husband for two years!'

'Neither have I, thank God!' was the reply. 'He's a harmless enough chap, but as boring as hell. You'll have the next fifty years to settle down with your hubby, so make the most of the next few weeks!'

That gave Jane had plenty to think about for next hour or so, as they began unpacking the clothes that they would need on the trip.

As they worked, both began to discover a little more about each other. Heidi was married to a captain in the Royal Engineers, some sort of surveyor who was a Regular soldier. She had married him in Berlin at the end of the war and frankly admitted that he was the means for her to escape the dreadful conditions there at that time. She had been working in London since he went to the Far East two years ago, and like Jane, was going out to spend the last year of his posting in married quarters.

For her part, Heidi learned that Jane's husband was a Short Service captain in the Intelligence Corps, a police chief-inspector seconded from Scotland Yard's Special Branch, to help deal with the terrorist emergency in Malaya, a jungle war which by now in 1957, had already been going on for nine years.

'I suppose the gallant lads aboard are going to Kenya to deal with the Mau Mau,' observed Heidi. 'So we're duty bound to give them their last chance of a good time over the next couple of weeks!'

'You've got a one-track mind, Mrs Masters,' said Jean with mock reproof, but the other woman's anticipation had set off a little niggle of interest in her own mind.

When they had finished unpacking, she looked at her wristwatch.

'Better get going, this parade is in twenty minutes,'

They had come aboard just after lunch and been handed a sheet of instructions about meal-times, lifeboat and fire drills, with orders to assemble in the First Class Lounge at four o'clock.

In the huge room, which ran across the width of the promenade deck, the ship's commandant , a lieutenant-colonel, gave them a welcome, followed by a litany of rules and regulations about safety, dress code and other routine matters It was followed by afternoon tea served by stewards, when most of the hundred Officer Class passengers took the opportunity to get to know their fellow travellers.

Heidi almost dragged Jane towards a group of young men in khaki, some in battle-dress, others in the smarter service dress with 'Sam Brown' cross belts.

These were all delighted to see such attractive women and within minutes, Heidi and Jane were besieged by the attentions of subalterns, lieutenants, captains, and even the odd major, vying with each other to fetch them cups of tea and plates of cakes.

Heidi looked across at her new friend with almost maternal pride, seeing her soon lose her reserve as she chatted gaily to the attentive men of the East Rutland Regiment.

Jane was extraordinarily attractive, thought the German woman. She had an oval face with large hazel eyes fringed with long lashes, a slightly snub nose and a cloud of fair hair tinged with auburn. Her beautifully-formed lips were accentuated by pearl-pink lipstick and her eyelids carried a subtle hint of eye-shadow. She was like a large doll, thought Heidi, but a doll with a figure to die for - no wonder the fellows were buzzing around her like wasps about a honey-pot.

Not that she was doing badly herself, she thought consoling. The Assistant Purser was nudging aside a trio of ardent 'khakis' to get to her side. He was a good-looking man of her own age, with the pointed black nautical beard that she had described to Jane. His smart navy-blue uniform with the gold braid on his cuffs made him even more attractive.

'You two are stealing the lime-light, Mrs Masters,' he said with a grin. 'The other ladies will be getting jealous if you seduce all the men away from them.'

'For God's sake, call me Heidi!' she replied tartly. 'Though I admit there's already someone I wouldn't mind seducing.' She gave him a radiant smile and a wink. They continued flirting until a signal across the crowd from the Chief Purser reluctantly called him away and his place was retaken by the posse of East Rutland junior officers. They were polite enough to introduce themselves to Heidi as well as Jane and then ask her about herself, but she well knew that they were anxious to pump her about Jane.

'I've only known her for a couple of hours myself, chaps. A lovely girl, isn't she?' There was a chorus of agreement, perhaps a little too enthusiastic for Heidi's ego. Within minutes, they had extracted from her the fact that Jane was married, working in London for a French cosmetics company as a sales demonstrator and public relations officer.

'I'd prefer some private relations with such a gorgeous lady,' said a fair-headed lieutenant, wistfully. The others chuckled, then realised that they were neglecting Heidi and brought the conversation back to her.

However, soon everyone was dragged away for the obligatory boat drill which had to be gone through before the ship sailed. For the next half-hour, people were kitted out with life-jackets and then herded to their various boat stations on the deck above. When all this was over, the two women went back to their cabin, glad to flop onto their bunks for a rest before getting ready for dinner at six-thirty.

'It's an early meal tonight, as we sail soon afterwards.' said Heidi. 'Roger, my dishy purser, says we're going out on the eight o'clock tide.'

'Your dishy purser?' teased Jane. 'You're a fast worker, you've got him eating out of your hand already.'

'Well, they say practice makes perfect and I've certainly had plenty of that, living alone in London for years. What about you, darling?'

Jane managed to look prim and coy at the same time.

'I've had a little fling once or twice, but not since I was married. I love my husband, even though he's hardly a romantic type.'

Heidi grinned at her. 'Good for you -- but don't waste this opportunity, whatever you do. Those guys out there have got their tongues hanging out for you already.'

Jane had a sudden erotic vision of them having more than their tongues hanging out and was immediately shocked by her own crudeness. Was this great adventure warping her mind already - or was it the persistence of Heidi that was putting such thoughts into her head?

Jane was no virgin or shrinking violet -- she liked men very much and enjoyed their company and their admiration. She sometimes indulged in mild flirtation, mostly at work where she had to entertain commercial buyers when they came to the showrooms in London's West End to inspect and hopefully order cosmetics on a large scale. They appreciated a well-dressed and immaculately made-up young woman, just as the cosmetic counters in the large stores were staffed by gorgeous young things with heavy make-up. Being propositioned was often part of the job, but she had managed to resist, except on two brief occasions.

The two women started to get ready for their first dinner aboard the Empire Avon, taking turns at the washbasin to make-up and do their hair.

'It's difficult to know what to wear for tonight,' said Jane with a worried look. 'You've done all this before, so how formal will it be?'

'Not very, according to Roger,' smirked Heidi, as she tightened the straps of her bra. 'We'll be sailing soon after the meal, so everyone will want to hang over the rail and see us pull away from the dock. A regimental band always plays us off and all the relations will be waving like mad from the quayside!'

'No one will be waving at me,' said Jane rather sadly. 'My parents are dead, I was an only child and my husband's folks emigrated to Canada last year.'

Heidi, a warm-hearted soul, gave her a quick hug of sympathy.

'Same here - all my family, what's left of them, are in Berlin,' she said sympathetically. 'So it's just us, darling! Let's get up there and dazzle the chaps!'

With this return to her favourite theme, they finished dressing and sallied forth to start their voyage of a lifetime.

*****

'So what do you think of the talent on this trip, Lionel?'

As he spoke, the Assistant Purser leaned forward to top up the glass of beer in front of his friend, Lionel Galbraith. They were sitting in his cabin in the officer's quarters beneath the bridge, as the Empire Avon made her stately way down the English Channel, still within sight of the evening lights along the coast.

'Not bad at all, much better than the last voyage,' replied Lionel. 'Half a dozen possibles and a couple of real crackers. It looks as if you've already got yourself one.'

Roger grinned and stroked his piratical beard.

'As I've told you before, I've got the advantage over you greasers from the engine room. I'm right in with the passengers all day -- I can chat them up and trade favours when necessary.'

'She's foreign, isn't she? I didn't get a chance to speak to her after dinner, but I heard her talking to someone.'

'Heidi? Yes, German originally, and a right 'goer' by the hints she was dropping. A bit older than usual dolly-bird, but a lovely figure on her.'

The engineer picked up his glass. 'You know what Confucius said -- Better the steady grind of an old whore, than the spasmodic jerks of a virgin!'

They sat drinking in comfortable silence for a few moments, Roger savouring the slight roll of the vessel as it made for the Atlantic, while the Second Engineer listened to the distant thrum of his beloved turbo-electrics far below.

'I'll bet I can guess already who you've got your beady eye on!' said the purser, almost accusingly.

'That's not difficult, is it?' replied Lionel in his slight Lowland Scots accent. 'She's bloody gorgeous, you must admit. And billeted with your bird, too.'

Roger nodded. 'That might turn out to be useful. I wouldn't mind a bit of a scrimmage with Jane Kent, before we get to Singapore.'

'I'd love to get a leg across her myself,' admitted the engineer lasciviously. 'Though she looks a bit prim and proper, certainly no push-over.'

'I suspect that being berthed with Heidi will loosen her up quite a bit, she's too good to waste. Though I noticed she was already getting quite friendly with one of those East Rutland captains.. I saw them cosying up together on the boat deck after we pulled out tonight.'

Lionel finished his beer and stood up.

'He'll be leaving the ship at Mombasa -- I'm sure I can find someone to amuse me until then.'

He pulled on his uniform jacket and reached for his white-topped cap.

'Better get changed to go on watch, I suppose. Though I'd rather be watching that little honey-blonde, she reminds me of Marilyn Monroe!'

*****

It was almost dark now, the June twilight of the longest day of the year fading as the distant shore vanished into the haze.

'Goodbye, Britain, see you next year!' whispered Jane, as she leaned on the rail at the after end of the boat deck. Several other people were doing the same further down the deck, but she and Brian Wolfe were sheltered from them by the large davit for the lifeboat suspended over their heads..

'I don't know when I'll be back,' replied the army captain in his deep baritone voice. 'It depends on what happens in Kenya. They may send us on to Malaya later, so maybe we'll meet again in Singapore!'

Jane smiled archly at the big man standing closely alongside her.

.'We've only known each other for a few hours and you're making assignations already!' she teased. Then she pulled herself together, suddenly aware and surprised that she was in danger of slipping out of her role of a dutiful wife.

Her companion, who had been one of the officers clustered around her at teatime, had come to sit alongside her at dinner, beating a lieutenant to the chair by a short head. The table held a dozen people, some being officers bound for Mombasa, the rest a mixture of wives and their husbands. Heidi sat opposite, content to be between two good-looking lieutenants. The friends had compromised on their standard of dress for tonight's informal dinner and both wore light summer frocks, which showed off their figures to advantage.

Jane had had sleepless nights in London after spending far too much on several elegant cocktail dresses and one evening gown, in case First-Class on a troopship would be a sophisticated affair. However, the green linen dress she now wore, together with her impeccable make-up and red-gold hair, made her a head-turner in the large dining room.

'I'm Brian Wolfe, we met much too briefly earlier,' said her new neighbour at dinner. 'I know that you're Jane, as probably every red-blooded man aboard has made a point of discovering!'

She blushed a little at this blatant compliment and felt a warm glow appreciation, as it came from such a good-looking man.

Captain Wolfe was large, in a very solid kind of way. Over six feet, he was broad in the shoulders and narrow in the waist and hips, and exuded an aura of strength that she could almost feel. He had a handsome face, with a square jaw and a straight nose, his blue eyes full of humour. His dark hair, cropped in a military style, had a pronounced 'widow's peak' on his upper forehead. Like most of the other infantry officers, he was still in uniform at this first dinner, having spent much of his time on the lower decks with his men.

Jean had a weakness for men in uniform, which was one of the things that had attracted her to her police-officer husband three years earlier, so Brian's well-tailored khaki uniform with the three gold pips on each shoulder, added to his attractiveness. Within five minutes, a part of her mind was already building day-dreams, clashing with her avowed intent to be a good girl, in spite of Heidi's exhortations.

She hardly did justice to the excellent meal, as she was chatting to Brian for much of the time -- though for politeness' sake, she forced herself to take some notice of the young subaltern on her right, who was straining himself to gain her attention.

During the hour that they sat at the table, she learnt that Brian was a career soldier, was thirty years old and lived near Aldershot, the home of the British army. The rest of their conversation was small talk and exploring each other's interests - they discovered that they shared a love of dancing and tennis and a dislike of fox-hunting and zoos!

None of the ship's officers were present in the dining room, obviously because the vessel was making ready to sail. Towards the end of the meal, increasing activity and noises from elsewhere in the ship confirmed this and as soon as coffee had been served, there was a general exodus onto the promenade deck outside. Heidi linked her arm into Jane's and steered her to a vacant spot against the rail, with Brian Wolfe in close attendance.

As the sun began to slide towards the western horizon, the ritual of leaving port began and Jane was entranced by the regimental band that played them off from the quayside. She sensed that Brian was standing very close alongside her, a situation which she guiltily enjoyed. Every now and then Heidi would give her a wink, raising her pencilled eyebrows in meaningful gesture towards the large officer standing so protectively against her friend..

Jane felt no desire to abandon her study of the coastline, as long as Captain Wolfe remained alongside her. As the light faded and the breeze freshened, she pulled a wide stole of Siamese silk more closely around her shoulders, the iridescent material reminding her that it was her husband who had sent it to her from Malaya. This provoked a small twitch of guilt, which she found it easy to dismiss, given the relative innocence of standing in public alongside a fellow passenger.

'Let's move up to the boat deck, we can get a last glimpse of land from up there,' suggested Brian, though peering at a distant shore through the murk was the last thing on his mind. Both the women realised this and Heidi diplomatically detached herself from them.