Elizabeth 04: Late Summer (Part 1)

The same storm was in full force when Irene and I left the café that evening, so we had to wait for some time before securing a cab for the ride back to my uncle's mansion. By the time we were safely in the back of the motorcar, our hair and dresses were damp and our feet were absolutely soaked. But I welcomed the unpleasant wetness, as it would only make undressing together all the more pleasurable. Irene appeared to agree, for when I turned to look at her, we both burst into comfortable laughter.

"It is too bad Elizabeth shan't be joining us," I said once the giggles had passed.

"She hardly has to always be at the centre of all our fun," Irene said. "I do get a bit tired of all that now and then."

"Do you?" I asked.

"I am afraid I do," Irene said. "Think of all the attention she always gets at the baths. I mean, Agnes, she is beautiful, and she did have to overcome a lot of abuse over her body when she was younger, and I do not begrudge her that at all. But I do sometimes feel as though I am playing second-fiddle to her. Surely you have noticed it too."

Indeed I had. Just as well, perhaps, that Irene and I were able to bond in her absence. There had been some tension early on about the pair of us vying for Elizabeth's attention, and that hardly seemed right given the bonds we now shared. And yet I could not help but regret that it would not be the three of us tonight; that, perhaps, would have felt a bit less like we were cheating on poor Benjamin.

I had, by this time, become a permanent boarder at my uncle and aunt's mansion, which Elizabeth also called home. Having arrived several months before for a brief stay with Edward while he worked on his paintings, I had planned to stay only for a fortnight or so. But two things had occurred to change my life forever: Edward realized he would never love me as I deserved to be loved; and Elizabeth's fiancé, Jonathan, had arranged for me to take a job in his office. Edward having been summarily moved out of the mansion and into Westfordshire city after breaking off our engagement, Uncle had told me I was welcome to stay on until I could arrange a flat for myself in town. But in the ensuing weeks, a vacancy had opened in a boarder-room in the mansion; and in my delicate state after losing Edward, I was in no great hurry to live alone. Uncle and Aunt had attempted to dissuade me from paying rent; but I was proud to be making a living on my own, and had insisted on paying my way like any other boarder would. As the spring and summer had passed, I found I would never choose to live anywhere else if I could help it.

I was nearly shaking in anticipation as Irene and I arrived at the front door and let ourselves in. We were just in time to see my youngest cousin, Joy, being led up the stairs to bed. "Agnes! Auntie Irene! You're all wet!" she exclaimed.

"Are we, now?" Irene asked with a grin. "I say, Joy, I had never noticed!"

We all shared a laugh, and to my surprise, Uncle joined in from the sitting room doorway where he stood. "Welcome home, ladies," he said.

"Is Auntie Elizabeth coming home tonight?" Joy asked hopefully, just before her nurse curtly pulled at her arm to continue dragging her upstairs with a stern reminder that it was bedtime.

"Not until the weekend," I told her.

"Go on to bed now, Joy," Uncle directed her. Turning to us, he added, "Sorry, Agnes, I do not wish to delay you in drying off, but could you tell me when Elizabeth will be back exactly?"

"I believe they are due on the afternoon train on Saturday," Irene told him. "She said she would be most grateful for the tour to be done and they would not put it off until Sunday."

"I can imagine," Uncle said with a chuckle. "When she does arrive, could you please let her know I want a word with her? Alexandria has been an absolute terror about leaving for school at the end of the month, and I should like very much for Elizabeth to have a woman-to-woman talk with her. She has a touch that Alexandria's mother never has, you see."

"Too true, Uncle," I admitted. "We will tell her." I was a touch jealous that I, who had known Alexandria since she was a baby, was not worthy of the job. But there was no denying that among us all, Elizabeth had the most experience in coping with the strife of one's teen years. Having heard many of her stories, I was privately grateful that I was not so well qualified as she in that regard.

"Thank you," Uncle said. "Now please, both of you go dry off before you catch your death! Irene, would you like a room for the night?"

"That won't be necessary, thank you," Irene reassured him. He nodded and returned to the sitting room, leaving us both to wonder if he had deduced where Irene would be sleeping that night. Elizabeth, who served as a part time au pair to the children and also did some work in Uncle's office, had always wondered just how much he might know of her intimate life in town; now, as a boarder in their home, I had come to wonder as well.

"Poor Alexandria," I mused as we slopped up the stairs carefully.

"I am quite certain Elizabeth will be able to set her somewhat at ease," Irene said. "She does have a gift for that."

"Amazing that she doesn't just bury all her memories now that she has overcome all that she went through, isn't it?" I asked.

"Truly. But you know she just wants to make sure no one else has to suffer as she did. And that is why I can usually keep my envy of her in check."

"Usually," I agreed. And suddenly I was no longer sorry to have Irene to myself for the night.

I did not even have time to light the lamp on my dresser before Irene had shut the bedroom door and set about removing her dress. "This feels like a wet towel!" she exclaimed.

"For me as well!" I agreed, following her lead in undressing. Once I had my dress off, Irene was already pulling down the straps of her lacy one-piece leotard-style underwear, which I had admired in silence back at the baths. "Has Elizabeth seen you in that yet?" I asked.

"No," Irene said. "I am unsure as to whether or not I want her to. Sometimes I think I tease her too much about how she and Jonathan always need to wee, and that is why she has never bought a garment like this. Too much trouble to undress every time, and all that."

I laughed. "Heavens, that was one of the very first things she ever told me about herself and you." Elizabeth and Jonathan drank more tea than anyone I had ever known, and they knew where every water closet in Westfordshire City was.

"That's right, you met in the ladies', didn't you?" Irene asked. "How very fitting, I recall thinking."

Amidst the idle chat about our absent friend, I had gone to the closet to retrieve two fresh towels. On turning back to face Irene, I saw she was now nude. Though I had seen her in all her natural glory numerous times at the baths by then, her body held a different and superior aura altogether now. "Oh, Irene," I whispered as I admired her supple breasts and elegant hips. "No more talk of Elizabeth, please. Tonight is ours."

"Indeed," Irene said as she accepted one of the towels from me and patted herself dry. I admired her without a twinge of shame as I quickly removed my own underclothes. They felt silly compared to her lovely garment; perhaps I would buy one of those for myself. Though my sexual awakening had been in full force ever since that wonderful evening with Irene and Elizabeth months before, there was still so much more to discover about myself!

I followed Irene's lead in patting myself dry; as I did it, we made eye-contact and burst into nervous laughter together. I scarcely knew what to do next. I rarely did when I was in such a state of arousal as I was in that moment; but more often than not in the past it had been a simple matter of retiring to my room to play with myself. From my awkward first time -- which Irene had witnessed -- I had come to be a regular expert on my own body. With that thought, I simply climbed atop the pillows my bed and bade Irene join me on the other end. "I shan't touch you if that is your wish," I told her, "But I do not think I can resist looking at you."

"Nor I you," Irene agreed, following my lead onto the bed. "I did agree to this, after all." In the pleasant dim light we found ourselves spread-legged, facing one another, each with a clear view of one another. This led to another nervous laugh as neither of us seemed up to being the first to begin playing. "What are you thinking now, Agnes?" Irene asked, and at last she reached down and parted her large vulva, which was ever so distinctive in its own way as Elizabeth's hidden one.

"I'm thinking..." I said as I admired her first gentle caresses of herself. No option but to be honest in such an intimate setting, I concluded. "It is interesting how we look...different. Down there. You know?"

"I know," Irene said. "I've been insecure about that just like Elizabeth, or anyone else, really. But it's all a part of how every woman is different in some way."

"Well, I hope you've worked past it just like she has," I told Irene. Her full, prominent lips looked nothing but beautiful to me, then and always. "I mean, I think it's beautiful how unique you are too."

"Thank you, Agnes; and yes, I have. Benjamin loves it, you know."

"I wonder what might be unique about myself?" I thought out loud. I was neither as hairy as Elizabeth nor as fleshy as Irene.

"Well, your ability to talk your friends into bed is certainly impressive," Irene offered. "But are you going to just sit there and let me have all the fun, dear?"

"Certainly not," and I followed suit with my hands, parting my lips with the left and teasing my clitoris with my right. The first wonderful rush of sensation shot through me, and knowing Irene was feeling the same only added to it. I closed my eyes and imagined that lovely day out in the country that I had missed. Now, though, I was there, perhaps taking the place of the detested Tamara, and admiring both Jonathan and especially Benjamin in the altogether. And drinking in the reaction as he and Elizabeth realized their bond.

"Are you thinking what I think you are?" Irene asked me. "All of us in the hot tub?"

"And you and I side by side, admiring Elizabeth and Benjamin as they discover their shared secret," I said, my eyes closed as I concentrated on the delicious sensations.

"The way they looked one another up and down and then laughed together," Irene recalled, "Oh, it was delicious, Agnes. And we can both see it now, can't we? Beautiful!"

"You and I hold hands, and with our free hands..." I began.

"Our free hands disappear in the jungle of curls!" Irene giggled. Her intense tone inspired me to open my eyes, and I saw her rubbing herself hard. The beautiful sight allowed me to let go of the last shred of inhibition I had possessed up to that moment, and I followed suit with intense strokes. Irene, her eyes still closed, continued. "My hand in Benjamin's bush, my palm resting on his hard cock, and yours in Elizabeth's..."

"And we tickle them!" I squealed, feeling quite ticklish down below myself by then.

"Oooh, I think I'd like that!" Irene cooed. "Just imagine the pair of them squirming at our touch!"

"I only hope Elizabeth has been to the water closet recently!" I added.

"Hasn't she always, though?" Irene replied, now laughing through her arousal. "And that's where Jonathan is now, of course! Poor thing, he's missing such a show!"

"Indeed!" I agreed. "And now I have Elizabeth whipped up in such a tizzy, she's dying for a firmer touch..."

"And Benjamin is rock hard...and I have an idea," Irene said. "I take your other hand, Agnes, and wrap it around his cock..."

I was snapped out of my reverie. "Irene, are you sure? He is your true love!"

"And it's my fantasy, isn't it?" Irene asked. "Yes, I'm sure!"

"But I hardly know what to do with that!"

"I assure you, Agnes, a woman learns very quickly how to pleasure a man like that. Just imagine moving your hand up and down slowly, and let his beautiful response guide you. Faster, slower, you will know."

And so I did imagine his lovely plump cock hard in my hand, and my touch working him into a lather. "So beautiful," I mused, my eyes now closed again as I imagined all his manly glory at my command. "But what about Elizabeth?"

"I shall see after her," Irene replied. And I could see her in the corner of my mind's eye, teasing Elizabeth to orgasm with both hands and maybe more now, as I stroked Benjamin up and down, running my other hand through his wonderful bush as I brought him to a heaving, loud orgasm. The spell was broken only when my own very real orgasm washed over me, and I cried aloud with joy as it did. Catching my breath at last, I opened my eyes to see Irene gazing adoringly at me as she continued rubbing herself gently.

"Have you come too?" I asked her.

"Not yet," she whispered. "I have simply been loving the view too much to want it over with so quickly! I do hope you don't mind, Agnes."

"Hardly!" I reassured her.

"Could you do me a favour, then?" I nodded, and she continued. "Could you stand up, by the closet door there where I will have a clear view?"

I was flattered and bemused and a bit embarrassed all at once. "You wish to gaze upon me for your orgasm, Irene?" I asked.

"If you don't mind," she said. "I shan't touch you, a promise is a promise. It is only that I have never had such an opportunity to simply admire another woman one to one as now, and I wish to make the most of this wonderful occasion!" She stretched her legs out wide now, so that one of her feet grazed my own leg as it went by. I longed to do far more than only pose for her!

But I acquiesced and stood up as she had requested, one leg curled playfully to the side, and smiled down at my friend as she drank in my body and rubbed herself harder than before. Feeling newly aroused myself, I reached down and stroked gently at my own pubic hair, never reaching in too far but drawing all Irene's attention upon my triangle. "Just imagine I'm Elizabeth," I said, "Out for a play in my ladygarden! Mustn't get lost in there, now!"

And that brought on her orgasm. That, though, does not do justice to the exhilaration of the moment when Irene came: screeching in joy, wiggling both legs as her fingers continued in their tight circle, an absolutely uninhibited look in her eyes which locked on with mine! Nothing I had seen, not even that wonderful evening with her and Elizabeth those months before, could ever hope to compare with the sight and sound of Irene in that moment of triumph.

Then, her principles defeated at last, Irene stretched out on my bed and held up an arm. "Come hold me, Agnes," she whispered. And without a twinge of reluctance, I did.

I cannot recall if it was still raining in Westfordshire City by that time; the weather was rather far from my mind as I lay in Irene's embrace. I do know the storm had passed in Jonathan's village when he and Elizabeth arrived there. Though they had kept their clothes on and their hands to themselves after their earlier romp was done, Elizabeth was finding herself once again in a mood for play as she stepped down from the train. Perhaps it was the knowledge that they would once again never be alone for the next few days, she told me later. Or perhaps it was the same thing Jonathan had experienced at her home, finding herself immersed in the venue of her true love's sexual awakening, within the very walls where he had so often played with himself while learning the techniques that would one day satisfy her so.

"Or maybe," I would suggest with a gentle grin, "It is simply a matter of you being you, Elizabeth. When are you ever not ready for a bit of fun?"

"Quite right," Elizabeth would confess. "Such a blessing and a curse it is! But I suppose it is well worth it for what Jonathan and I can share."

That revelation, in any event, was far from her mind as Jonathan's mother and father awaited them on the platform. "Jonathan!" his mother called out with joy as he followed Elizabeth off the train, struggling with both their suitcases. "Put down the luggage and give your mother a proper greeting!" He did, throwing his arms around her in a fond embrace that made Elizabeth beam with the reminder of just what a treasure he was. "And Elizabeth!" she said, turning to the younger woman when Jonathan had retreated. "Welcome, dear." And Elizabeth was treated to a tender embrace as well, though the two women had never met before.

"Good trip, I trust?" asked Jonathan's father, shaking his son's hand.

"The best," Jonathan said with a sly grin. "Very comfortable ride."

Elizabeth managed to keep a straight face as her future father in law shook her hand and then took the liberty of kissing it. "Welcome to the family, Elizabeth," he said with all the formality he could muster. "I hope Jonathan has assured you of our delight at the news."

"That he has, sir," Elizabeth replied.

"Call me Father, please! Or Dad." The older man shared Jonathan's shy smile, she now saw. "'Sir' is ever so formal for the daughter I never had."

"You do recall they aren't married yet, Warren," Jonathan's mother piped up.

"Nothing but formalities, Molly, you know that." Over Jonathan's objections, he collected both their suitcases. "Now let us get you kids home. Horribly humid day, but there's a cold ale for each of you in the icebox, even a bath if you should like."

Elizabeth had never before met a man her parents' age who was half so openminded about women and drink; but she had long found Jonathan to be a bottomless source of surprises. "Now I see where you got your healthy attitude about women, darling," she whispered to Jonathan as they made their way to his parents' home.

"How do you know it wasn't I who instilled that attitude in him?" Jonathan offered with a grin.

It was a large house, not a mansion like the Marlstons', but quite large for only an older couple like Jonathan's parents; and a servant was waiting at the door to carry their suitcases. That, though, was the first and last sign of ostentation that Elizabeth saw anywhere, as her in-laws-to-be proved remarkably personable for their evident wealth. "We could manage on our own," Jonathan's father explained as Jonathan showed Elizabeth into the sitting room, "But James is good company in this big old house."

"It is a lovely house!" Elizabeth was still unsure of what to make of the large yet humble abode. She had known all along that Jonathan's parents were quite well off; for that reason she had expected rather more pomp and formality such as was always on tap at her own family's home. The change was quite refreshing, but difficult to adjust to as well. As Jonathan settled himself beside her on the sofa, she asked as furtively as she could, "Was he serious about the ale, darling?"

"He certainly was," answered the older man before Jonathan could reply. He had appeared in the doorway with three open bottles on a tray. "My wife is a teetotaller, but she copes well enough with my tastes and I welcome anyone who shares them."

"I do hope Jonathan hasn't got you thinking I get him tipsy on a regular basis...Father." Elizabeth had to force the final word out, but she found she liked it.

"Not at all," he reassured her. "Only that you and he are enjoying the good life in Westfordshire."

"Yes, I have heard it is a delightful place to be young," Jonathan's mother added, settling regally in her chair at the head of the room. Elizabeth, who enjoyed a racy reputation in the city, could not help but detect a hint of a smile on her future mother in law's lips. Could it be she knew just what sort of free spirit her son was marrying?

There was little time or cause to concern herself with that. A toast to the happy couple and their future was the first order of business, and Jonathan soon had the window open to allow the cool summer breeze into the room. The rest of the evening was mellow and comfortable, and mercifully short as Elizabeth was feeling quite fatigued from the train ride. She struggled to hold back the first yawn, but Jonathan's mother took notice. "I second that, Elizabeth," she said with an agreeable nod. "Shall I show you your bedroom?"