Fashion is Our Name Pt. 01

"I can imagine. I've never fancied the intelligence side myself, but Philip had a special attraction to it."

He looked at us and opened a folder on his desk. "When a person disappears, and a death certificate is not available, there are complications. I've made inquiries, and the opinion is that we are not able to petition the court for a waiver of the certificate for another year at least. Philip and I knew that this might happen, so there are documents here that provide for you until a final order can be obtained."

After nearly an hour of discussion, it appeared that Nicole and I each had personal trust accounts with several hundred thousand pounds in them. Phillip had a master account with over a million pounds. There was also a list of real estate of over a dozen properties, with a total valuation over a million pounds. Carruthers said these were valued on the schedule at cost, and were probably worth two or three times more at today's market.

He said, pointing to an address on the list, "This is a very interesting commercial building, on the south bank. Built after the war on a bombed out site. Over thirty thousand square feet on two floors. Philip told me he planned a residence there. I have some time this morning, perhaps you would like to check the premises. If you plan to live in London, it might serve you well. I'll get the keys from our real estate manager."

The quality of Tom's Aston Martin was obvious and made me wonder how much in fees Cavendish and Company earned on their work for Philip. In fifteen minutes, we came to a stop at a dark, stained brick building bulking on a corner in a down at the heels district. The interior lights didn't work. "We may have the service off to save on expenses." The first floor was cavernous, with a sixteen foot ceiling and metal columns at regular intervals. There was a stair to the second floor, with a fire door at the top. This area was more inviting, with generous windows along the southern exposure.

Carruthers said, "For many years, this was a light industrial facility, with the heavy work on the ground floor, and an assembly operation up here. There is a functioning freight elevator at the back. And lavatories there in the middle. When the business went overseas, they auctioned everything and it all was cleared out. Philip ran across it in one of his poking around moments and got it for a song. Less than a hundred thousand pounds, plus a small mortgage and delinquent taxes."

He continued, "In today's market, it would go for ten times that or more. If you wanted to develop it yourselves, there are condo, or apartment or loft options."

We gazed around, feeling intrigued by the possibilities, but intimidated at the same time. Where did a project like this belong in our muddle of what to do with ourselves.

Nicole spoke up, "We have some other errands, but could you let us have a key, and tell people we will be visiting again?"

He gave us his key as we left. "The real estate people have others, and if you decide to go ahead, we change all the locks, of course."

He dropped us at the hotel, with agreement to meet again in a week.

We lay on the bed, sipping beers and thinking. I had her bare feet in my hands, softly working on bones and muscles. "You have a thing for my feet."

"Yes, they are almost the nicest part of you."

"Almost."

She put her beer down and crawled on top of me, pushing my head into the pillow. "Philip did well by us."

"More than we could expect. It is just another of his many mysteries."

"Do you suppose a woman like me could take on that building?"

"Do you want help?"

"Yes, of course, but you are still in school."

"I've been thinking about that. There are some village boys in my class. They live at home and walk in the morning. I could take a room at the inn in Kingham, and you could spend time there if you wanted. With only one term left, the school probably will be ok with my living in the village, especially now that I am eighteen."

She rolled to the side and said, "We could establish a beachhead in the upstairs and spend weekends there, planning the conversion."

"You are already caught up in this, aren't you?" I gathered her in for a slow kiss. She felt me against her thigh and traced the length of the shaft with her finger. "You can have me, you know."

I laughed, "Every teenager that gets hard isn't entitled to sex!"

She laughed with me. "Let's make a list of things to do. We have two days before you have to go back to school."

"One day, if I am going to make arrangements in the village."

Adrian called Tom Carruthers asked for the electricity to be restored as soon as possible, and could the real estate office recommend an architect or two.

We took the Tube to the nearest station and walked the area, taking pictures and checking real estate and remodeling boards nailed up here and there.

Passing a police station, I ducked inside, inquiring if its area covered the address at 50 Broad Street. It did, and I introduced Nicole and myself to the desk sergeant as the new owners, saying there would be lights and activity in the building. The sergeant asked for identification and cell phone numbers and thanked us for coming by. As we were leaving, another policeman approached, who was hailed by the sergeant and introduced as one of the patrol people who routinely covered their location.

"I'm Tom Brennan. Five years on your beat. Glad to meet you. Here's my card if you see anything I should know about."

As we walked away, I turned and asked, "Tom, is there a decent pub with food in the neighborhood?"

He pointed in the direction of the Thames, "If you go five blocks that way, and turn right, there is a place called the "Tiger's Inn" in the first block. Good food, good beer."

I thanked him and we walked in the direction of the pub.

"That was smart of you. Now that I am independently wealthy, perhaps I should treat for supper."

I reached and pulled on her blond hair. "There is 'independent' written all over you."

She elbowed me as we walked along in the late afternoon sun, savoring the bittersweet of our lost Philip's generosity.

The "Tiger's Inn," with a gesture to the Tate Modern museum nearby, was light, airy and full of posters. We found a window table in a corner and seated ourselves as others were doing.

She smiled over her glass of dark brew and asked, "Is there another chapter to last night's story?"

I thought a bit, sipping my own beer, and said, "There was a terrific commotion and a lot of screaming at the door of the pub, as the two men in black struggled to get out along with the scared patrons. Just at the moment the crush was broken, a lorry pulled up with the police, who were implored to stop the two crooks, or what everyone assumed were crooks. Indeed, when their fingerprints were taken at the station, a match popped up immediately. They had priors for assault and were suspected hired killers.

"But there was nothing to identify the couple who disappeared until a detective discovered there was a credit chit for the beer they were drinking. This was traced to an individual who turned out to be part of an undercover operation fighting the drug trade. The motive was now clear, but the police higher ups decided not to prosecute because that would unveil the identity of at least one of the couple. Unfortunately, both of the undercover cops were married to other persons and were having an illicit rendezvous. Each of them was offered resignation or a reduction of one pay grade. Their boss, who had numerous affairs, gave them a lecture on adultery."

Nicole laughed and clapped, drawing nearby attention. "Adrian, marvelous!" She kissed my hand, not caring that the audience would be noticing the youth of her companion.

We took the Millennium bridge across the river and walked to the hotel in the deep twilight. I asked, "Do you want to do this beachhead thing yourself, or come with me to Kingham and we will do it together next weekend?"

She thought about this as they ascended in the lift and went to their room. "I am too excited to stew around in Kingham all week. I'll stay here at the hotel and work on our list and we can talk every evening." Her clothes were in a heap on the floor. She faced him, everything on offer. "Would you find my nightie for me?"

I lay back on the bed, still in my clothes, with the nightie clutched in one hand. "What am I offered for one pretty nightie?"

She straddled me. Her bottom exuded a strong feminine odor from the walking. She leaned down and applied her lips. "I am getting my smelly stuff on you. Your wife is going to be very angry."

I was hard, but decided not to take her just then. "Camille is your cousin. She will be very, very unhappy when she discovers her own cousin has been having sex with me."

"Before you made the mistake of marrying her instead of me, she was a tease and a tramp. Why on earth did you marry her?"

"I was young and ignorant."

She slapped the side of my face, lightly, and hissed, "Yes. Young and ignorant. Now fuck me."

Nicole lay on her back, next to me, laughing. She pulled my head to her and kissed my face. "I suppose there is more than one real story like that tonight in this big city?"

I undressed, my cock thrusting out hard and purple. "Cocks don't really care about marriage vows. Are you ready for me?"

She held out her arms and I found her wet sex the first time. She squeezed and rolled and humped. "You really like this older woman don't you? Your cock certainly does."

I said nothing, letting my big cock do the talking. She closed her eyes and tensed as she came, calling out, "Oh, Adrian, I love you."

I brought towels from the bathroom to clean her up, and fetched beers from the small fridge.

"You shouldn't worry about our age difference," I said.

Her face and eyes were soft, relaxed against the pillow. The cold liquid felt good in her throat.

"If you keep treating me like that, my worry level will be very low." She gave a little laugh.

The morning sun shone on us through the partly open shade. I thought, snuggled against her warm backside, that I was beginning to understand why men and women put up with all the frictions of being a couple.

"What are you thinking about?" She stretched and rubbed my stiffness.

"Getting to know you is very sweet. When you were Philip's woman, there was an unbridgeable distance between us."

She turned and kissed me lightly. "What a nice thing to say. You keep surprising me with your stories and your deep thoughts. When I am like this with you, it feels like a door has opened and I am walking through it and into your special care."

As we entered the shower, I nibbled her neck, "Bonding is easy, hanging on is hard."

Breakfast was brought by room service so I could organize my suitcase for the trip to Kingham. I decided to take the noon train to give me a chance to check out the rooming possibilities at the Inn.

She wanted to go with me to the station, but I kissed her hard and said, "Better to kiss you here than on a windy corner. I will call tonight."

(cont'd in Part 2 - Adrian's Love Life Prospers)