Knight in Shining Armour

"I just need to speak to Carol. We will talk, she will realise that this has all been a dreadful mistake and things can go back to normal once again." He even had the temerity to look smug.

"Oh fuck off back under your rock you horrible little troll of a man. Carol may have put up with your shit before but she's had enough. The police have a copy of the pictures from the last time you "talked" and have been trying to persuade her to press charges; would you like me to give them a call?

Oh and by the way -- when I helped Carol collect her stuff, she asked me to get something from the loft. Interesting stash of porn you keep up there for a straight guy and I have a feeling that the time you spend away from home is more closely linked to that than the church. You can deny that they're yours but if Carole presses charges she'll be giving them to the police and I'm guessing they have your grubby little finger prints all over them."

For a moment he looked like his legs would crumble under him and his face went from red to ashen in a heartbeat.

"Yes you ridiculous man, I think thou dost protest too much! Take your hypocrisy off my land and if you ever set foot on my property again I will report you to the police for trespass."

He stood there desperately trying to find a come-back; to not lose this argument in such a devastating way; to find out exactly what I knew but before he could do any of that he was interrupted by a soft voice from behind him as Sarah walked into the barn.

"You're pathetic Dad. You used to be such a decent guy but something filled your heart with hatred and scorn for anyone who didn't live up to your ridiculous standards and don't even think about trying to quote scripture to me; you are a lying, cheating bully of a man who deserves nothing but the pain you have inflicted on others; an eye for an eye no?"

He stalked toward Sarah with rage burning in his eyes. He knew he was defeated but couldn't accept being spoken to like this by his daughter of all people, so he reverted to type and took a swing with his clenched fist.

Sarah flinched from the expected impact but it never came and he found himself looking up from the cold stone floor, as he'd been too preoccupied to notice me approach from behind and sweep his legs out from under him. I grabbed his arm and twisted it around, placing my Doc Martin boot on his throat, both moves just strong enough to make the point and keep him still, rather than actually inflict pain. He was probably more concerned about Scrappy, who was now snarling directly into his face.

"I am going to let go of your arm and take my foot off your neck. You are going to get up off the floor and return to your car and drive away. You will never return to this hotel or attempt to communicate with either Sarah or Carol, unless it is through your lawyer. If you do not stick to this, I will personally write to each member of your church and make them fully aware of how you have treated your family and of your sexual proclivities. Carol is a good woman and more Christian than you will ever be, so she won't stiff you in the divorce if you cooperate fully. If you fight her over it, your world will come crashing down around your ears and everyone you respect will know what you are really like. Is that clear?"

He gave a timid nod in response so I eased my foot off and released his arm; standing protectively in front of Sarah while he got up off the floor and scampered away like a rat.

I wrapped Sarah in my arms just as the tears began to fall, holding her close as sobs wracked her body.

"Why does he have to be such an arsehole? Why can't he just see that he's wrong, apologise and move on? It seems you've saved me again Galahad, thank you!"

Scrappy ran around her legs barking until she picked him up and thanked him for his help too, promising him extra treats for being such a good boy.

We drove back to Sarah's house that evening and updated Carol on the day's events. I expected her to be upset that he'd tried to hunt her down but her perspective on her marriage had changed so much in the last few weeks that the only thing she was annoyed about was not being there to witness his humiliation in person.

I hadn't realised that Sarah had heard most of it from just outside the barn door and the way she described it to her mum, made me sound like a story book hero slaying an evil dragon -- she sang my praises so much that I was totally embarrassed but as she also promised me a reward for my heroic actions, I was willing to put up with a few blushes and I was looking forward to finding out what "extra treats" I would get.

The conversation soon turned back to more mundane things and it became clear that Carol was starting to feel worried about not having a job and paying her way. She was also getting bored, as she was removed from her normal social circle and was steering clear of the church she attended.

Fortunately, fate played a major part in solving both of those issues when one of my staff members asked for a quiet word one morning a few days later. I was sitting in my office battling with some accounts paperwork when Jane stuck her head around the door looking sheepish.

"Hey Jane what's up? Is everything ok?"

"Er yeah, there's something I need to speak to you about."

I waved her into a chair and as she sat I caught a glimpse of a new addition to her left hand but I kept it to myself rather than steal her thunder.

"I've had rather an exciting weekend!" She gushed, waggling her hand in front of me causing the light to flash off the diamond on her ring finger. "Dave proposed to me and I said yes, of course!"

Her and Dave had been an item for years so this wasn't a surprise but it was very good news, so I gave her a big hug and congratulated her; she wasn't finished yet though.

"The thing is, Dave has an elderly aunt that has owned a B&B on the coast for most of her life but she has decided she's too old for it now, so she's offered it to Dave and me on very reasonable terms. I've loved working here and I've learned so much but we'd be mad to turn it down."

Once again I congratulated her on her good fortune and assured her that much as she would be sorely missed, I fully understood and wished her well in her new venture. Suddenly a light bulb went on in my head.

"If I could get someone started straight away, do you think you could get them trained during your notice period?"

"Oh yeah. All the local processes are written down but I could get someone trained up pretty quickly as long as it's someone with a reasonable amount of common sense. All the staff are friendly and I'm sure they'd all help as much as possible too if they have any questions."

After Jane had left my office I was straight on the phone to Sarah and a plan started to come together. We invited Carol to come and eat dinner with us that evening and for a change, we ate in the hotel restaurant. As we were sat enjoying a coffee and brandy I started a conversation with Carol.

"Sarah was telling me that you used to be a customer service manager in retail some years ago?"

"Yes and I loved it; unfortunately the company moved location and I couldn't move with them, so I took redundancy. I haven't worked in a paid role since -- I think Peter was happy to keep me at home and volunteering with the church."

"Here's the thing; I have a great member of staff who is essentially my Assistant Manager, who currently runs my reception, line manages all of the housekeeping, bar and restaurant staff and acts as my deputy. Unfortunately she's had a better offer, so her position needs filling -- how do you fancy it?"

Carol sat there looking between Sarah and me in astonished silence, so I carried on.

"There are some drawbacks that you should be aware of. It's essentially a management position so you shouldn't have to work too many nights or long shifts but the hotel business isn't 9 to 5, so it will involve some anti-social hours. Also, Sarah's place is too far away for you to be able to travel to and from on a daily basis, so you would need to live in my place or in the hotel, at least until you got yourself sorted, which might make you accessible to Peter as he knows where the hotel is; although there are plenty of places to hide and all of the staff will support you. What do you think?"

"I...I...I really don't know what to say! It's an incredibly kind offer Andi but surely I'd be under your feet living with you and I'm not sure I could cope stuck in a hotel room for very long."

"Mum, once you have your feet under the table I think you'd pretty much have Andi's place to yourself, as she can move into my cottage and leave you in charge on a day to day basis."

I sat there staring at Sarah in bewilderment. We had discussed her mum's situation but the idea of me moving in with her hadn't come up and I was shocked but thrilled to realise that Sarah was having the same thoughts as me. Unfortunately this wasn't adequately portrayed by my face and Sarah instantly got worried and grabbed my hand.

"I'm sorry Andi, I didn't mean to paint you into a corner, I guess I just thought, or maybe hoped that we were heading in that direction but I had no right to make that assumption, I should have talked to you before I said anything."

For once I was short of words so I just grabbed her face in my hands and kissed her soundly, the rest of the world disappearing until we were interrupted by Carol clearing her throat noisily, making us both blush furiously.

"Sarah, I would love nothing more than to live with you full time and was planning on having that conversation with you soon, and I'm not just being kind Carol." I added hastily, turning back to the other woman "You will be working for it after all, you're just saving me the hassle of recruiting into the job. Please take a couple of days to think about it and let me know."

After I'd let Scrappy out into the garden that night I heard Sarah call me.

"Galahad, won't you come and rescue a damsel in distress?" So I followed the sound of her voice into the bedroom where I found Sarah sprawled on the bed wearing nothing but the skimpiest of thongs and a very large grin.

"You don't look very distressed to me!" I chuckled as she beckoned me to the bed with a crooked finger but as I got closer she put her hand up in a "halt" gesture.

"This damsel is feeling a bit intimidated by your armour."

"Huh?" I responded dumbly, looking down at the shorts and T shirt I was wearing.

"Oh Galahad, use your imagination! You are horribly over dressed, so get those clothes off and get your gorgeous body onto this bed right now!"

Well that wasn't a request I was going to ignore and my clothes were on the floor in a matter of seconds. Joining Sarah on the bed, I stretched out beside her and kissed her deeply, running my

hand over her side and back, marvelling at how soft her skin was. As my fingers grazed the scrap of material that could barely be called underwear, I realised that Sarah was actually wearing more than me, albeit a small triangle of material held in place by some string. I made quick work of slipping the thong down her legs and couldn't help noticing how soggy it was.

"Now that I have been divested of my armour and my lady's finery has been removed, how may this lowly knight be of service?"

Sarah brought her hand between my legs and slipped a couple of fingers easily into my dampening core; pressing on my clit with her thumb and making me moan and whimper.

"Actually, after everything you have done for me and my mum recently, I think it's time I rewarded you for your valour, so I want you to lay back and think of England while I show you just how much I appreciate you."

She rolled me onto my back, her fingers never stopping as she settled on top of me and her lips claimed mine in a searing kiss that took the remainder of my rational thought away. The need for air forced our mouths apart so Sarah transferred her attentions to my neck and then down to my chest where she lavished attention on both nipples; her fingers still expertly driving me insane. She would pound me furiously, her thumb worrying my clit until I was on the verge of cresting, then slow everything right down to bring me back from the edge.

I don't know how long she held me in that cycle for -- it felt like hours of sweet torture to me and I was both desperate to cum and keen for it to continue all at the same time. Eventually though, she kissed her way down my tummy and just as her fingers had brought me to the edge for the gazillianth time, she sucked my pearl into her mouth and flicked it with her tongue, which rocketed me into the clouds, my whole body bucking and twitching as if I'd been plugged into a mains socket.

I lay on the bed completely drained and barely conscious; the last thought to make its way through my addled brain was that I adored this woman and I had to do everything within my power to make sure that she stayed with me forever. I felt the covers being pulled over me and then Sarah was tucked in against my side, her head on my shoulder and one arm and leg thrown over my body in the most deliciously possessive way as I slipped into sleep.

I awoke the next morning to scrappy barking furiously and the sound of laughter, so I used the bathroom, pulled on a robe and headed for the kitchen where the commotion was coming from. Scrappy was sat on a bar stool in the kitchen watching Sarah dance around the kitchen to the radio, using a whisk as a substitute microphone but whenever she tried to sing along, he barked so loudly that her voice was drowned out.

"Oh Babe, I don't think he approves of your singing voice!" I was laughing heartily as I caught Sarah around the waist and planted the mother of all good morning kisses on her.

"Rubbish!" She retaliated as soon as I let her mouth loose. "He likes my singing so much that he's joining in!"

We both looked at Scrappy as if he was going to provide an answer to prove one of us right but he just cocked his head, jumped down off the stool and wandered out into the garden with his favourite ball.

I was just about to drag Sarah back into the bedroom to repay her for last night when my stomach growled like distant thunder, so she started pulling cheese, ham, mushrooms and eggs from the fridge to make my favourite omelette.

I made us mugs of tea and perched myself up on the counter, watching everything Sarah did with close scrutiny, until I realised she had stopped chopping. I looked from her idle hands to her face, to find her watching me with a smirk on her lips.

"Galahad why are you studying me quite so closely; surely you've seen an omelette being made before?"

"Seen them made and made them myself but no one, and I do mean no one, makes them like you do. They are always so delicious and light and fluffy, so I'm watching to see if I can learn how to make them like you. In fact I think I'm going to watch you cook more often so that I can improve my culinary offerings."

"Aw you're so sweet Andi, but I've sampled your cooking and I think it would take more than just watching for your skills to improve." She moved to stand between my knees, her smile crinkling her eyes and lighting the room. "I love that you try but maybe you should just leave the cooking to me for the time being and we'll set some time aside for me to teach you properly?"

At that moment a light bulb went off in my head. I jumped down off the counter, ran into the bedroom to throw on some jeans and a T shirt and back into the kitchen, where I grabbed Sarah's hand and pulled her out of the back door. I ran across the garden and out the back gate, pulling a laughing and bewildered Sarah behind me, as Scrappy ran with us, happy that there was a game he could join in with.

Flinging the barn doors wide open, I dragged Sarah into the middle of the space and stood behind her with my arms around her so that I could direct her gaze.

"Ok, so this might be bonkers but hear me out. Imagine the length of that wall closed off with the space filled with fridges, freezers and larder cupboards." I turned Sarah a few degrees to the left and continued. Along that wall, there would be space for maybe 5 or 6 work areas and the same along the wall behind us." I turned her again. "In that area, there could be tables and chairs in a classroom set up for the theory stuff and right where we are standing, could be display tables for the finished products! What do you think?"

Sarah turned in my arms, a look of happy confusion on her face. "What finished products?"

I blushed furiously as I realised that in my excitement and haste, I hadn't actually told Sarah what I was thinking.

"Well, I guess it would be whatever you'd been teaching them to cook that day?"

Sarah stared at me and said nothing. And stared. And still said nothing. Then she walked away from me, wandering around the room her head tilted slightly as she silently considered what I'd said, realisation of my proposal dawning.

"Andi, are you seriously suggesting that we turn the barn into a cookery school?"

"Well actually, I was thinking that you would do it because I haven't got the first clue but yes, that was the general idea."

I watched Sarah's features run through a whole gamut of emotions before she finally stood right in front of me and looked straight into my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I think it's an absolutely amazing idea -- BUT, what happens if we split up Andi? No, don't look at me like that, couples separate for all sorts of reasons and much as I don't ever want to let you go, if the worst does happen I would be left without my gorgeous girlfriend and would also lose my job at the same time; I'm not sure I could cope with that."

She was right of course and obviously in my haste I hadn't considered all of the implications but I thought, no I knew, that we could make this work.

"Ok, so if I retain ownership of the building and lease it to you, it would be properly legal and you would have rights under the law. The barn has its own parking if we clear that area around the side and it's far enough away from the main building that if necessary, you wouldn't even have to see me at all if you didn't want to. There are risks, I agree, but surely we can overcome them together?"

Scrappy was sitting next to us, looking from Sarah to me and back again as if he was waiting for us to make the decision and when Sarah squealed in happiness and launched herself into my arms, he barked furiously and started running around in circles chasing his tail.

-----------------

As it turns out, the way I'd first imagined the cookery school turned out to be completely wrong but hey, what do I know? With the help of an architect, Sarah designed the space so that it had 10 cooking stations, all of the required white goods, a small classroom / tutorial environment and a dining area for sampling the dishes made, that had the possibility to be turned into a small café at some point in the future. The ceiling was high enough to allow for a mezzanine floor to provide space for changing rooms and bathroom facilities and the gravel area outside the door was laid into a welcoming patio area.

The building structure was sound but turning an old, unloved barn into a pristine kitchen environment was no small undertaking. Fortunately Sarah seemed to be a dab hand at keeping the contractors in line and for the most part, to budget. There were a couple of times when someone tried to pull a fast one by either using sub-standard building supplies or tried to claim for hours they hadn't worked but in those times, Sarah would get Jake involved and miraculously, when dealing with a large, strapping man instead of a small woman, the issues seemed to magically rectify themselves.

Carol's divorce was final and she had really come into her own working in the hotel. There had been no sign of Peter and he didn't contest the divorce, so she was happily living in my apartment; we had even seen her mildly flirting with one of the gardeners which made Sarah and I smile.