Love, Life, and Death at The Grange

Tracy recognised the squire of the Grange bellow a command to the head of the men controlling the hounds as he raised his own small brass horn and blew a blast that caught everyone's attention. The headman also raised his brass horn and repeatedly blew, causing the men to release the hounds.

The pack of dogs tore after a lead dog, who disappeared around the side of the building chased by the horse riders. The two women ran from their window vantage point out of the room, to another room whose window overlooked the rear of the house.

It amazed Tracy seeing how open the rear of the Grange was, in this century, without the addition of the later college buildings. The hounds were already streaking across the fields beyond, as riders chased after them, followed by a few men running.

Molly and Elizabeth were still talking excitedly, making Tracy realise that in their world, devoid of television, computers and social media, this was the height of entertainment. The pair watched the spectacle until the last of the following runners were out of sight.

Tracy felt sorry for the two women, who returned to their mundane work of cleaning and polishing the bedrooms whilst their employers were enjoying their pastime. Soon, Tracy's vision blurred, and she felt her senses return to her time, back in her own waking body.

Her lead-weighted eyes fought to open through the fatigue, as light pushed at her eyelids. Naked beneath her clean, cotton sheets, she caught a faint whiff of lavender and a naked body behind her wrapped arms around her whilst cool hands fondled her breasts.

Tracy struggled to wake but knew it was Molly spooning her, as cool lips kissed her neck and once more fatigue washed over her to drag her back into Molly's memories. This time Molly's image looked back at her, from various mirrors around the Grange, like she had done earlier whilst dusting.

Her innocent beauty caught Tracy, as her light blue-grey eyes pierced across the centuries at her, once again hinting that she knew Tracy was looking through her eyes. She toyed coyly with her long, blond coils of hair, giving her a coquettish smile that exposed cute dimples on either side of her button nose.

As she examined her, Tracy realised she yearned to chat and flirt with this pretty, naïve woman, whom she would happily cross a burning bar to buy a drink. A twinkle sparked out of Molly's eye and a wry smile rose out the corner of her mouth to shock Tracy, wondering if she had heard her thoughts.

Tracy's inability to converse directly with Molly frustrated her, but wondered if that was what Molly was doing through her dreams. Although it would be more interesting to sit with her to learn more about her life, the times she lived in, and what the future held for her.

Tracy continued to stare, wonder and hope, into Molly's eyes reflected in ever-changing mirrors, whose frames and quality flickered like an old black and white film as if Molly had photoshopped her memories together for her. The quality deteriorated, as did the montage of images flickering back into the out-of-tune television interference.

Bright sunlight on her eyelids brought Tracy back into her bedroom. Shaking her head, her body told her she'd overslept, and she glanced at her watch at her bedside for confirmation.

"MOLLY!"

She angrily cursed, as she leapt naked, out of bed.

"I love the memories that you share with me, but you've made me late. I've missed my run and I'll barely make breakfast..."

Tracy angrily got dressed.

"Molly, I am not happy with you at all. I enjoy my morning runs. I'll be sour all day now. You'd better not make any trouble today."

Slipping on a clean pair of panties, her previous day's discarded jeggings, a clean polo shirt and shoes. Tracy walked through the door, looked back to the empty bedroom and wagged her finger at an imaginary woman, hoping she was suitably sorry.

"We'll talk more tonight."

She closed the door behind her, ignoring the folly of chastising an empty room, and headed to the cafeteria.

Debbie was waiting for her at the bottom of the grand staircase.

"Tracy no run today? It's not like you to be late."

"I overslept; No, it's not like me at all."

"Can you meet me in my office at nine? Marie will meet us there so I can introduce you two and we can bring her up to speed."

"Yes, I'll be there for nine."

Tracey scooted on by, following the smell of cooked bacon coming from the cafeteria. Despite being half empty, Penny and Gracie were waiting, sat at their table with empty plates, looking surprised to see her. Tracy picked up a tray and headed to the remnants of breakfast under the heat lamps.

Julie called from the other side of the kitchen, "Morning. You missed your morning tea after your run. There's not a lot left, I'm afraid. If there's anything you want, just shout." Whilst she loaded the dishwasher.

Tracy filled a bowl of cereal and grabbed what little cooked offerings remained. She drained one mug of tea out of the urn before it drizzled dry, so topped up two glasses of juice and headed to her friends.

"You're late."

Penny piped up as Tracy squeezed down at the table with them.

"No need to state the obvious."

Tracy saw her friend's faces drop in shock, then realised the venom in her reply.

"Sorry girls, I didn't mean to take it out on you. I hate sleeping in."

"Oh, I don't mind. A little longer in bed is always nice, especially if someone is with you to keep you warm."

"I do mind though."

"Oh, come on Tracy, don't be a sourpuss. It's not Gracie's fault your alarm didn't go off?"

"Ah, sorry Gracie. Missing my morning run is annoying. It's a great way to start the day. I don't own an alarm clock, as my body clock normally does the trick. I'll be grouchy all day now."

Penny sniggered. "Maybe it needs winding up?"

"Mmm, yes, what about that nice captain? He'll help wind that body of yours up."

Tracy and Penny looked at Gracie, both surprised at her insinuation, although Tracy's mind was more on Molly than her ex. She ignored Gracie's assumption of her ex's gender. She wasn't sure whether to confess to her friends about Molly keeping her asleep, "Maybe another day."

The three friends continued to chat, helping lighten Tracy's mood, making her glad they hung around to keep her company despite them having finished themselves. Once finished, Tracy collected up all their dirty dishes, mugs and bowls to pile them onto her tray.

"You two go on. I've a meeting with Debbie. I'll catch up with you and your teams later."

The three went their separate ways, with Tracy carrying the laden tray into the kitchen for Julie and setting it down on a counter.

Julie turned briefly from her task at the cooker. "Thanks. Was there anything you wanted?"

Still unsure of how to broach Molly entering her dreams and then holding her in her sleep, Tracy kept the conversation to small talk.

"No, I'm okay, thanks."

She turned and left, leaving Julie to her work. Seeing the clock on the cafeteria wall nearing nine, she headed to Debbie's office, trying to shake the malady from her.

Debbie's office door was closed, and hearing muffled voices, she paused and knocked.

Debbie's voice rose to be heard through the door, "Come in, Tracy."

Tracy wasn't expecting any surprises, having been in the office before, although this time she also recognised it from Molly's memories, although it was actually only one-third of the drawing-room Molly knew, with it being divided as some point during the Grange's long history.

Debbie sat at her desk, facing the door and Tracy. A second woman sat facing Debbie, her back to Tracy. Both women rose as Debbie welcomed Tracy. The second woman also stood, showing her dressed in a white summer dress with blue floral prints with shades of green and yellow, which covered her shoulders.

"Tracy, this is Marie, Marie, this is Tracy."

Tracy walked around to face Marie, but as they drew together, arms outstretched to shake hands, Tracy froze in her tracks...

Ignoring the floral dress, Molly had crossed the centuries and was standing there in front of her. Whilst her hair wasn't as long as the visions in the mirrors, she had the same blond curls, nose and bone structure, but it was her eyes that glued her to the spot. The same light blue and grey eyes returned Tracy's gaze, with the same pencil-thin eyebrows, as Molly's broad coquettish smile grew on her face, growing her cute dimples in her cheeks.

Tracy's hand hovered in midair as the room and Debbie shrunk away, leaving Molly alone with her in a dark tunnel, like a rabbit caught in headlights. Tracy drank in the image, unable to resist lowering her gaze, longing to see more of Molly than her memories hadn't shown her...

A view of an ample cleavage peeking out from the vee of the dress rewarded her. Seeing her lightly swelling rounded mounds didn't satisfy her, she now yearned to see more of Molly, and tried to finish undressing her with her eyes.

Tracy heard herself involuntarily gasp, "Molly!"

Molly's face changed to a questioning look and Tracy's tunnel vision expanded with reality, returning them both back into Debbie's office. Tracy wasn't sure how long had passed, but both Molly and Debbie looked blankly at her, frozen in her own world.

Molly's avatar broke the spell by saying, "Marie, although Molly is my middle name."

Her dry, cool hand gave Tracy a light shake. Tracy's heart leapt at the contact, not wanting to let the soft cool hand go, but it also helped pull her back into the clarity of the situation. The surprise on both Marie's and Debbie's faces shook Tracy into a fumbling, stammering mess.

"Ah, er. Yes, Molly, er no, Marie, sorry, who would have guessed?"

Tracy released her hold to break their handshake. As their hands dropped away, Tracy could see the question on Marie's face, so had to change the subject, before she asked how she knew her middle name was Molly.

"How was your break? Did you go anywhere nice?"

"Er, no, I went to my grandmother's funeral, so I stayed with my brother and his family."

The bottom fell out of Tracy's world and she felt sick in the pit of her stomach.

"Ah, sorry. Please accept my deepest sympathies and apologies."

Despite Marie replying, "It's okay, you weren't to know," her face flashed with pain that showed otherwise.

Marie forced a smile and returned to her seat. Tracy turned to pull a second chair into position, being sure to keep a little distance from Marie before sitting down. Debbie returned to her seat, but she also showed signs of the awkward situation on her face.

Thankfully, Debbie took over, outlining the last week's preparation by the academic team and underlining the importance of being ready for when the students arrive in two days. Tracy used the time to compose herself. She couldn't reconcile her anger at Molly for keeping her asleep and her attraction to Molly's avatar sat beside her, struggling not to keep glancing sideways.

Tracy remained unprepared when Debbie handed over to her, giving her the chance to bring Marie up to speed on her team's work. She shuffled her chair to see both women with ease, as she couldn't ignore Marie sitting beside her and only focus on Debbie alone. Although this meant she could study Marie more closely, allowing her eyes to roam, longing to touch more of her.

Tracy went into details about her plans to re-arrange the curriculum to get the students out overnight and as active as possible, and reduce their imprisonment in a large country house, whilst reducing the cost and their reliance on bussing students to external locations.

Unlike her usual confident inner self, she internally prepared herself for defending any critique of her proposals, still fighting not to transpose her anger at Molly to Marie, who remained Molly's avatar, every time she caught her eye, trying to gauge her reaction.

Marie nodded and made all the right noises, at the right pauses, giving the odd, "Uh-huh..." "Yeah..." "Aha." This frustrated Tracy further, dying for her to give a positive affirmation of her work. After her report, Tracy sat back, giving Marie time to digest all the information.

In that brief pause, Tracy again met Marie's gaze, and she melted back into Molly. The memories of her dreams ran through her head, the hardships, loneliness, hard work, and lack of love, coupled with her desire to hold her, showing her that someone cared for and loved her.

Tracy didn't want to love this avatar of Molly though, as it dawned on her that she wasn't the frumpy old spinster she imagined sharing her role with. She was distractingly attractive and kept morphing back into Molly, as Tracy's mind tried to enforce a dislike for her new colleague.

"Thank you, Tracy, I must admit to feeling a little over awed with your progress. Your CV is impressive and your proposals more than match our expectations. I have to admit to feeling a little inadequate."

To hear Marie speak excited Tracy. Not only from her praise, but her soft tones were exactly like Molly's, leaving her aching to hear her sing. She also twisted the same curl of her hair that hung over her ear, as Molly did in the mirror. She also remembered in her dreams that Molly did the same when she spoke with Elizabeth.

"Is she attracted to me?" Tracy thought.

Marie continued to complement Tracy's progress, underlining her agreement with her plans, and adding some positive critique to them. Debbie confirmed her continued approval and insisted the two work closely together with the amount of preparatory work to be undertaken before the students' arrival.

During this time, Tracy pondered this fresh development, not believing Marie could be attracted to her in such a short time of their meeting. She tried to explain Marie's reaction away, as possible nerves or feeling intimidated by Tracy's experience. Either way, Tracy couldn't help ogling her new colleague, as the most attractive opportunity she'd met in a long time, whilst feeling she already knew her intimately.

She sternly reminded herself of Gracie's experience with Penny and tried telling herself to tread carefully. Despite her chastising herself, she continued to undress Marie with her eyes, although diverted her eyes at intervals to Debbie, to calm her own excitement and avoid making Marie feel any more awkward than she may already be.

"I've not been down to the quarry in years Tracy, so I hope you don't mind giving me a guided tour of progress?"

"It would be my pleasure. However, you're overdressed for a trek through the woods."

Marie giggled and lifted her foot up, showing a little more thigh to excite Tracy further, as she waggled a three-inch heeled shoe in the air, whilst lifting the hem of her dress with her thumb and forefinger to accentuate the electric blue floral patterns on the white dress.

"After a few days in black, I wanted to cheer myself up, but you're right, these won't do. I'll pop back home and change."

"Oh, no, no need to drive back home. I'm sure we can sort something out."

"No problem, it's not a long drive. In fact, I don't even need my car, as I live in the gatehouse."

"Oh, wow, it looks so quaint. I bet it's lovely to live somewhere so historic."

"Ha ha, for quaint read small... It is lovely, although it does mean I'm at the college's beck and call."

Marie gave Debbie a look that spoke volumes, causing Debbie to glance away, blushing.

"Hands up, we do take advantage of you and your good nature, but I promise we're trying to get out of the habit."

On that light-hearted comment, Debbie rose, indicating they needed to move on. Tracy and Marie filed out of the office, down the corridor, and into the entrance. Tracy followed Marie out the main door, but as Marie continued along the driveway, Tracy made her way around the house to the rear.

As she reached the corner of the house, Tracy couldn't resist a glance back to watch the attractive Marie walking down the drive to the gatehouse. The dress suited her long legs and the short length exposed those legs perfectly. Tracy found the flounce of the skirt hypnotic as Marie's hips swayed as she walked.

It was only when Marie reached the gatehouse could Tracy tear her eyes away, but only because she didn't want to risk Marie looking back to catch her red-handed. She scurried around the corner to hunt out the kayak team and see how their preparations were going if she were to be occupied down the quarry later.

Whilst greeting the kayak team, Peter, a member of Gracie's quarry team, arrived in a panic.

"Tracy, we've just received the delivery of outstanding safety wire and fasteners for the quarry. However, the quad bike and trailer we've borrowed off the ground staff is now a bit too heavy for me and I wouldn't feel safe doing it in one trip."

Peter looked a little sheepish at admitting a shortcoming, as if his manhood was now in question. Tracy followed him around to the where a quad bike was truly overladen, not helped by a trailer full of tools and a large reel of safety wire.

Rather than start removing the heavier items or suggesting doing it in two trips, Tracy shocked everyone by leaping on to start the quad bike and promptly did a huge lap of the area with dirt and gravel spitting from the rear wheels, laughing. Tracy brought the whole combination skewing to a drifting sideways halt in front of Peter.

"Sorry, I've not ridden one in a while and I hate to say it, but it's actually light. The last one I rode had jerry cans full of fuel, ammunition, my gear, food and water for my troop, as well as a HMG and my rifle."

"Wow, where was that? You make it look so easy."

"Er... I can't really say, but let's just leave it as somewhere hot."

"So, is that the boss showing off? Impressive."

Marie called from the corner of an outbuilding she'd just walked around. She now wore ageing but stylish jeans and a well-worn, green polo with the Grange's logo on it.

"Just trying it on for size..."

Once again, Tracy undressed Marie with her eyes in her tighter clothing, inviting her appreciation.

"So, er, Peter, they need this down at the quarry?"

"Yes, but I can't drive it like that. They've enough to do for a while but without this, they will be soon twiddling their thumbs."

"That's okay, I'll take it down. Do you know the walk through the woods?"

"Yeah, of course, although you'll beat me there riding like that."

Peter turned to head towards the path, glad to walk rather than drive the quad.

"Okay, I'll join you."

Marie turned to walk with him.

"Oh, so you're not going to risk a ride with me?" Tracy asked Marie.

Marie turned with a wry smile on her face.

"Is that a dare?"

Tracy patted what little remained of the seat behind her to double down on the dare. Marie dodged into the outbuilding to return with two helmets, handing Tracy one and pulling one on herself.

"We still have to observe common sense."

"Spoil sport."

Tracy pulled her helmet on, wondering if she could feign running out of petrol halfway to the quarry. Marie stepped forward and hesitantly mounted the rear of the quad bike seat, squeezing herself between Tracy and the bags strapped to the back. Tracy gripped the handlebars and restarted the engine.

"Hold tight."

Marie's hands gripped Tracy's waist, causing her to draw a deep breath in excitement, open the throttle and tear down the path to head for the bridleway. Marie's hands quickly moved and her arms wrapped around Tracy, hugging her even closer. Feeling her backside pressed into Marie's crotch excited Tracy, threatening her to focus her attention on Marie behind her rather than what was in front of them as she drove.

Tracy maintained her speed high enough to keep Marie's arms around her, but not too fast to shorten the trip by too much. It had been too long since a woman like Marie had walked into her life, although she felt she already knew her through Molly.