Perdita's Pleasures Bk. 01 Ch. 11

Chapter Eleven: The Groundskeeper's Cottage

I'd been dozing for some time in Aries' arms, enjoying the late morning sun on my bare legs and the regular rise and fall of his chest beneath my head, when he put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Hey. You still sleepy?"

"Not too sleepy," I sighed, with cream-cat contentment.

"Feel like going for a bike ride?"

I lifted my head, swept the sweat-stuck hair from my face, and looked around.

"What?"

Aries nodded in the direction of a small, sun-dappled garden shed set back in the trees a bit across where we sat beneath the beech tree. Beside the shed leaned a couple well-used looking bicycles, their metallic paint reflecting in the warm light of the sun.

My eyes lit up at the sight. Unbeknownst to Master Aries, back home my bicycle was my main mode of transportation. Rarely a day went by that I didn't get at least a 10k ride in, and in fact, this past week had probably been the longest I'd gone in years without hopping on a bicycle.

"Oh, I could definitely go for a bike ride."

I leapt brightly to my feet, only to remember the pile of frothy fabric that was the gown I'd worn on the way here, now discarded in a heap. Currently, I was attired only in a pair of come-stained tap shorts.

"I'm pretty sure that dress will be destroyed if I try to ride in it, though."

"Well," said Aries, as he stood and buttoned his trousers, "I suppose we might tuck that away in the shed for the time being. Here, wear this."

He helped me into his tailcoat and rolled up the sleeves to a suitable length.

"There. You look dashing," he commented, and I felt my stomach flutter as I struck a hammy pose and thanked him.

It took the two of us to bundle all the pieces of the doffed gown towards the garden shed. I could feel with every step I took the wetness still between my legs from where Aries had drenched my pussy with his come, and I shivered deliciously with the reminder. Carefully as possible, given the circumstances, we stored the dress, and Aries wrestled the bicycles free from the entanglement of vines and odd bits of lumber that were stacked beside the shed.

I wiped a coating of dust and pollen from the seat of the smaller bike—a serviceable, forest green ten-speed—and swung my leg over it. It was a far cry from my own road bike at home, but my body itched in anticipation of the familiar pleasure of a hard ride. I looked at Aries, who was currently adjusting the seat height of a maroon fixed-gear.

"I'd challenge you to a race, but I'm not sure it would be fair," I said, a twinkle in my eye.

Aries looked up.

"Fair to me, or you?"

"You!" I said, and kicked off down the path with glee.

"Oh, really!" Aries shouted, his wheels churning in the gravel behind me.

I pedalled harder, grinning.

"Come on, keep up," I called out behind me, then eased my pace up just enough.

After a moment Aries drew up alongside me, his face lively from the exercise.

"You're hard to catch on one of these!"

"It's true, I am," I replied.

Few things bring me joy like a country bike ride on a warm summer day. Insects whizzed across our paths every now and then, and sunlight flashed through the leaves of the trees as we rode by. The heat of the day was beginning to climb, but a small breeze lifted my hair as I rode. The tails of Aries' coat flapped gaily behind me, and the sun warmed my naked chest beneath the open coat.

Seeing me so happy, Aries suggested we take the long way back to Eros House. He led us on a winding route through tall-grassed meadows, vibrant with sun and bees and flowers, and leafy, shaded thickets.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling more myself than I had in days. This was what I had needed all along, I thought.

Aries was different, too, I'd noticed: the cool demeanour of command he often wore around me had been replaced with an endearing, youthful playfulness. I found—though I had been drawn to him since the beginning, and certainly enjoyed his presence since then—that my feelings now were beginning to take on the distinct warmth and sugariness of a crush. I eyed him warmly, savouring the all the various sensations looking at him gave me.

The path began to slope downward, winding through a thicket of trembling aspens. Their leaves shuttered lightly in the breeze. Aries peddled up until we were nose to nose.

"Still want to race me?"

"If you're ok with losing," I replied.

"Bold! I like it," he said. "How about this: whoever comes out the other side of these trees first has to serve the other one all their meals tomorrow."

"Shirtless, wearing a bow tie?" I added, audaciously.

"Oh, it's on," he said, and surged ahead.

I watched Aries pedal ahead of me for a moment, a dopey smile on my face, then geared up to overtake him. As I surveyed the path ahead, my eye just happened to catch a movement at the edge of the trees and I saw a brown doe, ears a-twitch, raise its head at the edge of the trail.

"Look out!" I shouted, but it was too late.

The deer sprang straight into the path of Aries' oncoming bicycle as he sped down the hill. He swerved to miss the animal, who disappeared back into the trees, but his bike went sideways and he was thrown to the ground in a cloud of dust. I ground the brakes and leapt off my bike, running over to him.

"Oh my god! Are you alright?"

I pushed the hair out of my face and knelt, bare-kneed, on the ground beside him.

"I'm ok," said Aries as he blinked the dirt out of his eyes and sat upright. He ran a hand through his hair, which had come loose from its customary tie at the nape of his neck. "Whew. Do you think we can we call it a draw?"

I stood and offered my hand to help him up. Aries got to his feet without issue, but as he put weight on his left foot he inhaled sharply, grimacing. He reached down and hiked up his pant leg to reveal a quickly swelling ankle.

"Well, that's not ideal."

My mind raced as I tried to think of how to help. We were some ways from the mansion—how far, I didn't know exactly. The "no phones" policy of Eros House suddenly seemed to me a reckless rule.

"Can you walk? How close are we to the nearest town—Bonbennet, right? Is there a hospital there?"

Aries waved a hand.

"Not necessary. I'll be fine. It's a mild sprain; just needs a bit of rest. The groundskeepers have a cottage a five minute's walk from here, we can go there."

I looked skeptically at him.

"Maybe I should go, and bring back help. You probably shouldn't walk on that."

Aries' smile was more of a wince as he replied.

"I can make it. Might just need to lean on you for a bit of support."

"Oh," I said. "Okay, if you think so. But seriously, if it's going to make it worse I can just go myself."

"Yeah, but then I'd miss your company," he said, hobbling over to me to lean some of his weight onto my shoulder.

Even now, desire flooded through me at his touch. I had to scold myself into remembering that now was not the time, and, doing my best to ignore the butterflies rioting in my belly, placed my hand around his back and did my best to help support him. He led us to a nearby trailhead, hardly more than a game track, by the looks of it, that lead off the main path and up an incline through the trees.

"You sure you know where we're going?"

"Darling," said Aries, craning his neck to look down at me, "You can rest assured."

Despite assurances, the way to the cottage turned out to involve a rather steep ascent up a scrabbly slope. The five minutes advertised turned into three times that long, at least, as I helped Aries navigate the climb.

When at last we crested the rise we both collapsed, covered in dirt.

"Well," said Aries, squinting up at the trees, "It's a bit late to change my mind now, isn't it?"

I wiped the sweat from my eyes.

"I mean, this was definitely one way to go. You are sure there's something up here, though, right?"

Aries untied his cravat and used it to mop his brow.

"We're nearly there, I promise."

Sure enough, we found more of a regularly trodden path that led on from there through sunlit trees and up a steep stairway cut into the hillside, paved charmingly with flagstones. Aries grimaced as I helped him up it, and I let myself enjoy the thrill of the heavy weight of his arm as he leaned into me when he climbed each step.

Finally, we caught sight of a small, quaint cabin nestled into the woods. The woods around it were lovingly accented with planted rocks, carved burls of wood, and old watering cans that bloomed with fragrant flowers.

As we approached I heard the squeaking hinges of a screen door, and presently a grizzled head appeared overtop the porch railing and waved down at us.

Aries grinned broadly as the man jogged down the stairs and strode in our direction. He had longish thick silver hair, sun-browned skin, and the posture of one unhurried by the larger world. He smiled through a dark beard streaked heavily with grey, and clapped his arms around Aries in a strong embrace.

"Johnny boy," the man said warmly. "And hello, who's this you've brought with you?"

He spoke with the rolling cadence of some old-world accent that I couldn't quite place.

"Karl, this is Perdita. She's a guest up at the house this week."

"Nice to meet you," Karl said, shaking my hand firmly, his dark eyes merry. He turned and hollered up the stairs.

"Jenny! We have visitors!"

He waved us to accompany him back to the cottage, and then paused as he saw Aries favouring his ankle.

"You're limping, Johnny! Here, let me help you."

Aries threw his arm around Karl's shoulders, which were brown and knotted as the burls of wood along the path.

"Small cycling mishap," Aries said. "It could use a bit of ice, that's all."

The smell of cooking meat and onions filled the air as we climbed the wooden stairs, and a woman waved to us through an open window.

"John! You're just in time for lunch," she called out. "Karl, take them outside; I'll bring refreshments."

Karl led us to a screened-in porch.

"Please, sit, I'll get more chairs," he said. I sank into a cheerful lime-green adirondack chair. Moments later, the door to the house banged open. A woman with dark, wavy long hair emerged, skirts swaying, four sloshing glasses and a bottle of gin in hand.

"Hi there. I'm Jenny," she said, handing me a gin and tonic. "What's your name, love?"

I accepted the cold beverage thankfully.

"Perdita."

"Nice to meet you, Perdita." Jenny said, handing a drink to Aries. He ceded the other good chair to her and she dropped into it comfortably, stretching her feet out in front of her.

"It's nice of you to drop by, John," said Jenny, swirling the ice in her drink. "And with a friend, no less. To what do we owe this happy circumstance?"

"He's gone and lost himself a bar fight with a bicycle," said Karl, booting open the side door as he came in shouldering two rather large wood stumps. He unloaded the stumps with a heavy thud on the wooden deck, unfolded a nearby sun-bleached camping chair, and brushed the seat.

"Here you go, lad. Sit in the spare here and put your leg up. This way, we're all set if we need to amputate, eh?"

Aries seated himself gratefully in the folding chair, and Karl retrieved an ice pack from inside for Aries' ankle before plunking himself on the remaining stump.

The screened porch was surrounded by trees, through a break in which I could see Eros House, rising on a distant slope. Purple mountains framed the backdrop, and between us and the chateau, the green lawns and fields and woodlands shimmered with the midday heat.

"What a beautiful view," I said.

"Yes," said Karl. "We prefer it to that big gilded house."

"Speaking of which, Perdita, tell us: is John treating you properly up there?" Jenny reached over to slap Aries amiably on the leg as she spoke. "They've run out of clothes, by the looks of it; don't worry, I can lend you something."

Aries opened his mouth to answer, but Jenny held up a finger.

"I didn't ask you, did I?"

I hadn't yet been in a position to see Aries' authority checked by another person. I hadn't, in fact, seen him in anything like real life, beyond the confines of the rules and rituals of Eros House.

Aries bowed his head concedingly, and all eyes looked to me.

I hesitated, suddenly realizing I wasn't sure how I should address him, here. Did he still want me to call him "Sir," in this context?

"Oh—yes," I fumbled. "I'm being treated very well, thank you. Thanks to, you know..."

I glanced at Aries awkwardly.

"John," he supplied.

"John," I echoed, feeling strange.

Karl laughed into the wooden pipe he was currently engaged in lighting. His laughter was rich, with gristle in it.

"That's my boy," he chuckled into his tobacco, and I noticed idly that he had at least one gold filling in his teeth.

"We are lucky to have Perdita as our guest at Eros House," said Aries, graciously. "It has been a pleasure gaining her acquaintance."

"To pleasure then," said Jenny suggestively, raising her glass.

"To pleasure," we toasted.

By and by, Jenny brought out grilled steak sandwiches, and we passed the afternoon's heat idly with gin and conversation.

I watched the way Aries interacted with the two of them, and the easy affection all three showed for one another. Their dynamic seemed to be more one of deep friendship than an employment-based relationship, and I wondered at their history.

I remembered, though, the way Aries hadn't wanted to discuss himself when I'd asked questions earlier this morning, so I waited until Jenny called Aries inside to help with something before asking Karl,

"So, how did you and Jenny come to be working at a place like Eros House?" I kept my tone carefully conversational.

Karl regarded me through a puff of blue smoke.

"Johnny is my brother. Not by blood, but as good as. We've known each other for a long time. Why you want to know?"

"Oh... He—John—doesn't seem to like to talk about himself much. I'm just curious, I guess."

Karl squinted off into the distance as he puffed his pipe.

"At heart, Johnny is a simple pervert. That much is true."

He didn't offer to elaborate, and I decided I was being nosy and dropped the questions. Still, for the remainder of the afternoon I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more beneath the surface than was being said.

When it was time to prepare dinner, Jenny drew me inside the cottage. A small and tidy kitchen took up a third of the main room within; the rest was cozied with a couch and reading chair, a fire place, and a small dining area. Several bookshelves were filled as much with odds and ends as books: an interesting burl of wood, an old clock.

"Come talk," said Jenny. She handed me a knife and a handful of green onions and pointed at a chopping board.

"Karl is a lovely cook, don't get me wrong," she said, "But it's nice to have another woman in the house. It's a different energy, you know?"

I shrugged. "I guess. Well, there are lots of women up at the mansion."

Jenny laughed.

"Ah, yes. I suppose you're right."

The green scent of the onions blossomed in front of me as I chopped.

"Do you and Karl go up there often?"

"Sometimes," she said, dipping a quick finger in to taste a burbling sauce. She threw in a splash of salt. "For the good parties. Karl doesn't like the crowds, but I like to go up now and then."

I watched Jenny as she stirred and seasoned the several concoctions on the little wood-fired stove. She was a beautiful woman, I thought, admiring the silver streaking through her hair, which waved darkly down her back and frizzed slightly in the humid heat. She was certainly older than I, but her body looked strong and fit, and used to being outdoors.

"Is this your first time at Eros House, Perdita?"

I nodded.

"It's utterly unlike any place I've been before. My husband and I..."

I trailed off as I thought of Oscar.

"Your husband is here as well? Lucky husband. Lucky you!" said Jenny. "Enjoy it. Here, stir this for me. I'm going to choose some nice wine for our dinner."

We dined late, in the screened porch, and watched the sun dip low and sink behind the hills. When all the wine was drunk and the plates were cleared, stars were winking into the sky.

Karl bent with a match over several oil lamps, and I realized I hadn't seen electricity in use the entire afternoon. Strange, it seemed, to live so rustically, and so near the lavish excess Eros House was lined with.

Karl distributed lamps to me and Aries.

"Jen's getting bedding out. Though no mattress, I'm afraid. No golden bedposts here, eh, Johnny?" Karl's whole face lined up when he laughed. "But, you'll see the stars."

I looked from Karl to Aries. "Oh, are we...? How's your ankle?"

"Well enough, now, probably..." he said. "Certainly, we could call up for transport if you'd be more comfortable back in your room."

The screen door banged shut behind Jenny. "Nonsense! Spend the night. You can slow down for one night, John. They'll live without you."

"Well, it would be a shame to spurn your hospitality, my dear friend," Aries said. He looked at me, his face soft in the lamplight.

"What do you say, Perdita?"

"Yes, let's stay," I said.

Our makeshift bed, a pallet by the fireplace, looked surprisingly comfortable, thanks to the several layers of crocheted blankets and sheepskins that had gone into it.

Orange light burned warmly from the oil lanterns as I stood, hesitating, at the edge of the bedding. Aries had seen me more than naked, many times now, but sleeping next to one another was still a foreign intimacy. My relationship with him had been formed by rules and arrangement and ultimately, by money. I didn't know how to fit tonight into that.

He stood with his back to me, pulled off his white shirt, then turned and held it up to me.

"I apologize for not having anything better to offer, but sleep in this, if you like."

A thrill as old as middle school, I thought, as I accepted the shirt.

Still good.

I knelt on the soft coverlet. Aries, fully nude, reclined on top of the bedding, stretched out his long legs, and cradled his head in his arms on the pillow.

He looked at me.

"C'mere," he said, holding out his hand. It was a question, not a command, but I went, and pillowed my head on his shoulder. My heart beat thickly in my ears, drowning out the night sounds that floated in the open windows.

Aries settled his arm around me, his touch familiar and new.

We stared at the ceiling, and neither of us spoke for several minutes.

Idly, he ran his palm along my arm.

The pressure in my ears relented, and I heard the crickets singing. From where we lay we could see out through the screened porch and into the night sky, trimmed with the dark silhouettes of trees.

"Thank you," I said.

I felt Aries turn his head towards me, chin brushing against the top of my head.

"For what?"

My voice constricted with sudden-welling emotion.

"I mean I know—" I coughed, fighting to speak through the hollow in my throat. "I know I paid to be here. I know this isn't real.

"But being here has changed me. I never, never thought I would have the courage to try something like your school, and I'm just so grateful. To you. To what I've learned about myself here so far.

"I didn't know—I wasn't sure—but there really is power in submission. And now that I've felt it I can't un-know it. So thank you."

Aries said, "And what about that doesn't feel real?"

I flipped onto my stomach to regard him.

"I like you, Perdita," he began. My heart flipped.

"I like all my students. Otherwise, I would reassign them to someone else."

His words, meant kindly, stung me. I knew that he had other lovers, and I knew that there was supposed to be room for all of it. Still, jealousy lurched in my stomach.