Chapter 1
The wooden passenger ship was being tossed violently on the sea. Angry waves beat unmercifully down on the British frigate. The main mast had been snapped in two, like a pencil. The main Sail had been washed out to sea. The ship was being driven dangerously close to the jagged rocks along the Welsh coast. The ship was rocking back and forth very badly.
Down in the small passengers' quarters, Major Randolf Dickson and his wife, Molly, held the two children tightly against them. As furniture, broken loose from their anchorings, rushed dangerously across the room. Paintings were flung off the wall, smashing against the bulk head. Through the port hole, one could see only the blackness of night and the churning grey sea.
The ship, three months out of Bombay, was expected that week in Liverpool. The major, who had finished his tour of duty with the Royal Bengal Lancers in India, was bringing his family home to England. Young Richard was only two when he left England with his parents for India. Fiona was born in Madras. Now, Richard was five and Fiona was three.
They didn't cry out with fear, as the ship was tossed violently about. The brave children clung to their parents, who were more frightened than the children. They understood death.
"Randolph," Molly cried out, "I fear we are doomed. The ship will sink. The children will be lost."
"Hush, Molly," the major smiled. "There's no need to alarm the children. They'll survive. I promise you that."
"We must do something, darling," Molly wiped tears from her eyes. "Take them to the life boat. We must, at least, guarantee their survival."
"Yes, I will do that," Randolph smiled bravely. "Now, you children come along with me. You're going to have an adventure."
"We don't want to leave you, Father," Richard said, being quite brave.
"Nonsense, Laddie," he smiled. "We'll all be together again. We're just going to make sure that you kids will be all right. The ship seems doomed. We'll ride it out. There's only one life boat — criminal really. But one never expects this sort of thing. Not on a British frigate! I'm going to have to sneak you children off. If the crew panics and tried for the life boat, no one will stand a chance. Least of all you children. Richard, I'm going to ask you to take good care of your little sister. You're going to have to be a little man now."
"Yes, Father," Richard said bravely, squeezing his young sister's hand. Fiona smiled at him, as if to let him know that she understood the gravity of the situation, but would try to be brave — for her big brother.
"Oh, children," Molly sighed. "Do take care. Our prayers will be with you. Here, Fiona. Treasure this always, as a remembrance of me," the woman said as she lifted a necklace over her head and put it over the little girl's head. The gold chain bore half a golden heart. The other half was hanging around the major's neck. He lifted the necklace off his own neck and placed it over Richard's.
"Remember us always through these charms," the major said. And scooping the children up under his arms, he rushed from the cabin and did his best to make it up to the deck. The ship was now being tossed violently about. It was difficult to stand. As if in answer to Molly's prayers, the major and the two children made it up on deck. The icy water-was crashing about them, as they struggled across the deck. The major inched across the treacherously dangerous deck and finally — as if by a miracle — reached the life boat. He tore the canvas cover off the boat and placed the two children inside.
"May God be with you," the major said, as he lowered the boat into the sea. Richard clutched his young sister tightly to him as the boat was being lowered. But then a mighty wave crashed against the side of the ship. The major lost his grip on the guide ropes and was washed over the side of the ship.
The children cried out in horror as they saw their father sucked forever into the mouth of a violent, grey wave. The life boat crashed to the sea and was tossed violently on the icy water. As the life boat slammed against the water, Richard was thrown from the boat. Fiona screamed in fear, as she was nearly thrown out of the boat as well. But her tiny foot caught on some netting in the end of the boat. She was held fast.
She cried out in horror as she saw her brother swept away. Richard grabbed at an oaken plank, which had been washed overboard. He clung to it for his very life and was swept far away from the life boat and the frigate, which was being driven against jagged rocks. Looking up on the deck, Richard was able to see — before he was carried far away from the scene of the disaster — numerous seamen leaping into the icy water from the deck.
And then the ship smashed into the rocks and a huge hole was torn in its side. It listed and began to sink.
"Would you like another cup of tea?" Fiona Reardon asked her friend and neighbor, Julie Norwich.
"No thank you," the young blonde replied. "But if you have some more of those sweet cakes, I would truly like another. They're so delicious."
"I'm sure there are more," Fiona said, rising from the table and stepping into the kitchen. Julie watched with admiration, as the lovely brunette went off for the sweet cakes. Fiona Reardon was twenty-two years old and she had flowered into a beautiful young woman. The way she wore her clothes accented her lovely form. Her ripened breasts and sweetly curved hips were well accented by the dresses she had purchased the previous summer in London.
Julie Norwich, was something of a tom-boy. At twenty-one, she still wore dresses as infrequently as possible. She much preferred to wear men's dungarees and her father's shirts. In an odd way, the rough costume only served to bring out a heightened sense of fairness and feminine beauty in the young girl.
"You are looking smashing these days," Julie said, as Fiona walked back into the dining room, carrying a dish of sweet cakes.
"Thank you," Fiona smiled, self-consciously.
"Ever since Lloyd Browne-Douglas asked you to marry him," Julie said, "you've gone through a change. You're becoming a woman. Oh, I hope it happens to me like that."
"I'm sure you will," Fiona smiled, handing the dish of sweet cakes to the pretty neighbor girl. "But I'm not at all certain that I'm really going to marry Lloyd. You know, I haven't given my consent."
"I wouldn't be able to understand it, if you didn't," Julie said. "He's so handsome. And intelligent. Can you imagine that — a don in literature from Cambridge University. I say, that's really something, Fiona."
"Yes, Julie," Fiona said. "He is something very special. He's been so kind to me with his presents and his attentions."
"Then what's the matter?" the lovely blonde asked. "Why don't you marry him?"
"Oh, I probably will, in time," Fiona said. "I just want to be sure. It's such a major step."
"I suppose it is," Julie said. "Say, is that a new book?"
"Yes," Fiona smiled, reaching for the red leather bound book. "It was a gift from Lloyd. The author is a young man named Charles Dickens. He's a friend of Lloyd's, actually. Lloyd has a very interesting life, meeting all these young writers. He always has interesting stories to tell about his friends. I get all the inside gossip on writers and literary publishers in Cambridge and London."
Julie took the book from Fiona and opened it. "It was the best of times and it was the worst of times ... "
"He doesn't seem to be quite sure," Fiona smiled. "I don't know if I'll like this book much. I read another of his books last year. It was called Great Expectations. It was dreadfully funny. All about this poor boy, who had ... well, great expectations."
"Was it sexy?" Julie asked.
"In a way," Fiona smiled. "But I don't much like reading about working class people. I love the stories of grand balls and military heroes. I like very much to read the Bronte Sisters."
"We're so very much different," Julie said. "I like to read Robert Louis Stevenson. And there is this American writer, named Mark Twain who is terribly funny."
"We're opposite in so many ways," Fiona smiled. "It's surprising that we are such good friends."
"Everyone is alike in some ways," Julie said. "I'm sure we have a great deal in common, really. Don't you wonder sometimes about your parents. Do you think they are still alive?"
"I really do try to remember," Fiona said. "I've blanked all of that out. I have some vague memories of life in the orphanage. But it wasn't really until Viola and Ramsey adopted me, that my life seemed to begin flowing."
"What a great mystery," Julie smiled, licking the sweet cake crumbs off her fingers and sipping the last of her tea. "Well, I really must be going. I have to help father milk the cows. And I do want to say hello to Richard, your stable hand."
"What is it between you both?" Fiona asked. "He's such a brute. A peasant, really."
"He has some nice things happening for him, truly he does," Julie said. "I know he seems a little rough and aloof. But don't you think he's an absolute animal?"
"Indeed I do," she said. "That's why I stay clear of him. I think a man should be a gentleman and not an animal."
"That's why you are engaged to Lloyd Browne-Douglas," Julie smiled, "and why Richard is my friend. I really think you should be more understanding of him. You know, he grew up in an orphanage as well."
"But in a Welsh orphanage," Fiona smiled, aristocratically. "That's why he's such a wild one. The English orphanage I was raised in was run by Miss Smyth. It's part of the Miss Smyth Finishing School For Young Ladies. That's why I'm a properly bred young woman."
"And that's why you should marry Lloyd Browne-Douglas," Julie said, as she rose from the table and headed towards the door. "I guess I'm just an improperly bred wench."
"I like you anyway," Fiona smiled. The brunette stepped across the room and watched as the blonde, her tight-fitting dungarees well-outlining her boyish figure, walked across the grounds towards the stable.
"Day dreaming?" Viola Reardon asked, as she entered the dining room and watched the attractive brunette — her adopted daughter — staring out across the grounds.
"No, just watching Julie walk off to the stables," Fiona replied.
"I don't know what Julie Norwich sees in Richard," Viola said. "He's a brute. Oh, he's good with the horses and he is a great help to Ramsey, in the upkeep of Ramsey Gate, but still, what a brutish figure of a man. I don't trust him. There's such a sneaky look in his eyes."
"Oh, he's not all that bad," Fiona said. "As you say, without him, Ramsey gate would never be the outstanding estate here in Cambridge County. Father is getting older."
"Yes," Viola smiled, moving to her adopted daughter's side and putting her arm around her. "I don't know whether or not we'll sell. After you and Lloyd are married, there won't be much point in keeping the estate. Father has been thinking of taking me up to the country house in Scotland. It wouldn't be such a bad life."
"I wouldn't hear of it," Fiona said. "The thought of living at Cambridge, with Lloyd and never seeing you ... "
"What do you ever mean, my dear?" Viola hugged the attractive girl to her side. "We'll visit you and of course, you will come up to Scotland to visit us."
"But what if things don't work out between Lloyd and I?"
"Don't talk such nonsense, my dear," Viola smiled. "Lloyd is an exceptional young man. Quite a catch, really. I think you should start thinking along more positive lines."
Suddenly, Fiona was in tears. She ran from the dining room and upstairs to her room.
"Fiona," Viola called after her. "Don't be so unstable, my dear. These are simply pre-nuptial nerves."
Fiona was crying, nearly hysterical, as she stood before her bureau. She opened the top of her jewelry case and fingered the golden half heart, that hung on a chain around her neck — she was told — when she was delivered, by a stranger, at the orphanage.
"Oh, Richard," Julie called out, as she entered the stable. "Richard Rankin, where are you?"
"Where did you think I would be?" he asked, stepping from a horse stall, holding a pitch fork in his hand.
Julie smiled and stared at the handsome, bearded man. His dark hair was disheveled on his head. His piercing green eyes seemed to look right through her — to the depths of her soul.
Richard Rankin, twenty-five, was dressed in faded denim overalls and a torn green and white gingham shirt. When he smiled, his pearly teeth glistened.
"You are looking in a devilish mood," Julie said, moving closer to the swarthy young man.
"Come here, woman," Richard said, his eyes dancing with carnal intent.
"I don't know why I always give in to you," Julie said. "You are so bad for me. A bad influence."
"It is you who are the bad influence," Richard laughed, setting the pitch fork up against the wooden wall.
He took Julie's hand and pulled her into the stall. They fell to the straw.
"And tell me, you pretty little country girl," Richard said, "what brings you to Ramsey Gate? Have you come simply to visit me?"
"I had tea and cakes with Fiona," Julie said. "She's really quite excited about the wedding."
"She should marry that Cambridge professor," he smiled. "She's the most stuffy young woman I think I've ever encountered. Just like good old Lloyd Browne-Douglas."
"Oh, you nasty man," Julie looked into his eyes, bringing her face close to his. "Where do you come from, Richard? I swear, you must come from some primitive land, or a faraway star. There is such a wildness about you."
"I really haven't the slightest idea," he said. "I was washed up on the shore of Wales, after a shipwreck. I don't even remember that. But so I'm told."
"It must have been a ship from South America. I'm sure you must have been the son of some rum runner, or perhaps an escaped convict."
"I don't know about that," he laughed. "You have quite an imagination though. And you are so pretty."
Richard pressed his hand to her face, immobilizing her against the straw and his mouth moved against hers. He kissed her passionately. Julie closed her eyes, dreamily.
"You are like a little angel in this manger," Richard said, as he moved his hand over her blouse, resting it on her swollen breast. "You excite me."
"You are bad for me, Richard," she said. "Nothing good could come of us. I'm sure of that."
"Don't talk," he said, moving his hands inside her shirt and moving them over her warm breast flesh. He caressed her nipples and they grew firm. Opening her blouse, he lowered his mouth to her nipple and sucked. It was immediately-taut.
"Oh, Richard," she moaned, "you make me feel so good. But we musn't. You take too much advantage of me."
But the handsome stables keeper wasn't listening. He opened her blouse completely and stared hungrily at her breasts. The swollen breast flesh excited him. He squeezed her tits and brought his mouth to her nipple. Sucking at the taut flesh, Julie soon surrendered to the sexual heat that pulsed through her body.
Kissing her passionately on the mouth, Richard moved his hand down over her swollen breasts, along her flat belly, to the edge of her trousers. As he went to slide his hand inside her pants, she pulled away from him.
"No, that's going too far," she said.
"You little tease," he said, bitterly. "You want it. Don't you?"
"No, I'm afraid, Richard."
He forced his hand down her pants and slipping his hand beneath her panties, he gripped her pussy. Squeezing it, tenderly, he looked into her eyes. "You are wet, my dear. You want me, don't you?"
"Oh, Richard," she moaned, putting her arms around him, "I do want you. So much."
"That's a girl," he sighed. "Honesty is the best policy."
Pulling her shirt completely off her body and opening the front of her trousers, he pulled them down over her shoes. She was dressed only in her lace panties. Her body was slim and beautiful. Her creamy breasts begged for his touch. His lips.
Richard quickly undressed. Julie stared with sexual hunger at his muscular form. The dark, swirling hair on his chest, shoulders and legs excited her. She saw the huge bulge in his drawers. She had never ever in her life seen an erect cock before. But she wanted desperately to see it now. To touch it, to fondle it. To take it deeply inside of her.
With his eyes glued to hers, Richard pulled his drawers down over his legs, exposing himself to her. She stared with disbelief at the huge erection. It was reddened and pulsated with excitement. He lay beside her on the straw and pulled her naked body to his. As the warmth of their young bodies mingled, they both moaned with pleasure. They were hot. Their temperatures were rising rapidly.
Julie could feel the hot vaginal juices trickle from her slit. She wanted the man. She wanted him desperately. They had flirted and teased for long enough. Now it was coming down to reality. Richard pressed his hand between her creamy thighs and brought it up against her sex. He squeezed her pussy and ran his finger tips into the moistened opening. She moaned with increasing pleasure as he stimulated her sex. And when he touched her clitoris — just the way she did, when she masturbated — she sighed with sexual lust.
"That a girl," Richard smiled, knowing that he had full control over the young woman. He turned her over on her back and kissed her breasts tenderly, while his hand worked down over her flat belly. He squeezed her pussy, as he kissed his way down across her belly to the mound of light pubic fur between her glorious thighs.
"Oh, Richard," she sighed, running her fingers through his hair, "you are so nasty. What are you doing to me?"
"Just relax, darling," he smiled, sardonically and moved between her thighs. "I will make you feel marvelous."
The girl's face was flushed with sexual heat. Her body was covered with sexual perspiration. Her breathing was labored. She thought for a moment of how devastating it would be if someone wandered into the stables and saw Richard crouched between her thighs, sucking at her pussy.
"Oh, Richard," she moaned, "becoming swiftly oblivious to all but the glorious sensations between her thighs, "it feels so good. You are doing wonderful things to me. I like it so much. Don't stop. Faster, faster. Oh, my God," she moaned. "I think I'm going to ... Yes, I'm going to come. Bless you, Richard. God bless you."
And the young blonde began to writhe beneath Richard's hot mouth. His tongue swirled about in her pussy and up and over her clitoris. He sucked at her magic button and nibbled at it. She pumped vigorously, moaning with increasing sexual hunger, as the handsome, bearded young man sucked wildly at her pussy. She was beginning to scream with pleasure. Richard fastened his hand firmly over her mouth. The young woman continued to buck and writhe, as his tongue worked swiftly about in her gash. She was inflamed with passion.
He sucked all the passion from her crack and as he raised his mouth from her pussy, he lifted his hand off her mouth.
"Richard," she sighed, "you do wonderful things to me. So very wonderful. I can't believe it. I'm so hot. It's never felt like this before."
"Have you been with a man, like this?"
"Oh, never," Julie insisted. "I've thought about these things. I would be a liar if I said I haven't. I have. And I have wanted to be close to you for ever so long."
"Well, just don't get too close," he said. "You might be disappointed."
"I think not," she smiled. "You are quite a man, Richard."
"How about if you suck me off?"
"What?" she asked.
"Suck my cock," he repeated.
"Does that mean what it sounds like?" she asked.
"You just take my rod into your mouth and suck on it, while you are moving your mouth up and down on it," he said.
"That's perverse," she drew back.
"And a lot of people would say that what I just did to you is perverse," he laughed. "But we know better, don't we?"
"So, it's tit for tat?" she looked at him strangely.
"That's how the world works, darling," he smiled, rolling over on his back and spreading his legs apart. "Just take it in your hand and stroke it. When I tell you, kiss it and lick it and take it into your mouth."
"Oh, that's terrible," she said. It's nasty."
"I don't want to hear a sermon," he said. "Just do as I say."
Julie's young hand was trembling as she moved it to the young man's rod.
Richard moaned with pleasure, as the lovely young woman pressed her hand around his penis shaft. She started to work her hand up and down his length. She squeezed the cock meat as she stroked him.
"That's right," the stables keeper moaned, "and now kiss it. Kiss it on the tip."
As the pretty, young blonde brought her mouth down to the head of his organ, she kissed the cock meat and ran her tongue over it. Several droplets of pre-come squirted onto her lips as she kissed his dick. She ran her tongue over her lips, tasting the salty sex juice.
"Yes, Julie," he sighed. "That's just wonderful. Suck it more. Use your lips. Oh, yes. Now, take it into your mouth. More. More. Oh, yes, honey. That's right. Now, move your mouth up and down on it. Faster. Oh, yes, Julie. You learn quick."
He pressed his hands against her blonde-covered head, moving her mouth up and down the shaft of his cock meat. He could feel his balls fill with hot come. Soon, he would be ready to shoot. And he planned to shoot into the lovely young woman's mouth.
Faster and faster she worked her mouth up and down on the shaft of his cock meat. The jism was boiling in his sacs. Soon, very soon, he would be ready to shoot.
Faster and faster he worked his tool.
"Oh, yes," he groaned, as he moved his cock rapidly in and out of the lovely girl's mouth. "I'm going to come."
As soon as he said that, Julie tried to move her mouth off his cock. But she couldn't pull away quickly enough. He held her head firmly to his cock, as he shot hot jism into her mouth.
She moaned with horror, as she tried to pull her mouth away from his cock. But it was impossible. It was too late. The hot jism was flooding her mouth and it was either swallow it or gag.
Richard Rankin took great delight in the fact that the lovely young woman was swallowing his jism. He watched her moan and writhe about as he shot his load of hot spunk into her mouth.
The lovely young woman moved her mouth from the young man's cock, only after he had shot his entire load into her.
"That was a rotten trick," she said, as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Get off it," he smiled. "You know you liked it."
"I did not," she insisted.
"Well, then," he smiled, "you will learn to like it. Would you like me to make love to you now?"
His cock was still erect. She looked at it with confusion. Fear suddenly gripped her.
"No, I think I had better be going," she said, reaching for her panties.
"Not so fast," he said, grabbing her by her wrists and pinning her to the straw. "Don't be frightened. It won't hurt you. It's about time you became a woman."
"Please let me go," she cried. "It's late. My father expects me to help him with the milking."
"Just say that you spent the time with Fiona," he said. "Drinking tea and gossiping. He'll like that. He'll suppose that you'll end up marrying a Cambridge don as well."
She struggled against the powerful grip on her wrists. But as the handsome young man moved between her thighs and pressed his warm mouth to hers, she relaxed. Yes, she wanted him.
The rowdy stables keeper pressed his tongue deeply into her mouth, as he climbed between her thighs. He brought the head of his penis up against the crack of her pussy. He pressed into the moistened opening and she moaned with pleasure. He sank deeper inside of her and she squeezed her pussy lips down against him.
He began pumping her, working his tool slowly in and out of the moistened pit between her legs. He came up against the hymen. He paused. Julie tensed and then he broke through. She cried out with pain, as the hard cock tore through her female resistance and then he was buried to the hilt in her tight vagina.
"Oh, Richard," she sighed. "You feel so good." She was learning fast. She wrapped her legs tightly around the young man's waist and began pumping against him. His cock was moving rapidly in and out of her tight hole. The hot moisture from her pussy bathed his cock. He moaned with delight as he worked his tool slowly in and out of her pussy.
Riding her high, he pressed the shaft of his cock up against her clitoris, as he worked in and out of her.
"Oh, Richard," she moaned, "it feels so good. Yes, I'm glad. You've made me a woman."
He smiled strangely at her, as his cock worked rapidly in and out of her moistened slash. She was breathing deeper and deeper. It was obvious that the sexual friction was getting to her. He was turning her on. He was pumping her furiously now. He continued to grip her by the wrists, holding her tightly against the bed of straw, as he worked his tool rapidly in and out of her hole.
But Richard didn't want to come inside her pussy. He was worked up to extreme sexual tension. He wanted more. He wanted to do everything.
Pulling his cock from her hot, moistened slit, he quickly turned her over on her belly.
"What are you doing?" she sighed, obviously distraught that he had pulled his huge organ from her slit.
"Don't you worry about a thing," he said, as he spread her ass cheeks apart and gazed with delight at the puckered, virginal opening of her asshole.
He ran his finger over the hole.
"Not that, Richard," she moaned. "I can't take that. It's too much."
"Nonsense, my dear," he sighed. And as he kept her pinned to the straw with his forearm, he inserted a finger into her anus. She moaned with hot passion and he began to finger fuck her furiously in the ass.
She was pumping and writhing about. Her ass screamed from the pain. She couldn't imagine relaxing enough to take his finger up her ass — let alone his cock.
"Don't bugger me," she pleaded. "I'll scream."
"And have the Reardon's come and see you like this?" he laughed. "I doubt you would do that."
"Have compassion for me, Richard," she sighed. "Truly, you are hurting me."
"If you want to be my lover," he said, "you are going to have to get used to a few things. Sodomy is a pleasure for me. You do want to please me, don't you?"
"Yes, Richard," she sighed, "but not at the expense of my health and safety. I tell you, I'll never be able to take your member up my back hole."
"You'll learn soon enough," Richard sighed, as he pressed the head of his cock into the moistness of her pussy and then brought the lubricated cock up against her anus.
She moaned, as he pressed inside her behind. "No, Richard. I can't. It hurts too much."
"Shut up!" he said. "Breath deeply. Relax. You'll get used to it soon enough."
"I shant ever become accustomed to this," she protested. "It's wretchedly painful. Please, Richard. Have some pity on me. Please."
But instead of pulling his cock out of her ass, as Julie had begged, Richard pressed all the way into the depths of her rectum. She howled with discomfort and Richard put his hand over her mouth again. He was taking great pleasure in her behind, driving his rod in and out of her ass.
It didn't take long for him to build up to the point of sexual release. He gripped at her shoulders, as he worked his firm tool in and out of her behind. She groaned with discomfort and as he plunged powerfully to the depths of her ass, he froze in mid stroke and hot jism shot from his cock into her asshole. She finally relaxed, as she felt Richard's body go limp and the hot spunk flood her behind.
"Oh, Richard," she cooed. "It's not so bad. I really sort of like it," she said, as he pulled his satisfied love stick from her ass.
"That's nice," he sighed. "I can't tell you for how long I have wanted to do this. Watching you from the fields, while you walk over Norwich Farms, helping your father to feed the stock, I have often admired you. Especially your fine little ass. I have wanted for a long time to bugger you."
"Aren't you the nasty farm hand?" she smiled rolling over in the straw.
"You inspire me," he smiled, bringing his lips to hers.
"And am I the only one?" she looked searchingly into his eyes.
"But of course," he smiled.
"And you aren't interested in Fiona?"
"That stuffy wench?" he laughed. "I say good riddance to her. If she wants to go off with that Cambridge don, that's what she deserves. Fiona can spend the rest of her days in Cambridge parlors, drinking tea and gossiping with the old women."
"She does seem to have been bred that way," Julie said. "And what about you, Richard? Are you ever going to settle down?"
"Oh, I don't know," he replied. "I've thought about it — but not much. I think I might simply be the bachelor type."
"You know," Julie said, "I don't have a brother. When my father passes on, the farm will belong to me and my mother. We'll need a man around the place."
"Are you proposing?" he asked, with a sardonic grin.
"No, I was just thinking out loud."
"Well, I'm not a farmer," he smiled. "I like animals. But not milk cows. I've given some thought of going to Australia. I hear that a man can claim a piece of land and the government will supply him with enough sheep to get started.
"Yes, Julie," he smiled. "Maybe I'll go off to Australia."
"You're just saying that to be mean to me, aren't you?" Julie said.
"Why would I do that?" he asked, standing and climbing into his overalls.
"Because you're cruel, Richard Rankin," she said. "You have a mean streak in you a mile wide."
"Now, you just run along home to the farm and milk the cows," he smiled. "Surely, you have better things to do than lay about and gossip with the stables keeper."
"Is that what I've been doing?" she blushed with shame and embarrassment.
"You are much too sensitive for your own good, young lady," he laughed. "Now, you just run along home."
"You are definitely not a gentleman, Richard Rankin," Julie said, as she dressed. "You've taken advantage of me."
"Are you sure it wasn't the other way around?" he laughed.
"Honestly, you are a bore, Richard," she pouted. "At least walk me to the gate."
"If you insist," he smiled, accompanying the young blonde from the stables and across Ramsey Gate, to the border of Norwich Farms.
From her bedroom window, Fiona Reardon could see the couple. Julie was acting flirtatious with Richard. She could tell by the way the young blonde swung her hair about as she walked beside the stable hand.
At the gate to Norwich Farms, Julie Norwich threw her arms around Richard's neck and kissed him passionately on the mouth.
Fiona turned away from the window.