("`-''-/").___..--''"`-._ `6_ 6 ) `-. ( ).`-.__.`) (_Y_.)' ._ ) `._ `. ``-..-' _..`--'_..-_/ /--'_.' ,' (((' (((-((('' (((( K R I S T E N' S C O L L E C T I O N _________________________________________ WARNING! This text file contains sexually explicit material. If you do not wish to read this type of literature, or you are under age, PLEASE DELETE THIS FILE NOW!!!! _________________________________________ Scroll down to view text ------------------------------------------------------- This work is copyrighted to the author © 2015. Please do not remove the author information nor make any changes to this story. All rights reserved. Thank you for your consideration. ------------------------------------------------------- The Elopment by David Jannsen (david.jannsen111@outlook.com) *** This is based on a true story. In 2012, while I was in Paris, a story came out that a female student and a teacher had run off together from England. It lasted for three days, and they were caught in France. Their progress was monitored by CCTV and carefully noted by the media. I had often wondered why they hadn't planned it better, they would have had a greater chance of getting away with it. Then I thought, if I was planning such an event, what would I do. This probably has more holes in it than fishnet stockings, but please, it's a story. (M/f-teen, ped, 1st, mast, oral, anal) *** Author's Note: While some things are obvious, there is a lot that is so risky that someone a lot better at planning than I would be able to create a better plan. This assumes that police are not that clever, or that Jeff and Megan are seriously good at the subterfuge they go through to get out of the country. It also assumes that the required skill set is readily available, then it all requires a certain amount of luck. This is the story that grew, and grew, until I got monstered by it. The places and people, apart from the obvious backgrounds, are fictional. The interpretations of law and Crown thinking are logical, but not necessarily correct. I haven't found anything in my rather cursory searches that would clearly contradict anything said here, but I would not like to test it, I think. *** The Public Story Megan White was a 15 year old, Year 10 student at Morwell High School and Sixth Form who went missing the second last week of the Spring Term. Megan was a brilliant history student, and while her grades in other subjects were well above average, it was in history she really stood out. Her friends were devastated at her disappearance, and her teachers were saddened. Head Teacher, Mr William Albright, was restrained in his comments, but her history teacher, a Mr Jeff Hunt was clearly unsettled by Megan's puzzling absence. "She is a Year 10 student who's so passionate about her history, and so knowledgeable that she was tutoring Sixth Form students." Mr Hunt commented. One friend, Peter Thorpe, told reporters that she was a beautiful girl without a mean bone in her body, and she was his friend. Peter refused to elaborate on that, but other students made the same comment. Twins, Suzy and Colin Crandall were with Megan just before she disappeared, "There was nothing going on in her life that would cause her to run away." Close friend Trish Gawler added, "There was a boyfriend, I think, but Megan never said nothing about him. If she was asked Megan looked shy and said nothing." "We wondered," another girl told us, "if it really was a guy. We didn't know anything, she said nothing. But she did seem to spend a lot of time with that history teacher." This reporter learned that Mr Hunt runs additional, out of school tutorials for groups of students at a local coffee shop, and Megan was a regular. The school had established a specialist history program for Megan, in conjunction with the Open University and Mr Hunt was her mentor/tutor. "Her abilities in the subject were well beyond high school standard and we want to encourage such students. The OU have been extraordinarily helpful here, and it has been really appreciated by the School and her family. We are fully aware of the extra tutorials run by our history teacher, a sign of his dedication to excellence, I would suggest, even if a little unorthodox. The school's results in this subject have steadily improved since Mr Hunt joined our staff, I am pleased to say. This incident puts a real pall over them though." Head Teacher Albright stated. The family did not make a statement but appealed to Megan to contact them, or the police as soon as she could. *** Interviews with Police. The corridor was noisy with students making their way to classes after the morning break. Jeff Hunt was wending his way through the crowd and he heard his name called. "Mister Hunt!" a voice Jeff recognized as the Headmaster. He turned and said "Yes, Headmaster?" as they came close he noted that Ravi Singh was with him and the Head was looking very unhappy. "I have asked Mister Singh here to take your class now, can you come with me please?" "Oh? What's the problem?" David asked, a little startled that such a request would be made minutes before class starting. "Not here!" The Headmaster's voice dropped to a conspiratorial low. Now Jeff was really startled. In a more normal tone, the Headmaster went on, "Do your students know what they are to do, or can you give them something quickly?" "No need. Ravi, they have all the work they need to go on with, completing their latest assignment. I have the A3 lab booked to take them there. That should keep them occupied for a while." The rest of the conversation was about which students really need to be kept on task and which ones could be relied upon to keep going. Ravi nodded and left, while the Headmaster beckoned Jeff to follow him. "Thank you Mister Singh," Headmaster said, "Come on Mister Hunt." Jeff kept up and the corridors, now clearing of students, made progress easier. "What's all this about?" asked Jeff. "Police are here, want to talk to you." "Police? What one earth do they want to talk to me for?" "Best let them tell you, I think." They went into the administration wing and straight past the Head's office into the small conference room behind it. Two people sat there, strangers, but Jeff immediately recognized them as Police. "Jeff, Detective Chief Inspector Wishall, Jeff Hunt." Jeff nodded and the Headmaster said, "I'll leave you to it then." he turned and left. "Hi, Jeff," the large man said, "I am Detective Chief Inspector Mark Wishall, and this is Detective Inspector Mary Coombe," he started, the woman nodded and Jeff looked at her. "Hi, but why would police want to be talking with me?" "Well, a nasty thing actually. Megan White, you know her?" "Oh Meg, yes, very well, lovely kid, What about her?" What can you tell us about her?" "In my Year 10 class. She is a real worker, and from what her other teachers are saying, she will do well in Sixth. What's going on?" "You have an interest in her then?" "As I do all my students, but the good ones - well - we really want them to do well, so we try to give them as much support as we can. What's wrong?" "We as in all teachers?" "I would hope so, yes. Look, we can play twenty questions, but what's this all about?" DCI Whishall waited for a moment, actually for a four beat moment, Jeff thought. A good actor's pause he felt, adds to dramatic impact. "Megan White didn't get home last night." DCI Wishall stated. "What?" Jeff exclaimed, very surprised, "But.. but.. I spoke with her after school yesterday. What... what?" "Yes, we know, that is why we are here now." Jeff shook his head, like he wasn't hearing the question. "What? ... my...?" "Yes, Jeff, We know you spoke with her yesterday, we are trying to find out when she was last seen." "Oh, erm.. well... erm... look, I am sorry, but this is a bit of a shock, She didn't get home? No, we were talking at the Café D'or yesterday afternoon. She was said she was not well, so she left and I stayed with Colin and Suzie Crandall." "Yes, we have already spoken to them, which is why we are here now. Can you tell us what happened yesterday afternoon, from the time you left school?" "We had a staff meeting, and after that, I usually go to the Café D'or to wind down a bit, before going home. Good coffee, usually quiet, apart from a few regulars, at that time and it is not far from my terrace." "What do you do there?" "Depends, actually. Sometimes I just sit and read, sometimes a bit of marking to catch up on, sometimes I meet with my senior students for a little additional tuition." "Bit odd for a coffee shop wind down isn't it?" Jeff smiled a little for the first time, "Well, not really, good learning occurs where ever the student learns something. Not all good teaching is done in a classroom. Nearly all of the most valuable lessons we learn in life occur outside schools. So, no a coffee shop is not a bad place to learn in. I find the more informal atmosphere of the coffee shop lets students relax a bit and I think they learn much better in that setting." DCI Wishall didn't smile, but went on. "And last night?" "I got there about 5ish, and Megan, Colin and Suzy came in with Peter Thorpe, around ten-quarter past. We started talking about their assignments, due this Thursday, and about 10 minutes later, Peter left. Got a call on his mobile to come home. I suppose Megan left about five minutes after that saying she wasn't well, and Colin and Suzy stayed for another 15-20 minutes or so." "Does that happen often? Talking to Year 10 students in Café D'or?" "Sometimes, but no, not often. Usually it is the Sixth Formers." "Megan meet you there often?" "No, we wouldn't," pause, "meet," pause, " there, but she is a regular, certainly. She loves her history and was actually tutoring a couple of the Lower Sixth Form students." "A Year 10 tutoring Lower Sixth students?" "She is very good, the best I have ever seen, in fact. Not that I have seen that many, but I doubt I will ever see another one like her." "Why tutoring last night then?" "Well, its the end of spring term next week, and there's the usual big panic to complete the assignments and so on in preparation for their 'A' Levels. I was surprised that it was only those four really. I was expecting a few Upper Sixers. Megan is well in advance with her work, and Peter was there because Megan was there, and the twins were the only serious students that actually needed help. None of the other Sixth Formers showed up, so I wouldn't expect Megan to stay long, anyway. I thought her 'not feeling well' was a polite way of saying 'no one is here, so going home.'" "Peter and Megan have a relationship?" Jeff laughed, "Peter has been following her around since Year 8 like a faithful puppy. She's a girl, and Peter... well he is an adolescent." "You noticed this?" "It has been a topic of conversation in the staff room, occasionally." "What do you think of him?" "Academically he is a bit above average, and when he gets the opportunity to work with Megan, he improves, but not an obvious candidate for academic excellence." "What about as a person." "A little introverted, nice boy, quiet, but not what you might call dynamic." Jeff stopped, "Oh, Jesus!" "What's the matter?" "Peter! He will take this on with all the passion of an adolescent. Gawd, he will probably be thinking that he is at fault, because he wasn't there to walk her home. Oh my! I am sure the school will help him a bit, but he is going to need a lot more support. Please, can you help him?" DCI Wishall looked at his partner and an unspoken communication passed between them "We are not Social Services, but we can help here, a bit I think. We will be interviewing him shortly, and I think DI Coombe may be able to say something." Jeff thanked them and said that Peter would likely need a little reassurance, then made a note to talk to the school counsellor. "And what about Megan?" "Ahh, now, she is a different kettle of fish. Very bright, articulate, sure of herself. Not arrogant, or rude, like a lot of these young girls are, just certain of who she is I think." The conversation went on for ages, it seemed. Questions unending, how often would you see her? What would you talk about? What relationship did you have with her? Did she discuss anything in her life? Was she unhappy about something? Did she have a boyfriend? What was the quality of her school work? On and on, repetitive at times. Jeff told them about seeing her around the township, on the Commons with her dog, in the High Street, football games. They talked about everything from Ancient Egypt to Classical Greece, Elizabethan England, The Industrial Revolution, the Hundred Years War, Roundheads, Cavaliers and the Restoration, Time Teams and Romans. No, she didn't seem unhappy about anything, her work was continuing to improve. He had not seen her with any boy on a regular basis other than Peter. They never discussed her life. On his reflection, Jeff said that it looks to him like he knew all about her school life, but nothing else. That seemed to surprise him a little, like he had never considered it before in that way. Jeff held little back, gave them all the information they asked for. In the end, Jeff got a little frustrated and basically asked the DI, "What can you tell me? What happened?" Wishall looked at his partner who had remained silent the whole time and gave her a slight nod. For the first time, DI Coombe spoke, "We know she left the café at about 5:23pm. She was walking home, but at some point, either she turned off and went in another direction or..." "She was grabbed you think?" Jeff finished. "We don't know, right now. We do know it is about a 10 minute walk to her home, and we know her movements to when she left the cafe. Megan would likely have walked past three bank teller machines if she was going home. We will get the security footage from them and check to see if she did. You were at the cafe, the last confirmed adult sighting of her. She should have been home long before you left the cafe, so there is no reason to think you're involved any time after she left the cafe." Jeff released a sigh, and became more relaxed. "Thank you," Jeff started, "Look, Megan is a star pupil, one of the best natural historians I have ever met. She just gets it and it shows in her work. There are few Year 10 students who are interested in history, fewer still who have any real skills, but with her, history is a puzzle, and she is really good at solving it. She was well above average student in Year 9, then she just ignited in the subject. "By the end of Year 9 she had nearly completed the Lower Sixth curriculum. She was getting A grades for papers she would complete in a few days. That is when we got the OU involved through the Council Schools Office. She could go on with it, make a career from it. I really hope she does." Wishall and Coombe looked at him, with that hard steely gaze developed by police all over the world. "OK, end of term break is coming up, where will you be over the next few weeks?" "Here to the Tuesday of the last week, then I have an extra three days off. I will be driving to Budapest, staying for four days, then Munich, for a day, then walking through the Black Forest for a few days, been planning this since last summer. Should be back the Saturday before school resumes, at the latest. Guess I will have to cancel that now." "Only to Tuesday?" "Yes, I have applied for non-paid leave for the last three days of term. Want to get away as early as possible, beat the holiday rush. My Upper Sixth classes have effectively finished Tuesday, other classes can be easily covered." "The school has agreed to that?" "Oh yes, Mr Albright is OK with it, as long as it is non-paid leave. Big trip." "On your own?" "No, with my girlfriend." "You discuss this with Megan?" "What? Why would I do that? None of her business." "Suzy Crandall did ask you about your holiday plans, didn't she?" "Oh, yes, she did. mmm - now you mention it. She did ask and I told her. It is a really big trip for me, and I am really looking forward to it." "Excited about it?" "Very, the biggest trip ever, I think." "With your girlfriend?" asked DC Coombe, "Biggest trip of your life then?" "I hope so," Jeff replied. DC Coombe nodded, and asked, "It is not just the travel then?" Jeff's eyebrow's climbed up his forehead. "No - that was very perceptive." "Not difficult, your entire manner changed when you talked about it and your girlfriend. Did you mention to Suzy you were going to propose to your girlfriend?" "No, again, none of their business, and quite inappropriate to discuss such an issue with students. Besides, I wanted to wait until after, before I let anyone else know - just in case." Jeff smiled awkwardly, not returned by the two police officers. "Megan left shortly after that, didn't she?" "Yes, that's right she did. Why? Is it important?" "Do you think she might have been a little upset if you were planning a trip with another woman?" "Megan? Good lord no! What possible reason would make her upset?" "I don't know, a schoolgirl crush, perhaps?" "Oh, rubbish!" Jeff replied. "Megan is one of the most level headed 15 year olds in the school. She is never distracted from her work. Oh please, I am a history teacher, and we are such debonair fellows, girls just swoon at our feet, - give me a break. I am not quite old enough to be her father, but- oh gawd. You would be better off looking at the new sports teacher, now he is someone the girls would fall over for - some of the boys too I suspect." He smiled, which, again, was not returned. "Yes, we will anyway." "Oh?" Jeff said, "No, please, you are making me feel ill now. Megan, no she may be interested in the past, but her head is very much in the present - as far as I have observed." "Let's just leave it here then, shall we?" "What? Are you..." "Saying nothing more, Jeff," said DCI Wishall. "That'll do. For now, if we need to we'll definitely be in touch." "Do I cancel my trip then?" "No, no need, from our point of view. Just take your mobile phone." Jeff nodded and stood, "Is that all?" "Yes, thanks for your time. And good luck on your trip, I hope it works out for you." Jeff said "Thank you," and just nodded. Leaving the room, Jeff walked past the Head Teacher's office, and heard. "Oh Jeff, got a moment?" "Yes sure, Head." he entered the office, and closed the door, as indicated. "Bad business this, missing girl. No one knows where she has gone. Megan of all people, your star pupil. Second last week of term. Not going to help enrolments." Jeff nodded, and the Head went on, "What did the police have to say?" "Oh, they wanted to establish what Megan's movements were last night." "Yes, we have discussed your coffee club meetings. As long as they are out in the open, I wasn't worried about them, but this changes things. Did have one complaint from a customer there, said the kids were taking up too much room with their homework." Jeff smiled, "Yes, David Partington I would think. He always complained, end of year rush, the Upper Sixth bothered him before their A levels last year too." "Yes, Partington. I think it might be an idea not to continue these unofficial tutorials next term Jeff." "Yes, I think so too, but they cannot stop altogether. What about here? Make it midweek, after school in the cafeteria for the Upper Sixth only. I would hope that would make it work." "Yes, have a talk to Mrs Wilson, that's her territory, see if it is alright with her and if so, we can put up some notices in the Senior Common Room, otherwise, we can find a classroom." The talk drifted into the trivia of re-organizing Jeff's unofficial gathering into official tutorials for the rest of the year. Just before he left, the Head said to Jeff, "This is likely to turn into a media circus, at least until the next juicy story pops its ugly head up. If you have anyone from the media annoying you, please refer them to the Council School office." Jeff nodded, "Yes, the police might be better. Or both." The day drifted and word spread of Megan White's disappearance. More and more of the classes seemed somewhat stunned about it. By the end of the day, there was no other topic of conversation. Jeff went home that afternoon, with a small bundle of marking to do. There wasn't much until the end of the week, but he wasn't planning on doing any school work over the holidays, it needed to be finished. The rest of the week passed in limbo, shock, with a couple of speculative stories in the press but not much in the way of television cameras popping up at odd hours. Jeff was approached by a reporter for an interview about Megan. Giving the reporter no room, Jeff told them he was instructed not to say anything, then referred him to the police and the Council Schools Office, he did not want to partake in a media frenzy anyway. Jeff holed up in his terrace, for the week, but was not further assailed. He went out to meet his girlfriend on Saturday, they were spotted at a Bolton restaurant having lunch. They were also seen the next day at a cinema in the city and CCTV cameras saw them on the M62 on the way to Bolton, later images saw Jeff returning with an empty passenger seat. On Sunday evening, the grisly find of a body at a farm just outside the town bumped the missing girl from the headlines. Initially, it was thought the body could have been Megan's. The more sensational stories had the body quartered, but a later police report indicated that the victim was male, a known felon and had been stabbed and bludgeoned in the last 24 hours. Jeff Hunt was contacted by police on Monday. They briefly interviewed him about the extent of his relationship with Megan. Jeff informed them that Megan had been a regular at the coffee shop since before she completed her Year 9 studies. Police had found some of her friends were impressed, others were jealous, but more than a few were amused at the obvious flirtation that went on between Megan and Mister Hunt. Jeff replied that if there was any flirtation then it was on her part, and more likely in the minds of those students who were thinking it; but he hadn't thought her so immature. He patiently explained that Megan's passion for history led them into a closer working relationship, particularly when she started tutoring older students. She was participating in a broad OU program arranged by the school via the Council Schools Office, and he was her mentor for that, as the normal Upper Sixth Form curriculum was obviously inadequate for her. For Jeff, there was certainly nothing else in it. Jeff informed police that he had discussed the tutoring in detail with his Head Teacher when the tutoring started and there were certainly no misgivings on his part. Megan was actually doing something really valuable for those students. Jeff hoped his mentoring of her would make him the first in a series of mentors that she would have to ensure that she would end up as a historian. His praise for her talent was effusive, but that is all. Jeff's response to police was not suspicious, but neither was it completely reassuring. DI Coombe was not convinced Jeff had been fully open with them, but did not know which questions to ask to unravel him. DCI Wishall agreed, but did not feel that they needed to spend too much more time on him, unless something turned up later in the investigation. The viewing of the tapes from the teller machines and the security cameras showed that Megan walked past two of the banks, but not the third. There was no footage from any of the few CCTV cameras in that area that shed any light on what happened between the second and third bank. There were no police reports of anything unusual happening about the time of Megan's disappearance. No member of the public came forward to say they even saw Megan after she left the coffee shop. DCI Wishall reported that it was either that Megan had assisted in her own disappearance or she had been abducted by someone she trusted. The fact that Megan's birth certificate, her passport and student ID were missing indicated it was not an abduction. What DCI Wishall wanted to do was to link her to an adult. There were few people whom she would trust enough to get into a vehicle at their invitation, and all of them had sound alibis. The person most likely, he thought, to be involved in her disappearance was her history teacher. However, Mr Hunt was in the company of others, in a public place he was well known in, through the entire period that is the probable time span when an abduction would have taken place. It was this point that rendered Jeff Hunt to not be considered a suspect in a criminal abduction, but DCI Wishall was leaning heavily toward an assisted disappearance. The comments of some students over the next few days made him look again at the history teacher, but there was really nothing in his statements that were sounding alarms. The logic to this was that some observations of students, and a few by staff, led him to think that the relationship between the teacher and the student was a little more intense than what the teacher had led them to believe. There was nothing in Jeff's statement of that nature. He was dismissive of the suggestion Megan could have had a crush on him. DI Coombe thought he was protesting a little much, and was flattered by the suggestion, even while dismissing it. Megan is a beautiful young woman, she reasoned, but he seems too involved in his own relationship to have noticed her interest. Further checking of Jeff Hunt found no police records of him at all, except for a speeding fine from earlier in the year, on the motorway to Bolton. A surface investigation revealed he travelled to Bolton regularly, indicating an interest there, likely his girlfriend. A deeper investigation of his past revealed a lot more, and DI Coombe took it to her boss. "Oh!" was his first comment, his second was, "Let's be very careful here then, shall we?" DCI Wishall did, however, keep a discreet surveillance on him for a while, in case Megan had run off with him. His food purchases had not been any higher, his travel and work patterns did not seemed to have changed at all, his manner was as calm as anyone around him, considering the circumstances. Tracking his school Internet use, there was a lot of searching of walking trails in Europe, more recently around Budapest and the Black Forest. There was the usual hunting of historical information and research, but nothing out of the ordinary. His personal Internet couldn't be accessed without a court order, but there wasn't enough evidence to support such an application. The fact was, outside of the times and places Jeff mentioned in his statements, there was no evidence of contact with Megan at all. Even accounting for his mentoring relationship, it seemed that his contacts with her were not out of the ordinary that one may expect in a small township. The Wednesday he had indicated was the day he was leaving, Jeff Hunt was seen leaving his home without a passenger. Surveillance cameras saw him turn off the M62 into Bolton, still alone, where he apparently stopped and picked up a passenger, a young woman. Traffic surveillance cameras tracked them into Leeds, then to Hull later that day. CCTV cameras had video footage of people boarding the 8:30pm ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge. In it, they saw Jeff Hunt and a woman of about 20 years of age, strawberry blonde, about 5'7" tall, glasses and dark eyes with shoulder length hair, covering her ears. When they made a careful comparison of this girl's image with the photos they had of Megan, police could not match them, the nose was a little larger and straight, her cheekbones higher, she seemed taller, and her colouring was darker than Megan's. Mr Hunt and his soon- to-be-bride would be allowed to land in Zeebrugge without further surveillance. The missing girl was relegated by the media to below page four and did not make a reappearance on page one until she rang the police to let them know she was fine, safe and did not want to return home. Jeff told the police everything he thought they wanted to know. He answered their questions without appearing to evade anything. He answered questions in ways that put him into a more important role in Megan's development of her interest, but he was not defensive when questioned about their working relationship. He seemed as he was, a teacher helping a gifted student- except that Jeff was a good actor. His studies at Cambridge did not include drama, but he loved being a member of the CUADC. He learned a lot about staging, stagecraft, makeup and directing. While Jeff was not a great actor, he was good enough to be placed occasionally in key supporting roles, but he was more fascinated by the production than the acting. *** The Real Story Megan White started her Year 9 Autumn term appearing as a somewhat gawky 13 year old. Her hair was a brilliant black, really lustrous, straight and long. Her blue eyes shone, when people looked at her, her teeth were straight and even, her very fair skin free of the usual adolescent blemishes and other problems. Her nose was curved and not quite straight, which gave her face an appealing quality, rather than detracting from it. In short, Megan was showing all the signs of the beautiful young woman she was becoming. Her body was thin but it accentuated the developing curves as her breasts grew and hips spread. Megan was not model thin, but rather firm, a healthy firm and fit, not a diet thinness as many young girls can be. Her body movements always looked balanced and she was very much in control of her movements. She was a runner, not competitive, but she loved to run, as long as she was wearing a sports bra. This was something of a discussion with her mother, but Megan won her view. At the end of the first half of spring term, and her fourteenth birthday, Megan had blossomed, the gawky skinny kid was now replaced by a nascent woman. She was an unpretentious gorgeous young woman, not entirely unaware of her beauty, but comfortable with it. Her shadow, Peter Thorpe, the ever faithful, was attracted to her like iron to a magnet. Amongst Megan's classes was history. Always a good subject for her, in Year 9 there was an added dimension. Her teacher was just a hunk. For her, it was love at first sight. She felt things happening inside her that she had not ever experienced before. Her stomach grew butterflies, she could feel her nipples harden when he looked at her, and the end of history lessons she sometimes thought she would be stuck to her chair. Ever practical, Megan thought that if she really worked at history, she would attract his attention and keep it focused on her. Keeping her heart flutters under control, Megan surged ahead, attended Mr Hunt's coffee shop tutorials for Sixth Formers and by the end of Year 9 Summer Term, was surpassing them. The thought of six weeks without seeing her loved one was not a happy one, but that first week of holidays, she took Peter to the coffee shop to perhaps find him, they would run into him at the local supermarket and, more importantly, she often walked the dog, without Peter in tow, on the chance of running into him. She began to nod at him, when they met, then she was saying "hello", and would stop him for a brief chat about something historical. Talking to him always produced a positive result for her, he was handsome, work smart, and emotionally clueless, she thought. On his part, Jeff Hunt was seriously, professionally alert to her. She had really blossomed intellectually in the last year, her interest in history was genuine and helped her develop some real understanding of the subject. He had found himself looking forward to talking to her, she had become a lively conversationalist, and he found sometimes, not just in history. At the start of the second week of holidays, when Jeff was doing some shopping, Megan approached him, with her mother. Mrs White was delighted that Megan was taking such an interest in her school work, with history in particular. It seemed Megan was spending more time reading, history books mainly, not watching telly, except for Time Team and other historical documentaries, or chasing boys. "Mother! Boys, Ugh, - brainless the lot of them," Megan retorted, with that disgusted exasperation that only a teenager can inject into their "Mothers!". At that point, Mr Hunt looked at Megan in a slightly different way. Megan's mother was unaware of it, but Megan picked up on it, and her heart soared. Hiding her excitement, Megan took her mother's arm and quickly said good bye, dragging her Mum away. Jeff was a little bemused, but was also a little concerned. Megan was now beautiful, she was smart, really sexy and when she got close, her aroma, her scent, just seemed to intoxicate him. Get a grip, he said to himself. She is fourteen, he reflected, and a student of his. Really fuckable, but, he thought as he tried to bury his feelings. That night, Jeff realized he had been between girlfriends for weeks now, and his dick required some attention. For some reason, he thought about how good Megan looked and smelt, his dick jumped to instant erection and demanded it be relieved. Lying on his back and stroking his cock, he thought about nothing else, only how good she looked. He undressed her, slowly, touching her tits, kissing her nipples, plunging his fingers into her. He could see himself down, between her legs, licking her clit, making her cum as the tension in his balls mounted. His stroking grew more rapid, his breathing more irregular, his cock stronger, firmer in his hand. He saw his cock delving into her, pushing aside the folds of skin and the lips of her labia, puncturing through her hymen, making her cry out in pain and ecstasy. He could breath in the wonderful aroma of her as he held her close. He could hear her gasps of sexual delight while he plunged a rampant cock into her now open cunt. She screamed as he could no longer hold back and he felt his dick erupt with that wonderful sensation of pumping his cum into her. Jeff's real cum shot out of his dick at very high speed, huge gobs of it, hot to his skin. Fuck! he thought. That got me in the throat! What a fucking shot! Fuck, I really need to get laid! Cleaning himself up with tissues, proved a little messy, so he went into his bathroom and washed himself off. Back into bed, lying awake, he began to analyse just how much this child had disturbed him. This had never happened before. He had just had an incredibly intense sexual fantasy about a student, a 14- year-old student. Not an 18 year old Upper Sixth Former, but a Year 9, soon to be Year 10 student. He had trouble getting her out of his head, and what was worse, he realized that he didn't really want to. Holidays were good to relax, but Jeff was glad he could sleep in, if he needed to; tomorrow, he was going to need to. His last thought before drifting off to sleep was, I am seriously going to have to be careful around her. I cannot let on for even an instant about what she is doing to me. In the morning, his cock was again demanding attention. Jeff had no choice but to accede, and again the images of Megan leapt into the vision of his mind, her writhing under him, her cries of pleasure, her smell, her smell, just got to him. Again he ejaculated all over himself another massive load. Jeff had a quick wash and dressed, put his shorts and joggers on and made his way out to the commons. The commons where they lived were well over 100 acres, with a number of walking paths, clumps of trees and bushes and a large pond in the middle. Summer mornings were sometimes a little annoying for walkers, the more careless users of the commons would leave used condoms lying around, without bothering to clean up after themselves. Those seeking sexual release concentrated in the long grassy areas and around the impenetrably thick stands of bush and trees, night or day. Jeff used the commons regularly, sometimes jogging, sometimes walking, taking different paths, cutting across paths, and often lamented that the pond was no good for either swimming in the summer or skating in the winter. However, it is a pretty area. That morning Jeff had missed the early crowd and the younger kids had not yet put in an appearance. There were few people there at that time, so Jeff could run himself out if he wanted to - and he needed to burn of that excess sexual energy that even the best of wanks, like the one last night and again this morning, cannot get rid of. Jogging around the commons on the concrete tracks laid by council years ago, Jeff saw a figure coming in the opposite direction, being dragged by a large dog. Oh God, he thought, Megan-Fuck-the last person I want to see here. "Hi Mr Hunt, how are you?" she asked when she got close enough. "Fine thanks Megan! Yourself?" he responded slowing his jogging, but not stopping. "Getting lots of fresh air thanks to Winston here!" she laughed. "See you!" as the dog kept pulling her along. Phew...Jeff thought. Thanks for that and he sped up and away. A few minutes later, Jeff was on the other side of the pond, jogging through a heavily wooded area, and there was Megan, coming the other way, still being dragged by the dog. He smiled politely as he jogged closer to her, and he thought he saw her foot just flick the dog on the tail. The dog turned to look up at Megan and stopped, right in front of Jeff. Over he went, onto the hard surface, the dog yelped and Megan squeaked, "Ooohhh Winston!" she cried. "Oh Mr Hunt! Are you OK? Oh dear, I am sorry." With the leash in one hand, Megan bent over the fallen man and took his hand, pulling it to her breast. Just a fleeting moment. That could have been accidental, could have been, but Megan had my hand and pulled it to her tit, Jeff thought. What the fuck?! He felt her tit, he could not mistake that softness under her clothing. She didn't say anything, she wasn't turning red or anything, like it never happened. But Jeff knew! His wrist tingled at her touch and his palm retained the memory of her tit. Did she really do that? Yes, she did, Jeff thought. Well, fuck me! Or maybe, fuck her! His dick just jumped at the thought, at the touch of that soft mound of cloth covered skin. "Oh look, you skinned you knee!" Megan said. "Oh wait, wait..." She pulled out from her pocket some tissues, neatly folded and clean. Megan quickly took the first one off and bent over, pressing the tissues to the wound, holding the inside of the knee in the other hand. She relaxed her hands and looked at the wound, and put the tissues back over the wound and pressed, while the other hand reached a little further up the inside of his thigh than was maybe necessary. Her soft touch halfway between his knee and balls did nothing but excite an already half-barred erection. "Megan," Jeff started, "I..." "Oh please, don't worry, the bleeding will stop soon, its not deep," she said. "No, it is not the wound, its..." "Oh please, don't say anything. Winston does not normally do that, we'll have you fixed up as soon as." "Megan..." "If it was any deeper, I would get Winston to lick it clean, dogs work wonders on cleaning open wounds, you know." As her hand strayed further up Jeff's leg. "There, stopped now," she said as she blotted up the bleeding. Megan removed the tissues and looked and then she bent over the knee and kissed his leg. "There, kiss it all better." Looking around again, Megan moved and leant over him and kissed him, on the lips. "That is for being a good patient, Mr Hunt. Didn't cry once." She smiled. "Megan, please, stop!" Megan looked around. "Oh Mr. Hunt, I am sorry, you were hurt, Winston is a very good dog," she moved closer to him, and as he stood, she seemed to flow into his arms, pressing herself to him, obviously on the pretext of helping him stand. "Oh, Megan now stop it! This is entirely inappropriate!" he said. "Oh no" she said as she stepped back and pointed to his dick, "That could be inappropriate, or rather, as that is for me, totally appropriate." Jeff realized his erection was making a rather obvious tent in his shorts. "I'll tell you what, Mr Hunt, I know where you live and if I come around a little later this evening you can show me some more of that." Megan said, looking directly at his cock. "Megan..." "Oh, it's OK, Mr Hunt. I'll come after dark, or should that be I will cum after dark?" "Megan, no, don't come!" "OK then, tomorrow night." "No, not then either!" "Well, that is telling me something different Mr Hunt." Looking squarely at his now blossomed cock, smiling. Jeff tried to will his erection away, but it just seemed to grow harder. Fuck me, he thought, it is, but no, can't happen. He turned and walked away, but not too fast. Fuck, he thought, what did she just do to me? He knew if he turned and looked she would be there, but that didn't stop him, and she was, looking at his bum, without any self-consciousness. She smiled and his heart just leapt out of his chest, into his throat. He turned and ran all the way home like a scared little schoolboy. What the fuck are you doing to me, Megan, he thought. Jeff's day dragged by, and he realized that he was really hoping that Megan would not come, would come, would chicken out, would turn up with bells on. He knew he had a rather painful erection several times through the day and he looked to the evening with hope and anxiety. He was losing it, he had never been in so much emotional turmoil in his life, not even when Mother died. Megan's nearness that morning had overwhelmed him, his nostrils were still filled with her scent, his eyes full of her image, his heart palpitating every time he thought of her and his cock with anticipation of what might happen. Fuck, he thought, all this over a fourteen year old. What the fuck is the matter with me? Several times Jeff picked his car keys up and went to leave the terrace. It was a three story terrace, with both front and rear access and his car was parked in the rear. His family purchased the entire block, putting it into a Trust, during the Great Depression at a bargain basement price, according to his grandfather, and after the War had refurbished it. They had lived there until the company was really sound, then moved to London, but kept this block of terraces. Over time, more and more of the terraces were sold off individually by the Trust, making substantial profit. This was the only one the family had left, well, he owned it now, not the family. It had been extensively remodelled, heavily insulated, double glazed windows, better heating, lighting throughout, when the family had lived in it. Mother and Father lived here after they were married, all their children were born here. His mother had bought it from the family trust, and passed it to Jeff when she died. He was still at Eton and was always coming back here as he looked for a job in this area after graduation. The family had moved into grandfather's rather palatial residence in Mayfair when he died, leaving this with tenants. Jeff cleaned it up and refitted the place when he moved back in, it was a safe haven from his father. Sunset happened and the twilight was gradually replaced by darkness. It seemed that Megan was not coming, she had chickened out. At one level, Jeff heaved a sigh of relief, but at another level, just below his belt, he was becoming increasingly disappointed. Time passed and Megan still did not show, so Jeff considered what he was going to do. First thing's first, into the city and see if I can find a decent fuck. Then make my own routines variable. Shopping on different days, jogging earlier in the day, anywhere I was meeting Megan, vary that routine. Make sure there- A soft tapping from the back door intruded upon Jeff's musings. A few seconds later, a slightly louder rapping came. Jeff went and opened it, and Megan just pushed past him, into the house. "Megan, what are you doing here? You can't be here!" She turned and pushed the door shut. "Don't want the neighbours finding out about this." "Jesus, anyone could have seen you coming." "Well they won't. That is why I am all in black. Someone might have seen someone passing but they would never recognize me." She was so confident of herself Jeff fell silent. He was stunned by her audacity actually. "I came in through the back lane, and with the hoodie, there would not be too many people who would realize I was a girl." She move forward and hugged him, and his body just took over. He returned the hug and then realized she was here, and she is under aged. He froze. "Oh please, you can hug me. I don't bite - hard, anyway." "You cannot be here!" "I know, you keep telling me. But I am now, so we will just have to talk about it, Jeff" Jeff blinked, "I think..." "A girl is allowed to call her future husband by his first name isn't she?" "WHAT!" Jeff exclaimed, "Future husband!" Jeff was shocked at this bald pronouncement. "Yes, and don't be so shocked. I've known about it for ages, well OK, since I fell in love with you last year. There will never be anyone else I could ever love." "Megan! You cannot..." "Of course I can dear, that is how it is!" "Megan! Will you allow me to finish a sentence!" "Yes, I just did, now obviously we really have to take things easy, and make sure no-one else finds out about this..." "If you do not stop, I will just throw you out!" He knew he should, but he couldn't. "OK, sorry. Can I take this off now?" "No, you won't be here long enough!" "Oh! That's disappointing, but I am rather warm, I jogged here, this is heavy and I do need a drink, I might faint with heat," she said. "Oh yes, OK." She turned away from Jeff and undid the buttons on her full length coat. Jeff noted the sneakers were dark as well and bare legs protruded from under the coat. Jeff saw her spread her arms opening her coat, then shrugged it off and tossed it onto the bench alongside her. He then saw her, dressed only in a bra and what might be called knickers. Jeff was just blown away. From one moment to the next, she just took control of him and turned his world on its head. "A bit daring you think?" she asked, innocently. Jeff could not even speak, this vision of beauty, in his parlour, wearing considerably less than he was. "Now, please, Jeff, time to stop and hear me out. I was really only kidding about the husband thing. What we are both experiencing is sheer lust. I wasn't really kidding about how I feel about you though. I got involved in history just to be close to you, you know. Who'd have thought I actually have a flair for it? "I must admit though, that in your classes there have been days when I thought that I would be unable to stand without the chair coming with me I was just so damned wet - ergo lust." "What? What on earth are you talking about?" "You know there are days when you are just so damned sexy that I would just become so wet in the loins that I was afraid I would be stuck to the chair. I would want you so badly that I would be like thinking I could climb over everyone else in the room and shag you right then and there. And who cares if they are watching. Does that make me a slut you think?" "Stop for a moment, let me catch up here." Jeff took a deep breath, "First, you cannot be here, you are a student of mine, and you are only 14 years old. We certainly cannot have a relationship, not a physical one anyway." Jeff could feel the disappointment in his cock, but it did not prevent it from becoming large as he was talking and taking Megan in. Fuck she is not a child, that is for sure. Her breasts were threatening to jump out of her bra, and the knickers, well, slim fits, he would call them, covering bits but just barely. Although the sneakers were incongruent with the spectacularly sexy almost outfit she was wearing. Oh fuck, get a grip and not on your cock you stupid bastard! Jeff thought, not of her either! "I know, but that is a legal fiction. Legislation that is meaningless in the real world." "No, not fiction, not meaningless when you are being sent down for three to ten years it's not." Jeff noticed the light tones of her skin above the breast line and the curves of her waist, pushing out to her hips, her mons barely covered by her knickers, dark hairs protruding from the edges. He really wondered what she would look like completely naked. Fuck! Get a grip! he told himself. "mmm OK, I agree, but then we just have to make sure no one ever finds out. Elaborate stories come unstuck too quickly, so no story at all would be best. Basically, if no-one sees us together at anytime, outside of the obvious, then there would be no suspicion. We cannot have any suspicion." "Wait up! I am not agreeing with any of this, time for you to get dressed and go home as quietly as you came." After a good rogering, little head completed the sentence, Oh for fuck's sake, give over! "Jeff, I came here tonight to have sex for the first time. I have been practicing this for weeks. Getting out of the house, finding different ways to get here that avoid well lit areas and CCTV. I have three routes, and I can see if anyone is tailing me at different points. There is a number of little hiding spots I can dodge into quickly to avoid being seen if I need to. Today on the commons seems to indicate that tonight would be a good night." "What? What?" Jeff started, "Have you been planning this?" His dick would just argue its way out of his pants, if he let it. "Yes. It started out as just a fantasy, a schoolgirl crush, if you like. But then my libido took over, and I started being places I though you would be. I studied history really hard, and found it easy. You know those tutorials we have on Monday evenings were like dreams. I got to spend extra time with you and no one would question either of us as to why we were spending so much time together. It was then I knew that this is where I wanted to end up, with you and me together, without interruption, naked, open in our sexuality. That is why I was so glad to see you this morning, and your reaction, wow!" "Megan, no, this is... is... just wrong." Not for little head, his body told him. "Funny you know. You can be prosecuted and gaoled for fucking me, but I can't for fucking you. How is that for a really bad law. Besides, how would Mary get on today?" "Mary, who is Mary?" "The Virgin Mary. Virgin my arse, immaculate conception? Rubbish, but the really important point here is that when she gave birth to Jesus, she was fourteen, according to the Apocrypha. I am going to leave the rest of this nonsense alone. God got a 14 year old girl pregnant and has gotten away with it for 2000 years." "But who is the adult here?" "Adult by legal definition is a nonsense. It is an arbitrary line that segregates us as a society in a way that is really meaningless. There are fourteen year olds who meet the criteria for the definition of an adult and twenty-four year olds who do not. There are parts of the world where fourteen is considered adult, still." She argued. "Moving away from the point aren't we?" "That is the point, isn't it?" Megan replied. "I am physically mature, I have breasts- Aren't they nice?" Jeff refrained form saying anything but the tent in his pants was speaking volumes. "I have a period, regularly, so can conceive, I am smart enough to know what I want, mature enough to know that the world is not black and white, and if I want something, I have to work for it. What I do not have is experience. And that, is why I am here now. I want a genuinely adult experience." "Megan!" "Can you please start a sentence with something other than 'Megan!'" Jeff was stopped in his tracks. He could say nothing in the face of the sheer nerve of this woman-child. "Oh look please," Megan said, "Jeff, I want you. Simple as that. You want me too, I saw that this morning and now, look at you." She moved closer to Jeff, and he stepped back a little, she moved closer, he stepped into the wall, "Don't fight it, Jeff, just go with it. The distance between us is a lot shorter now than it was a few moments ago." She was looking at a treacherous dick that was struggling to take a more prominent part in this discussion. Jeff knew he wasn't fighting too hard, otherwise he would have just slammed the door in her face, before she had a chance to get inside. She moved to press herself to him, and reached her hands around his neck, pulling his face down to hers. Turning her face up, she kissed him, and pressed her body closer to him. Jeff felt the immediate affects that such a sensual kiss could produce. So did Megan. His fear of the reactions she was generating inside him held him back, he still hadn't even wrapped his arms around her. His hope that this was more than just an incredibly vivid wet dream drove his body. His engorged tool was hard in his pants, her soft mouth, her just so sexy aroma, enveloped him in sensuality. Damn, Jeff thought as he felt himself getting lost in the sheer emotional storm being near her brought him, a stiff dick really has no conscience. He could no longer hold himself. He moved then, holding her, making sure she would not disappear on him. He kissed her back, fervently. She responded by pressing herself as close as she could get, promising to squeeze the clothes between them out. Reaching around her back, Jeff fumbled with the bra catch and it came open. Their closeness prevented it from falling away, but that didn't matter, when they did separate it would come off. He cupped one of the cheeks of her bum in his hand pulling her hips closer to his own. There was no doubt she was feeling the huge hardened cock pressing into her lower belly. As their kiss continued she was not shy in gyrating her body to rub against his tool. "Take me to a bed," Megan said softly as she broke the kiss. Her bra fell away revealing for the first time her large, soft, white globes, capped by darkened aureoles, her nipples hard and standing upright, proud of their arousal. She used each foot to prise her sneakers off, then, hooking her thumbs into her knickers, Megan pulled them down, allowing them to fall to her ankles where she stepped out of them. Fully naked now, she showed herself to him, glorying in his vision of her. Reaching out, she ran her hand over Jeff's prick, cooing in delight for the manner in which she excited him. "Ooooh, all for me... yuuuummm!" she whispered. She took his hand and softly said, "Lead on, my lover." Jeff moved from the wall, and guided her to the nearby stairs, up to the master bedroom. Getting to the landing, he stopped, holding her back, then bent and picked her up in his arms, before they moved through the doorway. Kissing her like this was a little awkward, but she hung onto his neck and returned his kiss as he stepped through into the bedroom. Jeff placed her lengthways on the bed and rapidly stripped. When his underpants fell off, his cock displayed itself in all its seven inch glory. Leaning over her, Jeff kissed her lips, her neck, then her breasts, suckling on each nipple, savouring the flavour of this beautiful young near woman. He ran his hands over the soft surfaces of her skin and made his way to dark triangle of hair between her thighs. Pushing her legs apart, exposing the centre of her excitement, Jeff ran his hand along that silken thatch. "Do you masturbate until you cum?" Jeff asked. "Oh yeah...ooh! ... Every night... dreaming... ooh... of you... ahhh... doing... exactly... ohh... this!" Megan gasped. Jeff smiled and continued kissing across the bottom of her ribs. "Good!" he said, "You can cum whenever you like then..." Megan's breathing became short, erratic gasps as Jeff ran his fingers over the very, very wet lips of her labia. Gently inserting his finger along the furrow, Jeff did not try to penetrate her with a finger, just found her clit and gently massaged it while kissing closer and closer to it. Jeff smeared Megan's juices all over her mons, in her pubes, around the labia and down, into the crack of her arse. Even though he was probing her belly button with his tongue, he was breathing in her heady aroma. His tongue lapped her skin, tasting of her, absorbing her delicious oils though his taste buds. Moving his mouth downward, continuing to massage Megan's clit, Jeff lapped the moist hairs covering her sex. For the first time he tasted the Ambrosia of Megan, a highly addictive mixture of pussy juice, hair and skin oils that he knew, just knew, that would forever be joined in his life. Replacing his fingers with his tongue, Megan jumped as his lapping took over, "AAAAggghhh..." she cried as she felt the gentle ministrations of his tongue driving the pleasure sensations emanating from her sex. Each sensation came as the other subsided, then closer and closer together as she felt her muscles tightening signalling the onset of an orgasm. While Jeff lapped her clit, Megan felt his finger probing her hole and as he pushed inside her for the first time a wave of convulsions swept over her. Her orgasm hit her like a massive wave, pushing her under, tumbling her emotions round and round, only to be hit with another wave, forcing her entire body to flush in a surge of heat. "FUUUUK!" she cried, "CUMMING!" as her orgasm seized every muscle and shook it, releasing it, then seizing it again. Her lungs seemed unable to gasp in air, her heart seemed to stop in the face of the sheer pleasure of it. Megan collapsed on the bed as Jeff continued to lap her clit and poke his finger in and out of her. To Megan, it seemed only seconds had passed and Jeff's kept his fingering and lapping going of her, again setting her on the path to another orgasm. She knew she had never been so wet, never been so aroused, she could smell it, an overwhelming odour of sexuality that permeated the entire room. "That was unbelievable!" Megan cried between gasps for breath, "Never cum like that before!" "Not over yet, babe!" Jeff replied as he lifted his mouth off her cunt. Jeff got onto his knees and lifted her legs off the bed and pushed her knees back toward her shoulders. In this position, her sex was in the air, and with her knees spread, he was able to plunge his mouth onto her vagina, engulfing it completely. His tongue stabbed into her, brushing aside her blood engorged lips, diving into her vaginal opening as deep as he could go. He lapped her vagina, then searched for her clit, then back to the virgin opening, then back to the clit in a circular motion, covering all parts in between. Juice flowed freely from her, covering her arse hole, and as he lick upward, the tongue-pushed excess flowed through her pubic hair onto her abdomen. Megan was again swept away by the onrushing orgasm, her spasms as strong as the first, if not stronger. She was over the top again, her muscles just taking over in a delight of pleasure. Again and again, "A-a-a-r-r-g-g-g- hhh!" She could not do anything other than make noise, she couldn't speak a word, only make the noises of the ultra-stimulated woman in an orgasm. Jeff dropped her legs back down and moved to lie alongside her, holding her, touching her breasts, her mons, her bare skin. "Please," she said, as she got her breath back, "You just have to fuck me now!!!" "Yes, soon my love, soon," he replied, "I just want to make sure you are comfortable, and really ready for it." He kissed her, then taking a breast in his mouth softly suckled on the hardened nipple. "Oooohhh yes, I am that now, for sure. Your love, true and certain." "This is for you, tonight is your night." Jeff said as he moved over her, "But first," he reached over to open the dresser drawer, fumbling around in the draw he found what he was looking for and pulled out a small silver packet. Breaking it open with his teeth, he said, "No way do you want to get pregnant." He quickly put the condom on as Megan spluttered that she hadn't actually thought about it-but he was right and she didn't want him to get into trouble as her lover. "This is going to hurt a bit, this time, but it will get better, promise." "I know, I know- I want it to hurt! I never want to forget this moment!" Jeff covered her, his knees between her spread legs, an arm on either side of her body, he saw her breasts flattening out as gravity pulled them down and outward. His condom covered cock was so hard, so aroused he was initially unable to get it engaged in her love canal. Lowering himself a little more, he felt the lips of her labia open for him, catching the knob just at the entrance. She gasped as his invading flesh pushed into her. Jeff felt the obstruction of her hymen, "Relax" he said as she moaned and started to tense up a little in anticipation, "You are going to love this." Jeff pulled back a little, his cock moving outward, until he could feel it about to fall out, Fuck she is tight, well she should be for her first, he thought. He eased it back in until he again he felt his passage blocked by her hymen. He pulled back again, only this time he thrust in hard, smashing his way through the barrier. Megan cried out, but Jeff ignored her, pumping in and out as hard as he could. Megan cried out again and again, every time Jeff thrust into her tight snatch. He could feel the tension building in him quickly as the combination of her incredibly tight pussy, the heady scent of her arousal, the lingering taste of her on his lips took hold of his body. "Yes-Yes-YES!" he cried as his cock enlargened only to spasm, shooting his cum into the catcher of the condom. Each wave of pleasure, wound its way outward from his instrument of lust, making him want it to just keep going. He kept pumping as best he could their moans of pleasure and pain echoing around the bedroom. Collapsing on top of Megan after he spent, Jeff's body throbbed at their dual heartbeats, seemingly in unison. His cock though had other ideas, it did not fully detumesce as it ordinarily would after such a strong cum, instead it kept up, but he was lacking in the sexual energy to keep his thrusting movements going. The lovers held each other, Megan for reassurance, Jeff for the tenderness of his sex, still half hard. They were physically joined by the cock buried in that recently demolished haven of purity. When Megan managed to get her breath back and Jeff rolled onto his side, holding this precious woman beside him, she asked, "Is it always like that? So intense?" "I hope so," Jeff smiled, "but not likely, I am not sure we could keep that pace up for too long." He mused a little further, "No, sometimes it's going to be even more demanding, others will be slow and languid love, sometimes it will be tired love, others anxious love, and every emotional context in between." "I hope it is though," she said, "I have cum when masturbating, but nowhere nearly as intense. Is it like that when someone else does it for you? With their fingers or tongue?" "Mmmm, pretty much I would think, but not all the time though. I doubt our bodies are made for that kind of pleasure. How do you feel?" "Oh wonderful! A little sore, down there, but wow, just great otherwise- really tired though. I don't think I can walk home for a while" "Aaahhh!" Jeff paused. "That's OK, just sleep for now. and we can talk a little later." Jeff reset the alarm on his mobile phone, to wake him at 3:00, just in case he slept. Megan was breathing regularly, evenly, the deep breaths of a contentedly sleeping person. Just after he put the phone down he had the thought he had better wash her up, but it seemed the alarm was buzzing before he had completed the thought. Megan stirred beside him. "Come on. Better wash you up." Jeff took her still half asleep into the connected bathroom and ran the hot water in the hand basin. He turned to leave and she grabbed his hand, indicating she wanted him here. Megan used the toilet, then started to wash herself, no embarrassment, no modesty, just a glow about her that wasn't obvious before. "How do you feel now?" "Not as sore, but really relaxed and just wonderful, actually." She drew Jeff closer, and using the face washer on him, she washed him down as well, his semi-hard cock growing at her touch. Dropping the pretence of washing him, she took his dick in hand and ran her hand up and down it, making it harder than it was. Jeff moaned as she drew him closer, "Ooohh you better stop or you may not get out of here tonight," he said regretfully. "Ohh," came the disappointed reply, "Yes, I know, restraint is just as important as daring. But next time, I want to see you shooting your stuff, deal?" "Yes, for sure. Then I will just have to make you cum with my tongue again." Jeff was extremely happy she talked of a next time. "And I will really be looking forward to that." They finished washing, then went downstairs to pick up their clothing. As she got dressed, Jeff marvelled at the beauty of this woman. How did she do it? Jeff made some tea for them, and they sat at the breakfast bar, holding hands. "Time to talk," he said. "Now the hard part, it's nearly 4:00a.m., and you are going to have to get home before dawn. What is the routine at home?" "Mum and Dad are in bed, they usually go to bed at about 10 and up around 6ish. I have been staying up later some nights, and others been in bed before them, and sometimes at the same time. Tonight I was in bed before them, waiting for them to go to sleep. Sometimes, I am up before them and go out for a walk, or a run. Dad doesn't mind but mum is not always happy I will do it before sunrise." "How did you get out without being noticed?" "My bedroom window, I am on the ground floor on the other side of the house from their bedroom. It is a semidetached, two story place, four bedrooms they bought before they found out I was going to be their only child. I made sure there is nothing under the window, and there is an amount of light from the street that is just enough to see by. If I use the front door, I can usually get out and in without disturbing them - but not always." "Getting back in through the window if you need to?" "Yep, the fence is low enough to jump over without noise, but is solid- and the driveway is really old, hard, non-slip concrete so will be ok even in winter. Or I can always fake coming in from a run, if I run really late, I have a dark tracksuit so that might be a better option than the coat. Only wanted to surprise you with the lack of clothing." "You did that, mmmm. Well, you have that end covered, what about the getting here and back?" "I have been practicing for the last month or so." Megan admitted. Jeff's eyes just about popped out of his head in surprise. "What?" "Oh please, let's not go back to this," Megan replied, "I have been dreaming about getting into your bed for a while and this slinking about was always going to be a part of it. I had to practice. Different times of the night to get out of the house and get back in, unseen. Walking around at night, finding places to hide if needed, the best routes here and back. "I checked CCTV camera placements to make sure I could avoid them, and found out how to not be recognized at night from their images. I can check if I am being followed, and all that. I have read enough history to realize that carelessness has its own rewards. We cannot ever be careless here, and the one thing I thought of but completely forgot about was a condom. Glad you didn't, because I got carried away in the heat of the moment as it were." "OK, so you know what you want and have worked out how to get it then. What happens if we get seen? How about if you get caught out of the house? What about if someone spots you walking home and attacks you?" "OK, I can't see everything. But I have a small spray deodorant in my pocket, spray that in someone's face and it is going to distract them, and I am pretty fast on my feet when I need to be. It's also why I have a number of little hiding spots on every route to and from here. If worse comes to worse, I can use my mobile to call you and you can drive past an area to frighten off anyone. My phone is set to vibrate only, no ring tone-yeah, Suzy Crandall and I went to see World War Z, so no noisy mobiles." she smiled. "I better go." she said as she finished her tea. "What about the dog? Won't it start barking when you try to get back in?" "Nah, he sleeps most of the time now. Despite his strength, he really is older, so he sleeps. Most of the time he has been seeing me off and wants a pat before I climb in the window." Before he let her out the door, Jeff kissed her, but it wasn't an ordinary kiss, it was the full sensuous kiss of a lover, giving his beloved a deep part of his soul. Megan responded in kind, and Jeff knew his fate was always going to be bound with this woman. Funnily enough, he could no longer think of her as a child, even though she is just fourteen and he had just taken her virginity. For Jeff age was not the criteria for womanhood, not anymore. Later he realised there was nothing really clumsy about her kissing either, she wasn't shy at all, or pretended a modesty, he didn't understand this. Wow, he thought, she really is something new. Life did not return to normal for either of them. Two nights later, Megan appeared at Jeff's back door again. For the next two hours they made love, talked, and made love again. Megan was back the next night, and in bed, just after Megan cum under Jeff's tender tongue, said, "You lick me to make me cum, I need to be able to suck you to make you cum." Jeff loved that she was just so up front about sex, no false modesty, or reticence, just real interest and willingness to try new things. "OK," Jeff said, "I think you might want to take it easy, it is not everyone's cup of tea." "Not a chance," Megan replied laughing, "I want to know how to give you as much pleasure as you give me, turnabout is fair play, goose and gander thingy." Jeff shook his head smiling, and lay back, resting his upper torso on the headboard of the bed, spreading his legs. "OK, get here, on your knees. This way first, later other ways, OK?" Megan got into position and then leant forward, kissing Jeff on the mouth, "I will try not to be bad at it." "You'll be brilliant - with practice," he said, smiling. "...and lots of it, I expect," she replied. "Take it in your hand, look at it. Look at the knob, that is where the majority of nerve endings are, you got one too, only it is called the clit. Its medical name in 'penis minora', while the guy's dick is 'penis majora'." Jeff started. "Now, look at the lip of the knob, see where it rolls around like a helmet on the top, but it sweeps into an inverted V underneath. Now, take your hand and gently move it up and down, making sure you pass over the edge of the knob. Yes, that is it, slowly, and not too tight. This is best with some Baby oil, that way you don't generate too much friction and cause split dick." "Cause what?" "Split dick, split the skin of the dick. It's annoying and can sting like crazy, so you need to be careful of it." he said. "You can pick up a bit of speed, and while this is not the best angle to be pulling a dick at, it is still pleasurable." "So when do I get to the sucking bit?" "When you think it is hard enough is one way. Or you can start sucking, but you have to be careful with that." "Oh?" "Yes, if it gets hard, really hard in your throat, it can cause you to gag, or choke you. So be careful. For the moment, best start with a bit of hand first, later, please yourself. Ooohh that is nice, just like that." Megan gently rubbed his cock back and forward, making it really hard. "OK, I think I got it, now to suck." "If you like." Megan nodded. "OK, now this is not easy, well not as easy as the girls in porn seem to make it, anyway." "How do you know? Ever suck a dick?" "Oh god no, strictly hetro, I am. Very ordinary, I am afraid." "I am not." "Not what? Strictly hetro?" "No, not afraid, as for the other, let's get used to the common or garden variety relationship first." She smiled, the kind of smile that just lit up her face, and the room around her. "There is absolutely nothing common about this relationship I can tell you, my love." "Good, there is nothing common about me, I am very uncommon, I think." "Unique, I suggest." Megan just preened in the light of that. Naked, with her hand full of cock, Jeff marvelled at how she could do that. "OK, now, what you are going to have to do is to just slowly take it into your mouth. Don't gulp it, let the head push your lips apart. Oh, keep your teeth out of the way too. " "How? I can't take my teeth out, well not yet, maybe in another fifty years or so, but not yet." "Hold your jaws open and just use your lips. " "Oh.. well, here goes." Megan lowered her head onto his cock, following his advice about taking it slowly. She felt the knob pushing against her lips and opened her jaws as she allowed it to penetrate through the soft skin, into her mouth. "Ahhh," Jeff sighed, "That's good, now, once you get the knob in, use your tongue to lap the underside of it." Megan again followed Jeff's instructions, lapping at his prick. She wiped her tongue all over the knob, exciting Jeff. "Ooooooo, that is very nice darling. Aaaaahhhh, very nice indeed. You would be getting a... oooooo... load of precum... aaahhh. Now this is where it gets tricky. Take as much into your mouth... ooooo... as is comfortable... uuuuuggggghhhhh... then suck in and lift your head so your lips touch the rim of my knob." Megan lifted her head, sucking and did as she was instructed. "As you are lifting your head, breath out through your nose, when you are at the top, and as you lower your head, breath in. Just a slow and steady rhythm. Don't take too much cock in until you are more comfortable with it. Then when you get it right, you can relax the muscles at the back of your throat and not gag when you take it all in. You will be able to keep it deep in your throat, if you keep your breathing right for a while, but that too takes practice." Megan practiced for a while, timing her breathing, sucking, lifting her head, just slowly at first, then speeding it up a bit as she took more and more of his cock into her mouth. At one point, Megan took too much in and gagged on it, but then slowed it down a little. She didn't get it all right, but she was really making the effort. She had to stop after about 5 minutes, her neck and jaw were getting sore. But she had sucked Jeff's lovely cock. With a bit of practice, she would soon be able to give him a full blow job, she thought. "Sucking is not like me licking you." Jeff said, "It is much more difficult, and it takes a while to get right." He was right, Megan thought, "Just takes practice, you available for after school lessons then?" she laughed. "But I still want to see you shoot. So, onto your back and I will pull your tool." "Use the baby oil, makes it easier," Jeff lay flat on his back, Megan moved off the bed and got the baby oil, then standing at the side of the bed, she poured some over his hard cock. "Cold," he said. "Oh, sorry, but won't be for long." Reaching over, she took his hard rod into her hand. Wrapping her hand around the heated rod gave Megan a thrill, she was holding his cock, something she will never tire of. Moving her hand up and down, she felt the smooth texture of his silken tool, marvelling at the feel of it, both hard and yielding in her hand. She slowly sped up, into a rhythm and his ooooos and aaahhhs became more pronounced, he started pumping his hips and said, "Ooh darling, cumming soon, soon, cumming NOW!" As he shot his cum into the air. She tried to aim it at his face, and was disappointed when she hit his shoulder and the pillow under his head. But there were three streams of cum, the first going the furthest, pushed out to an extreme range. The second did make it to his ribs but the third did little more than spout as a low pressure water tap, not reaching much above his pubic hair, to his lower abdomen. Wow, that is what it looks like then, she thought. All through her pulling of his dick, she watched his face, trying to gauge the pleasure she was giving him. She wasn't disappointed when she saw his eyelids flutter as he shot his semen. It was brilliant, she thought, I want more. Megan saw how his sperm shoots from the end of his cock, the lines of cum like string across his body, she dipped her finger into it and licked it. "A bit salty," she said, "but still nice enough to eat." She scooped more off his body and licked her hand clean. So Megan learned how to suck a cock, how to masturbate him properly. She learned how to give pleasure, and take it. He fucked her one evening and after he ejaculated, he went to take the condom off, but Megan did it instead. Removing the condom, she tied a knot in the end, like he did, but then she leant over and kissed his detumescing dick. She then took it into her mouth, using her tongue and lips to wipe it clean of any semen. By this time Jeff was almost hard again, so she kept on sucking his dick. Jeff moved, and pulling Megan into position, turned it into a post-coital 69er. Jeff made Megan cum again, and as she shook in orgasm, she stopped sucking him. Jeff took the opportunity to withdraw from her mouth and as she finished cumming, he maneuverer her head to the pillow, where he kissed her, deeply. As they were lying in each others arms, Jeff ran his hands over her body, and made her shiver in delight at his touch. "Back to work next week," he said. "I know, don't remind me," she replied, "Might have to wind our nocturnal activities back a little. Otherwise neither of us are going to get enough sleep." "Well, that is not exactly what I was thinking." Jeff started, "In class with you and not being able to touch you is going to be difficult." "Oh, yes, that too. And there will be opportunities that we will just not be able to take advantage of either. There is no way we can allow ourselves to be compromised. Patience and daring, restraint and boldness, we just have to put our emotions on hold during the day, but at night, we can play then." "I know we have to, but this I can tell you," Jeff swallowed before continuing, "Megan, I love you, I want to be with you, to share your life." Megan was stunned to hear him actually say it, "And I feel the same way. I want to be with you, always." "Will you marry me?" He asked. "Jeff!" She really jumped out of her skin, she certainly did not expect to be proposed to while naked, in bed with her lover, after just completing another wonderful evening of lovemaking. "Of course I will, I will marry you, my love." She cried, her tears of joy spilling on him as he held her, she kissed him deeply. Rolling on top of him, straddling him, she could feel his arousal and she took hold of his stick, holding it up and lowering herself onto it. "I will love you to the end of my days, through the good times, and the bad. I will love you from the very depths of my soul, for ever and ever," Megan said, taking his rampant cock inside herself. Meeting her thrusts, "I love you, and always will, to the end of my days, my love." They continued their passion for each other and their constant practice meant they could now time their orgasms better. Megan was getting closer and she laid down on him, kissing him as her orgasm radiated through her body. The spasms of muscles in her twat, clasped on Jeff's dick demanding he cum in her, and he did. She felt, for the first time, the hot stream of cum filling her up in a way she had never felt before. She felt the spasms of his dick as he shot, unrestricted by a condom. "Oh fuck!" Jeff cried, "I wasn't wearing a rubber!" "Oh fuck!" cried Megan, "Who cares?" "I do, you must not get pregnant!" "I don't think that is going to happen," she went on calmly, "My next period is due day after tomorrow. I am pretty regular, but I can go two-three days overdue. The way I am feeling, it might start tomorrow. I had just finished my period the first time we made love, my darling, so I am not worried." "You sure- it's all right, babe?" "Oh yes, but if you like, you might want to help me stop those little wigglies from getting too far," she smiled. Jeff knew that smile, she wanted him to do something to her, "Oh?" "Well, you could clean me up," she laughed. "I could..." then the penny dropped, "you don't mean with a face washer and warm water do you?" She shook her head. "Well, it is a little like asking someone to pick their nose and eat it." "Eewww! Well, no, it's not. I eat your cum, I love it! And I will tell you what else I like too, when you make me cum with your mouth, and your mouth is covered with my juice, I love the taste of you and me when we kiss. That the same?" "Mmmm no..." "Then what makes it different? Or am I just a cum slut?" "And I love that you are MY cum slut!" Jeff retorted, "It's a guy thing, I would think that few guys will eat their own cum, someone else's yeah, but not their own." "Wimps, I say." Megan laughed, "Girls are bathed in cum in porn, they eat it, they wear it in their hair, their faces everywhere, but a guy... wow... wimps the lot of you." She shook her head and tried to rise. "Ohh! Stop whining!" Jeff said, as he pushed her onto her back. He flung her legs into the air and dived onto her cream pie. Megan squealed in delight as she was orally pleasured by Jeff. Jeff had never done anything like this before, never considered it, and it was unlikely that he would have if it had been anyone else who asked him to do such a thing. Jeff was really getting his tongue into her now, scooping out his own cum and swallowing it. Well, he thought, not too bad as a mixture of them. There was however, a little shudder of awkwardness, but he ignored it, after all, he was pleasuring his love and giving her pleasure was all he wanted to do. All too quickly the break finished and the new school year started. The first weeks were difficult for Jeff, but Megan's manner was totally polite, appropriate, she was, for him, a real pillar of strength. It did not really get better for him, and not much easier with practice. No one made any comments, no one saw anything out of the ordinary, but he felt he was in lock down mode. Jeff was thinking there was a chance they could get away with this. But, a teacher and a student, he was afraid that sooner or later, one of them was going to make a slip up and it will all come unglued. Megan made her way to Jeff's place at least twice a week, where they fucked up a real storm. Megan's enthusiasm for sex, and her appetite, grew with practice, and practice makes perfect. She came over one evening, gave Jeff a blow job, kissed him, where they shared his cum, and then wiped her mouth, took a drink and went home. Another night she arrived within a few minutes of her parents going to bed, and left a little after 5:30 in the morning. Neither of them got a lot of sleep that night and for Jeff, it was a difficult day at work. They did not do that again. By the end of the Autumn term things were going swimmingly well. Winter had broken and Megan's visits were really not overly hampered by wet weather and heavy snow. The weather really only caused an issue once. Megan left and before she made it out the back gate, it started to rain. It was obvious this was not a simple rain, but it quickly became too heavy, so Megan had to wait it out. Sleeping in Jeff's bed was a rare pleasure for Megan, and she loved it. All they could do was set an early alarm and hope it had stopped raining by the time she had to leave. Jeff could not drive her, too great a risk of being seen Megan told him. When she did leave, it was still raining but it was getting very late. There were too many people out and about and there was a real risk of being seen leaving Jeff's place. Running home, she got there and realised Dad might be up, she decided to brazen it out. She came in through the front door, just as Dad made it down the stairs. He assumed she went out for a run and got caught in the rain. While it worked, it still shook her a bit and Dad assumed she was shivering because of the cold and wet. He told her to go to the bathroom, get out of her wet clothes, have a warm shower and rug up. Then he told her to be a little more careful about going out on wet mornings. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, and did as she was told. One other incident did frighten her a little. On her way to Jeff's place, she sometimes ran through a small park and thought she heard something behind her. She put on a burst of speed, and ran out of the park, turning onto the road and heard the slamming of sneakers onto the road. She kept up a strong pace and the foot falls behind her stopped. She did not mention anything to Jeff, but avoided that route for several weeks. On a number of occasions, Megan would be jogging and would catch the headlights of a car turning into the road she was on. Usually there was something to hide behind, a shadowed doorway to stand in or other. Wearing black obscured her to casual inspection, but a sharp eyed driver might glimpse her. She realised that the eye is drawn to movement, so standing completely still with her hoodie pulled down as much as it could, in shadow is the best hiding place. Megan loved lying naked in Jeff's bed, she loved spreading her legs for him, wrapping them around him, his weight on top of her, his cock ramming into her. She loved sucking his cock, giving him pleasure and taking it from him. She loved his tongue inside her, on her clit, making her cum over and over again. By the start of the Spring Term, Megan knew that this was not going to work forever, well at least, not for the next three years until she was eighteen and no longer his student. Sooner or later, their luck would run out and Jeff's future would become very uncertain. She could not do that to him, there had to be an alternative. The only problem was that no matter how she looked, what she thought about, there was no good outcome for Jeff. Gradually, Megan understood what she had done, she became appalled at what could happen as a result. Ideally, all she wanted was to live with him, and that was not going to happen here. It was then she got an idea of how to get out from under, so to speak, or should that be, how to stay under him. The first week of Spring term, Megan decided to act, and started talking to Jeff seriously about their future. "So, you are wondering if we have a future, are you?" Jeff asked, not sure why this conversation was happening. "Well, I want my future to be with you, always. I believe you want the same thing with me." "I do, and I never want to be apart from you." he replied with such conviction, Megan knew that all the bad things she envisioned that could happen are likely to. Megan kissed him, and put all her feeling into it. She wanted him to know that she loved him above all else. "Oh wow," Jeff said, "What are you doing to me girl? Kissing like that - you are not likely to get away from me anytime soon." "I don't want to go away from you at all. I want to live with you!" Jeff sobered for a moment, and heard the anguish in her voice. "That's- that's just not possible for a while yet." he stated quietly, "When you are eighteen, and no longer my student, but just not yet." "I don't want to wait until I am eighteen, I..." "What choice do we have babe?" "Well, we should be able to make that decision for ourselves, not have some stupid law tell us what we can and cannot do!" "I know babe, but when you set yourself up in defiance of a law, sooner or later, it is likely to come unstuck." "I know! That is why I want to - oh I don't know, its not like we can elope to Gretna Green." "We could, but not until you are sixteen and then it is likely to be legally annulled because you are a student and I am your teacher. Even if we are married, that is not likely to prevent me from going to gaol." "Thirteen months! There has to be somewhere we can be together!" It was at that moment that the idea of the Plan was born. *** The Plan "If we are serious about this, then what is the goal?" Jeff asked a few days later, while lying in bed, naked, holding Megan. "The goal?" asked Megan. "Yes, the goal. We have to think of everything in terms of a goal. We need to develop a goal, then a strategy on how to achieve that goal, then a set of tactics to support the overall strategy. Then we need to develop logistics to support the tactics. Only then will we be able give ourselves an even chance at success." "The goal? A goal! OK, how is this for a goal? We want to live together, free from harassment, legal threat, accidental discovery. We have to be free to be ourselves, and show the world that this is who we are!" "OK, that sounds like a great goal. Now, is it achievable?" "You sound like you are not interested!" "Oh no darling, never! I want to be with you, freely showing the world what you mean to me. I want the world to see me with this beautiful woman on my arm, carrying my baby, and me being the best person I can be for her." Megan burst into tears as he was speaking, holding her, filling her soul with his words, giving her his love, without shame, or embarrassment. This is really what she needed to hear at this point. "And I really do not want to wait until we can get to Gretna Green, my love," he finished. "But if we are to do this, then we have to make it work. We will only have one chance, so we have to make sure it will work, if we come up with something that could work." "OK," she replied, "I will be able to do some research, no one questions me about being in a computer lab at lunch time anymore. And I think the first thing is to find somewhere we can go." It hit her then, "We are going to have to leave home, we cannot stay here." "Yes, but it will be less of a trial for me, I am not close to my family any more, well, not that I ever was, and certainly not since Mother died anyway." "I don't have any brothers or sisters, and while I love my parents, they will never understand this. Dad will accept it, eventually, but mum never will." "It will mean you cannot see them, not until we are married at least." "I know, but it is the price of being with you. And that is a price I am more than willing to pay." "OK, I am being a devil's advocate here, what makes you sure that you will still feel this way in a year's time?" Megan thought for a moment, then said, "I know what I want now. I feel it is the right choice for me. I know this is still early days, and I know I haven't had any time to think about anyone else. The fact is, there is no one who even comes close to what you make me feel. I don't know there ever will, but I do not want to let this go." "You can say that now, but really, you are a gorgeous, extremely sexy young woman, and I am 10 years older. OK, you make me feel like a horny adolescent, but what about in a year, will we still feel this way?" "I don't know, and I really don't care. I don't have a crystal ball. I do know that I have a lot of faith in my judgement, which might be seriously misplaced because it is being horrendously affected by my emotions right now. I just do not feel that I am wrong, or that something is not ringing true here." Megan was worried a little, because they would have to work, where they went. They had to be able to show they would not be a drain on the local economy, so work permits would be required. Not elsewhere in the EU, they were members, unless Britain pulled out, they could stay as along as they liked, working. Jeff, though, told Megan that their Goal had a much lower cost of living, so money was not going to be an issue, besides, he had a small inheritance from his late Mother to use as well if they needed it. For the next week they discussed options, alternatives and had an outline of a plan. Roughly, it boiled down to a number of simple parts that needed to be properly executed, and it all hinged on Megan cleanly disappearing. Their combined knowledge of history and their research skills allowed them to consider that they would fail under three conditions, if their plan was too complex, if their strategy was not supported by their tactics and, most importantly, if they did not have the audacity to be out front about it when it was crucial to be. They discussed all the ramifications of disappearances they could find and several things were clear, the police would not let it rest until she was to let them know she was safe and well, and promised to talk to them. They would have to be very careful in their planning, and recognise that a simple thing may very well bring them undone. They would have to not rely upon anyone else to help. In short, there was a period of hiding and a period of flight. During their exit from England, there was the risk of a period of exposure, Megan could not hide. Essentially, misdirection had to be employed, outright deception would be too easily detected, so masquerade it was. Changing Megan's physical appearance so she could be out in the open and not be recognised could be managed with Jeff's knowledge of makeup and staging. What would be the minimum change, easiest to maintain for three or four days while traveling became a question. That was the risk. Megan's long and lustrous black hair would have to be covered by a wig of much lighter colour. The wig had to be shorter, to change the shape of her face, but had to cover her ears. Ears and noses are identifiable features of a person, especially ears. Megan knew that there were several photos and other images of her with her hair pulled back. Jeff organised a pair of generic contact lenses, to change Megan's blue eyes to a deep chocolate brown through Extreme Color, an online service. They were delivered the next day after placing the order, via the Royal Mail. While this might be traced, they were ordered the day they decided to go, before Spring Term even began. They thought that unless police were looking before they planned to leave, the mail delivery of a simple box from months before would unlikely attract attention. No hint of anything wrong could be given, no lies of any sort could be told to police, just avoiding talking about some topics. No outright deception, just misdirection. Don't add anything to comments made, stick to the script. Eventually, the Plan agreed to was that in the week before the mid term break of Spring term, Megan would walk into the afternoon and disappear, it would have to be on the Monday. Jeff's cleaner came in every second Monday, and the timing was fortuitous, they would be leaving for their Goal a week and a half later. One of the routes Megan used at night passed a row of empty terraces, with a vacant lot that backed onto an overgrown area and it was there that Megan would hide. There would be a change of clothes placed in one of the trees, but newer clothes, a skirt, not jeans, a jacket with a nondescript blouse. Timing here was everything, she could not be seen going into the block, nor coming out of it, just as she could not be seen in Jeff's company at any time after she left the coffee shop. Fortunately, this was on a not well travelled road, so even at 5:30 or 6:00 or so in the afternoon, there would not be a lot of traffic. The real danger was some squatter seeing her, the logic being that squatters did not readily talk to police, so would not be paying too close attention. Some kids might be playing in the area, but at that time, dinner was probably a more attractive option for them, but the risk had to be taken. Peter Thorpe was an issue, but he would be kept with the tutoring group when Megan decided she was unwell and going to leave. He was one of those things that could go wrong. What alternative would be workable here? The ferry to Zeebrugge from Hull was, perhaps, the riskiest part of their flight. The terminals are heavily covered with CCTV cameras and security guards. This was where it could all come unstuck if the makeup didn't work properly. The one thing that really threatened them the question of documentation for Megan. The UK is not part of the EU's Schengen Area, so UK citizens require a passport. She already had one in her own name, gained for a family trip to France the year before, but that would be flagged the moment she used it. She obviously could not use it, but Jeff had no idea where to get a fake one from or how much it would cost. Megan though, had several ideas and one of them paid off. Under aged kids always wanted fake ids for pubs and clubs. Asking some of the less reputable students at school she was able to get a contact, and, through them, with sufficient money, she could get such ID as she needed. All through the planning and logistics stages, Megan was concerned about money, but Jeff assured her that money was the least of their problems. Jeff had bought a number of wigs, then styled them to the required length, gave them a trim and dyed them various colours, but much lighter than Megan's natural hair. He purchased a variety of makeups, paying by cash, in nearby cities, nothing was purchased locally. Nothing that could be directly related to Megan was purchased online, or by card, cash only. Megan selected some clothes from online advertising, Jeff went to buy them. One entire Friday night was spent using different makeup patterns, wigs and other materials to transform Megan into someone else. He took photos of her in a variety of makeup, with two different wigs, of different cuts, both of which he dyed to a lighter colour, and different clothes. The process was slowed considerably as she found it difficult to just change clothes without some sexual activity. At one point they did get a little carried away with what they were doing and managed to get a set of photographs that should never have been made. Photoshopping the less lewd shots produced a different Megan, dark eyed, blonde, and with a slightly larger nose that was straight. None of them were saved to his hard drive, only the memory card of the camera. It was with a certain regret that Jeff deleted, off the card, those photos that were so much fun creating. When the work was done, and the required photos printed at Tesco's, the four Gb card was destroyed. Jeff went to the local cemetery and looked for a name, someone who would have been about the right age. He found three and while it seemed a little weird, when they were alone, Jeff practiced using the name Megan most liked. They did not want to get caught by a slip of the tongue. This caused an issue occasionally at school when he miscalled her name. He got out of it by apologising and saying that Emily was his cousin, and they do look similar. They discussed this and Megan started wearing the Emily wig of a night time. When the contact was assured, Jeff took on the risk of going into Liverpool to meet some rather dangerous characters, with a lot of cash, and a set of photographs. He had to pay for it up front, it wasn't cheap, and told to come back in a week. A week later, a rather nervous Jeff returned to Liverpool and ten minutes later drove home with a passport for Emily. This pointed out a minor flaw in their plan though. Emily had shoulder-length strawberry blond hair, where Megan had very long black hair. Megan decided that in the week she was lying doggo, she would have to cut it. Jeff was not happy at losing that lovely hair, but was very supportive of her decision when she explained her reasoning. The wig was going to have to be on for about three or four days, and her long hair made that a problem. The heat build up was one issue, but the lack of air to the head, in a car, in May or June, was going to cause a problem. To get around that, the hair should be cut, and then dyed to meet the colour of the wig. Besides, wigs can be easily recognisable by people who would be looking for one, like police. As the time grew nearer, Megan and Jeff got both nervous and exhilarated. Worried they had missed a minor detail that would bring them undone, exuberated that they now believed they had a chance. *** Birthday Plans A month into the Spring term, it was Megan's birthday. All of 15 years old, Jeff gave her a beautiful engagement ring, but she could not wear it. For every night she came to his terrace, Jeff made her cum three times, but on the day of her birthday, he made it special. Jeff had a key cut for her some months previously, so she would be able to let herself in, anytime. His father had put an electronic alarm in the place before Jeff had moved in, and Jeff gave Megan the combination to disarm it. Jeff was establishing his cover of driving to Bolton to visit his "girlfriend" a couple of nights a week so Megan was able to let herself in if he hadn't gotten back yet. He always left lights on, so no one would be suspicious if they saw a light when they knew Jeff was out. This night though, he was waiting for her. Soon as she walked through the door, Jeff took her in his arms, wished her a happy birthday, kissed her thoroughly, gave her a complete outfit and a card. Megan loved the romanticism of his gifts, and his kisses. She would not be able to wear the clothes or the jewellery, until it was time for Emily to replace Megan publicly, but that did not matter - she loved it. He took her by the hand, to his bedroom, where he kissed her again, slowly undressed her and masturbated her to an orgasm. He allowed her a short respite, used his tongue on her, all over, then concentrating on her clit, made her cum a second and a third time. He undressed himself, and using his fingers, his tongue and finally his raging prick, made her cum as he was spurting his semen into the condom. For Megan, this was bliss, she lost track of time, and self, as she orgasmed once, then again and again. She had no idea how long she had been there, but Jeff had not yet finished. Knowing that she might be a little sore, from all the attention her pussy had received, he gave her a massage. Using some body oils he had purchased the week before, he gently rubbed her back, her legs, then her chest, paying particular attention to her breasts. This was subtle, sensual massage, looking for and caressing the erogenous zones of her now fifteen year old body bringing her to the brink. Jeff finally touched her mons, and inserted a finger to her vaginal canal, and with the other hand, caressed her clit. Megan came in a shattering climax, where all her muscles seemed to revel in the pleasure of what Jeff had done to her, then contract in massive spasm as each wave of a multiple orgasm hit her. She seemed to levitate off the bed in a muscle snap, then convulsed in that exquisite agony of carnal pleasure. It drained all her energy, all her being, every part of her surrendered to that wonderful agony. She was wrecked by it. The next day she did not appear at school, mum rang to say she was not well, and she wasn't. Even Megan's sexual appetite for her lover was stretched that day, she slept on and off all day and did not get out of the house that night. It was a week later that their six month anniversary came around. Jeff marvelled this beautiful woman graced his bed at least two nights a week. He could not believe his luck that they had gotten away with it for so long. His faith in her ability for subterfuge and caution grew. Only for a little while longer would they have to take this risk. They had discussed their plans incessantly, and thought they had covered all their options, and all the things that could go wrong. They knew they had likely missed something, but they were confident. They both knew the side who makes the fewer mistakes, and can take advantage of the other side's mistakes, will win. It was now all set, every step had been planned, and where possible, trialled. Megan tried the contacts and a pair of glasses, she was surprised that her vision was not restricted at all, and noted how the glasses changed the shape of her face. Not a lot, but with some makeup to enhance higher cheek bones, highlighting a changed shape, should be sufficient to alter perception of her appearance nearly completely. Megan found that their planned tree changing act wasn't going to work. Closer investigation revealed that nearby squatters often used it as a toilet, so she became friendly with some of them. When she could, she provided them with small amounts of money and food, often little more than fish and chips and a pound or two. These people were far from the hopeless addicts and drunks she had thought they were. They were hard people, alcohol abusers, made hard by circumstance and choice. She told her tale, wanting to run, but not knowing how. She wanted them to help her, not hit on her as an easy target. They knew she was a student and called her Chippy, for the chips she brought them at least twice a week. It was a nickname that could help hide her when the time came. If police came here, they wouldn't get anything from these people. *** The Disappearing Act The Monday night came, at last. By a fortuitous piece of luck, Peter was called home. Megan waited a while longer, then said she was not feeling well, she was going home. Megan turned out of the café as she normally would, and the feeling of elation made her want to run, but she didn't want to attract attention. Walking down the High Street, Megan knew that once she got to the first street past the second bank she was unobservable by any CCTV camera for a short period. Megan had a quick scan to see if anyone was paying any attention. The moment she turned the corner she looked again, and seeing no-one close, ducked into a recessed doorway and put the light jacket she had in her handbag on. The jacket was larger, and darker, completely covering the light blouse she was wearing. She turned the handbag as it had a bright pattern on one side and was a plain blue colour on the other. There was some traffic coming nearer but from the angle of the sun, in the eyes of the drivers, she was unlikely to be noticed with any detail. With a little luck, police would be looking for a dark haired girl in a white blouse, not a girl in a green jacket and a dark bag. Someone wanting to not be noticed usually wears a neutral colour. The next bank of CCTV cameras were about 200 yards down the road, so Megan had to get off this road and quickly. There was a small lane that would take her in a direction away from Jeff's terrace, so if spotted, attention would be diverted. Distraction would not work here, but a little misdirection may buy a bit more time. Megan quickly made her way via alleys and quiet streets to the abandoned buildings currently occupied by squatters. This time she had something different in her bag, a nice bottle of whiskey. Jeff bought it, earlier, and Megan took it home the night before. She had put it into her bag, earlier, with the jacket she needed wrapped around it, making sure she would be able to take the jacket out without pulling the bottle out with it. She had wiped it thoroughly so that neither of their fingerprints would be on it. "Chippy," said one of the squatters, "Got somefin' to eat?" "Not today, Wagonwheel, but I have gotten you something you might like a little better." she replied, pulling out the whiskey. "You'n angel, ya know," Wagonwheel said, "A bloody life saver." "Glad to help, but you gotta do me a favour." she said, holding the bottle in a man's handkerchief. "Ooh, anything for ya!" he replied, licking his lips, eyeing the bottle. "Neva been here, neva seen me, not today." "Someone lookin' for ya?" "Not yet, but they'll be tomorra." She easily slipped into the man's language patterns "OK, neva seen ya!" he agreed looking at the bottle. Megan gave it to him, "Thanks, Wagonwheel, be nice 'n' share." knowing he was unlikely to. "Yeah, yeah," he said, as he cracked the seal and struggled to get it opened. "Take ya time. Still got that package?" "Yep, just where ya put it. I wouldn't let anyone near it-'specially Maggie." he said referring to one of the women who stayed here. "You're a champ, my friend." Megan went into the next room and lifted a couple of the rotten floor boards, retrieving the bag she put there the evening before. She opened it, pulling out the clothes, shoes and wig, putting them carefully on the now empty bag and took off her jacket and blouse. "Fuck girl, you got a nice pair of knockers," said Wagonwheel. "Yeah, I do," she pulled a different sweater on, a new one she had only worn at Jeff's, on the rare occasion when she wore clothes. While she was uncomfortable with him being there, she knew he wouldn't come any closer. He had tried it on once before, and Megan kicked him in the crutch. She had apologised straight away, and helped him stand to get him past it quickly. She told him that she was really sorry, but he had to know, she wasn't interested. She didn't like hurting him, but if he did come near her again like that without an invitation, she would hurt him again, then get the Frighteners onto him. Wagonwheel didn't know who the Frighteners were, but was intimidated enough to keep his distance. "Sure ya don't wanna quickie 'fore ya go darlin'?" "Oh Wagonwheel," she said, putting on the skirt, "I'm on a time line, else we could talk 'bout it. 'ave a drink and forget me, old darlin'!" She dropped her slacks and then put the shoes on. She put her discarded clothes into the bag, followed by her sneakers. "Remember Wagonwheel, ya gotta give the clothes to Maggie, they won't fit ya." "Yeah yeah, I know, and she is gunna be 'ere soon, and she'll wanna try them on." "Well, if you share the bottle with her, she might give ya what ya want, ya dirty old bugger!" she laughed. "Won't be buggerin' her, I tell ya! Maybe she will. Got a good head on ya, ya have. Ya runnin' from the Frighteners?" "Nah, just gotta get some fresh air, stayin' here is gunna kill me." "Yeah, I know wot ya mean!" he said, "Use'ta work in the City, I did! That was not a nice place to work." All of a sudden his voice changed, Megan looked up at him, "Pressure was just so great, just to make a deal. Then one day, I just couldn't take it anymore, so I walked out, and kept walking." Megan was surprised, she had never thought of Wagonwheel as being anything other than a homeless drunk. "Ever want to go back?" "Back? Nah - never. Fucken bastards all of 'em," he replied angrily. "They fuck ya up the arse for an extra quid or million. Some would anyways, just fer practice. Nah, poxy bastards can all die of AIDS, but not me. I'm happy 'ere, don't have to be miserable anywhere else." Megan realised that she actually knew nothing about any of the inhabitants of the squats around here. "Why they call ya Wagonwheel?" "Me name i'n't it! Wagonwheel never stops turnin'." She smiled, and quickly pinned her hair. She reached for the second last item, the wig she wore at Jeff's. Stuffing her handbag into the bag after emptying her purse, and grabbing her keys, or anything else that might be linked to her, she put them into the much smaller shoulder bag she had taken out of the plastic bag. "Gotta be careful Wagonwheel, ya gotta tell Maggie to be careful with that handbag. She c'n use it, but cut the pattern off the front." "Yeah yeah... but who d'fuck are ya? Was talking with Chippy, but where's she gone?" "I am no one Wagonwheel," Megan said slowly, he was right there, saw her put the wig on. "Have a drink old fellah." she said, a little sadly. He did and as he had the bottle up, Megan slipped out of the room, and through the door, where she heard a bellow, "Chippy! Chippy! Where d' fuck are ya!" Megan went to the ruined entrance, she stood in the shadows where she could see out, but would be hard to be seen. She carefully scanned the area, then sure there was no one to see a reasonably well dressed woman coming out of the squat, she carefully scanned the area a second time. No one about, no-one in the street, the closest houses were still, the empty block had no kids playing in it. Getting close to dinner time, she thought. Out onto the footpath, moving quickly, but not in too much of a hurry, taking a longer route, not leading direct to her sanctuary. Seven minutes later, she passed the entrance to the lane at the rear of Jeff's terrace. There was no one there either, Megan could not believe her luck. She passed through the alley and pushed open the gate, then shut it behind her. She got her key and was into Jeff's kitchen. "Made it!" she said to the empty terrace. Standing there, Megan stated shaking. All the repressed anxiety and excitement came out, and she really needed Jeff here to hold her, to tell her she was safe now. According to the Plan, he was going to be another half hour or more. He had to be publicly seen until it could be made impossible that he was in anyway responsible for Megan's disappearance. Her pent up nervousness hit her then, she shook and nearly wet herself in the process. She used the toilet, and was glad that the renovated terraces were sound proofed enough to not allow anyone to realize that someone was using the shower, the toilet, the microwave, or even the washing machine while Jeff was at work. All she had to do now was to sit still and not venture outside during daylight hours. At night, if they did go out, for any reason, she had to be Emily. This was easy, she had been telling Jeff what clothes she needed and he had been driving down to Bolton, Manchester, Liverpool, even Blackburn to get them. A couple of pair of jeans here, some blouses advertised online in one retailer, skirts at another. She had him buying high heels from one shoe store, sneakers from an athletes shop and a Wanderer's football shirt. There was some rather specific makeup Jeff ordered through an Internet café in Bolton in Emily's name, and had delivered home weeks ago. While a risk, it was paid for through a Paypal account, and they figured it would take at least a month for police to make connection to Paypal, that is if Paypal gave any information to police. It was done. Megan had disappeared, and they would know if this part of their Plan had worked in the next 48 hours. Megan was prepared for the boredom that would engulf her for the next nine days. Staying low had a price and she knew she was not going to be able to get out at all. The really hard parts would be the sitting around during the day, alone. No heading off to the shop for eggs, or getting out to visit friends. The recompense was she would be able to spend all her nights in Jeff's bed - likely catching up on some of the sleep they had been missing out on for the last nine months, but possibly not. What seemed like an interminable wait, but was really only forty minutes, Megan heard Jeff's key in the door and she sprung to him, as soon as the door shut. "Oh I am just so glad you are here," he said. "Went off without a hitch," between kisses. "But I have never been so scared." "No need any more my love," he said, "You're here now, safe, and warm and well loved, well, you will be later. Now, tell me everything." Megan gave Jeff the details, and they analysed it, trying to think of anything that could have gone awry. "Well, if the cops come knocking on the door, it's not all over, you know." Megan's eyes widened in surprised. "Here, come and look at something found when my grandfather was a kid, and why the family held onto this terrace, and not the larger one at the other end of the block." Jeff took her hand and opened the door to the basement. He turned the lights on, and went down into the large space. He approached a wall and moved a cabinet, which hid a door. When the door was opened, Megan saw a light switch that looked like it was from the Depression days, and steps down into a lower chamber. "Grandad, discovered it first, before the War. Great- grandad expanded it a bit, reinforced it so it could be a bomb shelter and put on the heavy door, but there was nothing around here to bomb. Could survive a near hit, Great-grandad thought. Then in the fifties, Grandad expanded it a little more and strengthened it to survive an atom bomb. No idea why he though anyone would survive, but they were optimistic." Megan laughed. "Your very own bomb shelter, every home should have one!" "Grandad went into the history of the area, and this used to be the site of housing from before the Civil War. All those houses were demolished and replaced with a new street layout and these terraces." Jeff stopped and let the implications sink in. "A bolt hole? Priest hole?" Megan asked. Jeff nodded, "But that would mean an escape tunnel." "Yes, Grandad said that the wall that used to be there had another door behind it, and a bricked arch that would allow someone to crawl through it, most likely. Gone now, probably collapsed or filled in when they built the road and houses over the top of it." "You can't be sure of that though." "No, we can't but that wall," pointing to the wall with the door," is the front wall, and this is out front of the house. Grandad thought there was a brook running through the yards of the houses two streets over, feeding the pond in the commons. If he was right, then there would have been an embankment, which means a well planted bush could cover an entrance at the other end and give someone a two- three- hundred yard head start." "Bit far, for an escape tunnel, lot of work. If there was a bend in the brook, bringing it closer, say to within a hundred yards, yeah, I could buy that. Using the embankment, they might have a decent escape route, who would see them on the down side of an embankment, even a small one. Makes sense." Megan said. "Secure then. As long as a sharp-eyed cop doesn't see the entrance door." "OK, I am going to leave it open, all you have to do is get here, then lock yourself in, and I can cover the doorway." "OK, but right now, I want to do it, here, in the basement." Jeff was always willing to oblige her, so he took her, right there, on the floor of the bomb room. There was no condom, but it didn't matter any more, Megan had been on the Pill since she went to the Family Planning Clinic, just after her 15th birthday. Now she knew the type of pill she could use, she had ordered, in Emily's name, online, a six month course which was duly delivered. She also managed to secure a six month set of skin patches, just in case. Megan loved the thrill of him shooting inside her, the heat of his cock, then the explosive jerks as he cum, filling her with the hot moisture of his semen. A little later, they managed to struggle up the stairs, and completely without clothes, began domestic life together. Megan quickly found he was a much better cook than she was, after all, he had a lot more practice. She was happy to clean up after him, and he had to start making sufficient food so that Megan wouldn't be making a mess in his kitchen when he wasn't home. That night, they made love again, in his bed and she was really happy that she did not have to get out of bed, then jog home. She was home. Megan woke to an unfamiliar sound, startled by something different and was slightly disoriented by the alieness of her bed. She heard the soft breathing of another person, and felt the warmth of his body next to her. She had a thought, slowly she reached down and felt Jeff's thigh, listening for a break in the pattern of his breathing. Emboldened by no reaction, she had to snuggle a little lower into the bed, and carefully running her hand over him, she found his softened dick. She gently started stroking it, and was quickly rewarded with it getting harder with every stroke. Still listening for the uninterrupted breathing, she decided she wanted to try something. Wiggling down under the covers, Megan brought her head down to and slowly lifted her mouth over where she thought his cock should be. Using her hand to guide her, she lowered her mouth down, only to be slightly out of alignment and found herself trying to put the knob into her nostril. A second try was more successful as it slid between her lips and into her mouth. Although muffled, she tried to listen to his breathing, and thought it was still that same rhythmic pattern it had. Slowly Megan sucked Jeff's cock. Up and down her mouth went, gently, trying not to make too much movement, trying not to disturb him too much. She pushed his cock into her mouth as far as she could get it, and within a short period of time, she found the air under the blankets stifling, the weight of them on her head was just too heavy to continue. Damn, this is fun, she thought, but fucking hard work. Reaching over herself, she grasped the blankets and pulled them down a little, trying not to break her own sucking rhythm. Jeff woke to the movement of the blankets off him, and he felt Megan's lips wrapped around his raging prong. Fuck, he thought, this has never happened to me before. He let her go on without interrupting her, the wonderful feeling of his dick embedded in her mouth, tension building within him. More of the blanket came off him and he couldn't stay still anymore. Then Megan felt Jeff stir, his breathing pattern changed. "Oh," he said, still half asleep, "I just had this wonderful dream, where I was in bed with this incredibly beautiful woman, and she was sucking me off. Then I woke up and what do I find? An incredibly beautiful woman in my bed, sucking me off. Please don't stop." So she didn't. Her pace sped up and a few minutes later, she felt the tension in his balls grow, his cock swelling and cupping his balls she felt them spasm, Jeff groaned and her mouth was filled with the slightly salty taste of his nectar. He shot again and again into her mouth, and she eagerly swallowed. When she was sure he had stopped shooting, she licked around the knob, kissed the eye, and then kissed her way back up his body. She kissed his mouth, darting her tongue between his lips. She then said, "mm Wonderful, back to sleep my love, a big day tomorrow." Within moments, they were both asleep, comfortable in each others arms. The next day, Jeff came in a little late as there had been a staff meeting to discuss the events of the day. He told her of his interview and how he thought it went. At this point, he surmised, police have nothing to go on, at least, nothing they would discuss with him. They were still not sure of it was an abduction or a runaway. They were treating it as an abduction, but they would not dismiss a runaway, he felt. Megan prayed that police had not reached Maggie or Wagonwheel. Time had dragged slowly for Megan that day, but she had prepared well and kept herself busy preparing for the trip to the Continent. She wasn't going to let the anxiety of what she knew would happen get to her. Later on Tuesday evening, he cut that beautiful head of hair, making it just over shoulder length. While he wasn't crying, he was sad that it had to go. They gathered it all up and hoovered the entire kitchen, emptying the Hoover's replaceable bag and contents into a large plastic bag, then putting the collected cut hair into it. They would dump it on the first leg of their journey, after the ferry ride. A tiny mistake like dumping the hair too soon could wreck their entire plans. Jeff had thinned it out a lot and when Megan put the wig back on, it was comfortable, fitting better than it ever had. Megan decided she didn't like the wig so decided to dye her own hair. Carefully, over the next few days, Megan dyed her hair with the same mixture Jeff had used to dye the wig. This dye job, with the thinned hair made Megan look a lot more like Emily, the image on the fake ID they had secured weeks ago. With the glasses on, only the colour of her eyes gave her away. She tried the entire Emily disguise and when Jeff came home on Friday, she was ready for him. As soon as he walked in the door, he was surprised as Megan was there, but not there. His only concern was she needed a better hair cut. Looking at the clock, Jeff rang a small hairdresser in Bolton that he knew, and made a booking for Emily. This was an unexpected risk, and the kind that could bring them undone. The next morning, Megan put on the full disguise, complete with makeup. Jeff drove her to Bolton, with her hiding on the backseat. Turning into a suburban area, he found a place away from CCTV cameras, made sure there was no aerial surveillance about, and alerted Megan. She sat up from the back seat, tripping the front seat lever, crawled into the front seat. They were practicing this for Wednesday's trip, but the hairdresser wasn't a part of that. By sitting up in the car, Emily appeared in public for the first time. Driving to the hairdresser's Emily became more nervous, and Jeff told her that this is really an acid test. If she could get away with this here, then they would get away with it in Hull. The hairdresser, Marion, was actually his mother's hairdresser and friend, who had helped Jeff after his mother died. He hadn't really seen her too often since, but trusted her implicitly. He introduced Emily, he said that Emily's regular person was not available and it looked like an apprentice had done the job. Marion deplored the job, saying it was just not the right shape for her, and it was more likely a butcher, not a hairdresser that cut it. Using her scissors quickly, Marion repaired the hair in short order. She also suggested that if Emily wanted to hide her dark hair, then she should be a little more careful at applying the dye to her eyebrows. "Young people with their dyed hair," she tutted, "Don't realize how beautiful the natural look really is, you know." "Thanks Marion, really appreciate you doing this at such short notice." Jeff commented. "No worries my love," replied the older woman. "You all grown up now, and make sure you bring her back here, I will look after her hair, just as I did your mother." "I will for sure." Jeff went to pay her, but he was waved off with a "Next time you come." Emily was really happy that her hair was made to look much better than it had been. Just as Emily left, Marion said, "She is lovely, isn't she." Jeff nodded, "A rare one then? You really serious about her?" "Yes, I already have a ring for her," Jeff told Marion, "If she will have me." Emily stopped by the car, realising this was a conversation she was not invited to. "She better," Marion said, "Or the next time she comes here..." Jeff laughed. "Been a bit of publicity about someone from your school recently I see." "Yes, lovely girl, in my class too." "Yes, I am sure she is. Bit young though," Marion went on, "Sure you know what you are doing?" Jeff was shocked, "Oh yes, for the first time ever I am just so sure it is right. I have found that someone, and I am not giving her up. Not for anyone!" Marion sighed, "Another bloody romantic, like your mother. But I loved her, and you, too. You're taking off then?" Jeff nodded. "Yes, can't go back home." Marion nodded. "Yes, and I hope it all works out for you, and her. Emily, isn't it?" she asked, quietly. "Yes." Jeff knew she wasn't fooled for a moment. "As long as no one looks as closely as I do, you will be fine. A shade or two darker on the makeup will help. Good luck, and let me know where you go. Your father is likely to worry." Marion was talking very quietly now. "No, he won't, he never has in the past." Jeff said a little bitterly. "Oh, you be surprised, you are not the only foolish romantic in your family. Give him a call sometime." Jeff nodded reluctantly. "Goodbye Jeff, hope to see you with your bride, in the near future. Free and clear would be good." She gave him a hug, and told him to be off or she will start crying. Jeff, very sobered, went to the car and then told Emily how beautiful she was. She asked him what Marion said, and Jeff told her he would tell her when they got home. He then took Emily to lunch, in public, and their first public outing felt a little odd, but no one gave them a second look. Questions about Marion were fended off, with the same answer, there was no problem so wait until we get home. Emily stopped asking, knowing that she was there to enjoy herself on an outing, and Jeff would tell her if he was worried about something. Emily and Jeff stayed out for the entire day. Jeff made sure they were captured on the restaurant CCTV camera, and the street cameras, knowing they would not be too closely examined, at least not until after Megan calls when they have reached their goal. Eventually, the day drew to an end, and they made their way back to the terrace. Parking out front, Emily got out the car, in full view of neighbours, and strode into Jeff's place like a special visitor. "Made it," he said, "And that was a nice day out." "Yes, and I was going a little stir crazy so I am glad you organized Marion. And we got away with it." "Um...no, we didn't." Megan cried out in alarm "What?!" "Marion knows, and I thought if we could fool her, we would be safe, we could fool anyone. She knows, but she won't say anything." "You sure?" "Oh yes, she told me she loved me and I was being a foolish romantic. She likes you and wishes us well. If she didn't, she would have told me not to go any further." "Would you have listened?" "No, but if we make it to our Goal, then it would likely not have been that well for us in the long term." "Oh, how could she see that?" "Marion is one of the most perceptive people I have ever known. She even suggested a shade or two darker makeup, as well as the dye thing." "Oh, but you trust her?" "Yes. She helped me open up when my mother died, brought me back into the world, as it were." "Why would she help us?" "I told you, she loves me and likes you. Said you were a rare one, and she can see that I am really happy being with you. That is why she won't say anything." "Oh... I..." "It's OK, she is a wonderful person." "And you really trust her?" "Yes I do, and so should you. Look, she and my mother were lovers. When Mother died, she was all I had." "Oh my God! Your mother a lez?" "No, bi, actually. She and dad... well let's say she had a busy love life. Mother and Marion, they made no secret of their affair, and Father went along with it. His one redeeming feature I think, he really did love Mother. He may never have loved Marion, but he certainly respected her." "But how do you know she liked me, we only met just before she cut my hair." "First you have to admit she did a fantastic job on it, it frames your face a somewhat differently, taking you several steps away from Megan White." Megan nodded. "She also told us that she wants you to come back. So she can look after your hair like she did my Mother's." "Yeah, a sentimental button, pushed for repeat business." "That is what is supposed to sound like, to the other customers, but for me, the message is clear, 'bring her back or else I will have your guts for garters'. If she didn't like you she would have said she looks forward to seeing you again and just done a good job on your hair." "Oh?" "She is like that, and she knows me better than I know myself sometimes." Jeff mused, "OK, want a late supper? Monday, I'll pick up some makeup from the perfumery in the High Street for you, something a little darker." "No, the sales person will remember you, guys don't buy makeup for girls." "They do for birthday presents, are clueless about makeup and ask for help, flirt a bit then buy the wrong one paying an outrageous price. Sales girls all know this. I'll already have a card and some pretty paper. I'll ask her to wrap it up with the card. She will remember me then, but it is the birthday card to Emily she will link to. Your nose will be ready tomorrow too." Jeff reminded her of the few days left before their ferry ride. "All set to go, then." Megan said. They stayed in the entire night and the next day, went into the city, had a lunch, went to the cinema. Jeff reasoned they should be seen together, especially now. Emily was an inch taller than Megan, shorter, strawberry blonde hair, darker complexion, with dark eyes. After leaving the city, Jeff drove down to Bolton. They reversed the earlier process, and for the next forty minutes, Megan lay down on the back seat covered by a blanket. Pulling into the lane at the back of his house, Jeff opened the gate and drove into his rear garden. He had already removed the interior light from the car, so getting Megan out and inside, while a bit of a chore, it was unlikely they would be seen. Jeff closed the door of the kitchen and then turned on the lights. Jeff mixed up some eggs making a couple of lovely omelettes, then a small fruit compote. Dinner over, they settled in for the night, watching a bit of telly, then bed, some glorious sex, and sleep until the alarm went off the next morning. After kissing Jeff off for the day, Megan checked her dye job, completed her breakfast, completed an OU assignment, started another one. She couldn't use Jeff's Internet, not through the day, so she used his library of history books and magazines. They were going to have to ask someone to pack these up and ship them to their goal, Jeff won't want to be without them for too long. Neither would I, she thought. Monday dragged by, but Jeff came home letting her know the police had come to see him again. This unsettled Megan, but Jeff thought they were satisfied, well, at least they had not indicated they were going to be interviewing him again. Tuesday, the last day of captivity came at last. Megan began packing clothes and cases. Her current wardrobe was small, she had left everything else behind. She was not comfortable with the lack of choice in her clothing, but it was necessary. To build a decent wardrobe took time, and space, and she had had neither. That night the last phase of their plan was put into action. The car had been serviced, there was a full tank of fuel and early in the evening, Jeff put two suitcases into the boot. Wednesday morning came and after breakfast, dishes, clearing the last of the perishables from the fridge, they made their last goodbyes to the terrace. Quickly, without being seen by the neighbours, Emily got into the back of Jeff's car and they began their real flight. *** The Flight Jeff took it really slowly as he drove down the lane behind his terrace. Megan pulled a traveling blanket over her, unless they were stopped by a patrol car, she would not be seen. Thirty-five minutes later, Jeff had made his way into Bolton, where he found a nice, quiet little street, and Megan got out of the back and into the front, reversing the method she used earlier. As they were close, Jeff stopped at Marion's shop, to say goodbye. "Take care of him, Emily," Marion said, "He doesn't always know what he wants, and sometimes gets it wrong." "Thank you, Marion," she replied, warming to her, "He touches me in places I never knew existed, and I don't ever want to lose that. He makes me feel," she searched for a word, " - myself. Like I want to be better than who I am." "Then we can understand each other," Marion said, gently, "Be happy." Megan stepped forward and hugged the older woman, kissing her cheek. "Bye, sweet girl." They left Bolton, taking the M62, and drove into Leeds. Jeff hadn't been there for a while and Emily had never been there. They spent part of their day in the Royal Armouries Museum, and lunching beside the River Aire. They did a small tourist thing around Leeds, being seen, confident their scheme would work, afraid it wouldn't. Knowing that their ferry wasn't leaving until 8:30pm for an overnight crossing, they realized that they could only hide by the purloined letter method, in plain sight. Rejoining the M62, they travelled along it until the met the A63, and drove right into Hull. They arrived at 6.00pm thinking they would have plenty of time to eat and relax before they would need to appear on the ferry's dock. Jeff had never been to Hull before, so followed the signs that said the city centre was closer than the docks. Turning off the A63, Jeff found himself on the Mount Pleasant Road, and not appreciating KFC or other fast foods, kept on it and turned right onto the Holderness Road. He took one look at the fast food place and rolled his eyes, only to find, across the road, a small café, the Excellent Café. It was still open, so he turned into Nornabell Street and parked the car in the small car park there. They got out, locked the car and went for dinner. Emily didn't know if she could eat, she was afraid, exhilarated, depressed and worn, all at the same time. Struck by the aroma of the coffee, the old fashioned English cooking, and the heavy scent of chips, her appetite returned. Replenished in the old styled café, they slowly made their way to the P&O ferry dock. Eventually, their car was loaded, they got onto the ferry, and went hunting to find their cabin. Still no one had jumped out to stop them. They found their cabin, small, clean and while not really comfortable, they were able to stretch out. The excitement of the day, the risks they had taken, their brazen openness was taking its toll. They were captured on CCTV footage all along their trip. A two and a half hour drive had taken them nine hours, exposed all the way. And they had made their first real goal, the ferry. Jeff wondered at Megan's ability to do this. Anyone else he knew would likely blow it by looking worried about something, by being obviously stressed. Not Megan. Her confidence had calmed him a lot, and he knew it. If anyone was to look at the footage, and Jeff didn't know they were, they would see a very attractive young strawberry blond, Emily, with brown eyes, about 5'7" tall, an hourglass figure, straight nose and glasses. It was the lifts that Jeff had put into Emily's shoes that made a real difference. She had to stand in a completely different way to Megan, it wasn't that the lifts were adding a lot of height, but because she had to stand taller, she walked differently. Jeff knew that the way a person carried themselves would make people look a second time, if they identified movement. Once the movement was recognised, memories would identify that person, even if we do not see their face. We do it unconsciously, and the combined effects Jeff managed did not give many clues as to allow recognition. Megan had been practicing with the lifts since she arrived at Jeff's, the week before and her movement now was natural, flowing. When she took the lifts out, she may find it just as awkward to walk as Megan for a while. The overnight crossing was uneventful, except Jeff fell out of the bottom berth as he got out after they had made love, the berths not being large enough to sleep in each other's arms. The ocean was kind to them, rocking them to sleep in its gentle rocking of the ferry. The North Sea tide though, was not really working for them and the ferry arrived a little after the scheduled time, but that did not worry the young lovers. Emily was happy being full of Jeff's semen, and Jeff was just happy to be anywhere with her. Jeff did one thing, he pulled out the ring he had bought for her and asked her again to marry him. She squealed with delight at the beautiful ring as he slid it over her finger. For Megan this was a show of his commitment and his love for her. For Jeff it was an affirmation of their love. The best part was that she got to wear the ring all the time. They got the car off the ferry, and driving away from Zeebrugge, found a rather large bin, and dumped the bag of hair. They then made their way to Cologne, via Antwerp. Emily was a little concerned about the border crossings from Belgium to Netherlands then into Germany, but Jeff assured her that the days of big, burly guards suspiciously checking visas were gone. The border crossing was a sign on one side of a river that said they were leaving Belgium, and another said they were now in Netherlands. Apart from the wording, they both had the European flag, a ring of stars on a sky blue field, they looked the same. Some 40 minutes later, there was another pair of signs, one saying Netherlands and the next read "Bundes-republik Deutschland", they had crossed into Germany. At that point, Emily was convinced they would make their goal. The coloured contacts came out but she kept the glasses. When Megan looked in the mirror, she could see herself again. Cologne was different to anything Megan had ever seen before. Jeff went into the city, following the Google map he had been viewing on his smart phone, looking for the famous Cologne cathedral. Coming in on the eastward bound route, they had stayed on the E40 until they got to Luxembourger Strasse. They drove past a bewildering array of single and multistoried brick buildings, built in different ages, along a tram line, through intersections, into a short and seedier section, then out past a large Bauhaus store. Making their way along a number of changing streets, they finally came to the Komoedien Strasse. Jeff was lucky enough to get a park out front of a bank not far from the cathedral itself and were glad of the opportunity to stretch their legs. They admired the wonderful intricacies of the architecture, not surprised at the scaffolding on the side of the building. They were relaxed and just being tourists, aware with such a historic building, the crowd and the banks, that there would be a large number of CCTV cameras. They made no overt attempt to locate cameras, just ignored them as they hoped the police would not pay too much attention to them. They had worked out very early in their planning that people trying to hide were caught, but people going about a normal routine, trying to do usual things were less likely to raise suspicion. The visit to Cologne Cathedral, with camera, was typically normal. Emily was still apparent, it was unlikely that the cameras would catch Megan's blue eyes, not Emily's dark eyes. What Jeff and Megan did not know was that the British police were not looking for them, they were looking for Megan in England. After a light lunch, they continued their eastward journey, onward to Nuremberg. This was the longest leg of their road trip so far. Arriving late, they stopped overnight. Jeff had not made a booking, deliberately, knowing there are any number of hotels and motels in Nuremberg. They ended up at the Woehrdersee Hotel, Mercure Nuremberg City, for a pleasant nights rest. From there they decided not to play tourist, but to move on to Budapest the next day. Before leaving, Jeff organised the tolls he would have to pay so he could just drive on without having to stop for other than fuel and food. Making their way along the OstendStrasse, they rejoined the E45 and headed east again. Apart from necessary refuelling stops, they just kept going. Crossing the border into Austria, their route had them by-passing Vienna. They drove around it and decided that they would have to come back to it when they could. An hour later, they crossed the border into Hungary. They were about two hours from Budapest at the border, and Jeff began to relax. Every mile eastward now meant that the police were another mile behind. They had gotten this far, and they were a mile closer to their destination. They drove into Budapest, late Friday afternoon, tired, hungry and exhilarated at their progress. For them, this was enough for the day, time to stop driving and relax. Jeff booked them into the five star Razc Hotel and Thermal Spa. Emily's mouth stayed open as she gawked at the sheer luxury of the place. This was a building of living history, blending old architecture and craftsmanship with modernity. The original building was built by the Ottomans, it reflected their art and structural design, exotic arches everywhere with alabaster masonry. Modern additions gave it plush carpeting, chandeliers everywhere. Emily thought that the cinema at home was exotic, but this was just overwhelming. Jeff was amused at her reaction and talked her though different parts of it. While he had never been here, he had seen similar buildings when traveling with his parents as a child. It was buildings like this that led him into a love of history. He recognised early that it is history that shapes architecture, cities, politics, everything stems from what has gone before. He realised that while many have tried, no one could really control history- not even Big Brother. Many individuals stood out in history, but none of them stood alone, they always had a system, a social structure, behind them, even if it wasn't clear. The further south- east they went, the more obvious the influence of the Ottomans would be. That was the system that drove much of the more recent history of this region. Megan was impressed by the architecture, but more so by the imaginative application of design. She had grown up with English styles all around her, from the ruins of Roman occupation to Gothic, Georgian, Victorian to modernist bland and post-modern daring. But this was in a class she had never seen or considered before. The bellboy guided them to their room, their home for the next two nights. As they passed through the door, Megan was just blown away by the room itself. A study in golds, and dark wood, three hanging lights at one end with a spacious bathroom to the left as they walked in the door. The were paintings, not prints, on the walls, a TV embedded in the wall opposite a huge bed. Jeff asked the bellhop if dinner was still available, and found out that 24-hour room service was available. Slightly miffed, the bellhop assure Jeff this was a 5 star hotel. Megan complemented him on his excellent English, and apologised for not being able to speak Hungarian. She also told him they were English and services in England were, quite often, not as good as they obviously were here - even in 5 star hotels. She then asked him if the spa was available at this time of the evening. He puffed up at the complements given him, assuring her that the spa would be open for her use at any time from 6am until midnight every day. She thanked him and asked Jeff if he would care to join her in the spa. He reminded her that swimming costumes were not part of their baggage, not even considered as part of their attire. Megan shook her head and said that it will have to wait until tomorrow then. In the mean time, she had spotted a rather magnificent bath tub, and would take her rest there this evening. The steam from the rather large bathtub rose in the cool air of the bathroom. Megan dropped her robe and stepped into the luxurious bath. Laying back she felt some of the tension from the last few weeks slipping away. The fear of discovery was not important any more. They were now openly traveling as a couple, not really hiding her name anymore. They were still conscious enough of the risks that she was named as Emily on the hotel register, using the Emily passport for the third time since leaving England. If asked, she would have produced her own ID. Settling into the bath, she heard Jeff come in after a trip downstairs to make sure the car was OK. "Megan?" he called. "In the bath," she replied. "Oh," he said, "The bath looks nice, but what's in it looks even better." Megan smiled at the compliment, and the really interested look that came with it. "Well, don't just stand there, I need someone to wash my back, and my front, then my bits.." Before she was finished, Jeff's clothes lay in a pile where his feet were and he stepped into the huge bath. Megan noted that even before he was finished undressing his interest had displayed itself. She loved that cock, loved to watch it get hard, loved in her mouth, inside her cunt. The feel of it in her hand was enough to make her juices flow freely. God, she thought, what a slut I have become. She reached up and put the finely scented soap into her hand, then reached down and took hold of his tool, gently rubbing it, cleaning it. Jeff was moaning as he lent forward and kissed her, fondling a breast as he did so, holding himself up with one hand. Megan pushed him back and sat up, to take his now hard horn into her mouth. She sucked him for a little while, and then pulled back, "Save that for later," she said, "My turn now." While it was a little awkward, there was enough room in the bath for her to turn around, presenting her back to him. Dutifully, Jeff grabbed the soap and rubbed it over her, then as best he could, he massaged her shoulders, the muscles surrounding her shoulder blades, and down as low as he could go. "Can you get on all fours?" he asked. Megan did so and soon felt Jeff's soap covered fingers washing her arse. Megan felt him touching her hole, and she jumped a little, not just from the unexpectedness of the touch, but from the little electric thrill that seemed to connect to her vagina. Withdrawing his hands, Jeff lathered up a finger and then proceeded to push it into her hole. "Fuck!" she exclaimed. "Oooo, that is nice, but sheesh..." She was really unused to such an invasion, and as Jeff pushed in further, she clamped her sphincter muscles, ejecting his finger. "Oh," said Jeff, "I was doing something a little different." "Yes, I know," she said. "And that is something we are just going to have to take a little easy I think. Later you can try it, but not for now." Jeff didn't push the issue, but continued to wash around her bum. He stopped for a second or so and Megan felt his finger replaced with his tongue. "Oh fuck, you're licking my arse hole!" "Mmmm," Jeff replied. "Oh yeah, that is really erotic!" Megan moaned. After a few minutes, Jeff lifted his head and started washing her vagina. Megan could not lower her shoulders any further, not without dipping her face into the bath water. Jeff washed then fingered her vagina until it was nice and juicy, He then moved and slid his silken rod into her. "Ahhh" she cried, "Oh yeah!" as he pumped slowly in and out of her. "But, don't cum yet. I want you in that huge bed!" After a few more strokes, Jeff pulled out and said, "That bed had better not be too far away babe." Looking over her shoulder, she giggled, "Just in the next room, and we can fuck up a real storm there. It's huge!" "Ooooh yeah! But for now..." Jeff replaced his dick with his fingers. He pushed two fingers into her now dripping love canal and used his thumb on her clit. It wasn't long and Megan's gasps and sighs and moans became more and more urgent. Her back stiffened, her thighs trembled and seized up. The muscles in her vagina grabbed hold of Jeff's fingers as she came, hard. Continuing for a few more strokes, as Megan's orgasm faded, Jeff pulled his fingers out of her, licking them clean. He loved the taste of her. Megan rolled gently into the warm bath water, taking Jeff's other hand and pulling him to her. She kissed him and said that she just loved what he did to her. Taking the soap, Megan washed Jeff all over, paying special attention to his hardening cock, again. Washing it thoroughly, then making sure the soap was off it, she bathed in in her saliva as she slid her lips around it again. Jeff moaned as Megan slowly sucked his dick to full hardness, until Jeff said, "Oooh babe, better stop there if you want to try and break the bed." Stepping out of the bath, their foreplay continued with drying each other down, paying special attention to those parts they most liked to fondle. Jeff reminded Megan that even with the softest towels they were using, it was not a good thing to put too much pressure on his cock. Megan noted that the roughness of the towelling was stimulating, and he would have to ensure that she was dry all over, not just to ninety-five percent of her body. Jeff decided the only way to dry her right off would be to lick her dry, which he did and completely failed to achieve his goal. Megan however, orgasmed yet again, so was not disappointed with Jeff's efforts. They finally made it to the bed, and Megan rolled onto her back, pulling Jeff on top of her. Try as she might, she was unable to hook both ankles over the edge of the bed at the same time. Jeff entered her in one smooth motion, and pounded away on her clit, much to Megan's pleasure. "Cum in me," she cried and Jeff kept his rhythm up, making them bounce on the mattress as he thrust into her. Megan gave up trying to spread her legs that far and wrapped them around Jeff as he fucked her. "Cum in me!" she cried again, "Cum in me!" Thrust in, "Cum in ME!" Pull out, "Cum IN ME!" she cried, Thrust in, "CUM IN ME!" Megan demanded. Pull out, "CUM IN ME!" Thrust in, "CUM IN ME!" Pull out, "CUM IN ME!" Thrust in, "CUM IN ME!" Pull out, "CUM IN ME!" Thrust in, "CUM IN ME!" Pull out, "CUM IN ME!" Thrust in, "CUM IN ME!" Pull out, "CUM IN ME!" Thrust in, "CUM IN MEEEEE!" Megan cried again as she came herself. "Yes, YES, YES" cried Jeff as he thrust as far as he could into her. He could feel the spasms of her muscles wrapped around his prick, trying to pull him deeper into her, milking him, demanding his juices. One final thrust and Jeff's balls spewed their milk into her eagerly awaiting love canal. Gasping for breath, Jeff collapsed into his lover's arms, her legs firmly wrapped around him, holding him in her. She kissed him and made sure he was well settled on her. He went to move and she stopped him, holding him in place. She kissed his lips again and unlocked her ankles as she felt his dick detumescing. She realized that he had driven all the way here, with a few breaks, for refuelling, both the car and themselves, and he still had the energy to fuck her like he did. She marvelled at his strength, the power he held inside himself, knowing that he was sharing that with her. "On your back, Superman!" she said. He dutifully did precisely that, but was just too worn out to make comment. Megan moved and swooped on his now flaccid dick, licking and sucking the semen off it. She licked his balls, his pubic hair, cleaning every part of him. "Sleep now, my darling. Rest, as you will need to be strong tomorrow." "Mmm," Jeff responded, "Food, too." "I'll go down to the restaurant and get something." "Just call Room Service," Jeff mumbled. "Ahh, the fabled Room Service it is." Megan lifted the room's phone, next to the bed, but realised she had no idea what to order. She recalled seeing a couple of folders on the room's desk and wondered if one was a menu. It was, with each item listed in Hungarian and English. She had noted earlier in the day there was a lot of signage that was also translated into English. She was pleasantly surprised that she would be able to find her way around the menu. She looked at Jeff, to ask him what he would like and saw his chest rising and falling deeply, slowly. She just about laughed at him lying on his back, asleep. Finally, she had worn him out, she thought. Going to the bed, she gently threw the sheet over him, followed by the light blanket. It was warm in the room, despite the air conditioning. Megan placed an order from the Bistro, and within 20 minutes, two fresh cooked meals were presented at the door. This gave Megan just enough time for a wash and to quickly dress. The bellboy asked if she wanted to charge it to the room, she nodded, knowing she did not actually have any cash herself. He said he would take care of it. Megan did not know what to do next, she thanked him and asked him to quietly put the trays on the table near the door. She saw Jeff's wallet in his jeans and quickly took out a five Euro note, to give the bellboy, he politely accepted the note and it disappeared like some magic trick. Megan did not even see the bellboy blink at Jeff's supine form in bed, and she was sure that the aroma of their recent activities would be lingering. He made no noise nor raised an eyebrow, already he seemed a master of discretion. Closing the door behind him, Megan smelt the food for the first time. She realised that she was actually famished herself. She quietly tasted one of the dishes, and fell in love with European food. While the aroma was tantalizing the taste was unbelievable. Such food, she thought, why would she ever settle for English bland again. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding! A world away! She had no idea what it was she ordered, something that had the word lamb in it and some kind of vegetable dish, but it was delicious. Somewhat guiltily, she spoke to Jeff, "Food's here," waking him to the aroma of their meal. They ate, at the table, and Jeff was back in bed and asleep again, almost before he was finished his meal. Megan was replete. She was tired from the traveling, worn out by the wonderful sex they had shared and now filled with the fare of the House. She lay next to Jeff, snuggled up to him and closed her eyes, asleep within moments it seemed. *** Shopping in Budapest Crossing to the older city on the Erzsebet bridge, Jeff did a U-turn to find a small car park, mostly empty, it's Saturday morning. Locking the car, they walked in the direction of the traffic, away from the bridge. Crossing the road, they took a left turn down a likely looking road and just marvelled at the varieties of stores and felt their illusions about what they would find in Budapest just shattered. Even more than two decades after the collapse of Communism, a decade before Megan was born, the old stereo-types were hard to overcome. As usual, there were far more women's fashion shops than men's. Megan took great delight in buying clothes, as she was no longer hampered by a protective mother. While the stores they looked in were upper crust fashions, Megan wanted stylish, for herself. They bought jeans at a jean shop and passed a drapery with the most wonderful materials in the window, but would only pass them up. For the first time, Megan was disappointed she had not really bothered to learn even a little about design and fashion. She would love to have felt some of those materials on her skin. Walking further down the street, she bought a new pair of sneakers, and sandals, and dress courts. She was happy trying the different shoes on, having some really gorgeous young sales woman fussing around her. The sales lady was a bit surprised when Megan stood, and was a little shorter than what she was in her own sneakers. Megan offered no explanation, but recognised that Emily's time was coming to an end. While it had been necessary, she really felt she would not miss Emily at all. Starting to be laden with packages, they thought they had better get to and find a shop where they could buy some bathers. Passing another restaurant, a Syrian restaurant, they saw a small shop and went in, but it was a women's store. Megan picked out a blouse and a jacket to add to her meagre wardrobe. Wandering around a bit more, crossing into another street, they saw a store named Reserved, and in the window were both men's and women's clothes on mannequins. Finally they got what they originally went out for. They stopped for lunch at a nearby al fresco restaurant, right next to something that resembled a store that has golden arches and sold future coronaries. During lunch, Megan asked Jeff how much her shopping expedition had cost so far. "Don't worry about it," Jeff said, "We are ok for money. The pound is up against the Euro, right now, so it goes a little further than it used to." "But, I don't want to spend money on things that I wouldn't have bought otherwise." "Darling, it is simple," Jeff started, "Money is the least of our problems, even if Father cuts me out of his will." "Would he do that?" "He might think about it, but the fact is that he won't. Father and Stephen came to an arrangement years ago." "Stephen?" "Oh yes," Jeff laughed, "We really haven't spent any time talking about our respective families have we. Been too busy otherwise." Megan laughed and said, "Difficult to do much else than breath between orgasms with you!" "OK, Stephen is my elder brother, and when Father found out he was gay, there was hell to pay." "Oh? I thought families were supposed to be enlightened these days. Given your mother's and Marion's relationship, I would have thought he was more tolerant than that." "Y-e-e-e-ssss, but he came out before Mother and Marion met," stalling why furiously thinking about how he was going to break the news to Megan. "Well, Stephen will not have an heir. While that is somewhat axiomatic, Father was furious. Not at the fact the Stephen was gay, but that he absolutely refused to put some poor girl "up the duff" to satisfy Father's desire for a male grandson." "And that is important to your father?" "Oh yes, very. The family fortune goes to the heir. Sister Alice and I were supposed to sponge off the trust funds, but Stephen poured cold water over that plan. As I am the next male heir after Stephen, it comes to me when Father decides he has had enough and/or if he dies. Besides, Stephen loves what he does and is not likely to take over anyway." "The family fortune?" "Yes, dear." "Trust fund?" Megan was somewhat amazed by these revelations. "And titles." Jeff said. "And title?" Even more incredulously. "Yes - but that happens after Stephen dies, I think." "What title?" "ummm Lord Douden, or I will be the Eighth Lord of Douden - Stephen is the seventh." "The Doudens?" "Uhhuh." "A history teacher? Lord Douden?" "Yes, mm no, mmm well, sort of." Jeff nodded. "What do you mean 'sort of'?" "Well, Father is the Earl of Partridge Bay, and Lord Douden. But, Stephen currently holds the title of Lord Douden as a courtesy title, Father doesn't use it. That makes me an Honourable." "Oh fuck!" whispered Megan. "Sorry?" Jeff said, suddenly concerned. "You mean to say, I have been shagging the heir of Lord Douden?" "Well, I wouldn't say that-" "Well, how else would you say it?" "I would say that the heir presumptive to the title of the Earl of Partridge Bay, fell in love with a wonderful young woman and is going to marry her-in a few months actually." "Oh yes, I think I like your way much better. But a History teacher?" "Yes. I had to do something, and I love history." "This is a bit of a surprise." "I did mean to tell you, but the time never seemed right." "Can't understand why." "Sorry, but it doesn't make a lot of difference actually." "Not a lot of difference? You think?" "Well, look, family history. My many times grandfather earned a knighthood during the Norman invasion. He got a small plot of land, in Partridge Bay, became Lord Douden of Partridge Bay, and it all remained simply that, for generations. My seven times grandfather was granted the title of Earl by George III, doing whatever he did for the crown, securing England against the French Revolution or Napoleon or some such. Nelson and Wellington were not the only ones to win peerages then. A peerage, an Earldom of the family estates, but not a lot else. In the 1890's my great-great and great- grandfathers managed to build a small property portfolio, and in the 1920's, great-grandfather secured a small landholding and sold it a year later for a good profit. With this money, and no debt, and right at the time the Great Depression hit, he and grandfather used that money to buy up as many properties as they could. "They sold some, kept many, but bought more properties with little borrowings, sold more properties, making larger profits, just by buying cheap, selling higher, and not borrowing much. During the war, they made money, a lot of money, from war contracts, whatever they were doing, plus selling land to the government for military use. After the war, they bought it back for essentially what they were paid for it. When great-grandfather died, Grandfather took over in the 'sixties, and went into the commercial market with a vengeance. That is where the real money came from. Father, he works at the business, but now has a board to help him not make a mess of it." "So that's all, is it?" Megan asked, "Buy cheap, sell high?" "Essentially yeah, that's it." "Is that what you will be doing? Taking over from your father?" "That wasn't ever my plan, no. I am afraid it requires a ruthlessness I am just not comfortable with- and not sure I possess." "Oh?" "Grandfather said that we should not do much in good times except get ready for the next crash. Keep what you can, and build lots of easily converted things and a large cash reserve. Said that there was always going to be a spectacular crash once a generation and the cashed up groups were always going to come out in front. That is how they really got started, during the Great Depression. Sold a lot in the War, bought it back after the War, then sold it in the mini-booms of the fifties and sixties. Kept the commercial properties where he could, sold off land for housing, and went international. The crash of the late 'eighties allowed him to buy a lot of property, both commercial and residential. By the mid-nineties prices had gone back to where they were, but Grandfather died so didn't see the end of it. Father took over and sold off a lot, kept the profits, and massively built the cash reserves. There were a few opportunities, in the late nineties like with the collapse of the Asian Tigers, but not that substantial until the GFC in 2009. Really valuable housing properties in the US in particular were sold at bargain basement prices, bought up by a fully owned subsidiary. When the Yanks figure out they own much less of their own country than they used to, they will complain, but Douden's will not be hurt." "You mean your father bought people's homes cheap?" "Oh yes, the Trust paid a couple of hundred thousand for a house on a large property in Maryland now worth well over a million dollars, and another million when subdivided. Same in other parts of the US and not just houses. There were also a number of skyscrapers in New York and Chicago that were over mortgaged, the Company got them cheaply. A few developers went broke, Douden's bought their developments, cheaply as they could, completed the projects and as values grew, have slowly sold them off. Basically, they bought up millions and millions of pounds of properties in the US and Canada, cheaply, now all of that is at least double what it was, and the markets there have not fully recovered. Some parts of the country are still extremely undervalued." "And you don't want to be a part of that?" "Oh god no! Look, my father is playing on people's misery. They go broke, and have to sell up, losing everything they have in most cases, and the Company profits from it. Not a comfortable thought for me I am afraid." "But you will head it up one day?" "Maybe, it has been set up so that the current head of the House can't interfere in the operations of the board of trustees, but he can sack them-well half of them, if they step too far out of line or if they involve the Trust in any sort of illegal nonsense and such. There is a heap of other things he can and can't do but essentially, he has an overseer role, but can't involve himself in direct management. A large part of the profits of the Companies go to the Trust and for future purchases, and some of it goes into income producing investments for the beneficiaries." "Who are?" "Stephen, as Lord Douden, Alice, is Lady Alice, she married a Viscount so keeps her title, her two children, me, as an Honourable, my Aunt, and her two children, my cousins. As well as any children we may have." "Alice married a Viscount?" "Oh yes, and her husband is not actually a beneficiary. Alice gets an increased stipend for him and for her children until they are legally adults, then they get a larger share. Oh, its all thought out." "Divorce might get a bit nasty then?" "No, not an issue at all. Grandfather saw the way divorce was going, so made sure Father and Aunt Gwen got prenuptials signed before they were known as prenuptials." "Your mother signed one?" "Oh yes, but she thought it was such a good idea that she had dad sign one too. She was "independently wealthy" as they say, but she was a canny money maker and her personal income was larger than dad's some years. She paid for my schooling, and university, she bought the terrace from the Trust and sold it to me, well her estate did, so if I did move up there, I would be independent from Father. This was always planned by her, according to Marion, her parting gift for me and set up when she knew she was dying." "Sold it to you, as a gift?" "Yes, death duties are enormous, so taxes are always a consideration. If it is part of her estate, it is not inherited, because it is part of her legacy trust. It can be sold and the money goes into the Trust, which is not an inheritance. Wouldn't have mattered where I went to live, she made provision for it. But that was my favourite place, and I was glad to come and live there. Now for a lot of other reasons too." "If we get married, will I have to sign one?" "Well, it is up to you, but until you do, the moment we get married I get nothing more from the Trust." "Bit cold-blooded isn't it?" "That is my father and grand-father, I am afraid. Nothing comes between a Douden and their money." "Taxes?" "None of the companies owned by the Trust are registered in England, so all the profits are shipped out as foreign investments, with minimal taxes and returned as foreign profits, with minimal taxes. I don't understand it, but the accountants do. All we pay in taxes are normal VAT and income taxes, some land taxes, and the like. The Trust doesn't pay much in tax at all - apparently. Death duties are minimised by the Trust's ownership of everything." "You have no interest in any of this?" "Not a lot. When dad passes it to me, then he will already have put into place someone who will be able to manage the whole thing. If he doesn't, Alice's children are nearly grown so she will have time, but whether she will be interested- I don't know. I am not interested, so that would make me the worst possible person to hold the title and all the reins." "Wow, such a future..." "I never wanted it, believe it or not. Second sons usually waste the family fortune they can get hold of, or become vicars, or soldiers and die in battle or go off on some other foolish adventure to get themselves killed, or be heroes. Britain was made Great by Second Sons." They laughed. "Oh I can believe it, but I am not sure how I feel about not being told before we came here." "Would it have made a difference?" "I - I- don't - well, no." Megan said. "What I want now is to be with you, Jeff Hunt, not the future Lord Douden." "Well, I will be Earl of Partridge Bay, Lord Douden, and you my love, will be Countess of Partridge Bay. And you will always be with me." Jeff replied. "Wait a minute, I thought you said Stephen was Lord Douden." "Technically, it is a courtesy title, but when Father dies, all of it passes to me. I become Lord Douden, which passes to our eldest son when he is born. But we can cover this further later, we have a job to prepare for on Monday morning. " "Yeah," she said, "I know, but I don't want to think about that right now. I think would like to try and wreck that bed though." Laughing, they went to a phone store and purchased a phone for Megan. They made sure it all worked and would be able to call home, when the time came. The returned to the hotel and the first thing they did was to change into the newly purchased swim suits and went to the spa. Megan was surprised when they were given battery operated lamps, though. To reach the spa, they had to pass into the oldest part of the original building. Apparently, during reconstruction, it was decided that this part of the building would not be connected to electricity, keeping the original experience of the Ottomans attending the spa. The rooms and corridors they passed through to get to the spa were pure Ottoman, stylized arches, filigreed scroll work masonry, of such detail she marvelled at the patience and skill required to do such work. This was far more than she had seen in the hotel proper, and the sheer beauty of it took her breath away. The moving lamps highlighted different aspects of the work as the light shifted, opening mysterious recesses, hiding other spaces, shadows dancing on alabaster walls forging links with the five centuries of visitors here. They took some stairs down into a corridor, and the air became humid and hotter. The heat in the spa room itself was oppressive. It had built up with little ventilation, but the aroma of the water, being a mineral spa, was cloying. While Megan didn't gag, she was certainly uncomfortable with breathing the air in the spa. Finally reaching the steamy waters, Jeff took her hand, disrobed her and helped her down into the hot water. She gasped at the heat swarming up her legs, over her body, it was likely hotter than anything she was used to. Jeff too stepped in and gasped as he did so. They could feel the heat seeping into their bodies, their pores, cleansing them. The slightly effervescent waters, the salts, all seemed to make the skin tingle, exciting nerve endings all over their bodies. Their bodies adjusted to the heat and it became relaxing. Movement in the spa was slow and languorous, loose and yielding. The tensions of the past weeks were slowly being drained from them. They relaxed and enjoyed the simple pleasure of just luxuriating in naturally heated water. Lounging in the heated water, then plunging into the colder water was a shock to the system. Megan knew the Romans did this all the time, as did the Japanese and Chinese and many other cultures around the world, but she no longer wondered at why it never caught on in England. The shock to the system was dreadful, but once passed the initial shock, she felt wonderful, better than she had done for a long time. The look in Jeff's face told a similar story. They walked back to their room in that measured pace the British had culturally developed, the one that would brook no intrusion. They felt wonderful, relaxed and incredibly horny. A soon as the door was shut, they were ripping robes and bathers off each other, hardly stopping to dry the remnants of the spa's waters from themselves. Kissing any part of each other's bodies if it came close enough, they struggled their way to the large bed. Megan, on top, pounded her clit onto his pubis, drawing as much into him as she could. She felt the iron hardness of his prick forcing itself upwards, contacting the entrance to her womb, filling her slick canal with silken skin over ramrod hard flesh. Again and again she forced him into her as deep as she could get him, as she felt her orgasm mounting. Deep as he was, their flesh bashing together, squashing and then releasing her clit, and her body was just taken by the massive contractions in her cunt. She screamed her cum, expelling all the air in her lungs. Jeff held on as her love muscles grasped at him, but he didn't want to cum just yet. Giving Megan a little chance to recover, he rolled her under him and began to gently fuck her. He slid in and out slowly, enjoying the sensations of pleasuring his cock, pulling almost all the way out, then slowly pushing into her again, sliding deep into her love grotto. Again he slowly made love to her, caressing the insides of her cunt with the silken skin of his hardened knob. Over and over again, allowing the sexual tension building inside them both, no release, just slow, strong movements. Jeff's desire was to just pound away on her, his body demanding he do so, allowing him to shoot his waiting sperm into her. She too was demanding him to move faster, to bring them to a fevered pitch, but he resisted. Kissing her, lowering his mouth to her breasts, then kissing her again he kept that slow rhythmic movement going on and on. Their breathing reaching a pitch, their bodies fully engaged with each other, their aromas wrapping around them, pushing them to even an even higher level of ecstasy. They could no longer maintain that, as the tensions inside them just exploded, their joint convulsions, spurring the other, his seed pushing itself out of him into her. She was a vessel being filled with his hot cum, swimming as deep as his tool could place it into her. Gasping their breath, Jeff rolled onto his side, pulling Megan with him, still joined by Jeff's slowly detumescing tool. He recovered his breath, and pushed her onto her back. Jeff sat up, then got to his knees as she wondered what he was up to. Without any hesitation, he scrambled a little and buried his head between her thighs. Slipping his knees either side of her head, he tried to place his dick as best he could into her mouth. She didn't hesitate at all and opened her jaws to receive his cum-covered dick. Slurping on her snatch, Jeff plunged his tongue into her while feeling his lover's mouth caressing his cock. He felt her soft tongue sweeping over his knob, along his shaft, cleaning the semen from it. She felt his tongue run along her labia and dip into her vaginal canal, the licking the oozing semen from down along towards her arse. Neither of them came close to an orgasm and finally, as if by pre-arranged signal, they stopped licking and sucking each other. Jeff rotated again and kissed Megan another of those seriously languid kisses, that to Megan felt like he was pouring his soul into her as much as he was his semen. They soon fell into the sleep of the satiated. Saturday became Sunday, and they awoke fully recovered from their loving the night before. Showering together was always a pleasure, and this morning was extra special. Their touching, caressing and kissing heightened every nerve in their bodies. They knew though it was not a time to make love, rather a time to get out and walk around Budapest. Finding a locality guide, they went trekking, looking for places of interest, being tourists in this beautiful, divided city. Megan knew these were once two different cities, or perhaps more likely villages, and was constantly on the lookout for those differences, every time they crossed the river. She was a little disappointed that she could not see anything obvious, but then, she really didn't know what to look for. If there were obvious differences, then she would have picked them up quickly, like anyone who looked. The differences would be subtle, and likely buried under layers of time. The buildings on both sides of the river reflected the history of the city. A mix of externally inspired buildings from every major era of the city's history. Some obviously Ottoman, some obviously Communist, some from what Megan would call the Victorian Age, but with vast differences, but also some from eras she did not recognise. The day was a wonderful experience for Megan, just wandering around then catching a bus to another part of the city, following the guide as best they could. Taking photos and holding hands and hugging at odd times, squashed together by commuter traffic, eating in small cafes, a cup of tea somewhere else. Simple things, like finding a toilet became an adventure in frustration at times, but really they were never far away. They returned to their hotel well after dark, so took lanterns and went to the spa. They relaxed for the rest of the evening, and had a late supper in their room. Readying for bed, Megan thought she would like to try something. She rearranged the pillows, placing two of them in a line along the edge of the bed. "Erm... can I ask what are you doing?" Jeff asked. "Rearranging the pillows." "Ok-a-ay, bu-u-t..." "Show you." She said. She laid down on the pillows on her back. Jeff moved to get onto the bed, but she said, "No, I want you here." "Oh, why then?" "I want to feel your balls resting on my nose." "Errm What?" "Come and stand here." she indicated, so Jeff moved, willing to go along with anything she wanted. He stood at her head now, and she reached out, undid the belt of his jeans, then his jeans, and let them drop. She pulled his underpants down, and took hold of his dick, stroking it, turning his semi-hardened tool into a hardened pole. "Now, fuck me, in my mouth." Megan said, "I want to feel your balls on my nose." Jeff then realised she was actually lying with her head back, which made her throat straight. "Just put your dick in my mouth, push it it in slowly, and I am going to see if you can cum in my throat. Just don't forget, I have to breathe every now and again." Standing over her, he guided his cock into her upturned mouth. Slowly sliding it between her lips, he pushed it into her, then feeling the constriction at the back of her throat, pulled out a little, then gently pushed it in again. He could feel the knob rubbing on her epiglottis, pushing it aside as it entered her upper throat. The feeling changed as he got past her tonsils, much more constricted, her throat wrapped itself firmly around his cock. Pulling out slowly, he could hear her breathing out through her nose, then as he reached the maximum point, where her lips were the only thing holding his knob, he pushed in again, slowly, then he could see her breasts rising as she breathed in again. He pushed in again, through the tissues at the back of her throat, and into the top of the throat. Jeff kept a steady rhythm up giving her plenty of time to breathe. While this was very erotic, he was just loving it, but the feeling of building to a climax was not coming, it was just too slow. "Oh babe, this is really wonderful, but it is too slow, we could be doing this for another twenty minutes." A muffled "uh-uh" came and it set him off, "Fuck! Do that again!" "Mnmnmnmnm?" "Yes, it vibrates your mouth, that was fucking delicious. Sing if you like. Sing around my dick!" So every time she was able to breath out, Megan hummed a tune, vibrating her throat and exciting his cock to even greater heights. She quickly grabbed another breath as he pushed in and then repeated the action over and over again. Jeff was getting closer and closer, but then they got their timing wrong and Megan gagged, pushing his cock out altogether, "Ahh fuck!" she cried, "Just about got you." The colder air got to him and he lost his near cum. "Oh darling," he said, bending to kiss her, "That was awesome. I have never experienced anything like that before." "I should hope not," Megan replied, laughingly. Staying in one position like that places a strain on the body, and neither of them were keen to start again. Taking Jeff by the hand, Megan dragged him into the shower and, after stripping him, she washed him all over. At one point, she bent him forward and washed his bum, starting from the top, all the way around to his testicles. Her fingers payed particular attention to his rosebud, and she slid a finger into him. He relaxed and allowed himself to be digitally fucked by her. Megan moved, while still having one finger up his bum and with the other hand, grabbed his rampant cock and slowly stroked him. "Ooooh babe, what about you?" "Not tonight my darling, you have been doing all this for me, my turn to do something special for you." She washed herself all over, and allowed Jeff to pleasure her a little, before getting out of the shower. They dried each other off and Megan drew him to the bed. She then laid him down, and knelt between his legs. Bending down, she raised his knees upward and pushed them further apart. She kissed the knob of his dick and kissed down it, over his ball sack, and then licked her way lower, down to his arsehole. "Oh babe!" he said, "Wow." Her tongue flickered over it and she was rewarded by it puckering in excitement, his balls just tightening inside their fleshy sack. She kept this up for a while and then coming up, she continued to suck his cock. After a short time, she straddled him, pressing his tool between her pubis and his lower stomach. She reached over to the bed stand and grabbed a tube of gel. "There is one hole you haven't entered yet, and you will need a condom for that." Making sure there was plenty of gel on her fingers, she lubed up her own arsehole as best she could. She took a condom out off the drawer and fitted it to Jeff's prick. She then straddled him again, taking his now incredibly hard tool in hand, she lowered herself onto it. First she did not seem to relax enough for him to enter her. This was the first time for her, so she did not want to rush anything. Still, she could not get it in. "Here," Jeff said, "Roll over, it is easier if you can relax, while on your back, not trying to hold yourself upright." She complied and rolled them both over, with him on top. She raised her knees opening herself to him. Jeff carefully placed his dick at the entrance of her arse and slowly wiggled his condom covered prick around to get some of the gel onto it. Placing it properly she relaxed as best she could and he eased into her. Megan felt his cock pushing aside the tight sphincter muscles, stretching them like they had never been stretched before. He eased back a little, then pushed more of him into her. Fuck, she thought, this is not good, I am going to be fucking sore tomorrow. But she had committed now, and there was no going back. She grunted as he pushed himself full length into her. Jeff knew this was her first anal, so wasn't going to get too boisterous. The ring of muscle around his cock held him in or would push him out if it hurt too much. Just taking her gently, he pulled his cock back until he felt it gripping the ring around the base of the knob, then pushed in again. In and back, then in and back, a little faster, "Are you ok?" he asked her as she grunted almost every time he pushed into her. "Yes, but it is a little weird" "Is it hurting?" he asked as he pushed in again. NMph! "Yes, but it is also a pleasure," NMph!, "as well, that is why it is wierd." NMph! "No," NMph!,"I'm not going to cum,"NMph!, "in the condom, where do you want it?"NMph! "On my tits!" NMph! "Or in my mouth!"NMph! "Ok, now concentrate on," NMph!, "relaxing." They kept this pace up for a little and then slowly, steadily he made it faster, until he felt the excitement becoming too much, he couldn't hold it much longer. "Cumming," as he pushed into her one last time, he felt himself going over the edge, and that really tingle in his swollen cock as it prepared to shoot. He was too late, and as he ripped the condom off, "Aaaarrrgggghhhh!" he cried as he began to shoot. It flew through the air, and landed on her chin and throat. A second spasm saw another string of cum flying though the air, landing on her tits. A third shot to over her navel. "Wow, nearly got me in the mouth," Megan smiled, "At least you got my breasts." "Yum," Jeff replied, "Share it?" Megan wiped the cum from her chin and throat and held her finger up, Jeff moved up and took it into his mouth, sucking her finger clean. He wiped his finger over her breasts and held it to her lips, where she eagerly kissed it, and drew the white semen into her mouth. Jeff crushed the condom back into its packet, and tossed it into the bin. Cuddling into each other, Jeff ran his hand down her body, over her breasts and then began to masturbate her. In a short time she came to her own release, and a tired love it was. Megan did not know how long it was going to take to get over the tensions of the last nine months, but they were together, in love and planning their future together. This was their last night in Budapest as they planned to leave the next morning. It would then be fourteen days since Megan disappeared, time to let people know she was alright. Megan woke and the room was bathed in the half light of a morning not completely shut out by curtains. Looking at her lover sleeping quietly she leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. He stirred and opened his eyes to see her framed by little rays of morning sun lighting her head. He woke fully then, with a start, as there seemed a golden nimbus around her, accentuated by her still blonde hair. She moved and it was lost, but it was one of those moments that had burnt itself into his memory, something that he wouldn't tell her just yet, but later, on a quiet night, perhaps after an argument, when in make up mode. He kissed her, and their new day began. They went through the morning routines and after settling the account, organizing tolls, and checking to make sure there was no traffic issue on the highway ahead, they left the Racz Hotel and Spa, heading east-south-east. Reaching the outskirts of Budapest at 10:00am, 9.00am in England, they stopped. Jeff pulled out the card given him by DCI Wishall and handed it to Megan. She dialled the number and after three rings, he answered, "Wishall" "Hi Mr Wishall, its Megan White." She waited while the sound of frenzied activity in the background just came clearly from the phone. "Hello Megan, nice to hear from you," came a very measured response. "Where are you?" "I am sure you will find out soon enough, but I am not going to help you I am afraid." "Are you alright?" "Wonderful actually, feeling better than I ever have." "Are you alone?" "Are you asking if I am being coerced? No I am not, I am here of my own free will, and have called to let you know this." "There are a lot of people here worried about you. Your parents are worried sick!" "Yes, I am sure they are. Please let your team there know I am OK, and that I deeply apologise for doing this to them." "Ok, can you come in and we can talk about it then?" "No, sorry, not right now. But you can expect me in a year or two." "Oh... why wait?" "Look, I am sorry, but I am going to cut it short now. You may think that someone else is calling you, but I assure you I am Megan, and in about five minutes, you can call my parents and they will confirm I have spoken to them. I wanted to call you first, so you can let your team know that everything is fine. Thank them for me, for everything they did on my behalf, even if I really didn't warrant their attention. I will contact you again shortly, and later we can talk about whatever it is you want to talk about. 'Bye." "Megan-" she heard as she cut him off. She was shaking as she did so. Jeff took her hand and smiled. "Well done, darling," he said, gently. "You OK?" Megan nodded. "It wasn't as easy as I though it would be." "I would never have thought so, listening to you. You sounded great, really confident." "Now for the really tough one," she said. She immediately dialled her home number and waited for someone to pick it up. "Hello," She heard her Mother say. "Mum," Megan said quietly as Jeff reached out to hold her free hand. He had the though that if they had done this in the hotel rather than in the car he should really have been holding her. "MEGAN!" she cried, "WHERE ARE YOU?" Jeff heard her as Megan lifted the phone off her ear. "Mum don't yell, please." "Where are you sweetheart?" "Away, Mum, away. But look, I am alright, I am sorry I ran away, but I just could not stay!" "Why? Why could you not-" she carried on talking. "I can't say right now, but I will be telling you soon." Megan cut her mother off. "Please, don't make this any more difficult right now! All I can say is that I am OK, and it will be alright. I will call you later, tomorrow. Please Mum, say goodbye!" "Megan - please no wait!-" Megan pushed the End button - and started crying. Jeff reached over and held her, as she cried into his shoulder. "Oh my brave, brave love." he said. "Let it out," as he kissed her cheek, gently. "Oh fuck! How am I ever going to face them again?" Megan cried as if the reality of what they had done had just hit her for the first time. "With the same courage and honesty and love that you have shown to me." "Shit," Megan said between sobs, "We better move." Jeff kissed her as best he could, with all the love he felt for her. He held her for a while longer then started the car, drove off to their destination. Megan had calmed down a little and while there was a sadness about her, she had stopped crying. Jeff was concerned that instead of letting it out, she was bottling it up. It was about two and a half hours to the Romanian border and it was a quiet journey. Megan was not excited about the changing countryside, not fussed about the villages they passed, or asking questions about regions as she had done so far. About an hour into their journey, Jeff's phone rang. Looking at it, he saw that the call wasn't from any number he knew, so did not answer it. A few minutes later, the phone rang again, this time it was the message bank letting him know someone had left a message for him. Really, he had no doubt who had rung him, and he did not want to talk to Wishall, so he left it. They got to the border of Romania and there was a border station, there at Nagylak, on the Hungarian side of the border, but they didn't seem interested in cars leaving Hungary. They went on a couple of hundred metres and into the Romanian border crossing station of Vama Nadlac. He drove into the lane marked for EU visitors and cars. Jeff wasn't expecting a guard there, not since Romania was a part of the EU, anyway. They did not need visas, even though they were intending on staying for at least a year. They pulled out their passports, as they went through the station, and the guard there took no more than a cursory glance at them. He did take a second look at Megan. The only thing left of Emily now was the hair, and that could not be undone easily. Megan's passport showed her with long black hair, not with short blond hair. "You are English?" he asked. "Yes," Jeff replied. "Your names, pliz?" "Jeff Hunt, and Megan White." "Meg-an Whiat. You have new hair?" Megan smiled for the first time since leaving Budapest, "Yes, and it is dreadful isn't it?" "No-no- you very pretty. Meg-an. But picture is different." "Yes, and as soon as I can, I am going to change back. Perhaps I will see you on our way home. You will see what I really look like then!" The guard smiled and said, "Maybe, now you go and enjoy my county. Is a very good place. You see." Megan nodded her agreement, "I sure it will be lovely. Thank you officer." He stepped back and waved them through. They had made it. They were in Romania. This was to be their haven for the next year or more. Why Romania? Their logic was simple, It was the not furthest place they could be away from England and still be in the EU, but far enough so that they would not be breaking any local laws. They did not need visas, nor work permits to be here, nor did they need a lot of money. All the indicators were that Romania was a lot cheaper to live in than England. What is more, the ability to attend school and find work may not be all that easy, Megan had thought, but Jeff had constantly reassured her that they would be able to live there comfortably. More importantly though, the age of consent is lower than it is in England. In Romania, Jeff will not be a teacher, and the role of being a "person of authority" will not apply. This was always the crucial issue for them. This was the issue which would ruin Jeff, and he would likely finish in gaol if they had been found out. Nine hours after leaving Vana Nadlac, Jeff pulled into the centre of Bucharest and the first thing he did was to kiss Megan, right there, in the car. This was to be their first night of relative freedom. Neither of them knew where they would be going over the next years, but they were together and that felt right, for both of them. *** The First few weeks Jeff checked into a hotel in the centre of Bucharest that night. The tensions of the last few days were done. They were, for the moment anyway, safe and sound. They had not broken any laws in Romania, they were not hiding under Emily's name any more. They were, in fact, the model of the kinds of tourists that Romania is welcoming today. A few days were spent traipsing around the old city finding their bearings in an unfamiliar environment. Megan bought some black dye and turned her hair black again, hoping that as it grew out, the difference between her dyed and natural colour would not be that great. Jeff had emailed the Head Teacher of Morwell and resigned his position. Essentially saying that due to circumstances beyond his control, he was unable to return to his position for the rest of the year. Basically, the response was "Thank you for your disservice, don't bother returning". They had burned their bridges, well and truly there. Jeff had instructed his Barristers inform the school, the Council Schools Office and the police they would accept any further communications for Jeffery Hunt and Megan White. The Barristers were quite willing to handle Jeff's affairs in England and kept him informed of the publicity and other news surrounding them. Seems quite a small feeding frenzy had built up around them, the teacher and his runaway student. One national paper suggested a strange assortment of rather lurid scenarios which threatened to get out of hand. The more sensational aspects of that story were quickly revealed as a discussion at a boozy lunch so were dropped and more mundane aspects were reported. Megan was quite happy to be dealing with her parents on the phone, but police were a different matter. Through Jeff's Barrister, a Mr Thomas Harcourt, she presented a statement that essentially, was less than completely honest. She was living in Bolton in the week and a half after her disappearance, and no, she would not reveal where she stayed. The people there were really nice and extraordinarily helpful. She did not want to repay their kindness by giving them up to police. Also, Mr Hunt did not know her whereabouts until he was told the evening before they left the country, after they had interviewed him the second time. She felt it better he not know where she was, so he would not have to lie to anyone if asked if he knew where she was. While this was a fabrication, Megan knew, it was a legal nicety that would likely get Jeff off the hook. Police could not prove otherwise without finding the "nice people" in Bolton where she was supposed to have stayed. A list of questions were presented to their Barrister, who advised them they were under no obligation to respond. They had covered all those questions, except one, in their statements. Megan did provide a supplementary answer, to that question, which was how did she get to Bolton unseen? She wrote that she walked out to the Lorry Café, just near the M62, and asked for a lift of a lorry driver. She couldn't recall the time, but CCTV footage should confirm that. Police found there was no CCTV footage as the camera overlooking the car park was out of order. She did not speak to DCI Wishall at any time after the first time, Mr Harcourt advised her not to. In her statement, she told police that there had been no breaking of any law in England, that she was aware of. Likely though, leaving the country under a false name was naughty, but she was sure that it happened all the time and could not see it as an offence. Through Harcourt, police told her that she could be charged with a number of offences under different Acts, whereas Mr Hunt was to be charged with any number of other offences for aiding and assisting in her disappearance, giving false statements and so on. Megan wasn't actually phased by any of this as her statements had purposefully cleared Jeff of any such wrong doing. Jeff rationalised that as being they did not actually ask him if he knew where she was, so did not lie, he just wasn't helpful. Their statements informed police that they would, at some time in the future, return to England and face those charges, but for the moment, neither of them were going anywhere. Once she explained to her parents what she did, they railed at her, so she let them get it off their chest. After a number of phone calls, they seemed to calm down. By this time, they knew who she was with, and various threats were forth coming. Every time they said anything like that, Megan simply said, "Well, I will call back to morrow. 'Bye" and would press the End button. Megan's parents learned that Megan was quite happy to talk to them but they had to remain reasonable. She rang at the same time to ensure they would know it was her, and reinforced her earlier statements to police about exactly what happened. Her mother asked her why, why she had run off. Megan's response was that it was more honest to go somewhere they could live openly, honestly, before it got out of hand, than to always live in fear. She explained that her relationship with Jeff was an honest, mutual love. They respected and cherished each other. As typical adults do, her parents scorned this idea, by asking how could a 15 year old know what an honest love really was. Megan would not be put off, she just reiterated that it was something she felt inside, that he did something for her that she had never felt before. It wasn't until she realized that he felt the same about her that it started to get serious and very dangerous for him. She felt he was the right man for her, and her father told her that when he dumps her for some other pretty young thing, she shouldn't bother to come crying to him. She didn't protest that Jeff wouldn't do such a thing, she just said, if he does, he does, and if their relationship had gotten that bad he was thinking of moving on, then she would already know and be prepared for it - but she did not think he would, ever. If anything, it might be her that has made a mistake and sh e will leave him, but right now, it didn't look like it, didn't feel like it. In the meantime, Jeff bought an apartment in Unirii Square. A two bedroom, two bathroom place with a relatively modern kitchen. The rooms were not large at all, space being almost as much at a premium as it is in England. They did not move in as soon as they got the keys from their agent, it had to be furnished. For the first time, Megan went shopping for a bed. She was delighted as they toured a number of stores looking for home wares. Unfamiliar brand names leapt out at them, as well as many known brands. So she went with what she liked. Megan's tastes were for the simple and elegant, Jeff was for the expensive and often ornate. Jeff did not quibble over anything she wanted, he loved her taste, which seemed to counterpoint his own. Megan essentially had cârte blânchè, except when it came to the kitchen. Jeff wanted to buy the very best he could, and did so, spending an awful lot of money on it. His argument was that if they bought the best they could now, they may not need to buy anything more for years. Two days after moving in, they had an unexpected visitor. Megan answered the rap on the door and said, "Buna ziua, va pot ajuta", which roughly translates as "Hello, can I help you?" "I am sorry, but I don't speak Romanian." came a very posh accent from a man in his mid-forties. Gay, Megan thought as she made the connection. "You must be Stephen, welcome, come in." "And you are obviously the young lady that has made so much fuss." "If you are referring to that business in the papers, I hardly had anything to do with it at all. Seems this whole thing is a lot of hyped up rubbish by the media. I don't know who they are talking about, but it is not me." Stephen smiled, and held his hand out, "It is nice to meet you, Megan." "And you Stephen." Jeff came in at that moment, as they were shaking hands, "Oh, I see you have met then." "Oh yes, charming young lady," Stephan said. "And what are you doing here Stephen?" "I was in the neighbourhood so I thought I would drop in." "Madrid is not exactly in the neighbourhood, so why are you here? How did you know where to find us?" "Father asked me to look in on you. See if you needed anything, like a decent defence barrister or some such?" "Typical, but please, tell Father that no, I am doing fine, and will not need any help." "Oh, that won't please him. He has been terribly worried about you when he first heard." "I am sure, but his fear would be more about liability issues. You can assure father that as I am a mature adult, he cannot be held responsible for my actions." "Recent evidence would seem to question that." "Erm.. which part, the mature adult or the responsibility?" "He just about had apoplexy apparently. He was almost incoherent when he spoke to me. I suspect he may not be too happy with you right now." "Is he threatening to cut me off?" "Yes, as a matter of fact." "Ok, that would suit me." "But not me, old boy, not me!" "Staying for dinner? I would offer you a bed, but there isn't one available, haven't gotten around to buying it yet." "I have a room at the Epoque hotel," one of Bucharest's premier hotels, "but dinner, yes, as long as you are cooking, unless you are the better cook Megan?" "Oh no, I am struggling to not burn the water. Jeff is the chef and I am the bottle washer. Perhaps one day I will be able to make porridge or something, but not yet." "Yes, I understand you met Marion, she taught us all to cook, even Mother. But it was Jeff who had the talent, I lost it a little after toast." "Oh rubbish, don't let him fool you, he is an excellent cook, just not as good as me. So you spoke to Marion?" "Yes, she rang me." "Oh?" "She told me she didn't want me to worry." "Very kind of her, but when do you ever worry about me?" "All the time dear boy, all the time. Anyway, enough of the pleasantries. Megan, while Jeff is performing his usual magic in the kitchen, perhaps you would care to tell me your story." "Oh, no you don't!" Jeff chipped in. "All he is doing is pumping you for information and then tell all to my father." "Oh you are so suspicious these days. I would never-" "Oh I am sure," Jeff cut in. "Well I wouldn't, let the old goat figure it out for himself. All I would do is tell him you look happy. That should be enough to work him into a real lather!" "Wow, are you hoping he will keel over so you can be Earl?" "Good god, no! I never wanted the title, that is yours." "What? You can't just reassign it to me. I understood that if you refuse it, then the title is held in abeyance until you die then it is passed to the next heir. Which means if I am still alive, it will come to me." "Not any more old son, you're it, I am afraid. We are no longer welcome in the House of Lords, so different rules apply, it seems." Stephan replied, "By mutual agreement, I am unfit to take the title, so it falls to you. So I am not refusing it, and you become the legitimate heir. That is what father is so upset about. He is afraid that you will never be able to come home." Jeff was somewhat stunned by this news. Megan was no less bemused. "Well," she said, "You can assure your father that we will be returning to England in the future. As I have told police, we have not broken too many laws, and none that we have are likely to be sent to prison for." "They won't believe you." "Who cares what they believe, it is only what they can prove that counts." "I know, your Barrister has managed to keep the police out of the terrace, so far, but whether that will continue or not, that is another matter. Apparently, the statements you two sent them, and they then passed them to police, has had a major bearing on the issue. I had word from Father yesterday that you may never teach again, in England, anyway." "Oh. Yes, I kind of expected that." "Why you ever became a teacher..." "Please let's not start that again. I never wanted the life Father mapped out for me, particularly after Mother died." Megan noticed that Jeff's manner had changed, his speech pattern was more the posh of his brother, his bearing considerably more stiff, harder, and a touch of cruel arrogance seem to enter the usual mien of her lover. This was not expected, that is for sure. Stephen was clearly upper crust, the archetypical English aristocrat, she recognised it the moment he opened his mouth. Jeff wasn't, well he wasn't until now. Every word pronounce clearly, even his mannerisms changed, and she saw the same aristocratic traits in him she saw in his brother, and that troubled her. "Anyway, how did you find us?" he asked. "Well you can't take 100,000 pounds out of the Trust and not expect it be noticed. Even a piddly amount like that requires a receipt." Piddly? thought Megan, How much money is involved in this trust fund? "But I took it from Mother's legacy, not the Trust. How would they know about it?" "Oh, dear, you really don't pay attention do you. Jeffery, sometimes I despair of you." "Well get over it then, and get on with your own life." Jeff said harshly. "Temper, temper. Mother's legacies are administered by the Trust. That happened when old Templeton retired. He had no one and Mother never named a successor. You were busy at Cambridge, I was in America and Alice was doing whatever Alice was doing. You signed the forms Templeton prepared, as did Alice and I. Father just transferred the accounts to be administered by the Trust." "There were an awful lot of forms to sign when I became an adult, he could have slipped them in then." "Yes, it would have been about that time. He has always been crafty, likely didn't want you to argue about it. Did he have someone come to you?" "He did, a young lawyer, erm... Wilson, Wilkins, something like that. I thought it a little strange, but he told me that Father was quite clear. If left to me, it is unlikely that I would make the journey to their offices so it would be better they sent someone to me. He was right." "Yes, he knows you better than you think. Anyway, time for more serious discussion later. Got any decent wines to go with a good meal?" "I'll tell you what, why don't you two talk and I will go down to the shop and buy something. I mean I can't buy wine but I can get something for dinner." Megan offered. Jeff smiled and hugged her, "Don't feel like cooking anyway, want to try that little diner we have been eyeing off for the last week?" "Little diner?" Stephen asked, somewhat incredulously, "Since when would-" "Since I am going to be living here for a while yet. An alien concept for you Stephen but if you are going to be living in a small community, it is best that you at least try to be a part of it. Works wonders you know." Jeff cut in, somewhat scornfully. "Alright, alright," Stephen replied, "I am just the messenger here, if Father comes you can scalp him if you like. Or if you prefer, you are in Romania, a stake through the heart is a local tradition I believe." Megan was again unsettled by this display. She had never seen him like this before. There was obviously an awful lot of likely not so pleasant history here. "Have any trouble buying this place?" "No, not really, when the agent knew I wanted a place rather quickly, he managed to grease a few palms and expedite the whole thing, especially when paying cash. Everyone gets paid and everyone is happy." "Well, perhaps you do have some skill in this after all." "Not really, I just had good models to follow." Megan was lost by this exchange, but understood that corruption was a way of life here. Jeff took advantage of that and he now owns this place. What should have taken a couple of months was done in a few days, she knew that - he had told her. "Father did say that was what has kept him out of Romania, too many people holding their hands out." "Which is one of the reasons this seemed a good place to come, Father and the Trust are not here. Also, if worse does come to worse, a few bribes to the right people should keep us here." "I doubt the police in England will bother, the expense of an extradition is outweighed by the really minimal nature of any offences that may have been committed," Stephen went on, "At least that is what Harcourt told me." Referring to the Barrister of Jeff's legal representatives. "Oh, when did you see him?" "Yesterday, just after I spoke to Father. Father was more upset about the newspaper articles than anything else. Harcourt shut them down too." "I didn't think there would be too much interest in our story." "This is where you are so naïve Jeffery, Mother should have thrown you to the wolves, well, wolf." "Don't drag her into this, Not her doing." "Isn't it?" Jeff bristled at this, "Please understand Jeff, the fact is Mother brought you up and shielded you from the harsher realities of the world. Alice and I, well, Mother didn't know what Father was like, how casually cruel he can be. As you were a late child, a surprise for Alice and I at least, she sought to protect you from that. She knew by then so largely kept you out of his reach." Jeff looked at Megan, "Welcome to my dysfunctional family history. I suppose it was going to come out sooner or later, so it seems." "I'm an only child, I wouldn't know about family, dysfunctional or otherwise, my love. But enough, time for a meal, so whenever you are ready." It took a few moments to get themselves out the door, but eventually they left. Walking down their street, they came to the Calea Calarasilor and catching a tram, they found a stop near a small restaurant called La Scena. Stephen was mortified they actually used public transport, but a long look from Megan quietened his objections. Stephen did make one comment out of place though. He asked Jeff how long it took him to come up with this crazy scheme and how on earth did he expect to get away with it? Jeff really bristled at this and before he had a chance to reply Megan said, "You know, one thing I really dislike about the posh is their brainless self- assurance that allows them to be so patronising to everyone else." The was a simple comment, said without rancour, or spite, just a statement. Jeff smiled, and said nothing. Stephen's eyebrows climbed high on his forehead, and before he had a chance to say anything more, the tram stopped and Megan stood, saying brightly, like nothing had been said, "This is our stop, come on." Stephen didn't move, he was stunned actually that this kid would talk like that. He was made aware that while she may be young she was not going to take any bullshit from him. "Come on," Jeff said, "Tram will go with you on it." He got out and thought that there was no way Jeff was going to surrender to him, not with this kid as his spine. His job was to make Jeff come home, to get him to give up this foolishness and surrender to the inevitable. Father would use his influence to get it all downgraded to a slap on the wrist, and then keep Jeff in his reach. Just not going to happen, and there was no Plan B. Sitting inside, they treated themselves to a good meal, not great, but a good meal, and reasonably priced. "I know it is not five star, and the décor is a little dated, but it is nice, comfortable, with a reasonably affordable mid-ranged wine list. I doubt there will ever be any Grange Hermitage here, or other classic wines, but it is quite comfortable." Jeff remarked. "Now, let's talk about why you are really here, shall we?" "No point is there?" Stephen replied. "None at all." Megan said, "So, you are here to tell Jeff to stop being such an idiot, give me up and come home?" "Basically, yes." "Thought that was the case." "So how are you going to report this glorious failure to Father?" Jeff asked. "Tell him to come here himself and talk to you." Stephen stated. "The answer will be the same, and he can't really hurt me." Jeff replied. "No, not you," Stephen said, then turning to Megan, "To you." Megan was surprised. "What makes you think my answer will be any different?" "Oh, for fuck's sake." Stephen swore, "You are fifteen years old, a minor, living with a 24 year old, in a de facto relationship. How long do you think it will last?" "No idea, but I know that Jeff would not just up and leave me." Megan stated. "I would never have started this if I believed for a second that he would." "Awful lot of confidence in someone you hardly know." "I have known Jeff for almost two years, and I suggest I know him better than you." Megan said, her voice hardening. "I have been there, seen him, watched him, and learned about him." "Oh, cocky too." "But not an arrogant bastard who seeks to wreck other people's lives." "Hmmph, I don't have to, I have seen enough people to know that they do it all on their own, with no need of any help from me." "That may be, but the fact is, you are right, we don't know what might happen tomorrow, but that is the fun of living, not merely existing. We are not going to be wasting our lives just trying to make money." "There is not a lot else to do that is meaningful you know." "In your world perhaps, not in ours." Megan replied sweetly, "You know, I had a vagrant, a drunk, tell me that people he used to work with would just fuck you over for a deal, or just for fun. Is that you? Is that what you do? Fuck people over for fun?" Stephen saw Megan was not going to cower to him. Marion was right, again. He laughed, easing the tension, "Yes, and he was right. Bet he used to work in the City then. Oh I am not here to break you up, I was confirming what Marion told me - that to try would cause more problems than it solved. She told me that I would be asked to do precisely that, and I shouldn't. Father asked and I had to meet you, so I came. I think I am going to like your young lady, Jeffery. I hope you look after her well." He turned and looked at Megan, "And if he doesn't, let me know. Now, what terrible dark secrets about our family has Jeff not told you?" The rest of the evening was pleasant, funny, sad. Stephen talked about their Mother, and obviously touched a running sore in Jeff. "Sooner or later, you will have to forgive him, you know." Stephen said. "Why? He doesn't deserve it!" "Oh undoubtedly dear boy, but not for him, for you." Megan looked at them both with that you better tell me now buddy look, Stephen picked up on it, but Jeff was too gone in reliving his anger at his father. "He hasn't told you then?" Stephen asked Megan. "No, but he has made it obvious that something happened." "I am right here, you know." "Yes, darling, we know, but this is where you either tell your side of the story or I tell Megan the truth." "Truth? Truth? Truth is while Mother was dying Father was out fucking anything that moved. Truth is that on the evening Mother died he was shagging some blonde bimbo in Claridge's." "That "blonde bimbo" was the Lady Jennifer Morgan, about half his age and with a wardrobe to die for." "Oh you make light of it, but Mother died, apart from Marion and I, she was alone. You were in caught in America, closing some deal or other, and were expecting to be home in the next day or two, Alice made it just in time to say goodbye, but Father, he-. She asked if he was about the place. I said no. No idea where he was, and the next day there he is, in the paper his photograph with this high class trollop on his arm. Some charity gala or some such, but he wasn't where he was needed. And you wonder why I am so damned angry with him?" "No, I don't. I knew, Alice and I both knew. But please, you need to let it go. Look, anger is a virus, it gets hold of you. Then it grows because it is continually feeding on itself and anything else it can find as a food source. It loves anything new about the object of the original anger, twists it to suit its own purposes. Trouble is, as it grows, it becomes a parasite, and starts to eat the host. It goes on eating, until it consumes the host too. Jeff, I really don't want you to go down that road, neither would Alice or Marion. And now, you have Megan, don't fuck it up is all I can say. Oh, while I think of it. When was the last time you were in Mayfair?" "Two weeks after Mother died, there was the funeral, then to Eaton the next week. Then I started spending weekends with Marion." Surprised by this sudden change in the conversation. "Haven't been back since?" "No, not really - only some holidays and then I was out a lot. After that, it was Cambridge, so never bothered going there, preferring to either travel or go to the terrace. Why?" "Something Marion said. She is uncanny you know - she knew Father would send me here. She rang and told me the day your name came out he would ask and to not try too hard, as it was pointless. She also told me that I was to ask if you had been in the study recently. No idea why, just said it was important." "Well, I won't be there for at least a year or three, so no matter." "With Marion, everything matters. OK, I will be going there when I get back and have a look in the study, see if I can see what she was talking about. I'll let you know." Megan and Jeff both nodded. "In the meantime, there is a core of sadness in you dear brother that needs to be purged. Have you noticed it Megan?" "Sometimes, but it certainly has been noticeable when it has appeared. But I thought you were talking about anger." "Yes, but you have never seen Star Wars have you?" "You mean 'fear leads to anger, anger leads to the Dark Side'?" She was surprised at his taking in of such populist culture. "Sort of, except it is not always fear, it can be sadness too. The end result is the same, Anakin becomes Darth Vader because of his fear translating itself into anger, but reality is a lot more complicated than that. And it does not have to make sense either. Sadness can also translate into anger, and that is your problem, dear boy. " "I am not sad, just angry at Father for ignoring his wife, our Mother, when she needed his comfort." "She had Marion, Father knew it. Marion was a far better companion to Mother than Father ever was. He was her husband, and he did love her, certainly, but he was never her companion, not like Marion was. They were never really partners, not like you and this dear lady so obviously are. Besides, Father was in denial about it all, he was angry at her for being ill at one level, and was scared to death, well, her death, of her illness. Never has to make sense, it just happens that way. Do you know why we were living in that dump you now, well used to, live in?" "Family home. Great-grandfather, grandfather and father all lived there." "Had nothing to do with it. It was punishment. Grandfather wanted Father to marry some upper class woman he had picked out. She was his ticket to the Privy Council. It was all arranged. Except Father married Mother instead. Grandfather was even more upset with Father than Father is with you. Grandfather's dream had been snatched away by his foolishly romantic son. I saw her once, Father pointed her out to me. I am glad he did marry Mother, as this woman would not be out of place on the track at Royal Ascot." Everyone laughed, "Mother's family had money, but no title, no connections, you see, just money. " "Jesus, Marion said I wasn't the only foolish romantic in the family." "Did she, well, who knew." Stephen mused. "Grandfather would have really been upset in the 1999 House of Lords reforms, we lost the seat we had held for nearly two centuries anyway. You were still young when Grandfather died and the family moved into Mayfair. Grandmother welcomed us, probably until Father shipped her out to a nursing home for the last few years of her life. I was completing Cambridge so it made no difference, but I was upset we were kept out of Mayfair by Grandfather's refusal to accept Mother. "Didn't matter anyway because when I came out, Father kicked me out for a while. Mother talked him around, that is when she came out about Marion, so I have a little to forgive him for myself. He was stunned but didn't make a fuss about it. I never learned the story nor understand what went on then, but it doesn't matter. Alice was no help, she was preparing for her wedding so wasn't overly interested in anything else. "In the end, of course, we struck a deal, and have made some variations to it since. Now with this, it puts everything in a real mess. Father is pulling every string he has to get any charges against you dropped. Harcourt says your statements to police have also helped that considerably. He has a full transcripts of the conversations you held with the police, and your parents, Megan-" "My parents? why are they reporting to police?" "I think it was likely a tape in case there was some sort of ransom demand." Megan snorted, a ladylike snort, "As if my parents had enough money to pay a ransom." "Well, that was really an excuse. What the police did, according to Harcourt, was to convince your parents to keep recording just in case you slipped up and they would have evidence to be able to build a case against Jeff. Well, as soon as police asked for a search warrant at your terrace, Harcourt jumped on them, he was expecting it and they weren't looking for him. He presented to the court your statements, which he had already given police, and found out they were taping your conversations. He demanded those transcripts as well and they did not want to give them up. "Evidence in an ongoing investigation" they claimed. Megan's statement to police that she was living in Bolton after her vanishing act was sufficient for the court to deny entry and they ordered copies of all transcripts to be handed over forthwith. Next day it was all in the papers, quite the scandal actually. Police are saying they don't know where you are, but I suspect this is nonsense. Harcourt has given me a letter to give to you, but he was very sure to say that he knows that I am not likely to know where you are, but on the off chance you contact me, I should let you know I have this letter. "This gets me off the hook, legally, so I cannot be accused of anything. Oh, he also told me to urge you to return to England and face the police. So I have told you and here is the letter." He handed Jeff a business envelope full of papers. "Read it at home. After the formal part was over, Harcourt told me, hypothetically, that under the circumstances, anyone in your positions would be better off staying put and doing nothing, that is likely the best outcome right now. If you need any documentation, you might arrange it through him." "Documentation?" Megan asked. "Yes, I take it you have your birth certificate?" Megan nodded. "How about a Certificate of No Impediment?" Megan shook her head, "No, no idea of what it is." "Well, if you decide to get married, and do it shortly after your 16th birthday, then Gretna Green is the best place; but you need a certificate to prove you are not already married." "Ahh," Megan said. "Harcourt can get the documents needed with a minimum of fuss. So when you are ready, let him know. Sometimes, I suspect he is almost as perceptive as Marion. I take it you will need such a document?" They nodded. "Well congratulations, but be careful when it is time, you are going to have to fly in to Edinburgh, and drive there. The Scottish Police won't move against you, you haven't broken any of their laws, so let me know when and I can meet you there." Jeff nodded and Megan thanked him. "No please, don't thank me, thank Marion, she is the one who intrigued me about you. Ordinarily I would have told Father to bugger off with this, but Marion made me curious. I had to come. But now, after a pleasant evening, I have to go. I am not catching public transport again, the waiter can call me a taxi. Come with me and I can drop you off." Jeff paid the dinner account and left a nice tip, Stephen asked for a taxi, and gave the waiter a nice tip. While they were waiting, Stephen outlined what Harcourt had told him, about Jeff and Megan's legal options. Essentially, as Stephen had thought, if they got married then basically all sins are forgiven. There may be a number of small nuisance charges police might lay, but these can be easily blocked. "Harcourt thinks they probably won't bother if they know you were defending them." Stephen said. Jeff and Megan only have to wait until they can get married at Gretna Green, another 10 months. Jeff told him they thought their entry to Edinburgh was risky, so were prepared to wait until Megan was 18 before getting married. "Why run in the first place, that has everyone mystified." "My insistence." Megan said. "I couldn't change schools. As my teacher, Jeff was in a lot of trouble if we got caught. Sneaking around like we did, was sooner or later going to cause suspicion, or I would get caught, or be seen entering or leaving the terrace. The simple fact of the pressure was getting to me. Neither of us wanted to hide anymore and you are right, 15 is a good age to get into trouble at. For everyone. I didn't want that. Without Jeff in my life I was going to be, well, all I could see was a big zero, and I didn't want that either. Too young to go to Gretna Green so we had limited options. We discussed those options to the death and found very few choices. Jeff feels the same," he nodded, "So being foolishly romantic, we did a bunk." "And Romania? Seems an awful long way to run." "Again, the choices were few. The age of consent here is 15, the same as in Germany, France, a year older than Estonia and Latvia. However, I am still a minor, guardianship laws here are a little less rigid. As an unaccompanied minor, I can appeal any action to place me under guardianship, or send me home, or anything else that might try to derail us. I can tie it up in the courts here for years. The only problem is that they may seek to put me elsewhere, but once it is pointed out that I am safe, settled in a permanent residence, at no cost to the State, attending some kind of educational setting, we doubt they will interfere too much." "What about your parents?" "Ahh," said Jeff, "Any action taken by them will result in Harcourt acting for Megan. The thing is that Megan's parents don't have a lot of resources, so couldn't afford a protracted court battle, which will be pointed out by Harcourt. If they do take action, then he will offer to cover their costs, the moment they drop it. If they go on with it, he will keep it tied up as long as he can, while pointing out their costs are mounting. The message he will send them is that Megan does not want to fight them, but is asking them to go along with her, accept her decisions. Megan had to convince him that this was her decision and I had no undue influence on it. They spoke on the phone for quite a while and he accepted what she had to say." "Did he? Well, I am impressed. Harcourt is a very sharp operator, if you got him onside so quickly, he must think something of you." "I was simply honest with him, and told him how it was, and then asked for him to help me not break anything." Megan said. "I think he was chuffed to be asked to be nice for a change, to be the good guy." Stephen laughed, "Yes, that might do it. A lawyer as the good guy, something wrong with that image I suspect. Taxi is here, coming with me?" They all got into the cab and Jeff gave the driver the address. Conversation quietened until they got to their apartment building. "I'll tell Father you are exceeding happy, with a wonderful woman, and just getting on with it, then. I think Alice might drop in and see you soon as well. Remember to let me know when you are going to go to Edinburgh, about a week before, so I can meet you." "Why would you do that?" asked Jeff. "Well, you'll need a best man won't you? You may never need to return the favour, but it is the least I can do for you. And Megan, Father may not like it, but even an emotional brick like him will see you are good for Jeffery, sooner or later. Ciao, baby!" Stephen laughed and told the driver to make his way to the Epoque Hotel, closing the door. They waved him goodbye and went upstairs, and just got on with it. *** The Second Month Stephen was right, Alice did come, intrigued by this child who had captivated both her brothers. She had already told their father she was not interested in doing his bidding, and had intended on visiting Jeff, based on Stephen's comments not Father's demands. Stephen told her what he saw in the study at Mayfair and was seriously curious. On visiting Jeff and Megan, Alice found no guile in the girl, just an honest love for Jeff, and he for her. She also found for the first time in years, she was able to discuss their father with Jeff without his anger boiling over. In a quiet conversation with Megan, Jeff had gone out to get some wine, she learned that after Stephen's visit, they had discussed Jeff's attitude to his father, and worked through some of the hurt that he experienced. Stephen was right, Megan said, Jeff's anger would eat him up eventually, and would only be relieved by his father's death. Relieved but not ended, not dismissed, just relieved. Together they were getting to a point where Jeff would be able to meet with his father face to face, without it becoming an argument. Alice was unprepared for that, surprised at Jeff's progress, she said nothing but knew without this girl, that would never have happened. When she arrived, Alice gave Jeff an envelope from their Barrister, another account and several other documents, including copies of the transcripts of Megan's conversations with her parents. Jeff gave them to Megan without opening them, something that surprised Alice. At the table though, the conversation took a different turn. "Stephen told me about what Marion had said." Alice said. "Oh? About what?" "The painting in Father's study." "What about the painting in Father's study?" "Do you remember it? You haven't been there for years, and I don't know how much time you spent there anyway." "Which one? I recall three of them." "Yes there are still three, but the one on the wall opposite the desk." "The portrait of the family from about 1750 or something?" "Yes, that is the one. Great-great-and so on- grandfather, and mother, with eldest son, two sisters and a baby. 1752. One of the last pieces done by Bartholomew Dandridge, and likely one of his best, even though he was past his peak then. The younger sister, her name was Corrianne. Remember the story, Jeff?" Jeff shook his head, "No, never interested in much that Father said. He probably told me, but I never bothered to listen." "You should have, really. She was about 14 in the picture and she ran off with a young man two years later. One of the first couples to get married in Gretna Green, according to family legend, and had a number of children." "Runs in the family then?" Jeff asked, "And we are likely to have a number of children too." Megan smiled. "But not for a while!" "Stephen told me what he saw, so I went to look for myself. I took a photo of it on my mobile to show you." Alice opened her phone and went to the gallery app, opened the image she had taken and gave the phone to Megan. "As you can see, happy family snap, mother, father, eldest boy, two sisters, youngest son in his mother's arms. Now, zoom in and look at the dark haired girl on the left." Megan did and gasped. Jeff looked and saw what Megan saw. "No, this is one of Stephen's pranks, isn't it!" "No, dear boy, I assure you it is not. The girl in the painting is the one sitting next to you. I have had Caroline doing a trace on you, Megan." "Caroline? A trace?" "My PA, or secretary, companion, lover, whatever you want to call her." The last startled Jeff, "Yes, sexuality runs in the family dear boy. Believe me, Mother was really onto something when she took Marion as a lover." "Oh, and you and Marion?" "Oh god no, Marion loved Mother and as far as I know, has never taken anyone else since Mother died." "She is living in Bolton now." "Yes, alone, apart from that damned cat!" "That cat? No, should be long dead by now." "Is another one, the same type, the same manner, as arrogant as Father, I am afraid." "So you have seen her recently." "I have kept in touch with her, helped her get the salon open, for which she repaid me within two years. Go and see her when I can, which is not often, but email is always available. After I saw this, I went up to Bolton, and spoke to her about it. Then got Caroline to do a genealogy search for your ancestors. Seems that your many times great grandmother was a Corrianne Hunt, who married a Henry Hubert White in Gretna Green in 1754. Corrianne was our many times great aunt. Family history repeating itself it seems, dear cousin." Both Megan and Jeff were stunned. They did not believe it, even when Alice opened the envelope she pulled from her handbag, showing the evidence. The coincidences were just too great to comprehend. "Here it is, all signed as accurate." Alice said. "This is why I waited a month before coming, it took that long to check and double check everything, as well as notarise it." "Well, a new chapter in the history of the family, or the rewriting of an older chapter then." Jeff remarked. "I have never been told anything like this. I don't think my family goes back much beyond my great- grandparents. We're not that important, I expect." "Without trying to be arrogant, or patronising, but reality is that family heritage is only important if you have reasons to make it important. If you had a title in the family, then it would be important to follow the line of inheritance. The inheritance was money, land, power, and connections essential in an ordered feudal society that demanded clear, and exactly recorded, title. "A couple of civil wars have been fought because the succession to the crown was muddied up a bit. Family infighting has managed to bring a few of the peerages to an end, which is why there are equity courts and various Orders, to keep track of these things. Come on, you know that Jeff, and from what I hear, you should too Megan. A title in our modern society can be a lot more important than money actually." Megan thought for a bit, and said, "Would you be able to give a copy of this to Mr Harcourt? For my parents." "Certainly, but I don't understand why?" "However distant our family relationship may be, it is still a relationship. So if my parents want to make a fuss about me being here without an adequate guardian, I won't have to tie everything up in court, Jeff is a relative. Makes it so easy then." She laughed, glad that consanguinity isn't counted after first cousins. Jeff didn't really understand Megan's point, or what she was laughing about, but went along with it. "Now that I have this," Alice said, "Do you want me to share it with Father?" Now Jeff laughed, "Oh yes! Please! Then he will have to invite the Whites to Mayfair, just to show them the picture, and tell the story. He will have to book them into a hotel, Claridge's will do nicely, nice and handy to the house. He will likely choke on his Chablis when you tell him, of course, but don't let him drown." "He won't do it. But if I invite them, he can pay for it. I know Father has an account at the Connaught, they can stay there." "Oh lovely." Jeff smiled. "This is for what reason?" asked Megan. "Just to annoy him actually," said Jeff, a little uncomfortably Alice thought. "No, not sure this is a good idea, not yet anyway. Maybe later when things have calmed down a lot more. Yes, it would be nice to have my parents meet your family, but, later, when it can be done in a far more relaxed atmosphere." Jeff stopped then and thought about it. Alice could see the cogs turning. "Yes, darling, you're right. Not yet. Would be nicer to actually be there, in person, which can't happen for a while." Alice was floored, Jeff changed his mind about winding up his father? Unheard of! She was going to have to talk this over with Marion. She kept coming back to future plans and said, "That is a beautiful ring, you buy it Jeff?" "Yes," he replied, "And it is what it is." "I thought as much. I assume that is a little over nine months you are going to be putting in an appearance in Scotland then?" "Yes, want to come? Stephen has volunteered his services as Best Man." "Has he really, he didn't mention that when I spoke to him." "I think he is thinking that perhaps it is better coming from us than from him." Jeff said. "Yes, likely, but he has never been that circumspect before. Why now?" "I think he really likes Megan, well, likes her better than me actually," he laughed. "Yes possibly, but I think it might be more about Marion's suggestion than his natural inclination." "Oh?" "Yes, he and Marion have never spent a lot of time together, but I know she really helped him and brought about the end of his exile from Mayfair. He likes her too, as do we all, except Father of course." "Why do you like her?" Megan asked. "She helped me greatly after the miscarriage. I was physically and emotionally a wreck, but she stayed with me, made sure I was healthy again before she went back to Mother. I had to sack the house cook and Marion taught me how to cook for myself. Turned out to be very good therapy for me, changing my focus to the living children, not the one who was never born. You know, as Mother was so busy at times, she didn't have a lot of time to spend with us, Marion filled some of that time for me. That is also why you were a boarder rather than a day student at your schools. That and it helped keep you out of Father's reach, except for holidays if course." "Of course." "One of the things Marion did let me know was that Mother hated sending you away, but she didn't want you turning out like Stephen." "What, gay?" "No, Father's other rather damaged son. They talk civilly to each other, but that is about as far as it goes. Mother wanted you to be independent, and you are, Stephen would never have done anything like this." "Well for obvious reasons, but I am assuming you mean being independent rather than defiant of father?" "Both actually. Stephen likes to think he is independent, but he is easily manipulated by Father. You, on the other hand, are not. You don't defy him, like Stephen does, you ignore him, which makes you far more armoured against his machinations. All father needs to do Stephen is to push the opposite button for what he wants Stephen to do, then Stephen does what Father wants him to do. He can't manipulate you, because you don't listen to him. You have no idea how much that really annoys him, you know." "Doesn't matter," Jeff said, "Not anymore. He can do as he pleases, not my problem. He has pretty much left me alone since I made it clear I was going to be a teacher. He has likely been scratching his head over this trip, but it is still not my problem." "That's one way to put it, I suppose." Alice learned more about Megan as the evening moved on and like Stephan, was taken by her easy charm and manner. She realised that Megan was not a person who would be trifled with, even if she was only fifteen years old. This one has real character, as Marion told her. I wonder how much time they had spent together before they ran. Obviously it was sexual, which would mean serious gaol time for Jeff, if caught. The idea of him fucking a child a year younger than her youngest, was not appealing, but seeing them together, how they acted, reacted, interacted, towards each other, it was hard to see how they could not be with each other. It was even more difficult to see Megan as a child, a young woman, yes, but a child, no. "Oh, I nearly forgot, Harcourt gave me an envelope for you, Megan, said he would need some instruction and call him at 11.00 on Friday morning, GMT, I assume." "Oh, thanks Alice, appreciate it." The rest of the evening was spent talking about the journey here, what they had been doing since moving in to this apartment. They were both being tutored in Romanian, Megan was almost ready to attend a school, and Jeff was looking for a job as a chef's assistant. "A chef's assistant? You could be a chef!" "No, not really, I can cook a bit, but I have no idea how to run a kitchen, or cook for several dozen people all at different times, or run a menu with dozens of meals. There is a lot more to it than just cooking. Besides, when we do come back to England-" "You are coming back then?" "Oh yes, perhaps next year, or the year after, or we may have to wait until Megan is eighteen, but at some time. Anyway, I can't teach any more, well what school will give me a job, and I really don't want to go and work for Father, or the Trust. I have to do something. We have discussed it, so perhaps a restaurant, just small, a few Romanian specialist dishes and some more generic European dishes, in a fashionable part of London. On Halloween we can do Transylvanian dishes exclusively and run Rocky Horror Picture Show, or Bela Lugosi as Dracula movies all night. I can run the kitchen and Megan can run the floor." "Sounds good, but you need experience, and maybe another chef. You will likely need to train him so he can leave and become competition for you." "That is more than possible, if it works." Jeff said, "We won't have capitalisation issues, so a large problem is dealt with immediately. So if it either takes a while to pick up, or dies after a year or two, we won't be saddled with a lot of debt." "If you are cooking, then it will definitely work, I can tell you." "That is what I have been telling him. Glad someone else has said it too." added Megan. "One thing we haven't talked about is our wedding, You know it is going to happen, you're smart enough to figure it out for yourself. I will ask you a favour here." Alice was surprised, but nodded, "When it comes about, will you be able to attend?" "Sure, there would be no reason not to, as long as it doesn't clash with something at the school my youngest goes to." "mm OK, we can schedule for a holiday time, easy, but can you also bring Marion?" "Oh, that may not be so easy. But I will try, if you like. May I ask why Marion?" "She is a large part of Jeff's life, and yours and Stephen's as well. She should be there as a matter of course. My father won't be there, but I might need someone to give the bride away, or be just a friend who attended a wedding. I am sure she would love to be there." "Well, I can ask, but Marion will do as she pleases, she might thank you but not attend, or be on the first ride there waiting." "Yes, that's fine, but she must be given the chance to attend. There won't be a lot of notice, a week is about it." "OK, I will pass it on." "Did Harcourt mention if he knew whether the police knew our whereabouts yet?" asked Jeff. "No, but I think that might be what is in the envelope." Dinner was over and they had talked until well after midnight. Alice was still on London time, so her body clock was telling her it wasn't half-eleven yet. Megan and Jeff had a language class early the next morning, so were ready to drop off. They still hadn't furnished the spare bedroom, but Alice was also staying at the Epoque Hotel. She was flying to Frankfurt the next day, then onto London, so was a little mindful of the time. Jeff also called a taxi, and while they were waiting, Alice said one more thing. "I don't know you well Megan, but I hope to get to know you better. I can see that you are good for Jeffery, but I have to ask, is he good for you?" "Oh, just come right out with it," Jeff started. "What-" "It's all right Jeff," said Megan, "Alice is being a good future sister-in-law." Jeff stopped and waited for Megan to answer. "Right now, he is exactly what I need and want in my life. Perhaps there is something in this inter-generational link, because almost since the day I first met him, I have felt something inside me move to him, which I think is love. I know I am not really experienced enough to be able to define what love is, but what I feel for him, and what I feel about him, and how he makes me feel, it is just right. If that is love then I love him deeply and yes he is good for me." "Now you have been together for a while, and given that you really do not know a person until you live with them, do you like him?" Megan smiled, "Very much. He makes me laugh, he makes me cross by doing boy things, he makes me cry sometimes when he does good things, but yes, I like him a lot." "Oh good, that is a good start." Alice went on, "But there is a much longer term to relationships than we can usually envision when we are younger." "Agreed, but I have always tried to take a longer view with this. And it is not the dewy-eyed nonsense of your normal adolescent. My biggest issue is experience, or rather, the lack of it. So I am learning on the job. So far, so good." "It's not me you have to convince, it is your future self. If tomorrow's Megan is not happy then you may need to move on." "What is it with adults? Everyone except Jeff has told me that. How about you all get over it, let the game play out as it will." "It's not a game though, is it?" "No, it's not, but like every other player on the field, I am making it up as I go along, and that is really how it is. We plan, but plans change. We learn and use that learning to improve our planning, and all the time it can go wrong on us. That is what life is all about. I am planning to stay with Jeff forever, but forever is a long time and I don't have a crystal ball. Like everyone else, I will do the best I can and with some good fortune, it will work out for me. And if it doesn't, then we'll work out a new plan, and change that as things happen." "John Lennon." "Yes, what about him?" "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." "Just about." Megan laughed, breaking the rather dark mood that had appeared. "I have to go, getting late. You can expect to see Stephen back soon, he will call you, apparently he has seen something here he likes." Jeff looked at Megan, and smiled, "Yes he did." "No, no, said that there was some building that looked like construction had come to a stop on. He wants to come back and have a closer look." "Of course," Jeff said. "Ok, Ok, there was something else he liked here as well, and he will come and visit, likely on a regular basis." "Well, that is new, he has never had much time for me in the past, so what's changed?" "The obvious, I would have thought." Alice started, "He has found another female he actually likes, and she is living with his brother. Oh, he will never make a pass at you, Megan, but knowing Stephen he is likely to do something outrageous for you." "Oh? I thought the evening he visited was pleasant, but not an outstanding success." Megan told her. Alice laughed, "Any evening when he doesn't storm off in a huff is an outstanding success. No, he told me that you made it very plain you were not going to tolerate any of his bullshit. His words, and he found that quite delightful. But I suspect it is more that he gets a chance to develop a relationship with Jeffery. You may have noticed we are a little older than Jeff, well, my youngest daughter is a year older than you, so I am trying hard to not be mother here. "That age gap is quite strong, so we never had much of a chance to get to know Jeff as he was growing up. I thought he was a nuisance, actually, crying at all hours of the night, getting underfoot when I was going out on a date, playing with my makeup, all the things normal children do. Good practice in tolerance Mother always told me, and was useful later, but at the time... Stephen is eighteen months older than me, so was far more distant, he really wasn't about all that much so didn't get to know Jeff at all. I think he might try to be a better brother now." "Why now, I wonder?" "Because you spit in the eye of the world. You did it your way, did something incredibly outrageous, and are going to get away with it, I think. Stephen is attracted to that kind of bravado, something he lacks himself. You know his current boyfriend is a daredevil photographer. The riskiest shots, he dives deeper, climbs higher and tries to outdo everyone. He is really annoyed at the man who jumped out of the balloon at the edge of space or wherever, you know, he would have had a camera if he thought of it first. It is that kind of bravado Stephen loves, and he didn't know you had it too." "Well he is wrong, I don't have it, Megan does, and maybe that is why I am so attracted to her. I am just along for the ride." he laughed. "Oh you do, I would never have done this if you hadn't had the courage to lead the way," Megan replied. "And I love the riding." "La,la,la,la,la,la," said Alice, putting her fingers in her ears, "You are just as bad as Sean. I don't want to know what you get up to. But I can guess." "Sean?" "My eldest, typical indiscreet male. Oh, he brought a girl home a couple of weeks ago, and she was a screamer. I went and pounded on his door to get them to quieten down, I don't think anyone go a lot of sleep that night! He would only do that to annoy his father, really it is almost as bad as you and Father." "Tell them both it is time to get over it and move on, whatever "it" is." said Jeff. "I think I finally am, but I suspect I needed a reason to do so, and there she is right there." Alice smiled and replied, "I can see that, and I must admit, that it was not expected at all." "Then you can tell Father that I have moved on, and suggest he might want to do the same." "I will, I think." Alice hugged Megan as her taxi had announced its presence. "See you at some stage then. And I will ask Marion if she would like to attend your wedding." They went down the lift and said their goodbyes. *** The Wedding "Really, old boy, you must simply allow me to do this," Stephen said. "Why?" Jeff asked. "Well, ordinarily, as I understand it, the bride's family pays for the wedding. Seeing as how your lovely bride is not going to have much of her family at the wedding, someone has to pay. I will never have a daughter to worry about, so I am thinking that I will pay. Simple as that. Consider it my wedding gift." "But if you take it on it will turn into some kind of extravaganza. We don't really want to be noticed at all." "OK, all very discreet then. Just a small party, you and Megan, Alice and Marion, Lorenzo and me, six in all." "Lorenzo?" "Oh, my partner, he is going to be home over the time period you are thinking about and is an excellent photographer, National Geographic, World Wildlife, Scientific America, Minerva and any number of other magazines." "We are not wildlife and we are at ground level, so be a bit tame for him, won't it." "Perhaps, but he will do it, if I ask him." "Oh alright, if you insist." "Sensible decision, Jeffery. Now, I take it you want to be landed in Scotland then down to Gretna Green and out as quickly as possible." "Yes, more or less. Depends on the flights. Landing at Edinburgh, with an hour and a half travel time each way, hour for the ceremony and such, then out again on the same day is going to be a challenge though. We haven't worried about getting out at this point, I dare say there are flights to any of Europe's capitals, or other airports in the right time frame for us." "Oh, don't worry about it. Ok, here is what I will do, get you a flight into Edinburgh, arrange transport to and from Gretna, where would you like to go for your honeymoon?" "Paris, then Vienna," Megan put in. "Done!" Stephen said. "Then the only thing left is when." "Well, we did tell Alice that we would try to arrange it when there was no school, and Maureen is in Upper Sixth this year, so there would be no problem for Alice. We had already booked for the first Monday of the Spring Holidays. We thought we could slip in unnoticed with the school holiday crowds." "You will be sixteen in a few weeks time, and then it will be like, seven weeks after that then?" "Yes, about that," Megan said, "and it would be just over a year since we left, Stephen. We think attention will have been distracted elsewhere, so it gives us a good chance of being unnoticed." "Yes, I think I know what you are getting at, and that should be an accurate assessment. Nearly a year already, what an adventure it has been so far." He replied. "So that gives me about three months to organize everything. Plenty of time. Be brilliant, and I promise, you won't be sorry. Have you made any other arrangements yet?" "No, but we wanted the Old Blacksmith's Shop and got one of the last times available, so I am glad we booked when we did. We were going to wait until the last minute to get a flight into Edinburgh, with a hire car about an hour and a half away from Gretna, then back to Edinburgh, and in the air an hour after that. Well, according to Google anyway." "Then leave it all to me. No sense in hiding anymore, police knew where you were the moment you enrolled in the International British School, Megan, if they didn't know before. They haven't interfered because they reasoned it out like you did, Romanian law would not help them, according to Harcourt. I would think though that he led them to that conclusion, but once he started talking money, enthusiasm for the idea of a contested extradition seemed to dissipate quickly." Stephen had been a regular visitor, well, their only regular visitor. They had made some friends amongst the people Jeff was working with, and Megan was at school, but didn't invite anyone to their home. This was simply because Megan didn't want to put her life in anyone's face. In actuality, the kids all knew who she was, and she would ever tell Jeff of the ostracism she had initially experienced. There were a number of curiosity seekers, initially, looking for the "girl who ran away with her teacher". Relations with her fellow students were only now starting to warm up, but she still wasn't going to be inviting them to their place. Jeff's few friends didn't realize how young Megan was, and they were never told. Stephen was excited, he had bought that property with a part built building on it that he saw on his first visit. It was nearly complete now, and he had already sold half the units. Marketing the units in England and Paris aroused some attention, as they were relatively cheap. The entire project was at the break even point now and selling the rest of the units would be mostly profit. He did have to pay additional, but again, he thought if it clears the way, then a few bribes here and there, in a culture that accepts corruption as the norm, is no great thing. He justified his actions by thinking that additional Euros went into the local economy, at the individual level, was helping people to live a slightly better lifestyle. Stephen did recognise all he really was doing was perpetuating the levels of corruption that began likely before the Communist era and has never been successfully stamped out. While he was personally uncomfortable with it, he realised too late the very thing that kept his Father out of Romania was going to eat his own soul if he wasn't careful. The price of this project was really too high, and had no plans to do anything else here. Every week, Jeff got a text message or a phone call from Stephen telling them how it was all going. He reminded them to ensure they had the right documentation, which they organised through their Barrister, Harcourt. After the first few weeks, the police had lost interest, and Harcourt proved his worth here, as he gave them all the information given him by Jeff and Megan. They realised there was no chance of a smooth legal case being made against either of them, that once married, the Police chances of getting a conviction for anything other than giving a false name on a declaration was non- existent. Megan offered an apology to Police for wasting their time, but tempered that with the obvious statement that she was not in a position to contact them prior to the time she did. Alice came and introduced her companion, Caroline, to Jeff and Megan, a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties, and told them that Stephen was as excited as a gaggle of women at a baby shower. He was also being very secretive about some of his plans, which worried her. Marion indicated she would love to attend, and as far as she knew, it was only them who knew the date. Two weeks before the planned wedding day, which was the first Monday of the spring break, Stephen dropped in again, bringing the airline tickets with him. "Sorry," he said, "Couldn't get a direct flight into Glasgow, or Edinburgh, so you will have to come through Amsterdam into Glasgow. That means a short layover, but you are picking up an hour traveling east to west. The ceremony is set for 2:00 in the afternoon, so there won't be any problems about timing. Then when done, a quick trip out of Scotland and to Paris for a week, then Vienna." "How about tickets?" "Oh don't worry about that, they'll be there waiting for you. All organized. We will meet you in Glasgow, with Alice and Marion, so expect Lorenzo to be taking your pictures straight away." "Can't I at least brush my hair first?" asked Megan. "Probably not, he likes 'em wild!" Stephen laughed. "We'll be lucky if he doesn't ask us all to be naked, that would really be wild life. Anyway, I have transport arranged to Gretna Green, and all the paperwork is in place, so there should be no issues with that at all. You really must thank Harcourt, he has done a wonderful job for you both, everything is fixed, basically, because of him." "We know, and I will give him a special thank you when next we talk to him." "You won't have to actually. He and a couple of other people have invited themselves to the wedding. So you can thank him personally." "Jesus, Stephen, who else knows?" "Just those you already know about, Harcourt, because he had to arrange the paperwork, Sean and Maureen refused to be left out when they found out Alice was going to Gretna Green. They are very bright, you know." "Why would Mr Harcourt want to be there?" asked Megan. "You mean apart from the fact that he has been the defender of Jeffery's interests since Mother died?" "What, I thought that was someone else. Who retired." "Ahh yes, Templeton. Templeton was the Trustee for Mother's estate, and he, with Mother, selected Thomas Harcourt as the solicitor for the estate. Harcourt is a decent fellow, he refused to be both solicitor and Trustee, which allowed Father to move Jeffery's and mine and Alice's Trusts into the orbit of the family Trust. He kept this account for himself when he became a Barrister, said there was always something of interest going on around these accounts. There are any number of very fine legal distinctions here, any of us can call on Harcourt's services, any time, for any purpose, and he can seriously damage the Trust's hold over Mother's legacies. "Its all rather simple, Father doesn't like him, because Harcourt refuses to kowtow to him. Father is not willing to challenge the terms of Mother's legacies, our minor Trusts, because he might lose, which would cost him a lot of money, not the Family Trust. So he can play with our toys, but he has to be able to put them back when he is finished. So far he has, but if he gets it wrong, Harcourt will be all over him like a rash." "Yes, OK, but that still does not answer the question, why would he want to be at the wedding of a client and someone he has never met?" "You have spoken on the phone," Megan nodded, "So that is half a meeting, and he has acted for you, as you are a client, but he has never met you. He acted for you on Jeff's request, and that was, he told me, the only reason he did so initially. After a number of phone calls, and on my say so as well, he is acting for you now, for you. You impressed him greatly and he is quite curious about you. So he wants to be there. Its not like the dates could be hidden from him, and he did organise some of the details for the wedding for me. I couldn't say no, now could I." "No, of course not. So far it all sounds great. But we can't stay long, we will have to get out of Scotland as soon as." "Not according to Harcourt. Once you are married, you cannot be touched, basically. Oh, they will likely try to put the wind up you for disappearing like you did, and send Jeff a bill for wasting police time or some such, but Harcourt assures me that if there is anything they can do, it will be minor and the worst you will finish up with is likely a stern talking to or some such." "Oh, that is good to know. But having lived here for the last year, I am not sure I want to return just yet." Jeff said. "You choice brother mine, but you don't have to live on the run anymore." "Thanks for that, Stephen," Megan said, "I agree though, darling, I am quite happy to stay here, but if you want to go, I will be with you." "I have to come back here for more study, more experience. The restaurant we spoke about, Stephen, the first night you came, I think it is doable now. I have a lot better idea of how to run a restaurant. In a year, I think I will be able to open one myself." "In service, Father will not like that at all." "So? What father thinks or otherwise is of no consequence to us. I want to make my own way in the world, and with Megan that becomes possible. Oh by the way, what did you think of the meal?" "Very good," Stephen replied, "Quite up to your usual fare." Jeff smiled, "I will pass your compliments to the chef then," Jeff said. "Darling, Stephen said he thought it was very good." "What?" Stephen looked at Megan, surprised, "You cooked this lovely dinner?" Megan nodded, blushed a little, "You have come a long way, in a very short time. Here is your second chef, old boy, all you need is a serious maître d'. Look, if he ever turns you over, my dear lady, come and see me, I will have a job for you for life! You will just have to come and look after me! And Lorenzo, maybe he won't be so eager to run off to some exotic part of the world if you were to cook like this at my place." Megan laughed and Jeff just shook his head, "In your dreams, buddy boy." Stephen was far more relaxed around them than he ever was. Jeff felt that for the first time in his life, Stephen was really starting to learn who he was, trying to be a brother, instead of some distant person to whom there was some sort of relationship. Alice too had become a little closer, the last time she visited, she had her daughter Maureen with her. Jeff recognised that initially this was all about the potential for embarrassment of the family, but after meeting Megan, and seeing them together, they recognised her for who she was and the value she had for Jeff. The remote kinship was one of those coincidences in life that helped pull several threads together, and for the first time in his life, Jeff had a bit of a family, not just relatives. They had packed the night before, arranged a taxi to take them to the airport, had let their friends know they were going to Scotland, then Paris and would be back in two weeks. Jeff let the school know that Megan would be absent for two weeks, for family matters, but would be returning. They had no cat, or dog, and arranged for one of their friends to drop into the apartment every day. Crime is not a big thing in Bucharest, but Jeff felt more comfortable with someone looking in to make sure everything was ok. Their KLM flight to Amsterdam, seemed to take a little while but they landed in plenty of time to make the flight to Glasgow. Their passports were still valid and were sufficient to allow them to move around Schiphol to catch their flight. It had been sorted earlier that Emily was no longer required, so everything relating to her was cut up and disposed of. Megan was traveling on her own passport now. Like the flight to Amsterdam, the flight to Glasgow was uneventful, the best kind, thought Megan, who had never flown before today. On approach, the pilot announced that the weather in Glasgow was overcast with light showers, and an expected maximum of a cool 11 degrees Celsius. Being used to the Celsius measurement from Bucharest, she knew this might be spring, in Scotland, but it was still cold. Landing at the International Airport, it was a simple matter of going through the UK Citizen's gate, making sure their passports were in their hands, and they were in, unless they were expected and stopped by police. Megan's hair had grown out and a year's growth allowed her to look more like herself again. They looked around and couldn't see Stephen anywhere when they entered the terminal building. Glancing at the large clock on the wall, Megan thought, Wow, we left Amsterdam on time at 10:00am and it is now 10:30? The flight seemed a lot longer than thirty minutes. She looked at her mobile phone and saw that it said 11:30am. Duh! she thought, glad I didn't say anything before looking. "You don't think he has forgotten us do you?" Megan asked. "He bloody well better not have!" came the growled response. Looking around, Jeff saw a man standing by the doors holding a sign up saying "Hunt/White" and pointed him out to Megan. "Jesus, what has he done?" Jeff asked. Megan shrugged. "I am Jeff Hunt," Jeff said as he approached the man. "And Miss White?" he asked, Megan nodded. "Mr Stephen Hunt presents his apologies, sir. He was unable to be here, personally, with his guests, but has engaged me to take you to your next flight." "Next flight?" Megan asked, "Another flight?" "Oh yes, Miss. Mr Hunt, your brother sir?" Jeff nodded, "Mr Hunt was detained in London last night by a late meeting and has now joined with the other members of your party at your destination, waiting for your arrival. If we can get your bags, sir, Miss, please follow me I will take you to your flight." The man spoke into his wireless handset, letting his contact know that he had his passengers and was about collect their luggage, then leave the terminal. Bloody hell, thought Jeff, what next? Some 1930s biplane? I wouldn't put it past him. Megan was uncertain, but went along with the chauffeur. They collected their baggage from the carousel and, with their driver pushing a trolley, followed him to their awaiting vehicle. When the man stopped, and started putting the bags onto a golf cart, Jeff was certain this was a put up job. "Umm where are we going?" he asked. "Just over to the helipad, sir" the driver responded, "It is not far, and not worth a petrol vehicle, so the Company uses this cart." he smiled, assuring Jeff that it really was OK. "You brother said that you might not be overly happy, given his penchant for practical jokes sir, but I assure you that your helicopter is waiting for you." "Helicopter?" Megan asked. "Oh yes, a brand new AgustaWestland AW119, Ke, Koala, I believe, Miss." "Brand new?" "Yes, just been certified and is being trialled, Miss." "Trialled? Is it safe?" The driver smiled, "Oh yes, just new to this country. First one in fact. The Finns, the Mexicans, New York Police, the Australians have been using them for years, other countries too. They have been getting good service from them, so the Company decided to buy one and give it a try." "Oh, thank you." "You're welcome, Miss." The trip to the helipad was brief, only a few minutes. It was a little chilly, but the fresh air of the moving, open cart was a pleasure after hours of canned aircraft air. The sight of a brand new, glistening helicopter on the helipad was something Megan had not expected to ever see, but there she was, looking at it. Their bags were put into the rear compartment, then the pilot, Kenneth, introduced himself, and helped them into the craft. Ensuring their seat belts were properly fastened, he took two pairs of headphones and plugged them in, and handed them to his passengers. "When we get into the air, conversation may be strained between the front and rear seats. This is easier, but please, for the moment, when I take off and land, I would ask you to not say anything." Jeff and Megan both agreed, putting them on. Kenneth got into the pilot's seat and plugged in, then went on, "Also, all three of us are connected to the same channel, while in flight. I might drop out of that channel to talk to someone in Air Traffic Control, you won't hear me, or them, but don't worry about it, it will all be routine." "Ok," Jeff said. "How long to our destination?" "Little over a half hour." "Oh, that is quick." "Oh, no, I will just be cruising. Taking my time, apparently we have plenty of time. Stephen told me you are having a lunch there before the ceremony, or so I understand." "Stephen?" "Yes, he and I are old friends, at Cambridge together. Of course, he went on to be a reprobate and I became a good solid citizen." Kenneth smiled. "So you are doing a favour for him?" "Yes and no actually, but I am going to get us into the air now, so we can carry this conversation on after." Kenneth dropped out and could be heard talking, informing flight control of his intentions. His flight plan had already been filed, and he looked at his watch, started the motors, allowed them to warm a little, then engaged the rotor. The excitement of watching the four blades spin up, become a blur then invisible if you weren't watching carefully, was great for both Megan and Jeff. Neither of them had been in a helicopter before, and Jeff immediately thought of the "Odes of Pindar", the lines, "They shall change winged dolphins of the sea for running horses, oars for reins, and steer chariots with storm in their feet..." Why he thought of that particular reference didn't seem to make sense to Jeff, the storm of the thump-thump of the rotor was above them not below. They had certainly changed their running horses to a flying dolphin, complete with a bottle nose, bulbous skull and google eyes, that is for sure. The grass verge of the helipad was too far away to be seriously affected by the breeze created by the blades, but the water on the ground from recent rains was certainly being thrown up. He thought he heard Kenneth say something like, "Roger Control, powering up, lift and hover." The beat of the motor sped up, and the rotor became a roar, the ground water was just blown away as they seemed to lift about 10 feet, not even over the roof of the nearest building. A few more words were spoken, and Jeff noticed hands and feet going in every direction as the blades again sped up and the feeling of being pushed down into their seats along with the disappearing roofs made it obvious they were climbing. Like a high speed elevator, they felt gravity pulling at them, and soon there was a forward movement, away from the runways. Jeff expected their tail to be pointing upward, their nose down, just like the classic images of the military helicopters taking off, but was disappointed it was all so level. Soon they were up just below the clouds and Kenneth came back online and said, "We are now at an altitude of 1600 metres, or a mile, travelling at a cruising speed of 230kilometres per hour, and we shall reach our destination in approximately 35 minutes." "That sounds good," Megan commented, somewhat breathlessly, thrilled by her first helicopter ride. "Yes," Jeff said. "Now please, what is the story with Stephen?" "Simple really, We were talking about flying executives, EU officials from London to Brussels, to Paris, The Hague, Amsterdam, point to point, inner city and for that, we need helicopters. The demand is growing and most companies cannot afford their own, so we offer the service, a bit more expensive than airline tickets, but faster. No travelling too and from airports, nor taxis fares, and the like. "Out of one meeting in London, into another in Paris for lunch. Paris is less than 400 kilometres, Brussels closer, The Hague and Amsterdam, a little more. In this baby, that means an average of about 2 hours in the air. With little or no travelling time between airports, or waiting lounges, this can save at least two and up to five hours on their trips." "And Stephen is involved here?" "Well, between us, we own the Company." This news seemed to surprise Megan, she knew individually the Hunts were rich, but that is relative to her own family. Just how rich, she and Jeff had never discussed. She was not overly interested in money, but fascinated by the idea of the power associated with it. "How much does one of these things cost?" Megan asked. "A little over $3.7million Euros, but it should repay its investment inside three years." Looking at the cabin, Megan was a little sceptical, executives like their privileges, which includes first class travel, she thought. The trip was over sooner than she expected, they began their descent. Kenneth said, "Ok, we are landing in a hotel car park. Stephen assures me they have swept it, several times, and kept cars out of the area we are landing in. This is going to be a little tricky, so please, quiet now." The area they were aiming for seemed a little small to Jeff, but they were still several hundred metres above the car park and not over it yet. Kenneth informed Control that he was descending, making an approach. The area grew a little as they descended, then a little more as they descended more. Their descent was as rapid as it was going up, and they felt themselves lifting into their seat belts. Kenneth was obviously confident in his approach and landed smoothly, the helicopter landing on its skids with barely a sound. "Better stay in your seats until the blades stop turning." "Oh, I have seen people ducking their heads as they get out of helicopters. Always wondered why when the blades are well above their heads." Jeff commented. "Yes, they do. The problem is when a blade is spinning down, there is no continuous centrifugal force to keep it straight out. A gust of wind can change the blade's angle, push one side up and the other down. The blades are flexible, they have to be, but they will take your head off none-the-less." The imagery did not appeal to either Megan or Jeff, so they stayed seated as the blades slowed to a stop. Kenneth got out and opened the passenger door, "Thank you for flying Wedding Bells Air, we hope you enjoyed the flight and hope to see you again soon." Kenneth said with a smile. "Thank you, Kenneth," said Megan, "Brilliant trip." A thin man with semi-wild hair lunged forward with a camera, Lorenzo, Megan knew. Stephen approached the couple and they saw Marion, Caroline, Alice, a taller older gentleman, had to be Mr Harcourt, thought Megan, two younger people, Sean and Maureen, and off to one side, yet another older man with a much older man. "Oh jesus" Jeff said, under his breath and frowning, "Why did he have to come?" Megan knew that one of the older men was his father. She was somewhat concerned how his presence may put a dampener on the day, but would be supportive of Jeff. "Jeff, please, don't let it bother you, or don't let him see it bothers you, that he is here. We did discuss this possibility, remember? Now smile for the wild man from Borneo!" Jeff laughed, and so did Stephen. "Yes, that is him alright!" he cried. "Glad you could make it, everything is ready, just lunch first." He shook Jeff's hand and hugged Megan. "Welcome, welcome." Marion and Alice came forward to greet them, and Alice said to Megan, "Sorry, but we couldn't stop him. He-" "Don't worry about it, had to happen sooner or later. I won't allow him to make a mess of our day." Alice laughed. Marion hugged her and said, "I hope you don't mind, but I have a wedding dress for you, it is inside waiting for you to have a look at it." "Oh Marion, you didn't need to!" "Of course I did. You are not marrying my young man here in some ordinary suit, no matter how good it might look on you. Besides it's beautiful and will go well with your wonderfully natural hair. Oh I am glad it has grown back and is its own colour again. " Alice said, "You know Maureen, but this strapping lad is Sean, my eldest." Megan said hello and asked Maureen how she was doing in school. Sean of course, was at Cambridge, studying Quantum Mechanics. They shook hands and passed some other pleasantries. They moved towards the small crowd of onlookers who came to see the helicopter. "Megan," Jeff said, "Mr Thomas Harcourt." introducing the first of the strangers. "Mr Harcourt, it is nice to meet you face to face, as it were." "The pleasure is all mine, Miss White, and I must say, your photos just don't do you any justice at all." "Megan, please, Mr Harcourt and thank you." "Thomas, please, Megan. You realise that after today, we are going to be developing a closer working relationship." "Oh, are we?" she looked quizzically at Jeff. "Oh yes, remember our discussion about the prenuptials?" Jeff asked. "Yes, but-" "No, no buts now darling, We should have done this ages ago, had this discussion. I just kept putting it off. Bet your life that that is why Johnson is here though." "For certain, and as soon as he is done, he is leaving." Stephen put in, "With Father hopefully. Don't let them get you alone, Megan. Thomas can help here." Thomas nodded. "Will he take Father with him?" Jeff asked. "Don't know," said Stephen, "But you better come and introduce our girl." "Our girl?" Chuckled Jeff, "since when has she been our girl?" "Since I am giving her away, old boy." "But who is the Best Man?" "Well I am, of course," Stephen said with that air of certainty, "Oh you mean for the ceremony? I asked Lorenzo, but he will be taking pictures and so I think it has fallen to Thomas, if he would?" "Thanks for letting me know," Harcourt said, "Seeing as how I have known Jeffery for nearly twenty years, I can do it, but for Megan, not for you Stephen." "Of course, " Stephen said amiably, "It is the Bride's day, after all." For some reason, Megan immediately had visions of an old chapel in El Paso, in black and white, with lots of gun fire and swearing and screaming. Seems the imagery of Quentin Tarantino stays with you for a long time. She gathered her courage and, with Jeff at her side, stepped towards the older man. "Father," Jeff said. "Jeffery, are you going to introduce us?" his father said. "Yes, of course, sorry darling. Father, this is Megan, Megan, my father." Jeff said, a little curtly. "Nice to meet you, Mr Hunt." Megan said, holding her hand out. The other man, Johnson, stiffened. Mr Hunt, Lord Douden, did not move, "Yes, I can't say the same though." he replied, rather coldly. "Oh, that is bad luck then, sir." She dropped her offered hand, "But please, don't let that bother you, I am sure it will get better when you decide you can relax and be a nice person." Megan said, affably, and frankly. "What?" he asked, while Johnson seemed to lose all his colour. Marion coughed, and Gordon Hunt looked at her. "Well, I cannot say I am happy to meet you," returning his attention to Megan, "nor can I say I am glad that the both of you are here." "Father," started Jeff, and Megan just squeezed his hand. "Father," he started again after a deep breath, in a much calmer manner. "It really doesn't matter if you approve or not. But, now that you are here, I would ask that you stay and enjoy this time with us. You don't have to, but we both hope you do." Gordon Hunt stood there, blinking like he couldn't believe what he just heard. "This is their day Father," said Alice, "Told you." "Yes Gordon," said Marion, "it is their day, and I am hungry, time for lunch." "And who is this fellow?" Megan asked, moving the conversation on. "Johnson" he said. "Is that your first or last name?" Jeff smiled as Megan worked her easy charm on him. "Last name, Miss." "Oh please, you do have a name then?" "Yes, Kevin actually." "Well Kevin, glad to meet you. What can we do for you?" "Nothing for me, erm, but I do have some papers for you to sign." He pointed to his briefcase "Well, why didn't you say so," said Megan, moving forward, taking his arm. "Perhaps you had better take me to a room where we can discuss these papers then. Thomas," she called, "Can I call upon you to help me out here?" "Of course Megan," Harcourt replied, "Be glad to help. If we go into the pub here, there is a room or office we can use, I am sure." "Jeff, darling, do you need to be here?" "No dear, not as you have Thomas with you." "In that case, can you Stephen, Alice and Marion take your Father inside and catch up on the last year or five?" Jeff nodded, "Sean, Maureen, sorry but it looks like I am going to be tied up for a little while yet. As soon as we are done, I will join you." It was hard to tell if Sean was disappointed at missing the fireworks he was obviously expecting, Maureen took it all in stride and dragged Sean towards the pub. Gordon Hunt was struggling to come to terms with what had just happened. One moment he was taking control of this absurd situation and the next, he was shunted aside and the girl who caused so many problems for him in the last year or so had organized the whole group. What? Alice and Marion took his arms and dragged him inside, sat him down at a table and Marion told him to be a good boy and not run away. Well somethings do not change, he thought, Marion still likes to be boss- even though she demurred to that child. Marion returned with a glass of wine in her hand, "Here, you better drink this." Gordon took it and gulped a mouthful. "I told you she won't take any nonsense from you. Stephen probably told you the same." "Who is this kid?" "Well, for starters, she is no child. She may not be that old, but she certainly has more character than most of the people I have met over the last forty years. Your youngest son is marrying her and a little over two hours, you had better get used to her." "Damned if I'll do that. They can live in the terrace, Jeff owns that now, stay there to the scorn of all the people in that village." "Oh you will Gordon, you will. She is lovely, Stephen says so, Alice says so, I say so and by now, so will both Thomas Harcourt and Johnson." "Well, Harcourt has his balls in an uproar, I expect. And Johnson will think what I tell him to think." "No, today is the first time she and Harcourt have met actually so I doubt that is true." "You're joking." "No, not a bit of it. Come on Gordon, did you look at the painting?" "Yes, I did, and its the only reason I am here. You said the resemblance is uncanny, but you're wrong. The black hair, the blue eyes, but that's all." Marion smiled that forbearance smile of mothers in public with their misbehaving children. "No, look closer." At that moment, Alice came in and Marion asked her if she brought Megan's family tree with her. She pulled out the envelope from her purse, "Of course, I wanted Stephen to see it, he hasn't seen it yet. Megan got a copy of it months ago, you had one as soon as I got it. I still have the photo on my phone too." Marion took it from Alice and opened it, showing Gordon the family line. Alice gave her father her mobile phone, displaying the image she had taken. "This is not just a couple of points looking similar, but the entire person, they are the same. A Hunt named Corieanne ran to marry a White, and a White named Megan has now run to marry a Hunt. Things do come full circle sometimes." "Oh rubbish, coincidence, that is all." "No, I don't think so." Marion said, "there is a far greater power, or mystery or something else here. I am not going to ascribe it to anything as prosaic as a coincidence, but I suspect that if we go back further, there might be other connections." "Now you are just playing the odds. Go back far enough and we are all connected in several places." Gordon responded. "True, but I suggest in any case, you give up, be nice to the girl, she has already done Jeffery a whole lot of good." "Like what? Made him a criminal? He could still be charged with under aged offences." "No, he won't. No one can prove a thing." "DNA testing of his bed will prove that I would suggest. My bet would be she is all over his terrace." "After today though, it won't matter." "It will if police get into it." "They cannot, the warrant has already been denied. I don't know how, but Harcourt got it tossed out. On top of that, there will be no proof of sexual activity anyway." "How can you be so sure?" "I had Stephen go to his terrace and take the mattress off the bed and put it into the bomb shelter, before they confirmed the connection," said Alice. "You what?" "You didn't think it was going to be left there did you? That was the first thing I did when Marion told me of Jeff's involvement. I didn't know if there was a sexual relationship, but when Marion let me know they had been to her, and what she thought of Megan, I had Steven go up to the terrace and move the bed. Oh, he put the mattress from the spare bed onto the master bedroom, so police wouldn't look for a missing one. I rang the cleaners and they let him in." "How could you be so sure police would buy it?" "Stephen said there were boxes on the spare that hadn't been moved for a year or more. He put them back after taking the mattress off it and moved it to the master bedroom and made the bed with fresh sheets and blankets. Put the used ones in a plastic bag and left it with the mattress. It doesn't matter if there was any further DNA anywhere then, they can't prove sexual activity in the bed." "What about the couch, the floors anywhere, you know how young people go on with sex." "Which is why I went over the terrace with disinfectant, sprayed everything, then made sure the cleaners went through the place and then went in every week. They were good enough to clean out the few items left in the refrigerator, washed all the linens, blankets, everything. I have no idea how it would affect anything, but it might have created enough confusion to get Jeff off the hook, if it came to court. Who knows, but in two hours, it all becomes moot." "Alright, but this child is-" "She is no child Gordon," Marion interrupted, "She stood up to you in her second sentence. Don't play with her, she will rip your arms off and beat you with the wet ends." "She is a child, she is sixteen, the bare minimum age-" "Don't let that fool you, Father, Stephen adores her, and I like her. Besides, do you really think Jeffery would have asked you to stay before he met her? Look how easily she charmed Johnson, and he is not a charming person nor easily charmed." "That was odd, granted." "That is her doing, and she is really making a man of Jeff. I like him better now than before, I can tell you." Alice concluded. "Alright, I will tolerate her, but don't ask me to like it." "That is a smart decision Gordon, and you will get to know her, and like her." Just as Alice and Stephen left to go to the bar, Marion leant forward and said quietly, "Besides, no one has spoken to you like that since Mingon died. Don't tell me you didn't get a chill up the spine and what's left of your heart beat a little faster." Gordon didn't say anything. In a room aside, Megan and Kevin Johnson were going over the paper work, some agreements that set conditions on awards. Megan thought this was all so cold-blooded, but went along with it as Thomas explained that it was necessary. "When you get involved with serious money Megan," he said, "you really have to learn a whole new set of rules. Up to now, money was a rare commodity, so you only learned about its most basic use, spending it. "Now that money will no longer be in short supply, but seriously abundant, how do you manage it? You have never learned to conserve it or how to use it. So, these agreements are really insurance for the direct participants, the family in particular, that you won't be wrecking their history, their connection to the money. They are also assurances for the indirect participants, the bankers, the lawyers, the accountants, that your involvement is not going to severely damage the ebb and flow of the money." "Is that all they are interested in? Just the money." "Yes, and it is so impersonal. It is usually dismissed with a phrase like 'It's just business', but they are actually saying is 'We don't want you coming in and wrecking our power base.'" "Power? Money is power?" "Very much so. You are something of a gifted historian I understand." Megan nodded, "So they tell me." she smiled. "Ok, then do you think the kings of old could have done much without the power money brought them?" "Mmm no, John became Lackland because Richard broke the Treasury and he did not have the resources to fight back. That plus his own military ineptitude, but it was the money really, he was unable to build the resources required to fight on the Continent." "Of course, so I rest my case. You are going to have to learn these new rules Megan, and I am not sure I envy you. You strike me as being too human, too kind, to be really successful at it." "Thank you Thomas, then I best learn how not to make a mess of it then." "Good on you, Megan. Come on we have some reading to do. Anything you don't understand, ask and we will both answer as best we can. Won't we Kevin?" "Of course, Mr Harcourt, whatever is in the best interest of the client, sir." came the reply, in the best, stuffy English legal manner. Harcourt laughed. "Ahh and here is the first thing to learn, Megan. Whenever the phrase, "best interest of the client" is used, be sure that the speaker is talking about the right client. He is not talking about you, but rather, Lord Douden, who is his client." "Ahh yes, thank you for pointing that out Thomas. So, Kevin, what is in your client's best interest here?" "Sign the papers as they are, and stay uninvolved." Thomas laughed, "Well, can't be more honest than that. " "Well, in fairness sir, that is not going to happen is it?" "No, but while we are being honest, and to bring this to a speedy conclusion, what is the maximum we can get away with, without a serious fight?" "Two million, and two hundred thousand a year." "Done." Megan was puzzled, "Sorry, what is done?" "Well, all these documents are a negotiation. If you and Jeffery divorce, you get paid two million pounds, plus an annual wage, if you like, of two hundred thousand pounds a year until remarried. Children?" He asked of Johnson. "Automatically become beneficiaries of the Trust. All education costs are paid, additional medical, dental, the usual expenses are covered, as long as it is going to the children, not into the custodial parent's pockets. Keeps going until adulthood, then they get a full share. As Master Jeffery will inherit the title, his eldest son will become the heir, and all the others will be part of the trust. The grandchildren are given an annual stipend, about ten percent above the average earnings, as well as an education, and great grandchildren not in the direct line are cut out." "Oh? How does that work?" "Well Lord Stephen won't have children, and Lady Alice's children will be given a full share, but their children will receive the annual stipend. Your children and grandchildren will also receive a full share, as will the children of the heir, and his grandchildren, but his siblings' children will only receive the stipend." "Bit complicated?" "Not really, but it prevents the watering down of the Family Trust, or rather, the Company earnings are not divided up between too many people." "Ok, very good." Thomas said, briskly. "Put the numbers in and we can bring this to an end, if you would." "Very well, sir," Johnson said. He quickly entered the numbers, initialled it, signed as a witness, then handed each page to Thomas. Thomas read a page and handed it to Megan, indicating where she needed to initial it, and where she needed to sign it. "One more question though," Megan asked, as everything stopped, "As I am only sixteen, are these legally binding? I am not an adult under law, shouldn't my parents be signatories here?." "Good question Miss," replied Johnson. "But there is enough precedent to let us know that the Courts will uphold the documents." "Ok, but what does that mean? I don't know anything about law or legal matters." "Well, Megan," said Thomas, "In this case, you are, at the moment, estranged from your parents. So you are acting on advice from a barrister, me, whom you have engaged for your legal purposes. While I am not in any way a guardian, I am an officer of the Court, so I can be considered a responsible person. Where there is a responsible person, like a barrister, it is assumed that the barrister is acting for you, and in your interest, not the interest of the other party. In this case, Johnson here representing the Trust." Johnson nodded. "And the only time a Court would overturn such documents would be where the signatory, you, were so obviously disadvantaged that it can be claimed the barrister was not acting in the best interest of his client." Johnson went on. "In which case, the barrister would be ruined or already dead." "That is about it. Oh there is a lot more jargon and legalese surrounding it, but essentially, that is what it boils down to." Harcourt finished. "It is also why Jeffery would have been asked to leave, if he had come in the room, to make sure you were not inappropriately influenced, or advised. He knows he would have been so didn't come in." "I-I understand. Good," Megan said, "What is next?" "Well, I get the documents notarized, you get the copies, followed by a letter of confirmation from the Trust. I will send all these to Mr Harcourt and he will hold them until you return." "Thank you Kevin, I appreciate your honesty," Megan said, "Are you staying for lunch and the ceremony?" "No, I hadn't planned to, I am driving Lord Douden home, Miss." "Oh. Ok, well, in that case, you at least better stay for lunch, then take off after that." "Thank you Miss, I appreciate the invitation, but I am still here at the request of His Lordship." "Do you always call him 'M'lord', Kevin?" "Yes, Miss, always, he is my Client." Megan heard the capital 'C' in his pronunciation and took it no further. "Well, thank you Kevin, now if you would excuse us, there are a couple of matters I would like clarified with Mr Harcourt before we rejoin the others." Johnson left, and Harcourt cocked an eyebrow. "Now, Thomas, who is paying you. I can't and you have done an awful lot of legwork for me in the last year." "The Legacy is covering my costs, at Jeffery's instructions. You have no need to worry about that." "But look, this has cost everyone. Jeff a career, and what it has cost my parents, I have no idea. I talk to them on the phone, to let them know I am alright, but it won't be until I see them that they will be certain. I don't think that will happen for a while yet." "That is something you need not worry too much about actually. Yes, your parents are still upset, but I talk to them every now and again." "What? Is that something you shouldn't be doing, for some reason?" "I am sorry, but I have gotten personally involved." Harcourt started, quietly, and kindly, "What the both of you did was incredibly foolish, but you got away with it. That doesn't really happen often, in fact rarely. So why? When I spoke with you the first time, I knew, just knew, that your concern was not for you, but for Jeffery, for your parents. Your voice told me that, and everything that has happened since, that you are a hopeless romantic, like Jeffery, like Mingon and like Gordon actually. All four of you are hopeless bloody romantics. And actually, I loved Mingon, but please, don't tell anyone that." "Mingon?" "Jeffery's mother. She was beautiful, and a nice person, I got involved in her Legacies only because she asked me. I didn't want to run away with her, or have her as a lover, but she was one of those genuine English roses, nothing pretentious about her, incredibly bright, witty, could make you laugh even if you fell in horse shit type persons. But she was a hopeless romantic who had found her prince - and princess as it turned out." "So I understand, yes." "I knew Mingon through Walter Templeton, he was her family solicitor, and they needed a solicitor for another matter, so Templeton came to me. I became a Barrister a little later, just before I met the rest of the family, but by then, I was well and truly in Mingon's spell. When she was dying, Gordon just lost it. He was always terribly insecure, an unloved little boy who is constantly trying to outdo his father. But it was worse when he found out she was not going to be around for much longer. "When she died, he just retreated from everyone, his children especially, and Jeffery found that intolerable. There were major arguments, some of which I was called in on, Templeton kept me posted, mainly because needed to gossip to someone, but by then, I had grown to know the children. Alice was much like her mother, but lacks that same humour that typified her, Stephen is- well he is Stephen, Jeffery though, he is more like his Mother than his father, and really needed help when she died. "I have been looking after him since then, legally speaking. When you took him away, I nearly gave up, but after talking to you, I realised you were what he was looking for, someone like his mother. That is why I stayed, why I have been personally involved. Not a good thing for a Barrister. I spoke to your parents to let them know you were in good company, that Jeffery is a decent man, and would only do something like this because he loved you. "That didn't help much actually, but I assured them that I believe you felt the same way about him. That there was nothing they or anyone else could have done to prevent it, that they had not failed you, but they should be happy for you that you have found someone like Jeffery. It is taking them a while, but they are coming around." "Are they really?" "I think so, and after today, they are likely to be more annoyed at not being invited than you getting married." "Jeff raised that possibility, so we think that we might do this all over when we get back to England. Invite everyone else." Harcourt laughed, "Yes, that is precisely the sort of thing that Mingon would have done. Exactly the same, you are. Oh dear, Jeffery is a lucky man indeed." "I don't want to be his mother though," Megan said. "Oh, you are not, you are you, Jeffery knows this, but you have many of the same traits she did, and enough different ones to be you. Anyway, enough, you can fire me if you like, having gotten this involved when I shouldn't, up to you." "Fire you? For being human? No, I don't think so, but how about a being a friend who happens to be a Barrister?" "Yes, that I can do, thank you Megan. It has been a hairy journey at times, legally speaking, but the most fun I have ever had in the law, reminding me that law is really about people, not things, not money, but real people. It is so easy to lose sight of that. Been my pleasure." He stopped and added, "You know, the ripples of your romanticism are still spreading." He paused and offered no further comment, except, "Now, let's go and join the others shall we?" "Yes, let's." Maureen spotted them first, and waved at Marion and Alice, they swooped on Megan and apologised to Harcourt, taking her away again. They almost ran up the stairs, and into a room. Standing in the middle of the room was a dressmaker's dummy, with a pearl-white dress on it. "Here, take a look Megan," Marion said, "What do you think?" "Oh wow!" she replied, "It is absolutely gorgeous. Who's is it?" "Yours, if you want it." Marion replied. Megan touched it, walked around it, peered closely at it, and said, "It is beautiful, but who's is it? Really" Marion looked at it, "Mine actually." Megan looked at it, carefully, loving the tiny stitching, then she looked up, surprised, "Hand stitched?" Marion nodded. "Oh, there was a lot of love went into this. Who made it?" "My mother made it for me, before.. well, before I came out. She was devastated that I would never wear it. But you're right, she made it with a lot of love." "It is simply the most beautiful wedding dress I have ever seen." "Isn't it?" said Alice, "I wanted to wear it, but I am just too tall, so please, say yes, you'll wear it." "Yes, Megan, I would love for you to wear it. I let the bust out for you, you are better endowed than I am, and it will fit like a glove I think" Marion said. "But you will have to have a lot of photos taken." "Yes, thank you Marion," Megan replied, "I would love to." They all had a good cry, hugging each other. "Come on," said Alice, "we are going to have to stop this. A quick lunch then change into the dress, some photos and then the ceremony. Come on ladies! Work to be done!" They trooped out of the room downstairs for lunch. It went off better than they thought it would. After changing into the dress, Megan, Alice, Maureen and Marion were all arranged by Lorenzo having photos taken in a few locations around the helicopter, the pub, near the Old Blacksmith's Shop and points in between. Time approached so they moved towards the Old Blacksmith's Shop, and Stephen joined them, taking Megan's arm. "Wow," he said, "you are really beautiful, almost persuades me to change sides. Almost!" Megan blushed and laughed at the outrageous nature of his comment, "Damn, and I was hoping," she responded. Even Lorenzo laughed at that. "I go inside," Lorenzo said, "Catch you coming up the aisle." There is no aisle as such, but a doorway that opens to an old smithy. Towards the rear of the room was a split level with three wooden stairs up to a platform with a forge and bellows. Above that was suspended a plough, an old horse drawn plough. In front of them was the old anvil, where they would take their vows. A celebrant stood along side the anvil with a rather large hammer at his feet. Jeff stood on the other side of the anvil and Thomas stood just behind him. Alice and Maureen went on ahead, as Stephen, with Megan on his arm, stood in the doorway, with Marion behind them. Jeff just pumped up with pride and love as he saw Megan in this beautiful gown. There was no music, but everyone just stood and watched Stephen bringing Megan into the old workshop. Even the harsh look of Gordon softened as he watched Megan walk towards the anvil. The ceremony was quiet and dignified, short and to the point. The celebrant held their hands as they said their vows on the old anvil and after releasing them, he took the hammer and raising it above his head, said, "Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Mister and Mrs, The Honourable Jeffery, Heir to the Earl of Partridge Bay and Megan Hunt." He brought the hammer down on the anvil, ringing out to the village that another couple had joined in wedlock. Jeff kissed the bride, and she was still getting over the idea of being a Mrs, she had never thought about it before. "It's done my love, forever." he said. "Forever, my darling," she replied, certain in her heart that this was always meant to be. All members of the party crowded the couple, shaking hands and hugging them. Even Gordon shook Megan's hand and said, "Congratulations," a little coldly. Megan felt Jeff stiffen and before either of them could say anything else, she thanked him without letting go of his hand and replied warmly, "Glad you could stay, and I really look forward to being patronised by you for many years yet." She smiled, and again, Gordon was discomforted by her, shocked to a momentary silence. She hadn't let go of his hand nor did she look away, she was never going to be cowed by him, that is for sure. Marion shook her head and before he could respond, took him by the arm saying, "See, ripping your arms off, let's you get out of here before you put your foot in it and she beats you with the wet ends." Jeff smiled and nearly laughed at his father, but he saw Megan was right. It wasn't worth being angry at him, he was just being an unloved little boy taking his hurt out on the people around him. This changes everything, Jeff thought, now I can work with him, when the time comes. He marvelled at the courage of his wife, at her audacity to take his father on, getting the better of him without even raising her voice, and being most polite when seriously insulting him. How the hell did she get so good? he wondered and not for the first time. Stephen ushered the party out and back to the pub. He ordered a round of drinks for everyone, and toasted the happy couple. The party wished them well but it was obvious there was to be no feast here. Lorenzo took photos of everyone, even Johnson, Kenneth and the staff of the pub as they came in to serve them drinks. Megan was again ushered upstairs to change her dress, and came down to rejoin the party. After a short time, Stephen looked at Kenneth who nodded, and he raised his voice, "Thank you all, dear friends, but we really need to be moving on. Obviously we were not expecting so many extra people," he looked at the crowd of Thomas, Gordon, Johnson, Sean and Maureen, "While it is wonderful to see you here, I made no arrangements for you to join us at the traditional wedding feast. I do apologise for that lack of foresight, but if you wish to stay the night, I am afraid you will need to make your own arrangements." "I am leaving in a few minutes," said Gordon, "Anyone who may wish to come with me is welcome." Stephen stopped and his eyebrows raised well up his forehead, "Thank you, Father," he said. Thomas stepped forward and said that he had brought Maureen and Sean with him, and he had to get back to his office in the morning. Sean said that he would like to go to London, so would be travelling with his grand- father, if that was ok. "Certainly." He looked at Maureen, who indicated she would prefer to be returning to the terrace, and catch the train down the next day, if that was OK with Jeff and Megan. Jeff agreed and told her where she could find the keys, as well as giving her the alarm code. "Good," said Stephen, "As for the rest of us, we have to get the helicopter moving again. So, Kenneth, if you would lead the way, Megan, Jeff follow him. Alice, Marion, next and Lorenzo, put the camera down for a moment darling and listen. We are going on a helicopter ride." "Will the doors be open?" he asked "Er, no, I am afraid not." "Oh I had hoped to get some shots over a lake or something. Oh well, next time," he said. "Stephen," Jeff asked, "What are we doing?" "I have a table booked for the six of us at a restaurant. At eight thirty. So we better move." "And where is this restaurant?" "On top of the tower." "Tower? What tower?" "Which Tower you mean?" "Yes, ok, which tower?" "The Eiffel Tower, of course." "The Eiffel Tower?" "Yes, now come on dear boy, don't want to be late. I have a limousine waiting for us in Paris." "What's this about Paris?" Megan asked, who had not really been listening to their conversation. "Stephen is taking us to Paris, for dinner." "Oh... then how do we get there, Helicopter?" she asked. "Of course." Stephen replied, "Quick trip to Luton, a private airfield there, refuel, a pit stop for the rest of us and then over the Channel. Be in Paris by eight o'clock." For the first time, Megan began to understand what Thomas was talking about. She is going to have to learn a whole new set of rules. Boldly, hand in hand, they took to the sky, chauffer driven to their new life. *** Footnote Stephen was good to his word. After their wedding feast, Megan and Jeff went to the Carlton-Ritz for their week in Paris, then on to Vienna for another week. Returning to their unit in Bucharest seemed the end of a dream like holiday for Megan. Taking up the reins of their normal lives was easy, and they quickly became absorbed in the mundane detail of building a life together. The end of the Romanian school year saw Megan top her classes, even missing the two weeks she was away on her honeymoon. She was really looking forward to the last of her high school studies, an equivalent to Upper Sixth, at the International British School. She was well accepted now, and although she was wearing her wedding ring, none of the students asked about it, at first. There were a few questions as the girls will ask, but the boys scoffed the whole thing off. She wasn't sure how to answer and just kept saying things like, "It was my mother's and didn't feel right to have it on another finger." Curiosity did decline until a journalist wrote an article that indicated someone in the wedding party talked. It was confirmed that the runaway teacher and student had married, all the details were accurate, even to the dress. Oh well, thought Megan, couldn't keep it a secret forever, I suppose. Megan was asked by a few of the girls but really wasn't interested in gossiping. The real problem for her was that this was a very small school, and everybody knew everybody. Some of the parents of her fellow students were more curious than their children, particularly as some of them worked in the British Embassy. Most questions were gently rebuffed, a few were answered with non-committal answers and fewer were treated to the "Megan look of instant death", as Jeff called it. This was the one where he knew he just annoyed her, and she wasn't pleased. They soon got the hint and left her alone, and over time saw that she wasn't really a two headed monster, or a vacuous trollop, but a genuine person who was not afraid of taking the world on, on her own terms. One enterprising reporter tracked them down and asked for a follow up. Jeff was all for helping the fellow to the ground floor, without benefit of a lift. Megan told the reporter that what was done might have been unusual, was really nothing special, and people had other things to concern themselves with. Besides, yesterday's news was today's rubbish wrapper. The persistence of the reporter though got him an interview, but answers he got were essentially words of one syllable. He tried drawing them out, but basically they said nothing so what was there was unusable. He also gave up in frustration. A few weeks later, Jeff and Megan were sitting in a terasa on Strada Sfânta Vineri not far from their apartment, enjoying the light afternoon breeze with a coffee and some discussion about what they would be doing when they arrived in England. From behind Jeff a man and woman appeared, looked at Megan and obviously recognised her. They spoke and moved towards Megan and Jeff's table. Both Megan and Jeff were unaware of the approach, until the man spoke, "Would you mind us joining you Miss White, Mr Hunt?" Jeff looked around and it was immediately obvious to Megan this was someone he did not really want to talk to. "Well, yes, I do. You have no jurisdiction here, and you are not accompanied by local police." "Ahh, don't worry, Jeff, we are not here officially, we were really just passing, and Mary saw you. Thought we might like to catch up, talk about old times. We haven't met yet, Megan," he said, holding his hand out, "I am Mark Wishall. DCI Mark Wishall" "Oh," said Megan, not sure what she should do. She got over the surprise and said, "Miss White no longer, I am afraid, it is Mrs Megan Hunt, or just Megan, if you like." "Of course. Let me introduce Mary, whom your husband may remember as DI Mary Coombe, now Mrs Mary Wishall." Megan smiled one of her relaxed and cheerful smiles that usually makes Jeff go to water, "Mrs Wishall, now isn't that interesting." "Yes, we are actually on our honeymoon." Mary said, "We knew you were here of course, and I suspect that is likely why we had to come here, on the off-chance we might run into you." "Well, yes and no, I really did want to talk to you at least once, face-to-face," Wishall went on, "Glad it is here and now, not in England." Jeff had not relaxed yet, "No, its Ok, you're right, we have no jurisdiction here, you haven't broken any local laws, and we are not pressing for an extradition. So, this is just a pleasant talk, I hope it is a pleasant talk, anyway." "What Mark is trying to say is that you got away with it. With Harcourt's running legal interference for you, it's unlikely any action will be taken." With the mention of Thomas' name, Megan remembered his rather cryptic comment about ripples. "So this is what he meant," Megan said, "Ha! What a great outcome, darling." "Sorry, who meant what?" "Thomas, dear," Megan said, "He told me we were just like your parents, romantic fools, but the ripples of our romanticism were still spreading. Did Mr Harcourt know you were going to be getting married?" "We didn't invite him to the wedding, but we made no secret of it, so he more than likely knew." Mark said. "If I may ask, how long had you known each other before?" "Before you, you mean?" Megan nodded, "We knew each other certainly, the Lancashire Constabulary is not that large we would not know each other. Mary has spent a lot of time in Western, Northern, Southern divisions, where I started with Eastern, then Central and then G Divisions. Your case was the first we actually worked on together. We also picked up a couple of other cases when it became obvious we were getting nowhere with yours, and after your phone call and statements, it wasn't going to be high priority. "My divorce had already come through, Mary had never married, but then she fell for me, or rather, I pestered her for a date and she threatened to arrest me for harassment, so I had to take her out for a meal to apologise. The rest, as they say, is history." "That is not actually quite true," Mary said, smiling, "I just about had to handcuff him to get him to ask me out." Megan laughed. "I am delighted that something good has come out of this for someone else, Mr Wishall." "We think so, too, Megan," Mark said, "We certainly do." *** News Clipping: The Earl of Partridge Bay, Gordon, Lord Douden quietly passed away last night in his sleep it was announced by his company legal representatives this morning. The unexpected death of Lord Douden leaves the way open for his younger son, Jeffery, to assume complete control of the family assets. The new Lord Douden stunned the nation three years ago when he ran away with his young bride to be, and then again earlier this year when they returned to England. They were originally married in the old Blacksmith's Shop, Gretna Green, but renewed their vows in front of both their families and 200 guests in the Eton College Chapel... THE END *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* The author does not condone child abuse, this story is meant as an erotic fantasy not depicting anything in real life. Anyone acting out such scenarios in "real life" can look forward to many unproductive years getting it up the butt by a fellow convict in their local prison system. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Kristen's collection - Directory 83