To the Manor

For many years I have resisted the urge to set down the story of my adventures at Cheatem Manor during that unforgettable summer so long ago. But now that I’m in the twilight of my years, the time seems ripe to pen this account of the happenings at that remote country estate where a strange world had been brought into being; an unnatural world, dominated by strong-willed females whose unholy reign of terror ran unchecked by the steadying balance of a strong male hand. It was a world of sexual perversion, and licentious decadence -- artificially created and totally hidden, completely cut off from the unsuspecting eyes of the God-fearing folk of Claymoor County.

I happened upon the secret of Cheatem because of a promise I made to my cousin Rupert regarding his young son, a likable good-looking boy named Edward. One night, when we were both in our cups, and old Rupert seemed to be acutely feeling his own mortality, he made me promise to look after the lad should anything happen to him. As it transpired, I was with my regiment in India when Rupert finally passed away.

To my surprise, I was notified that I had been named heir of his country estate, Cheatem. I say surprised because I had assumed it would pass to his half-sister, a certain Lady Amanda Longleigh, a widower who lived with her wards, a couple of young sisters, at the Cheatem estate for a number of years, managing the estate for its absentee landlord, as Rupert seldom ventured out of the City. What I didn’t know was that Rupert and Lady Amanda had had a falling out several years ago, and the old man had changed his will so that upon his death Cheatem would become mine. As I found Army life quite congenial, and had no plans to retire, I wrote to ask Lady Longleigh to stay on at the same terms; she graciously accepted, agreeing to manage the affairs of the estate for me, much as she had for Rupert.

At that time there was a spot of trouble brewing at the Afghan frontier and all leaves had been cancelled, so that I could not travel back to England for the reading of the will. It was only later found out about the fate of young Edward. It seems that upon Rupert’s death, the lad had not quite yet reached his legal majority and so a local judge decreed him to be a temporary ward of Rupert’s half-sister, Lady Amanda Longleigh.

Cheatem stood as a mighty fortress at a time when ruthless Barons struggled insatiably for land and power, and it still has an air of being impregnable to frontal assault. Unfortunately, as with so many of the old values Cheatem came to signify for me, its virtues had been undermined; I only found out by chance that that which could never be taken from without had been gradually reduced and weakened from within.

The first Lord of Cheatem was a totally disreputable rogue who fought, at various times, both for and against, his King. He greedily took what he could, roaring through the countryside in a bloody campaign of rape and pillage and mayhem, that ended with him establishing himself as lord of all he surveyed, and then going on to reign in the splendid isolation of Cheatem castle.

Over the years the castle has been much modified, gentrified to take on a more refined, civilized look, albeit one that retained something of the sinister atmosphere of the original fortress. Today the imposing manor house still dominates the hill where the mighty Baron decreed his castle should be built. The earthworks and moat are long gone, replaced by gently rolling lawns that sweep down and away from the House, trailing off into woods that thicken so as to become almost impenetrable. The entrance to the single access road is well hidden, so that even today the place discourages visitors.

At the time of our story Lady Amanda was undisputed mistress of Cheatem where she resided with two pretty wards, the young ladies Catherine and Prudence. The household staff had been greatly reduced over the years but there was a still a maid, a perky young thing named Sarah, as well as a family of trusted retainers who lived on the grounds: Ned Glunt, the groundskeeper, his wife Maud, who served as cook, and their son William, a somewhat inept, if willing, handyman.

It was into this little closed community that young Edward found himself abruptly transplanted. His memories of his aunt Amanda were vague. In his mind’s eye, he remembered looking up at a tall, imposing woman who loomed over him, her long black hair piled high on her head. But those fragments of memory stemmed solely from a few visits they made when he was very young, not yet old enough to attend school. They had been miserable times; he had been teased and tormented by his wicked “cousins” once the children were well away from the supervising eyes of the adults.

He still remembered vividly the day the girls had taken him to a secret hiding place in the woods. There they introduced him to a game they played called “hospital.” He would be the sick patient, and they would be nurses come to examine him. He remembered thrashing on the ground while one of the girls sat on his chest and the other yanked his trousers down his flailing legs. And he remembered how they laughed at him as he broke free, running and stumbling through the woods, desperately trying to hitch up his displaced pants with trembling fingers as he ran.

He never learned the purpose of those childhood visits, but in any case they ended abruptly when there had been a terrible row between his father and his aunt, the result being that his father vowed never again to set foot on the estate.

At the reading of the will, and later at his custody trial, his aunt had been represented by her solicitor, so Edward had not actually seen her for many years. He was frankly a bit mystified as to why this distant relative should take such a sudden interest in him, insisting that she be named as his guardian for the year or so he had remaining until he would come into his own, with full control of his rightful inheritance.

But Edward was an obliging lad by nature, and he rather looked forward to what might well become a pleasant leisurely holiday in the country. Then too, he was curious about Lady Amanda’s girls. They would be quite grown up by now, no longer spiteful brats, they would have matured into young women only a year or two older than he; lonely girls with healthy urges, he dared to hope, and no one but each other and their dour guardian for companionship during the long summer in that big house. They might readily welcome a handsome dashing male, for thus the lad thought of himself at that age. He reached up to touch his fledgling mustache, wondering if the girls were still as adept at slipping away from under their guardian’s watchful eye. Suddenly it seemed to the randy young man with all his youthful optimism, that the world was alive with possibilities.

These thoughts went through his head as Edward gazed out the window of the Rolls, barely noticing the lush green countryside. They rode in silence: his chauffeur, who respectfully introduced himself as “Ned,” was a sturdily built man of few words, but Edward noticed that he smiled knowingly, nodding to himself when Edward mentioned that he was quite looking forward to his stay at Cheatem, and hoped it would not be too dull.

The stately sedan made its way up a long serpentine gravel path, barely wide enough to accommodate the big car. As it rounded the final bend, Edward had his first good look at the massive Manor House; an impressive pile of gray stones with a vaguely forbidding look reminiscent of those stalwart Norman conquerors whose castles once dominated the lands.

As he stepped out of the Rolls, the lad glanced upward to catch a glimpse of a blond face in an upstairs window, a girl, he was pretty sure, who had been watching as they drove up, but fleetingly vanished when he turned his face up to study her. There was a spring in his step, a certain jauntiness about his slender figure as young Edward bounded up the curving stone steps.

Ned plodded along, leading him down the long thickly carpeted hallway, showing him the way to the drawing room. The room Edward found himself in was spacious and high ceilinged, furnished in an old-fashioned style that still retained a certain grandeur; a room lavishly decorated with potted palms and opulent, overstuffed furniture -- a room in which Queen Victoria would have felt quite comfortable. He waited ensconced in a big old wingback chair which smelt of polish and old leather, idly studying the intricate pattern of the fine Oriental rug. In a few moments the door opened and a statuesque dark-haired woman glided into the room.

In Edward’s memory she remained what she had been when he was a mere lad: a stern woman, matronly, and terribly old; but now he realized, with something of a shock, that his aunt was in fact an attractive mature woman, probably in her forties. She still had the same long black hair, soft and shiny, piled up in a neat chignon. And she was tall; in her high heels almost as tall as the gangly youth who scrambled to his feet to stand awkwardly before her. Her well-endowed figure was clearly evident through the simple black dress she wore, high-collared and buttoned up primly, giving her the air of a headmistress at a very proper school.

Now Lady Amanda extended an elegant hand, and for a moment the absurd notion flitted through his mind that she might expect him to kiss it. But he merely took the proffered hand in his, holding it lightly in a gesture that never quite became a handshake. For a moment, she held his eyes with her own, icy blue eyes that studied him with an intensity that caused him to blush hotly. Then, as the hand gradually withdrew, her expression softened and she welcomed him, politely if a bit formally.

For a moment longer she let him fidget uncomfortably under her appraising gaze while she took her time, looking him up and down. Then, apparently satisfied with what she saw, she nodded her approval, dryly declaring him a ‘fine young man’, before finally allowing him to sink back into his chair.

His aunt rang for a servant and took a seat directly across from him. Settling in comfortably, she asked him to tell her all about himself. Edward, never reluctant to discourse on what was probably his favorite subject, and especially so when his audience was a receptive female, told her all about his fascinating young life. His aunt listened attentively, regarding him with interest, her handsome face set in a polite smile. She interrupted only rarely, and then to encourage him to elaborate.

And as the young man rambled on she moved smoothly, casually crossing her long legs, allowing her dress to ride up over the rounded prominence of her bent knee. The fabric slid down either side in two draping folds, revealing the exquisite shape of that attractive feminine leg encased in a sheer black stocking. The Lady seemed totally unaware that the folds of her skirt had dipped down in such a way as to invite a salacious view of the very top of a stocking and just a sliver of the white flesh beyond. Edward tried to keep his eyes on her face as he chatted away but he found them inevitably drawn back to the seductive contours of that dangling leg, his gaze held by the narrow foot that swung idly in its black pump.

She listened attentively; her eyes studying his face. And her eyes never left his face when, after a few minutes, she shifted in her chair and slowly uncrossed her legs, this time letting her knees fall apart just a little. The movement left the skirt stranded high up on her nyloned legs and gave the young man a fortuitous view straight up between the woman’s opened thighs. Edward stammered, coughed to hide his embarrassment, and snuck a surreptitious glance up his aunt’s dress. Was she aware of the salacious view she was providing her nephew?

No! It was ridiculous! He was sure that any moment his aunt would notice where his attention had strayed, stiffen indignantly, and promptly move to righten the errant hemline. But she made no such move. If she noticed at all, she remained blithely indifferent to the provocative view she afforded the lad, seemingly quite content to let the young man look.

Edward’s somewhat distracted monologue was interrupted when the door opened and a pretty serving girl appeared balancing a tray with two glasses of sherry.

This, he learned was Sarah the maid; the conversation stopped while she served them. She was a slightly-built girl, slim-hipped, with small pointy breasts. She had fine, delicate features, a small chin and a wide mouth with pouty lips. Her dark eyes glanced up at him from under long lashes, although she mostly kept them lowered demurely as she moved gracefully between chairs and tables. Her rich brown hair fell into straight bangs that fringed her brow, while at the sides it was pulled back to be tied up before the loose excess was allowed to fan down over her slender shoulders.

Edward found the girl especially fetching in her maid’s outfit: the simple dress that buttoned down the front, and opaque stockings, all in black, except for the small white apron and the rounded maid’s cap perched on her head. He noted with surprise that the maid’s dress was cut quite short, some might say shockingly so. The hem rode well above the knees revealing almost the entire lengths of a pair of coltish legs.

Her job finished, Sarah was dismissed. Edward watched her walk away, intrigued by the small tight bottom that swayed so seductively under that little skirt. When he turned backed to his drink, he found his hostess staring at him, closely watching him watch the departing girl; a wave of embarrassment swept over him. To hide it, he ducked down to quickly take a sip of sherry and then eased back in the chair, drink in hand. He was just about to continue his monologue when they were again interrupted, this time by the muffled running of footsteps in the hallway. The door flew open as a wide-eyed girl burst into the room waving a tennis racket.

Amanda introduced her ward, his “cousin” Prudence, who flashed him a big grin and bounded over to her guardian to deliver a quick peck on the cheek, before turning back to more fully regard the cute boy. Prudence looked trim and youthful in tennis whites that left bare her supple arms and strong girlish legs. The thin white top she wore was cut like a singlet or jersey, sleeveless with a shallow scooped neckline that allowed a modest view of a pair of nicely rounded breasts, small plump tits that peeked out just above the curving neckline slightly damp with perspiration. The breathless girl’s dark eyes were shining with excitement as they darted from her guardian to the slender young man who rose to his feet at her bustling entrance.

Edward found himself smiling with the sort of infectious enthusiasm the girl seemed to bring with her, as she rattled on, eagerly telling her guardian all about the smashing tennis game she had just finished. Prudence’s hair was dark as Amanda’s, but unlike her guardian’s it was cropped short, bobbed in a bold modern cut that shaped her head in a soft bowl of softly curving silk. Soft bangs fell in an even row across her brow and framed her flushed, animated face. Her brief tennis skirt swirled about her athletic thighs as she strode over to where Edward stood and extended a hand, shaking his firmly, like a man, although accompanying her welcome with a decidedly feminine smile.

They exchanged only a few words before the bubbly girl spun on her heel and ran off, calling over her shoulder that she simply must shower immediately. Amanda raised her eyebrows at the girl’s parting remark, but before she could say anything the girl was gone. They listened to the soft thud of her tennis shoes receding down the hallway. Amanda smiled with what could only be parental indulgence, shaking her head at the swirling departure of impetuous youth.

“She loves sport, you know; both the girls; they are quite the little athletes,” his aunt confided, as if that explained a lot.

***

It was at dinner that evening that he first met the other girl, Catherine. She sat across from him, a tall, aristocratic blonde, saying little, looking dazzling in a silvery-blue dress, made of some metallic fabric that seemed to flow down her lanky form like liquid metal. The slippery dress hung on her narrow frame from thin straps left her neck and shoulders deliciously bare.

Catherine had the lines of a young thoroughbred: a streamlined body: small-breasted, with a long torso, low waist, sleek haunches, and long tapering legs. Unlike her sister who wore the short fringed skirt and cropped hair of a modern girl with that certain “flapper” look much in fashion in those days, Catherine wore her ash-blond hair like her guardian, in the old-fashioned way: two long braids wound on her head in a pale tiara. While Prudence was pretty, and quite capable of turning male heads as she passed by, her older sister was absolutely stunning! She was one of those girls who took her beauty for granted, wearing her good looks with the confident assurance of a proud fashion model.

But unlike her sister, who had welcomed the male visitor with a warm smile, the reception he got from the blonde was, although polite, decidedly cool. She seemed a bit remote, a proud beauty, and one who was ultimately unapproachable, he speculated as his admiring eyes passed over that beautiful face, struck by those marvelous high cheekbones, those precisely drawn lips that set slightly parted to reveal the small even teeth, and most of all those distant pale blue eyes -- eyes that seemed to look right through him.

The dining room of Cheatem Manor is elegantly appointed, opulently furnished with a massive table of polished dark oak, and dominated by silver chandeliers dripping with faceted crystals. Dinner at Cheatem were formal affairs in keeping with the stately setting, and Edward soon learned that his aunt insisted on certain standards of proper dress and decorum. She was a lady with very definite views on propriety! Dinner was inevitably served at seven; tardiness was not tolerated. In turned out, that in certain matters anyway, she was very strict with the girls. The girls were never permitted at table in anything but what her Ladyship regarded as “proper dress.”

Amanda had been appalled to learn that in certain circles young women had taken it into their heads to go about in men’s trousers. (She understood they were called “slacks”). These were not jodhpurs, she pointed out, eminently suitable for cross country rides, and perfectly appropriate for the smartly dressed young lady. No, the garments in question were more like the rough trousers worn by common workmen! To her mind such girls were “Bohemians,” foolish girls, far more vulgar than flappers, the last remark being directed towards the younger girl.

Such aberrations offended Amanda’s well developed aesthetic sense, for she was a sensitive woman who worshipped beauty, and found especially pleasing the natural shape of the well-proportioned human form, male or female, for her appreciation of the unique charms of both sexes was without partiality. While her girls might be allowed casual dress when going about the house and grounds, Amanda nevertheless insisted they be in dresses as befits ladies, although she frowned on blouses and skirts, even though those were much in style. It went without saying that at dinner a respectable suit and tie were considered de rigueur for male guests.

But what was even more astonishing to Edward than his prim aunt’s views on proper dress, was her unexpectedly broad-minded attitude towards sex. In matters of sex, she was surprisingly unorthodox, in one accord with Rousseau, believing children should be raised naturally, with a healthy acceptance of their own sexuality. Towards this end, she explained, she had raised the girls to revel in their femininity, to enjoy their bodies and themselves, and to be open and frank in their dealings with the opposite sex. They were taught not to deny their bodily urges, but to indulge them, seeking satisfaction freely and without guilt.

As young children, the girls had been allowed to run free, reveling in the warm summers’ days when they could be found cavorting across the lawns of the estate entirely in the nude. And so growing up they had learned not to be embarrassed about their bodies, and even today they loved to take the sun, au naturale, she looked at her girls and smiled. Then she turned to her astonished nephew and confided that she wanted him to know she understood all about needs of healthy young people, giving the lad a sly, but unmistakable, wink.

Edward was speechless; he furtively glanced at the girls to see their reaction. Amazingly, the two young women seemed quite unaffected by their guardian’s frank talk and her lewd hints. Catherine met his eyes with bored indifference. But Prudence had a wicked gleam in her eye and she gave him a big sexy grin, which only added to his discomfort. The dinner talk left him confused and more than a little excited. So much so that he found that he had to be very careful in getting up from the table, lest a sudden embarrassing erection should become all too evident under the tightly tented front of his worsted trousers.

***

Young Edward smiled to himself as he settled in between the sheets that night. With hands behind his head, he stared at the darkened ceiling, still wide awake with excitement, his mind racing to consider the pleasant choices before him. Should it be the coolly attractive leggy blonde, or her younger sister, the comely little brunette with those delightfully sexy tits? The blonde was certainly reserved, a bit snooty perhaps, hardly deigning to notice him, although once or twice at dinner he did catch her staring at him, as if sizing him up. But he was not put off by her frosty indifference, to the contrary, it sparked in him a male desire for conquest.

Still, it was the eager dark-haired girl who merited first consideration, he decided. Prudence would be easier: Lively, fun-loving, all juicy and wet, he surmised; a cuddly lass, and one who would undoubtedly enjoy a rollicking romp in the hay. And then, of course, he could not forget the pert little maid, deferential and respectful, but coyly seductive, he decided. He wondered what her tight little bottom looked like under that tiny skirt.

And most astonishing of all, these possibilities were very real! The realization sent a strong surge of lust shuddering through him. It was unbelievable that kind fortune had smiled on him so, presenting him not only with two beautiful girls under the same roof, but with a free-thinking woman who had practically offered the girls to him! Tingling with the exciting prospects that lay before him, young Edward couldn’t help reaching down to touch his stiffly aching penis.