To say that Raven Hunter was spoiled was probably true,
but she would never admit it. She’d just graduated from Pepperdine
University, but she had a four-point
grade average, and none of it was given
to her. She worked hard; although, with the campus on the Pacific Ocean, she also
partied hard. Who wouldn’t when you had
the blue ocean at your doorstep? She had
a great job already lined up, but she made sure that she didn’t start until
September. It was a sales job in
pharmaceuticals, but it took a lot for her to get it. Her degree in chemistry was instrumental, but
she was also outgoing and personable.
Her best friend, Faith, could attest to that. Raven’s parents were well off, and that allowed Raven to graduate without any
student debt. Both of her parents worked
in the company they owned and ran. It
made munitions, mainly for the government.
It was started by her great-grandfather
and passed down until her father ran it now along with her mother at his side.
Faith Bishop graduated with her, but her major in
economics got her an analyst job at Bank of American in San Francisco. She’s not only was good with numbers, but she
saw things in them that most don’t. She
couldn’t really explain it; the numbers just pop out into her focus without any
thought. Her parents said it was her
background, although they never explained it.
As much as her first and last named denoted religion, her parents
weren’t religious, at least not that Faith had ever seen growing up. Faith’s parents were also well off, although
not in the same caliber as Raven’s. Her
parents were in the publishing business.
They ran a publisher that dated back to the American Revolution, passed
down from generation to generation. Even
in the age of electronic books, the
business thrived.
Raven and Faith aspired to spend the summer in Europe,
and their parents spoiled them with their wish.
It wouldn’t be backpacking through Europe; they’d go in style. Their parents were proud of their
accomplishments and rewarded them justly.
They took a plane to London where they started their
summer vacation. They were both from California,
so they didn’t impress easily, but London was impressive. It welcomed them with open arms, what city
wouldn’t when it saw the lovely twenty-two-year-old
women.
Their parents probably expected them to spend their time
visiting the historic attractions, but unless the clubs they went to every
night happened to be in a historic building, they missed them all. They danced, drank and found not only British
men to pleasure them, but also other men from around the world. London was truly a cosmopolitan city. After a week of partying, they decided to set
out on a road trip in England. They
needed the time to unwind from the torrid pace of the first week
so they wouldn’t exhaust themselves too soon.
“My parents want me to visit my great aunt in Glasgow,
Ireland.” Faith mentioned it to Raven
when they were deciding where to go next.
They had no plans for the summer, for they’d go where their interests
drove them at the spur of the moment.
“We could take a plane to Manchester, rent a car and drive to Glasgow if
you want to go. It should be a nice
drive.” Faith was afraid that it was a
silly idea to go to visit a great aunt.
“That’s funny. My
parents wanted me to look up a long-lost
uncle in Edinburgh. I didn’t know if
they were serious or not.” Raven
couldn’t believe it. She looked at the
map, and it couldn’t be more than fifty
miles between the two cities.
“Since they’re paying for this, I guess we should do
something they want. The map says there
is a bunch of castles on the road from Manchester to Glasgow. I’d love to see a castle from medieval
times.” Faith had this fascination since
she was young, but except for its name, Hearst Castle, California didn’t have
much in the way of castles. She’d read
that many castles were home for those that worshiped and served the pagan gods.
“Yes, a castle or two would be interesting. Maybe we can find one that takes in
guests. I’d love to explore a
castle.” Raven would love to find one
with a dungeon. A place where men would
take those that were opposed to them, male or female and subject them to
unspeakable torture or pleasure, she was never sure which, but she’d like to
find out.
“Are you up to driving on the other side of the street?” Faith thought that it might be difficult, but
at least they’d be out of the city.
“Yes, I spent a couple of months in Australia, and I
didn’t have any trouble. It takes a bit
to get used to, but after a while, it’s
almost natural. I’ll drive.” Raven would make sure they got something
sporty to drive.
“So, I guess that is the plan,” Faith not sure how this
came up so fast, but it was adventurous.
They got the partying out of the way last week. Now, they could enjoy the rest of the
vacation, but that wouldn’t mean there would be no men, wine and music.
There would always be time for that.
They began to plan the trip. The
drive to Glasgow was only a couple hundred miles, but they weren’t sure how
good the roads would be, so they planned
to stay overnight along the way. They
hoped to find something interesting, not a modern hotel, but something historic.
* * * *
Martin saw them walking over to the counter. Who could miss them? He was already on the lookout for two
American women, and they fit the bill. The plane from London just arrived, so he was sure it was them. Just from their names, he guessed that the
one with long, black hair was Raven Hunter, although he could be mistaken. She was beautiful with a glowing tan, and
with the red lipstick, her mouth was succulent.
He wished he could see her from behind sure her ass was as nice as her
tits. He could see the slight sway of her
breasts as she walked, and if she wore a bra,
it was thin. She had long legs, and her shorts accented them. The other one, Faith Bishop, looked like the
typical California surfer girl. Her name
might have a religious connotation, but she dressed to show her body to
perfection. She wore a sleeveless
pullover that could barely contain her large breasts, and her belly was naked. Her
shorts hung low on her waist. She wore
sandals on her feet. Martin loved
American tourists. These seemed to be
well off, for they rented a BMW Series 3.
“Good morning. You must be Ms.
Bishop and Ms. Hunter. I’ve been
expecting you.”
“Why thank you,” Faith paused until she saw his name
badge, “Martin.” Business must be slow
if he knew their names.
“If you’ll just fill out the paperwork, I can get you on
your way. Who’s going to be the primary driver?”
“I am.” Raven took
the paperwork and began to fill it out. Faith filled out the other one.
It didn’t take them long to fill out the paperwork. He took
their driver’s licenses, passports,
credit card and insurance papers, although their insurance would only be
secondary outside the United States. He
looked at their driver’s license, and he
picked them correctly. He completed the
paperwork. “You have the top-of-the-line BMW Series 3 from us. Have you ever driven a right-handed steering-wheel
car before?”
“Yes, in Australian for two months. It was a couple of years ago, but it
shouldn’t take much to get used to it,” Raven confidently said. She gave Martin her best smile.
“Okay. The car has
GPS, but here’s a map just in case you get stuck too far out in the middle of
nowhere. Is there anything else I can
help you with?”
“No, Martin.
You’ve been great. Have a nice day.”
He got his view as the two women went to the parking lot
to pick up their car. They both had a
delectable ass.
It didn’t take them much to find M6, the highway. It’s one of the major north-south routes in England. They were disappointed that it was a six-lane highway, three in each direction. They could’ve stayed in California and driven
on something like this. At least it
didn’t take long. It was a little less
than two hours before they got to their exit, A65 highway to Kendal. This road was more to their liking, a single
lane in each direction with lots of small towns and forest along the way. They were in rural England. It was another 70 miles or so to Kendal, the
last major town if you could call it that.
They stopped there to get something to eat and see the
sites. They knew it had some castles,
but they were ruins, nothing majestic and still standing. The food was good, some of it they
never tasted before. The people were
very friendly, not just the men, but the women, too. It was later in the day as they had dinner
and celebrated with a bottle of wine.
“Should we stay here tonight?” Faith asked Raven since she had to
drive. It would be dark by the time they finished.
“I didn’t see anything that impressed me here to stay the
night. No castles or bed and breakfasts
that looked intriguing. The map says
it’s only about a 2 ½-hour drive to
Glasgow. It’s back on A6, and that turns into A74, so they are both
probably six-lane highways, so it should
be fine. I’d rather see what Glasgow has
to offer in the way of historic hotels.”
“Yes, Kendal is only about 28,000 people, and it looks like they roll up the streets
early. I’m sure that Glasgow would be
better, and it’s not that far.” Faith
didn’t see anything that inspired her here.
They walked the main street, but it was short, and the businesses were starting to close up.
They went back to the car and headed out. As soon as they left the town, it started to drizzle. “Damn rain,” Faith said as soon as the wipers
started.
“This is England. It’s always raining, just not hard most of the
time. It’ll be okay. San Francisco will be the same way.”
“Don’t remind me that’s where I picked to live. I hope it’s not as bad as some say.”
“It’s a nice city, just like London, very
cosmopolitan. You’ll love it, and I’ll visit you with my nice tan,” Raven
would stay in Southern California where it was perpetually sunny and warm. The rain began to pick up. It was getting a little difficult to see
especially when she wasn’t sure where she was going. She hoped she got the directions right, but
the road was still a single lane, and it
was dark and woody. The road began to
curve more as if they were going uphill. She wasn’t sure she was going the right way
now, but it had only been ten minutes since they left the town. She could always turn around and head back to
start all over again.
They passed a town if you could call it that. It couldn’t be more than a dozen small shops,
and most were dark. A few houses were in the trees, but you could
barely see them. The road began to curve
more. “Are you sure this is the right
way?” Faith grew worried that they were
lost. The GPS didn’t help much. It was as if it was also lost.
“No, we should’ve found the highway by now. I’ll go a couple more miles and find a place
to turn around. It’s all curves, and another car would never see us turning
around.” Raven started to look for
somewhere to turn around, but the edge of the road was dirt and grass, and she was afraid with the rain soaked dirt they’d get stuck.
“Watch ou—” Faith cried out, but it was too late. Some large animal crossed the road in front
of them.
Raven saw something in the middle of the road, and she tried to swerve to avoid it, but the
road was narrow, and there was no place
to go. She caught the hindquarter of the
large animal. She saw it twisted around
by the car, but her urgent need was to keep the car on the road. The tires slipped on the rain-swept road as she tried to stop, but she
lost control of it for a split second, and
that was too long. The car slid off the
road and through the grass, half turning sideways as it skidded.
“TTTHHHUMMPPP!”
The sound of metal ripping apart rang out as the side of the car hit a
tree, but at least it only scraped along it.
Faith cried out, but she could only hold on. The airbag
hit her, but it quickly deflated. The
car finally came to a rest, and Faith was thankful that she was okay.
Raven couldn’t see for a split second when the airbag exploded, but the car stopped, but it
wasn’t in good condition. The horn was constantly beeping, and steam poured out from beneath the mangled hood. The right side of the car took most of the
damage, and Raven looked over to see that Faith was okay, although she was
startled. “Are you okay, Faith?”
“Yes. I want to
get out,” Faith panicked when she couldn’t open the door. She saw the steam rise up
from under the hood, and she feared a fire.
Raven’s door opened, and
she slid out. “Climb over the console.” She reached in to help her. The horn continued to blow loudly as if
proclaiming their failure. Luckily, the
rain was only a mist, but they didn’t even have a jacket on.
“Can you shut off the horn?” Faith asked her. It was driving her crazy it was so loud.
“Unless you got a gun I can shoot through the hood,
no. At least maybe someone will hear
it.” She checked her cell and got no
coverage. “Nothing.”
“Me neither.” They
were too far in the woods.
Raven opened up the trunk. At least that worked so they could get their
suitcases. They put a jacket on, but
they were already damp beneath it.
Oliver hopped into the black Land Rover. He could hear the horn blaring in the
distance. That wasn’t a good sign. There weren’t any houses around, and the winding road was treacherous in the
rain. The Land Rover stuck to the ruts
that ran down the dirt road as the tires gripped tight. He hit the paved road, and he didn’t have to go more than half a mile before he saw the car lights angled
toward the road, but the car was in the bushes and trees. He was glad to see two figures standing near
the car. He pulled up behind it and left
the lights on. Two women were standing there, and
in spite of being wet, they were still beautiful.
Raven was a bit nervous when the SUV pulled up, but out
here, anything was better than nothing.
She didn’t know where it came from.
Someone started walking toward them.
She wished she had her Mace with her, but it wasn’t allowed on the
airplane. She would’ve felt more secure.
Faith was glad for anyone to rescue them. It wasn’t as if there would have a serial
killer out here in the woods and he happened upon them.
“My, you’ve made a mess of the bonnet of your car. Are you okay?”
“Yes, we barely missed an animal, but we ran off the
road.” Raven tried to explain away her error.
Oliver looked at the front of the car. “I think you got him, at least you nicked
him. There’s blood on the car.”
That made Faith feel bad that some poor animal was out
there wounded by them.
“Must’ve been a deer, lots of them around here. Well, your car’s not going anywhere.” Oliver went back to his car and got the crowbar.
He pushed it into the bonnet and pried it open. Finding the
horn was easy. He yanked the wire
and silenced it. It wouldn’t make much
difference to the repair bill.
“Thanks, that was too loud, but I’m glad it raised you at
least to save us.”
“I couldn’t help hearing it.” He paused for a second. “Damn daft of me for not introducing
myself. I’m Oliver.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Oliver. I’m Raven.”
He was handsome, about six feet, well built, and he seemed to be
intelligent, although she still had a hard time understanding some of the
English words.
“Yes, raven black hair, but I’m sure you’ve heard that
before.” She made his cock hard.
“I’m Faith. And
no, we lost our faith in this situation,” beating him to the punch.
“Damn straight.
Where were you heading?”
“Glasgow.”
“You missed a lot of turns to the motorway, although you
were going in the right general direction.
You’re not going to get anyone to
come out tonight to help you. You can
ring up a tow truck in the morning.”
“Our cells don’t work,” Raven volunteered. She didn’t want to stay out here
tonight. “Can you take us to a
hotel?” She hoped that there is one
nearby that wasn’t so bad.
“Nope, no mobile out here. And no hotels. Can I offer you my hospitality? I live up the road.”
“We couldn’t inconvenience you and your wife.” Raven wanted to see if he was married.
“No missus. It’s
no trouble, the house is big, and we have
a couple of servants that make our life livable. It’s much better than anything you’ll find
within fifty miles.”
Faith looked at Raven.
Faith didn’t have any problem with
taking up on his offer. Raven was just being extra careful. “What do you say, Raven? We can stay in an authentic English cottage.”
“Seeing how Oliver is here to help us, I can’t see us
turning him down.” This could prove to
be interesting. He was handsome, but
there was only one Oliver. Hopefully, he had a brother, a twin brother.
Oliver got their bags and put them in the back of the
Land Rover. He headed back up to the house.
It was a bit disconcerting when Oliver drove into the
woods on a dirt road that wasn’t more than tire ruts. It went uphill, but the Land Rover held the
ground. It didn’t take long until Faith
saw some lights in the distant. As they
came closer, it began to grow more
apparent that the English cottage was much more than that. “It’s a castle.” It sounded like she was an impressionable
teenager, but she couldn’t help it. It
was huge. She could make out the gray
stones that spiraled at least four stories high. The windows on the ground floor had to be
thirty feet high. As the Land Rover
pulled into the front, she could see the
stone stairway, at least thirty steps up to a pair of gigantic wood doors that
looked as though you could barely move them.
Raven couldn’t even say a word. It left her speechless. She was finally able to get the words
out. “Is this where you live, Oliver?”
“Yes, it’s been in the Edwards family for 800 years,
although it’s been worked on so many times that it doesn’t resemble the
original buildings.” He grabbed their
bags. “Let’s get out of the
drizzle. There’s a nice fire going inside.”
Raven and Faith looked up as they walked up the
stairs. There were two turrets in the
front, and they couldn’t see much past that.
The door opened before they got to it.
A man waited for them.
“Let me, Oliver.”
Arthur grabbed the bags from him.
“Was there an accident?”
“Yes, I’m afraid their car is not in great shape. Take the bags upstairs, put them in adjoining
rooms.” He turned to Raven and Faith. “Come into the parlor. I’ll get you brandy,
and you can dry off next to the fire.”
The hallway was massive, but that was nothing like the
parlor. It had to be at least two
thousand square feet, a good-sized house
in the United States. The furniture looked
like it was all antiques, from upholstered chairs and couches with hand-carved wooden frames to antique vases. A large clock rang out the hour. The fireplace was large enough
so a person could stand inside it, alongside another person. The walls were all stone, and there were coats of arms and flags that
adorned them, along with spears and swords.
The oil paintings looked as though they were the previous lords that
ruled the castle, dressed regally as they posed for hours to get the right look
of power on their faces.
“How big is it?”
Faith had to pull her tongue back into her mouth. She’d wanted to see a castle, but she
expected ruins, not a castle that someone still lived in.
“It has eighteen bedrooms, eight bathrooms, two kitchens,
three parlors, two libraries, a ballroom, chapel along with servant
quarters. There are other buildings
housed within the walls such as the stables, a granary, armory and a few shops from yesteryear.” Oliver loved to impress first-time visitors.
“How many people live here?” Raven would love to live here.
“That depends on the day of the week. Eight have permanent residence here, but when
we have occasions for celebration, the
number can climb to over forty, all in relative comfort.”
“Are you a permanent resident?”
“Yes.”
“Are you one of the Edwards?”
“Yes, although that is not my last name. The Edwards name spans almost a thousand
years, and the family is widespread
through Great Britain. We even have a
few in the colonies,” he joked to Faith.
Someone else brought them brandies, and Faith and Raven sat on an antique couch in front of
the fire. It felt good, and the brandy was even better. He’d brought cookies or biscuits as he called
them. Oliver was an attentive host, and the brandy felt good. The busted rental car left their minds
immediately. After all, this was a
vacation and not everything worked out on
vacations.
Raven hated to say it, but it grew late and the day had
been long. “We should be turning in, Faith.”
Faith was disappointed, but she started to ache. The accident had affected her after all. “Yes.”
“Your rooms are up
the stairs, the last two on the right.
You should be comfortable there.
Heating in a castle is what you’d expect, not good, but there are plenty
of blankets, and in the morning if you run
the hot shower for a moment it will warm up the bathroom. Breakfast is usually served at eight, but
there are always leftovers to be
had. I can help you with your car in the
morning.”
“We can’t thank you enough. One of our goals on this trip was to see a
castle, but we never expected anything like this.” Raven hoped that they might get a personal
tour of the castle. At least she hoped
to get one from Oliver.
“Yes, thank you so much.
If you hadn’t come along, we’d be
held up inside a busted car all night.”
She wanted to see the chapel tomorrow if Oliver would let her. Her imagination took over as to what might
have occurred there centuries ago.