Chapter 62

Isabella reassured her husband. "It took her some time, but she saw the reasoning behind it. She told me that as long as she did not see you making love to her, she could cope with it."

Ebenezer was mightily relieved.

"Thank God for that," he said. "It is fine for you, as there is no relationship between you, but I was terrified if Effie and Phoebe came to blows over me. They have only recently become reconciled, and I would not want to be the cause of a further breakdown in relations between them. I love Effie so much – as I do you, Isabella – and I would have preferred to send Phoebe home rather than cause friction."

"No, it should be all right, my darling. It may be a bit strained at times, but when the "ménage a quatre" becomes the norm in our family, she will forget she ever worried about it."

Robert felt he was overdressed, as he stepped out of the Landership, the first human investigator to patrol the surface of Arborea, as far as he knew. His protective overall suit, complete with facemask, seemed stifling as he walked through the trees, travelling upslope towards the cliff face.

His tools hung from his belt: everything from radiation counter to rock hammer, anything which might be useful in his geological excursion. It was only a small stretch up the debris pile to the rock face, and he examined the strata as he approached. It looked pretty normal, to his eye. A limestone escarpment, but would it have sea fossils evident inside the rock, and not just microscopic shells?

He got to the face, and began his examination. He spotted larger shells, several centimetres across. These seemed remarkably intact, as if they had not been exposed to waves on a beach. He wondered if they were freshwater mussels, but in that case where were all the microscopic shells coming from? Instead, probably this was the detritus of a shallow sea with minimal wave action. That suggested calm weather conditions.

He moved along the face of the cliff, peering upwards at the higher strata above his head. As he travelled, he started to spot fossil bones protruding from the rock face. His eyes saw them as fish or amphibians, although only detailed analysis would make a valid determination.

Certainly, there were few fractures in the rock face, suggesting lack of earthquakes in this location. He chipped off a sample of rock, to take back for analysis, and bagged it, pushing the bag into one of the many pockets in his protective suit. Cursing, he pulled it back out, having forgotten to identify its location. He found the markers in a small pocket on his chest, and marked the bag with the planetary location as shown on his wrist reader, which picked up the signal from the satellites overhead. He added a description: Shells, 5 cm – 10 cm, apparently complete; some evidence of larger marine animal fossils. NOW he could return the bag to the pocket.

He looked around his feet for broken rock fragments, to see if there were signs of weathering into soil as one looked further away from the cliff. Most of the fragments were small, pointing at a slow steady weathering, rather than large lumps falling from the exposed face. He wondered about the effect of low temperatures on the limestone, but there was no obvious changes.

He clambered back down the slope at his current location, and noticed the entrance to a burrow of some kind. He simply pulled out his camera and photographed the entrance, marking the spot with its GPS ID. He saw no obvious signs of recent occupancy, but if the debris surface was fairly solid, there may be no marks to find. Wait: there was no plant growth around the entrance, nor on the downslope side. That could imply animals passing back and forth, but he was no naturalist, so was not certain.

Robert got his phone and asked to be collected for the next site to be visited. This one was at the sea shore, where he hope to find a variety of rocks and minerals exposed.

By the time Robert got back to Rehome with bags and bags of rock samples, he was exhausted.

He explained to Mia and Mya, "that suit may have been great as a protective measure, but I was hot and sticky for most of the time I was wearing it, so I was glad to get it off at the end of the day. It is probably not fit for wearing again. Until I had my shower, I stank, and I think the suit still stinks of my sweat."

"Well, you are wearing your usual manly smell now, darling, and we love it, don't we, Mya?"

"You said it, sister."

"I need to get a full analysis of these rocks: constituent elements, structure, grain size, hardness, susceptibility to fractures, and so on. Rehome doesn't have a proper lab for geology testing, so we'll have to send them to Earth for that."

"Yes, but surely with your expertise you can tell what the results are likely to be?" demanded Mia.

"Tentatively, that is so, but minor variations in clay can mean the difference between clay waterproofing dams, clay for making pottery and porcelain, clay for sculpture, and clay for cement. Granite can be quite solid, or friable through long weathering, and slate can vary in hardness quite surprisingly. Some slate is fine for roofing a house, others cannot split so finely."

Mya intervened, "Robert, you are splitting hairs! Ball park figure, please?

"Oh, a right. Based on these samples, there are likely just three or four sites fitting all, or nearly all, our parameters."

Mia was pleased. "At last. That is few enough to be able to report on, for the new colony need not be restricted to one site; though it is best if the sites are not too far apart, for convenience. Let's draw up a draft report, pending your rock analysis. Where are you going to get them tested?"

"Well, I thought our old university should be given the opportunity, for there is some kudos to be the first to analyse rock samples from a new world. They can also brag it was one of their graduates who brought them from that planet. That fine with you two?"

"Sounds good," said Mya. Mia declared, "I am fine with that. Go ahead."

"Mum? Can I speak to you?", Susan asked.

"Hmm? Of course, darling. What is your problem?"

"No problem as such, Mum. It is more of help with a decision. Olu has asked me to marry him, and I have given him a provisional yes."

"Oh, my!" her mother gasped. "This is so sudden. You are still only sixteen, Susan. What do you want to marry so young for?"

"Mum, you already knew this might happen, so stop acting so surprised. You are just being the mother hen, protecting her chick."

"My goodness, you are acting so mature, young lady. But do you really think, at this point, you can commit your life to living with this man, and having his children? Marriage here is a lifetime commitment, Susan. You should take that into consideration before any final agreement. What about your studies, for example?"

"I was thinking about that, Mum. I want to go on with my studies, and do one of the disciplines that can help with farming. That way, I can contribute to the running of the farm, and probably help with your farm also. I can study as a married woman, just as I can as a single girl. I don't have to get pregnant right away. Tokunbo will be producing the first baby or babies, while I build up my knowledge."

"You HAVE been thinking hard, Susan. When did Olu propose?"

"It was a couple of days past. I have been looking into the possibilities, and I think I have it worked out. I don't require an actual degree, being practical, so if I can take on the degree course at the Metropolis college, I can stop once I, Olu and Tokunbo feel I have absorbed enough knowledge to make a positive improvement to our farming practices."

"Darling, what about the relationship between you three, and the sex? Are you sure about these factors?"

"Mum, when Olu took my virginity, Tokunbo was there to support me; and she is genuinely supportive. She is mature enough to understand all the trials that every marriage encounters, and she WANTED me to marry Olu. She is almost another mother to me, in the way she looks after my interests. She is not competition for Olu's affections; she and I complement each other. We will get along fine. You and Dad have spent your entire life as a couple, so to you that is normal. In my case, being married to Olu and Tokunbo will be normal for me."

"I understand what you are saying, Susan. Now we must discuss this with your father. I will support you, if he has objections; but I know that your father loves you, and will not be unreasonable. if this is what you truly want, he will not stand in your way."

"Isabella, I am afraid to go ahead with this. I know it sounds stupid, but I am like a teenager meeting his first date. Here I am, already married to two lovely ladies, and I find that I am afraid I will say or do the wrong thing."

"Ebenezer darling, you are pushing at an open door. Just take her in your arms, and treat her like you would one of us. Kiss her, hug her, caress her; feel up her breasts; dash it, husband, do whatever comes to mind. I guarantee you will find it is just what she is seeking; acknowledgement of her as a sensual woman."

"Very well. Wish me luck." With that, he turned the door handle, and entered the living room where Phoebe was sitting reading. She looked up as he came in and said, "Hi, Ebenezer."

He came over to her, and took a hand. "Please stand up, Phoebe."

Surprised at the request, she did so. He stood close to her, and put his arms round her. "Phoebe, I want you to know that I will do whatever I can to make you comfortable with being with us. To begin with," and at this point he brought his lips to hers and kissed her gently, "to begin with, I have been too standoffish with you. My wives tell me to be more accepting of you, if you wish to be in a closer relationship with us."

He slowly dropped his hand from her shoulder blades down to her pert bottom, fondling both hemispheres. Phoebe made no attempt to retreat from him, so he brought his hands to her waist, then slid them up her front to her large breasts, cupping them in a provocative manner. "Do you want to have a closer relationship, Phoebe?"

His mother-in-law pushed back at him, and returned her lips to his mouth. After a quick kiss, she whispered, "Anything you want, Ebenezer, I will be receptive to it. Can you cope with an older woman in your ... household. I nearly said harem! I suppose that is what I meant. Are willing to share yourself, as a man?"

"As long as Isabella and Euphemia are agreeable, I will gladly make you completely welcome in this home, Phoebe. Isabella assures me that there will be no complaint if I take you to bed and make love to you. You are a lovely woman, with lots of love to give, is that not so?"