Chapter 17

"A man was here," Elaine told him at the front door, where she had awaited him. "I saw him walking across the yard towards the turbines."

"I hope you didn't try to follow him," said Joseph with a worried frown.

"No, I waited by the kitchen door with Bob; I knew he couldn't get into the cages round the turbines, or into the workings of the screw. I was safe enough with Bob."

"So?"

"He came back and saw me. He asked for the keys to the cages. He said he was from the council and he was investigating a breach in planning regulations. I told him you were not here and he would have to come back. Then he said I should give him the keys anyway. He said the turbines would have to be disabled until the planning error was resolved."

"And you told him you didn't know where they were," Joseph smiled in his certainty.

"That's right, and he said he'd come in and search for them and I said there was no way he was coming in with you being away. I think he thought I was only a girl. He reckoned without Bob."

"What happened?"

"Bob growled and showed his teeth. I was holding his collar. He told me to control the dog and he was coming in. I said if he took another step I'd let go of Bob. He backed off then and said he would be back with a warrant and you wouldn't want that. I told him to get his warrant. So he left."

"Thanks Elaine, you shouldn't have had to handle that all by yourself, but you did all the right things. He had no right to enter the house."

Elaine smiled at that, and smiled more broadly still when Joseph gave her double her usual fee for babysitting the house.

Once she had gone, pedalling her racing bike down the track, Joseph made some tea and thought hard.

First the RSPCA, then the court case and now this 'official' from the planning office. Was it significant that the man came when Joseph was known to be appearing in court? Then a further thought: was he from the planning office at all?

Joseph was about to go out to walk down the track to make a phone call, when he laughed, remembering he had a phone at home. He got out all the papers relating to the turbines and phoned the planning office.

Yes, they remembered him, the clever man with all the turbines and the Archimedes Screw. Would he wait while they got out the papers. Yes, they were all in order, notices had been posted for the correct amount of time, there had been no objections and the National Park had no objections. Would he wait again while they checked on the official. No, no one had come from their office.

Joseph sipped his tea and pondered the visit. Now he was sure that the man came precisely because Joseph was absent at court. It was only after he had been seen by Elaine that he made up the story about the planning office. Joseph smiled grimly; the man would certainly not be back with a warrant – his mission had been to reconnoitre the turbines, or even wreak some destruction if he could. For what purpose? Joseph felt uneasy – he would definitely be setting all the alarms from now on.

He phoned the police and was visited two days later by a constable who took notes and Elaine's address. She rang him to say she'd given a description of the man, but it was unlikely he would be traced. The surveillance cameras were not active since it was the middle of the day.

Friday 27 March 2009

The week passed with Joseph engaged in ground preparation for the sowing next month. It rained on and off and was cold, but he persevered and Barry came over and ploughed in the green manure.

Joseph was glad to ease off when Angela arrived on the Friday afternoon with a smile, a hug and a long sensuous kiss. Like the previous week, she changed and was eager to help, and he let her do as much as she could manage. Her work rate impressed him.

Joseph did not mention the man's visit, not wishing to worry her.

Barry and Mary were at the pub and of course Barry asked the question.

"Hear anything from the Planning Office? You know, the man prowling round while you were at the court?"

"I phoned the planning office," said Joseph. "They knew nothing about it."

"So he was up to no good," said Barry. "Bit worryin' that."

"Elaine did a great job seeing him off," laughed Joseph. "I was worried about her, she should never have had to do that."

Angela had been looking more concerned as the exchange progressed, and was agitated by the end of it.

"What happened?" she asked. "A man?"

Joseph sought to make light of it. "Some opportunist thief I reckon," he said dismissively. "Nothing to worry about. Everything is alarmed, and it would take some time even for a professional thief to get into the cages."

Angela let it drop, but it was obvious she was not happy. They passed on to other things.

It was a busy weekend, with a good deal of sowing in the greenhouses. Angela once again watched and learned, and they made good progress. He warned her that April was a busy month, with a good deal of sowing in the vegetable field. She smiled and nodded.

On Saturday night, she fell asleep while meditating, and Joseph gently woke her when he had finished. He carried her to the bedroom and sat her down on the bed. She had taken off her shoes before settling to meditate, and so he reached under her jeans and pulled off her socks. She kissed the back of his head.

He stood and pulled her tee shirt over her head, then unhooked her bra and pulled it away from her chest. She caressed his hips.

He stood her up and unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, pulling them down to her ankles. She lifted each leg and the garment was gone. His hands slid into her knickers and stroked her bottom cheeks as he brought them down her hips and thighs, where they fell to her feet and she kicked them off. As he bent she kissed an ear and her hands went over his back and sides, before taking his face in her hands and kissing his lips.

He lifted her and laid her in the bed, pulling the duvet over her, kissing her and stroking he hair and cheeks, before leaving for the bathroom. When he returned she was deeply asleep.

He smiled. He knew how fresh air and constant physical work, no matter how gentle, exhausts those who are unused to it. She had sown seeds in the greenhouse and potting shed nearly all day, and she had milked Susan and collected the evening eggs.

It was the beginning of British Summer time, and there would be an hour less to sleep. He slid into bed and was asleep as swiftly as she.

The next morning she slept in, while Joseph followed his usual routine an hour earlier. Barry came and went, and then Joseph made tea and brought her a mug, leaning over her sleeping form and and kissing her forehead awake. She opened her eyes with a yawn, then smiled seraphically as he bent to kiss her lips. Then a look of horror crossed her face.

"I overslept! Why didn't you wake me?"

"You needed your sleep, we lost an hour last night: the clocks went on one hour, and there's more to do today, after breakfast and church." He paused. "Perhaps you'll stay at home this morning, while I go?"

"No fear!" she said, with a frown. "Where you go, I go, remember?"

He smiled at that, and left the room to make breakfast.

He called a halt to work at four, and they set to to make the evening meal. Pork Chops in breadcrumbs, with the last of the parsnips and broccoli, followed by a sponge pudding and custard.

They did their evening meditation together and then sat on the sofa, idly stroking each other, and chatting about the weekend's work.

Suddenly she said, "Make love to me, Joseph!"

She stood up and stripped off her clothes standing naked before him. He laughed and stripped in his turn and they coupled missionary style on the thin carpet in the living room. Bob lifted his head at the unusual activity of the two humans, then, clearly unimpressed, fell asleep again.

Joseph was gentle with her, conscious of the hardness of the floor, until she sighed with what he interpreted as annoyance.

"Harder, my darling!" she gasped, "Harder, don't hold back!"

He did as he was told, until she cried out in her climax, and he, with a few more thrusts and a throaty bellow came too.

He lay on top of her, panting with his exertions, and she laughed.

"That's better! Some bruises to remember the weekend by! I missed you last night."

A pause.

"Joseph?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Can you spare a weekend, soon?"

"Yes, why?"

"I thought you might get Elaine in for the weekend, and come and stay with me in town."

Silence.

"I thought you might like to see how I live during the week," she added, "where I sleep, who my friends are."

A pause, then he smiled at her, "Yes, that would be good. How about next weekend? I can work longer during the week thanks to the extra hour of daylight, and make up the time. It'll depend on whether Elaine can make it, though."

Joseph was able to employ Elaine for the weekend, pointing out when she arrived that the upstairs bed had been refurbished. She was delighted with the entertainment centre in the study.

He warned her to ensure the alarms were on during the nights, and showing her where the phone was. It was cordless, so she could keep it with her even when she went to bed. He was still concerned about the so called planning officer, and half expected more attention from whoever was waging the campaign against him. He was pretty sure Trevor was behind it.

Weekend 3-5 April 2009

Angela was on edge as she stood at the window. Normally she took a visitor's arrival in her stride, but this was different. She looked round the flat. Yes, it was tastefully decorated, it was warm, the fitted carpets were thick and soft, the sofa and armchairs were plush and soft. Would he like it?

The flat was silent. Since meeting Joseph she no longer felt any need to put radio or TV on as a matter of course. Now it was her practice to switch on to listen rather than having background noise.

How would he react? Would he be uncomfortable? Then she saw the Range Rover pulling into the car park and halting in a visitor's space. There he was in a smart brown overcoat, carrying a holdall. He reached the door to the building and her bell rang. She ran to the hallway and pressed the door opener, and opened the door of the flat and stood on the landing.

"Up here, Joseph!" she called, and watched as he began to climb the stairs.

He reached the landing and their eyes met. His face lit up in a happy smile, he approached her, dropped his bag and she was in his arms. They hugged and kissed, then she disengaged and led him into her home.

He stopped at the door, and slipped his shoes off.

"You don't need to–"

"Your floors are so beautiful and clean, you don't want dirty shoes on them."

He was so considerate, she thought.

"Bathroom left, kitchen right, bedroom second left, living room ahead," she told him, leading him into the bedroom.

"What a lovely bedroom, so comfortable!" he exclaimed, and she felt a warm glow at his praise.

He put his bag on a chair, unzipped it and drew out two bottles of wine, one white, one red.

"I think you'll like these," he said smiling.

"Thanks, you didn't need to, you know,"

"That's true, but I wanted to."

"Let's go into the living room," she suggested. "We can talk about what you want to do."

"I'm in your hands," he laughed. "You've obviously cooked something very tasty judging from the smell.

"You have made the flat quite beautiful. You have a lot of artistic talent," he said as they entered the living room.

"I used to enjoy painting; I loved art at school. I sort of got out of the habit."

"Have you got some of your work?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'll show you later tonight, or tomorrow."

"I'd like that."

"I thought we could eat here tonight and then go for a drink at my local. There may be some of my friends there: I said you were coming to visit."

"That's fine."

Joseph felt at ease in her home, but he could see she was on edge, but did not know how to put her at her ease.

They sat at the small dining table and she served bacon and egg spaghetti with a side salad.

"This is delicious my love," he said between mouthfuls.

"I told you I could cook," she said with a satisfied smile.

"I did believe you, but you've really proved it tonight."

They talked recipes and recounted their favourite dishes, and she served an apple pie with custard.

"You have a way with shortcrust pastry," he told her, "and the apples are just right, not too sweet."

She felt herself relaxing, and Joseph noticed it.

"That's better," he said, "you're relaxing now. You were very tense."

"I can't hide anything from you can I?" she said. "I don't know why I was on edge. I wanted it to go right; I wanted it to be good for you."

"You know that being with you is all that matters. I don't need anything else, everything else is a bonus. I've already learned you cook divinely and you paint and draw. We're getting to know each other, which is why you invited me."

They left the table, embraced and kissed, and pressed themselves against each other. Then leant back and gazed into each other's eyes, and saw love there. Thence to the sofa and a little more intimate stroking.

"You still want to go out?" she asked, eyes heavy lidded, breathing heavily.

"We can always do this when we get back, don't you think?" He suggested, nuzzling her neck, and nipping her ear.

"Yes, you're right. I wanted you to know my life here, so we should go."

So reluctantly they went.

There were five at the table when they arrived and Angela introduced them all.

The couple were Harry and Penny, engaged, with a wedding in the offing. Harry was a little overweight, florid of face and with a ready smile and laugh. Penny was very slim, indeed thin, flat chested and with hardly any roundness to her bottom at all. Her arms and legs were the same. Her face was oval with prominent cheekbones, and her face was lit by an almost continuous smile.

Janice was a red haired green eyed freckled woman who one would assume was Irish, and indeed she was of Irish extraction. She was pretty and on the more statuesque side, everything about her body was generous while not extreme.

Desmond stood to shake Joseph's hand. He was dark. His hair was jet black as were his bushy eyebrows and his skin was burnished by an outdoor life overseeing building works. His hands were large and calloused, and his body muscular. He took Joseph's hand but made no attempt to score any points, his grip was friendly and firm.