Chapter 3

Freda was offhandedly blasé. “Whatever suits you, Fiona, but don’t talk to Reg about it. He will tell you that there is a mathematical framework for packet switching networks. I happened to mention queueing and almost got a lecture, for apparently packet switching is the basis for the Internet’s structure.” She went on to switch subjects without a break. “What is Reg doing now?”

Frances said, “I left him in his study. Why?”

“I just wondered, as I am off my birth control, so if he is free...”

Frances frowned at her. “It doesn’t work that way, Freda, as you very well know. Take your turn, girl. On top of that, we have to fit Jessica into Reg’s baby-making schedule. How the hell am I going to work that one out, when girls start to get pregnant?”

“Not quite that awkward, Frances,” Prudence corrected her. “Once a girl is pregnant, she doesn’t have to forego Reg’s lovemaking, surely? How would YOU like it if you caught during this month, and were denied Reg?”

Frances halted her thoughts about scheduling problems and conceded, “I see what you mean. Yes, you are quite correct, Prudence. I should have thought more about the facts of pregnancy. Well, we have the four wives, plus Fiona and now Jessica – at least until she catches, not being a wife. The permutations will depend on whether Reg can service three women per night, or we drop the frequency and put it as two per night. At the moment it is two girls one night, three the next, and so on, and he has not demurred as yet.”

Erika came in at this point. “Frances, would it not be bad manners to banish Jessica from Reg as soon as she gets pregnant?”

“Explain your reasoning, Erika,” demanded Frances, frowning at this challenge.

Erika elucidated, “She may not technically be a wife, but then neither is Fiona as yet, and we don’t restrict Fiona for not being an official wife yet. If Jessica is going to have a child, or maybe children, by Reg, and live with us, isn’t she being treated as if she was a wife? I know that she is still married to her obnoxious husband, but for all practical purposes, she will be a wife to Reg. Shouldn’t we acknowledge that status by giving her lovemaking privileges? I know it might affect how frequently I get to fuck Reg, but it is a matter of principle, I feel.”

Frances saw that she was being pushed into a corner, and tried to deflect the pressure by passing it on.

“What do the rest of you think? At what point does a female get to be fucked regularly by Reg? This is OUR husband we are talking about, girls, not some theoretical problem. Whatever conclusion we come to, we have to live with it in the long term.”

Prudence wanted to know, “On that point, Frances, doesn’t Reg have an input into this equation?”

Frances partially conceded, “We could bring him into the discussion, as it is a family decision, but I would rather we girls came to a consensus that we could present to Reg as a sensible solution. He then only has to decided whether he can physically cope with such a regular demand on his sexual energy.”

Erika went back on the attack. “You are neglecting another possibility for the future, Frances: your cousins, Carol and Holly. At the very least, they want Reg to take their virginity, but they might want a lot more after that, if they like his love-making. We are potentially looking at a considerable amount of demand on Reg as time goes on.”

“Problems, problems,” Frances argued. “Why presume future problems at this time? We can look at these possibilities as and when such questions arise. When a wife gets very gravid she may want to reduce or leave off love-making, as too problematic for her. We should stick to the present numbers for now.

Be practical, ladies. That is my opinion. What do the rest of you say?”

The others reluctantly concurred that it was best to sort out the present, and leave the future for when such matters actually arose.

Frances gladly accepted this verdict, as it had coincided with her view, and declared,”I had better go and advise Jessica of her new status.”

Prudence told her, “The rest of us should go see Reg, and let him know our verdict, just to confirm he will go along with us.”

Fiona said, laughing, “What? Tell him he can fuck more women regularly? You actually expect him to refuse, Prudence?”

“No, but it is only right that he should genuinely have the opportunity to decline, which I don’t expect he will.”

They split into the singleton and group, and made their way to each destination. Frances got to Jessica first. She was still in her room, sitting pensively, for Sidra had left.

Frances knocked on the part-open door. “Jessica, can I speak to you for a minute?”

“Yes, Frances. Sidra has already been to inform me, so thank you for all your help; I am appreciative.”

“No problem, Jessica, but that was not what I came to talk about.”

“Oh? What, then?”

“The wives of this family have discussed our lovemaking schedule, and came to the conclusion that you can be part of it for the foreseeable future. You get to fuck Reg as if you were a wife, even after you happen to get pregnant, if that is what you would like. We feel it is the only fair way to treat you. I will fit you into my rota for being with Reg at night. You may have to share Reg with a couple of other girls, but I think you can live with that.”

Jessica’s mouth opened as she exclaimed, “Oh. You would do that for me? All of you?”

“Yes, we all agreed. You will act as if you were a wife of Reg, with all the privileges that entails.”

“And all the responsibilities, too, I hope?”

“That wasn’t mentioned, but I expect so, Jessica.”

“What if?...” she paused before continuing, “What if ... I fall in love with him, Frances? Is that a no-no for you?”

“Again, not discussed, as no-one thought about that at the time. We looked at your need of wanting children, and we long ago decided to treat all Reg’s children as OURS, so we looked on you as almost a wife. We did not consider the possibility that you might feel that way, about wanting to formally become a wife to him.”

“I am not there yet, Frances, but the more I get to know Reg, the more I think I WILL fall in love with him – if you will allow me that privilege, Frances.”

“Come and see me if and when you get to that stage, Jessica, and we can talk further about your relationship with us. It can get complicated, I have found. O.K.?”

“O.K.”

Downstairs, the others had found Reg, and started telling him about their decision. He looked surprised, so Erika asked him, “Did you not expect this, Reg?”

He reddened slightly. “I expected someone, but not an almost full complement. I suppose Frances is the delegate to Mrs Sadaf? I had best start calling her Jessica all the time, if we are going to be intimate on a regular basis.”

“Yes to all that, Reg, but the main question is: are you happy to go along with us on this?” Prudence queried. “We need you to be on board, or it all lapses if you don’t approve. You are important to us, Reg, so your opinion is a vital element in this plan.”

“Prudence, when I Committed to you all, I committed to being and doing everything that you wanted, within reason. This proposal is within reason, so I have no cause to complain. In fact, I will be happy to have Jessica included in our nightly frolics; she feels very nice to fondle, has a nice body, and she is very affectionate. All you have to do is give me a chance to recover between women; you can tire a man out with your enthusiasm!”

Freda informed him, “If you feel you have plenty of energy, Reg, then please get on with clearing that back garden grass! You made a start, but didn’t get far before you diverted to tree pruning.”

Reg came up with an excuse for his laxity:”The weather has not encouraged me the last few days, Freda. Either the grass was damp, or it has been very cold and uninviting out there for the short time between getting home and it getting dark. Anyway, the grass hardly grows at all in the winter. I’ll get back to the job as soon as possible, love.”

Freda squeezed past the other females to reach him and give him a kiss. “Thanks, Reg.”

Later that evening, Jessica sought out Frances to ask, “When do I get Reg to make love to me, and do I get him to cuddle all night? I am new to all this, Frances, so I am unsure as to what you might find acceptable or disagreeable.”

“Jessica, I am stuck in the middle, between you needing a reassuring cuddle at night, and all the other girls who want Reg lying beside them; quite aside from who is making love, and when. Looking at the question, adult to adult, what do you think is fair?”

Jessica screwed up her face as she contemplated the challenging scenarios, and accepted the inevitability of an adult decision on her part. “I can’t expect to have Reg to cuddle every night; that would be wrong of me. If you can allow me one night a week with him to cuddle all night, Frances, that would be nice. The lovemaking – that does not take long, I suppose, so I’ll come to his bed whenever it suits him.”

Frances’ eyes widened. “Not take long? What are you talking about?” Then it struck her. “Jessica, what have you been putting up with all these years? Reg is not the ‘wham-bam, thank you, ma’am’ type of guy. He gets you off first: we taught him to do it that way. Anyway, he is the kind of man who respects his partner, wanting to do what suits HER, before getting his rocks off.”

Jessica was astonished. “Gets me off first? What do you mean? I usually frig myself to get an orgasm. My husband ... he whom I refuse to put a name to ... he never paid any attention to what I might want. Lovemaking, for him, was getting to fuck me; that was it.”

“Oh, you poor woman,” declared Frances. “I think I should allocate an hour for Reg to make love to you tonight. You will sleep better afterwards, I promise.”

Jessica seemed confused by Frances’ reaction and promise, and shook her head in disbelief.

Leaving Jessica, Frances headed directly for Reg. In his study, a couple of the girls were still with him. He was sitting facing outwards, with Freda on one knee and Erika on the other. He had an arm round each girl while he kissed them alternately, or they kissed him: it was not clear who was the instigator.

Frances cleared her throat to get their attention. They all looked at Frances, surprised that she should interrupt them. Reg asked, “Frances? Is it important?”

“An important piece of information, Reg. You girls should note this too, for it is something we should all be aware of.”

“What information?” Reg asked.

“Jessica has spent years being fucked by her husband, and never, never, NEVER, did he make sure SHE got an orgasm out of it; it was all about what he wanted from sex.”

“Good grief!” exclaimed Freda. Erika just gaped. Reg simply frowned, not understanding. “But surely...”

“No, Reg; not all men are like you. We trained you to think of the girl when you made love. Jessica’s husband never thought of her needs; the swine!”

“So she never got to properly enjoy sex?” Reg queried in astonishment.

“You’ve got it, my love! It was all about HIS needs, and never about hers. That is why I want you to spend an hour with her tonight, showing her what a girl can get out of lovemaking if the man puts his heart into it.”

“Well, of course, darling! That is what I always do with my girls. It is what you showed me was the proper way to make love. I have never thought of any other way to proceed. Jessica has never experienced that?” He shook his head in amazement.

Frances told him, “Never, Reg. That is why I want you to put more effort into making love to Jessica tonight. Go to her before you lie with the other girls on your rota tonight. Jessica is your first priority, my love.”

She stopped to switch to another matter.

“Oh, in addition, she has agreed that spending the whole night cuddling you, cannot be an every night arrangement. I have allocated her to spend a night with you once a week; perhaps with a wife on his other side: I am sure she will not object to that. Sounds reasonable, everyone?”

The other two girls nodded. Reg just accepted it as a family decision. That was usually the best reaction from him.

Tonight, Prudence and Frances were in Reg’s bed when he finally arrived, wrapped in his dressing-gown, after his stint with Jessica in her bed. They pulled apart from their kissing to both ask, “Well?”

He grinned, “One happy woman is now sound asleep. She was rather noisy at times!”

“Good man!” declared Frances, while Prudence asked, “Do you have anything left for us by now?”

Reg swung his dressing-gown open, to reveal his erect penis. “I think little Reg is still keen to meet you girls tonight!”

Come morning, Reg was up and showered before his wives, so he went downstairs to see if the twins had managed to be up and make breakfast. They were, so he got a ‘Welcome, Reg’ kiss from each of them. Carol wanted information.

“The rumour is that you were going to teach Mrs Sadaf about lovemaking last night. Is it true?”

“It was true. She had suffered many years of deprivation, so there was much to show her. She was very happy with my attentions, I admit. And, girls, she is an exception to our general rules. Her needs were paramount because of her previous bad treatment, so don’t try to use her as an excuse to ask for something for yourselves, girls.”

“But Reg, what did she not know about? It just seemed odd, what you said.”

“Girls, you are old enough and clever enough to know about female orgasms when making love with a man. Her husband, throughout their marriage, only concerned himself with his own gratification.”

“What? Never for her?” Holly exclaimed in horror.

“Never. The man was – is – a damn fool. He was never worthy of being Jessica’s husband and Sidra’s father.”

They heard footsteps coming towards them, then Mrs Sadaf walked in, slowly. She saw Reg, and her eyes lit up.

“Reg Robertson! Frances underplayed your abilities, if anything. That was wonderful, last night! No wonder your wives love you.”

Reg was suddenly coy. “I simply treated you the way I treat my wives, Jessica. After all, they were the ones who taught me, so it all ultimately comes from them.”

She was not to be put off so easily.

“Only now do I realise what I was missing for all these years. I can never ever consider going back to that man ... that Neanderthal!”

Reg determined to slacken her enthusiasm. “You got a special treat last night, Jessica. Frances allocated me an hour or so for our lovemaking, which is a lot more than my girls usually get, due to numbers and time.

So, don’t expect so long for lovemaking in the future, Jessica. Frances was saddened by your lack of helpful knowledge, and wanted you to have the best chance to enjoy yourself. I hope you did.”

“Did I not! You took me to the gates of heaven, in so many different ways; I felt so great for so long; over and over again.”

Holly and Carol were staring, open-mouthed. Their gaze switched between Jessica and Reg, and back again. Holly came out with, “But you are so old; how can you have such a great experience?”

Reg glowered at them before Jessica could say a word. “Girls! A woman can enjoy sex into old age; it is not just a young person’s game! More importantly, Mrs Sadaf is NOT old; she is not even middle-aged. She is only early-thirties, so she is in the prime of life.”

“I am?” Jessica stared back to Reg, then relaxed as she gained some confidence from his words. “I AM in the prime of life, girls. Just because I have a teenage daughter, doesn’t make me old, except in the eyes of teenage girls that are too young to appreciate good lovemaking.”

Holly admitted, “We don’t really know about good lovemaking, Mrs Sadaf. Reg refuses to make love to us, even though we’ve asked. Don’t you agree he is depriving us of good life experiences?”

“Delay is not the same as deprivation, girls. I would have LOVED to have delayed getting married, but my parents insisted, as it was an arranged marriage to suit their social, financial and cultural norms.

I never got a choice; never had a chance to refuse to accept HIM. I was only seventeen when I was married; far too young and completely a virgin!

Your parents have been generous, allowing you to choose a future partner by yourselves, so choose well, once the time is right. Don’t rush into marriage, girls; or motherhood for that matter. It is not a good idea.”

Holly and Carol turned to look at each other. Neither wanted to admit they were so young and inexperienced themselves, so they shut their mouths and said nothing. They went off to finalise the packed lunches for the family to take with them today.

The day was dull and overcast, conducive to knuckling down to work at the university. The only bright spot was fixing a date with Tom Hancock for the Commitment ceremony joining Fiona Prentiss to the Robertson family group. They agreed it should be a Saturday, with several options for Tom to check against his diary. The Robertsons were fine with any of the dates, they told him.

That evening Reg was reminded of the garden work, so he rushed his evening meal and hurried to clear more of the long grass and weeds that festooned the back garden. He found the lawnmower and set it to its highest level, for cutting long grass. That enable him to cut a swathe through the longest of grasses, matted though they were in places, though the motor stuttered in complaint at times before roaring back to normal when he angled the machine to allow grass clumps to be spat out, clearing the blades.

He was able to complete the cutting of all the level ground before the light faded. He had been forced to empty the mower’s hopper several times, dumping the cuttings in a far corner where there were signs of an old compost heap. He piled his material next to the old mound of soil. The heap was by now no more than a low pile of overgrown foliage, topped by what looked suspiciously like dead potato shaws or haulms; the top growth of the plants. As no-one had been planting for several years, this might be the result of a few small potatoes growing inside the compost heap and flourishing. It might be worth digging through the heap to find out if there were decent potatoes inside, he concluded.

As he walked back towards the building, he thought one small patch appeared lighter in tone than the rest of the grass. He would have a look at that again in the daylight. It might be an area of poorer soil, perhaps a waterlogged dip in the ground, perhaps even a former garden fountain. He would see, but for now, he wanted a soft chair and a chance to relax. He was not used to exerting so much physical energy in such a brief time, apart from sex.

Ah, sex. He LOVED the sex! It was great to be able to leave his wives satisfied that way, and it gave him a real sense of achievement when he managed to bring a smile to their faces; well, except for the times in the darkness where one could not see anyone’s face. They sounded satisfied, at least.

Life for him had altered for ever, back when Freda and Erica astonishingly persuaded him to have sex with them. He had been aware of his internal urges to do something with one of them, indeed any of the three, but the reality had been much more than he could ever have believed beforehand. Now with five wives to satisfy, life wasn’t all that different, for the girls had helped him immensely in so many ways, teaching him a multitude of new experiences and approaches to life with other people. Their love for him was what helped him to love them.

Funny – he was now thinking of Fiona as a wife in his musings. It was certainly time to give her that status. With her pregnancy, she had shown her commitment to the family. He should possibly have pushed harder about investigating her stepmother’s background. He should deal with that task very soon.

And Jessica; now THERE was a different woman entirely. She had an unusual experience of life that none of us have had; albeit much bad experience. She understands that life is not a bed of roses; why a bed of roses? Roses have sharp spikes called prickles on their stems, so why should a bed of roses seem desirable? He must look it up.

Getting to the back door and stepping on to the mat there, he carefully wiped his shoes while thinking that he ought to buy a pair of boots for gardening and other heavy jobs.

It startled him to be thinking BUY; he was now viewing the concept of spending money with equanimity, now that he had his own cash resources. Previously, when the girls or their parents provided finance, he could never see it as him spending money, but now the ‘buy’ concept was percolating through his soul.

Once he was sure that he would not trail mud or other sticky substances on to the carpets, he padded through to the study, and accessed his computer; HIS computer, not THE computer; he was indeed settling into family life where everything belonged to everyone. The family computer was also his computer now.

He then remembered about the term ‘bed of roses’ and with an initial search got the idea that it was based on the rose being a symbol of happiness. He suspected that it might also relate to the delightful display of a rosebed in full flower. His Google search quickly showed him that ‘bed of roses’ came from a Christopher Marlowe poem published in 1599. The term was clearly meant to mean a soft life, rather than physically lying on roses. Roses represented happiness and contentment. That may have been the rationale of the rose representing the great houses of York and Lancaster; the Wars of the Roses, the great symbols of the white rose and the red rose. Not much happiness found there, he concluded. Much more could be found with the poet Robert Burns: ‘my love is like a red red rose’, he declared in his song.

Now, back to his own loves, and report on his gardening efforts.

He bumped into Prudence first; literally bumped into her as he stepped into the corridor and she lost her balance, held up only by the wall.

“Oomphh! Reg, you idiot: watch where you are going!”

“Sorry, my love,” he apologised, as he helped her up to a standing position. As he did so, he looked carefully at her body, and remarked, “Golly, Prudence. You are much more padded now. You look great.” He ran his hands over her more prominent breasts, and added, “You feel great, too.”

She smiled with the compliment but pointed out, “Lying in bed, my breasts don’t show so much, darling. You should spend more time fondling them while we are sitting up, and you would notice them more. Are you satisfied with me as I am now, or do you still want me to put on a few pounds?”

“You are absolutely perfect now, Prudence; at least until you produce a baby bump. It would add a few extra pounds, but that would still leave you looking deliciously perfect, my darling wife.”

She pushed her lips forward as she closed with him, and kissed him passionately, pushing her breasts against him. “The sooner the better, my darling husband.”

Reg took the opportunity to run his hands over her bottom, and savour its newer curves. “I’ll do what I can, Prudence; I’ll do what I can.”

“Hey, you two: get a room!” declared Carol as she came along the corridor. “Or is there space for one more? One little one?”

Prudence glanced at the teenager and laughed. “Some day, perhaps, Carol, but not for a while at least. You may yet change your mind about wanting Reg.”

Reg smiled benevolently at this exchange. He didn’t have to speak, fortunately. His wives knew the score. Then he thought to ask, “Were you looking for me, Carol?”

“Yeah. There was a phone call while you were busy in the garden, so I said you were not available, but would call him back later, once you were clear. He left his number.”

“Oh? Who was it?”

“No idea, but he said to tell you, ‘the sergeant’. Does that help?”

“It does. Thanks, Carol my sweet.”

Carol went off again, a smile on her face at this endearment.

Once he had informed the family that he was back indoors, and had carefully locked up behind himself, Reg went back to his study to make the phone call.

He was put through immediately. The constables by now knew his voice.

“Mr Robertson?” said Sergeant Phillips.

“Reg,” he corrected.

“Okay. Reg, we have made a few discreet enquiries based on what you said to me, and have got a result.”

“Excellent! What did you find, sir?”

“One of the companies that makes explosives admitted to being asked about a deal to make a new powerful explosive to the specifications of an unnamed researcher who claimed to have invented the substance. The man making the enquiries was a lawyer, or so he told them. Apparently he was acting on behalf of the so-called inventor.”

“That does sound like our friend Fitzgerald’s activities. It is the sort of approach that fits his profile, I think you would agree.”

“I do. The next step is to look into this lawyer; see where he is based, what work he normally does for clients, what reputation he has; that sort of thing.”

“I understand. I wonder if other companies have been similarly asked, but don’t want to admit it? Mind you, it is probably the one guy asking them all. If you need an additional hand in that set of enquiries, I have a father-in-law who is a top lawyer in London. He would be able to ask around, to get a feel for this character.”

“Hey, that is not a bad idea, for your relative would have no known links to the police, would he?”

“Not that I am aware of, Sergeant.”

“Leave it with me. I have to clear it with my superiors. They may have already committed themselves to a particular legal bod that we have used often before. I’ll get back to you, Reg.”

“Thanks for the update, sir. It is appreciated. Bye.”

Hmm ... Reg thought to himself. Looks like Fitzgerald has worked out the bugs, to make the powerful explosive easier to handle, and simpler to deploy. His attempts through the criminal community showed that while it was easy to get them to use it, they were pretty incompetent in applying it correctly in practice. He has probably redesigned the detonator so that it won’t go off unless the settings on the detonator are fixed for the intended application – quarry or ground excavation, mine clearance, building demolition, underwater operation, or opening a stuck metal door, e.g. rusted shut. Setting the detonator should display the required explosive force, enabling the necessary quantity of explosive charge to be established. The size of the necessary explosion will therefore vary according to the intended result. Alternatively, a software app could produce the same data results, allowing the detonator itself to remain simple.

Dammit! If he has simply designed a new and more effective detonator, or detonator app, he could sell that quite legally and make a fortune.

Then Reg reflected on what he had just thought. IF Fitzgerald had NOT designed a better detonator, then Reg himself had just done the basic theory for such a device. Fitzgerald may not have developed things thoroughly enough in his mind, but simply envisaged a cash windfall through selling his stabilised explosive to a commercial company. In such circumstances, there was scope for Reg to design such a detonator and get a patent for it.

He pushed the idea to the back of his mind, for when he had time plus peace and quiet to work on it further. Tonight he had to go over the workloads that his ladies had home from university, to see where and if any of them needed help to see their way through. In a few cases he might need to have a read of their textbooks to see where the particular course was heading. Often he could work out what the essay or other assignment required, simply by noting the textbook’s next step in the course. To the lecturer, there was a generalised outcome that he or she expected from the students, so working towards that outcome was half the battle.

There would be a simple tick achieved for every point that the examiner was looking for, so providing these points in the assignment was the target. Of course, understanding this part of the course was essential for the future, but that was not the object of the assignment. The assignment was to show that you understood specific points that had been covered in the latest lecture.

Reg was more interested in learning the course than completing assignments satisfactorily, but the rules said these had to be done, so done they would be. Such assignments were more for the benefit of the lecturers in assessing how much their students were taking in from the lectures than what benefit the students were deriving from the course. The system was set up this way in preparation for later exams.

Frances set the rules at home, for which wives he slept with each night, and these rules he abided by, as he trusted Frances implicitly. He was still amazed at how she had picked him out of all the university students as a possible tutor; a newbie and a loner. In truth, he wouldn’t have picked out himself, were he in her shoes.

She had a perspicacity that still amazed him; and how she was unfazed at Reg being taken over by her two friends as a lover before she could do so; she just added herself to the love-in, and took it from there. Prudence had later insinuated herself into the group on a similar basis to the others. Their recognition of her as a fellow reject in the eyes of most males made it rather easy to add her to the mix.