Chapter 5

It was the following day and Claudette wasn’t even sure whether her mystery captain would arrive. She was apprehensive for some reason. She walked all the way to the cottage very slowly, almost turning back a couple of times.

Was this a silly notion? Why am I doing this? To get back at Jon for some reason?

Claudette didn’t have the answers to her own questions. She felt conflicted, but when she thought about Jon, she became angry again. She committed herself to the captain she didn’t know. It would be a distraction from the true anguish she felt.

When she arrived, her heart sank. She knew it was a little after noon, and her captain was nowhere to be found. She strolled around the trees close to the cottage, looking around her.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” she heard a voice say behind her.

Claudette flung her head around to see the captain smiling at her a few metres away.

“I thought you may have come to your senses my Lady – perhaps realized that this may not be the best of ideas,” he said walking closer to her.

Claudette felt her heart skip a beat. She stared at him, not saying a word.

“Why, are you left without words by seeing me here my Lady?” The captain was now close enough to touch.

Claudette’s eyes seemed to be pulled down to the captain’s lips, reminding her of the kiss they had shared. Claudette put her hand on the captain’s chest and looked into his eyes.

“Some things are better expressed without words...” Claudette said, lifting an eyebrow seductively.

She moved her hand to his left cheek, slowly tracing his jawline with her finger. A part of her was screaming at herself – what am I doing? But another part felt excited.

“Eager, are we?” the captain whispered, putting an arm around her waist.

They heard hooves coming up the road next to the little abandoned cottage, and they both instinctively turned around.

“Perhaps we should move a bit further into the woods Madam – no prying eyes and all that. We wouldn’t want anybody recognizing us,” he said, smiling.

They walked further into the woods, and sat down in a small clearing filled with sunlight.

“So, Captain, are we still not exchanging any personal information?” Claudette asked sweetly.

He laughed, “Well, aren’t you just so curious?”

Claudette blushed. “A part of me is, but I suppose a larger part of me enjoys not knowing.”

“Are you always so naughty my Lady?” he asked her, pulling her hair back behind her shoulders. Claudette felt herself shudder a little.

“Would you believe me if I told you? I could lie to you and you would never know.”

“Isn’t that the beauty of it all? I would never know.”

Claudette smiled at him, “So then, when are you leaving exactly?”

“It seems my employer has decided to leave by next week Friday,” the captain said looking down at the grass around them.

“But ... I thought you said you’d be here for a couple of weeks? Next week Friday is merely a week away!” Claudette complained. Would her summer romance be over before the summer even began?

The captain laughed again, and suddenly turned to her, staring into her eyes, “My lady, a week is more than enough time for our purposes...”

Claudette blushed. He was going to use her for a week and then move on. She wondered whether he had done this before, perhaps he had a maiden in every town. Again she thought about Jon. What would he think of her if he knew what she was doing with a complete stranger? She felt sad when the realization hit her again that he probably wouldn’t care.

Claudette looked down, not wanting him to see her face so close to tears.

“My dear lady, is everything alright?” the Captain asked concerned. He put his arm around her shoulders and inched closer to her.

“Oh yes, I ... Well, I,” she started. She wasn’t sure how to continue. What could she possibly say? Did she want to say anything?

“There is another man, is there not?” he asked.

She looked up, “How did you know?”

“My Lady, I have seen more than one forsaken woman in my day. They have taught me that a man is easy to forget ... Would you like to know how?” he asked pulling her face to look up to him.

Claudette wanted to forget, and as she looked up at his jet black eyes, the captain seemed as good a start as any for her to move on from a man she had never even had.

Claudette whispered, “Yes.”

The stranger smiled and put his hand beneath her chin, as if to pull her up towards him. He pressed his lips against hers. He pushed his tongue between her lips and found his way into her reluctant mouth. At that moment, Claudette forced herself to give in to him. For the while that he kept kissing her, she attempted to concentrate only on the feeling of his lips, his tongue, his hands holding her head close to his. She knew that he had done this before. He was experienced – there was no way that somebody without experience kissed like that.

Finally, what seemed like an eternity later, he let her go.

“Do I dare ask? Have you been sufficiently distracted?” he asked her, still holding her head in his hands.

“I suppose,” she said, avoiding his gaze.

He laughed at her. “You should try being more convincing.”

Claudette blushed again. She thought that she’d made a mistake in coming here. It was clear that she would not be distracted by this stranger, no matter how much she tried. Jon was still in her thoughts. The Captain couldn’t cleanse her of her feelings as she had hoped.

Claudette was about to get up from the grass, when the Captain said, “I suppose we’ll just have to try harder then.”

Suddenly, the Captain grabbed her arm and pulled her down from her half-sitting, half-standing position. She let out a little cry as she fell to the soft grass, shocked at the sudden turn of events. In a swift movement, the Captain grabbed both her arms and pinned them down beside her. He climbed onto her and pushed his lips onto hers, this time with such passion and unrelenting desire that she could do nothing but feel her heart beating in her ears. He lifted his lips from hers, stopping momentarily to smile at her seductively. Claudette felt her stomach flutter. He then pressed his lips against her cheek, kissing her down to her neck, and then her shoulder. Although the man was slender, there was no mistaking his strength as he held her on the grass. Claudette closed her eyes and focused on the warmth of his lips all over her skin. She had never been kissed like that in all her life. She wanted more.

He moved his lips to her ear and she could feel his warm breath as he whispered, “Are you ready for more?”

“Yes, I am,” she whispered back.

He pulled her up into a sitting position and let go of her arms. She heard her own breathing as he looked into her eyes and placed his arms around her. In what seemed like a single second, he had loosened the back of her navy blouse, which had been tied tightly around her by a ribbon. Claudette shivered, and the Captain smiled at her, “No need to be nervous my Lady. Just say the word and we’ll stop.”

Once again Claudette felt conflicted. As her mind started, once more, to drift to Jon, she was convinced that she had to carry on with this stranger.

Claudette nodded at him, and he pushed her back to the grass. She let out another soft cry of surprise. He placed another kiss on her lips as he moved his one hand underneath her, now loose-fitting, blouse.

But as his hand was placed on her waist, moving up her skin, Claudette felt nervous. She couldn’t get past the anxiety.

“Captain, I ... I’m sorry...” Claudette started.

The Captain immediately removed his hand from under her blouse. Claudette sat up to look at him. She thought she saw a flash of anger in his face, but she chose to ignore it when he flashed a small smile at her.

“I understand my Lady. Nothing has to happen between us now. Take your time. If you think you would like to forget about this other man who didn’t deserve such a sensual lady, I’ll be here. But I do hope that you’ll still want to see me?” His face looked sad.

“I do want to forget...” Claudette said softly, “I’m sorry Captain. I don’t know what the matter is. It might be that I’ve never done something like this before...”

He smiled at her, “I thought as much my Lady.” He placed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She finally looked up at him and returned a half-hearted smile.

“Well, I must confess that I am quite taken by you my Lady ... You are exquisitely beautiful. In all my travels, I do not think I’ve seen such beauty.”

“You are only saying such things to make me feel more inclined to have you ravish me,” she said.

He looked shocked, “My Lady ... How could you say such a thing? I understand that I am a stranger, and it may be difficult, if not impossible, to trust me – especially considering I won’t reveal my true identity to you. But you must believe me – I am not here to simply ravish you. I know I must leave next week. I am not at all pleased about it. When I saw you yesterday, I was dumbfounded by your quick wit. I would have enjoyed nothing more than to get to know you, to possibly court you. I am honest when I say that I have never met a lady quite like you. But, alas, I am to leave too soon. It would make it impossible for me not to search for you if I knew who you are. I would also not be able to live with myself if we were to develop a relationship in which I could only pray that you would have deeper feelings for me, only for me to leave and have you left behind all broken-hearted. It wouldn’t be fair. Yes, I have no right to expect one week of utter bliss from you my Lady. I know that. But yesterday ... I admit that I took a chance. I had to try. I had nothing to lose as I would probably never see you again, but when you seemed to return my sentiments, I felt bliss I’ve never known. I apologise for moving too fast, but I confess that I have a lust I struggle to control around you. I want to spend the short time I have with you. I want to make love to you. I want you to know how it feels to be with a real man, unlike the man who hurt you so treacherously...”