Chapter 2

Venerable Hall

Elizabeth remembered having been perfectly satisfied with the groom's work until that Constable had arrived. He had tried to be subtle and just ask vague questions about Professor Willets. Her groom was a professor, suddenly? It had been all too intriguing to leave alone. She had mentioned the heat and how good an ale would taste, then she had invited him to the kitchen. Two ales later she knew a lot more about the professor than she wanted to know or felt comfortable with.

William Willets had indeed been a professor at a large and important finishing school for rich little girls. Then suddenly there was a scandal that was hushed up and the professor quit and left his chosen occupation. Even though he wasn't officially charged with any crime, the word was still out in the police community. No matter where he got a job, the Constables eventually showed up with their not so subtle questions. The results were usually immediate discharge.

The Constable had puffed up his chest and said, "I guess you'll be getting rid of him now. Especially, since you've a young daughter to protect. A perversion like he has is a bad thing. I'd rather not mention specifics, but his is really a sick one."

"I'd rather know exactly what I'm dealing with. He's basically just taking care of horses. And, he's under my supervision when dealing with my two children. I really don't see a problem as long as he's watched. But, why don't

you help yourself to another ale or two and some of the cook's stew and freshly baked bread. Then you can tell me exactly what it was that he supposedly did to these little girls."

Three-sheets-to-the-wind, the Constable finally described what he had heard over the police rumor mill. The Constable himself put very little credibility in the stories since he knew that they were embellished every time they were re-told. But he had seen the gleam of interest in the woman's eyes and knew she was titillated, so he only added a small amount of embellishment to the end product himself.

"Well, it seems that the good professor got a hankerin' for licking the youngest stuff available. The word we got was that he was dragging several little ones a day into his office and putting his mouth and tongue right on their most private places. He was sucking so hard and long; sorry ma'am for the crude and graphic language but it's the only way I can describe it; that several of them had to spend days at home recovering."

"Then several of the teachers heard about what was going on and tried to put a stop to it. Well, the word was that he attacked the 40-year-old woman who was protesting the most. Did the same thing to her as he had done to the kiddies, he did. They say that to this day the poor woman just isn't the same."

"Of course, there is no official story on him because they wanted to protect the names of the scores of little ones damaged and the reputation of the school that was foolish enough to hire him. All of the Constables in this district have pledged to keep an eye on him and I suggest you do the same. If he even looks like he wants to do anything weird, you just let us know and we'll run him out of town."

"I appreciate the information you've provided, and I assure you that I'll watch him. If I ever have any doubts about him, I'll call for you specifically."

It had been three months since that Constable's visit and Elizabeth still had trouble getting a good nights sleep. The friendship her own son had with the groom's boy stayed her hand in dealing with the situation in the proper way. But she diligently watched the groom for any signs of a return to perversion.

Still, she lay in bed many a night trying to visualize the terror of that middle-aged school teacher having her panties ripped off by a mad pervert intent on licking and sucking her into unconsciousness. She shuddered in an involuntary climax every single time she was able to even come close to visualizing it. Whenever she spoke to him personally she found herself watching the way his mouth moved. There was something about his mouth that kept drawing her attention.

Elizabeth seriously intended to keep a good eye on the professor and his young son. She had started riding her horse more as an excuse to keep an eye on them. Any change in behavior and they were history.

Being the lady that she was, she always wore a dress and, of course, she rode side-saddle. But once she was out of sight of the barn she liked to pull her dress from under herself so she could feel the warmth of the leather against her bare thighs. On her first ride after talking to that Constable, she could almost feel the places under her where that pervert or his son had touched the saddle. She'd wet herself. From then on, she had ridden without panties, and always made a mess of the leather seat.

She'd waited for them to say something about the wet seat, but they hadn't. Each day she rode, she carefully looked the saddle over to make sure it was clean and unstained. And each time she'd found that it had been saddle-soaped and buffed to look like new. She couldn't fault them for doing their jobs.

Finally, one day she'd left the wet saddle on her horse and let it into the paddock rather than tying it outside the tackroom as she normally did. Then she went to her husband's second-floor study and watched William through their antique brass ship's telescope that was mounted next to the window. She fully expected to see William make a face when he saw the incredible mess she had left for him that day.

She'd watched in horror as William first smelled and then licked up the mess she had made. Her hands had shook and her knees felt like jelly. Sliding to the floor she'd spasmed through another involuntary climax. That perversion was alive in him still.

The boys were off at school for a month now and even Elizabeth's daughter had been enrolled at a finishing school where she spent the week being polished. She returned on the weekends whereas the boys did not. She had quickly noticed that the groom and his son corresponded at least weekly. Neither she nor her husband had heard anything from Adam. It was hard for her to wait for the holidays to find out how he was doing. The idea of getting news of her son second-hand had occurred to her and finally she was resolved to do it. She rang for the butler.

"Oliver, I want you to bring all outgoing mail addressed to Mathew Willets to me so that I can add notes to Adam."

"Yes, Ma'am, I have one here now." He gave it to her.

"And, Oliver, please bring me all of Mathew's letters to his father. I'll be expecting notes in them from Adam."

"Very well, Ma'am."

Elizabeth felt like a sneak-thief as she steamed open the letter to Mathew. Well, after all, Mr. Willets did work for her and her son was a friend to Mathew. A little tenuous logic perhaps to support her rationalization but her concern was for her own family. It was a lengthy letter and she threaded through the trivial stuff until she found news worth reading.

..." it's just a well that Adam got a wake-up call early-on. Tests without prior notice are a good way to keep students prepared for anything. I was pleased to hear that you did well on them. However, I don't think Mrs. Venerable will be pleased with Adam's performance-to-date."

"It's just as well that Adam came to his senses and moved in with you at the bungalow. Those frat houses are notorious for drinking parties and not much else. As you mentioned, the main thing is to get him in the habit of studying every night."

Elizabeth skimmed down the letter further and then backed up a paragraph.

"I'm pleased that you met Mr. Fosworth. He was a good colleague of mine at Minhurst School for Ladies. His kind references to his sorrow at my leaving there however do require a little explanation on my part. It will take several letters to cover it so be patient. I do think you are old enough now to know the truth about me. After all you were only twelve when I left Minhurst under a cloud of rumors."

"One caveat, Son, is that I believe in free-will as should you. Whatever I have done, I am responsible for. Anything else I say by way of explanation should not be taken as an excuse for what I did."

"That said, my father warned me when I was about your age that the men in our line had a particular vulnerability to women who have a certain smell. He said he had been warned by his father. He wasn't talking about body odors,

per se. It's a class of chemicals called pheromones. There has been some research on this. The dictionary definition is: 'a chemical substance released by an animal that serves to influence the physiology or behavior of other members of the same species'. Those are the simple words, but even talking about the subject is complex. Somehow I doubt that a woman knowingly releases pheromones to elicit a particular reaction from a male. I suspect they do it unknowingly and who would know for sure what the response would be."

"But on the other hand, maybe the subconscious release of pheromones is intended to find a person who would be affected by it in a specific manner. Maybe or maybe not. I don't know for sure. However, this much I do know. Our family line of men have an almost irresistible oral response to some women's 'smell'. The trick, again according to my father is to recognize the smell and then run like hell. Otherwise you will end up trying to get a taste of her. And, of course, tasting a woman or a young girl can get you in trouble."

"That is enough of that dismal subject for this week. Remember that I did ask for patience. On another subject altogether,...

Your Father, Will

Elizabeth's mind was whirling. She didn't know whether she understood what was being said or not. So she wrote down the salient parts for later study, glued the envelope back down and returned it to the tray for the butler to handle.

A few days later, Elizabeth received the letter she was half way expecting from Boorum Academy. It informed her that her son had failed his first months exams in all of his classes. Well, she thought, she'd been looking for an excuse to straighten out more than one problem around here. She packed a bag and made a few plans.

Bungalow 6

Adam opened the bungalow's door wondering who was calling on them on a Saturday morning. Matt was at the library and wouldn't have knocked anyway.

"Mother, what are you doing here?"

"Why, perhaps, would be a better question. Maybe I just missed seeing your handsome face."

"How did you know where I was? I haven't written to tell you where I am living, yet."

"I found out where from the Administration office, and that you had moved out of the Frat house and into this." Elizabeth looked around the rather shabby interior of a two-room, single-level, something or other, which she would not have normally entered. "I think an explanation is in order, don't you? Maybe, you can explain why your first month's effort here has resulted in a warning letter to your parents."

"Please sit down and relax, Mother. I have a bit of explaining to do."

"Where? Which bed should I sit on? Or, maybe that lonely chair over there next to the desk?"

"Mother, please. Sit anywhere you like." Adam watched her make critical evaluations of each possibility and then sit on the big double bed. "I got the impression from father that I wouldn't have any trouble making good grades here. I think things have changed since he attended here. I was truly embarrassed to fail every little test after the first month of classes. And, I was drinking more than studying, obviously. Considering my lack of will-power, I did what I did last year. I asked for Mathew's help. I also had to get out of that Frat house. My study habits, thanks mostly to Mathew, are already improving. I can straighten out, Mother. Give me a little more time."

"Well, at least you've found a decent bed," she said, bouncing up and down on it.

"Uh, that's Matt's bed, mine is that miserable single over there. It seems that the deposit I made on the Frat house room is not refundable. That bed was all I could afford on short notice. I was too embarrassed to write home for

more money."

The door opened and both Adam and Elizabeth turned towards it. "Oh, hello, Mrs. Venerable."

"Yes. Hello, Mathew. Under the circumstances why don't you call me Elizabeth. I feel I should be thanking you for taking in my irresponsible son. And, Mathew, your hospitality is going to be further strained when you find out that I couldn't get a room at the local lodging place. I am forced to ask for lodging here."

Matt glanced around the very small room that was made even smaller by the tiny bathroom and adjacent nook used for minimal cooking. "All things considered, ah, Elizabeth, you and Adam can share the bed you are sitting on and I will take the single. Is that all right?"

"I don't feel that it is proper to increase your hardship by taking the only decent piece of furniture you have in this small bungalow. You will sleep on one side of this decent-sized bed, and I will sleep on top of the covers on the other side wrapped in the bedspread for modesty. Forcing you to sleep in that," she waved her hand vaguely in the general direction of the tiny bed Adam was sitting on, "would be unconscionable."

"If that is your wish, uh, Elizabeth?"

"It is." Turning to her son, she said, "Now, Adam, I want you to make a list of the things you need so that I can purchase them while I am here. If we can fit it in, I think the very least is a desk and chair so that you can study alongside Mathew every single night of the school week. Does that sound reasonable to you, Adam?"

"Yes, Mother."

Elizabeth unpacked her small valise. She thought she had handled that quite well. She had isolated my son as far away as possible. Now she just need to provide for Adam's weakness, booze. Then she was going to disprove Mr. Willets' silly theory once and for all so she could go back home and fire that sanctimonious pervert with a clear conscience. His dodging of responsibility had her seething. Imagine a rapist blaming the girl because she smelled too good.

It was almost completely dark inside the small bungalow, with the exception of a dim light coming in the window behind my double bed. The one small glass of wine I had with the dinner provided by Elizabeth was finally wearing off. Neither father nor I were into drink of any sort, so it had hit me quite hard. Adam, on the other hand, seemed to over-drink while his mother only had two glasses. Finally, the lights were out. I had forced myself to get into bed first and turned facing the wall so that Elizabeth would feel more comfortable. Once the lights were out, I was hoping I could relax and quickly go to sleep. I could hear Adam's sonorous snoring in his drunken state. I could also hear Elizabeth's steady breathing but couldn't tell whether she was asleep or not.