Chapter 2: A Brief Illness

When we arrived at the train station to begin our return home, I had a slight case of sniffles; by the time we had returned to the estate I had a most pronounced cold. I immediately retired to bed in the hope that I would be feeling better in the morn. This was not to be. Over the next several days my condition worsened to the point that James summoned the doctor from town, who promptly pronounced that I was suffering from the influenza. I was constrained to a strict bed rest with visitors limited to James and Siobhan, my erstwhile nursemaids. Furthermore, my bedroom was to be considered something of a quarantine zone, and my keepers were ordered into hospital masks to protect them from the contagion.

In truth, I could not care less; I felt horribly miserable. I was feverish, nauseous, congested, sweaty, chilled, and unbearably weak. James and Siobhan tended to my needs heroically, much as the three of us had done for Ahkbar Singh the previous fall, but it was several weeks before I began to feel human again, let alone healthy. James insisted that I stay in his rooms rather than shuffling me back to mine, which I suggested, saying that I was soon to be his wife, and that he would need all the practice in caring for me possible. He joked that at some future time I would be in these same straits again once I was with child, as I had promised him I would be bearing him six sons. I could but groan at the thought and swore to him that if childbirth ever felt like this, he would never see a second child. He laughed uproariously at this, which only made me feel worse.

Eventually, after almost two weeks, I felt well enough to rise from my sickbed and bathe myself with the help of a few of the maids. Jenny and Bessie fed me some broth and bread, which was practically the first solid food I had had and helped me into a clean shift. Then, as I attempted to help, they cleaned our rooms thoroughly and replaced our bed linens. James wanted to supervise closely as I began to feel better, but we all shooed him out, and he left with some trepidation but also with considerable relief at my improved demeanor. I rested a few hours more, then had some more broth and another bath, before finally changing into a night dress. I returned to bed feeling very much better, though still rather weak.

James returned to find me resting quietly, and I awoke as he looked down at me. It felt so good to see his smiling face without the awful mask across his noble features. “Darling”, I commented, “you look almost as bad as I do!”

“I have never been so scared in all my life!” he exclaimed. “It was almost beyond bearing to see you lying so ... so ... helpless!” He knelt by the bedside and wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his embrace. “If you had, if you had...”

I pulled away from my love gently and placed my hands to his tear wracked face, cupping it as I kissed him tenderly. “James, I shall be fine. You would think that I was suffering from the Black Death the way you are behaving! Now, go wash up and come to bed, you must be exhausted.”

James smiled and nodded silently, and as he left the room I smiled speculatively as well. It had been several weeks now since my illness had precluded our lovemaking, and though weakened, I felt that James would be able to provide me with a tonic beyond price, a thick and creamy ointment which when applied deeply would leave both the patient and the doctor feeling much better. Since my illness had begun, both he and Siobhan had been in attendance without stop, and James had taken to coming to bed dressed in his trousers and a dressing gown, ready to bolt from the room to satisfy any need.

I slipped my shift off and pushed it under the bed and out of sight, then crawled back under the sheets, pulling the covers to my neck. Upon his return, James had no idea that I was lying in wait for him, naked and desirous of his touch. He seemed rather hesitant, but decided that I was still ill, so he lay down upon the covers next to me, still dressed in trousers and robe, then leaned over to kiss me gently. However, as he pulled away to turn and douse the light, I said, “James, leave the light on, please.”

“Eh, not tired dear? Hungry, thirsty? Shall I get something?” he replied in a nervous voice.

“Yes James, I am hungry, but not for food. Why don’t you climb into bed, and not onto it?”

James’ eyes widened at this, and a small smile came to his face. “Caroline? Are you sure?”

“Assuredly, love. Please, it has been weeks since you have touched me, and that would be the finest and final medicine I wish.” I tossed aside the covers and exposed my naked form to him, then feeling the chill air, yanked them back around me. “Now, get undressed and get in here, before I get too chilly and put on something long and flannel!”

“Hah!” he cried joyously, then hopped up and stripped himself in moments, then slipped into bed with me. We cuddled briefly as he warmed my flesh by rubbing his hands across every inch of me. I moaned and cried out at this long overdue attention, then whispered that I was more than ready for his most intimate affection. Still, he desisted, touching me most passionately and kissing and nibbling upon my boobies and nipples, rousing me to ever higher peaks of delight. I was forced to practically drag him bodily atop me, then spent immediately as he lowered himself into me. He moved against me with an exquisite slowness, holding me as if I was a China doll that he feared to break, and his movements, rubbing the length of his cock against my quim so, drove me mad with pleasure. By the time he gasped and spent himself, pouring his seed into my cunny, I was little more than a limp rag, thoroughly sated and exhausted by pleasure. We slept naked in each other’s arms that night, as was our wont, he lying on his back gently snoring, one arm around me clasping me to his breast, and I lay with an arm draped across his chest and a leg draped across his loins.

The next day I slept late, and when I awakened in the late morning, I felt better than I had for weeks. My maids, Jenny and Bessie, informed me that James had left the house for business in town, and had seemed to be in a very pleasant state of mind. They grinned at this since the condition of the bed indicated the exact cause of such a mood. I grinned and told them of our previous night, not breaking any confidences or being indiscreet, since in the days prior to our engagement James had enjoyed their company in the most intimate of manners as well.

We did not expect my beloved to return until mid-afternoon, so Siobhan joined us, and we prepared for that moment. First and foremost, I ate an enormous breakfast, the first real food I had had since our return, and I devoured it. I had lost some weight, and at my size, that is not a good proposition! Next, a tub was filled, and I enjoyed a most complete bath. Siobhan and the others doffed their clothing as well since this was a most intimate and sybaritic pleasure. I was not content with simply bathing; no, I thoroughly scrubbed every inch and washed and combed my hair until it glistened. The ladies assisted me in shaving as well, it being a particularly interesting habit of the household that the women shaved, not only their legs, but under their arms and their most private parts also, so that they had no hair below the neck! This had been initially presented to me as a matter of hygiene, and well it might have been, but I had also learned that it served to excite my beloved immensely, and such excitement translated directly into ever greater peaks of passion for me as well. Finally, I had Siobhan prepare a small India rubber bottle of soapy water and a tube and plug; although I had little within me, an enema cleaned out the last recesses of my body and prepared me for any eventuality.