Part 1

Chapter 1

Caroline Bingham's mother and father had died when she was still very young and she had been brought up, thereafter, by her grandfather, a man she had seen only during school holidays, for the old gentleman had sent his granddaughter away to boarding school soon after her bereavement.

He had always been a kindly, if somewhat distant old gentleman, scrupulously careful to see to it that all her material needs were met. Her times during the holidays in his big London town house had always been happy ones. The old man had possessed a large and interesting collection of friends, all of whom had been kind to the girl, never failing to make a fuss of her when she was in residence.

She had greatly enjoyed her time at school, after a difficult first few months. When she was having a particularly bad time at the hands of a bullying pair of classmates, a more senior girl had seen her distress and taken her under her wing, leaving the two bullies somewhat the worse for wear and much too scared to bother Caroline again. The same older girl had also encouraged the shy young Caroline to come out of her shell and attend an optional class in self-defence as part of a drive to boost her self-esteem.

By the time this protectress had left, Caroline had become a strong and self-confident girl, well able to hold her own against anybody.

One day in July, when she was nearing eighteen and on the point of taking her leave of the school for good, she was called into the Principal's office.

"Sit down, Caroline" said this worthy lady. "I'm afraid I have some terrible news for you. Your Grandfather died suddenly at home last night. A Mr. Ferguson, his solicitor, is on his way here to talk to you about the future. I'm so terribly sorry for you, my dear. I understand this leaves you alone in the world"

Caroline was too numbed with the shock of this unexpected news - her grandfather had been an apparently healthy seventy-four year old - to cry at first. It was several minutes before her sense of loss hit home and then the tears started to flow. The Principal came from behind her desk and put her arm around the weeping girl's shoulders. By the time she had at least partly composed herself, Mr. Ferguson, the family lawyer, arrived.

He expressed his sympathy, in a kindly voice, as of a man well used to situations like this, and explained to her, firstly, that she was the old man's sole relative and also that he had made a Will several years ago, naming her his sole legatee. She was now an extremely wealthy young woman. He further said that he wished Caroline to come straight up to London with him, as there were arrangements to make which would her sole responsibility - starting with her late grandfather's funeral.

Chapter 2

Caroline hardly had time to feel the full extent of her loss in the days that followed and it was not until the day after the funeral (a Friday), that she felt at her lowest and most desolate. She had just returned to her grandfather's home - now hers - after a talk with her accountant - a Miss Fortescue.

Janet Fortescue was a pleasant youngish woman who had got to know a lot about the old man in the last ten years and formed a deep regard for him. As Caroline left to go back to her now empty home, Janet wished her a pleasant weekend and arranged to meet her again on Monday afternoon.

She was just settling down into her favourite easy chair, becoming all too aware of her loneliness and total inner desolation, when the phone rang. At the other end of the line was the voice of a very young woman, sensuous, lilting and with a curiously hypnotic quality.

"Hello Caroline. I'm Grace Barlow, one of your grandfather's tenants, and now yours. I think I know how you must be feeling and I'd like to help."

There was a whole world of warmth and comfort in that beautiful voice. Caroline felt at once that she must meet its owner and as soon as possible. Grace continued.

"I live on a farm in Derbyshire. Get the train to Derby, and then take a local train from there to Fordham Magna. There'll be someone to meet you there. I do look forward to seeing you. We'll have so much to talk about."

The more that amazing voice continued, the more Caroline fell under its spell. She must meet this Grace Barlow, whoever she was. Strange that nobody had mentioned her grandfather having property in that part of the country. She would certainly mention this to Janet when she met her on Monday.

"Can I come and see you tonight?"

"Please do. I'm so very glad you're coming, Caroline."

She put a few things into an overnight bag and phoned for a cab to take her to Euston. Derby station was almost deserted when she arrived there and a two carriage train was waiting in a side platform. She asked a porter if this train were going to Fordham Magna and he said that it was.

She boarded the train and fell asleep soon after it drew away. She dimly thought she heard the sound of a steam locomotive pulling the train and fell deeply asleep before the absurdity of this struck home. When she woke up they were at a standstill in a station. Caroline looked out of the window and saw that she was at Fordham Magna. She pushed open the door and carried her bag out into the forecourt. A solitary car was outside and she walked across to it.

"I'm Caroline Bingham. Are you here to meet me.?"

The driver nodded and Caroline got into the back of the old car, which immediately drove away. She was still unaccountably tired and fell asleep again. Waking up, she found that the car had stopped at a gateway. The driver turned around. She could not make out his features.

"The house is down the drive. You are expected"

This uncommunicative individual, whose face she had still not seen, then left Caroline standing at the roadside and feeling a little apprehensive. She walked through the gate, which was open, and found herself in a short, gravelled drive. The front door of the house was ajar and, after receving no reply, Caroline pushed her way inside. On the hall table was an envelope with CAROLINE written on it in large letters.

She opened the envelope and read the message inside. ' Sorry not to be here to meet you. Your room is straight ahead at the top of the stairs. See you early in the morning. Help yourself to supper. The kitchen is straight through. Grace'

Caroline found the kitchen, poured herself a glass of milk and ate a couple of bread rolls, which tasted delicious. Like nothing she had ever tasted before. Grace must bake her own bread and there was nothing processed about the milk!

Chapter 3

Caroline slipped between the sheets, after leaving her clothes folded on a bedside chair, and soon fell asleep. When she awoke, the July sun was streaming through the windows. She looked around her and took in the details of the room. There were two pictures on the wall, not reproductions, she was sure. They were paintings of woodland scenes, almost fairy tale like in their evocation of mystery. The wallpaper was a floral design, which made her feel immediately at home, since it was very similar to that in her room in her grandfather's house.

She slipped out of bed and looked around for her dressing gown. It was nowhere to be seen and neither were any of her other clothes! Since she always slept naked, she did not even have a nightgown to wear. Having established that her clothing was not in the room, she went to the bathroom and showered, in the hope that this would wake her up and clear her rather confused mind.

The next surprise was the absence of towels. Nothing to wrap around herself whatever. She began to be afraid that she had been the victim of some wicked practical joke. She was half angry and half apprehensive, but the memory of that seductive and oddly reassuring voice on the phone yesterday, calmed her fears. She knew instinctively that the owner of such a lovely voice was a person to be trusted. It was a warm morning and she decided, for the time being, against taking off one of the bed sheets to cover herself.

The house was still empty, but a meal had been laid out on the dining room table. Once again the ingredients were simple, but wholesome and strangely delicious. She decided after waiting an hour for someone to come, that she had better look around outside.

From yesterday evening, she remembered that the farm was surrounded by a wall. She would not be visible from the road. At the rear of the house, a lawn sloped gently down to a small wood. On the other side of the wood were a few fields, some wheat and some pasture in which a herd of cows was grazing.

Caroline walked across the lawn and was surprised to feel how sensualy magnificent was the feel of the grass beneath her bare feet. It was incredibly soft and gentle on her soft skin. She almost wept for the sheer joy of this contact with the Earth. A warm and gentle breeze was blowing and as it played over her exposed body, it seemed to the girl as if she were being lovingly caressed.

As soon as she reached the little wood and found herself surrounded by the trees, it was as though she had entered some other world altogether. Such a feeling of peace was about the place that she felt herself to be in some holy and magical spot. This must be what the Garden of Eden was like, she thought. Whilst she was looking about her, she heard a familiar voice - familiar since yesterday evening.

"Good morning, Caroline! I was wondering when you would make it down here. Lovely, isn't it?"

Caroline looked up to where the sound had come from, and saw a young woman, sitting with her legs astride one of the higher branches of the tree under which she was standing. She remembered stories she had read in her childhood about wood nymphs. The lady smiled at Caroline, a sweet, warm, yet half-sad smile, and climbed down with quite astonishing agility and leapt lightly down from the lowest branch on to the mossy ground beside Caroline. She placed her hands on the girl's naked shoulders and kissed her lightly on the lips.

So this is Grace Barlow, thought Caroline to herself as she took in the beautiful golden haired girl who stood before her. Grace was a little taller than Caroline and her skin was dark after many, many hours, days and weeks under the summer sun. With her evenly, deeply tanned skin and totally unmade up face, she seemed to be an integral part of the land, a child of nature. Her brown hands and equally brown bare feet looked hardened from toil and exposure - functional and yet still beautiful. She was completely naked. Caroline was to learn in due course that Grace was always naked, even in the bitterest cold of winter.

Chapter 4

"I hope you slept well, Caroline. It is a soft bed and a lovely room. How do you like my little world?"

"Beautiful. You seem to be so utterly on your own here - away from the outside world and all its cares. I almost envy you. There is a question for you, however! Where are my clothes?"

Grace laughed. "You will get them back when you leave. As my guest you won't need them, Caroline. Just enjoy being part of the rhythm of life and nature. Let yourself and your cares and troubles go away and allow your mind and soul to be healed and restored. This is why I have asked you to come here."

"Did you know my grandfather well?" she asked - rather at a loss for something to say after such a strange reply to her question.

"Years ago now, we were very close. Come along my love - there is work to be done on the farm. I have been up since before dawn. I am so happy you will be here to help. Happy for you - that is"

Grace led the wondering, although willing, Caroline through the wood and into the field of wheat, telling her that it was ready to be harvested and that the two of them would have to reap the whole field by hand. She taught Caroline how to wield a scythe and the pair set to work, getting ever hotter and dirtier as the day progressed. By the time the sun began to get lower in the sky and the heat of the day began to fade, Caroline was tired and thirsty as she had never been before. Her soft hands were covered in blisters and she was in agony, scarcely able to hold the scythe any longer. As they worked their way through the field, Grace taught her how to bind and stack the sheaves.

Just as the exhausted Caroline was ready to drop from exhaustion, Grace signalled that it was time to rest, eat and drink. She led the way back into the wood. There was a well from which Grace drew a bucket of water and it tasted cooler and cleaner than any Caroline had drunk in her life before. The two girls stretched out on the grassy and mossy ground under the shade of an ancient oak tree.

"This is a last vestige of an ancient forest that once covered all the country. I like to think that so much of Old England that has been destroyed by so-called progress has retreated into this beautiful grove and is here to give life to those who come here. I find strength and consolation whenever I walk among these trees. I am so glad they are here for you, my dear."

Caroline smiled lazily and looked at her poor hands.

"Just keep working, Caroline. Ignore the pain and in a short time your hands will be as work-hardened as mine and your feet will also grow strong and hard and be able to tread any path, no matter how rough and stony. The Earth will be yours then, just as soon as you have become Hers. Now we must get back to work, before the light is gone. After that there is milking to be done. I'll show you how - it's very easy really."

By the time all the various jobs had been done and Grace had baked tomorrow's bread in the furnace, it was almost eleven at night and Caroline was about to go up to her room when Grace stopped her with a hand gently and very firmly applied to her arm.

"You don't want to sleep up there! I never do unless it is very cold. Come with me, sweetheart."

Chapter 5

Grace took Caroline's hand and led her across the lawn, now shrouded in darkness, and into the wood. She motioned her guest to lie down on the soft ground under the tree in whose shade they had rested earlier. Grace lay down next to Caroline and put an arm around her.

"I love to sleep here, where so many kind spirits are watching over me. Sleep well, my darling."

With the sultriness of the summer night and the warmth of the girl next to her, Caroline was soon lulled into sleep. It was not yet light when Grace woke her up, beautifully, by kissing her lovingly on the mouth.