Twenty-Three
‘See what I mean, Aunt Dor?’ Verity whispered to Dorrie as they passed round slices of christening cake. With none of the usual mixed fruit available dried plums from The Orchards had been added to the cake. ‘About Finn rooting his eyes on Belle? Do you think we ought to say something to him?’
‘Not us. I’ll get your Uncle Greg to take Finn quietly aside, it will sound better coming from a man. I agree with you that there’s cause for concern. Finn could make a big fool of himself and lose Sam’s friendship. It would be a pity if trouble came here now everything has settled down nicely.’
Dorrie trotted to the end of the sitting room where Greg was in deep conversation with Denny. Discussing horse racing form, undoubtedly, Dorrie shook her head ruefully. Greg struck a handsome sight in country gentleman form. Denny was wearing his suit, his bulging mid-section straining his braces and waistband. ‘Cake, Greg? Cake, Denny? Could I have a quick word, Greg?’
‘Not now, old thing, Denny and I are on important issues. There’s not a disaster pending, is there?’
‘No, well I can see you two are discussing something important,’ Dorrie replied airily. ‘But I would like that word with you soon – old boy.’
Dorrie made it her business to watch Finn surreptitiously. Tilly Vercoe was shadowing him, transfixed by him. She obviously had a deep crush on him, and Finn was happy to chat to her, but his gaze kept straying to Belle. Belle was sitting with Eloise on her lap and tickling the baby’s chin and making her chuckle and coo. Charlie was gazing dotingly at his wife. He looked up and caught the direction of Finn’s dreamy eyes and frowned. Dorrie shot towards Finn.
‘Did I hear you’re going to do a drawing of Tilly? Why not take her out into the garden, somewhere sunny, where you’ll get a good light.’
‘Oh, yes, could you do it now please, Finn?’ Tilly trilled. ‘I have to be back on duty quite soon.’
‘Sure, let me get my things and we’ll slip outside.’
Dorrie heard the reluctance to leave the room in Finn’s reply. He ran upstairs and was soon down again and collected Tilly. ‘This way.’ As Tilly eagerly followed on his heels, Finn stopped beside Belle’s chair and, leaning over, he made a fuss of Eloise. Dorrie saw Charlie staring down, unimpressed, on Finn’s lowered head. She sighed, for to anyone’s mind Finn was unacceptably close to Belle, his cheek almost brushing her arm.
Belle was on the bed early waiting for Charlie to join her. All she was wearing was her Wings Of Love perfume. Charlie came naked into their slant-ceiling bedroom, lowering his head under the low doorway and beams, having finished in the bathroom. As he always did, he dropped his clothes and shoes to the black floorboards. Belle gazed hungrily at his muscular arms and torso, the crisp dark hairs on his chest and arms, his huge rough knowledgeable hands. She wanted him, urgently. He put his hands on the bed and came at her. She gripped his bottom lip with her teeth and pulled him to her.
‘You grow more beautiful every day,’ he murmured lustily, and he leapt on her.
In seconds they were striving with each other, almost fighting with each other, seeking to use their mouths and hands in new ways, almost unbearably exquisite ways. Love-making was like this for them sometimes when their heat and need was verging on the excruciating. They used every variation they knew and time went on and on.
If Sam were home instead of being with Jenna at By The Way he would have been disturbed by the variety of his parents’ grunts, moans, exclamations and sighs. He might have believed they would even break their bed. He certainly wouldn’t have been able to face them again without being horribly embarrassed. Belle and Charlie loved it when Sam wasn’t in the house so they could let themselves be at their wildest.
The couple finished on an earth-shattering yell. It was a while before they were able to separate and fling themselves sweaty and exhausted flat on their backs. They grasped each other’s hands.
‘Bloody hell, that was marvellous,’ Charlie got out eventually. ‘Wondrous heaven, I love you so much, Belle Lawry.’
Belle turned on her side, levered her body up a little then dropped down across Charlie’s oily chest. She murmured, ‘Glorious heaven, I love you so much too, Charlie Lawry.’
They lay still and cooled down, their heartbeats gradually slowing to normal and their breathing easing. They were sated and relaxed. Nearly every day they made love. After such a prolonged, fierce coupling they had no need, and indeed no energy, to go again.
Charlie wrapped them cosily in the covers. ‘It’s strange and disappointing that we’ve only managed to produce Sam, not as much as a sign of another baby. Does it still worry you?’
‘Not as much as before,’ Belle said, snuggling in closer to him. She loved this time after love-making when Charlie would tenderly caress and stroke her, play with her hair, kiss her with long loving pecks, and ask about the deep things she might have on her mind. ‘I used to be very jealous of Jean Vercoe so easily pushing out kid after kid, but I wasn’t that bothered when she had the twins. When Fiona Templeton had her little girl I viewed it much the same way as Dorrie did. After all, Dorrie lost her only child. As long as I’ve got you and Sam I have everything I could ever want. I’d never let anything come between us and our happiness.’
‘Me neither.’ Charlie kissed her again, on the brow, the soft place above her nose, and held her thoughtfully.
Belle knew this special routine of his, as she did his every hint of breath and his expressions. He had something on his mind concerning what she had just said, about the thing that scared her most, her family peace, happiness and togetherness. A trickle of panic rode her naked, sweat-lagged back but her desire to protect her precious family superseded the dread. She was ready like a tigress to fight for her man and her son.
‘What is it, darling?’ She spoke out of love but also as a demand, raising up above him and claiming his eyes, his beautiful greyish-blue eyes, now darkened with unrest.
‘You’ve got an admirer, darling, nothing new of course, you turn the head of every man who passes you by, but this one is different.’ His tone was serious, grave.
‘And you do the same to women. Different? What do you mean? Who is it?’
Charlie clamped her to him territorially. ‘I’m talking about Finn.’
‘Finn! Don’t be silly. He’s just a boy, just Sam’s friend. No, never.’ Belle let all the tension out of her body. This brought her femininity brushing against where Charlie was mostly a man and she wanted to make love to him, to pleasure him, to do all the work. ‘Besides, it looks like he’s getting together with little Tilly Vercoe, and his mind is always mostly on Eloise.’
‘And you. I’m not joking and I’m certainly not imagining it. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, Belle. I’d wondered about it once or twice but today in Merrivale it was unmistakable. The boy is besotted with you. It’s well past being a crush. He adores you, he looks at you as if he wants to ravish you. It shocked me, disgusted me, and I wanted to punch his face in there and then. If this isn’t nipped in the bud there could be big problems. I’ll warn the bugger off.’
‘Oh, Charlie, don’t do any such thing, promise me,’ Belle snapped, but it wasn’t Charlie she was angry with. ‘I believe you. You couldn’t be mistaken over something you’re so positive about. I don’t want you to get into trouble over a callow youth. He’s not important. He’s a newcomer, the son of a criminal and a neurotic woman, come to that. He’s not worth letting any hassle be caused to us, or Sam. You will swear to me you’ll do nothing. You nearly ended up in court over that persistent salesman back-along.’
‘I’m hardly going to lay into a boy, am I? And Finn is just a boy, although he doesn’t think so. I don’t think he’s quite wet behind the ears; he’s probably had some experience with a woman, likely a girl. I’d just take him aside and tell him his longing is inappropriate and offensive and to stay away from you, from all of us.’
‘I suppose I was a bit melodramatic but I can’t bear the thought of you being locked up away from me for even a day. And I’d hate for Finn to feel he’d made a right fool of himself, and for Fiona to be upset now things are going so well for them both. Leave this to me. I’ll speak to Finn, put him right.’
In the early hours Belle was downstairs pouring herself a large whisky. Sleep had evaded her as the facts and implications of what Charlie had told her went round and round inside her head.
‘Damn you, boy,’ she seethed under her breath. ‘You come into this village and lap up all the help people have willingly given you. I come to your house and you look at me with lust! You wretched little bastard. Who do you think you are? You’re just a lowlife nothing. How dare you look at me and imagine knowing me intimately, to want to take me away from my beloved Charlie. How could you think I could want you in that way, you’re just a brat, a spoiled brat who doesn’t acknowledge what his place is. You’re evil, a demon. Want to wreck my life, do you, Finn Templeton? Destroy my happy family, to cast Charlie and Sam into hell? Well, I hate you for that. I could kill you.’