~ Six ~
THE DAY HAD PROGRESSED, SHE would soon accomplish her goals, Sara thought with a smile that was cold and calculating. She was proud of herself. She had accomplished so very much in so little time.
She sat her horse well, her dark blue riding hat atop her yellow curls was angled fashionably. Her blue riding jacket hugged her body and her matching skirt flowed dramatically over her bay horse’s glistening body.
Two men rode toward her. She urged her horse forward to meet them. One of the two men was well known to her and when their eyes met, she smiled.
He sidled his horse up beside her own and leaned in to say, “My lady, looking lovely as ever today.”
She merely inclined her head. “I have had quite a day and am anxious to get it all sewn up right and tight,” she answered. Indeed, first she had visited with the dower Mrs. Abernathy, who had been surprised by her visit but greedy to hear the gossip. She had made a show of distress while she told her tale of woe. Sara had been clever enough to allow the widow to think going to the vicar with this information was her idea. She even demurred saying she had no wish to upset the vicar and allowed Mrs. Abernathy to insist.
The veil of Sara’s riding hat was drawn across her face, as immediately upon leaving Mrs. Abernathy she rode into town and made her way to the weathered and not quite reputable establishment known as the Cat & Fiddle.
Sara tensed as she looked around, for she did not wish to be seen. Satisfied that none of the local country gentry were about, she meandered into the tavern and drew quite a few looks her way, as it was not the sort of establishment a lady of quality frequented.
It was there that she and Colin saw one another.
She did not know who he was, but immediately had the feeling that he would be just the person to help her. Later, she would discover he knew who she was.
Even now, looking at him, she was well pleased with her choice.
He had been bold when he got up from his chair and walked over to her and said, “My lady, may I escort you to a quiet corner?”
She had inclined her head and allowed him to do so.
They sat for a moment and he said, “What do you need, my lady?”
“More than you can imagine,” she answered, flirting with her eyes and her tone.
She was well pleased at his reaction, for he sucked in air and bent in closer. “Whatever my lady needs, I am ready.”
He looked like a rugged sailor, yet he had breeding and his English was genteel. His manners were intriguing as he seemed a rogue, but was he up to what she needed him to do? He put up his hand to the tavern keeper and asked her, “Ale?”
She inclined her head, thinking, why not?
Sara asked, “What is your name?”
“Colin, and as I said, no need to tell me yours,” he answered.
The ale was delivered and he toasted her silently before taking a long swig. She sipped at hers and for a moment she felt free, wild, and young. It was as though she were seventeen, meeting Raoul on the cliffs.
Was she now about to pass the boundary of wrong into evil? Perhaps.
She knew that the vicar would banish Heather from his home. She knew him, had endured his boring conversations, and because he was dependent on her good offices for his continued presence at the vicarage.
Yes, the vicar would no doubt send his niece away, but that would not solve her problem. Godwin would follow and find her and be angrier than ever. No, she had no choice but to proceed with her most intricate plans.
“Colin, I should like to hire some men,” she whispered. “For a very special job. Discretion is utterly important.”
“I’m your man, then,” Colin answered
La, was she making a mistake? This man knew her. If she left now, she would be safe, but Heather Martin would also be safe. She couldn’t have that.
She had to go through with her plan.
The tavern keeper returned at that moment and said, “Madam…perhaps ye would like a table alone, or better yet, I can recommend another tavern more suited to the likes of ye.”
“Well, Jenkins, mayhap you don’t understand that the lady is quite comfortable here…with me.” Colin inclined his head and asked, “Aren’t you, my lady?”
“Yes, thank you…er, Jenkins,” Sara answered. What was she doing? What? She would go to hell for this? Well, hell in the afterlife was uncertain…if she didn’t do this, if she didn’t ruin Heather, she would be ruined. Easy choice.
Jenkins, the tavern owner frowned but seemed to wash his hands of the situation as he walked off and returned to ordering his barmaid about.
“Well then, my lady, how can I be of service?” Colin asked.
Sara hesitated.
Colin lowered his voice, “Is it protection you are looking to hire…for a journey? If so, my men and I are at your beck and call.”
“You say your name is Colin. That isn’t enough. Your speech is that of an educated Englishman from the north, I think, and yet you have the sea written all over you. Just who are you, Colin?” she asked quietly.
“Ah, very astute. Yes, I am from the north and I am the third son of a squire whose estates are to let. I took to the sea—the navy, and when I sold out, my love of the sea suggested there was a living to be had transporting goods to and fro.” He eyed her. “Now, what is your need of me and my men?”
“Are you saying you are a smuggler?” Sara already suspected this, but she wanted to gage his reaction.
“Aye, ye could say that we are,” Colin answered with a grin. “Bred a gentleman but born for the sea and the excitement it has provided.”
“And, of course, one must survive and a third son doesn’t always have choices,” Sara said, not because she cared, but because she was still taking stock of him.
“Exactly,” he said.
“I think I have seen you before, in the village,” she said as they exchanged a long glance at one another.
“Indeed, though we have never been properly introduced, we have on occasion passed one another here and there. I am Colin Falwell, and I would appreciate it if you would tell me what it is you need, as I would very much like to give it to you,” he said with a smirk and a slight bow of his head.
“I am not sure you are just the sort of gentleman for the job,” she started doubtfully.
“Oh, but I am exactly what you need,” he interrupted. “My crew…and I are at the moment in-between…gainful employment, and I would be happy to serve you in any manner you deem fit.”
She laughed. “Very well.” She was attracted to Colin. He brought out the flirt in her immediately. “Perhaps you may be in a position…to…er…please me.”
He grinned and reached for her gloved hand. She allowed it.
He rose from the table and pulled her along. “Let us take a stroll out back, where we can be more private and you can draw less attention.”
She rose and a thrill swept over her as he slipped his arm around her waist. He gave her a squeeze as he led her out the tavern’s back door to a small stone bench.
He saw her seated and sat beside her. “That is better, as I am certain you would not have wanted the luncheon crowd to take note of your presence.”
“Oh, no…is it that time already?” she said, momentarily distressed. She would have to hurry.
He lifted her chin and their eyes met as desire flared at his touch. She hadn’t been stirred like this in a long time. It had been months and months and then she had only a few stolen moments with one of the sturdy stable hands, which had proven inadequate to her needs.
She had come to the town of Penzance with only business in mind, but this good-looking rogue had reminded her that she was a desirable woman, and she liked the sensation it aroused.
Colin led her out the back door and through an ill-kept garden to a dirt path before he said, “Now, my lady, tell me what troubles you and how I may alleviate that trouble.”
She felt his dark eyes penetrate hers and then travel over her body. She liked him, indeed, she liked everything about him.
“Do you have men you can trust?” she asked.
“I do, my sweet, I do,” he answered.
“I shall require your services and those of your crew,” she said carefully. “You will need to work both on land and at sea.” How fitting, she thought, that Colin should have introduced himself to her. How convenient. It was as though the fates smiled on her grand plan.
“On land and sea? You intrigue me, beauty,” he answered, and pulled her in close.
Ardor flooded through her, and she swallowed before she asked, “You said you have your own vessel?”
“Aye, I most certainly do and she is a fine vessel, most capable of taking on the mysterious sea, sweetheart,” he said, and his hand moved to her breast, cupping the silk covered fullness and teasing her nipple already pert and hard beneath the material. “And a Captain’s quarters that can accommodate us should you like to…have additional privacy.”
She kissed him and he dove into that kiss. She took his tongue and felt a glorious wave of fever fill her sex as her thighs clenched.
As she pulled away, he attempted to have another kiss. She put up a finger. “First…you must hear what I require of you.”
Sara began slowly, and painstakingly telling him what she needed him and his crew to do for her and why. When she had finished, Colin Falwell stood and frowned as he studied her.
“Not our line of work, my lady,” Colin said.
That worried her and she frowned as she asked, “Have I come to the wrong man?”
“Here is the thing, my lady. My men are a good sort. Aye, we cross the sea into France and buy very fine brandy and smuggle it back to England for sale. ‘Tis, in a sense, honest work, clean and simple. A bit of rum running is our trade and proud of the fact that we do it well. No one has ever gotten hurt. But this…well, this…?” he said, and rubbed his chin.
“She deserves it. She purposely took my husband from me and then that wasn’t enough. She talked him into divorcing me.”
“Aye, I don’t hold with that. The tart should keep her place, but what you are asking?”
“Colin, if I don’t divorce him, he will have the marriage annulled and make his own blood son a bastard. What kind of man does that?”
Colin frowned. “No, I don’t hold with that either. If I agree…it will cost you.”
She smiled. “How much?”
“How much have you got to give?” he answered quietly.
“One hundred pounds and no quibbling,” she said sharply. “It is all I can get…without his lordship noticing.”
“No. I won’t take a sou below two hundred,” he replied, and reached for a lock of her golden hair. “I told you, I’m good at what I do, and that includes bargaining. If you want my men to go against the grain, there has to be enough in it for them.”
She moved in close to him. “You will take one hundred…‘tis all I have. Remember, you’ll be making a pretty guinea on the other side.” She looked up at his face and watched him as he considered this. “‘Tis all I have to give,” she said in the most seductive voice she could muster.
His hand was moved to her bodice, tearing it as he went for her breast and pulled it out of her gown. He bent and suckled and when he came up, he found her eyes closed and her face drawn in pleasure.
He said, “Is it now? Well, I know better. I’ll take two hundred, and you…right here, right now…”
She laughed, but truth was, he excited her. “You are good at what you do,” she said, and pulled out the two hundred and put it in his hands.
She watched him stow it away and asked, “Now, do you think you can handle me?”
“Hell and fire, woman, you are a diamond all right, but I can see you don’t want to be taken easy-like. So aye, I mean to handle you as you have never been handled before.” His voice was husky as he pulled up her skirts and sat on the stone bench.
She undid the button of his sailor pants and released his large hard cock before she pulled off her underclothes. Colin had his cock in his hand and asked her, “The question is, my beauty, can you handle that?”
For an answer, she went down on her knees and took his dick into her mouth. Oh, but she loved a big cock on her tongue. She sucked hard, and saw pleasure on his face.
“Easy now…” he said. “Better come on up and let me slide inside,” he said hungrily.
She climbed on board and took him roughly inside of herself, rocking him hard, slamming down on him, filling herself with his large cock.
He kissed her mouth and slid his tongue along hers. She put her head back from that kiss and said, “Did you taste yourself on my tongue, Colin?”
“Ah, you fine wench, fuck that cock harder now. Fuck!”
She did what he asked and moved in a way that touched just the right spot, and as she climaxed, she released a small scream.
He slapped his hand over her mouth and cautioned, “You’ll have them all coming out to have a share of you, and right now, I’m not sharing you with anyone.”
She said hungrily, “More…I want more…”
“And you damn well are going to get it, but if you keep moving like that, I am going to go off…and you don’t want that yet, do you?”
“Oh, but it feels so good,” she said, moving in a circular motion.
He suddenly picked her up and put her on the bench, leaned her onto her back and once again lifted her skirts. “I’m going to ram you now, beauty…and take control.”
“Yes, yes…do that!”
She gasped with pleasure as he pounded into her and experienced another shattering climax. She marveled at his stamina as he continued to slam into her for a bit until he stiffened and went off.
When he was done, he said as she started to rise, “Where are you going?”
“I…er…”
He grinned. “I’m not done yet,” he told her, and took her hand and led her to the back wall of the tavern. He set her palms on the building and pulled her by the waist into position before he lifted her skirts and rammed inside of her again.
His thrusts were unrestrained and swift as she begged for more and he growled, “More…I’ll give you more.” He pulled out and dove into her again and again as she squealed with pleasure.
All at once he heard someone approaching. They were a bit out of sight and he stilled her as he listened.
“Colin…?” a lad no more than eighteen called as he rounded the corner of the tavern and stopped in his tracks to watch.
Colin saw that it was only one of his shipmates, and a good friend as well. He grinned at him. “Say hallo to one of my men, he has a great liking for the ladies, don’t you, Jimmy?”
“Don’t stop!” Sara cried, not at all concerned about the newcomer.
“Jimmy, come over here. Look at this very fine ass. Yeah, that’s right. Now take out your dick and let our lady have a taste,” Colin said, still grinning broadly.
Jimmy was presently hot and ready. He immediately did what he was told and Sara had her first threesome.
She was in ecstasy.
Pleasuring the handsome virile young man while being pleasured was a new experience, and they brought her to her climax over and over before first the lad and then Colin were brought to theirs.
When Colin was done, he slapped her rump soundly and told her to straighten up, as they had a job to do.
Sara put herself together, put on her underclothes, all the while allowing Jimmy to suckle at her nipples. Oh, but she liked it and held his head in place. “Yes…like that,” she said as she got heated up again.
Colin laughed and pulled him off. “Later, we’ll have more, but now…we have work to get to and cash to be had.”