The Abbey Farm Curse. Ch. 13.

The Abbey Farm Curse

Chapter Thirteen.

For some reason to do with allowing concrete to 'go off' that I never did quite figure out, the builders weren't able to start back laying drainpipes until after lunch. But as it happened that suited us, because none of us were in a real hurry to get up and get dressed on that Wednesday morning. We lay together in an untidy heap of limbs and bodies and exchanged the occasional soft kiss between gentle caresses. It was nice, but just as when we went to bed the evening before it wasn't really sexy, just affectionate. We all touched and stroked each other's backs or legs and so on, but nowhere intimate or sexual. It seemed strange how the urge to have full on sex seemed to have deserted us, although thinking back there were a couple of possible reasons either or both of which could have played a part. There was the all pervasive influence of the house and the force behind it. It seemed able to turn us on and off at will and if it didn't want us to feel randy, then we simply wouldn't feel randy. The other reason was that we all quietly recognized our time of happy-go-lucky sex was pretty much over, perhaps because we had discovered what was causing us to feel that way, or perhaps because Rhys was coming to stay.

That might sound strange, but we had an instinctive aversion to involving another person in our problems and making them more complicated than they already were. We had no real idea how Rhys might react to finding us screwing each other like mad for one thing, and anyway he was an innocent in the ways of the abbey and we'd prefer him to stay that way if possible, even though it was an unlikely option. The net result was that we spent longer in bed than we should have, just cuddling close and feeling at ease with each other. It was probably the last morning we'd get the chance and we made the most of it, until eventually Angie reminded us she had a dentist to go and see soon as well as my brother to collect and so we had to get up. We had a strange lazy naked breakfast, taking our time at it and chatting candidly about some of the things we had seen and done together since we arrived here. It was very much along the lines of our night sleeping together, very open and natural and completely without embarrassment. I wondered to myself if this was down to the abbey or to genuine closeness, and hoped it was the latter. What did surprise me was the fact that none of us raised the issue of resolving the problems we'd encountered. Finally Angie had to go, and after having a quick shower and extracting a promise to have a bedroom ready for Rhys when she brought him back, she left Willow and I still lounging about. It wasn't until about a half hour later that Willow stirred herself and the day began.

'I'm going for my shower,' she announced, 'then I'll get the room ready for Rhys while you have yours, if that's ok?'

'Don't you need a hand with the bedroom?'

'There's really only the bed to be made up, and I think I can manage that.'

I watched her pert little backside sway out of the room and sat down again for a final breakfast coffee, wondering what Rhys would make of the sight.

'Bathroom's clear!' Willow's voice rang out a short while later and I dragged myself reluctantly across the landing. But it's strange how a shower and a shave can transform how you feel, and by the time I'd towelled myself dry I was pretty much human and able to face the day, in fact I'd almost reached the point of whistling as I put my shaving things back on the shelf. A quick pee and I figured I'd get dressed and give the work schedule a check before Rhys arrived. At least then I'd be able to give him an accurate picture of the building progress.

I'd planted myself square in front of the toilet and taken myself in hand, as they say, when I heard the bathroom door open.

'Hang on a minute,' I called out.

The door closed again and I sighed as my pent up flow was released. It is always a beautiful feeling for a man when he begins to pee and so, with head back and eyes closed, I gave myself to the sensation. Perhaps that's why I was so surprised when a delicate little hand reached around from behind me and grasped a hold of my shaft above my own grip.

'What the...?'

It wasn't so much a question as an expression of pure shock.

'Do you want the good news or the really good news?'

Willow's voice breathed sexily into my ear as her still naked body pressed up behind me, little nipples hard against my skin. What could I say? When you start to pee you have to carry on and so she had me at a disadvantage.

'Both.'

'The good news is that I feel as horny as hell, and I don't think it's the house talking.'

She ran her hand along to gently but determinedly dislodge my fingers from my cock. I let my hands fall to my side, but then, thinking about it, I reached backwards and held her to me.

'And the really good news?'

'I've got some condoms!'

'You mean...?' I stumbled over the words I was so excitedly surprised at what she was implying.

'Will you take me to bed?'

All through this surreal conversation Willow was stroking my cock as if to milk my pee from it, and all the time I was spraying in the general direction of the toilet. Fortunately, as she asked that last question I was down to those last couple of spurts that we all tend to squeeze out and so when I instinctively and happily turned around to face her there wasn't much left to miss the bowl with. Even so I did scatter a few drops over the front of her thigh, much to my embarrassment and her amusement.

'You mean...?' I repeated.

She smiled at my apparent confusion. 'I can fancy a man, you know, even if do I like women. And right now I want you.'

I still didn't move and I must have looked taken aback, because she went on.

'I fancied it with you before, but I wasn't safe and we didn't have any condoms.'

'But...' I didn't know what to say.

'Now I have, Angie got them for me.' She had taken my spluttered 'but' as a question instead of what it really was, an acknowledgment of my confusion.

'So she knows what we're doing?'

'Yes.'

'You planned it between you?'

'Sort of.' Willow giggled. 'We decided, well Angie decided, that as were all affected by this place then we all should share in the fun too.'

I continued to stare at her bewildered, although my cock was stirring once more at the prospect. I think what was bothering me was the complete reversal of the way she was feeling earlier. Gone was the affectionate and friendly Willow, replaced by a young woman intent on fulfilling suddenly irresistible needs. Was she acting in accordance with her own wishes, released from the strictures of a long ago curse, or was she still under its influence and would regret it later.

'Don't make me plead,' she said quietly. 'It seems an awful long time since I made love with a man. I've fancied you ever since we got here, but with what has happened I wasn't sure until last night that it was actually me wanting you. Even now I'm not completely sure, but if the house is helping things along a bit, then so what?'

I knew then that she meant it and wasn't reacting just to the stimulus of her surroundings. Naked, I walked across to her, scooped her up in my arms, carried her through to her own bedroom and deposited her gently onto the bed, rolling her over onto her stomach and gazing down at her slender form as I did so. Willow is different from either June or Angie, or most of the women I've ever come across for that matter. June is a mature woman, slim and fit, but with all the supple curves of a woman in her gorgeous prime, while Angie, although even slightly bigger breasted and softer bodied than June, is still a girl, a beautiful sexy girl, but a girl nonetheless, and her softness carries with it the vestiges of youthful plumpness. But Willow is tall, long legged and as coltishly slim as her name might suggest. She would probably have been gangly as a girl, but now, as a young woman, she was lovely and her long slender legs and taut firm bottom held my gaze for long seconds until she made to roll onto her back.

'No, stay on your front for a while.' I told her, pushing her gently back down. She looked puzzled but did as she was told.

I've no idea where the idea came from, but there was something I wanted to do, a silly something that was suddenly imperative. I leaned over with one knee on the bed and kissed her very gently in the centre of each cheek of her bottom. She let out a soft murmur of contented enjoyment after each one and relaxed her head onto folded arms, mutely encouraging me to repeat my kisses. Still half kneeling and leaning over her I kissed her bottom again, and again, and then trailed a series of kisses up her back until my lips were on her neck and she was sighing with pleasure.

I leaned over a little further to kiss her ears and nuzzle the side of her neck, until finally she wriggled over onto her back and pulled my mouth down to hers.

'You randy bastard,' she whispered with a smile when our mouths finally parted, 'I was already hot without you doing that.'

It was a tongue in cheek and affectionate rebuke, one intended to let me know how much she'd enjoyed my attentions but at the same time telling me to get on with things. I kissed her again, my tongue probing her mouth as I gently laid myself down on top of her and wriggled myself between her legs.

'Wait a minute please Gary.'

She leaned out of bed to reach into her bedside drawer and then looked back at me with a smile on her face and a condom in her hand. I smiled too, especially when she tore open the packet and then rolled the rubber over my cock. If ever consent to sex is needed, then surely the act of fitting a condom confirms it.

She wriggled back and spread her legs wide for me. 'Do it to me, Gary.'

That was all she said, but her arousal and her need were clear in her voice and it was all she needed to say. I reached back and guided my cock to her pussy, finding her wetness and sliding deep inside her as she let out a groan of pure happiness. It wasn't romantic sex, but nor was it selfish itch-relieving shagging. It was warm and satisfying lovemaking between two people who liked each other, an act of simple mutual pleasure. She wrapped those long slender legs around me and held me tightly as I moved within her, murmuring into my ear how it felt and how good it was.

For myself I lay on top of her thrusting firmly and deeply into her pussy, slowly building up speed and power, but without ever driving hard at her in a way that might cause discomfort. Willow came before me, digging her fingers into my back and biting none too gently on my ear as her orgasm rolled through her. She was strangely quiet and undemonstrative, but that didn't detract from the obvious intensity of her climax as the furrows in my flesh will testify. Then, when my climax arrived she clung to me, whispering softly how fantastic it felt as my cum spurted into the rubber. It was a remarkable act, as tender and meaningful as between lovers, but without the overriding need to make things right that romantic love carries with it. I can't remember when I last enjoyed such honest sex as that between Willow and myself. Even the times with June had not been quite as straightforward, and I hated to have to admit that.

'Ok, so what happened there then?' I asked her as we lay side by side afterwards, holding hands and getting our breath back.

'I fancied you,' she answered candidly before continuing, 'I suppose I got fed up with this damn building arranging everybody's sex life and I decided that I wanted to have someone because I wanted them, not because a heap of bricks wanted me to want them.'

I knew what she was driving at, but... 'So how do you know it was really you that picked me?'

She rolled on her side to face me. 'Because I've fancied you ever since I left college, but I had Bernie and I thought I was pretty much all into girls. It wasn't until she buggered off that I realised I still liked men almost as much as women, and you in particular. Then a few nights ago when Angie was telling me how good you are in bed I decided I wanted you before the damn house interfered between us.'

I was embarrassed by the compliment and didn't know what to say, except. 'Thank you, you're sweet.' My arm went around her shoulders and I rolled her to me so I could kiss her properly, and this time very lovingly.

'Don't worry,' she said, as we pulled apart, 'I can see how it is with you and June, and I won't muddy the waters.' She smiled, her eyes sparkling with fun. 'But I wouldn't say no to a threesome with the pair of you if it was ever on offer.'

I chuckled at the thought, but I must admit the idea appealed more than it should have, and that magnified the little spark of regret that I was feeling. I could sort of justify my times with Angie because it seemed to be necessary, but with Willow it had been pure amusement and now I felt guilty. 'Now that really is the house talking.' I told her, wanting to stop that conversation going any further.

'C'mon,' she said abruptly, standing up and looking too damn sexy. 'We'd better get ready to welcome the returning warrior.'

I'd almost forgotten that Angie was collecting Rhys from the station and I glanced at the clock with alarm, but we were in plenty of time. By the time Angie's mini spun serenely into the yard we'd tidied ourselves and the place up, and made it look as though we'd been watching the television for hours. We had, it seemed, already instinctively made up our minds not to tell Angie about our time together even though she already knew it had been on the cards.

When Rhys climbed out of the tiny car I was stunned at the change in him. The last time I'd seen him had been a couple of years ago, before he went on active duty to the Middle East, and those two years had changed him quite a lot. He had always been a little bigger than me, both in height and build, but whereas previously he had been rather chunky, carrying a little extra roundness, but now he was built like the proverbial brick outhouse, broad shouldered and solid muscle. He looked every inch the Sergeant of Royal Engineers that the army had made of him. The only things that hadn't changed were the brooding looks.

'Now then, Gazza. Do I hear that you've been dipping your wick where you shouldn't?'

I must have gone white because I felt the blood drain from my face. It wasn't quite the greeting I'd expected, and for a moment I thought Angie had been saying more than she should. But then I realised to my intense relief that he was referring to the teaching assistant I had been caught playing around with and the subsequent breakdown of my marriage. I'd quite forgotten that I'd not seen him since then.

'Well, you know how it is,' I told him noncommittally, watching in some awe as he effortlessly hefted his bags from the back seat and ambled over without so much as a backward glance to a scowling Angie.

'C'mon then, show me where I can dump these while the girls make the coffees, and then you can give me the guided tour.'

He transferred both bags to one hand and draped the other arm around my shoulder, leading me towards the door.

'So, how are things?' he asked me, 'and what's this old mausoleum like?'

'Things are fine, and this 'old mausoleum' has the potential to be a really nice house.'

I wasn't all that impressed with his words and I felt a frown flit across my face as I answered. It was strange how I found myself instantly leaping to the abbey's defence.

'All right, I didn't mean it like that.' He grinned at my irritation.

'Mind you,' I told him as we climbed the stairs, 'the place does have its peculiarities.'

'Yes, Angie was trying to tell me some bollocks about it being haunted,' Rhys laughed, 'I told her to save those tales for Halloween.'

'Well, I don't think haunted is quite the right word...'

I didn't get the chance to finish the sentence before my brother cut in.

'Well whatever. It's all a load of crap anyway. Ghosts for fucks sake!'

Obviously a spell in the army hadn't given him an open mind, just an open mouth. I decided to say no more and let him find out for himself. It was already becoming obvious that he was not going to be the supportive brother that I'd half taken for granted.

'Jesus. That's one hell of a fireplace.'

He had been brought to a halt by the twin to the white marble horror that so dominated my bedroom.

'Don't worry,' I told him a little acidly. 'You won't notice it with the light out.'

'Perhaps that's your ghost, Gazza. Maybe it glows in the dark.'

'Ha fucking ha.'

'How was Afghanistan?' I asked him, trying to change the subject.

'Hot! And I mean hot in both senses of the word. We've lost some good men out there.'

We chatted a bit about the conditions he'd endured while I sat on the bed and watched him putting his things away. It's said you can always tell a man whose served in the forces by the way he does day to day tasks, and I can believe it. Even the way Rhys put his clothes away had a military air about it, lining them up in the drawers in exactly straight lines. I was fascinated by his habitual precision. After he'd finished I showed him the bathroom, indicating which bedroom belonged to who as we walked past them, before taking him across the stairs to the kitchen and living room, if such they could be called, and showing him the breath-taking view from the window seat.

'Whoever put this window here knew what he was doing.' Rhys was captivated by the countryside laid out below us. 'When all you've seen for a while is the browns of a hot climate then you really appreciate England with all its different greens -- no matter what the weather's like.'

So, he did still have a soft side after all.

'You can show me round after we've had a coffee, if that's all right?'

'Yeah, fine.'

Better me than the girls, considering the influences at large here.

We made our way into the living room where Angie and Willow were waiting, and the three of us tried to fill him in on what was being done to the farm, how far we'd got and what needed doing next. With his background in engineering Rhys was very interested in the proposed machinery, but the architectural changes seemed to leave him cold, and he showed no curiosity whatever with the history of the place. We might have been brothers but we shared almost no interests. Eventually he got up to visit the loo before we looked around outside.

Before I could follow him Angie grasped my arm to hold me back.

'I don't remember Rhys being such an ignorant bastard, do you?' She asked.

'I suppose he's always been a bit abrupt, but no, not really.'

'Well, he is now. Do you know how he greeted me after I'd waited for his train that was twenty minutes late?'

'No, how?'

She did a pretty good imitation of his voice. 'Better get a wriggle on, you've got some time to make up.'

'Ah, so that's what was getting to you when you arrived back.'

'Wouldn't it you? And that's all he said to me apart from telling me -- telling mind, not asking -- to stop at the paper shop in the village. Who does he think he is, and who does he think I am, one of his fucking squaddies?'

She was getting more irate by the second, so I tried to mollify her.

'You've got to remember what he's been through, Angie. It was only last week when he was in a country where half the population wanted him dead and the other half didn't care one way or the other so long as he went away.'

'I can fucking well understand why!'

Just then I heard the toilet flush, so I shot out of the door in order intercept Rhys and guide him down the stairs before the two of them got into a row. Luckily, as I did so, a builder's truck belonging to the firm doing the drains pulled into the yard, and the discontent was diverted. Conferring with the workmen as to what was being done next gave me the chance to introduce my brother and to bring him up to date with what was happening at the same time. Fortunately the man in charge was only too willing to go over the details with Rhys and save me the potential embarrassment of getting it wrong before my more technically minded brother. He was much better at fielding questions than I would ever be and Rhys was much better at asking them. I'm only too willing to admit that listening to the conversation taught me one or two things about the job I hadn't known, and I'm supposed to be the project manager. So my blushes were saved and Rhys seemed impressed.

'Looks like you've got things under control out here anyway, Gazza.'

'Wait until tomorrow before you say that, the building inspector is due round to check on the work that's been done so far. If he says okay, then on Monday they'll start replastering, and that could be fun in itself.'

'Go on! Why? What's wrong with the replastering, it's a straightforward job isn't it?'

'Oh, it's not the job; it's the men doing it. That particular crew and I haven't always seen eye to eye.'

I told him about the incident when I made them take all their damp-proofing things out again and then knock properly before being let in again, and had him howling with laughter.

'I can picture you doing it,' he told me between guffaws, 'that was the teacher in you coming out. Did you put them in detention as well?'

His slap on the back nearly sent me sprawling and he was still bursting out with little chuckles all the time I was showing him where the livestock would be housed and the greenhouses erected. It was only the proposed self-regulating mechanism for opening and closing the greenhouse vents that finally drew his attention fully to what he was looking at.

'Have you taken the prevailing wind direction into account?' He asked.

Happily I'd thought of that one.

Eventually, the mechanics of the transformation explained I took him on a tour of the land, showing him everything from the holes that would eventually become fishponds to the remains of the abbey itself -- carefully not taking him into the ruins of the church.

He was able to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the landscape and even of the ruins themselves, but of their history and what they represented he was totally indifferent. I thought it a shame really, because by being so unromantic I believed he was missing out on so much. I mean, we are the direct product of our history, aren't we?

Whilst we were in the abbey I tried once more to broach the subject of the supernatural, only to be well and truly rebuffed.

'Look,' he told me bluntly, 'I'm not superstitious, I don't believe in ghosts and I think when you're dead, you're bloody well dead and that's all there is to it. So stop trying to scare me with tales from the crypt, because it won't work.'

'I didn't say anything about ghosts,' I pointed out, 'all I was doing was making you aware that this place can sometimes have a weird effect on people'

'Then let me make you aware that the only effect you're having is to piss me off.'

That put me in my place. I wondered if there had been some incident that I wasn't aware of that had made him so antagonistic to anything smelling of the supernatural. Perhaps I should have known better than say anything, after all I did say I'd let him find out the hard way. But it meant I could now be certain that however the problems with the house were to be solved, it would have to be without his cooperation. We could have done with his input, but we were obviously not going to get it. His attitude pretty much ended the grand tour on the spot and we walked back to the house in silence, and even the girls noticed the strain in the atmosphere between us. Angie managed to get me on my own after a while and asked me what was wrong.

'Let's say you were right about Rhys being an ignorant sod, and don't count on him for any help sorting our problems out.'

'Shit!'

That one word said it all.

We'd booked a table at the Grey Goose for a welcome home meal for Rhys that evening, so I made the effort and resumed diplomatic relations. But it wasn't easy, I was still smarting from his rebuke and still badly disappointed at his manner. In the end a glass or two of wine mended the fences between us and the meal past off successfully. Rhys regaled us with tales of the sillier side of army life and had us all roaring with laughter, picturing the mishaps and misunderstandings he portrayed. He might not have been a very sensitive person, but he was a good storyteller. He even had the taxi driver laughing as we were driven home. I did notice though, that he had automatically climbed into the front seat beside the driver and left the three of us to squeeze into the back. But then, he was physically the biggest, so perhaps it made sense.

I was the last out of the cab, having had to pay the driver, and Rhys had hung back a little for me, leaving the girls to go before us. Then, as we followed them up the stairs he leaned towards me and made a comment that stopped me in my tracks.

'You know what, Gaz? Angie has turned out a very sexy looking bit of stuff. I bet she'd make a damn good shag.'

'Careful, Rhys!' I warned him, startled by the obvious effect of the abbey suddenly showing through.

'Don't pretend to look so shocked,' he whispered conspiratorially, 'I bet you've fancied screwing her, if you haven't actually had a bit already.'

I hoped the coarseness was down to the alcohol, but I had a horrible feeling it wasn't and that the way he's asked the question betrayed serious intent.

'Now that's a fucking stupid question, isn't it? Even if I had, I'd hardly admit it, would I? Can you imagine what Ma would say?' It wasn't the best of answers, but in the circumstances it was the best I could come up with. He gave a short barking laugh that could have meant anything, and things were left at that. I figured I'd better warn Angie that the house was at work already, but when I finally got the chance to get her on her own she simply raised her eyebrows.

'Tell me something I don't know,' she responded. 'He had his hand on my backside in the kitchen just now.'

'What are you going to do about it?' I asked her.

'Whatever the house wants me to I suppose.'

What else was there to do?

The remainder of the evening turned out to be quite convivial, a couple more drinks and a game of cards, a game that I was surprised to find nobody wanting to change into strip poker, and then finally off to bed. I settled in my bed with the day running through my mind. I was saddened and a little annoyed that Rhys wasn't more receptive to the idea that Abbey Farm might have paranormal influences at work. In fact his absolute refusal to so much as listen to the idea seemed uncharacteristically abrupt, even for him. Never mind, that was the downside of the day, but on the upside was the unexpected fun I'd had in bed with Willow that morning. That was something I really hadn't anticipated and the memory sent a nice warm feeling running through my crotch.

I lay there for a while thinking of the times I'd spent with the two girls, and while I did that my hand slid down to grasp my hardening shaft and slide playfully along its length. Then as the thoughts passed through my head I lay gently wanking, not because I had any urgent need or even wish to come, but because the pleasant feeling supplemented the pleasant thoughts I was having. In fact I was well along the peaceful road to sleep when I heard a noise in the corridor outside.

The noise I had heard was the catch of the bedroom door opposite, the one Rhys had taken. Of course he could have been heading for the bathroom, but I instinctively doubted it and I lay there silent and still, my ears pricked up for the next expected sound. Sure enough, the next thing I heard was the door to Angie's bedroom quietly opening and her muffled but obviously surprised voice saying his name. I lay for a while unsuccessfully listening to their muted conversation before the sounds took on a different but very familiar note. I was listening to my Rhys having sex with Angie. I was neither shocked nor jealous, after all I done the same thing several times myself and I knew it was down to the building rather than to the people involved, but nor was I turned on by the sounds. Bizarrely it was only something that was happening next door, and even when Angie's voice cried out in orgasm I didn't react as I might have expected.

In fact the only reaction was when shortly afterwards I heard Rhys climax as well, and then I smiled to myself in quiet satisfaction, wondering which he would prefer to admit; the supernatural effect of the house or the more natural urge that took him into Angie's bedroom. Sleep was almost instantaneous after that.