Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:54:08 +0200
From: Amy Redek <adultreading@gmail.com>
Subject: The Countess of Lark. Part Six.

      This story is for persons of eighteen years or over.  All comments,
good or bad, are welcome and all will be answered.

      Part Six

     We were soon at Malcolm's home in Mayfair and we went on into the
lounge where Rose had just put some champagne in an ice bucket. There was
also a bowl of fresh strawberries which were just begging to be dipped in
the champagne and eaten. The champagne bottle has just been finished when
Michael announced that dinner was ready and Malcolm thanked him and took my
hand and led me out into the garden to where the gazebo was.

     It was small inside with a table set in the middle, laid out with
cutlery, glasses, napkins and two lit candles, these giving the only
light. Though I could see that the gazebo also contained a glass fronted
cabinet that held various bottles of drink and glasses as we were sat down
by Michael. Who then opened a bottle of Riesling and filled our glasses and
placed the bottle in a wine cooler before leaving us. The wine was lovely
and refreshingly cool and yet not too cold.

     Michael returned pushing a dumb waiter and served us with a lovely
fillet of Sole as our entrée and this was followed up with Steak Diane,
flambéed by himself as we watched. To drink with this, we had a deep rich
Bordeaux claret which complimented the dish served.

     The whole meal was better than any I'd ever had from a restaurant or
hotel, and told Michael this which I think pleased him. We had a brandy
with our coffee and what with drinking a bottle of champagne and two of
wine between us, I was feeling rather tipsy when we finished.

     I was glad of Malcolm's support as we went upstairs after that
wonderful meal and gave him a long loving kiss when we were alone in his
bedroom. He then undressed me, slowly, and just as slow, kissed nearly all
the flesh that he exposed in doing so till I was completely naked. I
returned the compliment though taking longer over kissing and nibbling at
his penis that was now up and hard as iron.

     He pulled me up from going too far and scooped me up into his arms and
carried me over to the bed and laid me down before getting on alongside and
kissed me. First my forehead, eyelids, nose, lips, chin and down onto my
breasts. Sucking and nibbling at my nipples with them having risen up hard
as little nuts.

     Moving down over my stomach, forcing my legs apart with his body as he
carried on further down. He didn't reach my knees or feet, but stayed with
his head between my thighs as he licked and nibbled my clit with odd
excursions into my vagina with his tongue. I couldn't take any more as I
wanted him inside me, and not with his tongue.

     `Now Malcolm, now! I'm almost there and I'd rather you be there with
me when I ...' I couldn't finish saying it for I was shaking all over,
needing his hard prick up inside me, to bring me to the approaching
orgasm. He moved up my body and I felt his cock sliding up the inside of my
thigh and then he was there! The head of his cock parted my lips easily due
to the juices he'd caused and slipped up into and filling me with a great
hard pleasurable piece of flesh.

     Not only that, but to have the body of a man back on top of me,
squashing my breasts with his chest and having his pulsating organ once
again up inside me. He kissed me, his eyes sparkling as I'm sure mine were
too as he twitched himself inside me and I responded with my internal
muscles.

     After raising himself up onto his elbows, it didn't take him long in
his slow shafting of me to bring me back up to the peak of my
orgasm. Making me give out a small scream as I bucked my lower torso up to
meet his forward and downward thrusts into me, causing a maelstrom of my
insides and making my heart almost burst with the pleasure of my
release. That he came too at the same time went un-noticed by me, as I was
much too involved in my own joy of my orgasmic release.

     I'm glad that I didn't get a cramp in my legs for my heels were locked
together over his waist and my arms had pulled his upper body down onto
mine, that we were almost glued together with the sweat that we'd managed
to produce between us in those few short minutes of our fucking.

     I'm glad we hadn't had garlic with our dinner, for I got a lot of his
hot breath fanning my cheek as we both panted from our exertions, striving
to get more oxygen into our lungs to calm down the wild heartbeats that we
both had. The release of my orgasm was enough to make all my limbs slacken
off and my heels came off his waist and my legs flopped down either side of
him as did my arms, to lay there under him like a rag doll. A well and
truly fucked rag doll at that.

     It pleased me that he was not far off the same state that I was in for
I still had his slow, but pulsating cock up inside me, and it was another
couple of minutes before he gave out a groan and began to pull out of me. I
gave out a cry as I felt him begin to slip out, trying in vain to hold and
keep him there, but out he slipped leaving me with that empty feeling that
I hated. A feeling short lived for as he was rolling off me to lie on his
back, I was already moving myself to go down and take his still throbbing
organ into my mouth to suck out any residue still within him.

     I think, and I'm blaming the wine for this, that I fell asleep during
my cleaning up process of him, for I came awake later with my head on his
stomach, him lightly snoring, to see his flaccid penis in front of my
eyes. Well two really, for I was that close that I must have had crossed
eyes to see two of them there.

     I took the one on the right and pushed it into my mouth and sucked and
chewed on him, bringing him out of his sleep for him to respond to what I
was doing and within a few minutes of having him in my mouth, felt him rise
up again until I had, once again, a large throbbing cock that I wanted back
up inside of me.

     I moved up the bed and swung my right leg over his thighs and moved
forward until I was just over his stomach. Lifting myself up on my knees,
put one hand under myself and held his erection upright until I'd got it at
the entrance to my sex before sinking down on him till I was then squatting
on his thighs, his organ pulsating and throbbing once more where I loved
having it.

     I sighed with pleasure at feeling him vibrate and send all my inside
nerve ends aquiver and responded by making my muscles clench and release,
clench and release that lovely cock that was making me so happy. He
compounded this by sliding up at me as his hands came up to mould my
breasts as he mouthed me a kiss, his eyes showing that he was still not
quite awake.

     So as he squeezed and rubbed my tits, making the nipples stand up
proud, I moved myself up and down and fucked myself on his lovely
cock. With him not being fully awake when I had began this session, we were
on a par when he was reaching his peak and I had my second orgasm. His
hands had slipped down to my waist and was helping me to bounce up and down
on him as I came, feeling my fluids run down and out to go between his
thighs, him bucking up to meet me as he came, shooting his sperm upwards
that would then fight with my release, only for it to slide back down out
of me to make a mess of his pubics and thighs.

     The sexual release of a man and a woman at the same time is a tangible
smell and to me was like the aroma of roast beef to a starving man. It made
me drool with the knowledge that myself and the man I was fucking had both
come. It is a smell that would persist for several hours if you didn't
shower, and at that hour, it was too early to get up and so I had this
heady aroma for a few more hours until he took me again before our morning
tea was brought in by Michael.

     I had been somewhat alarmed the first time I had woken up in Malcolm's
bed with Michael bring in the morning tea and seeing my bare
breasts. Though this was the first morning that he saw me fully naked, for
the covering sheet had come off and there I was, legs akimbo for him to see
everything and this time, I still had my hand around Malcolm's limp
dick. He was the perfect Jeeves.

     `Your morning tea m'lady,' he said as he placed the cup and saucer on
the cabinet top next to me before going round and placing another on the
other side.

     `Your morning tea sir. I will now run your bath water.'

     It was perfect. Not a syllable out of place or any inflection in his
tone of voice as he spoke to the two of us and didn't even glance towards
the bed as he went to fill the bath with water before leaving the
bedroom. Whether he spoke of this to his wife Rose, I've no idea, but I'm
sure that, being a man, he might, just might, have been a little envious of
what Sir Malcolm was getting from me.

     Anyway, I shared the bath with Malcolm, washing off that lovely smell
of sex, without having it in the bath, before drying and getting dressed to
have breakfast served downstairs prior to him going off to work at the
office.

     I was now getting used to having breakfast at an early hour though at
the Hall, it was eight o'clock, whereas here, at Malcolm's, it was at a
quarter past seven.

     I was dropped off at my London home where mother lived with George,
her lodger, but read that as bed mate, for she was just as randy as I was I
believe. Malcolm went off to the office and I was left to sort out my own
day. Mother and George had only just sat down to their breakfast, and I
kissed both of them on the cheek and went upstairs with my case for a
change of dress. I kissed them both goodbye, well I would have normally
kissed mum anyway but as George, the man who'd given me away at my wedding,
was almost my step-father anyway.

     The first step was to the hairdresser's to bring my crowning glory
back up to its normal state, and then it was to scavenge amongst those that
I knew for another male cock to service me. I called first at Ralph's flat,
he and I had even made a video together of us having sex, and bloody good
it was too. He had worked for the agency that I used to work at. A big,
black handsome man that had a prick that was big enough for any woman, but
he wasn't at home. The other person that I'd been with from the agency was
Jackie, a transvestite, but I couldn't remember where he lived. So I went
to the bar that I used to go to and found that the usual barman who knew me
had left and so I just had the one drink and made my way back home.

     So it was only Malcolm that would be having the pleasure of my body
that day. I had a bath and prettied myself up and phoned Michael, I'd been
given Malcolm's home number, to pick me up from there as Malcolm had said
that he was taking me to the ballet that evening. I had also phoned the
office to say that I would be in the car when he was ready, which I was
when he was, and so off to see La Boheme.

     I simply loved the music and to see it performed, was magic. I thanked
Malcolm for this, and for the lovely restaurant dinner we had afterwards,
though it wasn't a patch on Rose and Michael's dinner the night before.

     It was back to his house where we had another night of glorious
sex. Four times and me having three orgasms made the trip to London
worthwhile.

     Michael got another eyeful of me the following morning and had placed
by the front door, my suitcase that I had brought from my own house the
evening before, for I had phoned Arnold at the Hall, who acted as my
chauffeur, where and when to pick me up.

     So, after breakfast, Malcolm and I had a passionate kiss goodbye
before we went outside, him into his Daimler and me into my Bentley where I
was then whisked back off to Norfolk.

     It was on this journey home, for I now knew that Lark Hall was my
home, and responsibility, that I recounted what Malcolm had said. It was I
who had brought up the subject that at the Hall, I really had nothing to
do, apart from the accounts that is, that he came up with a good idea. Not
brilliant, but a good idea nonetheless.

     He held a general meeting of his various managers from all over the
country, down to London once a year. They would stay over at an hotel, and
have their yearly meeting. That one jaunt set him back just short of eight
thousand pounds, taking in the hotel's accommodation costs and meals, six,
for twelve people. Here he backed off a little in saying that what would I
think in him having this meeting at Lark Hall instead. He was willing to
pay six thousand pounds for these two nights, being collected from the
station included, with the six meals being thrown in and a room for this
annual meeting.

     I'd asked him to let me think it over, which was what one side of my
mind said while the other was saying yes. Two nights with Malcolm on my own
turf could be had for nothing, though he was talking of it being two months
into the future. Twelve rooms, no, make that eleven, for I was damn sure
that if Malcolm was there, he would be in my room those nights. Six meals
for twelve? No problem. Eleven rooms to have fresh linen and morning tea
served, again no problem, but on reflection, it had better be twelve rooms
or the maids would start talking. So I made up my mind to say yes to this
proposal for I had the staff who, well, let's face it, I was overstaffed
and they were under worked, so it would make a nice tidy profit, so I
phoned him when I got to the Hall that it was a go for using the Hall for
his annual meeting.

     Even Stanford thought it was a good idea knowing exactly what was paid
out in regard to the staff wages and more or less guessing at the revenue
coming in from the agricultural and husbandry side of the estate, that it
would be another means of keeping us viable.

     So that was set, but it still left me in a state of limbo in regards
to my having a man fuck me on a regular basis. There were many workers on
the estate who would have giving their left testicle to be in my bed and
fuck me till kingdom come, but it was something that I couldn't do, or even
bear thinking about. But I needed a man! Marriage was out of the question,
hence my forages into London and Malcolm's arms. It need thinking about.

                                                           *

     Back into the routine of running the Hall and the estate, spending the
morning with the accounts and bills and all that pertained to the estate, I
would spend the afternoon with William and Alexandra. Playing with them in
their nursery, though it was more with William for Alexandra wasn't even
walking yet. But it was nice to spend some time with them, though I found
that two hours was enough before I felt unsettled and had to get out into
the open air.

     For some reason, I seemed to gravitate towards the stables. Pegasus, a
mare, was in her box, tossing her head at seeing me. It had been some time
since I rode her, the last time being with Alexander. Norman, the groom,
who'd I'd upset when I shot Aries, the mare that Alexander had been riding
on the day of the accident that killed him, greeted me.

     `She's lonely,' he said to me as he passed me an apple to feed
Pegasus. Me too, was my first thought, though for her it wasn't sexual,
just the company. `She wanders around the paddock seeming a little lost,'
he added.

     I knew it was a rebuke of my killing her companion, and I accepted it
and said nothing, for I could never explain my action then or now. Though I
came up with an idea.

     `Speak to Arthur,' the estate manager, `and see when there is an
auction. Not too far away, and we'll go, you and I and I'll let you select
a fit companion for her,' I said.

     He perked up at this, for if we ever lost Pegasus, for whatever
reason, he wouldn't have a horse left to look after and therefore be
redundant.

     `Oh m'lady! That would be just the right thing for her,' he
gushed. `I'll ask Arthur immediately.'

     `No,' I said on an impulse. `Saddle up Pegasus while I go and change.'
I left him with all smiles, I think, my previous transgression being
forgiven. I went back to the Hall and got changed into my riding gear and
went back and took Pegasus out for a ride.

     Now I've never believed the expression horse sense before, but how did
that mare know exactly where to take me, for she went straight to the place
where that tree stump was that Alexander had been thrown onto to cause him
to rupture his insides, causing him to die from the haemorrhage of landing
on it. A question that never could be answered.

     The horse had cantered quite easily over the meadows and grass and
stopped a few feet away from it to graze at the surrounding grass. Had the
mare understood what I had said to Norman? Again, another question that
couldn't be answered. In hindsight, I know I shouldn't have shot the mare
for it was the vixen that had caused the accident, not the horse, and so I
had to make some kind of amendment, part of which I'd already set in
motion. Now for the next. I wheeled the mare around and made my way back to
the stables and leaving the horse in the care of Norman, went and sought
out Arthur.

     `I want,' when I found him in his little office, `that tree stump
removed. Pull it out, burn it, I don't care what you do, but I want it
removed. And in future, if any tree is cut down for whatever reason, the
stump is to be removed as well.'

     He knew exactly where I was coming from.

     `And then plant a new tree in its place.'

     `Consider it done m'lady,' he replied, having stood up at my arrival
in his office. `May I also say, that Norman has spoken to me about the
horse auctions and there is one, quite close, that is in two weeks time. I
can come along if you wish.'

     `No. Thank you all the same. This is something between me and Norman,
I'm sure you'll understand,' I replied.

     `That I do m'lady, and it is me with what you are doing.'

     No doubt the word will go round the estate which wouldn't be such a
bad thing for me.

                                                           *

     Christmas was soon upon us, me feeling really down this year for
Malcolm sent his apologies as he couldn't make it, so I only had the vicar,
the bank manager, mum and George for our Christmas dinner, William and
Alexandra too of course. So for the children's sake, I had to look and be
as happy as I could for them, though in the case of Alexandra, she couldn't
have given two hoots only just getting onto solid food. But William just
about understood what was going on and I think he enjoyed it. Especially
the train set that Malcolm had sent him.

     For me it was a miserable time, alone in my bed without a man to give
me solace as well as a well endowed cock to shaft me with. Seeing in the
New Year wasn't much fun either, though I didn't have the vicar and bank
manager with us for this. Just mum and George, though I gave a nice party
for the staff and had them all in the hall to see in the New Year. At least
mum had George in her bed while they stayed at the Hall. It was nice to see
them again and a little sad when they went back to London, leaving me all
alone again.

                                                           *

     Two weeks later, I bought another mare and a small Shetland pony, the
old one that used to pull the late Earl William's dog cart had since
died. The mare was a year younger than Pegasus, but what difference that
would make, I'd no idea, but she was then named Pisces, the nearest
constellation to Aries. I think the two mares took to each other for they
seemed to get on well together as they romped around the paddock and
constantly kept touching muzzles to each other. Though this touching of the
two horses made me yearn inside for a stallion to nuzzle me like that
before he mounted me.

     To be a nun would have been hell on earth for me! A life of celibacy,
for once having known what a male organ could do for the inner well being,
that kind of life would have led me to suicide. I'm sure I wore that video
of Ralph and me to a frazzle the number of times I watched it in my
bedroom, frigging myself to an orgasm, and yet still not feeling satisfied
even after having finally brought myself to this means of relief.

                                                           *

     But the time came round for Malcolm to have his yearly meeting of his
managers. The Hall and Stanford were ready for this influx of
guests. Stanford had arranged for another Bentley being hired to coincide
with mine, to collect these guests from Cambridge station. Malcolm had used
his car to bring up another four from London in his, sniff, Daimler. The
timing was perfect at having all three cars roll up the drive in line at
the same time. A couple of field hands were there to act as ushers in
seeing to the bags and a few wives to act as maids as these guests were
seen to their rooms.

     I had been there out on the steps, with Stanford just behind me, and
the others of course. Malcolm was the first out of his car to greet me with
that Gallic kiss on both cheeks and named every member of his party as they
came up the steps. We had to wait in the hallway as the bags were unloaded
and brought in for them to be identified and them and the owner were then
shown to their rooms.

     `Where do I take Sir Malcolm's suitcase m'lady?' Stanford asked me in
an aside.

     `The room adjoining my sitting room,' I replied.

     `Yes m'lady' he said, giving me a small smile and beckoned Malcolm to
follow him.

     I heard the oohs and aahs as Malcolm's managers were shown through the
hall and up the staircase to their rooms and the ushers and maids waited
outside the rooms to escort them back downstairs to where drinks were
waiting as soon as they had settled in.

     These drinks were being served in the formal reception room next door
to the yellow room and there I was properly introduced. Three of them had
actually come across from the continent to be at this yearly gathering and
I only had time for a few words with each of them before lunch was
announced by Stanford.

     Back into the big hall where lunch was to be served, using the big
table that had previously held the dying body of Alexander. This being the
first time since then that this table was being used for its original
purpose.

     I sat at the head of the table with Malcolm on my right and I noted
the pecking order as the others took their places. Stanford, the cook and
all the others did me proud with an excellent meal and service and got many
compliments after the meal before they retired to the reception room which
had now been laid out for them to start their meeting. I had my hand
pressed by Malcolm and I know the message that he was sending me in that
short touch of the hands.

     I was surprised at Malcolm knocking at the door to my room before he
entered and almost flew over the room to fling myself into his arms for a
big and tender loving kiss.

     `Magenta, oh Magenta,' he breathed out after our passionate kiss. `You
have exceeded yourself. The others are over the moon with their rooms, the
lovely luncheon and, oh, well everything about the place. It took me quite
some time to bring them all to order and stop talking about how wonderful
an idea this was and, well, you've pleased them and me immensely,' he
finished, kissing me again, and I could feel that he had an erection inside
his trousers.

     `Now Malcolm, now,' I begged. `I've been wetting myself waiting for
you to be here,' and I dragged him to the bed as I fumbled with his zipper,
trying to get his trousers off and my dress at the same time. That's all I
got off of him as I fell back onto the bed and have him slide up into
me. What a welcome intrusion it was indeed!

    I was hungry for his cock where it was and sucked him in and revelled
in the thrill of him being there once again and fucking me to bring us both
up to a climax that had us writhing on the bed. That I ruined the front of
his shirt with my sweaty breasts went un-noticed as we kissed and licked
each other. Me with his still hard and rampant cock in my mouth as he
sucked and licked in between my lower lips. And this was before dinner!

     Being the gentleman he was, let me shower first before going in
himself, me loving the sight of his bare bum cheeks moving from side to
side as he went off for his shower.

     If I were the marrying kind, I crooned to myself as I watched him
disappear for his shower and then set about dusting my body with powder
before doing my face and then dressing. He came out smelling better and not
like a brothel while I was at my dressing table and watched him in the
mirror as I saw that lovely cock of his being hidden from view, for the
time being, as he got dressed for dinner.

     That meal was as good as lunch had been and I left the men in the
lounge to have their coffee and drinks and went up to my rooms to wait for
Malcolm. It wasn't long before he knocked on the door from the sitting room
between our two rooms. I went straight into his arms for a breathless kiss.

     `I got away as soon as I could,' he said, kissing me again before
making to steer me into my bedroom.

     `No Malcolm,' I said, resisting him, a dismayed look coming to his
face. `Your room, not mine,' I smiled. `Your bed must appear to have been
used otherwise the maid will get the wrong impression as to where you spent
the night.'

     `You're so right Magenta,' he said, pulling me through to his
bedroom. `What about your bed?'

     `I've already mussed it up,' I said with a grin. `Now let's mess up
yours.' Which we proceeded to do with me on my back and him hard up inside
and fucking and taking me to heaven. It was only when I was sucking on his
still hard cock, cleaning him up did I realise that this had been
Alexander's bed. I used to suck on him here, looking at his lovely tanned
skin instead of this white leg and stomach. They were much alike, apart
from the tan and maybe Alexander was a bit thicker in the thighs from his
swimming. But the cock in my mouth was about the same size and I hefted
Malcolm's balls and found them on a par. They both loved fucking me as I
liked being fucked and doing what I was doing now, sucking on a hard
prick. I didn't realise that I was crying over the loss of Alexander until
Malcolm spoke.

     `What's the matter Magenta?' he asked. His voice sounding far away and
it was only then that I noticed the tears dropping onto his stomach and his
cock beginning to wilt in my mouth. I sniffed back my tears and let his
cock slip out of my mouth as I pulled part of the sheet over to wipe my
eyes. I moved up the bed and into Malcolm's arms, seeing the pained
expression in his eyes.

     `What's the matter darling,' he said, wiping another tear from my eye
before kissing the lid.

     `It's...it's just,' and I gave out a hiccup and swallowed the sob,
`it's just that I thought of Alexander just then. How I used to suck on him
in the same way as I was doing to you, and...and that I don't get to do
this very often now,' and more tears began to flow as he hugged me while I
cried. He stroked my back and let me cry myself out as I lay in his arms
until the tears stopped and I used the sheet again to wipe my eyes.

     `I'm sorry Malcolm. I shouldn't have been thinking of Alexander while
I am with you. But you are so alike, was, were, oh hell! I'm sorry.' He
hugged me again and I stifled any more tears. `It's just that this was his
bed and you fucked me in almost the same way and your tackle is the same as
his was. You could almost have been related, the pair of you.'

     `Father and son?' he chuckled. `For I was nearly twice his age.'

     `If you like, for I loved having him in this bed nearly every night,
the same as I love having you here now. But what am I going to do when
you've gone back to London?' and started to cry again. `I'll be here all on
my own with no one to hug, kiss and make love to me.'

     `Hush now my sweet, hush,' he crooned as he rocked me in his arms
until I stopped my weeping. I apologised and told him that it was wrong of
me to have thought of Alexander at that time and I then went down the bed
again and took his cock completely into my mouth and worked it round with
my tongue and teeth till I had him fully erect again.

     `Now this what all women need,' I said after releasing him and holding
it in an upright position. `It looks good enough to eat but I'd rather it
filled me somewhere else than my stomach,' and I moved up and got astride
his thighs. I kept my hand holding him up and slowly sank down on it,
feeling it fill me once again.

     `Aaaah,' I breathed out as I settled down on his thighs as I felt him
throb and pulsate inside me and pulled his hands up to my breasts, making
his fingers press into them and let him massage both as I began to move in
my fucking of him.

     I bounced up and down on his hard prick, getting him to rasp my
insides by moving my body sideways at the same time, really screwing myself
on his cock. I was panting heavily as I neared my climax and put my hands
over his and pressed them harder to my tits as I moved faster on him. I
could see sweat on his forehead before I closed my eyes and saw shooting
stars and rockets behind my closed lids as I bucked my way through my
orgasm. His hips were rising up to meet me and he gave out a groan as his
body stiffened underneath me as he came inside me at the same time.

     His hands slipped easily off my sweaty breasts to hold my shoulders
and slowly ease me down to lay on his front, my legs moving backwards for
me to do this, his prick still up inside me as I lay on his chest. I felt
our juices slowly oozing out of me and his prick was beginning to wilt and
I felt it moving out of me at the same time. I gave out a groan at the loss
and he rolled me onto my side and kissed me, not once, but many times till
he was breathless.

     `If I were the marrying kind,' he said softly and at that moment in
time, if he'd of asked me to marry him, I would have said yes without
thinking first, such was my vulnerability lying there in his arms. But he
didn't ask for which I was grateful. I couldn't give up the Hall now. I had
to keep it going in memory of both William, the late Earl, my William and
the memory of Alexander.

     We lay together for some time without speaking, just stroking each
other with an odd kiss or two until he spoke.

     `How far did Alexander get in cataloguing the library?'

     `Well he listed all the books and contents but they've still got to be
put in some kind of order. Then there's all the lower cupboards full of
papers and manuscripts yet to be seen to,' I replied.

     `How long will that take to do?'

     `Three, maybe four years at least to do it properly.'

     `Hmm,' he mused and lapsed into silence again and I think it was just
after this that we fell asleep.

                                                           *