Frankly, I was tempted to take up Kitty's offer. But I'm sure that Katie had made arrangements for her guests so I reluctantly declined, although I paid her a sovereign to let me take some naughty photographs of her which I promise to show you, although I will have to develop the film myself: I certainly cannot take it to Boots!
I must close now as Jack Dennison and I are off to the Dog and Duck for a drink before luncheon and the other two gentlemen who are making up the numbers for the weekend festivities have just arrived. I could be wrong but I have a sneaking feeling that Katie is carrying a torch for one of them, a chap named Andrew Scott.
Give my best regards to your parents and-
Here the manuscript ended, no doubt when the aforementioned Jack Dennison had called Ian away to the public house. With a chuckle, I placed the sheets of the letter back on the table where they had been so carelessly left by its author.
Well, the old saying might observe that eavesdroppers will never hear good of themselves but I was buoyed up to read that in Ian's opinion Katie was keen on me. Teddy, too, would be very happy to know that Susie had not succumbed to the charms of either Ian or Jack. I heaved myself out of my chair and strolled towards the door which I opened to find none other than Ian Pethick standing in front of me.
I gave a short cry and stepped back a pace as I gasped: 'Hallo there, Ian. Goodness, you startled me! I thought that you were taking a stroll in the garden with Susie.'
He gave a thin smile and replied: 'That was indeed the plan. But I have a slight headache and when your chum Teddy Carmichael rolled up to join us I made my excuses and walked back to the house.'
'Oh dear, I am sorry to hear that, headaches can be an awful drag,' I said sympathetically. 'Let me go upstairs and get you a pain-relieving pill from my bathroom. I have a bottle of Professor Mulliken's Aspirins which had been specially recommended to me.'
'Thank you, Andrew, but I think I'll just sit in the drawing room and sleep it off,' he sighed. 'Anyhow, Teddy and Susie won't miss me. Two's company and three's a crowd, you know, and I think those two are already very attracted to each other. I've no wish to play gooseberry.'
'That's very considerate of you,' I remarked but Ian shrugged: 'Not really, old boy. Susie's a scrumptious girl but Jack and I both fancy those gorgeous Danish twins.'
'They are quite enchanting,' I agreed and was about to move away when Ian said: 'Ah, just before you go Andrew, did you come across a letter of mine in the drawing-room, by any chance? I really am getting absent-minded but I put it down somewhere and I'm damned if I can find it anywhere.'
'Well, I just went in here for a nap and haven't looked for any letter,' I said disingenuously. Deciding to take a short stroll in the bright sunshine, I walked away from him to the front door. Katie was standing in the driveway talking to Hobart and when she saw me she waved to me.
'Andrew, do come over here,' she called. She quickly finished giving her instructions to the driver who saluted her and made his way to the motor houses as I approached her and remarked that it must be quite a responsibility for her to run a big house like Judson Manor on her own.
'Yes, as far as that goes, I'll be pleased when Mama returns. But Fielding and Mrs. Matlock have been here for many years and they've been very helpful,' replied Katie, wiping her brow as she added: 'Gosh, isn't it warm?'
Then her face lit up and she said eagerly: 'Andrew, I have a super idea. Let's cool off by having a swim in the stream which runs behind the woods about half a mile over there on your right.'
'I would love to go for a swim with you, Katie,' I answered with genuine enthusiasm. But then I grimaced and went on: 'So long as you can lend me a bathing costume, that is, because I foolishly did not bring one with me.'
'I might be able to find one of my father's but I doubt if it will fit you, he's much broader round the waist-though I suppose you could tie a belt around the costume,' she said with a twinkle in her eyes. 'But there's no reason why we can't swim in the nude because there's a bathing hut on the bank of the stream and the area around it is fenced off on both sides of the water as well as being hidden by the trees.
'Of course, I'll understand if you're too shy,' she continued teasingly.
I grinned at her and answered: 'Just lead on, Katie, just lead on.'
'Why don't you go on by yourself? I'll join you in about ten minutes as I need to have a final word about dinner with Mrs. Matlock. I'll bring down some towels for us.
'Very well,' I said. Katie escorted me round the side of the house to a small path and pointed me in the right direction. The route was simple enough to follow and the sun was shining so fiercely now that I was glad of the shade afforded by the trees. When I reached the fence which Katie's Papa had erected to ensure privacy for bathers, I noticed that there was a wire-mesh gate in the fence which, surprisingly, had been left open. But I decided not to shut it as Katie would soon be following me down to the bathing hut which I could see about fifty yards ahead of me.
As I approached the stream I heard a girlish cry coming from behind a copse of bushes-which solved the mystery of why the gate had been left open. Perhaps Susie had come down here for a swim but had slipped and was lying on the ground in distress, so I hurried towards the bushes to see if I could be of assistance.
However, there I discovered that Susie was not in the slightest distress and needed no help from me nor anyone else! For that nubile young lady was lying naked on a pair of pink bath towels, engaged in a sensual embrace with an equally naked Teddy Carmichael whose right hand was jammed firmly between her sculptured thighs. It was abundantly clear that he was finger-fucking Susie's pussey, thus causing the squeals of ecstasy to escape from the luscious girl's lips.
Now, if I had not known that Katie would shortly be arriving on the scene, I might have simply walked away. But thinking it best that she did not view this erotic exhibition, I thought it advisable to warn the naughty couple of impending danger so I made my presence known by a discreet cough.
'My God! Somebody's spying on us!' gasped Teddy. The pair of them scrambled hastily to their feet and covered themselves with the towels as I stepped out and confronted them.
'What the blazes-' my pal began but I held up my hand and said quietly: 'I must apologize for the interruption, but I think you should know that Katie will be down here in about five minutes.'
'Will she? Oh, thank you for letting us know, Andrew,' said Susie as she gathered up her clothes which she had left strewn across a deckchair. 'Are you and Katie going to have a swim? We've been in for a dip and the water's lovely and warm.'
'Yes, I'm looking forward to cooling off,' I said as I watched her and Teddy throw on their clothes. Then I waved goodbye to them and went inside the bathing hut to undress. I took a large bath towel from the pile on the beach and wrapped it around my waist as I stepped back out into the blazing sunshine. There was still no sign of Katie so I wandered down to the edge of the stream and stepped gingerly into the water which felt so refreshing that I peeled off the towel and threw it back onto the grass. Then I waded into the water until it reached my navel and splashed around by myself until Katie made her appearance.
'Sorry to have been so long, I can't wait to join you,' she called out. Then she disappeared inside the hut from which she emerged a few minutes later stark naked with a towel across her arm.