Down in the Woods

  Down in the Woods

  not a nice place to die

  Down in the Woods

  not a nice place to die

  Gary Philpott

  Copyright © 2011 Gary Philpott

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

  Matador

  9 Priory Busines Park

  Wistow Road

  Kibworth Beauchamp

  Leicester LE8 0RX, UK

  Tel: 0116 279 2299

  Email: books@troubador.co.uk

  Web: www.troubador.co.uk/matador

  ISBN 978 1848767 959

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Typeset in 11pt Bembo by Troubador Publishing Ltd, Leicester, UK

  Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

  Printed and bound in the UK by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall

  Dedicated to family and friends everywhere.

  In the words of the Man Band:

  “Be good to yourself at least once a day.”

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 1

  When Lady Felicity Wilkinson walked over the gravel towards the large barn where the family cars were kept, she knew the risk she was taking. There was always an unexpected question to answer. Most could be quickly dismissed with a small distortion of the truth. Somehow the need to lie made the affair all the more exciting. Explaining away the four hours she would spend in Reading police station would not be quite so easy.

  There was no need to take her SLK Mercedes roadster; Phillip was not going to witness her arrival. The temptation was still there though. Felicity knew she looked good with her sunglasses and long blonde hair blowing in the wind, and she was addicted to looking good. Photos of her in that sports car had appeared in more than one edition of Hello magazine.

  Today’s plan was to meet on the track through the forest. There was no need to make a dramatic entrance. Besides, the Landcruiser would have its uses if the weather front moving up from the southwest arrived earlier than forecast. She bleeped open the Toyota’s locks with a sense of exhilaration running through her body.

  Once she was settled into the cream leather driver’s seat, Felicity phoned the stables on her Blackberry.

  “Oh hi, Sarah, Felicity here. Could you be a dear and get Lester saddled up for me?”

  “Certainly. Are you on your way?”

  “I am just about to start the engine. With you in about twenty minutes I would say.” She twisted the ignition key to set the engine in motion.

  “Lester will be ready and waiting for you. Are you riding alone today?”

  “Afraid so,” chortled Felicity. “Daniel is over in France.”

  “Rosemary has just arrived. Should I ask her to wait for you?”

  “No.” Felicity put the automatic gearbox in reverse and held it on the footbrake. “It’s been rather hectic over here. I am rather looking forward to some time alone. Well, just Lester, me, and the English countryside that is.”

  “I understand. See you in a while.”

  “Will do. Bye.”

  Felicity gently lifted her foot off the brake and allowed the Landcruiser to ease itself out of the barn. Once the gravel was crunching under the wheels she knew it was time to pull down on the steering wheel and swing the back end to the right.

  With a flick of a finger she knocked on the CD player. The suggestive R and B tracks Phillip had compiled for her blasted out through the speakers. Mr Hardwick pulled his wheelbarrow to a halt and turned to watch her race down the long drive. Felicity grinned as she looked in her rear view mirror to see him shaking his head.

  She spoke aloud, “You know what they say Mr Hardwick, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. And that is exactly what I am going to do today.”

  “You’re looking good, Lady Wilkinson,” smiled Sarah.

  “Felicity, do call me Felicity.” With her left hand holding both reins and the front of the saddle, she lifted her left foot up into the stirrup and pushed off. Lester shuffled a few inches as she swung her right leg over his back, but then steadied himself again as she dropped into the saddle.

  “Good boy.” Felicity patted Lester on the side of his neck.

  “I’ll sign you out. Have a good ride.”

  “Oh yes. Sorry, Sarah, I always forget these new procedures. However did we survive before bureaucracy swept the country?”

  “How long are you expecting to be out?”

  “Let us say four hours, though I expect Lester may be asking to come back long before then.” She patted the horse’s neck again. “Do you know where Rosemary was heading?”

  “She said she was going to take the old airfield track.”

  Good, thought Felicity. “Perhaps I will go that way as well.” Lying was becoming a habit.

  “See you later.”

  “Bye, Sarah.” Felicity pulled on the right rein and gave Lester a gentle tap with her left heel. He headed towards the open farm gate at the end of the yard without any further prodding.

  The first part of the track was well trodden. Some of last night’s rain was still in the hoof marks.

  The going got a lot less heavy as Felicity steered Lester up across the meadow towards Gulliver’s wood. It was referred to as a wood because a twenty yard stretch of fallow land separated it from the main forest.

  Felicity glanced at her watch. Her timing was perfect, by the time Phillip was setting off from the yard she would be on the path along the back of Miller’s campsite. A turn to the left would take her along the narrow track that ran deep into the forest. Phillip would just happen to have taken the clockwise route and they would accidentally bump into each other on a path very few others took, particularly on a Tuesday when most weekend riders would be earning their crust in an office somewhere in suburbia.

  The anticipation made Felicity want to take Lester up to a trot, but she resisted the temptation, that would only result in the rendezvous zone being overshot.

  Felicity had been riding for twenty-five minutes when Lester’s ears pricked up. She could not see, hear, or indeed, smell anything, but Lester clearly knew Hercules was close.

  Felicity tugged Lester to a halt and waited.

  “Is that a fair damsel I see before me?”

  “It is squire. A damsel who has got herself lost deep in the hostile forest.”

  “Good to see you, Felicity. Steady boy.” Phillip Hetherington-Jones pulled hard on his horse’s reins.

  Felicity slipped her boot out of the right stirrup.

  “No, don’t dismount.”

  “I need a hug. A week is just too long to wait.”

  “I noticed an e
asy place to cross the ditch about fifty yards back. I say we dismount there. Do you think you can wait a few more minutes for that hug?”

  “I am sure I can, but only if you promise to make it worth the wait.”

  “Tempt me my darling. Unbutton your top for me.”

  Felicity looked back over her shoulder. Her fingers were on the first button before her head had turned back to face Phillip.

  After popping the final button, she pulled her shirt out of her jodhpurs. The dark-green riding jacket stopped it opening up as she anticipated it would. Taking hold of the lapels, she pulled both shirt and jacket open to allow Phillip an unobstructed view of her petit breasts.

  “You look gorgeous my dear. I would love to see you ride old Lester there as if you were Lady Godiva.”

  “In the nude you mean,” blushed Felicity.

  “Ooh, I say, what a lovely word that is. Say it again for me.”

  “Nude.” Felicity struggled to keep a straight face as she spoke.

  “Come on, follow me. It is me who is desperate to hug you now.” He turned Hercules round on the spot, knowing Felicity would be admiring his horsemanship.

  Felicity had only just got Lester going before she was pulling him up behind Hercules. Phillip was already looping his horse’s reins around a branch.

  He took hold of Lester’s bridle under his chin and steadied him while Felicity swung herself off his back. Still holding Lester with his left hand, he slipped his right under Felicity’s shirt and onto her waist. The couple kissed passionately. Phillip’s hand glided over her soft skin and up onto an even softer breast.

  Their faces moved apart. Each had a beaming smile across it.

  “You are such a naughty girl. I didn’t for one moment imagine that you would have forgotten to put on a bra this morning.”

  “That’s not all I’ve forgotten to put on,” giggled Felicity.

  With Daniel she had to be the politically correct Lady Wilkinson. With Phillip she could be giggly Felicity who went riding without her underwear. The affair was into its fourth month and it was still as exciting as the first time she allowed him to taste her lips after a dinner dance at his in-laws’ manor house.

  “This way.” He hastily unwrapped Hercules’ rein from the branch and led him across the ditch, and through a narrow gap between two hawthorn bushes.

  The clearing the track passed through meant that a good dose of light got to the vegetation on either side. A drainage ditch cut either side also ensured a plentiful supply of water. As a consequence, low level vegetation and young trees formed a dense barrier between the track and the forest. There was no chance entering the forest on horseback anywhere within a mile of that point. Even walking a horse in was difficult.

  Felicity waited patiently for Phillip to come back and take Lester through.

  Once they were inside the forest they were walking their horses over a carpet of brown leaves. Most were either maple or horse chestnut. Shafts of sunlight penetrated the canopy above. Felicity loved the forest and could think of no one better to share it with than Phillip. He was always kind and gentle, and he made her laugh in his pompous way. She sometimes fantasised about sex with a bit of rough, but accepted Phillip was as close to that as she was likely to get.

  They came across a stagnant looking pool of water, about five-feet in diameter.

  “Do you think that is safe enough for the horses to drink?” asked Felicity as Phillip started to tie Hercules to a small birch tree.

  “I should think not. He’s a sensible fellow though, he’ll not touch it.”

  “Why have you stopped here then?”

  “Because there is plenty of space my dear.” He swept his hand round in an arc.

  Felicity followed it with her eyes. He was right; there was plenty of space considering they were in the middle of a forest. But she was still confused. “I thought you would take me to a more sheltered spot.”

  “I was rather hoping you would indulge me.”

  Felicity believed she knew what he was after, but chose to make him clarify his request. “And how might I indulge you?”

  “Say the special word again.”

  “What word?” She paused a moment. “Nude.”

  “That’s the one. Need I say more?”

  A flush of excitement swept through her body, but she still wanted more thinking time. Indulging Phillip was what she always thought about as she lay awake next to a snoring Daniel each night, but this went way beyond giving him oral pleasure while he sat at the wheel of his car in a lay-by, or discretely flashing a boob at him before driving away from their favourite restaurant.

  “Fornicating in the forest is one thing, but taking all my clothes off is another.” Another lie had just popped out of her mouth. She had always planned to get naked for him. His eyes feasting on her body before what followed always heightened her excitement. She loved undressing for him.

  “Your jacket and shirt only need to be slipped off your shoulders, and from what you said, there will not be too much more to take off after that.”

  Felicity picked up on the change in his mood. No longer were these frivolous remarks fishing for a positive response, but happy to step back if she guided the conversation in a different direction. His furrowed brow and lack of a smile told her he was quietly determined to see this through. Goosebumps broke out on the back of her neck.

  She could not resist, she liked being told what to do by a man who was not going to take no for an answer. She passed him Lester’s rein.

  Thankful she had chosen the boots with the longest zip on, she set about removing them. It was not easy, but with the help of a hand on Phillip’s shoulder, she got them off. Her bare feet were a dead giveaway; any pretence at not planning to get naked had just been kicked into touch.

  She moved away from him, taking care over what she was placing her bare feet on. Just as she was lowering the zip down the front of her jodhpurs, a squirrel jumped from one branch to another. It must have been twenty metres away, but the tension of the situation made the noise loud enough to stop her strip in its tracks.

  Felicity laughed nervously.

  “You are safe here,” said Phillip.

  The zip carried on down, as low as it would go. Felicity took hold of the waistband and pulled the sides down over her hips. Phillip’s eyes were locked in tight on what was about to be revealed.

  She revealed it.

  Phillip did not utter a word; he just drilled her femininity with his steely blue eyes. It felt good. All her anxieties evaporated.

  Her riding pants carried on down her legs. Finally they were shaken off her feet and onto the ground. They were quickly joined by her riding hat. Next she slipped her shirt and jacket off in one move.

  Phillip shook his head from side to side. “You are one beautiful lady, my lady.”

  “And you are one naughty man.” Felicity smiled, knowing even naked women look better with a smile on their face. She had practiced that naked smile many times in her bathroom mirror. Separate en suite bathrooms had their advantages. Her bathroom was always a place she could retreat to if she did not want to be disturbed.

  The next bit was going to be ruder than Felicity cared for, but in for a penny, in for a pound, she thought. She held out her jacket and shirt in exchange for Lester’s reins. She had been conscious of Sarah’s eyes on her as she mounted Lester an hour earlier, but nowhere near as conscious as she was of Phillip’s eyes on her while she repeated the manoeuvre.

  Naked and high up on her horse, she felt good. The glint in his eyes told her Phillip was a happy man. A shake of his rein and a squeeze of his belly set Lester in motion. Felicity had to ensure she avoided low branches, but Phillip had chosen the spot carefully, there was no real safety problem.

  It felt so liberating. She could not help but smile as she walked Lester in a wide circle around the stagnant pool. Everything looked and felt wonderful. The autumn colours were magnificent. The shafts of sunlight penetrating the forest canopy made her
exploits seem surreal. The feel of a leather saddle between her bare thighs was adding to her feelings of waywardness.

  Phillip was tracking her every move, every inch of the way.

  An urge to be even naughtier overwhelmed her. After giving Lester the signal to go a little faster, Felicity lifted herself up out of the saddle. The strange feeling of her boobs bouncing unsettled her for a moment, but before too long the freedom of them resonating with Lester’s motion excited her even more. She concentrated on her riding and ignored her audience. The smile on her face was not false. She was enjoying it and revelling in the liberation of being so naughty.

  After passing close to Phillip she switched to an upright position and continued round the safe route she had established.

  “Bouncing boobs, I love them,” shouted Phillip.

  Felicity did not reply.

  After two more circuits she changed her course. The plan was to take Lester for a small jump over a fallen tree some fifty metres away. She would then swing him round and jump the tree coming back the other way. Riding in the countryside always brightened Felicity’s day, but riding naked in the forest with a man’s eyes on her took it to a totally new level.

  They approached the fallen tree. Felicity prepared herself to encourage Lester into the jump, and mentally readied herself for the landing on the other side.

  Grinding to a stop, Lester shook his head violently. Felicity only just avoided a potentially painful fall. The fact she was not protected by her riding hat suddenly hit home and made her nervous.

  Lester started to lift his front legs off the ground.

  “Steady boy, steady. What’s spooked you?” She patted him several times to calm him down, and then scanned the scene around her.

  They were still a few yards from the fallen tree. To the left was a clump of bushes that from her elevated position she could just about see over the top of. Lester turned them both to the right, and there it was, straight in front of her.

  Felicity stopped breathing. Every muscle in her body tightened. For a few seconds she sat staring at it. Moments later her stomach convulsed and she puked over Lester’s neck.