In a painting lonely.

[MaiusImperium]

“Honey, just calm down. Where did you have them last?...Just retrace your steps, no I haven’t seen them, I told you- just, no the kids won’t have hidden them, look, listen- did you check the jeans you were wearing yesterday?”

The conversation wasn’t going well. Jack had to let out a frustrated groan as he pulled off the main road and down a dirt path. It could hardly be called a road, the tarmac had long since decayed and all was left was a mess of pot holes leading in the general direction of their new house.

“Why the hell would I have put them in there Jack?” Came the frustrated female voice over the hands-free set. Jack groaned and just hung up, he had to concentrate on the quagmire ahead of him. The black Subaru Impreza was never meant to navigate off-road terrain even as mild as this and Jack worried constantly about getting a dent in the chassis. The path he was following in his sports car wound this way and that, it was almost half a mile, or so he guessed, until the house came into view.

It was a magnificent house, Jack couldn’t deny it, Jenny had great taste and both of them had set their hearts on it when they came to view the property. It was an old house in the Regency style. It was almost a palatial mansion, you could imagine them filming Pride and Prejudice there, Jack half expected Mr Darcy to come riding through on his horse at any moment. Yes, it was a nice house.

Of course they’d never have been able to afford it without Jack’s promotion. Jack Gartside was what many people would term as a success. He was financially prosperous, he had a devoted wife, two young children; a boy and a girl, and now they had equity, a lot of equity. The house had needed renovating, it had taken months, but they were moving in today, finally Jack had decided to scout ahead while Jenny looked after the kids at their old home, which was now almost completely bare. The removal men had worked all through the morning to shift their furniture and other domestic paraphernalia, it was now fast approaching evening.

As Jack pulled up the car he could see the removal guys still working quite busily. They were just moving in their three-piece suite as his car came to a stop.

“Hey, you guys nearly done?” Jack called out to them as he stood from his jack, the door shutting with a low thud.

“Almost, Mr. Gartside.” Said the chief amongst them, a burly looking fellow wearing a white vest and many multiform tattoos, mostly of naked women and dragons. There was no accounting for tastes.

“This is the last thing we’ve got, then we’re done.” He pointed behind him as his two lackeys struggled with the large corner sofa.

“Great, well, I’ll take a look around.” Once the removal guys had gotten the sofa through the front door he followed in after them.

This was the first time he’d seen the interior since the renovation. It looked different, very different, but the architecture was still…old. The hallway was large and carpeted in rich dark colours, wooden pillars held up a winding central staircase that divided into two separate cases mid-way, one to what he supposed was called the “east wing” and another to the “west wing.” Gods, Jack and Jenny were practically royalty now. He chuckled to himself and rubbed his hands, they had finally arrived.

All his life had been leading to this, settling down, no more benzene-choked air, no more daily tube commutes. Just clean, clean air and more open land than you could shake a stick at. Four acres to be exact, and two very large gardens at the front and back. Here they could raise their kids properly, the way they wanted to. Danny and Tara had already been enrolled at the local private school. It had a good success rate, mind you it had to considering their extortionate fees.

Jack looked up the staircase, his eyes following a trail of ornate carved wooden pillars, ornate iron-worked banisters, oil paintings and tapestries until finally they came to journey’s end at the dome-shaped skylight in the ceiling. He couldn’t understand why the old paintings had been left in, a relic from the house’s previous owners. He looked at a few, haughty nobles and frigid ladies stared back. Jack suppressed a shiver, they would definitely have to go. They seemed to lean in on him from all sides and gave him the willies.

“All done Mr. Gartside.” Came the shout from the yard outside.

“Ok, thanks guys. See you.” Came Jacks’ distracted reply. He went up the red-carpeted stair case, the wide wooden stairs creaked quietly under his foot falls. Suddenly he felt very much alone, the house was enormous, especially for one man, he found himself hoping Jenny and the kids would arrive sooner rather than later, he didn’t much fancy staying alone in the building too long. He got the distinct impression he was being watched by the paintings.

But he was here now, he might as well take a look around. His journey took him to the third floor. Down through the East wing. It was chiefly a corridor with adjoining bedrooms. It was going to be the “guest wing” as Jenny had so aptly put it. Yet a painting caught his eye. Where the paintings in the hallway were of frosty witches and snooty lords this woman was younger…her complexion glowing with health, she was…well, she was beautiful really. Her dress was clearly well made, but not gaudy or needlessly opulent and here eyes. They seemed to follow him as he walked down the corridor, he couldn’t tear his eyes from them.

Must remember not to take this one down

His eyes drifted, lost in hers, he felt his mind slipping away, as if she were drinking his consciousness away, he drifted and dreamt, at that moment he could have sworn the woman in the painting smiled at him.

The shrill peel of his mobile phone made him jump out of his skin. Why was he so jittery?

“Shit.” He let out a relieved sigh and flipped his phone open.

“Hello?” He saw it was Jenny on the caller I.D.

“Yeah, I’ve found them, they um, were in my jeans. We’ll see you shortly, love you.” They shared a quick laugh.

“See you soon Hon. Kisses.” He snapped the phone shoot, he felt better just for knowing they were on their way.

Jack found little else of interest on his journey, the house was large and he wandered for about an hour. All the rooms were fitted out with furniture, most of it newly bought. The place would soon be filled with life, the patter of his children’s feet, the laughter of friends and family who would come to stay, sometimes for weeks at a time. They would live the life of Reilly here.

------

Closed thread for myself and Impish Pixie. Comments via PM are always welcome.

 

[little_golden]

 

[impish_pixie]

The intrusions had become so infrequent and so fleeting, that they barely made a ripple in the house. She was rarely disturbed.

Sometimes a couple of teenagers would sneak into the vacant house seeking sanctuary for private intimacies away from the watchful eyes of parents. Their fevered couplings fed her but their experienced fumbling did not interest her. She barely stirred. At times, the cold and the rain would drive vagrants or lost travelers to seek shelter in the old empty house. Aged men, frequently ailing, their burdensome lives made them apathetic, they brought nothing to the house, they gave nothing to her. She did what little she could to encourage them to leave.

She sensed her end was approaching, soon she would no longer have the strength to hold on, and the invisible cord that always tugged at her would finally pull her away from her home. As life came less often to the house, she grew weaker. Without life, she was nothing. However, she was tenacious, even in her weakness she knew she had to hold on. She no longer remembered why, she simply knew she needed to stay. Her name was long forgotten, only the house remained burned in her memory.

She sensed the change in her home before she could identify it; it had been so long since life filled the house that at first she was too weak to recognize it. She thought there was shared laughter and the squealing sounds of playful children, but it was gone before she could be certain. All was quiet again until the house filled with anger and curses, pain and resentment, indolence and insolence, rough laughter and satisfaction. They were men, large, rough, and crude, but they were repairing the house, and their daily labors fed her. There was a woman too, sometimes she came alone, other times the woman came with two children. She arrived in a frenzy and left behind a flurry of activity, but did she know the pink and smiling expressions on the faces of the children was not caused by their exposure to fresh county air but rather the hurried sliding down the banister the ran around the main staircase. Their laughter filled the hall at the end of each dangerous run, and their happiness fed her.

Soon. Soon, I will be free. Free to move with in the house, free to see what now I can only feel.

Then he came. She could sense him, lonely and nervous as he moved through the house. Proud too, he was proud of his accomplishments and proud of his possessions. He thought the house was his, this pride of ownership unsettled her, the house was hers, no one else’s. He moved through the beautifully restored home as if…

She could see him. She saw him as he came down the hall. Was he familiar? She thought so. The line of his jaw, the set of his shoulders, even the color of his eyes as they stared back at her, were all familiar. They struck a chord in her, she was sure of it now. He had finally come home.

He turned away, leaving her alone again, angry and hurt. He joined the woman with her children, and they all settled into the house. She knew it was jealousy she felt as the couple made love in her house, dark and bitter it began to eat at her.

Their presence was making her stronger, the intense emotions of a family bound by love, glutted her. Soon she would be ready to see for herself how they lived in her house.

 

[MaiusImperium]

The next week did not smoothly at all. Jack was still getting used to commuting from outside the city to work and Jenny was, as usual, reshuffling the furniture in every room of the house despite the fact that the removal men had placed everything exactly where she’d told them to on the day they moved in. She was like that, constantly changing her mind.

They’d quarrelled three times in the week, once about Jenny’s penchant for domestic reorganisation, and twice about digging up the back lawn and having a swimming pool put in. Jenny was in favour while Jack wasn’t, he’d always been quite frugal and the fact that they were heavily in debt to the mortgage company after buying this colossal house weighed on his mind. He was started to regret the move. All he needed to do was hang in there, moving into a new place wasn’t easy at the best of times.

Their kids, Martha and Gregory, took to the new place like ducks to water. The domestic squabbles flew straight over their heads and as far as they were concerned the new house was one big treasure trove of exploration and adventures. The two were close, Martha was six and Gregory four, they fought pirates down the staircase and explored new planets under their beds, sometimes they would camp out in one of the guests rooms for the night. At least someone’s enjoying themselves Remarked Jack bitterly.

When the weekend finally came Jack couldn’t look forward to putting his feet up with the Sunday papers. The old paintings needed to be taken down and being the man of the house he had been allocated the job. It was exasperating, but he knew he wasn’t the only one, both he and Jenny were worn out, rushed off their feet, trying to make this new house a new home.

When it came to Saturday night neither Jack nor his wife were in the mood for sex, they both lay in bed, in the darkness, waiting for sleep to take them.

“Is it normal for the house to make those sorts of noises at night?” Jenny asked suddenly, she didn’t sound sleepy at all, but Jack certainly was.

“Mmm? Old houses make all sorts of noises…go to sleep” Mumbled Jack, already halfway there.

In the morning Jack felt a little better, but he didn’t get much of a lie-in. The kids were up at the crack of dawn and demanding to be taken to the park.

“What on earth do you want to go to the park for? We’ve got oodles of park right here!” He’d remarked.

“It’s ok, I’ll take them. There’s a few more paintings to take down anyway Jack.” Oh yes, that was pretty clear. While she took the kids to the park he had finish taking the paintings down.

Luckily there were only a few left, he’d stacked them against each other in the hall. They weren’t just going to throw them away, they were to be sent to the auctioneers. It wasn’t likely that valuable paintings had been left behind by the previous owners, but you never knew.

Again Jack found himself looking at the painting of the woman. It wasn’t a very impressive painting, neither very large compared to the others, nor particularly well looked after. Jack found himself leaning back against the wall opposite the painting and just…looking at it. He’d never really understood it, looking at paintings for a long time, he was no art critic. Yet he analysed the painting closely now, following every line of the woman’s face, her half-smile, her flowing soft hair.

“Jack? Have you done?” Again, he nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard Jenny.

“Oh, hey love. Didn’t hear you, yeah I’m finished. Kids enjoy the park?” He didn’t tear his eyes away from the painting, he was still busy following the curve of her jaw…

“You know what they’re like. Aren’t you taking this one down?” Jenny came to his side to admire the painting.

“Oh well…I kinda, like it.” Mumbled Jack, a faint hint of apology floating on his voice.

“Well I don’t, look at her eyes! Give me the creeps.” Jenny shuddered theatrically and grinned, Jack laughed and slipped his arm around her.

“I’m gonna leave it up for a few more days, then see how we feel. No one will see it here anyway, well apart from guests when we have them over.” He pulled Jenny close and turned his head to look into her eyes.

“We’re going to be very happy here.” He pulled her lips to his softly, a light tentative kiss on Jenny’s soft pillow-like lips.

“I know. Oh, that reminds me, I’m thinking we can bring my Mum and Dad to stay with us next week for a while.”

“Sounds fine to me hon.” Jack managed to hide his disappointment. He didn’t get on very well with his in-laws. It was a bit sad, but Jenny’s mother and father fit the stereotypical of crotchety old in-laws to a tee.

 

[impish_pixie]

She quickly learned the names of the little family that moved into her house. The children, Martha and Gregory, were the easiest to learn, and the easiest to follow. Their happiness and adventurous natures had them constantly flying throughout the house like curious little birds, from room to room, closet to closet. Their sharp eyes missed little but nothing impressed them; their interest was always focused on the next adventure.

The woman, their mother, His wife, was Jenny. Aptly named, Jenny, like the mule. Stubbornly, she ruled the family by simply refusing to hear anyone’s voice but her own. Persistently, she clung to her own wishes even when she could not decide what she wanted. She always wanted what she wanted and got it by refusing to accept anything else. There was a time when she might have admired Jenny’s dogged determination, but not now, not in her house, not when she was making Him unhappy.

Him. Jack. He bought her home for his family. Each morning he leaves the house, each evening he returns from his labors, exhausted. Each night, Jenny has a new task for him to perform after dinner. She allowed him no time to himself and little time with his children, clearly he wanted to be with them. She worries that he may become resentful and regret the move into her home. She sensed his concern over unfathomable details, and laid the blame at his wife’s door. She was failing to put her husband first, and that could be a costly mistake.

The couple clashed, exchanging their anger and frustration in bitter words. They filled the air around them, sometimes sparking like lightening but never igniting a passionate reconciliation. It made her stronger and it pleased her, as well. It gave her the strength and the courage to move.

She roamed through the house that night, not silently, but subtly. She moved carefully, observing more than touching. She found comfort in the many things that were precisely as she remembered and confusion in the significant changes. The kitchen, the plumbing, electric lights, some things had been the house for years but never before was she strong enough to experience them for herself. Light switches were so marvelously simple, she illuminated the unused guest rooms and in the sharp and sudden glow of electric lights, she saw candles and strange figures of people, they were…

It is gone. The vision ended and I cannot call it back. Who were they? Who were those people? Should I know them? Will I remember now, soon? Will my memories return with my strength? Or will I have more visions and put my past together like a picture built from pieces of a puzzle?

The next day she watched as the Mule took the children away and left Him behind to do her bidding. He came back to the pictures; he came back to her. He stared at her and she could feel the weight of his gaze.

She reached out an invisible hand to touch his face, caress his cheek, to know if she could just touch him.

The Mule returned, braying though the house, she found him still holding the picture. Frustration filled her and anger tugged at her as the Mule ruined her moment with Him. She did not listen to their conversation; their words were of no interest to her, just the emotions behind them.

He kissed his wife and his affectionate overtures were rebuffed. Despite his disappointment, despite his sadness, she could have danced a merry step, but instead she just laughed.

 

[MaiusImperium]

He’d always known there would be guests staying in the house, it was just too big for a family of hour, still, he’d have sooner invited his colleagues from work to stay than those two old farts. There was no good reason not to he supposed, they were good with the kids and loved Jenny, it was just him they detested. At least the house was big enough that he could avoid them when he needed some time alone. Jack had to be grateful for small mercies.

The next week passed in another blur, after sending off all the paintings – save the one of the woman – Jack’s next job was out in the garden. He had hoped Jenny might get some professionals in, but Jenny had always had a passion for gardening. Kenny never shirked hard work herself but digging holes and planting flowers in heavy terracotta was not his idea of leisure time.

Life settled a little after that. Jack and Jenny didn’t argue much after that, he was too tired to argue anymore, the house was Jenny’s domain after all, it had been before they had moved and it still was today. He had to admit she knew best in most cases, he had now experience of interior decorated and colour schemes made his head hurt. He’d managed to fight her down on the idea of a pool, he was thoroughly fed up of having to deal with contractors and builders and renovators and the prospect of more coming made him feel sick. They’d put some swings in the back garden though, and a see-saw for the kids, that would probably keep them occupied.

Martha and Gregory were besotted with the house though, they would run from room to room, playing games and adventuring. It was Jack’s shining light and it kept the stress at bay, to see them so happy, happier than they had been in the city, was wonderful. That alone managed to convince him that the move had been a good idea.

There were still some problems with the house, Jack left rooms with the lights turned off and in the morning they’d be switched on again, he put it down to the kids playing and spoke to them about it more than once. It didn’t seem to help though, Jack assumed they’d grow out of it. Jenny seemed more unsettled by it, her sleep seemed more restless, she woke up next to him often in a frightful sweat, as if waking from an awful dream that she could not recollect. Jacks’ sleep by comparison seemed remarkably good, he rarely woke up the middle of the night and despite the stress he always felt well-rested in the morning.

He didn’t even notice it happening, he found himself drawn to the guest wing more and more often, he didn’t even realise he was looking at the painting of the lonely woman when he went down that corridor. Lonely woman? Why was she lonely? He couldn’t put his finger on it, but the more he looked at that painting, though her lips smiled, her eyes held a lonesome quality that unsettled him, upset him even. Occasionally he would run his fingers along the gilt-edged frame of the painting, only lightly. It was clearly an old painting, full of dust and dirt marred the oil surface.

Occasionally Jenny would gently harangue him about taking it down and sending it off for auction along with all the others, but it was only half-heartedly, Jenny herself didn’t often walk past it to be reminded of it, though she’d made it clear to Jack that the painting gave her the willies.

The next week Jack’s in-laws came to stay and he bore it with reasonable good taste. He let the frosty, snide remarks wash over him. Jim and Marla were old now, wizened, and they were always cold to Jack.

Jack came from a poor background, he worked his way through college by scrimping and saving and working two part time jobs. By comparison to Jack’s frugal upbringing Jenny had been born into money, rich parents had ensured she got everything she wanted. Even now Jenny was used to having her wants, her desires, met, without insolence on Jack’s part. Her parents had been dead-set against her marrying Jack, he was little more than a poor, scruffy student in their eyes who could not possibly offer Jenny a life of luxury (which they placed huge importance on). Jack and Jenny had first met at University, he was a cheeky, friendly mischievous boy then, she the more refined ‘well-bred’ type of college girl who was there because she had a rich mummy and daddy. Jack had taken out an arse-busting loan to attend University.

He still thought he loved her.

He cared for her, loved her even, but the passion had faded. Jenny was the mother of his two beautiful children and she had sacrificed much for him, gone against the wishes of her parents. When they were first together she had given up her life of spoilt opulence at her parent’s home to live with him in a dingy flat on the bad side of town. Yes, he still loved her, but with time it had grown old.

Now that Jack was a success both Jim and Marla hated him for it, they were jealous, even. They kept their discourtesy to a minimum though, even his in-laws weren’t rude enough to insult him outright while they were in his home, a home larger than their own and even grander. They didn’t much enjoy Jacks’ success being rubbed in their faces.

 

[impish_pixie]

She was growing stronger, stronger than she could ever remember being, although a part of her sensed there was still more she could do, more she could become. The house was filled with life and the children filled it with laughter. From the house, she could watch the children play in garden. Inside and outside, all of it was their domain. She loved how they nodded their heads, wide-eyed and obedient when chastised and then ran off to do exactly as they pleased when no one was watching. They were never bad; Martha and Gregory were just always filled with the childish mischief that never failed to entertain her.

The next week settled into a pattern. She watched them all. She watched the children play. She watched the woman, Jenny, his wife, the Mule, lord over the house; she watched while Jenny made every decision, and issued commands like a general to her awaiting troops, Jack. She watched Jack leave the house every day, returning tired, and eager to rest or play with his children. She watched dig holes and haul plants in the garden under the critical eye of his wife. She watched how he tried to remain happy and she saw how the antics of the children never failed to bring a smile to his face. Only the children seemed to bring him any happiness.

She watched him sleep. Despite his exhaustion, his nights were restless. While the Mule slept like a baby, he tossed and turned.

I can touch him now, he will never know.

She reached out with a hand that was not and grazed her fingers along his cheek. She almost jumped; the feel of him startled her. He was so warm, so alive but like everything else, he kept it tightly held inside. She wanted more, to touch more of him, to feel more of his warmth, but she knew it was not time, not yet but she could not resist a single kiss. She pressed her lips to his, in sleep so warm and soft…

Sleep well, my love.

She kissed him good night every night after that. She felt his mood darken further, when the old couple arrived. Her parents. They were full of pretense and deceit, snobbery and disdain. They coolly interrupted the children’s playtime with lectures and instructions. The children laughed too loud, they played too boisterously, and they did not know how to behave correctly. They wanted Martha and Gregory to be proper children, tiny adults.

I want to hear them laugh; I want watch them play.

They derided Jack. Despite his obvious achievements, his birth was not good enough to suit them. It would never be, and because of it, nothing he did would ever satisfy them. They bitterly resented his success, they were jealous of his home and of what he could provide for his children and their daughter. Their words were stiffly and formally polite to him but their tone was unmistakable. Even after so long, she could recognize that tone.

At first, without knowing why, it hurt her, after two hundred years, she could still feel that tone cut into her.

Does it hurt him? Or does he realize how worthless they are compared to him?

She gathered her nerve and strength; she decided to act. At first, her plans were far-fetched and too obvious, but finally she decided on something subtle. It would be a game for her personal amusement. She started small, with the little things, a misplaced book, lost reading glasses, mislaid handbag, and a favorite piece of jewelry turning up in an odd place.

“But I left it right there” the old woman would complain in a high-pitched whine, but obviously she was mistaken. It was not there. She would set the household on its ear, the old man’s gaze became thunderous; he had no tolerance for this foolishness. The Mule would try to console her mother but her impatience was obvious.

“I’m sorry, mom. I just have not been sleeping well. I swear sometimes…. Oh, it doesn’t matter. Martha! Gregory! Come help us look for Gram’s shoes.”

However, the children never failed to turn the search into a gleeful treasure hunt.

What fun!

 

[MaiusImperium]

Jim and Marla were proving to be more than the usual nuisance. Marla in particular seemed to be caught in the habit of misplacing her trinkets about the house, and then kicking up a huge fuss. The search parties often involved the entire family, Martha and Gregory took to their new roles as chief scouts well but Jack didn’t much care for it. Several times they had made him pull all the cushions out of the leather sofa before having to put it back together, he never found what his in-laws were looking for. Whatever they lost it always seemed to turn up on the other side of the house.

“It’s him! That husband of yours is trying to make me go senile. He’s never much liked me.” Accused Marla on more that one occasion, Jack had left the room in disgust every time, her sad accusations weren’t even worth replying to. That night he and Jenny had argued in the kitchen about it once the his mother and father-in-law had gone to bed.

“I’m just asking you to keep an eye on where you move things when you’re tidying the coffee tables Jack. It’d be easy for you to shuffle away Mum’s glasses case with the papers or stick Dad’s pen in the pot with the rest when you’re not paying attention.” Her tone was reasonably compliant but it nagged at him, he could scarcely believe she was siding with them over such a silly thing.

“It’s a big, unfamiliar house, Jen. At their age they’re bound to misplace things, I bet they do it all the time at home.” He grumbled as he finished his glass of red wine, and lord knows he needed a drink after the day they’d had. They’d spent most of it looking for Marla’s handbag, the old bat had claimed she’d left it by her bed, they found it in the ‘library’. They called it a library because that is what it had been before they moved in. The room had been left largely untouched though the roofing had been repaired and the walls given a fresh layer of plaster and pain, the old book cases were still in though, and a lot of bold books to go with them. It was odd because the library was on the other side of the house, and Marla claimed she’d never been in there.

That night Jen had actually opened her legs. Jack had something of a…prodigious sex drive, and since the cold front had descended over him and Jenny he had resorted to rosy palm and her five sisters for relief. He wasn’t about pass up an opportunity for the real thing, or so he thought. They had humped for a while, Jen had said little and simply parted her legs while he climbed on top of her. It hadn’t been good sex, or even fulfilling and Jack did not have the inclination to go a second round or even bring his wife off. After he had blown his load inside his wife he had crawled off her, panting, and gone to sleep. After the initial buzz of orgasm he had felt dirty.

The next morning it got worse. When Marla wasn’t paranoid and accusing Jack of claiming some sort of revenge on her she was accusing the children. Jack had told both Martha and Gregory not to go around moving other people’s things, they’d both protested their innocence. Jack believed them.

“It must be those children of yours if it isn’t Jack. Unruly brats.”

Jack had become angry after that, he had shouted at Jen’s parents and told them they were no longer welcome. Jen had tried to soft-talk him into letting them stay but he was incensed and insulted. He knew his kids were good, they knew not to lie though both of them had a mischievous streak. Even if it had been Martha or Gregory he wasn’t going to let his in-laws call them unruly brats, if there was one thing Jack and Jen had done right in their lives it was to raise good children.

The in-laws had left the next day, Jack had stayed in bed while Jen had said goodbye to them. They didn’t speak much the rest of the day, Jack lounged about the house, grateful that they’d now left him in peace.

Jack had thought with the departure of his in-laws things would settle down, but they didn’t. Things still went missing, though it seemed to happen to Jen’s things more than his own. Every time something went missing Martha and Gregory giggled impishly before going off to find them. Somehow they always knew exactly where to look, as if there was a pattern as to where the missing things were found that only the two of them knew. This of course led to Jack suspected that it had been the children moving things about all along. Every time he tried to confront them about it they would flat out deny it, though they would grin at each other knowingly and tell him whenever something went missing they would be able to find it.

 

[impish_pixie]

The Lady

“It’s the piskies, Mom. That’s all. The piskies, honest!” Martha wailed as she tried to wriggle free from the biting grasp Jen had of her wrist. Martha’s younger brother, Gregory, looked on, wide-eyed and nodding his emphatically. Jen looked at her children, frustrated and furious; she could not decide what to do with them.

“Stop it, Martha. Stop lying to me!” She shook Martha’s arm once more and then released her. “Go to your room. Both of you!”

The children scrambled, bolting out the room before Jen could call them back. She could only listen to their footsteps as they ran down the hall and then up the stairs to their room. There was moment of silence followed by the loud bang of a heavy wooden door.

“And don’t slam the door!” Knowing they would not hear her, she yelled just because she wanted to yell.

Up in the nursery, Martha sat on her bed, gently rubbing her wrist and giving it an occasional tentative poke. It did not hurt, not any longer, but the vehemence of her mother’s assault still surprised the little girl.

Gregory watched his big sister from his spot on the floor, feeling a little awed by her courage. They had never seen their mother behave like that, and then Martha was so brave – she did not shed a single tear.

“Maybe we should tell The Lady we don’t want to play any more.” He broached the subject tentatively, his newfound respect for his sister evident in his voice. “If she comes tonight, we could ask her to make the piskies stop.”

Martha preened, basking in the rare proof of her brother’s respect. “She can’t make them do anything, remember? She said they would be angry if she told us where they hid the things. That’s why she just gave us the clues.” Martha looks down at the faint bruise pooling on her fair skin, “But we can ask her anyway.”

She was little more than a wisp or a shadow but she knew the children could finally see her. It was an accident, and it happened before she even knew it could. Late at night, after she had moved a few objects, she would slip into the children’s room and whisper where they would be found into to little sleeping ears. Come morning, they did not always remember but when they did, the light of their sudden realization lit their eyes and sent them running through the house with laughter on their lips. Much to the annoyance of everyone but their father, and to her delight, they were having such fun.

One night, while she whispered, little Martha woke up. The child’s eyes opened and in the half-light of the room, they fixed on her. The girl’s eyes were bright and curious; they held no trace of fear. They were her father’s eyes and they drew her in but she left without speaking. She returned the next night to find them, Martha and Gregory, awake, waiting for her. She wove a tale of mischievous piskies, blaming her actions on them. She told them she could not ruin the piskies fun by revealing their hiding places, but the piskies loved a good game and would not mind watching the children puzzle out a few clues. She explained it had to stay a secret or the piskies would get angry and she did not know what angry piskies do. When Martha wanted to know who she was, she simply told her she was the Lady of the Manor and she became the Lady.

They played the game so well; Marla lost her composure and vented her frustrations on Jack. He took the abuse with some stoicism and tried to avoid confrontations with his in-laws. However, the situation changed when Marla verbally attacked his children, like a good father, he defended his offspring and told the miserable old woman and her husband to get out of his house. This made the Mule angry and unhappy, she did not want her parents to leave, and that made the Lady even happier.

Now more and more of Jen’s things were lost by the “Piskies” and found by the children. Occasionally, something of Jack’s as well. She was careful, it was never any Jack would need in a hurry, never anything he would be angry to find missing and although he would question his children, he never questioned their answers and frequently joined in the search. Only Jen was becoming more disturbed and the Lady made sure her nights were restless and unsatisfying, adding to her frustration.

“He must be having a dream” the Lady thought as she watched Jack stir in his sleep, his lips had parted as he raised his arm over his head, and dropped it on to the pillow. She watched his lips move, but no sound came from them and she wondered about the nature of his dream. She wondered as she watched his body move beneath the blankets. She wondered until she could not wonder any longer, she had to know.

As her hand cupped Jack’s cheek, she pressed her lips against his mouth and felt his lips move beneath hers. She moaned as she slid her tongue in to his mouth, silent or aloud, she did not know. She knew only that she could taste him at last. With her tongue, she stroked his until it came alive and brushed her lips.

He kissed her, in his sleep, his body responded to her, and he kissed her.

She had kissed him many times but never before had he returned her kiss. A flood of memories came rushing back and her eyes filled with tears as her lips tried to demand more from him. Confused and suddenly afraid, the Lady fled. She returned to one place she always felt safe, she returned to her painting. The engagement portrait of Georgina Camden.

 

[MaiusImperium]

Jack was dreaming, he knew it was a dream, but could not rouse himself from it. He dreamt he was still a student, he was in the Student Union, there were people all around, young students, greying tutors in tweed jackets bobbed here or there amongst the throng of rucksacks and baggy jeans. Somehow he knew exactly what day it was, it was as if he could recall it all, it was the day he had met Jen, it was fresher’s week. Friends, familiar faces drifted past him, he waved, said hello to some, but he was headed to the bar.

As he stepped into the bar the smoke and chatter hit him in a warm wave, even in his sleep the smell of cigarettes seemed very real and instantly he craved one, a habit he had actually dropped ten years ago. There she was, sat at table with some of her girl friends, Jen was younger, her long blonde hair was tied back and longer those days, but it was very much her. He sat down, she smiled knowingly. This was not how it had gone, not the first time he had met her, he knew, yet couldn’t wake himself from the dream.

“I’ve waited a long time, Jack.” Was all Jen said, she smiled across the table at him, he sat down and smiled. He brushed a lock of hair from her face, her blue eyes were dazzling.

“I know.” He replied. She leant forward over the table, the friends around chattered but it all seemed to fade to nothingness, all there was Jennifer. Jen tilted her head, as he did, and their lips met in a soft tentative kiss, his head spun, her lips were like candyfloss beneath his own. Jack stirred in his slip. Jen moaned into his mouth, he moaned back, tried to slip his tongue into her mouth and his eyes shot open.

Awake, the darkness hit him. The soft fuzziness of the memory of his kiss with Jen deserted him as quickly as it had appeared, for a minute he didn’t know where he was. It was a strange experience has he came to terms with the reality around him. I am Jack Gartside. I’ve been married to Jen for ten years. I have two kids, and have just bought a new house. Finally his mind caught up with his surroundings, he stared up at the dark ceiling, vaguely illuminated in the pale moonlight that shone through the curtains. He felt cold, and lonely, the dream had felt so vivid, seemed so real, he imagined he could still taste her on his lips, he had felt…warm, in love, like it had been at first.

The woman beside him was Jen, but it was not that Jen, not the one in his dream. The younger Jen had happy, laid-back, she had held intrigue and interest for him, he had been eager to explore her personality then, as well as her body. Now Jen held no secrets to him, he knew everything about her, and had now grown dull, predictable, if she did have unexplored facets to her personality now, she was not willing to share them with him.

Jack suppressed a moan and slipped his legs out of bed, groggily he rose to sit up. Jen mumbled quietly in her sleep and turned over in the bed. He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his eyes. An urge to get up overcame him, an undeniable desire to go out into the hallway for a reason he could not fathom. Instead he went to the adjoining bathroom and relieved himself, after that he splashed some cool water over his face, which roused him from his stupour somewhat. He stared back at his reflection for a moment.

“What happened to you Jack?” He mumbled to himself, he would be the first accept the years hadn’t exactly been unkind to him, he was fit and healthy, and only in his mid thirties, yet he had gaunt bags under his eyes and stress lines near his temples.

He couldn’t be sure what compelled him to do so, but he went out onto the landing outside their bedroom, it was dark and he didn’t bother to turn any lights on lest he wake anyone up. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness now and he had little difficult navigating the stairs in the landing. Down one flight, then up another towards the east wing, towards the painting of the lady.

He padded down the corridor silently, his bare feet made no sound on the lush new carpeting, shafts of moonlight bathed the corridor intermittently through tall narrow windows. Fittingly one of the shafts of light illuminated the painting of the lady perfectly. Her skin was almost opalescent in the silver light. Maybe it was just the strange light, but she seemed different somehow, her skinned seemed more…alive.

In a trance Jack reached out and gently traced a finger along the contour of the woman’s jaw.

“I wonder who you were.” He uttered, his eyes lost in her own, the paint was dusty beneath his fingers and again he reminded himself to get it restored. For a moment her eyes seemed to glint in the moonlight.

“I’m your wife.” Jack’s body convulsed and he practically leapt into the air as he heard the voice of his wife from the end of the corridor.

“Jesus Christ Jen!” He exclaimed, his face wavering nervously as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

“What are you doing up? I heard you in the bathroom, when you didn’t come back I was worried.” Jen mewled and walked softly towards him, her dainty feet clad in toasty socks made a soft shuffling noise across the carpet.

“Nothing, I just uh, could have sworn I heard something, it woke me up. Thought we might have had burglars.” He said, a little sheepishly, he tried not to look at the painting and hoped she had seen him…doing what exactly? Touching the painting? Touching her? He wasn’t sure why that thought stuck.

“Are you sure? Sure you weren’t sneaking up to have a peek at your dear paramour?”Her tone was light, jovial, but as with most things, when Jen spoke there was always an undercurrent in her tone that Jack had learned to read in ten years of marriage, and the undercurrent was accusation.

“Don’t be silly.” He smiled and slipped his arm around her waist, holding her close, they had turned now, to face the window that overlooked the wide green lawn at the front of the house.

“I told you I don’t like that panting, take it down tomorrow.” Jack just nodded absent-mindedly, without really paying any attention to what she had just asked.

“Come back to bed.” She said, in her best requesting tone with an undercurrent of command. Jack slipped his hand down to her buttock and squeezed sharply, Jen yelped in surprise.

“Not that sort of bed, Jack. I was thinking more the sleeping kind of bed.” Jack had to stifle a moan and tried desperately not to think of how long it had been since they had sex, about a week now, but it seemed like an age to Jack, who had grown accustomed to a healthy and frequent sex life over the years.

“Very well my dear.” He resigned in his best pussy-whipped husband voice. The two padded back to bed, Jen went to sleep first, Jack tried to calm the erection in his pyjamas first, and finally joined Jen in sweet slumber.

It was not long before Jack was awake, this time to shrill cry of his ungodly alarm clock. Another morning, another day at the office. Jack roused himself with a shower and a large mug of coffee, before he set off for work he had to wake the kids. He always enjoyed that, he had always wished for more time with them in the morning, but work had, as it usually did, got in the way. By the time Jack was ready to leave for work it was only just time for Martha and Gregory to wake up before school.

He slipped into their room quietly and sneaked up on them.

“Time to get up, rug rats!” He proclaimed and tickled them both mercilessly with pokey fingers. This lead to several cries of surprise and then a fit of giggles from both of them. Tucking one wriggling munchkin under each arm he carried them down to the bathroom.

“Now you two brush your teeth so you have bright white smiles for Mummy when she makes you breakfast. I’ll see you later.” He kissed both of them of their cherubic cheeks and gave them both a playful noogie.

“Bye-bye Daddy.” The pair intoned in perfect unison. Jack sighed to himself as he left, wanting to spend the rest of the morning with them.

“You tell those piskies to behave today, ok? Mummy is in all day today and she won’t want any of her things to go missing.” The children mumbled their ascent, Jack sighed and rolled his eyes, he didn’t have time to argue with them. It wasn’t that their game was in itself bad, he just thought it was how kids were at that stage. He remembered having and entire legion of imaginary friends at their ages, it was just the product of an active imagination as far as he was concerned. The problem was that it caused Jen no small amount of bother, and he was the one who had to hear about it when he got home every day, and then the stress was transferred onto him.

With half a bagel stuffed in his mouth Jack opened the garage door and slipped into his black saloon, and drove away for another day at the office.

 

[newlysubbed]

is this a closed thread?

I was just wondering if this thread was open to others or if is was just for the 2 of you. Let me know.
If you are open to other I would like to join.
It is a very interesting story.