Duty to Love (11 page)

Amelia
didn't know how to respond. James's declaration was everything she had dreamed
of hearing from a husband, but he wasn't her husband. She couldn't just go and
fling herself into James's arms. Any declaration of her love had to be
complete.
 

When
she had accepted Arthur's proposal, it was done knowing that she cared for him
and fully intended to love him. Nothing that had happened in the past
forty-eight hours had changed that, except to speed up her intentions.

It
was hard to believe that these two men were so dedicated to her happiness. They
made it easy for her to love them both. They would make it possible for her to
share her love. Previously starved for affection, she had just needed to open
herself up to the possibility. And, oh! There were so many possibilities that
she was just beginning to realize.

Amelia
got up and approached James, taking his hand and raising it to her lips before
leading him to sit next to his brother on the bank. She knelt down before them
both, putting their eyes at equal level.

“I
think we may have to work extra hard to make this work, but I think the extra
love is worth it.”

They
both looked at her, hope with an edge of disbelief shining in their eyes.

“Amelia,
we both have so much love to give. It'll be worth it, you'll see; we'll do
everything possible to earn your love.” There was no doubting Arthur's
commitment.

“Love
isn't earned. It can't be set by society rules. I love you both. I am sorry I
haven't made that clearer to you both. I've been a bit slow to recognize it, but
it's true. I love you both so much.”

“Not
slow, you just needed luring.” James gave a lazy smile. “Maybe you can show us
we've well and truly caught you.”

“Show
you?” It took Amelia a few seconds to catch on, before a blush rose to her
cheek.

“Look,
even after last night she still colors so prettily.” James was clearly in a
teasing frame of mind. Well, she'd show him.

Rising
to her feet she pushed the buttons of her riding habit through their holes
before sliding her arms free and giving it a shake to the ground. Never letting
her gaze drift from one of theirs she reached behind her neck to undo the
buttons at the top of her gown. It was a little awkward, but the delay gave
time for tension to fill the silence.
 
Holding the gown to her breast she pulled her arms through the sleeves
one at a time. She was going to let it drop when James moved suddenly, jumping
up to pull her to him, and back down to the ground where she fell atop him.

She
felt like laughing, but was quickly unable to as his mouth trapped hers. She
eagerly kissed him back while wriggling to get stable. Setting her legs to
either side of James's frame seemed to do the trick.

“Looks
like you're going to get taken for a ride.” Arthur's words to James excited
Amelia.

“Can
I do that? Ride him, like a horse?”

“Oh
yes.” James groaned “Up and down as fast as you like”

“Here
let me help you saddle up.” As James fumbled to release his manhood from his
trousers Arthur lifted Amelia up and her skirts out the way. Ever helpful, he
guided her back down as James gripped himself, keeping his cock firmly in place
as Amelia slid slowly down,
the
momentum forcing her
to stretch.

“Are
you all right, Amelia?” James was clearly struggling to keep control, yet even
then was concerned for her.

It
hurt a bit. Of course it did.
 
The
pleasure was there as well this time, though. “Full, I'm so full like this.”
Full and eager to move.
She shifted slowly at first and when
that felt
good
rocked back and forth. “Is this good?”

“Perfect,”
James said, slightly distracted by his self-appointed task of pulling Amelia's
chemise down under her breasts, framing them for his perusal.

As
she tried raising and lowering herself Amelia watched James. His gaze was fixed
on her breasts as they began to bounce up and down before him. Immersing
herself in setting a rhythm Amelia moved up and down more quickly. James's eyes
moved up and down more quickly, too. Casting a glance to the side, she saw that
Arthur was now sitting back on the bank, stroking himself, his eyes fixed in
the same direction as James's.

“Arthur,”
she called.

When
he looked up she beckoned him over with her eyes. It might be a bit awkward,
but she wanted to touch them both at the same time. She was determined to
indulge and appreciate all the positive aspects of being with two men. After
all how many women were lucky enough to touch and be touched by two men? No
ladies she knew, Amelia suspected.

Arthur
came and kneeled beside them. They’d all have grass stains marring their
clothes when they got up. Recapturing the fun of being together, grass stains
included, and not worrying that they were too old to just enjoy themselves was
a definite positive. Now they were old enough and married enough to experience
a degree of freedom.

Supporting
her weight on one hand, which rested on James’s chest, she reached out to
Arthur with the other. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze, effectively communicating
so much.
Reassurance, gratitude and love.
Then he
guided it to his staff. Amelia gripped on, trying to coordinate continuing to
move on James while touching Arthur. Her movements a little bit frantic as she
became consumed by physical sensation.

She
gloried in the rush of pleasure that their heated looks gave her. It felt
fantastic to be galloping towards the explosion of pleasure that she now knew
was her finish line, and to be taking her men with her. It wasn't far away now,
like a fence on the horizon. The joy of the jump where there'd be a moment of
suspension in the air before the rush of landing and satisfaction at being
safely returned to earth was beckoning.

And
this was better. Amelia cried out with the realization of just how much better,
free to vocalize her joy. Dimly, she heard James shouting his finish with her,
Arthur's completion an echo behind it.

Inside
her she felt the warmth of James’s seed. She would welcome a child, whether
from James or Arthur, it would help them build their own family.

Arthur’s
seed she held in the palm of her hand, some of it at least.

Collapsing
forward, Amelia smiled to herself. The win was definitely hers, and she was
going to be keeping both her prizes. “I think I'm going to like being Lady
Hentonbury
. Riding astride makes me think you're going to
allow me to do whatever I want.”

“As
long as it pleases us in the process you might be right.” Arthur teased back.
“Don't forget you've got two husbands to please—it's your duty”

“And
I intend to be very well pleased,” James said.

Chapter Seven

Arthur, Amelia, and James’s return to the house was
uneventful.
None of the servants indicated by word or deed
that they found anything amiss with their Masters’ behaviour.

They each attended to their own horses in the stables,
removing their saddles and harnesses and rubbing them down. This was nothing
new though. Arthur had always held that no work was beneath him if it was an
efficient use of his time. Time spent with Amelia would always meaningful and
therefore appropriately efficient, he decided.

Arthur also felt it best that they established a
degree of normalcy within the house and their shared lives. Each of them would
need to find a routine and establish their own interests. He of course had the
ongoing upkeep of the estate to attend to. Perhaps now he would be able to
share some of the burden. He would retain ultimate authority, but he wanted
their shared relationship to be a true partnership.

As they made the short walk back to the main house he
suggested as much to the others. “Will you resign your commission immediately,
James? I’d like to show you around the estate. I know you are familiar with the
land, but you can help me determine priorities for work. You might be able to
spot improvements and savings I have missed.”

“Would you miss me if I had to return to the Army
first?”

Arthur guessed James would retain insecurities about
his position in the household for some time. He sought to reassure him. “I’ll
send a telegram today and arrange to buy you out. You have no need to return
unless you wish to.”

“Oh please do that, Arthur. Won’t you let him, James?
I would certainly miss you.”

Arthur doubted James would be able to resist Amelia
when she phrased her words so prettily, and looked up at him with wide
imploring eyes.

He was right.

“My regiment will be quartered at Portsmouth for some
time. I can make a visit in a few weeks to say my goodbyes. I’m in no rush to
leave you now,” James said looking on Amelia fondly.

“Good,” said Arthur smiling. He’d smiled more in the
past day than in the last five years. He still felt the pull of rarely used
muscles working.

“I’ll seek out Mrs. Cleaver. Get her to give me a tour
of the house. See what improvements I might be able to make,” Amelia said, as
if she had anticipated that he would hope she might find something to occupy
her time while he and Arthur were busy.

“We’ll find the house full of flowers, James,” Arthur
said to his brother.

Amelia swiped her hand at him playfully. “Flowers
would be nice! And I’m already thinking we could do more to make use of all the
space you have in the kitchen garden. It’s practically empty. We should plant lavender
to scent the rooms and herbs to make our own remedies and soaps.”

“We’re not that poor, Amelia,” Arthur said, his pride
a little torn.

“Oh, no of course I didn’t mean to imply … I’m sorry. I
just thought it would be fun.”

Now Arthur was worried he’d hurt her feelings. Luckily
James saved him from having to offer his own apology.

“We’ll have to make sure we do our best to get Amelia
with child as soon as possible, so then she won’t have time for too many
projects,” James whispered.

“Indeed. Tonight,” Arthur said in a similarly lowered
voice, then louder, “Come, James, we’ll look at the maps in the study, and I
can show you what each area of land is used for these days. Then after lunch we
can ride out again.”

****

Amelia went to find Mrs. Cleaver, the cook and
housekeeper. She might have known some rooms and features of the house all her
life, but there were huge areas where she’d never been, let alone the nooks and
crannies. One day she’d have to explore on her own. It would be an adventure,
but for now she wanted to see each room as Mrs. Cleaver did, in terms of what
it meant for the maids and where they had to clean, in terms of how many rooms
there were for guests if they were to host, where some love and attention might
desperately be needed.

She’d never had these kinds of responsibilities before,
and she rather liked the idea. There was no reason she couldn’t be a good wife
to Arthur and James and be a good Countess at the same time.

Unfortunately not every minute of their lives could be
dedicated to passion. During the day she would put her effort into helping run
the house and ensuring the
staff were
happy. There
would definitely be satisfaction to be had from that, especially making others
happy and helping preserve the house for future generations. Then by night she
would be free to follow her instincts and Arthur and James’s desires.

****

James enjoyed spending the day with Arthur. They were
able to get to know each other again as brothers, and it looked like there
would be plenty to occupy him. Arthur seemed to have a good head for numbers,
and James would be quite happy not to have to touch the books. It made sense
for Arthur to continue dealing with all the correspondence as well.

James rather fancied being in charge of the grounds
staff. He got on well with others even when giving
orders,
and the stables would be a good challenge. At the moment they had sufficient
animals to meet their needs, but there was definite potential to get into horse
breeding, especially if they wanted to race them at Newmarket, or sell them to
those interested in doing so.

Amelia may not have realised it, but when her father
had purchased Snail he’d acquired a fantastic thoroughbred that it would well
be worth trying to get with foal.

The days ahead were looking promising, nearly as
promising as the coming night. James couldn’t help but feel hungry for Amelia
again. Though busy during the day his thoughts would frequently drift to Amelia
and what she might be doing.

They had lunched together, a simple fare of sandwiches
and soup, but a vast improvement on food around a camp fire or even the Army
dining hall. Seeing Amelia again only built the anticipation for later.

James and Arthur had had one particular conversation
that day that put James on edge. James hadn’t been able to resist talking about
Amelia and had dared to broach the subject of fully sharing Amelia.