As I watered the last of the beds in the Kitchen garden, I checked my phone.
The text read: 'Sam, be a darling and collect Anna from the station. The train gets in at 10.30 C x'
It had already gone ten. Shit, better get moving!
When I got to the station the girl was no where to be seen. I looked up and down the platform, empty. As I got back to the land rover, two suitcases skipped across the uneven flagstones. A very pretty young girl leading them in my direction.
"Anna, I presume"
"Yes, who the fuck you?!" her eyes looked me up and down. Calculating but giving nothing away.
"I'm Sam, the new gardener" I said offering my hand
She deftly placed the handle of a suitcase in my outstretched hand and gestured towards the other.
"Take these"
I stowed them in the open back of the Landy and climbed into the front, where I found Anna with a cigarette hanging from her lower lip, she looked me hard in the eye.
"So, you work for me now?" I noticed I slight softening in her features, not a quite a smile
My gaze followed the glow of her lighter to her cigarette, and then to her cherry red lips, I saw her for the first time. She was classically beautiful. Her dark hair well below her shoulders, deep grey eyes, high cheekbones. Centuries of good breeding I thought. As she blew out a stream of smoke into the still air, my attention went back to her full lips as they pursed slightly.
My eyes lingered a moment too long, she noticed. Remembering she was only nineteen, I sought to regain my composure and control of the situation.
"I am employed by the Estate, answerable to the Estate Manager."
"Who is answerable to Daddy; Who answers to me! So be a good chap and drive on" She laughed delighted with herself.
I wound down the window as we drove out of town. It was hot, the fields where still a rich, verdant green, the hedgerows were beginning to fatten up. It was my favourite time of year, still full of the promise of summer to come. Every hot day, I treated like a blessing, allowing the heat of the sun to soak into my every fibre.
She was looking at me. "How old are you?" she said quickly as if to explain herself.
"Wait, wait! let me guess. She paused "You're not quite thirty...I think you are twenty nine"
I laughed
"Am I close?"
"Not really"
"How far out am I?" Her eyes danced, her previous airs had dropped, she was childlike with excitement.
"four years"
"Four years! Oh fuck, your thirty three" she said a little disappointedly
I looked at her stifling a smirk "No"
Her mouth dropped "Twenty five, fuck off are you twenty five, but you're such man. Man!"
We both laughed, more at ease.
"Do me, do me?"
I already knew she was nineteen, her mother had told me.
I looked back at her she offered a slight pout. Her feet braced against the footwell. I saw her toned thighs engage to steady herself as she slowly pushed out her chest out.
My eyes flicked back ahead briefly then back to her. It allowed me to get a good look at her.
I took in her full breasts, that had previously filled her dress with no room to spare, now swelling above the low neck line. As the sun danced over them, they looked magnificent.
She followed my gaze, ever so slightly bit her lip and eased back into the seat.
"Nineteen" I said quickly
"You knew!" She scowled in mock annoyance.
"Yep, sorry"
We talked some more. I learnt she was studying medicine and on her reading week. A friend might be coming to stay. Then as we passed through the gates her guard went up. The spoilt, entitled young lady was back and the games began again, but this time I was more intrigued by her, and I was happy enough to play along, for now.
I had a couple of rotten posts to replace on the stock fencing. Six inch chestnut poles pounded straight into the ground. The first went in easy enough. The second was a right sod. The ground can be stony in places. There was movement, so I knew it would go eventually.
It required full body effort to lift and smash down the post rammer. Lifting the heavy metal collar to the top of the pole and hammering it down into a deep squat. Again and again I struck, panting now with the effort. Almost there. I stepped back to check the height and line. Anna was watching me, mounted on one of the young greys from the yard.
"how long have you been there?" I spluttered, gasping for air.
"long enough"
"long enough for what?"
Her eyes burned into me "I'm studying the male body"
"I can see that" I joked.
"It's actually very helpful seeing the muscles working under strain, especially such a well defined example" She was straight faced, testing me I thought.
Looking down at my glistening body, muscles pumped. She had a point,
I felt myself flush slightly, I straightened myself "Like Michelangelo's David" I quipped, feeling the need to say something.
"Do you have a tiny cock as well?" she laughed
I thought better than to answer this.
"You should be careful on that one, he's still a colt" I changed the subject
"Don't worry, I have the measure of him!" She smiled as she kicked him firmly and raced past me, out towards the rides.
Her toned arse rising with the horses stride, her strong legs in tight cream jodhpurs and polished riding boots. it was a fine sight indeed.
I did not see her return, but she had certainly piqued my interest.
I packed up and drove the quad and trailer back to the shed and swapped them for the ride on.
As always, I started up by the gates and mowed back through the avenue of trees.
It was sweltering for May, late 20's maybe even 30 degrees.
I worked slowly back towards the house and on to the main lawn. I started to snake up and down carefully following the previous cut to give the precise stripes required. Focused on picking out the faint line in the grass, I almost hit her a she strutted across my path, bare legged, textbooks clutched to her chest a flowing robe flapping behind her. She pretended not to have even seen me, behind dark glasses, looking straight ahead, as she swept towards the pool.
As I progressed up and down, I got closer to her each time I passed. I felt her eyes on me, but each time I turned back to face her, she appeared engrossed in her study. Finally she turned over onto her front, all I could see was her pert round arse. As I got closer I could not help but get a good look with each pass. I obviously became too brazen under the beating sun. When she next came into view I was craning my neck to prolong the viewing, expecting to see her sweet arse closer still, but she was sat up looking straight towards me. Busted!
She beckoned me over, shit!