Dorethia arrived home very quickly and although she knew her husband would probably be at least an hour before he arrived she quickly changed her clothes and got their servants busy preparing dinner. When Albert did arrive home nearly two hours later he seemed very distracted. He ate dinner without speaking a word and it was only later when he sat down with a brandy did he talk.
"Something seems to be bothering you," Dorethia said to him as she sat next to him on the couch.
"I went again, to the place I told you of," he started.
"Yes?"
"And I watched two lovers do unimaginable things to each other with tongues, mouths, fingers, hands and their sex. They tasted each other's essence, things I had once thought degrading but they seemed to perfectly enjoy it. And this was not with a rogue and a strumpet, but they appeared to be a gentleman and a lady and yet they did these things."
"But you seemed bothered by it?"
"Yes, yes, because I finally realized how I have failed you," he said looking at the floor.
"You never failed me," she replied.
"Yes I have, but I have been thinking and... well tomorrow I will call a carriage for us."
"But what about work?"
"No this is more important, just be ready by eleven in the morning for a carriage ride," he said as he gulped the last of his brandy and walked up to his room.
Dorethia wondered what Albert might have planned. That night she tossed and turned running the possibilities thought her mind finally falling asleep late in the night.
The next morning she awoke and quickly dressed. Her husband was gone but when the clock clanged eleven times she heard him calling her from the door. He took her hand and walked her to the carriage and then walked around the back and climbed in on the other side. He instructed the driver to move on and then slid over next to her, something he had not done since he was courting her maybe ten years ago.
He was nervous and as he held her hand she could feel it was damp with sweat. She could feel a bit of tingling in her stomach too, especially when the carriage pulled into the park and then stopped adjacent to the hidden pathway. When Albert helped her from the carriage and then began leading her down the path she asked, "Where are we going Albert?"
"It is a place I know, I think you might like it."
He led her to the opening and stopped.
"What is this place?" she asked, trying to act like she didn't recognize it.
"Please you must forgive me and do what I tell you. I think I have found a way to redeem myself to you."
"But Albert..."
"No, you must listen to me," he said, reaching out and beginning to unfasten her bodice. "Now I want you to undress."
"Out here?"