Phillip Maybury gently eased the Bentley into second gear and cruised the final hundred yards or so up the drive towards Maybury Manor, that most grandiose of buildings. This was a rare pleasure for him to actually handle the car himself, normally it would be Albert, his driver at the wheel. But on the way to a meeting that morning Albert had had a minor heart attack, just managing to pull the car into the side of the motorway before collapsing and Maybury himself had had to call an ambulance and let Albert's wife know. Late for the meeting and in truth a little shaken, Phillip Maybury had instead decided to turn around and spend the day at home instead.
Phillip Maybury was old money, his father a rich landowner who owned half the countryside in the surrounding English county. He was 41, worked when he felt like it and lived pretty much in the lap of luxury, his inheritance meaning he was unlikely to ever have any money worries in his life. He had taken a wife, Jennifer, three years ago, she was a real English beauty, fifteen years his junior, raven haired and full bounteous breasts. Of course, he was marrying beneath himself but he had been completely infatuated with the beauty and whisked her off her feet in a whirlwind romance that saw her showered with all the gifts a young woman could want. But did she love him? He never quite knew.
He slid the car into its garage and got out, smoothing his expensive suit as he got out, sub consciously brushing at the flecks of grey hair at the sides of his full, dark head. It was strange this, being home at mid-morning through the week and he smiled as he breathed in the clean, country air, it was good (even though he ruefully reflected on the circumstance that had led to him being back home, he hoped Albert would recover) being home during the day, he should do it more often, perhaps make a regular thing of it. So lost in that idea was he that he was inside his stately home and climbing the stairs to his bedroom to get changed before he knew what he was doing. After all Jennifer should be out shopping, she had said she was headed to London. Strange, the door to the anti-chamber was locked. Sure it was sometimes closed but he had never known it to be locked before, at least his key fitted, it wasn't blocked by a key on the inside, his wife must have locked it before heading out. Some strange impulse or feeling made him open the door gently and almost tiptoe inside, as if he had some premonition of what he would discover. He put his key on the small table next to the interior door (next to Jennifer's key!) and slowly pushed the door open to be greeted with the most terrible sight he could imagine.
Right slap bang in the centre of their king sized, Edwardian style bed were two naked figures. From this angle Phillip was behind and to the right of them and watched in horror as he realised the woman on her hands and knees on top of the bed was Jennifer, her long, dark locks unmistakable. Inching forward in a daze he soon saw that the man behind her, fucking so forcefully in the doggy position was Arkins the Gardener/Handyman who lived in Rose Cottage at the gatehouse to his manor. Neither of them had realised Phillip was there and they continued to fuck noisily, both obviously nearing the point of climax and wrapped up in what they were doing. As terrible a sight as this was for Phillip Maybury (and it was, he could literally feel his heart being ripped apart as he witnessed his young wife's adultery so brutally clear before him) he could not find the strength or courage to do anything. He just stood there aghast, not speaking, not moving, just observing Jennifer being fucked like the slut she apparently was. The rutting couple came at the same time, something Jennifer and Phillip had never accomplished (he had satisfied her, hadn't he?) and the rugged gardener collapsed onto Jennifer's back and they both lay there panting and resting for a minute or so.
"Right Darling you'd better get back......."
She stopped her words in a hurry as she noticed the third person in the room. Arkins too whirled round as he saw Jennifer's consternation. Both their hearts sunk as they saw the master of the house, Jennifer's husband standing there watching them. There followed an uncomfortable silence, none of the three moving or making any noise, the two illicit lovers frozen as if they were frightened to break this impasse, that if they didn't move maybe they would not have been discovered. Finally, something snapped inside Maybury and her snorted in indignation at them before storming from the room. Things would never be the same again.
*
Phillip called up his friend and confidant Rupert Love as he sped away and within an hour they were downing whiskey as Phillip relayed the whole sorry story. Rupert had been his friend for years and having seen his own wife leave him, Phillip knew he would advise him well. What he did not know was that Rupert himself had tried it on with Jennifer mere months before the marriage to Phillip and been bluntly rebuffed, he had necessarily kept quiet but had harboured a deep seated and complete dislike for his best friends wife since then. As Phillip spilled the whole story the wily Rupert saw the perfect opportunity to teach the little slut a particularly nasty lesson. He remembered how he felt when his own wife, Sarah, had left him, how it had twisted and angered him and between the two of them they had quite the discussion as to what to do next.
*
When Rupert returned home at tea time that night Jennifer was completely repentant, she was in floods of tears and begged, pleaded with Phillip to forgive her. That it had been a stupid error, that she had made a terrible mistake, that she would do anything to make it up to him, if only he could find it in her heart to forgive her. She cried and wailed and tried to get some sort of a read on how her husband was taking it but he just sat in his favourite leather armchair and listened impassively. She did sound convincing, thought Phillip, but then hadn't Rupert said she would? After all that strict pre-nuptial agreement his solicitor had insisted upon meant that if he filed for divorce with adultery involved (and she could hardly deny it could she, caught like that) she would walk away from the marriage with virtually nothing. She had not been especially rich before they had met and undoubtedly she was more than used to the good things in life living in the luxury of Maybury Manor. Phillip coughed and finished arranging his thoughts, Rupert was right, this had to be the way.
"My dear, I would like to believe you. I would like to believe that you are sorry, that it was a one off stupid, stupid thing to do, that it meant nothing to you. I would like to forgive you, really, but I saw it for myself. How can I ever believe you ever again?You've betrayed my trust, you say it was just today, I find that hard to believe. Whatever, you've betrayed me and it would take a massive gesture from you to even begin to convince me that I should not be better off rid of you."
Jennifer looked up at him (she was on her knees by his chair beseeching him by now) with those wide, doleful brown eyes imploring him.
"Oh please, Phillip, anything, anything!"
"Very well, but this is against my instincts, but I will grant you the chance to redeem yourself somewhat. I have spoken with Rupert and he and I have come up with four things that you must do, four trials if you will and if you agree to them and perform them to Rupert's satisfaction then I will grant you a second chance."