Massive thank You to Mica who has encouraged me to write again after many years
It was Christmas 1911. Lady Eleanor Smythe sat in the drawing room of her Belgravia residence and reflected on Christmases long gone. She had been born into a relatively prosperous family and had never had the need or desire to work other than on various charitable projects.
In her early twenties her parents had arranged a marriage for her. Her husband was to be Sir Henry Smythe an old Etonian who had made his wealth as a banker and was looking for a trophy wife to accompany him to the many events he was now invited to following the receipt of his knighthood for services to banking and charitable works. Following the marriage Eleanor became Lady Eleanor and she quite quickly got into enjoying the privileges that the title brought, best tables in restaurants, invites to Royal Ascot and much more.
Sir Henry was almost thirty years older than Eleanor. He was a kindly man and more than generous with his wealth but not a man prone to letting himself or his emotions show. Right from the start they had had separate bedrooms. It was the generation where ladies were advised to lie back and think of England and that is a pretty good description of their marital trysts when they did occur. About once a week Sir Henry would stay late at his club playing cards and when he returned he would arrive in Lady Eleanor's bedroom already prepared for action. She would raise her nightdress giving him sight of the prize and they would couple until Lord Henry emptied himself inside her before returning to his own room. Often not a word would be spoken.
Eventually one of their couplings led to her giving birth to son Nigel who was now 25. Sir Henry clearly thought by providing a son and heir he had fulfilled his marital duties and the frequency of the couplings diminished as the years passed.
It was a time of sexual naïveté among women and as Lady Eleanor had never experienced an orgasm she never even knew that the female orgasm existed. Fortunately her social status was such that she was often out to lunch with ladies in a similar situation. Over time they enlightened her to the pleasures of masturbation and she gradually accepted that as her chosen method of release and relief. There was no real alternative other than taking a lover and that was not a road she wanted to go down.
In early 1908 Sir Henry died suddenly leaving Lady Eleanor a very wealthy widow. Several London properties and a large investment portfolio meant she would never need for money for the rest of her life. There was money for Nigel but this was tied up in a trust until he was 25 and so he was more than happy to stay living at home which was ideally located and free. It was a large house and there was plenty of space for the two of them plus the live-in housekeeper and her husband who acted as butler, chauffeur and general handyman.
Nigel was a good-looking young man and that, added to his prospective wealth meant he was never short of the company of young females who, with the help of the servants, often spent the night in Nigel's bed. He had been given a position at a bank through Sir Henry's connections and whilst his current position was nothing special his future prospects were good.
Lady Eleanor carried on as before with her charitable works and her ladies who lunched and when the occasion arose pleasured herself whilst thinking of young guards officers taking her to places Sir Henry had never even thought about.
Lady Eleanor had never thought of Nigel as a potential bed partner but over the coming months that was about to change as were many things with the prospect of a major World War being mooted in many quarters.
As Lady Eleanor sat there she realised she was 49 and that over the next six months would reach a landmark birthday. By coincidence Nigel would be 25 at almost the same time and activate the entitlement to his inheritance. It was a sign that 1912 was a year when they must celebrate and try to see it as a turning point. Lady Eleanor's official period of mourning was over and it was time to look forward and not backwards.
A couple of days later she saw an announcement in the Times. A brand new ship was to make it's maiden voyage across the Atlantic to New York, somewhere she had always wanted to visit. She saw it as another sign and after checking with Nigel that he could get time off work to accompany her she contacted the offices of the White Star line and arranged to book a small two-bedroomed stateroom to be aboard the maiden passage to New York. The vessel was the RMS Titanic. That evening the cheque was on its way to them and by the end of the week written confirmation came by post.
Soon it was the morning of 10th April 1912 and Lady Eleanor and Nigel were being dropped off in Southampton by the chauffeur. They were ushered to their stateroom which comprised of a sitting room with dining area, two bedrooms each with a large double bed and a family style shared bathroom. Soon there was a knock on the door and their luggage was delivered by porters. Nigel dealt with the tip for them leaving the two of them alone to settle in. Lady Eleanor took her choice of the bedrooms and started to unpack some of her clothing. At home she was used to having a maid to do this for her but whilst on board she would have to share the novelty with Nigel. Hopefully he would help her with the difficult tasks of fastening up her evening gowns and any other little things that needed doing such as her jewellry.
Nigel quickly stripped to the waist to relax. Lady Eleanor was not used to seeing him like that. His young, muscular torso sent a few ripples through her body and she felt a tingle between her thighs. She had never really harboured any lustful thoughts about Nigel but she had the feeling that was about to change as they spent time much closer than they were used to in their Belgravia home.
Nigel threw on a shirt and together they went up on deck to watch the ship set sail for Cherbourg on the first leg of its trip. Then they went for a stroll together and found their bearings before retiring to their stateroom to prepare for their first night onboard.
Nigel chose to take the first stint in the bathroom whilst Lady Eleanor looked through her wardrobe deciding what would be appropriate for their first night at sea. She wanted to look her best but in a way that fitted her background and status.
Nigel emerged from the bathroom wearing just a large white towel with the emblem of the White Star line prominently displayed. At home they had their own bathrooms and Lady Eleanor was not used to seeing him, or any other man, dressed that way. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt a moistness where she was not used to feeling moistness. At least not right there standing in the sitting room. Perhaps later in the safety of her own bed she might allow the moistness to return and enjoy it rather than be embarrassed by it.
Lady Eleanor then visited the bathroom, changing her underwear and making herself respectable before returning the short distance to her bedroom and starting to dress for dinner. Soon she donned her selected gown but needed Nigel's help to secure the fastening and also to help with the string of pearls she had chosen to go around her neck. Nigel gladly helped although he was more adept at getting young ladies out of their clothes than in to them. Lady Eleanor felt his hands linger on her back. Was it intentional or accidental? Either way she enjoyed it and looked forward to it being a regular occurrence on their journey. Nigel complimented his mother on her appearance and soon they were leaving the stateroom and making their way to their appointed table for dinner.
They were seated at a table for 4 and opposite them sat a young woman of a similar age to Nigel and what turned out to be a maiden aunt by her side. They introduced themselves to one another. The young lady was called Martha and Nigel seemed to be entranced by her. That was hardly surprising as her evening dress was very low cut and her underwear was almost pushing her breasts out of the top of it. There was plenty to see and Nigel took full advantage of it. Lady Eleanor felt a little twinge of envy as she realised her days of wearing such a provocative dress were behind her.
