Dreams in Moonlight

Part 31

The sudden opening of the shed door, and the cheery greeting of "Morning" was quickly followed by a shocked "Oh!"

Old Mrs Maddingly stood at the shed door paralysed for several seconds.

In those first few micro seconds it was perfectly obvious that the two people on the divan were naked. For a start she could see Greg's bare back and the top of his butt, as the blanket had twisted and now draped across them diagonally. Mrs Maddingly could also see that Greg's arm lay across Mallory's breasts. Affording them the only cover from Mrs Maddingly's eyes.

"uh, I'll wait outside." Mrs Maddingly shuffled back and out of the door just as Greg turned automatically to see who had entered the shed. His movement left Mrs Maddingly with a clear view of Mallory's naked torso. She dragged at the blanket.

Greg reached for his boxers that had been discarded during the night. A night that had seen him wake Mallory several times. Not that she had protested. Their state of nakedness was a testament to the fact that most of the night had been spent making love. No wonder neither of them had woken when the sun came up.

Greg glanced at his watch. Nine am. He got to his feet, reached the stool and retrieved his jeans. He pulled them on. Zipped them up, and then reached for his tshirt. Not a word was said, as Mallory sat on the divan with the blanket covering her. She sat silent, watching as he got dressed.

Greg ran a hand through his hair, as he looked for his socks. He pulled them on, dragged on his boots and then headed for the door. He pulled it shut behind him as he stepped down the two steps and came face to face with a rather red faced Mrs Maddingly.

Mallory closed her eyes. Mrs Maddingly was not known for keeping secrets. Nor was she known for being anything other than pretty straight laced. No doubt the fact she had found Mallory and Greg together, literally, would make the rounds in town. She reached for her bra, which was lying on the floor by the side of the bed. She didn't bother with the scrap of her gstring, instead she pulled on her skirt, attempted to smooth out the creases and then reached for her tshirt. No doubt her hair was a mess. Her handbag was on the lone counter. She ran a comb through her hair and then taking a breath decided she ought to join Greg in facing Mrs Maddingly.

She was just in time to hear Greg say. "No she isn't my girlfriend. And no, we are not getting married." He knew that was not true. Last night ensured he would marry Mallory, but not just because they were caught here.

The two turned to study Mallory as she emerged from the shed.

"You young folk nowadays." She huffed in disdain. " In my day, if you got caught sleeping with a woman you married her." She looked accusingly Greg and then at Mallory.

"With all due respect..." Greg started to explain, only for Mrs Maddingly to interrupt him, when she asked Mallory, "What will your uncle say about this? You should be insisting this man marries you. Compromising you like this."

"There was no compromising. We were stuck here because of the flooding. I phoned last night to explain the situation." She' d left a message with her cousin, on their answer phone. Just in case they were worried about her. And just because they had did more than share a bed, it did not mean that they were compromised, not in this era.

Mrs Maddingly tutted, taking in Greg's disheveled state. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Stuck here is one thing. But you don't need to get naked just because you are stuck here!" She huffed with disdain. "Evie asked me to see if you were alright. Not to find that you were  compromised by him!" Mrs Maddingly accused. 

"He has not compromised me, Mrs Maddingly." Mallory kept her tone light. "Can I just thank you for coming, as requested by Evie. I am sorry we embarrassed you."

 Mrs Maddingly's eyes went from Mallory, supposedly appeased by her statement, she looked over at Greg, "Well, Evie said they are still cut off with the flood. But the road into town is now open."

"Thank you for letting us know." Mallory said quietly and said what Greg was thinking. "But, with all due respect, Mrs Maddingly, this is not the Regency era, and, it is possible to take shelter with a man, using the available lodging in an emergency. Would you have preferred if I stayed in the car? Or if he stayed in the car?" 

Mrs Maddinly huffed, shook her head in silent remonstration. "Take shelter is not the same as, ..." She petered away.. "I'll leave you to it." She turned and ambled her way to her car.

Mallory wasn't sure which was the lesser of two evils, hitching a ride with Maddingly back to her car, and enduring a lecture on promiscuity, or waiting for Greg to return her to her car. By the time she decided, Mrs Maddingly was already reversing her car.

"I'm not marrying you just because that old biddy thinks I should." He announced.

"What?"

"I said, I'm not marrying you just because we were caught here." He came closer, "Just because we spent the night together, is certainly none of Maddingly's business." He wasn't sure quite how Mallory would take his statements.

"It might not be any of her business, but you can guarantee that the whole town will know we spent the night together." And no doubt, rumours will follow. "And for your information, I am not marrying you either!"

He snorted. "Yeah, right. In any case, most will think she is exaggerating when she  tells them about us." He shrugged. "Everyone knows we are not interested in each other."

She folded her arms as she huffed out angrily. "Are you kidding! We were interested enough to have sex  last night!" She glared. "But that does not mean I want to marry you!"

"Good to know that.  And for your information, when you say we had sex,  you came six times!" He grinned. She rolled her eyes. Greg continued, "The town believes we are nothing but friends now, and as you said, we are not living in the regency era.  I am sure people will recognised we took shelter because of the weather.  And, yes, we had sex, consensual sex. But everyone knows Mrs Maddingly is prone to exaggerate situations."

Mallory huffed. "If you believe that, fine. And it was more than sex!"  She marched toward the shed. "I'd appreciate a ride down to my car."

"Wait, Mallory!" Clearly he had mis-phrased his intentions.

She headed into the shed, intending to check that there was very little evidence left relating to the events of the night. She gave the blanket a good shake, hoping that by draping it it would air before anyone came to use the shed again.

"Mallory! You have misinterpreted my..."

"Believe me, I understood. We had consensual sex. Fine. Now move!" She ordered while she stripped the sheet deciding that it might be an idea to get it washed and dried, and with a bit of luck she could have that done today and returned later this evening without anyone being any the wiser.

"Mallory!" Greg growled. She ignored him. She bundled the sheet under her arm then collected her handbag. It was only as they reached the car that he spoke. "Look, I didn't mean to upset you by suggesting that what happened last night was ..."

"Forget it." She cut him off. "You live closer to here, so if you take the sheet get it washed and dried and return it, no one apart from Mrs Maddingly will be any the wiser. You can forget it ever happened."

The drive back to her car was done in almost total silence.