Bless his soul, Stephen really did try not to stray from the light of God any longer. However, it was far more of a challenge than he thought it would be. Mundane life with his wife and children felt as grey as the skies on a rainy day quite often. He conversed casually with his respectable neighbours; participated in the tea parties his wife held, having to endure her and her friends' love of gossip; played with his children whenever they asked that of him, which was a common occurrence, and, aside from that, he never really had much to do. He wished that he were a more engaged and naturally curious person, but alas, personality is a hard thing to change consciously, which he knew very well.
Another thing that he knew very well was that his personality was changing subconsciously in a manner which was not overly apparent, but which was not unimportant either, and it appalled him. For years, he had seen the bodies of women as a gift from above, but he could never have counted that they would have affected him that much. He was slowly but surely starting to value them more than things that held actual meaning. In his deprivation of the pleasures that they brought, he yearned from them incessantly, remembering the passion of the touch of the other sex.
He remembered it all multiple times during the day, usually after lunch, when he would fill himself up with food and get into a drowsy state, sleeping on the divan for an hour or two with a serene smile on his face, and also when he went to bed, also having that same serene smile on his face. Mildred had no idea what it meant, but she quickly concluded that he was merely happy and that there was no other meaning to it.
During those moments, sensual images would appear before his eyes, seeming more real than reality to him. He would see Caroline's sea-blue eyes and their lively gleam; her thick red lips that laid hot kisses onto his neck; her own neck, which was tall and pale and pure, begging him to taint that purity; her womanly bosom that he stared at with wide eyes as he kissed it with all the force inside him, and her low, seductive voice that on its own brought the feeling of intercourse to his body through the warm breaths near his ear and neck. It was the peak of corruption, but he accepted that corruption with open arms.
In an attempt to alleviate that feeling, he turned towards art of a more wanton nature. He bought paintings that depicted beautiful naked women lying on divans or beds, sometimes alone and sometimes in groups, as well as libertine novels. Unfortunately, although it held no harm, it also held no real satisfaction in the long run, being a mere paling imitation of the pleasures of the flesh. Even life was a paling imitation of itself without Caroline in it.
On the last day of February, he could not handle it any longer. Having woken up with a licentious mind, he hastily did everything that he usually did in the mornings, rushing to the courtyard to clear his head and decide what to do next. It certainly helped a little, for the winds of cold were strong that day, putting a stop to his drowsiness and his more irrational thoughts. Still, he had a decision to make, which brought great sorrow to his heart, that feeling vanishing the moment he noticed that his wife and children were leaving the courtyard with an obvious intention to visit the park.
"Hello, my dear," Mildred chirped once she had reached the gate. "It is already apparent to you where we are headed, so there is no need for me to explain anything. We will stay there for the whole day, and I hope that is fine with you. Our children begged me to take them there, which you must surely understand. Farewell until sunset. I wish you a pleasant day."
"I wish you a pleasant day as well," he chirped back, rejoicing the moment the gate creaked behind them.
For a couple of minutes, he stood in place like a statue and waited for their shadows to leave the horizon. After all, he had to be sure that none of them would turn back. When not a footstep could be heard in his vicinity, he began to walk slowly in the direction of the Wells manor, knowing that Caroline would have no reason to return to her old house now that they had ceased conversing over the fence. Fear crawled down his spine like a venomous snake as he planned the explanation he would provide for his visit, but it turned out to have been in vain when, by nothing other than pure happenstance, he bumped into her.
"I solemnly apologise, my beloved Caroline," he uttered as he helped her stand up from the ground, lucky that she was not carrying anything at the time.
"My beloved?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Have we not halted being lovers a month ago?"
He scratched his neck. "I am not sure what is the best way to explain this, but none seem convenient to me, so I shall say the first words that come to mind. To put it briefly, I have realised the extent of my mistake. I love you, Caroline. I always have loved you and always will love you. I cannot hope to find mirth without you in my life. You give me a reason to exist, you give me peace and passion all at once, and you awake me from the invisible death of my soul whenever I am alone and think of you. I want to bed you at once, so do with that knowledge what you will, and remember that, no matter what happens, I will always respect you."
"I knew you would come back to me," she whispered into his ear, hugging him tenderly. "Let us go to your house now that it is empty, but let us not rush either, Stephen. We have plenty of time to do what we want. We shall talk about mundane things for a while, as we often do, and then I am going to bed you. Does that sound good to you?"
"Whatever sounds good to you, sounds good to me," he responded, holding hands with her as they walked towards his residence, never merrier to see barren and bleak streets through which no one else would wish to venture at the time.
And that was indeed what they did. They talked about recent Russian literature for a while, the sun having risen quite high during that time, up until Caroline had remembered something. Her face immediately became pale with worry at that ghastly memory. His own face doing the same at seeing that, he tilted his neck in her direction, massaging her shoulders in a vain attempt to soothe her.
"What is wrong on this lovely day, my sweet?" he said quietly, leaning against her shoulder.
She let out a heavy sigh. "Within the last month, I have had to watch over Rosemary at every opportunity out of duty. The poor young woman is not getting well at all. In fact, she is getting worse day by day, and the family doctor still has no idea as to what is going on. We are all appalled at the cruelty of a universe which lets someone like her suffer. I am afraid that she might pass away at any moment, perhaps even while all of us are asleep, which terrifies me. However, I constantly reassure myself by telling myself not to be so pessimistic, which always works, even if for only a little while, for it has to. I cannot let myself be consumed by melancholy."
He kissed her on the cheek. "Do not fret, I beg of you. It is going to be fine, trust me. Everything is going to be fine now that we have each other."
"Thank you, Stephen," she said, her eyes gleaming with joy. "I will share my love with you in due time, but until then, I will share some more words, for there is no need for us to rush, I assure you."
After he nodded solemnly, he kept talking with her, talking about all sorts of unrelated topics. Before he could grasp how much time had passed, the sun had begun to set, but he believed that his wife was not too eager to return. He would not be too eager to return in her place, knowing exactly how dull her life was. With the slow descent of the shining star, his mind had begun to wander, leading him towards a new evening of corruption. The light of God was fading, and darkness did not hesitate to take hold. He felt it inside him, for it had never been this warm before.
Without thinking, he pulled her towards him, placing his lips on hers. Smiling serenely, she pulled him away for a moment and stood up from the bed so that she could take off her clothing, and he instantly followed suit. Once everything they had been wearing was on the floor, she pulled him into a tight hug, swiftly putting their mouths together with great force. She then threw him back onto the bed, climbing over him with pleasure, piercing his organ with all the energy she could muster. As they moved unsteadily along the bed, he was beginning to lose his mind from all the lust that could no longer be contained, moaning helplessly.
Sitting up, he lovingly grabbed her bosom. He rolled his tongue along its gentle and fragrant skin at a glacial pace, savouring its taste. Its sweetness reminded him of roses, and upon careful observation, he concluded that it really did resemble two blossoming pink roses, admirable in their fruitfulness. His mouth lingered along that area of her body longer than it probably should have, but he did not want to think about it as he climbed over her this time around.
Desire engulfing his heart, he pierced her organ with no mercy, unwilling to waste even the tiniest bit of his love. She had become used to merely decent and slightly hesitant intercourse from him at the beginning of their relationship, but she noticed every detail of his technique, thus she could not miss that he was improving, and at this moment, her body was taken by surprise at his current determination and fervour. She gasped for a moment or few, impressed at his progress, and as he continued putting in roughly the same amount of effort, she found herself gasping a little more.
Neither of them heard the silent creak of the gate over the sound of their love. Andrew ran after the ball he had dropped while Emma and Mildred slowly walked after him, standing right in front of the door like statues as he ran over to the nearest window. While he was picking up the ball, he heard strange noises coming from Father's bedroom, pressing his ear against the window to see if he could recognise them. Fortunately, the curtains were closed, and he could not discern what the noise meant. To him, it was like sighing, but he never remembered sighing sounding so slow and unsettling and overall eerie. He also did not fail to notice the voice of an unfamiliar woman making the noise along with Father. His eyes bulging, he picked up the ball and entered the house, not wanting to leave his mother and sister waiting.
While he was walking through the hauntingly silent and empty hallways, he could not stop thinking of the noise, which he could still hear from inside the bedroom. He mindlessly walked over to the door that he recognised as the bedroom door, opening it slowly but surely, seeing a deed that to him was most peculiar. He stood frozen as he watched the inexplicable event play out in front of him, his ten-year-old mind being incapable of understanding why Father had climbed on top of a woman who was oddly familiar to him, but still being capable of understanding that it was not the norm. And, when Mother and Emma had found themselves close to him, he did not hesitate to act upon this feeling.
"Mother, what are the two of them doing?" he asked, pulling her in the direction of the bedroom.
Mildred laughed awkwardly. "Your father has been alone all day, my dear. He would have told me if he had visitors. However, I still need to investigate this for myself, simply to see what you could be talking about."
She pulled herself away from him and marched over to the bedroom, her heart tense with determination that could not be broken. She had to see it for herself, had to know what was happening in there. But, when she finally saw it, she wished never to have seen it. Stephen was still laid over Caroline's body, the two of them kissing with revelry and moaning beyond belief, seeming to be completely unaware of what was going on around them. Her worst nightmare had been realised.