The Lobkney Docks, Boylsten, England, (1762)...
Chilled winds wafted in from a murky sea and the stench of rancid garbage and the salty sea air was quite abundant as Alain made his way toward the Lobkney Docks on the south end of Bolysten. It was a seedy place and it was interesting that Noreen opted to meet him in such a place. He nearly lost himself in the onset of sea fog but navigated it in time to find her standing at the end of the docks with what appeared to have been a lot on her mind. He didn't know much about her background before their love affair took place but he was willing to listen to whatever she had to say if they were meeting in such a public location. Noreen seemed a bit sad but quickly wiped away her tears as she rushed over to him throwing her arms around his neck and treating him to a series of seemingly desperate kisses.
"Are you alright Love?" asked Alain with a good deal of concern in his tone.
"I'm fine," replied Noreen with something of a small smile. "It's just some awful stuff with my father need to concern yourself with it."
Alain looked at her puzzled about her choice of words.
"Noreen I...whatever it is if I can be of service I don't mind it," he replied holding her close.
Noreen sighed, She had not at all intended to find someone like him willing to listen to her moral dilemmas but she was quite glad that she did despite what she knew would never last between them.
"My father is a rather difficult man to know and he's been bitter about the fact that his only children happen to be only daughters," she admitted.
"Your father is an arse," replied Alain evenly.
Noreen chuckled a bit at this, her sweet Alain giving voice to vulgarity was quite absurd, but well executed due to the circumstances surrounding her father's petty insolence.
"Such naughty words from such a lovely mouth," said Noreen kissing him once more. "I couldn't wait to see you...and I couldn't change my father venturing to the old grove after me and ruining our special place."
Alain wrapped his arms around Noreen and held her close once more.
"Sod your father, and know that you have my support whenever you need it," he replied.
Noreen sighed as a few tears cascaded down her supple cheeks. The last thing she needed was for Alain to have a run-in with her father, Having to explain why she'd truly sought out his company would have been quite a painful endeavor as she was beginning to fall for the handsome younger lad and his sweet expressions of love and devotion for her.
"I have news of my own," Alain confessed. "News that will greatly impact our future if plans go awry."
Noreen pulled back a bit and arched a brow at this notion of news.
"What is it?" she asked hoping that there had not been another woman involved.
She simply couldn't bear it if that had been true. While she had used Alain to avoid her virtue being stolen by someone she didn't know rather than giving her own free will to one she loved, she had loved him and would be devastated to know that he loved another.
"My father has agreed to allow me to accompany him on a seafaring expedition," announced Alain. "I've been anticipating this since I was five years old and he took me to see his ship for the first time."
Noreen noted his excitement and thought it wonderful to see his boyhood dream come true. She wanted the best for him after all and as much as she loved him, she knew it was a matter of time before the marriage contract her father had signed changed the course of her young life forever.
"Well I think you should be elated," she said pleased he'd been happy. "It's not every day a boyhood dream comes to life."
"I am," replied Alain. "I am elated as a matter of fact, but there is one drawback to this little adventure."
"Oh?" asked Noreen with an arched brow of her own.
"I'll be gone for at least three months which is an estimated period and likely six months if we run into complications during the voyage," admitted Alain. "I am not sure if I can survive being away from you for that long."
Noreen had not wanted Alain to avoid the trip he'd been waiting on since he'd been a child and the least of a chance to prove himself to his father for her sake. She wasn't even sure when her contract would come into play and if and when it did it would surely lead to her breaking the young lad's heart. She made up her mind to enjoy the remainder of the time she had with him and push him to go on his trip.
"You're going," she said evenly. "I will be here when you return and awaiting the tale you'll have for when having them, as for before your trip...I suppose we could occupy the time with each other's company until your departure."
Alain had not known how he could have been so fortunate as to meet a woman as understanding and perceptive as Noreen. She always seemed to find ways whenever they were together to increase his love for her.
Noreen looked about the docks as she caught the faint flicker of a lamp from a nearby tavern. It was high time she got to experience what a good round of rutting had been like when one was within the confines of walls and a proper bed.
She also wished to indulge her high means of lust as much as she could with Alain before the dreaded truth came out and she potentially lost him forever.
"What do you say we rent a room at the tavern?" she asked. "We could spend a proper evening there and go sightseeing next."
Alain was a bit confused by her wanting to spend any amount of time in a place as seedy and lowbrow as this but his young heart could not bear to deny her even the smallest whim.
"As you wish, Love," he replied taking her hand as she led him quite eagerly to the tavern.
He knew not what awaited them not only in their shared future nor in such a strange and unseemly place as the old tavern, but there was not a single other place he wished to be in that moment.