Unckown - The Willing Mrs. Talbot

What had happened to him, she wondered fearfully. What had come over him? Never had he treated her in such a brutal and savage fashion. She lay on the floor, almost unable to move, realizing, now, that there was more, much more she would have to combat in this house. Dashiell was haunted by the past, and the past was alive now. She would have to overcome it.

She pulled herself up to the bed, trembling with the lingering, constant pain in her body. She gazed at the door, terror racing through her, wondering if she had the power and will to save them both.

At precisely eight o'clock, a gaunt, aged butler rang a small bell in the huge, ornate dining room, that tinkled softly as he shook it. Nevertheless, the sound of the chime was heard throughout the house, and the members of the huge manor began to make their way down to dinner.

Standing at the head of the table, in the center of the room, his massive bulk framed by the door way, so that all that entered saw him first, was Edmund Gorey Talbot. He had a fierce black beard and appeared to be glaring at the guests as they stepped nervously into the room.

"Hurry up, damn it, dinner will not wait on those too lazy to be prompt," the legendary man of the stage hissed. "I don't have time to daily with you, I'm hungry enough as it is."

His wife, a slim, compact woman of roughly the same age laughed brightly. "Ohh, now, E.G., don't pester the children," she chided him. "They will be here soon enough, and you know it!"

"Quiet, woman," the big man snarled. "You may still be as beautiful as the day I married you, but you are still just as stupid!"

The woman looked offended, her round, bright eyes for the moment clouded with embarrassment, but her husband ignored her hurt features, continuing to glare at the arriving guests. He ran his eyes over them coldly as they stepped into, the room, as if inspecting them and measuring their worth.

His eldest son entered the room and he growled at him impatiently. "Come on, come on, Winston, sit down," he hissed. "Though from the looks of you, you could do with missing a meal or two. You're getting to be a pig, young man!"

Winston Talbot stiffened at his father's remark but said nothing. Behind him, the short, pudgy figure of his wife prodded his back with her finger, hissing into his ear in an urgent manner.

"Hurry up, Winston, you know how your father hates to be kept waiting," she sighed. She smiled at the big man in front of them and gestured helplessly. "Sometimes I can't do a thing with him, E.G.!"

"That's obvious, Nola," he snorted in contempt. "You never could do anything with anything, as I remember. That's why you quit acting, once you latched onto my son, if I'm not mistaken."

The woman colored in her cheeks and bowed her head in embarrassment. She seated herself on her father's left side, next to her husband who was closest to the man. She gazed around the room and smiled thinly.

"I can see that Maggie hasn't, been able to get Dash down here yet," she said coolly. "Seems to me he'd be running for the chance to say hello to his father on his birthday!"

"Maggie and Dash will tend to their own business," scolded her mother-in-law. "Don't you worry about that!"

E.G. Talbot was not satisfied with his wife's assurances, however. He moved around from his chair and went quickly to the door leading out into the large foyer. He stood at the base of the stairs leading to the second floor and shouted at the top of his voice.

"Maggie, Dashiell, get down here, damn it!" he roared. "The cook didn't make dinner just for you to dawdle over!"

There was no response from the second floor and for a moment, the older man considered going up the stairs and finding them himself. He had one foot on the bottom step when his second daughter-in-law appeared at the head of the stairs above him.

She was wearing a soft, blue outfit, cut low in the front to accent her pert, round breasts. E. G. Talbot sucked in his breath as she descended the stairs, every motion she made, forcing her body to move in an erotic fashion.

"Why Mister Talbot, you sound as if someone stuck you with a pin," she said, her voice rich with a melodic and sensuous sound. "One would think that we are all deaf in this house, from the way you are shouting!"

E.G. Talbot smiled thinly at his daughter-in-law, running his eyes slowly up and down the length of her firm, luscious frame. "I'd do some shouting if you were my woman," he said pointedly. "You can bet I'd do some shouting!"

Maggie laughed and pressed her lips to his cheek, kissing, him affectionately. She mashed her breasts against his big, thick arm, and the big man shuddered as a powerful wave of lust washed over him.

"You are a God damn tease, woman," he snarled at her, pushing her away from him, then. "You're going to get in trouble with that, some day."

"You should know, father," came his son's voice from above. "You should know all about that, shouldn't you?"

E.G. Talbot turned his head to see his son quickly coming down the stairs. He grinned at the young man crookedly. "You're in a sharp mood, Dashiell," he said coolly. "You've developed a wit, I see, since I last saw you!"

"It comes with the territory," his son replied crisply. "Now, we're down here, father, can we eat dinner before your bellowing curdles the milk?"

The older man laughed in delight. "You're doing wonders for him, Maggie," he said, patting his daughter-in-law's pert, jutting bottom affectionately. "He was a regular grim little, bastard before you got hold of him. Always walked around here with a look on his face that suggested he lived on prunes!"

"Maybe you just didn't know how to handle him," Maggie replied knowingly. She could feel his hand lingering on her buttocks and she twisted away from the large paw. "Dash always needed a bit of attention and concern, I'll bet."

The old man was pushing them into the dining room, now, and his eldest son laughed at Maggie's remark, nodding his head. "Yeah, if it wasn't for Dad and Nola here, prodding him, he wouldn't be the star he is today!"

"We had to practically tie him down to get him to enter the profession," agreed his wife. "Poor Dash was never much of a self-starter, I'm afraid."

"I am forever indebted to you, Nola," the young man said smoothly. He bowed to her slightly. "I know my very success is all because of your kind concern!"

His father laughed at the obvious venom in his younger son's voice. "That's it, Dash, give it to her good," he snorted. "Nothing better for a family than for them to be going at each other's throats, I always say."

His eldest son glared at his youngest and a moment of tense silence descended on the table. Laurel Talbot, however, was not having any of this disquiet. She had spent too many years with her husband and two sons not to be able to handle them.

"All right, boys, enough of this bickering," she said, shaking her head determinedly. "We are going to have a peaceful meal this evening, damn it."

Winston Talbot continued to glare at his brother, but Dashiell seemed cheered by his mother's remarks. He settled back down in his chair and laughed softly. "Another wonderful weekend with the family," he sighed. "I've been looking forward to this for weeks, I promise you."

His father shot him a glance. "You might be a big man on Broadway, now, boy," he said grimly. "But remember who I am and where you came from! I'm still master in this house, and you'll bow to me!"

Dashiell looked at his father, unable to disguise the contempt and hatred in his eyes. The years of beatings returned, suddenly, the even worse horrors he had to endure and even participate in, flinging back to his mind with a savage force.

But he held his temper. He had already lost it once this evening; he did not want to lose it again. "All right, E.G.," he whispered softly. "I know you have the upper hand, don't worry."