It was October 1888, and on this particular night, London was drearily cold and foggy, it was most definitely not a night to be outside but rather, at home in front of a good well-built fire. Lord and Lady Forbes had decided to do exactly that; stay in and sit in front of the fire, rather than face the bitter winds and rain that they could hear slamming against their window panes.
Lord Forbes, the former Thomas Forbes, had not started life out as a lord but rather as the son of a gamekeeper. He had grown up on a member of the aristocracies' estate in Devon, but he however had wanted much more out of life than his father, and, early on realised that he was not happy with the class system. A system that would have kept him in servitude, possibly as the replacement for his father, when the time came that he was considered no longer fit for his duties, with the result that he would be forced to retire.
Thomas had decided to escape from those expectancies for his life, and he made his way from Devon up to London with not much more than the clothes on his back. Upon arrival, he had quickly found work as a groom, he was very good with horses, and of course back in 1888, they were the main mode of transport.
As he worked, he was astute enough to save and invest some of his money, not something that was very common for the working class in those days. Sometimes, the investments were not successful. Fortunately for the majority of his investments, he seemed to have an inordinate amount of luck. With the money that his investments brought him, he started to buy properties, and, eventually, take over several different types of businesses. He also began lending some of his newfound riches to the upper classes, some of whom could not always pay back their loans and thus became indebted to Thomas.
Thomas soon came up with a way for them to absolve themselves of their debts, and thus, not have to suffer the disgrace of being taken to court by a commoner for unpaid debts. In lieu of their debts, Thomas asked for favours that would make him richer and more influential. One of his debtors had been a rather well thought of Prime Minister, and when he was unable to pay what he owed, Thomas asked for a contract for one of his acquired businesses, a contract to make ships for the Royal Navy. The Prime Minister beholden to Thomas, had no option but to ensure that Thomas got the contract he desired.
As Thomas rose in eminence in the business world, he was eventually knighted by Queen Victoria. He had now become one of the richest men in Britain, and, with his knighthood, he felt he had defeated the class system he hated so much. He became a philanthropist, donating to many charities, endowing the likes of hospitals and universities with money that they needed to keep running. As a result of all his charitable work, it was only a matter of time before he was awarded a peerage.
Thomas was always a handsome man, and, even in his youth, one who had looked after himself and his body; often exercising to keep his body fit. He had married into the aristocracy, in fact, he had married the youngest daughter of the Duke who owned the estate upon which he had grown up. He and Eleanor were very well matched. Despite the disparity of their births, they were both intelligent, and, both had ideas on sexual activity and matching sex drives that would have been considered quite scandalous at that time.
They had agreed early on that they would have an open relationship. Well obviously living in the times they did, it would be behind closed doors, but, they would not deny each other the chance to not only enjoy each other's body but enjoy those of others too.
This brings us back to that cold October night in 1888. The rain always made Thomas feel horny, and as her ladyship rose and bent over to pick up her crochet that had fallen on the floor, he reached out for her derrière and pulled her close to him. He told her to forget the crochet as he had other things on his mind. Turning to him, she smiled and told him that he could take her tonight in any which way he chose, but, that on the morrow, she was determined to take their young coachman to her bed.