I was a foundling baby, left on the steps of Exeter Cathedral on Christmas Eve 1882 and taken in by my adoptive parents Henry and Elsie Connors, who had not been blessed with children of their own.

My father owned the Royal Oak inn on the high road between Plymouth and Exeter. It was a successful establishment which he had bought with prize money from his time in the Royal Navy. They called me Mary because that had been my father’s mother’s name, and so Mary Connors it was, at least until my new and eventful life in London began.

I remember my early years being happy ones. My parents were hard-working and kind, and I went to school in the mornings and worked in the inn in the afternoons and evenings. It was a Georgian building over three storeys on the edge of a village called Handley.

My own small bedroom in the attic overlooked the sizeable coachyard, and I became used to the bustle and noise of coaches and travellers on horseback coming and going at all hours. Before bed, I would often rest my elbows on the window ledge and dreamily imagine I was inside one of the coaches clattering out onto the high road and bound for London, a mysterious lady on her way to a secret assignation.

I had no idea how close to a description of my adult life that would become.

Through my early teenage years, I was something of an ugly duckling, a quiet bookish child with glossy black hair, which I habitually wore in a French plait, green eyes, and a faint natural tan to my skin.

‘Our Spanish girl,’ my mother would say affectionately. One evening she found me in my room looking in the mirror. She laughed at my anxious expression and said, ‘Don’t worry, Mary, you will be a beauty soon enough. We can all see that.’ Then she sat on my bed and held my hand and talked about growing older and what that meant for me. About how men were and the attention I should expect. I remember finding it all rather interesting and exciting.

I learned a great deal by watching Lucy, one of the serving girls, as she moved around the crowded bars, laughing with the men she liked and being civil to the ones she did not. She was three or four years older than me, an attractive curvy girl with an easy manner, and we became good friends, often chatting and giggling about the guests that had caught our eye when we finished work.

As I grew up, I realised that my mother’s prediction was proving right. When people of either sex saw me, they often looked twice, and I sometimes overheard people speaking to my parents about their ‘beautiful daughter’.

‘You’re becoming famous, Mary, and good for business,’ my father would joke. ‘People come in just to have a look at you.’

For my part, I was also very aware of some of the more handsome regulars in the inn and often wondered what it would be like to be courted and even kissed by them.

Late one evening, as the inn quietened for the night, I was in my accustomed position, leaning on the window ledge and looking down into the shadowy moonlit yard. There was a two-storey barn on the left-hand side, with a double door halfway down. As I watched, Lucy appeared below me and walked briskly and quietly up to the barn door. With a quick glance round, she opened it a crack and slipped inside, pulling it shut behind her. I wondered what errand had taken her there at that time of the night but did not think much more of it. Not until I saw her do it again three nights later, and again the following week.

Finally, my curiosity got the better of me, and one evening when we were talking in my room before bed, I came right out and asked her.

She looked at me for a moment and then grinned. ‘I’m meeting Ben Williams, the apprentice blacksmith from Torton. We go in there to be together in private,’ she added. Then she leaned forward and put her mouth to my ear and whispered, ‘I let him fuck me, Mary. We’re to be married next year, but no one knows yet.’

I was aghast, thrilled at the rudeness of her language and intrigued in equal measure, and, once I had congratulated her and sworn secrecy, she told me all about their trysts.

‘He’s a fine strong man and very good at it.’ She giggled again. ‘He isn’t my first, but he’s certainly the best, and when he gets going, oh my word, Mary, I’m worried someone might hear me sometimes.’ She went on in some detail. Lucy was a very pretty girl, and I found her candid descriptions of their lovemaking fascinating and thrilling.

Without thinking about it, I said, ‘I wish I could watch,’ at which she burst out laughing and smacked me playfully on the arm.

‘Naughty, naughty, Mary. What are you thinking!’ she whispered in mock horror, but I noticed behind her eyes there was a speculation that sent little tingles of excitement through me.

Nothing more was said until one lunchtime a couple of weeks later, when she met me on the stairs. She smiled and put her hand on my arm to stop me before leaning in and whispering, ‘Make sure you’re in the barn by half past ten this evening. Hide in the upstairs gallery where the flour sacks are stored. I’m meeting Ben at eleven. I’ll keep him down on the hay bales.’ She raised her eyebrows and grinned at me before putting a finger over my lips. ‘Watch and learn, Mary. Not a word.’

And with a swing of her hips, she was gone, leaving me with the memory of her soft Devon voice in my ear and her breath on my neck.

To say I spent the rest of the day in frenzied anticipation would be an understatement. Indeed, my mother admonished me in the kitchen for being ‘so distracted’, leading Lucy to glance up from her work and secretly smile at me. The evening seemed to go on forever, but at last I was able to announce I was going to bed before quietly slipping across the yard and into the barn. It was a warm night in midsummer, and some of the hay bales lay in a single layer on the ground floor with the remainder stacked behind. A three-quarter moon shone through an upper window directly onto them but left the gallery in deep shadow. I climbed the ladder and made myself comfortable, heart beating in anticipation.

Shortly afterwards the door opened, and Ben appeared. Safely out of sight, I had a long look at him and could see why he had caught Lucy’s eye. A good six feet tall, with broad shoulders and dark curly hair, he was a fine figure of a man, aged in his early twenties. As I watched, he reached onto a shelf and grabbed a blanket, which he spread over the bales, then pulled his shirt over his head and hung it on a hook.

I was vaguely aware of my own intake of breath as his muscular torso was revealed, then the door opened, and Lucy entered. Did her eyes momentarily flicker upwards towards the gallery? It was hard to tell, and anyway, Ben quickly crossed to the door and silently swept her up into his arms. Indeed, not a word was spoken, not even a greeting, before they kissed passionately. Lucy ran her hands all over his shoulders and back whilst he grasped her buttocks and pulled at her dress, their bodies in full contact from shoulder to hip.

Groans of desire filled the quiet space below me as I watched, fascinated, intensely aware of my own awakening emotions. Lucy finally pushed him back a little and, breathing heavily, quickly unbuttoned the front of her dress, pulling it open and then down so she was naked from the waist up. Her fine white breasts looked beautiful in the pale moonlight, and with a moan, Ben ducked his head to her nipples, licking and sucking each one in turn while she gasped and stroked his neck. At last, with an expression on her face which I had never seen before, she put her hand on Ben’s crotch.

‘Let me see it, then, Ben,’ she said.

He grinned and sat down on the blanket, pulling off his boots and trousers in fast order before standing up again stark naked. His lean and muscled body looked quite magnificent to my eyes. Even now, all these years later, I still think fondly of my first view of a big cock standing proud and ready for battle.

Lucy went over to him, her hand grasping the shaft as she raised her mouth to his for another long kiss. I watched as she slowly moved her hand up and down, seeing his thigh muscles tense. At length he broke away from her and spoke for the first time, his voice thick with passion.

‘You know what I want. Give me a sucking, Lucy.’

‘You always want that, Ben.’ She laughed briefly, then knelt before him and took the swollen head of his cock into her mouth. I fear I spluttered with amazement at this point, but they were so distracted it went unnoticed. Cupping his balls with one hand and pumping his shaft with the other, she nodded her head rhythmically as he gasped and shivered. I noticed she varied the pace quite considerably at times before she finally leaned back and squeezed him firmly with her thumb and forefinger at the base.

‘Not yet, my darling,’ she said quietly. Then she wriggled out of her dress, revealing that she was naked underneath. Ben picked her up and placed her gently down on the blanket. She parted her legs to reveal her thick dark bush.

‘That’s what you want, isn’t it?

‘Oh God, yes.’ His eyes were fixed on her cunny, as indeed were mine. The next second his face was between her legs, and he was licking her with an intense hunger. She groaned and reached down, holding his head in place as his mouth and tongue went to work.

I watched, fascinated by the passion washing over her face. Her moans grew louder as her hips moved up onto his mouth until suddenly she spasmed, her expression contorted and hips working frantically. Then she froze for a long moment before subsiding as her expression relaxed.

But she was to be allowed no respite as Ben knelt up between her legs, his cock straining towards her.

‘Go on, then, Ben, give your Lucy a good fucking,’ she gasped, parting her legs wide as she reached for his cock. He thrust onwards as she guided him in, the muscles in his shoulders and buttocks working as he balanced on his arms and settled into a regular rhythm. From time to time he would shift position and I was treated to the delicious sight of his thick white cock driving into Lucy’s dark-haired cunny. His naked back glistened with sweat as he steadily built up the speed and power of his thrusts while Lucy moaned and pushed upwards, hands clinging to him, her mouth on his neck.

As I watched, she raised her legs and linked her ankles over his buttocks, pulling him harder and deeper into her as she spent again. Then, with a loud cry, he came powerfully, kissed her deeply and rolled off to lie panting on his back. His cock was still hard and jerking.  Lucy stroked it and whispered in his ear. Whatever she said, it made him smile and open his eyes in surprise. They both looked up at the gallery where I was concealed and Lucy spoke, her voice shockingly loud in the silence of the shadowy barn.

‘Come down here, Mary.’

Mortified, I gasped in horror and peered over the edge of the platform.

‘Come on,’ she repeated, beckoning with her finger. ‘Ben wants to meet you.’

There was nothing for it but to climb down the ladder, which I did and stood there scarlet with embarrassment. Lucy came over, her breasts swaying beautifully, took my hand, and led me back to where Ben was still lying stretched out on the bales, smiling and fully erect. I could not take my eyes off him. Lucy stood right behind me, her breath on my neck, her low voice in my ear.

‘Do you want to touch it, Mary? You can if you want to. I’ll give you permission just this once.’

Well, horrified I might have been, but I needed no encouragement and reached forward with my right hand and grasped him. It felt as though my heart would beat itself out of my chest as I worked my hand up and down, feeling its power and watching his smile as the pleasure reached his eyes. I slowly stroked the shaft and balls, using both hands in tandem as Lucy gave me some instruction on the best methods to employ. Ben said nothing, just smiled his handsome smile, opened his legs a little, and arched his hips in sympathy with my hands.

‘Best get naked, I think, Mary. You must be very wet by now.’ Lucy’s voice was in my ear again, then, before I could reply, her hands were at my dress buttons and within seconds she was pulling it off my shoulders and down over my hips. I only wore a thin shift underneath, which rapidly went the same way. Still behind me, she reached round and gently lifted my full breasts, squeezing the long brown nipples between her thumbs and forefingers.

‘What about these beauties, then, Ben? Do they deserve a little suck, do you think?’

With a grunt of approval he sat up on the bale and, as Lucy cupped and raised them, he sucked each of my nipples into his mouth in turn. It was electrifying. I moaned and put my head back, only vaguely aware that Lucy was kissing my neck from behind, her tongue busy below my ear and her soft breasts pressing against my back. As Ben continued, her hands started to stroke downwards, sliding across my ribs, then the rise of my belly until they encountered my dark thatch.

‘Shall we see if you’re ready for Ben’s big cock, Mary?’ she murmured as her hand slipped down and into my wet slit.

Unable to speak, I parted my legs a little and let her gentle fingers explore me. As Ben sucked and worked my nipples and her sweet voice whispered what it was like to feel his big cockhead sliding inside, my hips suddenly started to thrust involuntarily and I spent, crying and moaning, my arms tightly grasping Ben’s shoulders, sandwiched between their hot naked bodies.

I felt him pick me up and lay me down on the blanket. Lucy knelt beside my face as he loomed over me, then slid inside. There was no pain, just ecstasy as he worked me, driving deeper and deeper.

‘That’s it, Mary, let him give you a fucking now. You know you deserve it, you naughty girl. Hiding in the gallery and watching us like that. A good hard comeuppance for a peeping Tom. That’s what you need.’

I could hear the excitement in Lucy’s voice and realised her hand was busy on herself as she carried on talking, encouraging Ben to greater heights and asking how tight and wet I was. Then she suddenly leaned over and kissed me full on the lips, her tongue like quicksilver. I responded willingly, opening my mouth to her, and then came again, waves of pleasure coursing through me as Lucy’s agile tongue licked my mouth and nipples in equal measure.

I think the sight of us kissing must have sent Ben over the edge, because he moaned, and his thrusting rapidly sped up.

‘Not inside her, Ben,’ said Lucy, moving down towards my hips.

Panting but obedient, he pushed backwards, kneeling upright between my outstretched thighs. Lucy was onto his straining cock in a moment, her hand pulling it mercilessly whilst he moaned and gasped. Finally, with a strangled cry he came, three powerful spurts splattering across my belly and breasts in the moonlight.

Eyes gleaming, Lucy licked it up with obvious enjoyment before suddenly her mouth was on mine again, sharing his juices with me. She kissed me for a long time before easing back, and the three of us relaxed on the blanket, breathless and sated.

Finally, Lucy turned her head to me and said, ‘Well, what do you think of all that, Mary?’ I saw handsome Ben raise his head and look at me, smiling warmly and clearly curious.

‘Wonderful, just wonderful,’ I whispered, unable to say more as my emotions overcame me and I started to sob a little. Lucy laughed gently.

‘Hey, hey, no need for that. You get off to bed now and we’ll talk tomorrow.’ It was clearly time for me to go, so I did, having first kissed Lucy goodnight. I went to kiss Ben too, but she put her hand on my arm. ‘No, Mary, no kissing Ben,’ she said quietly.

I nodded in instinctive understanding and left them to it.

The following day was a very busy one in the inn, and Lucy and I did not have a chance to talk until bedtime. Indeed, it was later than that, as I had retired and was in bed when I heard a creak in the corridor outside and my bedroom door opened.

Lucy stood there in the moonlight in her nightgown, her light brown hair freshly brushed and nipples visible through the thin cotton fabric. She crossed the room and sat down on the bed as I sat up, pushing the pillow against the headboard at my back.

‘What a busy day, Mary, but anyway, I think it’s better we talk now when we won’t be disturbed, don’t you?’ I nodded before she picked up my hand and continued. ‘Last night was a singular occasion in many ways. I was just thinking to let you watch and learn, and in truth, I liked the idea of you watching us. But something made me beckon you down. I hope you’re not distressed by what happened?’

‘No, no,’ I said. ‘It was wonderful. All wonderful.’ I pressed her hand tightly as I said this, for it was true. My congress with muscular and handsome Ben had been a revelation, but I also could not forget Lucy’s passionate kisses and her knowing hands. Hands that had given me my first climax as her man worshipped my breasts and nipples.

I met her eye and her expression changed. She suddenly looked unsure of herself.

‘What we did, woman to woman. It’s not the first time for me, Mary, but some people – most people – think it’s unnatural. I wanted to make sure you were not …’ she paused and searched for the right word, then shrugged her shoulders, ‘overwhelmed. With Ben and all, I mean?’

I leant in and kissed her gently on the lips, smiling. ‘I’ve no regrets, Lucy. None at all. I loved it with you, and I loved it with Ben. It was quite an unusual introduction to such matters, I do acknowledge, but I survived – nay, deeply enjoyed it.’

But her serious expression remained, and she spoke again.

‘About Ben. He’s my man and I love him. You won’t take him off me, will you, Mary? That’s why I didn’t want you to kiss him. I am so worried that he will only want you and not me anymore.’ She carried on, the words spilling out of her. ‘I know you are a great beauty, everyone does, but when I saw you naked, when I kissed you, I realised that you can have any man you want, Mary, and probably any woman too. You can captivate people, and I worry that in letting Ben fuck you I have made a terrible mistake.’

I shook my head urgently. ‘No, no, I will never ever step between you and Ben. To do so would be to betray you in a way I would never countenance. Be assured of that.’ I saw her eyes were moist with tears and felt myself welling up in response. ‘Honestly, I would never do it. I will find my own man, I promise.’

We continued talking for some time, and her anxiety passed as she realised I meant what I said. Indeed, before long we were giggling away as normal, especially when I enquired whether, as Ben’s cock was my first, I should expect those following to be of similar size. Her reply was informative and, as I subsequently found out, accurate.

At some point, there was a lull in our conversation, and I impulsively leant forward and kissed her softly on the lips. In the still night, her breath, her earthy scent, her simple nearness were suddenly intoxicating, and as we paused, then kissed again, I felt her hands gently stroke my breasts.

‘Perhaps we don’t need Ben here this evening, Mary,’ she whispered.

As I smiled in agreement she stood and pulled her nightdress over her head, and for the second time in two days, I saw the curves of her wonderful naked body in the moonlight. Desire surged through me. Grasping my own nightie, I pulled upwards as, laughing quietly, Lucy helped to lift it over my head. She flicked the sheet back and stood over me for a second, looking at my naked form lying on the mattress, then we were lying side by side sharing a long and passionate kiss that left my head swimming.

The next half hour passed quite delightfully as we stimulated and adored each other. I came twice, once through her skilful fingers and a second time, quite overwhelmingly, when she ducked her head between my legs and sucked and licked me until I quietly begged for mercy. I willingly reciprocated, delighting in the rush of her sweet juices as she came, hips thrusting joyously upwards, her hands firmly holding my head in place.

Later, as we lay together in that direct way she had, she told me I had a very large clitty. ‘Like a grenadier in a bearskin, guarding the royal palace.’ I had no idea at the time, but experience since then has told me she was right. We talked some more before, with another lingering kiss, she slipped out of the bed and back to her room.