This is a gay love story which is pure fiction and fantasy. None of the characters portrayed relate to any known person.
Warning - it contains explicit m/m sex.
The Pink Retreat
"You ready then to go into battle?" Luke asked Josh when they'd got themselves ready the following morning.
"Yep, I'm ready to knock him down; you got all the documents you need?"
Luke patted the folder under his arm and they set off to the Home Farm. As it was a nice sunny morning they decided to walk rather than take the car. Luke felt he needed the fresh air to clear his head and think through his strategy for dealing with Roberts.
When they arrived, Mrs Roberts welcomed them in and offered them a cup of coffee. They both accepted despite only just having had one at home. She then led them into a small office which was off the hallway of the farmhouse. Luke had seen it on previous occasions but had never really taken it in. As he walked in he suddenly realised that all this was now his and it made him think of Hugh and the happy times they'd had together. He assumed this would happen a lot, especially over the next few weeks but as Josh had told him on numerous times now, life had to go on.
Roberts was sitting behind his desk and made no attempt to get up to welcome them. In fact he hardly looked up from what he was doing.
"I'll go and get the coffee" Mrs Roberts said brightly trying to hide the rudeness of her husband.
"Good morning Mr Roberts" Luke said determined to get the man to acknowledge them.
"I presume you've come to tell me you're selling the farm" Roberts said ignoring what Luke had said.
"Whatever gives you that idea?" Luke asked already beginning to bristle at the man's arrogance and rudeness.
Roberts finally stopped what he was doing and looked at them both. As he leaned back in his chair there was a look of disgust as he stared Luke in the eyes.
"Can't imagine a kid like you would know what to do with a farm like this" Roberts retorted.
"Well, that's where you're wrong Mr Roberts" Luke replied making a deliberate gesture of leaning forward and ignoring the description of him being a kid, "I know a lot more about running this farm than you may think and Josh here has spent the last three years becoming qualified on the subject".
The latter statement was not totally correct since Josh had done his course in horticulture and not agriculture but Roberts was not to know that. For a moment this statement knocked Roberts back and he raised an eyebrow.
"Theory's no fucking good, you have to have years of practical experience" Roberts replied in a dismissive way.
"Ah, but we've got theory and brains" Luke replied tapping the side of his head and trying not to get riled.
Just at this point Mrs Roberts came in with the coffee and placed them on the desk. Luke noticed that she hadn't brought her husband a cup although she had one for herself. She then pulled up a spare chair and sat down alongside Luke and Josh as if she was part of the attacking unit.
"So you intend keeping it do you?" Roberts finally said and realising that his dream of owning the farm had collapsed.
"We do, and we will be living at the cottage" Luke replied calmly.
Roberts pulled a face which clearly showed he was not happy about that fact.
"Tell me Mr Roberts, what is it you have against us?" Luke asked having decided to go in for the kill.
Roberts looked at them for a moment before answering, "Don't like your type" he eventually replied.
"Our type" Luke repeated, "What do you mean by our type?"
"You know fucking well what I mean; I hate poofters."
"Ah, I see" Luke replied still holding his cool, "you're one of those".
"What you mean by that?" Roberts replied, his anger beginning to rise.
"You're a homophobe" Luke replied grinning.
Roberts didn't like that and bristled but before he could say anything his wife said "I'm sorry Luke, I'm afraid my husband is homophobic, racist and hates everyone who's not like him".
"Shut your face woman" Roberts shouted.
Mrs Roberts ignored the remark and continued drinking her coffee.
"See, how long is it since Hugh's father died? It must be at least seven years" Luke then said.
Roberts just nodded.
"So for the last seven years you've been employed by a `poofter' but you've accepted that" Luke added with a grin.
"What you fucking talking about?"
Mrs Roberts laughed, "My husband is also blind as well as ignorant" she said, "He never realised that Hugh was gay".
This really shook Roberts who shuffled in his chair before speaking again.
"Be that as it may, I don't like you and don't want you in my house so get out" he shouted.
Josh gripped his hands together wondering how Luke was going to deal with this. He tensed himself ready to pounce should Roberts start to get violent which he decided was quite a possibility having assessed the man's attitude and bearing.
"Two things Mr Roberts" Luke said still remaining seated, "First, I now own this house and you are the tenant so I can come here whenever I choose provided I give you advance notice, which I did for this meeting; and secondly I have another matter I wish to discuss with you Roberts".
Josh noted that Luke had dropped the Mr title and wondered whether this was deliberate. He was beginning to enjoy this war of words between Roberts and Luke.
"Thank you for reminding him Luke" Mrs Roberts immediately replied, "I'm always telling him we are tenants and I'm sorry he hasn't got the manners to respect you as his new landlord and employer".
"Shut your face woman" Roberts shouted again.
"No I won't shut my face" Mrs Roberts replied defiantly as she leaned forward across the desk towards her husband, "I will say what I feel to be right even if you can't".
"So" Luke continued, "let's move on to the second topic which is the question of fraud".
"Fraud, what the fuck are you on about?" Roberts shouted back.
"Yes, fraud" Luke repeated as he pulled out the papers from the file he was still holding in his lap.
"These are copies of the last three years of accounts that you provided Hugh" Luke said plonking down in front of Roberts a pile of papers clipped together, "these are copies of the correct accounts taken from the accounts system which are the figures that you put in each month, and this is an analysis showing the differences between those figures. As you will see there is a marked difference of several thousands of pounds".
Before Luke could say any more or Roberts could respond, his wife chipped in again.
"I've been telling him for years to stop stealing from Hugh but would he listen, oh no he just carried on the same old way as he has done for years. I knew he'd get caught out in the end. You stupid bugger" she ended turning towards her husband.
"Oh shut up you stupid bitch" Roberts finally said having taken in the seriousness of his situation. "How the fuck did you get all this information in any event? Did you give it to him you bitch?" he asked turning towards his wife.
"Me? I don't know how to turn the computer on let alone use it, don't be even more stupid than you already are" she shouted back. "I'm sick and tired of your cheating and I'm sick and tired of you" she added.
"Then fuck off you bitch" Roberts shouted back with Luke and Josh just sitting there watching this marital feud erupt in front of them.
"I certainly will" she replied, "I no longer want to live under the same roof as you".
"So Roberts, what do you have to say about these discrepancies" Luke then said, "and incidentally Hugh's accountant has checked them over and confirmed it is fraud" he added.
"So why didn't Hugh speak to me about it?" Roberts replied looking at the evidence before him.
"Hugh and I discussed this a year ago but he wanted to give you more time to hang yourself and since then he was too ill to handle the matter but just before he died he asked me to promise him that I would deal with it immediately."
Roberts made no comment to that but instead said "How the fuck did you get this information then? Only I know the password to the system."
Luke laughed. "The `kid' sitting in front of you Roberts is a computer software expert" Luke said smiling, "I designed and helped Hugh put the system you use into place three years ago. It is on a network, which if you don't know, means anyone who has access to that network can do so. Hugh has been monitoring what you've been up to for a long time and for the past two months I've been doing so from the cottage. And by the way, if you try and access your computer now you will find you're locked out" Luke added as an afterthought.
He knew Roberts hadn't logged on that morning because he'd checked the system before they came out and removed his user name and password. It meant that only he could now gain access. Roberts clearly couldn't understand all this and immediately tried to logon but as soon as he tried he got the message `username or password invalid'.
Having realised he was stumped and could argue no further, he slumped back in his chair and looked at Luke for his next move.
"I'm prepared to give you two options Mr Roberts" Luke said politely, "You can either resign with immediate effect and I will pay you your three months notice, or I will suspend you with immediate effect and put the matter into the hands of the police who once they see the evidence will charge you with fraud. Your choice; I'm prepared to give you five minutes to consider your options".
Roberts went as white as a sheet. He'd never thought the matter would ever come to this and the possibility of the police being involved. He knew also that a previous conviction from some years ago would also come to light so in no way did he want the police here. He'd really thought he'd got away with it for so many years and that he'd covered his tracks. He had no idea that Hugh had been monitoring him with the help of the little shit sitting in front of him.
"I'll resign" Roberts muttered.
"I'll need that in writing" Luke said calmly.
Roberts then pulled out a piece of plain paper and wrote `I hereby resign my post of Farm Manager of Home Farm, Ditchling, Sussex with immediate effect'. He then signed and dated it. He tossed the paper across the desk towards Luke who read it without picking it up.
"I would like you out of this house within the week. You are no doubt aware that your contract specifies that period in circumstances such as this" Luke then said.
Roberts said nothing and immediately stood up. Josh thought for a moment he was going to lunge at Luke so tensed ready to pounce but instead he walked out the door and stomped up the stairs which led off the hall outside the office.
"I'm so sorry Luke" Mrs Roberts was now saying, "I should have done something about this much earlier but I didn't know what to do".
"Don't worry Mrs Roberts, we don't blame you but more to the point what will you do now?"
"I'm going to ring my brother; he owns a farm in the next village; I'll ask him to come straight round and collect me; I daren't stay here, there's no telling what he'll do" she replied as she picked up the phone and dialled a number.
Luke and Josh looked at each other somewhat stunned that it was all over. Josh placed a comforting hand on Luke's whilst they continued to sit there. Mrs Roberts got hold of her brother immediately and briefly told him what had happened and would he come straight round to collect her whilst Luke was still here. As she spoke they heard what sounded like a gun shot from upstairs.
"Oh the stupid idiot" Mrs Roberts screamed as she jumped up and ran out of the door almost throwing the phone to Luke.
"Hello, hello" Luke heard from the still live phone line. He put the phone to his ear and explained who he was to the guy the other end and that they'd all heard what sounded like a gun shot from upstairs where Roberts had gone a while earlier.
"Tell my sister I'm coming straight round" he said, "I'll be there in about ten minutes". With that he rang off and Luke and Josh looked at each other again somewhat aghast. They could hear Mrs Roberts banging on a door shouting `let me in you stupid bugger'. After a minute or so she came back downstairs and said that her husband had locked himself in the bathroom.
"I think he's shot himself" she said as she sat down.
"Does he have a gun?" Josh asked.
"Service revolver; kept it in a locked cabinet in the bedroom; he always threatened to shoot himself if he was ever found out; he's done it before you know and has got a conviction for fraud."
"Wow, pity Hugh didn't know that" Luke said calmly.
"I know; I'm so sorry Luke; Hugh was so kind to us and I really am sorry; do you think you could break the door down?"
"Don't think we should do anything" Josh said taking control of the situation as he dialled 999.
"Police and ambulance please" he then said to the operator who answered, "there's been a shooting at Home Farm in Ditchling".
Josh then gave his name and the exact address and when he put the phone down he told the others that the police and an ambulance were on their way. Mrs Roberts was now crying and Luke was trying to console her. After about ten minutes, they heard a police siren coming towards the farm followed by an ambulance. Two burly policemen jumped out and Josh met them at the front door. Two ambulance men followed. Josh led them into the office and quickly explained what had happened. One of the officers then went upstairs to investigate. He was soon back again and told his colleague that having looked under the door he could see what appeared to be a man in a pool of blood.
"There's no sound at all" he added.
The other officer, who was clearly in charge, then went upstairs with the other one whilst the two ambulance men just stood watching. They could hear the door being forced open.
"Okay guys, you can come up now it's all safe" the officer called down to the ambulance men.
The more senior policeman then came back down and looked at Mrs Roberts.
"Is the man upstairs your husband?"
Mrs Roberts nodded.
"I'm afraid to inform you that your husband has shot himself with a revolver, did he own one?"
Mrs Roberts confirmed that he did and had threatened to shoot himself if the fraud they'd been discussing earlier came to light. The policeman looked at Luke and Josh for explanation which was quickly given.
"The evidence is all here if you want to take this" Luke said, "we came this morning to put the matter to Mr Roberts. Having seen the evidence he opted to resign as Farm Manager with immediate effect" Luke added pointing to the note still sitting on the desk untouched.
"And Mr Roberts wrote this did he?" the policeman asked.
The others all nodded.
"Has anyone apart from Mr Roberts touched it?"
Everyone shook their head to confirm they had not done so. The policeman then asked his colleague to place the piece of paper into an evidence bag for forensics. Quite why, the others had no idea but it was now out of their hands.
"Get the crime guys here" the policeman told his junior officer and then informed the other three that they would all need to give a written statement.
Just as this was going on, Mrs Robert's brother arrived. She quickly told him what had happened and he confirmed that whilst she was talking to him on the phone he heard what sounded like a gun shot in the background. He also said that as soon as his sister ran off Luke had spoken to him. The policeman then asked where he and Josh were during the phone conversation. Mrs Roberts confirmed they were both in the room with her.
Whilst they were being questioned, Luke heard Jason entering the open front door.
"I heard the police sirens and wondered what was going on" he said looking somewhat worried.
Luke quickly explained what had happened and informed the officer that Jason was the Assistant Farm Manager. Jason went as white as a sheet and had to sit down beside Josh.
"I didn't think he'd shoot himself" Jason muttered.
The officer asked him what he meant by that and Jason explained that he was aware of the fraud being undertaken by his boss and that Luke and Josh were coming over this morning to confront him with the evidence. The officer nodded and made a few more notes.
Eventually everyone had given their written statements and the crime scene guys had arrived. They were busy upstairs taking photographs and dealing with the body. The ambulance men had been dismissed since their services were clearly not required. It now required the coroner's office to come and collect the body for a post-mortem.
Finally Mrs Roberts went off with her brother and Jason, Luke and Josh left to walk back to the cottage leaving the police to lock up the house when they were finished. When they got back they all slumped into a chair exhausted.
"I need a stiff drink" Josh said getting up again and offering the others the same.
"I just can't believe that the stupid sod would do something like that" Jason was saying.
"Well, it solves our problem once and for all" Luke chuckled as he took his drink from Josh, "Congratulations Jason, you're now the Farm Manager of Home Farm".
Jason grinned suddenly realising that was the case. "Thanks and I can assure you that I will not be trying to fiddle the books Luke".
"I'm sure you won't Jason" Luke replied patting Jason on his thigh.
"I really am grateful; I just don't know how to thank you both" Jason then said.
"Mm, well I'm sure we can think of something" Josh giggled.
"And don't forget also Jason that the farmhouse is now yours to live in" Luke added.
"Wow, I get that as well do I?"
"Of course, it's where the Farm Manager lives so once Mrs Roberts has cleared her things out you can move in although we may have to do some redecoration in places including replacing the bathroom door I suspect" Luke giggled.
"Just one thing, would it be okay if Ian moved in with me?" Jason then asked with all seriousness.
"Ian, is he one of the farmhands?"
"Yeah, he came to work on the farm a year ago when he was eighteen and we've ... well ... got on rather well since then" Jason grinned.
"You mean he's also gay?" Josh said grinning.
Jason nodded, "But we've had to keep it very close to our chests because of Roberts. Ian had a hard time at home when he came out so got a job here to get away".
"I know the feeling" Josh replied feeling an affinity with Ian.
"Why don't you call Ian and ask him to come round so we can let him know what's happened and about your new appointment" Luke suggested to Jason.
Ten minutes later, Ian was knocking on the door. Jason introduced Luke and Josh and explained that they had taken over the farm from Hugh. Ian was certainly cute and both Josh and Luke took a liking to him immediately. He was fairly short but well built which was no doubt due to his physical labour on the farm. Luke then introduced Jason as the new Farm Manager and told him what had happened to Roberts.
"Oh my god" Ian exclaimed, "I thought I heard a police siren earlier. Fancy the silly sod doing that".
"He clearly couldn't deal with having his fraudulent operation found out" Luke replied.
Ian was not aware too much of what Roberts did but he certainly didn't like the man so as far as he was concerned he would be no loss to humanity.
"Anyhow, the main reason for calling you over Ian" Jason then said, "is now that I am Farm Manager I will be living in the big house and if you want you can move in with me".
Ian's face lit up once he'd taken in what Jason was saying.
"Wow, that's brilliant, do you really mean that?"
"Of course; I always said once we could find a place where we were both accepted then we'd move in together and Luke has no objection" Jason replied giving his boyfriend a hug and a kiss.
"That's great" Ian said not really believing what had happened, "so when do we move in?"
Jason looked at Luke for guidance on this point and he replied that as soon as Mrs Roberts had moved out then they could move in but it was expected it would be within the next two weeks since he didn't want to put too much pressure on Mrs Roberts in the circumstances.
Before Jason and Ian left, Luke invited them both round for a meal that evening after they'd finished work. They all got on extremely well and Luke and Josh couldn't wait for a full on sex session with them!
Having seen the evidence, the Coroner ruled that the death of Roberts was by self inflicted means so none of those present on the day had to attend the hearing. Mrs Roberts in fact cleared out the house by the end of the week since she wanted to put everything behind her. Most of the stuff went in the skip apart from her personal items and a few items of furniture she rather liked. Josh organised for a carpenter to come in and replace the bathroom door that had been smashed in by the police and for a decorator to give the place a lick of paint where it needed doing. Jason and Ian moved in a week later and were delighted. Jason vacated his small cottage which was also part of the farm so that was now empty, and Ian moved out of lodgings in a house in the village.
Both Luke and Josh were busy with one thing and another so neither really had time to ponder on their loss although it was still very much in their hearts.
"I presume we should clear Hugh's bedroom out sometime" Josh tentatively said one day.
Luke agreed it was time to tackle that job and asked Josh if he was okay moving into that room since it was so much larger than the spare bedroom they currently used and it had a wonderful view over the garden and the surrounding farmland.
Josh said he was fine and suggested they redecorate the room and make some subtle changes just to make it their own. It didn't need more than a quick coat of emulsion so they did it themselves one weekend having cleared Hugh's wardrobe of clothes, kept what they felt was worth keeping and disposed of the rest.
The day came when the room was finally ready to move into so they transferred their own things. They were also conscious that they still had to go and collect their remaining things from London. They moved the pictures around and made sure that the latest one of them both in the nude was in pride of place.
That night they made passionate love in their new bed. They had in fact bought a new mattress so it was in effect a brand new bed. Luke at last felt as if he lived in his Pink Retreat for proper and gave Josh a long passionate kiss.
Hugh had arranged so many things in preparation for his end that everything to do with the estate went through very smoothly. He'd even transferred the ownership of the car to Luke before he died which made things easier and of course the farm was managed under a company albeit that Hugh had been the only shareholder and director. Luke now arranged for him and Josh to be joint shareholders and directors, which made him feel very important.
It was now mid October and Josh's concert in London was looming and he realised he only had one more week to practice. Fortunately what he was playing for both the piano and clarinet solos were things he knew by heart so all he had to do was make sure he was up to speed. The orchestra had also said they wanted a full rehearsal two days before so he and Luke arranged for them to stay in London. They would use the opportunity to bring back the rest of their belongings from their second floor room.
Josh had also started to think about setting up his own garden design and landscaping business so they needed to talk to Jacek about that whilst they were up there since he certainly couldn't do it without his brawn.
The final thing they needed to firm up on was the date for their Civil Partnership. As time had slipped by they decided to make it in January so they went to see the local Registrar and fixed a date. They had chosen a venue and fortunately they too were free on the chosen date which was the twenty eighth. With that all arranged, they could now return to London. It seemed a life time away since they were last there but this time they travelled in style in the Jaguar that now belonged to Luke!
The next chapter of 'The Pink Retreat' will be available shortly. I welcome comments so feel free to do so by sending me an email.
Don't forget that Nifty needs donations to host stories like these. See the Donate link to make your donation. Thanks.
Other stories by Adam Stewart: Moving Forward Love at Last Gary's Story Finding Ryan The Advert Number Twenty Five Life After Ryan The Tangled Web