Playing the King's ***

I had decided to continue wearing Ben's clothing, but in order for us to be inconspicuous on our travels we needed to dress Ben in something other than my old, dirty shift.
Luckily, not far into Portsmouth we discovered a second hand stall stocked up on men's clothing. Ben picked up a few cheap items in his size to make a legitimate outfit and we shared the cost between us.

"There we go! Back to normal." I said, smiling as Ben brushed himself down and admired his new outfit. He had changed his clothing in an alleyway we had found that was hidden away from public access. He smiled, feeling at home in men's clothing again.

"I feel so much better now." Ben smiled, walking up to me. I turned to face him and scanned across his face. He was taking in my expression to try and work out what I was thinking. At that point I was feeling like going further with my rebellious streak, and kissed him full on the lips, harder than any kiss I had given before. I ran my hands through his hair and he wrapped his arms around my waist and stroked my back. A sudden rush of emotion mixed with excitement rushed through my head as I thought about how naughty I was acting. Women weren't meant to kiss any man until they were married - and I was supposed to be engaged. I stepped back and laughed.

"I'm really enjoying this. Disobeying my parents has brought out my character I think. Come on!" I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him out towards the street to find a cart to Kensington.

We stepped into the dirt-track road and I threw my arm out to thumb a ride from a passing cart going North. I heard horse's hooves and made sure I was in clear view so as not to get trampled and hollered to the driver sitting at the front of the cart.

"Hello? Where is it that you are going, pray tell?" I yelled up to the well clothed man atop the cart. He looked down at us and stopped the horse, as I put a hand to my forehead to stop the sun from burning my eyes.

"I be going as far as Shepherd's Bush, son. Is that where one wishes to go?" He asked, leaning forward to hear my answer. He was about the same age as the fisherman from earlier, though of course better dressed and more well spoken.

"Perfect! Yes, that be exactly where one wants to go!" I yelled back, turning to Ben and smiling ecstatically.

"Excellent. Climb aboard. The carriage is empty. We'll be pausing for the night but I hope to be making excellent time." Ben and I climbed into the carriage behind the driver and settled on the wooden benches.

"Shepherd's Bush is just next to Kensington! Once we get there it's just a carriage journey away from the Royal town!" I almost squealed in excitement. Ben smiled, not as excited as me but clearly preferring this to working like a dog.
I shuffled closer to Ben on the wooden seat and drew the curtain closed across all of the hatches. I put a hand on his chest and brought my mouth to his ear.
"I think I need a little bit more rebellion in my life, Ben..." I whispered into his ear slowly, letting my breath tremble on his ear for a second before placing a kiss in the nape of his neck. I moved up to his face and let my tongue explore his mouth, feeling adventurous and doing everything I knew would disgust my Mother if she could see.
My free right hand moved down to Ben's trouser, and found its way to his crotch where his hardening foreman could easily be felt through the new trousers. I smiled into our kiss and finished the errand I had created, before sighing in sheer joy at being completely and utterly free of the grasp of upper class, 1660s snobbery. Ben simply looked vacant and free of any encumbrance, possibly because our moment then had never happened to him before and he was stunned that it was all happening so rapidly.

"Ben, are you planning on staying by my side in our career search?" I said, settling across from him in the carriage again. I looked into his eyes which were still recovering from the surprise I had given him minutes before. He nodded, before thinking about his answer.

"How are you planning on showing yourself off for the theatre moguls once you get to Kensington? It's all well and good travelling to a wealthy, North London area, but have you figured out what you're going to do once we arrive?" Ben asked, furrowing his eyebrows and leaning towards me. I mirrored his expression, processing what he had said.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't really thought past catching carriages up to London... I just thought of the most wealthy place I knew - the King's hometown, and decided that was where the work must be. We need to consider this. Maybe if we tried working for the palace, we might then gain connections with those with talents and connections to the arts; of course if you still want to learn piano that is." I said, offering a suggestion. Ben was clearly mulling it over in his head, considering the positives and possible negatives that could arise. The negatives obviously being that we remain stuck doing housework for the Royal family.

"It could work. It's worth a try, Blossom. Well done, sweetheart." He said, touching my knee. I smiled, made my way onto Ben's lap and kissed him again, revelling in being called sweetheart by someone other than my parents. It was clear that with Ben, and the new hedonistic revelry that was being unravelled inside of everyone due to the reinstatement of royalty after all those years, the journey to Shepherd's Bush was going to fly by.