Roger collapsed into the seat and let out a sigh of satisfaction. He had deliberately caught the early train from Stourmouth to London in the expectation of just this - a table and four empty seats all to himself! Now all he had to do was discourage anyone from invading his empire - he opened his briefcase and spread his papers across the table, pinning them down with the laptop in the middle. Surely no one would dare to disturb the busy business man?

For several stops, the strategy worked well as the carriage gradually filled. He earned some disgruntled looks, but his potential adversaries backed down and looked elsewhere until there were few space left in sight.

Jane bore the usual hassled expression of a mother struggling to take two small offspring on a busy train to visit their grandmother in the city. She battled along the narrow aisle as the train lurched out of the station, almost toppling her over due to the huge rucksack on her back and both hands otherwise occupied - her right clutching a large holdall, her left grasped firmly by five year-old Emily. Eight year-old Sarah led the way - excited at the adventure of the trip, and proudly "helping" Mum by searching for some suitable seats.

"Look Mum! Here's three!" she squealed with delight as she reached Roger's stronghold, and without waiting she scrambled onto the seat opposite him.

Roger groaned inwardly. Not only was his space to be invaded, but by small children too! There would be no peace for the rest of the journey.

"I hope you don't mind?" Jane pleaded as she reached the battle site. "There are no other seats left?"

It is a strange trait of the English that they will accept the most undesirable situations with a smile if politely asked to do so. "Of course!" Roger found himself saying, "Let me just put this stuff away and I will help you get the rucksack in the rack."

"Oh you are a star! Thank you so much!"

So within a few minutes, Roger's outlook had changed completely. He found himself with little Emily across the table in the second window seat, her mother next to her, and Sarah in the seat beside him. They already had their colouring books out, and were making primitive attempts to colour in pictures of farmyards whilst chatting constantly with their mother about their day out, and bickering mildly over control of the pink crayon. Roger tried closing his eyes, but the constant noise and movement kept them open.

He took stock of his new travelling companions. Jane was a presentable young lady - 30ish he would guess with auburn hair (dyed he assumed) and a slim figure. She wore a white blouse, practical trousers, and just enough make up to show she cared. The girls were in identical lilac dresses - loose and summery with no sleeves but frilly shoulder pads, clearly "dressed up" for granny. They were both pretty girls - honey blond hair surrounding elfin faces filled with sparkling eyes and gap-toothed grins. He reflected that he could have had worse scenery.

"D'ya fink I should make the cow black or brown?"

It took Roger a moment to realise that Sarah's question had been directed at him. "Uh - well - I don't know..." he stammered, and then his mind catching up with his tongue: "The best milk comes from black and white cows, so maybe you could do that?"

"That's good! You're clever you are!"

"Don't be a nuisance to the nice man!" scolded Jane.

"It's OK" he found himself replying, "as long as you don't mind, I don't."

So he found himself quickly drawn into the family conversation, the girls competing for his attention to their masterpieces, only partially restrained by their mother's bids for control. Soon he was chatting happily to all of them, and he and Jane had done the formal "introduction" bit. He was beginning to feel glad they had intruded into his life.

"Mummy, can I have a drink?" bleated Emily.

"OK - I was just thinking it was time for that. Would you like a tea or a coffee Roger? I need to go to the restaurant car anyway..."

"Oh - let me do that for you..." he argued.

"No - it is my treat - as long as you don't mind watching the kids for a few minutes?"

"Well - if you insist. Tea would be good - milk no sugar."

She stood and made her way unsteadily down the train. The girls had given up on their colouring by now, and were taking it in turns to bounce on their seats. As soon as their mother was out of sight, the bounces got bigger and more outrageous amid squeals and giggles of delight so that Roger feared there would soon be complaints from the other passengers. He was just trying to work out what to say to bring them under control, an unfamiliar resort for him as he had no family of his own, when Emily stood right up in the seat opposite and slid down the back rest for the biggest bounce yet. He found his words frozen in his throat as her dress rucked right up, exposing her tiny white knickers, and even an expanse of paunchy belly.

Why was that so distracting to him? Why was he feeling a stirring in his loins, wholly inappropriate towards such a small child? With an effort he found his voice: "OK - enough of that, or you will get us all into trouble." It came out more firmly than maybe he had intended, but it had the desired effect - Emily crossing her arms and pouting disappointedly at him as she remained in her seat.

He found himself equally disappointed - he knew he had done the right thing, but the brief glimpse of hidden treasures lingered in his mind's eye, and he felt the disturbance in his groin grow some more.

"Can I look out the window now?" interrupted Sarah, and without waiting for his agreement, she began climbing across his lap to get closer to the glass. With an inward groan he felt a small hand rest briefly on his concealed desire before he was able to wriggle away and relinquish his seat. He felt himself blush at what had happened, but he was certain she could not have realised what she had just done.

Both girls were now kneeling on their chairs, noses pressed to the glass as they watched the world speed past, happily exchanging comments about what they saw, and blissfully unaware of the tumult they had generated in Roger's mind.

A few minutes later, Jane returned with a tray full of goodies, and they all settled down to drink their drinks and snack on their biscuits. Roger's dilemma subsided, and he felt good to be part of a family for the first time since his own childhood.

"Oh look Mummy! There's a Llama in the field over there!" squeaked Sarah. "Oh, you missed it!" she added immediately as Roger leant forward to see the elusive mammal.

An impartial observer would have noticed that Jane was looking at Roger with a knowing smirk, not straining to view the mysterious beast.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Roger and Jane continued to chat between the needs of the kids, and if anything Jane seemed even happier to be with Roger. He found this strange but pleasing - he had never been a great success with the girls, and it was some time since he had a steady girlfriend. Maybe his disturbed train trip would be the start of a new phase in his life. He was delighted when, just before they reached London, Jane offered to "keep in touch" and they exchanged phone numbers. As they went their separate ways in the middle of the busy terminus he felt a little sad, and he hoped Jane would keep to her promise and they would meet up again.

* * *

Jane was as good as her word, and two days later called Roger in the evening. They discussed how their respective trips to London had gone and once again found they were getting along very well. Jane suggested he come round for dinner one night, and after checking diaries, they agreed on the following Saturday. They agreed a time - early enough that Roger could renew his acquaintance with the girls - and exchanged addresses. Roger's hopes were raised even higher when Jane suggested he bring his overnight gear in case he needed to stay the night.

The rest of the week went slowly for Roger. He found himself constantly wondering how the date would go, and mentally rehearsing his lines. The weekend, usually a lonely interlude in the important routine of earning a living, had become a much anticipated event.

He arrived at Jane's house, a respectable modern semi in a middle-class housing estate, a polite five minutes late. The door was opened by an excitable Sarah dressed in her party best - a flouncy white blouse over a smart tartan skirt - and she was quickly joined by an even more excited Emily dressed identically. He complimented them , honestly, on how pretty they both looked, and earned beaming smiles of delight. He was dragged into the front room, where a self-conscious Jane awaited his customary bunch of flowers. There was no time to be awkward as the kids sought simultaneously to tell him every detail of their London trip, and every minor event that happened since. They all settled into chairs, partook of drinks and snacks, and relaxed. Roger was delighted to be the centre of so much animated attention from all the females, and quickly decided this was something to which he could become accustomed.

An hour or so later, Jane ordered the girls off to change for bed, and amid some mild pouted objections they complied. Roger followed her into the kitchen where they continued their cheerful conversation as she made the final adjustments for dinner. A stampede of feet on the stairs announced the return of the girls - Sarah now in a cream coloured nightdress decorated with pink and blue flowers, Emily in a monochrome pink pyjama suit. Once again he complimented them on their prettiness, while suppressing a guilty thought as to how much they might be wearing underneath their night gear.

The girls begged to be allowed to stay up a bit longer, and Jane acquiescing, they returned to the front room. As Roger settled into one end of the sofa, Emily jumped up beside him, and then lay down with her head resting on his right thigh. He glanced nervously at Jane and got a brief nod of approval. They continued their conversation, now into the predictable topic of politics and what a mess the current bunch were making of the economy.

Emily's small hand grabbed his and pulled it towards her. "Please rub my tummy Roger?" she wheedled.

Again he got the nod from Jane, so he began to caress the paunchy belly and narrow chest to his right. It felt good to him - warm and soft and welcoming beneath the soft cotton of her night shirt. Why was there a stirring in his loins again? Hopefully nobody would notice.

Sarah appeared in front of him. "It's not fair!" she pouted. "You gotta rub my tummy too!"

"I'm sure your Mummy wouldn't want me to do that..."

"If she wants her tummy rubbed, you're welcome!" laughed Jane. "We'll only have a row if you don't."

So his left hand found its way to Sarah's tummy, and encouraged by her pulls, was soon stroking gently from belly button to collarbone. He could feel himself begin to sweat and blush - her smooth firm skin beneath the thin nylon dress was very sensuous to touch, and there could be no denying the strong arousal developing in his lap. He had to concentrate hard to maintain the conversation with Jane, and found he was stumbling over his words.

He reached for his drink with his right hand, temporarily breaking contact with Emily. He was focussing hard on Jane in an attempt to distract himself from the sensory overload at his fingertips, and so, when he returned his hand to Emily, he was shocked to come into contact with bare flesh. He whipped his hand away in a panic as Emily giggled naughtily. He stared wide-mouthed at Jane like a rabbit in the headlights.

She smiled gently: "If she wants you to rub her like that, then feel free..."

Emily was already trying to drag his hand back down. He swallowed hard, and then allowed her her victory. If it had felt good before, it was even better now, and there was no way he could speak as he caressed her soft skin.

His left hand had frozen on Sarah's chest, and she now pulled it back into action. Then: "Wait!" ordered Sarah, and she pulled her nightdress up to her shoulders, and yanked his hand back to her bare skin. With a groan he realised she wore no underwear, and her naked vulva was now pressed to his inner thigh.

He looked at Jane in desperation - almost pleading with her to bring this all to a halt, but hoping at the same time she would not.

Jane merely smiled and nodded her permission. She was pleased to see how well the girls were getting on with Roger. She reflected she might even let Sarah go all the way with him tonight - she certainly seemed keen enough. Later she would have him herself - he would not be able to refuse her now. Then, of course, he would have to die, just like all the others before. After all, how could he be forgiven for what he was doing to her daughters?