Passing as Elias (9 page)

They arrived at the chapel on time, and the Captain asked the coachman to remain out in the front for when they emerged, to which he replied with a tip of his hat. Elizabeth’s knees felt extremely weak as she stepped out of the coach. The night was cold, and mist rose in front of her mouth. The parish of the church was waiting at the doors, from which a warm glow emitted so they could only see his silhouette. They walked up the path towards him, and he greeted them merrily.

“Good evening, Captain,” the parish said cheerfully, ‘and you must be Miss Searson?”

Elizabeth gave a small curtsey and nodded.

“The Parish is, uh,” Captain Greenwood thought for a moment, “compassionate towards couples who wish to elope.”

“Understanding when it comes to matters of love.” He smiled warmly at Elizabeth, and she forced herself to smile back.

“So, why the hurry?” he asked as he steered them inside the church.

“I am leaving in a few days time and shall be gone several months. I found it wise to snatch up Miss Searson before some other fellow stole her away from me while I was away at sea.” The Captain smiled warmly, winking at Elizabeth.

The ceremony did not take long. The parish stood before them and asked them to repeat his words, each in turn.

“Elizabeth Mary Searson, I take you to be my wife and my spouse, and I pledge to you the faith of my body, that I will be faithful to you and loyal with my body and my goods, and that I will keep you in sickness and in health and in whatever condition it will please the Lord to place you, and that I shall not exchange you for better or worse until the end.”

Elizabeth too repeated the words of the Parish.

“George William Greenwood, I pledge to you that I will take you to be my husband and … master,” she faltered, and the Captain winced with an expression that clearly said
do not worry about it.
She continued, “I pledge to you the faith of my body, that I will be faithful to you and loyal with my body and my goods, and that I will keep you in sickness and in health and in whatever condition it will please the Lord to place you, and that I shall not exchange you for better or worse until the end.”

The parish then supervised the exchanging of the rings, and ordered Captain Greenwood to say the following; “With this ring I wed you, with my body I honor you.”

And so it was done. Captain Greenwood …
George
, slipped the simple gold band onto Elizabeth’s finger. She stared at it for several seconds before George cupped her chin and kissed her lightly on the lips. Elizabeth Searson was now Elizabeth Greenwood in the eyes of the law, and would now be able to re-open the apothecary.

~

The carriage took them further north after the ceremony, towards a small village surrounded by trees. It was quite adorable, and Elizabeth thought she might enjoy the stay. The Inn had a sign dangling over the door, which read, “The Kings Arms,” with two crossed swords. Its walls were covered in vines, and there seemed to be a farm beyond it, for there was a strong smell of manure. Overall, it was quite pleasant.  It was nearing one o’clock in the morning now, yet a maiden awaited them upon entry. She was a large breasted woman who batted her eyelashes at George and smiled consistently at him as she showed them to their room.

“Yer in the best room,” she told him, “I lit the fire for yeh.”

“Thank you,” George said graciously as he handed her two silver pieces.

“Thank you, sir.” She smiled widely and bustled out of the room.

Elizabeth watched the fire dancing in the grate, rubbing her arms nervously. She kept her back to her new husband as he closed the door. He crossed the room to meet her at the fireplace, and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“My wife,” he whispered into her ear.

Elizabeth turned to face him, “Are you happy?”

“Happier than I have ever been,” he admitted. “Are you happy, Missus Greenwood?”

The name sounded foreign to her ears, “Of course.”

It was not a complete lie. She was happy that she would be able to fulfill Professor de Bard’s wishes. She continued to ignore the guilt that fell heavily upon her heart. She was not sad to marry George Greenwood, but she was not thrilled to be considered his property. Elizabeth told herself over and over again that for hundreds of years many people had married for gain, and not love.

George Greenwood cupped Elizabeth’s face in his hands and kissed her on the lips before staring at her face and drinking in every detail.

“I do love you,” he said.

Elizabeth’s stomach tightened uncomfortably, “And  … I love you too,” she lied.

George did not notice the hesitation because she had told him exactly what he wanted to hear. He kissed her again, first her lips, then her jaw, before his mouth found her neck. They kissed in front of the fire for a long while, embracing, and swaying on the spot. His hands ran all over her body, stroking her back, and squeezing her buttocks gently. His hands moved to the front of her dress, where he untied her bodice slowly, allowing it to fall away from her body. With fumbling fingers, Elizabeth began to unbutton George’s waistcoat and slid it from his shoulders. He was now sliding her dress from her shoulders, revealing her undergarments. The green dress fell to the floor in a heap, and Elizabeth stood there nervously in her white chemise.

Before long, George had swept Elizabeth from her feet and carried her into their bedchamber where there was a large four-poster bed. He laid her gently upon the covers and knelt above her, his eyes roaming over her body. They began to kiss again, and Elizabeth felt the urgency mounting in the way that he kissed her. He began to undo the buttons of his shirt, once again exposing the mass of curled hair on his sculpted chest. With his shirt on the floor Elizabeth stared at George’s intimidating torso momentarily before he resumed kissing her neck. Elizabeth had never lain with a man before and was unsure as to what was expected of her. She was relying on George, for the most part, to know what he was doing, for he had been with many women upon his travels of the world. Elizabeth could see the outline of his manhood, pressing against his breeches.

George wasted no time in undressing Elizabeth completely. He tugged at the hem of her chemise, and pulled it over her head. He threw it to the floor and looked down upon her completely naked body. His eyes lingered upon her heaving bosom before moving downwards to the patch of curly auburn hair between her thighs. Elizabeth felt herself blush, and she tried to shield herself in embarrassment.

“It is all right,” he said, stopping her hands, “you are beautiful.”

He lowered himself and gently kissed her bosom, cupping the other in his large hands. He was extremely gentle as he parted her thighs with his knee.

George was fumbling with his breeches now, whilst lashing his tongue against Elizabeth’s, and for the first time in her life she gazed upon a man’s entire body.

His manhood stood straight, long and thick with a bulbous tip. It was large, much too large for Elizabeth. She feared that he might tear her in two. It stood tall, and offensive before her.

The moment had come. George Greenwood lowered himself over his new wife. She was scared, and closed her eyes as his tip parted her folds. It filled her up, and stretched her. A searing pain shot through her crotch, and she cried out. He slowed, kissed her tenderly, and pushed deeper. It hurt. Elizabeth tried to ignore the stinging, but it brought tears to her eyes. Scrunching up her face, she took a deep breath as George submerged himself completely inside her. They were one. He was buried inside her to the hilt. She lay there, unmoving, waiting for the pain to ebb away. He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling as he stared down at her. Elizabeth knew he was trying to show some restraint, for he could see that she was in pain.  And then he began to move.

His strong arms were on either side of Elizabeth’s head, and she watched him as he drove himself into her, again and again. The pain was not sharp anymore, but there was an uncomfortable burning sensation. It did not feel good, and Elizabeth found herself wishing that it was over already.

Gradually, George’s thrusts became harder and faster. Sweat formed on his brow, and he breathed heavily into her neck.
Let it be over soon
, she prayed,
let it end.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, George gave a final shuddering thrust, and groaned into her hair. He pulled out before he spilled his seed inside her, and she felt it on her thighs. He collapsed, panting next to her, brushing the sweaty hair from his eyes.

Elizabeth breathed heavily and stared at the ceiling while the Captain gained his breath.

Looking sideways at her, George smiled, “That was … I have waited so long … amazing.” He seemed quite dazed.

Elizabeth nodded in reply before George put an arm around her and held her close. Stroking her hair, he continued, “Being so close to you … it is … I love it. I feel so content.”

“Mmmh.” Elizabeth nodded in agreement.

“I could stay like … like this for-forever,” he said through an enormous yawn.

“Me too,” Elizabeth lied.

Within a matter of minutes, Captain Greenwood was snoring softly next to her. Elizabeth was wide-awake, her crotch throbbing painfully. She sat up carefully, and placed her feet on the floor. The pain twanged, and she flinched. Standing, Elizabeth turned to look at the bed and found a red stain where she had been laying. Looking down, she was horrified to see blood dripping down her thigh.

~

Elizabeth had an uneasy sleep that night. The bed was comfortable, and Captain Greenwood did not snore too loudly, however Elizabeth’s mind was preoccupied. The dull pain in her crotch was slowly ebbing away, and towards daybreak Elizabeth finally fell asleep.

The Captain woke her a few hours later. She opened her eyes to find that sun was shining in through the open windows, and a breeze was gently wafting the curtains. He was standing next to her bed, holding a tray laden with food.

“I brought you breakfast,” he said; his eyebrows knitted together in concern.

“Oh, thank you,” Elizabeth said sleepily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

“I … saw the washcloth,” he said, placing the tray upon the blankets and climbing into bed with her.

“Oh … yes.” She crinkled her nose.

“I did not want to hurt you. You should have asked me to stop.”

“I know you did not want to hurt me, George.” She smiled at him and he continued to look concerned, “Look, it is perfectly normal to experience … discomfort.”

He fell into thoughtful silence while they ate breakfast together. He had brought enough toast, eggs, and orange juice for two. He continued to muse throughout the day.

As they were staying at the Kings Arms Inn for two nights, this gave them the opportunity to explore the village. It consisted of one main street, along which adorable shops lined either side of the road. They passed a shoe shop where Elizabeth stopped to goggle at a pair of shiny, heeled boots. The Captain offered to purchase them for her, but she refused. He held her hand as they wandered around the village, passing a blacksmith, a pretty store full of expensive looking china, and a fur specialist. Elizabeth gasped when they passed by a shop front showing a range of elegant dresses. They ate dinner in a small restaurant before retiring back at the Inn. Elizabeth’s feet were very sore from walking all day. As they slid into bed next to one another for the second night in a row, Elizabeth wondered whether he would want to make love again. Barely a minute passed before he was kissing her neck and pulling her towards him. Elizabeth had not yet fully recovered from the previous night, yet she did not refuse him. The second time was not as painful. It was only slightly uncomfortable. She found that it hurt much less if she straddled him, a position that he seemed to thoroughly enjoy. When they were done, he kissed her, rolled over and fell asleep almost immediately.

~

When Elizabeth woke the next morning she rolled over to find that the Captain was not there. Sitting up and looking around she found that he was not in the room at all. The position of the sun in the sky suggested that it was mid-morning. Her eyes fell upon a large package at the foot of the bed. She crawled over to it on her hands and knees and found that there was a small note on it.

My love,

I woke early to get this for you, I hope you like it.

You are a lady and deserve the best.

Put them on, and meet me downstairs.

George.

Elizabeth ripped open the wrappings and smiled. Lying there were the shoes, and dress she had goggled at in the street the day before. She held the dress up and admired it. It was elegant, and heavy; something a proper lady would have for daywear. It was a creamy colour with a floral pattern. The boots matched perfectly, for they were a light tan suede with white laces. She put them on at once and looked at herself in the mirror. She did not own any clothing of this quality, and felt very good about herself as she looked at her reflection. She donned the gloves that the Captain had given her, and found she looked quite beautiful, like a woman of noble breeding.