Southern Discomfort (13 page)

“Good, you
won't be getting spankings while you are expecting, but a couple with
the strap to your hand can be very effective too.”

Emily just nodded
at him. She guessed that that was fair, but still – She was
picturing him actually doing it. It would mean she would have to face
him. He would see her face when the strap hit her. Emily didn't want
him to see her that way.

She had always
pulled her hand away at school. Or she rolled it up into a fist. But
that didn't matter because if she couldn't leave the house she
couldn't get into any trouble. A punishment like that could take a
long time. She would do what she could to avoid it.

“I'll listen to
you.”

“That's good
because I will except no excuses. None, what so ever. You stay in the
house.”

Emily nodded at
him. Hundreds of questions were going through her mind. His request
seemed so odd. It hadn't even been a request, he had demanded it,
even threatening with punishment. Was there something dangerous
outside, some sort of an animal?

“Emily, I have
said my piece. We can go to sleep now.” He stood, removing his
clothes. He sure hoped that he wouldn't have to punish her. She was
just so delicate.

Emily also got
out of her clothes, laying them on the chair next to her side of the
bed.

She climbed into
bed naked, moving over to the center of the bed. She opened her legs
wide.

Nathaniel got
into bed next her, carefully rolling on top of her. This was his
favorite time of day.

Her arms wrapped
around him. Her fingertips would run up and down his back. Her hands
even cupped onto his buttocks to pull him closer. Visions of other
times that they had made love were going through her head, helping to
ready her for him. She could feel that he was ready.

His mouth latched
onto her nipples, sucking them until they were red and hard.

Emily's hand was
on his backside, trying to push him closer. She wanted him inside of
her. She needed to make the most of their nightly love making.
Tomorrow morning she would be too sick for anything along those
lines.

Nathaniel could
feel that she was ready, but he, too, wanted to enjoy this. He took
his time, kissing her neck and slowly kissing his way back down to
her breasts. He felt that the pregnancy had already made them a bit
larger.

Nathaniel was so
pleased with her. She was so much more than he had expected. He was
thankful that it had been her, who had stepped off the stagecoach. If
Victor Wellington ever did show up, then he would make it clear to
him that Emily would be staying with him, her husband. The man she
chose. If need be, he would act in self defense and protect his wife.
She was too sweet and too good, for him to let anything happen to
her.

Emily reached
down between them, taking hold of his firm penis. She tilted her hips
up and positioned him so he would just have to thrust into her. She
was shaking with need for him. “Please,” she whispered into his
ear.

Nathaniel loved
the feeling of him in her hand. He couldn't help it. His body
demanded that he push forward into her hand, which was tightly
holding him. The tip of his penis pushed into her soft wet folds.

His eyes
squinted, trying not to look down, but still he knew what he would
see if they were open. He would see her soft body, open for him,
wanting him.

Emily removed her
hand. She sighed loudly as he thrust into her, purring louder than
her cat ever could. Finally, this was what she needed. Her head
pushed back into the pillow, her hips raised up, giving him better
excess while her fingers gripped into his hair.

Nathaniel's body
was moving over hers and in hers, like waves lapping hard on the
shore. He had a steady motion going. He had been watching her closely
while they made love. He knew that she liked it best when he held
everything constant, the same movements, at the same intervals.

Her eyes would
close and her mouth would open. She would only take tiny breaths of
air. He loved that these were things that only he would ever know
about her. She was entirely his. Even the baby growing inside of her
marked her as his.

No other man had
the right to claim her.

Emily lifted her
legs high into the air around him, wanting to open herself even
further so he could join her deeper inside of her body.

Nathaniel thrust
harder. His need to reach his climax erased all other thoughts in his
mind. He came loudly over her. His body, moving of its own accord,
pumping ever bit of his seed into her, even though it wasn't
necessary anymore. His seed had already hit its mark.

He laid down on
top of her, thinking that it was obvious that she should be expecting
so soon. They were perfect lovers, made for each other.

The baby was
proof that God had wanted them to be together. This could only be
divine intervention. God had sent her to him.

She was his to
protect.

Victor smiled his
best smile, as he entered the general store of the one street town,
that his Emily had run off to. The fat lady at the counter was
quickly taken with him. He told her that he was Emily's older brother
and that he wanted to see, with his own eyes, how his baby sister was
fairing with her new husband. He charmed information and directions
out of the woman.

Victor left
thinking that if all went well he could be sitting with his Emily on
the train home to Boston by tomorrow.

Mrs. Brown
watched him leaving, thinking that Emily Tate had come from such a
nice and well off family. She had a daughter who would be turning
seventeen soon. Maybe they should call on the Tates while Emily's
brother was still visiting.

She sought out
her husband and told him her plans. He didn't like the idea of their
child moving off to Boston, but he wanted peace and quiet at home. He
agreed to drive the women out to the Tates the next day.

Mr. Brown figured
that the man wouldn't fall in love with their daughter anyway. She
was pretty enough but she talked even more than her mother did.

Victor rode on
and on, thinking that the directions couldn't be right. Everything
looked the same. How could Emily live in this heat and dust. He
missed his beautiful Boston, with her changing seasons and green
trees.

How did people
find their way around out here? He would have to sleep under the
stars again tonight. It was already getting dark.

Victor feared
that the woman had purposely given him the wrong directions. Mr.
Stuart had made it sound like Mr. Tate was a powerful man. Were they
forewarned that he was near by?

No, that couldn't
be right. If his brothers had married whores than they wouldn't be a
powerful family. People like that were white trash. His Emily had
traded down. She would be better off with him. She would be a woman
of standing. The most important woman in all of Boston. She would
only have to bow down to him. He would have great pleasure teaching
her what he expected in a wife.

His horse seemed
to be following some sort of path. It led him down a little hill. The
horse stopped in front of an earth covered building. Perhaps it was
an ice house, he thought.

He got off of his
horse and went to the dwelling. He knocked for good measure, but when
no one answered he opened the door and peeked inside. It took his
eyes a moment to adjust. There was no window, just darkness. This was
a one room house. There was no feasible place to build a fire.

Victor had to
stand a little to the side of where he was looking. Otherwise his own
shadow would have blocked his view.

The 'hut' was
dark and dirty but it was better than sleeping outside. He unrolled
his pack and make himself a bed. He wished that he wasn't so
prideful. Maybe he should have just quietly married the second
prettiest girl in town. Could he even forgive Emily for whoring
around with some white trash man? She was going to pay dearly for
this.

Victor fell
asleep with a smile on his face. He had been picturing her naked on
the floor at his feet begging him to stop whipping her. He didn't
stop.

The next morning
he woke up early. He needed a bath and a decent meal. He decided that
he would check into a hotel in Austin and freshen up before they
left. There he could have a talk with Emily. He liked the smell of
women's skin burning. The way they cried and hopped around was an
enticing sight to behold. He had left his mark on the whore back in
Amarillo. Every man after him would know that he had been with her.

Before they got
on the train, he would brand Emily as his, too. She would learn not
to disobey him ever again.

He looked around
the hole that he had to sleep in because of her. In one corner he saw
old rusty tools and boards. After that quick glance he turned to
leave, wanting to sleep in a real bed tonight.

His horse was
waiting for him. He got on and rode off. The horse could be brushed
down by whoever he sold him to in Austin. This hadn't been a longterm
investment. He had just needed the horse so he wouldn't have to
arrive on the coach. No one would reckon with visitors during the
week like this.

Victor knew he
was lost but what could he do about it? There was no one to ask
directions from and he didn't want it known that he was in the area.
It had been a necessity to ask the woman at the store for directions
but the information should stop there.

It was late and
he was hungry. He had eaten all of his food for breakfast, thinking
that this would soon be over. Now he would have to sleep outside
again. Maybe he could find the hut again. It was better than nothing
but certainly not a grand hotel as he had hoped for this evening.

He saw something
out of the corner of his eye. It had been like a white dash that had
disappeared. His eyes locked on where it had come from. Then he saw
it again. It was a white cat pouncing on its prey. Even from this
distance he could hear the bell, that the cat had around its neck.

“Snowball,”
he said aloud. The corners of his mouth curled up into a smile.

He had her.

Victor quietly
got down from his horse and moved in the direction that the cat had
taken off in. He followed it until he saw a house in the distant. At
least it was a real house and not another hut. In fact, it was a
house and several other buildings. It was real a farm. His Emily had
been a fine lady and now she was a farmwife. He shook his head at her
stupidity.

“Snowball,”
he called out softly, holding the bag that had carried his
provisions. He rustled it, thinking of the visits that he had paid
Emily. He would call on her every few months. They would sit in the
parlor and stare at each other. She often had that damn cat in her
arms. He would accept whatever drink was offered to him and stare at
her, picturing what he all wanted to do with his future wife.

The cat seemed to
recognize him. She trotted over to him with her head held high. He
was starting to like the animal. Once she got close to him he picked
her up and pet her.

Emily was sitting
in an armchair in the good parlor. She was knitting something for the
baby, the tiniest of shoes. Katie had taken to waiting on her. Bessie
was ignoring her. Emily could understand why. Here she was barely wed
and already expecting a baby, while the other two had been married
for so long already, and they didn't have a baby growing inside of
them. She felt so sorry for both of them.

In fact, she
hoped that they would be expecting soon, so their children could play
together. Growing up with other children was something that Emily
felt was important. She had had neighbor children to play with as a
child. She didn't want her child to have to go without friends, just
because they lived so far out.

They all held
still listening. Each of them had heard something.

There it was
again.

“That's
snowball.” Emily rose to her feet and went to the window. Her eyes
searched for the direction where the sound was coming from.

Then she sighed
relieved. She could see her by the swimming hole. “Maybe she fell
into the pond?” Emily even grinned at the others. Having a cat was
good practice for having a baby. You had to jump up and run off when
they pulled something to. Emily got a towel out of the cupboard and
went off to save her cat. She would rub her dry and take her inside
with her.

She was half way
to the pool when she saw that her cat wasn't wet. Instead she was
laying in the grass and crying something terrible. Emily looked
around to make sure that there wasn't a snake around.

Snowball was
still screaming, in that terrible way that cats do. “It's alright.
Mama is here now.” The closer she got, the worse she felt. A cold
shiver was going up and down her spine, like a warning.

She picked up
Snowball, whose leg was broken. Emily had tears in her eyes as she
turned around to go back. Maybe Charles could fix it. Hopefully they
wouldn't have to take Snowball out of her misery. She was obviously
in pain.

Emily heard a
horse riding in hard and fast. First then did she remember that she
wasn't allowed outside. But the man charging at her wasn't her mad
husband. It was Victor Wellington. He swooped her up in his arm and
laid her over the front of the saddle face down.

The hard saddle
was poking into her stomach. She let her cat glide out of her hands
and safely to the ground. At least Snowball would have a chance.

She cried and
fussed, trying to turn around but she couldn't. She stopped trying,
for fear of falling. Ten minutes later he stopped. He swung himself
down from the horse and yanked her down too.

Emily fell to the
ground at his feet. She looked up at him in disbelief. What was he
doing here? “I'm already married. You can't have me.”