by Lora Thomas
“Aye, milady. Should I have them delivered tae the Major’s house?”
Anna shook her head. “No. Pack them in my sea chest for I will be traveling to the colonies with my husband.”
“No,” Sarah whispered with mortification as her hand came to her throat.
“I’m afraid so. Please pack your belongings, too, for I will need an ally in enemy territory.”
“Are ye referring tae the colonies?”
Anna looked at her maid. “No, my husband.”
Chapter Two
Anna took a disheartened sigh as she looked around the cabin she was to share with her new husband. The thought turned her stomach. She would rather have had her head removed with a dull knife than be forced to marry Major Stevenson. Well, not really, but she knew death would be welcome should she defy him. She was nervous. She had been wed less than two hours and now she was standing in a cabin onboard the HMS Salvation as the wife of Major Albert Stevenson, also known as The Enforcer. His heavy hand when disciplining insubordinate and unruly soldiers was how the name was acquired. And when he battled years earlier in the French and Indian War, his reputation became notorious. He was brutal. Ruthless. He gave no quarter to his enemy. There was a trial to have him court-martialed because of his less than gentlemanly tactics on the battlefield, but the charges were dropped after the sudden suicide of his commanding officer. Many thought his fellow bloodthirsty comrades aided his accuser in his death but nothing was ever proven.
A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered how, just before the wedding ceremony, she had heard the major and one of his servants. From the sound of it they were apparently very close and she had heard every intimate detail of their encounter. All the moans and groans along with Albert’s roar of release. A few minutes later another servant appeared to help Anna change into her wedding gown. The servant kept her head lowered, but when she raised it, the large bruise to the right side of her face was very noticeable. Anna did not need to be told who had given the young girl the bruise. She knew instantly that it was the major.
Anna dreaded this trip for it meant that war was being waged near her home. The Major was being sent to Wilmington, North Carolina. The area was a sore spot on an already open wound to the British. It was a crucial point for supplies. The British warships blocked any supplies going into or out of the city. But the blockade runners played a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the ships and smuggled valuable supplies into the Cape Fear River for colonial troops. Several months earlier the British successfully took siege of the city, and now small skirmishes waged constantly around.
The ship gave a loud pop, bringing Anna back to the present. She could feel the slow sway of the ship as it moved from the berth. Stumbling, Anna made her way to a chair beside the bed, sat down, and began nervously working her hands. Seasickness would be her only reprieve from her husband’s advances. It would be only a matter of minutes before the nausea would hit her—at least that was how long it took when she traveled from the colonies to England. But then again, she was only ten at that time. She closed her eyes and waited to see if her body would reject the movement. Her body did not handle sea travel well and it did not disappoint her, for less than ten minutes later she felt the stirring sensations of nausea. She raced over to the commode behind the dressing screen as the contents of her stomach exited her body.
Albert entered his quarters at the time Anna’s nausea hit. When she exited from behind the privacy of the dressing screen, she was taken aback by the look of disgust on his face.
“Please refrain from expelling yourself in my presence.”
Anna closed her eyes and swallowed hard as the overwhelming feeling of nausea hit her stomach again. She placed her hand over her mouth. Her chin quivered as she fought the desire to vomit but to no avail. She raced back to the commode as the retching sensation hit her again.
She could hear her husband’s footsteps as he crossed the room to her location. He peered around the dressing screen and stared at his wife. She was sitting on the floor in front of the commode. She had her arms lying on the seat and her forehead rested on her arms. She rose to her knees as she vomited again. Once this last bout was over, she felt his hands stroke her hair. She was taken aback. Was he showing compassion? Her answer came just then as she felt his fingers entwine in her hair and pull her to her feet. She cried out as her hands instinctively reached for the assailant. His fingers gripped her hair so tightly that she thought he was about to pull it out.
The pain she was experiencing was short-lived as the nausea returned again. The flesh around her lips had turned a greenish cast. She turned her face just before she vomited again, missing her husband. She felt his grip loosen on her hair as he let her fall to the floor.
A sneer crossed his face. “I expect you to clean every bit of your mess up and then leave my sight. I will not tolerate illness upon my ship.” The door slammed as he left the room.
Anna sat on the floor, weak. A few minutes later, Sarah entered and rushed to Anna. Sarah assisted Anna to a chair and then began cleaning the room.
“Your husband asked me to take you to my room while you are ill.”
A weak smile came to Anna’s lips. “You mean your closet.”
“I admit, ‘tis small.”
“It was where they stored the extra lines and rigging.”
“Aye, but—”
“At least I will have you to assist me in my time of need instead of my unwanted husband. Now come, let us be gone before my husband returns with his caring nature.”
Anna’s seasickness lasted for four days—which was fine by her. Daily, Albert would send a sentry to report on her status. Sarah would give the soldier the same report, “She is still quite nauseated but improving.” The duo kept this ruse up for nearly a week before the major grew suspicious and sent the doctor to examine her. The physician gave her a clean bill of health, and she was placed back in her husband’s room.
Anna looked out the large glass window of the major’s quarters. All that could be seen was blackness and stars. Not even the moon wanted to be seen this night. The thought of being so far from land frightened Anna. She knew that should a storm arise and the ship sink, then death would be certain. That thought did not frighten her as much as the marriage bed.
The sound of the door closing behind her caused her to jump with fear. She felt her heart quicken as her husband approached her. He tenderly stroked her cheek.
“It is about time you are feeling better. A man should not have to wait a week to bed his wife.”
Anna nervously looked away.
“It will be all right, Anna. I will show you what you need to do to please me. Even though you are a colonist, I find that you are not completely repulsive.”
She held in the desire to slap him for the insult. She was still testing him. She needed to know how far she could push him. Turning, she watched as her husband walked to the bed. He was of average height and build. He was quite a bit older than her, and his age was apparent by the gray in his hair and the wrinkles around his brown eyes. His face was long and thin as was his nose. He pulled off the white powdered wig, exposing his graying brown hair, and tossed the wig onto a chair beside the bed.
His eyes traveled the length of her body. Even though she was wearing a high-necked shift with long sleeves, his ogling stare made her feel as though she were completely nude.
“Remove your clothing,” he commanded as he propped his back onto the headboard of the bed.
Her hands trembled as she loosened the laces on her shift. She attempted to lick her lips, but her mouth was as dry as sand. She allowed the gown to drop to the floor but covered her breasts with her hands.
“Come to me, wife.”
Anna nervously made her way to her husband. She felt as though her skin were being burned from his lustful stare.
“Let me see you.”
She lowered her hands and felt the heat of her blush as it covered her face. She watched his expression change
from lust to disgust as he viewed her naked form.
“You are emaciated. Entirely too thin. Your hips will do well for birthing, but your tits are entirely too small to produce milk. I find your form lacking to give me desire. If I want an heir from you, then I must find a way to get myself aroused by your body. I assume some men may find your body appealing. I find it disgusting. I like my women to have something to hold onto other than large hips.”
“You are speaking as though I am not here. As though I am a horse bought for breeding,” she whispered.
“That is exactly why you are here. You are nothing more than a means for me to procure a legitimate heir—a son. My first wife, that worthless bitch, only gave me daughters. Both of which are now dead. Should they have lived, they would have been only a few years older than you. But I need a son. Maybe your repulsive flesh will give me my heir. You are a means for me to have a son and your father to prove his loyalty to the Crown. I will have to see if the physician has something to help me stay aroused so this marriage can be consummated and an heir made. Don’t fret, wife. Once my seed is planted in your belly, I will find my pleasures elsewhere.”
His insulting words were more powerful and hurtful than any blow she had ever received. Her feelings must have shown on her expression.
“Oh, come now. Your father pledged his allegiance to England by offering you to me. He warned me that I might find you undesirable, but I disagreed…until now. Even with you standing naked in front of me, I find my shaft as limp as a wet cloth. I supposed I could close my eyes as I take you and pretend you are someone else. Someone more desirable. But the second you open your mouth and that colonial accent of yours comes out, my desire would leave.”
He stood and picked up her discarded shift. “Cover your emaciated form from my eyes.”
She took the garment from his hand and pulled it over her head as relief filled her. She could feel her heart slow. Once covered, she turned and headed towards the door.
“Where do you think you’re going, wife?” he snapped.
“I thought…since I am so unattractive that you would prefer to sleep alone,” she said in an attempt to defuse his rising temper.
“No. If you leave my quarters, my men will think I cannot control my wife. Hence if I am not in charge of my wife, then how could I command them. You will sleep here, with me, in my bed. But rest assured, I have no desire for you. It will take more liquor than the half of a bottle of port I have in my desk for me to find you desirable.”
She nodded and walked to the bed, being sure to keep her eyes fixated on the wooden floor. She climbed into bed and pulled the heavy quilt up to her neck. She felt the bed sag under his weight as he joined her. A faint whimper escaped her as she felt his hands pulling her close to him. The feel of his arm around her waist caused her skin to crawl as if covered with insects. She tensed her body, expecting him to change his mind about consummating the marriage. As they lay in bed, she heard his breathing change as he drifted off to sleep. Relief filled her as the tension left her body. She would have to find a way to keep herself completely undesirable to her husband, but how? Her mind raced. She attempted to think, but the loud snoring in her ear made it difficult to concentrate. Tomorrow. She would come up with a plan tomorrow.
The next evening proved the same embarrassment as the night before. She stood naked in front of her husband as he consumed an entire bottle of whiskey. As she studied him, she realized that he was extremely intoxicated, giving her hope that he would not be able to perform his husbandly duties. He stood and walked to her. He pulled her naked body to him and began kissing her neck. His hands roughly cupped her breasts and a faint cry emitted from her mouth. He knocked her to the ground with the back of his hand, and in an instant, he was on top of her.
“Hold still. Say not a word so I can get this task over with while I find myself halfway aroused.”
She attempted to stay still, but the feel of his cold, slimy hands on her body was too much to bear. She shoved him off her body and raced to the bed. She felt his hand on her arms, and he spun her to face him. He attempted to strike her again. She saw his arm draw back and ducked. The power behind his swing, sent him spinning, and he fell, hitting his head on the floor, knocking himself unconscious.
Instinctively, her hands came to her mouth as a gasp left her and her eyes grew wide. An intense feeling of panic came over her. If he was dead, then she would hang for murder. She raced to his body and rolled him over. A feeling of relief came to her as she saw his chest rise with his breath.
She grabbed her shift and pulled it over her head. What to do? She could not leave him on the floor, but she could not wake him either. If she did, then he would attempt to perform his husbandly duties again. She dashed to the door and pressed her ear to it listening for movement. She cracked open the door. No one was standing watch. She stepped out into the passageway, closed the door and ran to Sarah’s room. She did not knock but opened the door and hurried in.
Sarah bolted upright. Before she could scream, Anna had crossed the room to her and covered Sarah’s mouth with her hand.
“Shhh,” Anna frantically whispered.
Sarah nodded her head as Anna removed her hand. “Ye gave me a fright,” she said as she placed her hand to her chest. Sarah noticed Anna’s panicked expression. “Whit’s wrong?”
“You must come quickly. I think my husband is injured.”
“Whit did ye do?”
“Just come on,” Anna said as she tossed Sarah’s robe at her.
The two women raced down the corridor unnoticed and into the major’s quarters. Once in the room, Sarah’s hand went to her throat as she whispered, “Och! Is he dead?”
“No, he’s still alive. He…we…uh—”
“He was attempting tae consummate the marriage.”
“Yes. He was drunk and fell.”
“How come he was in his cups?”
“He finds me disgusting and unattractive.”
Sarah gave her a befuddled look. “Ye? Unattractive? I am a woman and would bed ye myself—expect I prefer men. But ye get mah meaning. Yer a bonny lass. The men in England were drooling over ye ‘n yet he finds ye…unarousing?”
“What am I to do, Sarah? I have no desire to become intimate with that man, even if he is my husband.”
“Nae by choice. Ye father bought his allegiance tae the Crown in order tae keep fae hangin’.”
“Sarah? The situation at hand?” Anna declared as she flared her fingers outward in frustration.
“Och, aye.” Sarah bent down and examined the unconscious man. “He wull be fine. When he wakes, he’ll simply think the pain surging thro’ his head is fae a hangover.”
“That’s well and good but that doesn’t solve my other problem.”
“Which is?” Sarah asked.
Anna gave her an insinuating glance.
Sarah’s eyes grew wide. “Och!” she said as she realized Anna was implying the marriage bed. Sarah drew her brow together in thought. Her eyes grew wide as she said, “I’ve got it!”
“What?”
“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
Sarah peered out into the corridor and raced to her room. She scrounged around until she found a small, thick leather pouch. She then pulled a pin from her hat and embedded it into her gown. She gripped the pouch tightly as she exited into the corridor again. She made her way to the belly of the ship, where the livestock was kept. She approached the cow brought aboard for milk. Taking her hand, she ran her fingers over the thick muscles of the bovine’s neck and patted.
“Sorry, auld lassie.” Sarah pulled the hat pin out and pierced the side of the cow’s neck. The animal gave a loud “moo” in protest of the pain and moved slightly. Sarah patted the cow’s neck again and placed the pouch under the bleeding wound. Once the pouch had an ample amount of blood inside, she pressed a cloth to the area on the bovine to stop the bleeding. She held pressure for several minutes and left the area.
Anna was pacing
the floor when Sarah arrived back.
“Where have you been?” Anna snapped.
Sarah held the pouch up. “Yer salvation.”
“What is that?”
“Blood.”
“What?”
“The major will expect tae see yer virgin’s blood if the marriage wis consummated.”
“Please elaborate, Sarah.”
“Help me get this auld goat in tae the bed first.”
Anna bent down and assisted Sarah lifting Albert. Albert was a thin man, but he was still heavy. The women strained under his dead weight. Once they had him in the bed, Sarah began unbuttoning his trousers.
“What are you doing?” Anna asked in mortification.
“If ye lain together, then he would be naked.”
“But we didn’t!”
“A ken that and ye ken that, but he does nae ken that,” Sarah explained as she pointed to the major. “If we can make him think he bedded ye, then he might leave ye alone the remainder of this voyage. Ye did tell me that once his babe is in yer belly he would leave ye alone, correct?”
“Yes, but—”
“But nothing. We will put some o’ this blood on his shaft, ye and the bed. He will think he lain with ye. Then tomorrow night, ye will claim extreme discomfort. Hopefully, we kin keep ye oot o’ his bed fur aboot a week or sae. Then ye will tell him yer monthly visitor has nae arrived.”
Anna drew her brow together as she spoke. “I don’t understand?”
“That way he will think ye are pregnant. Did ye nae ken that?”
Anna’s voice was barely above a whisper as she answered, “I do not have a mother to explain these things to me, Sarah.”
A disheartened looked crossed Sarah’s face. “Och, Mistress. If I had ken…no, I should hae kent. I would hae spoken with ye afore ye wed, what tae expect.”
“There is no time for that now. What do you need me to do?”
“Help me with his clothing.”
As the women undressed Albert, embarrassment crossed Anna’s face. She had never seen a man unclothed before. As she looked at Sarah, her friend appeared unfazed at the sight of a naked man. A small smirk crossed Sarah’s face.