Anna and Obadiah slipped noiselessly down the alley to their new home, not wishing to alert anyone in the Stokes household to her departure. Anna had left a cryptic note in her bedroom, telling that she'd chosen to move out, so no one would think she'd met with foul play and decided to search for her.

As they arrived at the stable, Obadiah set his bundles down, then fished into his pocket for a key.

"The door locks from both the outside and inside now, it does, so's you can feel safe when you're here alone," he told her as he unlocked the door. "I have another key for you right here in my pocket."

"That's a relief," she said, as he handed her the duplicate key a moment later, then slipped it into her own pocket.

Before closing and locking the door back behind them, Hakeswill reached for the tinderbox he'd placed near the door to start a fire, so he could light a taper to then light the candle sconces he'd had installed in various places along the wall. Once the former stable was sufficiently lit, he took Anna's hand, saying, "Come see our new home, Anna."

She looked around and saw the table and two chairs in one corner by the window, "Oh, my, it will be so nice to sit here together in the evenings."

"There's more," he rumbled, leading her urgently to the bedroom, where there was a bed wide enough for them both to be comfortable, a night stand with a candle holder on top, a chair, plus several hooks along the wall to hang their clothing.

"Oh, you've thought of everything!" Anna said in delight. She reached up and gave him a kiss after he'd brought her bags into the bedroom. "I know I'm going to be happy living here."

Obadiah smiled, then urged, "Let's go to bed, missy. I wants to do it in our own bed." He was already in the process of stripping as he spoke.

"Let me make up the bed first," she said, smiling at his eagerness. "It will be much more comfortable that way." Anna looked into one of her bags and pulled out two sheets; one to tuck into the mattress and another to cover them with, along with two pillowcases for the pillows Obadiah had provided.

Picking up the pillows, she said, "Wherever did you get these? I can tell they're brand new, And they're of the finest quality." She was somewhat amazed that Obadiah had a good eye for quality.

"One of the Indians that helped fix this place up has a sister who sells such things in the market," Obadiah told her. "Made them herself, he told me. I got them 'cos I thought you deserved something nice to lay your head on, you do."

"Thank you, love," Anna. said quietly. "It's a wonderful gift." She turned to find Obadiah standing right behind her stark naked and aroused.

"Come on, Anna," he rumbled. "Enough of this primping for tonight. Let's go to bed now. You'll have plenty of time to fix this place up tomorrow, you will."

"You're right,' she said smiling at him, as his hands made quick work of the laces on her bodice. "I'm just so glad to be here, that's all."

Hakeswill chuckled at her enthusiasm as he continued to single-mindedly undress her. Once he'd disposed of her shift, they tumbled into bed together, with no more words being spoken that night, as they broke in the new bed right and proper.

Anna awakened early the next morning and at first didn't remember where she was. She smiled to herself as she rolled over to find Obadiah asleep beside her, snoring softly. As she reached over to put her shift back on, her hand was stopped by Obadiah's larger one.

"Not just yet, missy," he rumbled, his voice thick with sleep. "We needs to start the day off proper, we do."

"You're so right," she said as she rolled back over into his arms. "How could I have forgotten?"

"I don't know," he replied, twitching briefly. "But I intends to give it to you so good so's you never forget it again. Give you a bellyful, I will."

With a lustful smirk, he moved to make good his promise.

Later, after she and Obadiah had eaten the food he'd brought with him the night before, sitting at the table in the front room, he reluctantly stood up to leave.

"I have to go now, I do," he said, pulling her into his arms for a kiss. "Them lazy buggers would do nothing but lay around camp all day, they would, if I'm not there to light a fire under 'em." Walking to the door he said, "I should be back for lunch and I'll bring us something to eat from the sergeants' mess."

"I could go get some food from the market and try to cook," she said, looking dubiously at the small fireplace that had been installed on the opposite wall from the bedroom. "I don't really know much about cooking, but I've watched Mrs Stokes' servants enough times, so I could try to make something."

Patting her on the arm, Obadiah said, "Don't you worry none about that right now, missy. You've got plenty of time to learn all that and besides, I loves you for other things other than cooking, I do." After a pause, he continued, "And I wants you to stay out of sight for a few days, until they get used to you being gone. Don't want to risk them trying to drag you back there, I don't."

"I don't think there's any danger of that," Anna said, with a shaky laugh. "I imagine Mrs Stokes will be glad to see the back end of me."

"Maybe so," he agreed. "But I don't want to take a chance, You stay here today. After a few days you should be able to go out, no trouble."

"All right, Obadiah," she agreed meekly. "I'll stay out of sight." Looking around, surveying the things she'd missed in the dark when they'd arrived last night, she added, "I'll have plenty to keep me busy here setting our home to rights."

After Obadiah had left to go on duty, Anna explored her new home in more detail; seeing things she'd missed the previous night in the dim candlelight. There were several shelves in the front room near the table, as well as a couple in the bedroom on the opposite wall from the clothing hooks.

The first order of business was to get the curtains hung. Anna didn't like the idea of passing strangers being able to look inside, especially in the bedroom, as she was a private person by nature.

As she went into the bedroom to get the curtains she'd packed, she noticed that curtain rods had been thoughtfully installed, along with several curtain rings. It didn't take her long to attach the rings to the curtains, so in no time, she was standing back, admiring the curtains covering both windows with satisfaction. The stable was beginning to truly look like a home now.

Next, she went to unpack the rest of her belongings. She hung her gowns on the hooks provided, and placed her folded shifts on one of the bedroom shelves. Anna also had several books, which she placed on another shelf: a book of Shakespeare, a book of poetry, a couple of novels, and her mother's Bible. Books had helped her through the lonely times living in the Stokes home, so she regarded them as old friends.

She reached for the last bag again and pulled out Joseph's baby clothes and the basket he'd slept in. Overcome with emotion at the sight of the tiny garments, she sat down weakly on the side of the bed with them. Tears welled up as Anna thought of her baby boy, now buried in a dark hole, who would never grow up to be a man. As she sat twisting one of Joseph's shirts in her hand, her mind went back to something Obadiah had said that morning: Give you a bellyful, I will.

Anna wondered if he was speaking seriously about having a child together or whether he was simply bragging about his virility. As she continued to ponder, it occurred to her that she would very much like to have a baby with Obadiah, knowing that Joseph would want her to give her love to another child; a child who would know his father, who would be born out of a loving relationship.

The more she thought about it, the more she hoped she was with child. She'd missed one monthly and was about due for another, so it was quite possible she was already pregnant. The young woman smiled to herself at the idea of her and Obadiah being parents and dearly hoped that he'd been serious about what he'd said that morning. Perhaps they'd even be able to get married as well, within due time. As she stood up to go about her business, she vowed to bring up the matter to Obadiah at some point.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Mary Stokes was irritated when Anna did not appear at breakfast. Ever since that bastard of hers had died, she'd taken to sleeping later than was proper. But today was the latest that Anna had remained abed. As soon as she'd finished her breakfast, Mrs Stokes stalked back to Anna's room, intending to give the younger woman a piece of her mind about the sinfulness of sloth.

She hammered on the door to Anna's bedroom, calling out, "Anna! Wake up this instant, you lazy thing!"

A long silence greeted her summons. Mrs Stokes got no reply, nor did she hear any movement from within the room.

Now thoroughly angry, she pulled the door open and was shocked to find the room empty, the bed unoccupied. At first thinking that Anna had risen on time but had simply failed to appear at breakfast, she belatedly realized that all of the other woman's belongings were missing. Everything was gone, except for the bed and night table.

The haughty woman stood there for a long moment, slack-jawed and flabbergasted, not quite believing what her eyes were telling her. But finally it dawned on her that Anna had left without informing her. A moment later, she spied a piece of paper lying on the nightstand.

Snatching the paper up, she began to read:

Mrs Stokes,

I have found other lodgings and have decided to move out on my own. It is no longer fitting for me to continue to reside in your home, now that my son has passed away.

Anna Perkins

"Why, that ungrateful little slut," Mary Stokes muttered to herself. "I'll bet she's gone to live in sin with some man!" She spun on her heel and left the room, slamming the door in her wake.

"Mary!" Major Stokes said as she returned to the front room. "Whatever is the matter? You slammed that door so hard, I'm surprised it didn't fall off the hinges!"

"It's Anna!" she replied, handing him the note. "She's moved out without a word to anyone! No doubt to take up a life of sin! It seems as if I was right, after all, in that we should have put her out after the baby died."

Major Stokes was silent for a long moment after reading Anna's note. "It seems as if you were right, I'm sorry to say. I'd thought she was redeemable. Apparently not." He sighed loudly.

"Well, I wash my hands of her, completely!" Mary Stokes huffed indignantly. "She's made her bed - now she can lie in it!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

A little over a week later, Anna was almost certain she was pregnant. She'd missed another monthly and felt the same way she remembered feeling when she'd realized she was carrying Joseph. She'd not vomited, but had felt decidedly queasy in the mornings.

Wanting to be sure, she waited several more days before bringing up the subject with Obadiah. She slipped out to the market one afternoon to get some arrack, knowing that he liked to drink it sometimes after a long day at work.

About three days after they'd moved in together, Obadiah had deemed it safe for her to go out during the day, considering that the Stokeses had made no inquiries of her whereabouts, nor had they looked for her.

He'd given her a few coins out of his stash, so she'd have spending money if she needed something during the day. The second day after they'd moved in, he'd come home that night with a strongbox, in which he'd placed all the plunder that had been previously squirreled in the hollow beam. After warning her to never tell anyone about the strongbox, he'd shoved it under their bed against the wall, explaining that it was their nest egg.

Anna realized that it was all stolen goods, but she didn't care. Early in their relationship, Obadiah had told her about his grim childhood, telling her that his motto was "Do it to them before they do it to you", plus she knew that the men in the ranks, even sergeants, were paid so little that the only way to get ahead was to steal. She knew there was authorized stealing, such as stripping the corpses of fallen enemies in battle, and unauthorized stealing, which involved stealing from the army and one's comrades in arms, and though she realized that Obadiah no doubt did both, she did not concern herself with the morality of it.

He arrived home about an hour after she'd returned from her errand. She'd put the new tablecloth she'd recently made on the table and laid out their plates for the food he'd bring from the sergeants' mess. Anna had also made sure to wear the gown that Obadiah liked best on her.

As he walked through the door, Obadiah Hakeswill's weariness showed clearly on his rawboned face. He brightened as he saw Anna coming to greet him with a kiss, as she did every evening. Just this small gesture of love meant a great deal to him, simply knowing that there was someone at home eagerly awaiting his arrival who cared whether he lived or died.

"You look pretty," Obadiah said as she kissed him. "A sight for sore eyes, you are."

"I'm glad to see you, too," she murmured, taking the food he'd brought and putting it on the table, as he went into the bedroom to take off his jacket.

"I think I wants to go to bed early tonight," he said, pulling out his chair to sit down for supper, "I worked as hard as a bleedin' heathen today, I did."

"I bought you some arrack when I was at the market today," Anna reported, placing the bottle on the table. "I thought you might like to have some after supper."

"You take such good care of me, you do," Obadiah said. "No one has looked out for me since I was a little 'un and my mother saw after me.

As he sat there nursing a glass of arrack as she cleaned off the table some time later, Anna said, in what she hoped was a casual tone, "The other morning, when you said you'd give me a bellyful, were you being serious, Obadiah? Do you want to become a father?"

He looked up at her, curious about the change of subject. "'Course I do. Every man should leave a son behind him. Daughters, too, I suppose."

"I'm so glad to hear that." Anna said, obviously relieved. She took a seat by Obadiah and took his hand. Almost brimming with excitement, she looked into his eyes and murmured, "I'm with child, Obadiah. We're going to have a baby!"

Hakeswill sat there gobsmacked for a long moment, not quite registering what Anna had told him. Finally, he pulled himself together and hesitantly asked. "You means it, Anna?"

"Very much so, Obadiah," she said, her voice almost giddy. "It seems as if you gave me a bellyful, after all."

A wide silly grin appeared on Obadiah's face at the thought of he and Anna becoming parents together. He didn't say anything, but pulled Anna onto his lap and gave her a long kiss. After they came up for air, he rumbled, "I don't think I've ever been happier than I am right now, I haven't."

"Me either," Anna said softly, kissing his bony cheek.

"I wants to ask you to marry me, I do, but there's no room on the strength for another wife right now," he told her. "I checked."

"That's all right, love," Anna said soothingly. "It's enough to me to know that you want to."

"I means to, though," he assured her earnestly. "Just as soon as there's room for another wife, I'll go straight to Captain Morris and get his permission to marry you. He won't say no, neither, because he depends on me to run things for him, he does."

"I can hardly wait," she murmured, following him into the bedroom.