Disclaimer: Please see the prologue
A New Beginning
Consequences
Madison
Madison floated in a sea of warm tranquility interrupted only by the throbbing in her head. She settled into the blankets that were warm against her smooth, bare skin. The arm around her waist shifted slightly. She flexed her fingers, first one arm and then the other, but the one holding her lay still against her curves.
Consciousness stabbed through the pleasant haze of her awakening, and with the opening of her eyes the dull ache transformed into a splitting pain that made her gasp and clamp her eyes shut.
'One, two', she counted as she looked at her hands, so to whom did the third arm belong to? She shifted as much as she could since her blanket cocoon made the movement awkward and difficult. Finally she had turned on her side enough that she could crane her head to her left without explosions of pain.
It was Erik, swaddled in his own blanket but with one arm under his head and the other draped around her waist. His position had forced the blanket down and she could see his muscled arms and the beginning of his chest. The fine dark hairs lightly coated his skin.
Her heart leapt into her throat as she watched him sleep. Soft whinnies drew her attention from her study of him and she turned her head, looking for the source.
They were in a cave and there were remnants of a fire a few feet from them with clothes laid out beside what was now a pile of ash with a few clumps of unburned blackened fragments of wood.
Her brow wrinkled in confusion, 'where have those clothes come from? And what am I doing sleeping on the floor or a cave with Erik?'
Her head swam and pounded fiercely as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. Despite her confusion she carefully picked his arm off of her and loosened the blankets and upon looking down at herself she discovered the reason why there was a pile of clothing by the fire. She was naked.
He shifted beside her rolling closer to her. Madison panicked and trying to pull her blanket back over her nakedness she found that he was lying on top of one corner trapping it under his weight. She studied his face, which was slack with sleep before turning her attention to her clothes. They were only a few feet from her but it felt like miles.
Should she pull the blanket from his grasp and risk waking him, or quietly retrieve her clothing and dress before he awoke?
Light infiltrated the cave as the pre-dawn brightness erased shadows and began wakening the forest. She could not hesitate any longer; soon the light would wake him and make the decision for her. So Madison carefully withdrew from the soft, warm blanket and rose from the ground, careful to watch Erik for any sign that he was lucid. She quickly crossed to her clothing. Madison picked up the items, her white cotton shift, her corset, skirt, and blouse, and tiptoed her way to the horses.
The chill in the air made her dress quickly, and though the clothing was still a bit damp it would have to do. As she was tying her skirt to her blouse and pulling out the worst of the wrinkles she heard the rustles of fabric and turned around, peeking around the corner to see Erik lying sound asleep by the cooling ashes of the fire.
She turned her attention to the two horses that were whickering softly for attention.
Erik
Erik cracked one eye open as Madison shifted beside him in her sleep and he repositioned his hand so that she could not roll away from him. Her movements made the edge of the blanket slide down, revealing one bare, creamy shoulder with a smattering of freckles.
He eyed the graceful curve of her neck and the way that her bones lay under the skin. He watched her as she began to wake, as her breathing quickened and eyes began to flutter as he feigned sleep.
Erik enjoyed the feel of his hand against her smooth stomach. He could feel her through the thickness of the blanket and when she made to rise he was caught up in moment of impulsivity. He shifted by rolling into her and throwing has arm further around her waist not wanting this stolen moment to end.
He was surprised when she rose anyways when she carefully dislodged his hand and wriggled out of her blanket. The piece of wool that he had successfully trapped under himself was trapped under him so that she could not rise and take it with her. He hoped to keep her there for just a moment longer. Erik wanted to sigh when she managed to free herself from the blanket and his grasp as she was crossed to the fire to the pile of their clothes. Risking being caught he cracked one eye open and barely managed to stifle a groan as he was rewarded with the view of her naked backside as she kneeled down to recover her now clothing.
The filtered rays of dawn cast enough light that he could see her outline as she stood. He memorized the curve of her hip and the cleft of her buttock and watched in amazement as she stood. He had not looked at her the night before save to make sure that he had removed all of her wet clothes. She had been incapacitated and to do so would have been a breech of her trust. But he could not force himself to look away that morning.
He watched her as she bent at the waist, reveled in the sight of the round globes of flesh that creased above her smooth thighs. He studied her quickly, noting the curve of her hips and waist and the soft expanse of her back, of the delicate curve of her arm as she grabbed her clothes and pressed them to her front.
He closed his eyes but the images were burned into his memory. From the pallet on the floor he heard her cross to the other chamber for privacy. Risking one more glance he cracked an eye again and watched her retreat around the bend of the cavern's hallway until her naked form was gone from his sight.
He focused on his breathing so that he would not give himself away, but his body betrayed him as his morning erection hardened even more, if that was possible, as his mind replayed the view of her youthful beauty. He piled the blankets around himself so that if she entered it would not be so obvious and he continued to feign sleep.
They had saddled the horses and eaten a meager breakfast of slightly stale bread and flat water and had begun the process of riding back home. They traveled in silence since both were too embarrassed to speak yet each wanted the terrible silence to be broken.
The sun rose steadily in the sky as they finally crossed over the unmarked border of the Swift property. Madison's headache had subsided to a low throb behind her eyes, which the sun made worse. The only respite she had was to close them and let Erik lead the way.
As her father's house came into view they picked up the pace. The horses were eager to be back in their stables and Madison and Erik both desired a hot bath, a filling meal, and a soft bed.
Erik stretched his shoulders as if trying to remove a kink that had settled into his muscles from sleeping on the rocky ground of the cave and rubbed one hand against the stubble on the bare portion of his face. He turned in his saddle and watched Madison as she dozed on her horse, her body swaying in the saddle.
When they were near enough to the house they both heard the shouts of the servants at their arrival.
The stable master took the reins of the horses and after Madison and Erik had both dismounted, the man led the weary beasts into the stable where they would be groomed and fed. Madison and Erik were rushed inside where their presence was announced to the entire estate. Madison was hugged by many, and led to her bedchamber by Ummi who scolded and soothed her repeatedly.
Madison
Madison rested her head against the cool edge of the porcelain bathtub and sighed. She had scrubbed herself pink, cleaned under her nails, and detangled her hair and now she soaked luxuriously in the orange blossom scented water. Her headache, and the accompanying fuzziness from the after affects of the wine, were finally gone and she could think clearly.
The only problem was that she could not remember a good bit of the past day. She remembered riding to the gypsy camps and talking with Alandro's mother, and drinking and laughing, but beyond that her memory was fuzzy at best, and missing pieces at worst.
She closed her eyes and rubbed them, hoping to inspire a vision of the last few hours. She replayed her memory over and over in hopes of sparking something, anything, to explain why she had awakened naked as the day she was born, in a cave, and sleeping next to Erik.
Her hand drifted between her thighs as she explored herself. She had not woken with blood between her thighs, as Ummi had told her would happen when she laid down with her husband on her wedding night. When her hand returned from its explorations it was clean.
She leaned her head back against the rim and sighed. Now if only she could remember what had happened after she had gotten roaring drunk.
The water cooled and she was forced from her enjoyment. Quickly drying off with a soft, fluffy towel she donned a clean chemise and pantalets. Opening the door that joined her bathing chamber to her bedchamber she found Ummi waiting for her with a corset, corset cover, and a dark blue silk dress that was finer than what she wore on a daily basis.
Madison lowered her gaze, too ashamed to meet Ummi's eyes. But the housekeeper merely helped her dress. Perhaps she tightened Madison's corset a little more than usual, but the void of silence was wide between them. The comfortable easiness and familiarity was gone.
Guilt ate at her until Madison forced herself to apologize, something that she did very rarely, and felt much better when Ummi grudgingly hugged her.
"I am truly sorry Ummi, I did not mean to break my word to you." She said beseechingly.
Ummi tsked and replied seriously, "I know that you didn't mean to, child, I know. But you did, and now that you're put back to right your father wants to speak to you in his study."
Madison blanched and nodded. She was dreading the reprimand that she was sure to receive, "how upset is he?" she asked.
Ummi balked, looking at her young charge incredulously, "you still don't understand what you did wrong, do you?" and shook her head, "oh he's mad enough to spit fire, mostly because of how worried he was. We thought you was dead in a ditch somewhere, or worse!"
Madison bit her lip and lowered her head ashamed. She had scared her loved ones to panic 'and now I'm worrying about being scolded? I deserve it, for acting so foolishly,' she thought.
After Madison was dressed and thoroughly ashamed of herself Ummi led her to the study, partly to comfort her but Madison felt as if it was mostly to make sure that she actually arrived.
When she entered the room her father and Erik were already seated. Tension filled the room so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
Madison twisted her fingers into the skirt of her dress. Suddenly she was nervous and apprehensive. She stood before their seated figures and waited for her father to speak first.
A moment passed slowly, and then he said "I hope that you enjoyed yourself for it is the last time that you will leave this house unescorted. Erik here has told me of your foolish escapades, you are very lucky that he arrived in time before the worst had happened. Well, what have you to say for yourself?"
Madison paled even more as the pinpricking of unshed tears tightened her throat. "I do not have any defense, father. I acted foolishly with little thought to what my actions would do to you or Ummi. I am sorry." The pinpricking worsened as her eyes misted. She tilted her head back to stem their flow.
"I am afraid that sorry will just not do… not this time," her father responded.
"What do you mean?" she asked, bewildered.
He studied his daughter a moment, she was so young and naïve, so sheltered from the cruel realities of the world, "your reputation is in tatters."
She gasped but was silenced by a wave of her father's hand. He continued, "we roused the neighbors and the servants so that they might search for you. News of your debacle will no doubt reach Raleigh and all of North Carolina before the week is out. You were gone, all night, un-chaperoned, and inebriated in the presence of unrelated young men. You then spent the entire night in close quarters with a man who was not a relation."
Madison interrupted him, "but father, nothing happened!"
He silenced her with an angry glance, "it does not matter if nothing happened because no one would believe us. Quite frankly, your reputation is ruined. You are very lucky, my dear, that Mr. Durmand here is a man of high character and has decided to do the honorable thing by marrying you."
Madison's eyes widened in surprise as she turned her gaze to Erik, who sat beside her father. His hands grasped the arms of the chair loosely and his face calm yet unreadable. She swallowed the lump in her throat as the tears in her eyes receded along with her feelings of panic. Madison took a calming breath to steady her nerves and slow her suddenly erratic heartbeat.
Her father continued, seeming not to notice Madison's sudden compliableness, "A special license has already been sent for and your engagement will be announced at the ball in two weeks time. Do I make myself clear?"
She looked at her father and took note of the weariness of his frame and the sad look in his eyes. He had truly been frightened for her safety, and she would not make it worse for him. Arguing would do no good; he merely sought to protect the family name and her now tarnished reputation. Her heart leapt at the sudden turn of events. 'How is it possible to be filled with dread one moment, and then suddenly feel something quite the opposite?' she thought to herself. "Yes, father, I understand," was her reply.
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Erik as a tension that she hadn't seen was released suddenly when his shoulders rounded slightly and his hands relaxed into his lap. She bowed her head and left the room meekly and returned to her room. Ummi would want to know what had just happened, even though Madison did not quite understand it herself.
She had expected dread and horror at her engagement being forced upon her. But instead butterflies fluttered in her stomach and she felt a sudden wash of happiness and surprise come over her. Erik always made her feel this way: unsure and nervous yet excited.
She was lost in her own thoughts, 'perhaps marriage would not be torturous if he is by my side.' Her body responded to him as if he already knew her secrets, secrets of which she wasn't even fully aware. He was captivating and breathtaking all at once. She loved the way that he became entranced in his drawings and sketches. The act of taking a blank piece of paper, designing a building, and then actually creating that vision out of stone and brick amazed her. She had never seen someone do such a thing in all of her life. 'And his stories,' she thought, 'he has lived one hundred lifetimes in just thirty-odd years. Erik has seen more places than I even knew existed.' She felt heady with excitement as if she was still drunk on mulled wine and sitting by a warm fire on a cold evening.
As she placed her hand on her bedroom doorknob and began to turn it, a scene of a dark figure galloping to her on horseback amidst a raging storm flashed before her. 'Was that a dream or a memory?'
She glanced back down the hallway towards the study but could see nothing from the distance.
And so she was left wondering exactly what had happened last night, at the camp and then between her and Erik, and why she had awakened naked but untouched.
She shook her head to clear the cobwebs and turned the knob. Ummi was waiting for her.