This chapter is rated M for sexual content.
Chapter 23: True Love
Sam and Arthur arrived back on the Gray plantation to go see Beau and give him Penelope's letter. They asked where Beau was and were told that he was at the stables so they headed over there. They dismounted as they noticed Beau grooming a horse, so Sam and Arthur approached. Now it was her turn to do the job. At least it was making her not think about...she shook her head to clear it. Sam leaned against the door of the stall and whistled, getting Beau's attention.
"Yo. We delivered your letter," she said casually.
Beau smiled at her. "Did she give anything for me?"
"Yes." Sam pulled out the envelope and was just about to give it to Beau when she snatched it back. "Ah ah ah, money first," she scolded lightly.
Arthur let out a low chuckle while Beau reached into his pocket and pulled out money, then she grabbed it and handed it over to Arthur. Sam reached over the door and gave Beau the letter. He grabbed it much like a little boy grabbing a cherished toy.
"Thank you, Arthur, and, um..."
"Sam."
"Right. Sam. Thank you." Beau left the stall and sat down on some bags of horse feed. Sam watched Beau scan the letter and grin. "My God...what a woman," he said.
"That special, huh?"
"Yes." Beau continued reading but then his smile faded. Uh oh. "She's...this'll get her killed for sure!"
"What?" Arthur and Sam both said.
"Women's suffrage." Beau stood up and Sam took a peek at the letter. 'Round here, they don't even like men voting. They'd bring back the monarchy given half the chance. Progress is a dirty word in these parts...unlike incest!"
"Excuse me?" Arthur said.
"I don't wanna marry my cousin Matilda! I wanna marry Penelope!" Beau yelled as he paced. "But they're gonna...they'll kill her at one of those rallies they're holdin', they've done it before!" Beau stared at Sam and Arthur with a look of desperation. "You gotta help."
"No," Arthur said. "I'm afraid I don't-"
'I'll go," Sam interrupted.
Arthur gave her an annoyed look. "Really? You're gonna help a girl not get killed at a rally?"
"Maybe. Hell, I just wanna see what these women are like. It's history in the making, Arthur," she said, emphasizing the last sentence.
Arthur seemed to get what she meant...possibly. "I'll pay," Beau said. "My family, we still got some money."
Sam clung to Arthur's arm and tugged on it. "Come on, Arthur. Please?" she said, looking at him with a puppy dog face.
Arthur let out a sigh full of irritation. Sam knew he was annoyed but when he looked at her, it was a look of chastising amusement. "Fine," he said as he looked at Beau. "Just no more runnin' around with letters."
"Thank you. Come on, we'd better get goin'," said Beau. The three walked out to their horses and saddled up. "Follow me to Rhodes." Beau, obviously impatient, urged the couple on. "We'll go around the property and take the road to town."
They set off to a quick gallop as they traveled through the area. "Easy, boy. Calm down," Arthur said.
"I can't be calm! If we don't get there in time, my true love may be shot."
"If she wants to rally, you got to let her rally."
Sam beamed at Arthur for his progressiveness. "I agree. You try to stop a woman from doing what she wants and it'll just turn into a fight."
"Well, as good as the cause is, I can't let her become a martyr to it. I want to marry a flesh and blood woman, not a statue in her honor."
"I'm sure they know what they're doin'," Arthur assured Beau.
They got to the edge of town and Sam spotted Penelope and a bunch of women gathered by a wagon. "There! There they are," said Beau.
Sam and the men got off their horses and Sam watched with Arthur as Beau ran to Penelope. The girl ran to Beau and held his hands. "Beau, what are you doin' here?" she asked.
"I cannot let you go through with this," Beau hissed. Penelope let go of Beau's hands. "You'll be killed."
Sam and Arthur got closer to listen in. "I'm prepared to die for the cause, Beau. You know that."
Beau looked at Arthur and Sam miserably. "Do something, please!"
"Do what?" Arthur inquired. "Fight this mob? They'd eat me alive."
"This is no laughing matter, sir. They need protecting from...certain...elements. Mostly my family. Penelope, I beg you."
Penelope gave Beau a dirty look. "I'll tell you what. Your friend here," she said as she motioned to Arthur, "can drive the wagon for us. It'll allow us to shout all the louder!"
As Penelope joined in on a "hip hip hooray" from the other ladies, Sam chuckled to herself. She glanced at Arthur who made his way over to the group, then she looked at Beau. He looked disappointed. "Come on," she said, escorting Beau back to the horses. "I'll help make sure they don't get killed, okay?"
"Thank you," he said, mounting up on his own horse. "I'll ride ahead. I can't be seen with her, otherwise both the families will kill us."
Sam inclined her head and got on Orion. Beau rode off as the girls started singing and the wagon got going. Sam clicked her tongue and Boadicea II began to follow along, then Sam rode up on Arthur's side of the wagon. However, as soon as Sam yanked out her rifle, she stared at it in her hands. It made her think of the man she shot, and all that blood on her hands. It almost made her stop, feeling the beginnings of what she thought was a panic attack coming over her. The world faded away and she closed her eyes, seeing the Lemoyne Raider drowning in his own blood. She felt herself starting to hyperventilate as tears threatened to spill from her hazel eyes.
"Sam!" she heard Arthur shout and she quickly opened her eyes to look at him. He was at her side and he looked very worried. "You okay?"
With a shaky breath, she nodded. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."
Sam glanced at the gun and sighed. "Maybe you should let me handle bein' the bodyguard, okay?"
Sam swallowed hard, nodded again and put her rifle to her back. "Is everything alright?" a woman from the wagon asked.
Sam glanced over with a sad smile. "Yes, I'm fine. Just...I'm, you know...emotional from...uh, my uh, time of the month," she lied.
The girls oohed in understanding and Arthur gave her hand a kiss before going back to the wagon. Sam noticed they were halfway through town already and she suddenly felt embarassed. How long had she been having the panic attack? Her thoughts were interrupted by a bunch of men booing at the caravan and she gave each one on her side a death glare. They finally stopped at the bank and Sam dismounted as the others got out of the wagon with their signs, a song still being sung. Before she knew it, Arthur was at her side.
"What happened back there?" he asked.
"I was thinking about...you know..." she spoke sheepishly.
Arthur frowned and his brow became knitted. "I'm sorry, sweetheart." He leaned in close. "So, what history is bein' made here?" he whispered.
"Women eventually get equal rights and get to vote," Sam spoke in a hushed voice. "So, essentially, women win this fight."
"I see. Well, good for them. Anythin' else?"
"Yes. Women get to have whatever job they want, too. They don't have to stay home and take care of babies, although some still do. They're called housewives."
"Huh. Sounds like a woman's world, don't it."
Sam snickered gently. "Hardly is. Men still act like they're in charge. We still got a long way to..." Sam paused when she noticed two guys hassling Beau.
Penelope looked at them both. "Go help Beau...his cousin is a moron, and stop them from ruinin' the speech," she said.
Sam and Arthur quickly made their way through the crowd. "You'll learn yourself some manners, cousin!" a man in a green shirt said to Beau.
"Haven't you got anything better to do?" Beau snapped quietly.
"Oh, you always was a cocky little-"
"Beau," Arthur spoke up. "Weren't we just leavin'?"
"Who the hell is this?" Beau's cousin asked, pointing at Arthur.
Sam narrowed her eyes. "Don't you be pointing fingers at my husband, you fat fucking tub of lard!" she hissed.
The man looked shocked at Sam's words. "You need to keep your wife in check!" the fat guy shouted.
All the women stopped what they were doing to look at the spectacle. Sam lunged for the man but Arthur grabbed her by the arm and held her back. "Easy, Sam." Suddenly he chuckled. "You'll have to excuse my wife. She can get quite emotional during her...time of the month. Beau, let's go."
Sam's jaw dropped at Arthur's words and she scoffed. He yanked her between two buildings and Beau followed with. "Did you really need to say that?!" Sam snapped.
"Well shit, Sam, what else was I supposed to say?"
Sam opened her mouth to speak as they walked to their horses but then she shut it. He did have a point. "Oh, fine," she groaned.
Arthur smiled and put an arm around her waist. "Still, thank you for defendin' me from that fat fuckin' tub of lard."
Sam giggled and kissed his cheek. "You're welcome."
Beau interrupted them. "Follow me, I know a place. It's an old battlefield no one goes to."
The three got on their horses and trotted off. "You don't wanna go back and hear the speeches?" Arthur asked Beau. "I ain't voted before...but I'm kinda fettin' hot for votin' rights."
Sam started cackling at him. "I don't know whether to take you seriously, Mr. Morgan. My cousins are my primary concern right now. If everyone knows about Penelope and me..."
"Everyone knows about Penelope and you. We know about Penelope and you and we been here all of ten minutes. Sooner it's out, sooner it's resolved."
"The sooner it's dealt with, you mean. We're dealt with. Our families, the Grays and the Braithwaites, we bury our secrets and we bury them deep."
"Your secrets and your treasure..."
"You know, Catherine Braithwaite's got a daughter...no one's seen her in years. She weren't right and Penelope said..."
"I ain't heard about daughters, I heard about gold."
They arrived at the old battlefield and Beau huffed as they slowed to a stop. "This is awful!"
"Nobody died...ain't that awful."
"My cousins are vindictive bastards. My brothers are vindictive bastards. My cousins are worse."
"They started it."
"I know, but..."
Arthur sighed. "You should leave.
"Yeah, I agree," Sam said. "Just take the girl and run."
"I will, as soon as I have enough money..." Beau said as he got off his horse to check his saddlebags. "When my family...we have money, but I don't."
"Is your family very rich?" Arthur asked.
"Yes, well," Beau circled around to the other side of his horse, "I believe so. But uh, they keep me out of the discussions. I have more of a..." Beau went rummaging about in the other saddle bag, "artistic temperment, so..."
Arthur nodded. "Is that what they call it?"
"Yes." Beau walked to Arthur as he got off Boadicea II and Sam got off Orion. "Oh, you made a joke. I really love her...I do."
"Well, stick around. Maybe you can die for her as well."
"I thought you were tryin' to make me feel better?"
Arthur chuckled. "Well, the missus and I need to go."
"Me too. Oh, damn, I'm gonna be late. My uncle is quite as bad as you would imagine. Here," Beau held out some cash, "your payment. Thank you both. Excuse me."
Beau got on his horse and rode off. Sam started laughing and Arthur shook his head. "What a strange fellow."
Sam shrugged. "I dunno, he's kinda cute."
Arthur's mouth dropped as he looked at Sam. "What?"
Sam made a nonchalant expression and shrugged. "He's not bad looking and he's very sweet."
Arthur made a face and ambled over to her, grasping his gun belt. "Oh really?"
"Sure. Who knows? Maybe I'll just snatch him up from-"
Arthur yanked her close and gave her a very heated kiss. Sam whimpered and threw her arms around him. "Don't you be jokin' like that, woman. Besides, he's just a boy. You need a real man to put up with you."
Sam scoffed in amusement. "Oh do I now? And who could be up for such a daunting and frightening task?" she asked with a sly smirk.
Arthur flashed a bright smile at her. "I dunno, you tell me."
"Well," Sam giggled. "He'd have to be a manly, ruggedly handsome cowboy."
Arthur gave her small pecks on her neck. "Go on."
"And he, oooh, Arthur, that feels nice."
"Go on talkin'," he growled at her throat.
"He'd have to be, ah, a great fighter. I love watching a real man fight."
"And?" he asked, his teeth grazing the side of her neck.
"And, shit, Arthur...he'd have to fuck me right god damn now," she whimpered with a moan.
Arthur chortled before grabbing her hand and racing with her towards the abandoned battlefield. There was a couple of run down buildings that they were heading towards and one small building was made out of stone. Good enough. They walked inside and started kissing passionately. Arthur turned her around, bent her over, and pulled down her pants. Sam leaned her hands on the wall to brace herself as she spread her legs slightly. Almost immediately she felt him enter her and they both groaned. His pace was fast and ferocious and Sam had to bite her hand to not scream out from the pleasure of it. Arthur suddenly slowed down and halted his thrusts.
"Am I hur-"
"Don't stop, god dammit!" she yelled.
Arthur went back to his previous thrusts and he took off her hat before grasping her hair and pulling her up. His other hand went to the front of her womanhood and started massaging her clit. Sam covered her mouth and shouted into it. Soon she felt a familiar tingling in her nether regions and she knew she was going to come. The orgasm hit its peak and Sam cried out Arthur's name loudly. As her womanhood pulsated, Arthur's thrusts went deeper and faster.
"Sam, I'm gonna...I'm gonna..." he groaned heavily. He pulled out and Sam turned around to go on her knees to put his cock in her mouth. She felt liquid spurt inside and to the back of her throat, almost activating her gag reflex but she swallowed it all. She suckled on the tip and Arthur jerked. "Ah, that's too much!"
Sam started laughing. "I'm sorry, I just like seeing you squirm," she said as she Rose, pulling her pants up in the process.
Arthur cackled while he bent down and brought his pants and his gun belt up. The couple got their pants in order and walked out of the building, whistling for their mounts.
