Chapter 57 The Truth Within The Gossip

"Oh…Will…ah…..I'm going to come," Melanie murmured into her husband's ear. William responded with a groan, trying to stave off his own climax until his wife came.

General and Mrs. Tavington had been enjoying a midday picnic on a secluded part of their plantation when the couple became amorous. The officer walked his wife a short way into a shady glade and there, immediately took her against a tree. The young woman quickly forgot the roughness of the tree against her back as soon as William impaled her on his hardness. She quickly wrapped her legs around his waist and held on tightly as he made love to her. The deep thrusting and the thickness of his cock filling her entirely full had brought her close to completion.

"William….oh God!....WILLIAM!", the girl moaned as she climaxed.

"Mmmmmm…Ah…Melanie," the general groaned as he let himself go to orgasm with her.

After finishing with a few passionate kisses and straightening of their clothes, the two walked hand in hand out of the glade. They sat back down on the blanket spread under a tree and enjoyed another glass of wine. The couple had been married a month now and were enjoying bliss and happiness the way newlyweds often do. Melanie was finding herself often tired and sore in the mornings as her new husband's manly prowess in bed never ceased to end.

During the days, she watched William as he learned the different duties of the farm. She smiled when she had seen him walk along behind a plow. Tavington often insisted on doing the work himself although there were slaves and farm hands, acknowledging that he wanted to learn it all. Sometimes the couple would toil around the farm together. They enjoyed working side by side in the strawberries, picking the fruit together and sometimes pausing to feed each other the luscious berries.

Last afternoon and evening at dinner, William had become quiet and introspective. He had been the same way this morning at breakfast and during their picnic as well. Mrs. Tavington hoped that it was nothing serious. She wondered if he might be feeling overwhelmed with having to learn all the farm jobs.

"Will," she began gently, "is something bothering you?"

"No. Why?" he asked as he swallowed the last bit of wine from his glass.

"You've been more quiet than usual this last day or so," she replied.

"Oh…I'm sorry, darling," replied Tavington. "I'm trying to let my mind digest all I've had to learn about the farm in these past few days. Not to worry, though. I'll learn."

Melanie felt relieved that it was nothing serious. After a pause, the officer leaned forward and took his wife's mouth with his, giving her a loving kiss.

"I'm sorry, dear, but we have to bring this lovely time to an end," he apologized. "I'm meeting with Mr. Andrews this afternoon about the mill."

Mrs. Tavington gave her husband a frown, then playfully kissed his lips. "We'll have to picnic again soon, Will," she said with a sly smile.

"You may count on that," the general confirmed with an equally devious grin. With that, he stood up on the blanket and stretched.

Melanie began putting things away, gathering them into the picnic basket. The young woman needed to fold the blanket but found her husband's coat lying upon it. She looked around for William who was near his horse. The girl watched him for an instant as he surveyed the land through his long glass.

After a moment, Mrs. Tavington gathered the general's coat off the blanket and into her arms. As she rose from the blanket, she noticed a folded letter on the ground that had probably fallen from Will's coat. As Melanie picked it up to tuck it back into the officer's frock, she noticed the greeting of the letter, words of congratulations on their recent marriage. The young woman smiled and opened the letter, wondering who it was from and anxious to see who was sending them well wishes.

Tavington,

Allow me to congratulate you on your recent marriage. You've certainly obtained one of the fairest beauties of this countryside from one of the finest and wealthiest families. Does it bother you that you've married Brutal Bordon's whore?

Just because you are married to a pacifist's daughter doesn't change many things. You may think you have the area's residents and your business associates fooled, but mark my words, many will remember your misdeeds. Many people know of the good patriot's blood you have spilled. Marrying Hayden Prescott's daughter does not change your reputation.

There will always be those who witnessed and suffered your horrid ways. There will be those who want you to pay.

Colonel Benjamin Martin

A shocked and frightened Melanie could feel her own labored breathing as she folded the note up. She remembered Colonel Martin from the South Carolina Assembly meetings with her father, and from months ago when she had been kidnapped from the fort. The young woman recalled being shocked when she'd been told by Alexander that Martin had killed nearly a whole detachment of redcoats—she could hardly believe it.

General Tavington was putting his long glass away, always satisfied at looking at the land that was now his. He turned to find his young wife walking toward him with something in her hand.

"William," she began with slight irritation in her voice, "why didn't you show me this letter?"

A scowl quickly crossed his face remembering that he'd hidden the letter that had arrived yesterday. He immediately thought that she must have been looking through his jacket pockets.

"It fell out of your jacket pocket," she explained before he could say anything.

"It's nothing," he said, reaching for the letter.

Melanie grabbed it away from his grasp. "Yes it is," she argued, "It's horrid and threatening."

Will was finally able to rescue the note from her grip. He folded it haphazardly and shoved it into his breeches pocket.

"Are we in danger," Mrs. Tavington asked.

"No, of course not," he disagreed. "This farm is well protected."

"Will, you told me he left his own men and came after you at the battle at Saunders' meadow."

"Yes, probably because I'd killed his oldest son only days before that," he stated. "You were there that day. You saw me kill Corporal Martin to defend myself."

His wife shuddered as she remembered that morning—she's watched the whole thing from behind the bushes, where Alex Bordon asked her to hide. "Yes. He was standing over you with a knife."

Melanie paused, then went on. "But his actions; this letter. Something doesn't seem right. It's odd." She looked away, out over the pasture, as if trying to find an answer there. Her mind whirled crazily, thinking the situation over.

"Darling, lots of men want blood for blood," Tavington pointed out.

"Yes, I know," his wife said as she turned back toward him, "but if every man on both sides of this conflict went after the soldier on the opposite side that had killed a loved one, there would be thousands of honor duels and no military battles."

Mrs. Tavington knew that in the time of war, that most men understood that there was a good chance of a male family member getting killed. She also knew that most men didn't challenge duels of honor during war because there wasn't the luxury of time or even the knowledge of the name of which soldier killed that family member.

"There's got to be something more," Melanie said in a low voice, thinking aloud, shaking her head. "There has to be another reason why he came after you."

"He's an eccentric with a reckless streak," said Will. "He is erratic in his military dealings."

Melanie suddenly got a bad feeling in her gut, as if her husband was shielding her from something. "No, Will. There's something you're not telling me." She looked into his eyes.

He returned her gaze with a stern look. "Melanie, I will not discuss military matters with you."

"William, Colonel Martin did not act eccentric at the last South Carolina Assembly that I saw him at," she stated. "On the contrary. He was rather calm and soft spoken that morning, very level headed. In fact as I recall, he preferred not to fight."

The general said nothing as he listened to his wife's reasoning. "And months back when the rebels kidnapped me, he was respectful and kind to me when the others weren't."

The young woman became quiet a moment, allowing her husband to think about her words a minute. She also wanted to give him a chance to speak up. After his continued, stubborn silence, Mrs. Tavington spoke up again.

"What aren't you telling me?," she asked again, her tone beseeching him for the answer. "I'm your wife! I deserve to know!"

The obstinate officer turned his back to his wife and looked out over the land. He hadn't told her all that had transpired between himself and the Martin family, and had hoped to keep that a secret. To him, it was just military matters—why would she need to be worried with it?

With still no answer from her husband, Melanie crossed the grass to him. She put a gentle hand on his arm. "William, you know that I will be understanding and forgiving. Please tell me. Was there something else that happened between you and this man?"

He turned and looked down at his pretty wife, her eyes full of longing. Then the officer relented. "Months back, I killed his second oldest son at his farm one day when we raided the area. The boy attacked on of his Majesty's soldiers in an attempt to free Corporal Martin, whom we were sending to Winnsboro to be hung as a spy. I had no choice but to shoot the lad."

Melanie was shocked at hearing that he'd killed a young boy, but tried not to show it for she desperately wanted William to keep talking; to tell her the truth. The girl did not want to have to hear it in gossip from soldiers in the future.

General Tavington continued. "I had the house, barns and fields burnt. We took the horses, livestock, and foodstores and slaves. He had nothing left. He joined the war after that."

The officer swallowed hard, then went on. "We learned from intelligence that he left his children with his sister-in-law. In fact, the last time you rode with us, last autumn, the first home we burned, was hers. We found out later that she and the children escaped just moments before."

Melanie recalled the series of homes and farms that the dragoons burned that last time she was out on campaign with them. Though blindfolded, she had figured out what they were doing. Her husband's voice pulled her out of her recollections.

"We did eventually catch up to Martin's sister-in law," Will continued, "we found her hiding in a safehouse where she picked up and dropped off information for Martin and his rebels. I ravished her, then let all the men have their turns with her as well."

Mrs. Tavington's jaw dropped open. "All?"

William knew what she was asking. "Yes—all the men," he answered. "That included Alex."

The young woman closed her eyes and shook her head, feeling sick. It was hard on her to hear it from her husband's own mouth that both he and her lover participated in such a heinous act.

"She survived in one piece," Tavington said, sounding nearly disgusted. "We let her go afterwards, leaving her gang raped and beaten, as a message to Colonel Martin."

Melanie stood there silently, in disbelief at just how many times her husband's and Colonel Benjamin Martin's paths had crossed—and on just how deep the personal level of crossing had been. She could say nothing, letting William continue on.

"That isn't the last of it, I'm afraid," he prefaced the next bit of his story. Mrs. Tavington sighed and looked away, closing her eyes, unsure now if she even wanted to hear the next bit.

"When you were with us last, and we were in the village of Pembroke," he went on, "Alex and I overheard a conversation between townspeople when you and Wilkins had been sent out to collect villagers to the church. We learned that Corporal Gabriel Martin's new young wife had just returned to the town, and that she was pregnant with his child."

William stopped, swallowed hard, then went on. "She was in the church when we burned it."

Mrs. Tavington felt sick. She was so sorry that her husband's duty in this war had become so intertwined with this South Carolina farmer's.

"Your feeling that there was more was correct, darling," he conceded. "I murdered his two oldest sons, his daughter-in-law, and unborn grandchild. I burned his farm and those of his family, and ravished and beat his sister-in-law."

"Oh, Will, what have you done!?" Melanie despaired aloud, turning away from her husband. She was in disbelief as this had shaken her out of her marital bliss. With William at home and not on active duty these last few months, she had forgotten how harsh and stern his actions could be while on campaign.

The general took his wife's hand and pulled her to him. He held her a moment, trying to assuage her fears. But she pulled away and looked up at him with concern.

"It's clear that he wants revenge," she exclaimed as she pulled away from him. "Oh Will! Won't I have enough to worry about when you go back to duty? Now I have to worry about a vengeful rebel!"

"Shhhhh…sshhh…sshhhh…, Melanie," he comforted her as he pulled her back against him. "I survived the last battle and I can assure you that if I should catch sight of Colonel Martin again I shall put a bullet or a blade in him!"

"But the farm? Me?", she questioned shakily, looking up at him again. "Am I in danger? What about when you're gone?"

"No, no, darling," he cajoled as he kissed her hair, "Martin and his men are well into North Carolina now. And in a few weeks, they will be even further North…into Virginia."

"And what of after the war?" she asked.

"He's clearly not a good militia leader if he will leave his men to come after one man during a battle," stated Tavington, "His unwise military decisions will most likely lead to his death. We're not going to have to worry about him after the war because I'm confident he won't live through it!"

Melanie hugged her husband's body tightly. "I hope you're right."

The officer pulled away from his wife slightly. He cupped her chin with his hand and raised her face to look into his. "Please forgive me, darling," he began with much sincerity in his voice, "I didn't want to tell you the ugly business. I didn't want to upset you."

"I understand, Will," she replied quietly.

The general's arms slid down to her waist as his wife's hooked around his neck. Then, the two shared a deep, passionate kiss, unhurried and sensual.

After a moment, the beautiful kiss and moment between the newlyweds was interrupted by the clearing of a throat. The two stopped the kiss and released each other from the embrace. They were surprised to see Colonel Tarleton standing there.

"Ahem… sorry to disturb your intimacy," he apologized, "A messenger just came."

He handed the note to General Tavington, then continued.

"I've been recalled to active duty," Banastre announced. "They're sending someone to collect me in a couple of days."

Major James Wilkins volunteered to lead the detachment that would collect Colonel Tarleton and escort him to headquarters at Winnsboro. Jim could use the opportunity of being home for a couple of days to check on his plantation, brewery and winery business. He especially looked forward to reuniting with his pregnant wife, anxious to see her now four month, slightly swollen belly, which she had excitedly written him about.

Tonight, a small group of five assembled for an impromptu dinner at the Wilkins' sumptuous mansion. Banastre Tarleton was the guest of honor at his small affair to bid him farewell. The Tavington's were there as well, and all enjoyed the feast at this cozy, little party.

Melanie had been quiet during the dinner. She knew that when Commander Tarleton was recalled, that William's time to leave couldn't be far behind, and she was enjoying her time with her new husband and wedded bliss. Still, she put on a brave face and smiled prettily throughout the dinner.

Afterwards, the officer's wives excused themselves for a short hike around the lawn. Bridget Wilkins and Melanie Tavington stepped off the grand veranda together, linking arms and already whispering to each other and giggling.

Mrs. Wilkins turned back toward the men. "We'll leave you men to your battle plans."

"You mean gossip, darling," Jim retorted jokingly with his wife. "Call it what it is!"

Ban Tarleton watched both women as they meandered away from the porch and across the grass. His eyes were glued squarely on both women's hips as they swayed from side to side softly.

Tarleton spoke while his eyes never left the officers' wives' backsides all the while. "You two have certainly won yourselves the most beautiful of women."

"Yes," Tavington agreed, "But you'd best take your eyes off their pretty little bums lest you anger the husbands."

"I can admire, can't I?" Ban questioned back. "You should consider it a compliment to have other men admiring their……uh…..curvy assets."

"By the way," Jim interjected, "I noticed you leering across the dinner table at my wife's more than ample cleavage."

"I was admiring both of your wives fetching bosoms," confessed Ban with a crooked smile.

The usually gentlemanly and reserved Wilkins shot back with an unusually lewd comment. "Pregnancy does have its advantages. Not only fills out the belly, but fills out the breasts as well!"

The trio off officers laughed, clinking their brandy snifters and commenting in unison with a hearty, "Hear hear!"

"Ah, but you're leaving out the best advantage of all to a bellyful. A man can slip his yard in and out of her without the fear of making her pregnant….for she already is! Call it 'fear-free fucking!", Banastre commented obscenely.

The officers once again laughed at their bawdy comments. Each man continued to lean casually against a wall or railing or column, enjoying the after dinner wine.

Jim broke the latest lull in conversation. "The whole of Fort Carolina knows of your marriage now to Miss Prescott."

"I would wager that the whole countryside knows by now," Colonel Tarleton chimed in.

"The rebels certainly know," Tavington said as he shifted his body. He put his hand in his jacket pocket and produced Benjamin Martin's rambling letter to him. The general gave it to the other two men to read. "Look at this letter I received a few days ago from Colonel Martin of the militia."

"The 'ghost'," asked Tarleton.

"The very same," confirmed Will.

James and Banastre read over the letter as William continued speaking. "I've told you how he left his men at the cowpens battle to come after me."

"Yes. An extraordinary move," Tarleton sniffed in disdain. "What good commander would do that?"

"He's unusual," Wilkins joined in. "Tells his men to shoot highest ranking officers first and empty as many cavalry saddles as possible."

"As I recall, we captured one of his men during a skirmish prior to the battle at Guilford Courthouse," Ban stated. "He was a sharpshooter; hadn't been with been with the militia long but he was already quite disgusted with it."

Banastre took a pull on his drink, then went on. "He told us that Martin had offered him rewards to cross the lines and execute Tavington."

William shifted his weight to his other foot, then straightened up to stand tall, perturbed at what he was hearing. "And why am I just now being informed of this?"

"You were convalescing at the time and safe here," Ban pointed out, "and the sharpshooter is now tucked securely into our prison, so there's no worry."

Wilkins spoke up. "We picked up a deserter from Martin's unit recently while out on patrol. He left because of Martin's increasingly erratic actions."

Jim handed the folded letter back to General Tavington and continued speaking. "The deserter told us that his orders didn't seem to make sense a lot of the time. He also stated that he overheard Colonel Martin talking to his dead wife, and that he had become obsessed with Colonel Tavington."

Commander Tarleton added yet more to the conversation. "Recently, I overheard your servants gossiping, Tav. Apparently, they'd been to town and talked with servants from some other plantation."

Wilkins hooted aloud at this announcement. "You two are not used to plantation life here in South Carolina. The network of gossip between slaves and servants is huge! The channel leads from one farm to the next. Every time they come back from town they have a new story to tell!"

Jim took a drink of his wine, and continued. "It is a good way to obtain information. But a horrible thing if you're the subject of the gossip. They don't hesitate to spread around who is beating whose wife or who so and so's new mistress is, etcetera!"

"Watch yourself, Willy old boy," Banastre warned with a sly smile, "or you may find yourself the subject of gossip."

"That would be nothing new. You and I already are, are we not?" Tavington retorted smartly. "So, go on, Banny. Just what were my servants saying?"

"They were talking that Colonel Martin had married his sister-in-law recently and that she is carrying his child," Banastre told. "But apparently there is unrest in the household. His oldest daughter is now estranged from him; refuses to talk to him."

"I believe he has a teenaged daughter named Margaret," Wilkins confirmed.

"These servants said that Martin had asked his daughter—a virgin—to aid him in catching Colonel Tavington, telling her that her actions would aid the rebel cause," said Ban. "He wanted her to seduce our friend here to lure him into a trap, in which Martin would then kill him. She was appalled that her father would ask her such a thing. The new Mrs. Martin has had her hands full trying to keep peace within the household."

Tavington stood upright again, feeling uncomfortable at all the talk and gossip aimed at him. "Again, why wasn't I told of this?"

"I thought it too farfetched," Colonel Tarleton explained. "I rather wanted to tell your servants to get a message to Martin that I myself would be more than happy to spoil his daughter's virtue."

The officers laughed heartily at the thought. Banastre emptied his glass then went on.

"Now it makes sense," he opined. "The man is acting recklessly."

"You are right," Wilkins agreed. "We picked up a recent bit of intelligence that says that Colonel Harry Burwell has someone watching Martin closely."

"Ah…perhaps he is thinking of removing him from service," Tavington commented.

One of Wilkins' house servants came out onto the porch bearing a freshly opened bottle of brandy. He poured each of the men new drinks then moved back into the house. The men rested easily, enjoying the quiet of the evening, as they sipped of their refreshed drinks.

After a moment, James broke the silence. "All this gossip of Colonel Martin and the note that the General has shared with us is starting to fit together in my mind."

William and Ban shot him quizzical looks. Jim saw the question in their faces and elaborated.

"To me, it's all in perspective now," he pronounced, "for I know something you don't."

"Pray tell," Tavington coaxed.

"Yes! Out with it, Wilkins!" cajoled Tarleton.

"Six years ago, Colonel Martin's wife died in childbirth," he began. "The distraught man sought consolation from one of his pretty house slaves. Word is, she became pregnant. When she did, he sent her to Charles Towne to be sold at market."

"Probably didn't want his little darkie by blow mixing with his legitimate children," Ban remarked coarsely, provoking laughter from the group.

Wilkins went on. "My older sister, Adelaide Macy, and her husband have a large plantation north of Charles Towne. Five years ago or so, they were in need of a house slave, so they purchased Martin's slave woman—his mistress. A few month after they bought her, she had a mulatto child. The infant was sickly and only lived a few weeks."

Jim paused to take a sip of his brandy. Then he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The other two officers said nothing, looking up at him and listening intently.

"Last autumn, I received a letter from my sister Adelaide. Nothing special. She just told me of the happenings around her farm," Wilkins stated. "She mentioned in it that Martin's former slave whore had become ill—she was sick for months and had just died. She had Syphilis."

William's and Banastre's faces lit up at the revelation. Wilkins spoke aloud what all three men were now thinking.

"Gentleman, I'll wager that Colonel Martin probably contracted Syphilis and is now going insane," Wilkins surmised.

"It certainly explains his actions," Tavington remarked.

"Well, he'll either die in battle from his reckless actions," Ban guessed, "or he'll succumb to the disease.

General Tavington took another pull on his drink. Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief that Colonel Martin would probably not last through the war.

The short carriage ride home back to the Tavington's farm was calm and uneventful. The three occupants of the vehicle, Melanie, William, and Banastre passed the moments with polite conversation. Mainly, the general and the colonel conversed while Mrs. Tavington was quiet and distant, looking out the window at the passing countryside.

Once home, Melanie bid good night to the two officers and hurried up the steps and into the house. William could tell something was bothering her. Tavington lingered with Banastre a minute, listening to his plans for the rest of the night.

"I plan on bidding farewell to the ladies of this camp in a most proper and fitting fashion," Ban announced. "I am going to roger as many of them tonight as possible, making it a memorable night for all!"

"You're incorrigible, Ban."

"Why don't you come along, Tav," he coaxed, "It would be fun! Like old times."

"Um….I don't think the missus would like that too well," Will said with a crooked smile.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," he sang, "I won't say a thing."

William laughed. "News travels fast around here. She will find out sooner or later."

"Well, I'd better be off," Ban said, "to start the evening now if I plan on working my

way through all of them!"

Will watched his friend saunter away toward the camp follower's tents. Then he turned and mounted the stairway to the porch and raced into the house.

Once upstairs, he found his wife already stripped down to her corset and chemise. He crossed the room and took hold of the laces of her stay, quickly untying it and helping his wife out of the constricting garment. William gave her a kiss which she returned with one that was less than enthusiastic. She left his embrace and crossed the room to the window seat, where she sat down and looked out into the darkness.

Will, left standing in the middle of the room, studied his wife for a moment. Her actions confirmed to him that something was bothering her.

"Alright, out with it," he said. "What's troubling you?"

She was quiet and didn't answer. She didn't want to.

"Melanie?"

His wife sighed. "William, I don't want to bring it up. We've been through it before and I'm sure you get tired of hearing about it."

The girl got up from the window seat and walked across the large bedroom toward the bed. She shook her head and sighed in resignation, "Let's just go to bed."

Tavington caught his wife's hand as she passed him and pulled her toward him. "Let me guess: it's about having a child."

Mrs. Tavington rolled her eyes, looked down at the floor and tried to get away from the officer.

"Melanie?" he asked again as he cupped her chin.

"Yes, that's it," she answered. She yanked her arm out of his grip. "So let's just go—"

"Did something happen?," asked Will with concern. "Was something said?"

The young woman turned away from her husband and looked up at the ceiling. She was truly sorry and felt embarrassed that she was still upset over this and didn't want to bother her husband with it.

She took a breath, then let it out. The girl fought back tears as she talked. "Um…Bridget's belly is starting to swell a bit. She pulled her skirt taut against her middle and I could see that it was rounding."

"Yes," her husband said quietly, acknowledging that he understood. He waited silently for her to go on.

"And….um…the baby has started moving," Melanie said. "She can feel it now. She's so excited."

Melanie sniffled, feeling the tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "It's just….well…I'm happy for Bridget, but I'm so sad for myself. Isn't that shameful?" The poor girl began to sob.

William pulled his wife to her and wrapped his arms securely about her. She hid her face in his chest and wept.

"Darling, I know you're upset," he comforted. "I know it hurts you."

After a few moments of crying, Melanie got ahold of herself and stopped. "Let's go to bed, William," she sniffled.

With that, she tucked her chemise clad body into bed and laid her head down. She watched her husband as he doffed his clothes. He soon slid his nude, muscular body into bed beside his wife. He heard her sniffling and saw her still dabbing at her eyes and assumed her too distraught at the moment for lovemaking. Instead he spooned her, pulling her against him, holding her there. The newlyweds soon fell fast asleep.

"Watch out! You're going to fall!"

"Don't step on my feet!"

"Wait! Where did I leave my bottle of wine?"

"Shhh! Ladies! If we don't keep it down, we'll wake up the Tavingtons!", Banastre scolded the two whores that were holding him up. The trio, all drunk, were stumbling across the front green toward the barns.

"Good!," the red haired doxy retorted. "Maybe that handsome general will come down here and join us!"

"Too bad he's married now," the raven haired trollop. "He was good in bed!"

"Maybe the colonel here can keep his wife occupied while we take turns with the general!," one of the strumpets said to the other.

"Will you two please quit thinking about General Tavington and think about taking care of my needs, tonight!" Ban requested.

The trio took a few more steps, then Banastre tripped over his own alcohol flimsy legs, taking his two female companions down with him. All three laughed heartily, and continued to laugh as they kept falling over one another while trying to help each other up.

All the racket they made outside was enough to rouse General Tavington from his sleep. He went to his window and looked out to see the hilarious scene unfolding before his eyes. The officer smiled and chuckled quietly at his friend, Ban, who was certainly making the most of his last night here.

Will continued to watch the trio as they finally made it to their feet, with the aid of a tree to pull themselves up on. Soon, in the moonlight which was just enough to illuminate the lawn, William saw the red haired prostitute push Tarleton's drunken body against the tree, back to it, and begin to kiss him. He watched as an instant later, the raven haired whore knelt on the ground in front of him and began going down on him.

Another moment was all of this that Tavington could take as he felt himself getting aroused. He turned away from the obscenity on the green to his sleeping wife in bed. Only she was no longer sound asleep but sitting up in bed.

"What is it, Will?" she asked him.

"Oh….nothing, darling," he said, "just some animals mating in the bushes causing a ruckus."

Melanie smiled at him. "Come back to bed, William."

Once again, he tucked his lean, nude body into bed next to his wife. He took her hand and kissed it, opened it and then kissed her palm sensually. The officer then moved her hand down to his semi hardened manhood, which soon stiffened as her hand glided over it. She smiled at him, knowing what he wanted.

William soon closed her fist around his member and guided it up and down. "Slowly," he purred into her ear.

His wife complied and moved her hand up and down his hardness with long and slow strokes as he requested, driving the man nearly insane. After a few moments of this, Mrs. Tavington could tell by her husband's soft groans that he was near completion. She kissed his mouth and neck softly, then trailed kisses to his ear.

"Come for me, William," she whispered sensuously.

That was all it took for him to explode and leave his seed all over his belly and her hand. The girl found her handkerchief on the nightstand and cleaned the two of them up. Soon, they were tucked cozily back into bed with each other's arms, asleep.

Author's notes:

"Yard" is a slang term of that era for the penis

"By Blow" is a slang term of that era for bastard child

"Mulatto" is term of that era for mixed racial person, usually African and Caucasian.

"Pray tell" is please

Servants and slaves of different households in that era did pass a lot of gossip between them when meeting in town and with their masters/mistresses they accompanied to social events. It really was a way that people heard news through the colonies and countryside.