Chapter 73 Understanding

General Tavington lifted his head from the pillow and looked down. The officer let out a groan of pleasure, feeling near completion. He then buried his hand in the mass of thick, blonde curls, gently lifted her head and pulled his erection out of the whore's mouth.

William turned the pretty strumpet onto her back on the bed and roughly kneed her legs apart. With his body over hers, he took one of her dark rosy nipples into his mouth as he slid his finger into her to see if she was wet for him. Pleased, he moved his finger in and out of her slickness. The trollop sighed and arched her back.

"Oh, General, put your cock inside me," she purred.

Tavington withdrew his digit from her. He then pinned her arms down on the pillow above her head and sank his hardness into her. After a moment of slow thrusts, he then began to ram himself harder into her, wanting satisfaction soon.

Feeling her body beneath him, William closed his eyes. He couldn't help but imagine and long that it was his beautiful wife writhing under him. In his thoughts he daydreamed that it was Melanie below him, receiving him greedily. He could hear her voice in his mind begging him to fuck her harder; deeper.

He reached forward and grabbed the headboard, heaving himself into the harlot below him as hard as he could. Soon she began to moan and an instant later William came, as well.

Forgetting himself and where he was, he groaned, "Melanie! Oh God!"

As he opened his eyes, he remembered that he was in the brothel just outside the village.

William breathed a disappointed sigh as he rolled his body off the beauty beneath him, sorry that it wasn't Melanie. The girl turned onto her side and closed her eyes as William poured himself some more wine. He arranged his pillow against the headboard, reclining back against it as he relaxed and sipped his wine.

The general closed his eyes but couldn't seem to drift to sleep. The bawdy house was loud and raucous tonight, making him long for quieter surroundings. In another moment, he heard a loud thump and a crash in the hallway, sounding like it was just outside his door. He opened his eyes and looked at the strumpet in the bed next to him , envious that she could doze through all the din. Irritated, he got up and crossed the room to the door. The officer opened it to check what the problem was. He spied a sick looking doxy on the floor and another whore hurriedly cleaning the area up around her lest the madam see them.

An aggravated Will wanted to tell them to stop making so much noise. He didn't though, biting his tongue as he could see that the fall was most likely an accident. Tavington stood at the door stretching his slender, breeches only clad body. He left the door open because he was debating whether to go get another bottle of wine or not.

"Abigail, what happened," the whore said to her friend who was on the floor. "You don't look well at all."

"I'm not, Priscilla," she answered, looking up at her friend who was setting the small hallway table back upright. "I was lightheaded. I lost my balance and fell."

Suddenly, the doxy named Abigail turned a shade of a sickly green. "Oh no," she cried, "I'm going to vomit."

A quick thinking Priscilla grabbed the thick porcelain basin, which fortunately hadn't broken in the fall, from the floor. She pushed it to her sick friend.

Abigail promptly threw up into the bowl. After a moment, she sat back and wiped her mouth. Priscilla, having set everything back up the way it was, knelt by her friend.

"What are you doing working here in your condition?" she asked the sick harlot.

"My husband made me," she replied. "I told him I was sick. He says we need the money."

"You could do something else for work," Priscilla pointed out.

"What am I going to do," Abigail wailed, "I can barely feed the two children I have now. A third baby to feed will be worse. I don't want this child."

Priscilla gasped. "He makes you work here?"

"Yes," answered Abigail, "He will beat me if I don't bring home money."

The two whores were completely unaware that one of the customers, General Tavington, was standing in the doorway hearing everything they had to say. William said nothing but shook his head in disdain. Although he patronized prostitutes, he would never court one. The elitist in him always reminded him that they were of the working class and lower than he and his family on the ladder of society. He continued listening to the whining bawdies.

"Oh Priscilla, what am I going to do here when my belly gets bigger?" Abigail wondered. "No man will want to lie with a pregnant whore."

William grew tired of listening to the women prattle and closed the door. He thought that the whore's husband was low class Yankee rubbish making his pregnant and sick wife work on her back in a brothel. He sniffed in derision as he walked back toward the bed, thinking that not only money separated the classes, but how they acted and conducted themselves did, as well.

At the bed, General Tavington woke the sleeping harlot up and paid her as he got dressed. Even though he'd gone there for some female companionship and a good tumble, he grew tired quickly of the low class and ill manners surrounding him. After leaving the doxy den, he mounted his horse and rode the short distance back into the village and was relieved to see the inn that stood at the edge of the village. It was clean, reputable, and quiet, and he was looking forward to a peaceful sleep.

Will checked in for the night. Once in his room, he stripped to his breeches and laid down between the soft, clean sheets. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

After nearly an hour of tossing and turning, the officer opened his eyes and laid awake in the dark. He wished he could fall asleep, but he couldn't seem to quiet his wandering mind.

He was still angry with Melanie for her insolence, yet he strangely respected her for being bold enough to speak with him about the situation between them and he own wants and needs. He did admire that she was so honest with him. Tavington also thought his wife brave for saying that she would accept a beating from him is he thought her defiant.

William was secretly relieved, though, that she hadn't chastised him in front of anyone. He had seen her speak her mind to Bordon on occasion in the presence of others. He was glad that she had been discreet.

His mind kept skipping back to Melanie's statement that her parents' marriage was happy and loving and that as a child, she noticed it. His own upbringing had been different. Will's mother had brought him up mostly alone and well, since his father was always too busy with business or unwholesome activities. The general's father, despite being rich and in a higher class of society, led a life of debauchery and scandal, acting much like a low class heathen. His parents grew to hate one another and Tavington witnessed his father treat his mother horribly.

He remembered that his mother was not sad when his father died, and didn't mourn his passing, rather, she was relieved that he was gone for good.

General Tavington found himself thinking of his beautiful wife again. He cursed himself for it, wishing he could put Melanie out of his mind for just one night. He recalled how lovely she looked on their wedding day. Lately she looked so sick and tired, and he knew she was hiding tears from him when he'd have his way with her.

Since he'd returned home, he had seen for himself that his wife had been sick frequently, sometimes rising in the middle of the night to throw up. And though she still submitted to him and he sated himself with her body, it felt empty lately. William wanted her to receive him enthusiastically; to respond to his touch. He much preferred her to act as a wild animal in need of him rather than to lie quiet and still like a cold fish. Tavington also wanted and needed to hear her voice calling his name out in orgasm. He loved hearing her beg him not to stop, pleading with him for more. That made him feel like he could give her the pleasure that no other man could.

Then his mind drifted back to the pregnant prostitute from just hours before back at the bawdy house. Will sighed and closed his eyes. He remembered the girl lamenting about being made to work on her back while pregnant and sick. William thought it shameful of her Yankee rubbish husband to make her do it. But then, he had done practically the same to his own wife by making her submit to relations to him when she wasn't up to it. A sick feeling hit Tavington, understanding that his actions, which he always supposed were those of a member of the upper class, were actually no better than the low class Yankee rubbish he had turned his own nose up at.

Lastly, William thought about the whore he'd lain with earlier that night. She was blonde and ethereal looking with curly hair. A woman he'd been with in the Yorktown camp, another curvy blonde with wavy hair. It occurred to him that when he chose prostitutes, he seemed to routinely choose ones that looked like Melanie. Even when he tried to get away and forget her, he could not.

General Tavington turned onto his side and pulled the covers back up. He closed his eyes and vowed to fall asleep, preferring to think about the situation at home in the morning. Perhaps sleep would make him look at it with a fresh mind.

The officer loved Melanie still, whether she was defiant or compliant. He was certain of one thing: he did love his wife and knew he had to go home to her.

~/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/~

It was dark the next evening when General Tavington rode back onto the plantation. He sighed as he came through the front door, glad to be home.

Mrs. Sloane was in the main gallery working when he entered. "Good evening, General," she called. "Would you like dinner?"

"No, thank you," he answered as he took off his gloves. "Where's Mrs. Tavington? I need to speak with her?"

"In the bedroom, sir."

Diedre the maid was at the top of the stairway when she'd seen the master return. She headed down the hallway toward the main bedroom.

In there, Melanie sat on the window bed staring out over the darkened fields of the plantation. She wondered if Will would be coming home tonight. The girl also wondered where he'd spent the night. Despite the fact that he had been less than cordial to her since his return, she had missed him last night and hoped that he would come home.

Just then, a hard kick from inside her belly brought her out of her reverie. Her hand dropped instinctively to that spot and caressed it, soothing the infant within.

"I know, little one," she said softly, "I hope daddy comes home, too."

Then there was a knock at the bedroom door. Melanie looked up to see Diedre peaking inside.

"The general has returned," she announced.

"Thank you," Mrs. Tavington answered, forcing a nervous smile. Immediately she became apprehensive, not sure if her husband had been drinking or still angry; not knowing what to expect.

She felt another soft flutter of a kick again. The woman put her hand back on her swollen abdomen and gently rubbed at the spot, trying to quiet the baby.

"Don't worry, darling," she cooed, "Everything will be fine." Melanie hoped that William wouldn't punish her for her 'impertinence'. And if he did, that it wouldn't harm the child.

After a few more moments, General Tavington entered the bedroom without a word. Melanie looked up at him and the two locked eyes for an instant.

"William," she said quietly trying to hide the fear in her voice.

He nodded in acknowledgement as he began undoing the cravat from around his neck. The air seemed heavy between them. Both kept silent.

After a minute more of this, Melanie pushed her heavily pregnant body up from the window seat and crossed the room to where William stood taking his uniform jacket off.

She lowered her head in front of him and looked down. "If you must beat me, please do now—quickly—and get it over with." Then the girl closed her eyes, trying to prepare herself.

William let out a sigh as he threw his jacket over a nearby chair. He stretched his arm out and gently took her chin in his hand. The officer raised her head up to look at him.

"I'm not going to beat you," he informed. "Go. Sit back down. You don't need to be on your feet in your condition."

Amazed and relieved, she walked slowly across the room to the window seat. Once there, she was stunned to find that Will had followed her over. He took her elbow in his hand and helped her to sit again, easing her down.

William began unbuttoning his vest as he crossed the room back to where he was. In a moment, the uniform was gone save for the white linen shirt and black breeches. He unbuttoned the neck of his shirt as he made his way over to where his wife sat at the window.

"May I join you?" he asked.

"Please," she answered, motioning to the seat beside her.

Once both seated now, an awkward silence passed between the two. Again, unable to stand the tense air between them, Melanie broke the silence.

"William," she began slowly, "I need to apologize for the other night."

"You needn't apologize for speaking your mind about a concern," Will stated.

His wife was taken aback for a moment. When she regained her bearing, she spoke again.

"No, that's just it. I was selfish," she said. "I talked only of myself and what I wanted and thought nothing of your needs."

Tavington kept quiet, listening to his wife. "Your whole adult life, you have been a soldier. And now that the war is over, the British army will be leaving to go home. And you are married to a colonial, have a plantation and business here and can't return home. That means that you will either be resigning your commission or will be discharged."

She leaned forward and covered his hand with hers. "I can only imagine that it will be hard for you not being able to be a soldier anymore. I know that you loved the cavalry. It may be quite an adjustment."

Melanie sighed then continued on. "I am so sorry, William. What can I do to help you with it?" She looked into his eyes, her own so full of sincerity and sorrow.

Will's heart was moved by her humble words. He was quiet for a moment, then spoke. "Just stand by my side," he said. "And be patient if I keep acting impulsively. I will try to slow down now, since I can, and think about the results of my actions. And if I try to run the house and farm in a militaristic fashion, then remind me that I'm no longer an officer."

"But Will, you are still a leader of sorts," Melanie offered. "You are the head of the household….and will be of our family." She smiled at him, then looked down at her belly which she caressed.

"You're still needed to lead this plantation and the business," she pointed out.

"Yes, I will do that," William responded.

The general sighed, then looked at his wife. "Melanie, since I have returned, I have seen how sick you have been while carrying this child. I am not going to make you submit to me anymore when you are ill; it serves no purpose for either of us."

"I don't want us to hate each other," the officer continued. "My mother and father grew to hate each other. Father treated mother horribly. And I saw all this while I was growing up. When father passed away, my mother wasn't sad; she was relieved. She didn't grieve for him at all."

Will paused and looked down. Then he stared up at the ceiling, shaking his head. "If I should die before you, I'd like for you to at least be sad and mourn my passing."

The general stopped speaking and looked at Melanie's swollen belly. He went on. "I don't want our child to grow up like I did: seeing parents that hate each other."

"I don't want us to hate each other, either," said Mrs. Tavington.

There was another moment of quiet that passed between the two. Tears suddenly welled up in Melanie's eyes.

"I'm so glad you're home, William," she said as she burst into tears.

Her husband pulled her close to him, slipping his arms around her. Melanie buried her face in his shoulder. "I worried for you every day. I was afraid our child wouldn't know his father."

As she settled a bit, he raised her face to his with his finger. "What I told you in the carriage last summer is still true. I love you, Melanie."

His mouth then claimed hers in a slow, soft kiss. After the kiss, the two held each other for a moment. Tavington then murmured into his wife's ear. "I'm pleased that I will have an heir."

Melanie pulled back from the embrace and looked at her husband, a look of happiness on her face. Before she could say anything, he spoke again.

"And I'm concerned for you because you are so sick," he said. "When did you know that you were pregnant?"

"Last summer," she answered. "The Carolina heat which I've known all my life seemed worse than it had ever been. I kept becoming ill. I fainted a lot. I finally saw a doctor and I thought the worst. I was sure that I had Malaria."

She chuckled lightly then went on. "I'd missed monthlies but was told that I couldn't conceive, so I didn't think I could be pregnant. The doctor said that there was a chance I could miscarry again and that I should be careful and rest."

William took her hand in his. "Do you feel it move yet?"

"All the time, Will," she said with a huge smile. "He moves so much. He is so busy."

"He?" asked William.

"Yes! I think we are having a boy, William," she beamed. Melanie then gasped and straightened a little. "Oh, that one was hard."

"What?" asked the general, looking alarmed. His wife put his hand on her pregnant belly.

"He just kicked," she said. "Do you feel it?"

The officer felt a thump against his hand. Will smiled and placed his other hand on her abdomen.

"My child," he said with a grin. "He is strong, isn't he?"

Melanie nodded with a smile and tears in her eyes again. William helped her to her feet and pulled her to the center of the room. Once again he slipped his arms around her and took her lips in a devastating kiss.

His lips moved along her jawline to her ear, where he kissed the shell of it. He whispered to her. "I want to see your pregnant body naked."

Since he had been home, their couplings had been quick, consisting only of Melanie laying bent over the bed while still in her clothes, with Will lifting her skirt enough to take her from behind. The girl was a little afraid for William to see her once curvy body with a large, pregnant belly now.

Will could sense her apprehensiveness, but longed to see her body anyway. "Melanie, please," he murmured. "I'll be naked as well."

Melanie pulled away from her husband. She turned away and began to slip her robe off. Then she let the chemise drop to the floor. In the mirror nearby she caught a glimpse of her nude body, belly protruding.

She turned back to face William finding him already naked. The girl was amazed to see him very aroused, a perfect, hard erection jutting out from his body.

Will walked to his wife who was nervously covering her breasts with one arm and trying to hide her swollen belly with the other. He took her arms and pulled them down away from what she was covering modestly. "Come now, darling," he whispered. "Let me look at you."

The officer stepped back and looked at his wife's pregnant body. Melanie, feeling self conscious, apologized. "I'm afraid I don't have my curvy, girlish figure anymore."

Tavington stepped toward her again, pulling her close to him. He wrapped his arms about her, reveling in feeling her naked body again next to his after all those months apart. His mouth took hers again in a slow, deep kiss. Then he whispered against them, "You're beautiful, darling. I love you."

At that moment, Melanie wanted nothing else then to be in bed naked with William. She wanted him to hold her; to make love to her. The girl reached down and took his hardness in her hand. She stroked its length as she kissed him, loving hearing the low moans from him. After another moment of this, he reached down and grabbed her wrist, squeezing it slightly, stopping her.

"Melanie…."

"Take me, William," she murmured. "I want you."

With that he moved her toward their bed. The officer sat her down on the edge of it, then gently laid her torso backwards, her legs hanging off the edge. William bent his tall body down over hers, a hand on either side of her body holding him up. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her deeply, then trailed it down her throat to her chest. His mouth took one of her pink nipples into it, sucking it, making a low moan escape her lips. The girl arched up into his kisses, pushing herself farther into his mouth.

After a moment of his lips on her nipples, he stood up right. Then Melanie watched as he knelt between her legs which dangled off the side of the bed. She sighed loudly when she felt his mouth nibbling the insides of her thighs, torturing her. She closed her eyes and let her head sink back into the bed as she felt his mouth moving ever closer up those thighs, nearer to her femininity.

Melanie sucked in a sharp breath when she felt her husband's tongue on her womanhood. She cooed softly as his tongue traced the outer folds of skin. "Oh…Will…please," she begged.

He knew what she wanted.

In an instant, she gasped when she felt William's deft tongue burrowing into her moist quim, reacquainting itself with her female anatomy after months of being away. She arched her back when his tongue touched her pearl. After a few gentle strokes on it, he began to lick her more quickly, lapping hungrily at her. She soon began to writhe under his expert touch.

"Oh…I'm coming…William…I'm coming!" she moaned as she felt her orgasm.

He stood, then joined her on the bed and she scooted her body back to laying properly on the thing. The two slid into each other's arms while lying facing one another on their sides, holding each other as close as her pregnant belly would allow. As they kissed, her hand once again found Will's hardened member and began to stroke it slowly and sensually.

"Melanie," he groaned as he stopped her hand again. With that, he gently turned her away from him so that she was lying on her left side. He moved in behind her, spooning the woman. William kissed the back of her neck and shoulders as he laced his right hand into her right one.

Tavington let go of her hand and slid it between her legs, lifting her right leg up a little. He positioned himself from behind at her moist opening, then gently inserted himself, groaning as he did. William pumped into her, all the while kissing her shoulders and neck. Melanie reached back and found his right hand again, lacing her fingers into his, clasping it tightly on her hip as he pushed and swerved in her.

Will could feel himself getting close to his pleasure. He slipped his hand out of hers and snaked it over her hip to the front of her thighs. Melanie gasped when she felt his fingers slip in between her legs. Soon she was writhing again, his finger massaging her hardened little bud, still sensitive from his tongue's assault of moments ago.

The girl found herself close to the edge again, pleased to feel a second orgasm. "Oh William," she cried, "you're going to make me come again!"

"Good," he murmured. After another moment of this they both came together, calling each others names.

William wrapped Melanie in his arms, spooning her as they slept. His hand rested on her swollen belly throughout the night.