Into the West

[coz1]

Chapter VI (cont.)​

* * *​

Alabama, August 1863​

Two days had passed since Sonny had dined with Elizabeth Butler and very little had been said once again between them since that time. She was an oddity to him, in so many ways; but she also had a certain charm, something he was not used to. He felt safe, safer than he had been in quite a long time, and he was willing to put up with the uncertainty, at least until her husband’s inevitable return.

This day, Rose had set him to work on the front porch repairing a step. The weather was still quite warm and the afternoon sun beat down on him, broken up by a cool breeze that blew by occasionally. He stopped briefly to sit and look out upon the visage that was once this plantation and watched as the slight wind blew the dirt around the long road leading to the place. As he sat, his eyes began to make out a figure on horseback moving slowly up the road…a sight he knew very well. He strained to look to see if he recognized a color – gray.

Without a thought, he stood and walked back into the house hoping to find Mrs. Butler. But it was still before noon and she had yet to show herself. He made his way back to the kitchen house and found Rose busy with cleaning the place, humming quietly to herself.

“Miss Rose…there’s somebody comin’.”

She looked up at him with a face mixed with both alarm and pleasant surprise. “I best tell the Misses.”

Quickly she was away leaving Sonny to his thoughts. Were they coming for him? Surely not. They had no idea where he was. But he could not show himself. He had to stay silent and invisible, if he could. The minutes waiting for Rose to return seemed far too long and finally he decided to see what was happening.

He returned to the main hall just in time to see Rose peeking through the front window of the parlor and Mrs. Butler slowly descending the stairs. She looked the picture of hospitality except her face betrayed that sense of ease that southern women were known for. She calmly walked to the door to have it open when the rider arrived and Sonny decided that he had best return to the kitchen. Rose followed after him.

“Where you goin’, boy?”

“I…well, it don’t seem right for me to show myself. He…the soldier…”

“How you know it a soldier?”

“The uniform,” he replied watching carefully the look that came across Rose’s face.

“So?” she asked with purpose.

“I…don’t know. Jest better to stay here unless she calls…don’t ya think?”

“Don’t know what to think,” Rose responded with an accusatory tone. “Don’t see no reason to be hiden’ back here when the Misses might be needin’ some strength.”

“It’s jest that…well, it’s a long story, Rose. I jest need to stay here, ya understand?”

She looked at him long and hard and suddenly a look of understanding came over her face. She stepped back a few feet and sat in a chair by the wall. Fanning herself for a moment with her hand, she sighed heavily.

“Ain’t gonna make ya say nothin’ ya can’t say. But ain’t no reason to be hiden’ neither.” She sat silent for another moment and then finally continued, “Well, if it’s hiden’ ya need, then it’s hiden’ ya gets.”

Rose stood again and walked out of the room and back to the door leading into the house, taking another look at Sonny, but this time with more understanding. He could not help but follow, out of curiosity and perhaps more. Rose walked into the house and Sonny hesitated at first, but the gasp he heard Rose signal made him enter behind her.

Inside, they heard shouting. Low at first, it became louder but they could barely make out what was being said. The words “alone”, “scandal” and “too proud” were distinctive and Rose looked back at Sonny with a worried face. She ushered him back out to the kitchen quickly.

“What is it?” he asked unsure of what exactly was happening.

“That there is a southern officer,” she said with a certain tone. “I think the Misses may be in trouble!”

“Then give me back my gun,” quickly escaped Sonny’s lips.

Rose looked at him closely for a moment broken up finally by a scream in the front hallway loud enough for them to hear.

“Now, Rose! Ya got to give it to me!” Sonny said with force enough to break her from a seeming stupor.

She did not hesitate now. She walked over to a tall cabinet and reached up to the top pulling down a brown can. Lifting the large lid, she pulled his revolver from it and placed in Sonny’s hands with a stern warning on her face. He wasted no time checking to make sure it was still loaded and finding that it was, he made his way back into the house.

He silently moved through the dining area and stopped just as he was about to get to the front hall. He still heard Mrs. Butler trying to protest and the officer was yelling back for her to stay calm. “Only take a minute,” Sonny heard him say in a menacing tone meant to sound soothing. Then, with a slap, the screaming stopped followed by a soft, muffled cry and with swift action Sonny turned the corner and pointed his gun. He was just in time to see the last bit off Elizabeth’s white dress as she was dragged up the stairs. He made after it.

As he cautiously moved up the hall, he began to hear grunts and her same muffled cry. He reached the front steps to his left and turned to see a gray uniform enveloping the white dress of Elizabeth Butler. She on the ground with her back braced against the top step and he struggling to get his pants down around his ankles.

Sonny made his way softly up the first few stairs giving the man enough time to say, “Think ya gonna tell me no? What ya got now that’s worth savin’!”

Sonny hollered out, “Hey…you there!”

The man turned suddenly and let go of Elizabeth. On instinct, she scampered up the last step onto the landing as the officer went for his side arm now down around his feet. The look on his face was of shock and surprise. He fumbled for his weapon but it did not last long…

The gun went off with a cloud of smoke following quickly behind and when it cleared, the man was lying face down, his hand still reaching for his gun. Sonny took one step at a time, his revolver still leveled to fire again if he needed to. He reached the top step and gave a kick to the body. It did not move. He reached down with one arm and turned the body over. Blood covered his chest and the same look of surprise was on the man’s face. He never knew what was coming.

The gasp from Elizabeth Butler made him turn to see her sitting on the floor, holding her torn dress around her chest. Tears flowed freely from her eyes but she made effort to dry them quickly, almost as if embarrassed.

“Ya all right?” Sonny asked slowly.

She took a few moments and finally answered, “Yes.”

In her hand she still held a piece of folded paper, and Sonny looking at it made her take notice of it again. With the last few sobs she was prepared to let go of, she looked down at it.

“It’s my husband…” she said and stopped.

Sonny looked down at the body and she shook her head from side to side.

“No…the letter. My husband has been killed.”

Sonny did not know what to say. He knew the feeling, almost. But he had no words to comfort her at the moment. Rose rushed to the top of the steps in time to save him.

“Now Miss…ya jest get on up here and let Rose tend to ya. Come on now.”

She slowly stood with Rose’s help and they started off to her room before Elizabeth stopped and turned back to Sonny. Her face was changed now, as if nothing had happened. But the words she struggled with proved that it had.

“That man…would have surely taken my honor. I…I thank ya, sir.”

Sonny only nodded and tucked the gun into his pants. He looked down at the body as Rose walked Elizabeth into her room. He would have to get rid of it. He reached down to make sure the man was dead once more, and finding no pulse, he calmly helped the cold body over his shoulder and made his way back down the stairs. Taking the man out back, he hollered for Lem.

“Laws, mercy!” was all Lem could say when he came out of the barn and saw the body on the ground. “Who done this?”

Sonny stayed quiet for a few moments as he looked at the cold form and then looked up at Lem to reply, “I did.”

To be continued...​

 

[unmerged(15337)]

Is there no honor left among men?! That scumbag Confederate dispatch rider surely deserved death, and I am pleased Sonny was able to kill him before he went too far. OK, so now I have a slightly better opinion of Sonny, but I still think he was a rat for jumping ship in the first place.

 

[Semi-Lobster]

They're gonig to get suspicious when that rider doesn't come back, perhaps this is the end of Sonny's stay at the Butler house unfortunatly, I think Ms. Butler has been the best thing for Sonny since he deserted.

 

[Machiavellian]

I have to agree. That dispatch rider deserved the death he got. How low is that, especially after he knew he was delivering news of Mrs. Butler's husbands death. Sonny is probably going to have to begin on his way once more. I personally think it is a good thing, Sonny seemed to be getting a little bit too comfortable at the Butler household.

 

[stnylan]

Mmmm, the first time he's really used violence since killing Monroe, this time in a more wholesome cause.

 

[coz1]

Fb-fb:

jwolf - The dispatch rider got your dander up, I see. Sorry about that. It was a tough scene to write but was needed I think. If anything, it did accomplish you (and hopefully others) finding some respect for Sonny once again, even if only a little.

Semi-Lobster - Don't be too quick to think that - on both accounts. The next update helps explain that answer.

Machiavellian - Too comfortable? Just wait til you read this next update.

stnylan - Yes, as I said above - it allows for the reader to find some common cause with Sonny once more. Shades of gray and all that. Plus, there is an effect on Mrs. Butler too, as you will soon see.

All - the next update follows after a typo pass. This is the second part I mentioned before. I'm not sure how it will be received or if it answers too many questions - most likely it asks a whole new set. But what can I say...Sonny's journey is filled with such situations. Hope you enjoy (as I've no doubt Judge will ) and thanks, as always, for reading, enjoying and commenting!

 

[coz1]

Chapter VI (cont.)​

* * *​

Sonny had buried the body with Lem’s help and had not seen Mrs. Butler for the rest of the day. Rose, too, was preoccupied caring for her lady. By nightfall, Sonny was tired and assumed he would talk with Mrs. Butler again the next day. He still did not know how to comfort her for the death of her husband, but he could not help feeling a certain sense of relief. He felt bad about this, but it was simply true. As for the death of the soldier, Sonny felt nothing. And for this, there was no thought, one-way or the other.

Stripping down to his union suit, he climbed into bed and with a sigh, placed his head on the soft pillow. He knew it would not take long to fall asleep and he was right. But a few hours after closing his eyes, he was stirred by the form of another body sitting on the bed next to him. In the darkness of the room, he could barely make out the figure of Elizabeth Butler.

“Ma’am…can I do somethin’ for ya?” he asked unsure of what to say.

“I admit that this is terribly rude of me…but,” she started to say as she lowered herself to lie next to Sonny in the bed, running her hands over his hair, “I find that so much has happened today. I feel so terribly lonely, ya see? I simply need somethin’, or someone to hold.”

Sonny was not sure what to think. She was running her hands over his face and somewhat dreamily looking almost past him.

“Please don’t think me forward, James. But I have not had the warmth of another soul in so long. And now my husband shant return.” She continued stroking his hair and then asked as if to gain permission, “If only for a few hours?”

“I…of course,” was all Sonny could think to answer. His body was rather stiff from uncertainty and she noticed it.

“Does this bother ya?”

“N...No ma’am. It’s jest…”

“Just uncomfortable?”

“Yes.”

“Then perhaps we should both get under the covers and pretend we have done this every night. As if we were a married couple.”

He was astounded at this change in her nature. Having never been with a woman intimately, he knew nothing of what it meant to even pretend as she suggested. But he allowed for her to move under the covers with him and felt her slightly warmer body join with his.

“Yes, this is much better,” she said with a slight laugh. She ran her hands down Sonny’s chest and back up to trace the arm.

“You seem to have gained much of your form back, James.”

“Um…yes ma’am. I guess it’s been the labor you have been kind enough to let me do here, Mrs. Butler.”

“Must we be so formal at this moment? I should rather ya call me Elizabeth.”

“Yes ma’am…Elizabeth,” he answered becoming excited in ways he had never felt.

She pulled his head closer to hers but resisted the obvious temptation it presented. Whispering, she said, “You have saved me.”

“Ma’am?” Sonny asked to counter the tension. “You mean about today?”

She let go of his face and turned her body away from him as she answered, “Let’s not speak of that.”

Sonny’s instinct took over now and he pulled his own body closer to hers as if to cradle it. She took his arm and wrapped it around her own.

“Yes, that feels nice. So warm…so familiar.”

She turned her head slightly and Sonny could no longer resist the temptation the proximity of their faces presented. Lightly he kissed her on the forehead. Her response was to turn towards him further. As she ran her hand up Sonny’s arm, she kissed him fully on the mouth, lightly at first and quickly gaining passion.

The feeling was unbelievable. Only once before had Sonny ever so much as had a kiss from a girl and nothing ever so brilliant as this. He allowed himself to be swept away by it and began to move his own hands towards exploration.

“It might be easier if we…” she started to say. Then, instead of finishing her thought, she began to unbutton the front of Sonny’s union suit eventually able to move her hand to touch his skin directly. Sitting up in the bed for a moment, she looked at him and his adjustments to seeing in the dark allowed him to catch the expression on her face. She was suggesting…directing…but shyly waiting for him to follow.

She moved her hands below the covers and with a few shifts came back with the hem of her gown in hand ready to pull it over her head and off. She waited for him to act likewise. He sat up and moved his legs over the side of the bed, pulling the top half of his undergarment off of his frame and then down around his feet. In modesty, he quickly moved back under the covers and found her there likewise exposed.

Her body was warm but she bristled slightly at the touch of his cold hands. But she allowed the movement they made to warm them and in the process, herself. As his clumsy exploration proceeded, she reached out and pulled his face to her and once more passionately kissed him. He responded without thought. The newness of the experience was overcome by the pleasure of it.

They continued on this way throughout the night, both of them playfully caressing, kissing and joining to one another. She said not another word and he was not inclined to break the silence other than to occasionally speak her name, “Elizabeth…Elizabeth…Corinna.”

* * *​

When he awoke, Elizabeth Butler was gone. He was still naked under the covers but his mind was a swirl of questions, answers and a certain breezy feeling he could not quite put his finger on – perhaps ecstasy? Others might call it the prolonged after glow of a pleasure found and enjoyed, the movement from child to man, the discovery of something totally new and completely unknown just hours before. But why? Why him, or a better question, why her? And why now?

He knew it had to do with her loneliness. After all, she had said so. But so soon after finding her husband was dead? What little he knew of women, this begged the question of her quality perhaps, or maybe her true feelings towards the husband in question. But she was gone and unable to answer these questions.

He dressed and found his way downstairs and into the dining area. Here he found her, silent and looking out the window as if in a dream.

“Good morning,” he said not sure if he should be familiar or not.

She turned to look at him and her expression was burning, almost accusatory.

“Is there somethin’ wrong?” he asked wondering he she somehow thought he had been too forward.

“I should have liked to have known your circumstance, Mr. Gamble.”

Back to formality, it seemed. “My circumstance?”

“Rose tells me of your desire to stay hidden. Have ya run away from something? And why have ya not told me?”

“How could I trust ya,” he asked in response.

“Trust me? I should think the feeling is mutual. More so now, wouldn’t ya think?”

“I deserted.” There – it was out. “That calls for death if I was caught. I couldn’t run the risk that ya might turn me in.”

“Perhaps I should have anyway. Here comes this lone soldier from nowhere and one that should have been fightin’ to save this land of ours. Do ya know that New Orleans has fallen? And what have ya done to save it?”

At this, Sonny began to get angry. “I have done my share in this war, ma’am. I have seen my own brother die in front of me. And untold others too. Ya have no idea what it is to be out on those lines, to see death so close. And what are we fighten’ for now anyway. It’s over!”

She stood and walked closer to him, her expression unchanged.

“Yes, it shall soon be over. The rider…” she stopped for a moment to collect herself after the memory. “The rider that came yesterday was a Major under my husband’s command. The letter he brought me told not only of my husband’s death, but also that his entire army was scattered and fleeing. They are routed and it is only a matter of time before we shall find this place covered by southern and northern troops alike. Yes, Mr. Gamble – it will soon be over. And I should think ya might be wary of either party if your situation is as dire as I think it is.”

Sonny did not know what to say. Last night so warm and today so cold. He could only think of one direction to go.

“Elizabeth,” he spoke her name to try and find that familiarity from the night before. She did respond at first, the look of anger briefly leaving her face. He took the opening, “Last night…did it matter if I was a deserter? Did it not make ya feel somethin’…somethin’ more?”

She remained silent before answering the question, not sure even if she should. “It did…yes. But do not mistake loneliness for love.”

“Was that all it was? Am I just some warm body for you to use at your desire, whenever ya see fit to do so?”

Turning away from him she said, “I do not have to answer that query, sir. My husband is dead and I have been alone for some time now. I dare not think it proper for me to be talked to in this manner.”

“Proper? As you said…your husband is dead. And yet ya climb into bed with me after just findin’ this out? Then what is proper…Mrs. Butler?”

She turned on him with fury. “How dare ya speak to me like this? Who are you to judge how I live my life? Why must everyone assume that I should be so prim and proper? My God, why must everyone feel it is for them to decide how I act?”

This was a different side of her. He felt there was more to her than she had so far shared, but how to ask it? Should he even try? But she had been so accusatory to him; he felt he had little choice.

“Is there somethin’ I’m missin’ here? What causes this anger?”

“It is none of your business, sir. I should like to be left alone. I will not ask ya to leave at the moment. But I am profoundly disappointed.”

“I’ll go if that’s what ya want.”

“I did not ask ya to leave the plantation, James.”

“But why should I stay now?”

“Because,” she started to answer and Sonny could sense confusion within her. “Because I’m askin’ ya to stay. I just said I was disappointed.”

“Disappointed,” Sonny repeated. “Sure.”

He walked towards the door leading to the kitchen house and then stopped and turned back to her.

“I’ll be out back when the disappointment wears off.”

And then he walked from the room leaving her alone to think, be mad – whatever. Sonny did not care at the moment. He had no idea what caused this woman to act the way she did and she seemed unwilling to help him figure it out. But he was also hurt that she would be so familiar one moment and then turn on him completely.

He almost wanted to leave, and in fact probably should given that armies of blue and gray would soon be making their way there if what she said was true. But she had asked him to stay. And he loved the feeling she had given him the night before. So he would stay, for now. He would respect her wish. But he would watch her carefully. He had no doubt she would do the same to him.

To be continued...​

 

[Machiavellian]

A very interesting update, especially the second half of it. I can't but help feeling though that Sonny is being dragged down by his staying at the plantation. Perhaps I am just cynical, but I get the feeling that the longer he stays the more difficult things will become for him when the time to leave eventually comes (or is forced upon him).

 

[Storey]

I do hope that Sonny doesn't fall into the mistake that many young men fall into, thinking with his gonads. Its led many a man to do something stupid.

Joe

 

[Semi-Lobster]

I glad to see I'm not the only guy to meet confusing women!

Well Sonny's experience's on the plantation could end traumatically but certainly not fatally for Sonny, hopefully this would have adverse effects with his relationship with Corinna somehow.

 

[unmerged(24320)]

..But he would watch her carefully. He had no doubt she would do the same to him.

hmmm. seems to me that Mrs Butler likes to manipulate/control her men. perhaps the Colonel is not dead, just not wanting to return to the Mrs... :wacko:

excellent update. excellent AAR! ! !

 

[stnylan]

I do hope that Sonny doesn't fall into the mistake that many young men fall into, thinking with his gonads. Its led many a man to do something stupid.

Joe

Like propose marriage?

Excellent update. It reminded me just how young Sonny is, when all is said and done.

 

[unmerged(15337)]

Oncoming soldiers or not, no way Sonny can stay at Elizabeth Butler's plantation now. He's got to leave, and the sooner the better.

And was she just testing him, to see how much of a gentleman he would be even under extreme provocation and temptation? :wacko:

 

[unmerged(11439)]

Oncoming soldiers or not, no way Sonny can stay at Elizabeth Butler's plantation now. He's got to leave, and the sooner the better.

And was she just testing him, to see how much of a gentleman he would be even under extreme provocation and temptation? :wacko:

i would go so far as say it was a test, but i do agree that he ought to leave soon. I have the feeling that things between the two of them will get very awkward

 

[Stuyvesant]

We-ell... Talk about interesting developments! First, Sonny kills an officer (another one. Is there a pattern developing here? ) to protect Mrs Butler's honor. Second, he gets to know Mrs Butler in the biblical sense (I don't know how that affects her honor, but it seemed a mutual undertaking). Third, Mrs Butler has unresolved issues. Unresolved issues that are fully understandable, having just received news of her husband's death. But still, her issues and her and Sonny's shared night make things very muddled indeed at the Butler plantation. Time for Sonny to hit the road again?

By the way, besides writing a bedroom scene that Judge would undoubtedly appreciate, you did a fine job of showing some things. For example, the way the war catches up with Sonny again, in the form of the officer assaulting Mrs Butler, just as Sonny is getting more comfortable with his role as a civilian at the plantation. I also liked how you used Sonny's night with Elizabeth to remind us how young he still is, how he has missed out on a normal life. And then there's the following:

In her hand she still held a piece of folded paper, and Sonny looking at it made her take notice of it again. With the last few sobs she was prepared to let go of, she looked down at it.

“It’s my husband…” she said and stopped.

Sonny looked down at the body and she shook her head from side to side.

“No…the letter. My husband has been killed.”

It flows very naturally. I actually, for a split second, shared Sonny's bewilderment and wondered if he had killed Colonel Butler.

 

[Judge]

Wow, this was quite a turn …Elisabeth turns out to be a blatant female predator. Heck, I am almost afraid of that woman by now. Just waiting for her to pick up a whip and start dressing in leather.

Sonny got to watch out or he might end up as her toy boy treated in the worst “Miss Hoover style”. I bet it was the killing that made her long for it…

 

[Rensslaer]

Hmm... A place of temporary comfort and impending doom, for both of them, it seems.

Very well done, Coz, as always!!!

Since I've been becalmed, not just in my AAR, but in reading the treats that you and others offer up, I'm very tempted to begin reading this in reverse to catch up, as I've just done for the last 3 updates! There's such quality here, I am doing you an injustice to leave parts unread. I must catch up... and soon!

Renss

 

[coz1]

Fb-fb:

Machiavellian - An interesting take, and not unlike many of the others. Stay tuned. I think it is a very astute observation.

Storey - Yes, well - what can I say? You write what you know.

Semi-Lobster - See above. This certainly plays into what ends up transpiring with Corinna. A man's got to learn somewhere, right?

GhostWriter - Spoken like a man who knows. And something I had not initially thought of. Gave me a good laugh, that did.

stnylan - Very true and plays into what I mentioned to Semi-Lobster.

jwolf - What Elizabeth Butler's intentions are may be as much a mystery to me as they are to you. I know what I need her to do, but she has a certain way of taking things over. Is she manipulating me too, I wonder?

Seidita - Testing perhaps, and enjoying too, I would think. But does Sonny stay? That is the question.

Stuyvesant - Muddled indeed. But a different type of confusion at least for him. Thanks for the compliments. And I almost did not put that bit you quoted in there, and then realized how it might make the reader think he had shot the husband at first - so it worked, I guess. Excellent!

Judge - I hoped you would like it. It's not my specialty as it is yours. But Elizabeth as Miss Hoover? She's got quite a bit of training ahead of her if she hopes to reach such heights.

Renss - Yes, you certainly should catch up. But I appreciate the attempt anyway, and it's great to know that you are doing your best with what I assume is a rather busy schedule. There's always the pdfs if you get too far behind. Great that you are still enjoying!!

And the next update is ready to roll. Allow me a chance for a once over and it shall be ready for consumption. Thanks to everyone for reading, enjoying and as always, thanks very much for commenting!

 

[coz1]

Chapter VI (cont.)​

* * *​

Suspicion of someone can easily be overtaken by charm, as well as absence of the very person to be suspicious of. Elizabeth Butler had first taken Sonny aback, but soon after, her charm, and certainly her body, had won him over. It was likewise with her, he suspected. But as usual, when faced with uncertainty, Mrs. Butler had stayed to herself in her room for the previous three days.

Rose, on the other hand, had been ready and willing to give Sonny a crooked eye when she saw or spoke to him. No words passed between them of what had transpired either at night or in the daytime between Sonny and Elizabeth, but she knew. And he knew that she knew. So he kept to himself as well, doing whatever she asked and mostly working with Lem.

Lem was almost as old as Rose, but moved as if he was ancient. Sonny was not a talkative sort, but Lem was. Whenever they would work together, Lem would go on and on about his life. He had been a field hand early and then transferred to the house when he had broken a leg as a young man. Years of easier work had softened him, but he still tried his best and the work he had been made to do since the rest of the slaves had left had kept him tired, but somehow, still agreeable.

In the hours they spent together, Sonny had learned that Lem and Rose had both come with Elizabeth from Montgomery. That she had been a right pretty girl but was prone to wildness, but he would not go further than that, each time stopping himself to suggest that he shouldn’t talk about the Misses that way.

Sonny knew not to pry. In many ways, he did not want to know. He was still sore about the last encounter with her and wanted to keep that anger. At least it was feeling, something he had lost somewhere along the way. But the curiosity did not leave him, nor did the vague emotion that he did not know what to call that came over him when he thought of her. Yes, anger…but something more.

They had both seen men wandering by in the distance who dared not come near the house, thinking it surely an officer’s home, which it was. But Sonny knew they were deserting just as he had done. Did it make him feel any better about his actions? He would have had to be regretful of it in the first place, and he was not – Jackson’s lesson still not a part of him.

But it would occasion talk between he and Lem about the war and Sonny’s part in it. Of course, Lem wanted to know many details, but Sonny was unable to give them over. He would have to recall them first, and even if they were clear in his head if wanted, they were precisely not that – not wanted. Sonny was not ready to remember in full his life for the previous two years.

At the end of the third day of not speaking with Elizabeth, Sonny went inside after his work and Rose fed him his food, what little of it there was. She had no words for him other than “don’t be such a mess” and “take that hat off – ain’t ya got no manners?”

He finished his meal and made his way to his room upstairs, wondering what Elizabeth was doing at the moment. As it was, she was coming down just as he was going up. And she looked beautiful, damn him for thinking so, he thought to himself. They passed each other on the stairs, both staring forward as if to purposely not look upon each other. But when she had turned the corner at the banister, he stopped like he would say something. She did too.

Sonny shifted to the edge of the stairs and placed his hands on the railing and waited instead for her to speak. After a moment or two of silence, she finally did,

“Mr. Gamble…please allow me to apologize for my behavior. It was truly abominable. Here I am to play hostess and I treat ya with such disregard for your own circumstance. How could I have been so thoughtless?”

This was a new avenue. Sonny thought of the best words to say and all that came out was “Ya didn’t know.” He recognized instantly that it came out coldly. He longed to be warm towards her, but feeling she would turn it into something else, his instincts told him not to.

“No…of course,” she replied, somewhat dejected. Changing her mood quickly, she continued, “And I, of course, must have given a rather mixed message.” This came out smooth, warm…flirtatious again.

Sonny quickly saw through it, “Awww, ma’am…now this jest… ya lost a husband and I have lost jest like you have. I can’t explain it and don’t near try to. Jest let it be, I guess. That’s all that we can do.”

She placed her hand over his on the railing and left it there purposely. Sonny did not try to move it.

“Please…James…” she said with a slightly longing voice, “allow me to make amends?”

“Ain’t…there’s no reason for that now…jest let it be,” Sonny tried to respond over the sure curiosity he was experiencing. How would she make amends, he wondered?

“I couldn’t possibly allow us to remain at odds, James. Why don’t ya go on up to your room and have a nice warm bath. I’ll have Rose prepare some water for ya. Allow me to visit with ya later this evening…I promise not to bite. Not nearly so hard, at least.”

The twinkle in her eye let Sonny know exactly what her methods would be. And even if he wished to stay clear of what might be a messy situation, if it was not already, he could not resist. Her emerald eyes blinked not once or twice, but seemingly as if a butterfly had taken over. He could not resist. And later that night, the only thing he could think of was how could he have ever thought of resisting in the first place.

* * *​

The early morning hours approached and Sonny sat just slightly up in bed with Elizabeth cradled in his arms. She purred softly as she half slept and half listened to the early morning’s song. Sonny could not think of a more blissful state than the one he was in that very moment. Out of nowhere, Elizabeth spoke up,

“How old are ya, James? I have always figured twenty? Twenty-one?”

“Um, yes…that’s twenty…exactly.”

She knew he lied but let him have his secret this time.

“We are not so very different, you and I. Not too many years separate us, and we do have some of the same culture…well, no…that’s not right…we share a certain heritage, do we not?”

“I suppose,” Sonny said still feeling poorly about the lie. It’s only two years’ difference, he thought to himself. But still less distant than whatever heritage she spoke of, surely.

“I wonder what might have been had we met outside of this awful mess.”

He knew that never would have occurred, but played along with a quick and still honest, “dunno.”

“I should think we might have got on famously. Such a strappin’ young man, and me…well, I used to be quite beautiful, if ya can believe it.”

“Ya still are,” Sonny commented without a second’s beat.

“Oh, ya flatter me. See there? Ya do know how to be a proper beau.”

And then she quieted. Off in her own world again. Sonny wondered what this world had in it that she found herself there so often. Finally he asked.

“Why do ya go away sometimes?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Why…why do ya start off dreamin’ like that sometimes?”

After a few moments of what seemed honest reflection she finally answered, “Ghosts.”

“Ghosts?”

“Yes. We all have them, don’t we?”

Sonny had to readily admit that he certainly did. But who were her ghosts? He gave her a slight nudge with his arm to have her keep going.

“Yes…well, I should rather not share them with ya, lest ya think me a lesser woman than surely ya already do.”

“I think nothin’ like at.”

“Oh, yes ya do. And with good reason, I should think.”

“Why’s that?” he asked.

“Dear, sir…why must ya ask me so many questions?”

She rolled over and stroked his chest, looking up at him in the muddy early light. He responded likewise and bent his head down to kiss her on the top of the head. She allowed him to cradle her once more and they stayed quiet for a few minutes.

She finally broke the silence hesitatingly, “I would tell ya that my life before movin’ to Mobile was less than…shall we say, perfect.”

With a slight chuckle, Sonny asked her how that could be.

“Why do ya laugh, sir? Just because one grows up in a lifestyle of comfort does not suggest that one cannot have their share of…troubles.”

“Oh…of, course. I didn’t mean to suggest…”

“I don’t think ya knew what you were suggestin’,” she responded in a pout.

“Come now…ain’t no call for that,” Sonny tried to dissuade her. “I’s jest sayin’ that I knew what ya meant.”

“I was not quite what my parents expected of me…shall we say.”

“And what did they expect?”

“Oh…a girl that did exactly as they wanted, with never a moment of issue or worry. I ask you – who lives such a life? What child can be perfect?”

Suddenly a thought of Sonny’s last conversation with his father rushed into his head and he had to stifle it in order to hear what she continued saying.

“…and they simply would not allow me to be seen with any beau without a chaperon. I mean, the nerve. Did they think me a harlot? Some woman of the night? The very idea.”

He quickly caught back up to what she was saying and asked, “Why did they think such a thing?”

“I just told ya they did not…but they treated me as such. Like I was some…embarrassment. I cannot give details. It would not be proper. Suffice it to say, there was a…complication.”

Sonny was lost. High society was not anything he knew about. Whatever could complicate such a childhood that he assumed had everything? When he did not speak, she turned to him again.

“Oh no…nothin’ like that. Please, James! Think me not such a filthy woman as that. There was just…”

“Just?”

“A boy. Robert. He was not liked by my parents. Ya see, he did not have the money that we did and he…well, they…it simply would not work. But they cared not for me to be with him in any way.”

“And so? What happened?”

“Allow me only to say that things ended…poorly.” She quickly turned back to him and kissed him passionately. “Let’s us not discuss it any further. Why not enjoy the quiet? I suspect Rose is aware of our…this moment of ours, and we shall hear plenty of noise come daylight. You should consider yourself lucky, sir. You shall not hear half as much as I.”

She giggled at the thought, but Sonny did not. And not because he thought he would get grief as well, but only that she thought it worse to have someone that might do so. He would give anything for that in his own life. But he let it go.

After another hour of quiet petting, she left his bed and gave him a quiet and dainty kiss that flew through the air as she exited his room. Once dressed, he put on his boots and began his journey downstairs, wondering exactly what Rose really knew and what she was prepared to say. He did not have long to wait.

Rose was standing at the open front door looking off in the distance. Without turning around, she hollered out, “Someone’s passin’ through. And it don’t look like no soldier.”

She turned to see Sonny standing on the stairs behind her. If she was in any way angry about his night with Elizabeth she did not show it. Instead, her face was filled with worry.

“This one look to stop, I ‘spect. Ya best get ya gun.”

To be continued...​

 

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Perhaps a bounty hunter coming for Sonny? That would be bad. Interesting story about Robert, i'm wondering if all that time she was with Sonny she was thinking of Robert (seeing as they are fairly similiar). Or perhaps rather Elizabeth is some sort of psycho seeing as things "ended poorly". Poor Robert was killed, brought to a Taxidermist and is now in Elizabeth's closet... :rofl: