Southern Discomfort (2 page)

He watched her
looking around. This was all new to her. This was nothing like
Boston. Should he say that aloud and try to talk to her, he wondered?
She sure was pretty. She turned to look at something and her long
hair brushed against his arm. His mind started to drift off to this
evening. He moved a little uncomfortably in his seat. Would she
really be a virgin? His mind wondered again. If she wasn't it would
explain why she was here.

They were almost
home. He wondered what was going on there. What would they think of
his Emily? She sure was a beauty. He could hardly wait for church on
Sunday. By then word would have gotten around that he had a pretty
young wife. He would get to sit next to her in church every week.
Maybe he should take a weapon with him. There were just so many
single men out here and she sure was a pretty thing.

He may have to
defend her.

Nathaniel pulled
up right in front of the house. He jumped down and turned to help her
down. She was still shaking. He took her by her hand and led her up
the porch steps. He opened the door for her. His family was gathered
together to meet her. They were all smiles as they looked at them.

“Emily, this is
my oldest brother Edward and his wife Katherine.” Nathaniel
introduced them.

Emily shook their
hands and gave them a polite smile.

“You can call
me Katie,” Katherine told her.

Emily nodded and
smiled at her again.

“This is my
brother Charles and his wife Elizabeth.”

Again Emily shook
both of their hands. Elizabeth told her that she liked to be called
Bessie. The family was a little unsure, because Emily hadn't spoken
yet.

Nathaniel noticed
this and took her hand again. She was just plain shy.

Bessie and Katie
weren't at all shy. “We made a big meal in celebration of your
wedding.” Bessie looked at Nate as she spoke.

“Yes, and to
welcome Emily into our family,” Katie added.

Emily blushed and
looked down. Nathaniel took hold of her arm again. He led her towards
the table. He pulled out a chair for her and she thanked him. The
others were relieved that she could speak.

“Charles, help
me outside with the horses,” Edward said. They both left.

Nathaniel sat
down next to his wife. She hadn't been fooling when she said she was
shy. Once again he had to wonder about why she married him. She was
so beautiful. He almost wished he sat across from her so he could
stare at her. Even if she didn't say much for his ears she sure was
something for his eyes.

He reached for
her hand again. They sat, both very quiet, and held each others hand
without speaking, while Bessie and Katie got the food on the table.

Edward and
Charles came in carrying Emily's trunk. She rose and went to it. They
put it down in front of her confused. “We can bring it up to your
room.”

“I brought
gifts for everyone,” she explained in a soft voice. She kneeled
down in front of her truck and opened it. She got out a few presents
and offered them silently to their new owners.

The last present
was for her new husband. She blushed as she gave it to him then she
sat down next to him again. They all sat down and opened their
presents.

“Thank you,
Emily, that was very considerate of you.” Edward laid his saddle
cream to the side of his plate.

Charles, who had
received the same present, also thanked her. Bessie and Katie loved
their gifts. They received store bought soap and hand cream. The
things smelt so fine.

Nathaniel opened
his gift. He had gotten a pocket watch from his new wife. He wasn't
sure what to say. The gift was just too expensive to accept. He
looked up at her, she was waiting for his approval, or his
disapproval.

“It was my
father's,” she explained.

“Doesn't he
need it?” Nathaniel asked.

“He passed on a
couple of years ago. I have been saving it for – you.” She
blushed again at the end.

Was this the
reason why she had married him, he wondered? She was more than just
shy. He worried about bedding her later. Would she be too shy for
that?

“Thank you very
much, Emily.” He smiled at her, and she smiled back as she blushed
red.

His breath caught
in his throat. Her smile was just breath-taking.

Emily worried
that she was making a bad impression. She wished she could say more,
but she had always had a problem with strangers. She was probably
coming across as being childish, or even worse, as cold.

Emily had to
fight off the tears that were building. “I'm sorry. I'm just a
little shy. In a few days it will be better,” she reassured them.

Nathaniel's hand
took hers again. He felt a need to protect her.

“Of course, we
understand completely. This is a lot for you. Meeting so many people,
on one day, can be very overwhelming.” Katie spoke for the whole
table as she patted Emily's free hand, trying to reassure her new
sister.

Emily smiled at
her. She formed a silent thank you with her lips.

The others
started in talking as if she wasn't there. Emily was able to just
listen to them talk. It helped her to relax. Nathaniel's hand often
sought out hers. He was overjoyed to have such a pretty and sweet
wife.

Emily was pleased
that her husband wasn't pushing her to talk. He was being very
sensitive.

She hoped he
would be sensitive later on tonight too. She didn't really know what
to expect. The only thing she knew was, that it would hurt her the
first time, and that she had to be naked for it.

Emily couldn't
imagine being naked with him. What if he thought she was ugly? She
knew that she would first be truly married after he was inside of
her. She wasn't sure how he would do that. Her nerves were going
haywire and it was getting dark out. She started shaking again.

Nathaniel was
holding her hand and he felt her shaking. He patted her hand again.

When the meal was
over she got up with the other women and helped clear away the
dishes. Bessie explained the way they wanted things done. Emily
nodded and did exactly as she was told. The other two were pleased
with her.

Nathaniel and his
brothers carried her trunk upstairs to her room.

“She sure is
shy,” Charles commented.

Nathaniel
straightened his back and looked at his brother in a way that told
him he wouldn't tolerate anyone, saying anything bad about his wife.

Charles quieted
down immediately.

“She seems very
nice. It was really nice of her to think of all of us like that. The
thing that I'm curious about is – Well, the gifts were all very
expensive, the best of the best. Her clothes say that she comes from
a very rich family, too. There is a mystery going on here,” Edward
mused.

Nathaniel didn't
care he was just happy that she was here with him, such a pretty and
good wife. If she turned out to be a virgin too, then life would be
perfect for him. His brothers didn't care about things like that but
he still did. He wanted a wife that was above reproach.

They had met his
sister-in-laws while they were working in a bordello. His brothers
had wanted wives and his sister-in-laws had wanted a better life. It
worked out for them but he didn't want that for himself. Even if
nobody around here knew the truth.

Nathaniel nodded
to himself. It was time. He went down to get her.

Emily listened to
the other two chatting about this and that. They thanked her again
for the fine soap and cream.

“I was happy to
do it.” Emily smiled and looked down at her shoes. For her this was
already warming up. As she raised her head she noticed Nathaniel
looking at her. He stood on the steps. She swallowed hard. It was
time for that, she thought.

Emily's life had
been so sheltered up until now. She hoped that she was safe with him.
He had promised to cherish and protect her, but the man her father
had chosen for her would have stood at the alter and said those same
words. He just wouldn't have kept his promises.

Would Nathaniel?

“Emily,” he
called to her.

“Thank you for
the lovely welcome.” She turned to the other two women who seemed
to be avoiding her eye. “Good night.”

“Good night,”
they repeated in unison.

Emily
went to Nathaniel, who was holding his hand out for her to take. She
shyly took hold of it.

Nathaniel watched
her very closely as they went up the stairs. He, too, was nervous. He
had visited a bordello before he sent off his advertisement. There he
had asked the whores how, to take a virgin. They had given him a
couple of tips. He didn't want to scare his little wife. This was the
main reason he had wanted a wife. Hearing his brothers making love to
their wives every night, left him wanting. Now he had Emily for that.
He wanted her to like it when he touched her and made loved to her.

“This is our
room.” He opened the door for her.

She pulled all of
her nerve together and walked into the door. Nathaniel entered behind
her, closing the door.

He was debating
with himself what would be better for her. Just getting it over with,
or taking it slowly. He decided to play it by ear.

Nathaniel went
over to the bed on the side he preferred. He removed his boots. He
set them aside and looked over at Emily.

Emily stood close
to the door and looked around the room. It wasn't as fancy as what
she had been used to but it was a separate room with a closed door in
between them and the rest of his family.

She had actually
been very surprised how nice everything was here. The house was at
least two stories high. She guessed there must be a third story
because the walls in here were all straight.

The room was dark
and she couldn't see everything, but what she saw was nice. There was
a washing table on his side of the bed and a chair on hers. He had a
desk in here. She wondered if he had sat there while he wrote to her.

There was a small
wardrobe against the wall. It wouldn't be big enough. When the rest
of her things arrived they would need a bigger one. Her things had
been following them out here. She, herself wasn't sure what her aunt
had all packed for her but it was probably too much.

“Emily, come
here to me,” he called to her.

She slowly went
to him. He patted the bed next to him. She sat down shyly and slowly.
She could smell him. Not that he smelt bad but he smelt different
than a woman would. She tried to stop herself from shaking.

She had so many
clothes on that he wasn't even sure how to get her out of all of
them. He turned to her. Should he say something to her? What should
he say?

He started
unbuttoning his shirt. He had removed his tie earlier. Nathaniel
stood and hung his shirt over the desk chair. He turned to her. She
was removing her clothes too. He saw her hands shake in the light.
She was being brave, he thought.

Emily stepped out
of her dress. She walked around to her side of the bed and laid her
dress over the chair there. She looked over at him to see if he
approved.

He was staring at
her in her underthings. He was just wearing his pants. She had never
seen a man's bare chest before. He had a bit of hair on his chest.
Not much but a bit.

She didn't know
that they had hair there. She worried about her own secret hair. What
if he thought she was ugly or perhaps he would even be repulsed by
her nakedness. He was opening his pants now.

Emily went to
work on her corset. She now stood there half naked, but he had turned
away from her and she could see that he was completely naked. She
pushed her dress and corset back so she could sit on the chair and
remove her shoes and stockings. Just her knickers were left. She
pulled the laces that were holding them up and removed them too. She
kept repeating to herself 'better Nathaniel Tate than Victor
Wellington'.

Nathaniel went to
his wife and touched her face. He avoided looking at her body just
yet. She was holding her arms in a way that barely covered her up,
but the effort was there. He looked into her eyes and asked, the
question he had promised himself he wouldn't ask. “How much
experience have you had?”

“None.” She
was surprised that he would even ask that. She thought it would be
assumed. He would have only wanted to marry a virgin.

“Why did you
get undressed so easily?”

She had done
something wrong. She knew she would. Her aunt told her that that
wasn't possible, but she knew if someone could manage it than she
would be the one.

“I'm sorry. My
aunt said that I just had to get undressed and then you would do the
rest. I'm sorry, I did it wrong.” Her head hung in her shame. Her
arms tried to cover herself up. She turned to retrieve her clothes.

“No, your aunt
was right. You did everything just right. You were even very brave
about it.” He moved her face so he could look in her eyes. She was
crying.

“Emily, I want
to take a look at you. If you want you can look at me too. But I need
you to move your arms to your sides. Can you do that for me?”

He was laying on
his southern accent pretty thick. It sounded so gentlemanly in a way
a Boston man couldn't achieve. It had the undertone that said I'm not
just saying these things I mean them. She felt that he would protect
her but the only person she was afraid of at the moment was him.

He stepped back
to look at her and she moved her hands a little to her sides and then
she covered herself up again. He watched her fighting with herself.
The glimpses of her he was getting were already working on him. He
was glad she wasn't looking at him. He was getting rock hard in the
meantime.

Her beauty
continued under her clothes. He could see a tiny waist and the hints
of rounded breasts and hips that flared out.