The Forgotten Debutante (Cotillion Ball)

by Becky Lower

  Saffron stared at him for a long moment, then let go of his shaft. She rose and began to undress herself. Her wedding gown fell from her shoulders, and she stood in front of him with her breasts exposed.

  “Perhaps you should try to pleasure me for a while, then. My breasts are aching for your touch.”

  She noticed his Adam’s apple bob up and down as his gaze locked on her firm breasts. He reached out a hand to encircle her waist and drew her close.

  “It’s my pleasure to pleasure you, Saffy.” He placed his mouth over her breast and began a gentle tugging action. Her knees finally gave way, and she fell onto his lap, his erection caressing her bottom. A soft whimper escaped her lips as she held Zeke’s head to her bosom. His hands were busy unfastening the remainder of the pearl buttons on the back of her gown. He lifted her away from the voluminous satin gown and laid her gently on the bed before he removed the remainder of his clothing.

  Her excitement grew as her eyes skimmed over Zeke’s muscular torso and his strong arms. There was something to be said for hard, physical farm work if it molded men into specimens such as the one before her. Her gaze stopped, however, at his stomach, where she noticed several small scars. She reached up and touched each one.

  “What are these from?”

  “I had a run-in with a pitchfork a couple years ago.” His reply was couched in laughter.

  Her eyebrows rose as she sought his gaze. “You mean, I did this to you?”

  He joined her in the bed and kissed her lips. “You could say you placed your mark on me during our first encounter.”

  Her lips curled into a smile. “Because I recognized quality from the outset. I had to brand you, since I couldn’t let anyone else have you. There are too many Suzanne Millers in the world.” She leaned down and kissed each little scar gently. “Although I regret having marred your magnificent body.”

  He rolled on top of her and captured her mouth again. His tongue tasted of her floral cologne she’d placed between her breasts earlier in the day, and it made her hot with need.

  “This magnificent body, scarred or not, is still capable of doing what it ought to bring you joy. Although I’m told, for women, the first time is not always pleasant.”

  She wove her fingers through his hair again. “Well, then, let’s get on with it and move along to the second time.”

  “Your wish is my command, Saffron. We have all weekend here, and I don’t plan to travel far from this bed.”

  He kissed her again, and Saffron lost all sense of the outside world. It was finally only her and Zeke, wrapped in a cocoon of sensual delight. If this is what marriage was all about, she should have never let him out of her wagon three years ago. But now she had the weekend and the rest of their lives to make up for lost time. She rose to meet him as he positioned himself between her legs. She was slick and ready, and he entered her easily, yet cautiously, stopping frequently so her body could get used to him. When he was completely embedded in her, he withdrew slightly and raised his head from her breast.

  “Shall I continue?” His voice teased her, tormented her.

  “If you don’t, I’ll flay you with a horsewhip. Just as I did to that soldier on our first night together.”

  “As I recall, you were quite handy with the whip. Thank you, again, for taking such a risk.”

  “I sensed you were worth it. Now you can show me I did the right thing when I saved you.”

  He pushed back into her and then set up a rhythm, which she eagerly matched. When his pace picked up, her breathing became shallower, and she moaned her pleasure. She sensed he was about to spill his seed inside her, and she let herself go over the edge as well, cresting in a giddy delightful shower of sparks. She had never experienced such a sense of completeness.

  Life didn’t get any better.

  • • •

  With the wedding and honeymoon over, Zeke and Saffron returned to the field and spent the remainder of the summer on site at the Chancellorsville battlefield. The temperature in the middle of Virginia rose dramatically during the day, causing buckets of sweat to roll off Zeke’s body. He shed his shirt and turned over shovelfuls of dirt each day, uncovering the majority of the thousands of bodies buried hastily in the fields. No one could say with absolute certainty how many had died here, since the missing were included in the totals, Zeke being one of the missing. So he was now performing his penance in digging up those who had fallen, helping to identify them when at all possible for the benefit of their families, and preparing them for transport back to Union soil.

  Saffron worked mostly in the tent with the files, so she was shielded from the harsh afternoon sun, but the air in the tent grew to stifling proportions during the day. There truly was no place to escape the heat. She wore what she called her field uniform—a simple white blouse paired with a cotton skirt and covered with an apron. No frills, no petticoats, no satin slippers. It didn’t matter, though. She still melted in the hot, afternoon sun, her sweat apparent between her shoulders and under her arms.

  The only good thing about being on site was when the sun went down in the evening and the temperature fell to a reasonable level, he and Saffron could be alone. They had erected a private tent and spent their nights getting each other hot and sweaty. But instead of the heat being an annoyance as it was during the day, they enjoyed getting to explore each other as husband and wife.

  Today was the day Zeke had been both anticipating and dreading. They were at the portion of the battlefield where his brothers lay, and he was about to retrieve their bodies. His father’s last request would be fulfilled. Saffron strode down the hill from the main tent to join him. His eyes followed her as she walked with purpose toward him, her skirt clinging to her hips, and her blouse hugging her breasts. Her tiny feet, instead of being encased in slippers, were in a pair of work boots. And even though the outfit might not have been fancy, Zeke noticed how it showcased her trim figure, and he thanked the Lord once again she had agreed to marry him. He grinned at her boots, which she’d taken to wearing since recent rains had turned the fields into mud pits. She almost resembled a farmer’s wife.

  She had folders for each fallen brother in her hands, and even though Zeke was damp with sweat, she leaned into him anyway and kissed him.

  “Today’s the day,” she whispered. “How are you feeling?”

  He propped one foot on his shovel and wrapped an arm around her. “A bit jumpy but better now that you’re here.”

  “As soon as this part of the field is dug up and the bodies labeled, there will be enough to send a wagon back to Arlington National Cemetery. We’ll go back with your brothers and see them properly buried with all military honors.”

  He leaned in and kissed her again. “I’m so glad you understand the significance of all this. After the reinterment, we can leave for St. Louis and truly get started on our lives.”

  He turned to the field and stared at the ground for a few minutes. A chill went through his body as he relived the last time he had dug up the same field. He was about to undo his work and finally lay his brothers to rest in a proper cemetery. Tears filled his eyes, and he hid his face in Saffron’s shoulder. She shifted the folders to one hand and caressed his bare back, comforting him as if he were a child. His body shuddered as he took a deep breath and brought his head up.

  “It’s time. I asked that no one help me with the digging, so I’d better get busy.”

  Saffron opened a folder and stared at the sheet of paper it held. “This one is Adam, correct?”

  “Yes, the first to fall.” Zeke began to dig.

  When his shovel struck the body, he turned to Saffron. “You don’t need to stay out here and bear witness. It can get pretty gruesome.”

  “I’ve seen enough this summer to be aware of what comes next, and you’re right, it can get grisly. But these are your brothers. I’m not about to let you handle it on your own. We’re a team.”

  He faced the graves again. “Then let’s get to it. I wrapped each body i
n his blanket and pinned his name on his chest, so they should come up fairly easily.”

  He began moving the earth with his hands and made short work of uncovering Adam’s remains, encased in a blanket. Saffron documented the retrieval in her folder, and they moved on to the next. By late afternoon, all four bodies were uncovered and loaded on the wagon.

  Zeke and Saffron spent one final night together in their tent.

  “I’m sorry you had to witness me throwing up, Saffy.” Zeke wrapped her in his arms and laid his chin on the top of her head.

  “I didn’t mind. Your reaction showed me what a sensitive, caring man you are.” She reached up and brushed the hair from his eyes. “Not that I needed such a violent reaction from you to learn about your character. But I’m glad it’s over and we are going to be able to see them properly buried.”

  “I’ll be glad to leave this battlefield and all the bad memories it holds for me. But our little tent has been a haven for these last few months, and we’ve been on a sort of extended honeymoon here. So there are good memories too, as you had hoped there might be on our first day here together.”

  “Then, it’s only appropriate we should end our honeymoon as we began it.” Saffron’s lips curved up, and she pulled his head down to meet hers. Zeke’s emotions had been close to the surface all day, and now his love for his wife overflowed. He deepened their kiss, and they dropped together from a sitting position to the ground. Tongues intertwined as they each tried to undress the other without breaking from their embrace. Finally, they lay naked beside each other. Zeke blazed a trail of kisses from Saffron’s mouth down her neck to her breastbone. He stopped at her bosom and gently latched on to a nipple. She held his head, and her breath quickened as he tugged and kissed her lovely, firm, high breasts. He divided his time between them, stopping in the middle to inhale her unique scent.

  He then moved further down her body, dipping his tongue into her navel and dropping kisses on her quivering stomach. When he reached her soft, curly blonde wedge of hair, his mouth sought her sex. He had learned several months ago what drove Saffron wild, and he aimed to please her tonight to repay her for standing by him today.

  Her body bucked, and she moaned long and slow, her breath coming in gasps.

  “You are so wet, Saffy,” he mumbled as he worked on her sensitive spot. Her body rose to meet his mouth, and she climaxed as he held her buttocks in his hands.

  She pulled him up and kissed him as he entered her ready body. He encased himself fully and then backed off, taking his time to let her catch her breath. She wrapped her hands around his backside and drew him deeper. His mouth left hers and fell to her breasts again, where he laved a nipple as he pumped into her. Soon, her breathing came as quick as his was becoming, and they cried out in unison as they climaxed.

  Zeke rolled onto his back, and attempted to get his breathing under control. He stared at the tent ceiling, stars dancing in front of his eyes from their lovemaking. He slid his hand over Saffron’s arm and then cupped the hand around her breast, teasing the tip of it to a hard peak in a matter of seconds.

  “You keep that up, sir, and you’ll have to make love to me again,” she whispered in his ear before she playfully bit into it.

  In response, he leaned over her body and placed his mouth over her breast.

  It was going to be a long night, but what better way to close out this chapter in his life?

  • • •

  A few days later, Saffron’s hand found Zeke’s as they stood in the soft daylight at the cemetery. A fog had covered the ground in the morning and was just now lifting, blurring the harsh lines of the white headstones. Dew glistened on the lush, green grass.

  Saffron was becoming very adept at reading Zeke’s moods and instinctively could tell he needed her support at this moment. He squeezed her hand as he stole a glance at her, dressed head to toe in black satin. A small group of people, including Halwyn, in full military dress, and Grace, looking lovely as always in a dark gown, along with some of the family members of the other soldiers about to be reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery, were clustered together at the base of a rolling hill. The crowd was small, since not every family could afford the trip to the burial services.

  Neat, rectangular holes had been dug for each of the twenty-four bodies that had finally made the return trip from the battlefield, and the scent of freshly turned earth remained in the air. Wagons with six white horses each brought the flag-draped caskets to the gravesite, their hooves gently plodding in the morning air. As each man was laid to rest, an officer recited his name. The ceremony’s significance brought out the tears from the audience for each man, regardless of whether the one being reinterred was a family member. They were all brothers who had fallen in combat.

  Zeke’s four brothers were laid side by side, as they had been in the field. Adam, Caleb, Benjamin, and David, in the order in which they’d fallen. Saffron’s hold on Zeke’s hand tightened as each name was spoken. He adjusted the cravat of his finest suit, the neck suddenly too small and his windpipe constricted, making it hard to catch his breath.

  Kind words were spoken about all the men who gave their lives in what many assumed at the time was a lost cause. In actual fact, the battle of Chancellorsville was the last Confederate victory. Then, the tide had turned in favor of the Union forces. But the war had still ground on for several years.

  Zeke brushed a hand over his eyes and lifted his hand to his brow as a three-gun salute exploded over the graves. Birds flew up from the surrounding trees, squawking at the noise. Then, “Taps” was played by a lone trumpeter, the familiar, eerie strains punctuating the air.

  The crowd began to disperse as the last notes faded. Zeke glanced around the cemetery, and his windpipe opened again. His vision cleared as he stared at the orderly rows of headstones.

  “This is a good place for the boys to be. We’ll have to come back every now and then and pay our respects.”

  Saffron’s gaze left his face and studied the area with its white stone markers dotting the landscape in rows as far as the eye could see. “I feel the peace of the place, don’t you, Zeke? Your brothers can rest easy now.”

  Shiny tears clouded her eyes as she turned to him and kissed him gently. Halwyn and Grace stood beside them, Halwyn with his hand on Zeke’s shoulder. Zeke may have buried a majority of his family today, but the solidarity of the people surrounding him made him appreciate the fact he had a new family—one with many branches—and he would be welcomed by them all. A lump formed in his throat for both the brothers left behind and the family before him.

  Halwyn removed his hand from Zeke’s shoulder and tapped him on the back. “We should be getting home so you two can pack the last of your things.”

  Saffron laughed, the tinkling sound replacing any remaining gloom in the air. “We’re ready for the future to begin. If I happen to leave a hairbrush behind, so be it. We’ll be on the St. Louis-bound train tomorrow morning.”

  Zeke’s mood lightened as he envisioned what lay ahead of them. A new town, a new job, a new way of making a living. With Saffron by his side, he’d never get tired of any aspect of his life.

  He allowed himself one final, long glance at the graves of the brave men who’d died around him in Chancellorsville. He would never forget that part of his life, but he was more than ready to leave the past behind and move into his future. He turned toward Saffron.

  “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

  EPILOGUE

  Three Months Later

  Saffron straightened her hair, which had been pulled back into a serviceable bun that morning. But with the flurry of activity in the store that day, her bun was no longer in one piece. She brushed the hair behind her ears as she began to bring order from the chaos that was the yard goods’ measuring table. It was getting close to Christmas, and it seemed every bolt of red and green fabric had been pulled out and touched by someone multiple times during the day. Saffron could only keep up with the measuring and totaling up th
e sales. But now the “closed” sign was on the door, and she could catch her breath.

  The back door opened, and Zeke came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, cradling the small bump at her stomach. Their first baby would be born in late spring. The first of many, she hoped. And she hoped for a boy, who would be named in honor of Adam, the oldest brother. She leaned back into Zeke’s hard chest, reveling in his manly scent.

  “The horses are put up for the night, and the supplies are all off the wagon and in the store room, so my work is done for the day.”

  “Not quite, sir.” She laughed as she turned to face him. “I may be with child already, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still make love to each other. I have some more work in mind for you tonight.”

  He lowered his head and captured her lips. Their tongues dueled with each other for a few minutes, and Saffron’s knees went weak. Zeke wrapped his arm around her to hold her to him. Even after all these months of making love, he could still reduce her to a puddle of froth with a mere touch.

  “But unlike my chores during the day, I’m looking forward to the kind of work you have in mind for later. I love you, Saffy.”

  Finally, they broke apart, and he began to help her with the fabric. He kept stealing sidelong glances at her. When she sighed, he again embraced her.

  “You’re missing your family, aren’t you?”

  “A little. It’s wonderful to have Ginger, Basil, Valerian, and their spouses and children nearby. And I’ve been able to see Heather and David again. But I’m missing Mother and Papa, and Jasmine and Parr. And Pepper, Elijah, and their children. I’d love to get Rosemary and Henry out here to give her new ideas for her dime novels. And of course, I miss Halwyn and Grace.”

  “Why don’t we invite everyone here for Christmas?”

  Saffron’s eyes widened, and she raised her brows at him. “If we did invite them, along with the extended family, Ginger’s in-laws, Temperance’s family, and everyone else, we’d have …” She began to add up the individuals involved, quickly running out of fingers. She threw her hands into the air. “Well, it would be a lot of people, and we don’t have anywhere near the kind of room needed in our flat upstairs.”