A Fresh Start in Kirkham: a nineteenth century western romance

by Susan Thomas

  Sam was also having a powerful effect on Cecelia herself. He made her think of the marriage bed. Not just think, but desire to share it with Sam. To feel his hands on her body... every part of it. To feel his lips on hers. To, and this made her blush even in the privacy of her bedroom, feel him inside her. He had done nothing to make her feel like this. He had been the complete gentleman at all times, but it was how she was reacting to him. Did he know? If he did he gave no sign of it.

  The day's violence had also had its effect. It made her aware of how short life was. When Ralph had withdrawn from her to return to his reckless, dissolute ways she had resigned herself to a sort of widowhood. Then he had been killed and that simply confirmed her new status. Now, however, in Kirkham she felt a sort of rebirth. She was a relatively young woman and with a woman's needs. Would it be so terrible to marry again? If so, there was Sam. He ran a good business, was a caring father, and a decent man. Was it so wrong to think of him that way?

  Into that volatile mix of feelings there was Beth's talk of spanking. She'd said nothing to Beth, but in the early days of her marriage, Ralph had introduced her to spanking as a prelude to love making. She would lay naked across his lap in bed while he spanked her, stopping every now and then to rub the sting from her bottom, before starting again. It had aroused her, and then, while rubbing her bottom, his fingers would slip delicately between her legs and touch that secret place. Sometimes he would bring her to a crisis several times before entering her.

  Now it had a strangely exciting effect on her to think of Beth being spanked by Henry Flight. To have a man you loved and respected discipline you. To lay over his lap, and have his hand spank you, was both disciplinary but also arousing. She wondered what it would be like to have Sam discipline her. He was a strong man... to be so submissive to him made her catch her breath.

  All these thoughts became a whirlwind that sucked her from her respectable widowhood and made the night seem hot and full of eroticism. She wanted to be bad and disciplined and have Sam make love to her again and again. She surrendered to her thoughts, first hitching up her nightdress, and then with an exclamation pulling it off altogether leaving her naked. She threw the window wide open not caring if any late-night walker overheard anything. The night was charged and she must abandon herself to it. She lay partly over the side of the bed. She reached back her hand and began to spank her bottom as hard as she could. Her hand stung her bottom and made it hot but it was not as Ralph had made it. Did she deserve punishment? Yes, she was wicked thinking such things. She must be spanked harder than this.

  She leapt from the bed and found her hairbrush. Its wooden back would surely sting? It took her little time to work out that pointing the brush downwards instead of across was best. She smacked the brush down on her bare left cheek. It stung furiously but somehow seemed so satisfying. She imagined Sam spanking her for being naughty. It didn't matter what the naughtiness was, just that it was Sam doing it. She smacked it down harder still on her right cheek and squealed at the sting. Now her whole body felt alive in ways she had not felt since Ralph first had his way with her. The night was charged and her body tingled everywhere with it. The stinging of her bottom demanded more. 'Spank me harder', it seemed to say.

  She gritted her teeth and got on with her 'punishment'. Stretching out over the edge of the bed she began smacking the brush down on alternate cheeks. The stinging was intense and she found it hard to carry on. She eased off and lay with the brush on the bed in front of her eyes. The desire to be spanked had not passed and, picking the brush back up, she began again.

  She kept up a steady even spanking of left cheek, right cheek until her bottom was so sore she found her blows easing off. Enough, she decided, but now her hot and sore bottom demanded more. She threw the hairbrush further onto the bed and joined it lying on her back. Her legs parted, and her hand went down to find that little place, that oh so sensitive place she called her 'positive'. Her fingers got busy and she felt her whole body building towards an explosion it had not felt since Ralph retreated from her. Her fingers moved faster, and her breath grew shorter, until suddenly the explosion came, and she arched upwards on the bed with a huge cry into the night.

  "Oh Sam!"

  Chapter Four

  Marta drove the small cart from her father's farm and set off on her egg round. Sometimes her younger, seventeen-year-old sister, Matilde would join her. Her parents had six girls and no boys; even the children that had died in infancy had been girls. Her father longed for a boy to help him on the farm but he had, instead, to rely on his girls who had to tackle all manner of jobs. Since his accident, Marta had even climbed a ladder to repair the house and barn roofs under his anxious supervision. He had allowed her to wear an old pair of his pants for that job.

  Not everyone kept chickens, not even all the farms, and her parents had built up a good side business selling eggs in town and the surrounding area. Now Marta approached the house of Miss Gloria Tannock. Miss Tannock was a very strange woman. Critical, highly educated, sharp tongued, she rarely became involved in the life of Kirkham. In fact, she rarely even went to church. Residing with her was her sister who was simple minded and needed quite a lot of care. Only once had Miss Tannock allowed herself to become involved in Kirkham affairs. She had been persuaded to speak on 'The Sisterhood of Women' but before she could give her talk, the women of Kirkham had become very un-sisterly and begun to fight. Miss Tannock left and could never be persuaded to participate in Kirkham affairs again.

  Marta brought her horse to a halt outside the Tannock house. A woman she had never seen before came out with a friendly smile and carrying a large bowl.

  "Good morning. You must be Marta Hartman, the girl who delivers eggs."

  "I am."

  "I'm Mrs. Hoctor, new housekeeper to Miss Tannock. We'll have two dozen eggs please."

  Marta counted the eggs out into Mrs. Hoctor's bowl and found the new housekeeper very friendly and helpful. She seemed quite charming but, as Marta drove away, she remembered that there had been a succession of housekeepers, and she wondered just how long this one would last. Miss Tannock was not known for suffering fools gladly.

  When she got back to her father's farm Marta summoned up the courage to speak to her father about Dr. Davies. He had given her good whipping in the barn but that had been for her rude defiance and disrespect. A daughter must be respectful to her father for in the Bible it said that children must honor their father and mother. This time she would be quiet and respectful but plead the case to go in and see what was happening at the surgery. She gave her father the money from the sale of eggs, and her account book, which showed the customers who still owed money. He was pleased which gave her the opportunity.

  "Papa, I have done all my chores. May I go into town and see if all is well at the surgery? The new nurse may need some help with things. A lot will depend on how busy they have been with patients."

  Carl Hartman was not a bad man or a brutal father. He was strict, stern, and believed that as the man of the house his word was law, but he also owed a great deal to Dr. Davies. It was hard, working with a damaged leg, but life with a wooden one would be harder still. He regretted now the whipping he had given Marta; she was just a foolish girl imagining herself in love. Once she was safely married to Paul all that nonsense would disappear.

  "Very well Marta but no more of this nonsense about the good doctor. Almost certainly he will marry this widowed nurse and that is a sensible marriage. You will marry Paul and that too is a sensible marriage."

  Marta said nothing in disagreement but thanked her father gravely, kissed his cheek in a dutiful way, and drove her cart towards town, her heart light with secret knowledge. Dr. Davies saw her arrive and came out to greet her, his face bright with smiles.

  "Marta, where have you been? You disappeared after helping Mrs. Masters settle in."

  "Papa had many jobs for me to do. He has no son to help him and we girls must set to."

  Soon her ears were
ringing with all the dramatic events but she was reassured that Cecelia had everything organized and in hand. She managed a private word with the new nurse and whispered anxiously, "My papa thinks Dr. Davies will marry you."

  "That is not going to happen. I had not thought to remarry but if I do it will be with Sam Hoctor. Our little girls play together, we have both lost a spouse, and we get on very well. I will do what I can to promote your cause."

  After Marta had gone, Cecelia spoke sternly to Dr. Davies. "I saw the way your face lit up when Marta appeared. You love her I can tell."

  Dr. Davies blushed and looked so embarrassed Cee felt sorry for him. "She would make any man a good wife. She's clever, organized, a good worker. I saw how much she achieved with no training and only a few hours a week. She's very attractive and what's more she is headlong in love with you. She'd make you a most excellent wife."

  "I'm fifteen years older than her."

  "Well? Many men marry girls younger than themselves. It is quite common and a great advantage. You have your position in life already and can support a wife and family. Certainly, your age does not trouble her. After all, you're not old enough to be her father. Why don't you speak to her father?"

  "Her father has her in mind for Paul Hoffman. He has no son to take over the farm and the Hoffmans have only Paul. That way the farms are eventually united. Both men want that."

  "What year is this? 'He has her in mind for Paul Hoffman' and 'both men want that'. It is 1882 and these men behave like lords of the Middle Ages. Is it not time men stopped seeing their daughters as goods to be traded for advantage? If you say nothing she will be bartered off whether she likes it or not. She wants you, Dr. Davies, and if you want her, then you must fight for her."

  She thought for a moment that she had angered her employer. He went very quiet and said nothing. Finally, he looked up and spoke in his usual even way. "I wasn't sure I had done the best I could for Carl Hartman's injuries. I wrote to surgeons in New York, Boston, London and Edinburgh detailing his injuries and what I had done. To my surprise, they all replied most courteously and all agree that I have done all I could. They all wrote that he is lucky I did not amputate and that most doctors would have done so. However, two have suggested some massage and exercises that may help with stiffness and any residual pain. I should go and see him and explain what may be done. I could raise the matter of Marta then. What do you think?"

  Cecelia smiled. "I think that is a perfect time. He must, at the very least, give some thought to the matter. It may be too late today, but if nothing presses tomorrow, why don't you go? It is after all a legitimate follow up visit to a patient."

  "I will do that Cecelia. May I be so familiar?"

  "You may, Dr. Davies."

  "And you must call me Iestyn."

  They did have patients visit the surgery the next day but not enough to detain Dr. Davies and he set off in his gig to the Hartman farm. Carl Hartman was hospitable, for custom dictated it, but also, he was genuinely grateful to the doctor. He brought out schnapps and cake.

  "Carl, I have been in contact with senior colleagues in Great Britain and here in the US. They confirm my work on your leg as correct but can offer no further means of improvement except massage and exercise. I have drawn up guidance for your wife on how to massage and where, and also, for you, exercises that you can do. I judge these actions will become more important as you get older. Make a habit now and you may get a lifelong benefit."

  "You have been to so much trouble for me. I judge our town is lucky indeed to have you as our doctor. I owe you much."

  "You owe me nothing. I became a doctor to help the sick and injured. If I have helped you I am satisfied. Now, I have a personal mater I wish to raise with you."

  Carl sighed knowing what must follow. "Go on."

  "When you were injured, your daughter Marta was a great help to the both of us. She worked hard for you but also for me. I will be truthful Carl, I have come to love her, and I know she has feelings for me. To be plain and straight, I would like your permission to court her."

  Carl sighed. Hospitality and gratitude demanded he be courteous but this was such a hard request for him. "Yes, she has feelings for you. This I know, but she is young. She is promised to another."

  "Promised by you Carl. I know she has not promised. I would be a good husband to her and she would be a good wife to me."

  Carl sighed again. "There was a time when a father's word was law. My Helga obeyed her father and married me as I obeyed mine in marrying her. Are fathers no longer to be obeyed? No, do not answer. I will give the matter some thought. It is a hard thing you have asked but I will think and talk to my friend Hoffman."

  Dr. Davies returned to the town feeling somewhat happier than he had done. He knew he'd only had the courage to speak to Carl about Marta because of Cecelia, and it suddenly dawned on him, that Cecelia and Marta must have talked about this in private. He laughed out loud and spoke to his horse, "Who says it's a man's world, boy?" The horse laughed back.

  That evening Cecelia Masters finished up at the surgery and went to find Sam, Julia and of course her daughter Alice. The girls had a wonderful day because Sam had a tiny pony and had the girls on her back riding in careful circles around his paddock. They headed for Marie's Place because neither felt like cooking after a day at work. Again, Cee tucked her arm into Sam's and once again they were a family of sorts.

  In the general stores, Mrs. Hoctor, housekeeper to Miss Tannock, was filling a large order to take back in Miss Tannock's gig. She stood watching through the window, the owner of the livery stores walking arm in arm with the new nurse and the two little girls. Her face had no expression but clearly her mind was not on her order, for when Joe, the owner of the store, spoke to her she startled.

  "I'm real sorry Ma'am, I asked if there was anything more."

  Mrs. Hoctor smiled. "Oh, my mind wandered. I am so sorry. Yes, one more thing. I need a large knife suitable for hunting."

  She was shown a good collection and chose one, adding it to the pile. Joe helped her load up her gig and saw her off. He approved of Mrs. Hoctor. She was mild and polite, something Miss Tannock rarely was.

  ---oOo---

  Sam and Cecelia parted company to put their children to bed. Sam was very correct again but there was a hesitation about his parting which made Cee feel that he wanted to say more... perhaps even to kiss her goodnight. She knew that her feelings, their feelings, were rushing away far too quickly. It was ridiculous feeling like this after only a few days. She had fallen headlong into marriage before and look where that got her. Had her parents been alive at the time she met Ralph they would have counseled caution and she knew they'd do the same with Sam. Yes, he was clearly a decent man, unlike Ralph, but she was being ridiculous.

  Her caution didn't stop the way her body felt. He made her feel alive. If he had taken her to his bed she would not so much as uttered a word of protest. She checked Alice was sleeping soundly, and that her child's nightlight was safe, before beginning to get ready for bed herself. She imagined Sam standing in her bedroom watching her remove her clothes. She made her undressing a performance. Each garment was removed slowly... seductively. Not a practical activity but an erotic one. As she uncovered her breasts she lifted and caressed them, imagining Sam replacing her hands with his.

  She left her nightdress in its case, and lay on the bed, parting her legs just a little and caressing her breasts, as if to arouse the man she imagined standing watching. The ghostly Sam was aroused and so was she. Her fingers moved down to between her legs and found that little nub, and began to stroke it. One hand for her breasts and one for her 'positive' but they were not hers... they were Sam's. Her fingers moved faster and she felt something building in her: a huge force that waited, taunting her with possibility, but not performing. Her fingers moved faster, her breath coming in short gasps, until the force no longer hovered but exploded, making her arch her back and cry out as it overwhelmed her.

  Cecelia lay
naked on her bed, sweaty and exhausted. She could scarcely believe the way she was carrying on. She had better be careful not to frighten Sam away with being too forward. She must get a grip on her passion and behave like a respectable widow and mother. She slipped her nightdress on and snuffed out her candle.

  Just as Cecelia snuffed the candle out Marta was lying awake unable to sleep. She had seen Dr. Davies arrive but her mother would not allow her to go to the two men. Dr. Davies had been given schnapps and cake and the two men had talked a long time. When the doctor left, her father had looked pensive but had not shared whatever it was with her mother or with her. He then asked her to hitch the horse to the small cart she used for her egg round and left in the direction of the Hoffman farm.

  On his return, he had looked even more thoughtful but did not share anything with his family. He was quiet all the way through their evening meal, something rare in the man, for he loved to get his daughters talking about their day. Unfortunately, her mother had not been quiet. For some reason, she was in a bad mood. Maybe because she too did not know why the doctor had made a visit. She had snapped, grumbled and complained all the way through the meal. Marta could tell it was irritating her father and tried to steer her mother away from her mood. It was all in vain. Suddenly her father smacked his hand down hard on the table.

  "Enough, woman!"

  Marta and her sisters jumped and went very quiet indeed. Marta vowed she would never do this to Iestyn when she married him. Unfortunately, her mother had not remained quiet for more than a few minutes. Her irritating grumbling continued until suddenly her father had looked at her and said in a soft voice, "I told you enough. Now there will be no more and we will talk later about your behavior."

  All the girls went silent knowing what that meant. Their mother was going to get spanked later on and not one of the six disagreed that it was deserved. Their father was a good man but he was very much the head of the house and it was never wise to show such disrespect.