FSE

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The day finally came. The house buzzed with excitement. The majority of the staff were traveling down to the town to help or to enjoy the fair for themselves. Father and I emerged from the house wearing our newly made outfits of light cotton. I immediately wondered why we did not always wear such comfortable clothes. The usual fabrics of my dresses seemed either gaudy or stiff in comparison. The dress itself was a little more revealing than anticipated. With the looseness of the fabric, the dress clung to my natural figure a bit more than anticipated. I blushed when I first saw myself in the mirror, but Marie reminded me that it was not unbecoming of a lady to show off her curves. I was confidant that the one person who cared about my figure would be happy with my choice of clothing.

As we rode into town, I realized how few people I had seen in my life. Thousands had come to the market and fair. People not just from the neighboring plantations, but from all over the state. Wagons full of peddlers and other craftsmen had shown up, going to where the customers would surely be. Musicians and performing troops filled vacant lots around the square. The official vendors were swamped with throngs of people. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits and as our carriage moved through the crowd towards the exhibition area, people regarded us as royalty. They cheered at my father and called out my name. One young girl even ran up with a bouquet of wildflowers. Soldiers roamed through the paths in pairs and constables patrolled through the booths. Among the crowd were some unsavory looking men, but no widespread discontent that would give father a reason to believe a riot was stirring.

We arrived at a small home near the center of the market. Father started to receive a variety of dignified guests. I politely spoke with their wives and daughters, welcoming them all to the festival. Eventually, Aunt Ethel stole me away to go and visit several of the vendors we had worked closely with throughout the past month of planning. Everyone brightened up when they saw us approach. Things were going wonderfully. One shopkeeper showed me a bag of money claiming she didn't know what else to do with it. The different visitors were buying more and more. Even a few of our own staff bought new clothes or other things they had been putting off for a while. Many claimed that such selection had not happened since before the war. I found our cook arguing with a local baker about the proper measurements of something and growing so heated that I decided to intervene. Both apologized, but it was clear they were happy to go right back to arguing the moment I stepped away. By the time I had visited all of the different stalls and greeted all of the different men and women of note, the midday heat had started to take a toll on me.

I took a glass of water from the baker and went out of the crowd for a moment. As I stepped away I waved to Aunt Ethel who was in the middle of a conversation with some ladies I recognized from our sewing circle. The shade of the tree soothed the heat. I turned to go back to the crowd and bumped into the wiry frame of Theodore Locke.

"Lady Anna, are you alright. You seem a bit faint?"

The sight of him, that horrible pin prominent on his lapel, made the hairs prickle on my neck. I looked for Aunt Ethel, but the crowd had shifted and moved her out of sight. "Theo, how wonderful to see you again. Are you enjoying the festival?"

"It's passable for entertainment." His head moved languidly from side to side. As the wind shifted, I smelled the alcohol on his breath. "Did you receive my letter? You haven't written me back."

"I did, thank you for that. I've been very busy with the market planning. It's put me all terribly behind on my correspondence."

"Don't lie to me."

A sting of fear coursed through me. He blocked my path back to the crowd. Over his shoulder I could see another young man wearing the same colors, the same pin stuck to his jacket. "How dare you speak to me that way? I thought you would know --"

"Your whole family lies." He reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling it down at a sharp angle. "You think you're better than me because of what...a title? I have titles. I can show you that you're not better than me. Maybe that's what you need. To be shown how a true wife would act." His other hand reached for my body, but never made it.

Langston's hand wrapped around his throat and with almost no effort, threw him back onto the ground. Theodore's man moved forward, drawing a blade from within his jacket. Before he could act, a pair of soldiers grabbed him. Another pair descended on Theodore. Langston smirked at the two apprehended men. "You're on the Ingram estate, Mr. Locke. And you have attacked Lady Anna. These men will escort you to the jail. I expect the magistrate will deal with you sometime tomorrow. Take them." The stranger started to curse Langston, but Theodore only looked at him with an almost maddened joy. Bruising had already started to appear around his neck. He even laughed as they carried him away.

The crowd had watched the ordeal. Aunt Ethel appeared through the thick of them with a stern look on her face. I smiled weakly as she approached, "He hurt you?"

"Only my wrist. It might be sprained."

She turned to Langston, "He's detained? What about the others?" Langston nodded. "Very well. Perhaps you would like to take Lady Anna and have her wrist tended to?" Both Langston and I gawked at her in disbelief. "Go on then, I think the fair will survive without you for an hour or so."

We nodded and Langston led me away from the watchful eyes of the crowd. I overheard Aunt Ethel making excuses for Theodore's behavior to the crowd and winced. My taste for any of the Lockes had long soured, but this only made things worse. Langston and I walked in silence until we were out of sight of the crowds. Even then, we carried on in benign conversation, worried that someone might see us. I didn't realize it, but we were quite close to his cottage. Once inside, I turned and greeted him with a long kiss. As we pressed together, my hand bent down and I jerked away in pain. "I could have killed him," Langston said. He took my hand into his. "This will help." He concentrated and pressed his fingers against my wrist. From his fingertips a warmth spread out through the aching area until the pain was gone. He moved my hand back and forth with ease.

"How did you do that?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"I have much to tell you, but can it wait a while longer? Before all that, before all the complications come into play, I would like to...."

My mind raced with a million different thoughts, but as I peered up into Langston's eyes, all of them drifted away. I had dreamed about this for so long and here it was. He was right. If I asked the one question, I opened the door to a thousand others. We had been given the briefest of moments to feel an unfettered happiness. I chose to take it. We walked though the only other door and into Langston's bedroom. The scent of strong spices filled the air and the day's heat was only barely muted by the cold stone wall. He placed his hands on my shoulder, his touch gentle and kind. I tilted my head back as his lips pressed against mine. His hands moved from my shoulders, moving across my back with more force. My own hands went to his waist, feeling the strength of his body through his shirt.

He stepped back for a moment and removed his boots and shirt. I slipped off my shoes as I watched him. My eyes roved over his bare chest, admiring the smooth skin and curve of his muscle. He radiated heat from his body, much more than a normal man would, but it was a comfortable warmth, like a warm bed on a cold winter morning. He unlaced the top of his breeches, but did not pull them down. Instead, his eyes looked at me. I turned around and pulled my hair to the side, showing him the laces at the top of my dress. With delicate fingers, he pulled the strings loose and gently slid the fabric over my shoulders. My cool skin prickled with goosebumps as his hands touched my bare flesh. The dress moved down off my arms and fell from my waist. His eyes widened and he could not resist a boyish smile. Before I turned back to him, I felt his hand move against my hips, causing my stomach to flutter as he squeezed. He took me over to the bed and we laid down beside one another. He kissed my cheeks and neck, then down my shoulder. His hands moved along my side, his fingertips grazing my edge of my breast. A soft sigh slipped from my lips and he pulled me closer to him.

My hand moved down his body admiring the contrast of my soft flesh to his hard muscle. His breath heaved in and out of him with a desperate force. I could sense that he was struggling to contain himself. His body was tensed and ready. I knew he was capable of throwing me to my back and ravishing me, yet he tempered his desires as I explored his body. My hand timidly reached below his navel and across the outside of his loose pants. I could feel the hard bulge pushing against the fabric. He moved against my hand involuntarily and I smiled. "You can have me," I whispered. His lips closed on mine once again as he rolled me to my back. As he moved on top of me, he let his pants fall away. I caught full sight of his firm body before he lowered himself on top of me and my blood quickened. I moved my hips to be more comfortable and then I pressed my legs against the side of his body. The heat coming from Langston's body had intensified, and I wondered if it were possible for him to burn me. Then I felt him pushing against me. One of his arms wrapped around me and the other came up to squeeze my hand in his. He pushed again and I felt him move inside me. I gasped as his warmth overwhelmed me, the slight bit of pain lost in the wave of pleasure.. His head moved down beside mine as he groaned in pleasure. "Oh, Langston," I breathed into his ear. He started moving again, slowly but with building speed. I pulled him against me, harder and harder. A new sensation started to build in my core, pushing aside the thrill of the moment and the passion wrapped around us. It was an electric urge to keep going, to drive him wild. His mouth moved down my body, leaving the searing kisses across my breasts. His pace started to change as he pushed deeper and harder. I knew it was coming, the excitement thrilling me even more. Before I understood, my body trembled and pleasure overtook me. Langston's mouth closed on mine to drown my gasps and screams of pleasure. I felt him spasm inside me and he collapsed on my trembling body. I pulled his face up to mine, whispering "I love you" again and again as we kissed.

He pulled me into his arms. We laid beside one another in silence. I listened to the steady thrum of his heartbeat and the slow rhythm of his breath. Finally, as his fingers curled into mine, he spoke. "We should get dressed. They'll be expecting us back. I want to talk first."

I dressed, attempting to compose myself. I found it difficult to concentrate on anything other than Langston's body. I wanted to stay with him forever. I knew then what I always suspected. I could live entirely without my life as a Lady as long as I had him to care for me. And I knew he would. He had showed restraint in dealing with Theodore only because he knew it would cause us harm to damage the foolish young man any more. I had sense his tenderness and ferocity as we made love. He reassured these feelings as he pulled aside my hair to gently lace up my dress. He kissed the nape back of my neck one last time before moving to finish dressing himself. I started to prepare my questions. I wanted to discuss everything as clearly as possible. Langston's role as my father's spy, my new contempt for the Lockes, and what Langston himself meant for our future.

I sat beside him as he pulled on his boots, running my hand across his back and tracing tiny circles with my fingertips. We were absolutely happy.

And then we heard shouting.