It had been a long journey. He felt weak and exhausted. Best keep to himself.
15
September - 1722
YARMOUTH - CAPE COD
THE COLD NIGHT AIR crept in and around the Davis house. Felicity retired early, while Thomas finished his last ale for the day as he studied Julian’s map. After securing the doors downstairs and snuffing the candles out, he went up to the second floor. Eager to pleasure himself with his wife, he stripped off his clothing, pulled back the heavy drapes around the bed, and slid in next to her.
“Felicity,” he whispered. Not hearing any movement, he spoke her name again, “Felicity.”
His wife kept quiet. Just as single-minded in his pursuit of getting his way, Felicity was also; she feigned sleep. He placed an icy foot against the calf of her warm leg that lay nearest to him.
She screamed, “Mr. Davis!” and sat upright. “Stop it!”
“Something wrong, my dear?”
“Yes, your feet are freezing. Get them away from me this instant!”
Thomas let out a quiet snicker.
Felicity adjusted her nightcap then turned to him. “Now that you have so rudely woken me, I have something to tell you.”
“Is it that you desperately want me to ravage you?” he asked in anticipation of the coming events.
“Heavens no,” she spat her words out at him. “I must return to Boston.”
“What’s that you say?”
“Mother Gibbs thinks it’s best for my health and for the child that I reside in a place closer to civilization.” She smoothed the coverlets with her hands. “And I agree with her.”
Thomas lay back onto the bed, exasperated.
She waited a few seconds before continuing, “I’m not comfortable here, and distancing myself from the attention of doctors with whom I’m familiar is not in my best interest.”
“Oh Felicity, must you leave me here all alone?” he grumbled.
“Mother Gibbs has already sent word to reopen our living quarters in Boston. We will leave in a few days.” Her voice was firm and unemotional. She returned to her cocoon under the coverlet and closed her eyes, satisfied that the subject was finished.
Thomas remained on his back, not moving. He stared at the flower-patterned material that hung above his head across the bed’s canopy frame. Rolling on his side towards her, he asked in one last desperate attempt to satisfy his needs. “My sweet thing, since I will not be enjoying your company for a while, may I create a memory of you that will tide me ‘til your return?”
Confident that she had prevailed in her demands to leave Yarmouth, Felicity relented to his request, having decided that this was the least she could do for him. Throwing back the covers, she lifted her shift up to her neck, exposing her breasts, and invited him in.
Thomas formed a lustful smile as he rolled his naked body over hers.
While he enjoyed himself, Felicity closed her eyes and made mental notes of what to bring to the city and what attire would be the most flattering to hide her swollen stomach.
***
The sun had not yet made its presence across the land when Tobey rolled onto his side to face the opening of the barn stall. He pulled the coarse blanket up over his shoulders in the chilly morning air and tried to fall back to sleep.
Jacob entered and called out, “Tobey!”
The old servant stepped across the straw covered floor and over to the lone horse. He patted the gentle steed a good morning and gave him his feed. He called again, “Tobey! Get up!” After lifting the saddle over the horse’s back he secured a strap under its belly. “Best you get up, boy. Mr. Davis don’t like to wait.”
Tobey sat on the edge of the roped bed, then got up and walked towards Jacob. “Where’s Davis goin’?”
Jacob shrugged, “None of my business, but he said you was goin’ with him.”
Tobey stretched out his stiff muscles. As he scratched his head, his shirt opened to reveal the top half of a branded ‘S’ on his chest.
Jacob stopped and stared. He kept his gaze on
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