Chapter 8

The girls from Ivy regained they youth and playfulness. They smiled and regained some trust. The Marys, Francis and the Ivy girls enjoyed tending the horses and the stock. The two calves survived with their mothers. And the bull grew steadily. The girls took the horses and the sleighs to the lake when the weather was clear. They hauled water from the spring and mucked out the barn.

In the house, the pecking order was clearly established. Becky got first call on my time and I slept with her most of the time. Karen joined us in bed often. Spring and I walked and did chores together usually first thing in the morning. We were close like brother and sister. We sometimes hooked up in the mornings, often in the barn or the little house. Spring didn't like others around when we made love. Judith had first dibs on me in the afternoon. Not all the valley women were beautiful; some were plain, at best. Ever so often, Becky would say, "Naomi would like for you to visit her for a little while." And I would visit the woman that needed attention.

Most of the valley women preferred to lift their skirts, open their legs, and receive me quickly. But I made them undress and have a proper session in bed. I even made them give and receive oral sex. On occasion, I really embarrassed them when I required two in bed during a session. Still, they asked Becky for me more frequently as the winter went on. I never knew if it were the sex, the time or attention they wanted. As man of the house, they expected to comply. I did my best to make them all feel loved.

I developed a knack for when Becky wanted, or needed to be told, "No, tonight is just for us. Not Karen, just us." A few times we stayed in the little house all night by ourselves. With Becky it was always lovemaking.

After lunch in early February, she asked, "Would you please take Janie out and screw her eyeballs out? She is bugging me to death."

"Becky, what's up?"

"She says she needs a man. I think she's becoming a problem with the other girls."

"Then she can stay in the barn until she changes her attitude. Let her wait tables at the Afton Inn for a while."

"No, I think she's got itchy pants for you."

At supper in front of everyone, I said, "Janie, Becky says you have volunteered to warm our bed tonight. Is that true or did she misunderstand you?"

Very quietly Janie said, "It's true."

Janie was an athletic hookup like Judith. I slowed her down. "Let me set the pace and you respond to me." When she slowed down, she really got into it. And she had her first orgasm.

"Oh my." Then she became tender. "I never knew. I always wanted to get it over."

I finished in her and she went back to the girls.

Becky said, "You may have created a monster."

"You're the one who's responsible."

She said, "You didn't have to do such a good job." She laughed and undressed. We spooned and I was fast asleep in no time. In truth, I enjoyed Janie very much.

During our walk the next morning, Spring said, "I'm really ready to go back to the house. There are too many people around all the time."

"And it is so damn cold."

She smiled, "That too."

She watched as I split logs. "Don't you get tired of all these women?"

"Not all of them."

"You mean not the one under you at the time."

"I'm ready to go back up on the mountain too. I'm not tired of being with you. I've enjoyed our walks and talks."

"Me too. I just want to be away from all of them."

"We know all the people in the valley now. I think we are closer than we were. I hadn't planned it, but it may be good that it was so cold this winter."

"Can't get any closer than you have been with most of them."

"What's wrong Spring?"

"I'm guess I'm jealous of Becky. I want to be pregnant."

"Let's try to get you pregnant. You keep track of the time and I'll make sure we are together when it's your time."

She kissed my check. "Thanks."

We stacked the logs and went in.

It got warmer for five days, and then we had a deep snow.

Spring and I went up to the high pasture and raked the snow off the roofs and started a fire in the house stove. When it was warm, we made love, nice and slow. She stayed up for a week. She had more than enough water, food, and wood. And she had a small sled should could ride down the mountain to the valley if she had to.

The afternoon I returned from the high pasture, I brought Janie along when I went to hook up with Judith. "What are you doing?" Judith asked.

"I'm brought Janie. I want you to teach her how to be good at sex and I want both of you together."

"Nothing doing," Judith said.

"Okay. I understand." I turned and left with Janie.

At supper, Judith said, "Are you coming back to me?"

"No."

"Maybe I should go to Dave?"

"If you do, don't come back." I got up and left the table. The table got very quiet.

Judith hurried to me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I was angry."

"It's okay. I understand. But I was serious."

She said, "It's not exactly fair. You have a lot of women."

"I'd understand if you want to leave. But that's the way it is. You think about it."

When Karen went on the morning walk with me that morning, it wasn't the same. We didn't have the history. I enjoyed being with her, but I wanted to talk to someone who had known me a long time. It grounded me. That evening, I asked my sister Mary, if she would walk with me in the morning.

We walked and talked. She told me about her feelings and wanted to know about Janie.

"Becky said Janie needed me as a lover. I trust Becky's judgment. She's a lot smarter about these things than I am. Janie came to Becky; I didn't go to her."

"And why are we doing this?"

"Because you are my sister and I wanted some time with you. Spring and I normally walk now. I though we might talk; just talk."

"Thanks, I like it too. It is kind of special."

We got a load of wood and stacked it. "Are you worried about the baby?" Mary asked.

I nodded. "It's a big responsibility. I try not to think about all that could go wrong"

Mary and I took the sleigh up and got Spring. The weather broke and the women of the valley went back to their homes. Spring went up after a week. The rest of us waited another week before we went back to the high pasture. Spring had the house cleaned and ready. Becky really appreciated it.

The upper pasture was beautiful. It was nice to be with Becky more. Becky picked up on the rift between Judith and I. "I'm glad you didn't ask Janie to come up. I think it will get smooth out. Judith wants a man of her own."

The valley women got the winter wheat in from the valley field. We put the straw in a barn that was near the river in the valley. I plowed and planted the big field across from George's in Sherando while the women harvested the wheat. The land was high enough to escape the floods caused by the snow runoff. We got the big field plowed and turn the wheat field under before the spring rains.

When the gardens were plowed, Dave took the mules to Lily's. I didn't want to leave Becky and stayed behind.

In late April, Spring got morning sickness. She was very happy to be pregnant. Everyone was very happy. Everything was so beautiful in the high pasture. It was a beautiful spring.

Two weeks later, Becky went into labor. She delivered a healthy baby boy. But we couldn't stop the bleeding. One of the widows helped with the delivery, but nothing worked. The packing gave Becky time to hold and nurse her son once before she died. And to say goodbye.

I thought I was going to lose my mind. I held her and cried all night. Karen and Mary took care of the baby. One cow was dry, but the other still produced milk. So they had milk for the baby.

At daybreak, I went to Becky's favorite spot on the mountain and dug her grave. We buried her in her favorite dress, in the bed linens she died on. After the burial, I took the widow back and told Dave.

"Becky died giving birth. I have to get away. I thought I might go to Lily's and help."

Dave said, "You know how sorry I am."

The Dave said, "Colonel, we have problem in town that needs you help."

"Colonel?"

"You remember Robert Redding?"

"No, who is he."

"He claims to have been commissioned in the Stonewall Brigade."

"I was in the brigade. There weren't any officers named Redding. There weren't any sergeants named Redding. I knew them all up until Gettysburg."

"He formed a group of ex-confederates to handle the reconstruction problem. Mostly, they are nightriders to intimidate the negroes. He claims to be the senior officer."

I looked at him. "That could get him and us in a lot of trouble."

"They are meeting at the Bethel Springs Church tomorrow night. I hope you can go. I know it is a bad time, but you're the only one who can do anything. You're the only VMI graduate around."

"Miss Lily sent you a present." Dave gave me a cavalry officer's slouch hat with the gold acorn braid of an officer.

So I went to the meeting. At the meeting I said, "My name is Howard Randolph. Some of you know me. I am a graduate of VMI and was a captain until captured at Gettysburg. Prior to Gettysburg, I was a staff officer on General Jackson's staff then I had an infantry company at Gettysburg. When I returned I served as a brevet major and colonel on special assignment. Is anyone senior to me?"

No one spoke up.

"Good. We shall observe General Lee's orders and wishes. First, we will assemble a list of needy widows and orphans of our comrades. I want to know of any abused woman from Harrisonburg to Lexington. Then we shall determine a course of action. Forward your reports to my adjutant, brevet Captain Wright." I assigned sectors for each to investigate.

On the way back, Dave said, "Thank you for the promotion."

I gave Dave the slough hat. "It fits you better. Have I told you how much I appreciate everything you have done for me?"