Loving Eliza Read online

  He cupped her breasts in his hands and she groaned. His breath was hot on her neck, and she grabbed his arms. Despite her mind’s refusal, her body acted on its own accord and she wiggled until the female part of her centered on the male part of him. Even through the clothes, the contact felt incredibly sensual. She moved against him and kissed his forehead, his cheeks and his lips. His tongue slid into her mouth and she moaned again.

  She couldn’t take the endless restraint anymore. She had to satisfy the ache that became so intense that nothing else mattered. He caressed her hips, and she couldn’t decide if he was helping her along or if he was unaware of the flow of intense pleasure prodding her along. She’d never done this sort of thing fully dressed, and even as she wanted to strip their clothes so she could feel his flesh against hers, she couldn’t stop rocking her hips.

  The chair swayed with her, aiding her along. She cupped his face in her hands and deepened the kiss, knowing she was the aggressor this time. His hands tightened on her hips, not demanding but encouraging her. And when she came near the peak, she threw her head back and groaned. Then she gave in completely to the pleasure that engulfed her and cried out. Caught up in the sensation, she stilled and was only half aware of the fact that he was, once again, kissing her neck.

  By the time she could focus, she wondered how such a thing could happen while she wore clothes, even if it was intriguing to her. But there was that unspoken question lingering in the back of her mind. Was she still a lady? Here she’d been, moving with all the abandon she used to employ as a prostitute, except this time it wasn’t an act. Was it something that was similar to what other wives did or was it a lingering effect from what she used to be?

  She bowed her head so she could look into her husband’s eyes. Her husband. He was hers, and she was his. He wasn’t another customer. He loved her. She saw it in his eyes. She gently held his face in her hands and caressed his cheeks with her thumbs. He didn’t seem to mind that she’d been aggressive and loud. In fact, judging by the happy look on his face, it actually seemed that he had enjoyed that side of her.

  “I love you. You know that, don’t you?” she whispered. “There’s no one else but you in my heart.”

  His smile widened and he kissed her. Afterwards, he stood up and set her on her feet. Then he went over to the small table by the window, picked up the silver frame, and set it on the fireplace mantle next to the picture of her son. He then flipped his hands over in a gesture she’d come to associate as him saying, “All done.”

  “So you were paying attention when I said to look around the room.”

  He nodded. To her surprise, he gave her another kiss and turned toward the front door.

  “John?”

  He paused and looked at her.

  She blinked, hardly knowing what to say. “Well...” She shrugged and blurted out, “Don’t you want to continue what we started?” She pointed to the chair.

  He flipped his hands over.

  Now she was baffled. “What do you mean, we’re done? I don’t recall you finishing.”

  He picked up a piece of paper on the kitchen table and wrote on it.

  Curious, she walked over to him and read his message.

  I want you to have pleazure. It was your turn.

  She looked at him. “You were concerned that I wasn’t enjoying myself in bed?”

  He nodded.

  “I did. I just didn’t let myself go all the way.” She really didn’t know how else to put it, but he understood what she meant. “I didn’t think a wife should act like that.”

  He wrote, A husband wants his wife to be like that. He pointed to the chair. Then he quickly added, But no clothes on. That is not as good.

  She laughed and nudged him in the arm. “You’re silly. I promise that I won’t hold back anymore. And I’ll be naked next time.”

  He smiled and kissed her again before he turned back to the door.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to enjoy yourself before going back to work out there?”

  He touched his mouth and then motioned to the clock on the wall.

  “After supper?”

  He nodded.

  “Alright. And I’ll make it worth the wait.” She winked at him before she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

  He looked intrigued but grinned and left.

  She watched him and thought of how odd it was that he should be concerned so much about her. But it was wonderfully odd. In fact, there were many wonderfully odd things about him, and she loved him for that.

  ***

  A week later, John loaded the rocking chair into the wagon and sat beside Eliza. She adjusted her hat so that the sunlight wouldn’t hit her eyes. It felt strange to be going to town with John, this time as his wife. She wasn’t used to being a wife, and so she had to look at her ring again to remind herself that she wasn’t dreaming. It was real. John was real.

  She looked over at him and slid closer to him. Slipping her arm through his, she said, “There’s no need to be shy.”

  He grinned before he urged the horses forward.

  On their way to town, she picked up a fan lying beside her on the seat and opened it. “I can’t believe this heat, can you?” She waved the fan but it did little good. “Next month should be cooler. Does it get cool quickly this far up north?”

  He gave a slight nod.

  “That’s good. But I guess that means you have longer winters than what I’m used to in Nebraska.”

  He shrugged.

  “You’ve never been down there, have you?”

  He shook his head.

  She sighed. “That’s just as well.” She’d hate to have met him during that part of her life. It was much better with the way things were now. She resumed fanning herself, but the sweat still stuck to her. “Maybe I should take a bath later today.”

  Turning his attention to her, he smiled and nodded like an eager school boy.

  She laughed. “You men are all the same, you know. Your mind is always on one thing.” She caught him laughing, though no sound came with it. “You need a bath too, Mister.”

  He leaned over and kissed her.

  “Keep your eyes on the road. I don’t want to end up in the ditch.”

  Making a big show of rolling his eyes, he faced forward.

  “You really are a strange man. You do realize that you’re strange, don’t you?”

  He raised his eyebrows as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

  By the time they reached town, Eliza realized she was eager to see Addy. When he didn’t park the wagon on the edge of town, she asked, “You’re going to go right up to Frank and Addy’s house?”

  He pointed to the chair.

  “I thought you were going to lug that thing all through town just to avoid riding through it.”

  He shook his head as if she was the one who was silly.

  “You’re the one who avoids people, not me.”

  Figuring it was bad manners to be holding onto him in public, she straightened in her seat and left a suitable distance between them. She really didn’t know how close a lady sat next to her husband but decided it was best to play it safe. It felt good to be a wife. There was a sense of honor about it. But the fact that she was married to John was even better.

  When they reached their destination, Addy came running out of the house. “It’s true? You are married? That’s why you disappeared from the face of the earth?”

  Eliza furrowed her eyebrows good-naturedly. “Disappeared from the face of the earth?”

  John jumped down from the wagon and Eliza moved to the edge of the seat to wait for him. She could get down on her own, but she understood that this was how things were done, and it was refreshing to be held in high enough regard that a man would go to such lengths to do these things for her because he valued her as a person.

  “Yes,” Addy replied. “I heard you went to the big dinner at Charity’s and then vanished. Well, there was that rumor you ate in the restaura
nt with John.” She smiled at John as he helped Eliza down. “But you didn’t even tell me you were going to marry him or anything.”

  Eliza shook her head at her. “If it bothered you that much, you should have come out and checked for yourself whether or not I had gone back to his home.”

  “Oh.” She glanced at John.

  Eliza turned her head and saw that he was taking the rocking chair down from the wagon.

  Addy stepped forward and whispered, “I didn’t wish to intrude. A newly married woman has better things to do than have her curious friend sticking her nose in her business.”

  John came up to them with the chair in his arms.

  Addy hurried to the front door and opened it. “It looks just fine, John. You did a terrific job.”

  Eliza followed him into the house and turned as Addy entered the parlor.

  “I think over by the window would be good,” Addy said. “Frank asked me to tell you to go to the general store, and he’ll pay you there.”

  John nodded.

  “I hope you’ll let Eliza stay with me for a bit.”

  “I would like to stay and talk,” Eliza added.

  John smiled and gave Eliza a kiss on the cheek. He waved to Addy before he left.

  “I hoped you’d come to your senses about him.” Addy motioned to the door leading to the hallway. “Let’s get something to drink. I don’t know about you, but this heat makes me thirsty.”

  “It is hot.” Eliza walked into the kitchen. “Do you need any help?”

  “No. I have it. Why don’t you have a seat and try to cool off with what little breeze we got coming through the window?”

  Eliza took off her hat and set it on the table. She liked this. It felt nice to do something a married woman—a lady—would do. She was meeting a friend in the middle of the day and waiting for her husband to return. She glanced at her wedding ring as the sunlight bounced off the gold band and struck her eyes. Would she ever get tired of looking at it? Somehow she doubted it.

  Addy chuckled as she set a cool drink in front of Eliza. “I remember when I first married Frank. I couldn’t get my mind off of him.”

  Eliza picked up the glass and drank some of the sweet liquid. “How long have you two been married?”

  “Twenty years.”

  “That long?”

  “It seems like it’s been half that. You’ll find that as you get older, time passes quicker.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  Addy took her own glass of tea and sat across from her. “You two make a good couple.”

  “Yes. I think so too.”

  “And you don’t need to worry about Daphne.”

  “No?” She looked up from her drink. “Is she mad?”

  “Goodness, I should say not! She and Old Willy are courting.”

  Eliza blinked, hardly believing her ears. “Willy? You mean, William Jafferty?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “Well...I remember they met at Charity’s party, but I didn’t think anything would come of it.”

  “Apparently, neither did he. He was concerned because of their age difference. He’s nearly twenty years her senior, you know, but she doesn’t mind. It’s good to see him happy again. He wasn’t the same since his wife passed away. Now, we got the old Old Willy back.”

  “That’s good. It means that everything’s worked out then.” And Eliza didn’t have to feel guilty for stealing John from the younger woman.

  “It seems so.” Addy took a drink. “I did miss you at church last Sunday. There’s so much I wanted to tell you.”

  “Oh. Well, John and I were going to go, but we got...distracted.”

  A knowing smile formed on her lips. “I can imagine.”

  Eliza traced the bottom of the glass with her fingers. “Can you?”

  “Of course. We’ve all been there. I missed a couple of Sundays myself.”

  Intrigued, Eliza put her glass down and leaned forward so her elbows rested on the table. “Did you?”

  “It wasn’t intentional, I assure you. It’s just that Frank was being sweet and one thing led to another and...” She shrugged and blushed. “Well, we didn’t get our daughter by sitting in the pew.”

  That’s right. Addy had a grown daughter who lived thirty miles west of them with her husband. Eliza bit her lower lip. She’d never had a meaningful conversation with a lady. She’d only discussed the deepest questions with other prostitutes. But Addy was opening up to her, and Eliza had to know for sure if she was behaving correctly. “Addy, can I ask you a personal question?”

  “Sure. As long as it stays between us.”

  “It will.” Taking a deep breath, she asked, “When you’re alone with Frank, do you ever...get caught up in the moment and act in a not-so-ladylike way?”

  “I didn’t realize there was a ladylike way to behave.”

  Yes, there was. Some of her customers had made comments on how their wives behaved in the bedroom, but she didn’t dare explain that to Addy.

  Addy lowered her voice. “I never discussed this with anyone, but I feel comfortable with you. I assure you that my manners in the bedroom are not something I would ever do in public.”

  Eliza immediately felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

  “Are you worried that you are acting inappropriately?”

  “Yes,” Eliza confessed. “I’ve never been a wife before, so I don’t know how to act like one.”

  “Just be yourself. That’s all you really can be.”

  “Well, John doesn’t seem to mind.”

  “Then what’s there to worry about? It seems to me that what happens between a married couple is nobody’s business but their own.”

  “Thank you, Addy.”

  “Anytime.” She tapped her fingers on the table. “There is something I wanted to ask you but didn’t think it was right to do before.”

  “What is it?”

  “What was it really like to work for Harriet Lube?”

  Eliza groaned. “It was awful. She did nothing but complain. Nothing I ever did pleased her.”

  “Did you ever notice a foul smell coming from her attic?”

  “What? No. Why would I notice such a thing?”

  Addy giggled. “There’s a rumor going around that she has dead rats in her attic.”

  “I never saw a dead rat anywhere, and I had to clean her attic.”

  “Yes. I remember that one.”

  Eliza broke into a wicked grin. “Maybe she ate them.”

  “Oh, of course she didn’t.”

  “I did see some strange looking meat in that house,” she joked.

  Addy laughed and picked up her glass. “I’m glad you don’t have to work for her anymore. I know she doesn’t pay any of her workers a fair amount of money.”

  “Is that why you asked me over for supper as much as you did?”

  She grew serious. “I worried about you. I looked for a better job but couldn’t find one, and I feared you’d never accept an offer for me to take you in and house you here.”

  “You’re right. I wouldn’t have. I’m much too stubborn. I wanted to prove I could make it on my own.”

  “It’s a good thing John got you when he did.”

  Eliza glanced at her friend, wondering just how much Addy really understood about the situation but deciding it was best to leave some things unasked.

  “I’m also relieved nothing happened between you and Troy.”

  “No. I only went with him to Charity’s party because I wanted to eat.”

  “Was it that bad?”

  Eliza didn’t like to think about it. Every time she did, she recalled how close she’d come to selling her body for money. She never realized temptation could creep up on her like that. Forcing the memory aside, she said, “I never would have married Troy.”

  “Of course, until Old Willy met Daphne, he was interested in you as well. I guess you could have had your pick of any of the available men you wanted.”
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br />   “Maybe, but there was only one I wanted to be with.”

  She smiled. “And I’m glad for that.”

  Eliza returned her smile. “I am too. I never knew that love could be this wonderful or that I could be this happy.”

  “John’s sure not complaining. You two go well together.”

  “You’re right.”

  “And I’m glad you came to your senses before it was too late.”

  Eliza agreed with her on that one too. Few things were as fulfilling as finding a man like John, someone who knew all about her and loved her anyway.

  Addy stood up. “Now, come on. I want to show you your wedding gift. We got you and John a rug.”

  “How did you know we needed one?”

  “I remember you mentioned that shortly after you arrived in town.”

  “You have a good memory.”

  “Well, come and see it. I think you’ll be pleased.”

  Eliza got up and followed her to the other room.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Three weeks later when the photographer was due to come to town, Eliza took the time to put her hair up in a fashionable hair style. She even had on her best dark blue dress for the occasion. This would be permanent, something that she would always look back on and remember with great fondness, so she wanted to look her best. When she was happy with the way she looked, she left the bedroom to find John who was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table with one of her books open.

  “Are you able to understand all of that?” she asked.

  He looked up from the book and shook his head.

  “Give it time. It’ll come to you.” She picked up a hat and put it on her head. She hoped it wouldn’t mess up her hair. She decided she wouldn’t wear it when it came time for the photographer to take her and John’s picture, but for now, it would have to do. She turned to her husband and smiled. “You’re wearing the same clothes you had on when we met. It suits you very well. When I look at the picture, I’ll always remember the first time we met. I thought you were annoying in some ways but sweet in others.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Well, in some ways you were annoying. You wouldn’t leave me alone.” She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “But that was also sweet. Thank you for not giving up on me.”