Yellow Wife(70)

I washed his neck and chest, then moved with care across his tender back. Essex relaxed into my touch. Every place I wiped sent an unexpected yearning through me. Never had I seen a man completely naked. The Jailer never even removed his shirt. I gave Essex the rag and motioned for him to wash his male parts.

I could feel the rhythm of his breath pulse inside my chest when he shook his head no and handed it back to me. I lowered the rag over his thickness, and as I massaged him clean, he released a deep-throated sigh that tugged at my inhibitions. He had grown under my touch, and I tried to deny the swell of my breasts straining against my blouse. I soaped down his thighs, then poured clean water from the canteen to rinse his feet. The fetters around his ankles had cut off his circulation, causing them to be heavy and swollen.

“They must hurt.”

“I have missed you, Pheby.” He stepped closer to me, and then his lips were on mine. My body sank against his bare skin, and we kissed and licked with impatience. I could feel the contours of his muscles pressing through my skirt. The time we lost had not reshaped my longing for him. The same passion I had felt for him in the stables took over my good sense. I bunched my skirt around my waist and pressed my fingertips into the wall. Essex lowered his shackled hands over my neck, down to my waist, and thrust me forward. We fit like two missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. His chains rattled, mimicking the sound of our rhythm.

“I love you, Pheby. You still mine.” He hummed a slow ballad in my ear. Our hips thrust in unison until we could no longer hold the tempo. I rested my head against his mouth and bit my lip to keep our secret between us.





CHAPTER 34




Little Time

When I could think clearly, I helped his arms over my head and untangled us. The washcloth hung on the edge of the pail, and when I reached for it Essex stopped me.

“I want your smell. It will keep me alive in here.”

I blushed, smoothing my hands over my skirts. Essex had always said the most endearing things. New life surged through me as I draped him in burlap. I stitched roughly, sewing loose so he could pull his trousers down and up with ease to relieve himself. Once he dressed, we moved to the rude bench. I extended the cold food.

“I have managed a spoon.” He pointed to the one on the floor and I rinsed it with the canteen water.

“How?”

“Friends in the prison below. I tell them my story. They slip me things through that little hole in the floor. Tobacco, small treats, news.” His eyes got big. “Heard Missus Delphina lost Master Jacob’s fortune.”

“What?” I turned.

“Married a man who gambled away the farm, then left her for another.”

“Any children?”

“Not that I know of. Living out her life on her parents’ farm. Say she a little touched in the head too.”

“She reaped what she sowed.” I smirked, remembering my curse, and a peace that I had not felt in a long time washed over me.

“Cheers.” I handed Essex the jar of whiskey. He sipped with thirst, then handed it to me.

“No, thank you.”

“Never drank before?”

“Only wine.”

“Dulls the senses.” He motioned to me.

I gulped until my tongue puckered and my throat burned.

“That was terrible.”

“Just wait for the warmth.” He took it back from me.

I rubbed my chest.

“Any word on the children?”

“Nothing.”

“You must get the letter out.”

“It is too perilous.”

“I have promised to get us to freedom and I will. It is the only way.”

He passed the jar back, and I braved another gulp from it. “I do not know who I can trust, who else to ask.”

“Pheby, remember when we were on the plantation? It was you who hatched the plan for me to run. Brought in Aunt Hope. You can do this. Otherwise, I will die here. I am sure of it.”

“Do not say such things.”

“You said it yourself, I am trouble.”

I kissed his lips and then stood to go. Time had gotten away from me.

“Can you stay? Just a while longer?” he pleaded. “It is so lonely in here.”

My head told me to resist, but my mouth said, “Few minutes more.”

I settled in next to him. We talked and giggled as the whiskey slipped between us and we traveled back through time. We visited the happier moments we had shared on the plantation. At some point the bottle and Essex’s voice must have lulled me to sleep, because the next thing I heard was the sound of the gates being thrown open and the thud of horses trampling in. I bolted up.

The carriage had returned.

“I have to go.”

Essex squeezed my hand, but I had no time to return his affection. The carriage was back. My children. I threw open the door and locked it behind me. Clarence came out of the tavern as my foot hit the last step. Disgust for me crumpled his lips. I realized that I had not considered my appearance. My hands went to my hair and I pinned back what I could while hurrying toward the courtyard.

“Mother,” Hester shouted, and leapt from the carriage. She wore a new dress and bonnet made of a rich cranberry color. She had grown in the time we’d been apart.

I took off at a run.