The Georgia Peach Pt. 01

The young officer was fuming, seething on the inside, though he knew that he would have to find a structured argument from somewhere if he was to come out on top here.

Nodding with as much of a sage demeanour that a man with such limited life experience could muster, Sampson took a deep breath.

"I understand General, but ..." he relished being able to reciprocate the 'but'.

"... but this place, White Orchards I think they call it, is teeming with supplies. Sheep and Cattle and fruit trees by the dozen. General Sherman Sir, and please forgive me for stating this to you of all people, but we have a battle just a day or two away. And it could be the full might of Old Joe's Army that we face. We might well get cut off from any source of supply beyond here for the immediate future. If the men were to find out that such a rich source of provisions had been passed up then there would be an outrage."

Sampson knew that he was very close to overstepping the mark with his statement, but he also knew that what he said was the truth.

The General furrowed his brow as if in deep thought.

Chapter 5 - White Orchard Plantation, Around Midday, May 11th 1864

"Uncle Billy?" Catherine looked up from her seat on the edge of her bed from where she had been staring out of the window and over the fields.

Sherman closed the doors quietly behind his entry and moved towards where his Goddaughter sat.

"Catherine, everything will be fine, trust me, but ..."

It was upon hearing that word that the girl's eyes widened and a little fear seemed to infuse her demeanour.

"... 'but', Uncle Billy?"

The General nodded. "I have an army to feed. White Orchard is the last major source of food and supplies before we reach Resaca where we will no doubt ..."

He stopped himself from unwittingly revealing any aspect of his campaign to the beguiling girl.

"I cannot make a total exception Catherine ..."

Her face dropped and a mix of fear and anger immediately manifested upon her expression.

"... My army needs to eat and to do so it simply must forage from the land. It is the way I have ordered it to be. And so, my dear, dear girl, I must let my men do as they have been ordered. But ..."

This time the 'but' was designed to be conciliatory, however by the time the General had confirmed his intention to break from normal practice and issue a receipt for everything that they took, against which she could personally claim directly via him at some future date, Catherine had stopped listening.

She had already leapt up from the bed and was out through the door before Sherman could do anything to stop her. With a huge sigh the general turned and followed her out, and within a matter of a short few seconds he could hear the commotion.

"Let her go private," he issued the order with a quiet calmness designed to diffuse the situation.

Private Dolan held Catherine in a tight grip from behind, his hands brushing the underside of her ample breasts.

"But General she is a wild one for sure."

"Let her go ... please." Sherman was still attempting to appease his Goddaughter, yet as soon as she felt her confinement released, Catherine ran to the cabinet at the side of the hallway and in short order she had a musket pointed at the soldiers, her Godfather included.

"Is that loaded Catherine?" The General asked, still using calm tones.

"Always. I never know when a malicious General and his evil army will come by now, do I?"

Her words cut Sherman to the quick. She was including him in her casting of the type.

"Please Catherine, put it down. Your father ..."

"Don't you dare bring my father into this Uncle Billy. He would be disgusted at what you are proposing to do ..."

Speaking as she was had clearly distracted the girl's emotional focus and in a blurred moment Lieutenant Sampson had the musket taken from her grip, and Catherine had been pushed against the wooden panelling with her arm twisted up her back.

"Get off me you brute! Owwwww ... ouch! Stop!"

"There is no need for excessive force Lieutenant," but even as Sherman spoke these words, he could see that his Goddaughter was not to be reasoned with.

"Get out!" Sampson's attention had been diverted to the house slave who had wandered into the scene.

"Please Mary, just leave us. I'll be fine." Catherine added a more kindly tone to the words just spoken.

"Yessum, if Mistress Catherine is sure, but ..."

"Leave us, please Mary," The General's words carried sufficient by way of gravitas and so Mary turned to leave. But the momentary distraction had given Catherine the respite to drag her lithe body free of the officer's grip and she once again made a grab for the Musket.

"Catherine, stop this at once!" The General's patience was wearing thin with his Goddaughter. "My men and I have a job to do, and we will do it with all consideration towards your well-being, but do it we must. Lieutenant take Miss McCown back to her bedchamber, deposit her inside and have your guard re-established at her door."

Catherine's face was a picture of anger and confusion.

Sampson smiled and nodded his agreement. "To confine her is the right decision General, but I must declare that there is mighty fine, but also mighty considerable, foraging work to be done hereabouts. And with us only being eight men, including myself and Sergeant Oak, having two of them occupied by standing guard outside a young girl's room, is ... shall we say, not necessarily best use of their deployment."

Sherman shook his head and sighed. With a heavy heart and great reluctance, he addressed his junior officer.

"It pains me greatly to believe you are correct Lieutenant. Take her upstairs to her chambers and secure her to the bed. Tie her wrists, but not over tightly, and then leave her. Do not molest her in any way, do you hear me?"

"Yes Sir. Loud and clear General. Private Dolan, come with me."

"No ... no, Uncle Billy you cannot do this to me, I won't let you. Please ..."

Sherman turned away. He couldn't bear to watch his Goddaughter being treated like this ... but he had an army to feed and discipline to maintain.

As Sampson ordered her upstairs, he could not ignore the feelings that were now being discharged from inside his stomach. 'Tie her to the bed' was the order he had been given ... The Lieutenant would make sure that it was the most literal execution of a directive that he had ever undertaken!

Chapter 6 - Catherine's Bedchamber, Just After Midday, May 11th 1864

Catherine tried to steady her breathing. She could still not accept what was happening in her own home, especially not with Uncle Billy here. How could he have this done to her. She had known him all of her life. He had watched her grow into the young woman she was today. She was so distraught that in her delicate mind he might as well have done this to her himself.

The room was warm. Despite the Spring rains the temperature was hot, and her bound body glistened with perspiration. She could not get free, he was watching, this damnable fiend called Sampson. Although he had his back to her, looking out of the window towards the fields, he was still here inside her room, and she felt his presence keenly.

The first thing she tested was the gag, she rolled her head and pushed against it with her tongue, but no matter what she did she couldn't work the fabric of the thin cotton undergarment out of her mouth. The General had not ordered her to be gagged. This was an unacceptable liberty and one that this animal and his men would pay for in due course, she would see to that. Finally, she stopped trying, and looked at her wrists, flicking towards one direction and then the other in an attempt to move them. She tugged in any and every which way, but she was tightly held with this rough rope to the bed posts. Catherine knew that the General's order to tie her 'not too tightly' had been blatantly ignored, but how would he know because she hadn't seen him since the encounter in the hallway.

And yes, despite her protests, and Uncle Billy's clear instructions, they had tied her ankles in a similar fashion to her wrists. Not only was she secured, she was also open, her thighs parted underneath the frills of her dress and the loose cotton drawers that protected her womanhood.

She had never felt so defenceless.

Sampson turned inwards and watched her struggling, noting how her calf and thigh muscles stretched under the faded peach fabric that now laid flat against her prostrate body. He admired her breasts, not large, but firm enough to be heaving against the tight low hem line spread across her chest. It spanned all the way to the smooth flesh of her shoulders, and exposed the provocative foundations of a delectable cleavage.

Her dark hair was loose and lay unfettered and feathered out around her pillow. The sight of her made the officer's groin ache. Before this day was through, he would have her one way or another.

Squirming uneasily under his gaze, Catherine began moving again, but she was no longer flexing her hands or tugging at her feet, just twisting her body slowly back and forth. She couldn't help but look at him, noting how his eyes roamed over her, all of her ... undressing her. Her fear was mounting and the Lieutenant was enjoying the effect the situation was most clearly having upon her respiratory system ... the bound girl was breathing hard through the gag and clenching her teeth, unwittingly accentuating the rise and fall of her breasts.

"You seem to have gotten yourself into a bit of a pickle Miss McCown," Sampson smirked at the bound girl.

She glared at him, unable, of course, to respond.

"You should have simply let us take what we wanted and we would have left you alone ... well, maybe we would."

He laughed as she attempted to react.

"Uuu ... onster uuu! Arghhhh, ake uuu ay, etch!"

"Oh, I am sorry my dear girl, but I cannot tell a word you are saying." Sampson took a seat upon the edge of the bed, next to where she lay.

As he talked, he reached out and began tracing lines over her stomach, she whimpered at his touch and looked directly into his eyes, silently imploring him to stop. But all she succeeded in achieving was a movement of his hand higher as it brushed over her breast, first one and then the other.

Catherine closed her eyes and turned her head to the side so that she did not have to face him. She hated him with a passion, but she hated William T Sherman even more for allowing this to happen.

Sampson moved his touch lower towards her feet and the hemline edge of her dress. As he began to bunch the material higher up her calf she bucked wildly, shaking and crying out her muffled protests. But the poor girl couldn't stop the Lieutenant from reaching the place where her silk stocking bordered the frilly bottom of her bloomers.

Sampson laughed at her obvious distress before removing his hand.

"I need to go and see 'Uncle Billy' ..." Sampson's tone was mocking, "... before he departs, and so I must leave you now Miss McCown. But rest assured I shall return."

Chapter 7 - Under Shelter outside White Orchard Mansion, Early Afternoon, May 11th 1864

"Lieutenant firstly may I thank you for the way in which you have handled the situation here. The courtesy you and your men have shown to a vulnerable young woman is admirable and means a lot to me personally. I will not forget it."

Sampson preened. He was receiving a commendation from the Commanding Officer of the whole army which in itself made today a very virtuous day. But moreover, he had the beautiful, vulnerable young woman being referred to, tied to the bed in her chamber with cotton drawers gagging her pretty mouth ...

Right now, his life felt good ... the Lieutenant just needed the General to take his leave and allow him to administer proceedings as he saw fit.

"Thank you General, and might I add that your words are not misplaced, I will ensure that your Goddaughter is taken care of to the best of our ability when you are gone and while we go about our business." Sherman failed to pick up the innuendo that fuelled The Lieutenant's words.

"Then I shall leave her in your capable hands Mister Sampson. Make sure you provide a full report on today's proceedings when you return."

"Yes Sir!" The junior officer offered a stiff backed, solid handed salute which was returned by Sherman in a manner that could only be described as more casual.

The General turned and ran across the open ground to his carriage, doing his best to avoid the incessant rainfall. He was about to step into the carriage when a shout came from the main house.

"Lieutenant, Sir please come quickly."

The vignette surrounding the carriage looked as one to where the shouting was coming from.

"Please Private, keep your voice down and a modicum of decency about your exclamation," Sampson responded.

Sherman placed his hand upon the arm of his aide and began to retrace his steps back to the house.

"What has caused so much Consternation?" The Lieutenant approached his soldier.

"Sir, we have found this."

Sherman strained his eyes to see what was causing the fuss, but he didn't have to wait long because, once they were congregated in the entranceway, the Lieutenant brought the item in question over to him.

"What is this?" The General asked with a furrowed brow.

Sampson shook his head, "Damned if I know the detail Sir, but it is a well-worn little notebook and that's for sure."

Sherman took the booklet and, removing the glove from his right hand, began to open the pages inside the faded blue hardback cover.

"It is a series of dates Lieutenant, and I see the initial WQ alongside many of the entries. We need to know what this represents."

The General had adopted an earnest demeanour as he moved back inside White Orchard, followed quickly by Sampson and Sergeant Oak.

"Step aside," Sherman's tone was brusque as he ascended the wooden staircase and walked quickly along the landing towards the chambers of his Goddaughter.

The doors to her room were opened and he was presented with the sight of Catherine bound at wrist and ankle, and gagged ... accompanying the General, Sampson noticed, with discomfort, how the girl's dress was still bunched a little higher than modesty would have dictated ...

But the Sherman was too preoccupied with the little book to concern himself with how his previous orders to confine the girl had been executed.

"Remove the gag immediately." He ordered.

Catherine coughed and spluttered as her mouth was freed, and once she had stretched her jaws back into life, she gushed forth with her apparent gratitude.

"Uncle Billy, I knew that you would come, now please have your men remove the ties at my ankles, and let me free ..."

Ignoring her protestations Sherman threw the note book onto the creased bedcover at her side.

"What is this Catherine?"

Momentarily the girl's eyes flickered as her gaze followed her Godfather's and they both looked at the booklet.

She shook her head slowly, "Why Uncle Billy, I can assure you that I have never seen this book before in my life."

Chapter 8 - The Peach Grove at White Orchard Plantation, Early Afternoon, May 11th 1864

Private's Jeremiah Blake, Jed to his friends, and Sam Hill were thoroughly pissed off at being out in the rain, with little protection other than their rain poncho's.

As they picked pears from the trees before dropping them into a large basket, water dripped from every possible, exposed extremity. They were soaked to the skin.

"She is a beauty though, right Jed?"

"What? Who?"

"The girl, the one who lives here all on her lonesome."

"Well not quite on her lonesome, not with the bunch of darkies here too."

"Yeah well, you know what I mean."

"What do you mean Sam?"

There was a pause while the Private searched for the right words.

"What I mean Jed, is that I would truly like to sample her pears, and then pluck at her peach before taking her cherry for myself ..."

Both men stared at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Damnation Sam, you're quite the poet ..."

The talking and joviality then silenced itself again, only now they were both staring at the same thing. A small brown leather bag, fastened with a tight drawstring. It was sitting in a shallow hole underneath the tree before them, unearthed from its hiding place by the might of the rain.

"Open it."

Jed looked at Sam, both men seemingly unsure of what to do.

"Look inside Jed. We have the General here. If it's important we can report it to him directly. Just think of that!"

With an enthusiastic nod Private Blake picked up the mud splattered bag and pulled the string free.

"Well, I'll be damned," he exclaimed looking at his friend

******

"What is it, Private Hill?" Lieutenant Sampson had been dragged from the girl's bedchamber just at the point where her confinement was becoming interesting. She was clearly squirming under the scrutiny being afforded her by her Godfather ... it was a scene he did not wish to leave.

"We found this, out by the pear orchard, Sir." Sampson was handed the small bag.

"Look inside ... please Sir."

Slowly the Lieutenant tugged the drawstring open and peered into the bag.

"What the ..." He tipped the gold coins into the palm of his hand, and along with them came several silver buttons all bearing the Cartridge Box insignia with the words "40 Rounds" inscribed inside it.

"Top buttons from XV Corp uniforms, and damned Gold Coins. Come with me."

Sampson turned and, followed by the two Privates, re-entered Miss McCown's bed chamber.

******

Freed from her confinement, Catherine rubbed her wrists. The rope binding her was from the men's packs and was more like rough hemp. It had already chafed her delicate skin. She whimpered softly as the blood flowed back into her hands. A quick glance downwards showed that the bindings around her ankles had torn the silk of the stockings ...

"My treatment has been appalling Uncle Billy, I shall expect ..."

"You are in no position to 'expect' anything Catherine. We need answers or you could be in serious trouble," Sherman replied.

It was clear from the glint in the eyes of every last one of the soldiers present that they were desperately hoping for the 'serious trouble' option.

Catherine's words of dissention had been cut short. Was she trying to be bluff to find a way out of this predicament, or was she telling the truth and she really had never seen the small bag or the notebook before?

The General took his Lieutenant to one side. He knew in his heart that if this was anyone else, he would already have handed them over for formal interrogation ... but this was Catherine McCown, daughter of Renee and John McCown ... his own Goddaughter, damn it!

"What do you think Mister Sampson?"

The junior officer looked his commanding General in the eye and nodded with a ponderous, considered movement of his head.

"She knows more than she is saying Sir, far more. The dates in that notebook, found inside the house, mean something and she knows what. And as for the bag ... well Sir, those buttons were from the jackets of our own men, your men Sir. Maybe even the ones that were hanged just the other day. And then there's the coins ... Sir."

Sherman recoiled a little. His normal sound and ruthless judgement clouded by the parties involved. The Lieutenant was right, however they got there those buttons belonged to his beloved XV Corp of the Army of the Tennessee.

"We need answers Lieutenant Sampson ..."

"We do indeed Sir."

Chapter 9 - The Bedchamber of Catherine McCown, Around 2pm May 11th 1864

"You must believe me Uncle Billy, I really know nothing about any of this. I just do my best to keep the house in order, and ..."

Sherman heaved his chest with a loud sigh. He had a battle to fight, an imminent and important one ... the first one of his newly commissioned campaign. This was the very last thing he needed.