The Highway Men of Bumbletoad Way

"The stud man had made a habit of visiting the slaughter house in hopes of finding a stallion to replace his current one, had spied this horse, and had purchased him for little more than the slaughter house had paid. He began traveling to various locations in hopes of finding carriage mares to breed, but was not so successful as he hoped, for as you know, while many horses are required for the fields, only few are required for the carriage. He lamented this fact and said he would purchase a heavier horse were he to find a purchaser for the black.

"When he walked down the lane after stopping by the manor, I followed until he was out of sight and then ran to overtake him.

"It is not usual for a milkmaid to have a horse, and that was his statement when I asked his price. I replied that my brother had grown tired of plowing Lord Brumley's fields, fancied becoming a stud man himself, and had asked if I might watch for just such a situation. I explained that my brother had little coin, but that he had given what little he had to me and I was prepared to add my own in order to help him achieve his aim.

"The stud man's price was more than I possessed, but I knew that was merely his first price. I stated I could only pay a fourth as much, and would be hard pressed at that. The stud man asked the size of my purse, and upon my telling him, though I understated by half, he smiled and handed me the halter rope. As he walked away thinking he had duped an ignorant milkmaid into paying more than that for which he had hoped, I led the black into the trees.

"I could not keep him there, of course, but I knew of a secluded place that would serve as his stable as well as a place I might keep my black clothing and any fruits from my labors. It was the mouldering remains of what some said was a structure built by men who came from Europe in hopes of conquering England. While most of the building had collapsed over time, two chambers were still standing with mostly good roofs, and a stout stone wall still surrounded the place.

"People, not even the huntsmen and gamekeeper, would go there, for there were rumors of strange sightings and odd sounds in and about the place. I had been there during searches for my cows, and had seen nor heard either. By my estimation, the supposed ghosts were merely the fear of ignorant and superstitious commoners of odd places. I had no such fear, so upon reaching the edge of the woods, I mounted the stallion and rode to the place.

"Elizabeth smiled and patted the horse on then neck, and he answered that touch with a nicker. She chuckled, "I named him Alcazar and he is the horse I ride today. His saddle and bridle are courtesy of Lord Brumley, though he is not aware of his generosity. It is difficult to imagine him becoming aware as there are more saddles and bridles in the stable than horses and these had sat in a corner and covered with dust for months.

"I now had all I required to embark upon the career of highwayman. I only needed to know when a coach or carriage might travel near enough to become my target. That information was furnished by the gardener. Upon returning from the inn after his glass of ale, he told me the tale of a rich man traveling by carriage to Greenway on the morrow. I resolved to meet that carriage and begin my new trade. I was successful in that first attempt and have been so since, until you threw me from my horse and held me to the ground."

Harrison had been listening quietly and thinking at the same time. This girl had suffered greatly for one so young, but that suffering had made her strong and confident. He could not allow her to steal that which he felt was his for the taking, but felt badly that driving her away might hurt her yet more.

"Elizabeth, if I may call you by that name, now that you have accomplished the goal of becoming a highwayman...or rather, highway woman, what will you do with your fortune?"

Elizabeth laughed.

"I have, as of yet, no fortune with which to do anything. I have a few pounds in gold and silver and a small amount of jewelry. My capture of a purse today will add to that significantly, judging by the weight, but it is still not a fortune.

Elizabeth then frowned.

"Of course, should you take it all, I will again have nothing."

"You will still have Alcazar and your pistols. You could move to another roadway."

Elizabeth sighed.

"Yes, and I have thought of doing so, but I would not know of a place more suitable without considerable searching. I would suppose I will continue to be a milkmaid and one day be mother to a plowman's children. It is not the future for which I hoped, but it is better than starving and sleeping in the open while walking from one place to another."

"Are you certain you can not return to your mother and father? Such would seem to be a better course of action."

Elizabeth's eyes flashed and her words came sharply.

"And what would I tell them - that I ran away because I loathed Lord Coventry and then set out to become a highwayman? They could forgive my leaving Lord Coventry, given the circumstances, and they might forgive me for not immediately presenting myself to prove I still live, but they would never forgive me for stealing from the same people they call friends."

Elizabeth sniffed then, and her voice was broken.

"No, as much as the thought pulls at me, I can never return to them. To go back would mean explaining the unexplainable and unforgivable, and neither I nor they could bear it. I may as well be truly dead, for that is what I would be to them should I return."

Elizabeth wiped the tears from her eyes and then pointed to a stone wall in the distance.

"There. There is the place where you will take my coin and jewelry and leave me a lowly milkmaid again."

When Elizabeth led Harrison through the door of the stone building, she paused momentarily and glanced at the sabre hanging just inside. If she were quick enough, perhaps she could end her troubles with this man and then get on with her life. Then, she reconsidered that course of action. Should she fail, and he was so close behind her that was more than likely, he might decide to return the favor with a ball from his pistol.

She hoped beyond hope that her tale had caused enough sympathy he would allow her to keep at least some of her prize. Instead of grasping the sabre, she walked to a small heap of linen sacks and leather pouches.

"Here is all I possess save the clothes on my back and Alcazar."

Harrison watched as Elizabeth sank to the floor. Her shoulders were shaking a little, and he knew it was only the force of her will that prevented her from bursting into tears. A woman could present the image of crying, even to the tears, but not the tremors he saw in Elizabeth. He felt her sorrow and was somewhat ashamed that he was the cause. She had used her wits and courage to achieve what few, if any, other women could have achieved. That achievement was only as was his own, the occupation of common thief, but her pride in doing so was evident in the way she had described her means to that end.

He could not allow her to continue, of that he was certain. To do so would upset all he had planned, but neither could he find it in himself to dash her hopes into shards as one might throw a cup into the hearth.

Those conflicting thoughts surprised him. He had never abused a woman, but neither had he taken especial pity on one who suffered misfortune. As that thought entered his mind, he realized that happenings the women of his acquaintance thought to be a catastrophe were in reality only a minor inconvenience. Those women expected their lives to be without any such interruption, and when such occurred they were beyond themselves. That is why he usually ignored them.

Elizabeth had taken the worst and used her mind to create opportunity from misfortune. Surely she was unique, and he found himself wondering if he would ever meet another woman so blessed. He had hopes of someday fathering children, but he did not hold out any hope of finding a woman of equal status to take as a wife, for women did not suffer from being born second as did men. They were all of the status to which they were born and their marriages were always arranged to men of like status.

He had heard of a place where status was of little concern. A man could be what he was and a woman could be with him without the concern of wagging tongues that chastised her for doing as she wished. Harrison longed to leave England for such a place in order to begin a new life and for one other simple reason.

While the common folk viewed the highwayman to be somewhat the hero, the wealthy who were forced to give up their valuables considered them to be guilty of crimes nearly so evil as murder. Winston had recently returned from London and had brought rumors of the establishment of a constabulary to patrol the highways and bring the highwaymen to justice. That justice meant a swift trial and a swifter drop to the end of a gallows rope.

While he had seen no such men accompanying a carriage or coach, he believed such would quickly be the case. The wealthy wielded the power of their riches over the realm as a farmer wields his hoe, digging out that which they believed did not belong and casting it away to die. If he did not soon end his career, it would be ended for him.

Perhaps an answer to both their problems lay in the new place of which there was much talk. If she would agree to what -

Harrison's thought were interrupted by Elizabeth's voice.

"If you are to take all I own, please honor me one single request. I ask that you put a ball in my breast and end what will be my continued suffering."

Harrison crossed the space between them and held out his hand.

"Stand up, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth did as he asked. Harrison still held her hand and smiled.

"Having seen you at your bath, I think 'twould be a grievous crime to spoil such beautiful breasts with a ball. Would you not agree?"

"I only know of my feelings at this moment."

Harrison brushed a lock of hair from Elizabeth's forehead, then stroked her cheek.

"I had intended to find the highwayman infringing upon my livelihood, take his prize, and banish him. Instead, I found a woman beaten by life who rose above that by her wits and courage. I can not allow you to continue robbing those for whom I wait, but neither can I take what you have and chase you away. On the one hand, I will lose the coin I require to better my life and on the other, I injure a woman who has been injured more than is sufficient for one lifetime. I wish to do neither and I certainly can not end your life, but there is a possible third path."

Harrison sat Elizabeth's face grow brighter.

"What would that third path be?"

Harrison smiled.

"You have heard of the Americas? They say a man can be as he wants there and women are not bound by the same rules of society. If we were to go there, perhaps we would both benefit."

Elizabeth's mouth fell open.

"We...you and I...together?"

"Yes. For either of us to remain would surely result in an appointment with the hangman. I could not leave you alone knowing that would be your fate."

"What would people think...a man and a woman traveling together?"

Harrison cleared his throat.

"Were we to be man and wife, they would think nothing of it."

Elizabeth chuckled.

"Only a few hours ago you threw me from my horse and threatened to hurt me if I resisted. Now, you wish to marry me? That seems a rather large bite of apple to swallow."

Harrison looked at the floor.

"I do not assume you would welcome such a proposal given the manner in which I have treated you. It would not be necessary to actually marry, only to present the illusion we were man and wife. Once in the Americas, you would be free to do as you choose, as would I."

Elizabeth frowned.

"You know so little about women. Any woman would know we were just pretending, and the tongues would begin to waggle. By the time we stepped off the ship, all manner and sorts of sins would be attributed to us. I for one do not enjoy the thought of being cast in the die of a woman of the streets."

Harrison sighed.

"Then my third option is of no avail, and I am yet trapped in my situation."

Elizabeth touched his arm.

"By what logic do you assume I would not accept such a proposal? It would seem to me that my future here, assuming I may avoid the hangman, is to marry a man for whom I feel little to nothing and with whom I have little in common. I could do worse than becoming your wife, much worse, at least to my way of thinking. You are not disposed to pushing horse tails up naked women's backsides, and while you have not been particularly kind, neither have you been unkind. My mother lives a life with a man who shows her neither affection nor contempt. She has survived, and I would do the same."

"You would not reconsider at some later date?"

Elizabeth laughed.

"Were you to suddenly change into some sort of monster, yes, but I doubt that would be the case. As I related to you, I know of your family and know them quite well. Unless you are greatly different from your father and brother, and I would have seen that difference by now, I think I need not fear that happening. All I would ask of any husband is that he treat me as an equal in our home and look to my safety and well being. In return, I will care for him as best I can and bear his children. When do we depart and what must I bring with me?"

}{

It had taken a week to make the trip to London and sell the jewelry both had accumulated, but the resulting amount of coin was well worth the effort. The combination of their individual purses yielded enough to pay for their passage, the passage of their two horses, and left a little for their use when they landed in America.

London had also furnished a clergyman who cared not about their backgrounds. They were married two days before sailing to the Americas, and spent those two days in an inexpensive but relatively clean inn near the docks.

Their first night together was different than either had anticipated. Harrison had expected Elizabeth to change into a nightdress of some sort and immediately go to sleep, for he believed she thought their union to be only one of convenience. Instead, she apologized while pulling her dress over her head and then removing her chemise.

"Milkmaids can not afford a silk night dress. You will have to take me in the clothes in which I came into this world."

Harrison gazed for a few moments at her firm breasts, wide hips, and the patch of red hair between her thighs as he came to the realization Elizabeth truly considered herself to be his wife, then said, "no night dress would be so beautiful as what you now wear. I would have you no other way."

Elizabeth smiled.

"Perhaps you would care to show me the truth of that statement?"

Harrison disrobed and then walked Elizabeth to the bed.

"I do not wish to cause you pain, but I was told a woman's first time would be such."

Elizabeth stroked his arm.

"Yes, so said my Molly when she explained the ways of husbands and wives."

"You will tell me if I should stop, will you not?"

"I shall if I can not bear it, but Molly said it would not be severe and would end as quickly as it began."

Elizabeth did cry out at the first thrust and then again when the second swept open the guardian gate of the girl and gave birth to the woman. Their coupling did not last long. Harrison found that sinking into Elizabeth's depths swept away his self control, and after only moments gasped as his essence flowed into Elizabeth.

Afterwards, they lay together, Harrison stroking Elizabeth's flank and Elizabeth snuggled close with her breasts against his chest.

"Was it painful", he asked.

"Yes, but only for a moment. After that it was...I can not find the words to tell you. Perhaps in another day we might repeat the act that I shall be better able to explain."

The ship docked a Philadelphia after seven weeks and four days at sea, and in that time Harrison and Elizabeth became one instead of two people. The difficult passage was plagued by death that separated wives from husbands, mothers from children and indeed, entire families of children from their parents. The Reaper spared them both, though Elizabeth attended to several ailing women and children along the way who were not so fortunate. After retrieving Alcazar and Zandar from their cramped stalls deep in the hold of the ship, they set out to find their future.

Elizabeth was beside herself with happiness. She thought no longer about Lord Coventry and his strange ways. She no longer wished for the riches obtained by robbing wealthy travelers. She only wished to find a place she could call home, a place where she could live in peace with Harrison, and a place where she would bring his children into the world.

Harrison was likewise happy. He was on his way to a new life, a life where he would be judged by what he did and not by his birth. Any reservations he'd had about marrying Elizabeth had evaporated during the voyage. Elizabeth had been at his side the entire time, clinging to him when a storm raged and tossed the ship like a leaf on the wind, and holding his hand when they stood by the rail and watched the sun dip into the sea, lower and lower, until it was only a yellow glow upon the clouds.

Their journey had begun, but was not yet complete. Harrison needed employment in order to care for Elizabeth, and went in search of the same on the day they disembarked. Elizabeth could not ride with him, for proper women did not ride astride and she had no sidesaddle. Instead, she waited in a lea just outside the city and let Alcazar graze to his heart's content.

Harrison returned two hours later with a frown on his face.

"I find Philadelphia to be much like London. There are wealthy men here just as in London, and there are commoners who serve them, though most are those who indentured themselves to pay for their passage from England. We will not be welcome among the wealthy because we have little wealth. I will have no wife of mine living in the squalor I saw where the commoners live. There is a third path though."

Elizabeth smiled.

"Your first, third path has pleased me greatly. Pray tell, what might this one be?"

"I met a man who is arranging for families to follow him to the south and into a part of America that has yet to be explored. I spoke with the man for only a few moments before deciding he and I think much alike. He is not of any birth of consequence, nor does he proclaim so, and he believes all men should be valued by their actions. He seeks only to live with friends and family who will assist each other in life.

"He is in need of families to join them, and he requires only that a man and his wife work hard and respect the rest of the group. They are assembled at the river south of town, and leave on the morrow. I told him if you were in agreement, we would join them. What are your thoughts?"

Elizabeth smiled.

"A good wife would obey the wishes of her husband."

Harrison shook his head.

"No, Elizabeth. I will not commit your life to something in which you do not believe. You must agree or we shall remain here to seek our future.

Elizabeth put her arms around Harrison's neck and then smiled.

"What I believe is whatever we do, wherever we go, there will be both good and bad. I do not wish to stay where a man's value is judged by his wealth, for the same judgement will be applied to his wife. I have lived both facets of that life and remember the consequences. I do not know if riding to a place where no one has yet been will be good or bad, but I am certain it can be no worse than fleeing Lord Coventry and then becoming a milkmaid. Now, when do we depart and what must I bring with me?"