"What? You know you can talk to me about anything." She placed her hand over his, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Umm... Well, I was thinking. About our future. About all the things that might happen. And I have found that if I. If I, umm, plan for the worst case, um, it usually helps. Keeps bad things from happening." The last came out in a rush.
Rebecca looked at him, trying not to get upset. "Please, do not think like that, Charlie. Nothing bad is going to happen. I believe that. You have to believe that as well."
"I do believe that. But what I have found is that if I do all the things I have to do in case the bad things happen, then they do not happen. I know it sounds superstitious, but it has worked for me for twenty years, and it is extremely important to me. You are the most precious thing in my life, and I want to make sure everything is taken care of before I go, just in case. Please?"
"All right, Charlie. You know I am willing to do whatever will make you feel better."
He caught her left hand in both of his and tenderly kissed her fingers, then lingered over her hand, just looking at his mother’s small garnet ring on her hand. "You know, this hand represents the only people who have ever truly loved me, I think."
"Charlie, I love you with all my heart and soul, but there are others who love you as well. You have very dear friends who care for you so very much."
"I know. But that is not the same, is it, love?" Charlie took a deep breath. "So, Rebecca, my love, will you marry me before I am called back to service?"
Rebecca could only smile tenderly at him and stroke his cheek with her fingers. "Of course I will."
Charlie was wearing his childlike look, part impish, and part bashful. "I talked to Reverend Williams. He could marry us on the 28th of January. I was hoping you could be ready for a small wedding that quickly. Could you?"
"The end of January? My goodness, that is not a lot of time, is it?" She considered it for a moment and nodded slowly. "Yes, I am sure I can enlist enough help to be ready."
Charlie caught her other hand up in his and covered them both with delicate kisses. "You. Have. Made. Me. Exquisitely. Happy."
"And you, my dear Charlie, have made me happy beyond words." She looked up suddenly. "Oh my...oh my..."
"What is it, darling?" Rebecca looked a little pale.
"This will be a military wedding, will it not? Charlie, I know nothing about military weddings."
"My dear, this will be what ever kind of wedding you want. Reverend Williams has agreed to officiate, and I am sure that Polk and the boys will want to honor us, but if you wish, we could have a civilian wedding. I will even get a new civilian suit, if you want me to."
Rebecca smiled and shook her head again. "No, no not all, Charlie. I think you will look absolutely dashing in your dress uniform. I just need to make sure that everything is perfect. I would not want anyone to think you have married below your station."
Charlie shifted so that he could pull the smaller woman into his lap. "My love, I am the interloper here. I just want it to be good enough for you." Charlie could feel her trembling in his arms. "My love, are you chilled?"
"You, sir, are an important commander in the Union Army, very trusted and apparently highly spoken of in the circles of high command. I have been talking with Elizabeth, Charles Redmond. I know more than you think. I am shaking partly from the chill and partly from nerves."
"You, madam, are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, the owner of a fine property, and a woman of such spirit and intelligence and breeding that any man would be proud to call you his wife. And if you are chilled, I have a flask of brandy. Would you like a sip?"
"Why, Colonel Redmond, are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of my person?" she teased, tugging on his tunic.
"Sweetheart, I have no desire to see you back in a sick bed, so I took the precaution of bringing a bit of medicinal brandy. And if I were going to take advantage of you, I would have done so already. I do believe you may have attempted to take advantage of me on occasion, though," he laughed as he poured her a shot of brandy into the little silver cup that formed part of the flask.
She laughed as she took the cup and sipped the brandy. "Well, now, my reputation will be completely undone if people find out I have been trifling with the Colonel. Taking advantage of him in ways that I never thought possible." She finished the cup and smiled at Charlie as she held it out for more.
He refilled her little cup up and leaned in to whisper in her ear "Love, you may trifle with me all you wish. I am yours to command in all things."
Charlie's breath tickled her ear and she giggled like a schoolgirl. "You have no idea what that does to me."
"Oh?" His voice sank to a rumbling purr. "Then tell me, darling. You can tell me anything and everything."
"Oh, Charlie," Rebecca sighed as she again sipped from the cup. "You just excite me all over. Before you came, there were nights when I was afraid to go to sleep, for fear of what the next day would bring. And now, I cannot wait for night so I can be with you and be in your arms. And I look forward to every morning because I know it will bring us new joyous discoveries." She licked her lips after taking another drink.
Charlie's lips, so close to her ear, dropped to place light, teasing kisses on her exposed neck. "My future is with you, dear. It is a future I dreamed of and never thought I would find. And here you are, loving, feisty, adventurous, and so beautiful it makes my heart stop. I love you, Rebecca."
"I love you too, so very much." She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him quite soundly.
He savored her kiss, flavored with brandy, spiced by the crisp air. He responded with teasing nips and strokes with just the tip of his tongue.
Rebecca moaned. She was feeling just a tad light headed. She was not sure if it was from Charlie's kiss or the brandy, but she decided that it did not matter. Another strong shiver ran through her body, but she knew that was from the kiss.
Charlie whispered in her ear, "Love, we either have to stop or we have to make a commitment to go on and the devil take anyone who stumbles upon us. For I crave your touch past words to tell you."
Rebecca pulled back and looked at Charlie. "Go on? Outside? My, my, Colonel." She laughed. Nothing like that had ever been suggested to her before.
"My love, if you keep teasing me like this, I probably would not care if the entire regiment were watching."
"Charlie!" She blushed and buried her face in his neck. "I cannot believe you said that."
"And would you prefer that I could resist you, dear?" This teasing was more fun than he had anticipated.
"You need not resist me, Charlie, but that was just scandalous." she smiled, running her hand over his chest. "I am glad you cannot resist me," she said sincerely before kissing him again.
Charlie groaned and sank into her kiss. When he could speak again, he looked into her eyes. "This is wonderful, darling, soon to be wife of mine, but I think it is getting late, love. And it is getting colder. We need to get back. To our nice, warm room. To our nice soft bed."
Rebecca’s laugh could only be described as sensual. "Oh yes, that is an absolute must. Our nice…… warm... bed."
Charlie stood and pulled her up into his arms. She came to him fluidly, almost boneless and for a moment, the two stood, wrapped close, just savoring the feel. "Time to go, dear."
"By all means, dear man, lead the way. But do it very slowly. I am afraid I may be just a tad tipsy."
"Stand here, while I gather up our blanket. I shall get you home in one piece, I promise." Quickly, Charlie gathered up the blanket and the remains of their afternoon snack and stowed them in his saddle bags. The last thing to go into the saddlebag was the silver flask. "One more?"
"You are trying to get me drunk." She teased, even as she accepted the cup.
"I am trying to keep you from getting sick from the cold. And I will take the last of that, if you do not mind."