My Molly, oh how I loved her. Everything about her was wonderful. She was beautiful and very sweet. My name is Thomas Chastain I was a poor shepherd just as my father had been, I had never had a home, just a wagon or the ground as a bed in summer I had never known love and comfort growing up.

Molly's chambers were so clean and comfortable, and for the first time in my life I knew what being at peace was.

When I was out with the flock I longed for her and her chambers, when I would come into town I would lie in her bed anticipating my night with her.

She was so calm and warm, and I enjoyed even watching her prepare for bed, she had beautiful warm brown hair and she would brush it.

I was a violent man and a drinker, but she had tamed me. She had taught me to read, she had taught me to be kind and caring.

Molly is such a special woman.

She was a waitress at the inn where she had her chamber, in the small town of Morgans Port down the river from Rivers Edge, she wanted me to be something better. I wanted to do better myself.

Thomas Chastain wasn't Molly's only lover. Working in the pub as she did she met many men, but she was very particular about her lovers.

She felt Thomas would be the one that she would marry if only she could get him a decent job so they could have a good living maybe even own a small home somewhere, it was her dream.

Her favourite lover, and the one she kept was Lewis, a married man, he was the best of lovers, and never demanded much of her, and he was the kind of man she liked, free with his coin, he often brought her gifts, but he expected only to spend the occasional night with her.

Lewis was handsome and a gentleman in every way, she loved him, but was smart enough to know he would never love her back. The married ones never did she had seen her mother go through that so many times.

Molly was very particular, and Thomas was the only non gentleman she accepted as a lover, only because she did love him and she knew even though she took her mothers brew to prevent pregnancy some day it would happen.

In a way she loved Lewis, but she knew he was married to a rich wife, and he would be pleased she had a plan.

After all she had happened to her mother, and she did not want to be unmarried when the child came into this world that was what Thomas was for, he would marry her. He loved her so much he would not care that the baby might or might not be his own.

Finally the day came, two bad signs, she was sick of the morning, and Mr. Langly the proprieter of the pub said he was thinking of selling the pub and moving to his sons farm he had been having a lot of pain.

She told Thomas that she would probably have to move and that she was with child. Thomas was beside himself, he had just started a new job in Rivers Edge, it would be a while before he got enough pay to even rent a chamber. He had been bunking in the barn.

He went back to Rivers Edge where he ran into a friend, they spent the night drinking in a pub there, on his friend who had a ticket at the pub because his woman worked there as a cook.

Thomas knew Molly hated it when he drank whiskey, she didn't mind if he had a little ale or wine, but whiskey made him crazy. He knew she would be upset with him.

He went back to the stable he had poured quite a bit of whiskey in a jar to take with him, so he wasn't as drunk as his friend who had passed out finally.

When he reached the stable, there were two men talking. One was my old boss Mr. Coates.

"Yes I am worried about taking so much money to Amberly alone," Mr. Coates said.

"I will take it," the solgier said

"Would you do that Captian Ferrin?" the man asked.

"Of course, if you like, you take the trade road, if anyone holds you up you have nothing, I will take the mountain road," Ferrin said.

"Oh what a relief this is, I will go to the hotel and get the money," Mr. Coats said.

Molly had given me a horse, a gray that she had gotten, he was old and not very fast I would have to go now and find a place on the mountain where I could rob this man.

I rode and rode until I found the perfect place, it was a cold night, and I was glad I had brought the whiskey with me. My horse was done in. I was two sheets in the wind and needed courage.

Ferrin mounted on a swift young horse soon appeared I produced my rapier, and called,"Stand and Deliver!"

Ferrin pulled his horse up and stared at me, "How dare you try and rob a kingsmen."

The horse snorted and side stepped, then luck was with me, Ferrin leaned into me to shoot me with his pistol and fell from his horse, as his stirrup leather broke.

We fought, I grabbed his horse and rode off. Easy money. I rode straight for Molly. With this money I would buy her the pub, I was so drunk it was hard for me to sit this horse who only had one stirrup iron and did not want to go where I wanted it to go.

When I finally got to Mollys I took the saddle bags, and let the horse go, it went back towards Amberly.

Staggering into her chambers I collapsed on her bed fully clothed. She smelt the whiskey but was to tired to throw me out.

That morning she saw the gold, I was still passed out I had helped myself to some of the stock downstairs.

Lewis had been in Rivers Edge with Ferrin and had spent the night, when Ferrin came back with a bump on the head and some cuts. Lewis had been disappointed that Ferrin had been called to duty. Now he was concerned for his friend. He also had urges to fill after spending somewhat frustrating night alone.

Ferrin had to go to the fort and report but first he needed a bath, food, and sleep the old lame horse he had ridden had taken him hours to get back to town.

Lewis paid for another night at the inn, and went to Morgan's Port hoping to get some time with Molly between the blankets.

Right away Molly looked worried and pulled him into a small room used for private meetings, he wanted to take her on the couch but what she said doused icy water.

"As much as I wish to please you Lewis my love I can not, not with what I am burdened with," she cried.

"Dear girl are you . . ." Lewis sighed, thinking oh drat I have done went and gotten her pregnant. But he had began to think it would not happen, he had been sleeping with her for almost two years.

"This has to do with Thomas, you know the man I told you I would marry if I ever found myself with child?" Molly asked.

"Yes," Lewis said thinking it had been a relief to him he had Angelique Devereaux to pay for their son Philip he did not need another child to worry about.

"It would seem he was most upset last night because the pub is to be sold, so he went drinking and came home with bags of coin, says he will buy the pub. There is no way he could have come by that money in an honest way. I do not know what to do Lewis," she sobbed.

"I know where he got the money, I will do my best to keep him out of prison," Lewis promised, he knew she was with child and it would not do for her future husband to wind up in prison.

He borrowed a fresh horse from the livery and rode to Rivers Edge, he hoped Ferrin was still asleep.

He was, Lewis woke him at once and told him to dress, and go to Morgan's Port he had found the money.

"I could just kiss you," Ferrin said. Lewis grinned.

"I don't see anyone watching," Lewis quipped.

Ferrin kissed him. Then dressed.

They ran to horses Lewis had brought from the stable. On the ride to Ports Morgan Lewis explained about Molly. Ferrin was not too happy about Lewis' suggestion he return the money to Coates and not arrest this Thomas Chastain fellow.

Ferrin was also not so happy that Lewis had another lover, but he knew Lewis had many before him, and they were both bedding Jennifer Coates. But they had an agreement on her.

But when Ferrin met Molly, he knew she was the one, she might be with Lewis' child, but she won his heart with a carress and a plea.

Ferrin slipped up to the room, sure enough the man was passed out, and the money was on the shelf under the wash basin where Molly had spotted it.

Ferrin retrieved the money and woke up and arrested Thomas. After sending one of the men he had seen in the hall after the constable.

Lewis watched with disbelief as the constable took the still drunk Thomas away. He was so mad at Ferrin how could he do this after he had promised to let Thomas go?

What would poor Molly do now?

She was in the kitchen crying, Ferrin came in and asked her to be his wife.

Lewis stalked away angry, he could not believe this.

Ferrin and Molly were married.

Thomas went to prison and he blamed whiskey of course.

Lewis was upset about the whole thing, but what could he do. He had never had lovers that married each other.

So Molly and Ferrin moved to a small house in Amberly, where she knew no one but Lewis and her husband. Often she was puzzled why the two men spent so much time together.

The End