In 1815 Virgina, the rules were hard and fast, to be obeyed without question,
however, as we are about to see, not all rules are applied with equality. What is good for
the goose, is not always good for the gander! John and Catherine Smith, a very religious
couple, had a small farm about three miles outside of Kirkville, Virginia where they were
raising their three children in the traditional puritan upbringing. Rachel the oldest of the
three, was the apple of her father's eye, and the first of the Smith family to be born in
America!!! Both John and Catherine had high hopes that their eldest daughter would
marry and have a family of her own right in Kirkville, and being a bright and very
beautiful girl, Rachel should have had her choice of any of the fine young Christian men
in the area, but alas, she seemed to show no interest in any of them, and this confounded
her parents no end, and no amount of coaxing could persuade her to take up with any of
the available beau's. When ever her mother brought up the subject, it always ended the
same, with Rachel running to her room and slamming the door, which effectively ended
the conversation!
Having just turned eighteen, Rachel did have an interest in boys, it was just that she
wasn't interested in any of the ones her parents deemed appropriate for her. She wouldn't
have been caught dead with any of them, and the thought of spending the rest of her life
with one of those dullards, well, it was enough to make a body cringe!!! Rachel was a
high spirited girl, and she was attracted to like minded men, that is, those that seemed to
have a zest and love of life. The only one she had ever met that made her tummy tie up
in knots was Robert Walker, the son of divorced parents! That was enough to make him
almost an outcast, and surely put him out of bounds as far as marriage was concerned,
but Rachel didn't care, Bobby was who she wanted, and Bobby was going to be who she
would get!!! For over a year now they had been meeting at the far end of the pasture,
down by where the river ran slow and gentle. Hidden by the trees, the two of them had
spent the last twelve months getting to know each other, and as is wont in these cases,
getting more intimate with each passing day. At first Bobby was afraid to touch Rachel's
hand, his shyness making it hard for him to even look her in the eye! Over time,
however, the two of them forged a bond that began as friendship, but evolved into love.
From the first kiss which had Bobby shaking so hard he missed Rachel's mouth and
kissed her nose, to the first intimate caress, a now much more assured Bobby, cuppd the
full bosom of his lover through her blue summer dress. Two young lovers learning about
each other's bodies together, taking their time, enjoying each step as they awakened to
new and exciting experiences. They had progressed by now, to the point that when they
would meet, they would quickly shed their clothing and take a dip in the warm river
water, frolicking and enjoying each other's company, and while they had not
consummated their love, they were taking a great chance that their sacrilegious behavior
would be discovered and that they both would be severely punished. Their luck seemed
to be holding as no one ever came to that part of the river, so they played in the water,
their young bodies free and open, while reveling in their young love. While they were
sunning themselves on the sandy shore, their eyes closed, holding hands, and naked as
the day they were born, they didn't even notice the small two man skiff that was floating
past them on the slow moving river. If they had, they would have seen Ben Barker and
Hank Flowers poling their boat within thirty feet of them, their mouths hanging open in
stunned silence at the sight of the two naked teenagers. So when they finally dressed and
returned to their homes, they had no idea of the deep trouble they had gotten themselves
into!
The loud knock on the door came as a surprise, because it was customary not to interrupt
people during dinner hour. John opened the front door, only to find three members of the
town council standing before him with grim looks on their faces. "Good evening
gentlemen," offered John, "and what brings you way out here on this fine June evening?"
"Good evening Brother John," answered a very somber William Hawkins, "this is not a
pleasure call, but it something we must discuss with you with great reluctance!" By now
Catherine Smith had joined her husband at the door, and after inviting the three visitors
inside everyone took a seat and got comfortable before John leaned forward and said,
"You had something on your mind, William?" "John," William answered, "you know the
penalty for fornication?" "What's this about, William," questioned John, "why would the
law against fornication have anything to do with me?" "Not you, John, but I regret to say
it, but about your daughter, Rachel," replied William. "What about Rachel," boomed
John, "you had better explain yourself in a hurry, William or I'll be fit to take my broad
ax to you and your brethren!" Rachel, still sitting at the kitchen table, felt the bottom fall
out of her tummy, a sickly feeling spread through her that made her feel like vomiting.
William continued on, "John, do you think I'd come here and make a charge like this if I
didn't have solid proof against her?" "What, what kind of proof do you have," demanded
the very agitated father?!? "John, Catherine, Ben and Hank were within a stones throw of
your daughter and young Robert Walker sunning themselves in the altogether down on
the bank of the Floyd River," explained William, "both of them had their eyes closed, so
they never knew that they'd been seen." "Robert Walker," John Smith fairly shouted, "no
daughter of mine would ever be seen any where with that young ruffian, let alone naked
on a river bank where anyone could see'em!" William cast his eyes towards Rachel, and
was about to ask her if what he said was true, but he was stopped short by her outburst of
sobs!!!
John Smith leaped out of his chair and strode over to his daughter and grabbed her by the
arm and jerked her to her feet while demanding, "Did you debase yourself against God
and family with young Walker!?!" Rachel, now bawling even harder, tried to reply but
was unable to due to her uncontrollable sobbing. Her father, now in a fit of rage, dragged
her across the room and threw her at William and screamed, "Get her out of here, she is
no longer a daughter of mine, she has brought great shame to this house, and will not be
forgiven!!!" William and his men then led the crying girl out of the house and put her in
the carriage for the trip back to town. Through all this, Catherine Smith was also
sobbing, but more quietly and to herself, she tried to wave a final good by to her
daughter, but John Smith pulled down her arm in disgust and said, "She's made her own
bed, Catherine, and now she must sleep in it!!!"