Just as I finished reading William's letter, Harry Owens burst through the door, carrying a dark green dress and a corset.
"I'm not wearing that corset and you're no longer my servant, Harry Owens! What happened to your brother, Edward?"
"Be quiet you stupid girl and put your dress on, including your corset!" Hissed Harry, brandishing a pistol at me.
"Fine! How rude you are to watch me dress!" I shot back.
No sooner had I just finished having the corset put on than the door to William's quarters burst almost off its hinges and William himself stomped in, followed by Capt. Bordon. Harry tried to run out the door past William and Bordon but before he could get out the door, Bordon grabbed him by the collar.
"Oh no you don't; Col. Tavington will be wanting to speak with you."
William glared at Harry and he glanced fearfully back. Then William walked over and embraced me.
"I have been longing to see you since I left. Are you alright?"
I could feel his hands moving slowly down my back, undoing my corset. I looked down after he removed the corset and noticed that my wound had bled through the bandages and onto my underclothes. William noticed this too and shot Harry a severe look.
"How often did you change her bandages!" Snapped William.
When Harry didn't answer, William walked over, grabbed him by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall.
"How often did you change her bandages, Harry Owens!" William yelled in his face.
"Perhaps not as often as I should have." Replied Harry shakily, looking as if he were about to cry.
Still holding Harry by the throat, William asked in a deadly voice, "Why are you serving Mary?"
"My brother had heard of your reputation and though he was quite a skilled doctor, he didn't want to risk making any mistakes, and being as he was better in combat than I was, and I was almost as skilled at doctoring as he was, we decided to switch places."
"So, you and your brother both disobeyed me then." Commented William, tightening his grip on Harry's throat, causing him to gasp for air. "You both deserted your duties and you didn't follow my instructions!"
"I apologize, Sir!" Replied Harry frantically.
"If anyone is to be apologized to, it is Mary, as you did a poor job of caring for her."
"I apologize, Miss Selton." Said Harry in a frightened, high-pitched voice.
"Thank you for the apology, however, I don't believe that will save you as you neglected to tell the colonel what you did to me this morning; it is the only reason I wore a corset, not taking heed of what the colonel mentioned to me in a letter, saying not to obey you."
William tightened his hold on Harry even more, making his eyes bulge.
"Tell me what it was that you neglected to tell me or I'll make your death, along with your brother's death, even more slow and painful than a poorly conducted hanging!" Hissed William.
"I…. I.."
"He threatened me with a pistol."
William, with his free hand, hauled back and punched Harry squarely in the nose. A distinct cracking noise was heard as William's fist connected with Harry's nose; William had broken Harry's nose. Blood sprayed from his nose onto William's face and uniform and William cuffed him hard, across the face.
"That is for treating Mary the way you did, deceiving me, and getting my face and uniform bloodied up!"
William released his grip on Harry, who crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath, and turned to Bordon.
"Bordon, take this filth out of my quarters and find his brother; they have an appointment with the gallows tomorrow at dawn."
"Yes Sir."
Bordon dragged Harry out the door, Harry's frightened whimpers echoing as Bordon dragged him down the hall.
"Harry didn't do anything else to you did he?" William asked, closing the door to his quarters.
"He tried to force feed me but I became angry with him and slapped him hard across his face."
William laughed wickedly and said, "Well, he certainly deserved that."
"How is your arm?" I asked.
"It is fine."
"So, it hasn't been bothering you in battle?"
"Not in the least."
"Good."
William wiped the blood from his face, walked over and said, "Being as Harry did such a poor job of caring for you while I was away, I should probably check your wound to see how it's healing."
"Very well."
William led me over to his four-poster. Then, he went over to the foot of his bed, to a large trunk, grabbed a quilt out of it, and sat down on the four-poster behind me, cross legged, placing the quilt next to him, and indicated for me to sit down on the four-poster in front of him.
"I need to remove your underclothes down to your hips."
"Very well; I trust you William."
William undid the four buttons in the back of my underclothes. Then he slowly slid the tops of my sleeves down my shoulders and arms. A shiver ran down my spine, though not from fear, as William ran the back of his right hand down the middle of my exposed back and rested his hand momentarily on my right hip.
"Here, use this to shield yourself." Said William, handing me the quilt next to him.
I took the quilt and covered my front with it. Then, William carefully undid my bandages and had me lie down on my back. He then lifted the quilt up so that it was above the wound but still shielding me, and began assessing the wound. I winced when he brushed it with his left index finger.
"Your corset has been rubbing hard against the bandages, making your wound tender. It will take longer than normal to heal."
"So how much of a brute were you in battle?" I asked trying to ignore the stinging sensation I was experiencing as William applied ointment to my wound.
"More than usual I suppose; at least fifty percent of the killing in the battle was done by me."
"Why so much killing by one man?" I asked sitting up, still shielding myself.
"The battle was keeping you from me and nothing keeps you from me without dire consequences, unless, it is you."
"William, I see no reason for me to keep myself from you."
"I am thankful for that." Said William, wrapping his left arm around my bare shoulders.
I leaned against the side of William's chest and looked into his eyes, catching a glimpse of what was hidden behind the ice; a much gentler being, hidden behind The Butcher, was emerging from his cold exterior.
"Mary, what are you staring at?" Asked William, pulling me from my reverie.
"The eyes of a gentleman, not a butcher; I believe you're revealing your true nature to me, William."
"Indeed, and do you know what I am staring at?"
"No William, what are you staring at?"
"The intensely alluring green eyes of most stubborn woman I have ever met, whose beauty is, and shall always be, unmatched."
William put his hands on my arms.
"I am surprised that you are not already married. Tell me, have you had any suitors in the past?"
"Well, not really, although it does seem that wherever I go, someone is looking at me. It's just that whenever Father suggested a possible suitor, I rejected them because they were too shallow minded. What about you?"
"When I came to the colonies, word quickly spread among the loyalists about me and my marital status and before I knew it, I was surrounded by loyalist women at balls that were held in honour of the British. However, like you, I never saw a potential future in any of them; they just seemed so empty-headed and quite boring. When I met you, I realized what I was looking for; I didn't want someone I could easily win over; I wanted a challenge."
William gently kissed my cheek and slid his fingers through my hair. Suddenly, the door to William's quarters opened and Capt. Bordon walked in. He immediately looked away upon seeing that I was only half dressed in my underclothes, even though I was still covered by the quilt.
"Sir…. Harry…. trouble…. O'Hara…. Cornwallis…. outside…. "
"You know Bordon, if you knocked on the door first, you wouldn't have to walk in here and get yourself embarrassed like this." Stated William.
"Yes Sir, my apologies."
Bordon left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Well Mary, I must go." Sighed William.
William quickly rebandaged my wound and pulled the upper part of my underclothes back on, securing the four buttons in the back, and then left, closing and locking the door behind him.
I got up and walked over to the window next to William's four-poster. It was then that I noticed that I was still wearing the necklace that William had given me. How odd, I thought as I undid the necklace and looked at it in the palm of my hand, that this should be my destiny. Though I was raised a patriot, I was being courted by someone who was known to be a deadly enemy of the Colonials and not to mention, had been my captor.
William returned about twenty minutes after he left, looking quite exhausted and out of breath.
"Are you alright William?"
"I'll be fine." He managed. "Apparently, Harry Owens had told O'Hara and Cornwallis that I had held him against a wall by his throat and threatened to kill him and his brother. However, he conveniently "forgot" to mention that he and his brother had deserted their duties. At first, when I brought this information to my superiors' attention, they didn't seem to care. However, their opinions changed when I showed them the letter you wrote to me about Harry; thankfully it was tucked away in one of the pockets of my waistcoat or I would have seemed like a complete fool.
Once they realized I was telling the truth, they went to get Harry from the cage they were keeping him and his brother in. Unfortunately, once they got there, Harry was nowhere to be found. Only his brother, Edward, remained, huddled in a corner, looking horror stricken. Luckily, I was with O'Hara and Cornwallis at the time and I spotted Harry heading off toward the woods. I mounted the nearest horse I could find and headed into the woods after Harry at a full gallop.
I caught up to Harry shortly after I headed into the woods, dismounted the horse while it was still moving, and tackled Harry to the ground. I wanted to kill him right then, but I knew that would only cause more conflicts between my superiors and I, so I took him back to O'Hara and Cornwallis; they insisted that he should be hanged immediately instead of at dawn the next day; his brother would still hang at dawn.
After taking Harry to my superiors, I went back into the woods to retrieve the horse. Fortunately, it hadn't wandered too far, so it didn't take very long for me to retrieve it and take it back to one of the stable boys."
"William, you should rest; you just returned from battle and have had to deal with Harry Owens all morning." I said.
"I…"
"William!"
"Alright, alright, I'll rest."
"Thank you; we shall all be in better spirits because of it."
"Pardon me!" Said William in mock anger, pinning me on my back on the four-poster.
I gave him a teasing smile.
"You know very well what I said, William Tavington!"
William laughed lightly and said, "Well then, I suppose I should get off of you so I can rest."
I nodded. William got off of me and reached into his waistcoat pocket.
"Here is the new key to your quarters. No one other than you, will be able to get into your quarters except for Captain Bordon and I, however, Bordon doesn't know of this yet."
"And how is this possible?"
"I was in charge of changing the lock on your door, so, I changed it so that your lock was the same as mine. However, we won't unlock your door without your permission or unless it is an emergency."
"I see, and why would I be in any danger; O'Hara doesn't reside in the estate."
"That may be, however, he still is allowed in the estate and, if he really wanted to, he would pick the lock on your door. I've seen him pick the locks here so he could try his hand at some of the servant girls and even I was amazed he had brilliance enough to pick a lock."
"Has he ever picked your lock?"
"When I first became colonel, he tried to pick the lock to my quarters. Unfortunately for him, I was in my quarters at the time and when I was through with him, his lip was split, his nose was bleeding, he had a black eye and a couple of his ribs were cracked."
"Speaking of which, how are your ribs?" I asked.
"Surprisingly, they have healed quite quickly, still, if I exert myself too much in battle or on raids, they tend to make breathing rather unpleasant for me."
"Well, I should probably go to my quarters so that you can rest. You may unlock my door when you rise if you wish to."
"Thank you, I shall."
I entered my quarters, walked over and sat on my bed. It felt a bit strange to be back in my quarters after I had spent so much time in William's quarters. I sighed heavily, laid down on my bed, and fell asleep.
Part 2. Swimming in the StreamI awoke quite a few hours later, around mid afternoon, to a pair of icy blue eyes staring down at me.
"I thought you would wake me when you rose."
"I was going to, however, you looked so peaceful and relaxed that I decided not to until later. Anyway, now that you are awake, I want you to come with me."
"William, I'm in my underclothes."
"All of the officers in the estate, except for me, left a couple of hours ago after Harry's hanging, to the camps near the battlefield to attend to, and collect, their men. So the only people here are you and I, save for the servants that didn't leave to the battlefield to care for the wounded. They'll be gone for at least two days and Edward is to be hanged when they return."
"Why did you not go?"
"Cornwallis granted me permission to stay because you're not fully healed. He didn't even complain when I asked for it. In fact, he seemed relieved, though probably because he didn't want O'Hara and I working in close quarters."
"I see; so where are you taking me?"
"You'll see, now come."
William led me, still in my underclothes, on his horse into the woods behind the estate, to the widest and deepest part of the stream. I dismounted the horse and William tethered it to a nearby tree. Then, William removed his waistcoat, vest and shirt, unqueued his hair, removed his boots and stockings, and waded in up to his neck in the stream. He dipped his head under the water, came back up, and said, "Come Mary, the water feels so refreshing on a warm day like this."
"The water is too cold and I don't feel like getting wet."
"Alright then."
I watched William as he waded in the stream and thought about our past and future together. Though he was known to be quite arrogant and brutal, there was more to William than just The Butcher. I understood quite well that he had burned my home and taken me captive. I also understood that he his tactics in battle and on raids against the Colonials were more often than not, unwarranted. But, fate is a strange and mysterious thing and somehow, I knew that our relationship would, without a doubt, go beyond courtship.
"Mary."
I shook myself from my reverie and looked over at William.
"Yes?"
"As you are just sitting there with your eyes wide and glazed over, I was hoping you would get me my shirt as I am getting out of the stream."
I grabbed William's shirt and went over to the side of the stream to hand it to him. William reached over with his right hand to take the shirt from me. But instead of grabbing the shirt, he grabbed my wrist and before I could do anything, he pulled me into the water, smirking.
"William!" I yelped as my head surfaced. "You didn't want your shirt at all!"
"Well there was no other way I was going to get you in here." Replied William, grabbing the soaked shirt and tossing it onto the bank of the stream.
"This isn't even fair; the water comes up to your neck, yet I can't even stand on the bottom to the stream without being fully submerged!"
"You can swim, can't you?"
"Well, it's a little late for asking, but yes."
"Well then, you've nothing to worry about."
William wrapped his arms around me and spun me around in the water. I laughed as the water splashed all over and around us.
William stopped spinning me around and lifted me up so that I was near eye level with him, and I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck. His dark hair cascaded in wet curls just below his shoulders, framing his face.
"You're right, the water is refreshing." I said.
William smiled and brushed a wet lock of hair from my face.
"Yes it is." He replied softly.
William placed both of his hands on either side of my face and kissed me deeply, stroking my face and hair.
"However, you are even more refreshing." Said William.
I smiled.
"Why William, you flatter me."
"Is there a problem with that?" Asked William, wrapping his arms around me.
"No there is not a problem with that." I replied.
"Good." Answered William smirking.
"William, why are you smirking?"
"Mary, I have a perpetual smirk on my face; I thought you knew that already."
"You may smirk quite a lot William, however, it isn't perpetual, and it usually means you're about to do something mischievous or have already done so. Now tell me why you are smirking!"
"I just realised that I bested you."
"Oh William, you didn't!" I shot playfully, pushing William's head underwater.
"Yes I did." He replied, bursting from the water behind me. "Now admit it." Said William moving toward me.
I backed away, a smirk tugging at the corners of my lips.
"You'll have to catch me first." I replied, climbing onto the bank of the stream.
"Not one to be easily had are you? Alright then; I find this sort of "chase" rather amusing, actually." Said William, climbing onto the bank after me.
I ran toward some nearby bushes with William just out of reach, wondering what I was thinking; William was a lot bigger, stronger and faster than I; there was no way I would be able to keep away from him for very long. Still, I ran.
I ran for what seemed to be an endless time through the woods with William following me relentlessly, the trees blurring as I quickened my pace until William leapt forward and grabbed me by the shoulders, pulling me to the ground with him.
"Admit it Mary; admit that I bested you."
I laughed.
"Alright William, you bested me."
"Your breathing is heavy." Said William resting his left hand at the base of my throat. "I have worn you out."
"Indeed, you have." I replied softly, brushing a lock of William's thick chocolate-brown hair from his face with my right hand.
William took my right hand and pressed it to his cheek. His skin was cool and smoothe.
"We should probably return to the stream; your wound needs to be checked and your bandages changed; I have packed clean bandages and ointment in my horse's saddlebags."
William got off the ground, helped me up, and carried me back to the stream, setting me down gently, on its right bank. I sat and picked at the grass on the bank of the stream as William retrieved the bandages and ointment from the saddlebags.
William returned with the bandages and ointment, along with his waistcoat, and sat down behind me. He undid the upper part of my underclothes and handed me his waistcoat.
"Here, use this as a shield and lie down."
William unwrapped my bandages and I laid down on my back so he could check my wound and apply ointment to it.
"Well, you didn't flinch at all this time when I applied the ointment."
"I know; I think the water helped dull the pain."
William got up, grabbed his now dry shirt lying on the bank, put it on, and came back and laid next to me, pulling me close, placing his left hand under the waistcoat, resting it just below my wound, on my lower abdomen.
"I don't' believe I have had a day as good as this in years. However, I believe I will need a new pair of riding breeches, as wool and water don't mix."
I laughed lightly as, placing my left hand on top of William's hand, under the waistcoat. William smiled, staring into my eyes, and I stared back. Before I knew it, I was asleep.
Hours later, I was being gently shaken awake by William. His blue eyes shone brightly in the twilight.
"We should probably return to the estate, however, let me bandage your wound before we leave."
I sat up and allowed William to put the clean bandages on my wound, pull the upper part of my underclothes back on and refasten the buttons in the back. Then, we left the woods.