(Told from William's point of view)
I sat in the armchair, holding my wife as she slept, the entire world around me completely silent except for the soft sound of Mary breathing. It was then that I began thinking about how lucky I truly was. My past had been rather unfortunate, and the Tavington name severely tarnished because of it. Many people had looked down upon me a countless number of times because I bore the accursed name. I had grown quite accustomed to not letting people see who I really was because I had learned from past experiences that once they learned that I was one of Alastor Tavington's sons, they assumed that I was just as much of a hellish bastard as he was; it didn't make matters any better that I looked just like the wretched man either. At first, I was able to shrug that fact off. But as I grew older, it became more and more loathsome.
I had just about resigned myself to my exiled social status when I decided that I couldn't live that way. So, I bought a commission to be colonel of the British Green Dragoons, and traveled to America to gain respect for my family name and crush the rebels I also had so deeply come to loathe.
In America, I had become widely feared among the colonists and even some of the loyalists and British, for my battle tactics. I was nicknamed 'The Butcher' for the brutality that I showed in battle and on raids. My own men feared me. But I didn't care what they thought. In some ways, I wanted to be feared by my men; they were easier to control that way. There was only one opinion I really cared about before I met Mary, and that was of my captain.
Bordon and I met each other when I first arrived in America to fight. I remember going into one of the tents in the evening at camp to meet my men. Upon entering, I received fearful stares from many of the men and there was the distinct muttering about how I was a Tavington and how I looked almost exactly like my father. However, amongst the whispering and staring, a man of about my age and stature glared coldly at his fellow soldiers.
"Hush you fools!" He snapped icily at them. "The man isn't his father."
The men fell silent as the man walked up to me and held out his hand.
"Captain Bordon of the British Green Dragoons, at your command; I apologize for the rudeness displayed to you by my fellow dragoons."
"Thank you, Captain." I replied shaking his hand.
Then I spoke in a loud clear voice to my men, "I am Colonel William Tavington and I will be presiding over your commands. To begin with, there will be no toleration of negative mention of me or my family in my presence, as they are not issues you need to know about, and I do not have the time or want to explain them. Both my captain and I will enforce this rule. So, being as you all openly disobeyed that rule upon my entrance, all of you, except the captain, will spend all of tonight cleaning out the horse stalls, as they are rather filthy, and after that you will each write a report stating your name, rank, whether you're loyalist or British, and your reasons for fighting this war. This report must be no longer and no shorter than two pieces of parchment, and must be sealed upon your presenting it to me.
My second rule is that there is no questioning my authority under any circumstances; those who fail to see this will be severely punished; now that that issue is settled, you're all dismissed to the stables; I will be there shortly to supervise."
That evening, after the men had finished cleaning the stalls, Captain Bordon came to my quarters as I was looking at documents and reports on the dragoons.
"Thank you Sir for providing order in the ranks; I noticed that all of the men did their work without so much as an annoyed or affronted look on their faces."
"You're welcome, Captain; these boys could use a firm hand to guide them."
"Indeed; well Sir, I shall see you in the morning."
From that day on, my relationship with the captain grew and we quickly became good friends. For once, I knew someone who didn't judge me on the actions of my forefathers, but on my actions alone. I was convinced that I would never meet another person who would be as good a friend to me as Capt. Bordon.
A couple of years after I first became colonel of the British Green Dragoons, I met Mary Selton. Actually, I didn't really meet her, so much as I captured her. I had taken captives before, but never had someone who was so alluring. The problem was that her tongue was as sharp as her looks were attractive. At first, this annoyed me quite a bit. She simply refused to cooperate. It was embarrassing to have a captive lash out at me, especially when that captive was a woman. Even Capt. Bordon remarked that I had captured a "stubborn little beauty".
However it wasn't very long before I grew rather amused by her demeanour and found her even more attractive because of it. I tried to convince myself that I was wasting my time just thinking about her. A lot of good that did; it just made me more mad over her than I already was. I attempted to hide my feelings, especially from my men, and for a while, it worked. However, my feelings were soon discovered after a battle when one of my men came into my tent and saw a letter, which I had written to Mary that was laying on a makeshift desk, waiting to be folded, sealed and sent. He began to smirk and I snapped at him, demanding why he was behaving so impishly. The dragoon didn't answer, but pointed at the letter on the desk. Then he ran out before I could do anything to him.
I cursed angrily, quickly folding and sealing the letter.
I was still fuming when my captain came into the tent and asked me what was wrong. After I explained the situation to him, he stated in a flat tone that I might as well just give up trying to conceal my feelings from my men. After all, id didn't matter what my men thought; I should be proud to have a woman as smart, witty and attractive as Mary Selton in my life.
After the captain left my tent, I sat down and thought about what he had said to me. I was torn; I knew Mary deserved more than me; I was just an outcast with a bad reputation from England fighting for honour. Yet, I kept my captain's words in mind and pursued her even though many people would have disapproved.
Now, we were married and she was with child. I couldn't believe it; I had gone from being without hop of having any family, aside from my brothers with whom I had little contact with since I left England, to having a family and the world before me. What more could I want?
I looked down at Mary who stirred softly and awakened. She looked up at me and smiled tiredly.
"Did you sleep well?"
She nodded.
"Yes I did."
"Well then, what would you like to do next?" I asked.
"Perhaps you would accompany me on a walk in the gardens."
"Indeed I shall; it has been a while since our last walk in the gardens." I replied.