(Back to Mary's point of view)
William and I went out into the gardens, which had taken on a different appearance and feeling. It was now October and the grounds and gardens had frozen, and frost covered the grass and plants, which were now wilted and dead.
I shivered in the frosty air, wrapping the shawl I had brought with me tightly around my shoulders. William came up behind me and pulled me to him.
"It has certainly gotten colder over the past couple of months."
"Yes, it certainly has." I replied.
Suddenly the gardens seemed to grow quiet. Too quiet. William seemed to sense it too, as his body became tense and he tightened his grip on me with his left arm, and with his right hand instinctively reached for his pistol. He slowly turned toward the woods at the back of the gardens.
Hidden behind the trees were two Continental militiamen. One of them noticed that they had been seen and came out from behind the tree he was hiding and fired a shot at William, but missed. William forced me to the ground and then stepped in front of me and fired his pistol, hitting the man between his eyes, killing him almost instantly. There was the sound of rushing footsteps through the woods as the second militiaman began to flee. William started after him but I pulled him back.
"Don't follow him William, there could be more in the woods." I said firmly.
William nodded grimly.
"You're right, there could be more of them, which is why I must address this matter with Lord General Cornwallis immediately at camp. And while I am at camp, I want you to stay in out quarters until I return."
"But William…"
"Please Mary, don't fight me on this! I don't want you out here when there could be rebels lurking around, and I can't trust any of the men around the estate either; I've noticed that they look at you rather unhealthily and the only reason they don't seek to pleasure themselves is because of the authority held by the officers in the estate. However, all of the officers are at camp at the moment. Please Mary, stay in out quarters. I don't know what I would do with myself if something happened to you."
I nodded.
"Very well William."
William escorted me back into the estate and up to our quarters.
"I will return as soon as I can." Said William.
With that, he left the room, closing and locking the door behind him. I took a book off the bookshelf on our quarters, settled myself into the armchair, and began to read.
I read until William finally returned late that evening.
"I apologize for returning so late and thus causing you to miss your meals." Said William.
"It's alright, I wasn't very hungry." I replied. "So, how was your report to the Lord General?"
"Well, we now have guards positioned around the premises of the estate and the grounds."
"Guards that don't seem practically asleep?" I asked.
William laughed.
"Yes."
"Good, because they were easy for me to get past."
William removed his scabbard, undid his vest, walked over to the armchair, and leaned over me.
"Well, they won't be easy to get past now."
I reached up and slid William's waistcoat and undone vest down his shoulders and arms, letting them fall to the floor. Then I got up from the armchair and undid and removed his white ruffled shirt, sliding my hands over his muscular chest and stomach. William bent down and kissed me passionately, his lips tracing a pathway from my lips, down the flesh of my throat. He pulled away, wrapping his left arm around my waist and resting his right hand on my chest. Then he slid his hand up to my lips, resting his fore and middle fingers on them. I kissed them softly and stared into his eyes, losing myself in their hypnotic, icy-blue depths.
"I love you, William."
That evening I slept quite unrestfully. I kept tossing and turning. Finally, I awoke around one the next morning and was about to go back to sleep when my stomach lurched. I had no time to do anything before I vomited all over William's bare chest. William awoke with a start, stared at his chest and muttered, "Damn it."
"Oh William, I'm sorry!" I exclaimed.
"No no, it's fine Mary." Replied William.
He got up, cleaned the vomit off of him, laid back down, and muttered, "You could have turned your head the other way."
"Sorry." I replied.
I washed my mouth out and went back to bed.
Later that morning, at around half past four, William got up and got ready to leave for camp.
"I'll write to you tonight, so you should get the letter within the next couple of days." Said William.
He kissed me on the cheek and left for camp.
The next morning, as I was eating breakfast I received a letter from William.
Mary,
I apologize I left in such a rush yesterday. However, I didn't leave quickly enough to warn Bordon not to tell the men about you, for when I arrived at camp, the bloke yelled, "Butcher Boy is going to be a father!"
I shoved him onto the ground and yelled at him to hold his tongue. The dragoons were laughing; they didn't believe Bordon, until I foolishly confirmed it.
I spent the rest of the day regretting my confirmation of what the captain had said, as the men could hardly contain themselves over the news. Bordon wasn't any help either; he kept calling me 'Father' at every opportunity he came across, until I grew tired of it and "accidentally" slapped his horse's rump with the flat of my sabre, causing the animal to canter ahead of me until it suddenly stopped and sent the captain flying out of the saddle, over his mount's head and onto the ground.
Aside from the teasing, I had a rather content day. Although, now that I think about it, I rather enjoyed the teasing. Well I've got to go, as I am rather fatigued and I'm not getting enough sleep as it is. I hope you are feeling better and I love you and miss you.
-William
I smiled as I began to fold the letter back up when I noticed there was a second page to it.
Mary,
Your husband is unbelievably amusing to tease! I've never had so much fun in years! Well, it was fun until I went flying over my horse's head. Of course Col. Tavington thought that me sitting on the ground, rubbing the big bump that I had received in the middle of my forehead, was terribly amusing and took special care to mockingly overreact when it happened. Oh well, I'll admit I did deserve it. But it still hurts! Well, I'd better stop writing, but I hope you are feeling better as the colonel told me about your incident this morning. We probably won't return to stay for a couple of months. Until then, take care of yourself.
-Capt. Bordon, British Green Dragoons
After breakfast, I went up to my quarters, took out a couple pieces of parchment and a quill from William's desk and wrote both William and the captain letters.
William,
From what you wrote in your letter, you seem to be doing quite well, 'Father'. Everything seems to be going alright with me, as I haven't thrown up since yesterday, although I have been feeling quite tired. I hope you do well while you're away. I love you and miss you.
-M.K.T.
Captain,
Thank you for your letter. I hope that the bump on your head isn't too big because I'm sure 'Father' will enjoy teasing you about it even more than you already were teased. However, like you stated, you did deserve it. I hope to see you and my husband back safely in a couple of months. Until then, take care of yourself.
-M.K.T.
Part 3. Ill WillIt had been just over two months since I had last seen William and the captain, and it was now the day before Christmas Eve. A heavy snow had fallen, blanketing the estate in white.
I stood next to the window in my quarters, looking out at the snow-covered grounds. I felt anxious. The snow had delayed the dragoons from returning to the estate; there had also been a lot of sickness and fever circulating around the camps, and I had received letters within the past couple of weeks from the captain stating that William had started showing signs of overwork and fever. He had tried to tell William that he should rest, but he refused.
I heard footsteps near the entrance to my quarters and turned towards the door just in time to see the captain and William walk in. I rushed over and embraced William.
"I missed you." I said softly.
I looked up at William and noticed that his face looked pale and his eyes were lacking their usual glimmer.
"Are you well, William?" I asked in a concerned tone.
"It's nothing to worry about; I'll be fine." William replied.
His voice was raspy and strained. I gave him an unconvinced look and felt his forehead.
"I don't think you're alright at all William Tavington, you feel as hot as fire."
I quickly stripped William of his scabbard, waistcoat, vest, and shirt, and had him remove his boots and stockings. Then I unqueued his hair and helped him into bed.
"Captain, could you please fetch some warm broth from one of the kitchen servants?"
"Certainly." He replied, and swept quickly out of the room.
I sat next to where William lay on the four-poster.
"Mary…." William rasped.
"Hush now, my love." I replied soothingly, gently running my hand down the side of his face and resting it on his chest.
His body burned with fever and his hair, face, neck, and shoulders were moist with sweat caused by the heat of his body temperature.
Capt. Bordon returned with a cup of broth.
"Drink this." I said softly to William.
Bordon helped William sit up so he could drink the broth. After he finished with difficulty, swallowing the broth, William fell back onto the four-poster groaning, an expression of discomfort and pain written clearly on his face.
"Rest now, William."
I left with the captain to give William peace and quiet as he slept.
"How long has William been this bad?" I asked the captain as we descended down the stairs.
"Only within the past few days. I had strongly recommended that he went to a medic at camp before seeing you, but he still refused; however, perhaps he made a good decision to refuse, as the tents were full of men all waiting to see a medic. So we just rode straight back to the estate. I'm surprised he even made it that far because he looked as if he was about to faint and fall off his horse, and climbing the stairs to your quarters didn't serve him well either."
"Thank you Captain for all that you have done for us."
"You two are like family to me; it was the least I could do." Replied Bordon smiling.
"Anyway, how have you been fairing?" I asked.
"Quite well actually, and you?"
"Tired and anxious, but other than that, I have been fairing quite well."
"It also appears that you have "filled out" within the past couple of months." Commented the captain.
I laughed lightly, placing my right hand on the captain's arm.
"Well Captain, it has been four months now."
"Four months since what significant event?" Came a drawling voice behind me.
I turned and met a very familiar, hated pair of eyes.
"Oh, so that's what has happened to you, Miss Selton, or would it be Lady Tavington? The bastard Butcher is the father of your unborn child isn't he?"
"What are you doing here!" I demanded.
"When the lord general saw that I had put in four months worth of stable duty, he saw fit to return me to my rank on accord that I would promise not to harm Col. Tavington or his family."
"I can't believe this! You nearly ravished me!"
"Nearly, but not so." Replied O'Hara smugly, stepping toward me.
"Back away from the lady, O'Hara, or you'll have more than just your rank to worry about." Said Bordon in a deadly voice, stepping in front of me to form a wall between the general and I.
"Come to fight the lady's battle for her, have you Captain?" Asked O'Hara in a tone of evil pleasure.
"There is no battle be fought as I am through wasting words on you!" I replied icily.
Capt. Bordon and I went out into the gardens. Tears stung my eyes and cheeks as I began to cry softly.
"Mary, what's wrong?" Asked the captain stopping beside me.
"The issue is not worth talking about." I replied, trying to regain my composure.
"Mary, please tell me." Said the captain looking at me with imploring brown eyes.
"It's just…it's just that…..I'm tired of being treated like I'm second class because I come from a patriotic family and am married to the colonel of the British Green Dragoons. Every place I go in the estate or grounds there is always someone staring at me and whispering to the person next to them about William and I and how it isn't right for us to be together, let alone have a child together. I've tried to ignore what they say, but I can't anymore." I said, beginning to cry harder.
Capt. Bordon embraced me, comforting me as I cried.
"Oh Mary, no one has any right to say such cruel things about you and your family, especially when they are in your presence. Why did you not tell the colonel or I sooner?"
"I didn't believe to be important enough."
"Nonsense, one can get into a lot of trouble if caught speaking illy of a high-ranking officer or his family without reason. Be strong Mary. Don't give them what they want; hold your head high. You and your family are better than what they say. Much better."
I looked up at the captain and gave him a small smile. He smiled back and wiped the tears from my face with the sleeve of his waistcoat.
"Thank you." I said softly.
"You're welcome." Replied the captain. "Now, why don't we go back to the estate and get something warm to drink. Then, we'll check up on the colonel."
After we finished drinking cups of hot tea, the captain and I went to check on William. He was asleep, but it was not restful; he thrashed violently, moaning as if he were trapped in a nightmare. Then without warning, he awoke, eyes wide, shivering with fever.
"Sir, are you alright?"
"Father…Mother…dead….Hell…" Rasped William; his head fell back on the pillows and he moaned.
"What is he talking about, Mary?" Asked Bordon, tension and concern written on his face.
"I'll tell you after we get some cold cloths on him." I replied.
After we put cold cloths on William's forehead and chest, I told the captain about his past.
"I…I had no idea; good God, no wonder he's the way he is." Replied the captain looking stunned.
"You didn't know?" I asked.
"Well no, not really, he hinted some things about his past, but they weren't in detail and he didn't dwell on the subject, which is quite understandable."
I walked over to William and checked his breathing. His breaths came in short, shallow strains. A perplexed look crossed my face.
"This is beginning to really worry me Captain; his breathing is considerably laboured."
The captain's brow creased in concern and worry.
"I'm going to get a doctor, and then I'm informing the lord general. You stay here; he needs you, Mary."
Capt. Bordon turned on heel and left the room.
About thirty minutes later, Capt. Bordon returned, closely followed by a doctor, and to my surprise, the lord general.
"How long has he been like this?" the doctor asked briskly.
"He began showing signs of illness two weeks ago; he's been this bad for just a few days." Replied the captain.
"How come he didn't stop working?" Asked the doctor.
"He didn't think the lord general would let him, being as there were plenty of ill soldiers still on duty." The captain replied.
The lord general looked guiltily at William, who lay on the four-poster.
"Well let me take a look at him." Said the doctor.
After the examination, the doctor came out in the hall where we were waiting, to tell us the results.
"He has severe pneumonia."
My eyes grew wide with fear.
"No! It can't be!" I said barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry."
"So, he's been damned to death then?" Asked the captain.
"Well, he doesn't have much of a chance of living." Replied the doctor. "Do you already know how to treat pneumonia, Lady Tavington?"
I nodded distractedly, trying to keep my unraveling composure together.
"Well then, I must be on my way as there are more that need my help at camp."
The doctor went back downstairs and out of the estate.
Bordon, Cornwallis and I went back into the room.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed him that hard." Said the lord general, laying a hand on my shoulder. "I am going to inform the dragoons that they won't be seeing their colonel on duty for at least three weeks."
"I'll stay here with Mary." Said Bordon.
"Very well." Replied Cornwallis, and he left the room.
I sank to the floor, sobbing.
"This is not a time for things like this to be happening." I sobbed. "I can't take this."
"I know, I'm sorry." Said Bordon softly, kneeling on the floor beside me.
I leaned my head on his chest and cried until I was drained of all energy, feeling limp and lifeless.
Capt. Bordon and I watched over William late into the night; his condition had not improved; his sleep was punctured with nightmares, and he would often awake suddenly, in a dazed, trance-like state, and then fall back asleep.
I kept watch with Bordon, over William until just before midnight when Capt. Bordon said, "Mary, why don't you go to my quarters and sleep."
"I can't, I need to stay here with William." I replied.
"Mary, you're four months pregnant; you need your rest."
"Captain…"
"Listen to him, Mary." Said William quietly.
"William no, I…"
"Come here, Mary."
I walked over to the left side of the four-poster, where William lay, still pale and sweating, and sat next to him on the side of the bed. William reached up and caressed the side of my face with his right hand. I looked into his eyes and beheld concern in them.
"I love you and I don't want you ill, especially now." Said William gravely.
"William…"
"I will see you in the morning. Rest in Bordon's quarters."
"But…"
"That's an order."
I sighed heavily; I didn't want to comply with William, but I didn't want to tax him of any more energy and though I wasn't going to admit it, I knew he was right.
Capt. Bordon escorted me to his quarters.
"I know that it is probably isn't possible for you to do so, but try to sleep well tonight and I'll see you in the morning."
I nodded.
"Oh Mary," Said Bordon embracing me; "I see the pain on your face and in you eyes; I feel the same way; Col. Tavington is like a brother to me; there has been more than one occasion where he risked his life to save my own; it make s me wish I could take his place and lie sick on the bed so he can get on with his life with you, and while he's doing so, have a good Christmas. All I can say is that he's a strong man. He'll make it; he's too damn stubborn to die and leave you like this. I also don't think that he'd think it very glorifying that he, the most feared soldier on the battlefield would be able to be bested by an illness. No, he'd be rather embarrassed to die like that."
I gave the captain a small smile.
"Thank you, Captain."
He smiled.
"Like I stated yesterday, you are like family to me; I would just as soon risk my life for you as I would the colonel, not only for the army's sake, but for my own personal obligations as well."
I smiled.
"If you should ever find a lady to court, she should consider herself very fortunate to have you."
"Thank you, Mary." Replied Bordon blushing slightly. "I'll see you in the morning then."
I awoke around four the next morning and went to check on William.
"Mary, what are you doing up so early?" Asked the captain upon seeing me enter the room.
"I couldn't sleep." I replied. "How is he fairing?"
"About the same. However, I don't know which is worse: the colonel having his sleep severely punctured by nightmares, or him just not being able to sleep at all?"
"He didn't sleep?"
"No, not really?"
"How is his breathing?"
"It is still considerable laboured however, his breaths don't seem quite as strained."
"Well that's good news. Thank you Captain."
I walked over to William and rested my hand on his forehead.
"You're still very warm." I murmured softly.
William coughed violently.
"He was coughing like this all evening, and complaining of chest pains because of it." Commented the captain.
"Has he had any liquids lately?"
"Yes, every hour when he's awake?"
I nodded.
"Try to sleep William." I said softly, stroking his cheek.
"I can't. It's hell." Replied William just above a whisper.
"I know it's hard, but try not to think of your past."
"That's damned near impossible." William rasped before going into a violent fit of coughs.
"Please try, William." I said stroking his face and hair.
He swallowed painfully and nodded.
I looked over to where the captain sat in a chair, next to the other side of the bed.
"Thank you again, Captain."
"You're welcome; Mary, are you well? You look pale."
"I'm just tired; I should probably go back to bed."
I stood up to leave the room, but immediately sat down again, feeling lightheaded. Capt. Bordon gave me a concerned look and asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'll be fine Captain; I'm just tired."
"Well let me escort you back to my quarters."
"Captain, I'm.."
"I insist."
I sighed.
"Alright."
I got up, feeling rather shaky on my feet. Capt. Bordon met me at the door and we left the room.
Just as we left the room, I began to feel lightheaded and dizzy, and paused, clinging to Bordon's arm to steady myself.
"That's it." Said Bordon sweeping me off my feet and into his arms. "You'll faint before we get to my quarters if I allow you to walk there."
Capt. Bordon carried me to his quarters and gently laid me o his bed and pulled the covers over me.
"Sorry Captain. I guess you were right about my well-being."
"Well, you don't have a fever." Said the captain, feeling my forehead. "However, I strongly advise you to stay in bed until this evening."