William rubbed his eyes knowing that he would surely go mad from staring at the ledgers all day. For most of the afternoon he had to count the rent, put aside enough for the land tax and then put aside wages for the servants that attended to him and Effie. He hated doing numbers as a child, nevermind as a landlord. He glanced up at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. 10pm. How had the entire day passed that quickly! He let out a groan, pressing down his quill a little harder than intended, snapping the tip.

"William, are you here?" His wife spoke, causing him to look up for a moment. How ironic. The last time the tip of his quill snapped he decided to go on a ride, finding his dearest Effie in distress "Ah there you are, your dinner went cold"

"I apologise, my love, I did not realise the time" He lied, causing her to tsk and walk over towards him. He placed the broken quill on the side of the ledger, closed it and leaned his weight on his arms "I needed to sort the money, I apologise that it took so long" She crossed her arms and casted him a small scowl "please forgive me"

"I do, I miss my husband however"

"We had dinner together-"

"Five hours ago" Effie quickly butted in "Now, I know that you are busy but maybe tonight you could sleep in our bed other than in here, hmm?" She asked as she walked to his side, tipping up his chin and pecking her lips "Correction, I want you to sleep in our bed tonight. We have only been married a month and after our honeymoon we haven't so much as touched each other"

William took her hands into his and pulled her onto his lap, seating her on his thigh and wrapping his arms around her "Do you think that I do not desire you, hmm?" He asked, brushing back her hair and kissing her neck "If you were laid on our bed with nothing on, I would pounce on you quicker than a lion on its prey" Effie let out a soft gasp and rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of his lips on her neck. She inhaled rather deeply, smelling his weirdly nice scent invading her senses "if I could, I'd have you in every room of this house, making each time ten times better than our last"

"What is the point in making me feel like this? I don't know what you want to receive from this conversation" She innocently spoke before getting off oh his knee and walking towards the window seat. Effie sat down and picked up a pillow, placing it over her middle section. William let out a groan and stood up, making his way over towards his wife "well you know that I'm as innocent as the whitest lilly"

"The hell you are" He knelt down and leaned forwards to take her lips into his. She let out a soft squeak and clutched onto his coat "I think all of your innocence vanished the moment you woke up after our wedding night" William uttered against her mouth before sitting next to her "I will take a break tomorrow, my love"

"You said that yesterday and the day before, and the day before that" A subtle saddened smile played on her lips as she looked down at her hands "I miss you…"

"But as we both know, someone must attend to the ledgers" He mumbled before taking her hands into his "And I do miss you, if I could I'd spend every waking moment with you, we both know this. But there are other things that I must attend to, such as collecting rent, counting it and then investing some of the money" When William noticed her expression, he took her into his arms and hugged her tightly "Give me another week to get used to being a landlord…"

Effie nodded and reached forwards to push back a few hairs that had escaped his braid. She trusted him, how could she not trust him now "Alright, a week, so long as each day of said week you actually eat with me and come to our chambers"

William softly chuckled before turning his head and kissing her palm "Yes, yes I will my love" He smiled, knowing that he might have been lying. But he wanted to make his wife happy "Anyway, aren't you supposed to meet with your sister tomorrow?"

"That was yesterday, dear husband…" Effie shook her head and leaned forwards to kiss him, softly touching his lips with hers "you need some sleep too, you have bags underneath your eyes" She brushed some hair out of his face and smiled.

"I suppose it makes me look more dashing," William smirked.

"You look like you haven't in a week, you look as though you've just come from the battlefield. Though this time you're not covered in dirt"

William rolled his jaw and gave her a tight smile in response. He cleared his throat and looked at the clock "Well it is rather late…go to our chambers my love, I will be there in around fifteen minutes"

"Alright" Effie gleamed before pecking his lips "I'll see you in a moment" She kissed his forehead and stood up before walking out of the room "I love you" Then she disappeared into the corridor, not even closing the door behind him.

William picked up a glass of whiskey and took a sip from it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he tried to hold back the memory that was forcing its way through his mind. The air around him was still, the only sound being his own heavy breathing and the rustle of his clothing. William looked down at his hands as he tried to focus on the present, to no avail. He closed his eyes again, hoping that the pain would eventually pass. How was it that a simple mention of the battlefield caused these images to flash through his mind again!

William satwith his eyes closed for a moment, his jaw clenched and his breathing shallow. He had Effie now, what else could he possibly need? The silence in his office was agonising until he heard his wife's soft laughter from their bedroom. She was probably laughing with Mable, her handmaiden.

He was still in the present, still alive. He looked around at the world around him and took in his surroundings. William was alive, he had the love of his life now. With a soft clearing of his throat, he picked up his pocket watch and walked to his chambers, where he knew Effie was waiting for him.

William walked into his bedchamber and paused for a moment as he took in the scene before him. Effie was sitting in front of a mirror as Mable brushed her hair. The light from numerous candles lit up the room, casting a soft glow across his wife's face. She looked graceful and elegant, perfectly fitting the role of the lady of the house. William stepped forward and paused again, watching her for a moment before speaking "Mable, will you leave us for a moment?"

"Of course sir" Mable set down the brush on the vanity before exiting the room.

With that, William walked behind his wife and began gently running his fingers through her hair, brushing it away from her face. He slowly brushed the strands of hair that had fallen onto her cheeks, feeling her soft and smooth hair beneath his fingertips "You've always had such gorgeous hair…blonde and so silky soft…" He could see Effie smiling at the gentle touch of his hands, her face illuminated with beauty in the glow from the candles.

"And why are you being so lovable this evening, hmm?" Effie turned to face him and smiled slightly "It's strange, are you feeling alright?" She jested.

William softly chuckled when he saw her curious expression "What, can a man not appreciate his wife without ulterior motives. Romance isn't dead you know" He gently tipped her chin up and leaned down to softly kiss her lips "The world is a chaotic place, my love. Life often throws hardship and challenges at us and I find myself overwhelmed and out of control at times. Like having to wait six years to reunite with you" William paused for a moment before adding, "but whenever I look at you, my world stops and life becomes peaceful again. Every hardship was worth it. Your beauty and charm are enough to ease my greatest anxieties. I just want to show you how much I love and appreciate you"

"And I love you too"

"Are you ready for bed, my dear?" William asked as he offered her his hand. When she took it, he gently pulled her out of her chair and over to the bed. He softly kissed her cheek before walking over towards his side of the bed and taking off his clothing. Effie, who was still not yet used to the sight of her handsome husband in just his smalls, flushed a slight pink as she crawled between the sheets. A few moments later, William joined her and rested his hand on the dip of her waist.

"I'm sorry that i've been distant my darling" William uttered as Effie turned to face him "I love you…"

"I love you too" She reached up and rested her hand on the side of his face, her fingers gently brushing through his long hair "Tomorrow, if you so much as stare at those ledgers I will toss them out of the window"

"Goodnight my darling" William kissed her forehead, then her nose and then her lips. The couple soon fell asleep in each other's arms.

But that wasn't it. In the early hours of the morning William stirred in his bed, a cold sweat began to cascade down his body. His body shivered and his heart was racing. In the dream, William was back on the battlefield. The sounds of gunfire and canonfire rang in his ears as he spurred Brecken forward. His vision was hazy and blurred, but William knew he was in danger. In his dream, he felt fear and panic rise within him as he tried to ride free of the battle. But he couldn't escape no matter how fast Brecken was riding. Moments later he was shot off his horse.

He awoke with a sharp gasp, his eyes darting around as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He sat upright in his bed and shook his head, trying to rid himself of the nightmare. With a few deep breaths he slowly calmed himself. A look of fear and confusion began to settle over William's face, as he tried to determine whether or not the memory of the war he was just experiencing was real or not. He glanced over at Effie who was still peacefully asleep in bed and decided against disturbing her.

William laid down in the bed and tried to go back to sleep. He continued to take deep, calming breaths as he stared up at the ceiling in his room. The nightmare he experienced felt hauntingly real to him. He could still feel the cold sweat on his body, and the hazy memory of the war still felt fresh in his mind. William did his best to push these memories away, knowing that he would be sent to a madhouse if anyone knew. As he tried to fall back asleep, the images and fear of the war continued to haunt the back of his mind.

He continued to lay awake, the images and sounds of his nightmare still replaying in his mind. Effie slowly stirred next to him and opened her eyes. William's head jerked to look over at her, trying not to give away the fact that he had been awake all this time. He looked over at her sweet face and could feel the fear and anxiety in him begin to rise once again. What if she found out that he was mad?

William slowly lifted his hand and placed it upon Effie's cheek "Shh, go back to sleep…" He stared into her eyes for a moment and saw the confusion in her eyes.

"Why are you still awake?" Effie sleepily mumbled before noticing that his hair looked a little damp. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Just a silly one, nothing of importance" William replied with a small smile. Effie kissed his forehead and brushed back his hair "You know the ones where you're trapped somewhere silly? And your greatest fear chases you? One of those"

"I hope you're feeling better now my love" She yawned and cuddled back up to him once again. He found it rather adorable that she was asleep again within moments. William felt relief wash over him as he held his wife in the safety of his arms.

He couldn't tell her, she'd think that he was mad for having such silly thoughts. He had to toughen up for her.