Love and Loyalty

~1~

"M-my name?"

"Yes, you do have one?"

"William," He mumbled and tilted his head to the side "Do you need my last name?" The woman furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side "William Thorne" He muttered. He thought it best that he didn't use his damaged last name.

"It's nice to meet you, Mister Thorne"

William nodded slightly before trying to find his shirt "Where are my clothes?"

"The slaves are washing them for you, the stench was unbearable" She quickly realized what she said "Not that you smell unpleasant, just your shirt and waistcoat, never mind what I said" he looked confused above all, she had completely messed up her words "I'm sorry, my name is Eliza Matthews, it's nice to meet you, sir"

William hadn't heard the word 'sir' in quite some time. He smiled ever so slightly before looking down at the floor "Why did you help me?"

"As I said, you were in my barn" Eliza walked over towards a nearby drawer before pulling out a cream coloured shirt and black waistcoat "here, these should fit you" she turned around and laid it on the bed before looking at the boots on the floor "Are they yours?"

"The only pair I have, did I have my belongings with me, in the barn I mean"

"that horrible canvas sack thing? Yes, everything you own is still there, it's in the chest at the bottom of the bed"

"You didn't look through it?"

"Why would I?"

"nevermind" William spoke before a rather tall brown man walked into the room.

"Edwin, could you please clean up the mess whilst I have a chat with Mister Thorne?" She asked the slave.

"Of course Mistress" He smiled before looking over at the other man in the room.

"Mister Thorne, could you dress and meet me at the top of the stairs?"

"Of course"

William pulled on the fresh shirt before looking down at his hole-ridden boots and putting them on. When he exited the room, he looked around before seeing Eliza picking up a small boy. He looked around five or six and he had the same dark chestnut hair as his mother "Mistress" William mumbled and caught her attention.

Eliza placed the lad on his feet "Arthur, can you please wait for me in the dining room?"

"Yes mama" the child beamed before rushing down the stairs.

"he's yours?" Asked William as he adjusted the cuffs on the shirt.

"Yes he's almost six, I can't believe it" William smiled slightly before casting his gaze on his hands "Do you need a place to stay?" She asked as started her descent of the stairs "it seems that you have your entire life in that bag"

"There is nothing left for me back home" William shamefully spoke before quietly following her path until she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"your accent, it's British, are you a traveler?"

William swallowed thickly before following her into the dining room. It was decently sized, with lovely oak furnishings. The table was candlelit with food set, the aroma of which caused his mouth to water. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten a decent breakfast or breakfast at all "I was a soldier..."

Eliza stopped in her tracks and looked up at the man "the revolution?" he gave a slight nod in response "That was almost eleven years ago, have you been stranded here all this time?"

William nodded slightly before chewing the inside of his cheek "I didn't want to go back, I would've been humiliated by my father"

"Come, you must eat something" she spoke before gesturing at the food.

"I do not wish to overstay my welcome"

"You're not believe me, besides, your clothing is still being washed"

William seated himself before waiting for her to take the first helping of scrambled eggs. He then waited a little while longer before taking a spoonful of that as well, along with some toast and a few rashers of bacon "Forgive me if I'm being rather forward, but to afford a home as grand as this and its staff, you must be married, am I right?"

"I was once, he died around four years ago"

William nodded slightly before clearing his throat "My condolences, it was not my place to ask" he muttered before spreading some jam on the toast in his hand and falling silent once again.

"Mama! Can we go to the lake?" Asked little Arthur, who came storming into the room.

"Not today my little love, I'm housing guests"

William stopped eating for a moment before looking down at the boy "Is he, my new papa?" Arthur beamed before running over to him and hugging him tightly. This caused William to spill the tea on himself and the table, which in turn caused him to hiss from the heat.

"Arthur- I'm so terribly sorry-" Eliza was at a loss of words at her son's actions.

"There isn't a need to apologize" William lightly chuckled before picking up a napkin and wiping the tea from his shirt.

"Arthur, apologize to the man"

"I'm sorry..." He mumbled and sadly moved away from William.

"it's alright, he's just a child" he smiled before returning to his food.

Eliza lifted the boy onto her lap before running her fingers through his hair and shaking her head "dear boy, why don't you get dressed properly and I'll let you have a hot chocolate this evening"

"Can I have two?"

"Alright, only if you get dressed" with those words, the boy ran back upstairs and into his own room "I'm sorry about that"

"as I said, there is no reason to apologize, he's just a boy" he smiled before picking up his fork "So tell me, Miss Matthews, how old are you?"

"I will be in my Twenty-fourth year this winter" He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise, she certainly looked younger than that. But he did wonder why she had no suitors, especially at her age. She certainly would need a husband in this cruel world.

"Well your maturity certainly outweighs your age"

"thank you" She smiled and started eating her breakfast at last.

Then they fell silent once again and ate the rest of their breakfast that way. Once the slaves took their plates away, they talked about the weather and her desire to travel to England. He didn't know why, it was a horrible place in his opinion.

"Thank you for having breakfast with me, whilst your clothes dry, if you like you can stay in the room you woke in" Eliza spoke before standing up from her seat "it's been a pleasure"

"It is I who should be thanking you, if you hadn't found me in your barn, I'd probably still be there"

"Well that's where I keep my horses for the evenings, Omari would've found you either way" He nodded, unable to respond to her sentence "Are you in need of a place to stay?"

"Pardon?"

"if you want, you can reside here"

"I won't reside here for free"

"You could help in the fields"

"I shall take it into consideration, thank you, Eliza"

"You're welcome Mister Thorne"