'Victory! Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown!'
When William looked back, he felt nothing but shame for his actions. Although he was mortified by the British defeat at Yorktown, he could not help but smirk. That dammed fool Cornwallis! If he'd let him use his tactics maybe they would've won! And maybe he wouldn't be practically begging on the streets!
Over the last ten years, he'd somehow managed to scrape together enough money to be able to travel to North Carolina, then somehow Virginia. He was less known there, though he used the fake name of 'William Thorne' to make certain that no one would recognize the damaged 'Tavington' name. He wondered what had happened with his mother and his younger sister, even his father. After a few years, he traveled to Ohio to see what could have been his. If he somehow won the battle against the ghost...if he didn't run from Cowpens. The cries of the people he had killed started to come back, and the only way to deal with it, in his opinion, was by drinking. He heard the subtle cock of a musket before drowning out the sound by drinking the rest of his ale.
"Another..." William mumbled as his tankard landed on the bar.
"You've had enough" The bartender sighed and took away his cup. Without a thought or care, William leaned over the bar and swung his fist at him. It took two men to restrain him, which even surprised both parties "Right that's it! You're barred!"
William stumbled out of the tavern and fell against the hitching post "Why are you doing this to me!?" He drunkenly cried before regaining his balance "Just kill me!" then a crack of thunder echoed through the trees "Oh fuck you!" Around half an hour later, he found himself laying on a pile of hay in a barn. He couldn't care if it was abandoned or not. It wasn't exactly like it would make a difference to his unworthy life.
'you need to promise to find happiness' Emily smiled and gently scratched his jaw 'promise me that?' William shook his head and brushed her hair from her face 'find it, Will...'
"Don't leave me...I'm not strong enough
'You are...'
'I love you'
But there was no response.
~~~
"And why are you keeping him in the spare room miss?" Asked an unfamiliar voice as William cracked his eyes open "Your heart is one of gold but he could be dangerous"
"Well, he was asleep in my barn, sauced out of his mind" Another unfamiliar woman spoke as he regained consciousness "He doesn't look dangerous"
Just at that moment, he hauled the contents of his stomach onto the floor beside the bed. Oh god...what had he done?! He quickly sat up and scurried to the other side of the bed "Who are you?! Where am I?!"
The two women looked over at him and one with a less caring look than the other "Sir, you passed out in my barn" the younger-looking of the pair spoke before casting a small glance at the pile of bile on the floor "get Edwin please" She said to the coloured woman beside her.
"I- who- where?" William stammered before realizing that he was just in his breeches "who undressed me?"
"Omari" The woman raised her hands slightly in an attempt to calm him. Whoever the younger woman was, she was quite beautiful. She had gorgeous eyes and deep chestnut locks. But her eyes captivated him the most, so bright and full of life. Unlike his rather dull grey ones "I was informed late last evening that you were asleep in my barn, I thought you'd like a comfier place to sleep"
"You helped me?"
"Yes"
"Thank you"
"You're welcome, mister- what is your name?"
"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"