Love and Loyalty

~3~

Surprisingly, William was able to adapt to his new role rather quickly. He was given control over the slaves that worked in the fields and stables within a week of working and he was given complete run of the house meaning that he could come and go as he pleased. His efforts in the fields did yield an income, one that was well above minimum wage, Eliza did keep her promise of five pounds a week. And even though he would murder for a drink, he knew better than to squander his income like his father did.

For the first week of his new employment, William hated the way his body ached after each sunset. In the dragoons he was able to go without sleep for days at a time, now he almost passed out every time his head hit his pillow. On his first Thursday working, he was charged with making a small repair to the roof of the plantation, Arthur was mesmerised and watched him until he finished. It seemed that he could never shake the boys company. But after a week he grew to look forward to the little lads small conversations.

William handled all of the outside duties while Eliza managed the inside. She kept a log on her weekly spending and wrote it down in a book. He wondered if she received letters of importance, buyers of the produce perhaps? Maybe she even corresponded with her family, if she had any that is. The only time they really saw each other was at breakfast and dinner. Though his eyes longed to see her beauty, his intelligence did not, he needed to focus on his work and not the woman that employed him. His main goal was to look out for his own well being, when he had saved enough money, maybe he could but passage on a ship to England. Then he'd be home at last.

He shook his head at that thought before walking through the fields. The slaves were wary of him at first, not knowing how he would treat them if they spoke out of turn or did their jobs wrong. William hadn't bothered to learn their names, he was there to work, not to make friends. As he walked past the oldest slave, he tensed and kept his head down as he planted seeds. William smirked at the reaction before looking over to the other younger slaves "What are you looking at? Get back to work!" Then he carried on walking towards the stable to check on the horses.

He locked the stalls before hearing a familiar set of footsteps run into the stable "Will! Will!" Arthur laughed and rushed up to him "we're having roast chicken for dinner!" he beamed before wrapping his small arms around his waist.

"roast chicken you say? are you going to eat it all like last night?" William smiled and knelt down before taking his hat off and putting it on his head.

"Yes!"

"Even your vegetables?"

"Yes!" he gleamed before hugging him "Mamma is waiting, come on!"

"Alright, Alright" William stood up before taking his hat off Arthur's head and putting it back in his own "Come on then, I'm starving"

"You smell bad" Arthur scrunched his nose before covering it with his hand.

"quite the charmer" William hummed before lifting the lad into his arms "Come on, it'll be cold by the time we get there" and with those words, he made his way back to the plantation.

~~~

"I must say Mister Thorne, I think I made the right decision in offering you work" Eliza's downcast eyes looked up into his. For a split second he wasn't only struck by her beauty but also her honesty. throughout the entirety of his military career, he was told that he wasn't good enough, that he needed to do better. it was something he had faced since he first started his schooling. It was a strange feeling indeed, pride maybe?

"I...er thank you mistress"

"You are quite welcome" She mumbled before looking to the side to see Arthur's empty plate "Well done Arty, now ready yourself for bed, I'll be upstairs soon"

"Alright mamma, goodnight" Arthur gave her a hug before rushing up the stairs to his room. William smiled to himself before taking a bite of chicken, then the dining room fell into an uncomfortable silence once again. He circled the rim of his cider with his forefinger, his thoughts far from the dining table.

"Arthur seems to have warmed to you" Those words snapped him from his thoughts, he glanced upwards, confused as he didn't catch half the sentence "I'm sorry if he interferes with your work"

"It doesn't bother me really, he just talks about nonsense most of the time" He was unsure why, but he couldn't focus on anything but Eliza's eyes, she was truly beautiful "but then again, he is rather intelligent for his age" Then the spell broke and his gaze shifted back to his meal.

"His governess has said he's advanced in his words, he dislikes mathematics though"

"He's expressed that on more than one occasion"

As neither of them knew what to say, silence enveloped them once again...

"Do you care for a drink?" Eliza asked before laying her knife and fork on her plate. The mere thought of consuming any sort of alcohol hadn't crossed his mind in more than a month, William found it amusing to count the days.

"I thank you for the offer but I must decline, I'd probably end up in the barn again"

She let off a soft, quiet laugh before nodding her head "very well, William" He felt a faint shiver creep up his back at his name rolling off of her lips, no one had called him by his full given name in years, it had always been shortened into something like Will or Liam, both of which he wasn't very fond of.

"I must be retiring for the evening now Miss Matthews, I shall see you at breakfast" he stood up and bowed his head "until then"

"Goodnight"

~~~

Damned woman, how dare she laugh at his attempt at sobriety. At the end of the day, she was the one to discover him in the barn at take him in! He unbuttoned his navy blue waistcoat and threw it onto a nearby chair before sliding his suspenders from his shoulders. His shirt soon followed, leaving him in just his breeches and boots. William caught sight of himself in the mirror and let out a sigh when he saw the scarred lesion on his right shoulder. That damned ghost had permanently made his mark on him. He ran his fingers over the slightly raised tissue before reaching down the take his boots off.

If Emily was still alive, she'd be waiting for him in bed when he turned around. She would've curled up to his side and muttered sweet sentences until he had fallen asleep. He hated himself for growing affectionate towards Eliza, he was betraying Emily in his mind. Madelaine would be fourteen by now, she would've been as beautiful as her mother in William's minds. The poor babe didn't even take a breath in this world.

William could barely remember their faces, the only prominent ones in his mind were the ones that he had murdered. He closed his eyes and clutched onto his pillow as the voices in his head grew louder and louder.

'before this war is over, I am going to kill you'

If only he did kill him, he wouldn't be silently suffering every night as the voices came back.