Mary woke to hushed voices. She and William had lost track of time the previous night and though they had to quietly eat dinner at half past midnight, she wouldn't have asked to go in sooner. She enjoyed the time she had with William, no matter how late it got.
She quickly got dressed before heading towards the quiet chatter, finding her parents in the dining hall, William nowhere to be seen. She ignored her mother as she kissed her father's head as a good morning before going to her usual seat. She saw her mother watching her from the corner of her eye, but she paid no mind to it, still upset that her mother would even think about blaming William for something that he had no control over.
"What are you going to do today, Mary?" "I'm going to show William around the town I believe if that's alright. We'll walk to town, I think it'll be good to stretch our legs after the train ride and after he's been in the hospital for the past week."
"Mary, about last-"
"I don't want to talk about it. It's obvious that Mum is so distraught over Tom that she doesn't have any decency anymore."
"Mary-"
"William tried to save him. He did everything he could and maybe it wasn't enough, but he isn't a doctor-"
"He could've carried him. He could've brought him to the English at least."
"He couldn't have carried him, he was on a mission that was time-dependent. No one could've gotten to where they needed to be on time if they were carrying their dead best friend. Besides, it's better than leaving him on the battleground which the English do. He made sure he was near the cherry trees, he took his personal belongings and returned them to us-" "It should've been him." Mary fell silent. She didn't want to believe that her mother truly thought that William should have died instead of Tom, but she also felt that she barely knew her mother anymore. Mary stood up, ignoring the looks that both her mother and father made towards her leaving the table before she was finished and excused.
"You disgust me, Mum. William went through hell and back to get home just the same as Joseph or Tom. If it was them in Will's place, you'd want the mother of whatever girl they decided to fall in love with to treat them well and to treat them with respect. You're doing the exact opposite of what I expected." Mary looked at her father. "We'll be back later, don't wait up for us." Mary pushed in her chair, leaving the dining room before turning her back on her family and walking towards the orchard where she knew William would be hiding away.
Mary nor William minded walking the few miles down the road to the town center. They needed to move after spending their days in the hospital and on the train. Mary knew that William didn't want to stay at the house for a day longer, and though it was her family, she felt the same way. She felt embarrassed that William had to even endure her mother. She believed that her parents would have welcomed him in with open arms because of everything he had done for the entire Blake family, but she was mistaken.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Mary was shaken out of her thoughts by William gently nudging her shoulder with his.
"I'm just thinking over everything that has happened since we got here."
"You know it's not your fault."
"Yeah."
"Mary," William stopped walking, pulling Mary's hand so she would turn and look at him. "You had no idea what your mother would say to me. She cornered me when you were away because she knew that you would have supported me in whatever I would have said. You had no control over that, Mary. I know that and you seem to understand that as well."
"It's my mother, Will-"
"Just because she is your mother, does not mean that you are the one to blame. I'd never blame you for what your mother said."
"I still am upset. I'm furious that I brought you to my family just for my mother to say probably the worst thing she could to you."
"I'm fine, Mary, I promise. It hurts, yes, but I also know that your mother lost a son. I cannot imagine losing a family member to the war. You couldn't even bury him. I wish I could have done more. Besides, no matter what you say, I am somewhat to blame. I was with him and I was the only one with him, which means that I was supposed to protect him. I know that I wasn't the one who had the knife, but I do carry the blame and I always will." "You're not-"
"I am, Mary, no matter how much you want to tell me I'm not, I am." Mary sighed as William took her hand again and started to walk, basically ending the conversation. "Come on, I want to see where you grew up." Mary smiled and let William pull her the rest of the way towards the town.
"Where would you like to go first, Lance Corporal?" William smiled, looking around.
"Show me your favorite place." Mary smiled, not needing to be told twice before she dragged him towards the small library. "So you've always been a reader?" "Yes. Joseph taught me before they started allowing the women into schools here. The library was the one place he could bring Tommy and me and have us read whatever level we were at. Now, it's a way to escape what's happening in the world at the moment." William smiled, opening the door and letting Mary walk in first before he followed. "Almost no one comes here anymore, I think my family may be the only ones that come regularly." Mary smiled back to William as she led him through the shelves, to the backmost part of the library where there was a table. "This is where I'd meet Joe and Tom after their schooling. They'd tell me everything they learned, never leaving out any detail." She smiled as she felt across the table. "Tom was always telling the stories and Joe was always telling me the actual information." William laughed, disguising it as a cough, as the librarian walked by.
"Where's your chaperone?" Mary and William both turned, seeing the librarian had stopped, looking at the both of them. "I'll have no indecency in here, where's your chaperone?"
"We were just-"
"We're leaving!" Mary grabbed Willaim's hand, pulling him towards the exit and out to the street, laughing the entire time. "There was no arguing. Besides, all we need is Mrs. Stratford speaking with my mother. They'd get to talking and soon I'd be married off to the person with the most money."
"I'd have a decent chance then?" Mary smiled as William winked at her. "Maybe I should just slip it into a conversation that I've got-"
"No. I won't be marrying you just because you've got money. That's the least important thing to me." William smiled, taking her hand and bringing up to his mouth and kissing it softly.
"I promise you, the only way we'll be married is if you and I want to." Mary smiled, nodding her head in agreement. "C'mon, show me another spot. Maybe one without a judgemental woman watching our every move." Mary didn't need to be told twice, leading the way towards the town center.
