The Last Marigold

~XXV~

William longed for his wife, in fact, over the course of the night he had started to write at least a dozen letters but never wrote more than a sentence. Each time he thought of how Marigold hadn't visited him and every time he remembered that she has had a difficult pregnancy. He let out a sigh and looked over his shoulder at Penelope who was still soundly asleep. When he had first met her at his and marigold's engagement ball, he never imagined sleeping with her or even getting her with child. And of course, if it wasn't for Banastre he wouldn't have gone to that tavern in the first place!

"William?" He flinched when he felt Penelope's hand on his uninjured shoulder "Come now, honey, you must come back to sleep" She muttered before kissing his temple only to see the unfinished letters on the table. Deep down she knew that this would come to an end, this man that she cared for would leave to visit his wife.

"Penny..." William murmured as she started to kiss down his neck "Stop..."

"You like this usually, do you feel well?" She asked with pure concern before resting the back of her hand on his forehead "you're not running a fever..." Penelope spoke as she picked up his coatee and carefully wrapped it around his shoulders.

"No...I-I feel fine, I just...well I-I'm just a little worked up I guess"

"Here" she helped him stand and lightly tipped up his chin "We have time, besides I'd rather spend my time with you that with Captain Rutledge..." William rested a hand on her belly and let out a soft breath, smiling as best he could before it became painful. She tenderly cupped his cheek and stood up on her tip toes to softly kiss the right side of his lips. He let out a light hum before pulling away "I can help you wind down..." Penelope started to press soft kisses along his jaw before making her way down to his neck.

"Penny..." she helped him sit on the bed "wait...we can not do this" William saw her smile fade, it made his stomach sink. He reached up and brushed her hair from haloing his face, lightly brushing his fingers across her cheek "we can not continue this affair..."

"I-I don't understand..."

"penny..."

"Please, don't do this...I-I love you"

"You love me?" Williams said with almost disbelief, but when he saw Penelope's seriousness he swallowed thickly and glanced down at his boots. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh before looking back up at her, wincing slightly when he felt a jolt of pain in his wound. In that moment he remembered that he was abandoned by his wife, only Penelope was there when he needed someone to cry to. Without thinking, he leaned towards her and tenderly kissed her, ignoring the slight sting on his lip as their kisses grew a little more passionate. Penelope moved to straddle his waist and gently cupped his injured cheek. Deep down he knew that he was using her feelings as an excuse to sleep with her, he hated himself for using that to his advantage "W-we end this affair as soon as I return to Charles Towne, do you understand?"

"yes Colonel...I understand"

A week later, William had his stitches out and was allowed back on light active duty. He eventually gave up on begging Dwight to let him see Marigold, the corpsman was adamant on William staying in the camp where he could keep him under observation. When he returned to full duty, manning patrols and such, he almost completely forgot about his wife's betrayal and spent most of his nights in Penelope's embrace. Though when September turned into October and then November and then early December, he decided it was time to finally go home. He had given Penelope an agreed settlement of two hundred hundred pounds, she used it to purchase a small cottage on the edge of Charles Towne.

Three months later,

Banastre slowed his horse to a trot when he gazed up at Marigold's parents home. The only real reason why he was here was for the officers ball at Middleton Place but he thought that he'd pay Marigold a visit. He swallowed thickly before dismounting and pulling his horse along with its reins before tossing them to a nearby servant. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had knocked on the door and was waiting for a response. But when he saw Daphne, Marigold's mother, answering the door, he let out a breath he didn't know that he had been holding "Mrs Harlow, is Marigold here?" Banastre asked, peering over her shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of Marigold but failed.