Havemercy Fic - Crossing the Line (28/29)
Title: Crossing The Line
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,177 for this chapter
Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to the wonderful Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett, although there may be one or two of my own creation :)
Summary: When he decides to search for an art tutor, little does sixteen year old Etienne know that he's about to embark on an adventurous summer of maturity, secrets and self-discovery. However, he's not the only one in the family who's been hiding things, as Castle Nevers will never be the same again.
Author's Notes: Thanks to manyfacesofme22 for betaing.
( Previous chapters)
William
A lot of things had changed since Etienne left.
For one thing, the house was much quieter. We all tiptoed around Ma, not wanting to upset her anymore. Even I was on my best behaviour. I didn’t think she’d ever recover from her darling little boy betraying us all like that, and one more upset in the family might tip her over the edge.
Which is why I decided to keep schtum about Alex. My actions had already hurt the family; I didn’t want to destroy it completely. The day after Etienne left, I went with Alex to the farm. He was eying me nervously along the way, and as we reached the farm he pulled me to the side.
“Don’t cause any more trouble, Will,” he warned me.
“I won’t. I just - I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“What are you going to do about the servant girl?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know,” he admitted.
“You need to decide, Alex. People are going to start noticing soon, and then where will you be?”
“Don't you think I know that?”
He leaned against the fence, scrubbing his hands over his face. He was silent for a few seconds, and I was about to say something just to fill the gap, when he finally spoke.
“She was my first-” he hesitated, blushing. “You know.”
I frowned. “What?”
He stared at me for a few seconds, then cleared his throat.
“Wait a second,” I said, forming an idea of what he might mean. “She’s the first girl you’ve fucked?”
He looked like he was having great difficulty with what to say. “Yes,” he spat out finally. “If you must put it like that.”
“You’re twenty,” I said incredulously. “What took you so long?”
“Alright,” he hissed. “We can’t all put it about the second we hit puberty.”
“You’ve been missing out,” I informed him. I would have felt sorry for him, if it wasn’t so funny. “Still, I don’t see what this has got to do with you giving her money and shit.”
“Well you’ve got to respect girls, haven’t you? We’ve always been raised to treat them right.”
“She’s a servant! She doesn’t count.”
He glowered at me but I refused to back away from his glare.
“Look, all I’m saying,” I continued, “is that you’re taking this whole chivalry way too far. It’s unnecessary, and it’s clearly stressing you out.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “If you really insist on being a gentleman, give her a bit of money and send her on her way. That’ll save her the shame of the folk around here knowing she was stupid enough to get herself in this trouble, and wherever she goes she can lie about how the wonderful father died heroically in battle or something. No one needs to know the truth. She won’t bother you again. It’ll be a new start for her.”
He bit his lip, and I could see that he was tempted. He was on the edge of accepting what I said, but there was something holding him back, and I wasn’t sure what it was. I thought of Etienne, and his insistence about his relationship. “Please don’t tell me you’re in love with her.”
“No,” he said, with enough force and surprise in his voice that I believed him. “I’m not - no.”
“Well, then. Surely it’s kinder to her to send her back to her family or something, than to lead her on when you can’t promise her anything. Think of the scandal this will create. And not just for you or for Ma, but for the girl herself. She’s a servant; you’re not. What are you going to gain by trying to help her?”
He stared at the ground for a long time. I knew I was right, and he knew it too, no matter how reluctant he was to admit it.
“This is the right thing to do for both of you.”
“Okay,” he agreed at last. “I - yeah, okay. I’ll tell her.”
“And you’ll send her away?”
“I’ve got some money saved up, I can give her that.”
“Didn’t you gamble all your wages away?”
He glared at me. “I stopped doing that when I knocked her up. I had to give her something.”
“Ever the gentleman,” I muttered.
I kicked off from the fence and started down the road.
“Aren’t you working today?”
“Thought you’d need some time to deal with this by yourself,” I called back. I had other things to do, and I was determined to get this right.
I walked to the village where Alfie lived. I was alone this time, figuring we needed to sort this out by ourselves. Also, the boys had pissed me off recently. After we’d found Etienne and That Boy in the barn, they hadn’t been the same around me. I could tell they wanted to make a joke when I was with them, and finally I lost patience and told them to spit it out.
“Runs in the family, don’t it?” Adair sneered. “How about you, Will? Been biting any pillows, recently?”
I hit him.
I couldn’t deny that he was a Cindy, but someone couldn’t just stop being your brother. That much was clear from Uncle Roy and Pa.
I’d sorted out Alex’s problems, now I could sort out my own. It wasn’t too hard to find Alfie once I got to the village, and I was relieved to see he was alone. He was standing on a bridge, staring into the water like he was doing some proper deep thinking. He looked up as I got nearer, but just turned back to the water. I stood next to him, copying his pose of leaning against the wooden handrail. “You attacked my brother,” he said by way of greeting.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “You drove mine out of his home.”
He hung his head. “I didn’t realise,” he said softly. “I didn’t think it would be that bad.”
“Yeah, well. I think you won.”
He looked at me, and I saw regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.”
The way I figure it, me and Alfie weren’t so different. We both did what we did to protect our brothers, but we ended out hurting them more than we’d ever hurt each other. We both stared over the water, an uneasy sort of truce between us.
Things were going to be hard for a while, but I could see that they could start to get better. It could sure as shit get boring in the country without a little trouble now and then, but I figured we’d had enough of that recently. I might even start working on the farm properly. After all, someone needed to keep an eye on Alex and make sure he didn’t fuck the next servant girl.
As I looked over the water, my new ally by my side, I felt like I’d finally achieved what Ma and Pa were always telling me: to grow up.
Next
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,177 for this chapter
Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to the wonderful Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett, although there may be one or two of my own creation :)
Summary: When he decides to search for an art tutor, little does sixteen year old Etienne know that he's about to embark on an adventurous summer of maturity, secrets and self-discovery. However, he's not the only one in the family who's been hiding things, as Castle Nevers will never be the same again.
Author's Notes: Thanks to manyfacesofme22 for betaing.
( Previous chapters)
William
A lot of things had changed since Etienne left.
For one thing, the house was much quieter. We all tiptoed around Ma, not wanting to upset her anymore. Even I was on my best behaviour. I didn’t think she’d ever recover from her darling little boy betraying us all like that, and one more upset in the family might tip her over the edge.
Which is why I decided to keep schtum about Alex. My actions had already hurt the family; I didn’t want to destroy it completely. The day after Etienne left, I went with Alex to the farm. He was eying me nervously along the way, and as we reached the farm he pulled me to the side.
“Don’t cause any more trouble, Will,” he warned me.
“I won’t. I just - I wanted to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“What are you going to do about the servant girl?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know,” he admitted.
“You need to decide, Alex. People are going to start noticing soon, and then where will you be?”
“Don't you think I know that?”
He leaned against the fence, scrubbing his hands over his face. He was silent for a few seconds, and I was about to say something just to fill the gap, when he finally spoke.
“She was my first-” he hesitated, blushing. “You know.”
I frowned. “What?”
He stared at me for a few seconds, then cleared his throat.
“Wait a second,” I said, forming an idea of what he might mean. “She’s the first girl you’ve fucked?”
He looked like he was having great difficulty with what to say. “Yes,” he spat out finally. “If you must put it like that.”
“You’re twenty,” I said incredulously. “What took you so long?”
“Alright,” he hissed. “We can’t all put it about the second we hit puberty.”
“You’ve been missing out,” I informed him. I would have felt sorry for him, if it wasn’t so funny. “Still, I don’t see what this has got to do with you giving her money and shit.”
“Well you’ve got to respect girls, haven’t you? We’ve always been raised to treat them right.”
“She’s a servant! She doesn’t count.”
He glowered at me but I refused to back away from his glare.
“Look, all I’m saying,” I continued, “is that you’re taking this whole chivalry way too far. It’s unnecessary, and it’s clearly stressing you out.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “If you really insist on being a gentleman, give her a bit of money and send her on her way. That’ll save her the shame of the folk around here knowing she was stupid enough to get herself in this trouble, and wherever she goes she can lie about how the wonderful father died heroically in battle or something. No one needs to know the truth. She won’t bother you again. It’ll be a new start for her.”
He bit his lip, and I could see that he was tempted. He was on the edge of accepting what I said, but there was something holding him back, and I wasn’t sure what it was. I thought of Etienne, and his insistence about his relationship. “Please don’t tell me you’re in love with her.”
“No,” he said, with enough force and surprise in his voice that I believed him. “I’m not - no.”
“Well, then. Surely it’s kinder to her to send her back to her family or something, than to lead her on when you can’t promise her anything. Think of the scandal this will create. And not just for you or for Ma, but for the girl herself. She’s a servant; you’re not. What are you going to gain by trying to help her?”
He stared at the ground for a long time. I knew I was right, and he knew it too, no matter how reluctant he was to admit it.
“This is the right thing to do for both of you.”
“Okay,” he agreed at last. “I - yeah, okay. I’ll tell her.”
“And you’ll send her away?”
“I’ve got some money saved up, I can give her that.”
“Didn’t you gamble all your wages away?”
He glared at me. “I stopped doing that when I knocked her up. I had to give her something.”
“Ever the gentleman,” I muttered.
I kicked off from the fence and started down the road.
“Aren’t you working today?”
“Thought you’d need some time to deal with this by yourself,” I called back. I had other things to do, and I was determined to get this right.
I walked to the village where Alfie lived. I was alone this time, figuring we needed to sort this out by ourselves. Also, the boys had pissed me off recently. After we’d found Etienne and That Boy in the barn, they hadn’t been the same around me. I could tell they wanted to make a joke when I was with them, and finally I lost patience and told them to spit it out.
“Runs in the family, don’t it?” Adair sneered. “How about you, Will? Been biting any pillows, recently?”
I hit him.
I couldn’t deny that he was a Cindy, but someone couldn’t just stop being your brother. That much was clear from Uncle Roy and Pa.
I’d sorted out Alex’s problems, now I could sort out my own. It wasn’t too hard to find Alfie once I got to the village, and I was relieved to see he was alone. He was standing on a bridge, staring into the water like he was doing some proper deep thinking. He looked up as I got nearer, but just turned back to the water. I stood next to him, copying his pose of leaning against the wooden handrail. “You attacked my brother,” he said by way of greeting.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “You drove mine out of his home.”
He hung his head. “I didn’t realise,” he said softly. “I didn’t think it would be that bad.”
“Yeah, well. I think you won.”
He looked at me, and I saw regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.”
The way I figure it, me and Alfie weren’t so different. We both did what we did to protect our brothers, but we ended out hurting them more than we’d ever hurt each other. We both stared over the water, an uneasy sort of truce between us.
Things were going to be hard for a while, but I could see that they could start to get better. It could sure as shit get boring in the country without a little trouble now and then, but I figured we’d had enough of that recently. I might even start working on the farm properly. After all, someone needed to keep an eye on Alex and make sure he didn’t fuck the next servant girl.
As I looked over the water, my new ally by my side, I felt like I’d finally achieved what Ma and Pa were always telling me: to grow up.
Next