Reality returned to the young squire, and with it the realization that his passion for Elizabeth would need to wait. He sighed heavily as a sad expression crossed his eyes even as a smile found a way to his lips. He was pleased that she at least forgave his impropriety and didn’t simply march out of the room. This led him to believe that he hadn’t damaged her respect for him in the process of pulling her onto the bed. Her strength of character in that moment proved that she was, indeed, a noblewoman in the finest sense of the word – a woman who was worth waiting for. He pulled the covers back over himself in order to have some semblance of modesty as they said their good-nights.<br/><br/>He closed his eyes in ecstasy as she ran her fingers through his hair and then squeezed her hand firmly before she finally withdrew it.<br/><br/>“Ay coorse, mah lady. Ah will rest an' graw strang again – if fur naethin' else than tae meit ye at th' altar. Ah know yer father will likely nae approve, sae we main need tae bide until i’m knighted, or after mah inheritance. But Ah will bide fur ye – nonetheless. Nae matter hoo lang it takes, Ah will be haur.” He looked upon her face with the expression of one deeply in love. “My loove, ye should go noo an' gie some rest. I’m sure we’ll spick again in the morn’.”<br/><br/>He was grateful that she got up and prepared to leave, since if she had lingered he might have lost all control of himself and given into his passion. When Elizabeth finally passed through the threshold he called to her one final time.<br/><br/>“Thank ye… my loove. For everythin’. Ah am in yer debt.”<br/><br/>Once they had said their goodbyes Wil settled down into the bed with a resigned yet not unhappy sigh. He leaned over and blew out the candle on the table and settled down to sleep on his good side, as his right arm still nagged him with pain and tingling. It didn’t bother him too much, though, lost as he was in thoughts of her.<br/><br/>As he drifted off he was finally able to understand the situation that led to his conception out of wedlock. For the first time he could sympathize with the depth of feeling his father must have had for his mother. With this new insight came a novel emotion – a sense of compassion for a man that prior to then he had never quite understood. In that moment Wil forgave his father for all the years of pain his tryst had inflected upon his bastard son. The young man resolved to go and visit the elder Ramsay as quickly as he could, especially in light of his father’s current illness. He planned to do so just as soon as he could speak to Elizabeth’s father in the morning.<br/><br/>He finally fell asleep as hints of the pre-dawn glow became visible through the shuttered window. With the new day came a chance to begin again for the young man. With fresh eyes and a hopeful heart, Wil realized that the world was actually a much better place than he had ever realized it could be – as long as she was in it.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">The End?</span>