Chapter 4: Rest in my Embrace

Marianne was still working, cleaning the rooms until she heard an agonizing scream, loud enough to make her heart skip a beat because it sounded so familiar to her. She dropped everything she was doing and rushed toward the source of the scream. She was shocked to see her son lying on the ground whimpering, with his hand was profusely bleeding. Bryce was standing beside the boy staring at him with scorn. Marianne rushed to Willem and saw that a metal fragment had sliced his wrist and multiple pieces of plastic and metal were jabbed in his hand, it was a mess.

The mother held the child in her arms. “Oh...my! What happened to you, my boy? Young Lord Bryce what happened? did Willem do something to anguish you, my lord?”

“Your BOY...was slacking off, while everyone is working, and he has gotten this bad habit of lying. You should know that I do not tolerate this kind of frivolous behaviour from my servants.”

“But...my lord...”

“You know he can play and slack off all he wants in the lunchtime. But right now he had been neglecting his duties for a mere piece of toy.”

“M-my...lord I apologize on behalf of my son. It won’t happen again. But my lord you needn’t punish him so hard, I would’ve taught him myself”

“No...you see, if he isn’t mannered or properly punished then he will never learn, it’s a natural procedure of mannering young boys. Sometimes you need to be a little harsh or you know, they’ll just keep getting spoiled. You don’t want your son to become one of those boys. Am I right Mrs.Marianne?”

“Yes...I’m sorry my lord. I’ll see to it.”

“Please do Marianne.”

After that Marianne took the whimpering child in her arms, trying to console him, and helped him get to their room in the servant quarters.

“Hush now child...it’s okay. You’ll be fine in no time”

Marianne knew very well that what happened with her child was not even one bit on the right side. But she couldn’t raise her voice, not in front of Bryce. Because it would mean the end for them, they had no right to rebel against him, the same goes for every other lord and lady of the house.

This was the true face of the Winslows. Behind the facade of their big and benevolent names lied an inhumane persona.

Marianne helped Willem sit on the chair. She plucked out each and every splinter from his hand which was apparently an utter mess, she cleaned, disinfected the wound and dressed it.

There was a moment of silence between the mother and son. Willem tried to be strong. He was finally able to suppress his tears. “Mother…?”

“I know son...that it was wrong for him to do this to you…but...I AM SO SORRY my son, sorry that I was unable to protect.”

“It’s okay mother...I know. Anything you would have said would’ve only backfired. We’re trapped...in this damned place, with no place to go. No escape. We leave...we’d only be hunted like dogs.”

“I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have told you to go and play.”

“No mom!…it’s not your fault. I should’ve...I should’ve waited until lunchtime. I’m sorry, you worked so hard to fulfil my selfish desire for a toy and I broke it in no time.”

Mother took her son to bed, as tears rolled down from both their cheeks. “Hush now child… Rest in my embrace,” she said softly.

In her arms, his pain lowered. The pangs of abrupt pain seemed to fade in his mother’s embrace. For him, it was the only safe haven in this never-ending nightmare. He questioned himself, what he’d do without her.

Marianne was the only family of Willem. He knows nothing about his father or any other family. The only thing his mother had told him was that his father died when he was very young. Willem loved his mother, no matter what.

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