William Clay

William Clay walked along the thin dirt road that followed the edge of Miss Carpenter’s land. He had spent most of the day planting. It was still somewhat early in the season, but he was confident that any frost that occurred would not penetrate the ground so deep as to harm the seeds. He looked over his right shoulder back at Miss Carpenter and Mr. Porter. He hated the sight of it. Edward Porter was an idiot. Sure, he was good looking, but that was no reason to fall all over him. He turned to face forward quickly as he saw Miss Carpenter begin to turn in his direction. This town was a joke. They called themselves Puritans, but deep down everything was the same as any other town back in England. People were limited by social class created by, usually, how much money they had or their position in society and occasionally their ability to express their faith without expressing it at all. Edward Porter, being the son of the only doctor in town, had a relatively high place in society, regardless of the fact that he would get no piece of the fortune upon his father’s death. Thus, no doubt, he eagerly chased after the fortune possessed by Louisa Carpenter.

Clay, however, was a farmer. He always had been a farmer and would remain so until he died. He didn’t remember much of his father. He had died when William was just a young boy when his father had died, leaving him and mother to fend for themselves. Though his mother worked as a seamstress as best she could, William had little artistic talent, and found himself better suited as a hired hand for whomever needed help with their farm work. Mr. Carpenter, Louisa’s father, had the largest farm in the town, and not only accepted William’s offer of assistance, but also bought him and his mother a small house just beyond the property line for ease of travel. William’s mother died from a fever a few weeks later. And so he lived alone in the small house just beyond the Carpenter property line and he worked on the farm every spring, summer and autumn that came and went for the next 15 years. His status in the society, though generally respected, was quite low.