Work Text:
He watched the water as it washed against the rough shores of Cornwall. The waves broke against the high, uneven cliffs, tirelessly beating against the obstacles, determined to eat away what little they could. Today, they weren't so forceful, but there would be other days for the sea to show its might. Those days, there might be some greater success in the endeavour, or perhaps on other such days that followed later.
This land wasn't generous to the surges and currents of the sea any more than it was to the people living on it, didn't give of its own by any smaller effort no matter who set their strength against it. Whatever there had been that was easy to pull free was already a distant memory, if even that. On these shores, there was almost nothing left but the hardest of stone, not so easily broken.
Harsh prevailing winds had long ago blown away what loose soil there had ever been on these cliffs, far above even the reach of the waves, and whatever little remained was anchored there by hardy weeds and stringy grass that clung to the craggy rock. There wasn't a tree or bush in sight, for those he would have needed to move further from the shore, to the areas further inland where there was deeper soil and more shelter against the elements. Today, he felt no pull for it. Today, he didn't crave shelter or lush vegetation.
He had grown up in the war, but he had grown in Cornwall, and neither the bitterness of wind nor the roar of the sea shook him. He had prospered here before, when he'd been nothing but a wild youth with little care in the world. Surely he could prosper here again, one day, whether the land and his relations wanted him or not. He didn't need Elizabeth for that, no matter what he might have hoped for before. He didn't need the approval of his uncle either, although the money had come useful. It was unlikely there would be any more of that kind, but it hardly mattered. These unforgiving shores were his now, and he had responsibilities here -- to the land, to the people, and to himself as well. He wouldn't give any of that up without a fight.