Chapter 3 ~ Trust

Tavington returned to the medical tent for another two weeks before Dr. Dalton cleared him to return to relative active duty, except for the riding aspect. As Tavington was leaving the medical tent, he saw Andrea nearby. Her hair had been loosely braided and it hung behind her, barely touching the small of her back. Her gentle face was strained in concentration as she carried two buckets of water and balanced a basket of bandages under each arm. Tavington went to her. "May I help you?" he asked.

"Take the bandages." Andrea said.

Tavington took the baskets and followed Andrea into the tent. "Andrea, we are running out of needed supplies. Could you go into town and get them for me?" Dr. Dalton asked.

"Yes Father." Andrea said, before leaving the tent.

"Miss Andrea, might I accompany you into town?" Tavington asked.

"Don't you have work to do Colonel?" Andrea asked, showing a genuine concern.

"Not yet." Tavington said, leaving his explanation very vague.

"Then yes Colonel. You may come with me into town." Andrea said, taking up a small basket and her cloak.

She went behind the medical tent to get her wagon and horse ready. Tavington followed her. The horse was standing loose next to a smaller wagon. The horse was a sooty Palomino mare with bright cream mane and tail and four tall white socks. Andrea softly whistled to the mare who quickly abandoned her grazing to trot over to Andrea. The mare was dead lame. "Oh my Beauty, have you gotten yourself lame?" Andrea asked the mare, Beauty.

[AN: For those of you who are not horse savvy, lame means that something has happened to the horse's hooves or legs to cause the horse to limp and to be unusable until the lameness is cure. In Revolutionary War times and the years following, the horse served as a main mean to transportation. So, because Beauty was lame, Andrea would have had to either walk into town or find another horse. Sorry to interrupt. ~CH]

"I believe that you could borrow a horse from the ranks." Tavington suggested.

Andrea gave the mare a final pat before going towards the stables. Tavington flanked her and could not help but watch her move. Her body was slight but curvy. Andrea Dalton was no pole rail at 5' 4". For some reason, Tavington was attracted to her and he could not place his finger on it. Maybe it was her skin color (a pale tan) or maybe it was the way she conducted herself (with elegance and humility). Whatever it was, Tavington was attracted to her.

Andrea could feel Tavington's eyes on her. Though she had already admitted to herself that he was exceedingly attractive, she felt like she should not fall for him. She had seen his brutality firsthand whenever a battle occurred. Once, her father had sent her out into the field to find the wounded. The sight of butchered Colonials and militia haunted her. How could she even think to fall for him? But, he had been nothing but kind to her and she saw no sign of the brutality that she had seen or heard of from him.

They reached the stables and, while Andrea approached a group of soldiers near the entrance and asked, "Excuse me gentlemen, but might I borrow a horse to go into town." Tavington hung back, keeping to the shadows.

"Sorry Miss, but none of the horses have had to haul in a while. Plus it is their usual day off. There is some new stock but of their work history, I know nothing of." One solider said.

"Could you show me the new stock then?" Andrea asked.

"I apologize again Miss, but the new stock is all raw with no proper training. They are not safe for a young woman." Another solider said.

"I can show to the new stock Miss Dalton." Tavington said, emerging from the shadows.

The soldiers snapped to attention while Andrea gave him a small smile. "Thank you Colonel."

Tavington turned and offered Andrea his arm. He saw her give a small blush before taking his arm. Tavington lead Andrea to a small field where 5 horses stood. The horses had been taken from plantations for Dragoon mounts. "These are the horses that have yet to be tested, though all show potential, except for the ugly gray." Tavington explained, pointing out a dappled gray horse.

The horse was tall but did not hold a sound body build or conformation. His dapple gray did not compliment his body build either. The stallion sported a long, narrow Roman nose with a ewe neck into upright shoulders. His back was long and his hind quarters were a goose rump. However, his legs were straight as arrows. "He has a nasty and violent temper." Tavington said after glaring at the horse for a moment.

"Beauty did to when we first got her. She had been abused as a foal. Is he easy to catch?" Andrea asked, looking at the gray stallion.

The horse turned at the sound of her voice. His ears, which seemed to be in perpetual angry mode came forward to prick. "He is relatively easy to catch seeing as he absolutely hates humans." Tavington said.

Andrea let go of Tavington's arm and grabbed a rope from the fence. She went to the gate and entered the pasture. The gray immediately began to advance towards her, a deadly glint in his eyes. Tavington started forward as well, thinking Andrea had lost her mind. He would not see her trampled by some half-crazed horse. The gray reached her first but stopped short of her and lowered his ugly head into her small hand. Andrea gently rubbed his forehead before looping the rode around his neck. The gray allowed it and followed her out of the pasture. "He does not hate humans, Colonel. He just hates men." Andrea said, giving Tavington a small smile as she led the horse through camp.

Many of the men had been bitten or kicked by the gray horse that Andrea now led. Andrea did not stop once until she reached the medical tent. Once there, she began to hitch the gray up to the wagon. Tavington assisted her in this, keeping an eye on the gray the entire time. Beauty had stopped her grazing to look at the gray before her. Andrea worked tirelessly until the gray was completely tacked up to the wagon. She then went to the seat and motioned for Tavington to join her. He did and she kissed at the gray. He straightened up and began to walk forward, hauling the wagon with.

The gray pulled all the way to town. Andrea remained silent on the dive there but handled the gray like a master. Tavington merely observed her as she drove the gray. She handled him gently with a soft but firm hand. The horse stepped lively and honestly. Tavington was the one to initiate conversation.

"Where were you born Miss Andrea?"

"In Virginia. No town, just Virginia." Andrea replied.

"So, you are a colonial?" he asked, slightly taken aback.

"Yes." Andrea said. "My family was patriotic until a militia regiment came up to our plantation one night. They killed my mother and burned our plantation after they..." Andrea fell silent for a moment. "The week after that, my father enlisted in the British army as a doctor. We have been loyalists ever since." She finished.

"I see." Tavington said just as they entered the town.

Andrea pulled up next to the general store and exited the wagon. Tavington stayed with the wagon while Andrea gathered the supplies. Many of the townspeople gave him dirty looks but none raised a hand or a voice against him. Andrea returned shortly and loaded up the wagon with the needed supplies. Before getting back into the wagon, she gave the gray a pat and said, "Let's go home Beast."

"Beast?" Tavington asked.

"Yes. I'd like to call him Beast... if that would be alright..." Andrea said, her hesitance returning.

"Seeing as how you are the only one able to handle him, he will just have to be called Beast." Tavington said, giving her a true smile.

She blushed deeply and avoided his eyes. A moment passed and Andrea remained silent. Tavington felt bad. For some reason, Andrea had closed herself off from him. As they neared the camp, he spotted a field full of various flowers. "Stop here a moment." Tavington said curtly.

Andrea pulled Beast up and Tavington walked into the field. He gathered a bunch of flowers of all colors; reds, yellows, blues, purples, and whites. Taking the bouquet, Tavington approached Andrea. He gave her the flowers. Her deep blue eyes misted with tears. "For you." He said, giving her an uncharacteristically soft voice.

"Thank you William..." Andrea said, meeting his gaze.