The Green Dragoons
Roxanne followed Cornwallis into the house chatting to him about King and how she had come across him. She did lie about some aspects, she stated that her family was in Virginia and that she was sent here to help Colonel Burwell and that was all. He listened intently as if expecting her to slip and tell him some more information but Roxy knew better and was very brief in what she said. The entered a large dining room that was quite fancy. The walls were a light blue with large paintings in oak frames. The table was large and a deep red color. It seated at least 30 people and almost every seat was filled with soldiers.
They became silent as General Cornwallis entered and turned to face Roxanne. "Colonel Martin these are the Green Dragoons, they were the party that brought you in." She nodded looking at the men. Several of them were bandaged and bloody. Most of the wounds were on their arms or faces. One man in particular look horrible. He was a tall man with red hair that was wrapped in a queue. Both of his eyes were blackened and his nose looked broken he had a bandage on his right arm that was so severe that blood was leaking out of it. "Men this is Colonel Martin and she will be with us until further notice. You will treat her with respect and as gentlemen are expected to treat young ladies." he stated. The men nodded and rose to stand. Roxanne followed the General to the front of the table, "My dear you will sit here for today on my left but after this you may sit anywhere else as long as it's not my chair," he said with a grin as one of the men pulled the chair out for her. "Thank you," she said as she sat down and the rest of the men followed suit.
Roxanne felt very nervous that she thought she would surely faint. Being in such a formal place made her uncomfortable and unequal. She had never had a formal…..well anything really. Her meals were full of laughter and talking about what had happened that day, not of politics nor fashion. She had hoped since there were no woman she wouldn't be subjected to fashion but still it was nerve wracking. Suddenly all the men rose and Roxy was certain a few saw her jump in her seat. "As you were." a very loud voice said as a dark haired man entered the room. Roxanne suddenly felt as if her world had stopped. She could hear her heart beating as soon as she saw him. He was tall, probably about 6 foot, his skin was tan from the sun and his body was muscular from spending so much time in the saddle. But what really captured her was his eyes, they were a ice blue as if you could drown in him. "Who is this man?" she wondered to herself. "He looks so familiar."
"Colonel Martin, this is Colonel Tavington the leader of the Green Dragoons." Cornwallis said as Tavington sat down. 'Oh he must have brought me in.' and suddenly it all came back to her as flashes of Charlestown and the attempted escape. Also the rumors came flooding to her memory, so this was the infamous Butcher that she had heard of from the papers. He cared not for civilized warfare and in doing so did not care about killing woman nor children. "Colonel Martin," Tavington stated nodding his head as he took his seat at the General's right side. Roxanne smiled and could not stop herself, "So you are the Butcher I have heard so much about?" all of the men who had resumed talking stopped and stared at her with wide eyes and opened mouths. Tavington smiled at her, "You are quite a unusual girl, my dear." he said calmly. "You don't even know the half of it." she retorted earning a smile from both him and the General.
"So, Colonel Martin, how does a woman end up fighting in the war?" General Cornwallis asked as the food was brought to the table. "Easy really sir, this is my home too and I feel as if I should do all that I can to give us what we deserve." she said taking a bite out of the chicken. "You don't really believe that you can win this war." Cornwallis questioned. "I believe that we will win this war because we will not give up." She said facing him. He looked back at her and saw the passion in her eyes. "We shall see I suppose my dear." he said finally.
A voice spoke from her left and she saw the redhead she had seen when she walked in. "If they all fought like you did, we would have already lost the war." She turned to face him, smiling at the comment. "It looks like you met the end of my axe Captain…." "Borden," he replied curtly. "Well it must be embarrassing to get beat by a woman though by the looks of the rest of you, none of you know anything\of hand to hand combat. Shame really I figured a real Colonel would teach you such necessary things." she finished staring at Tavington with a smirk on her face. "Though I suppose I should not expect such things I mean you are redcoats." She said unwavering. The room was so quite you could hear the horses in the stables. After a few moments a eruptions laughter came from the General, "My you are a feisty one you my dear, I am afraid my men are not use to such comments from a woman." Roxanne smiled at the General. He was a kind enough man but she knew he was a great General and knew more about warfare then she could ever know. "Well this was wonderful, but I think I shall go and check on my horse if that is all right sir?" she asked sweetly. The General nodded knowing that there were plenty of men to keep a eye on her so she wouldn't get into trouble.
As she exited the room the General turned to Tavington, "You will be in charge of her and accompany her on her outings," Tavington choked on his chicken when he heard that, "But sir, I am a soldier not a babysitter," Tavington spattered angrily. "She is going to be a handful and I feel that you are the most likely not to lose her, she is important and we shall be able to use her to get a hand up on the colonials. Now I want you to go and make yourself acquainted with her." he ordered. Tavington rose from his seat and stormed out of the dining room. "Oh and Colonel try to be nice to her." he said with a smile.
