The Col. did not leave the property the next day. He wasn't expected on any duty calls for a while. Ellie figured that she would have to run her plans right under his nose, and clear out servants while she kept him busy. For the first couple of days it worked out, but then Tavington began to notice the service shortage and confronted Ellie.
"Your servants are running away," he snapped," How could you not notice?"
"They have been so busy tending to your men," Ellie said calmly," I have scarcely even seen them around."
Tavington thought on that for a moment," Hmm. I'll set a guard around your property then, and if any are caught running away they will answer to me."
"If they are going to answer to anyone Col., it's going to be to their rightful owner, and that would be me, not you."
"Very well. But you will of course have them punished?"
"I will decide that if the occasion arises."
Tavington sighed and left the room just as Margo came in. On seeing that she was about to say something, Ellie motioned for her to be silent, for she knew that even though he left the room, it did't mean that the Col. wasn't still listening in. Margo nodded and sat down across from Ellie. The two stared into the fire for a few minutes until finally they heard retreating footsteps and the front door close. Ellie could hear Tavington shouting orders to his men. It was now ok to speak.
"Do you think he knows," Margo whispered, not looking up at her sister.
"I don't know Margo," Ellie whispered back, pretending to busy herself with a cross stitch," But now we will have to wait until the soldiers are off on duty to clear out anyone else."
"O that could be months."
"I know, but we must be patient and keep our heads or he will suspect."
"Why must you keep taking such torture from him?"
"If I don't he would kill you. I can't risk that."
"He shames you so.."
"Don't worry about me Margo," Ellie said, putting down her stitch work and getting up," I can handle it."
Ellie left the room and went upstairs to her old room. She slammed the door and looked around her. The anger in her heart had been boiling to the surface for days, and now it was spilling over the edge. She didn't know what to do anymore because tears didn't seem to be enough. She couldn't understand fully why she was hurting. She wanted to have an explaination to her pain. She grabbed a letter opener from off her desk and went to the mirror. She took a long hard look at herself. Her face had paled some. She looked sick. She was ugly and disgraced and she hated herself. She had never hated herself so much before. Her heart had been ripped out and stomped upon by the man she thought she had loved..the man she was ashamed to have ever had feelings for. Now he had violated her in the worst possible way. She was ruined. Ellie put the letter opener down and began stripping down until she was down to her undergarments. She stared at herself again, and tears began to fall from her eyes. She angrily wiped them away, and picked up the letter opener. She stared almost blankly as she poised the tiny blade on the skin of her shoulder and pushed....
After half an hour, Ellie's body was soar and stinging horribly in the places that she left wounds. She stared at herself again in the mirror, and saw herself, broken and dead, with a tear streaked face and crimson streaks all over her body..at least in the places that could only stay hidden for so long...until the Col. would violate her again. There was a knock on her door that caused her to jump and drop the letter opener on the floor.
"Ellie?" came the Col.'s voice," Are you coming downstairs?"
"Y-yes," Ellie said.
"Put on something nice. We are having a party tonight."
Ellie listened to his retreating footsteps. She went to her closet and pulled out a pile of bed linens and began pressing them over her cuts. She was so ashamed of herself. She wanted to die. The only thing she kept in her mind was that now she knew where the pain was coming from..some of it. There was still the pain in her heart that even cuts could not cover for.