The next morning, Bordon was riding back to camp with 2 captured men. The intelligence was proven true and a rebel reunion was held in Summerville. The opportunity was just right, he could not have wished for a better ambushed. Although the rebels flew fast, he was still glad to have caught those 2 men. They would claim they did not speak English, but it could not been true; France was not yet in the rebellion. They could only be lying.
He was tired since they were not supposed to be out for so long. Once he reached camp, the men were tied in a barn. Dragoons had beaten them quite good; Bordon had to restrain his men from any more harm. The captives still had to be able to talk.
"Private, fetch Captain Wilkins as soon as he enters camp. I need him here," Bordon said.
He knew Tavington was on edge; the colonials were harder to catch these days and Cornwallis was putting a lot of pressure on his methods. Although Bordon was a good right hand, he enjoyed having the lead on certain missions.
Not long after, Wilkins made his entrance in the barn. He wished he would have met his wife; he could not help but wondered if she was okay. The smell of blood and urine brought him back from his thoughts and made his face winced. Hours had passed since the captives were held and they had not spoken a word. Different torture methods were used, but they were ineffective. If Wilkins knew those men, he might have known a way to make them talk, threaten their family or something of that sort.
"They have not spoken yet," Bordon said.
"I do not know who those men are," Wilkins added.
Suddenly, the doors opened vigorously and the colonel made his entrance. The dragoons inside straightened their postures and held their breath as the colonel walked the few steps to the prisoners. The captured men looked up and seemed to shake as they recognized the Butcher.
"Well? How long can it take you to get information?" he yelled.
"Sir, they might not even speak English," Bordon said. Wilkins was keeping quiet as Bordon was better at handling the colonel's mood swings.
"We'll see," Tavington said and stormed out as Wilkins and Bordon exchanged a gaze.
Minutes later, Tavington barged inside, holding Sarah strongly by her arm. Sarah looked around her and could not believe what she saw. Those men attached were beaten and tortured. She looked up and focused on her husband. Gosh, what was he doing here? Was he participating in those bad treatments? Army life was really changing him on a whole new level. Not only was he tired and impatient, but this, this was too much for her.
Wilkins' eyes widened as he could only see disgust on his wife's face. The camp was not a place for a woman, but this sight of tortured men was definitely not a place for her. He made one step toward them, but Bordon grabbed his arm to stop his impulse.
"Mrs Wilkins, translate," Tavington indisputably ordered, letting go of her arm.
…
Hours had passed and the Colonel had the information he needed. James and Sarah were able to leave the barn. He was able to find a tent for them to have some time together before she would move to the Fort. The walk through camp had been done in total silence, both of them not knowing what to say. Once inside, he held her in his arms, but she repelled his embrace. She could not even look him in the eye.
"Sarah, talk to me," he pleaded.
"What do you want me to say?" she said still looking down.
"Anything," he said as he walked toward her, closing the gap between them.
She took a deep breath, did a quarter turn and walked a few steps.
"Darling, please," James stood behind her, refrained himself from touching her shoulder. Maybe she needed time to wrap her head around things.
"How-" she started to speak, but her voice broke. "What I saw today… is it what you do now that you are in the dragoons?" she said as she walked a few steps back, holding her head with both of her hands.
"No, dear. This is not what we do. This never happened before. I am deeply sorry you had to see all of it," James said walking toward her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, holding her so tightly. She did not say anything but did not pull back from his embrace. He felt somewhat relief when she put her hands over his, sighing as he buried his head in the nook of her neck.
"I will go and grab some food. Are you hungry?"
She turned around and nodded. James kissed her forehead and went out. She was left alone, but her thoughts were rambling in her head. She could not recognise her husband since he joined the dragoons. She had two options, either she turn away from her husband or she try to work the difficulties they were facing.
Wilkins was walking fast, not wanting to leave his wife alone for too long. His cheeks were burning, he was not feeling well. Anger was consuming him from inside. He could not believe Tavington would bring his beloved wife to this barn. He wanted to protect her so much from the atrocities of the war, but he couldn't. He knew this war would change him for the rest of his life. The only thing he hopes is that he would stay the same in her eyes. But her eyes when she looked at him this morning made him think something had broken between them.