Chapter 16

Tavington awoke to the sounds of men outside the house; they were doing rounds and he had to attend, even though he wanted to sleep with his beloved a little longer. He gently removes Awinita from his embrace, not wanting to wake her, but she was aroused.

"William," she said and lets him out of bed.

"You can sleep a bit longer if you wish," Tavington said, but she shakes her head and helps him into his uniform. "You look beautiful," he whispers and kisses her cheek.

"If you don't mind, it's a bit cold in here," she replies and kisses him back. He helps her dress and they share a private moment gazing out the window. "It's awfully quiet," Awinita said, which confuses Tavington. "I mean I don't hear guns or cannon-fire," she adds.

"The battle grounds are far from here," he said, placing a protective arm around her. "You found a good place for us," he adds, holding her tight.

There was a knock at the door and they separate before Tavington answers. "Yes?" he asks and his second in command, Bordon enters.

"Sir, it's happened, again," Bordon said, handing his commander a note, "Another supply transport was ambushed; the soldiers slaughtered and our supplies have been taken."

"Another?" Awinita asks and Bordon nods his head. "What was taken, do you know?"

"Mostly medicine and food for our soldiers," he answers and clears his throat. "We've also received word that the French king has promised to send volunteers to serve for the Continental Army."

"The French king? Louis XVI?" Awinita asks and both men nodded their heads. "I wonder how he'll be able to appease the French populace after this war is over," she said to herself, although they heard her.

"I beg your pardon young lady, but what do you mean?" Bordon asks.

"The kingdom of France has been through a great deal of turmoil; famines, war debts, and I suspect this new king hasn't studied government very well, seeing that he prefers hunting and lock-smithing," Awinita explains and lets out a laugh. "Forgive me, but I happened to read about his coronation four years ago and I read whatever I could find about France."

"An intelligent young woman you are," Bordon comments, "But you be careful, there are many men who would see you as a threat to their intellect." He excuses himself to prepare the Dragoons to investigate the ambush sight.

Tavington pulls Awinita into his arms, gazing into her warm brown eyes. "If any man speaks ill of you, I'll cut their tongues out," he whispers, his tone threatening.

"Yes, I am aware of that," she replies. She looks into his icy blue eyes; she could sense that he had developed feelings of euphoria for her, and it did feel good in knowing that he would go to brutal lengths to protect her. "Listen, why don't you join us? Investigate this latest attack on our supply line," Tavington offers and she gives an uneasy smile.

"Are you sure?" she asks, just as he places a hand on her cheek.

"I am sure you will do better than any man, even myself. Besides, you were the one who tracked down the colonial who killed Elijah and found this house," he replies and she agrees to join him. She takes a moment to look through the dresser drawers, wanting to find something to keep her warm despite it being summer, she could sense the change of seasons.

She locates a long scarf and Tavington watches her tie the scarf over her chest in a criss-cross fashion. "How very convenient," he comments and they leave the room, but Tavington orders some African maids to clean the bed-sheets.

As soon as they step outside, Awinita breathes in the cool, clear morning air, and Tavington does the same; their breaths were noticeable when they exhale. The colonel turns his attention to the barn, having recollected that he had Kobe tied up inside for insulting him and the woman he was in love with. "I won't be long," he said to Awinita.

He enters the barn where Kobe was still tied to the post, his eyes were blood-shot and he did notice a new cut on his cheek. Tavington spots the garden sheers nearby, there was some blood on one of the blades. The colonel pulls the groom's head up by his hair; Kobe reacts with a pained groan.

"See something different?" the groom asks.

"Indeed, but I believe Awinita had a good enough reason to do that," Tavington answers, but Kobe chuckles a bit. The colonel grabs him by the throat, silencing him; he did recall that he would make Kobe pay for his harsh words.

He then picks up the garden sheers and presses them against Kobe's other cheek. "You'd be wise in holding your tongue and not speak ill of the woman I care about," the colonel whispers.

"Go to hell," Kobe replies.

"What did you say?" Tavington demands, tightening his grip on Kobe's throat. The groom couldn't speak as the colonel was choking him and Tavington thought of something; he unties the ropes and forces Kobe into an empty stall.

In quick succession, Tavington loops some rope around Kobe's neck, but he begins to panic as Tavington tightens it, causing Kobe to gag and struggle to breath. Kobe does his best to pry Tavington's hands off the rope, but it was no use. "Now, you will keep your thoughts to yourself. If you speak one vulgar word about Awinita, I will cut your throat," the colonel said and loosens the rope just enough for Kobe to breath.

"Now, get to work you scum," he orders, leaving the groom in the stall. Tavington locates his men and their horses; he spots Awinita atop of her horse, Lady, and he notices that some of the Dragoons were staring at her.

"Colonel, why must this woman come with us?" one of them asks.

"She is the one responsible for finding this place; did you forget that? And perhaps you forgotten that she discovered what had happened to our previous groom," Tavington said and looks up to Awinita. "If anyone else has any objections, I suggest you keep them to yourselves," he adds and climbs atop of his horse.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

The Dragoons arrived to the ambush site; it was untouched following the massacre, a good thing according to Awinita as she needed to find any sort of clue as to who was responsible for killing the soldiers and taking the supplies.

The area was full of cotton blossoms and a lot of them were floating around in the air aimlessly. The wagon that was carrying the supplies was on fire and Awinita dismounts. "Don't move," she ushers as she gazes down on the ground. Tavington watches with intrigue as the woman he deeply admired was looking for something important.

"They were crouching down, the cotton is just tall enough to hide a grown man," Awinita explains and continues her search.

"How many were there?" one of the Dragoons asked.

The young woman starts her count on the side they were on and then moves on the other side. "I've counted more than a dozen, 30 is my best guess," she answers.

"30 men?" Tavington asks and Awinita nods, she was sticking to her answer. "So this 'Ghost' had brought reinforcements."

"It would make sense sir," Bordon said, "30 men against 10 of our own."

Awinita goes back to the path, wondering if the 'Ghost' and whoever slaughtered the British soldiers left footprints behind, but she couldn't find any. She walks through the field of cotton blossoms, however, it was too difficult to find a traceable source.

"They must've come from the elsewhere and scattered on both sides of the path. They waited for the supply run and ambushed them," she explains.

"Where did they go after they took the horses and supplies?" a Dragoon asks. Awinita couldn't find a distinct footprint and there were none that lead down the dirt path from the massacre site.

"They went back through..." she trails off, she did realize that there was no traceable source. "I apologize, it seems these...people are smart in not leaving any kind of clue for us."

"You did well Awinita," Tavington replies and turns to Bordon. "Any supply run from Charleston should have extra soldiers to keep guard and have wanted posters put up in all the surrounding towns for the capture of this 'Ghost'."

Bordon nods his head and the Dragoons collected the dead before they went back to their camp. Tavington, however, chooses to stay behind when they left; Awinita had stayed in one spot in the cotton field during the duration of that time. She was staring at the sky as it was starting to turn a shade of pink and red as the sun was starting to set.

Once the Dragoons were gone, Tavington comes to her side, placing his arms around her and holding her close. "You did very well in aiding us," he whispers in her ear.

"Did I? I only told you how many there were," she asks, but then, Tavington kisses her sensitive spot.

"And that gives us an idea of what we're up against; a colonial rebel who brought in reinforcements to kill the king's soldiers and rob us of our supplies," he whispers, again. "Awinita, you have no idea of how much we...how much I appreciate you in aiding us," he adds and kisses her sensitive spot, again.

"Please..." she moans, "You keep doing that, then I will want to make love with you out here, and to be honest, I don't want that."

"Aye," Tavington replies, while gazing around, "There is no comfortable spot for miles. Lets go back," he suggests. They return to their mounts and rode back to the camp, where they quickly went to the bedroom in the house.

They shed their clothes and made love like they've always had. Tavington didn't want to share his feelings to Awinita just yet, however, he wondered if she knew of his love for her.

From the author: I know it's been months since last updating, but as I said, I will do my best to keep this going.