As Col. Tavington and I left the woods, there was an almost awkward silence between us and we didn't speak again until we reached our quarters.
As we stood outside my quarters, I said to the colonel, "How ironic that I should receive my first kiss from my captor."
He chuckled.
"Yes, it is ironic isn't it? Well, Miss Selton, I shall see you tonight".
That evening, I joined the colonel and the other officers for supper in the banquet hall of the estate. I took a seat between the colonel and General O'Hara. This was a good thing as it prevented the colonel and the general from killing each other. However, Col. Tavington and Gen. O'Hara kept throwing each other evil looks when the general lord wasn't looking and
this created a rather tense environment.
As supper was just getting finished and people were beginning to leave the table, General O'Hara came over as the colonel and I were leaving the banquet hall and, while Cornwallis wasn't looking, elbowed the colonel hard in the ribs. Col. Tavington blanched, putting a hand on his ribs.
"Oh, so sorry." Said the general, smirking maliciously.
"Bastard." Mumbled the colonel under his breath.
O'Hara hadn't gone but a step when the colonel stuck out his foot and tripped him. Gen. O'Hara went stumbling forward, crashing into Gen. Lord Cornwallis. Cornwallis turned around and looked down at O'Hara, who was picking himself up off of the floor.
"Dear dear O'Hara, I believe you have had one too many glasses of wine this evening." Said the colonel smoothly.
"O'Hara, I told you not to have wine this evening as it makes you rather dull witted." Commented Cornwallis in a disappointed voice.
"But Sir, I…"
The Lord General wasn't listening to O'Hara as already entering his quarters on the first floor.
Gen. O'Hara turned and glared at the colonel.
"Oh, so sorry." Said the colonel, grinning devilishly.
"Go to hell!" Hissed the general.
"Take your own advice, and while you're at it, burn." Replied the colonel.
O'Hara, looking quite affronted, stomped up the stairs to his quarters.
Col. Tavington and I walked outside the estate to the gardens. I stopped suddenly walking and looked up at the star filled heavens.
"Are you alright, Miss Selton?" Asked the colonel.
"I'm fine, Colonel. I'm just looking at the stars. Look, there's the North Star."
"I see, yes, stars are quite a wondrous sight to behold on a clear night like this. Look, there's the constellation, Draco."
I nodded. We continued our walk in the garden.
"How long have you and General O'Hara been on bad terms with eachother?" I asked.
"Ever since I became Colonel of the British Green Dragoons. He has always had it in for me. Even during my first few battles and raids, he was pointing out my slightest, least important faults and cursing family name on a daily basis."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Miss Selton. After all, I probably deserve some of the beratings that Cornwallis and O'Hara give me. I will admit I can be brutal during war. However, I can't seem to help myself on that one. The colonists make me so angry, thinking that they can even go to battle against England. It's embarrassing to have to fight such a meek and lowly foe."
I would have been angry if anyone else had stated what the colonel just did, however, being as it was the colonel who stated it and I was in an area occupied by the British, I held my tongue.
We finished our walk in the gardens and returned to our quarters.
"As always, I shall be waiting for you in the morning." Said the colonel softly.
He gently kissed my hand and ran his fingers through my hair.
"Good night, Miss Selton."
Part 2. Crumbled World"Miss Selton, wake up!" an urgent voice whispered in my ear. It was seven o' clock in the morning. I shook myself from my stupor, concentrating on the figure in front of me. As my vision, blurred from sleep, cleared, I recognized the figure in front of me as Col. Tavington.
"Get dressed, I need to show you something. Hurry!" said the colonel urgently.
Col. Tavington left the room and I got dressed, puzzled as to why he had awakened me. Then, I met the colonel outside my quarters. He took my arm and led me outside, to one of the more secluded gardens on the estate.
"What's going on; you look distressed, Colonel."
Col. Tavington pulled out a letter that was tucked in his waistcoat and handed it to me. I read it and blanched. It read:
July 1779
Butcher,
The subject you seek is no longer alive and neither is his son. They were caught two days ago, tried for treason, and hanged. As for his daughter, we do not welcome the children of traitors.
Signed,
The Ghost
I felt weak and collapsed on the ground. Surely this had to be a bad dream. A nightmare. Yet it was staring me in the face; my father and brother were dead. Col. Tavington sat down, gathering me in his arms. Tears flowed, like a river, from my eyes and I buried my face in the colonel's waistcoat as he held me close and gently stroked my hair. My father, brother and I were all that remained of my family; everyone else, including everyone on my mother's side of the family, had died of disease, or birth complications. Now, I was the only Selton left; my world crumbled.
Part 3. StarvationFor days I locked myself in my quarters at the estate. I spoke to no one; I ate nothing. I just sat, huddled alone in a corner of my quarters. I could tell my behaviour was beginning to make Col. Tavington distressed. Though he had returned to doing evening raids, he was given two weeks to be relieved of fighting in any battles to let his ribs heal. He was the best soldier the British had and they didn't want him to be in anything but his best condition for fighting. This meant he was free of any work during the day. So, during the day, almost every hour, I could hear him pacing up and down the hall that ran by my quarters, muttering to himself in agitation and asking anyone who passed by if they had seen me come out of my quarters while he was gone.
One day as the colonel was pacing outside my quarters, I heard him say, "Bordon, I have to leave on an errand for Lord General Cornwallis for a couple of days. Please make sure no one disturbs Miss Selton while I am gone."
"Yes Sir." Bordon replied.
Col. Tavington left, his footsteps fading as he went downstairs.
Over the next two days, I got exactly the opposite of what the Colonel asked for me. The morning after Col. Tavington had talked to Capt. Bordon, there was a knock on my door and Gen. O'Hara's voice called, "My dear Mary, are you well?"
"I'm fine." I answered weakly.
"You don't sound fine. Darling would you like me to assist you with anything?"
I was quite affronted by the general's lack of formality and replied, "The only way you can be of assistance to me is if you leave me alone."
The general stalked away, back to his quarters. However, this didn't mean that he stopped annoying me. Though the captain tried endlessly to stop O'Hara he was unsuccessful and for the rest of the day and all of the next, the general pestered me every hour. He even brought along other soldiers, including Lord General Cornwallis and James Wilkins to help him pester me.
O'Hara even pestered me the day after that! What a thickheaded dolt! However, by now I had grown too weak from lack of sleep and nourishment to respond.
When the Colonel arrived later that day from his errand, he walked straight down the hall to the entrance of my quarters.
"Move!" He snapped at O'Hara, who was standing at the entrance.
"Why should I?" Challenged the general.
"Because I'll pummel that bloody snow white ass of yours if you don't." Retorted the colonel. "Now move."
"Fine, Butcher." Retorted the general.
Col. Tavington knocked on the door.
"Miss Selton will you please open the door; it's me." Said Col. Tavington in a concerned tone.
"I can't." I replied weakly. "I haven't strength enough."
"Get me the other key to Miss Selton's quarters, O'Hara." Ordered the colonel.
"But…"
"O'Hara!" Shot the colonel. "Obey me if you don't want your bloody porcelain face distorted!"
Gen. O'Hara left the entrance of my quarters and returned shortly with the key. Col. Tavington took it from him and opened my door. His mouth opened in shock upon seeing me.
My face was gaunt and pale and my eyes were bloodshot and puffy from lack of sleep and crying. I had also lost weight from not eating.
Col. Tavington dropped the key in shock.
"My God, Mary, what has happened to you!"
I could no longer hold myself up and I collapsed in a heap on the floor. Col. Tavington rushed over to me, dropped to the floor, and pulled me into a sitting position between his legs, placing my head on his chest. He eased himself back a bit so I could rest more comfortably against him.
"Get my Captain." He ordered O'Hara.
"Shouldn't we get a doctor?" The general asked.
"Yes, however, as I can't leave her and you don't have brains enough to find a doctor fast enough, I need my captain to do the job." Shot the colonel impatiently.
"O'Hara left quickly, without saying a word. Col. Tavington felt my forehead.
"You have a fever." He said softly.
Col. Tavington picked me up and carried me over to my bed, carefully laying me on top of it. We waited a few minutes until Capt. Bordon came.
"Sir, all of the doctors were deployed to the troops after the brutal beatings we received in battle yesterday."
"Damn." Replied the colonel. "Well then, let's see here; judging by appearance, Miss Selton, you look very sleep deprived and your corset though done to its tightest which I could tell when I held you, is a bit loose, suggesting weight loss."
I nodded meekly, indicating that he was correct.
"Bordon, get some food for Miss Selton." Said the colonel.
The captain nodded and swiftly left the room.
"I can't eat." I whispered to Col. Tavington.
"Shh." He replied soothingly.
"I'm not going to be able to keep the food down."
"At least try." Col. Tavington replied.
Capt. Bordon returned shortly with some soup and water on a tray.
"Here, eat this." Said the colonel, lifting the bowl of soup off of the tray and holding it out to me.
I took the spoon in my trembling hands.
"I can't do this; I can't eat."
Col. Tavington took the spoon from me and placed it and the bowl back on the tray. He then took the glass of water and handed it to me, saying, "Well then, drink your water and try to sleep."
Col. Tavington handed me the glass of water and I drank from it. Then he took the glass from me when I was finished, set it on the tray, and handed the tray to Capt. Bordon.
"Take this to one of the kitchen servants to be cleaned."
"Yes Sir." Replied the captain and he left the room.
"You get some rest." Said the colonel, stroking my cheek. "I'll lock the door so no one disturbs you and in about thirty minutes, I'll return to check on you."
Part 4. A Sick Minded GeneralCol. Tavington left my quarters, closing and locking the door behind him. Soon after the colonel left, I fell into a fitful sleep, plagued by nightmares. I watched in my dreams, the hanging of my father and brother by their fellow comrades and woke up screaming in terror, sweating and shaking all over. All of a sudden, there was the sound of footsteps echoing in the hall and General O'Hara came bursting through the door. He rushed to my bedside and asked, "My dear, are you alright?"
I grew fearful upon seeing the ill glint in the general's eyes and asked, "What are you doing here? The door was locked and the colonel would never give you the key."
"How I got in here does not matter. I only wished to check up on you." Replied the general slyly, running his hand through my hair and caressing the side of my face.
"If you really want to know, I "liberated" the key from the colonel's waistcoat when I "bumped" into him at the camp."
"Leave me!" I cried, trying to rise from the bed.
"I think not." Replied O'Hara, forcing me back down and climbing on top of me.
"Get off of me!" I yelled, trying to struggle against the general, but it was no use; I was too weak.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Col. Tavington stormed in, followed by Capt. Bordon. The colonel seized the general and slammed him hard, into one of the walls.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing, you ill mannered, devilish whore!" Roared the colonel to O'Hara, punching him hard in the ribs. Then, before the general could retaliate, Col. Tavington kicked the general hard in the groin with the spur of his boot and the general crumpled to the ground gasping in pain.
"Bordon, take Mary to my quarters and stay with her." Ordered the colonel.
Just as Capt. Bordon and I were leaving my quarters, Gen. O'Hara got up and made a lunge for me. Capt. Bordon stepped in front of me and tried to grab the general but the general dodged Bordon and gave him a blow to the head, sending the captain crashing to the floor, unconscious. Tavington drew his sabre and stalked toward the general. The general also drew his sabre. Col. Tavington slashed at O'Hara, slicing deep into the general's calves, spraying blood. O'Hara cried out in pain. Col. Tavington slashed again but this time, the blow was deflected and the general grazed the right side of the colonel's face with his sabre and dealt him a blow to the head with his fist, sending the colonel stumbling backwards, dazed. I made an attempt to get to the entrance of my quarters but the general grabbed me, pulling the sleeves of my dress down, tearing my dress in the back exposing my shoulders and some of my back.
"Why don't you just give up now while you're still ahead?" Sneered the general, his eyes glinting evilly in the sunlight streaming in from the window.
Just then, Col. Tavington snuck up behind the general with his sabre sheathed and, with the flat of the sabre, gave the general a blow to the head, knocking him unconscious. O'Hara fell to the floor with a thud. I sank to the floor, shaking in horror at what O'Hara had almost done to me.
"Here." Said the colonel, offering me his hand.
I took it and he pulled me off of the floor.
"Are you alright; you're trembling." Said Col. Tavington, his voice full of concern.
He embraced me tightly, placing a hand in the rip that the general had made in my dress and stroking my back and shoulders. His touch was warm and reassuring.
"I'll be fine." I replied in a small voice.
A few moments later, Captain Bordon and Gen. O'Hara came around. He began to move toward me but the colonel, still holding me, took out his pistol, cocked it and pointed it at the general.
"Bordon, take this filthy, corrupt ingrate to Cornwallis and give him an account of his ill behaviour."
"Yes Sir."
Bordon escorted Gen. O'Hara out of my quarters with a pistol pressed to the general's back. Col. Tavington tilted my face upward. It was then that I noticed that blood was running down the side of his right cheek and down his neck to the white shirt under his waistcoat, staining it red.
"You are bleeding." I said softly.
"I have shed blood before. It is nothing to worry about. Right now, my main concern is you." Replied the colonel.
Col. Tavington went to the wardrobe in my quarters and pulled out a blue dress.
"Perhaps you would like to change while I have a conference with Gen. Lord Cornwallis about Gen. O'Hara."
I nodded to the colonel and he left the room, taking the key from the drawer of the desk in my quarters and locking the door behind him.
After I finished changing, I waited for a few minutes before the colonel returned and unlocked the door. He looked a bit grim.
"Come." He said leading me into his quarters.
His quarters were immaculate and a great deal larger than mine. There were several pieces of furniture in his quarters, including an enormous four-poster bed with white curtains drawn around it.
Col. Tavington opened the curtains on the four-poster and sat on the bed, indicating for me to come and sit next to him. I walked over to his bed and sat down.
"As you know, I was attending a conference with Cornwallis about Gen. O'Hara's actions. He was quite upset with the general's behaviour and gave him a severe berating; the look on the general's face as he was being berated was so amusing that I almost had to excuse myself from the room because I could hardly contain myself. However, the general's punishment wasn't nearly severe enough. All that the Lord General did was move the general's quarters to a different floor and have him muck the horse stalls and care for the horses for two months. Had it been I who had tried ravishing you, I would be on the next ship to England."
"Why does Cornwallis allow the general to get away with almost everything and you with nothing?" I asked.
"Classes." Replied the colonel. "You see, Cornwallis and O'Hara are of a higher class than I, so they find it amusing to poke fun at me and my family name because they knew my father and his bad reputation quite well. Not to mention, they always did get along quite well, Cornwallis, being the rich bully and O'Hara, his git of a partner. So when Cornwallis became Gen. Lord, he immediately appointed O'Hara to be Brigade General. I would be at an even higher class than they are now if it wasn't for my father tarnished the family name."
"I see, so the only reason O'Hara gets away with what he does is because he gets along and is good friends with Cornwallis."
Col. Tavington nodded. "Now, about your sleeping arrangements."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Gen. O'Hara may be on a different floor, but unfortunately, he still has your key. So, I thought that since I have raids this evening and because O'Hara does not have the key to my quarters, therefore making them safer than your own, I would offer you my quarters for the evening."
"Thank you for your generosity." I replied. "I shall accept the offer."
"Well, you must be exhausted."
I nodded. "Yes I am. "
"Stay here and rest. I will come for you when it's time for supper."
Col. Tavington left the room, closing and locking the door behind him. I lay down on the colonel's four-poster bed. The white sheets were soft and pressed, and his scent, a combination of pine and spice, lingered on them. Within minutes I was sleeping comfortably, not needing to worry about unwanted visitors.
I awoke about two hours later to the soft, warm sensation of the colonel's lips against mine.
"It's time for supper."