Part 10. Brawls, Courting and Shooting

That evening at supper, I sat next to Col. Tavington, who sat next to Capt. Bordon in the dining hall. Just as we had begun eating, Gen. O'Hara stalked in and settled himself in the chair next to me. Col. Tavington and I glanced at eachother and then switched places.

"Well, it appears that Col. Tavington doesn't like sharing his finds with others." Snided Gen. O'Hara.

"She is not mine." Growled the colonel his eyes alight with blue fire.

Gen. O'Hara, ignoring the colonel's warning signs of anger, said quite loudly, "Let me guess Colonel; you have probably already shagged her and now that you're finished with her, you're denying that you would even do such a thing. In fact, you would probably even deny that you knew her."

Before anyone could do anything, Col. Tavington hauled back and punched the general in the face, splitting his lip.

"Tavington, O'Hara, stop this at once!" Cried Lord General Cornwallis.

His efforts however, were in vain. The general and the colonel were wrestling eachother violently on the floor. Both men had split lips and the general was now sporting two black eyes and a bloody nose. Two soldiers, along with Capt. Bordon, tried to pry the colonel off of Gen. O'Hara and restrain him. They succeeded in doing so about ten minutes, but they didn't go unscathed. Two of the soldiers who had helped pry and restrain the colonel from Gen. O'Hara had huge bruises all over their faces and Capt. Bordon's lip was cut and bleeding.

Cornwallis excused the soldiers and I from the dining hall but ordered Col. Tavington and Gen. O'Hara to stay behind.

I went and waited outside the colonel's quarters for him to return. I waited about ten minutes until Col. Tavington returned looking quite dismal and we entered his quarters.

Col. Tavington sat down on the four-poster.

"O'Hara and I received quite a berating from the lord general."

"I figured at least that much; his voice carried all the way to your quarters from the banquet hall." I replied. "So, what did Cornwallis say anyway?"

"Well, for starters, he called us foolish boys." Said the colonel ruefully. "He went on to say how surprised and affronted he was to see his two most efficient men brawling at supper. I'm a bit surprised by the consequences we received. I have to assist with training new recruits for a week, while O'Hara has to care for Cornwallis' two Great Danes, Jupiter and Mars, for two weeks along with the consequences he received earlier today. I daresay I received the better consequence; those Great Danes are so damn stupid and prissy that it makes dealing with new recruits seem like nothing. However, Cornwallis, the damn idiot that he is, threatened to send me back to England should my temper flare again against my superiors."

"You don't deserve your consequences." I said sitting down beside the colonel on the four-poster."

"Ah, but the cause was worth it." He replied, wrapping his arm around me.

I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Well, I have to leave soon to begin raids this evening so why don't you go to your quarters and get your nightdress."

I went to my quarters to get my nightdress. There were still drops of blood on the floor from O'Hara being slashed in the calves by the colonel and I shuddered slightly upon seeing them.

I left my quarters after I retrieved my nightdress and returned to Col. Tavington's quarters. The colonel rose from the four-poster and met me half way across his quarters.

"I've got to go to camp to meet my men. If anyone tries to enter while I'm gone, there's a loaded pistol under my four-poster."

"Colonel, I thank you again for your generosity. However, should I be wrong in thinking that captives are normally not to be treated this well?" I asked.

"You are no longer my captive; your father id dead. However, I still feel responsible for you." Replied the colonel.

"Then are you suggesting that you fancy me?"

"Perhaps." He replied with a small smile.

Col. Tavington pulled me close and kissed me softly on the lips.

"Let that be the answer to your question." Said the colonel, brushing a stray lock of hair from my eyes. "I shall see you early in the morning as I won't return until then."

Col. Tavington left the room, locking the door behind him. His footsteps echoed down the hall, becoming more distant as he got further and further away.

I got dressed in my nightdress and laid down on the four-poster. Within minutes, I was asleep.

I awoke early the next morning to footsteps echoing across the room. I looked up and saw Col. Tavington walk across the room to his desk, take a piece of used parchment from one of its drawers, and begin to read its contents.

I stared, curious as to what he was reading. He looked up from reading and upon seeing that I was awake, quickly folded the piece of parchment and stuck it in a drawer in his desk.

"Ah, you're awake; I say, after some sleep and nourishment, you are beginning to look like yourself again. How are you feeling?"

"Better considering the circumstances, thank you. Your bed was so comfortable that I fell asleep in minutes."

"Yes, it is very comfortable. I returned to the estate around three this morning but I didn't want to wake you, so, being as I still had the key to your quarters, I decided to stay there. However, sleep was impossible. Your bed is so damn firm that a rock would be more comfortable. So really, I haven't had any sleep."

"You look sleep deprived." I commented, noting that he had dark circles under his eyes, his waistcoat and vest weren't on and his hair was coming unqueued.

"Well, getting no sleep is nothing new for me. In about two hours, I have to go to camp to begin assisting the other officers with training the new recruits."

"Surely you can rest for at least thirty minutes."

"I cannot; I must go to the washroom to bathe and then I must eat breakfast."

"Then promise me you'll get at least some rest before you go on raids this evening."

"I am not going on raids this evening; there's a ball at the estate and I was hoping you would accompany me. But, given the recent events you have experienced, I understand if you decline."

"I would be honoured to attend the ball with you this evening even though the news of it is rather sudden."

"Really, you didn't know about the ball until now?"

"No; normally news travels quickly around here but with all that has been going on with me, I just neglected to pay attention to the events that were occurring at the estate. However, before I attend the ball with you, I want you to get some rest so you'll be in a decent mood this evening."

"For you, I shall rest before the ball this evening." Replied the colonel.

"Thank you."

Col. Tavington left his quarters and went to the washroom to bathe. I left the room and went to my quarters and grabbed a clean, pressed dress. Then I headed to another washroom to clean myself up and change.

I was just leaving m quarters when I realized that I had left the dress that I had worn the previous day in the colonel's quarters, and went to get it.

As I was leaving his quarters, Gen. O'Hara came stalking up to me and asked, "And what business do you have being in Col. Tavington's quarters?"

"I was just getting my dress." I answered tersely.

"Poor thing; he shagged you, didn't he? I knew his intentions were ill."

I cuffed the general hard across the face and he stumbled backward, surprised by the blow.

"Col. Tavington most certainly did not shag me! For your information, the colonel allowed me to use his quarters for the evening while he was conducting raids because you still have the key to my quarters and he didn't believe that you would leave me alone."

"My my, don't we have a fiery demeanour."

"Yes I do; now leave me!" I shouted at the general.

I turned to leave but the general grabbed me by the arm.

"Unhand me at once or I'll have you court-martialed!" I seethed, cuffing him again.

O'Hara released me and I ran to Col. Tavington's quarters and didn't go to the washroom until the general left.

After I left the washroom, I decided that after breakfast, I would go to camp to see the colonel and see how the training was going.

There weren't very many people in the banquet hall during breakfast as many of the officers had already left on duty, so I left early from the from the banquet hall and went to the stables.

Upon entering the stables, I spotted the colonel's second in command, Capt. Bordon.

"Good morning, Miss Selton." Said the captain. "I trust you are feeling better."

"Yes, I am." I replied.

"May I inquire as to where you are going?" Asked Bordon.

"I am going to camp to see the colonel."

"He's assisting in training the new recruits." Commented the captain.

"I know; I thought I'd see how he's coming along with them." I replied.

"Well then, may I accompany you as I myself am headed to the camp?"

"Very well, you may." I answered.

We arrived at camp and had two soldiers take our horses to tether them to trees. Capt. Bordon led me over past the tents to an open field where a group of soldiers stood. As we neared the group of men, I noticed some of the men looked quite frightened and were pointing in the direction of one of the officers. I followed the direction where the men were pointing with my eyes and spotted Col. Tavington. He appeared to be disciplining one of the new recruits. I moved closer to the colonel and as I did, I could hear what he was saying.

"Did I not warn you to watch where you were pointing your pistol!" Hissed the colonel to the recruit.

"My sincerest apologies, Sir." Replied the frightened recruit.

He was about to run off when the colonel grabbed him by his collar and said in a deadly voice, "You had better hope this heals quickly!"

Col. Tavington released the recruit and he ran off before the colonel could do anything else to him.

Col. Tavington walked over to a nearby tree and sat down under it. I walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around a look of annoyance on his face, but the look was quickly replaced by one of surprise upon recognition.

"Miss Selton, what are you doing here?"

"I just decided to come here to see you and see how well the new recruits were doing."

"The new recruits are pitiful. They hardly listen to anything and some of them can't even aim a pistol properly." Said the colonel bitterly.

"I see; what happened to you?" I asked, eying a bloody hole in Col. Tavington's uniform.

"One of the recruits wasn't aiming his pistol very well and instead of hitting the intended target, the damn fool hit me! Had he been any more inaccurate at shooting, he would have killed me."

"Let me see how deep the bullet penetrated you." I said.

"I think not. At least not while there are other soldiers around." Replied the colonel.

"Colonel, I am as skilled as if not more so, as any of the doctors at camp."

"You're a woman."

"That didn't matter before."

"Yes, however, we were alone."

"Colonel, do you want your arm cut off by a doctor who doesn't know what he's doing, or do you value your arm and want care from someone who knows what they're doing?"

"You're not going to back down are you?"

"What do you think?"

"I didn't think so; alright, you may assess my wound, however, let's find a medic's tent that is vacant."

We went to a vacant medic's tent and the colonel removed his waistcoat and rolled the right sleeve of his shirt up to his shoulder. I grabbed a pair of tweezers from a table in the tent and began to examine Col. Tavington's bullet wound.

"Your wound doesn't look too deep, yet, to get a well estimated guess on how deep your wound really is, I must remove the bullet."

"Well then, do what you must." Said Col. Tavington.

I rummaged through various boxes in the tent and found clean bandages and pliers but nothing to relieve pain. I walked back over to where the colonel was sitting in the tent and said, "I assume you have a high level of pain tolerance."

I braced the bullet with the pliers and squeezed. Col. Tavington flinched and squeezed his eyes tightly shut as I removed the bullet. Blood oozed out of his arm where the bullet had once been. I bandaged Col. Tavington's arm, pulled his shirtsleeve back down and helped him get his waistcoat back on.

"The wound isn't too deep; still, it is slightly deeper than I expected and it could affect your performance in battle."

"Damn recruit." Mumbled the colonel.

"Come, let us return to the estate as you are finished training the recruits until after noon and I can properly tend to your wound there."

Col. Tavington and I left the medic's tent and went to search the camp for Capt. Bordon. The soldiers, sensing Col. Tavington's irate mood, gave him a wide berth as we went through the camp.

We found the captain by some tethered horses talking to the recruit that I had seen Col. Tavington disciplining earlier.

"What, pray tell, are you doing, Bordon?" Asked Col. Tavington.

"I was just giving this recruit some instructions on how to better his skills with his arms."

"Did you teach this dolt how to aim his pistol; He shot me in the arm." Said the colonel, glaring at the recruit who shrank back in fear.

"He shot you in the arm!" Private, you really must be aware of where you aim your weapons; we could have lost one of our best men! Now, before you shoot anyone else, make sure you understand the importance of awareness while your aiming your weapons."

"Yes Sir." Squeaked the recruit.

"Bordon, I shall meet you back at the estate."

"Yes Sir."

Col. Tavington untethered his stallion, Asmodeus from the tree and led him to where my mount was tethered. We mounted our horses and headed back to the estate.

Once at the estate, I fetched a pail and filled it with water at the well in front of the estate and went back to the stables where Col. Tavington was unsaddling the horses.

"What is that for?" Asked the colonel, gesturing to the pail of water.

"Cleaning your wound; now come."

Col. Tavington finished unsaddling the horses, placed them in their stalls, and followed me into the estate to the main washroom on the second floor. He removed his waistcoat and rolled up his sleeve so I could remove the bandage from his arm. I grabbed some clean rags that I had taken from the medic's tent at camp, dipped them into the pail of water and pressed them onto Col. Tavington's wound. Water and blood ran down his arm. I cleaned his arm several more times before taking him upstairs to his quarters; there, I stitched and rebandaged his wound.

"You didn't have any serious damage done to your arm, however, be careful with it."

"I shall; thank you." Replied Col. Tavington. "You are remarkable, Mary; where did you learn your skills?"

"My father taught me; he said that even though it wasn't proper for women to learn skills like reading and doctoring, I needed to know them because even women may encounter situations where these skills were needed."

"He taught you well."

"Yes, he did." I replied softly.

That evening for the ball, I wore a green dress and wore my hair in a bun. I met the colonel outside his quarters. He was wearing the same uniform that he had worn to the previous ball with the exception of a new uniform waistcoat.

"Come, I have something for you." Said Col. Tavington, leading me into his quarters and closing the door. He went to his desk and pulled from it a small black box.

"Open it." He said softly, handing the box to me.

I opened it and was surprised by what was inside. Inside the box was a gold necklace with three emeralds that hung down the middle of it. The necklace and the emeralds were of the finest quality and must have costed a fortune.

"Colonel, this is an extremely expensive piece of jewelry; where did you ever get the money to pay for it?"

"My rank pays well." He answered, taking the necklace from the box and placing it around my neck.

"Thank you. This is so exquisite, I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you." I said.

"You already have by tolerating my temper and tending to my injuries." Col. Tavington answered.

I smiled. The colonel held me at arm's length, looking me over and said, "The necklace matches your eyes quite nicely."

"Yes, it does." I answered.

"Well, let's go." Said Col. Tavington.

We went outside and met Capt. Bordon.

"There is certainly a large number of people attending the ball this evening." Commented the captain, looking out at the many soldiers and women conversing out on the front lawn.

"Yes, there is." Replied Col. Tavington in a flat tone taking a glass of wine from a tray that was being held by a servant.

Capt. Bordon, the colonel and I stole away from the crowd of people on the front lawn to the gardens in the back of the estate.

"So, Colonel, are you planning dance with Miss Selton this evening?"

"No, Bordon, I am not." Replied the colonel.

"Colonel, I'm surprised at you; you just refused a dance with the belle of the ball." Said Capt. Bordon. "None of the other women here turn half as many heads or dance half as well as she does."

Col. Tavington sighed.

"Alright Bordon; take Miss Selton onto the dance floor and I'll cut in when I'm finished with my wine."

"I knew you would give in sooner or later." Said the captain.

"Bordon, you've known me too long; you're exposing me." Said the colonel in mock disappointment. "Just don't expose me in front of my me or my superiors and I'll let you have your head."

"Sir, I wouldn't dream of exposing you in front of those you didn't want to be exposed to."

"I know Bordon; I was just joshing you. Now take Miss Selton to the dance floor."

"Yes Sir."

Capt. Bordon led me onto the dance floor and we danced for a few minutes while we waited for the colonel to finish his wine. As we were dancing, I spotted Gen. O'Hara looking for a place to cut in. He spotted me and gave me a devilish grin. I silently cursed myself for looking in his direction. O'Hara moved towards me and was just about to cut in when Col. Tavington arrived and cut in right in front of the general. The look of embarrassment and anger on the general's face as he saw Col. Tavington cut in was priceless. The colonel smirked at the general and the general, looking as if he had swallowed poison, stomped off.

After we finished dancing, Col. Tavington and I went on horseback into the woods to the stream. Light from the moon streamed through the trees, hitting the colonel's eyes, making their icy-blue colour even more prominent.

"It feels good to be away from a crowd of stuffy people." Stated Col. Tavington.

"Are you always this secretive?" I asked.

"Mostly. I can't trust anyone around here except for you and my captain. I've known Bordon ever since I first became Colonel of the British Green Dragoons. He does have his thickheaded moments by he's like a brother and best friend to me.

I trust you because you're easy to talk to and you don't look at me like I'm a thickheaded dolt when I am talking to you about what others might call "ravings" or "useless information". You're…"

"Yes?"

Col. Tavington hesitated for a moment and then said, "You're captivating. Your beauty, fiery demeanour and the fact that you certainly aren't lacking smarts, attracts me to you. I knew just after I had captured you that I was attracted to you. At first, I thought I was being a fool. After all, what chance did I have with you? We certainly got off to a spiteful start. You were my captive and the daughter of a patriot. We are on two opposing sides of war. What's more, I wasn't supposed to have these feelings lest I would be court-martialed and sent back to England. Yet, as much as I wanted to suppress my growing attraction to you, I realized that my feelings toward you couldn't be suppressed, no matter what the circumstances were. So, I just decided to face the fact that I was falling for you. Forgive me if what I say next sounds foolish but seeing as I can't exactly get your father's consent, I was hoping I could have yours on courting you."

"Your request isn't foolish." I said to Col. Tavington.

"Miss Selton, the Colonials call me The Butcher." Replied the colonel.

"Even butchers need companions." I said.

Col. Tavington's face lit up.

"So, you consent?" he asked eagerly.

I moved forward and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Let that be the answer to your question, Colonel." I replied smiling.

"William." Said Col. Tavington pulling me close. "You may call me William."

He undid my bun, sending my hair cascading down my shoulders and kissed me deeply, running his hands through my hair. I pulled away, out of breath, and caressed the side of William's face with my hand. Suddenly, a voice from the shadows snarled, "Tavington you fool; thought you could snub me in front of Miss Selton and get away with it did you?"

"Show yourself; I'm armed!" Demanded William, taking out a pistol.

"As am I." Replied O'Hara, stepping out of the shadows and pointing a cocked pistol at the colonel's chest.

"Perhaps by shooting one of you, the other will learn their place in this war." Said the general in an evilly amused tone as he began to pull the trigger on the pistol.

"No!" I cried trying to move in front of William.

However, before I could get in front of him, O'Hara turned and fired his pistol at me, hitting me in my abdomen. I screamed in pain as blood began flowing from the hole the bullet had created in the middle of my dress and collapsed on the ground.

O'Hara tried to run away but before he could get very far, William stepped forward and shot him in the leg and he crumpled to the ground, gasping in pain, holding his leg.

William rushed over to where I lay on the ground, my hands and dress covered in blood from my wound. He carefully turned me over on my back.

"William.." I whispered, but my speech was unclear because blood was collecting in my mouth and running onto my lips, making it difficult for me to speak.

"Shh." Whispered William, placing my head in his lap to keep me from swallowing blood.

"Colonel." A voice called from nearby in the woods. "I heard gunshots and since I knew you Miss Selton were here, I came to see if everything was alright."

As the owner of the voice drew nearer, I recognized that the voice belonged to Capt. Bordon.

"Bordon, come here and help me remove Mary's corset." Ordered William.

"Sir?" Asked Bordon in bewilderment.

"She's been shot by O'Hara." Commented William. "Now hold her so I can remove her corset."

"Shouldn't we get a medic?"

"No, there isn't enough time; she's bleeding from her mouth."

Bordon held me up as William removed my dress and the skirts under it until I only had my underclothes and corset on. Then, William removed the corset and replaced my dress so that I wasn't so exposed. William pulled out a dagger and made a cut in the middle of my dress and underclothes, exposing the bullet wound. My vision began to waver and I coughed, sending droplets of blood into Bordon's lap.

"Bordon, find Asmodeus; he should be tethered to a tree not far from here; when you find it, check the saddlebags; there should be medical supplies in them as I haven't emptied them for a few days." Ordered William.

"Yes Sir."

The captain left and William took his place, cradling my head in his lap. He placed his hand in the slit he had cut in my dress and underclothes and began assessing my wound.

"Damn; the wound is obviously deep.." He commented.

Bordon returned about five minutes later with bandages and pliers to remove the bullet. By now, my vision was blurred and I was only dimly aware of my surroundings as everything was beginning to blur together. My breathing had also become laboured.

William grabbed the pliers and whispered, "I'm going to remove the bullet."

I felt the warmth of William's palm as he braced me to remove the bullet and then I felt a shiver run down my spine as he brought the pliers to my wound.

Pain racked my body mercilessly as the pliers penetrated deep beneath my skin, bracing the bullet. I grabbed William's arm, giving him a pleading look; I wanted to scream from the pain, but the blood in my mouth prevented me from doing so. He paused and looked down at me, caressing my face with his free hand.

"I hate to cause you more pain, however, I would hate it even more if I didn't pull the bullet and you bled to death." He said softly.

I nodded almost imperceptibly. William braced me again, tightened his hold on the bullet and pulled straight up. The amount of pain I experienced was so intense that I dug my fingernails into William's leg, causing him to flinch. William pulled the lead ball from my body, tossing it and the pliers aside, turned to Bordon and said, "Rip her skirts."

Bordon immediately turned to my skirts lying on the ground and began tearing them, handing the torn pieces to William. He pressed the torn pieces to my wound. I gasped in pain, tears streaming down my cheeks.

This process of placing torn bits of my skirts onto my wound went on late into the night and as it became later and later, I became weaker and weaker, slipping in and out of consciousness.