Chapter 7 The Ball Begins
"Miss Kristina, It's so good to see you again, dear!" Mrs. Ellington, the wealthiest widow on the East coast, proclaimed.
Kristina simply nodded, her eyes distracted for the time being on a certain gentleman only a few feet away. In the few times she had spoken with him, her worries; her troubles; her fears; everything lifted off her mind. She was herself. She was free. He made her laugh in such a way that she had never known. He stole a glance at her also, before returning conversation with a fellow officer. For a moment she forgot that she was here at the ball to spy, not to play the eligible daughter. The ball was going delightfully well, and everything was in place. If times were different, Kristina actually thought she might enjoy a ball like this. But she had a job to do.
Seeing Jane nearby, she excused herself from Mrs. Ellington and quickly walked to meet her friend. Looking in either direction, they stole away from the party and went into the nearest room, quietly locking the door. Feeling safe, Kristina spoke.
"Anything?"
"Nothing of value so far, Lady Kris. These officers wouldn't be stupid enough to talk of the war before dessert was served. However, Mary and Patricia have already set their sights on two fine looking soldiers accompanying them on the piano. I've know doubt this won't be a total waste if they have anything to do about it." Kristina smiled at her friend's choice of words.
"Good. Anything from Elena?"
Jane shook her head. "I haven't had the chance to speak with her yet."
Kristina opened the door and whispered once more to her ally. "In a few moments time I will run up to General Cornwallis' room, while you ask him to dance."
"Me, miss? Honestly, Lady Kris, he IS married you know. And I would rather eat dirt."
Kristina laughed whole heartedly. "It's the only way I'll know for sure he's distracted. Please Jane, it's for the cause." Her friend grunted under her breath, but nodded.
The song ended, and a waltz began. Kristina looked on as Jane went up to General Cornwallis; and laughed as they both begrudgingly set out onto the dance floor. She was about to head on upstairs when she heard her name called. She sighed with annoyance, and turned to see who it was.
"Ev-Colonel Tavington. I was just about to get a handkerchief from my room. Always forgetting things, you know."
His eyes were fixated on her. "I implore you, use mine." He pulled out one, and she rolled her eyes without him noticing.
Dammit, she thought in her head. "Thank you ever so much."
"Miss Doyle, please, would you join me on the dance floor?" She was stuck. There was no way out of it. Her plan would have to be put on hold. Oh, Jane is going to kill me for having her dance with the general for nothing, she thought.
"Of course." He took her arm and they made there way out in an open space. She dared not look at Jane, who was certainly giving her the evil eye. Colonel Tavington was a true officer; he knew every step of the waltz, performing it flawlessly. He talked little, keeping his head held high. She thought this strange, usually he was playful with her when they were together.
"Colonel you seem stiff tonight. Is anything the matter?" She asked blatantly. He didn't look at her as he spoke.
"Nothing that concerns you, Ms. Doyle. I daresay it'll be over soon." She didn't know how to take this comment. What did he mean? "Ah, Ms Doyle, will you excuse me? I see an old colleague of mine." He strode away before she could utter "of course."
What was up with him? That didn't matter, her sensible side stated. What we need to worry about is upstairs at this very moment. Now was her chance.
She quietly made her way out of the ball room and up the stairs. No one was around, as the corridor only echoed in the faint voices of those downstairs laughing cheerfully. There it was; General Cornwallis' door. She turned it….locked, as she suspected. Looking left and right again to make sure the coast was clear, she went into the room adjacent his and opened the window. Making her way out onto the roof of her estate in her dress was no easy task, but she managed to do it without tripping or ripping anything. She walked a few feet and stopped, opening up the window to his room. It opened quite easily, and she sighed with relief.
Inside, she carefully lit a candle and brought it over to his desk. Searching the front, she saw piles upon piles of paperwork. "Oh God, this will take all night!" she exclaimed out loud.
Scanning each of them, she piled ones that she thought was useful into her corset. As she was about to read a recently opened letter, she froze. A creak was heard just outside the door, and as quietly as possible, she went to the window. As she crawled outside, she heard the distinct sound of keys, and she hastened. Blast, she thought to herself, trying to free her dress from a nail by the window. Ripping her dress slightly, she shut the window and hurried over to her own, as his door opened. Carefully back inside, she raced downstairs and flew into the kitchen. Only then did she realize she had left the candle in Cornwallis' room. Slapping her forehead, she wnt to the nearest basin and washed her face. Jane, who had seen her run into the empty kitchen, swung open the door.
"Oh thank goodness. After the General and I danced he claimed he needed to get something from his room. I tried to stall him, honestly I did. Did he see you?" she anxiously enquired from her companion.
Kristina rubbed her face with a towel. "No. I got out just in time, but I left the candle in his room." Suddenly another thing caught her attention. "Oh no! I ripped my dress as I went out the window. What if a piece of it is still attached?" She looked to her friend for an answer, any answer that would say the hopeful. Her friend couldn't reply. The music in the ballroom stopped, as gasps went throughout the crowd. Jane and Kristina went to see what all the commotion was about. Her green eyes widened in horror.
She grabbed Jane's arm. Jane was just as shocked. Gabriel stood before them, dressed in a British soldiers uniform, hands bound behind his back as Evan Tavington held a gun to the back of his head. His eyes looked straight at Kris', but he said nothing. General Cornwallis practically flew down the steps to meet them.
"Ah, Gabriel Martin, son of the infamous Benjamin Martin…the 'ghost' as it were, right on time," he said regally as he paced around his captive. Gabriel struggled against the ropes that bound him, but to no avail. "You didn't really think we wouldn't recognize you after all those raids and murders on my men did you?"
Kristina looked from Gabriel to Cornwallis to Evan, who was smiling. Was this what he was talking about earlier?
Evan got in Gabriel's face and spat. "Rumor has it that you killed my uncle. My family wants vengeance, and we shall get it," he whispered with hate. Kristina overheard, and shuddered. The Evan she knew was overtaken, he now looked and acted like his uncle. She saw the cold stare, that same one that she had killed. Was he who she thought he was?
"Your uncle killed my little brother and wife. He deserved worse than death." Kristina gasped with shock, though she dared not make a sound outloud. Was that why Gabriel had so much hate? She had never asked him, nor his father, what had happened. She only knew he had lost someone. But a brother AND a wife? Her thoughts went back to years. No, not now, she thought in her head. I can't relive this now. She pushed it out of her head. "He and I are not so very different after all," she whispered to herself. Jane overheard, but said nothing.
Evan's eyes widened and he slapped the bound man. "Do not speak such lies! My uncle was a civilized gentlemen, who would never harm innocent women and children! You will pay for such insults on my family!" He raised his arm again, but the General stopped him.
"Colonel, you will retain yourself. This calls for a diplomatic approach." He walked on up to Gabriel. "I once had the misfortune of meeting your father, a most uncivilized man. I can see you maintain many of his qualities."
Gabriel raised his head. "I take that as the highest compliment."
The General did not move. His lips were once again tight as a fist. Captain Doyle reached over and whispered something in his ear. The General nodded.
"Quite right. Ladies and gentlemen, sorry for the inconvenience we have given you." He nodded to two soldiers. "Take him to the barn." They kicked Gabriel to his feet, and rushed out the door. Kristina tried to follow, but Jane held her back.
"Not this time, Lady Kris. We'll get him later." Kristina gulped, and it burned her mouth. Colonel Tavington angrily walked upstairs and General Cornwallis went with the soldiers to the barn. She needed any and all information she could. Could she still trust Evan? It was worth a try in her mind. She followed him upstairs.
His room door was slightly ajar. She knocked first, and when no answer came, she stepped in. Evan was on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. His eyes were so statute, she couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling.
"Colonel?" she whispered slightly. He turned to face her, and turned back to the ceiling.
"I couldn't keep my composure, could I? I must have looked frightful."
She sighed, and decided to speak the truth. "Yes, you did. It scared me a bit."
His eyes were still on the ceiling as he spoke. "I didn't know what to think. Here he was, the murderer right in front of me, practically grinning at me. I knew he would be there. A soldier intercepted a letter from him to some unknown source in the house saying he would come disguised."
"Evan, I-"
His eyes turned to face her, and he sat up. "Kristina, what if what he said was true? I didn't know my uncle. When he said those things he said, I looked to General Cornwallis, and he didn't look stunned at all. It's like he KNEW it was true. But how could a Tavington kill women and children? The few tales I've heard of officers killing the innocent made my skin crawl. Soldiers are condemned for it. It's…its not…I mean…..it can't be true of my uncle, can it? It would shame my family name." He looked at her in a whole new light.
"Kristina, you KNEW him. Your father and he were friends. You fainted when I mentioned his name. He couldn't have done such things, could he?"
Her breath quickened. What was she to say? Lie to his face, or tell him the truth? Tell him that she, infact, was the one who killed him? "I daresay I did not know him that well. He…I mean…I'm sorry, Colonel Tavington, I can't tell you what you want to hear."
His flushed face looked down. "So it is true, isn't it? I had heard the stories of the dragoons before, but I chose not to believe them. I couldn't. It goes against everything I believe, everything I cherish."
"Evan, your uncle…I've seen what he does. You need to know the truth. I've seen the letters given to my father from him, boasting of lives taken and land conquered. He did it by all means necessary."
"Why do you tell me this?"
"Because I don't want you to be naïve in thinking all British soldiers are fighting for a just cause. When we first met, you yourself told me you didn't know what you were fighting for, you were just doing your duty to the crown. Please, Evan, I tell you this not to hurt you but to help you, so that you know what lies beneath the crown of England."
His eyes, which were wide throughout the whole conversation, narrowed. A new face took hold of him, the same face she had seen downstairs. "Even if this is true, you are dangerously overstepping your boundaries as a loyal British subject. If my uncle did those horrendous things, do not be quick to judge our King by them." She was getting in deep water. One minute Evan seemed on her side, the next she saw nothing but his uncle inside. He was torn, she could tell, between what he had been raised to think, and what was right. Could she persuade him?
"Please do not put me in such a position, Evan. You know me better than that."
Something lifted from him, and he softened. "I'm so sorry, my dear Kristina. I was dangerously on the verge of accusing you of being a rebel to the crown of England. Please forgive me."
Her eyes started to well. She hated lying to him, and his last statement made her realize he would never take her side. He was too induced by the crown to see past it for what it really was. She had not made an ally.
"What is to happen to the boy you captured?"
"Most likely he will be hanged, but a diplomatic solution might arise, for he IS the son of the feared Martin leader. I care not what happens to him."
She knew she was taking a risk, but it needed to be asked. "Even if your uncle DID kill his family?" He was silent for a moment.
"We are at war, Kristina. I've come to realize that there is no solution to anything that involves war. At this point, it is an eye for an eye. Please, I would very much like to get some rest now, Ms. Doyle."
She obediently left, with plenty on her mind. One thing was for sure. She had to free Gabriel. She did not like him as a person, but she felt what he felt. He was her equal, in many ways. And of Evan Tavington, she did not know. Her feelings for him had grown strong, but he was not someone to trust right now. If circumstances had been different, perhaps her feelings would not be so puzzled.
After the ball was over, and most had retired or made their way home, Kristina went down another corridor. She knocked on Jane's door, who was staying in one of the many guest bedrooms.
"We leave tonight. I fear we are no longer disguised. And we will take the Martin boy with us."