Nearly a mile down the road to Middleton Place, Colonel Tavington was still fuming. His sodden helmet, hung by the chinstrap from a loop on his saddle, bounced in time with the horse's strides. He wasn't so angry about his headwear's rather soggy state, as he was that the accident had occurred by the carelessness of none other than Cornwallis' niece. 'Ineptitude obviously runs in the family...' he mused as he rode, 'What can such a girl handle in life, if not her own damn bonnet?' Her lack of an apology after the fact aggravated him further, though he took slight pleasure in the knowledge that his reaction had frightened her. At least that was one effect he could have on the niece that he couldn't have on her uncle.
It was no secret to anyone even moderately up-to-date on camp gossip that Tavington and Cornwallis did not get along. Tavington's harsh methods and occasional instances of near-insubordination would have led to the Lord General's prompt dismissal of him if not for his value on the battlefield. Though Tavington knew he'd never admit it, Cornwallis needed him. He was good with his men and knew how to control them, on and off the field, which was more than could be said for some of the other commanders. Still, no matter how many victories he brought, horses he captured or casualties he caused to the enemy, Cornwallis never gave him so much as a word of approval, a fact that chaffed the Colonel to no end. He was proud of his record and felt slighted at the lack of positive recognition he received.
Tavington shoved these bitter thoughts from his mind and thought again of Emily. Not overly beautiful, but not plain either. The way her long, dark hair had been arranged in curls under her bonnet and her wide hazel eyes created an innocent, girlish quality which he found attractive, but it had been the look in those eyes, locked under his own gaze, that had gotten his attention. Indeed, he thought the willful and self-assured nature he saw in her eyes very much contradicted the appearance of frail vulnerability her physical traits portrayed.
He shook his head to clear it. 'One rich girl is the same as the next... no doubt she's got all the charm and personality of her uncle. Having one of that line around is bad enough!' The Colonel rolled his eyes at the thought, his mouth twisting into a jagged frown.
At any rate, he doubted very much that he'd get a chance to know her very well. Cornwallis would certainly keep a watchful eye on his young niece, considering the number of opportunistic young bachelors in residence at the estate. Colonel Tavington felt sure he was not the sort of man the General would tolerate her interacting with, even casually. 'Thank God for that small mercy...'
He'd been shocked when Cornwallis asked him to retrieve his niece in the first place. The Lord General originally asked General O'Hara a week earlier if he would be there to meet Emily, but O'Hara came down with the flu a few days later and confined himself to his room to sweat it out. With all his other "respectable" officers out on patrol, Cornwallis had no choice but to give the job to Tavington. Despite his harsh methods on the battlefield, Cornwallis knew Tavington could be polite and pull off 'a good impression of a gentleman' if he put his mind to it, but still gave the Colonel very specific details on how he expected his niece to be treated.
Rounding a bend in the road, the plantation came into view and he turned his thoughts to more practical matters. Following his hurried departure from the pier, Tavington immediately regretted his hasty actions. After all, the Lord General himself would surely be watching for his niece's arrival from the window of his study on the second floor of the large manor house, and seeing Tavington ride in alone would make him suspicious... then angry once he heard the full story. The Colonel decided to make his arrival back at camp as quiet as possible, and turned his horse away from the main approach to the house, riding instead toward the neighboring field of tents off to his right. A large number of the King's Legion infantry, as well as both of Cornwallis' Dragoon divisions were encamped there, in the large fields which surrounding the house.
Normally the fields would have been filled with growing plant crops at this time of season, but upon the army's arrival Cornwallis reached an agreement with the plantation's Loyalist owners and the immature plants had been leveled to allow tents to be set up. The army compensated the family for the value of the plants, and were permitted to stay in residence as long as needed. It was a win-win situation for everyone involved: the plantation owners lost little in the way of revenue their land would have brought in that year while gaining the protection of the army from any Rebel forces marauding the area, and the British force received ample space to lodge troops, as well as rooms in the main house for officers and the use of stable enclosures for the Dragoon's numerous horses.
Colonel Tavington guided his horse to the stable and dismounted, handing the reins to a nearby attendant. He'd have to lay low until Bordon arrived with Emily and the carriage... As soon as it came in, he could make an appearance on the manor's front steps, and Cornwallis would assume he'd been with them the entire time...
A sly grin crept across his face as he imagined it, 'To each problem, a perfect solution...'
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As the carriage bumped along the road from Charlestown, Emily leaned close to the window and watched the passing scenery. Seated in the front of the carriage, she couldn't see what lay ahead, only what was behind them. Occasionally she would glance behind the rear of the carriage to watch the young private following on Bordon's horse. The young infantryman was obviously having trouble with the large and spirited Dragoon mount, and was barely able to keep it on the road. It skittered back and forth, kicking up its hooves, tossing its head and snorting defiantly.
The corner of Emily's mouth quirked up in wry a grin. She felt sorry for the young man, but it was quite funny to watch. Bordon noted her amusement, he grinned back and his eyebrow raised questioningly. Seeing his expression, Emily laughed.
"I'm afraid your horse is giving that poor man quite a bit of trouble, Captain!" She gestured toward the pair, her grin widening. Sitting opposite her, Bordon couldn't see in that direction, but he had a good idea of exactly what she meant. He laughed.
"Baron's got a bit of an attitude, you might say... He barely listens to me sometimes!" Bordon rolled his eyes dramatically. "I would never have brought him, but both of the estate's carriages were in use, so Colonel Tavington and I had to ride into Charlestown and borrow this one from General Leslie. He's been supervising the town, by General Cornwallis' order, since the siege. Of course, I couldn't leave my horse behind, so I borrowed the young private there to follow along with him. At least he'll be able to ride back to town in style when the driver returns this carriage to the General."
Bordon laughed again as something else came to mind. "I'm almost glad the Colonel took off like he did... We originally planned to have that private ride one horse and lead the other. Between the two of those beasts, I'm sure they'd have tossed him and run off in search of a good time, miles back!"
Emily smiled brightly at his musings. She liked this Captain Bordon already. He was kind and good-natured, everything his commander apparently was not. The two of them definitely seemed an oddly matched pair. She returned her gaze to the passing scenery and fumed inwardly, thinking of how she'd behaved earlier. Emily was the oldest of five children, and the only daughter. Her younger brothers and father pampered her while she was growing up, and gave in to all her whims. She was accustomed to having her way when it came to men. Emily was now twenty years old and, due to her family's wealth and high standing in society, had been courted fiercely by some of the most eligible bachelors in England. But she hadn't taken any of them very seriously, knowing them to be interested in little more than obtaining the generous dowry her father would offer on her marriage. She'd befriended most of them, and used her status to toy with the others. This is why she was so shocked by the reaction she'd had to that man on the pier... that Colonel Tavington! Usually men were intimidated by her, not the other way around!
Her jaw clenched into a tight line. 'One thing is certain,' she told herself reproachfully, '...it won't happen again!'