William turned to Rebecca and told her to get some rest 'I will have many questions for you tomorrow.' He stood to leave 'good night.'
As he left his tent he warned the guard to keep a close eye on her 'that woman is a spy if she escapes I will have you shot at a traitor!'
He did not return to his tent that night, he felt a need to be closer to this woman and this made him decide to stay away from her for the time being.
The next day he rode out to look at a property out by the river, the plantation had been seized from a known member of the militia and Tavington intended to use this as his new base of operations rather than having to spend his time in a tent. The property he decided was perfect, the main house would be large enough to accommodate himself, his officers and command centre, the former slave and servant quarters would be sufficient for his men and there plenty stabling for the horses. Until they moved on to the next area he felt this would be a perfect base.
Riding back to camp he tried to decide what to do about the woman back in his tent. He needed to question her and was not known as a gentleman in this area, but question her he must. Although a small part of him already knew the answer to his questions, she was not a spy, but he knew he wanted to hear this from her and he also knew that a part of him wanted to make her scream and cry out. She was so sure of herself and confident and he intended to be the one to tame her spirit.
Oh he wanted her but not as a wife, he never intended to be that weak. He would break her, take her and then, well maybe let her go, or maybe pass her on to his men for their entertainment. The thought of this made him smile to himself, no doubt the fear of this would terrify any woman, however she would be in far gentler and safer hands with his men than she would ever be with him.
As he arrived back at camp he decided he would put off questioning her until he got her to the new property, there he would have more … privacy. He then noticed a commotion over by the trees surrounding the creek. Swinging his leg over his horse he swiftly and smoothly dismounted, walking towards the men by the creek 'what is going on here?' he demanded. Startled many of his men dashed out of his way and back towards the camp, he called out to them 'break camp now, we move out before dark.'
As he was about to enter the tree line he saw the guard he had posted outside his tent the day before.
'What the hell are you doing here?' he stood opposite the man and glared at him 'are you not supposed to be guarding a prisoner?'
'Sir, I am still doing my duty' the guard stood to attention.
'Really? And how might I ask are you guarding this prisoner if you are here?'
'She, the prisoner said she wished to bathe Sir.'
'Ah, is that so?' Tavington raised one eyebrow and looked at the younger man with distain 'so why did you not have someone bring water to the tent?'
The guard looked nervous 'she said she preferred to bathe in the creek Sir.' Realising his own stupidity the guard blushed.
'Of course she did … naturally' Tavington drawled his voice dripping with sarcasm 'and it never occurred to you that she might have tricked you in order to escape?'
Turning to walk away from the young officer Tavington turned back suddenly and spat 'you had better hope that woman has not escaped you fool. Get back to camp and take them …' he gestured to some bushes nearby that were twitching 'with you!'
Stalking towards the water he was furious 'why must I be surrounded by such insufferable idiots?' he hissed under his breath.
As he emerged from the cover of the trees Tavington glanced out over the expanse of water before him. He could see no sign of the woman 'where the hell is she?' He turned around to walk back camp stopping when he heard a splash behind him, turning back to the water he saw ripples on the surface of the water as though something had surfaced for a moment or two. Stepping back into the shadows of the trees he waited watching the water the whole time, after a short while he saw her swimming beneath the water, surfacing for a moment or two before vanishing once more.
The figure beneath the water turned and began swimming back towards the shoreline where Tavington stood. As she broke the surface of the water around once more Rebecca saw Tavington standing at the water's edge 'good day Colonel, won't you join me? The water is quite refreshing.'
'What on earth are you doing in there woman, come out of there now!' Tavington ordered.
'Why I could have thought it was blatantly obvious Colonel, I am swimming.' Rebecca responded, unable to keep the note of sarcasm from her voice.
'You are not with us to enjoy yourself madam, you are a prisoner of His Majesty and I order you to get out of that water right now!'
'Well, if you really must insist' she smiled innocently and stood to walk to the shore. Tavington was watching as her shoulders appeared from the water and he saw the swell of the top of her breasts and realised why his men had been watching. 'Stay there woman!' he bellowed.
'Ohhh Colonel I do wish you would make up your mind, first I have to come out of the water and now you wish me to stay in the water' she laughed.
'You cannot come out of the water like that woman, you are naked' he picked up a discarded cloak from the shoreline.
'How else would one swim sir? Really with your reputation I would hardly have thought you a puritan'
'I am no puritan, my men are nearby and you are distracting them from their duties'
'Ohhh I see, your concern is merely for your men?' Rebecca continued to walk out of the water towards Tavington.
When she was close enough to him Tavington threw the cloak around her, covering her naked body. Rebecca just laughed in his face. This infuriated Tavington, he grabbed her by her long hair and pulled her against him 'do not mock me, you will regret it!' He looked at her face hoping to see fear but he saw only challenge in her eyes, suddenly realising he had the answer to an earlier question, her eyes were green, a deep rich emerald green.
Rebecca pulled away from him and laughed once more 'am I supposed to be afraid of you now?' she mocked. But she instantly regretted this, the look in his eyes made her feel she had pushed him too far.
Grabbing her wrist he dragged her behind him as he headed for his horse. Picking her up he threw her over his horse and then mounted the horse. She was annoyed at being thrown over his horse this way and uncomfortable, she tried wriggling away from him but he held her fast. She tried yelling at him to let her go but he just raised his hand and then whacked her firmly across the backside.
He rode first to camp and gave to order to bring everything once packed over to the old plantation and that he would ride ahead with the prisoner now.
Many of his men smiled at each other they had heard some of the conversation between their Colonel and this woman prisoner and now saw her thrown over his horse barely wrapped in a cloak. They knew she was not going to have a very good night's sleep, they all knew their Colonel well, they knew of his way with women and they also knew of his way with prisoners. Even though they smiled many of them did not expect this woman would be alive once Tavington had 'questioned' her, he bore the name Butcher for very good reason.
The ride to the plantation was not overly long, but it felt to be by Rebecca due in no small part to her uncomfortable position. On their arrival Tavington reigned in his horse, grasping Rebecca by her hair he raised her head and let her see the house 'this is to be your new home, for the time being' he informed her. Before pushing her from his horse causing her to fall with a thud that winded her to the ground, the cloak falling from her shoulders leaving her in a naked heap on the floor. Feeling unusually exposed before this man, she pulled the cloak around her tighter and he laughed 'now who's the puritan?' Swinging his leg over the horse and dropping lightly to the ground. Taking hold of her arm near her elbow he pulled her to her feet, the cloak slipping to the ground once more. He ignored this and pulled her towards the house, she stumbled along behind him naked.
'My, my cloak, I'm …' she faltered.
Tavington stopped and looked down at her 'yes, I am aware of that fact' the look on his face as he ran his eyes over her body gave her chills. He led her into the house and pushed her into the dining room.
Rebecca was astounded to see that the entire house was fully furnished and decorated as though the owners had left in a rush. He pulled out one of the chairs and abruptly indicated for Rebecca to sit. 'Not too shabby I suppose' he said as he appraised the room.
'Not too shabby? The place is gorgeous, do you own this house?' she asked.
'Not exactly'
'Not Exactly? What do you mean?'
'I mean I do not exactly own this property – the owners and I had, shall we say, a disagreement? So they, left.'
'Did you hurt them?' she asked nervously.
'Not exactly' he replied curtly.
Rebecca dared not ask more. He was pacing around the room and looking into drawers and cupboards. She heard his boots on the wooden floor and realised he had walked though into the drawing room. Turning in her seat she saw the front door was still open and she could hear him across the hallway searching another room.
Thinking fast Rebecca wondered if she could make it out of the door and onto his horse without him catching her. 'I have to try' she reasoned with herself. Moving as swiftly and quietly as she could Rebecca was on her feet and hurrying across the room, there was no sign of him. She crossed the hallway and there was still no sign of him. Glancing quickly over her shoulder she knew she had just about made it and she ran through the doorway and out onto the veranda suddenly her head jerked backwards and pain shot through her body, then she realised she was falling backwards.
She felt like she was falling for ages before she hit the ground with a thump that knocked her dizzy. As she came to her senses she felt the ground moving beneath her. She glanced above her and saw him, the despicable Colonel Tavington; he was dragging her backwards across the floor by her hair causing her to cry out in pain.
'I knew you were not to be trusted, I knew you would try to escape!' he spat as he pulled her up to her feet by her hair.
'You would have tried to escape too if you were being held captive by a madman' she hissed.
Then she was falling again, he had let go of her hair and she fell back onto the chair. She had just about caught her breath caught her breath again when he hit her; it was a sharp slap around the face. She raised her palm to her stinging cheek, but he grabbed her hand and pulled behind her before doing the same with her other arm.
'You will speak to me with respect in future, do you understand.' This was more of a statement than a question. He bent over her and fastened each of her legs to the front legs of the chair, this position leaving her sat not just naked but with open legs. Rebecca let her head fall forward so that her hair covered at least a part of her nakedness, but he was not happy with this.
Grabbing her hair again he yanked her head backwards and picked up his knife, and placing it against her hair. 'Keep your head up or I will cut off your hair, you will not hide from me!'
Rebecca stifled a sob and tried to keep her head upright.
He sat on the edge of the table in front of her and raised one leg placing his booted foot onto the chair between her thighs. She could not help running her eyes over his boot, up along his tight pale breeches, she could see the shape of his strong firm thighs beneath the fabric. Biting her bottom lip she sighed quietly, but he had heard. She looked up and his eyes met hers in a gaze that seemed to stop time itself.
Tavington was the first to break the gaze and seemed uncharacteristically flustered. 'I, I have some questions for you and I expect you not to lie to me' he declared.
When she did not comment he continued 'why did you run?'
Rebecca rolled her eyes and sighed 'I have already told you, how many more times …'
He cut her off 'answer me woman!' he leant forward and placed his hand around her throat.
'I did answer you sir, now kindly remove your hand.'
'I am the one who gives the orders here' he tightened his grip slightly 'and make no mistake I could kill you now, and you would not be the first nor might I add the last.'
'Kill me then, do what you will' she replied.
Tavington was furious, he pushed the chair away from him with his boot. 'Maybe I should just leave you here?' He walked around the room and opened all of the drapes as he walked back to her chair he caught up her hair and tied it to the back of the chair to prevent her from moving her head. 'I will retire to my rooms now. My men are due to arrive shortly, I will leave you here to greet them.' He strode purposefully out of the room and could not resist a wry smile as he heard her scream and shout behind him.