Rebecca had been outside her cottage planting some herbs when she heard the battle in the distance. She had not been too concerned, as she did not expect the fighting to come any closer. Soon afterwards she heard a horse coming closer and at speed, just before she saw the horse she heard a heavy thud, when she saw it was a military horse she realised she'd probably just heard the rider fall from it. Quickly gathering a few things she might need if there was indeed an injured man out there, lifting her skirts slightly she hurried in the direction the horse had come from. She had not gone far when she saw him; lying in the undergrowth she spotted parts of a red jacket and recognising this as British. When she got closer to him she saw he was face down and not moving, rushing closer she dropped her knees beside him. Pushing some hair from his face she drew back her hand as though he burned her 'Oh no …' she cried ' William!'
Rebecca examined him and found he was in a pretty bad way: he had been shot in the chest and was bleeding badly, she was relieved to see the other than the bleeding this wound was not too bad. But he was bruised and scratched and his leg was broken. He was still unconscious partly from his injuries and loss of blood and partly from being dragged by his horse and a shock. She had to get him back to her cottage to help him even though she had fled from him, she knew she could not just leave him here to die. It was quite a struggle, but with the aid of the horse she had escaped on and then subsequently kept she managed to get him back to her cottage.
When she settled him into her own bed she set about cleaning and dressing his wounds. The chest wound was not as bad as it had first appeared, it looked like the shot had gone straight through and has not hit anything major. She knew she needed to prevent him from moving his leg if the bone was to heal and so she set it between the straightest sticks she could find to act as splints. Rebecca was unsure how he would react to his injuries when if woke and even less sure of what he would do upon seeing her, but she knew he will be sick for a long time and right now she was his only hope.
Walking outside the cottage Rebecca looked up into the trees 'why have you brought him back into my life?' She whispered to the breeze.
Tavington was unconscious for over almost 2 weeks and everyday Rebecca changed his dressings and gave him sips of water, his wounds were beginning to heal and had a little colour is cheeks. When it had been almost 3 weeks since she found him Rebecca was sitting outside sewing beneath the bedroom window when he woke up she heard a small voice talking in the bedroom and she went inside to see what was happening.
Tavington woke saw a small face in front of him, with the sunlight from the window the figure before him seemed to glow, a halo of deep chestnut hair surrounded the pale face and a pair of sunny aquamarine eyes peered him. 'Am I dead?' He whispered 'are you an angel?'
'I am afraid not " a voice across the room replied, a voice he recognised 'I'm afraid she is too much her father's daughter to be an angel.'
He turned and tried to sit up 'Rebecca! How? Where?'
'Shhhh' She walked over to the bed 'you need to rest, do not excite yourself.' He sat back against the pillows and Rebecca held up of water out to him. 'Is this your daughter?' He looked again at the child. Rebecca lifted the child next to her onto the bed 'yes, this is Sarah' she replied.
'It's she?'
'Yes, she is your daughter.'
He looked stunned and closed his eyes 'I never thought I would see you again, when the surgeon told me …' he looked at her 'why did you leave me? Why did you run?' He looked like a hurt child. Rebecca then realised that beneath the arrogant and nasty exterior there hid a wounded soul.
'You are not a stupid man and I would appreciate it if you would not treat me as a fool. You know quite well why I left you!' Tavington was stunned by her words 'how dare you address means such a manner…' he tried to exert some authority between them.
'Do not try to intimidate me in my own home Colonel - I did not ask for you to be here, but I could not leave you bleeding in the forest. The sooner you are well enough to leave the better. I had no wish to see you again Sir and I will not be sorry to see you leave!' picking up the child Rebecca left the room and closed the door leaving him alone. Tavington smiled to himself as the door closed, he decided he would not leaving any time soon 'she is so attractive when she is annoyed' he thought to himself.
Rebecca went about her day's chores in a quietly annoyed manner. 'That man is insufferable!' She muttered, but she was more annoyed at herself to letting him rile her. She was pleased to see him awake and upon seeing his blue eyes she realised how much she had missed him. Not of what he could do, but of the feelings he awoke in her.
Over the following weeks she continued looking after him, even sitting reading to him as he rested, or listening to him reading to both her and their daughter. Sarah taken to him right away, every time Rebecca looked for her she was back in his room. He would read to her or just talk to her and she seemed to be comforted by his voice, even though she was too young to understand it was as though she knew.
In the time he was well enough to leave his room and he would sit outside and watch Rebecca working in her garden, the first time he joined her at the kitchen table for dinner he realise how small cottage was. The entire cottage appeared to be just two rooms, the large room, which served as the kitchen, lounge and dining room and just the one bedroom. 'Where have you is Sarah been sleeping?' He asked, although he already knew.
'In here' she replied. 'Sarah sleeps in the chair and I take the floor.'
'Why do you do that?' He asked.
'Well you had to sleep somewhere.' She replied.
'Tonight you will stay with me.' He ordered.
'I will not!' She gasped.
'Look, the bed is more than large and you cannot sleep on the floor!'
'Yes I can.'
'I promise I will not touch you' he replied earnestly.
'No, of course not, it is not like you have not done that already is it?' She said sharply.
'You must think me a real monster?'
'Well if the cap fits…' she snapped.
He reached over the table in such a hand 'Rebecca think about Sarah, her bed is in the other room, be reasonable.'
'Reasonable?' She scoffed 'were you reasonable when you forced me?'
He looked hurt as he got up from the table and went back to the bedroom, he never had to face one of his victims before, most of his victims had not survived and this was the first time he had seen the pain that he had caused. Usually when he caused pain he enjoyed it, he liked and relished the boards as he tortured and killed, but this was different and this hurt him …
Not since his father and ruined his family name had he felt this way and he despised feeling so vulnerable. How can one woman bring him pain this way?
As he left the table Rebecca felt guilty, she had made herself sound like a victim and yet he had actually only done what she had been thinking and she had loved to feel his touch, after all he had given her the best thing in her life - her daughter…
That night she made a decision, she put her daughter into her own bed in the bedroom and a she climbed into the bed with Tavington. She was tense at first but he never made a move and so she relaxed. In the early hours of the morning she woke was slightly cold and shivered, Tavington turned half asleep wrapping his arm around her protectively and whispered in his sleep ' I missed you.'
The next morning when she woke they were both wrapped in each other's arms.
Later that day he thought about how much she had risked to trust him and how much he wanted to take her, whether she wanted him or not usually he would have done just that.
It was several days later when Rebecca managed to obtain some news of the war from a passing trader, he informed her that the British were retreating, and that everyone was rejoicing in the news that the 'Bloody' Colonel Tavington was now dead, he had been seen taking a shot and being dragged off by his horse, there had been no sign of him since but his horse had been found. The British had therefore pronounced him dead.
Tavington was shocked by this news. His men, his family, his enemies, they all thought him dead?
He decided he needed some time to think and he wandered off alone into the forest.
When Rebecca found him he was in the forest close to where she had found him injured, he was standing by what looked like a grave.
'Are you well?' She asked puzzled.
'Yes, I was just saying goodbye to my past.'
'Really? How so?'
He was standing wearing just breeches and a blue shirt Rebecca had sewed for him, the shirt making his eyes appear even more blue, ' in this grave lies Colonel William Tavington - he is now dead.
I would like to stay here with you and our daughter, if you will have me?'
THE END?