It was midnight. Col. Tavington and his men thundered through the woods atop their horses towards a plantation house. It would be the last and most important house that he and his men raided for the evening, for it belonged to Benjamin Martin's sister-in-law, who was caring for his children while he was gone at war.
As they reached the house, the colonel ordered his men to dismount and fan out on the property to search for the Martins. Then remembering what he had read in the book Jae had shown him, as well as what she herself had told him, an evil smile curled the corners of his lips and he ordered a group of men with him into the house. Stepping the house, Col. Tavington stopped and gathered his men around him, giving them their orders in an almost inaudibly silent voice.
"They're in the cellar. Andarton, Ashby, Alford, and Barclay, go into the cellar, find them, bind them, and bring them to me. Bordon, there is a boy under the table; be careful, he is armed; shoot him, but don't aim to kill; then bind him and bring him to me as well."
"Yes sir." the men replied in unison.
Col. Tavington walked into the main hall of the house and waited for his men to finish their tasks, smiling to himself as he quietly paced the hallway.
If all goes as planned, I've got to remember to thank Jae and Jula when I get back...
Two minutes later, there was the sound of yelling and struggling, followed by a single gunshot and the sound of rope being tied and knotted around something.
Well, Bordon has done his job...
Another minute later, Bordon brought the now bound and limping boy into the hall to meet his superior.
"Tsk tsk, little boys like you should not be allowed to bear arms, especially in a house such as this one. someone could get.. killed." said Col. Tavington mockingly, leering down at the boy.
The boy lunged at him, but it was no use. Col. Tavington was much larger and stronger than him and he grabbed him by the throat, throwing him so hard against the wall, that he lost consciousness.
Five minutes later, Andarton, Ashby, Alford, and Barclay re-appeard, and with them, the rest of the members of the Martin family, including his sister-in-law. All were tightly bound and gagged. Col. Tavington smiled maliciously.
"Take them to the horses. They are to come with us."
Col. Tavington followed his men out of the house.
"Fire the house!" he ordered.
Within seconds torches were being thrust into the air onto and into the beautiful plantation house, beginning its fiery destruction. Suddenly, there was a gunshot, and Col. Tavington turned to see the silhouette of the legendary Ghost rearing on a horse in the fog. Immediately the predatory instincts began to take hold, but instead of following Martin and his men, he ordered his men to ride away from them, shooting only if they followed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was half past one when the colonel and his men arrived back at Middleton Place with their captives in tow.
"Bordon and Ashby, take them to the prisoner holdings." he ordered. "The rest of you are dismissed for the rest of the evening."
Col. Tavington made his way to the estate and upstairs to his room, where he found his wife and son sound asleep. Quickly and quietly he grabbed a towel and some bathing things and headed to the washroom. After five minutes of a cold bath (he didn't have the time for a warm one), Col. Tavington wrapped himself in the towel and headed back to his quarters, getting dressed in a fresh clean set of nightclothes. But before going to bed, he lit a candle and walked over to his desk, taking Jae's history book out of one of its drawers.
Flipping through its pages, a smirk crossed his face and low evil laugh rumbled from deep in his throat.
The plan is in motion... History is re-writing itself...