Gathering Jae in his arms, Col. Tavington grabbed some of her bathing things and carried her to the washroom, drawing a bath for her, and then left her alone and returned to his quarters, looking quite distressed.
"William, what is it?" his wife asked as he swept into the room and sat down on the four-poster, placing his head in his hands.
"Jae, she won't tell me what is wrong with her."
"Just give her time, William."
"I can't! Mary, something is horribly wrong, and I have a feeling that it will get worse very soon if I don't find out what is going on!"
Braden, who had been sleeping on a blanket on the four-poster, awoke and began to cry.
"God..." Col. Tavington muttered to himself as he picked Braden up and cradled him in his arms, rocking him back and forth in an effort to calm him.
"Where is Jae?"
The colonel looked over to see Jula standing at the entrance of the room.
"She's in the washroom bathing."
"How is she?"
"Not 'fine' like she says she is."
Jula rolled her eyes, but concern marked her features.
"Why won't she say anything. Hasn't she learned anything from the last time she kept her feelings pent up?"
"I don't know, Jula. But I'm not going to lie to you, something is terribly wrong."
"Do you think it's worse than last time?"
Col. Tavington glanced over at his wife, who gave him a nod and replied, "We're not sure. But it might be. We'll just have to wait and see."
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Dinner that day was exceedingly uncomfortable for Jae, who found herself in a seat most unfortunately in between Col. Tavington and Gen. O'Hara and almost got up to leave the table, but eventually decided to stay so as not to cause any suspicion. However, it didn't take long for her to begin regretting her decision as she suddenly sat straight up, nearly dropping her fork on her plate when she felt Gen. O'Hara place a hand on her thigh under the table, massaging it provocatively through her skirts.
"Jae, is something the matter?" Col. Tavington asked, glancing briefly over at her.
"No no, the meat was just hotter than I expected." she lied.
The colonel nodded, and returned to his own meal.
Jae glanced over at the general who smirked, moving his hand, further and further up her thigh.
"Not here.." she muttered so that only he could hear, placing her hand under the table on top of his and raking her fingernails into his flesh.
Gen. O'Hara let out a muffled shriek of surprise into his table linen.
"You'll pay for that later." he muttered.
Jae said nothing, forcing herself to eat for the sake of appearances, already beginning to dread what was to lie ahead.
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Dinner that day ended in suffocating silence for Jae, and as the officers left the table to begin various military tasks, Gen. O'Hara grabbed her wrist in a surprisingly bruising grip, pulling her out of the banquet hall to his quarters, unlocking the door and all but throwing her on his bed. Jae yelped in pain.
"What is the matter, my dear?" he asked, his voice dripping with malice and contempt. "Can you not walk?"
"You monster!" Jae hissed, writhing on the bed in pain.
Gen. O'Hara smiled evilly, nearly ripping off his jacket, vest, and shirt, climbing on top of her and kissing her roughly, forcing his tongue into her mouth as his hands worked at the back of her dress, undoing the buttons and unlacing her corset. Jae tensed beneath him and bit his tongue.
"Wench!" he hissed, pulling away from her, slapping her hard across the face. "That was not in the agreement!"
Whatever. I only agreed to comply. I didn't say that I wouldn't fight though... Jae thought, feeling an angry fire begin to burn within her as she smirked up at the general despite the bruising pain on the left side of her face.
"Pull that one more time and the bargain is off. Do I make myself clear?"
Jae nodded reluctantly, her heart sinking.
"Yes sir.."
"Good. Now.. oh yes, I remember where we were... we have a bit of a misdemeanor to work out from earlier at dinner..."
Jae's eyes widened. She knew this was the reason he had dragged her into his room in the first place, but it still scared her, despite her fireball antics toward him; though he couldn't even begin to hold a candle to the colonel, Gen. O'Hara was still bigger and stronger than she was.
"Oh yes..." he purred, nipping at her ear. "We have been naughty..."
With lust-induced strength, the general all but massacred Jae's clothing, tossing it carelessly on the floor.
"And now for the punishment..."