"I thought I told you not to go riding alone." Col. Tavington greeted Jae icily, glaring at her as she entered through the double-doors of Middleton Place.
"I wasn't alone." Jae replied smartly, glancing over at Gen. O'Hara, who stepped in the door behind her.
"It doesn't count." hissed the colonel angrily. "Now get upstairs to your room this instant!"
"Oh Colonel, do relax." Gen. O'Hara drawled. "It wasn't as if I raped her..."
Shaking in rage, Col. Tavington stepped close to O'Hara so that their faces were only inches apart.
"Really? And on what grounds, should I trust you with my daughter? You already nearly raped my wife! Twice!"
"Well look at her!" Gen. O'Hara exclaimed. "Does she look upset in any way?"
Indeed, Jae looked perfectly fine. Even the look in her eyes held no hint of disturbance.
Nodding slowly, Col. Tavington backed away from the general, glaring at him with a blaze of blue fire. Turning to Jae, he repeated in a low, eerily calm voice, "To your room. Now."
"Yes, sir." Jae replied without quarrel and went upstairs to her quarters, while Gen. O'Hara watched her retreating back, barely able to keep a hungry glint out of his eyes.
"However, I must say, Colonel, she is an extraordinary creature. Very beautiful."
"You stay away from her!"
Gen. O'Hara nodded curtly in response, a smirk curling the corners of his mouth.
Tis a bit late for that, I'm afraid...
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One month passed, and still, the affair between Jae and the general continued. However, just as Jae had planned for, it had also continued to decrease in intensity, while she continued to gain power in the 'relationship' mainly because she figured that the only reason she was even still alive was most certainly due to the likeliness that O'Hara kept her around simply because he enjoyed her 'attentions' far too much to really do away with her; and even though she still had to 'consent' to him, because of her newfound power, she did so under her conditions. If Gen. O'Hara began to fight her on them, he was rewarded with a fiery reminder from Jae that she knew how he felt about the situation and that she'd "make it hell" for him if he questioned her conditions. So, even though he was, in Jae's eyes, a perverted idiot, Gen. O'Hara did indeed abide by her words, and ceased the majority of his roughness with her, which lightened her emotional load even more, and eventually, she learned to emotionally desensitize herself from the affair, at least, for the time being; it was strictly business, nothing more, nothing less.
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You keep talking to me, but strangely enough, I haven't the faintest idea of what you are saying... are you speaking English? You are? Well then, it must be a dialect with which I am not familiar. You say I am familiar with it? Oh yes, now I remember.. unfortunately, for you, that is, I unlearned the Charles Cornwallis dialect of English. Terribly annoying, it was. Too much of a droning quality to it... Col. Tavington thought wryly to himself one rainy day as he sat in Lord Gen. Cornwallis' office, pretending to pay attention to his superior as he harassed him about Benjamin Martin and his group of "farmers with pitchforks", and how Tavington could have captured Martin long ago if he had just agreed to releasing Benjamin Martin's family in exchange for Martin himself; by this time Col. Tavington's eyes had nearly glazed over, when he spotted out of the corner of his eye through the ajar door of the office, Jae following a very aroused-looking Gen. O'Hara to his quarters.
And without so much as a single word, no less! Col. Tavington thought, his eyes beginning to swirl with anger and confusion. What the bloody hell is going on?
Chancing more of a glance, he caught Jae's gaze through the door. A look of horror and shame crossed her face as she realized that he had seen her, but before anything could be said or done, Gen. O'Hara pulled her into his quarters.
"Colonel?"
Turning his attention reluctantly back to Cornwallis, Col. Tavington replied, "Yes, milord?"
"Did you hear a single word of what I just said?"
The colonel bit his lip, trying nearly in vain to return to the main topic, and replied, "Yes, milord, I did."
"Then what did I say?"
"I need to stop toying with Martin and just bargain with him." he replied smoothly.
"Well, Colonel, I'm impressed. Because you didn't seem to be paying any attention at all."
I wasn't. There just wasn't anything new mentioned, or it would have caught my attention..
"Thank you, milord." replied Col. Tavington with somewhat of an edge, wishing with all his power that the meeting would be over, as he had much more important things to be doing.
"You're dismissed."
The colonel nodded, and then headed swiftly out the door, stopping just outside Gen. O'Hara's quarters, his hand on the doorhandle as he skillfully leaned against the door, ready to burst it from its hinges.
But why would she do something like this?
Slowly releasing the door handle and straightening himself, Col. Tavington walked up to his quarters as all the pieces of the issue with Jae began come together, the final realization hitting him hard, like a knife to the gut, when he finally reached his quarters, where Mary left with Braden as soon as he entered, leaving him alone in the room.
Why would she do this? It is not like her to do something so dishonorable. Or is it? I don't know anymore... Col. Tavington thought, sitting down on the four-poster and placing his head in his hands.
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An hour later, Jae made her way hesitantly up the stairs. He had seen her, Col. Tavington, had seen her.
Now what am I going to do? she wondered to herself as a wave of guilt washed over her, causing her to pause at the top of the stairs. Keep going, Jae. You knew you'd have to address the issue with him sooner or later. After all, it's a miracle he didn't find out before...
Making her way to the entrance of the colonel's quarters, Jae slowly brought her hand to the door and knocked.
No answer, but Jae opened the door anyway.
Col. Tavington sat on the side of his four-poster, head in his hands.
"Sir?"
Slowly, the colonel looked up, gazing at her with a look that made her want to break down in tears. Lifting a hand, he motioned for her come closer.
Please don't...
Jae followed his silent order unwillingly until she stood only a foot away from him as he looked up at her with a piercing, yet very hurt gaze. Closing her eyes, she braced herself for the torrent of fury that she was sure he would release, but instead, a single word fell softly from his lips, almost disappearing with the near silence of his voice.
"Why?"