"Why?" Col. Tavington repeated, the cold and hurt in his eyes intensifying.
Jae averted her gaze to the floor as tears began streaming down her cheeks.
"He knows." she whispered in a choked voice.
The colonel stood up, cupping Jae's chin and lifting her head up to look him in the eyes, but made no attempt to wipe her tears away or comfort her.
"About everything?"
Jae nodded, her tears blurring her vision as they fell from her cheeks and pooled in Col. Tavington's left hand.
"Yes. I don't know how, but he must have gone through my things; he found my journal. He knows everything; he was going to kill me, my sister, and maybe even you. I had no choice. He kept the journal."
Well you could have told me anyway, and we could have taken it back from him and burned it...
Col. Tavington removed his hand from Jae's chin and stepped away from her, his eyes beginning to turn white-blue as anger replaced his confusion.
"How could you do this to me? I told you after you raced O'Hara never to put yourself in a position in defending me at such a high cost that could hurt you as well!" he said in a seething yet even toned voice, piercing her with his eyes.
"I didn't have a choice! He held me at gunpoint!"
Col. Tavington shook his head.
"No, no. That wasn't the only option. You still had another choice."
Jae looked at him helplessly through the blur of her tears.
"You're dismissed." said the colonel suddenly, his voice becoming cold and commanding, identical to the tone he used with his men.
"But-"
"Leave my room, Miss Barrington."
Jae looked up at the colonel, stunned and deeply hurt by the sudden formality. Then, turning away from him, she fled the room.