Oh god, what am I going to do? Col. Tavington wondered, hanging his head as Jae bolted out of the room.
"I need to go for a ride."
Slowly making his way outside to the stables, the colonel greeted his stallion with a glum "Hello, boy", before reaching for his tack.
Asmodeus snorted, reaching out to nip his master in a usual demand for a treat but was harshly swatted away and cursed at.
"Damn horse, stop your bloody antics..."
The stallion pulled back at the harsh sound of Col. Tavington's voice. Indeed, he was in no mood for the usual antics today, so reluctantly, Asmodeus complied, a slightly puzzled look in his eyes as to why his master was being so moody toward him, and stood still as the colonel saddled and mounted him, guiding him out of the stables and then leading him into a full gallop towards the woods.
Reaching the edge of the woods, Col. Tavington slowed Asmodeus to a walk as he guided him through a particularly thick clump of bushes, as the stallion strained at the bit to go faster.
"Asmodeus, I'm warning you, don't test me today..."
Asmodeus shook his head, lying his ears flat, and pulled yet again, earning a quick slap on the neck from the colonel.
"Stubborn git, I said don't test me!"
Shaking his head and snorting derisively, Asmodeus laid his ears flat yet again, and rubbed hard against the side of a tree, trying to knock his rider off, but it was to no avail, he only received another slap and harsher words. But still, he wasn't completely dissuaded, and tried to suck his belly in so as to loosen the saddle, but again, to no avail, for obviously, Col. Tavington knew how to saddle a horse properly. So, snorting derisively once again, Asmodeus shook his head, and finally decided to comply with his now irate master.
Well, now that you've decided to behave yourself...
Guiding Asmodeus further in, the colonel suddenly urged him into a furious gallop deep into the woods, twisting, turning, and winding around trees and bushes so quickly that even Asmodeus, who was obviously very used to the colonel's quick fluid style of handling him, nearly spooked a couple times at the closeness they got to some of the trees before veering away. After an hour of fast and hard riding, which left both horse and rider dripping with sweat and rainwater, Col. Tavington returned the stallion to the stables, barking angrily at the stable boys' reluctance to take an equally fiery Asmodeus to his stall to be groomed, and stomped up to the estate, up to his room, grabbed some bathing things, and headed to the washroom where he drew a hot bath, sinking slowly into its steaming water.
What do I do?
The thought continued to nag at him in spite of the soothing warmth of the water, as a pair of arms snaked their way around his neck.
"I thought you might be in here." a female voice said softly in his ear.
Startled, Col. Tavington grabbed the person's wrists, ready to clamp them in a vicegrip when he noticed the emerald encrusted ring on the left ring finger as belonging to his wife and mumbled, "My apologies. You just startled me."
"I noticed." Mary replied.
"What do you need? I thought you were still upset with me."
"No, I am no longer upset with you. After all, you did stop pestering Jae, did you not?" Mary asked as she poured hot water over her husband's long, thick hair.
"I did, yes, but now I'm not so sure that should have." Col. Tavington replied slowly, closing his eyes in case any water should get in them.
"What do you mean?"
Taking a breath, the colonel was about to tell her what he had learned about Jae when he cut himself off and a troubled silence followed before he regained the nerve to tell her what had happened, and when he finished, she had the same troubled, confused look that he had when Jae had told him.
"What are we going to do?"
"I don't know, Mary. I just can't believe she would do something like that. She could have told me; O'Hara wouldn't have had to know, and we could have taken the journal back."
"Yes, but William, what if he carried the journal with him?"
"No, Jae had shown me quite a while back what her journal had looked like, and I know for a fact that it was too big for O'Hara to fit in a pocket, or carry with him without it looking obvious."
"Well in that case, William, you shouldn't have been so harsh with her; from what you just told me, she really is hurting from it, and it seems that even though she may have had another option, she may have not seen it as one, and perhaps another reason she didn't tell you was because she didn't want to stress you out even more than you already were."
"Well that doesn't matter now, does it?"
"No, you're correct, it doesn't."
Col. Tavington scowled at Mary and was reward with a splash of water to the face.
"Well it's true, William. But we do have to figure out what to do about this as soon as possible. Just remember that though she might have, Jae had no intention of hurting you in any way; in fact, her intentions were just the opposite."
"But it's only a matter of time before this comes out and everyone at Middleton Place knows. News travels quickly around here. And what if Jae is found to be carrying his child? Because from what I gathered, Gen. O'Hara had his way with her on much more than one occasion."
Mary sighed.
"Then, William, we, or rather, you, have two options, and trust me, you won't like either one of them. One, you work with the general so that he and Jae get married, or two, you find a way to send the girls back to their time."
Col. Tavington cursed softly under his breath.
"Are you sure there are no more options?"
"None that would be any less damaging. Even if you were to steal the journal back now, if Jae is indeed found to be pregnant, it wouldn't help anything; and there's no point in taking chances in this situation. I'm sorry, William, but you must make a decision, and soon before anything else happens."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"He hates me.. I know he does... I've humiliated him..." Jae cried silently to herself as she lay on her four-poster.
"What was that you were saying?" a familiar voice drawled softly in her ear.
Turning over on her back, Jae looked up at Gen. O'Hara, who looked down at her inquiringly.
"Nothing, just get out of here." she replied, beginning to cry harder.
"Not when I can see how much you're hurting." he replied, sitting down on the bed and taking her in his arms.
"Get away from me!" Jae screamed into his chest, struggling against him but her strength failed her so that all she could do was cling to him for support.
"What happened?" asked the general softly.
"I got in a fight with the colonel." replied Jae softly in an unconvincing voice.
Well, it's sort of true...
"Really? About what?"
"It's stupid. Just... he thinks I'm being distant with him.. and why am I telling you this? Get out of here!"
Again, Jae struggled furiously against the general but her strength began to fail her and he pinned her down on the bed.
"Be still, and look at me, Jae!" he ordered, tightening his hold on her until she had calmed down. "I'm not here for the reason you think I am."
"Then why do you pester me so?" Jae hissed, beginning to struggle again.
Gen. O'Hara ignored her comment and continued to hold her down.
"He knows, doesn't he?" he asked her softly.
Jae ceased struggling immediately and looked up at the general with horror filled eyes.
"Please, don't kill my sister, or the colonel; do what you like with me, but just don't touch them!" she said in a desperate voice.
"No, no harm will be brought to them because of this. And especially not to you." the general responded, releasing Jae and handing her her journal.
I feel too much for you to hurt you anymore...
Slowly reaching out to take it from him, Jae looked up at him with suspicious eyes.
"What do you want for it?"
"I want nothing."
"I don't believe you."
"Look into my eyes if you don't believe me, and there you shall see the truth."
Warily, Jae looked and was stunned to see the genuine look in the general's eyes; he was telling the truth.
"Why?" she asked.
"I have my reasons. Just take the journal and know that this is finished."
"You've ruined my life..."
"I know..."
"Good. Now leave! The sooner you get out of here, the sooner you get to Hell.."
With a nod, Gen. O'Hara rose from the bed and walked out of the room, his footsteps echoing down the hall until they faded into the distance.
A/N: Nice twist, huh? Just a note, I'm going to be wrapping this story up pretty soon, probably within the next chapter or two, and unfortunately, no, you will not get to see what happens to the general... until I start the sequel, which I already have ideas for. So please, be patient and bear with me. Thanks!
-S.R.