You have got to be kidding me... Jae thought as she watched the general leave her room. But no, I have the journal.. still, it just can't be this easy...
Anger and confusion rising, Jae hurled the journal across the room, hitting the wall with a loud thud before it dropped to the floor.
About a minute later, Jula appeared at the entrance to Jae's room holding Braden, an inquiring look on her face.
"Jae, you alright? You look really upset..."
"I'm fine. Get out.." Jae replied through clenched teeth.
Jula raised an eyebrow.
"Whatever, don't get angry at me, I didn't do anything.."
With that, Jula backed out of Jae's room and went over to the Tavingtons' quarter's and knocked on the door.
"Jula... come in..." Lady Tavington greeted her at the door on her way back from the washroom, ushering her inside.
"Thank you, my lady." replied Jula, stepping into the room, handing Braden to his mother who gave him a kiss, making him smile and giggle in response.
"You're welcome, is there anything I can do for you?"
"Well, I was wondering if you have spoken with my sister lately. I just went in her room to see if she was all right because I heard her throw something against my wall, but when I asked her about it she got all huffy and said that she was 'fine', but obviously, she wasn't."
Lady Tavington looked hesitantly at Jula and replied slowly, "To answer you question of whether or not I have spoken with your sister lately, no, I have not, but I did speak with William who spoke with Jae about an hour or so ago. I believe when he is finished bathing, he may have something to tell you. But please, don't press the issue as he is rather vexed over it at the moment."
Jula nodded in response.
"May I stay here and wait for him, just in case he is able to tell me when he returns?"
"Of course. He should be back here in about five minutes to work on reports; just don't be too disappointed if he doesn't say anything when he walks in the door." Lady Tavington replied, prying Braden's fingers out of her hair and off her face.
"Thank you."
Five minutes later, Col. Tavington walked into the room, vest unbuttoned, shirt open, his rich dark hair hanging unbound in wet curls as he put his bathing things away, a distracted look on his face. Then, walking over to his desk, the colonel pulled out one of the drawers and hunted through it, looking for a quill and ink pot.
"Mary, have-"
Col. Tavington paused as he looked up from what he was doing and finally noticed that Jula was also in the room.
"Ah, Jula..." he said slowly, realizing the reason for her being in the room. "Will you spare me just an hour to get a start on reports? I can talk to you then."
"Certainly." Jula replied slightly disappointed, but understanding and not at all surprised by his deflection. "I shall be in my room."
"Very well; I will meet you there when the time comes."
Jula nodded, giving him a small smile and left the room.
As soon as Jula had left the room, Col. Tavington turned to Mary with narrowed eyes.
"William, she wants to know. Yes, I did say she could stay and wait for you to get back from the washroom to discuss things, but I also warned her that you might not want to discuss things right away, and she was perfectly understanding of that. You may wait until tomorrow to tell her, if you wish."
"No, she deserves to know sooner. I should have told her right when I got back, but I'm still having issues myself with the news. I needed some time to stall. And besides, how do you think Jae will feel if I tell her?"
"I don't think she'll mind. Besides, I doubt she's in the right frame of mind to even begin to tell Jula what happened. It's bound to get out anyway with how fast things travel around here, and it would be better if you told her the truth than to have her hear only rumors."
"True, very true... I don't want to do this..."
"I wouldn't either."
Col. Tavington rolled his eyes and scowled.
"You're not helping."
"I can't. You'll just have to tell her." Mary replied, placing Braden in his arms.
"Well, little one, what do you think?"
Braden looked up at his father and smirked, letting out a loud screech in response.
"Just what I thought. You're no help either."
Mary smiled, shaking her head.
"Well, William, you'd best get started on your reports; time is ticking."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One hour later and half way through his reports, Col. Tavington walked reluctantly to Jula's room and knocked on the door.
"I was afraid you wouldn't show up, come in." Jula greeted him at the door.
"Thank you." the colonel replied, stepping into the room.
"So, you found something..."
The colonel inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to keep himself calm and collected, as he still continued to wrestle with the news of Jae's scandalous deal with Gen. O'Hara.
"Yes, I found everything, in fact."
"How bad is it?" Jula asked skeptically, taking notice of Col. Tavington's blatant discomfort.
"Sit down, and I'll tell you."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fifteen minutes later, Jula sat stunned in a chair as an almost equally disturbed Col. Tavington finished telling her of the scandal.
"She didn't have to do that.." Jula mumbled softly, tears sliding down her cheeks. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't done what I did, she wouldn't have written it down, and Gen. O'Hara wouldn't have read it!"
"No, Jula, it's not your fault." replied the colonel, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace. "It's not your fault, or your sister's fault."
"What are we going to do? Everyone is going to find out and then she'll be shunned like a dirty whore!" said Jula, beginning to cry harder.
"No, darling, she won't. I won't allow it."
"Then what are we going to do?"
"I don't quite know yet. But I'll come up with something as soon a I can."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Late that night at half past eleven, Col. Tavington left his room and walked down the hall to Jae's quarters, knocking softly on the door. No one answered, but a muffled voice gave him permission to come in.
Stepping into her room the colonel spotted Jae curled up on her bed tightly clutching her journal, her tiny form barely visible in the dark.
"How are you doing?" he asked cautiously.
"How the hell do you think, sir?" Jae replied stiffly, still hurt by his earlier behavior toward her.
"Jae, I'm-"
"Just go away."
Col. Tavington hung his head dejectedly, exhaling as his cheeks flushed with shame. Then, with a final glance over at Jae, he left her room, closing the door soundlessly behind him, returning to his own quarters to fall into a troubled sleep.