One week passed, and then another, and yet, the scandal between Jae and O'Hara still didn't spread. This surprised everyone involved, especially Jae, who was sure that people would know within days of it ending. Still, she took advantage of the silence and relaxed a bit, though she remained tense with Col. Tavington, who in turn avoided her as much as his work and any excuse would allow him to, as he was still feeling uncomfortable and upset from their last encounter.
Unfortunately, just as Jae was beginning to believe that perhaps the scandal would never fall on gossip-loving ears, it leaked out at a ball.
"Jae, why don't you go dance with someone?" Jula asked her sister as they stood watching the soldiers, including Col. Tavington, dance in the banquet hall, which had been cleared for the ball.
"Because I don't want to. Besides, I don't feel well."
"What, you sick?"
"No, I just feel like crap." Jae replied somewhat stonily; then spotting Gen. O'Hara coming towards her, she added, "Then again, if I can find someone to dance with so that I don't have to talk with him, I'll be perfectly happy to."
Jula looked at where Jae was staring and growled, "Loser, he'd better not ask you to dance..."
Quickly scanning the crowd, Jae scowled; no one was available; even Col. Tavington, who had stepped out of the dancing area with Lady Tavington, was nowhere to be seen.
Probably went to go get something to eat, or make sure that the servant who is watching Braden tonight is doing a good job...
"I'm going to the gardens."
"Alone?" Jula asked.
"Well, do you want to come?"
"Ye-"
"Miss Barrington, may I have this dance?" a young soldier of about nineteen asked Jula, stepping half way out of the dance area and holding out a hand.
Jula looked helplessly at her sister, who responded, "Go on. I'll be fine, don't worry about me."
Reluctantly, Jula nodded to the young man and took his hand, leading her into the dance, while Jae swept out of the banquet hall and into the gardens with Gen. O'Hara hot on her heels, not stopping until she was at the farthest and most secluded end of the gardens at the back of Middleton Place.
"What do you want?" she hissed, rounding on the general.
"I just wanted to know if you were all right? You looked a bit pale."
"I'll be fine; I'm just feeling a bit under the weather today." she replied tightly.
As if on cue, her stomach lurched, and Jae put a hand over her mouth, swallowing down the bile that threatened to come out her mouth.
"Come, back inside." said the general, taking her by the shoulders and guiding her back down the path towards the entrance of Middleton Place. "You shouldn't be out here if you're ill."
Jae whirled around and faced him to retort, but froze as she heard a couple of women talking to one another as they walked towards where her and the general stood.
"Oh look, there they are.." said a scrawny looking woman to her equally scrawny looking companion.
"Was it not you who told me that you heard from your cousin that he was bedding her?"
"Yes, I believe it was. And from what I heard, it was quite a lot."
"Well honestly, I wouldn't blame him. I've seen the camp followers they've got around here, as well as the whores on the streets, and I must say, one could not tell she was a harlot just by looking at her. Though she's probably not as cheap either."
Jae stood gaping at the women, her gray eyes shining with shock and hurt.
I AM NOT A BLOODY HARLOT!
Looking up at the general, she noticed that his expression had changed too, to one of anger, his face reddening in embarrassment.
"I'm leaving."
"I'll take you back then."
"No, you won't. You'll stay here." Jae hissed, starting off towards the estate on her own when Gen. O'Hara grabbed her arm.
"Stay here!" she snapped, raking her fingernails into his hand.
Gen. O'Hara winced and released her, and she headed at breakneck pace back up to the estate, up the stairs, and into a washroom, grabbing a pail and vomiting violently as tears began to slide down her cheeks.
"Jae? Are you all right?"
Jae didn't even need to look to know that it was Col. Tavington who stood in the doorway of the washroom.
"No, I'm not." she replied. "They know... It's out.. I heard a couple of women talking about it..."
Col. Tavington took a deep breath, calming his anger before it could boil over and walked over to Jae, kneeling down next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder as she continued to retch.
"Dear one, I'm so sorry..."
"I'm sorry too. For everything..."
Col. Tavington wrapped his arms around her, holding her protectively against him.
"I want to go home.." she mumbled.
The colonel closed his eyes, slightly taken off guard and stung by the comment.
Well at least that makes my decision easier...
Picking Jae up and carrying her to her room, Col. Tavington sat her down gently as he helped her remove her dress and corset, tucking her into bed when she repeated to him that she wanted to go home.
"Alright." he replied with a nod, swallowing hard. "We'll find a way then."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Five days later, after studying Jae's history book so much that he had forgotten to shave twice, and nearly forgot to eat at all, Col. Tavington figured out how to get the girls back to their time.
"I found it." he said to Mary, who sat in a chair reading.
"It's about time. Your stubble is ghastly, so scratchy I don't even want to kiss you, and you look as if you've been out on raids and have forgotten to take time to rest."
"But I'm not quite finished; I still have some things to test." he said rubbing his chin.
Ugh, she is right, I do need to shave...
"What do you mean you're not quite finished?"
"I still have to find the picture that they came out of and test it."
"That's not in the book?"
"I'm not sure; so far they haven't mentioned it... hang on, I found it."
"Yes?"
"It opens as a portal every two hours, with a minute to time travel, but only for five days out of every month."
"Well then how much time do we have, and how come no one else has ever time traveled before the girls?"
"I don't know, I still need to figure some things out.."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One hour and three false alarms later, Col. Tavington finally shut the book, handing a piece of parchment filled with notes to his wife, who looked them over and then gave him a nod.
"Any errors?" he asked.
"None that I can see." Mary replied.
"Alright, then I guess I should tell Jae and Jula that I've figured out how to get them back.."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Several hours later, Jae, Jula, Lady Tavington, and Col. Tavington, stood before the picture that had impacted them so much only months earlier.
"So, this is it then?" said Jae slowly.
"I guess it is.."
"I don't want to go!" said Jula looking morosely at the picture. "We don't even know if we have a home to go back to!"
"Actually," Lady Tavington spoke cautiously, "I belive you still do, in nearly the same location as before. William checked that just before we came up here.."
"And our parents?"
"I'm not sure about them..."
"I still don't want to go, even if we do have a home and our parents are still around..."
"Jula, we have to." said Jae, rolling her eyes.
"You have to, I don't.."
"Well how will Mom and Dad like it if I come back without you? I don't think they're going to buy it if I said 'Well, we time traveled to the 18th century and Jula decided to stay behind'. Yeah, real smooth..."
"Alright, you two, stop arguing." Lady Tavington said sternly, shifting Braden from one hip to another.
"Sorry..." Jae mumbled.
Col. Tavington nodded, an expressionless look on his face as he managed with surprising success to mask his current feelings.
"Well, make sure your things are gathered, you have about one more minute before the portal opens and then we have to leave you two here alone."
Jae nodded, and then suddenly opened her bag and began rummaging through it until she found her history book.
"Here." she said, handing it to Col. Tavington. "Keep this."
"Are you sure?" asked the colonel hesitantly.
"I can always find a new one, and besides, you still need it to finish what you have to do, or our future will be wrecked."
Nodding slowly and dropping his emotionless mask, Col. Tavington wrapped his arms around Jae in a nearly crushing embrace.
"Be careful, dear one. I love you." he whispered in her ear, kissing her cheek.
Jae's eyes began to brim with tears.
"I love you too, Dad.."
"William, it's time.."
Reluctantly, Col. Tavington pulled away from Jae and nodded to his wife, following her and Braden out of the room, casting a final glance at the Barrington sisters before the room began to swirl around them as the 18th century melted away, giving rise to a new future.
Fin
A big thanks to Vickie, Mona Lisa23, and any others I may have not mentioned. Your reviews and thoughts on ideas have been an essential part of me completing this! Thanks!
-SteeleRanger