The next morning, Cornwallis had arranged a transport for Charlotte. She would spend a few days at Middleton Place. Since the ghost had seen her in the Fort, he would be best for her to change setting. Also, she would not distract Tavington from his duty for a few days. Cornwallis felt like he made a deal with the devil yesterday when he granted Tavington the possibility to act free of the chain of command. This ghost had to be stopped at any cost, and the colonel was the man for the job.
She woke up early, alone in her bed again. She could not help but hoping her husband was okay. Even if they spent most of their time apart since their wedding, her first thoughts in the morning were always with him. Florence finished packing a small luggage for a couple of days they would be away.
The ladies got into the carriage as their escort gathered around. The ride would be very short, not even an hour. The road was mostly used by british army, so the general was confident in his choice. He would tell Tavington about Charlotte's travel when he will be back from his raid.
From the bushes, John Billings was still watching the fort for any signs of a way to get to Tavington's wife. When he saw her through the carriage window, he sent Noah Smith, the boy watching guard with him, to fetch Benjamin Martin. That was now or never. The militia would stop this carriage, guarded by only a handful of british soldiers.
Charlotte was reading a book in the carriage as Florence looked through the window. The carriage made a sudden stop and the ladies heard men shouting outside. Quite rapidly after the shouting, shots were fired and they exchanged a very worried look. The door flung open and a man took Florence by the arm to throw her outside as a second man did the same with Charlotte. They were held outside at gun point. Charlotte looked around only to see all the british soldiers dead, lying on the ground. Tears started to fall down from Florence's eyes but Charlotte was trying to remain in control of her emotions as a man walked toward her.
She didn't see his punch coming, and the first thing she felt was the harsh pain on the side of her face. She almost felt to the ground, but the man holding her arm didn't let her fall. She was in choc. She saw men fight some times before, but was never injured herself. As she bruised very easily, she was sure she would have half of her face purple by tomorrow.
As soon as the man's fist hit Charlotte's face, he was tackled by other men.
"She is not to be hurt! Not now anyway" she heard someone shout.
"Lady Tavington, sorry for the disturbance. Glad to make your acquaintance again. We haven't been introduce the right way last time. My name is Colonel Benjamin Martin," he said as he took her hand and kissed her. She recognized the ghost her husband was chasing mercilessly, the man who apparently threatened her.
"Tell me what you want with us," Charlotte dared to say, as she pulled her hand from his to hold her the side of her face still hurting.
"We have business only with you my lady, not her. We should be on our way now."
She looked at Florence and was afraid they would kill her on the spot. A man tied Charlotte's hands together with a rope. Benjamin Martin mounted his horse and Charlotte was seated in front of him. They started to move, but Florence was nowhere in sight.
"Where's Florence? What will you do of her? Let her go safely. Your matter is none of her concern, she has done nothing to be hurt."
Benjamin looked at two others men, probably his others officers in charge. They brought Florence out to the woods, and decided to let her go, by herself. If she was lucky, she would find her way back to the fort.
"Florence, trouves mon mari et dis lui que c'est le fantôme qui m'a enlevé,"
"Milady, je ne peux pas vous quitter. "
"Tu le dois, trouves William. Allez, pars! "
Charlotte held back her tears as they left the road to wander in the woods. The militia split up in smaller group, and a dozen of men stayed with Martin. Her brain was working so fast, evaluating her options to run away. She kicked Martin in the chest with her elbow, cutting his breath short. She jumped down his horse and started to run. She didn't look back, but she got really scared when she heard gunshots around her. The horses ran after her, and she understood she couldn't escape. John Billings was the first one to catch her. He held her arm so tightly she gasped.
Martin still admired her determination. She was cheeky, thinking she could run away as easy as that. Billings brought her closer to the colonel. Martin dropped to his knees and lifted her skirts. She tried to kick him, but Billings' grip on her arm made her wince. She stopped moving as he took her shoes off. She could not run anymore barefoot in the forest. He installed her on his horse again, but tied the rope binding her wrists to the saddle.
/
French dialogue:
"Florence, you must find my husband and tell him the ghost kidnapped me"
"Milady, I can not leave you"
"You must, find William. Leave, now!"