Around noon that same day, Jae went for a walk in the gardens with Aidan while Col. Tavington went upstairs to check on Mary and Brielle before he left the estate to go help his eldest brother, Edward, with chores on his property.
"Mary, are you awake?" the colonel asked softly as he stepped soundlessly into the master bedchamber.
"Yes, but not for too long, I hope." his wife replied sleepily, sitting up in bed.
Col. Tavington chuckled.
"And Brielle?"
"She is asleep." Mary replied.
"Well, then at least you can rest for a while.."
"Indeed, I can. Though for how long, I'm not sure. She's been a bit cranky of late; though with the guests, and I mean no offense, I can see why."
Col. Tavington's face reddened slightly in embarrassment.
"Did they wake you?"
"Once or twice, but that is not my concern. William, Brielle is only four days old, and though I don't mind the guests, it can get wearing. And I don't mean to be selfish, but I haven't had any time alone with you in a while either."
The colonel sighed softly in response.
"I know. With Braden and the baby... never you mind, I'll find a way to work around things. Mary, I don't want to upset you."
"I am well aware of that, love." Mary replied with a small smile. "Now, are you taking Braden with you then, or is he staying here?"
"Would you like me to take him with me to Edward's?"
"Whatever you choose, I am content either way."
"Then I'll take him with me. Besides, I'm sure he'll want to see the horses.."
Mary smiled. "That he will. Especially Roman."
The colonel nodded.
"Is there anything I can do for you before we leave?"
"No, at least not at the moment.. But it would be a bit of a relief if you got one of the girls or the twins to watch the children this evening; and I do want to talk to you about Jae; you seem a bit reluctant to discuss her..."
Col. Tavington averted his gaze from his wife, who continued to look at him with steady emerald eyes.
"Yes, I suppose I have been a bit... reluctant, haven't I? Very well, we shall discuss that matter tonight after supper when we're alone. In the meantime, Braden and I shall see you later."
With that, Col. Tavington gave Mary a quick kiss on the cheek and left the room walking downstairs to get Braden and then left to his brother's.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Good day, Will And hello to you as well, Braden!" A tall, athletically built man with slightly graying chocolate brown hair and icy blue eyes .'greeted Col. Tavington and Braden.
"Unco Eh-wod!" Braden said gleefully, reaching out to his uncle who took him in his arms, spinning him around while Col. Tavington observed with a smile on his face.
"Have you eaten yet?"
"I believe Braden has but I have not."
Edward grinned.
"Well then, you're just in time. My wife should be finished cooking dinner shortly and I daresay, brother, that even with a full stomach, you would not want to miss out on her cooking."
Col. Tavington smiled.
"No, Edward, I would not. Cristabel cooks some of the best meals I have ever eaten, though of course, I am biased to my own wife..."
"Of course, of course. But come inside. Afterwards, we may begin with the chores."
The colonel smiled, shaking his head and followed his brother and son into a large house not unlike his own, where a woman of about medium height with dark brown hair and gray eyes greeted them with a warm smile.
"Good day Colonel, and Braden, hello to you as well!" she greeted them cordially.
"Good day, Cristabel." Col. Tavington replied with a polite nod while Braden squirmed in Edward's arms, reaching for his aunt.
Cristabel laughed and wrapped an arm around Braden whilst giving Edward a quick peck on the cheek.
"Hello, my dear." said Edward, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist and giving her a quick kiss in return. "It smells delicious in here. What have you been cooking?"
Cristabel smirked and replied, "Roast, soup and shepherd's pie. Are any of you hungry?"
Col. Tavington nodded.
"Braden is; I wasn't to begin with but now..."
The colonel's stomach gave a rumbling growl and Cristabel and Braden laughed.
"Papa's hungry!" Braden shouted gleefully.
"Yes, Papa is hungry." replied Col. Tavington, ruffling his son's black hair.
"Well come this way then, into the kitchen."
Taking them down the hall, Cristabel led Col. Tavington, Edward and Braden down the hall and into the kitchen where she quickly served meals for them before serving herself and sitting down to join them.
"Pie, Aunt Crista!" said Braden who was sitting with his father.
Col. Tavington's eyes narrowed and he gave his son a light squeeze, whispering, "Braden, that is not how we ask for something. Now, be polite and ask Aunt Crista again for the pie.."
Braden crossed his arms indignantly but after more prodding from his father, he sagged and asked, "Pie please, Aunt Crista?"
Cristabel nodded and gave Braden a small smile, serving him a small piece of shepherd's pie.
"Now what do you say, Braden?" Col. Tavington whispered into his son's ear.
"Thank you!" Braden said sweetly to his aunt.
"You're welcome."
Braden smiled and eagerly took a bite of pie while the colonel shifted him to one side of his lap and took a bite of food on his own plate of food.
"Excellent meal, Cristabel, excellent indeed." he commented, swallowing down a bite of roast.
"Thank you, Colonel." Cristabel replied, finally taking a bite of her own food.
"You're welcome."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fifteen minutes later, Col. Tavington, Braden and Edward had finished their meals and with a final thanks to Cristabel, went outside to the stables to begin work.
"So, what do we have here?" the colonel asked his brother as he set his son down.
"We need to muck all of the stalls, and just generally clean the place up.." Edward replied, placing his hands on his hips, surveying the entrance of the stables as some of the horses poked their heads out of the stalls. "But at least Braden will get some 'pony rides' out of it.."
Col. Tavington rolled his eyes.
"Edward, this place looks as if you cleaned it just last week."
"I did."
"Then why, pray tell, do you need to do it so soon?"
"Because I'm more anal than you are."
The colonel cocked an eyebrow and replied, "Really? Are you sure that is the only reason?"
Edward sighed and let out a soft laugh.
"Alright, Will, but I'm surprised you haven't heard; our old neighbor from Liverpool is coming here on holiday for a while and I offered him a place to stay while he was here."
Col. Tavington stared, raising his already cocked eyebrow even higher.
"Brentan Garrick.." he said slowly.
"Yes..."
The colonel shook his head, snorting derisively.
"Foolish boy..."
"Will," said Edward sternly as Braden immediately imitated him with a stern "Papa"; "You know Brentan didn't agree with how the family scandal carried over to us brothers and it was only because of the fact that the scandal was so public and his family ordered him, with damaging threats should he not obey, that he cast the deciding vote amongst the government in his late father's stead to re-posess the Tavington estate, while simultaneously casting us into unfathomable debt."
"I don't care that he didn't agree; he still cast the final vote."
"Will, please, just give him a chance. He's not his father, or his mother."
Col. Tavington pursed his lips, his eyes swirling with their icy color as he debated with himself on what to make of Brentan. Then with a sigh and a dismissive shake of his head, he said, "Not now, Edward. I don't have time for this. Let's just work on the stalls.."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hours later, just as Col. Tavington was cleaning out the last stall and Edward was taking Braden on another ride atop his white gelding, Roman, Aidan rode up to the stables on Phantom, a black gelding which the colonel had purchased after the war from the owner of the estate he was stationed at.
"Aidan.." said the colonel, stepping out of the stall and wiping his brow. "What are you doing here?"
Just then, Edward came back into the stables with Braden.
"Will, are you-"
Edward cut himself short as he stopped and stared at Aidan.
"Oh, my apologies, Edward." said Col. Tavington with a small laugh. "This is Aidan, one of the twins I was talking to you about a few days ago.."
"Oh yes, I remember now. And just as you said, Will, they've quite the family resemblance." replied Edward with a nod toward Aidan, who half-smiled.
"Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome. Now, as you're just sitting there atop Phantom, is there anything that my brother or I may help you with?"
Aidan reddened slightly and replied, "Well, no, I was just getting something for Mary that she needed to borrow from your wife.."
"Oh, very well then, did she give you what you needed?" Edward asked.
Aidan nodded.
"If you don't mind, will you please take Braden back with you to the house?" Col. Tavington asked.
"Yes, of course." Aidan replied, looking down at Braden with a small smile.
"I don't want to go yet." said Braden indignantly, grasping tightly to Roman's mane. "Please Papa, I want another ride.."
Aidan smiled, shaking his head and said, "Braden, you get to ride Phantom with me on the way home."
"But I want to ride Wo-man.."
Col. Tavington rolled his eyes and walked over to Braden.
"Braden, you need to go with Aidan back home."
"Papa.."
His son gave him a pleading look, his icy eyes taking on the characteristics of a begging puppy.
"Please..."
The colonel's eyes narrowed slightly.
"No, Braden, you have to leave now. And as Aidan said, you get to ride Phantom on the way home."
Braden scrunched up his face and looked sourly back at his father who raised an eyebrow before suddenly prying Braden's fingers from Roman's mane and lifting him off of the horse.
"Papa!" Braden screamed in frustration.
"Braden!" Col. Tavington hissed, glaring down at his son. "This is now how we act around others! Ever! Now, behave yourself!" he finished sternly, squeezing Braden just enough so that he understood what was being said to him.
Glaring up at his father, Braden was only able to hold his gaze for a few seconds before he looked down and scowled, reluctantly relenting his heated behavior.
"That's better.." Col. Tavington whispered in his ear before he turned to Aidan and said, "My apologies. Braden really likes Roman..."
Aidan laughed.
"I can tell..."
Handing his son over with a quick thanks, Col. Tavington went back to work with his brother while Aidan started down the road back to the house with a quiet and still slightly irritated looking Braden when they met up with Jae, who was mounted atop Lady Tavington's mare, Ember, about halfway down the road.
"Jae, what are you doing out here?" Aidan asked, stopping next to her. "I thought you were back at the house helping the lady with the cooking.."
Jae shook her head.
"I was, but then Jula, who wasn't really doing much of anything at the time, thought it best to take over because of an incident that occurred the last time we time traveled."
"What happened?"
"Oh, nothing... I just.. sort of burnt a roast." she finished flatly. "So, Jula took over, and being as I was getting a bit tired of being inside, I decided to go for a ride."
"You shouldn't be out here alone. It's getting a bit dark. How long have you been out?"
Jae scowled and rolled her eyes.
"I've only been gone for about five minutes. And thank you for the advice, Col. Aidan. You know, I can take care of myself."
Aidan cocked an eyebrow.
Well, they weren't kidding in the book when they said that she had a fiery demeanor...
"Just the same, I'd feel better if you had someone with you..."
"And who did you have in mind to be my 'escort'?" Jae asked.
Aidan's mouth opened slightly in disbelief while a smirk crossed Jae's lips.
"I was only joking." she said. "I don't mind if you come along, but I do mean it when I say that I can look after myself."
"Oh, I know you can." Aidan replied. "If you don't mind though, is it alright if we take Braden back home and then continue on this 'ride'?"
Jae shrugged and nodded.
"No prob."
"Thank you."
With that, Jae and Aidan took Col. Tavington's son back home and then directed their horses towards the back of the property, to some trails that Aidan had pointed out to Jae during their tour of the grounds with their uncle.
"This trail isn't too long. We can ride the whole thing and be back before it gets late."
Jae nodded.
"Sounds good to me."
Leading their horses on to the trail, Jae and Aidan rode in silence, fully aware of but indifferent to one another's presence and what was going on around them as the woods took on a quiet evening atmosphere, with a periodic rustle in the bushes as the horses let out an occasional snort or two, their footsteps sounding ever so lightly on the earthen path that was lightly littered with small rocks; about fifteen minutes into the ride, Aidan looked over at Jae and broke the silence with, "You look peaceful, yet I can tell you are thinking about something. Tell me."
Jae looked over at Aidan, the corners of her mouth turning upwards in a tiny smile.
"I'm just sort of thinking of everything. All that's happened, all that will happen..."
"Are you nervous?" Aidan asked before snorting and adding, "Of course you are. Even with a peaceful look on your face I can see it in your eyes; and who wouldn't be?"
Jae laughed softly yet there was indeed, a nervous look in her eyes.
"I don't even know if Mary knows yet.."
Stopping Phantom and reaching over to grab Ember's reins, Aidan halted them and placed a hand on Jae's shoulder.
"You're going to be all right Jae. You're in good hands. And you know that. No one will turn you away."
"I know... but I still feel guilty. I don't want to be a burden."
Shaking his head in response, Aidan dismounted Phantom and walked over to Jae, holding out his hand.
"Come down and walk with me.."
Hesitantly, Jae looked down at Aidan.
Shouldn't we be getting back soon? she wondered to herself, but gingerly slid her hand into his as he helped her dismount Ember before he tethered both of the horses to a nearby tree.
"Come, we won't be late coming back, I promise you."
Jae blinked.
Creepy... that mind reading thing must run in the family...again, with the other Tavington traits...
"Alright..."
Walking slowly down the path, Aidan allowed for a few minutes of silence to fall between them before asking, "Jae, why would you ever think that you would be burdening my family? Col. Tavington loves you like his own daughter; he would do anything for you to assure your well being without raising so much as a question about it."
"But I don't want him to have to do that." Jae replied. "He's already done so much for me, as well as my sister. I know he cares about us very much, but he doesn't deserve this. The colonel was right, I should have told him about the journal regardless of O'Hara's threats and we could have stolen it back; the stupid affair would have never had to happen and I wouldn't have to be carrying O'Hara's child."
Aidan shook his head.
"Jae, don't blame yourself. Great things are in store for you. Trust me, I can't explain completely what is to come for you, as things are still playing out. But I know that as time goes on, you will less and less regret what came from the deal between you and O'Hara."
"How do you know this?" Jae questioned, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Obviously, I've read about you in the history book. And it may surprise you, but I myself have done a bit of time-traveling, though nothing to such an impact as what you and your sister did."
Jae smiled.
"Yeah, we did muddle things up quite a bit."
Aidan chuckled.
"Yes well, you loved it so much you came back a second time."
Jae snorted.
"Whatever. But I will admit, it is nice to get away at times, from modern day.."
"It is, isn't it?"
"Aside from all of the crappy side-effects, yeah."
Smiling, Aidan shook his head and replied, "Whatever you say but for now, let's just sit around for a few minutes and relax before we leave."
Jae shrugged but complied, taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it while closing her eyes, listening to the sounds around her. Tree branches rustled softly in the breeze. Nearby, one of the horses whinnied and snorted... and then another sound aroused her senses. The soft but rich tenor sound of humming gently caressed her ears and she sighed in contentment with slow realization that it was Aidan who hummed so softly and enchantingly as he dropped even lower into the baritone range, nearly lulling her to sleep for a couple of minutes before he stopped and Jae awoke from her trance to see him looking at her with the same intensity that Col. Tavington always did, the lightest hint of a smile gracing the corners of his lips.
"We should probably get back now."
Jae sighed and nodded reluctantly as Aidan offered her his hand, helping her up.
"Thank you, for bringing me out here and talking with me, even if I didn't really want your company in the first place."
"It was nothing."
"Well, thank you anyway."
Aidan nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder and guided her back to where the horses stood, pawing at the ground impatiently; mounting up, Jae and Aidan cut through the trail to save some time and arrived back at the stables, where Aidan quickly unsaddled and groomed both horses while Jae waited patiently before they finally headed back up to the house.
A/N: Ok, so I pretty much understand that you're all waiting to see what the heck is really going on with Aidan, and of course, what is up with O'Hara. I'm getting to that, and some of your questions will probably be answered in chapter 18, so just please, bear with me here. Thanks!
-S.R.