After opening the door to the second floor library a few moments later, Charlotte found a single green coated dragoon drinking tea on the sofa near the balcony doors. His bear fur crested helmet sat on the seat beside him. Matthew had no doubt ordered tea to be served shortly after ushering him into the room to wait.
The young officer firmly placed his cup down on a side table before standing to greet her. Somewhat below middle height, the auburn haired man radiated authority despite his youth and lack of stature.
"You must be Mrs Selton," he said, extending his hand to her. "I'm Colonel Banastre Tarleton and I'm quite pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Yes, I'm Mrs Selton," she said, accepting his hand briefly. "And these gentlemen are Colonel Tavington and Captain Bordon."
"Colonel Tarleton and I have met," Tavington said as he looked around the large room appraisingly.
"Tavington, good to see you again," Tarleton said, "I haven't seen you since Philadelphia . How have you been?"
"Fine, once I got off that damnable ship," he growled.
"Rough sailing?" Tarleton asked, with the barest hint of a smirk on his face.
"You could say that," Tavington replied. "I spent most of the voyage on deck, leaning over the rail."
Tarleton chuckled knowingly. "What a coincidence. I spent my voyage down the coast in much the same condition."
"Good thing neither of us joined the Navy, then," Tavington said with a wry grin.
"Quite."
Gesturing to Bordon, Tavington said, "This is my second in command, Captain James Bordon. He was just assigned to me this morning."
Extending his hand for the taller, ginger-haired man to shake, Tarleton said, "Good to meet you, Bordon. You'll have a full time job just keeping Tavington out of trouble."
The three men chuckled heartily at this.
"I'm glad to meet you, Colonel," Bordon said. "I've heard of how you captured General Lee in New Jersey."
"Ah, that was just a good bit of luck," he said. Turning back to Tavington, he said, "I've requested Georgie Hanger as my second in command. His ship is still making its way down the coast, but I'd imagine he'll be here within the week."
Tavington rolled his eyes, suppressing his urge to shudder. He'd heard of the odd exploits of the eccentric George Hanger and was glad he'd be riding with Tarleton, rather than him.
"Don't give me that look, Tav," Tarleton said, chuckling. "Georgie's a good officer and he and I get on well."
"As long as you're happy with him," Tavington said noncommittally.
Moving to stand behind her desk, Charlotte cleared her throat pointedly. "Gentleman, as to your accommodations, shall we proceed?"
"Yes, of course," Tavington said, turning to face her as his eyes still surveyed the library.
After a moment of thought, she said, "Captain Bordon will take the smaller bedroom on the west side of the house, I think."
"Colonel Tavington and Colonel Tarleton will each have private rooms on the east side of the house," she continued after a moment's thought. She looked up to see Matthew waiting in the doorway.
"Matthew, would you please show these gentlemen to their rooms?"
"At once, Madame."
"Might I have a word with you, Mrs Selton?" Tavington asked as the other men followed the butler out into the hall.
"Of course," she said. Looking at Matthew, who had paused to wait, she said, "Go ahead. I will show Colonel Tavington to his room myself after our conversation."
Matthew nodded, then left the room.
"How can I help you, Colonel Tavington?" Charlotte asked, once the servant had left the room.
"I will require an office during my stay in Charles Town," he told her. "I couldn't help but notice that this library would be quite suitable for my needs."
Striding around the spacious room confidently, he continued, "I will be involved in recruiting new dragoons and, later on, training them. This room will be perfect for conducting interviews." He moved to stand behind the large desk, which was situated between two sets of balcony doors, with a fireplace directly behind it. As he seated himself behind the desk, he looked around once more in satisfaction. "Yes, this will do very nicely, indeed."
"Why are you bothering to inform me of this?" Charlotte asked. It unnerved her to see Tavington seated at the desk where her late husband worked, as if he belonged there. "Surely you will use this room as you see fit, regardless of my wishes."
"I realize that this is an awkward situation for you," Tavington said, attempting to keep the exasperation out of his voice. "But I see no reason why we cannot have a cordial relationship while I am here. I was informing you of my plans so that you could accordingly notify your staff of the new arrangements." He opened one of the balcony doors and stood looking out at the city. "Magnificent view," he said. "I think I'm going to enjoy working here."
Charlotte acknowledged him with a slight nod, but did not otherwise reply.
"Now, if you could be so kind as to show me to my room," Tavington said as he shut the balcony door. "It's been a tedious day so far and I would like to get settled."
"Of course, Colonel," she said. "Come this way, please."
As they left the library, they met Isaiah and Stephen carrying Mrs Powell down the hall on a litter. Ruth followed close behind, carrying some of the old woman's belongings.
"Ah, there you are," Charlotte called out. "Please put Mrs Powell in the end bedroom on the left."
"Right away, Missus," Stephen said.
Turning to Ruth, she said, "Please get Mrs Powell settled and I'll be along in a few minutes to check on her."
"Yes, ma'am."
Charlotte turned to find Tavington regarding her with one raised eyebrow.
"I wasn't aware you were running a hospital here," he said. "This is highly irregular."
"Mrs Powell is my neighbour," Charlotte explained, keeping her voice carefully neutral. "She is very sick and has no family to care for her. I thought it would be easier for me to do so if I moved her down here." Staring up at the dragoon commander defiantly, she added, "I would think you would be pleased that there is now a completely empty home in which to house British officers."
Tavington rolled his eyes at her tart reply, but did not otherwise rise to the bait.
"As long as her presence does not disrupt my duties, I don't see a problem with it," he said dismissively.
Charlotte turned away from him, pressing her lips together tightly. After a moment, she said, "Your room will be at the opposite end of the hall from Mrs Powell, so her care should not be a bother to you."
"Excellent," he said, the matter already out of his mind as he followed her down the corridor.
A moment later, Charlotte opened a door and led Tavington into a large, spacious bedroom.
"I trust this will be suitable for your needs?"
Looking around at the tastefully decorated room, he replied. "Yes, thank you. It's more than adequate." He moved to sit on the edge of the bed, testing the firmness of the mattress.
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I must see to my patient," she said, suddenly flustered. "Dinner is at six." Without giving Tavington a chance to reply, she stepped through the door, closing it firmly behind her.
After a long day of setting up his office and headquarters, Tavington decided to go to bed early. He'd been up most of the night before and was exhausted.
Clad only in breeches and boots, his hair unbound, he sat on the edge of the bed to remove the boots. As he bent to begin the task, a knock came at the door. "Come in!" he said as he rose from the bed, boots still on.
The door opened to admit a buxom young woman carrying a stack of bed linens and towels. Bustling into the room with no further ado, she crossed the room and placed the linens on a small table near the bed.
Turning back to face Tavington, she said, "I'm Molly, the upstairs maid. Please call on me if you need anything." Running her finger slowly over the bedspread, she looked up boldly at Tavington with eyes as blue as his own. "Anything at all."
Tavington reacted instinctively, as he'd not had a woman since leaving the northern colonies.
"Anything, you say?" he murmured as he took her into his arm and kissed her deeply. As he felt her arms go around him, he eased her back onto the bed. "I don't think I can pass up an offer such as that."
"Please don't say anything about this to Mistress Selton," she said as her hands worked deftly to unfasten his breeches. "She'd punish me if she knew I was being so forward."
"I wouldn't dream of telling her," Tavington assured her, as he threw up her petticoats.
After tugging down his unbuttoned breeches, he worked a finger inside of her briefly to ensure she was ready to receive him. A few moments later, once he was satisfied that she was ready, he pushed into her with no further ado. After a few minutes of rutting into her vigorously, he came with a satisfied grunt.
Almost immediately, he rolled off her. Taking her hand, he pulled her up and helped her to rearrange her skirts.
"Off you go, then," he said, patting her on the rump. He then resumed preparing for sleep, first pulling his boots off, then the breeches which had pooled around his ankles.
After a moment, he looked up to see the maid still standing there, pouting.
"Are you still here?" Tavington asked, a note of irritation creeping into his voice. "What is it?"
"Did I not please you, sir?" she asked.
"Yes, yes, very much so," he said as he stood and walked to the door, unselfconsciously naked. "But I have a busy day planned tomorrow and I must get to sleep." He opened the door and beckoned her out. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"
After the young woman had left Tavington went to bed and fell asleep within minutes.
------
Next Chapter: Tavington and Tarleton