As William Tavington arrived back at the Selton home, he found Charlotte standing outside on the library balcony, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. She turned and smiled as he walked over to her and bent to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"You're back a little earlier than I expected," she murmured as she turned her face up to him for another kiss. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

"There have been some developments at headquarters," he replied as he leaned down to kiss her again. "And I have a few things to discuss with you."

"Oh?" she said, intrigued by his earnest manner. "Do tell."

Taking her hand, Tavington led Charlotte to a pair of chairs on the far end of the balcony.

"I have something to ask you," he began after they'd seated themselves. "But first, I need to tell you something."

Charlotte smiled, but did not otherwise speak, knowing it was best to let him speak his piece first. She had an idea of what he was about to ask her, but did not want to presume anything.

"Lord Cornwallis told me today that I am to take my men upcountry along the Santee to quell rebel uprisings in that area," Tavington reported. "We are to leave at the beginning of next week."

"So soon?" Charlotte said, frowning. "I knew this had to come eventually, but I'd hoped I'd have more time with you before that happened."

"I agree!" Tavington said. "And this brings me to my question. I'd already planned to ask you this question before I received the general's orders, but now I'll merely be asking it a bit sooner than I'd intended." Taking both her hands in his own, he gazed intently into her eyes and asked, "Charlotte, will you do me the great honour of becoming my wife? I'm sorry that I don't have longer to properly court you, but circumstances bid me to ask you now."

Squeezing his hands, Charlotte replied. "Oh, yes, William, I would be very pleased to become your wife!" Charlotte had already mentally and emotionally anticipated and accepted this eventuality when she'd burned Ben Martin's note.

Taking her into his arms, Tavington murmured, "Truly, you have made me the happiest of all men."

"And I am the luckiest of women," Charlotte said softly. "When John died, I thought I'd never find a man as good as he was." After a pause, she admitted shyly, "Instead, I've found someone better."

"I'd like us to get married right away," Tavington told her. "If it's all right with you, we can skip the banns and have a private ceremony with the legion chaplain."

"Yes, the sooner, the better," Charlotte agreed. "I had a big wedding the first time and that was enough for me. I'll just wear my best gown and it will be perfect. All I'll need there is you."

"How about the day after tomorrow, then," Tavington suggested. "That should give your staff time to prepare an excellent wedding meal."

"That will be fine," she agreed happily. "And that will give me some time to do some packing," she continued. "I won't need to bring too much with me, as I've got plenty of clothing and other necessities at my plantation."

"Packing?" Tavington asked. "You're wanting to become part of the baggage train? I really must strongly advise against that. Bivouac accommodations are rather primitive and I'd feel much better knowing that you were safe in Charles Town."

"Oh, I don't intend to be a camp follower," Charlotte assured him with a smile. "But my plantation is along the Santee and I go up there several times a year to check on the work and to do the books on at least a quarterly basis. Considering that you will be heading in that direction, it is the perfect time for me to go. I know I'll be quite safe with you and your dragoons."

After a pause, she continued, "And I don't think I could bear to be parted from you for so long. If I'm at the plantation, you'll be able to see me fairly often."

"From what the general has told me, I expect there will be a fair amount of fighting near your plantation," Tavington said. "I don't think it will be safe for you to live alone at the plantation for any length of time.. I would be able to escort you there and use it as my base of operations for a few days, but after that I would insist that you take accommodations at Fort Carolina, where I am sure to be assigned private quarters."

"I won't need but a few days to do the books," she assured him. "So, things should work out well. And I will make a home of our quarters at the fort, so that you have a welcoming place to return to between battles."

Tavington leaned forward and kissed her again. "And I will feel better just knowing that you're safe within the fort."

The couple kissed for a long interval until they heard the sound of a throat being cleared behind them. They turned to see Bordon standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Congratulate us, Bordon," Tavington said smoothly. "We're engaged."

"That's good news, sir," Bordon said. "You're a lucky man. Congratulations to the both of you."

"Thank you, Captain Bordon," Charlotte said graciously.

"I'd come out to tell you that dinner is ready," Bordon told them.

"Excellent," Tavington replied, Turning to Charlotte, he extended his arm to her. "Shall we?"

Later that night, Tavington and Charlotte happily climbed the stairs to go to bed. They'd had an informal get-together after dinner to celebrate their engagement, with several people from headquarters stopping by, including General Cornwallis. Charlotte had opened several bottles of wine she'd been saving for a special occasion, which everyone greatly enjoyed.

As they each sat on the bed a few minutes later removing their clothing for bed, Tavington said, "I noticed Wilkins talking rather earnestly with you for quite some time. I'm curious; what did he have to say?"

Charlotte smiled to herself at William showing a little bit of jealousy. "Do you mean when General Cornwallis had you backed into a corner, talking on and on?"

"Yes, then," Tavington affirmed. "He was telling me all about the joys of marriage and how much he missed his late wife."

Taking her fiancé's hand, she said, "He was offering to give me away at the wedding. I've always thought of him as a brother and he's the closest thing to family I have here."

"That makes sense," Tavington agreed. "But don't you still have a brother in law living around here somewhere?"

"He has a farm near Wakefield on the Santee," she affirmed. "But I don't think he'd approve of our marriage, as I think he'd hoped to marry me himself. He's asked me several times."

"And you did not find his proposal appealing?" Tavington asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not at all," Charlotte told him. "He's a good man, but I just can't think of him in that way. Plus, I think the real reason he wanted to marry me was simply to give his seven children a new mother. It had very little to do with me personally."

"I must say that I'm very glad that you did not accept his offer," Tavington said, leaning forward to kiss her.

"I'm very glad I waited for a better offer," Charlotte agreed, taking him into her arms.

No more words were spoken, as they had better things to do with their time at that particular moment.

Two days later, Charlotte Selton stood looking at herself in her bedroom window as Ruth helped with her stays. Her best green and gold silk gown was draped over a chair in readiness.

"You're going to look so beautiful at your wedding," Ruth told her. "Colonel Tavington is a lucky man. All the other officers are going to be jealous when they see you."

"Thank you, Ruth," Charlotte said warmly. "But I think I'm the lucky one to get such a dashing, handsome husband."

Ruth sighed in agreement, as she found the Colonel's appearance just as pleasing as Charlotte Selton did. She would be travelling with the new Mistress Tavington to her plantation and then to Fort Carolina to serve as her personal maid and hoped she might be able to snag a young dragoon for herself.

A short time later, Charlotte was fully dressed and ready to go. Sparing one glance in the mirror, she took a deep breath and said, "I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be. Captain Wilkins is downstairs to escort me to army headquarters, where the Colonel is waiting to marry me. Sarah Porter will be meeting us there; I was lucky that at least one of my friends was still in town to serve as my matron of honour."

"We'll have your wedding dinner ready when you return," the maid promised.

As she descended the stairs a few moments later, she found James Wilkins waiting at the bottom, attired in his dress uniform.

Looking up at Charlotte as she came down to join him, James Wilkins observed, "Surely, you must be the most beautiful woman in Charles Town. I hope Colonel Tavington knows how fortunate he is." With a sweep of his hand, he said, "Your carriage awaits."

Taking her old friend's arm, Charlotte followed him out into the courtyard. Matthew opened the door to the carriage as they approached, then Wilkins helped her to climb inside. After making sure she was settled, he went to his waiting horse to escort her to headquarters. As Charlotte's carriage left the courtyard and entered the street, Charlotte was astounded and gratified to see every one of William's dragoons, each in dress uniform, waiting in formation to escort her carriage to her waiting husband-to-be.

People on the streets stopped what they were doing to stare at the wedding procession as it made its way at a stately pace toward Army headquarters. The troop of dragoons made an impressive sight, each sitting tall in the saddle wearing bear fur crested helmets. Charlotte wasn't the first Charles Town woman to marry a member of the occupation force, but she was likely the first to marry someone of William Tavington's rank and most certainly the only one to get a dragoon escort to her wedding..

After a short ride, the carriage turned into the semi-circular drive that led to the mansion that housed army headquarters. It stopped in front of a long brick stairway that led to a ornate set of double doors. The dragoons quickly dismounted, handing off their horses to waiting grooms, then some formed an honour guard on either side of the wide stairway.

James Wilkins helped Charlotte down from the carriage and escorted her up the stairs underneath the crossed sabres of the dragoon honour guard. Once inside the building, they walked down a long corridor and went through another set of double doors into a reception room, where Colonel William Tavington waiting expectantly by the fireplace, along with Captain Bordon and the Legion chaplain. Generals Cornwallis and O'Hara, along with several other officers sat is chairs off to one side. Lastly, Charlotte's friend, Sarah Porter, waited next to Captain Bordon, here to witness her friend's special day.

Tavington's eyes lit up when he saw Charlotte appear in the doorway, and her heart beat just a little faster as Captain Wilkins took her hand and placed it in the hand of her husband to be. Mesmerized by Tavington's expressive blue eyes, she barely heard the chaplain recite the wedding ceremony and spoke her vows almost by rote. Before she knew it, the chaplain had said that the groom may kiss the bride, then William's lips were upon hers. They enjoyed a long, unhurried kiss, oblivious to others in the room.

As they left he mansion a short time later, after well wishes from guests, Tavington led her back down the stairs, again under the crossed sabres of the dragoon honour guard. His saddled horse waited at the bottom. He quickly helped her to mount and arrange her skirts, then swung into the saddle behind her, then cantered off into the sunset with his new bride, amidst the cheering of his men.

"Oh, William, that was so romantic," Charlotte sighed as they quickly left headquarters behind. "I do love you."

"No more than I love you," he murmured. "Let's go home, Mistress Tavington."

-----

Author's note: The "banns" that Tavington referred to were announcements made in church that a specific couple soon intended to marry. The banns were read for three successive Sundays prior to the wedding date. The purpose was to allow anyone to raise legal objections to the marriage before it took place. Normally, banns were required for a marriage to be legal, but could be waived under certain circumstances, which were more common during wartime.

Extra points to the one who can name the book where I took this chapter's name from.

I have posted an entry on my blog as a companion to this chapter: Some Wedding Pictures. My blog can be accessed through a link on my profile.

Next chapter: Travel and Trouble