Charlotte Tavington did not return to bed after William had ridden out with his dragoons. She still had some packing to do in preparation for moving to Fort Carolina, plus she'd not yet finished updating the plantation's account books. She'd given William a brief tour of the plantation the day before, but it had only been a cursory going-over, as she wanted to spend as much time as she could relaxing with her new husband. Charlotte decided to walk it again with the overseer, going over things in more detail, just as soon as she finished with the books
But first, she intended on having a good hearty breakfast to start the day. Because of the early hour, Charlotte decided to remain in her nightclothes to eat, As she slipped downstairs to see if Magnolia had already started breakfast, she encountered Ruth at the bottom of the stairs.
"Ruth!" Charlotte said. "I didn't expect you up quite this early."
"I heard the dragoons leaving and couldn't get back to sleep," her maidservant explained. "I'd thought I'd have some breakfast before coming to help you with your stays."
"Go ahead and eat, then," Charlotte said. "I'm not quite ready to get dressed yet."
"Would you like for me to have your breakfast brought to your room, Missus?" Ruth asked. "It shouldn't take but a few minutes."
"Yes, that would be lovely," Charlotte decided. "I can work on the books for a little while in the meantime. And if you could arrange to have a bath sent up after breakfast, I'd appreciate that as well."
"Yes, Missus, right away," Ruth said as Charlotte turned head back up the stairs.
A few moments later, Ruth entered the kitchen where Magnolia was indeed making breakfast, assisted by two young slave girls. Rufus and his son, Lucius, were seated at a small table, eating their breakfasts, as the Irish maidservant entered the room.
"Mornin', Miss Ruth," Magnolia greeted her. "Pull up a chair and have you some breakfast."
"Thanks, I think I will," Ruth said, smiling at the older woman. "Mistress Tavington would like her breakfast sent up to her room and, in a little while, wants a bath sent up."
"I'll send Pansy here with her breakfast, indicating a young teen slave girl," Magnolia decided. Turning to her son, Lucius, she said, "When you're done eating, Lucius, go get a few boys to help you with Miss Charlotte's bath."
"Yes'm," the young man replied.
"I just can't get used to calling Miss Charlotte, 'Missus Tavington'," Rufus commented as Ruth sat down to join them at the table. "I'd always thought she'd end up marrying Mister Ben Martin."
"We all did," Magnolia said, agreeing with her husband. "But if I say so myself, Miss Charlotte never seemed all that eager to marry Mister Ben. I don't think she was ever in love with him."
"She's all moony-eyed over Colonel Tavington, that's for sure," Magnolia continued. "I don't think she was that moony eyed even over Mister John."
"Mister Ben is going to be sorely disappointed when he finds out Miss Charlotte married someone else," Lucius put in. "I think he counted on marrying her so his children could have a mother. He's not been the same since Miss Elizabeth died."
"Well, I'd imagine he'll find out pretty soon," Rufus observed. "When he was here a couple of weeks ago lookin' for news about Miss Charlotte, he said he'd be checkin' back every so often,"
"Oooooh, Colonel Tavington isn't going to like that one bit," Lucius predicted, whistling. "I'll bet Mister Ben will end up leavin' here with his tail tucked between his legs when he does come back to visit."
Everyone laughed heartily at the notion of this, as none of them had been looking forward to the prospect of having Benjamin Martin as their new master. So far, William Tavington had seemed as if he'd be a fair master, so the slaves didn't have a whole lot of sympathy for Benjamin Martin.
"Colonel Tavington is going to be taking Miss Charlotte up to Fort Carolina when he gets back, anyway," Ruth told them. "He thinks she'll be safer there, now that she's married to him." After a pause, she added, "I'll be going with them as her maid."
"That might be best," Rufus said. "There aren't too many of the King's Men living 'round these parts and some of the folks 'round here might get a bit riled when they find out she's married to a British soldier."
Some time later, Ruth knocked at Charlotte Tavington's bedroom door to help her to dress for the day.
"Come in!"
The young Irish woman entered the room and found Charlotte seated at her desk clad only in her shift and robe, hastily scribbling into the farm's account book.
"I came to see if you were ready for me to help you with your stays," Ruth said.
"Yes, I think so," Charlotte said. "I'm about done with the books, anyway, and I'm ready to go outside and get some fresh air, in any instance.
A moment later, as the maidservant was tightening the older woman's stays, she said, "I heard something you might be interested in when I was having breakfast this morning."
"Oh?" Charlotte said, her curiosity piqued.
"Rufus mentioned that Mr Martin had been by to visit a couple of weeks ago," Ruth reported. "He said that Mr Martin was quite disappointed that you weren't here and that he'd be back to check on you again some time soon."
"Oh, dear," Charlotte said in dismay. "Ben has always had the tendency to be annoying persistent."
Ruth did not comment, but waited for her employer to continue.
"It's just as well we're moving to the fort, then," Charlotte said briskly. "I don't relish the idea of Ben meeting William under such circumstances at all. I'm afraid there would be a most unfortunate scene if that were to happen." Sighing heavily, she added, "I hope William gets back by tonight, as I'd hate for Ben to show up first, then William return to find him here."
"Yes, ma'am," Ruth agreed.
"I'll have to tell Ben sooner or later that I've remarried," Charlotte said. "But not now. Perhaps I'll write him a letter once I'm safely settled at the fort."
A few minutes later, Charlotte was dressed. As she and Ruth headed downstairs, she asked, "Have you seen Captain Wilkins this morning? William told me he was leaving him and some dragoons behind to protect us and I thought I'd see if he would like to go with me to inspect the farm."
"I saw him heading to the dining room to have breakfast just as I was coming upstairs," the maid reported. "He told me that you could find him out in the barn if you needed to see him."
"All right, then," she said. "Why don't we go to the barn and see if he's there?"
A few minutes later, the two women entered the barn, where they found James Wilkins tending to his horse.
"Good morning, Captain," Charlotte said, as they joined the tall dragoon. "It's a lovely day and I thought you might wish to join me as I inspect the farm." After a pause, she hastily added, "That is, if you're not too busy."
"I'd be happy to," Wilkins said, smiling.
"Excellent," she said. "Let me find my overseer, Nathaniel Stanton, and we'll get started right away."
"Stanton?" Wilkins asked. "What happened to Jacob Burke?"
"Oh, he died suddenly a couple of years ago," she said. "I hired Mr Stanton not long after. He was a recent immigrant and needed a job He's worked out rather well."
"I'm glad you found a good man," the dragoon said. Offering his arm to Charlotte, he said, "Shall we?"
"No time like the present," Charlotte agreed as she accepted his arm. Ruth trailed behind them at an acceptable distance.
They found Nathaniel Stanton down by the river, standing in front of a section of irrigated rice, watching as several slaves worked among the plants.
"Good morning, Mr Stanton," Charlotte said. "I thought I'd take a more extensive look at the fields today to see how things are getting along."
"I figured you might want to do that today, Mistress Sel-- , err, Tavington," he said. Stanton had yet to become accustomed to his employer's new name.
Turning to Wilkins, she said, "This is Captain James Wilkins. I've known him since childhood, as his parents were neighbours of my parents. And like us, they also farmed rice."
Stanton looked at the tall dragoon with interest. "Did you follow in your father's footsteps, Captain?"
"Yes, I did," the dragoon affirmed, as they walked along, viewing different sections of rice fields on both side of the river. "Of course, I've had to leave my plantation in charge of my younger brother while I'm serving with the Green Dragoons."
"Do you plan to return to farming after the war," Stanton asked.
"I hope to," he said. "Perhaps by then I'll have married and be ready to start a family as well." After a pause, he added, "I've been thinking of diversifying when I return to farming. Rice and indigo are the biggest crops in this area now, but I've thought about branching out into cotton. I'm thinking I could make a huge profit with it, as it would be much cheaper for American merchants to buy locally grown cotton, rather than having to get it from overseas."
"That's an excellent idea, Captain," Charlotte put in. "I believe I'll bring up the idea with William when the opportunity presents itself."
"If you like, Mistress Tavington, I could plant a small section of cotton when planting season rolls around again, just to see how it does," Stanton offered.
"Yes, by all means," Charlotte agreed. "That's an excellent idea."
Some time later, as the group returned to the plantation house, Charlotte and Wilkins went inside to eat the noon meal.
Ruth was about to go inside as well, to eat in the kitchen, when Nathaniel Stanton asked her in a low voice, "Would you like to eat with me? Considering it's such a nice day, we could eat outside in the back garden."
Looking up at the handsome sandy-haired man, who appeared to be only a few years older than her, she accepted with a bright smile. "Yes, I'd like that very much."
Later that afternoon, Charlotte took some needlework and went to sit on the front porch as she waited for William and his dragoons to return. Ruth had joined her, bringing along some mending to do.
Noticing her employer's pensive expression, Ruth said quietly. "I'm sure everything is fine, Miss Charlotte. I can't see anyone getting the better of Colonel Tavington."
Giving the young woman a smile, Charlotte replied, "I'm sure you're entirely correct. But I won't be able to relax completely, until I see the Colonel galloping up the lane."
"I'm sure he'll be along soon," Ruth said.
Turning to Ruth was a small smile, Charlotte said, "I noticed that Mr Stanton seemed quite taken with you."
Ruth blushed scarlet, then said, "Yes, ma'am, I think he is. He invited me to share lunch with him."
"How did that go," Charlotte said, leaning closer, interested.
"Oh, we had a wonderful time,' Ruth said, smiling. "He was quite easy to talk to and, if I say so myself, he's quite handsome."
"That he is," Charlotte said, smiling.
As the two woman sat chatting, they suddenly heard a faint rumbling sound in the distance. Charlotte was instantly alert and her gaze shifted to the road. She saw a large cloud of dust far in the distance, that soon gave way to reveal the returning dragoons, with William in the lead.
Rising quickly from her seat, Charlotte said, "Oh, it's William!" After hastily throwing her needlework down on the chair, Charlotte hurried down the steps into the yard to greet her returning husband.
As soon as he caught sight of his wife waiting for him in the yard, William Tavington spurred his horse on, eager to take Charlotte into his arms again. Moments later, he reined in his horse in front of the house. Immediately dismounting, he leaned down to take Charlotte into his arms for a long, unhurried kiss. "I came home safely to you, just as I promised," he murmured after they came up for air. "There was nothing to worry about."
Charlotte said nothing, but merely leaned in to kiss him again, glad to have him home again, safe and sound.
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Next Chapter: A Shocking Discovery