Late that afternoon, the Green Dragoons rode into Fort Carolina after an uneventful trip through the countryside. Charlotte sighed in relief as the trees lining the road gave way to an open meadow that surrounded the fort. Fort Carolina had been established years ago during the French and Indian War around the grounds of a large former plantation.

Tavington gave his wife a sideways glance when he heard her sigh. "Tired?"

"Not too badly, but I'm glad our journey is at an end," she confided. "It will be nice to be settled for awhile."

Tavington looked up at the large brick mansion that dominated the front part of the fort. "I certainly hope our accommodations will be in there," he said. "But I don't see why they wouldn't be, considering my rank."

Charlotte was glad to see the large, luxurious home, larger than her own. She'd had visions of having to live in a tent or some rude hut. It was a sacrifice she would have willingly made to get to be with William more often, but she was quite glad she'd not be having to make that sacrifice. She brightened visibly, with great hopes that life at the fort would be pleasant, after all.

As they dismounted a few moments later in front of the mansion, Tavington noticed General O'Hara standing on the porch observing the arrival of the dragoon column. The dragoon sighed as he regarded Lord Cornwallis' sycophantic aide waiting to speak to him. He was tired from the long ride and had no desire to deal with the pompous man just now. He'd not expected the General and his entourage to have already arrived at the fort.

After turning his and Charlotte's horses over to grooms and dismissing the men for the night, he and Charlotte slowly mounted the steps to the waiting General. Ruth stayed behind to supervise two privates who were charged with bringing Mistress Tavington's belongings to her quarters.

"Ah, Tavington, there you are, finally," O'Hara said curtly. "You are to report to the Lord General as soon as you've seen your wife to your new quarters. He is most anxious to hear your report of yesterday's skirmish, plus there are new developments you need to be brought up to date on."

"Yes, sir," Tavington replied. "I had not expected the Lord General to be here quite so soon. I'd thought he'd not be here until next week "

"The Lord General wanted to be where the fighting is as soon as possible," O'Hara snapped. "He couldn't very well command effectively from Charles Town, now, could he?" Turning to walk away from the Tavingtons, he said in parting, "Just be in the General's office in forty-five minutes."

"Yes, sir," Tavington grated out.

As soon as the pompous general was out of earshot, Tavington growled, "I despise that man."

"He does seem to be a petty little martinet," Charlotte agreed. "And he did not tell us where our quarters are."

"I'll need to find the quartermaster," Tavington told her. "He'll have the room assignments."

At that moment a young officer appeared at the bottom of the brick stairs and started up toward them.

"You there!" Tavington called out to the young man. "Where may I find the quartermaster?"

"You found him," the other man asserted. "What can I do for you Colonel.?"

"I am Colonel Tavington of the Green Dragoons," he said. "And this is Mistress Tavington. We've just arrived and need to be assigned to quarters."

"If you follow me to my office, I'll have the assignment list there," the junior officer said.

A short time later, Tavington opened the door to their new quarters. It was a suite of two rooms on the second floor of the main mansion. Two privates followed, carrying Charlotte's baggage. Ruth brought up the rear, coming to help Charlotte set her new quarters to rights before retiring to the tiny room she'd been assigned to on the attic floor.

Charlotte looked around the two rooms allotted to them, quite pleased with the décor and amount of space available.

After the privates had left, she said, "I'm quite relieved to find we have such agreeable accommodations." Blushing a bit, she confided, "I must confess that I was afraid that we'd be living in a tent."

Tavington laughed, then said, "If I'd been Private Tavington, that would have been most likely so. But rank has its privileges, my dear."

Aware of Ruth waiting patiently by the door and knowing he had a meeting to attend, Tavington sighed, then said, "I suppose I'd best go see what the Lord General wants now. We'll go find some dinner after I'm done." He then picked up the leather case he'd taken from Gabriel Martin to turn over to the General, relieved that he'd not have to send it by courier to Charles Town, after all.

"Go ahead," Charlotte said, giving him a kiss on the cheek, as she walked with him to the door. "I'll be fine. Ruth and I will spend the time unpacking."

As Tavington stepped out into the hall, the next door down the corridor opened to reveal Ban Tarleton.

The younger man brightened when he saw Tavington standing in the doorway of his own quarters. "Tavington!" he called out. "Good to see you finally join the war!""

"Good to see you, too," Tavington replied. "I hear you got into a spot of bother up at the Waxhaws."

"Ah, yes," Tarleton acknowledged. "I was unhorsed during the battle, which made for a few sticky moments, but we took the field in the end. You see, my men thought I was about to be captured or killed and they were most zealous in their attack on the rebels." After a pause, he added, "We arrived back at the fort only about an hour ahead of your group."

"My dragoons got into a skirmish yesterday as well, assisting your infantry in teaching some Continentals a much-deserved lesson," Tavington reported.

"Between the two of us, we'll keep the rebels on the run, I'm sure," Tarleton said.

"I plan on it," Tavington replied with a feral smile.

Noticing Charlotte for the first time, Tarleton said, "Mistress Selton! Fancy meeting you here!" He gave Tavington a sidelong glance, silently congratulating him for acquiring such a fine mistress, He intended to get the story from Tavington on how he'd managed to do so some time when the woman in question was not around.

"It's Mistress Tavington," Tavington told him smugly. "We were married just a few days ago."

Tarleton nearly choked, but managed to school his features before doing so, giving the newlywed couple a broad smile. "Congratulations, Tavington," he finally said. "You're a lucky man." Turning to Charlotte, he said, "Let me warn you, you'll have your hands full keeping this old reprobate on the straight and narrow." Taking her hands, he added, "My very best wishes to you both."

Charlotte laughed softly. "Thank you, Colonel Tarleton. I'll be sure to keep my eye on him."

"I'll see you later, Tarleton," Tavington said. "Cornwallis has asked to see me right away."

"What a coincidence," Tarleton said. "I was on my way to see him as well. No doubt yet another frightfully dull staff meeting."

Turning to give Charlotte a last peck on the cheek, Tavington murmured, "I'll see you soon."

Once the two men had reached the end of the corridor and were about to descend the stairs, Tarleton turned to Tavington with a smirk on his face. "All I can say, Tavington, is that you certainly move fast. The last I saw of you, you were still rogering Molly."

"Speaking of Molly, how did she end up running off with you?" Tavington demanded. "I don't recall her being that good in bed."

"Oh, I've already passed her on to Hanger," Tarleton said airily, with a dismissive wave of the hand. "But getting back to you; I'd never have guessed you for the marrying type. I'd been under the impression that you quite enjoyed your freedom."

"I did, immensely," Tavington confirmed. "But I'd always intended to marry at some point in the future, though I'd not actually planned on doing so until after the war at least. But when one meets the right woman, one must act so as not to lose out."

"I don't plan to marry until I'm at least fifty," Tarleton asserted. "And then to a nubile woman half my age. I intend to keep my freedom for as long as I can and bed more women than any man in the army."

Tavington chuckled knowingly. "I'd say you have a pretty good start on that, Ban."

"Ah, yes, but I'd bet that you've bedded more than your fair share as well," the other man ventured.

"That would be quite a safe bet," Tavington said with a tight grin.

The two dragoon colonels fell silent as they reached the door to Cornwallis' office, not wishing for their conversation to be overheard.

As they entered the room, they found O'Hara and Tarleton's infantry commander, Major Charles Cochrane, waiting for them, along with General Cornwallis.

Cornwallis looked up as the two dragoons entered the room. "Ah, that's everyone," he noted. "Shall we begin, gentlemen?"

After a pause, Cornwallis continued, "First of all, I'd like to congratulate Colonel Tarleton for whipping the rebels soundly at the Waxhaws. If they hadn't known we meant business before, they certainly do now."

Ban Tarleton inclined his head to acknowledge his superior's praise, suppressing the urge to grin like a schoolboy.

Turning to Tavington, Cornwallis said, "And I want to thank you, Colonel Tavington, for going so promptly to the aid of Major Cochrane and I congratulate you both for a most successful engagement with the enemy."

"Has anyone interrogated the spy I captured yet?" Tavington put in before Cornwallis could continue "I sent him back here with an infantry detachment. It was a Continental soldier I caught out of uniform not far from the battlefield with this dispatch case."

Cornwallis and O'Hara exchanged glances as Tavington handed his commanding officer the dispatch case.

"Colonel Tavington, that detachment was ambushed by rebels," Cornwallis informed him quietly. "Every man in the detachment, save one, was killed, There were no prisoners with the group by the time Major Cochrane and the rest of his men found the detachment."

"I…see," Tavington replied, stunned. "May I question the survivor?"

"Once he wakes up, yes, of course," Cornwallis responded. "We are all most eager to hear what he can tell us." After a pause, he continued, "What can you tell us about the spy? Where did you capture him?"

"I found him at his family's farm, when I was checking the area for stragglers after the battle," Tavington reported. "The farmer, his father, was tending to both our wounded and Continental wounded. The spy was out of uniform and both he and his father attempted to conceal their relationship. My men found the dispatch case during a search of the house, and the spy eventually admitted that he'd carried them. There was a bit of a fracas when I took him into custody, but order had been restored by the time I turned the spy over to the detachment and rode on to continue looking for stragglers."

"I see," Cornwallis said. "Do you think it is possible that the soldier's father was the one responsible for the ambush?"

"I would say so, yes," Tavington said. "From what Captain Wilkins has told me, most of the people in that area have rebel sympathies, and it's quite likely he could have quickly organized a group of his neighbours to conduct the ambush. Once I'm able to question the survivor, I think I'll have a better picture as to who did it."

Putting his hands on Cornwallis' desk and leaning close, he quietly vowed, "But I promise you this, General. Once I discover who did this, I will not rest until that man has been made to pay."

Cornwallis looked up into the cold blue eyes of his subordinate and was suddenly very glad that he was not the man whom Tavington would be hunting.

The meeting ended a short time later, after the Lord General had covered several routine matters.

As Tavington and Ban Tarleton left the office, the younger man turned to Tavington and asked, "After dinner, I'm planning to go down to the tents to find some female company for the evening. Are you sure I can't persuade you to come with me?" After a pause, he coaxed, "Fort Carolina has a fine selections of willing ladies, I assure you."

Tavington laughed at the other officer's one-track mind. "Less than a week after my wedding?" he said, still chuckling. "I don't think so, Banastre. I have a warm and willing woman waiting for me right in my own quarters." Laughing again, he said, "But don't let me stop you. You'll certainly have more to choose from if I'm not around."

"All right, Tavington," Tarleton responded. "But I'll be sure to let you know what you missed tomorrow."

"I'll see you later, Ban," Tavington said, still chuckling. "Charlotte is waiting."

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Author's Note: As you might have guessed from the context, "rogering" was 18th century slang for having sex, corresponding to our current expression, "screwing".

In real life, Banastre Tarleton did marry later in life He wasn't quite fifty, but he did marry a woman half his age. At the age of 44, he married the 22 year old Susan Priscilla Bertie, after concluding a fifteen year relationship with actress and author Mary Robinson. The marriage was a successful one, ending at his death at age 78.

Next Chapter: A Disturbing Revelation