Early that evening, Marcus Tapp sat relaxing in front of his new tent with his supper as was his usual custom. Freeman and Sanders had joined him with their meals and the three men traded good-natured barbs back and forth as they ate.
"I can't believe the two of you today at sabre practice," Tapp said to the two lower ranking dragoons. "You both looked as if you were slicing bread with those sabres of yours, rather than trying to take a man's head off. Those are cavalry sabres you're wearing, not butter knives!"
"Maybe we'd have done better if we'd had a better teacher," Sanders shot back, laughing. "You seemed to have your attention on other things, rather than teachin'."
"I noticed that," Freeman concurred. "And your attention began to wander at just around the time that Tavington's and Bordon's wives came along to watch us." Giving Sanders a conspiratorial grin, he added, "Do you think the two things are related, Sanders?"
"They just might be," John Sanders replied. "Tapp has always been one to think with his cock."
"You're asking for trouble if you try to get under the petticoats of those two women," Joseph Freeman opined. "You saw what both Tavington and Bordon did to the poor slobs who violated their women. Tell me, Sarge, do you have a death wish or something?"
Before Tapp could reply, Sanders put in, "Even if they weren't married, neither one of them would give the likes of you the time of day, Tapp. You'd be out of your element with them."
"Bullshit," Tapp replied. "If I wanted either of those ladies, I'd have them. I'd just say the word and they'd be lifting those petticoats as pretty as you please."
Shuddering, he added, "But you're both right about Tavington and Bordon. They'd unman me, all right, and I value my parts too much to risk that. Those two wenches aren't worth risking that."
After a pause, Tapp told them, "But it's not either of them that caught my eye. It was the third woman that got me hard. I think she's the maid for Mistress Tavington or something."
"Oh, I know you'll never get anywhere with that one," Sanders told him confidently. "Waters has been trying to roger her for months and hasn't gotten anywhere with her. He said she's an ice queen."
"Are you comparing me with that bumbling fool, Waters?" Tapp demanded. "Don't make me laugh. I don't think that man even knows what to do with his yard." Giving the two corporals a serious look, he asserted, "Trust me, I'll thaw that ice queen out and will be taking her to bed in no time, mark my words."
"Want to make a bet on that?" Sanders challenged, laughing.
"Did I hear someone say something about a bet?" The three men turned around to see Colonel Banastre Tarleton approaching them.
"Yes, sir," Sanders said to the dragoon officer. "We're betting that Tapp can't seduce that maid of Mistress Tavington's."
"Is that so?" Tarleton said, chuckling. "Perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to bet against him. I've heard that Sergeant Major Tapp has quite the reputation with the ladies, you know."
"See?" Tapp said. "Even the Colonel knows I'm right." After a pause, he asked Tarleton, "Sir, do you know her name? I suppose if I'm going to take her to bed, I ought to know her name."
"It's Ruth," Tarleton said, "Ruth Moore." Noticing that Tapp's pale blue eyes had taken on a predatory gleam, Tarleton rolled his eyes and said in a low voice, "God help her."
Tapp grinned fiercely, then said, "So, what can I do for you Colonel? I'm guessing you didn't come down to my humble tent just to bet on whether or not I can bed a particular woman."
"No I didn't, though I never can pass up a good bet," Tarleton said. "I came to see if you could lend me some blunt. There's a big card game going on in the officer's mess tonight and I don't want to miss it."
"Of course, Colonel," Tapp said with wolfish smirk. "The usual amount?"
The younger man owed Tapp a great deal of money already, what with all the interest. Tapp did not intend to demand repayment of all the money at once, as having Tarleton in debt to him was a good insurance policy should he ever got into a tight scrape that he needed help getting out of.
"Yes, Sergeant," Tarleton said. "I have a feeling I'm going to win tonight."
Tapp had to resist rolling his eyes at Tarleton, as this is what he said every time he came begging for money and rarely did the man win like he thought he was going to.
Disappearing into his tent for a moment, he returned shortly and handed Tarleton a small bag full of coins. "There you go, sir. Good luck."
After taking the money from Tapp, Tarleton pointed off to the left in the direction of the carriage house. Ruth was standing at the top of the steps to Bordon's quarters trying to manage a very large basket of laundry.
"Look, there's Ruth now," Tarleton told the Sergeant. "And she's by herself.. Perfect time to start wooing her. Go get her, Tapp!"
"I believe I will, Colonel," Marcus Tapp said, loping off toward his quarry.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Ruth Moore grumbled to herself after she'd closed the door leaving the Bordons' quarters, lugging a heavy basket of their dirty laundry. She couldn't understand why Mary Bordon could not get her own servant to handle her laundry, as Ruth had enough to do working for the Tavingtons, and would have even more once the baby came.
The young woman didn't mind helping out now and then, but Mary Bordon was beginning to act as if Ruth worked for her as well, and didn't even pay her for the work she did. It didn't help matters any that Miss Charlotte couldn't see that Mary Bordon was taking advantage of her and made no moves put a stop to it. Neither woman considered that Ruth might want a little time to herself now and then.
She knew she was fortunate compared to a lot of servants, many of whom were beaten and sometimes ravished by their employers, as well as being overworked. But she dearly wished that Mary Bordon would stop being such a miser and hire her own servant.
Sighing, she lifted the heavy basket higher and prepared to carefully make her way down the stairs. As she brought her foot down on the first step, the load shifted and the basket wrenched out of her hands, tumbling down the steps, bouncing twice before it came a stop at the bottom. The basket had flung clothing with each bounce, with most of it lying on the ground near the basket.
"Oh bloody hell, this is all I need," she complained under her breath, lest Mary Bordon hear her and come out to see the mess and give her a tongue lashing for being "careless".
Hurrying down the steps with her head down to pick up all the scattered clothing, she ran headlong into someone coming up the path between the tent encampment and the main stables.
"Oh, excuse me," she said, then looked up to see Marcus Tapp looking down at her with a lopsided grin. Blushing furiously to see the handsome dragoon so up close and personal, she stammered, "I wasn't looking where I was going."
Steadying Ruth with both hands, Tapp held on to her elbows slightly longer than was necessary. His pale blue eyes twinkling, he murmured, "Quite all right. It's never a bother to meet such a lovely lady as you."
As Ruth blushed even deeper, the tall dragoon released her and said, "Here, let me help you pick these clothes up. It will go quicker that way."
"Oh, thank you," she said, as she righted the basket and began re-depositing clothing into it. "I wouldn't want Mistress Bordon to come out and see this, then scold me for being careless."
"I'm sure you were quite careful," he told her sympathetically "That's a heavy load of clothes and those are steep steps."
Smiling up at Tapp, whose pale blue eyes held her sea green ones, Ruth extended a hand and said, "I'm Ruth Moore. I'm Mistress Tavington's maid."
"Sergeant Major Marcus Tapp at your service, Miss Moore," Tapp rumbled in his deep voice, sweeping his dragoon helmet from his head. "I'm quite pleased to meet you."
"I'm glad to meet you as well, Sergeant Major Tapp," Ruth said, unable to repress a wide smile. She was certain that Marcus Tapp could hear her heart beating wildly in her chest.
"Call me Marcus, please," he said, taking her hand to shake, lifting it to his lips to kiss briefly, before releasing it.
"And you must call me Ruth, then," she replied, with a barely audible sigh.
Noting her flustered reaction to him, Tapp thought to himself, "This is going to be the easiest bet I ever won. I probably could take her up against the wall right now if I wanted." Shaking off his urge to do just that, he knew that treating her like a lady rather than like a whore would be more beneficial to him in the long run. She was attractive and seemed amiable, plus she was close to the Tavingtons, so Tapp knew that cultivating an ongoing relationship with her would be to his advantage, both personally and professionally.
"Here, let me take that," he said, as Ruth bent to pick up the refilled laundry basket. "That's too heavy for you to carry."
"I can manage, really," she said, laughing. "I do it all the time."
"I insist," he said. "Let me relieve your burden for awhile."
"All right, then," she said, smiling shyly up at him. "Thank you. I'd appreciate the company, actually."
As the two walked over to where the camp laundresses did the laundry, Ruth told him, "Mistress Tavington, Mistress Bordon and I watched you conduct sabre practice today. I must say that you were most impressive." Not waiting for his reply, she added, "And Miss Charlotte mentioned to me that you were recently promoted to Sergeant Major. Congratulations!"
"Thank you," he said, realizing she'd already had an interest in him before they'd met. "So, how long have you worked for the Tavingtons?"
"I've been with Mistress Tavington for eight years now," she told him. "Five years indentured, and working for wages for three."
"You must have liked her to stay on after your indenture was finished," Tapp guessed. "My father also came to America under indenture, but he was kidnapped off the streets of London when he was just a lad of nine. He couldn't wait to get away from his master when his time was up, but he had to wait until he was twenty-one."
"Oh, how horrible!" Ruth said fervently. "It wasn't that way for me at all. I wanted to see America and the only way I could afford to come was to indenture myself. I'm from Liverpool and I came over when I was twenty."
"You took a big chance," he told her. "You're lucky you didn't end up with someone who treated you worse than a slave."
"That I am," she readily agreed. "Miss Charlotte has been good to me; even taught me to read and write when I first came to her."
"I was lucky that my mother knew how to read a little," he said. "She taught me my letters at least, and I learned the rest on my own over the years."
"Are your parents still alive?" she asked. "I've only my Mum now, but I've not seen her since I left England.
"My mother died several years ago and I don't know about my father, as he ran off from us when I was ten years old," Tapp told her, trying to sound indifferent.
They fell silent then because they'd come within earshot of the laundresses who exchanged knowing glances at the sight of this rather odd couple. Tapp's reputation with women was well known in the camp and they figured Ruth had to be his latest conquest, as there was no way he'd be carrying laundry for her otherwise.
After they'd left the laundry area, Tapp asked, "Would you like to take a walk around the fort? The weather's nice and there's a full moon out tonight.'
Looking up at him with a shy smile, she said, "Yes, I would. Very much."
Tapp extended an arm to her and they walked off together into the sunset.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Several days previously
After Benjamin Martin, along with his men, had finished the grim task of digging and filling the graves for the townspeople of Pembroke, he went to sit on a tree stump a short distance from the cemetery. There had been only two ready-made coffins in town, plus enough wood to throw together ten more makeshift caskets, so they'd had to bury the rest wrapped up in blankets, with Ben making sure that Gabriel and Anne got to rest together.
Despite the moderate temperature, he broke out into a cold sweat and began to shiver as watched the men collect their shovels. As he stood to help them, he swayed, suddenly dizzy and unsteady on his feet, barely making it back to the stump.
"Are you all right?" Reverend Oliver asked in dismay, after having noticed Martin's unsteadiness. He noticed sweat beading off Martin's forehead, yet he shivered as if he were cold. "You look as white as a sheet."
"To tell you the truth, I don't feel so well," Martin admitted. "I vomited when I went to the privy awhile ago, but I didn't think anything of it. I thought it was a natural reaction to what's happened today." Before he could say more, he began emitting a dry, hacking cough.
"I think you need to get to bed," Oliver decided. "You're probably coming down with some illness." Looking around at all the now-vacant houses, he added, "And you should be in a real bed and not try to ride all the way back to camp. Which house do you want to use?"
Ben shuddered for a moment at the thought of staying in what was now a ghost town, but he knew the Reverend was right. Pointing off to the right, he said, "Over there, where Mrs Howard's sister lived. It's the biggest house in town and I'm sure she would have wanted me to use it."
He tried to stand again, but for a second time, he swayed, then stumbled.
"Let me give you a hand," Oliver said, motioning to Billings to help.
A short time later, after Ben Martin had eased himself into a bed in what must have been Mrs Howard's room, Oliver turned to Billings and said in a low voice, "Go to the next town and find a doctor. I think Ben might have malaria. I've seen it before and how he's feeling pretty well matches it."
"All right," Billings said, "I'm going."
"You might want to stop and bring your wife and boy," Oliver said, knowing that Billings' small farm was not too far from the next nearest town. "There are plenty of houses available for them to stay in, at least."
After Billings had left, Ben said to the Reverend, "Tell the men to go home and tend to their families and to report back here in two weeks. It's obvious I can't lead the men into battle if I'm sick."
"I think that's a wise decision," Oliver said. "But Billings and I will stay here with you until you get better."
"I can't argue with that," Martin said wearily.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"I enjoyed walking with you tonight, Marcus," Ruth said shyly, looking up into Tapp's eyes, as they stood at the bottom of the stairs to the main mansion. "You're so easy to talk to."
"As are you," he said, smiling down at her. "I'd be pleased if you would take supper with me tomorrow night."
"Oh, I'd love to!" she said, smiling with happiness.
"At six then?" he said.
"Six it is," she agreed. "Well, I suppose I must say goodnight, now."
Marcus Tapp moved closer to Ruth, then bent his head and captured her lips in a brief, but searching kiss.
As she felt his hands at her waist and his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth, Ruth went weak into the knees with desire. All too soon, however, it was over and Tapp turned on his heel to leave.
"Until tomorrow, then," he called back over his shoulder.
Ruth stood there for a long moment watching Tapp amble toward the tent encampment before going up the stairs into the mansion. She couldn't wait to tell Miss Charlotte about meeting Marcus Tapp.
Almost floating up the stairs, she knocked on the door to the Tavingtons' quarters a few moments later, hoping that Charlotte was alone and they could talk.
"I just came by to see if you needed anything before I went to bed," Ruth explained after Charlotte opened the door and let her in. Looking around and seeing no evidence of the Colonel being in residence, she continued, "And I have some good news if you have time to talk."
"Oh?" Charlotte said. "Do tell. I love hearing good news. William is off at yet another meeting and I could use the company."
Seating herself on the sofa next to Charlotte, she confided, "I met Marcus Tapp tonight. I dropped the Bordons' laundry basket on the stairs and I literally ran into him when I went downstairs to pick it all up. He just happened to be passing by when I made a fool out of myself dropping the basket."
"Oh, my, you must have been mortified to meet him under such conditions," Charlotte guessed.
"I was at first," she admitted. "But I forgot to be embarrassed as soon as I'd looked into his eyes." She sighed dreamily. "His eyes are the most amazing pale shade of blue." After a moment, she continued, "And would you believe that he helped me pick up the clothes, then carried the basket for me to the laundresses? He said it was too heavy for me to carry!"
"That does sound rather promising," Charlotte said.
"After we dropped off the laundry, we went on a long walk around the fort talking about all sorts of things," she reported. "He's so easy to talk to . It's almost like I've always known him." After a pause, she added, "And he even kissed me goodnight. A real kiss; not just a peck on the cheek."
"I'm so happy for you!" Charlotte said, smiling. "When will you see him again?"
"Tomorrow evening for supper," she said. "I can hardly wait."
"You must wear your good gown," Charlotte decided. "And your new cap, I'm thinking."
Before Ruth could reply, the door opened to admit William Tavington, who placed his helmet on a side table beside the door.
"Good evening, ladies," Tavington said smoothly, taking a chair opposite the sofa. Noticing the glowing expression on Ruth's face, he observed, "Ruth looks as if she's just been made Queen."
"Ruth has a new suitor," Charlotte told her husband, beaming. "She's quite taken with him."
"Oh?" Tavington said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Is it anyone I know? Weren't you keeping company with that Sergeant…Waters, wasn't it?"
"It's not him," Charlotte said, with a dismissive wave of the hand. "She stopped seeing him a couple of weeks ago."
"You'll excuse me for not keeping up," Tavington said chuckling. "I have been rather busy as of late, you know." After a beat, he asked, "So, who is it?"
"It's Sergeant Major Tapp," Ruth said, unable to keep a big grin off her face at the mention of his name. "We went for a walk together this evening and we're having dinner together tomorrow."
Tavington almost swallowed his tongue at the mention of Marcus Tapp and did start to cough. When he recovered, he told Ruth, "I think you should reconsider. Marcus Tapp isn't a proper suitor for you, Ruth."
"Why ever not?" Ruth demanded hotly. "I enjoy being with him and he's acted like a perfect gentleman."
"I thought he'd be a good choice for Ruth," Charlotte put in. "You obviously have confidence in him, William, as you promoted him to Sergeant Major."
Tavington coughed again at the notion of Tapp being anything like a gentleman. After a pause to consider his words, he said, "Well, yes, he's a very good soldier; one of my best men, in fact. But a good soldier does not always make a good husband."
"What makes you think he wouldn't be a good husband?" Ruth asked, confused.
"Let me see how I can put this…" Tavington considered. "I assume that both you ladies are aware of Colonel Tarleton's reputation with the ladies?"
Both women rolled their eyes at the mention of Banastre Tarleton. "Oh, yes," Charlotte said. "He flits from woman to woman like a honeybee does with flowers."
"Let us just say that Sergeant Major Tapp makes Colonel Tarleton look like a papist monk," Tavington said dryly. "The man is a libertine."
"Perhaps he simply hasn't met the right woman yet," Ruth insisted. "I'm thinking I might just be that right woman that would make him want to settle down and have a family."
"I see that I cannot dissuade you," Tavington said wearily, wanting to roll his eyes at the young woman's naïveté. "But do not say that I didn't warn you when he breaks your heart."
"I suppose this is something we'll have to agree to disagree about," Ruth said quietly. Rising from her seat, she said, "It's getting late and it's time for me to go to bed. Good night."
And with that, Ruth swept from the room, more determined than ever to see Marcus Tapp.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Historical note: Men of William Tavington's class commonly referred to Catholics as "papists" during that time.