When Marcus Tapp re-entered the Tavington home a short time later, he found Charlotte Tavington sitting alone in the dining room with a cup of tea. The Colonel had not yet returned and Ruth was nowhere in sight.

Looking up as the tall dragoon appeared in the doorway, Charlotte said helpfully, "Ruth went upstairs to change Martha. She should be back down in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Tapp replied. "But there is something I want to show you before Ruth returns."

"Oh?" Charlotte's curiosity was piqued. "Do sit down and show me."

Not feeling awkward in the slightest, Tapp took a chair, then pulled the velvet-wrapped ring out of his pocket. After carefully unrolling the velvet, he gave it another brief shine before handing it to Charlotte. "This is for Ruth, he explained. "I'm about to ask for her hand."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Charlotte exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight. "You are doing the right thing, believe me. Ruth is a wonderful young woman and she'll make you a fine wife."

She took the ruby ring from Tapp and examined it carefully from all sides. Charlotte recognized the ring immediately as having belonged to an acquaintance from her church whose husband had taken the rebel side when the war began. Though she knew the ring was plunder, she did not let on what she knew to Marcus Tapp. "It's perfectly lovely," she enthused. "Ruth will adore this ring."

"I thought she'd like it," Tapp replied. "But I figured it wouldn't hurt to get a woman's opinion first."

"Trust me, she'll love it,' Charlotte assured him. "Why don't you use the library to propose to her? I'll send Matthew up with a fine bottle of wine."

"Thank you," he said. "That will work well."

"Colonel Tavington and I would be pleased to host the wedding here, if you like," Charlotte went on, getting into the spirit of the occasion. "That is, unless you and Ruth prefer somewhere else?"

"Here will be fine," he said, smiling. He certainly preferred it to a church wedding, as he was not a believer.

"We'll have a lovely dinner for you," Charlotte continued. "When do you plan to have the wedding? Will you have the banns?"

"I think not," Tapp replied. "There's no particular hurry, so you and Ruth can take your time to plan a wedding, though I'd prefer something on the simple side."

"Yes, of course," Charlotte said, knowing that a small wedding would be more tasteful, considering Ruth's unwed motherhood.

Getting up from the chair, he said, "I'd best go find Ruth now, before she comes down here and finds us conspiring together and wonder what's going on."

"That's a good idea," Charlotte agreed. "Congratulations again, Sergeant Major Tapp."

Tapp moved noiselessly up the stairs a moment later, meeting Ruth just as she was exiting the nursery. Her face lit up the moment she noticed him walking toward her.

"Your timing is perfect," she said. "I just got Martha to go to sleep."

"Why don't we go into the library?" he suggested, taking her hand. "There's a matter I need to discuss with you."

"All right," she said slowly, curious about the serious expression on his face.

As they settled themselves side by side on the sofa a few seconds later, Ruth asked, "What is it, Marcus?"

"For the last few weeks or so, I've been doing a lot of thinking," he began. "I've come to realize just how happy you and Martha make me. And with what has happened in Yorktown, I know that the war will soon be over. I won't be able to stay in South Carolina once it's over and I don't think I can bear to lose you."

Ruth did not say a word, not wanting to interrupt what she thought he was about to say.

Reaching his hand inside his pocket, he brought out the ruby ring and said, "Ruth, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Oh, yes, Marcus, a thousand times yes!" she cried, smiling with joy as he slipped the ring on her finger, which fit perfectly. "And what a beautiful ring! I don't think I've ever seen one this gorgeous before. Oh, I love you Marcus!" With tears coming to her eyes, she murmured, "I never thought this day would come."

Tapp did not reply, but took her into his arms and kissed her deeply for several long minutes. He still wasn't at all keen about getting married, but if he had to be married to get that sheriff's post, he couldn't think of anyone he'd rather marry than Ruth. He did enjoy being with her, after all, and supposed he did love her, even if it wasn't as much as she loved him.

As they continued to kiss, they heard a throat clear behind them. Not letting go of Ruth, Tapp swivelled his head around to see Matthew standing in the doorway holding a tray with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. "Mistress Tavington's compliments, sir."

"Come in, come in," Tapp beckoned the servant. After Matthew had served them, Tapp said casually, "Close the door on the way out."

Once they were alone again, Tapp held up his glass and said, "To us."

"To us," Ruth repeated sighing with happiness. "May we have a long and happy life together."

As they continued to sip their drinks, Ruth said, "You must have told Miss Charlotte that you were going to ask for my hand."

"Yes, I did," he affirmed. "I wanted to get her opinion of the ring before I gave it to you."

"I take it she approved," Ruth said.

"That's right," he said, smiling. "She also offered to host the wedding here for us, dinner and all."

"Oh, how nice!" Ruth exclaimed. "When do you want to get married?"

"There's no hurry," he said. "You can take your time to make the arrangements, have a new gown made, and so on."

"I'm not sure I can afford to have a new gown made," she said, frowning. "I do have a nice gown that isn't that old that should be perfectly serviceable."

"I have the money," Tapp assured her. "And you will have a new gown, the finest you've ever had. Only the best for you, my dear."

"Thank you, Marcus," she said, leaning kiss him on the cheek. "Mistress Tavington and I will have so much fun visiting the dressmaker and choosing the fabric and colours."

He smiled indulgently at her girlish enthusiasm, remembering why he'd been attracted to her in the first place. Perhaps marriage to Ruth wouldn't be so bad, after all. Being a sheriff again would take him all over the county, being away from home sometimes for days at a time. This would afford him the measure of independence needed in order to tolerate being married.

"So, I suppose I'll be moving with you to your billet for the rest of the war," Ruth said. "I've been training Bessie to do my job, and I think she'll be ready to take over by the time we get married."

"Yes, we'll stay there until the war is over," Tapp told her. "There's Hannah, one of the other sergeant's wives, staying there, so you will have female companionship during the day."

"I know I'll like it there," Ruth said optimistically.

"Why don't we make an early night of it, and go to bed?" he suggested leaning down to kiss her neck. "I think we should celebrate our engagement properly."

"I couldn't agree more," she said, taking his hand as he stood up to lead her to the bedroom.

"We'd better hurry," he said, his voice thick with desire. "If we stay in here much longer, I'll end up taking you right here on the sofa."

"I can just imagine Colonel Tavington coming in here to do his paperwork and finding us in the middle of it," Ruth said, rolling her eyes.

Tapp's laugh was a low rumble, "Knowing him, he'd probably want to join in."

"Marcus!" Ruth was scandalized.

Still laughing, he said, "But it's true, he would!"

As the couple left the library, they met the Tavingtons coming up the stairs.

Charlotte looked at Ruth expectantly, having told her husband about Tapp's impending proposal. She smiled to herself seeing the champagne bottle in Tapp's hand, intuiting that he'd made a successful proposal.

Almost giddy, Ruth extended her ring hand for the other woman to inspect, and said, "Congratulate us - we're engaged!"

"Oh, I'm so happy for you, dear," Charlotte said, hugging Ruth close. "Such a lovely ring, too. When is the happy date?"

"Marcus said we'll do it whenever we're done making the wedding preparations," she said. "And I'm going to have a new gown made!"

"I'll take you to my dressmaker's shop," Charlotte promised. "She'll be able to make something perfect for you!"

While the women chatted, Tavington gave Tapp an assessing gaze, wondering what was behind this sudden proposal. He knew it wasn't a change of heart about the institution of marriage, as reports of Tapp's behaviour had indicated that he was still regularly seen in the company of other women. Nevertheless, there had to be some compelling reason for the sergeant major to enter into marriage of his own accord. As Tapp returned his gaze with a lazy, insolent grin, Tavington was certain he was correct and decided to find out later just what it was.

After the future Mr and Mrs Tapp excused themselves for bed, William Tavington and Charlotte entered the library to have their after dinner drinks.

"Well, that certainly was a surprise," Tavington remarked, after he'd closed the doors to the library behind them and poured them both a drink. "I never thought Tapp would ever ask Ruth to marry him. If there was ever a confirmed bachelor, it's Marcus Tapp. I must admit I'm quite curious as to why he did so and why now."

"Oh, William, you have no sense of romance at all," Charlotte chided. "Perhaps he simply realized that, now with the war nearly at an end, it's time to settle down. Considering that he and Ruth have a daughter together, it was about time he came to his senses and realize that he loves Ruth and that marriage is nothing to run from."

"I sincerely doubt that," Tavington said, chuckling. "The man is forty years old, you know."

"Perhaps he simply had not found the right woman before," Charlotte said. "And I'm sure little Martha played a part to make him realize that Ruth is the woman for him."

"Maybe," Tavington conceded. "But I would not be surprised if he is marrying her for some mundane and practical reason, though I can't imagine what that could be. It would indicate, however, that he is not considering hiring himself out again as a mercenary after this war is over. He is getting to an age where most such men move on to something else."

Sighing heavily, Charlotte said, "I hope that it turns out well for Ruth, no matter why he came to ask her. She's besotted with him and I know she'll make a good wife. I dearly hope that he'll be worth her love."

"He'll be a good provider, at the very least," Tavington said sourly. "The man knows how to make money."

"Plunder,' Charlotte said, almost to herself.

"Yes, that and other rather unseemly things," Tavington said, not wanting to tell his wife that Marcus Tapp ran a brothel in Charlestown. Because the man was the most efficient sergeant major he'd ever seen, he'd turned a blind eye to Tapp's less savoury activities. Turning to Charlotte, he demanded, "How did you know?"

"I recognized the ring he gave her," she explained. "It belonged to an acquaintance who attended the same church as I did before the war. Her husband ended up joining the rebel side."

"I expect that you did not let on to him that you knew it was plunder?"

"No, I figured there was no useful reason for doing so," Charlotte replied. "And I didn't want to do anything to dim Ruth's happiness."

"Wise choice," Tavington said.

Changing the subject, Charlotte asked, "So, what did Lord Rawdon have to say about Yorktown? Specifically, how does it affect us?"

"I won't go into the military details, but Cornwallis surrendered the entire force" Tavington said. "I imagine that the officers and their dependents will eventually be moved to New York before being paroled to go home. Enlisted men will likely be sent to prison camps. Loyalists will likely be deported." Pouring them each another glass of wine, he continued, "As for us, Lord Rawdon doesn't see any change here for the foreseeable future. He thinks we'll be here for at least another year."

"Perhaps we should not be so quick to sell the house, then" Charlotte said.

"No, I think we should go ahead," Tavington said. "We'll be leaving regardless of who ultimately wins, and I don't want to have to be going around trying to sell this house at the last minute. We'd end up having to give it away under such circumstances."

"Yes, I imagine you're right," she agreed.

The next morning, as the two dragoons rode out from the Tavington home for their respective duties, Tavington turned to Tapp and asked, "Tell me, Tapp. What brought on your sudden change of heart about marriage? The last time we spoke, you were quite averse to the idea of a committed relationship with a woman, preferring to maintain your independence. Forgive my prying, but I am curious."

"Ah, you have me dead to rights, Colonel," Tapp readily admitted. "But I would ask you to keep what I'm about to tell you to yourself. There's no need to upset the ladies."

"Yes, of course," Tavington agreed. "You have my word as an officer and a gentleman."

"I've been offered the position of Sheriff of Charlotte County in New Brunswick, Canada," Tapp explained. "The offer is contingent on me being a married man."

"Ah, I see," Tavington said, chuckling. "I knew it was something like that."

"Though I would prefer to remain unmarried, I do care about Ruth and there is the small matter of her being the mother of my child," Tapp continued. "If I must be married, there is no other woman but her whom I would consider." With a sardonic laugh, he added, "And being a sheriff will necessitate me frequently being away from home several days at a time. I figure that such a profession will allow me to both be married and to maintain a sufficient amount of independence at the same time."

"You seem to have it all worked out," the other man observed. "I hope it all works out well for both you and Ruth."

Over the next several weeks, Charlotte Tavington and Ruth Moore busied themselves with wedding plans. There was a menu to plan, a gown and trousseau to have made, and guests to invite. Ruth did not buy goods for her new household, as she and Marcus had decided not to worry about that until the war was over and they were on their way to their new home, as they planned to travel as lightly as possible.

"I'll miss you, you know," Charlotte told her one day as they went through cloth samples for Ruth's wedding gown. "We've been together so many years that it won't be the same once you're married and gone. It's almost like losing a daughter even though you're not quite young enough for that. Losing a sister, then."

"I'll miss you, too," Ruth said. "It won't be so bad as long as Marcus and I are staying at the Powell house, but once the war is over and we both go our separate ways, It will be difficult then."

"We'll just have to make sure to write to one another," Charlotte vowed. "I am a good correspondent, you know."

Marcus Tapp spent most of those same weeks doing what he'd been doing all along since arriving in Charlestown: riding patrols around the perimeter of the city, plundering and selling it on the black market, and collecting from the brothel. He wanted to amass as much blunt as he could in these last months of the war, so he could establish himself well once arriving in Canada, and to be able to build and furnish a decent home for him and Ruth.

He didn't speak of his impending marriage to anyone, yet the news that the Devil on Horseback was to be married eventually got around. This only served to make some women more aggressive in seeking out his company and he continued to accept offers as it struck his fancy. Tapp knew he'd miss the favours of the amiable southern women once he was living in the cold north, so he enjoyed it while he could.

As he went to the brothel one day about a week after being engaged, Molly laughed scornfully at him as he entered her office to collect the take.

"I can't believe you, marrying that dried up old prune" Molly sneered. "I though it was a joke when I heard the news yesterday."

"Word gets around fast here," Tapp said, rolling his eyes. "But don't you worry none about me; Ruth takes good care of me and we do have a daughter together, you know."

"I thought you were going to take me along with you when you left here after the war," Molly pouted. "You and I would make a great team."

Tapp laughed loudly at this; a deep belly laugh.

"Oh, you've been a lot of fun and a good business partner as well, but there's never been anything more than that between us, Molly," he told her. "You should know that. Besides, you've got a good business going here and before I leave, I'll give you a good deal in buying me out."

On the same morning that Charlotte and Ruth were at the dressmaker's shop choosing fabrics for her gown, Marcus Tapp finally got a confirmation of his appointment as Charlotte County Sheriff from Wilkins' cousin. The offer provided for him to finish his duties with the Green Dragoons before he was expected to report for his new position, as the town of St. Andrews did not expect to have much population until the war was completely over. Now that the job was confirmed, he could tell Ruth about it and in a manner where she would not link his marriage proposal to the job offer.

He met Charlotte and Ruth pulling up in the carriage as he returned to the Tavington home for lunch.

"I have good news for you," he told Ruth as the two women stepped out of the carriage. "Our future after the war is settled." Holding up the letter, he proudly announced, "Say hello to the new Sheriff of Charlotte County, New Brunswick."

"Oh, that is good news, Marcus!" Ruth exclaimed happily. "When do we leave?"

"Not until the war is over," he said. "They are willing to wait until I've finished my duty to King and country."

"That's good; it will give us time to prepare for the move," Ruth said.

"That it will," he agreed. "Let's go inside to finish this conversation as I'm sure the noon meal must be about ready by now."

"Gladly," she said. "I want to hear all about your new job."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The morning of Marcus Tapp's and Ruth Moore's wedding day, New Year's Day 1782, was cold and clear. Ruth was up at dawn to prepare for her wedding, starting with a bath. Miss Charlotte had brought in her own hairdresser to do Ruth's hair, after which Bessie helped her to dress.

"Oh, that has to be the prettiest gown I've ever seen," Bessie exclaimed. "I don't think even Miss Charlotte has anything nicer."

It was so. Ruth looked resplendent in a heavy gold brocade gown, with a cream coloured silk petticoat, and matching gold brocade shoes. Charlotte Tavington had lent her a pearl choker which perfectly set off the gown. The bride surveyed herself carefully in the full-length mirror and sighed. "It did turn out well. I hope Marcus likes it."

"How could he not like it?" Bessie declared. "The man's got eyes, doesn't he?"

There was a knock at the door a moment later, and Bessie opened it to reveal Charlotte Tavington, looking equally exquisite in a gown of emerald green brocade with a gold silk petticoat.

"Are you ready, Ruth?" Charlotte asked. "All the guests are here and waiting in the library."

"Yes," Ruth answered beaming. "More than ready."

"I'll be watching from the doorway, so's I can hear the little ones if they need me," Bessie promised. "Now go in there and marry that handsome man of yours."

William Tavington was waiting near the door to the library as the two women approached. Soft music from a single violin emanated from the room, as Charlotte had hired a musician for the occasion.

"My, here are the two most beautiful women in Charlestown," Tavington said, smiling, looking handsome in his dress uniform. "Tapp is a lucky man indeed, to get so comely of a bride as you, Ruth." Extending his arm, he said, "Are you ready?"

"Oh, yes, Colonel," she breathed.

After Captain Wilkins had escorted Charlotte to her seat, William Tavington escorted Ruth Moore inside and led her to the fireplace where Sergeant Major Marcus Tapp stood waiting in his dress uniform, along with the chaplain of the Green Dragoons.

Ruth was all aglow with anticipation as Tavington took her hand and placed it in Tapp's hand.

"Thank you, Colonel, for everything," Ruth whispered to him before he took a seat by his wife.

Turning, she looked up at Marcus, who was smiling down at her in encouragement. She sighed at the sight of him, so handsome in his dress uniform.

"Shall we begin?" the chaplain asked. After a moment, he began, "Dearly beloved…."

Ruth paid little attention to the words, so focused was she on the face of her soon to be husband.

A moment later the clergyman asked, "Do you, Marcus Obadiah Tapp, take this woman, Ruth Abigail Moore to be your lawfully wedded wife…."

Ruth held her breath as she waited for Marcus' reply. It wouldn't seem quite real to her until she heard the words.

"I do," Marcus Tapp said loudly and firmly.

It was real. Marcus wanted her. He'd finally taken the vows, at last. This was all Ruth could think about as she spoke her own vows moments later.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. The groom may kiss the bride."

It was done. Ruth's dearest wish had come true. She was now Ruth Tapp; Mrs Marcus Tapp.

"