Twenty-five minutes later, Jordan and Jula had finished their meal.
"I guess we should ask someone where the lord general's office is." muttered Jula, wiping her mouth with a kerchief.
Jordan sighed in exasperation.
"I guess so."
Sidling up to Col. Tavington, who was leaving the banquet hall, the eldest sister asked, "Hey, you know where Cornwallis' office is?"
"Well, I suppose so." Col. Tavington drawled.
Jordan rolled her eyes.
"Not now. I'm not in the mood, and I don't have the time. Just give me the damn directions."
Col. Tavington quirked an eyebrow, an amused smile creeping up the corners of his mouth.
"Oh you are charming... Alright, his office is just outside the banquet hall, down the hall next to the main set of stairs; it's the first room on your right."
"Thanks." Jordan replied shortly, and was about to go back to her sister when the colonel grabbed her arm, holding it in a vicegrip.
"Just a warning to you, Miss Cole; I might find your.. attitude amusing at the moment, but you had best watch your tongue, or you'll have trouble from more than just me."
"What about Missus Tavington?" Jae asked.
"What about her?" replied the colonel with an edge of sarcasm.
"Well, she seems pretty strong willed. How come she gets away with it?"
"That…" his eyes narrowed, "is not your concern."
"Well thanks for pointing that out." Jordan replied edgily. "We'll just be going then."
"Of course; I would so hate to hold you up."
The girl walked back over to her sister, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her out of the banquet hall to Cornwallis' office and knocked on the door.
"Come in." a voice called from the other side.
Upon entering Cornwallis' office, the sisters took careful note that everything in the room was perfectly in its place.
God forbid I trip and scuff up the floors…
"Please, sit down." said Cornwallis gesturing to a couple of chairs across from a large desk he was seated behind.
"Thank you, sir." Jula replied, sitting hard on the uncomfortable chair; there was no time for complaint, for Cornwallis was eager to begin.
"So…Apparently, yesterday night when you two arrived here, there was quite a stir in reaction to your arrival. You were, as Colonel Tavington put it, "scandalously clad" in what he remarked as being very odd, provocative dress; yet it looked like nothing he had ever seen before. He mentioned trousers, but they were of a foreign material, as well as shirts, but their design, like the trousers, was also unfamiliar."
"And..."
"Well, I guess what I'm trying to say here is where are you two from? And where do your loyalties lie?"
""Sir," Jordan fought with her words, attempting to sound less modern. "It would be very difficult to explain to you where we came from, maybe less difficult seeing as you obviously have noticed differences between the people of your society and us, noted in the way we were clothed yesterday; but it would still be no easy task."
"Milday, you did not answer my question," Cornwallis interjected politely, but his eyes were narrowed with scrutiny.
"For the sake of things, then, our loyalty is to you." Jordan replied more firmly than she felt. "We have no where else to go."
"You don't know the way home?" Cornwallis asked.
"No, we don't. It's… confusing; in fact, this whole situation is confusing, and we would be better off just not explaining it to you but allowing you to find out bit by bit." Jula added, nudging her sister in the ribs.
"Oh? And how, do you suppose, we will find out?"
"We're really not quite sure." Jordan admitted. "However, if things go the way we want them to, you should be finding out some things about us very soon."
"We're sorry if our lack of answers bothers you; you'll get them, we promise." added Jula.
"Very well. We shall see; but while you are here, you will not leave the grounds. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir." Jordan and Jula replied in unison.
" I will be placing you in the care of Col. Tavington and his wife, Mary. You will follow all of their wishes; if not, they have the authority to discipline you in whatever way they see fit."
Great...boot camp... Jordan thought to herself. I don't even like push-ups….
The lady is fine...but why him? thought Jula bitterly; sh replied tactfully, "As you wish."
"Yes, as you wish." added Jordan. "After all, my sister and I are guests here."
"And as such, it is necessary that we find you two some suitable quarters to stay in." replied Cornwallis. "However, this meeting is over, and you are free to go."
"Thank you sir."
Stepping out of the office, Jordan and Jula walked briskly up the main set of stairs, talking animatedly when suddenly, Jordan ran into something solid.
"Oh, so you're the new arrivals." A young, terse voice answered from above.
Jordan looked up to see a young soldier in a freshly pressed uniform; his brown hair was tightly plaited and he looked down at her with dark, endless eyes.
"Captain Aric Bryce." He held out his hand, assuming what he must have thought was a smile, but looked more to Jordan like a sneer. "I do hope you enjoy your time here."