Course Correction Studio

Author: Brandie

  • Possession – Chapter 20

    The Continentals were storming the city of Charles Town in an attempt to retake it. The British had known for some time that rebel army would try to reclaim the city, but they’d been unaware of when that attempt might occur. The British army were prepared, however. The colonials’ success was uncertain, for the British were dutifully holding their own against the rebels.

    One month had passed since Tavington had left for Fort Carolina, and he still had not returned to Charles Town. Juliana wasn’t distressed about it. It had come as no surprise to her that Tavington was still away; she’d expected it. And she didn’t expect him to show up anytime soon, but she really wished he would make a miraculous appearance about now.

    Juliana knew that the Continentals would be rounding up the slaves and taking possession of them and that she and William didn’t stand a chance. She’d already fallen into their hands once before; now that she and Tavington had settled their issues, the prospect of spending time with the rebels wasn’t appealing to her at all. She had some fighting skills, courtesy of Tavington, but they would only be good against one adversary, maybe two, if she were lucky. She and William would not be able to hold their own against a whole group of attackers. They would have to try to escape somehow.

    Juliana went to the front door, where William was already standing guard with a rifle. The Continental army was just down the street, and both William and Juliana could hear the sounds of gunshots. In the darkness of the night, they could see the sparks fly out of the guns as they were fired. “We’re gonna have to leave,” Juliana told William. “We’re not gonna be able to hold off all those soldiers if they decide to come this way.”

    William considered her words. “Where do we go?” he asked.

    “I don’t know,” Juliana admitted. “We should try to find a British camp or a fort or … anybody. Anybody else but the Continentals. We just have to get away from here.” It was dark out, and Juliana was thankful for that. They would probably stand a much better chance of escaping unnoticed than if it were daylight.

    William nodded. “I’ll get the horse ready,” he said. He left to go prepare the horse, while Juliana took up watchful post at the door. She had a loaded pistol in one hand and sword in the other to ward off attackers. At the first sight of a Continental soldier, Juliana would be prepared to fire. She didn’t think she would have to use the weapons at first. It seemed as if the ruckus would pass them over.

    Then, a couple of soldiers began to make their way up the path to the house. Juliana’s heart rate quickened as she discretely cocked the gun.

    “You there,” one of the soldiers called out, “who lives here?”

    Juliana remained silent, which appeared to anger the rebel soldiers, judging from their facial expressions.

    “Hey, girl, I’m talkin’ to you,” the same soldier said as he advanced. Juliana slowly brought the pistol up and pointed it at both of the men. She didn’t aim specifically at either one, but she would shoot the first one who made an aggressive move.

    The sight of the pistol temporarily stayed the soldiers, but they only looked at each other and smiled. That certainly wasn’t the reaction that Juliana had been expecting, and it unsettled her.

    The men looked at Juliana again and resumed their approach. “And just what are you gonna do with that?” the second soldier asked, mockingly.

    Juliana’s heart was beating in her ears, but she forced herself to venture out onto the porch and hold the pistol steady. “If you come any closer, you’ll find out,” she replied. She slid the gun over to the soldier who’d spoken. The soldier chuckled but didn’t stop walking, and he brazenly stepped up onto the first porch step. Juliana didn’t offer any warning before she pulled the trigger. The bullet shot from the barrel of the gun and hit the man squarely in the chest, knocking him backwards to the ground.

    Both Juliana and the remaining soldier looked at each other in stunned silence for a brief moment. Then, before the officer had the chance to draw his own weapon, Juliana attacked with her sword, rushing off the porch and lunging at the man. She caught him quickly in the shoulder, causing him to yelp in pain. He pulled his sword and began to fight back, matching her strokes. But he was on the defensive, and he was already injured, which put him in a much worse position than she. He thought he might have a chance to best her until the last moment, when she thrust the sword through his gullet, sending him crumpling to the ground, the weapon still lodged firmly inside his torso.

    William returned to the front door, where he found Juliana, frozen and standing over the two dead soldiers. He grabbed her hand, knowing that if anyone found them with the dead men, it would spell certain trouble for the two slaves.

    “Come on,” he said. “The horse is ready. We gotta go.”

    Morning finally made its appearance after Juliana and William had spent an exhausting night on horseback. William had managed to remain alert through the night to steer the horse and to keep a sharp lookout for colonials; Juliana, on the other hand, had been unable to keep sleep from closing in on her. She’d given in and fallen asleep at some point with her head against William’s back.

    William woke her up with a gentle nudge, and she stirred, not knowing where she was. She didn’t really care at the moment, as long as they weren’t anywhere near the Continentals. But she asked, just the same. “Do you know where we are?”

    William shook his head. “I don’t,” he replied. “But I think we better follow them.”

    Juliana followed his gaze. A few yards ahead of them, a unit of British officers were turning onto a road. Juliana and William looked at each other, knowing now that at least they had a chance of being saved. William gently spurred the horse to a slow trot, following the soldiers’ path. Somehow, they managed to remain largely unnoticed. Juliana suspected that soldiers must be concerned with bigger issues than two stray slaves.

    Juliana and William discreetly followed the group up the path, which led to a large farm. There was already a mass of British soldiers gathered around the house. Juliana and William moved from the path and tried to keep a little distance between themselves and everyone else, at least until they had a better grasp of what the situation was. William steered the horse behind a large tree, which largely obscured them from view.

    Before either of them had the chance to survey more of the scene from their distant perch, they heard the familiar thundering sound of pounding horse hooves. Everyone else on the farm heard it, too, Juliana realized, because they all looked in the same direction that she did. Coming up the same path which Juliana and William had just traveled were a hoard of men on horseback. Men in red, dark-trimmed coats on horseback. Could it be? Could Juliana and William really be that fortunate?

    The cavalry unit quickly approached, and Juliana could clearly make out Tavington’s form on the lead horse. She knew it couldn’t be anyone else. No one else she knew was arrogant enough to ride a horse at nearly full-gallop so effortlessly, with one hand resting confidently on his hip. Juliana had come to regard the mount as a Tavington trademark, and the sight of it made her want to jump off her horse and run over to him. William must have been aware of what her reaction would be because he grabbed her arm and held it tight. Juliana looked at him and then at Tavington again. They both watched the Dragoons ride past. When they stopped, Tavington continued until his horse was only a few feet away from the porch steps. Juliana could not hear what was being said, so she contented herself with watching the scene that played out before her.

    It was obvious by the deference immediately given to Tavington that he was in charge. For the first few minutes, nothing much seemed to happen. Tavington exchanged seemingly calm words with some of the officers.

    Then, his voice suddenly cut loudly into the morning. “Who carried this!” Juliana heard Tavington loudly demand. She saw a young, blonde rebel soldier stepped forward. Not surprisingly, British officers surrounded the young man and bound his hands.

    What didn’t sit well with Juliana was the civilian, probably the head of the household, who stepped forward toward Tavington. When the two spoke to one another, nothing looked out of the ordinary … until Juliana saw Tavington pull out his gun and point it at the man’s head. Then, she watched in horror as he turned the barrel of the gun on the group of children huddled together on the porch. The civilian ran back to his family, and Tavington withdrew the gun, to Juliana’s relief. That relief was short-lived.

    There was a abrupt commotion in front of the house. One of the family’s sons, Juliana assumed, ran at the soldiers who were holding the bound rebel soldier. Juliana watched in mortified disbelief as Tavington immediately took aim at the boy and fired. The bullet hit the boy in the back and tore out of his chest. He dropped to his knees, the life quickly draining from his body.

    Juliana felt like she was going to be physically ill. Tavington – Will, the man she had allowed herself to get close to, the man she had trusted, the man she had fallen in love with … he’d just shot a boy in the back, killed him in cold blood. Tears sprung to her eyes. She slid off the horse, intending to get sick behind the tree, but a British soldier grabbed her roughly by the arm.

    “What are you doing over here?” he demanded brusquely. He looked up at William, still mounted. “Get off of that horse.” William obediently dismounted.

    The soldier turned his attention back to Juliana. “What do you think you’re doing over here?” he demanded a second time. “Did you think you could hide from us? Is that it?”

    Juliana couldn’t force any words from her mouth. She looked to William because she didn’t know what to say.

    Still gripping her arm tightly, the soldier grabbed a handful of Juliana’s hair and violently pulled her away from the tree. He pushed her toward a lieutenant standing nearby. “Sir, I found this one near the tree with that other slave over there,” he reported, pointing to William, who remained near the horse.

    The lieutenant took one look at Juliana and immediately recognized her. He’d seen her with Tavington before at Middleton Place. He didn’t know how she’d ended up here. That wasn’t even important. If Tavington saw this brute manhandling his property, he would be furious.

    Juliana squirmed. It was only a small movement, but the pain in her scalp was becoming unbearable. She couldn’t help but move and hope that it would force the soldier to ease his hold on her hair.

    Instead, the soldier yanked her by the hair again, causing her to cry out in pain. “Quiet!” the soldier ordered.

    “What’s going on over there?” Tavington demanded. He turned his horse and guided it over to where this new commotion had arisen. What he saw nearly made him lose his composure. “Let her go,” Tavington said with forced calm.

    The soldier, confused, looked at Tavington. “Sir?”

    “Was there something unclear about the order, Private?” Tavington asked, fighting the urge to clench his teeth.

    “N-no, Colonel,” the soldier stammered. He let go of Juliana by forcefully pushing her to the ground.

    Tavington was ready to dismount and pound the soldier to a pulp, but he decided against it, for appearance’s sake. He was silently grateful for the lieutenant, who walked over and helped Juliana to her feet.

    “Ready!” an officer called out. “Take aim!” Juliana turned in time to see a small group of soldiers taking aim. For the first time, she noticed that there were rebel wounded lying on the ground in front of the house. The British were aiming at them. Juliana looked at the porch. She couldn’t see the men who were lying down, but she saw another group of British soldiers aiming. “Fire!”

    Juliana saw the soldiers fire on defenseless, wounded men. And it was all on Tavington’s order, she realized. She glared at him through tear-filled eyes.

    “Are you alright?” the lieutenant asked Juliana.

    “I’m fine,” she said, her eyes still on Tavington. His eyes met hers, briefly, but they revealed nothing to her. She turned and made her way back through the crowd to William and their horse.

    Juliana paced inside Tavington’s personal quarters at Fort Carolina. She didn’t have any idea what she should say, what she should do. The reason she didn’t know what to do was because she didn’t know how she felt. How could she love such a man? She had to be truthful with herself – his behavior wasn’t a complete surprise. She had known what he was capable of the first night she’d met him. But she’d had the gall to think that he’d changed and that she had been the one to miraculously change him. He hadn’t changed. He hadn’t changed one bit.

    The door swung open and Tavington walked in. “I heard about the attack on Charles Town,” he said. “I thought for sure that the Dragoons would be sent into the city. I was worried sick about you.” He walked over to her. When he touched her, she backed immediately backed away. “Come now,” Tavington began knowingly. “Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about what happened this morning.”

    “Of course I’m still thinkin’ about it,” Juliana said.

    “I took the actions that were required of me,” Tavington insisted.

    “That is not what happened this mornin’,” Juliana fumed. “This mornin’, you shot a little boy in cold blood, outside his home.”

    “He was hardly a little boy,” Tavington argued tritely. “He was at least 13. He was probably older.”

    “That is completely beside the point,” Juliana countered. “What threat was he? What threat was he to you or your men? He was scared. What would you expect?”

    “I would expect him to obey and respect orders from His Majesty’s military officers,” Tavington replied. Juliana, frustrated and angry, turned away from him, but he caught her by the arm and drew her to him.

    She tried to wiggle free but didn’t put much effort into it. “Please let go of me, Will. Colonel.”

    Tavington wasn’t going to be able to smooth this over so easily, he realized. He released his hold on her. “I must say, my dear, that I am at somewhat of a loss,” he said. “I’m the same person I was one month ago, two months ago. Will Tavington – I’m no different.”

    “I know,” Juliana said. “And that scares me. You’re the same as you’ve always been, and I just didn’t see it. Before, I never allowed myself see the person in you who would point a gun at children. If I had, I assure you, I would not be here. At least not willingly.”

    “Perhaps I didn’t handle this morning in the best way,” Tavington considered. “But Juliana, I’m gong to explain something to you. War isn’t neat or fair. Things happen that we can’t explain, predict, or prevent. Civilians do fall victim to the perils of war. It’s a nasty business. When you’re an officer in the military, you have a duty. You get your orders, and you follow them.”

    Juliana nodded, although it was not necessarily in agreement with all he’d said. She nodded because it was time that she relayed some information to him. “Perhaps you would feel differently if you had a child of your own,” she proposed.

    “Perhaps,” Tavington conceded. “But that is not a scenario with which I have been placed.”

    Juliana swallowed and took a calming breath before speaking again. “Don’t be too sure of yourself about that,” she warned.

    Tavington regarded her with utter confusion, and Juliana was quick to elaborate. “I think,” she began, “I think I’m gonna have a child.”

  • Possession – Chapter 19

    “You’ve shown remarkable improvement, but there are still a few key elements I believe we should give a little more attention to,” Tavington said. He, sword in hand, stood before Juliana, who also wielded a sword. He continued. “As I’ve told you before, my goal is that you’re able to adequately defend yourself in the event of an attack. I want to be absolutely sure you have a fighting chance, at least.”

    “I understand, believe me,” Juliana said. “I do believe we’re workin’ toward the same thing.”

    Tavington smiled. “We’ll see. Defend yourself.”

    Juliana raised her sword. She lunged at Tavington first, having learned her first lesson well. When they’d first begun their lessons together, Tavington had instructed her that in combat, it was not enough to merely anticipate an attack. A good soldier captured the upper hand early on by forcefully attacking first.

    The simulated sword fight commenced, with Juliana holding her own against the experienced officer. Everything was well until Tavington reached a point where he was able to knock Juliana’s sword from her grip.

    Tavington stood back, analyzing. “Do you know what you did wrong?” he asked Juliana. Before she could answer, he answered for her. “You got too confident, too comfortable, and dropped your guard. If this had been a real attack, you’d be dead now.”

    Juliana let the prospect sink in. Tavington was right to remind her of the possibility of death, even if it wasn’t pleasant. He stepped up to her. “I’m only doing this so that I can have some hope that you’ll be alright while I’m away. Peace of mind is what I need.”

    “I’ll be okay, Will,” Juliana insisted. “You know I will. I’m not one of these fragile socialites. You remember who you’re talkin’ to.”

    “Of course,” Tavington said. “How could I forget?” He bent down and kissed her.

    “I don’t see how that’s supposed to help me fend off colonials,” Juliana said.

    “It isn’t,” Tavington said. “It certainly isn’t supposed to help you fend me off.”

    “Now, why in the world would I want to do that?” she asked innocently. She kissed him, wrapping her free arm around his waist. His free arm, in turn, encircled her as he kissed her back. He gently pulled away from her.

    “I’m leaving tomorrow,” he revealed.

    Juliana was taken aback. “Tomorrow? I thought there was one more week?”

    “There was originally,” Tavington said. “I received a dispatch a few days ago, however. It seems I was correct in my initial assumptions; Cornwallis wants me back early. As soon as possible, according to the letter.”

    Juliana was stunned into complete silence. Now that she had spent so much uninterrupted time with him, she didn’t much welcome the prospect of being without him.

    /\/\/

    Juliana stood outside and watched while Tavington made final travel preparations to his horse. When he was done, he walked over to Juliana, and they both knew it was time.

    “I know you don’t have anyway of knowin’ when you’ll be back,” Juliana said, “so I won’t even ask.”

    “It could be very soon if the war keeps its current pace,” Tavington pointed out.

    Juliana nodded. “I hope so.”

    “As do I,” Tavington said.

    “You’d better get goin’,” Juliana said. “You don’t want to keep Cornwallis waitin’ on you.”

    Tavington stroked Juliana’s face and tried to take in every detail. He wanted to remember her exactly as she was at this moment. Then he kissed her goodbye and quickly turned away from her. He walked back over to his horse, pulled on his helmet, and mounted. He looked at Juliana one last time before turning and riding away from her.

    /\/\/

    a/n: After such a long break without an update, I know it’s short and that there’s not really much to it, but I promise that there’s more to come … and it will be better!

  • Possession – Chapter 18

    Juliana sat in the parlor nursing the drink that William had brought to her after she and Bordon had returned to the house. They’d arrived about half an hour before and were awaiting Tavington’s return.

    Bordon sat across from Juliana, a million questions racing through his mind, but the answer to only one of them would clear up many of the questions in his mind. “How did this whole … how did it begin between you and Colonel Tavington?” Bordon asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. “If you don’t mind my asking. I don’t mean to pry.”

    “No. I mean, I don’t mind tellin’ it to you,” Juliana said. “I know that you and the Colonel have known each other for a while, and I know that he trusts and respects you.” She sighed. “To be honest, I don’t really know how all this started.” She paused in thought. “I guess I can trace it back to one night in particular. I don’t know if he ever told you this, but one of the slaves who used to live here a few months back – Eleanor – well, she had this plan to poison Colonel Tavington. She put rat poison in his food. I knew about it beforehand, and I couldn’t let him eat it, so I warned him about it. I guess you could say things changed between us after that. It wasn’t really a big change or nothin’ like that. Just little things here and there. But all those little things started to add up. He started treatin’ me more like a person, rather than just some piece of … property.”

    Juliana shook her head. “Then we had that party here, and Ms. Staton showed up … now, I don’t know what to think. The Colonel does these things that make me think one thing, then he turns around and does somethin’ totally different. The whole situation has left me with my head spinnin’.”

    “I wouldn’t worry about Ms. Staton,” Bordon offered.

    “Why not?”

    “Colonel Tavington can hardly stand the sight of her,” Bordon revealed. “He thinks she’s an imbecile.”

    “But that night at the party, I saw them together. They seemed pretty happy to me,” Juliana recalled.

    “She might have been, but he surely was not. He called off the engagement three weeks ago. As I’ve come to learn, she isn’t the one he wants.” Bordon looked at her with a new understanding of Tavington’s actions. It became a little clearer to him why Tavington would put so much on the line.

    A horse neighed outside. Juliana and Bordon both stood and watched the sitting room entrance intently. They heard the front door open, heard boots clicking with every step as they made contact with the floor. And Tavington appeared confidently at the room’s entrance.

    Tavington’s blue eyes moved to Bordon, who understood and promptly left the room, giving his superior and Juliana some much needed privacy. Tavington stepped into the room and slowly approached Juliana. Her eyes fell to the red stains that soiled Tavington’s dark vest and the white shirt he wore underneath, and she immediately thought the worst as she quickly bridged the distance between them.

    Tavington recognized the panicked expression on her face and was quick to allay her fears. “It isn’t mine,” he said. “I am uninjured.”

    Juliana didn’t have to ask whose blood it was, then. She had a feeling that she already knew. She couldn’t honestly say that she was upset over it.

    “I had intended to have them transported to Fort Carolina as prisoners,” Tavington began. It was a bold-faced lie, which he hoped Juliana would buy, because he didn’t want to give her another reason to doubt him.

    He continued. “We were about to tie them to the horses, but they rushed at us. They didn’t have their weapons, but there was a struggle, nonetheless. I had to use my sword on Robinson. He gave me no choice; none of them did. I wish there had been another way.”

    This is it, Tavington thought. It was the perfect time to pick up where they’d left off before Robinson and his rabble had interrupted.

    “You just did what you had to do,” Juliana said softly before immediately asking herself why she was being so accommodating. She wouldn’t put it past Tavington to have killed Robinson and those other men in cold blood while they’d been completely defenseless. Had they deserved it? Had they earned it because they were colonial rebels? Juliana didn’t know exactly how Robinson had met his fate; but she realized that she didn’t want to know.

    “That’s right,” Tavington said. “I merely did what I had to do.” He reached up to touch her … but fate, once again, intervened.

    “What you did was go against my express wishes.”

    Tavington would know the sound and the tone of that voice without even turning around to see, but he did, and he was not surprised. “My lord,” Tavington said.

    Cornwallis stepped into the room. He didn’t attempt to hide his rage, as it was plainly evident by his expression.

    Juliana stepped from behind Tavington. On the way to the door, Cornwallis’s eyes found hers and locked with them until she’d left the room.

    He trained his glare on Tavington. “Colonel Tavington, you’re a good officer,” he began with a measure of calmness, though his patience was thin. “You are an officer of the highest caliber – when you follow orders.” He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from completely losing his temper, then continued. “What on Earth possessed you to infiltrate that camp when I explicitly explained why we would not expend our efforts on the matter?”

    “My lord, I accept full responsibility for my actions this evening and for the actions of my men,” Tavington said. “I ordered them to assist me. This was my doing.”

    “Pardon my interrupting, my lord, however, what Colonel Tavington claims is not the truth.”

    Cornwallis and Tavington turned to see Bordon re-enter the room.

    “Bordon, this is a matter between His Lordship and myself,” Tavington said hurriedly. “It does not concern you, and we require privacy.”

    “My lord,” Bordon began again, ignoring Tavington, “Colonel Tavington did not order the other Dragoons to aid him. The truth of it was that we didn’t even know what he was planning, sir. A servant delivered a letter to me written by Colonel Tavington. It was only then that I decided to take action, and it was I who ordered the other Dragoons come to Colonel Tavington’s aid. I must take responsibility for my actions and the actions of those officers, who were following my orders.”

    Bordon looked at Tavington. Bordon knew that Tavington was trying to save him from suffering Cornwallis’s wrath, but Bordon couldn’t let him do it.

    Cornwallis, angered and disappointed, looked at his two officers. He was appalled that two of his best would so brazenly disobey his orders. “This girl of yours must be very special for you to risk so much, Colonel Tavington,” Cornwallis said. “Was she worth it?”

    Tavington opened his mouth, about to attempt an explanation, but Cornwallis continued his diatribe. “You are throwing away your career, Tavington! Everything you’ve worked for,” Cornwallis said, his anger finally exploding. “I don’t understand your behavior, Colonel. Surely, there are other ways for you to satisfy your desires, ways that don’t require you to disobey your commanding officer’s explicit orders.”

    “My lord – ” Tavington began, but Cornwallis interrupted him.

    “I don’t want to hear it, Colonel. You’re a good officer, and your services are highly valued; however, I have no use for officers who fail to follow my orders simply because they wish to pursue personal endeavors.”

    Tavington felt his stomach drop to his feet. He prepared himself for what he was certain to come next. This was it, the end of her career. Had it really been worth it?

    Cornwallis proceeded. “Colonel William Tavington – I hereby relieve you of duty for a period not to exceed one month. Until such time has passed, you will not participate as an active member of the Green Dragoons or the British military. During this time, you will not wear the uniform of His Majesty’s army, nor will you receive any pay for military service. And because you have a residence in Charles Town, you will not set foot on any premises in or surrounding any British forts. Have I made myself clear?”

    Tavington blinked. “Perfectly, my lord,” he said. He was completely shocked that he hadn’t been immediately placed under arrest for court-martial.

    “You should consider this a very lenient punishment, Colonel, as it is well within my rights to have you ejected permanently for your offenses,” Cornwallis went on. “And you will be if you fail to meet the conditions of your punishment. Your services on the field may be valuable to my operations, Colonel, however that does not give you free reign to do as you to do as you please. You follow my orders; I will not tolerate disobedient officers. Understood?”

    “Yes, sir.”

    “I don’t want to see you or hear of you until May,” Cornwallis said.

    “Yes, my lord.”

    Cornwallis turned to Bordon. “Captain Bordon, I’m temporarily placing you in command of the Dragoons. You, too, disobeyed my orders; however your behavior stemmed from the actions of Colonel Tavington. Regardless, I believe that you’re best capable of keeping things in order during his absence.”

    Bordon nodded. “Yes, my lord. As you wish.”

    “I’ll see you back at the fort,” Cornwallis told Bordon.

    “Yes, my lord,” Bordon replied.

    Cornwallis glared at Tavington one last time before leaving. Bordon turned to Tavington.

    “Bordon – ” Tavington began.

    “I know,” Bordon said. “I know what you were trying to do, and I appreciate the gesture. But you should know by now, Colonel, that if I’m going to risk my life to see to your safety, I’ll risk my career for it as well, fully aware of the consequences.”

    “Thank you … James,” Tavington said, opting to use the man’s given name. “Take care of things for me while I’m gone.”

    “Of course,” Bordon agreed. There weren’t many men that he would so willfully risk life, limb, and career for, and Tavington was most assuredly one of them.

    Tavington took in a breath. He was lucky to have someone like Bordon on his side. “Until May, then.”

    Bordon gave a small smile. “Until then.”

    From her vantage point at the top of the stairs, Juliana watched Bordon leave the house through the front door. She looked to the sitting room doorway in time to see Tavington emerge.

    What was he thinking, Juliana wondered. What would he do next? What would he say? If he followed his usual pattern, which is what Juliana expected, Tavington’s mood toward her would completely change, and he would proceed to push her back out to arm’s length. She watched him climb the stairs, and she braced herself, emotionally, for whatever she might be confronted with.

    When Tavington reached the halfway point, he began to take the steps two at a time until he reached the top. He pulled her close and kissed her fiercely. He looked at her, his eyes intense.

    “No more games,” he said. “No more distractions. No more silly excuses. This is ridiculous. We can’t dance around each other forever, you know. I love you, Juliana. And all I need to know is if you love me. Do you?”

    After only a moment of reflective thought, Juliana nodded and said, “Yes.”

    “Good,” Tavington said. “Then that’s settled.”

    “I can’t tell you how sorry I am about what’s happened,” Juliana said. “You’re in trouble, and it’s all because of me. You wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t come for me.”

    “How could I not come after you? I don’t think I could have forgiven myself if I didn’t at least try.”

    “But now you can’t go back until May,” Juliana reminded him.

    “It isn’t as bad as it all sounds,” Tavington insisted. “All it means is that when I do go back, Cornwallis will be falling over himself, grateful for my return. Not that Bordon can’t handle things on his own; he can, and quite competently, I believe. But he just doesn’t have that … flair for getting the job done.” He smirked. “I’ll be surprised if Cornwallis doesn’t show up on my doorstep begging me to come back before the month is even up. But that isn’t even the best part of it all.”

    “What is?” Juliana asked.

    The smirk on Tavington’s face transformed from something pretentious to something thoughtful. “I get to spend time with you.”

  • Possession – Chapter 17

    “You must really take me for a fool, Juliana.” Juliana sat on a little stool while Joseph Robinson circled her like a vulture. “You expect me to believe that you, someone who’s become so close to Tavington, have absolutely no knowledge about his military plans?”

    “I’m just a slave,” Juliana said meekly.

    Robinson laughed. “Just a slave? We’ve had this conversation before, remember? In town? That whole innocent ‘just a slave’ act won’t work on me. You and Tavington aren’t very good at hiding the true nature of your relationship. You should realize by now that it’s obvious to anyone paying attention.” Robinson bent down in front of Juliana, looking her dead in the eye. “Tell me about the Dragoons’ troop movements,” he demanded.

    “I don’t know anything about what the Colonel does when he’s away from the house,” Juliana said.

    Robinson stood upright and glared down at Juliana skeptically. He nodded slowly. “We’ll see how much you know.”

    /\/\/

    One week passed. Then two. Soon a month had passed since the night Tavington had lost Juliana. He was beginning to see the reality of the situation by this point. She was gone, and he wasn’t going to get her back. As a result, he’d closed up his house in Charles Town and relocated to officer’s quarters at Fort Carolina, taking William with him to be his manservant. He’d almost completely put the situation to rest in his mind … until William approached him one evening with unexpected news.

    “Colonel Tavington?” William said, standing in the doorway of Tavington’s room.

    Tavington didn’t turn around at his desk or otherwise take his eyes from his work. “Yes, William, what is it?” he said.

    “Sir, I think I know what happened to Juliana and the others,” the slave said timidly.

    This time, Tavington did turn in his chair and look at his servant.

    /\/\/

    “William, tell His Lordship exactly what you told me,” Tavington instructed.

    William sat in a chair surrounded by Tavington, Cornwallis, and O’Hara, all standing, in Cornwallis’s Fort Carolina office.

    William nodded, ready to oblige. “Yes, sir. When I was in Charles Town today, I overheard these two women – slaves, sir – talkin’ about this man named Joseph Robinson. They say he used to walk around in a Redcoat uniform, but they say he wasn’t no Redcoat officer. They said he was workin’ for the rebel army. And they said he wasn’t alone, said there was others who was like him, rebels pretendin’ to be Redcoats. When they said he was a negro, I knew they had to be talkin’ about one of the same men who sneaked into the party that night.”

    “How do you know that?” O’Hara questioned.

    “Because, sir, one of the men who took Colonel Tavington’s slaves away that night was a negro in a Redcoat uniform,” William replied.

    Tavington turned to Cornwallis. “My lord, I believe that if we find this man Robinson, we can locate the rest of his group,” Tavington said optimistically.

    “I understand your desire to see justice prevail, Colonel Tavington,” Cornwallis began, “however, now that time has provided us some distance from the unfortunate event, I have had the opportunity to reevaluate the situation with a more objective eye. In doing so, I find that I am hesitant to rush into action on this matter.”

    “My lord?” Tavington couldn’t believe his ears. Here they were, being practically handed a group of rebel criminals, and Cornwallis didn’t want to act.

    “Colonel, let us look at the actual impact that these dissidents have made so far, shall we?” Cornwallis suggested. “We know of one incident, with certainty, for which this group is responsible. We have to weigh whether it would be worth the risk to us merely to break up a group of small-time rabble.”

    “My lord, with all due respect, this ‘small-time rabble’ is guilty of impersonating His Majesty’s military,” Tavington urged. “Yes, their impact has been minimal as of yet; but, sir, this could only be the beginning. We need to hit them hard before they become stronger. If we fail to take them out now, my lord, while we have the chance, they might gain the strength and the confidence to strike again. We might not get the opportunity to stop them again, sir.” They couldn’t just give up on this so soon. They hadn’t even tried.

    “Colonel, my mind is made up,” Cornwallis said with finality. “I will not risk the lives of valuable fighting men to break up a bunch of petty criminals. The matter is done, and I will entertain no more discussion on it.”

    Tavington stifled any retort that happened to resting on the tip of his tongue. It was true that he desired action because he wanted Juliana back, yes; but he also wanted to see these criminals, whomever they were, decimated. It annoyed Tavington that Cornwallis was seemingly letting the matter drop.

    The matter was not done, Tavington determined. No, this was not done.

    /\/\/

    It was a chance occurrence, but Tavington was grateful for it. It was one of the rare occasions since the abduction that Tavington actually went into Charles Town; it also happened to be one of the days that the infamous Joseph Robinson made an appearance in town. Tavington had looked up by chance, and there Robinson had been, standing across the street.

    The way Tavington saw it, he had two options at his disposal: he could arrest Robinson right there on the street and haul him in for questioning; or he could wait, trail him all day, and see where Robinson would lead him. Robinson could very well lead him to the rest of the imposters that had made off with his property … and with Juliana.

    xxx

    Tavington had to wait two hours before he moved from his spot across the street from Robinson. That’s how long it was before Robinson began to move away from the store he’d been loitering in front of. The sun would be setting in a short period, and Tavington hoped Robinson was on his way home, or wherever he would be staying for the night. He would follow Robinson in the dark if forced to, but he would rather not. He followed Robinson down the street, making sure to keep his distance. Then he followed him when he turned the corner and began to walk up another street.

    xxx

    By the time the sun was setting, Tavington had taken possession of a steed and followed Robinson some distance out from Charles Town. Robinson had also mounted and was riding a good distance in front of Tavington. They had traveled by horseback for nearly 45 minutes, and Tavington was beginning to wonder whether this Robinson fellow would actually lead him anywhere.

    Then there was something. An encampment. A massive encampment crawling with rebels. Hundreds of them. All right under Cornwallis’s nose.

    Robinson had turned off somewhere, probably to the road leading into the camp, but Tavington was no longer concerned with that one man. He had found a virtual gold mine. He looked down on the encampment from his hidden perch and mused: Juliana was possibly down there right now.

    Tavington pulled his horse back from the ledge and galloped back toward Charles Town.

    /\/\/

    “If I don’t come back,” Tavington told William, “give this to Captain Bordon.” He handed over a letter to the young man. “You don’t have to say anything; it’s all in the letter.” Tavington turned back to his horse.

    “Colonel, sir, are you sure you wouldn’t want to do this in the mornin’?” William questioned.

    Tavington looked at William and then up at the night sky. Daylight had its advantages, but Tavington would need the cover of darkness to do what he had to do.

    He gracefully mounted the horse. He didn’t know if he was making the right move. Should he make this attempt? Should he risk so much to just to try to rescue her? If so, why? Tavington knew his actions would amount to failure to comply with Cornwallis’s wishes. He was about to disobey a direct order. He could lose his career and for what? What was it inside of him that was urging him to do this? What was she to him?

    She was the person he found himself in love with, that’s who she was. It was high time he admitted that to himself, even if he couldn’t admit it to the world. And he couldn’t just give her up without a fight.

    The slaves Tavington had lost in the raid were quite another story. They were good workers, but he wouldn’t be able to recover them. He was alone, and he would be lucky if he made it out alive with Juliana.

    Tavington nodded to William before turning and spurring his horse to rapid motion.

    /\/\/

    When Tavington neared the camp, he shed his red uniform coat and put on a blue, rebel coat. He’d secretly acquired it from a rebel prisoner being held at Fort Carolina two days earlier when he’d decided to embark on this little rescue mission of his. It was just fabric, after all, and it was a decent size. However, it still felt awkward, wrong. He shrugged off the sensation and walked over to the ledge where he’d first observed the rebel encampment. To his right, there was a slightly worn trail, which Tavington surmised led to the camp. He tied his horse to a tree, put on the uniform hat (also from rebel prisoners), and began to follow the trail.

    The walk was short, and Tavington reached the camp in about five minutes. He entered inconspicuously and began to mill about casually, blending in with the military personnel there. He kept his hat pulled low, attempting to keep as much of his face and identity as possible covered. The camp was large. It might take him hours, maybe even days, to find Juliana, if she was even there still.

    Luck must have been with him because he spotted Juliana almost immediately, about 30 yards away. Even from that distance, he could see that she looked like she’d had a rough time. They’d put her to work, of course, serving water and food to soldiers. Her hair was disheveled and her clothing was dirty and ragged. Juliana herself looked worn down and exhausted.

    As Tavington came closer to her, there were other telltale signs that Juliana’s experience over the past month had not been pleasant. When he was only a few yards away, he could clearly make out the fresh bruise beneath her right eye. It was a sight that made Tavington’s blood boil.

    Tavington, his hat still pulled low over his eyes and face strode up to Juliana. “Could I trouble you for a drink of water?” he asked her.

    “If you can’t already tell, I’m busy here,” Juliana said. She didn’t even bother to look up at the person talking to her. She seemed too busy to do so. “Is something wrong with you that you can’t get it yourself?” Her words came across brusquely. Tavington understood now why she was bruised. If she spoke in that manner to everyone around here on regular basis, Tavington was surprised they hadn’t already killed her.

    Juliana began to move away to go see to someone else, but Tavington grabbed her arm. This finally prompted her to look up at the man who’d spoken to her. She realized that it was Tavington when he lifted his hat slightly, allowing her to see more of his face.

    “Your help would be greatly appreciated,” Tavington said forcefully, looking into her dark eyes. “Will you come to my aid?” There was definitely a hidden meaning in his words, and Juliana believed that she knew what it was.

    Juliana nodded. “Yes, sir,” she said. “I’ll see what I can do.” Still carrying her water pitcher, she followed Tavington through the camp. They reached the edge of the camp without incident, and Tavington couldn’t believe how easy it had all been. No wonder these colonials were losing the war.

    When they reached Tavington’s horse at the other end of the trail, Tavington looked around at the other officers to make sure he and Juliana had not been followed. It seemed they had cleared the camp with no trouble at all.

    Tavington found his horse right where he’d left it. He untied it from the tree and mounted. Then, he pulled Juliana onto the animal so that she sat in front of him, and he wrapped his arms around her to grip the reins. He gently spurred the horse, and they started off at gentle but steady trot through the dark forest.

    “It’s so dark,” Juliana commented. “How do you know where we’re goin’?”

    “In His Majesty’s army, you don’t think they actually let us go into battle without basic survival skills, do you?” Tavington asked with a small, arrogant grin.

    “I have so many questions,” Juliana said, switching topics.

    “In good time, my dear,” Tavington deflected. “For now, I believe we should concentrate our efforts on returning to Charles Town in safety.”

    They rode for about a minute with the sound of nothing but the horse’s hooves. Then: “Why did you come after me?” Juliana asked. “I’d find it hard to believe if you told me that Cornwallis sent you on a mission just to save me. If that were true, you’d surely have brought someone else with you.” She let a few silent moments pass. “So, here we are, you havin’ rode in to rescue me. Why?”

    Tavington sighed. Nothing could ever be simple with Juliana could it? “How else was I to retrieve my property?” Tavington asked matter-of-factly.

    “Seems awful risky for just one piece of property … ” Juliana commented skeptically.

    “This possession of mine is something I value dearly,” Tavington said. “Something very dear to me.”

    “You can’t replace it?” Juliana inquired.

    “No, never,” Tavington said. “Not even if I tried. But I would never want to.”

    “I don’t know if I can live like this anymore, with all this uncertainty,” Juliana said suddenly. “I’d have been better off in that Continental army camp. Stop the horse.”

    “What?” Tavington asked, confused.

    “I said stop the horse. Stop it.” Juliana grabbled the reins and pulled on them hard. The horse stopped abruptly, and Juliana slid off. She began to walk away, back in the direction of the camp.

    “Juliana – wait!” Tavington hopped off the horse and ran to catch up with her. He caught her by the arm. “Wait.”

    “Why should I? Why should I go back with you? At least the Continentals treat me like a person.”

    “Like a person!” Tavington sputtered in disbelief. He indicated her bruised cheek. “They treated you like a slave. In fact, they treated you much worse than one, by the looks of it.”

    “I am a slave,” Juliana proclaimed. “I’m not a war relic. I’m not just some tool for you to use whenever the need – or desire – comes around. And at least the Continentals are consistent. I know what to expect from them, which is more than I can say about you. Most of the time, I’m miserable with you.” She pulled her arm free from his grip, and turned back, intending to resume her walk back to the camp.

    This was it. If Tavington didn’t stop playing games with her and beating around the bush, he was going to lose her. “And I’m miserable without you,” he admitted.

    Juliana stopped walking. Slowly, she turned to Tavington again. “You don’t really mean that,” she disputed. “You can’t. It goes against everything I know about you.”

    “Well, then … ” Tavington began, walking toward Juliana, ” … maybe you don’t know as much about me as you thought you did.” He stopped directly in front of her, reached up, and touched her face.

    Juliana reached up and pulled his hand away from her face, despite the fact that it had felt good there. “You have to understand where I’m comin’ from, Colonel,” she said. “This isn’t the first time that somethin’ kinda like this has happened. I-you’ve-it’s happened before, and I let myself believe it then … but then you changed so, and you became so incredibly cruel afterwards. I’m at the point now where I don’t know what to think.”

    “I’m here, aren’t I?” Tavington asked. “Isn’t that proof enough of my sincerity? Isn’t it enough that I … ” His voice trailed, and he reconsidered his words. “What is it you want me to do? Tell you how I couldn’t get you out of my mind the entire time you were away from me? Profess how I’ve … fallen, hopelessly, in love with you? Is that it?”

    Juliana was prevented from replying by the sound of a horse whinnying nearby. Tavington looked up, past Juliana. Someone on horseback was quickly closing in on them from the direction of the rebel camp. That wasn’t necessarily the problem, however. The problem was that this mounted person wasn’t alone. Three men on foot accompanied him, but they were still far enough off that Tavington and Juliana should be able to get away.

    Tavington took Juliana’s hand, intending to get back to the horse, but that soon proved to be an ineffective route. The horse’s path, he saw, was blocked by three more men. None of them wore uniforms, but they all carried muskets. Some carried pistols.

    Tavington turned back to the mounted man, who was directly upon them, now. “Stop where you are!” the man ordered. “Don’t take another step.” The steed took a few steps closer to Tavington and Juliana, and Juliana saw that it was Joseph Robinson.

    The odds were largely unfavorable toward Juliana and Tavington. They had been in this situation before, but back then, they’d been able to turn to the river for refuge. No such opportunity existed now.

    “Colonel Tavington,” Robinson said, “I never thought you’d actually be arrogant enough to come here in person.”

    “You can have me,” Tavington offered. “I’ll go willingly, just let her go. What’s one slave to your army?”

    “One could easily ask the same of the British army … or of you,” Robinson said. “I’m led to believe that she means something to you since you came for her. The fact that you want her back is reason enough, which means that I now have incredible leverage over you. And for the record, we aren’t regulars, in case you haven’t noticed. We’re militia.” Robinson smiled triumphantly. “It looks like you two are our newest prisoners of war.”

    The militiamen surrounded Tavington and Juliana. Tavington had no earthly idea how to get out of this mess. These men were militia; they wouldn’t be able to hold a candle to His Majesty’s fighting men in battle … but they had the definite advantage in the here and now. Tavington couldn’t run. He couldn’t fight. When he was certain that his fate lay in a wartime prison, a shot that seemed to have no source rang out into the night. The thud of a body falling to the ground made everyone turn. They saw one of the militiamen lying at the feet of Tavington’s horse. Two more shots and the two other men near the horse fell to the ground, presumably dead. The next shot went through one of the men standing next to Robinson.

    The invisible assailants emerged from their hiding places, revealing their identity. They were Dragoons, three in number and all on horseback. One of them was Captain Bordon, but Juliana couldn’t make out the other two, who leveled their pistols at the remaining militiamen.

    Tavington’s pistol was already loaded, so he pulled it from his belt and pointed it squarely at Robinson. “Dismount,” Tavington ordered. He was back in his natural element again. He was in control.

    Robinson obediently hopped from the horse and joined the other two men from his unit. Tavington followed him with his gun. “Drop your weapons,” Tavington ordered. “All of them.” He watched as the muskets, pistols, daggers, and swords hit the ground.

    Keeping a keen watch on Robinson, Tavington addressed Juliana. “Juliana, go with Bordon.”

    Juliana didn’t want to leave him, but she knew that he would be okay, so she left his side and joined Bordon, who sat at a slight distance on his horse.

    “Bordon, take her back to Charles Town,” Tavington instructed. “I’ll be along shortly.”

    “Yes, sir,” Bordon replied. He reached down to Juliana and pulled her up onto the horse behind him. Once she was settled, he spurred the horse to motion, and they sped away from the scene.

    “Juliana is a good woman,” Robinson said. “She keeps her mouth shut.” Tavington glared at him icily, but Robinson continued. “She wouldn’t say a word against you … not even when I resorted to more persuasive methods of interrogation.”

    “Ahhh, so you’re the one who left her with that nasty little bruise,” Tavington said, maintaining a disturbingly calm tone of voice.

    “It’s just one of many, Colonel,” Robinson replied. “One of many … ”

    “I see.” Tavington holstered his pistol. The other two Dragoons, still mounted, looked at each other curiously but held their aim at their respective targets.

    “What I did, my behavior toward Juliana, was no worse that those acts that you commit everyday, you butcher,” Robinson said defiantly.

    “My, my – word does get around, doesn’t it?” Tavington said with a chuckle. “Am I to take it that you’ve heard those unflattering rumors as well?”

    “I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

    “You have, have you?” With swiftness that surprised everyone present, Tavington unsheathed his sword and thrust into Robinson. It wasn’t enough that the weapon had inflicted a mortal wound; Tavington shoved the blade further into Robinson, pushing until the tip of the blade protruded from Robinson’s back.

    Robinson fell to his knees, still conscious. Tavington maintained a firm grip on the sword’s handle. He looked down into the eyes of this man, who’s lifeblood was pouring from him. “You said you’ve seen it,” Tavington hissed. “Now you’ve experienced it firsthand.” He jerked the sword out of Robinson and pushed him to the ground. He looked at the other two Dragoons. “Shoot them,” he said dismissively as he walked past them to his horse. On the way, he shrugged out of the blue Continental uniform jacket he’d worn as a disguise and threw it to the ground in disgust.

  • Possession – Chapter 16

    Friday evening arrived after two hectic days spent trying to settle the details of the party that had unexpectedly been thrust into Tavington’s hands. Food preparation, music, and extra servants – all of it was arranged in time for the party; most of it was arranged solely by Juliana. By the time Friday evening rolled around, Juliana was running ragged trying to make sure everything was in place. She’d helped plan parties like this for Mr. Harris, but she’d never had the responsibility of planning one by herself. Fortunately for Tavington, everything fell into its proper place.

    The night would be divided into two portions. The first, beginning at approximately 6:30, would be the intimate dinner part of the evening. Tavington would dine with ten guests in the dining room. The actual party portion of the evening would begin after dinner had concluded, and would take place on the back lawn of the premises. Fifty additional guests were expected for this part of the occasion.

    The dinner guests began to arrive at around six p.m. Tonight, Eugenia had Juliana’s usual task of seeing to guests and making sure they were comfortable. Tonight, Juliana’s place was in the kitchen and anywhere else she would need to be to coordinate this effort so that it ran smoothly.

    The first course of the meal was taken out to the dinner guests promptly at 6:30 p.m. Twelve people sat around the table: Cornwallis, O’Hara, Bordon, Captain Robert Watts, Tavington, and Benjamin Smith, another colonel. Joining each of the men at the table was a female companion. Tavington sat at one end of the table, while Cornwallis occupied the other end.

    “Colonel Tavington,” Smith began, “I must commend you for you work on the field at Camden. It is certain that our victory would not have been possible were it not for your Dragoon unit.” Smith was slightly shorter than the average officer and rounder, too. His appearance, however, was deceptive. The man could hold his own in combat. He was an excellent swordsman and an even better marksman.

    Tavington smiled. Finally, he was getting the recognition he deserved. “Thank you, Colonel Smith,” he said with pride. “It’s appreciated.”

    “Colonel, you have such a lovely home here.” It was Smith’s wife, Bettie. She was a petite woman with dark, auburn hair and a pleasant face. “I’m so glad we’re having this party here. How long has it been since you first moved into this house?”

    “Only a couple of months,” Tavington replied.

    “You’ve done wonders with it in such a short time,” Bettie marveled.

    “It’s quite easy when your home falls into your hands already decorated,” O’Hara chimed in. “Colonel Tavington acquired this house during a raid.”

    Tavington glared at O’Hara. The man had a talent for jumping on the first opportunity to belittle Tavington.

    “Gentlemen, must we speak of such unpleasant things tonight?” Sarah Davis asked. She was there as Watts’s guest. “We’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves tonight.”

    “Ms. Davis is right,” Cornwallis agreed. “There’ll be no more war talk this evening. That’s an order, gentlemen.” He looked around the table, his eyes connecting with those of every officer at the table.

    Down in the kitchen, Juliana was doing everything she could to make sure this evening didn’t fall apart on Tavington.

    “Is the soup ready to go upstairs to the dinin’ room, yet?” she eagerly asked Eugenia.

    “Jenny’s bringin’ it out of the fire now,” Eugenia said. She and Juliana looked over at the hearth in time to see Jenny thoroughly burn her arm as she was removing the soup pot from the fire. Juliana cringed when the girl screamed out in pain. She knew the girl hadn’t screamed on purpose, but she also knew that the scream had been loud enough to be heard upstairs in the dining room.

    Everyone in the dining room heard the scream, and they all looked to Tavington for an explanation. He was, after all, the host.

    He pasted a reassuring expression on his face. “I’m sure it’s nothing too serious,” he said. One look from him was all that was needed to send the dining room servant down to the kitchen to investigate.

    “Get some butter,” Juliana instructed, leading a crying Jenny to a nearby chair. She kneeled and looked at the girl’s arm, studying her injury. The burn was bad. Juliana didn’t know exactly how bad, but she knew it was bad enough to keep the girl from serving food in the dining room.

    Eugenia appeared at Juliana’s side with the butter. Juliana took some and gingerly rubbed it on Jenny’s arm, causing the girl to grimace. “I know it’s gonna hurt, but you’re gonna have to keep rubbin’ this butter on it for a few minutes.” Juliana stood up.

    “What we gon’ do?” Eugenia asked. “It’s gon’ make things awfully slow if we only got one person to take the food up and help serve.”

    “I’ll have to take her place,” Juliana said. She looked over at the preparation table. Thankfully, someone had had enough initiative to put the soup in the bowls and prepare the serving trays. The servant from the dining room descended the stairs into the kitchen just in time to pick up a tray full of soup-filled bowls.

    “What’s goin’ on down here?” the dining room servant asked, picking up the first tray. “We heard screamin’ from upstairs.”

    “Oh, nothin’; Jenny just burned her arm, is all,” Juliana said, dismissively. “I’m gonna have to take her place until dinner is over. Come on; we’ve got to get this soup upstairs before it gets too cold.” She picked up the remaining tray and followed the servant up the stairs.

    When Tavington saw the dinner servant emerge from the kitchen carrying a soup tray, he figured that everything must be all right in the kitchen. When he saw Juliana come up after her, he reconsidered. His curious eyes remained trained on her while she and the other servant placed the bowls of soup before the dinner guests. She only looked at him once, after the soup had finished being served. He saw her eyes momentarily slide to the seat next to him, occupied by Caroline Staton. For reasons Tavington could not explain, he did not want Juliana to see him sitting beside Caroline, and when she did see them beside each other, he wished he could shrink and disappear right in his seat. Juliana remained in the dining room for a few more minutes to make sure that she wouldn’t be needed. When she was certain that she wouldn’t be, she disappeared back into the kitchen.

    A hundred questions raced through Juliana’s head once she was back down in the kitchen. Who was the woman? Was she there with Tavington? Had they known each other long? What was the nature of their relationship?

    “Are you alright?”

    Juliana turned to Eugenia, who, apparently, had walked up to her when she’d come back into the kitchen, thought Juliana hadn’t noticed the movement at all. “I’m fine,” Juliana said, focusing her attention back on what had to be done now. “Let’s get the next course ready. They’ll be finished with the soup in no time.”

    /\/\/

    The back lawn wasn’t nearly as grand as that of Middleton Place, but it was large enough to accommodate the fifty guests who arrived after dinner and was enclosed by a tall brick fence. The guests, a mixture of British officers and local Loyalists, arrived and seemingly fell in love with house and the grounds. They milled about, chattering, drinking, listening to the string quintet that had been hired for the occasion. All the while, Juliana remained inside, overseeing the servants from her base in the kitchen. The first time she ventured outside was at around midnight. By that time, the party had begun to die down. Most of the guests had left, and the few stragglers that remained were preparing to depart.

    Juliana stepped out onto the back lawn and found it virtually deserted. It had been such a nice evening. There had been no major disasters, and everything had gone as it was supposed to. Juliana had saved Tavington’s neck … again. She shook her head and began to stroll onto the lawn.

    She didn’t know why she’d done it, why she’d helped him out in this manner. Maybe it was the hope that he would come to his senses and finally be nice to her. Or maybe it was just her inherent good nature. Juliana knew that both of those explanations probably had something to do with her actions; she just didn’t know which one held more weight.

    “It’s such a pleasant evening,” Caroline said, sitting down on one of the stone benches that lined a row of bushes. The bushes separated the lawn into two sections, providing a semi-secluded spot to enjoy the fountain located at the far end of the yard. “Spring will be here soon,” she commented.

    “It will, indeed,” Tavington said. “The arrival of our first battle of the season is indicative of that. May I?” he asked, indicating the spot on the bench beside Caroline.

    “Of course,” Caroline said. Tavington dutifully perched on the bench beside Caroline. “Have you given any thought to what you will do after the war, Colonel? It seems as if it won’t last for much longer.”

    “You’re right. These rebels won’t be able to withstand much more. It will only be some time, now.” Tavington studied Caroline. She wasn’t unattractive. Her chestnut hair was up presently, but he imagined that it was quite lovely whenever she let it down. Her eyes were big and green, and she had a small aquiline nose above her small, smiling mouth.

    Physically, and also socially, she was acceptable. Tavington’s problem with her was that she was an idiot. To say that he found her intellectually boring would be an understatement. He dreaded receiving letters from her because they were absolutely of no substance whatsoever, and her conversations were full of idle chit-chat that Tavington had neither interest in nor patience for. That was one thing, at least, about Juliana – however awkward their conversations ended up being, they were never boring.

    Juliana. Tavington couldn’t help but think about how much more he’d rather be sitting here with her than with the dunce currently beside him. But therein lay the problem. He redoubled his efforts to appear interested.

    “As for what I will do after the war,” Tavington resumed, “I haven’t given it much detailed thought. I’ve been so preoccupied with my duties. I suppose I might return to England … ” He looked at the fountain. He wouldn’t be able to take Juliana with him if he went back to England. Juliana’s service in Tavington’s household would undoubtedly be counted as service to the Crown, and all slaves who served Britain during the war were to be freed. And what were the chances that she would want to go with him of her own free will? Not after he’d been so cruel.

    Tavington blinked a few times, realizing that his thoughts had just wandered back to Juliana. He had to figure out a way to keep his mind off her. This wouldn’t be so difficult if he’d just been able to control himself initially.

    He turned back to Caroline, who was beaming and staring at him expectantly. “I could also remain here in the colonies and establish myself here,” Tavington continued. “Actually, it’s quite funny that you should bring the whole issue up. I know we haven’t known each other for very long.”

    “We’ve been corresponding for nearly a year, now … William,” Caroline gushed.

    Tavington feigned surprise and tried to mask the annoyance that developed at her decision to call him by his given name. “Oh? Has it been that long already? It certainly hasn’t seemed like that much time has passed.”

    “They say when two people who have a true connection meet, they lose track of time because they’re so engrossed with each other,” Caroline offered.

    Tavington found the sound of her voice increasingly annoying, but he fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Right,” he said. “Nevertheless, we’ve only actually met on a few occasions previously. Even so, I feel as if there’s a connection between us.”

    “I’ve felt the very same!” Caroline exploded. “I’ve been hoping that you possessed those feelings.”

    Tavington smiled despite the feeling that this all felt so wrong. “Yes. Well, I realize that I’m not exactly the youngest man to have ever called on you. My life in the military has left me with little time for other traditional endeavors, such as settling down and starting a family. Until recently, that is.”

    Caroline pressed her finger to Tavington’s lips. “Don’t say another word. I’ve been dreaming of this very moment since I was a little girl. Let us not sully it with mere words.”

    Tavington took her words as his cue to kiss her. He leaned in close and gently pressed his lips against hers. He was sorely disappointed. Not only was she an idiot, but she also didn’t know how to kiss. Juliana, on the other hand, was a different story. Her kisses were –

    He parted from Caroline. His plan of trying to find a distraction was not working. He couldn’t go five minutes without thinking about Juliana.

    “Oh, William – I’m so happy,” Caroline proclaimed with a broad smile. Tavington managed a lackluster smile of his own. Caroline threw her arms around her new fiancé. “William, we simply must keep your servant girl on with us after we’re wed,” she said.

    “Which one?” Tavington asked.

    “The one standing by the bushes there,” Caroline replied.

    Tavington turned around on the bench ready to deliver a verbal lashing to the person invading his privacy. His heart jumped into his throat, however, when he saw who was standing there. It was Juliana. How long had she been there, he wondered. It didn’t matter. The look on her face told him that she had seen enough.

    /\/\/

    Juliana wanted to kick herself. She wanted to kick herself, then cease to exist. She’d been such a fool. What made it so bad was that it wasn’t the first time. Would it be the last?

    She looked at her reflection in her bedroom mirror. Had she actually believed that he was going to profess that he had some kind of feelings for her, that he was just going to miraculously change into prince charming?

    Tavington barged into the room without knocking, as usual. Juliana’s back was to him, but he could see her reflection in the mirror.

    “Who is she?” Juliana asked. She didn’t look at him in the mirror. She couldn’t because she felt so humiliated, humiliated because she’d actually allowed herself to believe that Tavington would ever think of her as anything other than a glorified war trophy.

    “Juliana, look at me,” Tavington said with an uncharacteristically gentle tone.

    Juliana turned slowly to him. “I’m tired, Colonel,” she said. “I’d like to retire for the night.”

    “I know,” Tavington said. “However, I feel like an explanation is in order.”

    “That isn’t necessary, Colonel,” Juliana said. “I understand.”

    “No, I don’t think you do.”

    “But I do know what I saw,” Juliana said.

    “What you saw was not what it appeared to be,” Tavington claimed.

    “Colonel – please don’t … don’t make me out to be more of a fool than I already feel like I am,” Juliana pleaded. “Please. Can’t you spare me at least once? Just this one time?” Juliana turned back to the vanity and began to remove the pins from her hair. “I don’t care if you’re courtin’ her, Colonel. You’re probably gonna marry her, too. I don’t care about any of that, though. I don’t have the strength to care anymore. But can you please just leave me out of this? Can’t I just be your servant? Please. Is it so much to ask?” She turned to face him again, but it looked as if nothing she’d said had even registered with him. She turned back to the mirror.

    “I have to go see Ms. Staton home,” Tavington said. “We are not finished, here. We’ll talk about this more when I return.”

    “I’ll be asleep,” Juliana retorted defiantly.

    “You will be awake, and we will discuss this,” Tavington said forcefully.

    Juliana didn’t argue this time. It was futile. She just let him walk out. Part of her – a large part – hoped that he wouldn’t come back.

    The door closed behind Tavington as he left. Juliana turned back to the mirror, and something caught her attention in the reflection. Something was moving in the near-darkness behind her. She turned, but before she could say anything, this mysterious person darted out of nowhere and rushed at her. Juliana saw nothing but a flash of red before the intruder grabbed her from behind and slapped his hand over her mouth.

    “Be quiet!” the man whispered harshly. “Don’t say one word. One word. Do you understand me? Just nod.”

    Juliana did as she was told and nodded. She was still facing the mirror, so she lifted her eyes to see who her assailant was. She couldn’t believe who she saw in the reflection behind her. It was Joseph Robinson, the officer she’d met at the market. His dark eyes stared intensely at her through the mirror.

    /\/\/

    Tavington knew something was amiss the moment he stepped into the house. The place was a wreck, and it wasn’t because of the party. He walked into the sitting room and found that it had been completely torn apart. Tables and other furniture had been overturned. The other contents of the room lay broken on the floor.

    Tavington moved from room to room, and each one was in a similar state as the sitting room. And there was something else: The house was uncharacteristically quiet. Tavington knew that Juliana had said she was going to sleep, but the rest of the servants, at least, should have been busy cleaning after the party. Tavington knew they hadn’t already finished; he hadn’t been gone long enough to allow that. Something was wrong.

    Tavington cautiously ascended the stairs to the second floor of the house. The first room he intended to inspect was Juliana’s bedroom. It was possible that she’d slept through whatever caused the turmoil on the lower floor, but Tavington doubted it. He opened the door, expecting to find it in complete darkness. What he found, however, were the candles still burning brightly, as they had been before he’d left earlier. He looked around the room, at the bed. Juliana wasn’t there.

    He backed out of the room and immediately proceeded to check the other rooms on the second floor, including his own. Each of them had been torn apart, and he found neither Juliana nor any of the house servants. He returned to the first floor and walked outside. First, he went to the back lawn and found it completely deserted. Then he went to the small stable on the side of the house where he kept his horse. The horse remained, but Tavington was convinced it was the only other living creature on the premises. What had happened to the rest of his household and to the house itself?

    The rustling sound coming from the side of the stable caused Tavington to draw his dagger in anticipation of an attack. He was silently relieved when William, one of his servants, came out of the bushes.

    “William,” Tavington said.

    “Yes, sir,” the young black man said. “I didn’t mean to surprise you like that.”

    “William, what happened? The house is a mess and everyone’s gone. Where are they?” Tavington asked.

    “I don’t know, Colonel. A group of soldiers gathered ’em up and carried ’em off. I stayed out of the way ’cause I didn’t know what they was here for. I didn’t see ’em walk in, so reckon they must’ve been left over from the party. I don’t know what they wanted.”

    “Soldiers?” Tavington questioned.

    “Yes, sir. Redcoats.”

    “British?” That didn’t make any sense to Tavington. It was a well-known fact that the house was no longer in rebel hands. “Prepare my horse,” Tavington ordered. William nodded and got right to work.

    Why would British soldiers ransack the house of another British officer and confiscate his slaves, Tavington wondered. He didn’t know the answer, but he was going to find out.

    /\/\/

    “It is official, Colonel Tavington – no commanding officer in this area authorized any raids in Charles Town within the past week.” Cornwallis marched into his office at Fort Carolina. Nearly a week had passed since Tavington’s home had been pillaged, and Tavington was no closer to an explanation now then he’d been that night.

    “This is rather unfortunate,” O’Hara commented.

    “It is, isn’t it?” Tavington said, his tone insolent. “Wouldn’t it be a shame to find out that one of our very own committed such an act in the name of vengeance?” He spoke to O’Hara but kept his eyes focused straight ahead.

    O’Hara, on the other hand, glared a hole into the side of Tavington’s head as he approached him. “Are you insinuating something, Colonel?” he asked.

    “Gentleman, now is not the time for petty squabbles,” Cornwallis intervened. “We have are faced with a problem that has the potential to grow into something very serious. We have been infiltrated, and we don’t know who the responsible party is. Colonel Tavington, were any letters or papers missing from your home?”

    “A few letters of a personal nature, my lord. That was all,” Tavington replied. The scoundrels had run off with all his letters from Caroline. What a pity, Tavington thought sarcastically.

    Cornwallis looked from Tavington to O’Hara. “Well, gentlemen, it seems that we’ve come to a dead end. We have no way of knowing who these rabble are, and we have no way of finding them. We should consider ourselves lucky in that they didn’t get away with anything more valuable. Colonel, I’ll see to it that you receive more servants for your household.”

    Tavington swallowed. “Thank you, sir,” he said. He didn’t want more slaves. He wanted Juliana. Cornwallis was correct, however; they were at a dead end. Juliana was long gone, and Tavington felt like a fool for the way he’d treated her. He felt like a fool for trying so ardently to control his emotions. Would it have been so terrible to explore the possibilities with her? He would never know now because there was nothing he could do about any of it.