Innocence Lost

Chapter Six

Three days later, Tavington was called to a staff meeting with Lord Cornwallis. He would be gone until late that evening, so Anne would have several hours to herself for the first time since Tavington had abducted her.

Over the last three days, Anne had been slowly losing hope that Gabriel would ever rescue her. Her dreams of once again being held in his arms had faded, as Tavington's embraces filled her days and nights. Tavington was an insatiable lover, imposing his desires on her several times each night, and once again this morning before he left for his meeting with Cornwallis.

Though Anne never forgot for a single moment that the man who held her was a ruthless killer, she slowly began to respond to him as he gave her lessons in the arts of love. How could a man who was so bad make her tremble so with passion?

And for this, Anne was supremely ashamed. Even though she despised this man for what he'd done to her parents, her neighbors, and to Gabriel's brother, she could not deny her desire for him. She could not help but wonder what they'd all think of her now if they could see her with Tavington.

Anne was relieved as she stood on the porch of the Sizemore home and watched Tavington ride away with Wilkins. She needed a rest from the conflicting thoughts and confused feelings that Tavington generated in her.

"Ah, there you are." Charlotte Sizemore stood in the doorway. "The seamstress will be here shortly and I thought I'd have a word with you before she arrives." Indicating two chairs on the porch, she continued, "Let us sit here, so we can have a bit of privacy, shall we?"

"Of course," Anne said as she followed the older woman.

"I'll be frank with you," Mrs Sizemore said as soon as they'd seated themselves. "I would prefer if you would stay away from my daughter Emily, as I think you would be a bad influence on her."

"Bad influence?" Anne was baffled.

"You are living in sin with Colonelingtington," the other woman pointed out. "I don't approve of such goings on, but I do understand I have to make certain concessions for the good of the war effort."

"He abducted me!" Anne cried. "I have no choice in the matter if I ever want to see my husband again!"

"Be that as it may," Mrs Sizemore said with a dismissive wave of the hand, "I saw you out here late last night embracing Colonel Tavington, touching him in a most inappropriate manner. Please do not insult my intelligence by trying to tell me that he was forcing you to engage in this behavior. You were enjoying every moment of it."

Anne turned away, hangier her head in shame. She could not deny the truth.

After a long moment, Anne said, "I'm making the best of the situation until I can go home."

"I'll say you are!" Charlotte Sizemore drew herself up with a haughty sniff. “Let me make one thing clear to you. If it were up to me, I’d have you moved to the tent encampment with the rest of the camp followers.“ Rising from the chair, she said in parting, "I trust that I can count on you to avoid Emily?"

Anne nodded silently, knowing it would be pointless to respond.

William Tavington paced impatiently in the hall outside Lord Cornwallis' office. He'd been kept waiting for over an hour to see Cornwallis and was getting angrier by the second. Tavington was sick and tired of Corlis\lis' cavalier attitude toward him.

Finally, a few moments later, the aide informed him that Lord Cornwallis would now see him. Tavington had to bite his tongue to keep from making a sarcastic remark as he entered his superior's office.

"Ah, Colonel Tavington," Cornwallis said, turning from the window to greet him. "This won't take long. I don't want to keep you from your duties."

The older man seated himself, but did not offer Tavinga cha chair. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened at Pembroke a few days ago..."

"What of it?" Tavington snapped.

"I cannot condone such barbarism," Cornwallis said, his voiced raised a degree. "It reflects badly on England. It reflects badly on me."

"You wanted me to get results, no matter what," Tavington reminded him, his tone testy. "I warned you that it would be sometimes necessary to employ some.....brutality....in order to have a lasting effect on the rebel cause." Curling his lip in contempt, his continued, "I am the one who will not be able to return to England with honor at the end of this war, just so that you don't have to get your hands dirty."

"That will be enough, Colonel Tavington!" Cornwallis abhorred Tavington's bluntness, yet knew all the same that he needed him to handle all the unpleasant matters he'd rather not deal with.

Tavington's face reddened in controlled fury, but he merely said, "Will that be all.....sir?"

"Yes, yes," Cornwallis said, exasperated. "But remember this, my patience has limits. I will only tolerate your extreme tactics just so long as you achieve the desired results. Not a moment longer." At this, he turned back to the window, effectively dismissing Tavington.