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Bordon's Girl	By : JScorpio Category: M through R > Patriot, The Views: 2666 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own "The Patriot" or its characters and make no money from this story

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
CHAPTER 4 Dinner With
the Officers
The late dinner in the dining room at Surrey Hills
was a small gathering. It consisted of Colonel Tavington, and the commander of
another Green Dragoon unit, Colonel Banastre
Tarleton. Also in attendance was the new second in command, Captain Gregory
Wentworth. Rounding out the group was Lieutenant Peter Scott, the provisional,
who was now third in command. The lone civilian at this officer�s gallery was
Miss Tessa Bordon.
The plantation was quiet this evening as the men
had been given a night�s liberty, so most of them had left the estate. This
gave the commanders the rare occasion to have an extended and formal dinner
together, instead of eating quickly or meeting one another on the run.
During dinner, the talk was mostly about the
latest happenings in England, and the men�s favorite places in the Colonies.
Tessa was polite and charming even though she did not say much. She liked
listening to the men. They were all amazed that she did not seem as shy as she
once was.
As dessert and warm drinks were served, everyone
seemed to ease even more. Colonel Tarleton sat back in his chair and informally
crossed his arms behind his head.
�So, gentleman,� he began, �Would anyone care to
wager how many of my men I am going to have to bail out in the morning?�
�Depends on where they were going,� Captain
Wentworth chimed in. �Were they patronizing the pub or the local brothel
tonight?�
�Captain Wentworth,� Tavington admonished gently,
�Remember yourself. We have a lady in our presence
tonight.� He raised his eyebrows at the young officer and shot him a sideways
glance.
�Sorry,� he apologized, bowing his head to Tessa.
�Nonsense,� she countered with a smile. �It is your
dinner, gentleman. I am just a guest. Speak as you want.�
All the officers glanced silently at each other,
amazed at how amiable she�d become. She was always so
timid when her father was around. Now, it was like she had stepped into his
boots for the time being. Truly she had, given the fact that she must act in
his stead as far as household and responsibility were concerned.
�Cheers, Miss Bordon,� Tarleton acknowledged her
kind words. He flashed her a warm smile, then turned
back to the other officers. �I suppose I�ll have to take a wagon over to the
Fort to haul them all back in!�
This elicited polite laughter from the men and a
quiet smile from Tess. Tavington then spoke up.
�You know, Ban, you can always ride into town
tonight and try to stop the trouble before it begins.� William cocked his head
to the side as he said this and smirked at Banastre.
Lieutenant Scott and Captain Wentworth burst into
howls of laughter at this. William could only keep his composure for a few
seconds more, then laughed aloud with them. Tess
looked about the table at the men, amused at them and smiling. She was glad she
had taken the Colonel�s polite invitation to attend.
While the other three officers continued their
peals of laughter, Ban looked down the table at Miss Bordon and grinned
roguishly at her. �Pay no heed to these peasants and their laughter, Miss
Bordon,� said Tarleton as he flirted with her, �for they seek only to discredit
my fine upstanding and my gentlemanly ways.�
�Miss Bordon, we are laughing because if he went
into town, he�d wind up in more trouble than his men,� Captain Wentworth
remarked.
�Yes,� William agreed. �Then I�d have to bail him
out as well!�
Banastre raised his eyebrows and sneered. �Life is worth living to
the fullest every day, hmmm?�
As the dessert plates were cleared and warm drinks
refilled, Lieutenant Scott looked over at Tessa. �Miss
Bordon, if I may ask, and if my superiors will forgive me for doing so, how did
you come to address Major Bordon as �Father�? It�s
just that��
�Lieutenant,� Tavington interrupted, �We must
allow the Bordon�s their privacy.�
�No. It�s quite alright, Colonel Tavington,� she
defended, �He may ask me.� She looked back at Scott and gave him a reassuring
look. �Go on, Lieutenant, you were saying?�
�Well, your brother doesn�t
let on much to any of us,� stated Scott. �I mean, we know of your parents�
death and the fire, but that is as far as it goes. I don�t even think he
confides in the Colonel.�
�He�s not imparted much more to me than that on
the subject,� Tavington declared.
�That�s understandable,� Tess said. �I think he
was very traumatized by the whole thing. It is still hard for him to speak of,
even to me. I can speak of it freely because I don�t
remember our parents. I was but a month old when they were killed. He was 16.�
She took a drink of her coffee and continued. �You
see, as I understand it, he watched the house burn down with our parents still
inside of it. They did not make it out. Our father shouted at him to get me
from the crib and get out and that he would help our mother out the other end
of the house. Geoffrey stood on the front lawn with me in his arms as he waited
for them and watched the house consumed by fire.�
�Does he know how the fire started?� Banastre asked, leaning forward in his chair. All the men hung
on her words, interested in the story that Geoffrey always kept a mystery.
�He thinks it was in one of the fireplaces,�
answered Tess. The men nodded their heads and she went back to speaking. �We
lived on a farm in the middle of Surrey and there were no neighbors nearby to
help. After they died, Geoffrey inherited the land and our father�s business.
He sold off the business, which had done well, and that money helped to support
the two of us. He rebuilt a house on that land. He farmed what he could as he
went into the cavalry. He eventually purchased a commission.
There was enough, as well, to afford a nanny to
take care of me while he was away or on duty. But, any other time, it was just
he and I. Both sets of grandparents were dead. The only relative left living
was our father�s sister. She is Auntie Relda Bordon,
an old maid who is very distrustful and bitter.�
The men could see Tess bristle momentarily as she
spoke of this woman. She took another sip of her drink and continued.
�Geoffrey says that our father told him on the day
of my birth, that if anything ever happened to him, that he would be the head
of the household and would have to take care of our mother and me. So, when
they both died, he felt it was his duty. Auntie Relda
offered to take me in, but he did not want to give me up. I am glad he didn�t.�
She shuddered and laughed. The men could tell that she was glad she didn�t end up living with her bitter old aunt.
�Really, he could have given me up to her,� Tess
conceded, looking thoughtful as she talked, �but, I think that our father�s
words weighed heavily on him, and he took them to heart. So, Geoffrey took it
upon himself to raise me. Thus, I�ve called him
�Father� from the day I could speak because I really knew no different. He has
always treated me more as his daughter than a sister. In fact, I thought he was
my real father until I was 10. It was then that I asked him why I didn�t have a mother and what happened to her. You see, I
thought that maybe he had been married to a woman who would be my mother and
that she had died, or run off, for he never spoke of it. It was only then that
he told me that he was my older brother and what happened to our parents. I
understood, yet, could not comprehend that someone else other than him had been
my parents. Really, a parent is someone who raises you�it may not necessarily
be a blood relative. It is the person who protects you and nurtures you as you
grow.�
All were silent as they watched her. She looked
very much at peace as she said those last words to them. Then, she knitted her
eyebrows as another thought entered her head. �I think my brother is very
handsome. I never understood why he didn�t find a lady
to love when he was younger and settle down. That would have made his job of
raising me much easier. I was very much surprised to hear that he had fallen in
love with a local woman here. I really thought he didn�t
think about love because he was busy with me, or had just given up on it. I was
as in the dark as you all were�I knew nothing about it.�
With that she stopped, not wanting it to lead into
the subject of her father�s arrest and the affair with this lady. Tess simply
did not feel up to talking about that subject. She handed her teacup and saucer
to a servant that was clearing the table and concluded her words to the curious
officers. �So, you see, that is why I refer to him as my father, because that
is all he has ever been to me. We are very close, and I love him more than
anything.�
All the officers were very moved and appreciative
of her candor. They were also charmed by the sweetness of her words of love for
her brother.
A moment later, after she�d
finished speaking, they moved into the parlor. They were served wine. As the
men stood about sipping their drinks and talking, Tess moved to the fireplace
and looked at some porcelain figurines that were on the mantle. Colonel
Tavington stepped nonchalantly away from the other four who were busy chatting,
and made his way toward the young lady. When he joined her there, he turned his
back to the others, acting as if he was also admiring the fine porcelain with
her.
He bent his head down slightly to talk to her. �I
will see you tonight,� he requested discreetly and in a very hushed tone. �In my quarters in a few minutes.�
�Alright,� she acknowledged, equally as hushed.
William then walked over to the servant and asked
for brandy snifters. The servant came through in an instant, collecting the
wine glasses and giving each man a snifter. Tavington brought a bottle of
brandy over from the sideboard and filled the men�s glasses himself. As he did
this, Tess politely refused the snifter from the servant and put her empty wine
glass on the tray. She then joined the officers again.
�Gentleman,� she began, �I must excuse myself now
and let you have some part of the evening to yourselves.� She raised her
eyebrows and smiled at them. They smiled back and nodded their heads.
She continued with her valediction. �Thank you for
your gracious invitation and your fine company this evening. It was much
needed.� Tarleton and Tavington each kissed her hand and bid farewell. As Scott
kissed her hand in turn, Tavington looked over at Wentworth.
�Captain Wentworth, would you do the honor of
escorting Miss Bordon to her suite, please,� Colonel Tavington requested.
�Certainly. The pleasure is mine,� he answered politely and offered
his arm to her. �Miss Bordon?�
�Good evening, brave officers,� said Tess. With
that, she hooked her arm through Captain Wentworth�s and let him lead her away.
In a moment, they arrived at the door of her room.
�Thank you,� she said to the Captain as she opened the door.
He took her hand and kissed it. �Goodnight, Miss
Bordon.�
�Goodnight,Captain,�
she replied with a smile.
The Captain left her and rejoined the officers in
the parlor for Brandy. Tessa went into her room. She sat in the reading chair
and tried to read, but was too nervous to concentrate. She was going to meet
Tavington in a few moments. She closed her eyes and smiled as she imagined his
lips on hers.
- 4
- 5
- 6
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Bordon's Girl