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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
- 8
- 9
- 10
CHAPTER 8 Fall From Grace
Six weeks had passed since Major Bordon�s incarceration. His faithful daughter came nearly
every day for a visit and chat with him. She would confer with him on things
within the household books that she did not understand or
needed help with. The girl tried not to worry him too much with little things.
This particular morning was very warm. William
Tavington arose later than he�d wanted to. He donned
his uniform, straightened it to near perfection then groomed himself. His hair
was perfect, as usual, in its tightly wrapped plait queue. He put on his pistol
holsters, but left his sabre belt off. Instead he
carried it, belt and sheath, with him to the dining room.
Once there, he found himself alone. Most of the
residents had already eaten and left to attend to their duties. He relished the
solitude at the table. As he waited for the meal to be brought to him, he read
some English newspapers left there that someone had brought over from the Fort.
They were outdated, but it was good to read a newspaper from home nevertheless.
After he filled his belly, he polished off his
coffee quickly then left the table. Will stopped at the long mirror in the
foyer to strap on his sabre. He then picked up his
helmet and walked out into the morning heat. No stable hand met him at the
porch, so he went over to fetch his own horse from its stall.
As he walked across the lane, the estate was
bustling with activity all around him. Servants working, field hands in the
pastures, uniformed soldiers everywhere, residents lounging in the shade. It
was going to be a beautiful day.
He disappeared into the barn and led his beautiful
brown mare, Sasha, out. A stable boy followed behind him with blanket and
saddle. Both he and Tavington prepared the horse to ride.
After he mounted, he saw Captain Wentworth walking
toward him.
He saluted his commander. �Good Morning, Colonel.�
�Same to you, Captain,� he said and returned the
salute. �As you were.�
The Captain eased and looked up at his superior.
�Wentworth, I�m making a quick ride to the Fort to
pick up assignments,� he stated. �I should be back shortly.�
�Very well, Sir,� replied Wentworth.
�You are in charge,� Tavington confirmed. �Carry
on.�
With that, he started his horse off at a very,
slow leisurely walk for she�d not been out of the
stall yet today. He heard laughter to his left and glanced
that direction where he saw Miss Bordon, sitting on a bench surrounded by two
dragoon privates, Kelly and Worthe, and Captain
Wilkins as well. She was laughing and chatting with the men and had a beautiful
smile on her face.
The dragoons were finding her company grand these
days. They had more access to her with her father gone. To their innocent
delight, she had really come into her own and emerged from her shell. She was
getting better at the art of conversing. This was a welcome change from the
painfully shy girl that their second in command tried to hide from the world.
They found her quite charming.
As Tavington watched the group, he noticed that
she seemed quite at ease with Captain Wilkins. His tall frame was bent down
with one leg up on the bench next to her, striking a dashing and manly pose.
Miss Bordon was looking up at him and beaming. Then she laughed again with him.
He was obviously telling a story, he gathered, from all the gestures he was
making. He could tell that Wilkins was flirting with her.
William felt an unexplained twinge of jealousy
within him. He bristled when he realized what he was feeling. He then chided
himself. Straighten up, Tavington. No need to feel like this. She is just
for sport, part of a bargain. She is using you in this bargain to get something
she wants, and you are using her for satisfaction. It is mutual. There is
nothing more than that, William. She may talk to or flirt with whomever she
pleases. It is no more than a deal. Just because we are using each other
mutually does not mean that feelings are attached. Stiff upper lip!
He gazed at her for another moment. Part of him
wished he was within that group so that she would talk to him and smile at him.
She was so charming when she was with polite company. She had been so cross at
him lately during their little trysts.
God, she�s pretty, he thought. So lovely out here in the daylight. She almost looks like
a different lady than the one he was used to viewing in the dim candlelight of
a bedroom.
Instantly, he wanted her to look over at him and
notice him there. He wished that she would wave at him, or greet him with a
shout. But, her little group was so engrossed in their conversation that she didn�t even notice him.
Stop it, William. Don�t
be ridiculous. Just because you share an intimate act with someone does not
mean that feelings are automatically attached to it! Things will be as they
were once Geoffrey Bordon returns to the estate. Do not get used to the way
things have become.
He shook his head, trying to physically shake off
the confusing thoughts he was having. He then put spurs to his horse, and
trotted toward the fort.
* * * * * *
An hour or so later, Tavington was on his way back
from the fort where he had collected new assignments for the men. His
saddlebags were also full of mail, documents and new maps. The officer looked
around at the brush, keeping his hand near his gun. He couldn�t
afford the maps and documents being taken by rebels should he be ambushed. He
took in all around him and was aware.
The Colonel looked to his left into a clearing
near the road. He saw some odd colored object lying there and rode in to
investigate. He looked down and saw a lavender shawl crumpled up on the ground.
He chuckled to himself as he surmised it had been left in a hurry. Probably one
of his men brought some town girl back for a little romp, was discovered, and
she left her shawl behind as she fled. He left the wrap there, not wanting to
dismount. He�d send a servant out to collect it when
he returned to the house.
As William turned and began to ride out of the
clearing and back to the lane, his mare kicked up a ruckus. He soothed her and
instantly had her back under control. Then she did it again, this time rearing
a few times, each time higher than the last.
�Sasha, Sasha!,� he
scolded. �What�s the matter with you?�
He looked around, trying to see why she was
spooked. He was still able to stay on and control her being the excellent
horseman that he was. Will thought he had her calmed
when suddenly, she bolted again.
This time, she started to charge, then stopped short. Then she reared high again, and moved
forward. On the way down from her action, Tavington�s
forehead hit a thick, low hanging branch that knocked him backwards off the
horse. His left ankle curled under him on the ground, as he landed flat on his
back.
He lay there, seeing stars and bright flashes of
light streaks before his eyes. He closed them a moment and tried to get
oriented, but couldn�t seem to focus his eyes. William
heard Sasha whinny and run. He tried to call for her, but he couldn�t
get his mouth to work, almost as if his mind couldn�t form the words to match
the actions of his lips.
As he lay on his back, he tried to sit up, but was
only able to push up a couple inches from the ground. Momentarily, he couldn�t remember what had just happened or why he was
laying there. He strained to recall.
His eyelids felt heavy, but he fought to keep them
open. His vision had become blurry as he could feel pain shooting up his left
leg. Soon, his world darkened, his body went limp and he then passed out.
Nearby, a Copperhead snake lay curled up. It had
become scared when Tavington and his horse entered the clearing. The snake then
threatened and challenged the horse, spooking it.
After a few moments, as Tavington lay unconscious,
he was not aware that the serpent slithered next to his body. It continued on
its path, not feeling threatened by the still man on the ground. It moved
slowly around him and into the brush.
* * * * * *
It was late morning now at Surrey Hills Estate. It
was still a bustling, active place. Tess Bordon�s
companions from earlier had gone about their duties. She now sat alone and
content, on a bench under a tree. She held a hoop with material in it and was
working on a needlepoint pattern.
She took a break for a moment. As she sipped cool
water from the glass in her hand, she saw what looked like a saddled horse
trotting up the lane between the fields. The field hands were so busy they hadn�t even noticed it. In fact, no one noticed it but her.
Thinking this odd, she sat her hoop down on the
bench along with the now empty water glass. No one seemed to be attending to
the poor animal, so she went over to get the beast. It probably got loose
from the stable or a pen, she thought.
The horse seemed to know where to go. It walked
toward the stables, so she surmised it was one of their horses. She coaxed it
to come toward her. She saw by insignias on the bridle and saddle that it was a
dragoon horse. Then it hit her. This was Colonel Tavington�s
horse, Sasha. But, where was the Colonel?
Tess looked out into the fields but couldn�t see him. She spied down the lane but could see only
clear road. She walked the horse into the barn but he wasn�t
in there either. She asked a passing stable boy if he�d
seen the Colonel, he told her not since he�d left earlier. He took the animal
from Miss Bordon and stabled her.
Miss Bordon scanned the landscape again, but still
did not see Tavington. She then took off on foot down the lane a little ways
just to see if she could find him. She thought it awfully negligent and out of
character for him to loose his horse that way.
Tessa walked for a few minutes on the dirt lane.
She did not want to get out of sight of the barns or field hands, having been
warned by Tavington not to go out unescorted, even upon the estate. She looked
into the woods and across the meadows, trying to see the Colonel.
After some more time had passed, she still hadn�t found him. She was worried a little, but knew him to
be a fierce warrior that could take care of himself. Tess shrugged her
shoulders, not knowing what his thinking was to loose
his horse, and headed back toward the house. She reasoned that he�d show up sooner or later.
On her way back to the house, she thought she
heard a cough in the bushes. She stopped and listened, but heard nothing more.
She walked on again, then heard another cough. Then,
she heard a groan.
She stopped and looked in the direction of the
sounds. Tess started to walk toward the brush then stopped, thinking it may be
a rebel hiding in the bushes trying to trap her.
But, the groaning, albeit faint, bothered her. If
someone was laying in the bushes hurt, she could not
leave them out there to suffer�English, or rebel.
She padded softly into the grass. Once in the
brush, she lifted her skirts and petticoats and stepped over the undergrowth.
Through the bushes, she spied the color red. She immediately knew that one of
His Majesty�s soldiers was hurt. He must have made it on to the estate then
collapsed or something, she thought.
She parted the bushes and made her way to a narrow
path. As she entered the clearing, she gasped and covered her mouth with her
hand. There lay Colonel Tavington on his back. His left leg was bent at the
knee and his ankle curled back underneath. His uniform bore a thin layer of
dust and his helmet was laying near some bushes away
from him, as if it had been tossed there.
Immediately, she stepped over to him and dropped
to her knees beside the injured man.
�Colonel,� she said, lightly shaking him, �Colonel
Tavington.�
All he did was moan softly. She saw no sword or
bullet wounds. There was no blood. She wondered for an instant, what had
happened.
Tess took his hand and stroked his face softly
with the other.
�Colonel?� She gently tried to rouse him, not wanting to alarm him
when he came to. She wondered what she should do. She knew she couldn�t move him herself.
As she looked around, thinking of how to help him,
she saw some markings in the loose red dust�thin ones, as if something had been
pulled or dragged lightly across the dirt. The marks were very close to the
Colonel�s prostrate body.
Then it dawned on her that a snake figured into
whatever had happened. She quickly looked over the Colonel�s body to see if he
had been bit, but saw nothing. As she started to look again, she remembered the
horse strolling up to the house without its rider. She put the equation
together and guessed that the horse had seen the snake and became frightened.
From there, it probably threw Tavington off.
Tess rose to her feet. She lifted her skirts again
to exit the clearing. She was going to get a wagon, or someone to help her get
him back to the house. She stopped, though, when she heard the Colonel start to
mutter incoherently.
Feeling pity for the man, she went back to his
side to try and comfort him. �Colonel,� she spoke softly, �Colonel Tavington.
Can you hear me?�
He began to move his head a little. She could see
him trying to open his eyes. He raised one of his arms weakly. She caught his
hand and held it, caressing it with the other hand, trying to make him feel
secure.
�Colonel, it�s Tessa
Bordon. Can you hear me? Please try to open your eyes if you can. Colonel
Tavington?�
The man�s eyes fluttered, then
opened to small slits. He groaned again. He opened his eyes a little wider.
�Oh, Colonel, I�m so glad you��
�Oh. Huh? What?� he was very confused.
�It�s Miss Bordon. You are alright. You have had a
bad fall from your horse.�
�Horse�..where��uh��what�.?� He droned
incoherently.
As he looked up from where he lay, his head hurt
horribly. The light hurt his eyes and he could not see clearly. He was trying
to recognize the sweet voice of his rescuer, but couldn�t
quite put the thoughts together in a coherent fashion.
Then, suddenly, he was able to put a picture of a
thought together with the voice. He saw cascades of strawberry blonde hair in
this thought, and it seemed to fit the voice.
�Miss Bordon,� he said in a tired voice.
�Yes, Colonel. It�s me!�
�What happened?� he whispered.
�You don�t remember?�
�What?� The officer was still a bit foggy.
�I think your horse saw a snake and spooked,� she
replied. She was very concerned about him now for he seemed not to remember or
know much.
�Oh.� Tavington then groaned again, trying to
touch his head.
�Lie still, Colonel,�
Tess said. �Where are you hurt at?�
He sighed and had to make an effort to answer her
questions. �My head hurts. When I open my eyes, I can�t seem to focus or see
clearly.�
She thought for a moment, then
spoke. �Colonel, I am going to run to the house and fetch a wagon or get
someone to help me carry you.�
�I�.uh�.oh�.No. Don�t leave me down here,� he begged feebly. �Please help
me up.� He kept waiting for the cobwebs to clear from his head.
�Alright. Let�s get you up to sitting first,� she complied.
She got behind him and tried to support his back
as she helped him to a sitting position. Tessa expected him to cry out with
pain, thinking he may have injured his back, but all he did was wince.
He sat there for a moment as she helped him stay
upright. He told her that his back only hurt a little compared to his head.
�Could you please help me back to the house,� asked
William. �I just want to go to bed.�
�I don�t blame you,� she said with a smile. She
eased him up to standing. Tess took his arm over her shoulder. She held him
tightly around his waist with both arms, helping him to walk slowly. She looped
the chin strap of his helmet over one of her arms and made their way out of the
clearing.
�Oh,� he whimpered. �Pins and
needles.�
�Yes,� she answered. �Your leg was pinned back
underneath you at an odd will get the feeling back in a few moments.�
William leaned heavily on her as they walked the
lane. Then, he took a step and groaned loudly. He nearly stumbled and took her
with him. He� d missed his footing.
�God, that hurts!� he said, gritting his teeth. �My ankle.�
He limped now, having the feeling back in his leg.
His ankle was painful to him with every step.
�We can stop if you can�t walk further,� she
offered.
�No. I just want to get to the house.� Tavington
prodded himself to keep going. He just wanted to lay
down in his own bed.
An infantry private, who was setting up a tent
near the road in the North meadow, noticed the two of them hobbling together up
the road. He stopped what he was doing and ran toward them. The Colonel could
see the red of his jacket, but couldn�t see details.
His vision was still very blurry.
�Miss, do you need any help?� the soldier asked.
�Yes,� she accepted. �If you could please help me
get him to his quarters in the main house.�
�Shouldn�t we take him to the hospital tents?�
�No. His room will suffice. I�ll have the doctor
come round and see him there,� Tess said.
�What happened?� the private asked.
�I think his horse threw him,� she replied.
Tavington said nothing, still not aware of much. �His vision is blurred and he
can�t seem to remember anything. He has a splitting headache and his ankle is
injured.�
The three soon reached the house. Once inside,
they stepped gingerly up the staircase, carefully helping Tavington negotiate
the steps. When they arrived in his room, they put him on his bed.
�There is a medic in my unit,� the Private stated.
�I�ll send him up to look at the Colonel. I�ll ask one of the servants to come
up as well, on my way out.�
�Thank you, Private.� The private then ran to get
the servant and medic for Miss Bordon.
After the young man left, she took off Tavington�s waistcoat and undid his cravat as he barely
hung on to consciousness. She wanted to make him comfortable.
Instantly, she felt his body go limp and his head
slump forward. He had passed out again. Tess laid him back on the bed. She
slipped his boots and socks off, glad he was passed out. She did not want to
hurt him trying to remove the boot from a painful ankle. She could now see the
ankle and it was swollen and red, already starting to discolor and bruise.
After she put his boots at the foot of the bed,
she went back to his shirt. She undid the collar and let the ruffles fall
around his chest and neck. Then she pulled the tail of it up out of his pants
to loosen it. She didn�t want anything constricting
him.
Miss Burdon turned his head on the pillow slightly
and unwrapped his queue. She gently unbraided his hair
and ran her fingers through it to loosen it. Tess walked to his bureau and saw
his brush laying atop it. She took it back with her to
the bed, where she lightly brushed out his hair. She was surprised at how long
it was; she couldn�t ever recall seeing him without
his hair in the regulation tight plait.
When she was finished grooming his hair, she stood
up and pulled the covers back to slip him into bed. She stopped for a moment
and looked down at him. He was in only his white shirt, fitting loosely about
him and his black breeches. His long, dark auburn hair spilled wildly about the
pillow.
She admired the sight of the unconscious officer.
The girl held her breath a moment, then let it out as
she gazed at him. He is such a good looking fellow, she thought. All the
women around the estate and fort, including her, found him attractive. That was
nothing new. Now, she noticed how handsome he was, especially with his long
hair down. My God, he is so very handsome! She was captivated.
* * * * * *
*
Hours later, after supper, Colonel Tavington
started to regain consciousness. Miss Bordon had been there the whole time. She
even took her meal in his room.
As she saw his eyelids flutter, she clasped his
hand. She knew he�d be disoriented when he finally
came to and wanted to help him through that.
�Colonel,� she spoke in a low and reassuring
voice. �Colonel Tavington.�
He groaned and turned his head away from her as if
she had disturbed him from some blissful sleep. Tess put her hand on his cheek
and gently turned his head back toward her.
�Colonel, are you going to try and wake up for
me?�
To William, the voice sounded far off. It was so
sweet�like music. He tried harder to open his eyes.
�You�re alright,� she reassured as he opened his
eyes to mere slits.
The light, although dim, hurt his eyes, so he
scrunched them tightly shut instantly. Then, he opened them slowly again and
tried to focus on the face above him. He uttered a low groan as his eyes
discerned her face. His vision was better now, but still hazy and not back to
normal.
�Miss Bordon?� he asked sleepily.
�Yes!�
Will could see her smiling sweetly upon him. �Where am I?�
�Your room. Don�t you recognize it?�
�I can�t see very well.�
�Doesn�t the bed underneath you feel familiar?�
asked Miss Bordon.
He was quiet for a moment, trying to let his mind
remember. �Oh, yes.�
Tessa offered him a drink of water. She held his
head up and gave him a swallow of the cool liquid.
�What happened? Did I get a fever?� William could
not remember a thing about the accident.
�You don�t remember me helping you?�
�No. .�
�Well,� began Tess, �your horse spooked. She then
either threw you, or you fell.�
�Where?�
�In that patch of woods just west of the North
meadow,� Tess answered.
She went on to recount her tale of the riderless horse, and how she came upon his prostrate body.
�You were incoherent,� she continued. �You
insisted on walking. I helped you part of the way up the road. Then a soldier
from the infantry helped me the rest of the way to the house.�
�Why not the hospital?�
�Because, it is still crowded from nearby
skirmishes and you aren�t as bad off as those men are. So, I figured you�d want to recover in your own bed. At least that is what
I thought you�d prefer.�
�You thought right,� he replied. �You know me
well.�
Miss Bordon got up from the bedside and pulled
back the covers at the foot of his bed. His ankle was a smattering of
discoloration, red, blue, yellow, purple, and black. It was very swollen.
He crinkled his eyebrows as he watched her, trying
to see what she was doing.
�Ooh,� she said, making a face. �Your ankle looks
horrible!�
�What?� Tavington was confused.
�Oh, I�m sorry,� she apologized as she walked to a
wash basin. �You have a concussion, that�s why you can�t remember anything and
it affected your vision, as well.�
She walked back to him after she�d
wrung out a rag. She put a folded blanket and an extra pillow the maid had
brought to her under his ankle to elevate it. He winced as she did.
�Sorry,� she said. �When you fell, your left ankle
was curled back underneath your leg at an odd angle.� She folded the rag into a
compress. �I can�t believe it�s not broken.� Tess then gently placed the fresh
compress on the painful joint. �It is a severe sprain. The medic wants you to
stay off it for a couple of days. Then he wants you to walk on it after that to
prevent it from stiffening up and to strengthen it.�
She sat back down and conversed with William for a
few more minutes. She worried because he looked so tired. When they ran out of
words, she remained quiet by his side, hoping that he would rest again soon.
Tavington broke the silence. �My head is pounding.
Even my eyes hurt.�
�I�m sure they do,� she remarked sympathetically.
Then, she put her hand on his forehead to check for a fever. His temperature
was fine. She pulled her hand back from his head and picked up her book on the
nightstand. She flipped it open to where she was. As soon as he fell asleep, she�d go back to her room. She felt the worst had passed and
deemed him well enough to stay alone this evening.
Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he seemed in a
panic. He was trying to raise himself up. He was very weak.
�Oh No!,� he cried. �The Dragoons. There�s no one in command.�
�Shhhhh,� she quieted
him. �Easy Colonel.� She gently grasped his shoulders
and pushed him back to the bed. �Everything�s alright,� she cajoled, trying to
calm the officer. �Captain Wentworth and Lieutenant Scott know of your
situation and are in command. They will take care of things until you get back
on your feet.�
�This is not a good business, this,� he remarked. �Two commanders out and two juniors in charge.�
�Hush, Colonel,� she said softly. �They will be
fine. It is what you have trained them well for.� He was finally still on his
bed, sinking comfortably back into it. He had exhausted himself.
After a moment of quiet, he spoke again. �Any news of your father, Miss Bordon?�
�Yes,� she replied. �I hope you don�t mind, but
with you out cold, the Captain went through your saddlebags to find the
assignments you picked up at the Fort. He found a memo from Lord Cornwallis
about my father. It gave an Inquest date.�
�And?� queried the Colonel as he raised his
eyebrows.
�It has been set for two weeks from today.�
�Very good,� he replied. He smiled and closed his
eyes. Tess knew he�d be as relieved as her to have his
Major back at his side. He was badly needed!
Tavington rolled his head slightly to the side to
look up at his nurse. He wished he could see her clearly. He spoke again in a
quiet voice. �Would you mind terribly,� he began slowly, a touch of shyness and
unknowing in his words, �to put your hand on my forehead again. It hurts me so,
but your hand on it seems to help lessen the throbbing.�
�Of course,� she said obligingly. She smiled and
touched his forehead with her fingertips. She then rested her palm on it.
He let out a contented sigh and said nothing. Tess
watched him closely as his closed his eyes. She began to stroke his hair back
softly. His breathing slowed and became deep. As she caressed his forehead and
hair gently, he drifted off to sleep without a word to her.
Tess sat back in her chair, pulling her hand back
to her book. She decided to stay a few minutes to make sure he was sound
asleep. So, she read quietly, even careful to turn the pages silently. It was
important that he rest well after his head injury.
After a few moments, Tess looked up from her
reading and watched the Colonel for a short time. He did not stir. She thought
he looked comfortable enough to leave him now.
She padded silently over to the wash bowl and
wrung out another cold cloth. Once back at his side, she placed it on his
forehead. He laid perfectly still, completely lost to his sleep.
Then Miss Bordon pulled the covers up to his
shoulders. She tucked the blankets in around him loosely to make him feel snug
and secure. She stood over his bed looking down at him. The girl smiled as she
envied him, wanting to sleep that well herself this night.
Last of all, she leaned over him and kissed his
cheek absentmindedly. She thought nothing of this. Innocently, she thought he
might appreciate being �tucked in�. Tess had always loved it when her father
tucked her in and kissed her cheek or forehead. It made her feel safe as she
drifted off to sleep. Besides, this strong and brave commander had insisted
upon her safety days earlier, when he�d saved her life
from that thief. She thought she�d return the favor.
For once, he needed to be watched over and made to feel safe. Tess was glad to
do it.
Miss Bordon whispered to him. �Good night,
Colonel.� With that, she extinguished the lamp and left his room.
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