Every Rose Has a Thorn (The Patriot Romance story)

Chapter 5

Tavington stayed on his horse, waiting by the back entrance in the rain. Holding his pistol in his hand, waiting for Clara to come out, daring her to come out.

"Colonel," Captain Bordon walked up to him, "It's late, maybe we should get back to camp," He tried persuading Tavington to leave.

"No, we will wait until this girl comes out of those doors!" The Colonel snapped, glaring at Bordon. The captain gave the higher-up a sad look.

"Sir-"

"Quiet," Tavington said in a low voice, "Remember your place, I'm your boss."

"And Lord Cornwallis is yours." Bordon quipped, "You need to remember your place."

Tavington shot an angered look at the Captain before going silent, rain continued to fall on both the men. The Colonel called his men and looked at each of them.

"Take watch every other hour," He ordered, "If the girl doesn't come out by them, burn the building to the ground."

The men slowly nodded their heads, a lot of them didn't agree with The Butcher's tactics but they had no opinion on the matter. Tavington dismounted his horse and stood at the front doors of the church. He looked inside the windows and saw Clara sleeping on the pew, her brown hair covering most of her face, the dim candlelight reflected perfectly on her light tanned skin. He smirked, opened the large doors, and moved to the bench she was laying on. He knelt next to her and brushed her hair out of her face, looking at her peaceful face. She looked almost beautiful, she looked so relaxed, deep in her sleep. Tavington pet her hair softly but being careful not to wake her up, he couldn't do that to the pretty girl. He felt something change within him, a sense of possessiveness rushed over him. His eyes twitched, he stood up straight and looked around, he had to make sure no one was around, he pressed his lips to her temple gently before he got up and left the church. He continued to wait outside the doors, not daring to leave. His precious treasure was inside.

In the morning, Tavington woke to his men holding torches.

"Do your orders still stand sir?" One of his men asked in a timid voice, Tavington shook his head and looked at the churches big wooden doors.

"No, leave and head back to camp." He demanded, they all put out their torches, got on their horses, and left the town. Tavington stayed and after an hour, he spotted Clara creeping out of the back doors. He headed over and wrapped his strong arms around her, she squealed but he placed his hand over her mouth.

"Shhh," He whispered in her ear, "You're mine now."

She squirmed and managed to lick his hand, he drew his hand away and she took off running into the woods. Tavington quickly got on his horse and took after her.

Clara ran through the brush, sticks and branches pricking her face. Her heart was pounding out of her chest.

"I just got home!" She squealed and fell into a creek, scraping her knee on a sharp rock. She collapsed and water splashed everywhere. She got up and twisted her ankle in the process. William Tavington finally caught up and he wasn't pleased. He grabbed her bicep and she looked at the man with fear in her eyes.

"Let go!" She screeched, trying to get away from the man.

"You're mine," He growls, "You belong to me."

They stared at each other, her eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"Bastard," She muttered, William got off his horse and looked down at the girl.

"You're coming back with me."

Clara slapped the man hard across the face, Tavington grabbed her wrist and squeezed it hard. Clara took off running again but was then tackled to the ground by the man who hogtied her. He picked her up and laid her across his horse.

"You bastard! Let me go! I'm not your property! I belong-" Tavington shoved a cloth in her mouth to shut her up.

"You talk too much," He said in a low voice as he mounted his horse. They rode back off to the red-coat camp. He took her off and headed to a pole near his tent. He tied her up there and knelt in front of Rose. She looked away from him in defiance. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"You'll stay here until you learn to behave yourself." Tavington snarled, looking straight into her eyes. He gets up and walks away.

Bordon saw the whole thing go down, he jogs up to the Colonel and grabs his arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tavington snapped, glaring at the man.

"What do YOU think you're doing!" Bordon retorted.

"Breaking her."

"Why?"

"Stupid girl needs to learn how to mind her manners."

"She's a child!"

"An unintelligent one for that matter," Tavington straightened his uniform.

"You're bloody mad!"

"I'm merely doing one's duty." He motions for a few red-coats to come over, "Give her no food or water for the next 3 days."

"Yes Colonel Tavington." They say in unison, their voices having the pure sound of sadness and guilt, they didn't want to torture this child, but they didn't have much of a choice. They would be charged with treason if they went against their orders. Tavington smirked and looked over at Clara, he raised an eyebrow and looked her up and down, examining her state. 

"We'll see if she still feels spirited after these next few days."