living in my house. ”
The last word was louder than he had
intended, probably owing to the wine. If Ty truly had not known about Caroline
and Mercier Pitt, he must be the last person in Europe ignorant of the affair,
but his surprise looked genuine. Ty slumped back in his chair, took his glass
and let the matter rest.
Caroline . She had
taken a lover, not he. So why was he was always defending himself when it came
to the state of their marriage?
She claimed it was his coldness that
drove her away. That was probably accurate. Displays of emotion had never come
naturally. If her affection had ever felt anything besides artificial, he might
have had an easier time of it. Matthew shook his head. None of that mattered
now. They both belonged too much to someone else, to ever belong to each other
again. He to the army, and she to Major Pitt.
So be it . She was happy to
remain viscountess, and he was happy to remain five hundred miles from London.
CHAPTER FOUR
16 April, 1815 – Quatre Bras
Fann,
He's up to something, I can feel
it. Astley has run the spectrum of boorishness. He harassed me directly for a
few weeks, then tried throwing me to the general repeatedly (I admit to giving
him some ammunition there). I see little of him as it is, managing my nursing
duties from my own quarters and avoiding the hospital unless absolutely
necessary, but for days now I've not seen hide nor hair of the weasel. I am not
naive enough to think he has given up. Oh well. I could spend the whole day in
knots, but the product of his idiotic scheme will come when it comes. I simply
have to be vigilant.
The men have been idle too long.
I know because two things always happen. They drink more, evidenced by the rise
in facial injuries and bite wounds. And, I provide care for an excessive number
of pregnant women, because there is truly only one thing left for a crocked
soldier to do, once he's finished pummeling his companion. The population of
Belgium will have increased by a third when next we move.
I miss you today, more than
usual. There are some spindly yellow flowers blooming along the wall, reminding
me of when we were girls and would pluck the petals from mother's roses,
listing off the names of our beaus. I am glad mother put a stop to it. Those hateful
flowers predicted I would marry Patrick nearly every time, and see where that
got me?
If she had not loved that plant
so much, I'd root it up and burn it.
You will be proud of me for
reaching an uneasy truce with General Webb. I employ a method called avoidance.
It solves nothing, delays all problems for later, and gives a wonderful if
false impression of being diplomatic when I am really just tired.
Tell William I am sorry to hear
that age is already affecting his memory. He owes me for our last game
of cards, but I am so sad at his confusion that he should consider the debt
forgiven. As far as I am concerned, that puts us even.
Henry's tortoise is tacked to the
post near my bed. His skill with pencil and paper at four years old surpasses
the twenty years I have on him. I appreciate his detail, and the tortoise's
anatomical correctness, but I wonder if it's wise allowing him to use my books
for reference.
Hug him and kiss him a thousand
times...
Matthew set down his quill. The
stacks of dispatches, organized with supernatural efficiency by McKinnon, all
required his equal attention. He had gotten through more than he expected, but
it wasn't a heartening accomplishment. The Prussians were suddenly cool, not
willing to combine forces for anything besides battle. The Dutch government was
doing a poor job with provisions for the reinforcements, leaving everyone
baring teeth over scraps. He would have had enough trouble keeping a thousand
British soldiers well-behaved as it was. His four-thousand allied bodies were
barely controlled chaos. The German cavalry had gotten salty with the Prussian
infantry, filling the brigs more than once in recent weeks,
The last word was louder than he had
intended, probably owing to the wine. If Ty truly had not known about Caroline
and Mercier Pitt, he must be the last person in Europe ignorant of the affair,
but his surprise looked genuine. Ty slumped back in his chair, took his glass
and let the matter rest.
Caroline . She had
taken a lover, not he. So why was he was always defending himself when it came
to the state of their marriage?
She claimed it was his coldness that
drove her away. That was probably accurate. Displays of emotion had never come
naturally. If her affection had ever felt anything besides artificial, he might
have had an easier time of it. Matthew shook his head. None of that mattered
now. They both belonged too much to someone else, to ever belong to each other
again. He to the army, and she to Major Pitt.
So be it . She was happy to
remain viscountess, and he was happy to remain five hundred miles from London.
CHAPTER FOUR
16 April, 1815 – Quatre Bras
Fann,
He's up to something, I can feel
it. Astley has run the spectrum of boorishness. He harassed me directly for a
few weeks, then tried throwing me to the general repeatedly (I admit to giving
him some ammunition there). I see little of him as it is, managing my nursing
duties from my own quarters and avoiding the hospital unless absolutely
necessary, but for days now I've not seen hide nor hair of the weasel. I am not
naive enough to think he has given up. Oh well. I could spend the whole day in
knots, but the product of his idiotic scheme will come when it comes. I simply
have to be vigilant.
The men have been idle too long.
I know because two things always happen. They drink more, evidenced by the rise
in facial injuries and bite wounds. And, I provide care for an excessive number
of pregnant women, because there is truly only one thing left for a crocked
soldier to do, once he's finished pummeling his companion. The population of
Belgium will have increased by a third when next we move.
I miss you today, more than
usual. There are some spindly yellow flowers blooming along the wall, reminding
me of when we were girls and would pluck the petals from mother's roses,
listing off the names of our beaus. I am glad mother put a stop to it. Those hateful
flowers predicted I would marry Patrick nearly every time, and see where that
got me?
If she had not loved that plant
so much, I'd root it up and burn it.
You will be proud of me for
reaching an uneasy truce with General Webb. I employ a method called avoidance.
It solves nothing, delays all problems for later, and gives a wonderful if
false impression of being diplomatic when I am really just tired.
Tell William I am sorry to hear
that age is already affecting his memory. He owes me for our last game
of cards, but I am so sad at his confusion that he should consider the debt
forgiven. As far as I am concerned, that puts us even.
Henry's tortoise is tacked to the
post near my bed. His skill with pencil and paper at four years old surpasses
the twenty years I have on him. I appreciate his detail, and the tortoise's
anatomical correctness, but I wonder if it's wise allowing him to use my books
for reference.
Hug him and kiss him a thousand
times...
Matthew set down his quill. The
stacks of dispatches, organized with supernatural efficiency by McKinnon, all
required his equal attention. He had gotten through more than he expected, but
it wasn't a heartening accomplishment. The Prussians were suddenly cool, not
willing to combine forces for anything besides battle. The Dutch government was
doing a poor job with provisions for the reinforcements, leaving everyone
baring teeth over scraps. He would have had enough trouble keeping a thousand
British soldiers well-behaved as it was. His four-thousand allied bodies were
barely controlled chaos. The German cavalry had gotten salty with the Prussian
infantry, filling the brigs more than once in recent weeks,
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