***
Edward trudged through the sinking, sucking mud that the ground had become since the rain the night before. It had been a few days since he had been in the main camp. His troop had been sent to map out an area and see what the French were up to. It should have been a very easy assignment.
Things hardly ever were as easy as they looked on paper. That was the first thing the major had told Edward upon giving him the peach of an assignment. Edward now was a firm believer in that motto.
He and his men were slogging through another area of forest that had turned into a watershed since the rain when he heard shouts and gunfire. Edward raised his hand. “That sounds like English voices,” he said softly to no one in particular.
The man next to him, a grizzled veteran nodded. “It does sound that way,” the man agreed. His name was Clayton, and he had been with the army for several years to make a better life for his family.
“Stay here,” Edward said as he started through the mud towards the lip of the low lying area where they currently were.
Clayton grabbed Edward’s field jacket and shook his head. “You can’t mean to go alone.”
“I am just going to see what the situation is,” Edward assured the man. “Never ask a man to do something that you would not do yourself. That is something my father says often, and I see why now.”
Clayton nodded. He said, “Just keep your head down, Cap’n.”
“I will try to remember that,” Edward said, as he pulled his right foot from the mud and moved forward slowly.
The ridge Edward peered down from opened up on what used to be a camp. Smoke had drawn the attention of some French troops that were across the gully where the English troops were pinned down behind a large boulder. Edward eased down and back to where his own troops waited.
“There are two soldiers trapped behind a rock. Looks like they got too eager for a campfire, and the smoke drew attention to them,” Edward said as he shifted his musket to the other shoulder so he could stretch the aching joint.
“What will we do?” a young soldier said.
Edward said, “We are going to help them. Every gun counts in this war. It looks like it is just a small patrol of French troops. We can stay back out of sight and fire to distract the French while the soldiers escape. The French are on a ridge that is not too far away, so keeping hidden should not be a problem.”
“I volunteer to go guide the soldiers to us,” Clayton said.
Edward shook his head. “You are a wise soldier, and we need your head for battle. I shall go down and lead them.”
“But, Cap’n,” Clayton tried to intervene, but Edward waved the man off.
Edward said firmly, “I am Captain. We do as I say. I will not risk your lives for a task that is not part of our command at the moment.”
The troops looked uneasy but nodded. Edward handed Clayton his musket. “Shouldn’t you keep it?”
“It will just get in the way,” Edward said with a shake of his head. “Go get in position. I am going to ease down the side of the gully. When I hear you open fire, I will get the men’s attention and lead them back up.”
Clayton nodded. “As you say, Sir,” the man said. He looked over at the other troops. “Come on then,” Clayton said. “Get in position like the Cap’n said.”
The men reluctantly eased into position along the ridge just out of sight. Edward, satisfied that the troops would listen to his orders, picked out a good route down the side of the gully and began getting himself into position.
The first musket fire from Edward’s troops rang out, and it took not only the French troops but also the men in the gully by surprise. Edward could hear their surprised shouts as the firing continued. While the French were distracted, Edward slid down the side of the embankment and shouted over to the men, “Come on you lot!”
The men looked over at Edward and froze for a moment. Then they were scrambling to get to Edward. He motioned up the steep embankment as the first man reached him. “There are troops at the top hiding. Just go as quickly as you can.”
“Bless you,” the soldier said as he slung his musket hurriedly over his shoulder and began climbing.
After the second soldier was started up the steep slope, Edward began climbing up after them. The musket ball hit a rock near him which threw bits of rock up at Edward. He covered his face then began climbing faster. He was not going to wait around to see if it was a stray bullet or if the French soldiers had spotted Edward and his charges on the rock face.
When he finally pulled himself over the ridge and rolled away out of sight in the slight dip of the earth, Edward sighed in relief. Clayton’s face came into view standing over him. “Alive, Cap’n?”
“Just about,” Edward said with a chuckle. The adrenaline was still coursing through his system. “We need to move. They will have sorted out what we did soon, and then they will be after us.”
Clayton nodded. “Better not go the way we came then. That mud is a dead giveaway as to where we are headed.”
“Right, so down the hill on the other side and back along the stream we found,” Edward said quickly before he could overthink it. Clayton seemed pleased enough with the idea and passed the order on. Soon the troop, including their two new members, were all climbing down and moving away from the area. Edward just hoped that the terrain kept the French soldiers busy enough to slow them down.
Edward kept listening for the sounds of boots, but no soldiers overtook them despite the slow pace they had to keep due to the steep and unpredictable terrain of the stream gorge. A younger member of the troop had almost fallen down the gorge to the rocky stream below but managed to grab another soldier who braced him. It was a moment of learning that Edward was glad the young man actually got to learn from instead of paying the price for.
They slept under blankets while leaning against a rocky outcrop. Edward began to long for the plains of flat farmland they had seen on the way to the regiment camp. James and the others had thought them very dull, although they were no duller than the English farmlands, Edward wagered.
They set out a bit before dawn just in case they were still being followed. It took almost a full day’s hike before they were back at the main regiment’s camp. It was like coming home after being gone for so long. Clayton clapped Edward on the back. “It’s always nice to come in after a mission, isn’t it?”
“That it is,” Edward agreed. He trudged along to the tents that were set up for the lower ranking officers. He felt bone weary. No sooner had he sat his pack inside the tent, than a soldier came up. “Captain Dalton, the colonel wants to see you, Sir,” the man said before he swiftly turned and walked away.
Edward knew better than to keep the colonel waiting. The times he had been around the man, he had been at best impatient. The colonel was a man of stern countenance who believed that soldiers should be on time, do as they were told, and know their place. Edward could only imagine what the man would say about Edward’s impromptu rescue of the two soldiers in the gully.
With trepidation, Edward strode towards the field officer’s tents. The one where the colonel stayed was frequently busy with soldiers coming and going as their orders were given and information relayed. Edward had been in the tent a few times since they joined the regiment to debrief the colonel on how a mission had gone or to get new instructions. It was not a place he loved to be, however.
Pushing aside the tent flap, Edward made his way into the tent that was just tall enough for Edward to stand up in without having to stoop. Then again, Edward was taller than most. James had often ragged at Edward about his beanpole-like height, but Edward thought that was more a defence due to James’ shorter stature.
“There you are, Captain Dalton,” Colonel Ainsley said with a smile. He waved to one of the chairs that they kept in the tent. Edward had asked where they got the tents from when he had first arrived. The colonel had simply said they had been procured from locals. Edward had thought it better to leave it at that.
/> Edward sat down and nervously took off his hat. “If this is about my briefing, I had planned to come here as soon as my gear was stowed.”
“It is not,” the colonel said simply as he looked over a paper on his desk. Several moments passed before he looked back up at Edward. “Let me keep this brief,” Colonel Ainsley said as he folded his hands on the table before him. Edward steeled himself for a reprimand as he had heard others got for foolishness. “You rescued two soldiers while you were on patrol, did you not?”
Edward nodded slowly. “Yes,” he said cautiously.
The colonel nodded. “That is what I had heard from your subordinates. They stated that you went into the gully to get the two men and refused to let your soldiers in harm’s way.”
“I know what you are going to say,” Edward said.
The colonel gave him a surprised look. “Do you?”
“Yes, Sir,” Edward said, “and I think it is wrong. You can reprimand me for putting myself in peril, but I am no better than my men. They are actually better than I. Clayton, for instance, is a better soldier than I. Should I risk losing their expertise or forfeit one captain who bought his commission?”
Colonel Ainsley sat back in his seat and studied Edward. Slowly the man began to laugh. Edward stared at him dumbfounded. Of all the reactions that Edward had expected, this was not one of them. He was about to ask the man if something was wrong when Colonel Ainsley shook his head. “Captain Dalton, you misunderstand me.”
Edward looked at the man in confusion. “I am not being reprimanded?”
“No,” Colonel Ainsley said honestly. “Quite the opposite actually,” the man said with a chuckle at the look on Edward’s face.
Edward said, “I am sorry, Sir. I do not understand.”
“I want to promote you, Captain,” Colonel Ainsley said with a shrug of his shoulders. “You see, we have a lot of strapping young men with their fresh commissions in our ranks, but not enough majors to oversee them.”
Edward blinked. “You want to make me a major? I have not been enlisted for—”
“This is war, Captain Dalton,” Colonel Ainsley reminded Edward. “In times such as these, we have some leniency in how we handle these situations. You have shown admirable courage and selflessness. You have also shown yourself a good leader, and a good leader does not hold himself above the mixing pot when making decisions. You did the math, Captain, and you found yourself lacking. I find that admirable.”
Taking a slow deep breath, Edward fought to wrap his mind around what he was hearing. “Thank you, Sir, but what of my men?”
“They will still answer to you, for the time being, and then they will be placed under a new captain. You will assume your duty of making sure that your roster of captains and their teams are doing their duties appropriately. We have a few that may need your utmost attention, I am afraid.”
Edward pressed, “Will my men get any recognition for their parts in the rescue?”
Colonel Ainsley chuckled and shook his finger at Edward. “See there that selflessness is. Keep it in check, or you will wind up a pauper on the streets.” The colonel smiled before he continued, “However, yes they will all receive commendations that will go into their permanent records.”
The idea that his men would share in the glory pleased Edward very much, and he nodded with a smile. “It is only right that they are recognized, Colonel. After all, had they not been providing cover fire, then there would have been no rescue at all,” Edward said reasonably.
“Fair enough,” Colonel Ainsley said.
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A Lady for the Forsaken Earl: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 34