The Queen's Colonial

by Peter Watt

  Ian realised that the man was a natural bully who used his size to impress his friends – if he had any.

  Herbert tugged on his sleeve, saying, ‘Samuel, he can have my boots, and an apology.’

  ‘That will not happen,’ Ian said.

  ‘If there is going to be any trouble, you two can leave my premises,’ the publican growled from behind the bar.

  ‘Suits me,’ Ian said casually, hiding his apprehension. The fiddle died away and the drunken patrons became aware that trouble was brewing.

  It was the local bully who took up the offer and pushed his way to the entrance. Ian followed with Herbert in tow.

  ‘Sam, it is not necessary to get into an altercation,’ he pleaded. ‘The man looks to be a dangerous brute.’ Ian ignored him as the patrons spilled out from the bar to witness the expected short, sharp defeat of the well-dressed stranger. From the corner of his eye, Ian could see the raven-haired girl join the ring of spectators, now around the circle of light from the village streetlamp, who were already cheering the local man Ian was facing. He had already removed his coat and Ian could see that he was a head taller than he but was intoxicated.

  ‘Show him what’s what, John,’ a voice called as Ian passed his own coat to Herbert.

  With a grin, the local champion charged at Ian, who stepped aside and swivelled to deliver a vicious punch to the kidney area of his opponent. It was delivered with the muscle of a blacksmith’s arm, and his opponent doubled in pain. With a groan, he turned to resume his attack on Ian, who half-crouched. When the bigger man was within range Ian delivered a rapid rain of punches to his face and stomach that took the local thug off-guard. No one had ever stood up to him before. Ian was aware that he had to finish the fight fast, and grabbed the man behind the head, smashing his knee into his face, bursting open his opponent’s nose. The local bully collapsed, but hefted himself on all fours. Ian did not hesitate but lashed out with his boot, catching the man in the face once again. The big man rolled on his back, clutching his badly damaged face with both hands. The crowd that had been calling for Ian’s blood had fallen into a hush of shock. The show was over.

  ‘Who are you?’ a male spectator demanded.

  ‘Samuel Forbes,’ Ian replied as Herbert passed his coat. Already, a couple of the defeated man’s friends were helping him to his feet, to take him inside the public house for an ale.

  No other words were said as the crowd retreated to the bar, leaving Ian and Herbert alone. At least it seemed that way until Ian noticed the raven-haired girl step into the light before them.

  ‘So, you are Samuel,’ she said. ‘We met a long time ago when we were both young at your family’s manor. I know your brother, Charles.’

  Ian frowned. ‘May I ask your name?’ he asked.

  ‘I am Jane Wilberforce,’ she replied with a sly smile. ‘I am a seamstress, but many from here say that I am a witch. Traditional superstitions continue in this district, despite the church teaching that paganism is dead.’

  Ian could feel the power of her beauty drawing him in, as she kept his eyes locked on her own.

  ‘Sam, we must return to the manor,’ Herbert said urgently, as if he believed Jane really was a witch.

  ‘You said that you know my brother, Charles,’ Ian queried. ‘How do you know him?’

  ‘That is none of your business,’ she replied. She was close enough that he imagined he could smell wildflower scent surrounding her. ‘But he was wrong when he described you as a weak man who is only interested in books and a world without war. I sense in you a true warrior, like those who once defended this country with sword and shield in days of yore. Your brother has badly underestimated you. It might be that you and I will meet again in the future, Samuel,’ Jane said, and walked away into the darkness, leaving Ian with many questions swirling in his head about the mysterious young woman.

  ‘I have never seen a real fight before,’ Herbert said with a note of awe in his voice as he unsteadily attempted to put his foot in the stirrup, and swing onto his mount. ‘You were magnificent, and I cannot thank you enough for standing up for me. Wait until I tell Alice of how you so easily defeated that brute.’

  ‘Alice need not know of what happened here, tonight,’ Ian said from astride his horse. ‘You will need to know how to fight if you are going to be commissioned into the army. I will teach you.’

  The two rode back to the manor under the light of a full moon that had risen above the sweep of green fields and copses of trees.

  Ian could not get Jane’s face out of his mind as they returned to the Forbes estate. He hoped that, as she had said, they would meet again one day.

  Ten

  The following day, Ian met Charles after breakfast in the manor’s library for the discussion on the purchase of his commission into the infantry regiment. According to the conditions of the grandfather’s will, money had been set aside for this purpose.

  Charles assumed his usual stance of holding his hands behind his back as he offered a chair to Ian. Ian suspected that Charles felt that he had the high ground by looming over him.

  ‘Father and I agreed that we will purchase you a second lieutenancy in the regiment,’ he said without preamble.

  ‘I want a captain’s commission,’ Ian countered.

  ‘Good God, man!’ Charles spluttered. ‘That would cost the estate two thousand pounds!’

  ‘I have earned a captain’s commission,’ Ian continued.

  Charles remained silent for a moment, staring out the window at the manicured lawns in front of the manor house. ‘I agree to your request for a captain’s commission,’ he finally said, gritting his teeth.

  ‘Thank you,’ Ian said, rising from his chair.

  ‘Word spreads very fast in the county,’ Charles said. ‘I have been informed that you were involved in a fracas at the village inn last night, with Herbert by your side.’

  ‘Hardly a fracas,’ Ian replied. ‘Just a disagreement that was settled with fists and not duelling pistols.’

  ‘When you join the regiment, you will have Herbert with you. It has been decided that we will purchase a lieutenant’s commission for him. I trust you will be there to give him counsel and protection.’

  ‘That is something we can agree on,’ Ian said. ‘If war comes, as many are saying it will, I will ensure that Herbert is safe.’ Ian had to stop himself from saying, as if he was my real brother. He held out his hand to seal the promise, and Charles accepted the gesture of goodwill with a weak, limp grip. Without another word, Charles stormed from the library, leaving Ian amongst the shelves of precious books. His luck was holding out and his dream of serving the Queen a mere few days away. There was just one matter he felt he should attend to before he returned to London and that late summer’s day, he hoped his luck would still remain.

  *

  Ian rode towards the village, passing farmers at work, stacking hay for the coming winter. It was warm, and Ian stopped to ask a group of labourers if they knew the whereabouts of Miss Jane Wilberforce. One farmer said that she was in the next field.

  Ian continued and saw a solitary figure by a grove of ancient trees on a small hill. He immediately recognised the young woman with the long raven hair. Ian dismounted and left his horse to graze while he walked towards her.

  She raised her hand to gaze at the figure emerging from the sun behind him.

  ‘Master Samuel,’ she said when he was a few paces away. ‘What has brought you to me on this day?’

  ‘I am due to return to London to take up my commission in the army, but did not want to leave until we met again,’ Ian said.

  ‘I knew we would meet again,’ Jane said with a mysterious smile. ‘I had a dream about you last night. Or should I say, a nightmare.’

  ‘I would prefer you had a dream, and not a nightmare,’ Ian said.

  ‘Well, I dreamed that you were two people
and marched with your men in a faraway world of ice and fire,’ Jane said. ‘It was not a nice place, and I saw the snow covered in blood. You were a warrior of great renown.’

  Ian experienced a slight chill in the balmy sun. He remembered how his mother had once predicted the same thing for him, just before she was murdered. ‘I suppose a soldier would live in a world of such things,’ he replied.

  ‘You were leading men,’ she said with a frown. ‘And one close to you could not be saved. I felt your pain in my dream.’

  ‘But it was only a dream,’ Ian said, trying to convince both of them.

  ‘Yes, it was only a thing of the night.’

  ‘Let us not dwell on things that are figments of our imagination,’ Ian said. ‘I would rather know something of you.’

  ‘Come,’ Jane said, taking Ian’s hand. ‘Follow me into the shade of the trees.’

  It was like an electric shock through Ian’s body when Jane took his hand, leading him into the grove of ancient trees. They walked a short distance to a small glade where Ian could see a ring of small moss-covered stones at its centre. It appeared to be very ancient.

  ‘This is the place I come to be at peace,’ Jane said, letting go of Ian’s hand. ‘It is the place where the Druids once came before Christianity chased them from the land. I only know what the old people of the village have told me about the Druids.’

  Ian had read about the history of the Druids and knew it was a pagan time of mystical beings and human sacrifice that began to disappear when the Romans invaded. The stone ring fascinated him, and he felt that Jane was linked to this place.

  ‘Do the people of the village know you come here?’ Ian asked.

  ‘They do,’ Jane replied, gazing at the circle in an almost trance-like state. ‘That is why they whisper behind my back that I am a witch.’

  ‘I would think they call you a witch because you have the beauty that bewitches men,’ Ian replied.

  ‘Do I bewitch you?’ Jane asked with a smile, turning to look into his eyes.

  ‘Have you bewitched my brother, Charles?’ Ian countered.

  ‘He is not your brother,’ Jane said. ‘I sense that you are two people in one. You are not really Samuel Forbes.’

  Her statement unsettled Ian. How could she know?

  ‘I am Samuel Forbes,’ he replied.

  ‘You do not remember me,’ Jane said. ‘I would play with you and Alice when you came to stay at the manor. Even then, my charms had no effect on Samuel, who would prefer to play with dolls and not the soldier games his brother played. But now you have come to me as if we had never met before.’

  Ian was troubled by the young woman’s perceptiveness. ‘What if you were right about me not being Samuel Forbes,’ he said quietly. ‘Would it matter?’

  For a moment, Jane remained silent staring at him. ‘Kiss me and I will know,’ she said and Ian did not hesitate. They embraced, and Ian felt almost giddy when he tasted the sweetness of the lingering kiss that he wanted to go on forever. But she broke away and stepped into the centre of the ancient circle. Ian watched her as she raised her arms to the sky.

  ‘On the sacred lore of the old ones, I swear I will never reveal that you are not the true Samuel Forbes,’ she said before turning to Ian. ‘Who are you? Is Samuel safe and well?’

  Ian was entranced. ‘Samuel is my friend, and is now probably living the life he wished for in the Americas. I am here to protect his future inheritance.’

  Jane stepped from the circle of stones and drew close to him. ‘I am pleased to know Samuel is well, as he was gentle and kind to me when we were children. We all have secrets. Mine is that I am the mistress of your brother, Charles.’

  ‘Why?’ Ian asked, stung by the revelation.

  ‘Because he is very generous to a young woman who has no parents or prospects,’ Jane replied. ‘It is nothing more than that. He always desired me from those times I would go to the manor to be with Samuel and Alice. But, as a simple country girl, I am so far beneath his station, so he married a woman of the class acceptable to the Forbes dynasty.’

  ‘Do you love Charles?’ Ian asked.

  For a moment, Jane gazed across the farming pastures shimmering under the sun. She turned her face to Ian.

  ‘Love is not a word that has any place in what is between Charles and myself,’ she said. ‘It is a mutual convenience.’

  ‘I understand,’ Ian said. He had seen the dire poverty of London’s slums and knew how hard it was for a single woman without family. It was possible if he was in Jane’s shoes, he might have made the same choice.

  ‘I think you do,’ Jane said, and Ian could hear the sadness in her voice. ‘For now, you must go from here.’ She turned away from him. ‘There is a long, dangerous journey ahead of you.’

  ‘I will return in the future to be in your company,’ Ian said. ‘That must have been in your dream.’

  Jane turned to gaze at Ian with a warm smile. ‘I will dream of that tonight,’ she said and touched his cheek with her fingers. ‘Only the old ones of this place know what will happen in the future. There is another secret I may tell you when you return. But I would like to know who you really are before we depart.’

  ‘My real name is Ian Steele and I am colonial born,’ he replied, trusting this enigmatic woman with his secret despite the short time he had known her.

  Ian reluctantly walked away to his horse grazing in the pasture. He forced himself not to look back, lest he weaken in his resolve to be a soldier. He felt as if he was actually part of a dream. Meeting her in such a short time and falling under her spell had seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. But each and every word spoken between them in the grove of the ancient circle of stones echoed in his memory. He knew that when he had the first opportunity, he would return to her.

  *

  Upon his return to London, Ian was outfitted with the uniforms he would require from a fashionable tailor to gentlemen. He was accompanied by Herbert, who was also fitted for his officer uniforms. In addition to the uniforms, both men purchased infantry swords to go with the kit required before joining the regiment. It was a costly enterprise, but Ian also knew it would have been even more expensive if he had joined one of the elite cavalry regiments as an officer.

  Satisfied that they were outfitted, Herbert and Ian returned to the London home of the Forbes family, where Herbert immediately went to his room to change into the uniform of a young officer. When he had done so, he came downstairs to show off in front of his sister.

  ‘Oh my!’ Alice said. ‘You look so dashing, Herbert. You will make young ladies swoon.’

  Herbert beamed his gratitude for his sister’s flattery.

  Ian entered the room wearing his civilian dress, smiling when he saw Herbert preening in his colourful uniform. ‘The uniform suits you,’ he said. ‘You are halfway to becoming an officer of Her Majesty.’

  ‘I believe that we report to the regiment tomorrow,’ Herbert said. ‘I doubt that I will sleep tonight.’

  ‘Charles has arranged everything,’ Ian said. ‘As a matter of fact, I believe we will be welcomed with a dining-in night at the officers’ mess.’

  ‘Oh, which uniform will I require?’ Herbert asked.

  ‘Your mess dress,’ Ian answered. ‘The really nice one you have.’

  ‘That one,’ Herbert said. ‘I must go upstairs and ensure it will be in order.’

  Herbert left Ian and Alice alone as he dashed up to his room to inspect his mess dress. He was like an excited schoolboy on Christmas Eve.

  The smile on Alice’s face had disappeared and Ian looked to her. ‘Is something wrong?’ he asked, and she turned to him.

  ‘I fear that we will be involved in this war between the Ottomans and the Russians,’ she said.

  ‘If we are,’ Ian said, ‘I have already promised you that I will keep an eye on Herbert. Fr
om what Charles has told me, I will be assigned a company of foot, and will request that Herbert be assigned to my company. That way, he will remain close to me.’

  ‘I trust that you will keep our little brother safe,’ she said with a wan expression. ‘I do not know how I would cope if anything terrible should happen to you or Herbert.’

  ‘You know that Peter has said that he will act as a surgeon to the army if we go to war,’ Ian said. ‘I suppose I will also have to include him in the company that I am to watch over.’

  ‘The three most precious men in my life will be together,’ Alice said. ‘Let us pray that the horrible affairs in the Orient come to nothing. My father has sided with Charles to oppose Peter and I being wed, but Peter has promised that when he returns, he will not let anything stand in our way. You must keep him safe.’

  Ian did not reply. He was hoping that very soon he would see action leading his company in war. Alice’s wish was the eternal one echoed down the ages by every mother, sister, sweetheart and wife across the world, when their men faced the possibility of armed conflict.

  *

  The Forbes carriage conveyed Ian and Herbert in their smart new uniforms to the gates of the regiment, where the sentries on duty saluted smartly.

  A hansom cab pulled in beside the Forbes carriage, and Dr Peter Campbell alighted in his best suit, with a broad smile on his face.

  ‘What are you doing here, Campbell?’ Ian asked.

  ‘I felt that I should be with you upon this auspicious day when you pass through the gates of the regiment,’ he replied. ‘Besides, I know one or two of your gentlemen officers from my club, and I’ll take the opportunity to remind them that they owe gambling debts before they go off to war.’

  Ian shook his hand and the three men stepped past the sentries at the gate, striding across the barrack grounds towards the regiment’s headquarters building, passing by a group of soldiers being afforded a break from the hours of drilling with arms on the parade ground. A sergeant called his men to attention when he spotted the officers, and saluted. Ian returned the salute as senior officer. It felt good that he had been able to acknowledge the military gesture.