“That is nice of her,” James said with a nod.
Edward looked at James intently. The man had been restless and agitated. “The colonel mentioned sending some troops forward to join up with the other regiment. I can put in a word if you are eager to be out of the town for a spell?”
“Might be nice if I just get myself killed,” James said with sarcasm.
There was nothing Edward could do to help his friend’s disposition it seemed. Edward shrugged. “Suit yourself, James. I just thought you might be happier with something to do other than sit around here and stare at this town for another month.”
“Yes, well, I will consider it. I just do not think that Oscar can take it right now. He has been a bit under the weather,” James said as he tapped the table.
Edward nodded. “I have not seen him or Augustus around much since we came here. I had thought perhaps they were just avoiding me.”
“Not everything is to do with you, Edward,” James reminded him with a sneer that made Edward’s temper flare, but Edward pushed the anger down. It would do little good to rise to James’ bait. The man clearly wanted a reason to be angry with Edward, and Edward had no interest in giving him material to work with.
Edward stood up and nodded. “I have to go meet with the officers and get duty rosters ready.”
***
“Augustus,” Edward said in surprise. “What are you doing?”
Augustus squinted at Edward. “Funny thing is, I do not really know. Am I late for something?”
“You are late for duty,” Edward said. He wrinkled his nose as the pungent smell of alcohol wafted over to him as Augustus wobbled in front of Edward. “Have you been drinking again?”
As of late, Augustus had taken to drinking more than was healthy for him. Edward had tried to talk to James about it, but the man was of no use whatsoever. James merely said it was normal for young men to look for an outlet for all of this tediousness.
Augustus frowned. “Ah, I should go do that.”
“I think it might be better if you take a little snooze,” Edward said with some amusement.
Augustus nodded happily as Edward guided him towards the town’s little jail. He would have to write about this formally, but Edward did not think it would hurt Augustus’ records too much. Augustus had been a fair soldier in his time here, and Edward would make sure that this rare occurrence was not to detract from that.
Once in the cell, Augustus was no trouble whatsoever. The man curled up on a cot and went to sleep as if he were curled up on his mother’s bosom with no worries in the world. Edward envied the man that.
***
Colonel Ainsley sighed as Edward came in. The man was overlooking a map in what they had set up as a war room in the inn’s storage room. “Something the matter, Sir?”
The colonel looked up at Edward and said, “Could be.” He pointed down at the map. “We have had reports that the French seem to be trying to move back into the area. Could be that they are going to try and flank us.”
“That would certainly be bad,” Edward said thoughtfully. “Could we perhaps call for the regiments to return?”
Colonel Ainsley nodded. “We have one inbound, but they will not get here for weeks. We are just going to have to keep things in hand until then. How is the morale of the troops?”
“Mine are antsy,” Edward said with a shrug. “It is to be expected. With weeks of constant activity and then almost nothing outside of the odd patrol, tensions are running high.”
Colonel Ainsley confirmed, “I have had similar reports from the other officers. Seems everyone is having a bit of a time keeping their people focused on our mission. I have tried to deter the locals from interacting with the soldiers, but that too seems to have failed.”
“Yes, the locals seem to be taking very well to English occupation,” Edward observed.
Colonel Ainsley chuckled. “Yes, the ones who view us as a steady stream of income are rather happy that we are here.”
***
James walked down the street towards what was the only bar in town. The day had turned into a night that was crisp and cool. He could hear the music and laughter long before he reached the door. James opened the door and stepped into the smoke-filled room.
His eyes quickly sought out and found Oscar and Augustus sitting at a table against the wall. Augustus was attempting to sing along to a French song much to the amusement of the young woman he was entertaining. The young woman sat in Augustus’ lap and stroked the man’s wavy brown locks.
“I do think she is sweet on you,” Oscar chuckled to Augustus. Oscar spotted James and threw up his hand in a grand welcome. “Hello there, friend! Come and sit with us.”
James made his way over to the table where his friends sat. Oscar’s cheeks were red with drink, and Augustus’ eyes were a bit glassy. “How long have you two been in your cups?” James asked with amusement.
Augustus looked over at James and said, “I do not remember. It isn’t like there is much to do around here that requires us to be alert.”
The French woman giggled as Augustus’ head lolled back a bit. James eyed his friends with mild disgust. He had always been the one to lead them to drink and fraternize with women, but it appeared they could do both to excess without him. James had to admire their frame of mind, though.
A hand on his shoulder made James look around. A petite young woman said something in French to him that James knew from experience indicated that she was looking for more than just a drink. James gave the young woman a grin and tipped his hat to his friends as he followed her to an upstairs room.
The young woman said in a thick French accent, “I have seen you around town.”
“Have you?” James asked as he followed her into the room that was occupied sparsely with just a bed and a dresser.
She nodded and twisted some of her light brown hair around her finger. “Wee,” she said softly.
“What makes you do this sort of thing for a living?” James asked curiously. “Pretty young women like you should be married by now.”
She smirked. “I probably would be, but my uncle likes the money I bring.”
“Ah, I have a family like that,” James said thoughtfully.
The woman pursed out her lips. “Are you some sort of officer?” She fingered the bars on his coat.
“I am a captain,” James said with a shrug. He was growing tired, and the novelty of the conversation was wearing off.
She nodded. “You are one of those men that bought their rank then?”
Something about the way she said it as she stood there undressing made James angry. He was angrier than he could remember being. Perhaps it was more that the anger he had been holding refused to be pushed down anymore.
“What is wrong with a captain?” James snarled.
The young woman looked startled by James’ question. She shook her head. “Nothing,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
“I’m not upset,” James whispered angrily. “I am just tired of everyone thinking I am not good enough. Would you prefer a major between your legs? Is my money not as good as his?”
The young woman was still shaking her head as if to deny everything that James was saying. “I didn’t mean anything. I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Everyone prefers Edward,” James growled. “Well, why don’t I just send you to wait for him? He will be along to see you shortly.” He struck the girl who started to scream, but James grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth.
His mind was racing, and his anger urged him on to further action. If he let the girl go then surely, she would tell someone. She would tell someone, his mind kept telling him. That was the last reasonable thought that James had until he came back to himself with his hands around the girl’s throat.
James staggered backward, and the young woman’s body slid down the wall and slumped against the floor. “Oh God,” James muttered as he looked at his hands. “They will court-ma
rtial me. I will be disgraced.”
He opened the door and peeked out. The sound and laughter from downstairs seemed the same. Perhaps no one had heard the struggle. James turned back to the girl’s lifeless body, cringed, and picked her up. He put her under the covers on the bed so that if anyone came in, they would just think her sleeping.
Once he had finished that grim task, James went downstairs as discreetly as he could. Oscar and Augustus were still at their table laughing away at something. James came over and asked them in a strained voice, “Can I talk to you two upstairs?”
“What? Why?” Augustus asked entirely too loudly.
James’ eyes went to the French woman on Augustus’ lap. “Leave us be. He is too drunk to be of use to you,” James said to the woman. He saw her frown, but she did as he asked.
Augustus protested, “I love her, James. I might marry her.”
“Shut up, you miserable drunk,” James said. “Come on, both of you, barring you can still walk.” James watched them grumble but get to their feet. He led them back upstairs and away from the noise of the patrons below.
Augustus staggered into the room and said, “Oh no, someone’s in here. We gotta be quiet!”
“Then why are you shouting?” Oscar asked with a shake of his head.
James silenced them with a wave of his hand. Although most of the patrons were too far into their drink to notice, James preferred not to raise the suspicion of the owner of the establishment. It was not that unusual for men to share a woman in these parts, and James just hoped the man thought that was what was taking place.
James shut the door and went over to the bed. “She is dead, and I need your help, my friends,” James said. As he had moved the young woman’s body, a hasty plan had formed in James’ mind. “Her uncle will be along soon to check on her.”
“Her uncle?” Augustus asked in confusion. He frowned then his eyes went wide. “You mean she is a prostitute?”
“Yes,” James said, “but you do not seem to grasp what is about to happen. Her uncle will tell everyone that I killed her.”
Oscar asked, “Did you?”
There was a moment before James said through a forced show of tears, “I do not remember doing it, but I must have. I came to my senses, and I had my hands—” James let his voice break. He dredged up all the old memories and let them fuel his emotions. “He will have me brought up on charges.”
“Oh no, James,” Augustus said with a shake of his head as the liquor’s effects finally started giving way to the soberness of what he was witnessing. “They will lock you up for sure.”
Oscar said, “What can we do? You have always been there for us, and I think it is time we paid you back for that.”
“There was never a debt between us,” James assured Oscar humbly. “But perhaps if I could get the man to just say it was someone else that did it.”
Augustus scoffed, “You will need some coin for that. If he didn’t love his niece much, though, he might do it.”
“My father told me of such a thing that he had witnessed in London while on official duty. It could work,” Oscar said as he rubbed his chin. “But who would you get him to point the finger at around here? One of our own men?”
“Perhaps someone we all know very well,” James ventured. “Edward has done nothing but make our lives worse here, just as he did back home.”
Augustus frowned, but it was Oscar who replied, “I have no love lost for Edward, but to do that to poor Emily. She loves him dearly.”
“And that is the worst sin of all,” James said with quiet intensity. “He turns her against us. Yes, I have seen his letters to her, even if he does not know that I have. Even before we left home, he was seeking to turn her against us. Does she not deserve to know the kind of man she has pledged to marry? As her friends, do we not have a duty to help her?”
Augustus shook his head. “Edward is tightly woven, but I do not think he deserves to be court-martialled for it.”
“What is a prison sentence? He will pay his way out,” James said coaxingly. “When has Edward ever paid for his crimes?”
Oscar nodded. “I have some coin stashed back. You can have it.”
“I have some too,” Augustus said when Oscar threw him a menacing look. James knew he had won. Oscar was a formidable man before they had ventured from England, but with army life, the man had gained more muscle on top of his intimidating girth.
James said, “Good. Let us just hope we can get her uncle to agree.” James’ eyes went to the still form that lay covered up in the bed. He might not have intended to harm the girl, but in the end, she might help him get just what he wanted.
Finding the girl’s uncle had been easier than James had anticipated. The man had come in search of his niece and had found James waiting for him with the girl’s body. It was the only way he could be sure to get the right man. The locals were only barely helpful if you made it well worth their while, and James did not have money to throw around like that.
“What are you doing?” the man asked in a thick French accent.
James said, “I have come to offer you an opportunity to make this unfortunate circumstance profitable.”
“You think I can be bought by English filth like you?” the man scoffed.
James shook his head. “She was a pretty girl. A girl that I am guessing you saw the value in and probably not much else giving that you were peddling her out.”
“Do you have a point?” the man asked defensively.
James said, “Only that I have an offer to make. If you would be willing to name a certain party as the person who killed your niece, then I can offer you a tidy sum to do so.”
The girl’s uncle pondered this for a moment. “How much money are we talking, and who would I be pointing the finger at exactly?”
With a smile, James held out a sack of coins. “All of this and the person you would be implicating will be Major Dalton,” James said. “You can count the coins if you wish.” James tossed the coins over to the man. The Frenchman untied the bag and looked through its contents swiftly.
The girl’s uncle cleared his throat and said, “It is a pleasure to do business with the English. You are a most curious people.”
James dipped his head and left the man to count his money. Now he just had to wait to see if the man kept his word. If he did not, then James along with Oscar would be back to see him. James was sure that the uncle did not know for sure who had killed his niece. Perhaps the patrons at the bar were too far into their cups to give details.
“Now we wait,” James said to himself as he walked back to the inn with a smile on his face still. If only James could see the look on Edward’s face when he heard that he had been implicated in murder. Alas, James resigned himself to play his role.
Chapter 5
In the pre-dawn hours, two soldiers had come to drag Edward out of bed and to see the colonel. The colonel sat at his desk scowling. Edward blinked at the man as if he was not speaking English.
“I am sorry, Sir, but could you repeat that,” Edward asked in astonishment. He was barely awake and only half-dressed.
Colonel Ainsley folded his hands in front of him on the table. “Edward, you have to understand the seriousness of this complaint. A local man is claiming that you killed his niece. I have to tell you that I brought you here, not only for the sake of informing you of the charges, but also for your safety. The men do not take kindly to one of their own who would brutalize a civilian under our wing of protection.”
The Revenge of the Betrayed Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 6
