Rules of Decorum

by Leigh Lee

  As Captain Bradford continued, her face drained of color only to return to flaming red and back again many times over. He could not have known the havoc his words rained down upon her or the torrid images his instructions conjured up. Nor could he have known those visions involved her and him together in the intimate circumstances he described. At the end of the lecture Eugenia was thankful to be sitting, for if not, she would have fainted straightaway.

  His devastating, chiseled face and those striking blue eyes bore into hers as he concluded. “Perhaps now you can understand why I found your attack of my moral character insulting, as would any other decent man. Another might have even called you out and beaten you senseless. I am willing to make allowances for your tender age and overlook this transgression. However, in the future, I demand from you the obedience and trust due me as your commander. May I now assume that you understand me, son?”

  Agreeing was the only way to get out of there and to be away from him is what Eugenia so desperately needed at this moment. Her poor mind was awash with new sensations and visions that would not cease. She was now acutely aware so much more than a simple kiss was possible between a man and a woman. Worst yet, there was no longer any way to deny desire was at the source of the dizzying discomfort she had been experiencing when around the captain.

  “Yes, sir,” she breathed in a heated rush, certain that her face glowed as red as any apple.

  Looking weary himself, Captain Bradford waved a hand toward the opening of the tent. “Good. I will let you know when I have need of you. Now get the hell out of here!”

  Eugenia lit out of the tent as fast as she could. There was nothing she could do except comply with his orders and help him with Victoria, no matter how much it would hurt to do so.

  She ground her teeth in frustration. Now, thanks to the captain’s enlightenment, the task that lay ahead of her seemed even more painful. More than ever, it would be wise to apply for a transfer to another assignment, but even as she considered it, she knew she would never do it. It was obvious Jeffery Bradford meant far more than even she had been willing to admit. If that were not bad enough, she now had to contend with heart-thumping visions she had been oblivious to an hour ago. The situation was becoming hopeless. “Ignorance is bliss” was the resounding quote that kept playing in her chaotic brain. Indeed, she was no longer ignorant, and this—this was not bliss!

  The more gruesome aspects of war, although horrific, paled in comparison as Captain Bradford forced Eugenia to accompany him on all of his visits with Miss Winfred. The sight of him and Victoria together was excruciating, as she could well imagine his passionate thoughts every time he was with the woman.

  Since there was no separate sitting area in Victoria’s small hotel room, it would have been inappropriate for Captain Bradford to call on her without someone else in attendance. So during all of those visits, as they sipped tea or coffee in Victoria’s room, Eugenia remained with them to act as chaperon. It was impossible to avoid listening to their playful conversations or to miss the way Victoria sat far too close to the captain on the settee.

  Another prickly source of annoyance was how Victoria answered her door so well attired and adorned. The sharp contrast between herself and the other woman served as a stark reminder of just how much Eugenia had given up by masquerading as a male. She could do little more than play the role she had forged for herself, and bite back the tears of jealousy and regret. It was not always easy to remember why she had begun this journey in the first place.

  On one visit, Captain Bradford brought a bouquet of flowers for Victoria, and she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek in thanks. It took all Eugenia’s self-control not to rush over and slap the woman who had kissed the man she had begun to think of as her one true love. It was further frustration, as Victoria never missed an opportunity to allow him tantalizing views from her gaping bodice.

  When around Victoria, the captain seemed like a man possessed. He asked questions about her personal life and would dote on her every word. This particular evening, instead of their usual beverage, Captain Bradford had plied Victoria with wine. Though evasive when it came to the topic of her brother, the wine had loosened her tongue. Soon she divulged quite a bit about her brother and Taneytown, their hometown.

  The woman talked on for almost an hour about the community in northern Maryland while the captain kept refilling her glass. Though it sounded like a charming place, Eugenia tired of hearing the woman’s high-pitched rhetoric. Why one would think honey dripped from her mouth by the way the captain’s eyes never left her face. And each time the woman stroked his arm, or worse yet, fingered his firmly muscled leg, Eugenia’s spirits sank.

  As the captain stole yet another glimpse of the full bosoms thrust his way, Eugenia cast a scalding glare at his downturned head then turned her back, no longer able to witness the intimate foreplay. Victoria continued to murmur candied words, and the rich baritone laughter that followed left no room for doubt the captain loved every moment spent with the yellow-haired hussy.

  Eugenia’s acrid imagination was more than willing to provide images of the shenanigans that were no doubt going on behind her. Looking out the window, she fought back tears.

  Why could it not be me?

  As soon as the thought surfaced, she was quick to censure the forbidden speculation, reminding herself that she was not free to love this man. As she struggled with her plummeting disappointment, she was unaware of the sigh that slipped from her lips.

  Nevertheless, Victoria noticed it. “Why do you not leave the boy at camp next time you come to visit? He seems quite unhappy to be here.”

  Captain Bradford laughed. “The sergeant is young, but he has his orders, and he is most dedicated to his duty.”

  Eugenia’s mind attacked back viciously. Ha, Captain! I would leave in a twinkling if it were up to me! Duty or not, these proceedings were torturous. Rolling her eyes upward, she turned back to them, careful to keep her attention focused on the ceiling. “Sir, if you wish to be alone, I could go outside and wait,” she offered, her tone mulish.

  Captain Bradford cast a scathing glare in her direction. “Stay where you are, Adams. I must leave soon, and I do not wish to have to hunt you down when I am ready.”

  Victoria murmured her disappointment. “Oh, Captain, if my time with you tonight grows short, then indeed let the boy go for a spell. Surely he does not need to listen to every word we speak.” She placed her hand on his knee and began stroking, all the while fluttering her lashes. “I am sure I am safe with a fine gentleman like yourself.”

  Gritting her teeth, it was all Eugenia could do to control her tongue. If given the opportunity, she would smack Victoria’s head hard enough to spin it around on her shoulders a time or two. The thought brought a wicked smirk, which Victoria also noticed.

  The blond narrowed her eyes. “I do not think that boy likes me.”

  ~*~*~

  Jeff turned his head to find Eugene standing near the door, staring straight ahead. Have a care son, he thought as he shot a warning glance his way.

  He turned back when he felt Victoria’s hand moving up his leg, far too close to a portion of his anatomy he deemed most private. He placed his hand over hers to still it from further movement.

  Apparently, Victoria took the press of his hand on hers as an invitation to advance. She wasted no time in leaning forward to plant a damp kiss upon his mouth. Dismayed, Jeff raised his other hand to press the woman away by her shoulder. However, instead of his intended target, he somehow managed to clamp on to one of the creamy orbs peeking from her gaping bodice.

  He gasped in mortification. Never meaning for such a thing to happen, he now found himself at a loss as to how to handle his faux pas gracefully. Meaning to apologize, he jumped to his feet. In his distressed haste, he almost spilled the clinging Miss Winfred to the floor. To steady her, he reached for her arm but managed to snare her other breast instead. Upon contact, he snapped his hand back. Shaking the offendin
g appendage, he stared at it in disbelief.

  A startled gasp from across the room caught his attention. There stood Sergeant Adams, watching the two of them with a look of horror on his reddened face. Quickly the lad closed his eyes as if to blot out what he had witnessed. Meanwhile, Victoria rocked back on her heels, teetering with a flurry of arm movements akin to a goose flapping its wings. Finally, she managed to regain her balance, steadying herself by leaning heavily on Jeff’s arm.

  Jeff had just finished seating Ms. Winfred back on the settee when Sergeant Adams spun around, yanked the door open and stomped out, slamming it behind him. As the sound reverberated through the room, Jeff growled frustration. He was well aware how his actions must have been perceived. Even if he was innocent of anything intentional, the fact remained that the deed had occurred not once, but twice.

  How the dickens could he rectify this mess? While trying to construct a plausible apology, he turned to Victoria and realized with horror that he had a more immediate concern. Being groped twice in less time than it took to doff a hat, Victoria’s breaths were coming in rapid succession, and she rose and leaned toward him with twinkling eyes and puckered lips. Before Jeff could utter a word, she pressed her body to his and wound her pale, thin arms around his neck. It caught him so off guard that they both stumbled and went crashing onto her bed. Fortunately for Jeff, the innkeeper had not heeded the grumblings of the room’s previous occupants about the unsoundness of the bed, and as soon as their added weight fell on it, the frame broke into pieces.

  It was the very distraction Jeff needed to escape. Focused on the door, he sprang to his feet. Victoria’s wailing halted his retreat and chivalry forced him back to assist her. As soon as the woman stood and appeared no worse for the wear, he put as much distance between them as the small room allowed. With his hand on the doorknob, he claimed clumsiness as the cause for his handling of her person in such a vulgar manner and apologized for what it may have led her to believe about his motives.

  Testing the conviction of his words, Victoria took a step forward, to which Jeff bid her a rapid “Good day”, yanked the door open, and fled the room. She slammed the door shut behind him and then pounded her fists on its hard surface, crying out in rage.

  Out in the hallway, Adams waited, a judgmental scowl twisting his features. Inflamed, and embarrassed, Jeff could only scowl back. He was already doing an excellent job of beating himself up, and the sergeant’s condemnation was unappreciated.

  Flicking a long forefinger high in the air, he ordered, “Not one word.” Then with what little regal deportment he could muster from his bruised ego, Jeff stalked past Adams, adding a crisp, “Ever” to his ultimatum.

  The worried innkeeper passed Jeff on the stairs and almost bowled the sergeant over in his haste to locate the source of the splintering wood. The lad indicated the room from which Jeff had just fled, and then followed him out.

  While Adams climbed up on the driver’s seat beside him, Jeff was aware that the boy kept glancing his way. He hoped his rigid posture and clenched jaw would ward off any further conversation, for he had no desire to discuss why he had been grabbing breasts left and right. Still, he could not stop the shudders that came each time he recalled the unfortunate episode.

  ~*~*~

  The captain’s expression of dismay gave Eugenia pause. She began to doubt her summation of what had occurred in Victoria’s room. The captain was not acting like a man who had enjoyed himself. Perhaps it was anger she saw on his face. Victoria had been indiscreet, allowing one under his command to be witness to their rowdy love play. If that was the case, the captain had only himself to blame, for Eugenia had offered to leave.

  For a moment, she considered another scenario. Perhaps Victoria had put up a vehement refusal to his advances and had sent the man crashing to the floor. That might account for the racket she had heard just before he rushed from the room. Though she doubted this was the case, the sight of Jeff mauling Victoria was too painful a memory to continue contemplating further. In the end, it was easier to stare ahead into the blackness of the night and tell herself that she no longer cared.

  However, once alone in her quarters, her determination to ignore what happened dissolved and her aching heart almost burst. Eugenia pounded out her frustrations and heartache upon her cot, stifling her weeping and shrieks of jealous rage into the coarse wool blanket. It was not until the wee hours of the morning that she was able to sink into an exhausted sleep.

  Upon arising the next day, she looked in the mirror and realized that her fit of temper and tears had gained her a pair of red, swollen eyes. As she dabbed cold water on her face, she resolved that she would find a way to banish this unrequited love for Captain Bradford from her heart forever. If there was to be any hope for her, it was imperative she put these feelings to rest. It was not as if the man owed her anything, he could court, kiss, and even bed whomever he wished. Moreover, the captain’s lecture on carnal pleasures of a few weeks ago left little doubt in her mind what he had been after when he’d fondled Victoria.

  Seeing herself as a fool, Eugenia realized that this jealousy could also reveal her secret. Captain Bradford knew her to be a soldier under his command, and nothing more. The sooner she went back to acting the part of the sergeant, the better she would feel, and the safer she would be.

  This new conviction lasted as long as it took her to walk out of her quarters and almost collide with the very object of her misery. Looking more handsome than ever, the captain tipped his hat and her distressed heart quaked as soon as his beautiful blue eyes came to rest on her. All of her distress rushed once more to the surface, making her more miserable than before, and she skulked out of his presence with nothing more than a hasty “Good morning, sir.”

  Chapter 8

  The sergeant’s dreary visage continued to haunt Jeff’s thoughts for the rest of the day. Every time they came face-to-face, Adams avoided his gaze. The lad’s ailing countenance gave way to speculation that he had been sneaking sips from the medicinal whiskey in the supply tent. Though Jeff could not imagine that he would do that, the bleary-eyed boy who appeared to struggle through every task perplexed him.

  By afternoon, he could no longer stand to watch the sergeant’s sour face and hailed him over. “Adams, might I have a word with you?”

  “Yes, sir?” Adams seemed to be struggling to find anywhere else to look but at his face. When the boy’s gaze landed on Jeff’s hands—the same hands that had inadvertently fondled Victoria the night before—the boy seemed to suppress a sob. Averting his eyes again, he saluted.

  Jeff was almost afraid to continue. “You have been dragging your tail around here all day. Are you ill?”

  The lad scuffed a shoe at the loose dirt on the ground. “I did not sleep well. I had a lot on my mind.”

  The last sentence, quipped a bit sharply, made Jeff grimace. He figured Adams was referring to the sordid episode of the previous night. Eager to avoid any discussion of the embarrassment, he bid the sergeant a terse, “Very well, then. Attend to your duties.”

  As the boy turned to leave, the slump of his narrow shoulders was not as easy for Jeff to dismiss. He felt sure he was responsible for the boy’s low spirits. After all, he did order him to act as witness to all the proceedings between him and Miss Winfred. Quite naturally, being without a family of his own, Eugene looked up to him, not just as his commander but perhaps also as a mentor. Through no fault of his own, he had given Eugene an atrocious example of how a lady should be treated. One so disillusioned and distraught might turn to liquor to quiet a troubled mind.

  The weight of that possibility made Jeff call the departing lad back. He took an authoritative stance. “I do not need to warn you against the evils of whiskey and its effect on one’s ability to perform one’s duty do I?” As he spoke, he bent close and took a huge sniff.

  His sudden proximity widened Eugene’s green eyes, and he stumbled back a pace. Blinking, he reddened. “Whiskey, sir?”

  Reliev
ed that there was not the stench of a distillery about the boy, Jeff straightened. “I only mention it because there seems to be an ill mood following you about camp today.”

  Round eyes met his briefly. “Sir?”

  As he beheld the sergeant’s anxiety, Jeff shot a hand through his hair feeling the idiot for assuming the worst. He would have done better to keep his mouth shut and leave the lad to his misery, but once upon this course, he found no way out. “It is just that I would hate to think that one might resort to whiskey to cope with any unresolved or uncomfortable situations.” At the lad’s continued confusion, he ground out, “Blast it all. Or for any other damned reason.”

  Adams jumped at his sharp retort oblivious to what Jeff was trying to say. “Yes, sir! I mean, no, sir.” He managed a bewildered salute and beat a hasty retreat.

  Jeff watched the boy leave, still convinced that all was not well with him. The sergeant confounded him in ways he could never quite define.

  He possessed the most random conglomeration of traits he had ever known a lad to have. It was as if two separate beings were housed within that small body, each one warring for control. During stressful situations, Eugene’s even nature could soothe all those present. Conversely, there were times when the boy’s torrid emotions would disrupt the calm of an absolutely normal situation, and anyone present would suffer. It seemed impossible to determine how the lad might react; he was a conundrum. Regardless, Eugene Adams had made an impact, and Jeff was becoming fond of the orphaned lad.

  Moreover, it was unfortunate that for all the mayhem Jeff had endured, no useful information was gained from his visits with Miss Winfred. In his gut, he felt sure there was more to her story than she was divulging. There was nothing more he could do other than to contact higher command with his suspicions and let someone else deal with her.