Soldier of the Horse
Page 25
Her mind wandered. How different things could have been, how improbable her present happiness, if she had chosen Harry. Harry had left town to return to Toronto, never having spoken to her again after she returned his ring and told him in her letter that she would wait for Tom. I wonder if Carol went with him?
Tom walked into the kitchen and bent to kiss her, holding her for a moment. He looks tired, she thought. Too long out of town on a business trip with his legs acting up. He never slept well when his legs were bad.
“I’m staying home today,” he said. “I feel like this is the day.”
“Since when do men have intuition about babies?” she laughed. “Besides, that’s what you said last week. You go to work. Daddy is just around the corner in case I go into labour.”
A headline on a small story on the front page caught her eye.“General Seely. They’re quoting his speech, the one you heard in Toronto. Did you hear what General Foch had to say?”
“No, sweetheart. I think I mentioned I left early.”
“General Foch—he was the French general in charge of the Allies when the Germans were defeated, wasn’t he? Anyway, here’s what Foch said to Seely:
I do not forget the heroism of the valiant Canadian Cavalry Brigade. In the month of March, 1918, the war was at the gate of Amiens. It was vital to maintain at any price the close contact between our two armies, the British and French. On March 30 at Moreuil, and on April 1 at Hangard en Santerre, your brigade succeeded, by its magnificent performance and its unconquerable élan, in first checking the enemy and finally breaking down its spirit. In the highest degree, thanks to your brigade, the situation, agonizing as it had been at the opening of the battle, was restored.
“He’s talking about the big picture,” said Tom. “All I know is it was a bloody mess from where I saw it.”
She sent him off to work, and he promised to stay close to a phone. Like many veterans, he had not gone back to his former pursuits. All thoughts of Zink—still behind bars—and the practice of law were long behind him; he was employed by Eaton’s, working his way up in the hardware department.
Tom hardly ever spoke about the war, and even when he did, it was only to make casual, general comments. Nothing specific.
“Aren’t you ever going to talk about it?” Ellen had once asked.
“Not now. Maybe not ever.”
Maybe, she thought, it’s for another generation to explore.
Her father would be over shortly to stand by in case he was needed to get her to the hospital. She gathered the breakfast dishes, and was leaning into the sink when a sharp pain wrenched her body and a cascade of water flooded down her legs.
Yes, she thought. Yes.
Acknowledgments
This book is a work of fiction and as such, characters, places, and incidents are products of my imagination or are used fictitiously. That being said, I have tried, where possible, to be true to the events my father described to me and to the times in which my characters are placed.
This book would not have been possible without the great support and unerring advice I received from my wonderful wife, Patricia Sandberg, our sons, Scott and Ross, my sister Lamont, and friend Phyllis Hinz.
Comments on the manuscript were generously provided by the Rainwriters, especially Ed Griffin and Carol Tulpar, as well as all the others; early versions were reviewed by my friends Robert Smith and Cyndi Kilroe.
Historical research was accomplished with the generous assistance of Warrant Officer Donald E. MacLeod, Curator, Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) Museum and Archives, in Calgary.
Jean-Paul Brunel and his wife, Nicole, were our gracious hosts in Moreuil, France. Jean-Paul, after his 1986 discovery of the remains of a Canadian trooper killed in the Battle of Moreuil Wood, became a passionate and inspiring amateur historian of the activities of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade. His enthusiasm and support are most appreciated. Picardy author and local historian Marc Pilot was most helpful with translation and our tour of the area.
Finally, I must thank Ruth Linka at TouchWood Editions for her generous support and encouragement, and my accomplished and professional editor, Marlyn Horsdal, for her perseverance and dedication to the process of turning the manuscript into a book.
Robert W. Mackay’s interest in military history is deep in his roots. His father was in the Canadian Cavalry in the First World War, and his brother was a career naval officer. Robert served with the Royal Canadian Navy and the British Navy until 1969. He attended the University of British Columbia and practiced law until his retirement in 2008. He lives with his wife in Surrey, BC. Soldier of the Horse is his first novel. Visit robertwmackay.com or follow Robert on Twitter at @RobertWMackay.
Copyright © 2011 Robert W. Mackay
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (access Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Mackay, Robert W. (Robert William), 1942–
Soldier of the horse / Robert W. Mackay.
Print format: ISBN 978-1-926741-24-6
Electronic monograph in PDF format: ISBN 978-1-926741-34-5
Electronic monograph in HTML forma: ISBN 978-1-926741-35-2
1. World War, 1914-1918—Fiction. I. Title.
PS8625.K397S65 2011 C813'.6 C2010-906349-X
Editor: Marlyn Horsdal
Proofreader: Sarah Weber
Cover image: Alfred Munnings A Canadian Trooper and his Horse (Detail) CWM 19710261-0460 Beaverbrook Collection of War Art © Canadian War Museum
Author photo: Patricia Sandberg
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support for our publishing activities from the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund, Canada Council for the Arts, and the province of British Columbia through the British Columbia Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
TouchWood Editions
www.touchwoodeditions.com