“He and I are irreconcilably apart.” Helen gave a little curtsey. “His opinion is of far less interest to me than yours.”
“It seems that William is a man going places. He is destined for high rank. You could be a general's wife.”
Helen shrugged. “He has no edge at all.”
Smith cleared his throat. “To return to business. You're going back to the 113th, Captain Windrush. No more adventuring for you, only the life of a normal regimental officer.”
Jack nodded. “That suits me, sir.”
“I wonder.” Smith fixed him with a steady gaze. “I wonder if you will miss the excitement.”
“I won't, sir. It's a quiet life for me from now on.”
“All right, Windrush.” Smith handed over a sealed packet. “Report to the 113th at Berwick.”
“Yes, sir. I'll be glad to get back to honest regimental soldiering again.” Jack hesitated. “Although Colonel Snodgrass won't be pleased to see me.”
“Ah,” Smith said, “you haven't heard. The good colonel was asked to resign his command due to his son's activities. He's retired on half-pay, gone to some dismal seaside town or other to eke out the remainder of his life, poor chap. I'm afraid the disgrace might prove too much for him.”
Jack nodded. “He and I never got along, sir, so I can't say I'll worry overmuch about his feelings.”
“Good luck, Windrush.” Smith managed a smile. “It's been a pleasure working with you. Come with me, Mrs Windrush.”
Smith and Helen walked away, leaving Jack alone in the austere office, knowing that part of his life had ended for ever. He sighed, wondering when the next train for Berwick departed.
* * *
“We're under siege, old boy.” Elliot leaned against the front of Jack's house, looking over the parapet of Berwick town wall to the lights of the nighttime harbour. “We see ourselves as an expanding empire, yet all the time we're defending it from external and internal enemies. The Empire is constantly under siege.” He pulled on his cheroot. “I suppose that's all good for men like you and me. It gives us employment and the opportunity to advance our careers.”
“Sometimes, Arthur,” Jack exhaled a thread of blue smoke, “sometimes I wonder what it's all about.”
“Best not to think too much, Jack,” Elliot said. “We're soldiers. We go where the government sends us and fight the Queen's enemies. That's enough for me.”
“Maybe so,” Jack said, “but don't you wonder why, sometimes? When I was at school…”
“Many years ago,” Elliot murmured.
“When I was at school,” Jack continued, “the teachers taught us that Boadicea and Caractacus were heroes for resisting the Roman Empire, and here we are, spreading our Empire by putting down rebellions by people who frankly, view us as alien invaders. We are fighting against the Boadiceas and Caractacuses now; whether they are Pashtun, Maori or Fenian, they all view us as the alien invader.”
“That's true, old boy,” Elliot said. “But we're also doing good. We're spreading enlightenment and civilisation, ending slavery, bringing education, the rule of law and Christianity.”
“Do you think that's enough?” Jack asked. “We're forcing our culture on people who are quite content with their own.”
“We have to think that's enough, Jack,” Elliot was suddenly sober. “We wouldn't do it otherwise.” He threw away the end of his cheroot, watching the faint red glow spiralling into the dark. “We'd go mad if we considered the rights and wrongs of everything we do.” He sighed. “Consider the alternative. If we were not in India, or Ireland, or New Zealand, do you think the other powers would leave these places alone? They are all vulnerable and ripe for conquest. Do you think Russia say, or France, would sit back and allow these places to exist?”
Jack shook his head. “No. Russia would be through Afghanistan and into India like a shot.”
“Aye; they're pushing that way already. Would you like to see Ireland all alone and unprotected with France on the prowl? Or Russia? Or even Prussia?” Elliot lit another cheroot. “Mark my words, Jack, the countries of our empire are better under our protection than being occupied by anybody else.”
“France might move into Ireland,” Jack agreed. “I can't see Prussia, though. They're a land-based power.”
“So far,” Elliot said. “That Bismarck fellow has ideas above his station. We may have to slap him down yet, and the Russians hate us for Crimea, as you well know.“ He sighed. “I don't know the answers, Jack; I just know that the Lord doesn't do things or allow things for no reason. He's allowed the British Empire to grow, so there must be a reason for it. I think there is a great evil coming and we're here to stop it.” He grinned. “After that, there will be no more use for us and the British Empire will crumble to make way for something else.”
“When will this happen?”
Elliot shrugged. “I don't know, Jack. Maybe in our time; maybe in our children's time, or maybe even our grandchildren's. The Lord knows best, while we puny little pawns can only plod on. We're here, we have a job to do, and that's the end of it.”
Jack nodded. “Do you think there is a reason for all this? Do you honestly believe we are a tool for good?”
“We must believe that, Jack,” Elliot said. “Otherwise, all this death and suffering is for nothing.” When he met Jack's gaze, Elliot looked weary. “We must do our duty, Jack, and pray to God we're doing the right thing.”
“Here, you two!” Mary appeared at the front door, smiling. “Do you intend to stand there talking all day? Dinner's on the table.”
“Coming.” Jack stood up. “Come on, Arthur, Colonel Mary has given her orders.”
“Colonel Mary? That lady would be a general, at least!”
Jack nodded. “On that, Arthur, we can agree.”
Historical Note
Although this story is fictitious, parts are based on historical fact. The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish-American organisation that menaced Great Britain from time to time from 1865 onwards. Their methods included inciting mutiny in the British Army, bombings throughout the British Isles and raids into Canada from the United States. The majority of the Fenian participants in the invasions were either Irish or men of Irish extraction who were veterans of the late American Civil War.
The Fenian invasions of Canada had one positive outcome. Made aware of their vulnerability to attack across the long border, most of the colonies of British North America, New Brunswick, the United Provinces of Canada and Lower Canada combined into the Dominion of Canada. In attempting to create the Republic of Ireland, the Fenians had unwittingly helped create Canada.
For a while, the Fenians hoped to provoke a war between Great Britain and the United States, but in June 1866 President Andrew Johnson declared that the USA was neutral in the dispute. The Canadians coped well with the Fenian invasions, which were both short-lived and abortive. The major encounter was at Ridgeway, Ontario, where the untried Canadian Volunteers lost nine men killed and 33 wounded, with four more men subsequently dying of wounds or disease. Fenian casualties were around the same.
The Russian connection, Patrick Walsh, Walter Carmichael and the activities of the Green Company are entirely fictitious.
Malcolm Archibald
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nbsp; About the Author
Brought up in Edinburgh and educated in Dundee, Malcolm Archibald has a Master's Degree in History. Married to Cathy for nearly 40 years, he is a prizewinning author, whose interests include nautical, military and social history.
Books by Malcolm Archibald
Jack Windrush -Series Windrush
Windrush: Crimea
Windrush: Blood Price
Windrush: Cry Havelock
Windrush: Jayanti's Pawns
Windrush: Warriors of God
Windrush: Agent of the Queen
A Wild Rough Lot
Dance If Ye Can: A Dictionary of Scottish Battles
Like The Thistle Seed: The Scots Abroad
Our Land of Palestine
Shadow of the Wolf
The Swordswoman
The Shining One (The Swordswoman Book 2)
Falcon Warrior (The Swordswoman Book 3)
Melcorka of Alba (The Swordswoman Book 4)
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