The Rakehell Regency(271)

"'Speaking of, as I pick this letter up again to add to it some hours after I first began, it would appear that Napoleon is dismantling the army of Spain, insisting upon reinforcements in the east.'"



"How wonderful!" Sarah said with a smile. "Old Boney really must be on the run."



"'We are overjoyed at the news, and more eager than ever for the rain to stop and for us to press on. It is my dearest wish that Wellington will order us to move, bad weather or no, before the Spanish ratify the Treaty. I believe they are sitting on the fence waiting for news in the east.'"



Henry and Jonathan nodded at each other, and Pamela felt less ill at ease about the seeming Spanish betrayal of their allies.



"'Our morale is high despite the suffering I have recounted. We are proud to be helping to liberate so many people who have been under the Emperor's yoke for so long. I still long for liberty, equality and fraternity, as do we all, but not at the expense of the weak and poor. Any leader who sees fit to treat his subjects like cannon fodder does not deserve to rule. Napoleon may have been a genius as a general, but his power has gone to his head and all is slipping away. And if it does not slip, we shall wrest it from him.'"



"Amen to that," Jonathan interjected once more.



Everyone else nodded their agreement.



"'I pray God that I shall be back in the bosom of my family by the end of the campaign season of 1814, if not sooner. The good Lord knows I'm tired of the fighting and killing. I worry for my men more than myself at times until I gnaw my nails down to the quick like a nervous schoolboy.'"



Clifford paused to take a sip of sherry.



"Now to our old friends." Clifford looked up. "Do you ladies want to hear this? It might be rather tedious."



"No, not at all. It's been fascinating to hear so much detail from someone right in the thick of it all," Pamela said truthfully. "I must say, I can fully understand your point about the recruitment sermon now, after hearing what your friend has described. Is that what it was like for you, Jonathan?" She felt awed and humbled at the thought.



He nodded. "Pretty much. Freezing in winter, scorching in summer, little to eat, endless marches under the sun, sleeping on the ground, and threadbare uniforms so faded they could scarcely be described as red coats. And that was in the spring of 1812 when we left the service. Michael has been there nearly two years longer than us, and he never took a day's leave, not for family or personal reasons. Has never had more than the most minor scratches either."



"And please God he stays that way," Henry said fervently. "He's a good man, and will one day make a very fine earl, though I certainly hope his father will have a long, happy life. Salt of the earth, the Avenels, even if Randall has become a bit of a ladies' man."



Sarah smiled. "He's so fine looking, you can hardly blame him for taking advantage of what is offered so freely. Michael too."



Jonathan looked outraged. "Don't tell me you've been nursing a tendre for Viscount Glyne all these years!" Then he laughed.



"Of course not, silly. All you Rakehells have been like brothers to me."



"Ah, yes, the nappies and rusks. How could I forget?" Jonathan winked.



She lifted her nose primly. "I'm allowed to appreciate handsomeness in the same way that men appreciate feminine pulchritude. Look, admire, but don't touch. And I will own to liking them tall, dark, and handsome."



Henry sighed dramatically. "Well, that lets all of us out, then!" he said with mock dejection, running his fingers through his blond hair, very similar to his brother's.



"And Alistair Grant, who has been silver-haired for as long as we've know him, though he was but thirteen or so when he went gray. Thomas is married. Randall and our other old companion Matthew Dane, his best friend, are too flighty, and Michael too grim and devoted to his quests for social justice. Blake is married to his medical career, and Lawrence Howard is in India and not exactly on speaking terms with most of us any longer. And as much as I adore Philip Marshall, he's a former convict. So that lets them out as well, for all they're tall and dark."



Pamela's eyes widened. "A convict?"



Jonathan clamped his mouth shut. "Oh, um, debtor's prison, don't you know," he said after a time. "He's a good man, really, with a checkered past. He's stayed very close with Thomas over the years."



Sarah saw her brother's unease. "There's no help for it then. Despite my brother's wonderful circle of friends, I'm destined for spinsterhood," she said with a laugh.



"Better no husband than a bad one, my dear," Jonathan said somberly.