Alex grinned faintly. Jed had had a care for him since he was
first out of short coats, and there was little that he
m
issed. "There doesn't seem much I can do about
it, I fear,
"
he said. "I appear to be
bewitched."
"Aye, Colonel," Jed agreed placidly. "
I
t
’ll
all come out in the wash eventually,
the way things do."
That was always Jed's philosophy. Things untangled themselves
in the end, so there was no point fretting. Alex dropped on one knee beside the
sleeping Ginny.
"
Wake up, sweetheart
,
" he said softly, shaking her shoulder.
Ginny’s eyes shot open, then she smiled dreamily. "You
have walked out of my dreams, or it is that you walked into them? One or the
other.
"
"Either way, I am content to have it so," he
replied, taking her hands and pulling her upright. "You must eat and drink
now. We march until sundown."
"And then?" Ginny knuckled the sleep from her eyes,
adjusted her bodice, tucked away errant strands of chestnut hair.
"Then we make camp," he said.
"I have always wanted to sleep in a ten
t,"
Ginny remarked.
Alex laughed. "I hate to disappoint you, chicken, but
you will not be sleeping in any tent. You will be billeted with my officers and
myself in the village, preferably in a chamber above the ground floor with a
key that I may turn."
Ginny shrugged with an assumption of nonchalance at this
reaffirmation of her prisoner status. It was something she must learn to handle
with dignity since the reminders would be constant and she was not prepared to
lose face in front of the brigade by showing that it bothered her. If she gave
Alex her word that she would make no attempt at subversion, he would probably
relax his guard, but she could not do that, not when she carried the king's
document in her pocket, not when she would be looking always for an opportunity
to pass on her message.
They went into the inn where Ginny ate and drank with
some enthusiasm. It was the first time she had been in
such close quarters with the men whose life she would share over the next
weeks, and it became clear to her that they did no
t
know how to treat her, whether to acknowledge her
presence or ignore her. The presence of a woman was obviously constraining, and
several ribald jokes ended abruptly in a cacophony of coughing and shuffled
boots as they remembered she was there.
"Alex, this is going to be impossible," she
whispered unhappily, scrambling unaided onto Jen's back.
"
They do not know where to look, and
neither do I."
"They will become accustomed to you,
"
he said calmly, "if you behave
naturally. The one thing you will not do under any circumstance is to go near
the men. While you were on your own property, your position was clear. But when
we are on the road, I cannot vouch for your safety if you wander amongst them.
They may well consider it an invitation. You understand
m
e?"
"I cannot imagine why I should want to wander amongst
them
,
" Ginny retorted, nettled at
such an assumption. She remembered vividly that time in the orchard when she
had felt like a teasing wanton offering forbidden fruit, and had absolutely no
intention of exposing herself to such a
n
uncomfortable
experience a second time.
"Just so long as you understand," he said. "I
do not wish to restrict your movements more than you make necessary, so will
give you the freedom of the officer
'
s
billet and the surrounding area. But that is all."
"
You
need have no fear I shall forget my captive state," Ginny said, chewing
her lip.
"
I do not know why you cannot say
these things without sounding as if you are giving me orders.
"
"Would you have me mask the tru
th
then?" he inquired, and Ginny had the
unmistakable impression that something was amusing him. It was grossly unfair
of him to laugh at her when he had the upper hand so definitely.
"There are times when I dislike you intensely
"
she declared with some feeling.
Nudging Jen into a trot, she pulled ahead of Alex, deciding that she preferred
her own company. She was not alone for long, however, as Diccon Maulfrey drew
rein alongside her.
"May I ride with you, mistress?" He gave her a shy
smile.
"But of course. Why do you not call me Ginny? Since I
have been calling you Diccon with lamentable freedom since yesterday."
"I should be honored." He flushed with pleasure,
and Ginny began to feel a great deal better. With him at least, she could have
a conversation that would not deteriorate into a series of commands and implied
threats.
"How long have you been with Colonel Marshall's
brigade?" she asked, swishing at the hedgerows with her riding crop.
"Since I joined the army, last August," Diccon
supplied eagerly. "It is quite the best brigade in the entire army and is
known as such. The colonel i
s
without doubt
the most successful and respected commander."
"Apart from General Cromwell," Ginny murmured
gently
.
"I do not know," Diccon said seriously.
"
There are many who say they would
prefer to serve under Colonel Marshall, notwithstanding. He does not take
unnecessary risks, you understand.
"
"That is indeed a recommendation in battle,
"
Ginny agreed with a laugh, then
reined in her mare as her eye caught something in the field beside the road.
"Now that is a piece of luck. I have been searching for camomile for
several days. I must gather some. My supplies are short."
Before the bewildered Diccon could make head or tail of this
sudden speech, she had knotted the reins on the mare's neck, slipped to the
roadway, and was striding with energetic determination into the bordering
field, her skirts swishing around her ankles.
"
What
the deuce?" Alex thundered up beside Diccon.
"Something about camomile, sir," the lieutenant
said in a bemused tone.
"Camomile?" Alex scratched his chin, shaking his
head in a gesture of defeat. "Major Bonha
m
, halt the march. Mistress Courtney, it seems, has decided to pick
flowers, and we cannot leave her behind."
The major's lips twitched as he turned to give the order, and
there
was open merriment on the faces of
the other officers. within the ranks of marching men there was only speculation
as to what had caused this sudden halt.
Ginny came back to her horse, smiling with pure satisfaction.
"That is a great stroke of fortune," she informed all and sundry.
"Camomile is hard to find, but its soothing properties when given in a
warm draft cannot be equaled. It is also an excellent purge—
n
ot too rigorous, you understand." She tied the
bunch of herbs into her kerchief, inserting it carefully into the pocket of her
habit. "Oh
,
" she said, suddenly becoming
aware of the stillness around her. "Did I cause you to stop?"
"
You
did," Alex concurred. "Is this passion for picking wildflowers
absolutely imperative?"
"Strictly speaking it is not a flower." Ginny swung
herself onto Jen again, her tone of voice frankly informative. "It is a
most valuable simple. No one skilled in medicine can be without it."
"
You
are expert in these matters?" Alex signaled for the march to begin again
as he asked the question.
"I have some small skill." Ginny shrugged with
dismissive modesty.
"
I have been interested since I was a
child and am told I possess some of the qualities of the healer."
"I see
.
" Alex
looked thoughtful.
"
There is no end, it would seem, to
your talents. I would just ask that when next you see some valuable addition to
your medicine basket, you would give us a
little
warning before you leap from your horse."
Ginny looked at him and saw that he was smiling. As indeed was
everyone, very much as if they had just found the last few minutes enormously
amusing. Why that should be, she could not imagine, but then she was not able
to sha
r
e their sense of the absurdity of one
lone woman halting with impunity the progress of Alexander Marshall's brigade
in order to gather herbs by the roadside.
I
t
was eight o'clock and almost dark when the brigade reached the village of Ro
m
sey. They had been on the road for six hours, and
Ginny was beginning to feel as if her rear was cemented to Jen's saddle. Waking
up in Carisbrooke
C
astle this morning seemed as if it
had happened two days ag
o.
She staggered slightly as her feet
touched ground again, and Alex steadied her with an anxious hand.
"Are you all right?"
"I think so." She grimaced.
"
It is just that my behind is numb
.
"
He grinned and whispered, "You need a good rubdown. I'll
see if it can be arranged later."
"Hush!" she hissed, as the
little
prickles of anticipation ran down
her spine.
Alex composed his features and said in his customary brisk
tones that could be heard by all, "You may walk around a little with Je
d;
it will help the stiffness. I must arrange for the
billeting. When I have done so, you will be able to rest." So saying, he
strode off with Diccon in attendance toward the timber-beamed, thatch-roofed
inn across the village green.
The customary orderly bustle began around them as she and Jed
strolled companionably around the village, Ginny arching her back every now and
again against he
r
hands to relieve the aching muscles.
There were
,
eyes everywhere, peering out of the
small cottage windows and from behind doors opened a crack. Children, bolder
than their elders, appeared in the narrow lanes, gazing with frank curiosity,
running excitedly to the village green when the bugle sounded.
"Do they see friend or foe?" Ginny mused aloud as a
front door clicked shut at their passing.
"
Depend
s
.
"
Jed shrugged. "There
'
ll be some for the king and some for Parliament, like
always."
"And under the same roof, too." Ginny looked at
him, eyebrows raised.
"
That is the case with the colonel's
family, I understand.
"
"Aye.
"
There
was silence. Obviously Jed did not care to discuss his colonel's private
affairs, and Ginny could only respect hi
s
reticence.
They came back to the green to find it transformed. It was
now an encampment where the glow of braziers and the smell of roasting meat
indicated that the men had wasted
little
time in seeing to their needs. Ginny sniffed hungrily.
"
Why are they not billeted in the
cottages, Jed? It is usually done, is it not?"
Jed grunted scornfully. "Colonel won't have it. Makes
'em soft, and the result's always the same, slackness and loss of discipline.
Living in the open keeps 'em fit, away from pestilence."
Ginny nodded her comprehension. There was certainly truth in
the latter statement. In the crowded cottages where sanitation was poor, if not
nonexistent, disease could run like wildfire. It was much better to be out in
the fresh air.
At this point, they were hailed by Diccon, who had shed his
uniform and was looking very cheerful. "Billet
s
are ready
,
"
he announced. "There's stabling for the horses at the inn, Jed. Colonel
says to find your own billet there. I'm to escort Mistress Courtney
inside."
"Are you all quartered in the inn?" Ginny inquired
as they went through the narrow door into a small flagged hallway from which a
stone passageway ran to the rear of what struck her as a rather cramped
building.
"Oh, no, mistress." Diccon blushed. "I —
I
mean, Ginny. Just the colonel, yourself, Major
Bonham, and me. The major and I are to be bedfellows, and I understand you're
to share with the landlady's niece."
"And who does Colonel Marshall bundle with?” Ginny inquired
sweetly.
"
Why,
no one." Diccon seemed positively shocked at the very idea. "The
other officers are billeted in cottages around the village."