Page 51 of Introducing Mrs. Collins
Sir William looked a little confused. ‘Ah – but we won, yes?’
The colonel glanced briefly at Charlotte, trying to convey a question with his eyes – the question being,Ought I to continue?– and she gave him a small nod of encouragement.
‘What I mean to say, sir, is that we are advancing well, but each battle or siege must be chalked up to one side in the newspapers and reports. But that is not always an indication of triumph. Salamanca was more reasonably hailed as a win, even though we lost thousands. But the reason I was able to meet your daughters in the spring was because I was sent back home with what remained of my regiment after Albuera. Did you hear of that battle?’
Sir William nodded, tentatively saying, ‘I believe I did. Hard fought?’
‘Hard fought indeed, on both sides.’
This got a frown from young Edward, incensed that the French might be considered for praise in any circumstance.
As he appeared to have the attention of the table, Colonel Fitzwilliam continued, ‘It was hard fought but notwellfought. It was a mess. We were led by fools, generals replacing generals even while we were fighting. Our orders changed throughout, and no man knew what was happening. We didn’t have enough guns or a clear line of sight. We lost as many as the French, and that was a great many, and it was needless. No side won that day.’
The table was quiet. Charlotte wanted to meet his eye, but he looked down.
‘Their poor families,’ said Lady Lucas quietly. ‘Imagine having a son out there, under such threat.’ She leant over to squeeze Edward’s hand, and he pulled away in embarrassment. ‘I have had friends separated for years from their military husbands, never knowing when the letter might come that brings bad news. I would not wish such a fate on my daughters.’
How particularly Lady Lucas intended those words was not clear to Charlotte. She thought she saw her mother give a side glance to Maria as she spoke, but if she intended the warning for her youngest daughter, it was felt keenly by Charlotte also, and by their guest.
A silence fell after she spoke.
Colonel Fitzwilliam broke it. ‘I agree with you, madam. It is a cruelty, I believe, to ask such a life of someone you love.’
Lady Lucas nodded, satisfied, while Charlotte stared at her plate, deep in thought.
‘There are exceptions, however,’ continued the colonel. ‘Susannah – I mean, Mrs Fontaine – came with us on campaign – through several campaigns actually, to be alongside her husband, Lieutenant Colonel Fontaine.
Charlotte was intrigued. ‘She did? How did she manage it?’
‘No one knows, really; she’s only a slight little thing, not built for that life at all. But she did it. She was at Salamanca; I mean to say, she was there, in the thick of it. In the night, she searched the battlefield, tending to those who had fallen but ultimately seeking her husband. She wouldn’t stop until she found him.’
The Lucas family were rapt by the story, awaiting the next sentence.
‘Was he dead?’ asked Edward loudly.
Lady Lucas tutted and shushed him.
Fitzwilliam grinned. ‘No. He was alive but gravely wounded; she took him back and tended to him, and they now live together, here. He does not serve any more.’
‘He was one of the lucky ones,’ said Lady Lucas.
‘In every sense,’ replied Fitzwilliam. ‘Lucky to live, lucky to find someone so devoted. I rather envied him,’ he said, giving a rueful smile.
He bashfully looked down now, the conversation coming to a close; they would soon leave the table. Lady Lucas watched him.
‘Thank you for sparing Alice, Mother. She will be a great help.’
Charlotte and her mother walked the grounds of Lucas Lodge, wrapped up against the late autumn chill. It was not really weather for a turn outside, but Lady Lucas had been rather firm in inviting Charlotte to accompany her.
‘Of course I can spare her, and it is the least nod towards propriety you can afford, Charlotte.’ From her daughter’s letter until this moment, Lady Lucas had not been afforded a chance to speak honestly to her. She did so now, in no uncertain terms. ‘What are you thinking, Charlotte – travelling half the length of the country with an unmarried man – part of it with no chaperone! What will people say?’
‘It was an unusual circumstance – there was a miscommunication—’
‘Even so, even before this, you had planned to come alone – that, too, is very odd behaviour and not safe.’ She pulled her shawl around her. ‘You seem… different.’
‘If I am different from how you left me, that is exactly what you asked of me.’
‘I do not mean that. I mean, different from the daughter I know. That person would not ride miles in a carriage, either aloneorwith a stranger.’
