Over the next couple of months, Obadiah Hakeswill and Anna Perkins settled down into a content domestic routine. He left early each morning to attend to his duties as sergeant, which varied from supervising details within the town to going on patrols on the nearby roads. He also continued with his schemes, stealing what he could when the opportunity arose.
Obadiah came home for lunch if his duties kept him in town; if not, Anna did not see him until evening. It got a bit lonely spending most of her days by herself, but it was peaceful and a vast improvement over Mrs Stokes hectoring.
On Sundays, they spent the entire day together, mostly spending time walking around the town and the surrounding countryside. During the week, they spent their evenings comfortably at home together, conversing as Anna made baby clothes and mended Obadiah's clothing, while he worked to make a cradle for their baby.
"I could buy a cradle, if I wanted to," he told her the first evening he'd brought the wood home. "But I wants to make it myself. I learned a good bit about woodworking, I did, as a boy before I had to leave home to join the army, so's I know I can do a good job of it."
"It means so much more if you make it with your own hands," Anna agreed.
"I'll makes it good and strong, 'cos I expects that more than one baby will be using it, they will," Obadiah replied.
"I certainly hope so," Anna said, smiling, her heart warm at the thought of the family they would one day have.
Now, after two months, the cradle was complete and Anna had moved on from making baby clothes to making baby blankets. As time went by, she found she greatly enjoyed being pregnant, much more so than the first time, when she'd been banished from her home and reminded of what a "sinner" she was all during the months preceding Joseph's birth.
With Obadiah, it was completely different. He was almost reverent about her impending motherhood, and observed the changes in her body with childish delight. Anna blossomed because she was able to relax and watch her pregnancy unfold in peace.
As they went to bed one evening, Obadiah rubbed his hand over her belly after she'd crawled nude into bed beside him.
"I thinks your belly is getting bigger, it is," he observed as he continued to gently stroke it. "It's going to be a big 'un."
"I wouldn't be surprised, as much as I eat," she agreed, laughing.
"You needs to eat a lot," he admonished her, twitching. "You're eating for two, you are."
Rolling over on his side a few minutes later, he instructed, "Lie on your side this time and we'll be like two spoons in a drawer together,"
As she complied, he moved closer, murmuring, "That's it. Works fine, it does."
/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/
The next morning, Hakeswill got out of bed a little past dawn to start his day. Anna stirred as he dressed, but he mumbled, "Stay in bed. You needs the rest." After kissing her on the cheek, he slipped out and headed quickly up the alley.
As he entered camp, he noticed several of his men clustered around one tent, with some others nearby eating their breakfasts. None of the men were ready for duty, as he expected them to be by the time he arrived in camp each morning.
"What in bloody hell are you bleedin' sods doing?" he roared as he walked up to the cluster of privates around the tent. "Got you a bibbi in there, do you? Been there all night, has she? Time to let her get some rest, lads. Eh?"
A couple of the men turned their heads, clearly unhappy to see Hakeswill. Corporal Grimsby, who stood at the edge of the group, sighed and tore himself away to report to the sergeant.
"It's Private Mullins' wife," Grimsby explained. "She's just given birth not more than an hour ago and…"
"So?" Hakeswill interrupted. "Women have babies every day, they do. Haven't these lazy buggers ever seen a birthing before?"
Lowering his voice, the corporal continued, "The baby was born dead and she's not expecting to live, either, Sarge."
The wheels started turning in Hakeswill's head when he heard this. Turning to Grimsby, he said "Let me in there. I needs to find out if it's true, I do."
He pushed through the knot of privates blocking the tent entrance, then went inside. The scent of blood was redolent in the tent as he entered the confined space. The midwife was wrapping the dead infant while Private Mullins sat by his wife, who had soaked the cot in blood.
The young private, who was holding his wife's hand for dear life, looked up briefly as Hakeswill entered the tent. Giving the scrawny sergeant a hard look, he was determined not to leave his wife's side, no matter what Hakeswill said. Before he could tell him so, however, Maggie Mullins began moaning weakly.
Hakeswill did not speak, but stood by impassively assessing the situation.
"I'm right here, Maggie," John Mullins said, returning his gaze to his dying wife.
"I love you, John," she croaked. "It's been good few years together."
"Don't leave me, Maggie," he cried, even as he felt her grip on his hand go slack.
Obadiah Hakeswill had seen death in all its forms during his time in the army and knew immediately that Maggie Mullins had died.
Looking down at the young private with an inscrutable expression, he twitched briefly, then said, "You take the day off, Mullins, and take care of your wife." He turned and walked out of the tent without another word. The bereaved husband looked after him with a slack jawed expression, stunned that Hakeswill had shown any sort of humanity toward him.
Once outside the tent, Sergeant Hakeswill turned to the men still milling around and said, "Move along, you lazy sods! Nothing to see here, there ain't."
As the group shuffled off to go back about their business, Hakeswill found Grimsby sitting eating his breakfast. "I have some business I needs to attend to, I do, so I needs you to take the men out today."
After Grimsby had acknowledged his orders, Hakeswill added, "Mullins wife just died, so I'm letting him take the day off to bury his family, I am."
As Mullins had before him, Grimsby regarded the rawboned man incredulously, but did not comment. He wondered what on Earth had gotten into Obadiah Hakeswill to make him act decently about this situation, rather than as his usual bastard self.
Obadiah Hakeswill nearly chortled with glee as he left the encampment to go find Captain Morris. With Maggie Mullins' death, this meant there was a vacancy on the strength, so he intended to ask the captain's permission to marry Anna right away, before someone else got to him. It was the perfect time to ask, too, as Richard Sharpe had been sent out of Seringaptam for a few months on detachment and by the time the other sergeant returned, Obadiah's marriage would be old news. With Captain Morris' blessing of their union, Anna would be under the captain's protection as well and Sharpie wouldn't dare to harm her then.
He found Captain Morris just as he was leaving the officer's mess on his way to his office. Falling into step with the officer, Hakeswill gave him a crisp salute, then said, "Begging your pardon, sir, but I have a matter I needs to talk to you about, I do."
Rubbing his head to ease the pain of his hangover, Morris said, "I have a few minutes to spare, so come along to my office, then. But make it quick, because I have a terrible headache."
"Just need a couple of minutes, I do, sir," the sergeant assured him.
A short time later, the two men entered Morris' office at army headquarters. Hakeswill waited to speak until Morris had pulled out a fresh liquor bottle and poured himself a glass before finally settling himself behind his desk,
Morris looked up at the bony sergeant, catching him in mid-twitch. "All right, Obadiah, what is it? Someone you want flogged, hmm?"
"Not this time, sir," Hakeswill said. "I wants to ask your permission to get married."
"Married? You?" Morris nearly choked on his drink at the thought of some woman…any woman…being willing to marry the twitching sergeant. "I believe we're at full strength right now. No room for more wives."
"Private Mullins' wife died this morning, she did,, sir," Hakeswill reported, twitching again. "She died birthing a dead baby. So there's a place open now for a new wife. And I wants it. I'm nearly thirty years old and it's time for me to be proper married, it is."
"Do you have a woman in mind?" Morris didn't want to imagine the woman who wanted to marry Hakeswill.
"Yes, sir," he replied, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes at the drunken officer, thinking of what a stupid bugger he was. "I have a woman and I've already given her a bellyful, I have. We'd like to be married right away, so's our little 'un won't be born a bastard."
"All right, Hakeswill," Morris consented. "You can get married as soon as you're ready. I'll write you a note and you go see the regimental chaplain to arrange it."
"I thanks you, sir," Hakeswill said. "We'll be doing it as soon as we can, probably tomorrow."
"So, who is it, Obadiah?" Morris asked in idle curiosity. He'd not seen Hakeswill in the company of any women since they'd been stationed in Seringapatam. "Some little bibbi? I'd heard that you'd found quarters away from the encampment. At least now I know what that was all about."
"No, sir," Obadiah said, standing up proudly. "I got me an Englishwoman, I did. I'll bring her by some time, so's she can meet you."
As the other two men had done before him, Captain Morris gave Hakeswill an incredulous look, wondering who the mysterious Englishwoman was who would be willing to marry Obadiah Hakeswill.
After leaving Captain Morris, Hakeswill went looking for the chaplain. Knowing that he would have likely been called to preside over the Mullins funeral, he headed back to camp where he indeed found the man leaving Private Mullins' tent.
"I needs to have a word with you, sir," the sergeant said as he met the chaplain at the edge of a row of tents.
"Yes, what is it, Sergeant?" the chaplain said impatiently, not slowing his pace. He did not like the wiry sergeant, considering him a sinner of the worst sort.
"I have a note here from Captain Morris, I do, giving me permission to get married," he explained, holding up the note as proof. "I needs to know when you can do it. I wants to get married as quickly as possible, 'cos I have a little 'un on the way."
The chaplain knew of Hakeswill's reputation of blackmailing the camp wives into having sex with him, regarded him sourly as he spoke of his plans to marry.
"As long as the woman is willing, I will be able to do it tomorrow," the chaplain told him stiffly. "I have a funeral to conduct later today."
"'Course she's willing!" Obadiah said indignantly. "And we'll be by tomorrow to get married, too."
He left the chaplain then, heading to a small shop near the market. Now that he was getting married, he needed to get Anna a proper wedding ring. The shop was the place where he usually hocked the jewellery he'd plundered and he knew they'd have something suitable there for his bride.
As he entered the cluttered, dimly-lit shop, a compact Indian in late middle age greeted him. "Ah, my good friend Hakeswill. What have you brought me today?"
"Not selling today, I ain't," Obadiah told him in an almost jovial tone. "I needs to buy a wedding ring, 'cos I'm getting married."
"Congratulations to you and your bride," the Indian said deferentially. "I have many rings that would be fitting for your needs." He reached under the counter and brought out a tray of assorted gold rings.
Obadiah took his time examining the rings at length. Finally, he chose a gold band with flowers carved around the band, knowing how much Anna loved flowers.
"I wants this one," he said decisively. He peered at the ring again, noting that it appeared to be the right size for Anna's finger.
"An excellent choice," the other man noted, handing him a small velvet-covered box.
Hakeswill paid him, then hurried back to Anna, eager to tell her the news and to formally propose to her.
A short time later, Obadiah opened the door to the former stable and found Anna making up their bed. She came out into the front room when she heard the door open, a quizzical expression on her face.
"Sit down, Anna," he said, almost brimming over with glee. "We needs to talk."
"What is it, Obadiah," she said breathlessly, knowing it was something good, just by the expression on his face.
Looking intently into her eyes, he took one of her hands, while simultaneously fishing out the small box with the other, Obadiah twitched, then said earnestly, "Anna, will you marry me?" He opened the box to reveal the gleaming gold ring.
"Of course, I will, Obadiah," Anna said softly, looking down at the beautiful ring. "You know that already. But I thought there was no more room on the strength?"
"There is now," he reported, again twitching. "Private Mullins' wife died this morning giving birth to a dead baby, she did."
"Oh, how sad," Anna said, frowning.
"That it is, missy, but that means there's room for another wife now, so I went straight to Captain Morris, before someone else got it."
"I take it he gave his permission?" Anna asked.
"'Course he did," Obadiah affirmed. "He wouldn't have dared to say no, considering how much dirt I have on him. He had to give me permission, if he wants me to continue keeping my mouth shut, he did."
"When are we going to get married?" Anna asked eagerly.
"Tomorrow morning, first thing, we're going to go see the regimental chaplain and get married all proper and official-like," he said.
"I have some new ribbon that I can dress up one of my gowns with," Anna decided. "And I've just recently brushed and pressed your spare uniform, plus you have a clean shirt. After I fix up my gown, I can shine your boots as well."
"Sounds like you and me is ready to get proper married, then," he said, twitching slightly. After a pause, he added, "And no one will be able to call our little 'un a bastard, they won't."
"No, they won't," Anna agreed fervently, her thoughts briefly returning to poor Joseph. Banishing the unhappy thoughts from her mind, she smiled as she thought of her wedding
Early the next morning, the couple rose early, eager to finally tie the knot. They'd spent the previous afternoon making preparations for the wedding. After everything was complete, they'd gone down to the river to bathe together before the evening meal.
Now, after eating a quick breakfast and getting dressed, they were ready to go.
"You're so beautiful, Anna," Obadiah rumbled as she came out of the bedroom wearing her newly refurbished gown, which was a remnant of her old life. It was made of dusty rose silk, now dressed up with a matching satin sash. Anna had used the remaining satin on her bonnet, so it would complement the outfit. "I don't know if a bastard like me deserves a good woman like you."
"I'm lucky to get you," Anna told him seriously. "And I don't think I've ever seen you look so handsome as you do today."
Obadiah twitched, not accustomed to hearing the word "handsome" applied to him. Reaching out to take her hand, he said, "Let's go get married."
"Do you have the ring?" Anna asked as they stepped out the door.
"Right here," he assured her, patting his pocket.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
As they passed the army encampment a short time later on their way to the chaplain's lodgings, Hakeswill's men were up and about getting ready for that day's duty. Privates Taylor and Miller, along with a couple of others were sitting around the campfire eating breakfast, which was close to the road where Hakeswill and Anna were passing by.
Taylor spotted the couple first, who were caught up in their own happiness and paying no attention to the goings-on within the camp.
Grabbing Miller's sleeve, he pointed and said, "Bloody hell! Will you look at that! It seems I was right after all - Hakeswill's got himself a woman!"
Everyone's head swivelled over to gawk at the passing couple, who were walking close together, arm in arm.
"Not very comely, is she, lads?" Private Miller pointed out. "Not pretty like my Abigail."
"Miller, it's Hakeswill we're talking about here," Private Jones put in, laughing. "He's a right ugly bugger that no bonny lass would be seen dead with."
"Still, she's an Englishwoman, which is more than I'd have given Hakeswill credit for," Taylor mused. "Around here, any Englishwoman ought to be able to do better than the likes of bloody Obadiah Hakeswill."
At that moment there was a brief gust of wind that pulled Anna's gown tight across her stomach, which revealed the slight bulge of her belly in mid-pregnancy.
"Oho!" Taylor crowed, chortling. "Do you see what I see, boys? It seems as if old Obadiah has been a very bad boy, indeed!"
Miller shuddered, then said, "I just thank God every day that he didn't leave my Abigail in that condition." Looking at the retreating form of Anna Perkins, he added, "I wonder what in the world she sees in that twitching bastard?"
"Well, you know, they say that love is blind," Taylor responded.
"And in this case, it's deaf and senseless, too," Jones put in. "Poor lass, she doesn't know what she's in for with that one."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Obadiah and Anna found the chaplain on the road, near army headquarters. Sighing in resignation as he saw the couple approaching, he said, "Is this the woman you want to marry, Sergeant?"
Hakeswill resisted rolling his eyes at the unctuous man, thinking, No, you stupid bugger, this is my bleedin' maid. Of course she's the woman I want to marry! Instead, he said, "Yes, sir, this is my intended, Anna Perkins."
The chaplain frowned as Hakeswill said her name, wondering where he'd heard it before. Suddenly, he remembered.
Looking sharply at Anna, he demanded sharply, "You're Captain Perkins' daughter, correct? The one who had a bastard by a sepoy, right?"
Anna's face fell to have her past slapped in her face yet again like this, throwing a damper on what should be the happiest day of her life. She nodded dumbly, not wishing to speak.
The chaplain nodded in sudden understanding, knowing now how Obadiah Hakeswill had found an Englishwoman willing to marry him. This woman wouldn't be able to do any better than this malevolent, twitching sergeant if she wanted to be married. He did not pity her in the slightest. It was appropriate that she be compelled to live with such a man as a just consequence of her sinful behaviour. Hakeswill had said she was with child, so it was apparently that she'd not repented and learned her lesson the first time.
Obadiah didn't care for where the conversation was headed. Looking squarely at the chaplain, his face twitched, then he demanded gruffly, "Are you going to be able to marry us, sir?"
Giving them a hard look, he said, "Yes, yes I will. The two of you deserve each other and I can't think of a better matched couple!" After a pause, he added, "Why don't we go down to headquarters for the ceremony, then I can record the marriage officially."
Both Anna and Obadiah caught the sarcasm in his voice, but did not rise to the bait. Anna put a gentle hand on Obadiah's arm to let him know that she was all right. He glanced at her and she gave him an encouraging smile as the followed the chaplain.
The ceremony did not take long. Neither of them listened closely to the chaplain's droning voice as he conducted the ceremony, but rather spent the time gazing into each others eyes, and both had to be prompted to give their responses.
Moments later, Obadiah slipped the gold band onto Anna's finger, repeating after the chaplain, "With this ring, I thee wed."
Once they'd been pronounced man and wife, they forgot about the chaplain as they shared their first kiss as a married couple and again had to be prompted to sign their names on the marriage certificate.
As they returned to the street minutes later, Obadiah took Anna's hand and said, "Let's go home, Mrs Hakeswill."