Over the next few days, Bridget Hakeswill slowly regained her health. Catherine Perkins had been true to her word and had stayed with the Hakeswills the entire time Bridget was sick, spending many hours by her bedside.
Barry had remained well, fortunately, as his mother kept him busy elsewhere during the day, away from his sister.
Late one night, as Obadiah came out of his bedroom to go outside to use the outhouse, he passed by Bridget's room to find Catherine still sitting up with her, though the little girl was asleep. He stood quietly in the doorway for a long moment, just watching them. Closing his eyes for a moment, he mind travelled back to his own childhood as he remembered his own mother sitting by his bedside when he was sick, speaking softly to him. And he couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like had his mother had lived to see her grandchildren. A moment later, he cuffed back the moisture that had suddenly welled up in his eyes.
"Obadiah?" Catherine suddenly became aware of him standing in the doorway. "I didn't realize you were there. Is everything all right?"
"I was just on my way out to the jakes when I saw you was still up with Bridget," he said quietly, twitching. "Looking at you sitting up with her so late reminded me of when I was a little 'un and my mother would sit up with me when I was sick. Was just missing her, is all."
"Your mother must have been quite a special woman for you to remember so fondly after all these years," Catherine observed. "I would have liked to have known her."
"Oh, she was," he agreed fervently, twitching again. "A regular saint, she was, lookin' after me like she did. I never thought no one would ever love me as much as she did, 'til I met Anna."
"I'm sure your mother is looking over you from heaven, even now," Catherine said gently. "I like to think so, at least."
"I knows she does," he agreed, nodding. "I've escaped death so many times that someone has to be lookin' after me still." After a pause, he said, "Why don't you go to bed. Bridget is sleeping, she is, and she don't have a fever no more."
"I think I will," the older woman said. "After a little while. I just want to sit with her awhile longer. I never had any children of my own, you see, so I especially enjoy helping you and Anna take care of yours."
"I was a bit worried about leavin' Anna alone here with the little 'uns to fend for herself while I'm away on recruitin' duty," he told her, "But I feels better about it now, knowin' you'll be here to look out for them."
"You can put your mind at ease and rest assured that you family will be well looked after when you are away," she told him. "I will see to it personally."
"Anna and me - we're lucky to have you," Obadiah said awkwardly, still amazed at the depths of Catherine Perkins' goodwill." After a pause, he said, "I'll be sayin' goodnight, then. Got to go take care of my business, I do, then I'm going back to bed."
"I'll see you in the morning," she said softly. "Good night."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Obadiah Hakeswill spent part of the next day packing his haversack and getting other items together that he'd need while out recruiting. He expected the recruiting party to arrive either later that same day or the next, so he wanted to be ready when they arrived. During his time in the army, Obadiah had quickly learned that it always paid to be well-prepared.
Anna Hakeswill had spent the day alternating between helping her husband organize his things and checking on their daughter, who was now becoming impatient with staying in bed.
Barry had also been underfoot, watching every move his father made. "I wants to go with you, Da!" Barry said as he watched Obadiah fill his haversack."
Obadiah and Anna had told the children of his impending return to duty not long before Bridget had come down with the fever, and the little boy had assumed they'd all being going together.
"Don't you remember what your mother and I done told you?" Obadiah said, twitching. "You're going to stay here with your mother and Bridget in our nice new house, you are."
"I'm a big boy now," Barry insisted earnestly. "I wants to be a soldier, just like you, Da."
Hakeswill got a lump in his throat at knowing that his boy wanted to be just like him. Squatting down, so that he'd be at eye level with his son, he said gently, "You can be a soldier for me right here, protectin' and lookin' after your mother and sister, see? Lookin' after them and the servants is just as important as me goin' 'round to find men to join the army, it is. More important, even."
"Truly, Da?" the boy said in wonderment.
"You'll be takin' my place, you will," Obadiah assured him. "And I expects you to do a good job while I'm gone, eh?"
"I will, Da," Barry assured him. "But I wish you'd stay home with us and not go away."
"Have to, boy," his father told him heavily. "It's my duty. But don't you worry none. I'm stayin' right here in England and I'll be able to come home to visit real often."
"All right, Da," the little boy said agreeably.
"Now, off with you, then," Obadiah said gruffly. "I still got packin' to do here. Go pester your mother for awhile."
Later that afternoon, the three adults sat relaxing in the front sitting room over brandy. It was time for Catherine to return home to her husband and they were waiting for the carriage to come that would take the older woman back to her home.
They'd brought Bridget downstairs for a short while, as she was nearly well, but Bessie had taken both children back upstairs to get in a nap before dinner. The doctor had been by earlier that morning and had said it was all right for the little girl to be getting up for short periods each day until she was completely well.
Obadiah was all packed and ready to go back on duty, so it was just a matter of waiting for the rest of the recruitment party to arrive. All was well in his world, as he leaned back in the comfortable upholstered chair watching the two women he cared most about conversing quietly,
As the women continued to chat in low tones, Obadiah felt his eyes growing heavier. After a few minutes in this comfortable chair, he began to doze and was soon snoring softly.
"Will you look at that!" Anna said, chuckling quietly. "It's you and me and Bessie staying up 'til all hours of the night taking care of Bridget and he's the one who falls asleep sitting up in a chair."
"A woman's work is never done," Catherine observed dryly. "But maybe he's easily able to fall asleep now because he knows Bridget is out of danger."
"You're probably right," the younger woman agreed, still smiling indulgently at her snoring husband.
Before Catherine could make a response, the women heard the sound of horse hooves getting closer. Moving to look out the window, Catherine said, "It looks like Obadiah's recruiting party has arrived."
Jostling her husband on the shoulder, Anna said, "Obadiah! Wake up! The recruiting party is here!'
"Hmm?" he mumbled, twitching. "I'm getting up." Staggering to his feet, he went to the front door just as the three men were dismounting.
"I sees you found me with no troubles," Hakeswill said to them. "Bring your horses around back. I don't have stable space for any more than my own horse, but there's a nice shady spot to tie them."
"Don't you think we should be pushing on to London, Sergeant?" Lt. Hanley suggested hesitantly.
"No I don't," Hakeswill replied, his tone of voice almost cross. "Sir." After a pause, he added, "It's too late in the day for that. We'd have to stop again for the night, we would, long before reaching London. And it's better for the horses to get them a good rest, so's we can start fresh in the morning. Sir."
"I suppose you're right, Sergeant Hakeswill," Hanley said. "I hadn't thought of that."
Obadiah did not speak, but gave the young man a sour look that obviously said he didn't believe that the young Lieutenant did much thinking at all about anything.
As the men followed him around back, they exchanged glances with one another, all silently wondering at Hakeswill's surprisingly nice house and fine clothing. But it was obvious to all of them that, despite the posh new home and clothing, that this was still the same old Hakeswill.
Once the men were done with securing the horses for the night, Hakeswill led them back around the house to go inside. As they reached the front yard, Catherine Perkins was being helped into the carriage that had just arrived to take her home.
Motioning to the men to wait, Obadiah went over to the open carriage.
"I won't be getting the chance to see you again before I leave to go back on duty," he said as he stood beside the carriage. "I just wanted to tell you again how much it meant for you to help me and Anna by lookin' after Bridget."
"It was my pleasure," Catherine said. "Bridget is an adorable child. And rest assured that I will visit Anna every day while you are gone or arrange to have her and the children brought to my home. They will be well looked after and you needn't worry."
"As long as you're around, I won't," he replied, twitching.
"Have a safe trip, then, and I'll see you when you return," she said briskly. "Take care of yourself."
"I always do," he said, cackling, as she gestured to the carriage driver to proceed.
Turning back to the men waiting for him, he said briefly, "My wife's aunt - Lady Perkins." After pausing to notice that the men seemed suitably impressed, he continued, "Let's go in. Nearly suppertime, it is, and I'm sure you buggers are likely hungry."
Anna Hakeswill met the group as they came in the door. She'd already informed the cook that there would be three more for dinner and had advised Bessie to clean the spare bedroom for a new guest and to organize linen for the two downstairs sofas as well.
"This is my wife Anna," he told the group brusquely, as they removed their headgear upon entering the home. Turning to his wife, he introduced the men. "This here's Lt. Hanley,. Norris you already know. And the boy is Newkirk."
"Pleased to meet you," she said politely. "And good to see you again, Sergeant Norris. Dinner is almost ready, so if you'll follow me to the dining room now."
Hanley realized that Hakeswill had managed to marry above himself as he trailed behind his hostess along with the others. He briefly wondered how the scrawny and uncultured sergeant accomplished that feat. But he was more interested in whether Hakeswill's wife was sufficiently cultured to serve some decent wine with their meal. Hanley was approaching near sobriety after a long day in the saddle; something he hoped to remedy very shortly. He was prepared for any eventuality, however, as he was carrying a flask of whiskey, which he planned to drink later that evening.
As young Peter Newkirk was about to follow the others, Hakeswill reached out a hand to hold him back.
"Word to the wise, boy," Obadiah growled in a low voice. "If you steals anything from my home, I'll flog you to death myself, make no bones. You'll have plenty of chances later on to do some plundering once we gets to London. I purposely asked for you to be in the recruitin' party 'cos I knows you're a cutthroat and a thief and good at it, too. You're not as good as me, though. But so long as you does what I say and don't steal from me, I'll let you keep a cut of everything we steal, 'cos I takes proper care of those who does what I tells them, see?"
"Yes, sir," the boy said, gulping. He was well aware of Hakewill's reputation and knew he meant what he said.
"Good lad," he replied. "Let's eat."
A few minutes later, after the food had been served and everyone had settled in to eat, Anna turned to Sergeant Norris with a smile and asked, "I've missed seeing Carrie since we've returned to England. How are she and the children getting along? Well, I hope."
"She's doing better now," Norris told her quietly, his expression forlorn. "We were to have another baby, but she lost it and nearly died herself."
"I'm so sorry," Anna said helplessly. "I wish I could have been there to be of support."
"I hated having to leave her, so I did," he admitted. "She's only just now getting better."
"Where are you living now?" Anna asked. "If it's nearby, I'd love to visit with her."
"Oh, we're garrisoned in a town not all that far out of Portsmouth," he explained patiently. "So not that near at all for a quick visit. The unit is billeted in different places all over town and we ended up with a couple of rooms over a tavern. It was hard for her to get better there because of all the noise at night and all."
"Oh, dear," Anna said, not knowing what else to say, grateful yet again for her good fortune.
"Don't get me wrong," he continued. "We're grateful to have the rooms, as we could have ended up sleeping in a tent again, but I just wished it had been a quieter place. And we're just glad to be back in England, too, so we are."
"I understand." Anna said. "I'll be glad to raise my children on good English soil."
"My compliments, Mrs Hakeswill," Lt Hanley called out from the other side of the table, swaying slightly. "Excellent wine."
"Uh, thank you, Lt. Hanley." She exchanged a look with Obadiah, who grinned and rolled his eyes.
Newkirk remained silent, his attention fully focused on the food on his plate. He'd not eaten this well in quite a long time.
After dinner was over, Anna showed the men to where they would sleep: Lt. Hanley in the spare bedroom that Catherine had so recently vacated, Norris to the sofa in Obadiah's office, and Newkirk to the sofa in the main sitting room. Hanley retired almost immediately, as he had a date with his whiskey flask, with the others following not long after.
Obadiah and Anna spent some time with their children upstairs before they, too, went to bed. It would be their last time together for at least two weeks, so they wanted to make the most of it
Early the next morning, Anna watched Obadiah dress in one of his new uniforms for the first time. "It's almost strange seeing you in a uniform again," she remarked as she slipped her shoes on. "I'd become so quickly accustomed to you in your new clothes."
Surveying himself in the mirror, he said, "This uniform is so much better than any I've had before, it is. It fits me better, like how an officer's uniform fits."
"That's because it was tailored especially for you," she said, laughing. "It does make a difference."
Looking around the room to make sure he'd not forgotten anything, his eyes fell on the nightstand. Walking over, he scooped up the miniature portrait of Anna and slipped it into his pocket. "I'd not want to go off and leave this," he said, twitching. "It'll be almost like havin' you with me. Any time I gets to missing you, I'll pull this out and look at it."
"The same for me," Anna said, picking up the new miniature of Obadiah that had been set in a large pendant. Aunt Catherine had sent over a local painter who'd created the miniature just two weeks before. Glancing at it fondly, she said, I still can't believe how good a job the artist did - it looks just like you."
Taking her in his arms, he kissed her, then murmured, "I'm going to miss you, Anna."
"And I, you," she said softly.
An hour later, Anna Hakeswill, with her two children on either side of her, stood in the front yard as the recruiting party mounted up and got ready to go.
"Remember what I told you, yesterday, boy," Obadiah said as he knelt down to say goodbye to Barry. "Be good for your mother and look out for her and Bridget. I'm countin' on you to be a good soldier, I am".
"I will, Da," the boy said, trying to keep the tears from his eyes.
Turning to Bridget, he hugged her, then gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Be a good girl for your Mama, little flower, and I'll bring you and Barry something when I comes back home, I will."
The little girl didn't quite understand what was going on, so she just smiled and nodded, hugging her father back.
Rising to his feet, Obadiah took Anna back into the doorway and took her in his arms one last time. "Wear this, 'til you sees me riding back down the lane again," he murmured, twitching, as he lifted the pendant up from where it hung from a gold chain around her neck.
"You can count on that," she said as he leaned in to kiss her. "Take care of yourself and come home safely to me."
He didn't reply, but bent his head to kiss her one last time. Reluctantly breaking away, Obadiah went to his waiting horse, and swung quickly up into the saddle. With one last, longing gaze at Anna and the children, he was off, followed by the rest of the recruiting party.
Anna remained in the yard, watching until Obadiah and the others rode out of sight.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Author's note: The character of Peter Newkirk is named after the Newkirk in the TV show, Hogan's Heroes, who was a bit of a pickpocket and a thief, himself.