A short time later, Obadiah Hakeswill sat at the head of the dinner table with his entire family in front of him. Looking at all the happy faces as he began to eat, he was reminded yet again of why he'd volunteered for active duty and gone to Spain the first place. It had all been worth it and he'd do it again in a minute if need be. Fortunately, that wouldn't be at all likely, considering the amount of loot he'd returned with. It had been a busy and productive year - in more ways than one.
"This is probably the best meal I've had in a long time," Obadiah pronounced as he took his first bite of the food. "I missed Mrs Harris' cooking when I was away, I did."
"Da?" Bridget said quietly, looking up at her father with an expectant face.
"What is it, little flower," he said, using the pet name he'd called her since she was a baby.
"Did you have a good Christmas dinner in Spain?" the girl asked. "The one Mrs Harris made for us was ever so good and the only thing that would have made it even better would have been having you with us."
Twitching noticeably as he remembered being captured by Richard Sharpe on that day and spending the rest of Christmas locked up in a cell, he turned away for a moment before answering. "No, I didn't have nothing special. But I'm glad you and your brothers did."
"Why didn't you have a Christmas dinner," she asked, frowning in confusion.
"'Cos I was busy getting ready to come back home, that's why." he answered, twitching again.
"I told Mama that we ought to have another Christmas dinner, just for you," Bridget said seriously. "I even saved my Christmas gift for you and everything."
Gazing at his older daughter with affection, he said, "I'd like that. But you didn't have to get me nothin' for Christmas. Just bein' here with all of you is present enough for me."
Anna knew something was wrong by the way Obadiah turned away before answering Bridget and by the look on his face. And, over the years, she'd noted that his twitching happened more often than not when he was under stress. She made a note to ask him about it later, once they had a chance to be alone.
"Da?" Barry chimed in. "I bet you got to see a lot of battles while you were gone, eh? How many of them Frenchies did you kill, do you think?"
"Killed a bunch of 'em, that I did," Obadiah answered briefly, twitching again.
"Why were you wearing regular clothes when you came home, Da?" Will asked pointedly. "You used to always wear your sergeant's uniform when you came home from recruiting."
"Now, children!" Anna said reprovingly before Obadiah could reply. "Your father has only just arrived home and he's tired from his long journey. Let him eat his meal in peace, would you, please? You will have plenty of time to ask him about Spain later."
Obadiah gave his wife a grateful look, both for not telling them about his desertion and, secondly, for deflecting the awkward questions. At some point they would need to be told an abbreviated version of why he left the army, but now was not the time. He reached over and gave her hand a quick squeeze, again reminded why he loved her so much. Always looking out for him, she was.
At the conclusion of the meal, he gave Anna a meaningful look, then announced, "I needs to go upstairs and unpack my things and have a bit of a lie-down, 'cos I'm worn out. The rest of you needs to stay down here with your Aunt Catherine for awhile. I'll be back downstairs later on and see you then."
"I believe I'll give you a hand," Anna said, gracefully rising from the table. "You children need to remain downstairs until we return, as your father needs his rest."
"I'll keep them busy," Aunt Catherine promised, as she smiled at Anna, knowing full well what they were going to do.
Obadiah cackled appreciatively as they left the room, trying not to look obvious as they hastened up the stairs.
No sooner had the bedroom door closed behind them than Obadiah reached out for Anna and growled, "Come here, missy. I've been wantin' to do this since I first laid eyes on you."
"So have I," she replied in a low seductive voice, batting her eyes in enticing encouragement as she opened her arms to him. "It's been so hard, having to go an entire year without."
Obadiah did not reply, considering that he'd not gone that long without sexual release. Still, it had been hard enough for him enduring the time of involuntary celibacy while on board ship and he knew there wouldn't have been any way he'd have been able to go as long as she had and still keep any semblance of sanity.
Instead, he bent to kiss her, as he single-mindedly stripped off her clothing in none too gentle of a fashion, eager to make their reunion complete.
Quite some time later as they were comfortably reclining side by side in bed together, Anna turned to Obadiah and hesitantly said, "You never did tell me why you deserted the army. I've been worrying about it for months." After a pause, she asked, "Just what happened?"
Obadiah was silent for several long moments, considering his words carefully. Anna deserved an answer, especially after all the anguish she'd gone through during the last few months. But he certainly couldn't tell her that Richard Sharpe had interrupted him in the middle of trying to rape his wife. He'd also killed Lieutenant Price in front of witnesses; that alone was reason enough for him to have to desert without even bringing the business about Sharpie's wife into it.
"I done killed an officer," he finally said, twitching. "One of ours, not a Froggy."
"Why did you do that, Obadiah?" Anna asked in complete confusion.
"Didn't mean to, missy," he lied smoothly. 'It was in the middle of the battle in Badajoz and shots were flyin' everywhere. This officer was in the shadows and caught the bullet I meant for someone else, see?"
"Surely, they had to see it was an accident," Anna protested. "Things like that are bound to happen in wartime."
"The man was one of Sharpie's lackeys," her husband explained simply. "Sharpie was convinced I did it on purpose to spite him and there wasn't no way he was going to see no different."
"Ah, I see now," Anna acknowledged, frowning. "He tried to get you killed several times when we were in India, so I'm not surprised he tried another way to get rid of you. It's too bad you had to run into that man again in Spain."
"That it was, missy," he agreed. After a moment, he added, "But in some ways, it turned out better for me after I buggered off from Badajoz. I managed to get away with my loot in the confusion after the battle, see? Got away from Sharpie, like I always do. And I ended up being able to steal much more after I left, too."
"I know you're a survivor," she said with a wan smile, leaning over to kiss his bony cheek. "But I couldn't help but worry about it. I spent many long hours praying for you, you know."
"Your prayers probably helped me to escape more 'n anything else, they did," he replied, kissing her back, his hands beginning to roam again.
"Why didn't you come home right then, after you first left the army?" she asked, still curious.
"I went to Spain to make me a good bit of money for you and the little 'uns," he explained "I had a fair amount, but not nearly as much as I needed to get. And I stayed 'cos that was the time the army might have put some effort into lookin' for me. They'd likely would have sent word to the outposts along the coast to be watching out for me, had I tried to find me a ship home then."
"I understand," she said softly, though she was still unclear about a few things. "So, how did you end up making more money than you were able to do stealing in the army?"
"Well, you see, I'd already done heard of a bunch of deserters from all the armies: English, Froggies, Spanish, and Portuguese, who had banded together to make up their own deserter army," he began. "So, after I'd buggered off from Badajoz, I thought I'd go looking for them and join up, 'cos I knew I could steal openly if I was with them."
"I see," Anna said slowly, encouraging him to continue.
"I met up with a Froggy sergeant, while I was hunting down them deserters, so we teamed up," he continued. "He and I got along good, 'cos we had a lot of the same ideas about things."
"I take it he was a deserter, too," Anna guessed. "He'd have to be if he was roaming around Spain on his own."
"That's right, missy," Obadiah responded, now warming up to his story. "When the Froggy and I found the deserter band, it was in a sorry state. There was too many of them and they didn't have enough provisions for them to get by, let alone have any extra from stealing. They didn't have no leadership, so's they didn't know how to go about putting them men to work in the most useful way, see?"
"Go on," she urged.
"Me and Pot au Feu - that's was the Froggy was called - knew we could do better, so's we took over the deserter band," he continued. "Then whipped 'em into shape so's we could be our own army of sorts. It wasn't hard to take over, neither, 'cos the corporal who had been in charge, didn't want to do it no more."
"Oh, my."
"It worked out real well for quite awhile," he said. "We were able to make good money stealing, mostly by sneaking into towns and army camps at night, then makin' off with whatever we could find that was worth anything."
Wanting to spare Anna's sensibilities, he left out the parts about raiding towns during daylight hours, robbing people at gunpoint, acting as highwaymen, and the people they'd had to kill along the way.
Moving right along, he said, "We eventually ended up taking over a deserted convent and using it as our headquarters. We stayed there for a few months, which worked out well. Pot au Feu was a chef in the French army, so's I got to eat much better than I did when I was still with the army."
Rolling Anna over onto her back, he growled, 'Let's not talk no more for right now, 'cos I needs to have you again. There's more I needs to tell you, but it can wait until we go back downstairs 'cos your aunt needs to hear it, too."
"All right, Obadiah," Anna murmured as reached for him again.
Some time later, Obadiah and Anna went back downstairs, both looking more relaxed and contented than when they'd gone upstairs earlier.
As they entered the front room, they found Aunt Catherine knitting as she listened to Bridget playing the pianoforte. The two Hakeswill boys were playing outside out front, Obadiah noticed as he looked out the window. Baby Katie was on the couch next to her great-aunt, gurgling with delight to hear the music.
Finishing the piece about a minute later, Bridget turned to see that her parents had entered the room.
"I can tell you've been practicing a lot since I've been gone," Obadiah told her as she rose from the bench. "You sound real good, you do."
"Thank you, Da," Bridget said, blushing at her father's praise. "Aunt Catherine says that I am progressing well."
"Bridget has been quite diligent with her practicing," Catherine affirmed. "I believe she has a true talent for music."
A moment later, Katie began to whimper loudly in discomfort.
After leaning over to touch the baby's bottom, Catherine said, "Somebody needs to be changed."
"I'll do it, Mama," Bridget volunteered eagerly before Anna could get up.
"That's a good girl," Obadiah said. "I'm glad you're helpful with your sister."
"Thank you, dear," Anna told Bridget warmly. "After you're done, would you please take her upstairs and put her down for a short nap and stay with her while she sleeps? Your father and I need to have a private conversation with Aunt Catherine. I don't expect we'll be too long,"
"All right, Mama," Bridget said agreeably as she gingerly picked up her wet baby sister and carried her out of the room.
Closing the door to the sitting room after they were gone, Obadiah turned back to the women and told Catherine, "There's something I need to discuss with you both. I've already done told Anna part of what went on when I was in Spain; about how and why I deserted from the army, but not all the story yet."
"Why don't you tell Aunt Catherine what you told me first, then tell us the rest together," Anna suggested. "It might make better sense to her that way."
"All right," he said, then gave Catherine a shorter version of what he'd told Anna earlier. Listening carefully, the older woman instinctively knew there was something more to the story he wasn't telling them, but she let it go for now, hoping that what he was about to tell the both of them would clear it up.
"After we set up our base at the old convent, we kept on stealing from both the English and Froggy armies," Obadiah said, starting the next part of the story. "Word got around and we ended up with more men joining us, 'cos nearly anyone would rather fight for themselves, rather than fighting for some high minded notions of King and country and getting nothing out of the deal for themselves, see?"
"I wouldn't doubt that you're right," Catherine acknowledged briefly.
"'Course, neither army was going to stand for that, 'cos just the existence of us was playing hell with their ideas of discipline," he continued. "They was losing men right and left 'cos why would anyone want to slog through the mud for a just a few pence a day when they could be making much more stealing and eating better in the bargain as well."
"They ignored us for awhile, 'cos they was too busy fighting each other to worry much about us," he went on. "But eventually, they decided to finally put a stop to us, and attacked on Christmas morning, when they rightly figured our guard would be down celebrating the holiday."
Catherine and Anna exchanged worried glances, but did not otherwise comment, waiting for him to finish his story.
"As luck would have it, it was ol' Sharpie leading the attack, 'cos that man has to have his nose into everything that happens," Obadiah said. "I was lucky that during the confusion of the attack, I was able to sneak out of the convent and grab a horse. But as I was leaving the town, I ran right into Sharpie's wife coming in and she pulled a pistol on me, 'cos she didn't like me no more 'n her husband did. I ended up havin' to kill her to get away."
"Oh, Obadiah!" Anna exclaimed, horrified at the thought that her husband had killed a woman.
"You have to remember that Sharpie's wife knew how to use that pistol," he told her, twitching. "She was a leader of the partisans who went gallivantin' all over the countryside knifing Froggy officers to death instead of caring for that brat she done bore Sharpie, like a good mother ought to do. Sure as my name is Obadiah Hakeswill, she'd have killed me without battin' an eye had I not killed her first."
"I understand," Anna said. "But it's still a shame."
Obadiah didn't think it was such a shame, but he kept his opinion to himself. Moving right along, he said, "No sooner than I shot her than I got caught and dragged back to the convent. The time it took for that allowed them buggers to catch up to me."
"Oh, dear," Anna exclaimed, exchanging another worried look with her aunt.
"It was a good thing the Froggies picked that time to come to threaten to take the town away from Sharpie and his men," Obadiah continued, entirely unruffled. ""Cos I think Sharpie might have had me shot that same day had the Froggies not come to town. He was gone several days fightin' 'em and while he was gone, I managed to escape, steal a horse, and head straight for the coast, where I got on a ship and came home."
"Do you think Sharpe followed you home?" Anna asked worriedly, twisting her handkerchief in her lap.
"I don't think so, missy," Obadiah said thoughtfully. "Ol' Nosey wouldn't let Sharpie go chasin' after just one man for personal revenge, 'cos the army is still up to their necks in Froggies and that's much more important to him than catching just one deserter."
"Well, I'm thankful for that, at least," she said. "But I can't imagine he's just going to forget about the fact you killed his wife, regardless of the circumstances."
"You're right, missy," he admitted. "Sharpie ain't going to forget about it. As soon as he gets the chance to come to England, he's going to come lookin' for me. There ain't no doubt of that. It may be a few months, but he'll come." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "And that's what I wanted to talk to you both about."
"Go on," Anna said nervously, twisting her handkerchief again.
"I've decided that we're going to have to bugger off somewhere for awhile," Obadiah announced. "Hide somewhere 'til Sharpie moves on with his life. Knowin' him, it won't be long 'fore he finds himself another woman. And, who knows, he might end up getting himself killed in battle, too."
"What about the army wanting you for desertion?" she asked. "Won't they come looking for you here?"
"The army ain't got time to hunt down every deserter," Obadiah told her confidently. "If they did that, they'd not have time to fight the French. And this war can't last forever. Give it a year or two, and it'll be all over and, by then, the army will be sending a lot of men home, anyway, so's they don't have to pay them all no more."
"Where can we go where it will be safe?" she asked.
Aunt Catherine, who had been listening silently all this time, spoke up. "If I might offer a suggestion, I would think you would be safe in Ireland."
"Good idea," Obadiah agreed, twitching slightly. "I was thinking pretty much the same thing. We could go to either Dublin or Belfast, where there's enough people so's we wouldn't stand out so much. And 'cos they ain't none too fond of the English in Ireland, it'll help that I'm a deserter there. We should do fine in Ireland."
"I won't mind going there," Anna said quietly. "I visited Ireland as a child and it's a lovely country. I'm quite sure the children will love it there."
"And it's close enough that we can exchange regular letters," Aunt Catherine said. "Of course, you'll have to use a false name when you write in case someone gets the bright idea to check my mail."
"Good thinking," Obadiah said. "Can't be too careful."
"I'll also keep my ears open while you're gone," Catherine said. "Some of my friends have male relatives in the army and you know how gossip travels. If I hear anything you need to know, I'll certainly pass it on."
"Good," Obadiah said, pleased with how well the women were taking it. "It's settled then. We'll leave at the end of the week, which will give us time to gather what we needs to take with us."
"Now, to tell the children," Anna said, sighing, not looking forward to the task at all.
