Later that afternoon, Richard Sharpe was whistling a happy tune as he entered his barracks back at camp.

"Well?" Private Archie Dennison asked. "How did it go? Did you get your itch scratched?"

"Thoroughly," was Sharpe's laconic reply, with a smirk of satisfaction on his face. "Took right good care of me, she did."

"Didn't give you no trouble about it, did she?" another private asked. "You can never be too sure of them that don't sell it."

"That's why I brought the wine," the corporal explained. "Makes 'em relax enough to just do what comes natural."

"Right you are," another corporal remarked. "Cheaper than them trulls what sells it and hardly no risk of gettin' the pox besides."

"You going to see her again?" Private Dennison asked.

"Probably not," Sharpe replied. "Her Da will be wantin' me to marry her if I start seeing her regular. There ain't no need to get myself tied down when there are so many other comely wenches around."

"Ain't that the truth," Dennison agreed, chuckling.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Jane Cutler did not sleep well that night, following her afternoon with Richard Sharpe. Her rest was erratic and fitful, with her awakening several times during the night with guilty, anxious feelings. She'd begged off from dinner, telling Abby that she was unwell when she came to the door to check on her.

Now, as she watched the sun rise from her bedroom window, she knew she couldn't bear to go to work and face people today. Especially Obadiah Hakeswill. If he happened to come into the shop that day, he'd see that something was wrong and ask her about it.

Jane wasn't ready to talk about the stupid and irresponsible thing she'd done. She didn't know if she'd ever be able to talk about it with anyone. Knowing that her Da would be disappointed with her if he knew, she was deeply ashamed of her rash behaviour. She needed this day to herself to make peace with what had happened and to move on from it.

Hearing the sounds of the rest of the household stirring, getting ready for the new day, Jane eased out of bed and threw her dressing gown on over her shift. After stuffing her feet into her bedroom slippers, she went next door to the room Abby and Sarah shared. Her younger sisters were getting dressed as she entered the room.

"Abby, I need to ask you a favour," she began hesitantly.

"What is it?" Abby asked, frowning. "Why aren't you getting dressed? You'll be late for work."

"I'm still feeling rather unwell," Jane explained. "I was wondering if you would go in and work for me today and I will take your day tomorrow. I really need to get some rest today."

Looking at her sister, Abby swallowed the sarcastic remark that first sprang to mind; one glance at the dark circles under Jane's eyes proved the truth of her words.

"All right, I'll do it," she said reluctantly. "But you owe me."

"Thanks ever so much," Jane replied. "And I said I'd work your day tomorrow. I won't go back on my promise."

"I'll bring you up some breakfast after everyone has left," Sarah piped up. "I do hope you feel better soon."

"And I hope I don't catch it," Abby told her sourly.

Turning to Sarah, Jane said, "Thank you . That's very kind of you." Shifting her attention to Abby, she said, "I don't think it's the sort of sickness you can catch, so don't worry." She yawned loudly, then said, "I'm going back to bed."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /

Abigail Cutler despised working in her father's cobbler shop. She longed for the day when she could get married and be free of it forever. Jane, on the other hand, loved working there and Abby could easily see her becoming an old maid and spending the rest of her life in that shop.

Though she hated the idea of going in that day, she couldn't complain too much, as Jane rarely asked her for favours and was always helpful when she asked a favour of her.

Sighing as she entered the shop, she hoped the day would pass quickly. She'd brought along her knitting to keep herself occupied, just in case business was slow.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Early that morning, as he arrived at the warehouse to start another day, Obadiah Hakeswill heard Sharpe and his men bragging about the women they'd been with. He paid them scant attention, as he had little interest in their personal lives. As long as they did what he told them to do with a minimum of complaining, he didn't care what they did as long as they stayed out of his personal business. He'd been with one of the barmaids at the pub himself a few nights before, but this was a common enough occurrence that he didn't need to brag about it every time it happened.

As he sat at his desk having a cup of coffee a short time later, Sharpe sauntered in to get the assignments for the day.

"Mornin', Sarge," Sharpe drawled lazily. "What do you need us to be doin' today?"

"You needs to go to the tailor shop and pick up a batch of uniforms," he told the corporal. "Then you needs to sort them for distribution and storage." After pausing for a sip of coffee, he added, "Shouldn't take you too long if you all work on it, eh?"

"We'll get right on it," Sharpe replied. As he left the sergeant, he thought to himself that he might get a chance to visit the pub that afternoon if he and the privates got the job done quickly.

Hakeswill spent an hour or so doing necessary paperwork after Sharpe and the privates left to carry out his orders. His thoughts turned to Jane as he attended to the routine work, something that was happening more and more these days, and he decided to stop by the cobbler shop to see her as soon as this work was done.

Some time later, as he entered the shop, Obadiah was surprised and disappointed to see an unfamiliar young woman behind the counter. A girl, really, as she was younger than Jane.

Hearing the sound at the door, Abby looked up to see the rawboned army sergeant come in. "May I help you, Sergeant?"

Holding up a piece of paper, Obadiah explained, twitching briefly, "I got some additions to add to our shoe order here." After handing her the list, he asked, "Where is Jane? I was 'spectin' to see her here today."

"She was unwell this morning, so she decided to stay home to rest," Abby told him, immediately sensing that this ungainly, twitching soldier was interested in her sister. "She will be back tomorrow, I'm sure."

"Tell her that Obadiah done asked after her," he said, twitching again. "I hope she feels better soon."

"I will," Abby promised, rolling her eyes, having no intention of mentioning him to her sister. Jane had never mentioned this Obadiah to her before and after having met him, she could see why.

The next day, shortly before lunch time, Hakeswill headed back to Leadingham to see if Jane had returned to work. He stopped first at the market square in the middle of town, looking for some sort of gift to bring her.

As he browsed among the various vendors, trying to think of something nice to give her, he noticed a display of oranges in front of the fruit vendor's stall.

"How fresh are them oranges?" he asked the vendor.

"Just got them in last night," the vendor replied. "They're as fresh as you'll find, and they're sweet and juicy besides."

"I'll take two of 'em," Obadiah said, reaching into his pocket for the coins. Oranges cost dear, but he wanted to get something special for Jane and oranges were just the thing to help her feel better. Perhaps such a gift would even help her to realize just how much he cared about her.

As he entered the cobbler shop about ten minutes later, Obadiah was relieved to see Jane back in her usual place. Grinning widely, he called out, "There you are! I come in yesterday and you wasn't here. I done got worried when your sister told me you wasn't feeling good."

Noticing the dark circles still under her eyes, he asked, "Are you feeling any better?"

"I'm still rather tired," she admitted with a shaky smile. "But it's nothing that getting sufficient rest won't take care of."

"Did your sister tell you I asked after you?" he asked.

"No," she said, frowning. "She never mentioned you at all."

"She must have done forgot," Obadiah said, twitching, not believing that for a moment. "And before I forget, I brought you something." He held up the two oranges before handing them to her. "I thought these oranges might help you feel better."

"What a thoughtful gift!" Jane exclaimed, knowing how expensive oranges were. "Thank you!"

"It was my pleasure," he told her, looking into her eyes.

At that moment, Abby entered the shop with a basket in one hand. "I've brought you lunch, I brought plenty, so I could eat with you." Noticing Obadiah Hakeswill for the first time, she scowled darkly at him.

"Just in time." Turning to Hakeswill, Jane said impulsively , "Sergeant, why don't you join us? There's plenty for all of us. The oranges you brought will make the perfect dessert."

"Don't mind if I do," he said, twitching as gave her a pleased grin. He ignored Abby, who heaved a theatrical sigh at her sister's invitation.

Though pleased by her invitation, Obadiah couldn't help but notice that Jane seemed distracted and preoccupied. He didn't read too much into it, however, figuring that she still didn't feel entirely well. Instead, he was happy that he seemed to be making progress in his campaign to court her.

When it came time for him to leave, he briefly took one of Jane's hands and squeezed it gently. "I don't know when I've enjoyed a meal more."

"It wasn't much," she demurred. "Just some leftovers."

"I ain't talking about the food, missy," he told her, twitching again. "It's the company what I enjoyed." After replacing his hat, he said, "I hope you feel better and I'll come to see you soon."

After he'd left, Abby turned to Jane and scolded, "Surely, you can do better than that."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked, puzzled.

"Are you that simple?" Abby demanded, rolling her eyes. "That man is besotted with you - he's courting you."

"Surely not," Jane replied. "Obadiah is just a friend. He's very kind, but there's nothing more to it than that." Turning to glare at her sister, "And what is wrong with him, anyway? He's a very nice man."

"Do I have to tell you?" Abigail was exasperated with her clueless sister. "For one thing, he's hopelessly ugly. Second, he twitches! And, third, he's from the gutter; you can tell by the way he talks." Sighing, she continued, "I don't think I need to remind you that Da expects us to make good matches, not marry beneath our stations. Marrying a common soldier isn't my idea of a good match. The only men in the army worth marrying are officers - handsome officers."

"I won't hear you say such awful things about him," Jane said severely. "Obadiah is a good friend and he knows how to act like a gentleman, even if he wasn't born one. And he's not a common soldier; he's a sergeant."

"Obadiah, is it?" Abby shot back scornfully. "I think you like him more than you admit."

"Really, Abigail," Jane huffed. "I think you're reading much too much into what is just a simple friendship."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Abigail snapped. "If you don't cut him out of your life now, you may end up in a situation you hadn't bargained for."

"I already have," Jane thought to herself miserably. "Just not with Obadiah."

Instead, she merely said, "He's my friend and that's that. One cannot have too many friends." And Jane had a feeling she was going to need a good friend more and more in the days to come.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Author's Note: In relative terms, oranges were much more expensive to buy in England at the end of the 18th century. The cost was likely roughly comparable to buying a dozen roses today and would have indeed been viewed as a thoughtful gift.