Captain James Nicholls
Captain James Nicholls stood tall on his horse; a newbie named Joey, and watched Major Stewart give orders. He knew that something was off about his friend, and turned to glance at the window, just in time to see Sirita Singh walking away. Nicholls sighed. He knew that his friend had fallen in love with the beautiful nurse, just as he also knew that her brother would never allow James to court his sister. There were rumors through the camp that Captain Singh intended to have his sister betrothed before the troops left for France. Given that there was only 6 weeks left before they shipped out, that did not leave a lot of time for anyone to protest a marriage or run off together. James encouraged Jamie to tell Sirita how he felt, but he refused. James suspected that Sirita shared Jamie feelings but fear of her brother's reaction prevented her from doing so.
As he began to canter Joey out, James mused on his own love life. He envied Jamie for falling in love. He, himself, had never had that experience, and was a bit jealous that Jamie got to experience it. Like most soldiers, he had sexual experiences, but James was smart enough to realize that sex did not equal love. He saw it firsthand in his parents.
Joey reared up for a moment, and James quietly gave him instructors and gently patted him to calm the horse. Like most soldiers, James knew his emotions were reflected in his horse. Thinking about his parents always made him extremely tense, and he was thankful that he had broken away from his family, and had not seen them for several years. Although James considered himself a loyal person, there was no loyalty in his family as his parents had an arranged marriage because their families sought a financially viable match. James' father came from an aristocratic family while James' mother came from a moneyed family. The marriage ensured that James' father gets money to keep his estate, and James' mother got a title and access to an aristocratic class. Yet love never played a role in that marriage. James sighed painfully as he and Joey awaited Jamie's orders and thought about his parents.
After his birth, James was raised by a series of nannies as his mother embarked on a series of very public love affairs. James could recall he would often go days without seeing his mother, and when he did see her, it was often for a "public viewing." She would bring friend and sometimes her lovers over to see her "beautiful son." Then she would give him a perfunctory kiss on the cheek and send him away. His father was not much better. He also had his share of lovers, and rarely saw his son except at weekly family dinners. James felt lucky that he had wonderful nannies, and was sent to a great public school, Eton, at the age of 8. There he found a cadre of brothers, including Jamie, and Charlie and felt a real sense of family for the first time in his life. Then there was graduation.
Joey snorted and dug his front hooves in again as he sensed that James was not paying attention. James woke up and gently patted Joey again as he followed Jamie's orders and began to canter out to the field. The cannons boomed again, and James found himself remembering his graduation. It was a beautiful day and to his surprise and dismay, his parents both showed up. After the ceremonies when parents swarmed their children, his parents came up to him. At that point, he had not seen either one in several years. He spent vacations at Charlie's house and Christmas at Pemberly with the servants. James recoiled when he realized that both of his parents were drunk. Very drunk. His mother rushed toward him and kissed him on both cheeks. She reeked of alcohol. His father gave his hand a perfunctory shake, but could not seem to meet his son's eyes. Realizing something was wrong, both Charlie and Jamie moved in. At that moment, James' mother laughed hysterically and announced that the family fortune was lost. Apparently, James' father and mother had gotten deep into debt through gambling and had lost everything. The estate that was meant to be his birthright was gone. Anchored by Charlie and Jamie, James turned away from his parents, and never looked back. He, Charlie, and Jamie joined the service the next day, and James had been a soldier ever since. He heard that his parents were living somewhere in London, but he had no interest to see them. Perhaps, he mused as Joey began to trot, that was cruel, but his life had always been better without them.
As Joey broke into a run, James promised himself that if he survived this war, he would find someone and have a true family life. The right girl, he thought, had to be out there somewhere.