For Love or Honor by Sarah M. Eden

Author:Sarah M. Eden [Eden, Sarah M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: redemption, honor., LDS, battle, Love, Romance
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2017-09-30T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Ever since Lord Devereaux’s brief, unexpected, and, as far as Stanley was concerned, entirely unwelcome visit, Marjie had spent a great deal of each day in Philip’s library bent over the desk, writing letters. She had an air of anticipation and purpose about her that had Stanley worried. That something of significance was in the planning, he had no doubt. Further, that this occurrence related somehow to Lord Devereaux’s interview with Marjie, Stanley was absolutely certain. The conclusion that had nagged at Stanley since the not-nearly-elderly-enough widower’s departure a week earlier was that Lord Devereaux, blast him, had advanced his suit, perhaps to the point of being accepted.

Stanley tortured himself with unanswerable questions. Ought he not to have kissed Marjie? If he were being perfectly honest with himself, compared to how he would have liked to have kissed her, that brief interlude hardly counted. Had he alarmed her or trespassed upon her good nature? On the other hand, perhaps he should have put more fervor into his efforts and, as Pluck would say, stolen a bit more of her heart. Except, that would not have been honorable, knowing as he did that she was as good as engaged even before Lord Devereaux had descended upon them.

His hand was healing to the extent it ever would. There were fewer points of irritation and cracking, thanks to both the absence of constant chafing and the soothing nature of Marjie’s salve. Sorrel’s advice about his walking stick had proven beneficial, and though the shift of weight it created had led to some blisters on the stub of his leg, his limp was improving. Just out of curiosity, he’d attempted to cross his room to the washstand that morning without his walking stick and had, to his complete surprise, managed it without falling on his face. He probably could have gone farther if the leg had been secured more tightly and if Pluck hadn’t performed one of his annoyingly hilarious dances of joy. The boy really did need to work at being a properly subdued servant. How was a one-legged man supposed to enjoy any of his accomplishments when he was laughing too hard to maintain his balance?

Stanley smiled briefly at the memory before the weight of reality sank in. He welcomed the improvement in his health but found it horribly ill-timed. Just the day before, he had received a missive from Horse Guards informing him that a Colonel Fallwell, representing Lord Hill, would be arriving at Lampton Park in three weeks’ time to ascertain Stanley’s fitness to return to his duties.

“Although the wars are officially at an end, peace is not yet established,” Lord Hill’s letter said. Stanley had read it multiple times, his spirits lowering with each repetition. “Experienced officers are thin on the ground just now, so many having sold their commissions and returned to civilian life, and His Majesty’s Army is in need of your organizational and leadership skills.”

Lord Hill seemed to know the precise words that would negate all the arguments Stanley had built up over the weeks of his furlough.

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