My Dearest Enemy by Jennifer Moore

Author:Jennifer Moore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: novel;patirotic;romance;american;war;soldiers;enemy;survival
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2017-11-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Emmett paced along the line of men as he inspected his regiment in Fort Detroit’s prison yard. He’d hired a woman to wash his uniform and a barber to cut his hair and give him a shave. And ordered the officers below him to do the same. He knew it was good for the men’s morale to see their commanders looking respectable, especially in these circumstances.

The prison camp was in an empty section of the fort Emmett believed had previously been used as a training ground. The men slept in tents, and the officers were housed in the nearby barracks. In the three days since arriving at the fort, Emmett found that nearly every moment of his time was occupied making certain the mess distributed sufficient food for those in his command, organizing committees to see to basic camp duties, seeing to the ill and injured, and more than anything, he felt it his responsibility to keep the men’s spirits up. His eyes rose to the British flag waving over the fort, and he felt dismayed as he had every time he’d chanced to look at it. The sight of that standard upon American soil was demoralizing. And he could feel the effect on his men.

Once the inspection was over, he dismissed the men. The sounds of voices and of feet crunching in the snow began as soldiers returned to their tents, performed their daily duties, or milled around the prison yard under the watchful eye of the guards. Emmett stepped into Murphy’s tent and sat on a stool beside his friend’s bedroll. “How do you feel today?” he asked.

Over the long march, Murphy’s cough had gone from occasional to long fits of hacking. His breathing was labored and sounded as if dry leaves were caught in his throat. He smiled weakly, his face appearing gray. “Same as yesterday, sir.”

“I insist you go to the hospital tent.” Sick and injured prisoners were cared for separately from the British soldiers in a tent on the very edge of the prison yard, near the stables. “Come with me.” Emmett helped Murphy stand and slid an arm below his friend’s shoulders.

They walked slowly across the yard, pausing a few times as Murphy succumbed to a fit of coughing. A man wearing a surgeon’s apron met them at the door, and he and Emmett helped Murphy to a cot.

“The physician-surgeon will be here in a few hours,” the man said, not unkindly. “Rest until then.”

Emmett made certain Murphy was comfortable then left the tent. He started back toward the barracks but stopped when he saw a man walking in the shadows along the inside of the high picket fence. Lieutenant Fox. The way the lieutenant glanced back, as if making certain nobody was following put Emmett’s instincts on alert. As did the man himself. Lieutenant Fox gave the impression of a person who would happily involve himself in underhanded dealings if he deemed the reward worth the risk.

His curiosity was piqued. Looking around quickly, Emmett spotted a barrel and hefted it, carrying it on his shoulder.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.