Jeffrey looked himself over. He realized how lucky he was. The bayonet that rebel had thrust at him only gave him a deep scratch, not an opened wound. The wound was ugly looking but the doctor said there wasn't much chance of infection. Though it bled quite a bit, he simply cleaned it and put a clean wrapping on it. He told Jeffrey to keep it clean and wear a fresh shirt. Not much advice under these conditions.
Jeffrey had already removed the dressing and decided to keep it off. As he prepared to slip on a clean shirt, he felt Nancy's locket move against his chest. He stopped and touched it. He opened it. He looked at her face and thought for a moment.
He believed that Nancy did love him once and through his selfishness had lost her. It was over and nothing could change the fact. Beside though he tried to convince himself that he loved her also, now he wasn't as sure. He never felt for Nancy the way he now felt for Katrina. It was different when he was with her. It was different than anything he ever felt with any woman. Lucien was right. She had gotten inside him and broken down the wall he had around his heart.
Jeffrey slid the locket over his head and opened a desk drawer. As he laid it inside he noticed the note Nancy had sent with it back in England before he left. He removed it from the drawer and without opening it, he held it to the burning candle. It became fully engulfed and he dropped into a tin plate. He watched it burn.
Jeffrey had not seen Katrina since his return. He knew he need to but he hoped the Baron or one of his staff had laid to rest any fears she may had about him. He was dirty, bloody, and exhausted when he arrived in camp after the battle and he didn't want her to see him that way. Beside since the fighting ended, he hadn't a moment to himself.
Immediately General Fraser and Baron Riedesel had different ideas on what to do next. Fraser want to reorganize the men and head off in pursuit of the retreating rebels. The Baron wanted march south to find the main road and return by it to Skenesboro, where the main body of the Army should be. Each officer had valid points and Jeffrey was called upon to act as the translator, making sure there were no misunderstandings. He was also ordered by the Baron to find out exactly where the main road was.
He took two lieutenants with him, one from Fraser's staff and one from the Baron's. He wanted both sides to see for themselves. The three men rode cautiously south, expecting any moment to be fired upon. Along the road there were signs of a hurried retreat but no soldiers. After about five miles, they reached the crossroads. It was plain the rebels headed south but how far ahead they were the officers couldn't tell. They had found out the information they were told to find and rode back.
They found the Baron at the head of the column. "Well, Major?"
"Herr Baron, the intersection is about five miles ahead. The right hand road is the road to Skenesboro about 15 miles from the intersection. The rebels headed south. I believe that road goes to Fort Anne, sir."
"Any sign of the rebels, Major?"
"There is some equipment on the road but you can see that for yourself, sir. No sign of any soldiers."
"Good. Major, please ride to General Fraser and tell him we are marching to Skenesboro. I believe we can reach there by nightfall
The rebels have too much of a head start and our force is too small. Besides our wounded need tending to."
Jeffrey saluted and rode off to find General Fraser.
He found the General, seated on a rock wall, enjoying his breakfast.
"General, Baron Riedesel's compliments. He ordered me to inform you that you are expected to follow his men and turn right at the intersection. You are to take the road to Skenesboro, sir."
"Damn him!" Fraser swore in his thick Scottish accent. "Doesn't he realized we have them on the run?"
"Yes sir. The Baron said he believes we don't have enough men to be effective and the wounded need attention, sir. He wants to reach Skenesboro by night fall."
The General shook his head. "Very well, Major. You tell the Baron I will follow. Oh and Major, you did well today. Have you eaten anything today?"
Jeffrey was ravenously hungry having eaten almost nothing this morning as they broke camp this morning. "Thank you, sir. And no, sir."
Fraser turned and grabbed a plate. "Here," he said, giving it to Jeffrey. On it two freshly baked biscuits. "My cook just finished those." He handed Jeffrey a pewter cup containing hot, strong tea. "Eat up then be on your way. There is plenty of time."
He spent the entire day in the saddle. The Baron expected to know everything and Jeffrey was the officer who he expected to find out about it. Jeffrey rode up and down the column, gathering information on the wounded, the wagons, and if General Fraser's column had closed up. The Baron wanted no straggling especially from his Germans. He wanted to prove the meddle of his men.
The pace was steady as they marched about an hour then halted for ten minutes. It seemed with each halt, Jeffrey was sent to General Fraser by the Baron to find out how things fared further down the route.
One time Jeffrey was sent ahead of the column. The Baron wanted to know the condition of the road ahead and how much further it was to Skenesboro. Overall Jeffrey was exhausted by the time camp was reached.
Yet even then his day wasn't over. He was ordered to General Burgoyne's HQ to stand there as Baron Riedesel and General Fraser made their reports. He could feel the tension in the room between the two. Each believed they made the correct decision and the other was to blame for any failure. What amazed Jeffrey was Burgoyne's ability to paper over these differences and accent the good that had occurred in recent days. He had captured Fort Ticonderoga with minimum losses and delays; he had driven off the rebel force inflicting many losses and now the Army was together at Skenesboro, ready to move south. The General was in a great mood.
"I have sent a report north about our capturing Ticonderoga. It should reach London in about a month, about the same time we are in Albany to meet General Howe from New York City and Colonel St. Leger from Niagara. We will stay here a day then move south to Fort Anne then Fort Edward. Nothing will stop us. Here let me read part of it to you."
'I have the honor to inform your Lordship that the enemy were dislodged from Ticonderoga and Mount Indepepence, on the 6th instant, and were driven on the same day, beyond Skenesboro on the right, and Hubbardton on the left with the loss of 128 pieces of cannon, all their armed vessels and bateaux, the greatest part of their baggage and ammunition, provision, and military stores...'
The next day was hot and muggy yet Jeffrey awoke feeling refreshed. He was still slightly stiff from all that time in the saddle and his side ached from the wound but he had slept well. His room was located in the back of Burgoyne's HQ which was in Phillip Skene's large house. Skene was the area's largest landowner and a loyalist officer who was also a volunteer aide. It was Skene who recommended that the Army advance towards Fort Anne using the road that headed south from Skenesboro.
Jeffrey had first met Skene in Quebec and he developed an immediate distrust of the man. He had met many like him, men who seems too glib, too quick with the right answer, and slippery. By advancing south along the road, the General had changed his plans to advance by Lake George, where he knew there to be a good road. Now he had only Skene's word and Jeffrey suspected that.
The kitchen was in an unattached house so Jeffrey made his way to it. There he found strong black tea, griddlecakes, biscuits, and what taste like ham. He was so tired last night that all he wanted was sleep and now he was famished. He ate his fill and left carrying a pewter mug full of hot tea. Even on this very warm morning, it tasted good.
He desperately needed to see Katrina and so he walked the short distance to the Baron's HQ. Like Burgoyne's, it was located in one of Shene's houses. Smaller, it still was large enough to house the Baron, the baroness, their children, Katrina, and his staff. Not wanting to be detained on Army business, he headed to the rear of the house, hoping to enter through the back way and find her.
Looking into the first room, he found her. She had her back to him and was standing at a table, arraigning books for the children's lessons. She was humming a tune Jeffrey didn't recognize but most likely some Lutheran hymn. He stood quietly in the entryway and watched her.
Even in the full dress she wore, Katrina had a fine figure. Jeffrey noticed it the night of the dinner at the Acland's. That night she was dressed in a beautiful dress that truly did her figure justice, not like these everyday clothes. She was heavier than Caroline and not as tall as Nancy and her auburn hair, which fell to shoulders, added to the picture. In this heat, she had pushed the sleeves on her dress lower, showing her white and lightly freckled shoulders. Katrina tossed her head back in an effort to keep her hair from sticking to her neck. He smiled.
"Fraulien, Sie benötigen irgendeine Hilfe?"
