destroy du Malphias, I will be there. You'll see me with my uncle and my brother. You'll see my hand in stitches sewn for uniforms. You will be able to find me, but I cannot find you.'
'And if I wished to send you a letter?'
'Please, Captain, do not. I lost you once, then came you back. But now I cannot have you. Please do not make this more difficult.' She looked up and smiled briefly. 'You will have your wife, and you will go back to Norisle and forget me, almost completely. Perhaps when you see the scar on your side and notice the stitching, you'll remember, but memory of me will fade far sooner than that scar. No matter.'
'You'll forget me as well.'
'No.' She shook her head, looking down. 'Women do not forget the men… Do you remember the first girl you ever kissed?'
Owen thought for a moment, then nodded. 'Her name was Jenny. Cook's daughter at Overton Park Academy.'
'Very good. Do you remember the first kiss?'
His brow furrowed. 'No. I mean, I can remember the circumstances, but…'
'You can reconstruct the circumstances, Captain, but you cannot remember the touch of her lips, can you?'
'No.'
'I remember my first kiss. I recall the scent of clover and the warmth of the summer air. I remember butterflies in the field, and the hiss of grasses as a breeze sent waves through them. I remember him, Ira, taller than me, casting a shadow over me. The sun made a halo around his head. I remember him bending over and kissing me quickly, so no one would notice, though we were utterly alone. I remember my lips tingling and my stomach feeling as if a dozen butterflies had flown down my throat. I remember every detail, and this was before I ever knew I loved Ira.
'So, Captain Strake, you will come to forget me. You might be able to reconstruct me, but you will have no memory of me. Your wife, your family concerns, will bury me but, again, I do not mind. I shall remember you as tall and handsome, honorable and brave. And that will be quite enough for me.'
They turned east on Generosity and headed back toward the Frost home. 'Have you any idea how remarkable a woman you are, Miss Frost?'
'Remarkable rather than infuriating?'
Owen chuckled. 'Remarkable will do. You have wisdom beyond your years.'
'Not wisdom, truly, just the knowledge that life seldom unfolds as one wishes it would.' She smiled up at him. 'And that is not terribly cynical, just realistic. So many people grumble and complain, waiting for things to change instead of accepting them as they are, or working to change them. But changing things is very difficult, so only the brave attempt it.'
Owen nodded. 'Thank you.'
'For?'
'For yet one more gift.' His eyes narrowed. 'If we are going to defeat du Malphias, the old way of doing things will not work. We will need to change. I will not allow Rivendell to resist change, but force him to address reality.'
'It could cost you your career.'
He shrugged. 'And it will save men's lives. The risk is worth it.'
'And that, my dear Captain Strake,' she said as they stopped in the shadow of her parent's gate, 'is why I love you.'
Chapter Fifty
May 22, 1764
Old Stone Face, Temperance
Temperance Bay, Mystria
'I reckon that's the ugliest troop of monkeys I ever did see.' Nathaniel smiled as he greeted Major Forest. 'Heard tell you was back.'
Forest turned, his eyes sharpening. 'Nathaniel Woods, there's a sight for sore eyes. I'd offer to shake your hand, but I've been a bit on the rude side since Villerupt.'
Beyond the Major stood an open face of weathered rock. Quarrymen had been cutting into it from the west, but had left a hundred feet of old stone with pine trees on top and broken rock at the base. A couple stout men amid the trees-one being Makepeace Bone if Nathaniel's eyes weren't lying-hung on to ropes lashed to men making the ascent. The climbers each wore two long sticks across his back, and two pouches filled with stones.
Forest smiled. 'You can take your turn next, Nathaniel.'
'Iffen you think I can't climb that face…'
'If you want to be one of the picked men, you have to earn it. Kamiskwa, too, if he's going to join up.'
'He's gone back to Saint Luke. Gonna see how many braves want to join us.' Nathaniel surveyed the men gathered by the cliff. Most tended to be big, with Makepeace at the upper end, and his brother Tribulation being the only one taller. Weight-wise they ran about the same, with Trib being shaggy on top and clean-shaven otherwise. Others varied in height, but most carried a lot of muscle. Those tending toward leaner, like Nathaniel or Justice Bone, had a wolfish look about them.
Forest followed his gaze. 'It's a good crew answered the call. Those boys over there, with the red caps, they're down from Summerland, town of Farmingtown. Were bringing in furs when they heard about the call. Those two over there, in the brown jackets, they came up with me from Fairlee. Uriah and Jubal Hill. As good shots as you are.'
Nathaniel smiled. 'They related to Colonel Hill?'
'Not soes I know. They muzzle-load their rifles, so they are not as fast as you, but they are as good.'
'I reckon some wagering on that point might be in order.'
Forest nodded. 'Have the Count back you again?'
'That was his call.' Nathaniel shrugged. 'You serious 'bout me skinning that hill?'
'I am if you expect to be a captain of one of the companies.'
Nathaniel folded his arms over his chest. 'I don't think you'll be wanting me in command of no one.'
'Command? Perhaps not. Leading, on the other hand, without question.' Forest pointed toward where Caleb and another of the college boys were beginning their ascent. 'Many of these men have fired shots in anger, but not all. Like it or not, you're a legend. They all know three things about you. First, you've been where we're going. Second, you embarrassed Lord Rivendell, which means, to most of them, you've redeemed Mystria. Third, you are Magehawk.'
'You know better than most just how much that Magehawk talk is hooey.'
Forest shook his head. 'Better than most, I know how much isn't. You were younger than any of them here when you went off, and you're not the oldest here now. Lots of men have bragged about shooting jeopards, but you're the only one who has the Governor-General bragging for him.'
'I ain't special. I just done what needed doing.'
'And that's what you'll do here.' Forest smiled. 'Your quiet confidence, Nathaniel, will calm a lot of nerves before we go up that cliff. Any boy thinks of quitting won't for fear of disappointing you.'
Nathaniel shook his head. 'I ain't thinking I want that responsibility. I just want to get me a clean shot at du Malphias.'
Forest stroked his chin. 'Let me put this a different way, Nathaniel. Either you come as a Captain of the Northland Rangers, or you'll not be going at all.'
'Now, I don't reckon…'
'No, you don't reckon at all if you interrupt me. The situation is simple. If I can't have you in a leadership position, I can't have you in the ranks. You will chafe under someone else's command. Men will follow you because you're a natural leader. That creates division. And if men refuse to follow orders-and we will have scant time to train them at anything-they will die. And while you and Kamiskwa have been to Anvil Lake, you're not the only men
