Temptation (20 page)

Sergeant-Major Bartholomew Tofts, V.C. (Ret’d) stood on the front steps, awaiting the arrival of the carriage for the Carter-tons. The lucky young captain—he still couldn’t think of him as Percy—had been married to the delightful Beatrice Clemens for nigh on a year now. And over that year he’d watched the couple grow together day by day.

He waited patiently, ramrod straight despite his years and injury, gripping his cane that was now his constant companion a little more tightly as a spasm of pain shot up his leg. He cursed under his breath, reminding himself for the hundredth time not to put so much weight on that leg. It had never quite recovered after the stint in South Africa that had invalided him out of the army. Not that he ever regretted his injury, for if his leg had not been shot to pieces, he would never have met his wife. His Nancy would be worth the loss of both his legs.

Behind, the door opened and the Captain and Mrs. Carterton joined him on the steps. He turned to greet the couple’s arrival with a slight feeling of sadness. This was to be their last goodbye, and he’d grown to think of the captain quite as a son, the son he’d never had. “You look after the captain, now, Mrs. Carterton.” He had to stop to clear his throat. “You know he’s dear to me after all we’ve been through together.”

Mrs. Carterton gave him a beatific smile. “I’ll look after him, sir. And you must promise to be good to Mrs. Tofts for me. I want to return to these steps in a year or two and have her greet me, hale and hearty as ever.”

“Aye, me and Mrs. Tofts, we’re closer than two peas in a pod. I’ll look after her all right. She’s one in a million, and I’m lucky to have her. And are you excited to be going at last?”

Mrs. Carterton blinked. “I’m a mite nervous,” she confessed in a whisper. “I’ve never been any further than Bristol, and now here I am leaving lovely green England for dusty, sandy Egypt to be a nurse in a makeshift hospital dealing with patients who suffer from all sorts of strange tropical illnesses. Nothing will be familiar.”

“I’ll be familiar,” the captain offered with his ever-ready grin. “I promise you I’ll be as familiar as I can be.”

“Oh, Percy! You are incorrigible. Just you wait until it’s time for your next vaccination. Then you’ll see how familiar I can be.”

Bartholomew looked on, both embarrassed and a little proud to see the youngsters tease each other with such fondness.

“I know we’re leaving our little estate in good hands,” the captain said. “Do whatever you think best to keep things running smoothly.”

He gave a smart salute to acknowledge the order. “Not to worry, captain, the animals will be bigger and fatter when you return, the grounds well looked after. And you ride those lads hard over in the Suez—don’t let them get slack. The new company sergeant-major is just a whipper-snapper—he’ll be needing a firm hand to keep things in line.”

Their small talk faded to an awkward silence as the carriage, laden with their effects, rattled up to the door.

Sergeant-Major Tofts, recipient of his country’s highest medal for valor, cleared his throat of a lump that had mysteriously appeared. “Well, this is it, then. Off you go. Travel safe.”

He was surprised when Beatrice gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, sergeant-major. Keep well.”

He had to blink furiously to clear his vision as he offered her a steady hand to climb into the carriage.

Turning to face Captain Carterton, he shook the young man’s hand but could say no more. Unexpectedly Percy gave him a hug, as a son would a father.

Though he cleared his throat several more times, a hoarse “farewell” was all he could muster.

Percy clambered into the carriage to sit beside his wife, and barely had the door closed when the carriage jerked into motion, the horses clearly eager to get going. The carriage clattered down the drive and the sergeant-major waved goodbye. Neither of the couple saw him, but he didn’t mind.

Silhouetted in the back window he could see Beatrice’s head resting on Percy’s shoulder. Just before the carriage turned the corner out of sight, Percy turned to his wife and kissed her with all the ardor of a man in love.

A smile on his face, he turned to go back into the house, back to where his Nancy was waiting for him.

Those two would deal together well enough. They loved each other, and that was what mattered the most.

L
EDA
S
WANN
lives happily on the beach in a small New Zealand community and spends free time boating, swimming, scuba diving, snorkeling, and anything else that involves getting unpleasantly cold and wet on a regular basis.
www.LedaSwann.com

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T
EMPTATION

C
APTIVE

M
ISTRESS

P
RICE OF
D
ESIRE

S
UGAR AND
S
PICE

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

TEMPTATION
. Copyright © 2009 by Leda Swann. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Adobe Digital Edition October 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-195996-7

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