FicWad

Even Bridget Sparrow-Crane is pleasant and kind. She is normally a violent woman who prostitutes herself for a living and robs her clients, leaving them penniless in a bad neighborhood, often drugging them as well so that they cannot make claims against her. Her parents, Mrs. Boland, and Sullivan O’Shea are sitting with Liam begging him for information about their loved ones. Brian Sparrow is an amiable blond man with a jovial laugh. He has kind green eyes and a fatherly demeanor. His wife Kelly has light brown hair and a kind smile, but she is contemplative and quiet. Molly Boland, who is six months pregnant with her first child, was the childhood sweetheart of her husband, Captain Patrick Boland. She has brown hair, green eyes, and a warm smile.

“Liam, tell me, is me Paddy well?”

“Aye, Mrs. Boland. He’ll want to know the same about yourself an’ the child, I’m sure. He worries about ye, ye know.”

“I’m fine. So’s the baby. Tell him the midwife says ‘tis a boy.”

“What about O’Dowd an’ McEvoy?” interrupts Sullivan.

“Both well,” replies Liam.

“How is me son?” asks Brian Sparrow, holding his wife Kelly’s hand.

“Doctor Sparrow is a brilliant surgeon, sor. Without him, many a good man would’ve come back in a pine box. He’s safe. He don’ come into battle. Camp did get attacked once, an’ he’s not bad wi’ the sword hisself.”

“Last we heard he was facin’ the los o’ his license,” says Kelly Sparrow, Brendan’s mother.

“Charges were dropped,” replies Liam.

“We’ll tell his wife. She worries about him. He’s no soldier. She would’ve loved to come, but she was worried ‘bout tryin’ to get back to District Five after the curfew. She could’ve stayed with us. We have the extra room,” remarks Kelly.

“What about Captain Fitzmaurice?” asks Brian.

“Pardon?” inquires Liam.

“Where’s he buried? We were told he died, but the body never came back. What happened to him? He was a good friend to our son, an’ he was like family to us. We’d like to know so we can leave flowers. Is he buried in Crosspoint? Did he get a proper funeral? Me wife was in tears when we heard.”

“I don’ know how to say this, but he didn’t die in combat. Mrs. Sparrow, I don’ think ye should hear this.”

“I’ll be fine,” says Kelly.

“He didn’t…kill hisself, did he?” asks Brian.

“Not a’ ‘tall. They say a soldier died in combat even if he shot hisself or choked to death on a fishbone. Fitzmaurice was tortured to death an’ buried in a mass-grave.”

“Ye seem so stoic about it. Even in me oul’ Army days back in the Revolution we saw a lot o’ good men tortured, but none among us could talk about it like that, especially about a man like Fitzmaurice.”

“There’s a reason why I can. Your son broke a score o’ laws to bring him back. He succeeded.”

“Is Billy alright?”

“He’s fine, sor. Got hisself a knighthood an’ a new girl, Emily Barrett.”

“Barrett?”

“Aye, Barrett.”

“As in the Barretts?”

“Aye, the Barretts.”

“As in the rich Barretts with a family curse?”

“Aye, those Barretts.”

“As in our Billy’s slepin’ wi’ the last heiress to the Barrett fortune?”

“Aye.”

“As in our Billy’ll be the father o’ the next heir to the Barrett fortune?”

“I wouldn’t say that yet. They on’y jus’ met a few weeks back.”

“Our Billy? Our little ragamuffin? From stealin’ food on the streets to goin’ to bed wi’ the last heiress to the Barrett fortune. Tell me, is she at least pretty?”

“Gorgeous. Body to die for, sweet smile, pretty face, nice as could be. She’s a sergeant in the Western Army, but she’s said she’ll leave the army if she marries. I wouldn’t want to fight her.”

“That’s our Billy. Oh, Liam, don’t tell Mrs. Fitzmaurice none o’ this.”

“Why not?”

“She’ll be after the fortune. Billy’s nothin’ like her nor his sister neither, jus’ like our Brendan’s nothin’ like our Bridget.”

“I wouldn’t know Mrs. Fitzmaurice if I saw her.”

“Ye probably would, if not by name then by sight.”

“Does she look like Billy?”

“No. She’d be the on’y other person who’d ask ye ‘bout Billy by name, but ye’ve probably slept wi’ her. Half o’ Bridgeton has.”

Jack insisted that the twins come to meet Laura, but he never thought they would bring the McFinns. Dermott and Morrighan McFinn have two very young daughters. They are staying two houses away at The Hawk’s Nest, since Sullivan O’Shea can keep them safe in this unknown city. Dermott McFinn, like the twins, lives in Kilainaigh City in the Banshee Quarter. Banshees are seen as easy victims to the criminal elements in Bridgeton since Banshees are, on average, much smaller in stature and less muscular than Vampires. Sullivan O’Shea is relatively small for a Vampire, but he is extremely strong, having been a professional boxer in times past. He served in light and heavy infantry, artillery, and cavalry units during the Revolution, bouncing from unit to unit every few years without ever becoming an officer.

Michael Crane rarely has distinguished clientele in his pub, so he took his eldest son to District Five to purchase the kind of spirits these high-class patrons would expect. Normally, he only serves beer, rum, gin, whiskey, and poitín made and delivered by local breweries and distilleries. He always stocks better quality drinks and more variety on the eve of the Senatorial Ball because Jack, a loyal friend and patron, brings important men deep into a bad part of town. All of Bridgeton knows when it will happen. Out of respect for Jack, nobody tries to rob the wealthy partygoers. Jack has his reasons for bringing them there. Besides helping Michael Crane, the money they spend helps the local distilleries and shipping companies. Some of the Senators buy enough non-local liquor in one night to keep a dockhand employed for a year just counting the profit to the shipping company, since many of them buy liquor by the crate from Mike after the party, wanting to have some in stock for their holiday parties. Jack also brings the Senators there for an annual reminder of whom they serve ad who truly needs their help the most. Every November, without fail, the Senators submit a bill to improve the infrastructure of at least one desperately poor city. Eventually, it will be this part of Bridgeton that receives the money and jobs from the grant. He is sure of it.

Jack, Kerrigan, Var, and Tem have been voting on bills primarily by mail. Jack has not seen his good friends in many long months. Ardal Malone, unsteady on his one leg, walked over a mile through crowded streets, his fiddle case in his hand, in order to be there. He made his journey alone. Saxen O’Casey rode his horse from his house along the river four miles away. Ardal’s grandson Eamon and Saxen’s son Ronan are two of Jack’s generals. Rose-Marie Callahan, wife of General Keegan Callahan, brought the three sons who still live at home with her to the pub along with the refugee she is sponsoring. She asks Liam about her four sons in his unit. He tells her that the three elder brothers are fine as always and that young Conan has finally settled into his role and is doing much better. She then turns to Jack and asks about her husband.

Rose-Marie Callahan is the woman who cares for the wives, mothers, and children of the soldiers of the Thirteenth Bridgeton Light Infantry. She has four sons in the unit, three who will eventually join the unit, and a husband who was in the unit many years ago at its founding. She is also an experienced mother, unlike many of the men’s wives. Molly Boland, who is pregnant for the first time, is relying heavily on Rose-Marie for help in knowing what to expect. Her own mother is dead, and her father is no help in women’s matters. Rose-Marie also welcomes and cares for the wounded men who return home to recover but have no families to help them. Rose-Marie works tirelessly, as she has for years, trying to keep her family together. She does not know how she became the mother of an army unit, but she is well-suited to the job and performs her duties admirably. On these few nights when she may freely enjoy herself, she puts her heart and soul into her enjoyment, and her eyes are aglow with the liveliness of the party.

Laura, who is a devoted, charming girl, stays by Shane’s side for much of the evening. She is as wary of Vampires as they are of Werewolves. Most people at the party know Jack very well and know that Shane is both a Werewolf and Jack’s brother. They know Shane as well from his days as a security guard for foreign businessmen, and they know him as a man of honor, steady temper, and modest habits. Shane introduces Laura to his refugee friends and his brother’s trusted friends. He knows as well as Jack does that Laura needs a sponsor for refugee status by the end of the year or she faces deportation and certain death. Unexpectedly, Brian and Kelly Sparrow offer to take Laura into their home. They have only two children, Brian and Kelly Sparrow offer to take Laura into their home. They have only two children, Brendan Sparrow, who lives in District Five with his wife when he is not working with the Thirteenth Bridgeton, and Bridget Sparrow-Crane, who is married to Michael Crane. Having two spare bedrooms, they offer Laura a place to stay and offer to Jack that they can take in another refugee if the need should arise. Jack brought the paperwork with him and promises to file it in the morning. Shane will bring Laura’s things to their house within the week. Brian Sparrow, a brewer by trade, needs someone to help him with paperwork, and he would rather hire a woman because the men he knows are too aggressive to answer the door all day and too energetic to file the paperwork. With the promise of legal status, a home, and employment, Laura finally feels safe and relaxed. She is a long way from her home, and she realizes that the men who turned her into a victim can never hurt her here.

Katya Volkov is very out-of-place in such surroundings, unlike Lynn. Katya does not drink in bars. She is the daughter of noble blood, and she does not associate with any drunkards other than the one she married. She does not allow his friends to drink in their house when her children are awake and running through the halls. She does not want her children to see what their father acts like when he has had too much to drink. Her children are safe and staying at one of her father’s estates. He owns property in Var’s District as well as in Highton. His home in Highton is just as large and opulent as those of the Senators except that it is older than many of the Senators’ homes. Katya’s family is old money while her husband made his fortune in the Revolution. She has no doubt that her father is telling her children stories of the days before the Revolution, but she still would rather be with her children than with a bunch of drunken men. Still, she is a faithful wife, and she must stay by her husband’s side until he decides that it is time to leave.

After less than an hour, most of the Senators in attendance are already asleep under the tables, and, one by one, their wives wake their drivers, who are sleeping in the carriages outside, to bring them back to Highton. The few Senators left later in the evening are mostly unmarried, with the exceptions of Jack and Var, who never lost their tendency to party, even after marriage. Katya Volkov sits in a corner wearing a face like a porcelain mask. She is not a patient woman by nature, and her husband is a man who requires much patience on the part of his family. Outwardly, she makes no indication of how annoyed and impatient she is that she is still there. While the other wives were present, she at least had company with which she could socialize, but the lack of women makes her uneasy. She was not raised to be a courtesan. While she is accustomed to entertaining men at dinner parties and sitting at her husband’s side at business and political meetings being his perfect trophy wife, she does not share her affection with other men. She quite dislikes the way in which some of the men are looking at her, but she is powerless to stop them. The room is too dark for her taste, and she is not by her husband’s side. She wants to leave, but, being but a mere woman, has no power to make that decision.

Morrighan McFinn sees Katya sitting alone and walks up to her and asks, “Do you speak English?”

“A little. I suppose that you do not speak Russian or Polish?”

“I don’t.”

“I’m Katya.”

“Morrighan.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“I’m pleased to meet ye as well.”

“You are a Banshee, ya?”

“I am.”

“So, how did you get here?”

“Me husband’s a friend o’ Jack’s brothers. They invited us to come wi’ them.”

“Do you have children?”

“Aye. The two blonde girls there. The older one’s Keely, an’ the younger one’s Teagan.”

“They are adorable. I have five with a sixth on the way. There’s Ivan, Aleksandr, Anastasiya, Mikhail, and Dmitry.”

“Are they here?”

“No, they are with my father. My husband has photographs.”

“Which one is he?”

“The one in the red coat drinking vodka.”

“The tall one?”

“That is my Var.”

“If ye don’ mind me sayin’, he’s a handsome man.”

“He is.”

“I suppose ye’re not accustomed to goin’ to the pubs.”

“I am not. Are you?”

“Me husband’s a publican by trade. I’m used to bein’ behind the counter, but I don’t drink much.”

“So you know what to do in these places?”

“I do.”

“Then tell me. I do not know.”

“If someone pulls out an instrument, ye could dance for a while, but I suppose ye probably don’t know how to dance a jig.”

“And you do not know how to dance a polka, ya?”

“I don’ think anyone here’d know how to play one.”

“You do not think it strange to have your daughters exposed to this…this…this unruliness.”

“My husband owns a pub. We live above it. They might as well see it now ‘afore they start to work in a pub an’ ‘afore anyone’s after their affections.”

“You do not worry about them seeing this?”

“No. They’ll have to eventually. Where we live, this is normal.”

“I could not imagine living in such a place.”

“That’s what I said when I married my husband, but ye get used to it.”

“I could never.”

“Teagan! Come over here! I’m sorry, Katya. There’s no rest for me. I have to go scold my daughter.”

“I understand.”

Rose-Maire Callahan sits with Molly Boland, who is very nervous. Rose-Marie has seven sons and three grandsons. Her three youngest sons are with her in the bar. They are eleven, seven, and two. Her oldest son is twenty-five and a colonel. Her second son is twenty-three and a major. Her third son is twenty and a lieutenant. Her fourth son is sixteen and a private. Her oldest son has a son of his own, and her second son has two. Each and every one of them will eventually follow their fathers’ footsteps into the military, including her youngest son, who is sitting on her lap beating the table with his rattle. Rose-Marie has already promised that she will be at Molly’s bedside when she gives birth. Although Molly Boland lives in her husband Patrick’s house, he is away at war, and they have no other family living with them. She is terrified of having to give birth alone. She is six months pregnant, and she is worried that she will never lose the weight that she has gained in her pregnancy. Rose-Marie is very thin, despite having borne seven children. She has a suspicion that Molly is either carrying twins or a very large baby. Rose-Marie is not a midwife, but she knows something about children, having had so many of her own.

“Can I dance, Rose-Marie?”

“Why not?”

“I mean will it hurt the child?”

“No, Molly. Your child will be fine.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. Honestly, I’m more worried ‘bout yourself than that baby.”

“Why d’ye say that?”

“Because ye worry ‘bout it constantly. Eventually that child will be born, an’ it’ll grow up. What’ll ye do when he falls down playin’ or, God forbid, follows his da’ to the army.”

“That will never happen to me son.”

“I said the same thing about Owen, me oldest. He’s a colonel, been in the army ten years now.”

“Won’t ye hold at least one back?”

“No. I can’t. ‘Tis in their blood. The sooner ye realize that, the better.”

“Why not even try?”

“I did. I tried stoppin’ me husband drinkin’ ‘round the boys. I tried keepin’ ‘em away from swords an’ guns, an’ they took to it anyway, jus’ like fish to water.”

“But how can ye live with it? I can barely stand me Paddy bein’ so far away.”

“Ye learn. ‘Tisn’t easy. It never gets easier, but ye learn.”

“But what if one o’ your sons dies?”

“There are worse ways to die, Molly. Consumption, dysentery, pneumonia, plague, typhoid, cholera, diphtheria, leprosy, typhus, scarlet fever, scurvy, pox…compared to any o’ those deaths, I’d say a bullet to the heart or a sword through ye is probably a kinder way to die.”

“Will my baby die of-”

“Everyone dies eventually, Molly. Didn’t your ma’ teach ye that?”

“No. She died before she could.”

“Exactly. Me point was that there are worse ways to die than in combat, an’ there’s no way to talk your child out o’ joinin’ if his mind’s made up. Yours ain’t even born yet, so I don’ know why ye’re worryin’.”

“But what if he goes off an’ dies?”

“Ye don’ even know if ‘tis a boy or not.”

“How can ye tell?”

“I’ve never had a girl, so I wouldn’t know.”

“How can ye tell if your baby’ll grow up to be a soldier?”

“If the baby’s born wi’ a little knob, ‘tis a boy, an’ he’ll be a soldier one day.”

“I’m bein’ serious.”

“As am I. Almost every boy born ‘round here becomes a soldier. Don’ go ‘round thinkin’ yours’ll be the one exception. Ye’ll go mad when he does join.”

“If.”

“Not if, when.”

“I’ll talk him out o’ that nonsense.”

“Ye won’t, Molly. I thought I could, an’ I’m practically the mother o’ the army. Me sons grew up learnin’ to march ‘round the house an’ salute their da’. Ye can’t teach ‘em not to. The best thing ye can do is learn to live wi’ that, an’ ask anyone who might’ve seen ‘em if they’re alright.”

Liam, Kerrigan, and Jack spend the next day in Bridgeton before their departure for Crosspoint. Liam starts to walk to his unit’s camp as soon as he steps off of the train in Crosspoint, not even stopping for dinner first. It is already well after sunset when he arrives in camp and reports to the Colonel’s tent, but Colonel Callahan is not there. He goes to the mess tent and finds that there is somehow still food left. The Colonel sends him to the front of the line, since the rest of the men have already been served at least once. The officers are served with the enlisted men, but they eat separately, sitting in their own tent. The Colonel, five majors , twenty-five captains, and fifty lieutenants eat together. The one hundred sergeants have their own mess tent, and the corporals and privates eat in the large mess tent in shifts. Dinner is officially over, but there is a considerable amount of food remaining for once.

“How was Crosspoint?” asks Liam.

“Violent,” replies Captain Fitzmaurice, outspoken as always. “How was Bridgeton?”

“Doctor, your parents took in a refugee. They send their love. Fitzmaurice, they’re glad to know ye’re well. Colonel, your mother asked me to tell ye she loves ye. Boland, your wife is well. She sends her love as well.”

“Liam, why are ye wearin’ your father’s name pin?” asks the Colonel.

“Colonel, as ye can see by this sword, I’ve been knighted. Read the engravin’,” Liam replies, handing his sword to Colonel Callahan.

“William Jackson Shepherd. Well, I’ll be damned. I’ll change your file after ye’re done eatin’. ‘Tis a nice sword. Wait…ye’ve no medals. What’s that?”

“Devil gave it to me. I saved Miss Kerrigan’s life.”

“As did I, but I got no medal,” says Fitzmaurice bitterly.

“This was a bit more personal. I risked execution an’ fought off the Heir o’ Hell to protect her.”

“Ye’re crazier’n I thought,” says Boland.

Liam merely smiles in reply.

“Who turned ye into a gentleman, Captain?” asks Major Moynihan, Liam’s direct superior.

Liam boldly looks directly into the Major’s hazel eyes and replies, “Senatorial General Sheehan did, sor.”

“Ye think she’d help me impress the ladies?” asks Major Moynihan.

“No,” replies Liam sternly. “She wouldn’t.”

“Ah, Liam, can’t ye joke?”

“Not about her.”

“She your girlfriend?”

“Major!” shouts Colonel Callahan.

“Aye, sor?”

“Shut your mouth or I’ll let Liam shut it for ye.”

“Aye, sor.”

“Welcome back Liam.”

“Colonel, are me men alright?” asks Liam.

“No casualties. Your corporals are back in combat.”

“Fitzmaurice, how’s the eye?”

“Still swollen shut. Hurts like fuck.”

“An’ Sergeant Nolan?”

“Broken nose, four broken teeth, black eye, two broken fingers, a broken wrist, sprained ankle, an’ a couple bruised ribs. He’ll need blood, but I’m puttin’ off surgery,” replies Doctor Sparrow.

“What happened to him?” asks Liam.

“He slipped down a steep riverbank and got carried down stream. When he got back he was flogged an’ docked pay for assaultin’ an officer,” replies Captain Fitzmaurice.

“What really happened, Billy?” asks Liam.

“A bunch o’ the officers, I won’t say who, took him to the woods an’ beat the shite out o’ him wi’ anythin’ they had lyin’ ‘round an’ dunked him in the stream. When he got back, he was flogged an’ docked pay for assaultin’ an officer.”

“I see,” says Liam. “An’ how’s Sergeant Barrett?”

“Worried.”

“Is she…late?”

“No. She’s worried ‘bout me. She’s taken leave from her unit so she can stay wi’ me. By the way, she’s in the tent now. She’s stayin’ in me bunk wi’ me. She’s afraid I’ll never see again in that eye, which could mean a medical discharge.”

“So, Liam, how was it drinkin’ wi’ Senators?” asks Captain Boland.

“Champagne is awful. ‘Twas brilliant, though. I even remembered which fork to use. Ye should’ve seen me dressed like a gentleman.”

“Ye didn’t jus’ wear your dress uniform?”

“No, an’ I looked like that portrait o’ me father ye see in the courts.”

“Never been arrested,” says Boland.

“Fitzmaurice knows what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.”

“Those charges were expunged from me record after five years o’ probation. How the fuck did ye hear ‘bout that?”

“The way everyone in Bridgeton hears ‘bout things. I heard it in a pub.”

“Bastard…”

“I believe it’d be Sir Bastard,” says Captain Boland.

After dinner, Colonel Callahan fixes Liam’s paperwork and sends him to his tent. Captain Fitzmaurice has Sergeant Barrett snuggled in his arms. Sergeant Barrett is nothing like the other sergeants Liam knows. She salutes him out of genuine respect, and, when he insists that a salute is not necessarily, willingly greets him warmly. She is petite with brown hair and lively gray-green eyes. Liam collapses onto his bunk and falls asleep immediately. He is travel-weary, and he cannot stay awake any longer. Liam is still Liam. He may be an officer and have a royal knighthood, but he is not a typical gentleman. He is a Bridgeton Gentleman.