28 May; Twilight Trial

Todd's brow furrowed slightly. "He was with a couple other Riflemen," the surgeon answered. "All had been wounded. Newbury received his wound at Pombal, in point of fact. A bayonet crease across his ribs. He had aggravated this wound while in action in Oporto."

"So he is the type to continue to do his duty at some discomfort to himself," Vickery replied. It was a trait he knew about already, but it never hurt to make that point to men who didn't know the man concerned. "So he returned to duty, to be injured again during a minor skirmish on the..." He consulted his papers. "The 25th, and was sent back to the baggage, to come under your care. How would you describe his state of fitness at that point?"

The 25th... ah yes.

"He was barely fit to walk when he returned to my care, having badly strained his knee. As I understand it, he had taken a fall in rough terrain."

Vickery nodded. "And how would you describe his recovery and level of fitness of yesterday morning?"

"He was on the mend. It was still difficult for him to walk steadily, but his gait was improving. The injury to his side was healing well and would soon not have been a detriment to his movements."

"So, had the events of yesterday evening not occurred, roughly how long would you say it would have been before he was fit to rejoin his regiment?"

Todd considered. "A week, I believe."

"One week." Vickery nodded. "And how would you describe his condition this morning, after the assault?"

"Deplorable," Todd replied firmly. "Rifleman Newbury had sustained numerous injuries to many parts of his body. His knee, previously only badly sprained, suffered renewed damage. The bayonet crease he received in Pombal was reopened and at least one rib-bone was fractured, the result of repeated blows to his trunk. There was bruising on his arms and he also suffered a concussion, caused by several blows to his head."

"How long do you judge it will be before he is capable of returning to his regiment and resuming his full duties, since this deplorable incident?"

That was easy.

"A month, at the least."

"One month. From being able to resume duties in a week, it will now be a month before Rifleman Newbury may be considered fully fit. All because of some senseless and unprovoked assault."

Todd nodded. "That is the unfortunate truth."

"Thank you for your time, sir." He turned to Colonel Trevor. "I have no more questions to ask this witness, sir. The prosecution rests."

He sat down, turning the floor over to the defence, and pulling out a clean sheet of paper to make notes on.

Trevor nodded and glanced at Lieutenant Graham. "Lieutenant?"

"Thank you, sir. Mister Todd. Did you witness any part of this alleged attack?"

"No sir. I was sent for by Rifleman Cotton, to attend to two people who had been beaten."

"Only two?"

Todd looked miffed. "Two who had been beaten. There was a third patient who had suffered a stabbing wound to his leg."

"Can you identify this patient?"

"That fellow, there." Todd pointed at Lambert.

"I see." Graham was nodding slowly. "Is it possible, Mister Todd, to determine who caused which injuries?"

"Of course not."

"Ah. Thank you. Nothing further, sir."

"That will be all, Mister Todd," Trevor said. The surgeon rose and departed, an exasperated expression on his face. Graham cleared his throat and approached his colonel's table to deliver his list of witnesses.

"Trooper Sykes."

Damn. Moving with a haste that belied his reluctance, Sykes took his place as the other witnesses had done, swearing the oath with his hand on the proffered book -- presumably a Bible -- and holding himself somewhat sloppily to attention.

Being in the presence of so many officers made Sykes' skin crawl. Worse, the fact that they wanted something from him meant he was stripped of the invisibility sometimes afforded him by his low rank. At that moment, even with the potential for acquittal, he thought he would have preferred whatever in-house justice their officer might have dispensed to this.

Keeping his eyes fixed sullenly on the ground, Sykes waited to be addressed. This amount of lace together in one room never meant anything good for the likes of him.

Graham took a moment to consider his intended questions. Then, deciding it was wiser to keep the whole affair simple, he asked, "How long have you been assigned as a provost, Trooper?"

The simple, straightforward question put the provost somewhat more at ease. "Goin' on...." He counted off the number on his fingers, "Six months now, sir."

"Six months. You are, therefore well-versed in what you may and may not do in the execution of your duties?"

Sykes regarded the lieutenant warily before answering, unsure where the question was leading. "Yes, sir."

Graham's expression was unreadable. "Six months' service, aware of the limits of your duties, and until now no other alleged misconduct. Is that correct?"

Alleged? What was alleged misconduct? Either it was misconduct or it wasn't. Wasn't it? He tried to hide a scowl and only half succeeded. Bloody officers.

The context, at least, seemed clear enough. "No misconduct, no sir."

Perfect. "Thank you. No more questions, sir."

Colonel Trevor looked to Captain Vickery. "Your witness."

No more questions. That meant he could go, didn't it? Sykes shifted slightly in place, but knew better than to move before being dismissed. Any hope of that happening, however, was abruptly crushed as he was turned over to the greenjacket captain for questioning.

Sykes cursed silently. The lieutenant's questions, or perhaps, more importantly, the answers to his questions had been straightforward. At least with them he knew when to lie. He rather doubted that this would be the case with the Rifles' officer.

Vickery stood. "As I understand matters, you and your colleagues were searching for stolen goods, targeting my baggage and Rifleman Newbury's possessions. Did you search anybody's else's property and baggage?"