28th May; Trial , but going to another camp

(Pye comes from here.)

Cotton, Newbury, they were both wrong. He wanted to be alone though, because there he could have some peace, some time for thought. He had been tempted to venture to the provost's tents again, but decided against it. A hot tea could do the trick, or even just sitting down there in peace and silence.

When he reached the campfire, usually occupied by the rifles, he sat down. He peered at the kettle to see if there was any water in it, and fished through his pocket for tea leaves.

"Oi!" Maggie barked, seeing someone at her kettle. Or Cotton's kettle, technically, since it was bigger than hers. Then she recognized him. "Oh, it's you Zack. Have some tea. Is the court martial over? What did they decide?"

"No, ain't over, ma'am." Pye loooked as guilty as if he had committed a crime, and a scared even. Till he saw it was Maggie, and she was not wielding a broom or trying to chase him away with a dog. "Nothin' decided yet... ma'am. I just.. .left sooner. " He took the water and poured it into his mug, adding tea leaves.

"What was happening? Why'd you leave? Is it going all right? Do you think they'll get punished, the provosts?"

"..I don't know. We can always hope it." He rested his mug on his knee. ".. I left... couse I was .. I was finished." He nodded , sounding more convinced. "Tole them wot' they needed... no use in stayin' around."

Maggie frowned as she fixed her own tea. "Didn't you want to find out what happens? What about Gabe and Joe?"

"Dunno. I think they're still there. Probably..." He scowled. "We had... ah nothing.." He shrugged. "I left, 's wot' I felt like it. They'll tell me wot's what later!" Sounded somewhat defensively.

"What's wrong, Zachary?" she asked, sounding stern and uneasy at the same time. "Tell me what happened."

"Nothin'..." He said more harshly than he intended. His voice softened after that and frowned. "....we's just get a ..differen' view on things. Is all. T'at happens..." He averted his gaze.

"What view? What things?" she demanded. "Captain Vickery said that the provosts have a grudge against the riflemen. I don't know if that means all of you, or just you lot back here with the baggage. But if that's why Jenny got in trouble, then it might land me in trouble too."

"..Jenny ain't in trouble. They wasn't after her...well.. they did attack 'er, but they'll leave 'er alone now, I think. THey ain't stupid to do it again. N' they was after .." He frowned, not liking her tone. "You're safe. They ain't got a grudge 'gainst you..n' after t' trial.. well I think they won't do anythin' ever... as stupid!" He looked up. ...we disagreed on 'ow ter do things..n'.. whether t' provosts will get it or not."

"You think they had a grudge against Jenny? Or out of all the wagons in the baggage train, they just happened to pick the one where she'd left her stuff with a rifleman? Zack." She gave him a reproachful frown. "I know what grudges are like. Someone with a grudge will hurt anything or anyone that you care about. They did it to get at Joe. And it worked, didn't it! And right or wrong, it's made him dangerous to be around for someone like Jenny. And dangerous for me too. And for whoever you care about - like your little Peggy chick, or that young Lucy and Davy."

"Don't think there was a grudge 'gainst Jenny. But she was there.., so it was convenient.. n' provosts are men. Cruel men.. so they saw a double opportunity, seeing a good lass, n' the man they disliked." He didn't know if he was making enough sense for Maggie, but he hoped it was not saying something that might scare her.

"We're at war.. lass. ..there's always some danger 'ere. But if yer are not alone, n' are with t' riflemen instead.. or in a group...of other people.. you'll always be safe. If yer go n' think you'll be safer somewhere alone.. on t' other hand." He shook his head. "Well then you are doin' jus' wot' they want."

He looked more protective of his chick when she mentioned it though. "...how'd ye know 'bout Lucy n' Davy?"

She shrugged dismissively. "We talk to each other, us women. But you're not listening to me, Zack. We have enough dangers from the French without you lads running about making new enemies for us in our own army. Don't you understand that?" She pointed at her grazed cheek which was still healing from her ordeal in Coimbra. "This was from a man in our own army. A man with a grudge against someone else." She shook her head and glared at him. "It's you lads who make it dangerous for us, not the French. It's never safe, not from men like that. Provosts - they can take anyone, any time they like."

"..t' provosts wouldn't hurt Lucy or Davy.. or you, fer us, me." He shook his head with a frown. He hadn't considered the women as easy targets when the men wanted to enact revenge. "We ain't...t' blame, miss. You don't belong to us, you lasses. Lucy's m' friend, jus' a friend too!..she would not be hurt couse of me. I know that. You wos' unlucky.. but... I bet that man would've wanted ter hurt you even without...." Ok that made little sense." ..That man is demented.. Maggie. He hurts people no matter who they are, or why... he's cruel. He's vile. That's not t' same as most men here. Couse provosts, they may be stupid but.. they ain't mad. ..n'.. no, you mus' be connectin' things real wrong."

She stared at him, her mind racing. How much did he know? Did everyone know? She had blurted out the man's name to Cotton just once, but surely he would not have told anyone. She had told Jenny that very first night, but Jenny was discreet, wasn't she? "What... How... Nobody knows who he was." Or no one was supposed to know. She blinked. Had Pye even been a rifleman then? She could hardly remember. How much had people been gossiping?

"I didn' know.. o' been told, Miss Cotton." Pye spoke as he saw the distress on her face. "But..I guessed. N' I'um from the 33rd... I've seen things, that were similar like..." His eyes lifted, though they gave some privacy to Maggie still.

"..Yer confirm it now..with that. N' I know 'im.. so ....but I wouldn't.. nor won't tell..if's that you're worried about."

"Stop it," she snapped. "No you don't." And she abruptly got up and marched away.

Pye felt puzzled. Sure, he had struck a nerve, but it wasn't him, who started talking about injuries and men who hurt others in favour of something. It was her. Why she had then just upped and left?

She didn't expect him to follow, did she? Women. Such complicated beings. All great one moment, all like a storm cloud, the next. Perhaps the storm cloud did want to be left alone, men did, when they turned to go. So after a short internal debate, he turned back to the fire and shook his head.

"....dunno t' 'ell wot' she wanted.."