June 28th, early dawn before reveille: A booming morning

"Cashiered? All I really said was that the 88th has, in my opinion, a problem with disipline. Which is true. He said the board mollycottle our officers. Which might be true."

Fraser smiled to the engineer.

"So I have to apologize for giving my opinion?"

His teeth would probably take irreparable damage from clenching them so hard, Edward thought. Letting the smile glance off his now ice-cold stare, he answered, his voice now flat and devoid of all emotions:

"If you insist on giving a not very informed opinion in an insulting form, then I believe you have, yes!"

Fraser was surprised at the sudden cold face.
His face turned to a warm, sad smile.

"It seems I have offended you, captain Torrington. For which I do apologize. You are trying to help me, and I'm grateful for that.
I'm damned anyway. I woke up the entire army, made everybody stress, and from tomorrow on, I suspect I will be unable to leave my tent without getting mocked or pointed at. Worse part is, there's nobody to blame but me.
Not that I shouldn't be blamed, it is my fault."

He took off his tarleton and let his fingers go trough its black hairs.

"I thank you, captain Torrinton, even if I look ungratefull. Goodday."

He walked slowly towards his horse, tarleton still in hand.

Vickery had accompanied Torrington, as requested, but kept back a little, as required by the role he was playing here. He couldn't see his friend's expression, but had noted the set of his shoulders.

He would talk to Torrington in a moment.

"Captain Fraser?" he said quietly, stepping towards the Artillery officer. "May I offer a friendly word of advice? This morning's mistake was simply that, a mistake. We have all made mistakes. And do not be so quick to take, or give, offence... we are not supposed to fight amongst ourselves but to work together to fight against the French."

"Ever made a mistake that put an army into sheer panic, captain...Vickery, right?"

He turned around, facing the two captains.
"You're right, you both are. But I don't think the HQ will just take it as a mistake. They will say I ignored direct orders, or something else. Look around!"

Fraser waved his arm to the general direction of the army, where basicly every battalion was standing ready. Squadrons of cavarly were riding out or coming back.
"I'm dead, dead, dead. There goes my commision, my battery, all my work. 7 years gone to smithereens. I'm basicly waiting for some general and a few provosts to turn up."
He took another sip of brandy, and offered the bottle to the two captains.
"Then, I suppose, offering an apologize could do no wrong, could it?"

Fraser's sudden change of attitude did surprise Edward considerably, but it was a pleasant surprise. The apology, and even more Vickery's quiet voice, pierced through the bubble of anger and indignation, and allowed the worst of the tension to dissipate. Releasing his death-grip on his sabre, he bowed in acceptance of the apology.

In a voice much closer to his usual, he recommended:

"I do not believe that Colonel Duff will take this any further, if you apologize, but if you don't, he will have to do something drastic or loose face himself. A colonel just cannot tolerate this kind of thing from a junior officer, and a gentleman cannot leave the personal slights unanswered."

He saw the offered bottle of brandy, but politeness, an aversion against drinking spirits while working and most of all the fact that he needed a few more seconds to wrestle down his temper compelled him to leave Vickery the first sip.

Vickery took the offered hip-flask and had a quick nip; heaven knew he needed something to soothe his nerves after this morning's unexpected wake-up call.

"It was a mistake, though, I am sure of that," he replied, passing the hip-flask to Torrington. "After all, you would not have done it if you hadn't been sure of yourself. As for my never making a mistake... I do not even remember the one I made, thanks to a French horse's hoof." He had been told about it that skirmish, and what he had pieced together had led to the conviction that he had made a bad mistake, and the strong determination never to make another like it - he had been lucky not have lost far more men killed or wounded.

"I would suggest that an apology to Colonel Duff and a written apology to Headquarters will go a very long way towards soothing ruffled feathers. And whatever you do, do it with confidence in yourself." He smiled. "After all, if you do not have confidence in yourself, how can your men have confidence in you?"

He glanced towards Torrington, one eyebrow slightly lifted. "I need to stand my men down. Would you both care to join me for breakfast, once you have seen to your own duties?" He had the feeling that Captain Fraser might need the space to come to terms with what had occurred, and it was Vickery's opinion that the offer of a friendly ear might go some way to helping the man save face here, even if the offer was not taken up. It might also help Fraser regain a little confidence in himself.

"It would be my pleasure, Vickery!"

With half a bow, Edward took the flask from Vickery and took a very small sip, then handed it back to Fraser.

"Thank you, Captain. I think Captain Vickery is right. Even if the timing was ... unlucky, the drill in itself was successful. Would you wish for somebody to accompany you when you talk to Colonel Duff?"

Fraser took the flask back and thought about it for a moment.

"No, I think this is something I ought to do alone. But thank you for the offer and I will gladly take breakfast with you gentleman."

He walked towards his horse, then decided it might be better to give the apology on foot. He put on his tarleton and walked towards the lieutenant-colonel.

"Colonel Duff?"

Alexander's eyes narrowed, but the small restraining touch from his brother seemed to calm him a little.

"Captain."

Fraser took another deep breath, opened his mouth, and closed it again. Damned. Why was it so difficult? Just a few words...

"Colonel, I...would like to apologize for my behavior just now and for offending you and your regiment. I was stressed because of the situation." Then quickly added: "Not that there's any excuse for my behavior."

Edward nodded. It would certainly be better if Fraser did this alone.

With a tip to his hat to Fraser, he went to find his horse again, inquiring of Vickery:

"Might I be of any help to you now? Otherwise I think I will return to my tent - I seem to recall that I left my ink-pot open."

Alexander, feeling his brother's silent pressure next to him, stamped down on his first desire to retort, that if Fraser considered himself such a professional, stress, especially not when they were engaged in a battle, was not a very good excuse.

"It is good that you have been made to realise the error of your ways. Perhaps, you would accept a word of advice from an idiot infantry Colonel, as you have so colourfully put it."

Fraser felt terrible ashamed and was glad the battery was facing the other way.
"And what would that advice be, sir?", he asked, while trying to keep a straight face.

Vickery's eyebrow twitched. "You must have been up early, Captain, to have had your inkwell open before Reveille." He smiled. "I will come with you - your tent is within the Rifles' camp, after all. There was something I wanted to say to you, but I cannot remember what. Doubtless it will occur to me on the way back to camp."

"You will find Captain that there are very few officers who enjoy being insulted. You will also find that you have been lucky to have Captain Torrington and my lord McDuff interceding on your behalf. You, I very much hope, will also come to realise that an army requires all its parts working together cordially at the very least. It is good to have pride in your men and work, but it does not do to forget the contribution of others." Alexander paused. "I wish you will take my words to heart, Captain, and that such incidents do not repeat themselves."

"Off course sir. I will remember"

Fraser actually damned the man and wondered why he was pointing out the bloody obvious, but his face showed none of that.
He saluted and walked back to his horse, wondering what to do next, and it what order.

Alexander raised his voice, angered by Fraser's abrupt departure: "You will also remember, Captain, that you are not allowed to leave a superior officers' presence until you have been dismissed. If I should be made aware of any more trouble caused by you, I will make sure you are punished to the full extent of the law."

One corner of Edward's mouth curved in wry amusement.

"I still find the camp beds rather conductive to work. But please don't tell that to Rottlaender - I always take great pains to play 'just finishing getting dressed' when he jumbles in. Otherwise he would probably think it his duty to be up and ready the whole night."

With a polite gesture, he motioned Vickery to lead the way. He didn't ask what Vickery wanted to talk to him about. Doubtlessly he would do so once he remembered or judged the time right.

Oh god, could he do nothing right today? At the other hand, as an officer himself, Fraser knew that especially high officers could always find something to get angry about.
He turned around.
"I'm sorry sir. Am I dismissed?"

God, Fraser thought, why don't you get back to your Irish bastards and let them cut down something?

"You get used to camp beds, in time," Vickery said with a grin before swinging himself into the saddle again. "Very well, I shall not tell Rottlaender." Doubtless the youngster would be up all night if he thought that his officer was.

"I could wish that we had been allowed to be woken in the usual way," he said musingly. "What do you make of Captain Fraser, though?"

"Yes, you are," snapped Alexander and turned his horse, preparing to leave, then seemed to think of something and made his way to the other two Captains.

Edward shrugged elegantly, gathering his reins.

"I'm not sure. He sounded quite human, in the end, but ... If he was an ensing, or even a young lieutenant, I wouldn't give it a second thought, but as a captain and leader of a troop? I can't speak from experience, but I would think that a scene like that could quickly become dangerous in a real battle."

"Hmm." Vickery couldn't help agreeing with that, but refrained from saying so as Colonel Duff approached them.

He turned to look for his bugler, sending him off with a message to Lieutenant Brady to stand the men down and a request to Cotton to get a fire going and get some coffee heated. He was pleased at their quick response to the unlooked-for cannonfire; none of them had fired without provocation, to his knowledge. He had a good, steady Company.

"There should be coffee very shortly, at least," he said, and straightened in the saddle at Duff's approach.

"Sir?" he said, with a salute.

"Captain," Alexander acknowledged the salute briskly, wanting to get this whole episode over with and get back to his regiment. He nodded to Torrington. "Are you on terms of friendship with Captain Fraser?"