7th July: Come along by horse

At first it seemed that Pye had gone off back to his camp. A momentary silence however was interrupted with soft chirps and then a much more excited head peeking in. "Yes Si........." He began then blinked. "'scuse me sir!...uh you called sir?"

Edward took off his bicorn and ruffled his hair until it stopped sticking to his head and looked more like his usual soft curls.

"Ah, Pye. Have you seen Captain Vickery? Is he in?"

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Freddie hadn't heard - he was busy rubbing the horses down, something he felt more comfortable with than Pye and had therefore cheerfully offered to do.

"We've seen 'im. .and we've tole him wot' you've said, sir." Pye straightened a little, not sure whether he should enter the tent wholly or stand where he was at the moment, part in, part out.

"Think yer two could talk now..he's asked us 'bout wot' happened. So we's told him some." Pye hurried to tell exactly what they had reported already almost as if Torrington needed to be prepared. He blushed a darker red and smiled. "..Wot....wot' was it like at t' hussars?.." He looked shy inquiring knowing it was none of his business.

"Cornet Atkins is under the surgeon's care and supposed to make a good recovery in time, the two wounded troopers are patched up and supposed to be fit for duty again within the week."

Torrington told him, glad he had this information, although it had come to him more or less by accident; he had met one of the wounded troopers limp back to his tent on his way back and inquired.

"Captain Heylinger was not pleased, of course, but justifiably proud of the way we got away. Did Vickery indicate whether it would be convenient if I went to see him now?"

"Think it would. Oh....you's wanted tea firs'.. sir?.. We've had the water boil.. so there mus' be some more of it in there, and 's no trouble to make it first 'fore ...if you want to, that is..Freddie's brushin' the horses , if you need 'im too." He smiled sheepishly. "I mean Rot...rifleman Rothlands." He still struggled around that name.

Edward hid a smile and corrected gently: "Rottländer. If he is brushing the horses, then he better should continue. A cup of tea would be very welcome, though, thank you."

He quickly checked the gear Pye and Freddie had put on his bed. It would be a shame if they had gone to all this trouble and then lost the results in the brief melee.

"Yes, sir! Should I retrieve.. that is.. go to see , tell captain Vickery that you are ready to see him, or ..that you will go see him?" He stumbled over his words while he was turning to get the tea for the officer made. He needed his cup too. He looked apologetic, had to enter the tent again and look about. Freddie would have known exactly where to look, but he had felt like he was intruding in an officer's space, which made it a bit harder.

"'scuse me.." He was ready to just fetch his, it was very clean, and offer the tea in that!

"The porcelain is in that chest over there. But please fill this one."

Torrington pulled out the metal mug he had got after a few days in camp for field work. After handing the mug to Pye, he sighed and put on his saber belt again.

"I think I will go over to Captain Vickery now - I already have kept him waiting far too long."

"A'right sir.....oh sir, do you want me to bring you tea there, or.. do will yer wait jus' a moment so I get it?" Pye asked already hurrying to the fire that had been made earlier and above which the water was boiling. He had nearly poured some over his hand, when he looked to the officer to see on what he had decided then quickly returned his attention to the mug.

It was filled with the water and then he decided to add the tea leafs that he had. He could not run back in again, and demand the officer's own tea!

Torrington came out of the tent just a moment later, his sword once again properly by his side, but incongruously with his hat in his hand.

"Ah, thank you, Pye. Might I exchange it for this ... I believe the young lady has exhausted herself exploring."

Inside the hat a ball of yellow fluff was moving a bit and blinking a beady eye open.

Pye was confused when a hat was offered to him, wondering why Torrington called it a young lady untill he peeked inside. His cheeks had gone an embarrassing red and a salvo of apologies about how he was really sorry Peggy had gone into the hat, and how he really did not mean her to do so, or explore the tent and he had not seen her enter and he was just really, really, really sorry and Peggie meant nothing bad by it, and he nearly began to plead for Torrington to spare her life for such a transgression.

The little chick chirped softly and seemed quite at home in the hat. She snuggled into the warmest part of it and appeared to want nothing more but to stay in her new, pretty nice , cosy home!

"Pye ... Pye ... PYE!"

Edward tried to interrupt the stream of apologies.

"While I prefer that all feathers in my tent are restricted to my pillow, she did not do any damage, and I have already learned that the invasion of one's tent by animals is a pretty common occurrence here. However, if you wouldn't mind, I need my hat now, and the addition of a live birds to headdresses came out of fashion with my grandmother."

Pye restrained himself from saying that there could be a soldier or two found hiding a chicken under their shakoes and nodded quickly. Torrington did not appear to want the death of his chick. He could have hugged the officer, so grateful he felt. But of course, nobody ever hugged an officer unless they were their wife or child or perhaps a mother too, but in all, related!

He reached into the hat. Of course the chick made a good job at running, squirming, ducking his hold until it turned rather comical. And finally he caught hold of her and pulled the protesting ball of fluff out. "Sorry sir." he said while his chick kept pecking unhappily at his fingers. "Your tea." He added quickly holding the mug out with his other hand.

Vickery had approached during this conversation and couldn't help saying, "A chick is hardly likely to do as much damage as a full-grown ox, Torrington - and thankfully, I have not known animals to habitually invade one's tent."

Of course, there was the dog, that time, but that was slightly different, and had been a welcome distraction from Vickery's injuries - right up until the time it had tried to make off with his jacket. Thankfully, he had not got too far with it, and McIntyre had been able to rescue the garment intact.

Torrington spun on his heel, hat in one hand, mug in the other, but stopped himself before he could put the bicorn on his hat reflexively - it had aquired several downy feathers inside.

"Vickery - I was just on my way to try to invade your tent myself - with your permission, of course. I take it you have already been informed of our recent adventure?"

He tried to find somewhere to nonchalantly put his mug, so that he could straighten out his hat situation, but couldn't find any suitable place, and Pye was busy with holding Peggy, so he gestured to his own tent.

"Shall we go inside?"

"The report took some deciphering but I think I managed to understand the basics of what transpired," Vickery said, unable to hide a grin at the interesting picture Torrington presented with a mug in the one hand and his hat in the other. And was that a feather that had just drifted to the ground from inside Torrington's hat?

He raised an interrogative eyebrow at Pye; it had looked remarkably like the yellow downy sort of feather that properly belonged on a young chick such as the fluff-ball in the young Rifleman's cupped hands.

"Certainly, Captain," Vickery said, stepping aside so that the Engineer could precede him into the nearby tent.

The engineer nodded towards said ball of fluff.

"I would suggest you use the measuring poles or something similar to construct a temporary pen for her if you want to leave her unattended for a bit. It would be a pity if she decides to sleep in a boot or explore some hungry soldier's person too closely."

That said, he ducked into his tent, and placed both hat and mug on his worktable. Pulling forward a chair for Vickery, he ammended in a louder voice:

"And another cup of tea for Captain Vickery, please!"

Then he grinned ruefully towards his guest.

"I must apologize - too many unexpected encounters today. You will probably want to know where and how many French we have encountered? Cornet Atkins will survive, by the way, and all other wounds were not life-threatening."

Pye looked very guiltily and apologetically at Vickery at his inquiring glance and tried to calm and quiet down the little chick who believed that she was quite entitled to that hat and wanted to go back. She had spotted Vickery's coat as well and she seemed to remember it could be a very fine place to nestle into next.

"Aye, sirs. She doesn't much like t' smelly boots o' t' common riflemen or soldiers." He answered sheepishly. "She'sum.....more particular." Which was both a blessing and a curse. The chick chirped in agreement or just chirped at that time, peeking her head from under some fingers. She pecked at them until they parted a bit further apart and she could take a better look at the disappearing officers.

He had waited for a moment longer, torn between looking for Freddie or making that tea and decided that he at least knew where Vickery's mug was. He unceremoniously stuffed his chick into his shako which was placed on his head without having her fall out again and bolted to get that and then make the tea.

"No need to apologise, I know exactly what that is like," Vickery said, looking for somewhere to sit. "That's good to know about Cornet Atkins, anyway - about the only information I could obtain was that he'd been injured, they hoped he would survive, and they were dreadfully sorry about it. Both Rottlaender and Pye seem to have got it into their heads that they are somehow to blame for the entire incident - judging by their words and behaviour, anyway."

He gave Torrington a wry smile. "And for some reason I have yet to determine, the pair of them seem to live in some terror that I might frown at them, or otherwise show some displeasure with them."

"They seem to have taken that episode where they had stolen away and come back with that Frenchman to heart. And at last for Rottlaender I can answer that he believes that you will do terrible things to him, even banish him to a line regiment or something, if he isn't always perfect. I have tried to assure him that I would do my utmost to stop you, but it seems in such cases his faith in my powers falls sadly flat."

He shrugged whisically.

"You should be flattered. Genuin liking and utter terror combined, and you didn't even have to resort to flogging or something ... all it cost were just a few grey hairs."

"I believe they came back with more than the Frenchman," Vickery said. "There was a rabbit, too, and quite possibly something else besides, although I couldn't prove anything."

He laid his hat down. "Well, if it means that they're not going to go haring off on their own accord and get themselves into trouble, I suppose it has to be a good thing. I'm not sure I entirely like the idea of their being utterly terrified of me, though. Still, it's better than not fearing the consequences of their actions, I suppose. I may have to ask that Cotton have a chat with them about it."

Edward groaned.

"Poor Cotton. He really has the most amicable of tempers if he is willing to talk to them once again. The problem with those two is, as far as I can see, that they always have the best of intentions ... Can I offer you a cup of tea?"

"That everything they do is done with the best of intentions is what makes it so... difficult to be angry with them for very long," Vickery replied with a rueful look, which turned into a smile. "I have not long had a cup of tea, but another would be most welcome," he added, adjusting the hang of his sword and sitting down on a spare camp chair.

Almost as if on cue, though really Pye had run to and quick marched back from the riflemen's camp with Vickery's mug full of hot water and tea. He had not though wisely when he had done it. There was more boiling water right beside Torrington's tent, and it would have been a much wiser idea to feel it here.

Well, he did not want tea to go to waste so it was all a matter of not spilling anything on the way back. "'scuse me." He was at the flap of the tent. "Sir's... tea.. sir?" He hesitated. "I mean.. Captain Vickery's tea. Sorry It took long , sirs." He said sheepishly holding the mug forward. Well, now the two men could regret not having suggested their stash of tea when Pye was getting it ready!

Edward spared a friendly nod of the head for Pye to commend his action while seating himself and pulling a map out to show Vickery where exactly they had encountered the French.

Absentmindedly, he took a sip of the tea, then suddenly nearly flinched and looked at his mug in surprise.