Re: Waiting at the Bridge

**Jenny Ross** Sun May 24, 2009 3:05 am

She smiled, her other thoughts forgotten. "But that's not so bad, is it? I can't imagine it's much worse than this."

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 1:18 am

"I dunno, but I guess I hope it ain't." Shrugging, Newbury set the apple down. His brother had been pressed two years before Newbury himself ran from Buckler's Hard.

"What about you?" He asked, made curious by Jenny's questions. "Anybody still behind to go back to?"

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 7:09 am

She paused and then answered curtly, not inviting further inquiry. "No."

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 9:15 am

The terse response made him lift an eyebrow in slight surprise. "Not even parents?"

He could understand not wanting to admit to the existence of siblings, but everybody had to have parents at least.

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 9:47 am

"Well... I have parents, yes, but I wouldn't go back to them," she answered primly.

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 9:54 am

Newbury felt embarrassed again. It was becoming a constant state, it seemed like.

"Sorry," he muttered into his mug of tea. He probably shouldn't have pressed.

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 10:03 am

She relaxed and smiled again, deciding to let the matter drop. "What about you? Will you go back to your family? Go work as a footman again?"

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 10:43 am

Now it was his turn to feel a curt reply forming. He fought it down. "Can't. It's only been a couple years, they're probably still lookin' for me. Bloody militia."

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 10:46 am

"Who's looking for you?"

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 11:03 am

"The militia, at least. Ran into some of the sods one night." Newbury shrugged. "Never made it back to the great house, but Master wouldn't have done much to help."

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 11:08 am

"And they knew who you were? What happened?"

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 11:24 am

He set down his mug and thought for a moment. "One of 'em used to work at the yard. I was in livery too, an' it ain't hard to figure out which house uses which livery. I ran 'cross 'em on the road goin' back to the great house from a couple estates over. There was some words, then a fight. I whipped a couple of 'em an' ran."

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 11:31 am

Jenny gave him a half amused and half rebuking smile. "You whipped them. And there were words? What for? There's no law against a footman walking on the road, is there?"

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 12:02 pm

Newbury found himself grinning at that. "No law against a footman walking, but a footman running, and at night? There'd been some thievin' around the estates over that last fortnight too. So it wasn't unreasonable for 'em to stop me."

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 12:19 pm

She looked at him with rather fond reproach. "And why were you running, then?"

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 12:39 pm

"Ain't that what runnin' footmen are s'posed to do?" Newbury asked. "I was the best runner in the great house, so Master sent me out carryin' messages a lot."

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 12:48 pm

"Oh!" She burst out laughing at that, finally understanding. "Oh, poor you!"

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 12:59 pm

"Aye, poor me," Newbury agreed, chuckling. He refilled his mug and shook his head. "Shame, I guess. It was good work. But I can't complain 'bout what I'm doin' now, at all."

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 1:20 pm

"And you really think they'd remember you, after all this time? What did you do to them?"

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 1:42 pm

He shrugged again. "Old Bill Fuller knew it was me, saw me clear's day 'cause they had lanterns. I... uh... I busted Old Bill's nose and got hold of his dirk. One of 'em fired a pistol - that was how they raised the alarm - an' I knocked another lad down on my way out of there."

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 1:57 pm

"Joe!" she exclaimed reproachfully. "Now, back up - what caused you to bust Old Bill's nose and take his dirk?"

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 2:04 pm

"Fat old bastard's always had it out for me. An' the first thing outta his mouth was 'We gonna hang you, y'thievin' bastard'. So I hit him. Served him right."

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 2:08 pm

"Oh, Joe!" she exclaimed, laughing sympathetically. "Poor lamb. Well... maybe when the war is done Captain Vickery will set up household and home. You can be a footman there. Or no, the head butler. Cotton will be his valet, and Maggie can be the housekeeper. And Martha the cook or something."

**Joe Newbury** Mon May 25, 2009 2:28 pm

Head butler. Newbury liked the idea of that, even though he had enjoyed his work as a footman. "Be awful nice of the cap'n if he was to do that. Dunno about Martha as cook though."

**Jenny Ross** Mon May 25, 2009 2:32 pm

She grinned. "No? You were right - riflemen can be picky! Who would you have then? Jed Palmer?"

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