Headquarters

"From Horse Guards? Your patron organised the post without your knowledge?"

'Well, that is what I think happened. I won't know for sure until I get a reply to my letter. Although, the man I hold responsible is not my patron, sir, so I suppose that could have been the reason of securing this post without my knowledge.'

Stephen chewed a piece of bread throughfully. "He must have a great deal of influence, if there are so few camp followers, and normally Sir Arthur prefers to choose his own. It must be a very uncomfortable situation for you."

'To be honest, I never bothered to ask him what kind of influence he has. It was not a subject that interested me.' George bit into a slice of cheese. 'Uncomfortable or not, this is my duty now.'

"You are not interested in the man who changed your life?" Stephen asked curiously. "There is stoicism and there is apathy, dear sir; I suspect you of the former."

'You are quite wrong, sir. I am interested in the man, not his influence.'

"If you do not know who he is, all knowledge of him is worth having," said Stephen.

George chuckled. 'I think we were talking to cross purposes, Doctor. I do know the man and I am quite sure that it was he who was responsible for this appointment, but until I have a direct confirmation from him, it still remains nothing but an assumption.'

"Ah, I understand now. Forgive me - I am still tired," Stephen said.

'It's quite alright, Doctor. I fear I lack the admirable quality of expressing myself very clearly.' He paused. 'Perhaps, it would be possible for you to snatch a few more hours of sleep before we set out...?'

"Oh, I do not need it," said Stephen complacently. "In any case, I am sure I slept more than most in this army."

George wanted to say something along the lines of 'But we are used to it', thought better of it and with a simple 'Very well, Doctor', continued to eat.

"And you, Fernao," said Stephen, tearing off another piece of bread. "How did you come to work for Captain Hunter?"

Without taking his thoughts or eyes off the food, Fernao answered: 'By accident. He was the first English soldier I approached. And since I have no particular desire to become a soldier, but want to say with the army, I offered my services to Captain Hunter.' All this was said in Spanish, since George did not speak Portuguese, and when Fernao talked about offering his services, George snorted softly, amused.

"I see; I think you are wise not to be a soldier, not at your age, though I presume there is risk however one travels with an army. He is lucky to have you; I would have been quite adrift without your help yesterday," Stephen replied fluently in the same language. "You speak Spanish, Captain?" he asked in interest.

'You are quite right, sir. He is very lucky to have me.' Fernao grinned at George, who resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at the boy and turned back to Stephe.
'Yes, Doctor, I do, though I think I need to start picking up some Portuguese.'

"If you speak Spanish, or even Latin, it is easy enough to read, although speaking it is more difficult," Stephen admitted. "How come you to speak Castillian, if you do not mind my asking?"

'I spent almost two years in Spain.'

"Really? Where?"

'In and around Salamanca for the most part. I did go to Barcelona and Madrid for a short while, and then I spent the last few months simply travelling all over until I got to Gibraltar.'

"I was in Salamanca myself for a time, when I was fifteen," said Stephen. "It is a beautiful city. It is rare to find and Englishman who has traveled so widely in Spain, however. Was this with the army?"

'Erm, no. I went to Salamanca, to, ah, ostensibly continue my studies, at least that's what I said: I never had the brains to become a scholar. But I've made some friends and liked the country, so I ended up staying for longer than expected.'

Stephen smiled at the younger man's admission. "It is a beautiful city in which to stay, even if you had intended to move on. Salamanca does that to people."

'It is indeed a magnificent city. I think that were things a little different, I might have stayed there for much longer and not gone back to England.'

"Why did you return? To continue your studies, or to join the army?"