In The Regency Ballroom Collection
Scandal in the Regency Ballroom April 2013
Innocent in the Regency Ballroom May 2013
Wicked in the Regency Ballroom June 2013
Cinderella in the Regency Ballroom July 2013
Rogue in the Regency Ballroom August 2013
Debutante in the Regency Ballroom September 2013
Rumours in the Regency Ballroom October 2013
Scoundrel in the Regency Ballroom November 2013
Mistress in the Regency Ballroom December 2013
Courtship in the Regency Ballroom January 2014
Rake in the Regency Ballroom February 2014
Secrets in the Regency Ballroom March 2014
The Spanish Peninsulaâ1812
Three men lay slumped on the earth, which had been baked hard by the fierce Spanish sun. Harry Pendleton had his back against a rock. Of the three he was in the best shape. Max Coleridge was lying with his eyes closed, his blood-soaked shirt stuck to his chest in this damned awful heat. Gerard Ravenshead was fanning Max with a large leaf, trying to keep the flies from settling on his wound. A neckcloth was wound around a deep cut at the side of Gerardâs head.
âI thought we were done for,â Harry said. He was speaking his thoughts aloud, saying what they all felt. âWhat a mess!â
âYou canât blame yourself for it, Harry,â Gerard said and looked at him. âThey knew we were coming. Someone must have warned them.â
âTen killed, and the three of us only got out by the skin of our teeth.â Harry stood up and walked over to take a look at Max. âSomehow they must have got wind that we planned a surprise raid to take prisoners â¦â
âOne of the servants,â Gerard replied and shrugged. âIn this damned war Iâm never sure whether we are fighting the French with the Spanish or the Spanish and the French.â
âI wouldnât trust their generals as far as I could throw them,â Harry growled. He looked at the blood trickling down Gerardâs face. They had wrapped a kerchief round his head, but it wasnât doing much good. âYour wound is still bleeding. Do you want me to take another look at it?â
âYou saved my life once today,â Gerard said and grinned at him. âYou donât have to nursemaid me, Harry. Iâll manage. We have to get Max back to the village, and by the looks of him that means carrying him between us.â
Harry pulled a wry face. âThe way youâve been behaving out here, Iâve sometimes felt as if you meant to throw your life away â¦â Gerard had gained a reputation as something of a daredevil.
âThere were moments when I didnât much care if I died,â Gerard admitted. He took a swipe at a fly buzzing about his face. âBut when youâre facing death things come into perspective. I intend to live and return home and one day â¦â
Gerard left the sentence unfinished. Harry nodded. He knew something had been eating at his friend. He suspected it was to do with a young woman Gerard had been courtingâand the tiny scar at his temple that heâd noticed when they first met in Spain after a year of not seeing one another. Gerard often rubbed at it when he was thoughtful, and the look in his eyes told Harry he was remembering something that made him angry.
âI know what you mean,â Harry said. âSoldiering is blood, sweat and tearsâand that is the easy part.â It was listening to the screams of dying men and knowing you couldnât save them that hurt the worst. âCome on, then. Help me get Max on my back and Iâll carry him.â
âI can walk â¦â Max mumbled. âJust give me a hand upâ¦.â
âDonât be a damned fool,â Harry replied. âYouâll be carried as far as we can make it. When we get near the village, Gerard will fetch help.â
âI could walk with help.â Maxâs face set stubbornly as he attempted to rise. âDamn you, Harry. Iâm not a baby â¦â
âBut Iâm the superior officer here, so you will do as youâre told,â Harry muttered. He grinned at Gerard. âThereâs one thing, weâre bound for life by this dayâs experience. Itâs something none of us will forgetâand if any one of us can help the other in future, we will â¦â
Max grunted as they hauled him to his feet, and Harry took him over his shoulder. Gerard nodded, his eyes hard but appreciative of his friendâs stubborn determination to take on the burden. He wasnât sure he could have done it himself, though he would have tried.