Officers' Dinner (open)

[Bog]

The most important piece of business to attend to as the army halted for the night, the day's hard march finally over, was the making of a fire. Leighton could do without his tent or even a chair to sit on, but he couldn't begin the evening routine without a fresh cup of tea. That task belonged to his batman, Jenner, while Leighton himself attended to the settling of his men.

It took a little longer than usual dismissing the company to their section of the regiment's allotted bivouac, owing to a request from Sergeant Grant for a private word, but soon enough Leighton was free to return to his tent - which had by now been erected. The dutiful Jenner was hard at work peeling a couple of potatoes, while at his knee, a steaming mug waited.

"Just off the boil, sir," the wan-faced batman reported, holding the mug out. "One lump in it too. Last of the sugar."

Leighton nodded his thanks as he accepted the mug. The sugar was gone. That was no surprise. He'd had little enough of it anyway. "The lieutenants been about yet?"

"No sir. Ain't seen 'em." Jenner did not look up from his work, but he hardly needed to. In addition to the potatoes, the batman also had a paper-wrapped parcel and a linen sack by his feet. Meat and some vegetables, no doubt. There were few men better at finding provisions than Tom Jenner.

Leighton blew on the heavily-steaming tea before taking a cautious sip. It was scalding hot all right. Better to let it cool a bit. He was in no hurry to scorch his tongue. In the interim, he settled onto a folding camp chair and contented himself with watching the activity around the company's part of the bivouac. It was a fine night for it, anyway.

[Chørd]

`Matthew

After the day's movement and work was over, the 54th had been eager to retire for the night, pitching the canvas tents and settling down around campfires with their messmates. It was relatively warm, despite the evening drawing to a close. The regiment had about an hour before lights out, when they'd have to retire to their tents.

Matthew stood obediently through dismissal, gladly dispersing towards the officers tents when they were free to go. Some of the other officers chatted to each other as they walked, discussing the days events and other such current affairs. Matthew preferred to keep to himself, since he didn't always see eye to eye with the others. They probably sensed he didn't particularly want to socialise, too, which was why they hardly ever approached him.

He paused to watch the activity in the bivouac as the soldiers set about lighting fires and catching up with their messmates, the occasional bout of quiet laughter breaking out amongst them before they settled down again. Others were still pitching tents up. Matthew noticed his brother walking towards his tent,

Matthew passed nearby Captain Leighton's tent. The Captain certainly had the right idea - sitting down with a nice cup of tea, calmly watching the soldiers in his company around the camp. Matthew muttered an apology to another subaltern that passed him, who he narrowly avoided walking into whilst distracted. The other man nodded, accepting the lieutenant's hurried 'sorry' before continuing on.
Matthew paused again, lost in his own little daydream before beginning to head towards his tent again, stifling a yawn.

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[Bog]

His two subalterns would be appearing before too much longer, Leighton estimated. The increasing movement of junior officers about the bivouac suggested he would shortly find them joining him. He did prefer taking his meals in company, anyway.

A lieutenant not from his own company was wandering past, looking wistful. Walking in a cloud no doubt, for he nearly collided with another officer going in the opposite direction. Leighton shook his head. Ordinarily he would not interfere in a man's business, but he had a feeling that lieutenant was on his way to an unpleasant accident if he was not more aware.

"Lieutenant," he called, preparing to set his mug of tea aside. "Might I beg a word?"

[Chørd]

`Matthew

Matthew started to head away from Leighton's tent, where he was settled on a camp chair, his batman attending to his duties nearby.
The lieutenant became lost in his thoughts again as he walked, but was not distracted for long, and nor did he manage to walk very far either.

At the Captain's words, Matthew stopped briefly before spinning on his heel, still slightly lost in his own little world.
"Yes, Sir," he replied with a nod, heading over to Leighton and lifting his hat slightly in a respectful salute. "Is there a problem, Sir?"

Matthew began to think of everything he could possibly done wrong, or why he'd been called over. He silently hoped he wasn't in trouble or about to receive a few choice words for doing something or another, and thankfully managed to catch himself before he could lose himself in another daydream.
Matthew glanced briefly at the batman, before returning his attention back to the Captain, straight faced with one hand held behind his back.

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[Bog]

"No problem as such," was Leighton's answer. "Save that you do appear as one who has suffered an unfortunate knock to his head." Or at least a man who was excessively wearied by his duties, if not by his exertions. He gestured carefully with his mug of tea. With his own lieutenants not yet arrived, there was room by the fire. He was nothing if not hospitable.

"Come you and sit, sir," he offered. "Jenner will fetch you some tea."

Perchance he might learn a little something of what went on elsewhere in the regiment as well. He knew well enough of the goings-on within his own company, of course, but it was always of interest to hear how other companies were getting on. They were all meant to hold together after all. Certainly one might have to rely on a brother officer for aid at any time. It did, therefore, never hurt to be on at least cordial terms with as many as possible.

[Chørd]

`Matthew

Matthew just about held back a sigh of relief, realising that the Captain probably only meant he wanted a chat with him, and perhaps an opportunity to hear news of the other companies. Matthew gingerly lifted a hand to rub the back of his head, staring at his fingers for any sign of blood or other such proof of a knock. He glanced at the Captain, seeing no evidence of him having hit himself without his knowing, and suddenly it dawned on him that he had not meant it literally. He felt his cheeks burn slightly in embarassment, having no doubt succeeded in making himself look an idiot. Matthew cleared his throat nervously.
"No Sir, just turning things over in my mind," he replied, catching the Captain's gesture for him to be seated by the fire. He had rather hoped the encounter would be a short one, but he could hardly say no, could he? He had no better reason to turn down the offer other than feeling a little fatigued and not in the mood for socialising. It would be rude to refuse, anyway.

Matthew obediently sat down, trying not to appear too frigid. He glanced at the Captain's batman, who he assumed was the referred-to Jenner. Matthew offered Leighton a small, polite smile.
"Thank you, Sir," he responded, not quite sure what to say. Deciding his best bet was to remain silent until spoken to, Matthew chewed agitatedly on his bottom lip as he waited for the Captain to speak again.     

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[Bog]

Ah. Leighton nodded and sipped carefully at his heavily steaming tea. It was just cool enough now to drink. "That sort of day, eh?" He could well understand and sympathised. A company officer's work could indeed be very trying. "Well, this day is nearing its end and there is nothing left but to enjoy the waning hours."

Jenner held out a mug of tea to the young lieutenant, his face expressionless as ever. Once this duty was discharged, the batman would return directly to preparing his captain's meal.

"I'm afraid you'll have to take it black," Leighton confessed. "The sugar bowl is, sadly, quite empty."

[Chørd]

`Matthew

Matthew nodded - he supposed it was just 'one of those days'. Still, the headache that he felt coming on was nothing new to the evenings.
Matthew glanced around the camp, relaxing a bit more.
"And it's a fine evening, at that," he replied. There was hardly a breeze and it was a comfortable temperature - there wasn't too much of a racket being made, either.

Matthew nodded in thanks to Jenner as he was handed the tea, clasping it in his hands to warm them. He looked up as the Captain spoke again. 
"Ah, that doesn't surprise me," he shrugged. "It's not a problem."
He sometimes preferred his tea without additives in any case, and it was perfectly understandable that they were running low on certain provisions. An army ran on its stomach after all, and everyone needed to be fed...though supplies such as sugar were most likely the first to go. 

Matthew sipped absent-mindedly at his tea. It was hot, but not scalding.
After having a decent drink he set the mug aside, his nerves calmed even more. Perhaps there was nothing better than settling down in the evening with other officers and a cup of tea - he'd obviously just not given the idea a chance to sink in.

Matthew fidgeted slightly before turning to the Captain again.
"Sir, you command the light company, do you not?" Matthew asked politely, raising an eyebrow. He may as well start up a conversation, and what better base to build one on than the army itself?
  

---

OOC: Sorry for such an atrocious post....I had to write it up on my iPod..

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[Bog]

Leighton nodded. "I do. The finest sort of profession, you know. The light infantry. Since Sir William's built it up again, that is!" He was content with his position within the army, though it would be no difficulty at all for him to purchase up should his ambition stir itself. "Have you any interests in moving up in the world, Lieutenant?"

There were no vacancies in his own company, but he had friends in other regiments. It could be possible to arrange for this fellow's transfer to a light company elsewhere, if he had a true interest in making a name for himself. For certainly the light infantry was the best way to make one's reputation!

[Chørd]

`Matthew

The lieutenant smiled to himself at the Captain's obvious pride and enthusiasm for his occupation. Some of the officers in his company were much less spirited about their profession - Matthew being one of them. Their men weren't specialised in any way; they weren't an artillery unity, they weren't a group of tall and burly grenadiers, and they weren't the light bobs. They were just...regulars.

Matthew fiddled with the cuff of his jacket agitatedly at the Captain's question, frowning as he tried to think of what to say. He was an honest man, and saw no point in lying to the Captain.
"I don't aspire to climb the ranks any further, Sir," he finally answered, somewhat dryly. "I doubt I'd make it very far anyway. I'm not the man that my brother is, and seeks to be."
Matthew shrugged slightly, hoping he hadn't come across as arrogant or ungrateful, but he wouldn't lie or pretend to want to advance as an officer - it could be taken seriously, after all, and he didn't want to find himself stuck in such a situation if that was the case. Still, it had been said. If he had managed to offend the Captain at all, or 'crossed the line' in some way, then he'd have to take it in his stride. He'd said far worse to others before and gotten away with it, with nothing but a short-lived glare aimed in his direction as punishment. And the Captain had asked him, after all.

Matthew shook his head. He had to stop mulling things over - it was only going to make his headache worse. The more he dwelled on everything he'd done, the more he'd give off the impression that he had wronged.

Matthew took back his mug of still-steaming tea and sipped at it, glancing aside at the Captain's batman before turning his attention back to the other officer again.

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[Bog]

Oh indeed? Of course, the mention of a brother explained a great deal. The problems of fortune and patronage plagued many men. Leighton was fortunate enough not to suffer from such limitations himself. Only those he imposed by his own ambitions.

"I suppose not every man is meant for the service," he remarked. "But it is a marvellous way to live for a while at least, certainly!"

Despite his admittedly privileged birth and upbringing, Leighton found he quite enjoyed this rough, often scant, lifestyle. It was the most delightful challenge and after struggling initially, was thriving within it.

He smiled and said, "To be sure, you may just have the right idea. Advancing past a company would be most tiresome, I should think. Life is best lived closest to the lads you're responsible for, eh?"

[Chørd]

`Matthew

Matthew huffed in amusemant at the Captain's reply. No, the army wasn't the best place for some men. After all, some had joined through no choice of their own, forced into it by their families, poverty, or indeed the service itself. He couldn't complain, he supposed. He had it better than some, and he probably did have a just as good future here as he did in any other profession. Didn't mean he had to enjoy it, though. He kept that to himself though.

Matthew raised an eyebrow at the Captain. Cheery, wasn't he? Or maybe he himself was just being moody.

"Used to have some good friends among the private ranks," Matthew shrugged. "My mess mates and I were as good as brothers. It's difficult to have friends among the lower ranks when you're an officer; they either scorn you or fear you, and the closest thing you'll get to friendship is a mutual level of respect."
He smiled to himself slightly, staring at the tea still left in his mug. He didn't even have that, sometimes - respect, that is. Matthew couldn't fool himself or anyone else; he was inexperienced and at the best of times lost without another officer of the same rank or higher with him. Both the privates and some officers, particularly his brother, sneered at and resented his attempts to stay friendly with regular soldiers.

"Have you always been in the fifty-fourth, Sir?" Matthew asked, hoping to change the subject, and curious to know more about his temporary companion. Besides, he hardly ever ran into the Captain, and even less frequently spoke with him. He seemed a decent man, and no doubt he had a few stories to tell, too.

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[Bog]

"Well," Leighton mused thoughtfully. "A mutual respect is perhaps preferable to actual friendship, I should think. It hardly does to be on those sorts of terms with the lads. Better they should, on occasion, hate you for your commission, than expect favours or soft treatment because you and they are friends."

Or worse, consider you weak. He shrugged and glanced at Jenner, who was studiously keeping his attention the work of dicing the now-peeled potatoes. "Jenner there is a fine enough example. He's a decent lad and does a lovely job keeping me in order, but I'd not consider him a friend, nor, I think, would he me. It wouldn't do."

Another shrug, then he smiled again. "Two years here, which is not at all long. I was with the Twenty-ninth first. For rather longer, at that!"

[Chørd]

`Matthew

The lieutenant glanced aside at Jenner, who was still dutifully hard at work, preparing potatoes for what Matthew presumed to be the Captain's supper.

"I suppose..." he muttered sulkily. Perhaps the Captain, like many others who had said the exact same thing to him, were right. The last thing Matthew wanted was to have privates demanding favours from him, after all. In any case, he already let them walk all over him; it probably would only add salt to the wound if he was to become friendly with them.

Matthew raised an eyebrow at the Captain. Two years, eh?
"Same length of time my brother and I have been here, Sir," Matthew replied with slight surprise. The Captain had probably spent more time as an officer than he had though, by far. Matthew had started out as a private here, his brothers mere lieutenants then themselves. 
They'd all moved from their original placement in the fifty-second when his older brothers had the opportunity to become lieutenants elsewhere. That elsewhere had been here.
"We were transferred from our original placement in the fifty-second to the fifty-fourth," Matthew added when the Captain continued to tell him about his previous posting in the twenty-ninth.

He hadn't heard much about the twenty-ninth. The twenty-third, sure - it was almost like that lot were in every skirmish that broke out, so of course he'd heard great stories about them.
"Were you in any big battles, Sir?" Matthew brightened a little, grinning enthusiastically. He loved nothing more than a snippet of battle gossip.

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[Bog]

So this lad and his brother - whoever he was - had joined the regiment nearly at the same time Leighton had. Capital! The Fifty-second were a hard-fighting lot. Leighton had heard of their steadiness in action at Breed's Hill and therefore had considerable respect for them. It was certainly a favourable mark for this fellow to have come from such a regiment.

"Oh I have been in a couple little scraps," he replied. "Though sadly I missed out on the opening hostilities. Lexington and Breed's Hill and the rest. My first blooding happened in Boston, however. Turning back that wild mob of madmen outside the Customs House. Now that was a bit of unfortunate business, I'll tell you!"

[Chørd]

`Matthew

Matthew listened to the Captain, genuinely interested in what he had to say. His grin broadened somewhat at the mention of Boston.
"The Boston Riot?" He pressed, frowning slightly. That sounded like what he was talking about, anyway.
The yanks called it a massacre, which it hardly was - five rebelling men lost, and two of those had died after the skirmish. No doubt more people were killed in a pub fight.

Matthew turned his attention back to the Captain's previous mention of 'opening hostilities'. He'd been a private during Lexington, having not long been in the army.
"We lost a lot of good men at Lexington and Concord, and an equal number were badly injured," he murmured. The Captain probably already knew this, so he wasn't overly sure whe he was telling him. He shrugged. "Can't say it was a brilliant start to the war, what with us losing a couple hundred of decent soldiers."
He left out the fact that his brother was among the wounded - wrong time and place to bring up such a subject, he decided.

Matthew wrinkled his nose slightly before speaking up again. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, how long have you served in the army?" He asked, sipping at his tea again. There wasn't much of it left now, and it was still quite hot. He set the mug down again, clicking his knuckles and shuddering slightly before settling back in his seat again.

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[Bog]

"That's the one," Leighton confirmed. "An unfortunate situation all around, I dare say. I am thoroughly impressed with the conduct and expertise of Mister Adams, however. A most able legal man indeed."

It was no less than admirable that Adams had successfully defended Captain Preston and his men against the murder charges. Acquittals for all except Killroy and Montgomery, and manslaughter convictions for them. Leighton had been most amused by the punishment awarded for the pair. Branding upon the thumbs. It was a marginally humourous note on which to end a most unpleasant affair.

It was a shame, however, that following the trial, the Twenty-ninth had not been permitted to return from Halifax. Leighton might have rejoined them otherwise. "Indeed," he said. "I have heard that was a rather bloody day. And of all things, for the first shots of it to have been fired after a Marine charged some of those rogues to disperse!"

He shook his head and added, "I do not mean to defame a bold fellow's memory, however. Major Pitcairn was a well-known figure in Boston before all of this became hot. As to myself - I have only eight years' service to claim. It seems like nothing at all, at times."

[Chørd]

`Matthew

Matthew nodded at the mention of John Adams. Able was probably a good way to describe him indeed; he'd saved the lives of those soldiers, or at least saved them from a drastically unpleasant fate.
"They're lucky he spoke in their defense," he smiled slightly. "He could have risked his reputation in doing so."

He frowned slightly, losing himself in his thoughts for a brief moment, before sighing heavily. "I'd like to know who fired that first shot," he shrugged his shoulders diffidently. "But I suppose that will remain a mystery."

He frowned again, picking up his mug and clasping it in his hands as he replayed the memories over in his mind. He couldn't really remember much in the haze of it all; gunshots going off, charging with bayonets - Lexington hadn't been all too horrific...or at least, not for the British. Concord on the other hand was shameful - it wasn't a battle, more an ambush. The departing column had been fired upon by hidden rebels. The ordeal had been an embarassment, which seemed to feed the colonists' egos to an extraordinary extent; they had, after all, succeeded in inflicting severe losses on the British ranks.

And this was all before the damned idea of 'liberty' and 'independence' had been planted in their minds.

Matthew was brought back to the present again when the Captain spoke up once more.
"Eight years' service is a great deal when you compare it to how long I've been in the army," he smiled politely. "I've served for three years, and been an officer for an even shorter length of time."

---

OOC: Omg so sorry it took so long to reply to the threads! School's been all...urgh....and thrown a load of....urgh....and my friends have been all....urgh. Sorry for the amount of urghs.

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[Bog]

"Indeed," Leighton said with a slight smile. He could hardly fault any officer for attempting to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. It was a damned shame Pitcairn had been killed on Breed's Hill. They could do with more fellows of his calibre.

He lounged back in his chair and sipped at his tea. This lieutenant was a curious fellow. Rather unlike most other officers. Then again, he had confessed to coming up from the ranks. He must be a rising star indeed to have accomplished such a thing.

"That is respectable in its own right," the captain observed. "But quite difficult as well, I should think. It can hardly be easy to have command of men who were recently your comrades."

[Chørd]

`Matthew

Matthew stared down at what little tea was left in his mug, sighing heavily. Respectable? Hardly. Difficult? An understatement! It felt that unless you joined one social class and remained in it, you wouldn't fit in with any social class.
"I don't have command over them," he forced a smile. "I'm not leader material, and know it. They know it too. It's just demotivating when your previous comrades and friends dislike you because you're an officer, and then the officers aren't particularly keen on you because you're from the ranks," he muttered, glancing up from his tea to shrug at the Captain. He left out the part about his new 'comrades' not being particularly fond of him partially because of his resentment for his new rank. "Besides, it would all be very well if I'd earned my commission like a lot of other officers coming up from the ranks have done."

He sipped at his tea again, setting it down once he'd completely finished it, and lounged back a bit further in the chair.
"Still, we must work with what we have," he rolled his shoulders indifferently. He often wished that he hadn't listened to his brothers, hadn't bought that commission, hadn't joined the ranks in the first place...but that got him nowhere at all, did it? Besides, the past was in the past - you couldn't change it, no matter how much you tried to. Correct it, possibly, and attempt to cover it up, but it still happened.
"Do you have any relatives in the military, sir?" He spoke up, raising one eyebrow inquisitively.

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