Chapter 38: Chapter 38

After picking up Patch at the livery corral without rousing anyone, I rode for the fort about a quarter of a mile to the northwest. Once there, A sentry challenged me and wasted fifteen minutes arguing. My claim of a disaster at the major’s farm finally convinced him to summon the Corporal of the Guard, who went to the Duty Officer, who finally roused James.

As I faced my slightly tousled lover alone in his private quarters, I understood why I hadn’t knifed Hardcastle. It would have devastated James to know I had killed a man who needed killing and yet have to bring me to justice. I experienced a flicker in my guts that left me wondering if it was a birth pain. The birth of true feelings for this man? When I finished telling him what I had heard, he rose and paced the room.