Glory [ Robert. Gould. Shaw]

35

Cabot Forbes

  To say that he was offended was an understatement. Seriously, after all that hard work and those two ungrateful bastards didn't even tell him the announcement! The horror! The disloyalty! Forbes had spent the rest of the day fuming and pouting since Mr. And Mrs. Shaw's arrival.

  Next time he made a mental note to not help those two when they have a disagreement. (Which was rare but still!) Taking his anger out on shouting orders as loud as he could during training was not something that he was majorly proud of.

  He couldn't help it! Maybe he was overreacting a tiny bit, but he was too prideful to admit it to himself, and god forbid Robert. He shook his head slightly at the thought of Robert. That man had tried to get his attention but was ignored. He felt bad about it, but he had just crossed his arms and glared straight ahead.

  Of course, this prompted Robert into pulling rank and ordering him to turn around and listen to him. Having no other choice, he turned around and did just that. At first, he had planned on giving Robert short word answers; but after constant pleas from the man, he gave in from pressure.

   He could tell that Robert felt bad about it, he could read the emotion that was on his face as clear as day. He thought about using that to his advantage, maybe get a day or two off from work; however, he never got the chance to open his mouth when they were interrupted by Sarah Shaw running frantically over.

   His eyebrows rose so high in surprise that he was amazed that they were still intact to him. Never in his life had he seen the woman so off-guard and stressed. During any situation, Mrs. Shaw had always been the one to have the static face and good posture. It seemed that this was one of the special days.

  "Robert!" Mrs. Shaw called, her face flushed and chest huffing. Forbes crossed his arms in interest as he shared a look with Robert. Mrs. Shaw held the ends of her dress upwards slightly so that she wouldn't trip over it, and Forbes' eyes widened as he heard her spew out profanities left and right. Surely, he was dreaming this? The Mrs. Sarah Shaw he knew would rather be dead than be caught in such a state.

"Robert!" Mrs. Shaw repeated, finally appearing in front of them. Robert looked over worriedly.

"Something that matter, mother?" Robert asked in concern. Forbes leaned in, eager to know as well.

"Elizabeth...." Sarah trailed off, making Forbes' heartbeat increase in worry. What was wrong with her?

"What of Elizabeth?" Robert asked urgently, those blue eyes of his glazing over in intense worry. Forbes refrained himself from smirking. He had always been like this, even more so during their childhood years.

   Forbes had always found it amusing how much Robert cared for the well-being of Elizabeth. He had tried to hide it when he was ranked as Colonel but he saw right through his façade. Honestly, he prayed with all his heart that Robert would not ever pretend he didn't care for Elizabeth ever again. It just didn't feel right. Asking Robert to stop caring for Elizabeth was like asking the Earth to work without the moon. In other words, impossible. Forbes wouldn't be surprised if Robert cared more about her than himself.

   He sometimes envied the man. Robert had been so fortunate in finding such a wonderful relationship. He ever wondered if he could find love like that himself. He hoped he would have the chance to before it was too late. After all, he still owed Susanna that- hold on. He shook his head rapidly. Susanna....?

No.

Absolutely not.

Robert will have his head.

   He was so focused on his thoughts that he just realized that he had missed out the conversation that was happening. His eyes snapped open in confusion when Mrs. Shaw and Robert were not in front of him.