A Time for Honour

Chapter 18

Over the next few weeks, there were times when Cassie thought she had lost Damien. The fever, which the surgeon had predicted would immediately follow the surgery, was particularly ferocious and lasted many days. Once the fever had finally broken, Damien, who was still in a weakened state, continued to drift in and out of consciousness. During this time, Cassie remained by his bedside, tending to his every need.

It had been a sad day for Cassie when Betsy finally left Brussels with Joe and the rest of the regiment. 'I will miss you, dearie,' Betsy had said to her with tears in her eyes, just as she was leaving, 'make sure you look after yourself and the Captain.'

'Thank you, Betsy,' Cassie had replied. 'I don't know what I'm going to do without you,' she said as Betsy gave her a hug.

'You're stronger than you think, dearie,' Betsy had replied, cupping her cheek and smiling at her, 'and don't let anyone ever tell you any different. And, remember what I said, you mustn't let what happened to you in that place determine your future.'

Cassie smiled. 'Thank you,' she had said affectionately, as she suppressed the tears she wanted to shed, 'I'm going to miss your friendship and your sage advice.' Cassie took a step back from Betsy and said, 'do you know where you are going?'

'No, dearie, not yet,' Betsy had said with a sigh. 'But, it doesn't matter to me where we go, just as long as I'm with my Joe and the kiddies. And now I've got Susie to keep me company.'

Once the allied armies had moved out of the city, Brussels became a much quieter place. The British aristocracy, who only last year had come to the continent in their droves, were now leaving for home. In their absence, the city, and its residents were starting to return to a semblance of normality.

It took nearly a month for Damien to fully regain consciousness, and even then, throughout the summer, he still occasionally relapsed into a fever. The bones in his left shoulder had been badly broken by the musket ball, and the army surgeon had doubted whether he would ever be able to regain any use of it. However, the local doctor, who had been taking care of him since the army surgeon had left, was far more optimistic about his injuries. He had said that with plenty of rest and gentle exercise, he could, over time, regain most of its movement.

At the end of August, just over two months after the battle, Damien had regained enough strength for them to move out of the barracks. With the help of some locals, they had befriended, they found a couple of rooms in a quiet and unfashionable part of the city. In their new lodgings, much to Cassie's relief, they received very few visitors. She filled her day with household chores and spent the evening with Damien, either reading out loud or discussing the events of that day. Cassie did not feel happy, that was an emotion she gave up when she met Ellington; but when she was alone with Damien, she was beginning to feel peace gradually settle deep within her soul. But when she was alone, during the early hours of the morning, she would often have vivid dreams about returning to a place where she would be under Ellington's control. As the months wore on, the dreams became infrequent, and her fear of discovery gradually began to subside. She even dared to think that sometime, in the not so distant future, she would be able to put the past behind her and begin to live her life again.

As the leaves of the trees turned beautiful shades of red, yellow and brown, Damien continued to get physically stronger. The young local doctor, who was becoming a regular visitor in the evenings, had encouraged Damien to go out every day. The doctor had told him that if he wanted to regain the strength in his body, he needed to go outside and get plenty of fresh air and gentle exercise. At first, Damien was still weak, and could not venture far from their lodgings. But, as the months wore on, and Autumn gave way to Winter, he became stronger.