Fields of Satin

Chapter Four

In a dark room lit up by a flickering oil lamp, a blonde haired, green eyed British officer was bent over a stack of papers on an old wooden desk. The walls of the room were lined with drawings, some of symbols, some of people. Behind him was a large map of France and Belgium, a solid red line streaked across Belgium and France. The front lines. Another line however was drawn further south, from Jersey through Paris and stopped in Stuttgart. The mans hunched over form came closer and closer, though he did not move. The papers on his desk became clear, some looked old, very old, others new, telegraphs from command it looked like. Situation Paris worsened. John dead. La  Société de L'Orbe in fear. Must meet. -Z

The mans fists were balled tight and pushing against the desk. His eyes staring into the telegram and jaw clenched. From afar the man looked well kept, a prime example of a ranking officer, however on closer inspection there were dark bags under his eyes, his uniform was askew. His shirt was no longer tucked in and sleeves were rolled up showing his toned forearms. The stern and frustrated look upon his face melted off and his hair stood on end. Ever so slowly his eyes left the telegram and stared straight ahead. His mouth opened in heavy breaths and his brows knitted in confusion.

"Were you not taught in school that it is rude to spy on people Elizabeth?"

With a gasp my eyes flew open, nothing could be heard from outside it must have been midnight or very early in the morning. An owl hooted in the distance. I sat there basking in the moonlight shining through the weave of the tent. My heart hammered against my chest as I tried to recollect what in the hell that was. Certainly wasn't a normal dream, it was too real. I grabbed my little leather bound notebook from my nightstand and a pencil and wrote down all that I could remember. The telegram, the map, his face. I filled three pages with sketches and notes from the dream. La Société de L'Orbe was raising a lot of question marks. It sounded like something out of a novel. I closed the notebook and placed it back in my nightstand and laid back down. I stared up at the tent bulging in from the wind and wondered what the hell was wrong with me as I drifted off back to sleep.

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The wards were mostly quiet, most soldiers still asleep due to the early hour. A couple were sat up with a book, watching as I walked past with a lamp on my rounds. Some nodded others just stared. I stepped through the tent opening into the morning air. Fresh wind cool and crisp bit at my face whistling around my face. The days were growing colder, I could feel it in the air.

"Nurse Fields what are you doing, your shift isn't for another few hours." Matron Parry's voice bit through the wind with a harsh tone.

"Apologies Matron Parry, I couldn't sleep and saw Nurse Houghton looked positively done in. I thought I would take over so she could sleep." My green eyes stared down the Matron's brown ones until she huffed and looked down.

"Don't make a habit of this, I can't use Nurses who are too exhausted to work." I nodded and the matron strode past me into the tent I had just come from. Shaking my head I continued on my rounds along the wooden boardwalk. When out the corner of my eye a figure caught my eye. A man stood in the middle of the camp staring at me. He wore a British military uniform, his blonde hair was combed back, in the shadows of the early morning I could just make up the bone structure of his face. The moment I laid my eyes upon him I realised who he was. The man from the dream. Although he looked better kept then he had in my dream.

"I figured it was time to meet the woman who was spying on me." A smirk crept across his face. I glanced around me to see if anyone else was out and about. "No one else is out here, I made sure of that. Now are you coming or not?" He stood there staring at me, an eyebrow was cocked up the smirk still in place. I frowned and stepped off the boardwalk toward him, my boots sunk into the mood from the rain the night before.

"I wasn't spying on you." My voice was strong despite my growing fear that I was about to be discharged. "I suppose you are Lieutenant Colonel Wilkinson?" As I stepped in front of him I could see him more clearly. His hair was brushed back, like a military officer, but his eyes were surrounded by dark bags, causing his cheekbones to look more prominent than they already were.

"I am. And you are Nurse Elizabeth Fields from Upper Tawham. I know more than you would care for me to know so I recommend that you follow me and we have a little chat, I also recommend that you don't lie to me." His voice was quiet but the Scottish brogue was thick. My jaw clenched and I stiffly nodded. My eyes remained on his back as we walked further and further away from the tents until the lanterns that lit the walkway could barely be seen between the trees. Wilkinson stopped suddenly causing me to nearly slam into his back. He turned on his heels quickly and towered over me eyes boring into mine.

"I would say this isn't going to hurt, but I would be lying." He muttered.

"Wha-" He yanked his hand from his hip to my temple in one swift movement and there was black.