Call to War

Chapter Two

Mary was taken aback by the two men standing at her doorway. One of them was rather well dressed, with a saber sheathed neatly at his side. The other had a rather scraggly beard, and a certain glint in his eye that she has definitely seen before in Abby. She already knew to keep an eye on him.

"To whom do I owe the pleasure?" She blurted out, forcing a smiling on her face.

"Major Tallmadge, at your service." He took her hand, gently kissing her knuckles. Mary blushed slightly, shocked at the gesture.

"My, what a gentleman." A voice said, nonchalantly from behind her, startling the three. Mary whipped around to see Abby, one of their father's pistols aimed at the strangers. "What are you doing at our farm Major?"

"Abby, put that away!" she hissed at her sister, earning an eye roll.

"I'll put it back when I get an answer, or until they leave", she shot back, before returning her gaze to the two men.

The Major and his companion glanced at each other. "We just need to camp here for the night- that's all." Major Tallmadge assured, backing up slightly. The men behind them drew their muskets, just in case the young woman decided to fire.

Abigail peaked over his shoulder, her eyes narrowing at the sight of one of the man being supported by two others. "What happened to him?" She asked, changing the subject.

Mary managed to spot him in the crowd. The poor boy looked exhausted, his leg bandaged poorly. "Was he shot?" She asked quietly, concern rising in her chest. She ached to help him- he didn't deserve to die just yet.

"We were ambushed by redcoats this morning- he's the only one that got hit, thankfully." The bearded man said. "Caleb Brewster, by the way." He stuck out a hand, Mary shaking it in response.

"Well, are you going to help him or no? Because if you don't, I'll treat it myself." Mary told them pointedly, gesturing for Abigail to join her. Abigail had set out bandages, and brushed past the two men on her doorstep, to take the injured boy from the weary soldiers. "It's alright, I got you." She assured, managing to bring the boy back to her older sister.

Mary unwrapped some of the makeshift bandages that were tied around his leg, to be greeted with an ugly gunshot wound. Thankfully, the musket ball didn't go too far into his leg- she could actually see a part of it. However, they all knew that she would have to remove it. Putting on a brave face, she opened a small wooden box that held the surgical tools that her father used when he was still alive. She glanced up at Caleb. "See that cabinet?" She pointed up to a cabinet directly in front of them. "Grab the rum. It's the only pain relief that we have."

As soon as the rum was placed on the table, she began her work. The boy screamed in pain as Mary opened his wound slightly. "Rum", she told Caleb, as he let the boy take a couple swigs of the alcoholic beverage. Then she continued, wiping her blade once, and managed to push the musket ball up, to where she could grab it. She then cleansed the wound, using the rag that she was cleaning dishes with earlier. Once the wound was clean to her standards (which are very high), she binded the wound , showing the two men on how to properly wrap a wound.

"And... done! You should be feeling better soon." She told the boy, who was gritting his teeth in pain. He nodded, before being helped off the table by Caleb. As the two left the room, Major Tallmadge turned around to face Mary. "Where'd you learn to do that?" He leaned against the wall, a curious look in his eyes.

Mary shrugged, before gesturing to a rather large stack of textbooks, stacked dangerously on the table top. "They're my father's. He was a doctor before he passed on." She picked one up, and leafed through the pages. "He was a brilliant man- obviously, that didn't mean anything to whoever mugged him."

Major Tallmage scratched the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry to hear that." He mumbled, his cheeks flushed pink. "I didn't mean to stir any bad memories-"

Mary held up a hand, dismissing his apology. "It's fine, Major. He's been dead for 14 years- my sisters and I have been able to carry on without him." She smiled, before placing the book back on the stack. "Well, sort of- Abigail's a little hard to control."

Major Tallmage chuckled. "In what ways, if I may ask?"

Mary laughed, before glancing outside, where Abigail probably was. "Well, she can be... stubborn at times- as you have witnessed. I'm not quite sure on how she became like this- no one here besides her is like that."

The Major grinned, amused, as he glanced in the same way Mary was. For a while, the two simply enjoyed each other's company- something Mary had come to value. Almost no one ever came to visit the Williams household- not since their father died. It could get rather lonely.

"Oh! What am I thinking- you need somewhere to rest!" Mary quickly realized, breaking the silence between the two. "I'll prepare a room for you- it'll be ready shortly!" Mary then bustled off, leaving the Major all alone.

Soon, everyone was ready for the night. The Major was quartered in Mary's room- she insisted that he sleep there (she wasn't sure that it was a good idea that he slept in Abby's room- those pistols weren't the only dangerous 'toys' that she had). Mary and Abby shared a room, and Caleb slept with his men.

"Abigail, how were the soldiers? Did you get to learn a little about them?" Mary asked, as they sat in Abigail's bed.

"Well, they seem rather young- some of them are actually from these parts. They had some prisoners with them- red coats, most likely. One of them seemed like the perverted sort- I would keep a watchful eye on him." Abby informed her, glancing over at her sister, who laid beside her.

Mary shot her a confused look. "Perverted? Please, do explain."

Abby sighed. "I felt very uncomfortable being near him. He would keep looking at me with these eyes- I don't know, I don't trust him." She shudder slightly, before drawing the covers up to her chin. "He better stay outside- if he knows what's good for him."

"Abby, I know you're upset, but I'm rather sure that the Major and Mr. Brewster have their prisoners under control-"

A scream cut through the air- jolting both sisters out of bed, Abby sprinting out of the room. It was obvious that it was their youngest sister- Mary prayed silently that Abigail would be merciful to whoever caused Margaret to scream.