Chapter 28

Luke was up early, dressed, and out of the tent before the ladies woke up. His first stop was to check with the sentries, and he learned that everything had been quiet. His next stop was the hospital. If he were going to be going on this campaign, then he would need medical support. He was surprised to find that Alice was still on duty. After talking things over with her, she agreed to send two of her doctors and the supporting nurses and staff with Luke.

That taken care of, Luke returned to Marion’s tent, where he got the fire going again and started breakfast. He scored some eggs from a local farmer yesterday, which were made for breakfast, along with some sausage and toast. He admitted missing the black pepper, garlic, and hot sauce he used to put on his eggs. At least they had salt, so life was tolerable. As he finished cooking, the ladies stumbled out of the tent, barely dressed. Luke put the ladies’ breakfast on their plates and gave them both a glass of fresh milk while he took water for himself.

After breakfast, Marion and Gabriella returned to the tent to finish getting dressed while Luke got his troops ready to leave. It only took Luke an hour to get everything ready to go. One thing he did was say goodbye to his wife in private. They could only hug and kiss a bit under the time constraint, but it was enough. The next time they saw each other, it wouldn’t be as husband and wife but as commander and subordinate.

Luke assembled the army, and Marion inspected her troops before they left. The troops all moved in perfect unison, almost as if they were one person. Lurking in the back of her mind was the thought that only a year ago, this kind of precision was unheard of in a modern military unit, and nobody had ever dreamed of weapons like these. Now, she was in command of the deadliest army in the world.

After Luke left with his troops, Marion refused to allow time for her to feel sorry for herself; she had to return to York. All the cavalry patrols had returned and reported no other enemy troops in the area. Marion left about midday with the remaining 400 soldiers of her army. The main thing they were doing was escorting Alice’s medical unit and Marion back to York. She detached units to villages along the route to help secure Luke’s supply lines.

It took Marion four days to return to York; the wounded slowed them down. The delay was a blessing, for Marion could handle some business she needed to do anyway. She had Pollyanna finish her surveying work and start building a new road. This road would be the best constructed in Britain since the Romans. The route would go from York and eventually reach southwest Scotland. Marion was busy with other things as well.

Her authority was still shaky in this area, and the local nobles were none too happy with a woman in charge. Marion had to besiege one of the local castles. With the highly advanced artillery at her disposal, this only took a couple of hours, but still, it was annoying, and the nobles who held out against her were stripped of all their land and possessions.

The land was then sold to the peasants who had formally worked it. Money from the land sales went right into Marion’s coffers. The problem was that many peasants didn’t have the cash, so Marion used some of Luke’s money to make low-interest loans to the peasants that were payable over a set number of years. The church didn’t like people charging interest on loans, but once again, Luke’s influence on Marion came through, and she didn’t care what the church said. The noble’s possessions would be divided among the army, with everyone getting a share. It goes without saying that after the first couple of nobles resisted and were dealt with swiftly, resistance died down.

Getting back to York, the people were nervous because most of the army wasn’t there, but Marion let it be known that most of the army was on their way to punish the nobles of Southwest Scotland for their unprovoked attack on them. After the army returned to their barracks, it was time to return to work.

Marion wanted the city’s sanitation system drastically improved, and she now had enough money to pay for it. That was Pollyanna’s first chore: drawing up designs for the sewer system. However, Pollyanna had to be careful because her pregnancy was much rougher on her than Marion’s had been. She was sick most mornings, and some days, she had trouble just getting out of bed. Marion always made sure to stop in and check on her every day. Matt, however, was doing an outstanding job of caring for her, so Marion wasn’t worried too much. Alice warned that Pollyanna might have to have a C-section when the time came because Pollyanna had narrow hips. Marion put Pollyanna on restricted duty. She only would work when she felt up to it. Fortunately, the sewer system wasn’t too complicated, so Pollyanna could prepare the plans well enough for workers to start work.