Redemption - Leon Uris [228]
“I wonder if Sonya made it out of Cairo.”
“I hope she took Shaara with her. Shaara said Sonya promised to take her to Spain.”
“I hear Cairo is ready to explode. They say that Corps has given leave to thirty thousand troops and let everyone know that no arrests for misconduct will be made.”
“Yeah, I heard the same.”
“So Cairo will burn.”
“I wish we were going in.”
“We made our own personal farewell.”
“I hope Sonya made it out of town.”
Silence.
“Although I am relieved I was not involved with Villa Valhalla, I should like to also have a tattoo. I have seen you in the showers with envy.”
“Sure.”
“Absolutely.”
“You’re going to have to wait awhile.”
“I am honored.”
Silence.
Mordechai left and returned with his accordion. He tried a happy song. It got baleful looks. He played a sad song. That was better.
“TEN-SHUN!”
Everyone scrambled to their feet as Major Hubble entered, appearing pale and weak.
“As you were,” he said with a hoarse voice. As they went gingerly into their chairs, Christopher clasped his hands behind him and paced, groping for the language to express the emotions that overwhelmed him.
“What the devil,” he finally managed. “Thank you.” He went from man to man and offered his hand, and when that was done, he postured once more. “This does not mean I offer any apologies for the manner in which I have commanded this battalion. While some measures may have seemed excessive, we have a battalion second to none in this entire expeditionary force…. I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
Everyone winced and turned their heads on cue as though to duck an oncoming punch.
“The bad news is that I offered my resignation to General Brodhead over my behavior and he refused it so I am to continue as your commanding officer.” He snickered at his humor and was delighted to see broad smiles greet him. “I don’t imagine I’m going to change all that much, although I have gained some new insight into my obligation to take care of you no less than you have taken care of me.”
Jeremy’s eyes brimmed near tears. Chris had made his first gesture to escape from a life-long prison imposed by privilege. It was about as much humility as his brother could muster.
“I say, I have other news. Shall we gather ’round the big table here? Do you suppose we might have some tea?”
“Yes, sir,” Chester snapped, and went to the always ready pot.
“Nothing but tea for me for a while.” Chris loosened his Sam Browne belt and put his jacket over the back of the chair. He could not help but feel a great deal of warmth coming to him from the men, a kind of sensation he had felt from his mother, long ago. Many times he had passed a room in a museum or missed an opera he should have attended or passed by some very special flowers at a show and he’d wished he had gone in. He was in that room now and it was a wonderful place to be.
“May I say, Major,” Rory said, “that we are deeply sorry for your troubles.”
“Thank you. It was quite a blow. I do censor a great deal of outgoing mail. It seems that this is a rather common occurrence for us chaps…. Shall we get to our business?”
After tea was served and properly balanced with condiments, Christopher wore a sly grin. “I was fortunate to be able to have a chat with Central Command today. I was able to convince General Darlington to reverse our order of departure. As of this moment, the Seventh Light Horse is breaking down to ship out immediately.”
It was somewhat short of a formal hip-hip-hooray, but everyone shouted in delight and backs were pounded.
“The gaffer squad now takes on a very key position in the coming operations. You men will be dealing head-on with staff officers, battalion and company commanders, etcetera, etcetera. Commensurate with your duties and so that you will not be bullied about by rank, I have been authorized to issue field commissions. Goodwood, Yurlob, Tarbox, and Landers—you are now subalterns…second lieutenants.”
The men that greeted the first news with such noise, greeted this with drop-jawed, stunned silence. When it sank in, they began to laugh