I must be awfully naive, Jess thought when his mind began to work again. It’s beyond me to think that a brother officer and an Englishman would do something so wicked. Nell stood beside him, leaning against his shoulder and probably not even aware of it. Her face paled as she took in the emptiness around the marching hospital. “It was Bones, wasn’t it?” she said at last, and her voice sounded unfamiliar in its shock. He nodded, unable to trust his own voice. “I am so sorry,” she said, then turned away from him and Sheffield. The shame in her voice lashed at his heart. As he watched, miserable, she moved closer to the road and stood there, apart from them, as the sky lightened. When the sun had cleared the low mountains, he could see, strewn across the soggy road, remnants of clothing, some shards of crockery, and a few bare sticks that might have been furniture, all driven into the mud by gun carriages, wagons, marching men, and horses’ hooves. He only had to wonder for a minute what it was, because Elinore started to sob.
