Page 28 of The Infernal Battalion

“My apologies for the delay,” Marcus said. “I’m told you wanted to see me.” He nodded after the retreating lieutenants. “Are you having trouble?”

“Trouble?” Abby looked confused for a moment, then barked a laugh. “That’s just training. Lieutenant Koryar has spent most of her life getting what she wants by smiling at people. She needs to learn there are other ways.”

“I see,” Marcus said. “Then you had something else you wanted to talk about?”

Abby’s eyes narrowed, and she sighed. “You’d better come inside.”

Her tent was a mess, which was an impressive achievement considering it could have been up for only a few hours. There were no tables, and a few leather maps were spread on the floor. A small pile of clothing sat in the middle of the bedroll, including a large uniform shirt with a distinctly masculine look. Marcus tried not to show any reaction, but Abby clearly caught him looking and raised an eyebrow, as though daring him to comment. When he said nothing, she nodded slowly, as though he’d passed a test.

“Column-​General d’Ivoire.” She heaved another sigh. “I apologize if I was rude.”

“Don’t worry yourself, Colonel.” He tried a tentative smile. “I’ve had worse.”

Abby smiled herself, very slightly. She was at least a decade younger than Marcus, in her early twenties, with a short shag of brown hair and a heavy dusting of freckles.

“It’s all for the girls’ sake,” she said. “They expect a bit of a hard-ass at the top. Since Jane’s dead and General Ihernglass is... away, that has to be me. Cyte isn’t really the type.”

Marcus had to agree that it was hard to imagine the slight, soft-​spoken captain as a martinet. “I understand. And I’m sorry about General Ihernglass.”

“Don’t be,” Abby snapped. She started to speak, paused, and then said deliberately, “He is alive. And he’ll catch up to us eventually. For the moment I imagine he has something more important to do.”

Marcus nodded, not wanting to argue. “So, what did you need to see me about?”

“I just wanted to be clear where we stand.” Abby frowned, looking up at Marcus. “You know that most of the women in this regiment joined up to follow Jane and Winter.”

“I know.” Jane Verity, the street tough turned officer who’d been widely rumored to be Winter’s lover, had ultimately betrayed Janus and been imprisoned for it. She’d later died, under somewhat mysterious circumstances. “I’ll do my best to follow their example.”

“Good. Winter was always very clear about the Girls’ Own being an equal part of the division.”

“You’re afraid of the other regiments taking advantage?” Marcus looked sympathetic. “I’ll speak to the colonels and make it clear it won’t be tolerated—”

Abby snorted. “We can take care of ourselves on that front, General. Not that we need to—​we’ve got them pretty well trained by now. It’s you I’m worried about.”

Woman or not, being an officer demanded a certain code of behavior. Marcus fixed Abby with a frosty stare. “You’re concerned about my ability?”

“I have no doubts as to your ability,” Abby said. “We all know what you did in Murnsk after the river flooded. I’m more worried about your character.”

Marcus, who’d unfrozen slightly, resolidified. “My character?”

“That you might have some crazy ideas, like maybe keeping my regiment off the front line, or sending us where you think it’s going to be safe.” Abby grinned. “Winter always said you had an excess of chivalry. I’m telling you that if you try to apply that to us, you’re going to have a lot of angry soldiers on your hands.”

Ah. Marcus paused uncomfortably. Winter wasn’t wrong, he supposed. Marcus had opposed the creation of a female unit, back in the beginning, out of a visceral feeling that letting women put themselves in harm’s way went against everything he was supposed to stand for. Janus hadn’t shown any such scruples, however, and it had been hard to maintain his opposition in the face of the enthusiasm of the Girls’ Own and other volunteers. Then there’d been Andy, who’d served as his aide all through the coup and the Murnskai campaign, until she’d been killed during the retreat. Her name still brought him a pang of guilt, though she’d chosen her own path every step of the way.

“General Ihernglass... has known me a long time,” Marcus said. “But I like to think I’m capable of learning, at least a little bit. I can’t pretend I’m completely comfortable, but I promise I won’t hold this regiment back.” He shrugged. “I’d be a fool if I tried to. You’re widely agreed to be the best skirmishers in the Grand Army, and any commander who was handed a weapon like that and didn’t use it would deserve to lose his battles.”

“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.” Abby’s grin widened. “I’ll hold you to it, General.”

“Please do,” Marcus said. “Now, may I ask you a question?”

Abby raised her eyebrows again. “Of course, sir.”

“My guess is a lot of your... soldiers joined up because of Janus, too. Are we going to have any difficulty now that he’s on the other side?”

Abby gave that some thought, then shook her head. “I don’t think so. We might have, once, but the old hands have been through two campaigns together now. We owe one another more than any commander, even Janus. And the latest batch of new recruits is from after Janus resigned as First Consul.”

“What if Winter Ihernglass turns up at Janus’ side?”

Abby’s smile faded. “That... might be difficult. But I don’t believe Winter would ever fight against Vordan.”