The Soldier's Poisoned Heart

Part 1

Chapter 1

Colonel John Paul Foster had barely had time to lay down his head in the new estate before the days began to blur one into the next. In fact, he found it impossible to tell exactly how many days it had been since he had come in to his new life. It couldn't have been more than a week, but had it been four days, or five?

Not, he admitted, that it mattered. Each day he would ride into town. Each day he checked in at the telegraph office for word from his nephew. He took lunch at one of the many dining establishments sprinkled around downtown Derby.

What concerned him more than the tedium, though, was the lack of direction. In the military, even in positions of command, it had seemed always like there was something to reach for. His new life seemed to involve waiting for something to happen, and it was wearing him down.

That is why, when he found himself holding a little slip of paper in the telegraph office, it was with a surprising feeling of relief.

“JPF

INTO DERBY TOM. 9A.

HR”

John Paul smiled. This was something he could do, after all. By tomorrow, he would have some sort of companion to keep his days somewhat fuller, and that was a wonderful start. Further, he had received notice that his employees might be available as soon as the end of the week. That news was almost as good as his nephew's arrival.

John Paul spent the day feeling accomplished. He had almost finished with the interior of the home, straightening up at least. He slept that night with visions of his nephew getting off the train in the morning. The two of them would become fast friends, he was sure. The thought gave him warmth that helped to offset the too-light blankets.

The next morning, John Paul Foster found himself outside sitting on a bench at the train station. John Paul was waiting on the platform thirty minutes before his nephew's train would arrive. He closed his pocket watch again, as he had done several times in the past few minutes. Then he opened it again as soon as the latch had closed. How much longer would he have to wait, after all? It seemed that time was waiting for him, and that whoever made the first move was to be the loser.

John Paul tapped his foot, listening to the sound his shoes made on the polished stone floors. He looked around at the others waiting for the trains. Were they not as incensed by the delay? He began to stamp again when, checking his watch again, the minute hand clicked over past the hour. It was nine o’clock and the train was nowhere to be found.

He looked down the track, which curled out of view only a few kilometers away, and saw nothing. The train could have arrived at any moment, but the longer he stared, the longer those moments lasted. John Paul felt as though he may go mad. It was only when he began to pace back and forth that he found any sort of relief at all. And then, at long last, he heard the sound of a shrill whistle from over the horizon.

The train that pulled into the station was massive. The Colonel was so stunned by its sheer size that he almost didn’t notice when a young man in his early twenties stepped off the train. He turned to look, though, when he heard a voice calling out.

“Uncle?”

John Paul stared at what might have been his own sister when he’d last seen her. The boy was only a few centimeters shorter than John Paul himself. He had a handsome face, with dark hair that did not match John Paul’s whatsoever. Even still, Grace’s hair had darkened, even as the Colonel's own had not.

“Henry Roche?” The youth nodded. “Have you got any luggage with you?”

“Ah, yes,” he said, gesturing. John Paul strode over and snatched it up. John Paul carried the luggage to the carriage, and then the two of them set off to explore Derby together.

It was plain that Henry was not used to cities, as he stopped to marvel at this and that, every little thing seeming to catch his eye. As the noontime sun hung over the sky after several hours' walking, John Paul suggested that they sit down and get something to eat. Henry blinked for a moment at the suggestion, until he realized how hungry he was and agreed.