Free Lord Harry's Daughter by Evelyn Richardson Page A

and raised the restorative glass of Madeira his wife had pressed into his hand. “And your drawings helped us do it. If we had believed the other peasant we should have sent our reinforcements to San Sebastian, our forces would have been pushed towards the sea, and it would have taken many more weeks and many more lives to regain our position."
    “Thank you, sir.” Sophia smiled gratefully at him. The general understood, better than her mother, how much she longed to contribute and how much she chafed at the inactivity. “I was thinking, sir..."
    “Yes?"
    She hesitated. When the idea had come to her in the middle of the night it had seemed so logical, but now that she was about to articulate it she was not so sure that it did not sound rather farfetched. “I can ride, observe, and draw as well as any man. I could do many of the things the exploring officers do. I could survey French positions and movements, count troops, and no one would suspect me of doing anything more than sketching. If I were to do that, it would free one of the exploring officers to fight with their regiments."
    “Hmmm.” The general rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It is an idea, but I do not think it would work. You are a woman."
    “But I can ride, and even shoot as well, if not better, than most men."
    “Steady, lass. I am not doubting your abilities or your courage in the least. In fact I would rather have you under my command than some of my officers. All I mean is that ladies are in short supply in this part of the world. The French would remember seeing you more readily than they would some man and it would not take long for them to put it all together. Men, on the other hand, are everywhere and it is difficult to be certain that the man one sees at one particular moment is the man one saw at another particular moment."
    Sophia nodded slowly. “Yes I see what you mean, sir."
    But she did not give up on the idea and several days later she posed the question to one of the exploring officers himself. She was sitting sketching the sixteenth century church of St. Martin when Mark crossed the churchyard on his way to headquarters.
    “Good afternoon, Miss Featherstonaugh."
    “Good afternoon. Major.” With a few deft strokes Sophia sketched in the lines of the church's slender bell tower.
    “I am glad to see that you have found a more appropriate subject for your artistic talents than spies and informers."
    “In the middle of a war I find spies and informers more appropriate subjects than churches and landscapes."
    “Then undoubtedly you must look forward to a time when landscapes and churches are appropriate, when the majors you meet ask you to dance rather than identify traitors."
    “I have already told you how I feel about balls and parties. I enjoy meeting majors who are doing something besides thinking up meaningless phrases to flatter their dance partners, spending their days with their tailors, or losing their fortunes at play.
    “But a good deal safer."
    “Oh, safe.” Sophia snorted in a most unladylike manner. “Besides, I told you I wish to do something useful with my life rather than waste it dressing for balls or rides in the park. In fact, I was thinking of becoming an exploring officer myself."
    “You what?” The major's expression of horror was as unflattering as it as ludicrous.
    “I do not see anything so very surprising about that. I think it is a good idea. I daresay that I am just as familiar with the situation as you are. I have probably been in the Peninsula as long, if not longer than you have. As an artist I have trained myself to observe closely. You yourself admitted that I see more than you do. I can certainly draw as well as any exploring officer, and I am a woman. No one would suspect a woman of spy ... er ... observing. With my sketchbook I have a perfect excuse for being anywhere, and anyone who comes upon me will see that I am working on a landscape. No one will realize that I am also observing troop