Captain Jacob Lewis listened to the carriage wheels striking the bumpy road and found it difficult to comprehend that he was finally home on a much sought-after leave. The past few months had been hellish, and he was not certain that the diversions of a peacetime army officer were suited to him. Drinking and staying out all hours as he had been were leaving a stain on his soul. Whereas his fellow officers were more than happy to take advantage of the light-skirts who accompanied any respectable army garrison, he had thought himself above such lowly pursuits. Until he had made the mistake of engaging in a torrid affair with an officer’s wife. He shook his head at his arrogance, at how he had thought that his lascivious activities were superior to paying a woman coin for her favors.
It had
