Lord Adam Danbury tossed and turned as his nightmare played itself
out. Suddenly, he was back on the battlefield, the sounds of the cannons
exploding deafening, the musket fire deadly. Crouching along the ground he
narrowly missed being hit. He had long ago lost track of his men, most of
them having fled at the first sounds of the invasion. No one had expected the
crafty general to attack during the night. It was unheard of. The dark sky was
momentarily illuminated by the explosion of a cannon that seemed too close
and he saw a body in his path. After carefully rolling him out of the way,
he felt in the poor fellow’s pockets for some sort of identification,
so that he could alert the authorities.
So many soldiers died unknown and were lost forever. Maybe he
could save this family some heartache. After searching through all the man’s
belongings, all he could find were some letters that he quickly shoved inside
his uniform. He would read them later and find out who this man was. Feeling
his way around the body he raised his head a moment to try and discover his
whereabouts. He knew he was heading north, but wasn’t exactly sure if he
was near any villages or towns. Portugal was such unfamiliar territory.
He never saw it coming, just felt the horrendous tormenting pain
afterwards. He grabbed his head to try and stop the spinning, but couldn’t.
Blackness was approaching and he sank into its deep comforts.
The next memory that hit him was the bright light of the sun. Someone
was trying to rouse him and he suddenly felt like punching the man who
dared to take him away from the blissful black. He opened his eyes and
squinted , trying to focus on a face. He didn’t recognize the man and he
wasn’t wearing a uniform. Must be a native Portuguese villager, for he didn’t
fully comprehend the words coming out of the man’s mouth. He saw the man
clutching the letters in his hand. He wanted to explain, and he tried to think,
but his mind was completely blank. Suddenly, a gripping panic overtook
him. He couldn’t remember anything! He tried to force himself to think, but
he was so very tired and his eyes closed of their own will. He would think
later.
Adam sat up drenched in sweat. He knew that the nightmare had
visited again. But why? Why couldn’t he get past that memory? That was the
only memory he had. He remembered nothing from before the war, only
what the doctors had told him. He had been found on the battlefield and with
no sort of identification. None of his men found around him had survived, so
there was no one to ask, no where to get information. As was usual, the
Ministry of War gave him a medical discharge and a small stipend to start
over, with their sympathy for his condition.
With no memory and no one to turn to, Adam had had no choice but to
begin again until he could remember someone or some place. Every
morning he read the London Gazette to try and recognize a name or a place.
That was how he found his name. A Lord Adamson was being sued by Mr.
Danbury Owens over a past due account and he decided that he liked the
names, so he combined them and became Lord Adam Danbury.
Soon after, the Ministry offered him a position and he accepted
knowing he had to have an income until he could discover his true identity.
|