A.U. - East India

[jarndyceheir]

Richard was a bit of a mess, though he was, thus far, succeeding at not showing it. He was on board a ship, just as he had imagined he'd be as a boy. Or, rather, not just like, as he was a soldier, and not a sailor. But it was still rather exciting. Exciting and nerve-wracking. And then there had been his hurried, private set of goodbyes, and the thoughts of how many months, or perhaps years, would pass before he saw Esther or Ada again.

And on top of it all, he dearly hoped he wasn't going to humiliate himself by being seasick, since almost half the regiment was composed of new men he'd never met before.

It was, he imagined, going to be a rather long trip.