My Dear Colonel Marbot:
It troubles me to see you so irate at the officers of my brigade, particularly in light of the very fine compliment you paid to us in your previous posting. I am sure that Lt. Clawson did not intend to agitate you so. Please allow me to buy you another drink at our expense. Helga will be more than willing to bring whatever you like.
By way of explanation, Lt. Clawson had a very trying and frustrating day of his own when he posted the foregoing messages. His long time steed and companion had been shot out from under him in his last encounter with your fellow, French officers. The Quartermaster General had promised him a new mount, but was somewhat late on its delivery. To add to the poor Lieutenant’s consternation, he discovered that his new horse had been shoed by an apprentice farrier, and that the shoes had indeed been put on backwards. This would not have been so bad in and of itself, as the problem was relatively easy to correct. The real trouble started when he contacted Master Farrier Dell, who informed him that indeed a new horse had been delivered as promised and the misapplied shoes would be Lieutenant Clawson’s problem to correct, all at his own cost of course. Needless to say, this sent the fine Lieutenant into a rage. I fear that his subsequent posting here might have been borne out of that unrelated frustration.
I will promise to investigate your concern that some of my Hanoverian officers may be engaging Cadets of L’Ecole Militaire for the improvement of their battle records. To date, I have only seen my young Ensigns, as they were at the time of their most recent victories, bring me the swords of vanquished French Generals and Full Colonels such as yourself. Should I discover that they are indeed beating up on your army’s trainees, I commit to you that I will put an end to such actions.
And lastly, I do have a few questions of personal interest:
• How is it you came to live in East Texas? I had always thought you lived somewhere in Louisiana.
• Am I correct in my recollection of a recent post saying you are nearing 2,000 OBD points? Most impressive if my memory proves accurate.
In closing, I would also like to add that your phrase of “Hangoverians” as a reference to my beloved officers is quite clever. Quite clever indeed!
Now, how about that drink?