Disclaimer: These are works of fan-fiction created for entertainment. It is not the intention of the author to infringe on anyone's copyright. No rights infringement intended. Warning: General Audience

The Sharpe Fan Fictions of A Lady.

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Bernard Cornwell’s

William Lawford Home from Spain



This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

William Lawford Copyright © 2025 by A Lady

DEDICATIONS William Lawford is for .

And

Bernard Cornwell who brought Richard Sharpe into our world.

William Lawford

A Novel by “A Lady” Based on Characters created by Bernard Cornwell
Chapter 2





April, 1799

Seringapatam, India


Feeling as if he had failed, a somewhat crestfallen William nodded in acknowledgement, turned about and ducked out beneath the flap of the tent, upon which he gave an involuntary start before collecting himself, because Sergeant Hakeswill, who had clearly been eavesdropping, was standing there squarely in front of him blocking his path.
“Good evening, Mister Lawford, sah!” said Hakeswill unpleasantly.
Instinctively shrinking from the looming presence, William said, “Good evening, Sergeant,” cursing himself because he knew he both looked and sounded very much taken flat aback, as their colleagues in the Navy might have put it.
“All well, sir? Still settling nicely back into Battalion after our nice long convalescence, are we?”
“Yes, thank you, Sergeant. Now, good night - ” William made to circumvent Hakeswill, but to his astonishment, indignation – and alarm, now - the Sergeant moved to block his way again.
“A shame if anything should happen to put a damper on that, sah!”
“What do you mean?” Damn! He could already hear his voice beginning to rise up the scale.
“Here’s what it is, sah! Telling tales: not a happy road to go down, that one.”
“I have no idea of what it is to which you refer, Sergeant. Now, please let me pass.”
“No idea? Oh, I think you have,” said Hakeswill, stepping forward, so that William was obliged to take a backward step to maintain the distance between them. Furious with himself, he could think of nothing to say in reply. The bloody man had the insolence to threaten him, and he was speechless in the face of it - !
“Very dark nights, Indian nights, sah! on account of India being an ‘eathen land what is full of darkies; says so in the Scriptures. Who knows what might be lurking in the shadows. That’s why I always takes very good care to keep my ‘alberd sharp as a razor, sah!”
“So I have heard. But halberds are so very old-hat. It’s spontoons nowadays, in the Battalion companies, anyway. But this is the Light Company. You should not bear a half-pike.”
“Should I not indeed, sah? Well, bless me! But there’s a lot of wear left in this old girl. A lot. No cause to go pensioning her off just yet. I finds her very useful, that I do.”
“I am gratified to note your economizing zeal, Sergeant, indeed, and to be sure. Most commendably frugal. Lord Dundas himself would no doubt be delighted to learn of your prudence. Wise, er, virgin, so you are.” Bloody hell! What drivel was he spouting out of fright and shock and a sense of whatever the equivalent was of lèse-majesté when one was only an Honourable?
“Like it says in the Scriptures, sah! No doubt Old Pivot would be pleased indeed.” Molly talking a bit Paddy all on a sudden? Perhaps the rumours are true, then.
“Indeed. But you don’t need it, Sergeant, nor even a spontoon; not in the Light Company. You should know that. Turn it in at the stores and get yourself a fusil. I, er, I do not wish to see you with that halberd again.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t see me with it, sah!” said Hakeswill with sudden slyness, treating William to a ghastly leer as he did so. “I gives you my word upon that.”
“Glad to hear it,” said William. An icy chill of horror ran up his spine as suddenly he understood the import of the Sergeant’s words.
Hakeswill smiled back: a long, slow, wicked smile.
“Well, I’ll say goodnight, now, sah!”
“Goodnight, Sergeant,” William said, with relief.
“Take care as you go, sah!” said Hakeswill, his head suddenly giving a great involuntary twitch which set his eyes gyring in their sockets.
“What do you mean by that?” William said, shocked by the Bedlamite display which had come seemingly out of nowhere. God, but he was squeaking like a schoolboy now!
“Watch out for them guy-ropes, is all. Treacherous buggers in the dark, guy-ropes, sah!” Hakeswill stepped aside. William regarded Hakeswill. Hakeswill stared back at him, and in the gathering darkness his eyes seemed as cold, as blankly devoid of pity and as malevolent as those of the sharks William had caught sight of from the deck of Nereide as they had traversed the Indian Ocean.
“Good night, Sergeant,” he said, again, thankful that at least he sounded like a man again, escaping now as fast as he could without actually breaking into a run. Hakeswill watched him go.


FOOTNOTES
1 Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, was Secretary of State for War 1794-1801.
2 Hakeswill is confusing Henry Dundas with David Dundas, who wrote the widely-used drill manual studied by all officers and NCOs, previously referred to.
3 A shorter and handier kind of musket, carried by Light Company sergeants in place of the ceremonial spontoon borne by sergeants of the Battalion companies (companies two to seven, i.e. not the Grenadier or Light flanking Companies) of a Regiment of Foot.

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