=====Alexandra Fortescue=====
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//Mother,\\
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Congratulations on your promotion! Henry has explained to me (in far too much detail) how important and impressive it is. \\
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I notice that you have not yet defeated Napoleon. Have you considered giving him one of your disapproving stares? I hope you get rid of him soon, because me and Parthenia would love to visit Paris.\\
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We have returned from Greece now and are getting used to being back at home. Thankfully Frances has done a good job of looking after everything while we were away, and the flowers Parthenia chose turned out to be alright in the end. Unfortunately this small design victory has emboldened her to want to have our garden house painted in an awful dirty red colour, when clearly blue would be the better choice. I will update you with news of who wins this battle.\\
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Best of luck dealing with Napoleon!\\
\\
Albie//\\


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With a small chuckle, Lieutenant General Alexandra Fortescue placed the letter from her son-in-law down onto her desk in her marquee in Quatre Bras, 12 miles south of Waterloo. After a busy time in London spent ensuring that the business with Lady Katherine Chesterton reached a just conclusion and helping her daughter settle into married life, she had been ready for a quiet year in the countryside with her wife. Unfortunately, Napoleon had different ideas when he escaped exile and reclaimed Paris in the spring of 1815, meaning that the baroness had to rush to the continent. So much for her relaxing break.

Although Albion and Parthenia had begun warming up to her in the months following their marriage, there were benefits to having some distance between them. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and the increasing frequency of the young couple’s letters to her would certainly support that theory, although they would never admit it. The regular updates on their petty disputes and travelling adventures proved entertaining evening reading after a day spent in strategy meetings.

But this evening was to be far from a quiet one. A little after ten o'clock, a messenger broke the stillness of the night with an urgent missive from the Duke of Wellington himself. It was time to strike, and the Lieutenant General and her troops were required to march to Mont-Saint-Jean, for a battle expected to be tougher than any she had seen before in her career. 

She understood the high strategic importance of this encounter, but she could not have comprehended the enduring infamy of what would go on to be known as the Battle of Waterloo. With a calm composure that had earned her the respect of thousands of troops over her decades-long career, Alexandra dismissed the messenger and set to work.