The saving grace of her husband's attempts at "lovemaking" was having the security of sleeping next to him afterwards.The saving grace of her husband's attempts at "lovemaking" was having the security of sleeping next to him afterwards. A man lying next to you at night was very reassuring. If you excluded his lack-of-ability in bed, Bradford was a fine husband. He was the only one of Ivy's suitors who was considered to be of the proper stature. Having come from a moderately wealthy family, with a social status well above their financial means, she had found it hard to find a man she liked and whom her father approved. Her looks assured that there were ample courters, while her lack of a sufficient dowry gave few of them the proper titles. In fact, there was only one: Lord Bradford Stanley, colonel in the expeditionary force to the Sudan. From Rome, she caught a ship to Cairo and, from this city she referred to as the cesspool of the empire, Ivy made plans to meet her husband at Khartoum. A well-guarded caravan including two companies of British regulars, was heading out towards the famous city, where Gordon had made his final stand. With all the protection there would be no problem with being attacked by the natives. They would never dare move on a column of the size Ivy travelled in. This is what Captain Piper had told Ivy, her maid, and several other wives of officers who were venturing out to meet their husbands. It was rather ironic when a Barber marksman had signalled the attack on the column by shooting the overconfident captain between the eyes. |