Man at War – Excerpt No. 245

13 May 2026

Earlier was a relative term in his mind. Still, as he had been a Private himself. At least it explained his skill, even if the rank implied otherwise.

“You should have been a nurse,” the Lieutenant said with a grin.

“Perhaps,” Marc began. “I doubt that uniform works on me.”

Murphy coughed, clearly caught off guard by Marc channelling Le Marquis. Still this playful banter between them was not flirtatious. She’s testing me.

“I’d love to see it,” the Lieutenant countered.

Highly detailed cinematic scene inside a dimly lit canvas ward tent at a British Casualty Clearing Station during the Great War in 1915. A distinguished British Colonel named Marc stands at the bedside of the wounded soldier Mackenzie, who is now propped up slightly and resting after drinking. The Colonel has a subtle amused expression as he banters lightly. Standing close by is the young Canadian Bluebird nurse Lieutenant Murphy, a brunette with lively steel-grey eyes and a mischievous grin, holding the stainless-steel pitcher and playfully suggesting the Colonel should have been a nurse. In the background, a translucent ghostly overlay or subtle double-exposure vision shows Marc's past self as a young Private in the Royal French Army in 1545 — wearing period-appropriate Renaissance-era soldier attire (puffed sleeves, doublet, hose, simple armor elements or helmet from the mid-16th century) helping tend to wounded men in an earlier conflict. The nurse is grinning at the Colonel's witty reply about the uniform not suiting him, with a hint of testing banter in the air. Soft moody lamplight casts dramatic shadows across the tent, rows of cots with other wounded soldiers, medical equipment, and faint blood stains visible. Historical accuracy for 1915 with a subtle supernatural/historical flashback element, realistic yet slightly stylized, intimate focus on the playful interaction between the Colonel and the nurse at the patient's bedside.

Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.