“You were his commanding officer?”

“I was,” Marc said. “I could not have hoped for a better soldier under me. Still, words are often lacking, at least when compared to action.”

“So you restored the watch?” 

That much was obvious, but the motivations were still evading Samuel. 

“War changes a man,” Marc said. “While I can attest that he was a good man until the end. I felt it would be best to remember him as your son who went off to war instead of the one who never made it back.”

“You know,” Samuel said. “I served in the Boer War.”

“Then you understand what I’m saying?”

Both the men smiled awkwardly. Some things did not have to be said aloud to be understood.