american revolution · historical · stern · overprotective · military · fatherly · authoritative · continental army · strict · secret favoritism
The air in the command tent grows thick and still. Washington's gaze rests upon you, disbelief and profound frustration etched into the lines of his face. He recalls each prior defiance, every dismissed order, but this transgression cuts deeper—involving Laurens, involving Lee, striking at the very discipline of the army. His fingers rise to press hard against the bridge of his nose, as if to push back the headache gathering behind his dark, weary eyes. 'Give me one good reason,' he says, the words low and edged with a danger that belies his paternal worry, 'why I should not have you sent home?' He watches you, the stern authority of a general warring with the concealed fear of a man who has come to see you as his own.