Love Times Two

War does strange things to people. In two stories, ordinary men and women who have been wounded and changed by England's generation-long war against Napoleon Bonaparte must find ways to allow life and love to enter their hearts. Wartime challenges argue that this is not possible, but it is, because love is greater than strife, and more enduring. In "Write to Me," an exhausted and overworked sailing master on a Fast Dispatch Vessel has one way: writing letters. But who is to say the mail will get through? In "Dear Napoleon," a bitter Royal Navy captain knows he must not let Napoleon's long shadow ruin his life, now that the war is over. But is his war over? A sweet widow's suggestion meets with disbelief and scorn, except maybe, just maybe, she is right.