James Hatcherly Draft
Description
Twenty-five. Eighteen months in Bengal. Eager, competent, slightly reckless in the way young engineers can be. He blows things up for a living and finds it genuinely interesting. Knows the powder magazine inventory by heart because he’s the one who maintains it. Fizzing with energy that garrison life doesn’t use up.
Background
Junior sapper officer assigned to Renwick’s embankment reinforcement project. Trained at Woolwich. Practical knowledge of the upstream Hooghly from months of construction work.
Why Adrien Bonds With Him
Hatcherly has never met a French officer before and is fascinated rather than hostile. He asks Adrien about siege engineering at Badajoz, about French sapping techniques, about things his instructors only knew from textbooks. The Napoleonic Wars are an engineering problem to him, not a grudge. Adrien, who’s spent three chapters being viewed with suspicion, meets a young man who sees him as a professional peer, and the relief of that unlocks something.
Motivations
Professional enthusiasm. Helping the investigators is the most exciting thing that’s happened since he arrived in India. This is both an asset (willing, eager) and a risk (enthusiasm outrunning judgment).
Connections
- Edward_Renwick — Superior officer
- Valentine_Frome — Fellow officer at Fort William
Appearances
Relationships
- Serves under Edward Renwick — Renwick's subordinate. Works on the embankment project.