Chapter 2 Summary

Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill thinks about the widowed Mrs. Mary Bickerstaff while he searches for plunder among the dead and dying Mysorean troops. He finds a living man and demands money, which the man has taped to his chest. Hakeswill then kills the man with his halberd, a type of spear. Spotting Sharpe, he argues with him about Mary, suspecting that Sharpe has romantic interests. Sharpe denies any interest in Mary and Hakeswill leaves.

Sharpe joins Mary, who is half English and half Indian, and they talk about him becoming a sergeant one day. Mary had been married to an English sergeant, and she suggests that Sharpe request to formally marry her. Sharpe agrees that it is a good idea and would keep Hakeswill away, who watches them talk from a distance, his face twitching. Sharpe later asks Captain Morris for permission to marry...