The only time he hadn’t was when he enlisted, despite Gaunt’s furious letter telling him not to. Except that had been a form of obedience, too, thought Ellwood—to a pre-existing command. He had been obeying the unwritten instructions in Gaunt’s terrible letter after the Second Battle of Ypres: “I wish to God I could see you again before I die.” Come here, that letter had said. I need you. And Ellwood, obedient as ever, had enlisted instantly.
