Drums of War

'Forgive me,' he said, winking slyly at Daniel. 'I didn't mean to interrupt a te te-a — te te.'

'We were just talking about moving out, Ronan,' said Daniel. 'Amalia feels that she's imposed on you too long.'

'Imposed on us? What gave you that idea? Instead of three guests, we had a cook, a servant and someone to nurse the baby.

And we didn't even have to pay them for their services.'

'You and Charlotte have been wonderful.'

'Then why desert us?'

'We have to go,' said Amalia. "Thank you very, very much.'

She excused herself so that she could warn Beatrix and Dopff about their imminent departure. Flynn spread his arms.

'Have I frightened them away?'

'Yes,' said Daniel. 'They enjoyed your bread so much that they're afraid they'll double their weight if they stay here. Seriously,' he said over Flynn's chortle, 'the business that brought us here is nearing completion. We need to be in another part of Paris.'

'I can't deny that it will be a relief to Charlotte.'

'Have they been that much of a nuisance?'

'No, no, they've been very well-behaved.'

'Then what's upset your wife?'

'Charlotte is a very law-abiding woman,' said Flynn, 'so I haven't told her about some of the trouble I used to get into in the old days. What's worrying her now is that we've been harbouring stolen goods.'

Daniel blinked in amazement. 'Stolen goods?'

'Well, one item, anyway. Charlotte went up into the attic when Kees wasn't there and she saw that tapestry. She couldn't believe that a man like that could afford something so ruinously expensive. She thinks that he must have stolen it.'

'Would you steal a loaf of bread from your own bakery?'

'It would never even cross my mind.'

'Well, that's the position Kees is in,' said Daniel. 'He didn't rob anyone of that tapestry, Ronan, because he helped to make it. You can't steal what you already own.'

'It's magnificent, Dan. I sneaked up there to take a peep at it myself. Are you telling me that Kees helped to create it?'

'He was working to someone else's design.'

'I don't care. He's a fine artist. Wait until I tell Charlotte.'

'That's all you must tell her,' advised Daniel. 'Neither of you must know why the tapestry ended up here. I'd be grateful if you didn't talk about it to anyone else.'

'We can keep our mouths shut.' He looked his friend in the eye. 'There's danger ahead, isn't there?'

'There may be.'

'You're carrying all three of them on your shoulders, Dan. I can see that. All I asked of you was that you didn't do anything that would put my family in any kind of peril.'

'It's the main reason I'm taking them away.'

'Let me help,' offered Flynn. 'As long as it's well away from this house, I've always got time for an old friend. Kees might be a wizard at a loom but I reckon he's not the man you need in a crisis, and the two ladies would be even less useful. You know my mettle, Dan,' he added, tapping his own chest. 'If there's adventure at hand and you need someone you can rely on, Ronan Flynn is your man.'

'Thank you,' said Daniel, gratefully. 'I may well call on you, Ronan, though you might live to regret your offer.'

Flynn grinned. 'Ah, who's worried about regrets?' he said, airily. 'A man who has no regrets has led a pretty dull life in my opinion. Turn to me when you need me, Dan. I'll be there.'

Chapter Ten

'He kept you out there for well over an hour,' said Hugh Dobbs with a blend of sympathy and anger. 'Major Cracknell is a bastard.'

'He was waiting for me to drop my drum,' explained Tom Hillier, rubbing an arm, 'but I didn't give him that pleasure.'

' I could never have kept it up there that long.'

'It was hard work.'

'By rights, I should have been there with you. We were both caught by the major yet he let me go. Why was that?'

'Go and ask him.'

'Oh no, I 'll keep well clear of that cruel bugger.'

'I'll try to do the same, Hugh.'

They were in their tent. After suffering the pain and humiliation of marching up and down for so long, Hillier felt that his arms were about to drop off. His drum had got heavier and heavier until he felt that he was holding a ton of lead above his head. What came to his rescue was his determination not to buckle under the strain and the fact that his muscles had been toughened on the farm. He'd also recited some verses he'd memorised as a child and it helped to take his mind off the growing agony. Seeing that he couldn't bring the drummer to his knees, Major Cracknell had eventually stalked off.

'He came looking for you,' said Dobbs. 'Officers have got much more important things to do than watch a couple of lads having some fun. If he was that worried about us, he could have sent a corporal to break up the fight and bellow at us.'

'You could be right, Hugh.'

'I usually am.'

'Major Cracknell went out of his way to find us.'

'To find you, Tom,' corrected the other. 'He doesn't care a fiddler's fart about me even though I'm a lot prettier than you.'

'I hadn't noticed that,' said Hillier with a laugh, starting to rub the other arm. 'You should look in a mirror, Hugh.'

'I'm the handsomest drummer in the regiment.'

'Then the rest of us must be as ugly as sin.'

'You all are.' He saw the fatigue in his friend's face. 'Here, let me do the rubbing for you, Tom. You look as if you're going to fall over.'

Dobbs used both hands to massage one of Hillier's weary arms, managing to impart discomfort and relief at the same time. He then moved on to the other arm before turning his attention to the searing ache in his friend's shoulders. Hillier could scarcely bear the pain at first but it slowly eased.

'You should tell your uncle about this,' counselled Dobbs.

'Why?'

'He ought to know.'

'There's nothing he can do about it,' said Hillier. 'Anyway, he told me to stay away from him. He wants me to get by on my own.'

'I still think you should speak to Sergeant Welbeck.'

'There's no point, Hugh.'

'I believe there is.'

'What can a sergeant do against an officer?'

'He can fight fire with fire,' said Dobbs, knowledgeably.

'I don't understand.'

'He can set an officer on an officer, Tom.'

'Can he?'

'Yes, he can, and he couldn't pick a better man. According to you, your Uncle Henry is a friend of Captain Rawson. You saw them together that day. Tell the sergeant what happened to you and you can be sure it will get back to the captain.'

'But I don't want it to,' protested Hillier. 'I don't need any help. I can fight my own battles.'

'Not if you're up against a vicious tyrant like Major Cracknell. If he has his knife in you, Tom, he'll twist it until you beg for mercy. You need an officer on your side.'

'Captain Rawson wouldn't bother about someone like me.'

'He'd bother about anyone being unfairly treated,' said Dobbs. 'He's that sort of man. Speak to your uncle, that's all you have to do. Don't you want to have Captain Rawson defending you?'

'He's not even here in camp, Hugh.'

'He soon will be, I daresay. Captain Rawson never stays away for too long. He's probably on his way back this very minute.'

Daniel arrived for his second night at the Bastille in a more sanguine frame of mind. He knew what would be expected of him and, though his duties were deeply unpleasant, they were not taxing. The burden on him had eased slightly. In moving Amalia and the others out of the house, he'd rid himself of some anxieties. He no longer had to worry about getting Flynn into serious trouble or of arousing Charlotte's suspicions to the point where she would feel endangered. Nor did he have to worry about his charges. Daniel had settled all three of them in a respectable tavern that ensured them a degree of comfort and privacy without leaving them feeling obligated to anyone. Amalia's safety was paramount to Daniel. He could now forget her for a while and concentrate on her father.