Drums of War

'Daniel Rawson has been sent on an impossible mission.' 'Quite so,' agreed the other. "The captain is doomed to fail. How could he even think of getting Janssen out of there?'

Daniel moved quickly. Snatching only a couple of hours' sleep, he left the tavern and rode to Ronan Flynn's bakery. The Irishman was about to set off on his cart to deliver bread. He greeted his friend with a flour-covered grin.

'You're just in time to help me deliver these, Dan,' he said. 'Very well but you must do something for me in return.' 'I always return a favour.' 'You've proved that, Ronan.'

Tethering his horse to the back of the cart, Daniel sat beside Flynn so that they could talk as they rolled through the streets. Their conversation was interrupted by stoppages. Daniel helped to unload bread and hand it over to the various customers. Towards the end of the round, he had enough time to broach the subject that had taken him to the bakery in the first place. 'Do you know anyone with a boat?' he asked. 'To be sure I do,' replied Flynn, jovially. 'The French navy has hundreds of them. They've got boats, ships, yachts and anything that sails on water.'

'That's not what I had in mind, Ronan.' 'I know. I was only pulling your leg.'

'It was a serious question.'

'Then I'll give you a serious answer. As it happens, I do know someone who plies his trade on the Seine. When I first got married to Charlotte, I paid him to row a couple of miles downstream.'

'How big is the boat?'

'It's big enough to take three or four passengers.'

"Then it might be what we need.'

'Are you thinking of leaving us then?'

'I have to, Ronan.'

'Well, don't tell me where you're going for I've a terrible loose tongue, so I have. I'd probably shout the news all over Paris.' He tugged on the reins to bring the horse to a halt then jumped off the cart to deliver an armful of bread. He soon leapt up beside Daniel again. 'When might you want this boat?'

'I'm not certain — as early as tomorrow, perhaps.'

'Then you'd better meet the fellow this morning. He's getting old but he knows the river and he'll do whatever you pay him to do.'

'He'll be well rewarded.'

'If there's a lot of money involved,' said Flynn, eagerly, 'then I'll row you myself.'

'You have a wife and child to consider.'

'Ah, I see. There could be hazards.'

'How do I find this man?'

'I'll take you to him when I've finished delivering bread.'

'Thank you,' said Daniel. 'I'm very grateful. You've been a true friend, Ronan.'

'Oh, I'm not doing it for your sake, Dan. It's for my own benefit. I want my wife to stop asking what you're all doing here and whether or not you'll bring the police down on us. I'll be glad to wave you off,' he teased. 'As long as you leave Amalia behind,' he added, wickedly. 'She can work beside me at the bakery. I'll teach the little darling how to make bread — among other things, that is.'

While she was pleased to leave the Flynn house, Amalia was not entirely happy in the tavern that Daniel had found for them. It guaranteed their anonymity but they were no longer enjoying the hospitality of friends. Kees Dopff was patient and undemanding, quite content to spend the day guarding the tapestry or taking a walk near the river. Beatrix, however, was less able to cope with the waiting.

'The police are still looking for us, aren't they?' she asked.

'I expect that they are,' said Amalia.

'They're bound to find us one day and then what will happen?'

'Try not to think about that.'

'I can't help thinking about it, Miss Amalia.'

'Captain Rawson has a plan.'

'How can he get all of us out of Paris?'

'I don't know, Beatrix, but I believe that he can.'

'Why does he keep leaving us alone like this?'

'I'm sure there's a good reason,' said Amalia. 'All that we can do is to watch and pray.'

'Oh, I've been praying every hour of the day,' confessed the servant. 'I've been praying that we all get safely back to Amsterdam but that's like asking for a miracle.'

They were still at the tavern. Though Amalia tried valiantly to still Beatrix's doubts, she still had several of her own but she didn't voice them in case she turned the servant's fears into complete panic. When Daniel finally called on them that afternoon,

Amalia wanted to fling herself into his arms in gratitude but Beatrix's presence deterred her. Sensing the taut atmosphere, Daniel managed to reassure the older woman a little before asking her to leave them alone so that they could have a private conversation. As soon as the door closed behind the servant, Amalia gave vent to her feelings, taking Daniel by both hands and imploring him to tell her where he'd been.

'I've been searching for a boat,' he explained.

She was perplexed. 'A boat?'

'I want you to leave the city by river.'

'What about Father?'

'God willing, he may be able to quit Paris at the same time.'

'How will you get him out of the Bastille?'

'I think I may have found a way,' said Daniel. 'First, however, I need you to describe him to me.'

'Why do you want me to do that, Daniel?'

'I need to know how old he is, how tall, how fat or how thin. Tell me everything, Amalia. I have to be able to recognise him at a glance.'

'There's a chance that you'll see him, then?' she said, excitedly.

'I hope so. Your father's being held in one of the towers at the Bastille. Prisoners get far better treatment there. It's likely that he's still in good health.'

'Thank goodness!' she exclaimed.

'Tell me what he looks like.'

Amalia gave a detailed description of her father and there was a mingled respect and affection in her voice. Since her mother's early death, she'd been brought up almost exclusively by Emanuel Janssen and the bond between them was very strong. Daniel was interested to hear that the tapestry-maker was stout, bearded, in his fifties and of medium height. The plan forming in his mind took on more definition.

'Do you have any idea when we might leave?' she asked.

'It could be as soon as tomorrow or as late as next week.'

Her face crumpled. 'Next week?

'I have to seize the moment when it comes, Amalia,' he said. 'It will depend on a number of things over which I have no control.'

'The longer we stay, the more worried everyone becomes.'

'I could see that Beatrix is suffering badly.'

'Unless we leave soon, Daniel, she'll vex herself to death.'

'I said this to you when we first met and I must say it again. You must all be ready to leave at a moment's notice. In your case, Amalia,' he said, feasting his eyes on her face, 'you must disguise yourself in some way.'

'Why must I do that?'

'Everyone guarding the exits to the city will have been furnished with a description of a beautiful young lady with fair hair and blue eyes. If you're seen looking like that,' he went on, 'you'll be recognised at once. There'll be guards on the river as well as at the gates.'

'What about my passport, Daniel? It bears my name.'