Daniel responded swiftly. Rolling over, he reached his sword and angled the blade so that it sawed through the rope that held his wrists. Once his hands were free, he seized the weapon and was just in time to ward off an attack from the soldier who’d been unsaddled. Parrying the slash of the man’s sword, he flicked his wrist and took the soldier’s eye out, making him scream in agony. One glance told Daniel what had happened. As they came round a bend, the patrol had been confronted by a fire then pounded by rocks that came hurtling down the rocky incline to their right. Horses were frenzied, their riders unable to control them. Stones kept coming. When one of the soldiers dismounted and tried to scramble up the gradient, he was shot dead by Welbeck.
The driver of the cart was the next victim, hacked from behind by Daniel then thrown bodily off the vehicle. Seizing the reins, Daniel snapped them hard and set the two horses off into a mad gallop, buffeting a soldier who’d been unsaddled and knocking him senseless. In the general mayhem, most of the patrol had been disabled because their mounts had been lamed by the vicious flurry of stones. Two of them, however, had the presence of mind to go in pursuit of the prisoner, riding through the flames and galloping along the road after the cart. When it veered off the track and went careering across a field, they went after it, sabres drawn and blood pumping.
Daniel could not outrun them. The most he could do was to put distance between himself and the rest of the patrol so that he was only up against two men. He had an advantage. Their orders were to take him to Versailles and hand him over alive. If they killed their prisoner, they’d have to answer to Vendome and they’d have no wish to do that. Their instinct would be to maim him in order to disarm him. Daniel was still well ahead of them but they were gaining on him. It was time for a change of tack.
When he spotted a copse off to the right, he guided the cart towards it and vanished into the trees, swerving past their gnarled trunks, ducking low branches and seeing bushes thrash at the sides of the vehicle. For a few minutes, the canopy blocked out the light. As he emerged once more into the sunshine, he saw that he was in a field that rose gently towards a ridge. Going halfway up it, Daniel brought his horses in a complete circle and headed back towards the copse. When the soldiers came galloping out of the trees, therefore, they saw the cart aimed directly at them. One of the horses flew into a panic, rearing up on its hind legs then bolting so uncontrollably that its rider struggled to stay in the saddle.
Daniel tugged on the reins and brought the cart skidding to a halt, sending clods of earth spinning into the air. Then he picked up his sword, jumped into the rear of the cart and beat off the attack from the other soldier. Hacking away at him, the man was trying to dislodge his weapon so that he could overpower him and take him prisoner. Daniel had no time for the niceties of swordplay. Snatching up the rope that had earlier held him, he lashed out at the horse’s head and made the animal neigh in terror. As it tossed its head sideways and came round in a half circle, Daniel ducked under the swishing sabre that was aimed at his shoulder then thrust upwards with his own sword. Its point went deep into the stomach of the soldier and caused him to drop his weapon.
Swearing loudly, he fell into Daniel’s arms and used the last of his strength to beat feebly at his chest. Daniel lowered him to the ground, withdrew his sword and thrust it through his heart to spare him a lingering death. Then he mounted the horse and rode off at a gallop with blood still dripping from his sword.
Vendome was pleased to welcome Sophie Prunier back into the French camp and to hear a full account of her adventures. He was grateful for the detail she was able to provide of the enemy and was amused at the way she’d deceived even the Duke of Marlborough.
‘I’d be the first to admit that I never expected you to be rescued by Captain Rawson,’ he said, ‘but I feel that it worked out to our benefit in the end. You are to be congratulated.’
‘Thank you, Your Grace,’ she said.
‘I think you’ve earned a reunion with your husband now. You’ll find Lieutenant Bouteron waiting for you in his quarters.’
‘Before I go, I must give you a warning. Captain Rawson set out for this camp for the second time. According to what I was told, he’s anxious to retrieve his sword.’
Vendome gave a throaty chuckle. ‘I assisted him,’ he said. ‘The captain was arrested and brought before me. Since he was so keen to have his sword, I sent it with him to Versailles. I’ve left it to His Majesty to determine the fate of Daniel Rawson. My guess is that we shall never hear of the fellow again.’
Henry Welbeck ate the last of the cheese then washed it down with a swig of wine. The loaded pistol lay beside him. He was sitting in the darkness on top of the hill near the farmhouse used by the deserters as their refuge. His thighs were smarting and his crotch felt as if it were on fire. He’d never ridden so hard or so recklessly as he had when he fled from the scene of the ambush, and he vowed that he’d never do so again. One of the horses had had to be left behind. The other was now munching what was left of the hay stored at the farmhouse.
He heard the jingle of a harness first. The slow clip-clop of hooves followed. Pistol in hand, Welbeck was ready to shoot. Then he saw a familiar profile coming out of the gloom and laughed happily.
‘Here he is at long last,’ he teased. ‘What kept you, Dan?’
The first thing that Daniel did when they returned to camp was to seek out Amalia Janssen in her tent and assure her that he was safe. He gave her only an attenuated version of what had happened and — when he showed it to her — his sword had been wiped clean of blood. Daniel was shocked to learn that Sophie Prunier had fled and shaken to realise that he’d been taken in so completely.
‘I should have been more careful,’ he said.
‘It was my fault,’ said Amalia. ‘I was the one who urged you to bring her with us when we escaped from the French camp. The person who has really been left with a red face is Lieutenant Ainley.’
Daniel smiled tolerantly. ‘That’s not unexpected,’ he said. ‘The sight of a gorgeous woman usually makes Jonathan blush and so his judgement is impaired. Like the rest of us, he was cleverly exploited by Mademoiselle Prunier. It took another woman to unmask her in the end. Your instincts were sound, Amalia.’
‘Where will she be now?’
‘Someone will have helped her to get back to Braine l’Alleud and she’ll be laughing at our expense. However,’ he went on, kissing her, ‘I can’t stay. His Grace will be expecting a report.’
Amalia smiled. ‘In the space of a couple of days,’ she observed, ‘he lost Sophie Prunier but gained Daniel Rawson. He’ll consider that a profitable exchange.’
Marlborough received a much more detailed account of what had happened in the French camp. While playing down his own role in the escape, Daniel emphasised how heroic and imaginative Henry Welbeck had been. Without the sergeant’s ambush, he stressed, he would have been taken all the way to Versailles for an unpleasant confrontation with the French king.
‘That’s an honour I’m happy to forego,’ said Daniel.
‘I’m sure that he’d have been very interested to meet you,’ said Marlborough. ‘Your escapades at the Bastille have made you a marked man, Daniel. Make no more visits to the enemy camp — that’s an order rather than a suggestion.’
‘It’s one that I’m happy to obey.’
‘We heard about your part in the arrest of the deserters,’ said Cardonnel. ‘Sergeant Welbeck featured there as well, I believe.’