Soldier of Fortune

Riding south, he soon came to the village of Durston, a small community nestling around an old parish church. It was here in his birthplace that his father had been laid to rest on the night after he had been hanged. Having cut him down from the gallows, Daniel and his friends had been able to do nothing more than bury him in an unmarked grave, hard against wall of the churchyard and largely obscured by a yew tree. Fleeing the country with his mother, the boy had prayed that nobody would discover the hasty, unlicensed grave.

Years later, when he was still in the Dutch army, he was able to return to the village and explain to the vicar what had happened. His plea fell on sympathetic ears and the bones of Nathan Rawson were disinterred and buried in a more fitting spot with a headstone to mark it. His father was not an interloper in the churchyard any more but a welcome son of Durston, occupying a legitimate place at last. The year before she had passed away, Daniel had been able to bring his mother back to England to visit her husband's grave. It had brought immense comfort to Juliana.

Tethering his horse, Daniel entered the little churchyard and picked his way through the crosses and tombstones, some encrusted by moss and bird droppings, others leaning over at acute angles. When he came to his father's grave, he first removed the large pile of twigs and leaves that had blown up against it. The headstone glowed in the sun, its chiselled inscription standing out clearly. Daniel removed his hat and looked down at the last resting place of Nathan Rawson, recalling happier times while not forgetting the horror of his father's execution. The boy's belief in the concept of justice had been shattered by the Bloody Assizes. George Jeffreys, the leading judicial butcher, had died a mere three years after the ghastly event but his name could still make Daniel seethe with fury.

Lost in thought, he stayed there for a long time and was only jerked out of his reverie by the sound of a spade striking the earth nearby. Another grave was being dug. Another companion was coming to join his father. Daniel put on his hat. Having paid his respects, he felt somehow cleansed and exhilarated. It was time for pleasure.

Edward Marston

Soldier of Fortune

'That's absurd,' said Dorothy Piper with a brittle laugh. 'You've not even known him for a week.'

'Had I known him but a single day,' retorted her sister, 'it would have been enough. 'I'm in love, Dorothy.'

'You don't even know the meaning of the word.'

'I do now. Since I met Captain Rawson, I've suddenly been filled with wonderful thoughts and thrilling new sensations. He's the best man in the world and I want you to be happy for me.'

Dorothy was blunt. 'Don't be ridiculous, Abigail. This is nothing but a passing infatuation. In a month's time, you'll have forgotten that Daniel Rawson ever existed.'

'I'll never forget him!' attested Abigail, stamping a foot. 'I love him and I want to share the rest of my life with him.'

'There's no earthly hope of that happening.'

'Yes, there is.'

'He's a soldier, you fool. He'll be abroad most of the time.'

'I'd follow him wherever he goes,' said her sister. 'Not that he's going anywhere at the moment. He's here in London and he's mine. And you've no call to rule out someone in the army. It was only last year that you became involved with Lieutenant-Colonel Masters. There was no talk then of a soldier being an inappropriate choice.'

'That was different.'

Abigail sighed. 'It always is.'

'My private life is my own,' said Dorothy reproachfully, 'and I'll thank you not to interfere in it.'

'You always insist in interfering in my private life.'

'It's my duty as an elder sister to protect you, Abigail. I'm trying to stop you from being badly hurt. Don't you see that?'

'All I can see is someone obstructing me because I've found the love of my life and she hasn't. That's why you're being so beastly to me, isn't it? You're insanely jealous.'

Dorothy spluttered. 'That's an outrageous thing to say!'

'It's the truth.'

'It's a poisonous lie and I demand that you take it back.'

'No,' said Abigail with a show of bravado. 'You've had romances and intrigues but that's all that they were — brief entanglements from which your admirers soon extracted themselves. My case is different. I have someone I wish to marry.''

'Be silent!'

Dorothy was so enraged by what her younger sister had said that she raised a hand to strike her. Thinking better of it, she let her arm drop to her side but she was still smarting. Abigail's accusation had more than a grain of truth in it. Dorothy had had many amours but they all petered out sooner or later. Although she had met men who excited and amused her, she had never found one whom she was moved to consider as a husband or — and this piqued her — who looked upon her as a potential wife.

The sisters were in the parlour of their house in Westminster. The family mansion was near Warwick and their father, Sir Nicholas Piper, represented the town in Parliament. Both of his daughters preferred the social life of the capital to a more subdued existence in the country. Dorothy was in her early twenties, a tall, stately young woman with the kind of features and figure that appealed strongly to men. She also cultivated the wit and sophistication needed to hold her own in any civilised gathering, and had many accomplishments, not least as a musician. She prided herself on her self- possession.

Abigail, on the other hand, still had the bloom of youth on her. Having spent all her life in the shadow of her elder and more talented sister, she yearned for independence from her and for the opportunity to be taken seriously as a woman. Her childhood prettiness had evanesced into a porcelain beauty that turned heads but, until now, she had lacked the skills and confidence to exploit it. The arrival of Daniel Rawson had been a revelation to her. For the first time ever, she had aroused interest in a man with whom she was besotted.

'Let's not argue, Dorothy,' she said, trying to placate her. 'I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn — it was unpardonable of me. I know that you have my best interests at heart.'

'I do, Abigail,' said the other. 'My only wish is to help you.'

'Then the simplest way to do that is to leave us alone. When he comes today — if he comes, that is — I beg you not to spoil it for me.'

'You need me here as a safeguard, Abigail.'

'Against what — Captain Rawson is a gentleman.'

'He is, by your own report, a dashing soldier and I'll not have him taking advantage of my younger sister.'

'Nothing would be further from his mind,' said Abigail. 'On the two occasions we've met, Daniel — Captain Rawson, that is — has been kind and considerate to me.'

'It always begins that way.'

'Leave us alone, Dorothy — please.'

'I'll stay discreetly in the background.'

'How can either of us express our true feelings with another person in the room? It would be malicious of you to stay.' A distant bell rang and Abigail went into a mild panic. 'That's him!' she cried. 'He honoured his promise, as I knew he would. Oh, Dorothy,' she went on, taking her sister by the arm and leading her to the door, 'let me have some time alone with him, I implore you. I always disappeared obediently whenever your admirers called. The least you can do is to return the compliment.'

Dorothy pondered. 'Very well,' she said at length, 'but I'll be in the next room. If there's the merest hint of impropriety, you've only to call me.' She forced a smile. 'All I ask is that you don't expect too much or you could be cruelly disappointed.'

After giving her sister a token kiss, she left the room by the door in the far wall. Abigail, meanwhile, was staring at the double doors that gave access to the hall, straining her ears for the sound of voices or the clack of footsteps. She made a few last adjustments to her dress and to her hair before striking what she hoped was a dignified pose. There was a tap on the door and the butler entered.