Soldier of Fortune

'In some senses, they'd have been right to do so.'

'My parents might have been,' she conceded, 'but not my sister. Dorothy would have held me back out of sheer spite.'

'I'm sure that she cares for you, Abigail.'

'She does — when it suits her.'

'Well, I don't want to come between you and your sister. But she would need to have a very cold heart not to worry about you and pray for your safe return.' He crossed to the tent flap and opened it. 'Follow me. It's not far.'

'Shall I see you later on?'

'To be honest, I think it unlikely.'

'Just for a few minutes,' she pleaded.

'We'll see, Abigail,' he said, careful not to commit himself. 'Let me take you to the Duke's quarters. He'll be as thankful as I am that you came to no harm.'

She gave a strained smile and went out after him. On their way through the camp, Daniel exchanged a few niceties with her, ignoring the curious stares they attracted on the way. After introducing her to Marlborough, he left the two of them together and walked briskly towards the area where the baggage wagons had been parked. He soon found Abigail's maid, standing beside a tent as she sorted out items of clothing that needed to be washed.

'May I speak to you for a moment, Emily?' said Daniel.

'Yes, sir,' she replied, flustered by his sudden appearance.

'Your mistress is with His Grace, the Duke of Marlborough. She's been telling me about the adventures you had along the way.'

'Miss Abigail was very brave.'

'I fancy that you showed just as much bravery, Emily.'

'I did what I had to do, Captain Rawson.'

Emily Greene had lost weight during the many weeks they had been in transit. She still had the same homely appearance but her flabby cheeks and plump body had shrunk slightly. The maid had aged visibly as well. Abigail Piper had had a vision of her beloved to beckon her on. Emily had been driven by loyalty to her mistress. It was a loyalty that Daniel took into account. The woman would never volunteer information about Abigail that she felt was confidential. Daniel had to be tactful.

'What was the most enjoyable part of your journey?' he asked.

'Getting here alive, sir,' she replied.

'Yes, you had one or two uncomfortable moments, I hear.'

'They're all in the past now — thanks be to God.'

'Miss Abigail was telling me about an inn you left in the middle of the night. You must have been desperate to do that.'

'We could not stay there, sir.'

'So I gather,' said Daniel, who had not been told the real reason for their abrupt departure and felt it was one of the things that Abigail had deliberately kept from him. 'Miss Abigail told me all about it.'

'She talked about it for days afterwards.'

'That's understandable. It must have been a shock to her.'

'It was more than that, Captain Rawson,' said Emily, believing that he already knew the full details. 'The man had been so nice to us when he let us ride in his wagon. The last thing Miss Abigail expected was that he would come to her room at night and force himself upon her. I got to her just in time.'

'She's eternally grateful, Emily.'

'I couldn't believe what had happened.'

'Is this the man who was travelling with the body of his wife?'

'That's right, sir,' said Emily. 'His name was Otto but I called him a lot of other names that night — God forgive me! Miss Abigail is young and unused to the ways of the world. It frightened her that such people could exist. She said that she'd be too ashamed to tell her parents that she'd been molested like that.'

'I can imagine.'

'She's a devout Christian — and so am I. We know what the Good Book tells us, sir. Only one person ever has the right to such favours.' She smiled shyly. 'Miss Abigail is saving herself for her husband.'

Daniel swallowed hard. As a serving soldier, his duties took him all over Europe and he had never considered marriage because he would be away from a wife for long periods. Marriage would also inhibit his private life and he was not yet ready to sacrifice that at the altar. Abigail, however, after meeting him only three times, had already chosen him as her future husband, revealing the depth of her feeling by embarking on a pursuit of him. Guilt welled up inside him. Always pleased to arouse admiration in a beautiful young woman, he was wounded by the knowledge that, in Abigail's case, infatuation with him had almost led to rape by a drunken stranger.

Striding back to his tent, Daniel had much food for thought.

Edward Marston

Soldier of Fortune

They followed the Confederate army as it moved south, keeping a few miles to the rear of it. The chances of Charles Catto being spotted by someone he met during his fleeting enlistment in a British regiment were remote but he nevertheless took pains to alter his appearance. Having discarded his uniform, he wore nondescript attire and grew a beard that changed the whole shape of his face. Frederic Seurel was the same surly and unprepossessing individual as before. Travelling over muddy roads and being soaked by rain day after day had not improved his temper. As they searched for shelter that afternoon, he was gloomier than ever.

'How ever will we get to him again, Charles?' he asked.

'There has to be a way.'

'I think we should forget the whole thing.' 'Then you had better make your will,' said Catto, 'because General Salignac will have you hunted down and killed for failing to obey his orders.'

'I had no orders from him. You were given the assignment.'

'I told him that you would assist me. He wanted to know your name and be assured that you could do as you were told and keep your mouth shut. There's no escape from this, Frederic.'

'But we've been trailing Captain Rawson for two months.'

'Yes,' said Catto with a reproachful glance, 'and we had the perfect opportunity to kill him until you bungled it.'

Seurel felt unjustly accused. 'How was I to know that someone else would be in that tent? Anyway,' he went on, 'I did show you how quickly I could kill a man and take off his head. When I get close enough to Captain Rawson, I'll have him dead within seconds.'

'Make sure it's him next time.'

They rode on through a copse and came out the other side to see a wayside inn ahead of them. Catto stretched his arm to point.

'That's where we'll spend the night,' he said. 'It's a pity we can't lure the captain there. If we could separate him from the army, we'd have a much better chance of killing him.'

'Why don't we send him an invitation?' asked Seurel, grinning.

'We might just do that — though not in the way you think.'

'You mean we set a trap?'

'I mean exactly that,' Catto told him. 'And there's one advantage to our long journey. I know we've spent many weeks in the saddle but we're getting closer to General Salignac all the time. His orders were to leave Paris and lead his men to Bavaria where he was to join up with the Elector. In other words, he's not all that far in front of us.'

'Are you going to make contact with him?'

'Not until our job is done, Frederic.'

'We could use more money.'

'We won't get a single franc from the general unless we can prove that Captain Daniel Rawson is dead. And we must make sure that we're the ones who kill him.'

'Must we?' said Seurel.

'Yes — if the captain is shot dead in battle, we will have failed. That's why we must get to him first, Frederic,' he said. 'So keep that dagger of yours as sharp as a razor.'

Edward Marston

Soldier of Fortune

The Duke of Marlborough opened a satchel and took out the letter before handing it to Abigail Piper. They were in his quarters.

'What's this, Your Grace?' she asked.

'It's a letter from your father,' he explained. 'It was enclosed with the last missive he sent to me. Should you ever reach us, he implored me to give it to you and to make sure that you read it.'