Soldier of Fortune

'Why is that?'

'All I can see are Dutch uniforms, as dull as the people who wear them. The British contingent must be somewhere ahead.'

'How will we pick out Captain Rawson's regiment?'

'It will have pitched its tents close to its colonel — the Duke of Marlborough. If we're lucky, we may get a sighting of his coach. That will tell us that Rawson is not far away.'

'I never travelled in a coach when I was a soldier,' grumbled Seurel, 'or even on horseback. I had to walk every foot of the way.'

'You were never a commander, Frederic.'

'I never wanted to be.'

'Neither did I,' said Catto. 'I work best in the shadows. Instead of moving battalions about like pieces on a chessboard, I'd rather do my killing alone on the fringes of a battle.'

'I always liked a bayonet charge,' said Seurel nostalgically. 'I loved that look of despair in a man's eyes when I stabbed him in the stomach and spilt his guts on the ground.'

'There'll be no bayonet charge this time, Frederic. All we will need is a thrust of a knife or a shot from a pistol. We simply have to contrive a way to get Rawson within range of one or the other.'

'I'll strangle him with my bare hands, if you wish.'

'We have to find him first.'

'See if you can pick out his regiment.'

'I will,' said Catto, moving off. 'Stay low and follow me.'

Edward Marston

Soldier of Fortune

Daniel Rawson could not deny her. Though he had wanted to discuss with his fellow-officers the battle that loomed ahead, he could not ignore Abigail Piper. In response to her entreaty, he agreed to spend some time with her, feeling that it would be better to do so away from the prying eyes and waspish tongues of the soldiers. After conducting Abigail to the edge of the camp, he walked along the bank of the stream with her. The sky was overcast and the grass still damp from an earlier shower but the place seemed idyllic to her. She was alone with the man she idolised, a military hero resplendent in his uniform.

'What did His Grace, the Duke, say to you?' he asked.

'He was very considerate and very charming.'

'He always is, Abigail. He has impeccable manners.'

'I felt so nervous,' she confided, 'being with the captain- general of so large an army. I was flattered that he could even spare a few moments to see me.'

'He and your father have been in correspondence,' said Daniel, 'so he takes an almost parental interest in you. I daresay that he passed on a message from Sir Nicholas.'

'He did more than that, Daniel. Father had enclosed a letter for me, beseeching me to return home as soon as I could. The Duke offered me an escort back to The Hague.'

'In your position, I'd accept that offer gratefully.' 'And I may do so in time,' she said. 'But I'm not going to leave almost as soon as we've met. I'd feel as if I were deserting you.'

'That's a ridiculous idea!'

'I want to be near you, Daniel.'

'I appreciate that,' he said, 'but you must realise how impossible that ambition is. French and Bavarian soldiers are ahead of us, ready to prevent us from seizing a town that controls a crossing over the Danube. Marshal Tallard is following with a sizeable army, trying to catch up and attack us. All my thoughts must be concentrated on war, Abigail. Much as I relish your company, you are a diversion.'

'An agreeable diversion, I hope.'

'That's what makes it worse — you're a temptation.'

'I promise to stay out of your way,' she said, 'as long as you remember that I'm here, thinking about you and wishing you well.'

'Thank you.'

'Don't send me away, Daniel.'

'I've no power to do so.'

'And tell me — just once — that you are glad to see me.'

'I am very glad,' he said with a smile, 'not least because I was concerned for your safety. There's only one problem.'

'What is that?'

'I must forego the pleasure of your company, Abigail.'

'For the time being,' she added hopefully.

Daniel touched her arm. 'For the time being,' he said.

They walked on in silence, listening to the birds and watching the water ripple and surge. The sun made an effort to peep through the clouds but it was thwarted. Abigail savoured every moment of it. There had been times during their gruelling journey when she feared she might never see Daniel Rawson again. To enjoy a leisurely stroll in the country with him — even though it was on the eve of a battle — was the fulfilment of a dream.

Edward Marston

Soldier of Fortune

Frederic Seurel was restive. They had spent an hour or more hiding behind trees and crawling through bushes. It had all been in vain. Even with the aid of his telescope, Charles Catto had been unable to identify the Duke of Marlborough's regiment. Seurel was a man of limited patience. He soon began to protest.

'This is hopeless, Charles,' he said, swatting away an insect that landed on his face. 'The longer we stay, the more chance there is that we'll be seen by some of the pickets.'

'If we keep well-hidden, we're safe.'

'I'm fed up with lying on the ground.'

'How else can we keep the camp under surveillance?'

'I think we should get ahead of them tomorrow and watch out for Captain Rawson as they march past.'

'And then what?' asked Catto irritably. 'We can hardly ambush an entire army. You do make the most stupid suggestions, Frederic.'

'I hate trailing after them for week after week. If we overtake them, there's a faint chance that we may find Rawson off guard at some point. We can try to separate him from his regiment.'

'We need to do that now, while he's in camp.'

'You keep saying that.'

'I've had more experience of stalking than you,' said Catto, sitting up to stretch himself. 'I know how to wait, watch then strike when the right moment finally comes.'

'In this case, it may never come.'

'It already has come once, Frederic.'

'Stop harping on that,' said Seurel testily.

'We had him at our mercy and you let him go.'

'It wasn't deliberate.'

'That doesn't make it any the less annoying.'

'I've never let you down in the past, Charles.'

'No,' conceded the other, 'that's true. It's the reason I chose you. I needed someone who thought and acted like a soldier, someone who could kill quickly and ruthlessly.'

'I've done that enough times, believe me.'

'Captain Rawson has to die to satisfy General Salignac's desire for revenge. The more painful the death, the happier the general will be. He wants his wife and her lover to suffer.'

'The best way to do that is to capture him and leave him alone with me for an hour,' said Seurel with a glint. 'I know all the refinements of torture. When I was in the army, I could always get prisoners to talk.'

'We're not here to have a conversation with Rawson,' said Catto, 'and we don't have the luxury of time. All that the general wants is unmistakable proof that the captain will never be able to share a bed with his wife again.'

'What about General Salignac — will he share a bed with her?'

'Not until his temper cools, Frederic. He was still throbbing with fury when we spoke. Madame Salignac had been packed off to their mansion in the country where the servants have been ordered to watch her night and day.'

'She'll have no chance to find another lover then.'

'The general has clipped her wings.'

'I need a woman,' said Seurel restlessly. 'It's been weeks now. The last one I had was that tavern wench in Coblenz.'

'Save yourself until we've finished our task,' said Catto. 'When we get paid by the general, you'll be able to afford a different woman every night of the week.' He crouched down and applied his eye to the telescope once again. 'All we need is a slice of luck.'

'We'll never get it, Charles. This chase is doomed.'

'Chance sometimes contrives better than we ourselves.'