Soldier of Fortune

'Then we've failed,' said Seurel miserably. 'I was too eager.'

'All may not yet be lost.'

'I'll do anything to make up for it.'

'There could be way to trap him,' said Catto, 'and it will be much safer than trying to kill him in the camp. Rawson's luck can't last forever. We know his weak spot now.'

'Do we, Charles?'

'You saw her as clearly as I did. She was a pretty little thing and she means a lot to him if he takes time off from his duties to stroll along the edge of the camp with her. That's the way to get him,' he concluded. 'We have to look to the lady.'

Edward Marston

Soldier of Fortune

When the shot rang out, Daniel Rawson had lowered Abigail Piper gently to the ground and lain flat beside her. His eyes searched the bushes on the other side of the stream but he could see nothing. What he could hear was the sound of feet making a hasty departure. After a few moments, sentries came running to investigate. Daniel told them what had happened and sent two of them wading across the stream. He instructed one of the remaining men to dispatch riders in search of the interlopers. Muskets at the ready, the last few sentries guarded his back as he carried Abigail to safety. When he set her down beside a tent, he dismissed the men and attended to her.

His immediate impulse had been to pursue whoever had been hiding in the bushes but he could not leave Abigail in that state. She was slowly regaining full consciousness. Her head moved and one eye opened. She became aware that she was on the ground.

'What happened?' she asked in alarm.

'You fainted, Abigail.'

'Did I?'

'Yes,' he told her, 'it's probably a result of fatigue. You've been under the most immense strain for several weeks.'

'Help me up, please.'

'Sit up first, until you feel well enough to stand.'

'How long was I lying there?' she said, as he eased her up into a sitting position. 'I do apologise, Daniel. What must you think of me?'

'I think that you need to rest.'

'I can't remember a thing.'

'Don't even try to,' he advised. 'Just get your strength back.'

He was relieved that she had not heard the pistol shot and had no intention of telling her about it. She was already frightened at the thought of his taking part in a Forlorn Hope. If she knew that he was the target for an unseen assassin as well, she would be horror-stricken. What the attack proved to Daniel was that he had been right about the murder of Lieutenant Richard Hopwood. The designated target had, in fact, been Daniel himself and the killer had returned to make a second attempt on his life. He chided himself for walking so freely in the open and for exposing Abigail to unnecessary danger as well. The bullet that missed him could easily have hit her instead.

'I'm feeling much better now,' she said, embarrassed by what had occurred. 'I do apologise, Daniel. I've never done that before.'

'Let me help you up.' Holding her under the arms, he lifted her to her feet and kept a restraining hand on her. 'How is that?'

'I'm fine now, thank you.'

'Good,' he said, releasing her but standing close in case she fainted again. 'I'm afraid that your lovely dress has some stains on it.'

'Emily will soon get rid of those.'

'I'll escort you back to her and explain what — '

'No, no,' she said, interrupting him. 'There's no need for Emily to know about this. I'd rather it was kept private.'

'Very well,' he agreed. 'Does that mean there'll be no mention of this in your diary? I thought you recorded everything.'

'We'll see, Daniel.'

'Are you able to walk now?'

'Of course.'

'Then I'll escort you back.'

Abigail was a little unsteady at first but he did not have to support her as they walked through the camp. As her mind cleared, she began to recall a few details.

'I thought we were standing by a stream,' she said.

'We were, Abigail.'

'Then how did I come to be lying beside that tent?'

'I carried you there,' he said.

'Oh, I've been such a terrible nuisance to you.'

'Not at all — I was glad to be of assistance. But I do think you need a long rest. We won't be able to meet for a while, I'm afraid. That's why these moments alone with you have been so memorable.'

'They'd be memorable to me, if only I could remember them.'

They shared a friendly laugh. Daniel chatted with her all the way back but his mind was elsewhere. His memory was not impaired. What he remembered most vividly was the failed attempt at killing him. As he had predicted, the assassin had come back.

Edward Marston

Soldier of Fortune

The Confederate army set out at 3 a.m. on July 2, 1704. After a long, tiring, demanding march over muddy roads, they arrived to find that Marshal Marsin and the Elector of Bavaria had, as earlier reports had indicated, occupied the fortified town of Dillingen with the major part of their army. Though a smaller force of over 13,000 soldiers guarded the Schellenberg, it was still a forbidding sight on its elevated position. Frantic efforts to strengthen the dilapidated defences of the hill were in progress and, more worrying to Marlborough, was the fact that an encampment for a large army had been laid out on the south bank of the Danube. Once that was filled with French and Bavarian soldiers, supplemented by the reinforcements on their way, any crossing of the river would be virtually impossible.

Count Jean d'Arco, commanding the force on the Schellenberg, was a Piedmontese soldier with a reputation for brilliance in the field. Though he was surprised by the sudden appearance of the enemy, he was relieved to see quartermasters marking out formal lines for a camp with a series of stakes. The army needed rest. Exhausted from their march, he reasoned, they would have neither the strength nor will to launch an attack until the following day. D'Arco and his senior officers therefore went off to dinner in the town without the slightest qualms. Confident that they would not require their weapons that evening, no fewer than ten battalions of Bavarians had crossed the pontoon bridge from the south bank of the Danube without their muskets.

They had all been tricked by Marlborough. He had quickly assessed the situation. To attack on the following day would be to give the enemy more time to fortify the hill, making it more difficult to storm and increasing the likely number of casualties in Confederate ranks. Marlborough therefore elected to attack at once, a decision that was strongly opposed by the Margrave of Baden who feared that a frontal assault would result in heavy losses. He was overruled by Marlborough who was ready to bear such losses if he could achieve his aim of securing a crossing on the Danube.

The Duke's Wing — with Captain Daniel Rawson part of it — had been leading the march and so was closer to the town than anyone else. They supplied the troops for the main assault. It was led by 5,750 stormers, drawn from the grenadier companies and volunteers from every battalion in the Allied army. Since artillery would be vital, Colonel Holcroft Blood set up a battery between the outlying village of Berg and the foot of the Schellenberg. They were supported by an Imperial battery, sent forward by Baden. The Kaiback stream made the ground boggy and it took time to manoeuvre all the pieces into position. Marlborough had had to leave his heaviest artillery back in Flanders but still felt that he had enough to carry the day.

The attack began at six o'clock in the evening with only two hours of daylight left. It was preceded by a Forlorn Hope. Commanded by Lord John Mordaunt and drawn from the 1 ^st English Foot Guards, it consisted of eighty courageous soldiers ready to defy death as they drew the enemy fire so that their generals could determine where the defences were strongest. Daniel Rawson had joined the Forlorn Hope, undeterred by the fears of Abigail Piper and feeling the familiar buzz of excitement as they went forward at a brisk pace. When he glanced at Lord Mordaunt beside him, he was amused to recall that the man had once nursed vain ambitions of becoming Marlborough's son-in-law.