Soldier of Fortune

'There were three of them, sir,' he said.

'Was a woman among the three?' asked Daniel.

'Yes, sir — there was one woman and two men.'

'Which way did they go?'

The old man pointed and they did not even stop to thank him. Cantering along the road, they went on for over five miles but the search was in vain. They passed several tracks down which fugitives could have turned and rode through woods in which they could easily have hidden. In the end, Daniel accepted defeat.

'We'll never find them in the dark,' he said, ruing the failure of the search. 'We'll try again at first light.'

Edward Marston

Soldier of Fortune

It was unnerving. Abigail was trapped in a small room at night with two men, one of whom would certainly have molested her had he not been prevented from doing so by the other. Her situation was hopeless. She was in a foreign country with no chance of immediate help. Having lost all appetite, she refused the offer of food but had to watch the burly Frenchman as he gobbled his way through a meal and swilled it down with tankards of ale. The man who had kidnapped her did at least have an acquaintance with table manners. When they had finished eating, they began to talk in French and she had to guess what they were saying by their expressions.

'You can sleep in the other room,' said Catto, putting his plate back on to the tray. 'I'll stay in here.'

'So that's your game is it? I sleep alone and you jump into bed with the girl. No,' said Seurel, gesticulating, 'you're not getting away with that. If you have her, then I have her as well.'

'Nobody is having her, Frederic.'

'Then what use is she?'

'I told you before — we can trade her.'

'We can do a lot of other things with her as well,' said Seurel, running a hand across his wet mouth as he stared fixedly at Abigail. 'She's young and ripe and ready. Let me taste her. Let me teach you how a Frenchman pleasures a woman.'

'You're not touching this one,' said Catto, standing up to confront him. 'The only reason I'm staying is that someone has to guard her. I couldn't trust you to do that.'

'Why not?'

'Go to the other room.'

'This is not fair,' said Seurel, trying to sound reasonable. 'Both of us need sleep and you won't get any if you're watching her all night. Why not share the burden, Charles? You stand guard for a couple of hours then I'll take over.'

'We both know what would happen in that event.'

'I won't lay a finger on her, I swear it.'

'You can't help yourself, Frederic.'

Seurel exploded. 'A man has his needs, for heaven's sake!'

'Miss Piper deserves to be treated with respect.'

'That's exactly what I'll do,' said Seurel, shooting her a glance. 'When I've had my sport with her, I'll be sure to thank her politely.'

Catto opened the door. 'Good night, Frederic.'

'Just let me have ten minutes alone with her.'

'Good night!'

Abigail watched the silent battle of wills. After glaring his defiance, Seurel finally capitulated but he did not leave without one act of bravado. Before Catto could stop him, he suddenly grabbed Abigail and stole a kiss from her. He left the room laughing. Closing the door after him, Catto made a gesture of apology. Abigail did not even see it. She was still recoiling from the foul taste of Seurel's lips and the brutish feel of his hands. Catto resumed his seat.

'Try to get some sleep,' he suggested.

'I'm not tired,' she said, determined not to lie on the bed.

'You're safe with me, Miss Piper.'

She was scornful. 'Is this what you call being safe?'

'Would you rather share the room with Frederic?' Abigail shrank back defensively. 'No, I thought not. I'm the lesser of two evils, I can assure you. Frederic believes that women only exist for one thing but I know that they have much else to offer. Take your own case, for instance. You are a valuable asset. If I had abducted your maid, there would be nothing like the hue and cry that your disappearance will have provoked. You are a young lady of quality, Miss Piper.'

'Then treat me as such and let me go,' she begged.

'All in good time,' he told her. 'You'll certainly be released without harm — provided that Captain Rawson does what he is told, that is. In the circumstances, he will have no choice.'

Edward Marston

Soldier of Fortune

Daniel was in the saddle again early next morning. Daylight helped him and his men to ride faster and see much better than on their previous outing. They split into two groups and went off in different directions so that they could search a wider area. The hunt was fruitless. When he returned to the camp that afternoon, Daniel was tired, apprehensive and jaded. As soon as Henry Welbeck saw him, he knew that the search had been futile.

'Send out more men, Dan,' he urged.

'I've already done that,' replied Daniel, having just despatched a fresh team of riders, 'but the man who sneaked

Abigail out of the camp had too big a start on us. He could be forty or fifty miles away.'

'I still think this is Will Curtis's doing.'

'I don't care who's behind this. My only interest is in Abigail's safe return.' He turned to his friend. 'Thank you, Henry.'

'What have I done to deserve thanks?'

'It's what you haven't done. We all know your opinion of women yet, from the moment that Abigail disappeared, you've never once used the situation to traduce the whole sex. You've been helpful.'

'I hate to see any young lady in distress,' said Welbeck, 'and there are few things more upsetting than being snatched away like that. The poor woman must be shaking with fear.'

'That's why we must rescue her soon.'

'Did you find no sign of her at all?'

'No,' said Daniel worriedly. 'Abigail obviously didn't have any more handkerchiefs with her or she could have left us a trail to follow.' He shrugged an apology. 'I'm sorry, Henry — that was a bad joke. The truth is the only whisper of evidence we have is from an inn where two men and a young lady spent the night.'

'That means Will Curtis has an accomplice.'

'All three of them left before dawn but the landlord had no idea in which direction they were heading. We pressed on until the horses tired then decided to come back here.'

They were in Daniel's tent. As he was talking, he took a bottle of brandy from a leather chest and poured out two glasses. He handed one of them to Welbeck.

'Here's to her safe return!' said the sergeant, raising his glass.

'Yes,' agreed Daniel. 'Drink to her immediate and safe return!'

They both took a long sip of their brandy. Welbeck savoured the drink as it coursed down his throat. Brooding on Abigail's plight, Daniel hardly noticed the taste. He was reminded yet again that, but for him, Abigail would never have been anywhere near an army camp. Instead of being at home in the bosom of her family, she was in grave jeopardy and he was unable to help her. It was excruciating.

'Captain Rawson!' called a voice from outside the tent.

'Yes?' said Daniel, opening the flap to look out.

'This came for you, sir.'

The private gave him a letter then waited while Daniel handed his glass to Welbeck so that he could open the missive. He read the contents and looked up at the messenger.

'When was this delivered?' he asked.

'It was handed to one of the sentries, sir,' answered the other. 'A carter said that he was paid to deliver the letter here.'

'Did he say by whom he was paid?'

'No, sir — he simply handed it over and went on his way.'

'Very well,' said Daniel, dismissing him. 'Thank you.' He went back into the tent. 'He's made me an offer, Henry.'

'Who has?' asked Welbeck.

'Whoever wrote this letter.'