Soldier of Fortune

Swinging Catto over so that his back was on the bed of the stream, Daniel lifted his own head above the surface and gulped in air before submerging again. The struggle continued but Catto was weakening with every second. His lungs were on fire, his body was aching from the punches he had taken and his limbs were no longer under control. Daniel held him down firmly for another couple of minutes. After one final, desperate attempt to break free, Catto went limp. It was all over. Daniel surfaced and gasped in more air. As he looked down at Catto, he gave a weary smile of celebration. He had finally got rid of the man who had been hired to kill him.

When she returned home, Abigail Piper had begun to see her wild adventure in a different light. Infatuated with Daniel Rawson and buoyed up by the hope of seeing him, she had somehow coped with all the adversity that beset her and Emily Greene. Once back in England, however, the full danger of what she had done became much clearer. Abigail was terrified by her own wilfulness. She had put not only her own life at risk but that of her maid as well. Worst of all, she had been responsible for handing Daniel over to his enemies and she could never forgive herself for that. Viewed objectively, her visit to Germany had bordered on catastrophe.

Her despair had first manifested itself in a physical illness. Having held up gamely all the way back, she had collapsed once she crossed the threshold of her home. A fortnight in bed and regular attendance by a physician had eventually recovered her but there was no cure for the demons in her mind. Weeks after she was back on her feet again, Abigail was still obsessed with her folly. As she sat in the garden with a book in her lap, she was not reading the poetry it contained. She was still agonising over what had happened.

Her sister, Dorothy, recognised the now familiar signs.

'You must not keep blaming yourself, Abigail,' she said.

'But I did something terrible.'

'It was not intentional.'

'That does not excuse it, Dorothy. I went hundreds of miles to see Daniel then ended up by leading him to his death.'

'You don't know that.'

'I do,' insisted Abigail. 'Those men told me they'd been paid to kill him. They used me to lure Daniel into their hands. Had I not been there, they could not have done that.'

'Then they'd have found some other way.'

'He sacrificed himself for me.'

'I'd expect nothing less of Captain Rawson,' said Dorothy softly.

It was one of the few improvements to come out of the whole business. Abigail and her elder sister had been brought closer. When she first heard that Dorothy had written to Daniel, having earlier talked her out of doing so, Abigail had resolved to take her sister to task. As it was, she had neither the strength nor the urge to do so. During her sickness, she had been touched by the way that Dorothy had cared for her. She had never once reprimanded her younger sister or tried to coax details of her escapades from her. Dorothy had been a model of sympathy and support. It was the reason Abigail felt able to confide in her. There was no competition over Daniel any more.

'Will I ever learn what happened to him?' Abigail wondered.

'It might be better if you did not,' said Dorothy considerately, 'and I'm sure that His Grace will keep any unsavoury details from you.'

'But I'm involved. I'm entitled to the truth.'

'The truth is that you were a young, headstrong girl who made a mistake in following your heart. We've all done that, Abigail.'

'Not with such disastrous consequences.'

'Stop fearing the worst all the time.'

'What else can I do?'

Glancing down at her book, Abigail closed it shut and stood up. It was a beautiful day to sit in the garden but her mind was in turmoil and she could take pleasure from nothing. She was about to go back into the house when a servant came out.

'Captain Rawson has called,' he said.

Abigail almost fainted. 'Captain Daniel Rawson?'

Dorothy helped her sister to resume her seat on the garden bench then she looked up at the servant. 'We'll see Captain Rawson out here,' she said.

After giving an obedient nod, the man retired. Abigail was dazed. Instead of feeling joy and relief, she went completely numb. Seeing her sister's confusion, Dorothy sat down and put an arm around her.

'Bear up, Abigail,' she said happily, 'it's wonderful news.'

'Yes… Yes, I suppose it is.'

'There's no supposition about it. Captain Rawson is alive. You won't have his death on your conscience any more.'

'That's true,' agreed Abigail, realising it for the first time and letting a cautious smile break through. 'Daniel is alive.' The smile was replaced by a chevron of concern. 'But what if he's badly injured? What if those two men inflicted terrible wounds on him? That would be my fault.'

'Don't rush to embrace a problem that may not be there.'

'I'm scared.'

'There's no need to be.'

'What am I to say to him, Dorothy?'

'Oh,' said her sister, squeezing her shoulder affectionately before releasing her, 'I think you'll find the right words somehow.'

They had a moment to compose themselves before Daniel was shown out. He gave a formal bow and they rose from the bench by way of acknowledgement. Daniel was wearing a smart new uniform. Abigail searched for indications of terrible injury but found none. Apart from a couple of lingering scars on his face, he seemed to be in rude health. She gave a strained laugh.

'I thought that you were dead,' she admitted.'

'There were a few moments when I came close to death,' he said affably, 'but heaven is not yet ready to receive me.'

'What about those two men?'

'They are no longer a threat to me.'

Abigail was startled. 'Do you mean that you…?'

'Forget about them,' he advised. 'They belong in the past.'

'What brings you back to England?' asked Dorothy. 'I thought the campaign would go on for months yet.'

'You've obviously not heard the good tidings,' he said, 'and why should you? I've only just come from delivering despatches to Her Majesty the Queen, to the Earl of Godolphin and to Secretary Harley.' He spread his arms. 'We fought the enemy at Blenheim and achieved a stunning victory. The whole of London will soon resound with the news.' Dorothy let out a spontaneous cry of pleasure. Abigail clapped her hands. 'Marshal Tallard is a prisoner of war and the French army has been routed. Pardon me if I am still a little out of breath,' he went on, a hand to his chest, 'but it took me eight days to get back to England and I had little rest on the way.'

'Then we are all the more grateful that you found the time to call on us,' said Abigail. 'It was excessively kind of you.'

'I wanted to make sure that you got back home safely.'

'Abigail has told me what you did for her, Captain Rawson,' said Dorothy, 'and it was the act of a true gentleman. I offer you profound thanks on behalf of the whole family. However,' she added, looking first at Abigail then back at Daniel, 'at this moment, I suspect that the only person you really wish to see is my sister. Please excuse me.'

Dorothy went back into the house and left them alone together. There was a prolonged silence. Since she had never envisaged such a meeting taking place, Abigail was hopelessly unprepared for it. For his part, Daniel had had neither time nor inclination to rehearse any speech. Until he had handed over his dispatches, Abigail Piper had not really existed. A blend of guilt, affection and curiosity had guided his footsteps to her door. Yet both of them were certain about one thing. Instead of being brought together by Abigail's pursuit of him, they had been driven apart.