Edward Marston - Fire and Sword

‘I’ve nothing against drink,’ said Vendome, expansively. ‘I love it myself. However, I despise men who can’t hold their wine and make themselves vulnerable as a result. In his stupor, Crevel gave away valuable information about us.’

‘He concedes that and is duly repentant.’

‘So?’

‘I believe you should reconsider your decision.’

Vendome gesticulated theatrically. ‘Why are we talking about the fate of one man,’ he asked, ‘when we have a hundred thousand to take into account? Why waste our breath on a miserable wretch like Crevel? I thought that he’d at least accept his punishment with some grace but it was too much to ask. Instead, he goes crawling on his hands and knees to you.’

‘There’s a reason for that,’ said Burgundy.

‘Yes…he’s a snivelling toad.’

‘No, my lord Duke, he happens to be a distant relative of mine.’

‘Ah!’ said Vendome, sitting back. ‘Now we come to it.’

‘I want him restored to his rank.’

‘Were he your own brother, I’d not do that.’

Burgundy recoiled slightly from this open challenge to his authority. Anger slowly built inside him, mingling with the revulsion he felt at having a discussion in such gross circumstances. There was a long, strained silence. It was eventually shattered by Vendome who broke wind with such trumpeting violence that he forced Burgundy to take a few steps backwards.

‘May I remind you,’ said Vendome, mustering what dignity he could from his undignified position, ‘that Crevel is under my direct command.’

‘And may I remind you,’ countered Burgundy with a sharp edge in his voice, ‘that I have overall command of the army. In short, my lord Duke, I am the final court of appeal here. My judgement is that Major Crevel should resume his rank.’

Vendome was horrified. ‘Is he to suffer no penalty at all?’

‘Being admonished by you was a penalty in itself, I suspect. When he left your quarters, he did so in the utmost disgrace and that, I believe, had a sobering effect on him. I fancy that he’ll be a credit to his uniform from now on.’

‘I insist that my decision is upheld.’

‘Protest is pointless,’ said Burgundy. ‘You’ve been overruled.’

‘I see,’ said Vendome, simmering. ‘In that case, my lord, perhaps you’d be good enough to point out any other distant relatives you have in this army before I inadvertently rob them of their commissions as well. As for Crevel, what he did was tantamount to betrayal. He readily offered information to a British spy.’

‘He was tricked into doing so. Instead of taking out your spite on the major, you should be chasing the man who hoodwinked him.’

‘I am already doing so.’

Burgundy was startled. ‘Really?’

‘I take this lapse very seriously, my lord,’ said Vendome. ‘I’ll not rest until we have full retribution. At this very moment, someone in the enemy camp is trying to identify the man who exposed Crevel as the inept, unguarded, drunken fool that he is. But then,’ he went on, acidly, ‘since the man is a relative of yours, you’d be familiar with the many flaws in his character.’

In spite of his many other commitments, Daniel Rawson made sure that he never neglected sword practice. The weapon was much more to him than the difference between life and death. It had great symbolic value. It had marked his premature coming of age when, as a boy of ten, he’d used the sword to kill its owner, a cavalry sergeant trying to rape Daniel’s mother. Presented to him by the man who was now captain general of the Confederate army, it had been kept at Daniel’s home in Amsterdam for years until he earned the commission that allowed him to wear a sword. Long before that time, however, he’d learnt how to use the weapon, mastering the finer points of swordplay and developing the strength of his right arm. The blade was always kept clean and razor sharp.

Daniel had used the sword with lethal effect in many battles and skirmishes. It had been exceptionally deadly at Blenheim and had taken part in a cavalry charge at Ramillies. Now, however, it was put to less dangerous use as Daniel went through a practice routine with Jonathan Ainley. The lieutenant was a competent swordsman with a long reach that could trouble any adversary but he had neither the power nor the speed of Daniel. As the two of them fought on some open ground behind the officers’ quarters, the flash of blades was accompanied by the echoing clang of steel.

No matter how hard Ainley tried, he couldn’t put Daniel under any sustained pressure. Every thrust was deftly parried, every attack was repelled with comparative ease. After twenty minutes or so, the lieutenant was flagging visibly. Daniel’s superior stamina told. With a sudden increase of power, he drove Ainley back so fast that his friend tripped and fell to the ground. After holding the point of his weapon playfully at Ainley’s chest, Daniel offered him a hand to pull him up. The lieutenant was panting.

‘I could never beat you in a duel,’ he gasped. ‘You seem to know exactly what I’m going to do before I do it.’

‘You fought well,’ said Daniel, hauling him to his feet.

‘But I came off worst yet again.’

‘It’s different in battle. There’s none of the formal swordplay that we’ve just enjoyed. It’s all slash, thrust and parry. Strength and agility are what you need there.’

‘Yes,’ said Ainley, ‘and you have too much of both for me.’

‘I intend to stay alive, Jonathan. That’s why I try to keep myself ready for action.’ He held his sword aloft. ‘This is my protector.’

‘Yet you wore no sword when you went to Valenciennes.’

‘It would have looked out of place on a wine merchant.’

‘You were very brave to travel unarmed.’

‘I carried a dagger with me,’ said Daniel, ‘in case of emergency. It was concealed under my coat. I’m a born soldier. I feel naked without some kind of weapon.’

Ainley laughed. ‘It was that French officer who felt naked after you’d finished with him.’

‘I thought I asked you not to talk about it.’

‘Even you are entitled to brag now and again, Daniel.’

‘I’d much rather that incident remained secret.’

‘It’s far too late for that.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Everyone seems to have heard of it somehow. Major Earnshaw was talking about it only this morning and so were some of the others. I daresay it’s filtered down to the ranks as well. It’s no use trying to keep these things to yourself,’ he said, clapping Daniel amiably on the shoulder. ‘Everyone wants to hear about the latest exploits of Captain Rawson. You have a name.’

‘His name is Daniel Rawson,’ said Valeran.

‘What rank does he hold?’

‘He’s a captain in the 24^th Foot.’

‘A British regiment,’ said Vendome with contempt. ‘How, in the name of all that’s holy, could one of our majors be taken in by an Englishman?’

‘Rawson is something of a linguist, Your Grace. According to the report, he speaks French fluently enough to deceive anyone. Here,’ he went on, offering the letter. ‘Read it yourself. This is a copy, of course. I had the original decoded.’

Vendome took the missive. ‘Thank you, Raoul.’

Not daring to interrupt, Valeran waited while the other man studied the letter. It had been sent by one of their spies in the British camp. The two men were in Vendome’s tent, a place where the lieutenant spent more and more time. As a result, he’d had to endure the barbed comments and sly innuendoes of his friends but he ignored them in the interest of winning favour. Given an opportunity, he’d decided to seize it at whatever cost. Part of that cost involved being compliant but there were other duties as well. He’d been put in direct contact with French intelligencers and that gave him a definite status. In bringing Vendome the letter, he hoped for praise. It was not forthcoming.