‘Tell me.’
‘We are brigade strength. Under the command of Général de Brigade Sainte-Croix.’
‘A mixed force?’
‘Yes, sir. Five battalions of infantry, six squadrons of dragoons and artillery. Six-pounders.’
‘How many of you in the advance party?’
‘Two hundred. All dragoons.’
‘Thank you. And one thing more: does Marshal Massena believe that Wellington will raise the siege and come to the rescue of the Spaniards?’
‘I am only a sous-lieutenant, sir.’
‘Monsieur, the French army, it is well known, is very different from our own. Any officer or even a man in Napoleon’s army knows or can guess what his commander intends. I could ask you again.’
‘He does not know. He saw some of your patrols. Here to the west. That is why he ordered General Junot to send us after you. To find out.’
‘So your friends and maybe more besides will return to see how strong we are and if we mean to raise the siege.’
The man shrugged. ‘If you say so, captain.’
‘Thank you. You have been most helpful. Archer, stay withhim and see that Gabriella does nothing untoward. We need to get him back to General Craufurd in one piece. Call Silver if you need to, if she tries anything.’
Archer looked across at her and she shot him a smile. ‘Will she?’
‘Who knows. She hates the French.’
He walked to the door, where Ross had been standing during the interrogation.
‘Do you think he was lying, sir?’
‘No, I think he was terrified. He was telling the truth, sarn’t.
‘Well, Sainte-Croix can come. We’ll fall back on the Light Division. Perhaps he will think we really are the vanguard of the main army. It will waste time and that is precisely what Wellington wants – anything that wastes time and pins down Massena while we finish the defences.’
As they walked from the building Ross asked him, ‘Would you have left him to her, sir? Really?’
‘What do you think?’
‘I don’t think you would, sir. You’re not made that way. You don’t like cruelty or pain.’
‘I’ll not be known as soft, sarn’t. I’m as happy as the next man to dish out any amount of pain if it has a purpose. But I got more with the threat of pain then than any amount of torture could have uncovered. Besides, he would have died and then we would have less than nothing.’
‘You’re no fool, captain, sir. I’ll say that.’
‘I’ll take that as the compliment it was intended, sarn’t.’
‘Others would have tried to beat it out of him.’
‘And others would have failed. I happen to believe that there is more to soldiering than brute force. Right. We’d better get saddled up before his friends come back. We need to beat them to General Craufurd.’
4
The road took them west, from Gallegos, towards the river Côa, away from the plains of León, through a parched landscape of brush and barren rock. Keane’s horse trod carefully, picking her way through the scrub and the boulders that lay across the roads, which, little used before, had lately seen the passage of thousands of travellers.
Such was the discipline of both Keane’s men and the Germans that they had managed to leave the village before the dragoons had returned, though not, Keane guessed, with much margin of error. He and his men rode at the head of the column, with the German hussars following. Keane himself took the lead, with Ross beside him and the others tucked in close behind. Trotting quickly, as they climbed the long hill road out of the village he spoke to Ross.
‘Did you know that Archer was a physician?’
‘No, sir. No idea. He kept that quiet, right enough.’
‘We’re damned lucky to have him, sarn’t. It’s not just the enemy who’ll benefit. We might all have to put that skill to good use before long.’
‘Yes, sir. Things are getting hotter, ain’t they? Them dragoons are close behind and half the French army with them.’
‘Not quite half, sarn’t, but certainly a good portion, according to our
‘We are brigade strength. Under the command of Général de Brigade Sainte-Croix.’
‘A mixed force?’
‘Yes, sir. Five battalions of infantry, six squadrons of dragoons and artillery. Six-pounders.’
‘How many of you in the advance party?’
‘Two hundred. All dragoons.’
‘Thank you. And one thing more: does Marshal Massena believe that Wellington will raise the siege and come to the rescue of the Spaniards?’
‘I am only a sous-lieutenant, sir.’
‘Monsieur, the French army, it is well known, is very different from our own. Any officer or even a man in Napoleon’s army knows or can guess what his commander intends. I could ask you again.’
‘He does not know. He saw some of your patrols. Here to the west. That is why he ordered General Junot to send us after you. To find out.’
‘So your friends and maybe more besides will return to see how strong we are and if we mean to raise the siege.’
The man shrugged. ‘If you say so, captain.’
‘Thank you. You have been most helpful. Archer, stay withhim and see that Gabriella does nothing untoward. We need to get him back to General Craufurd in one piece. Call Silver if you need to, if she tries anything.’
Archer looked across at her and she shot him a smile. ‘Will she?’
‘Who knows. She hates the French.’
He walked to the door, where Ross had been standing during the interrogation.
‘Do you think he was lying, sir?’
‘No, I think he was terrified. He was telling the truth, sarn’t.
‘Well, Sainte-Croix can come. We’ll fall back on the Light Division. Perhaps he will think we really are the vanguard of the main army. It will waste time and that is precisely what Wellington wants – anything that wastes time and pins down Massena while we finish the defences.’
As they walked from the building Ross asked him, ‘Would you have left him to her, sir? Really?’
‘What do you think?’
‘I don’t think you would, sir. You’re not made that way. You don’t like cruelty or pain.’
‘I’ll not be known as soft, sarn’t. I’m as happy as the next man to dish out any amount of pain if it has a purpose. But I got more with the threat of pain then than any amount of torture could have uncovered. Besides, he would have died and then we would have less than nothing.’
‘You’re no fool, captain, sir. I’ll say that.’
‘I’ll take that as the compliment it was intended, sarn’t.’
‘Others would have tried to beat it out of him.’
‘And others would have failed. I happen to believe that there is more to soldiering than brute force. Right. We’d better get saddled up before his friends come back. We need to beat them to General Craufurd.’
4
The road took them west, from Gallegos, towards the river Côa, away from the plains of León, through a parched landscape of brush and barren rock. Keane’s horse trod carefully, picking her way through the scrub and the boulders that lay across the roads, which, little used before, had lately seen the passage of thousands of travellers.
Such was the discipline of both Keane’s men and the Germans that they had managed to leave the village before the dragoons had returned, though not, Keane guessed, with much margin of error. He and his men rode at the head of the column, with the German hussars following. Keane himself took the lead, with Ross beside him and the others tucked in close behind. Trotting quickly, as they climbed the long hill road out of the village he spoke to Ross.
‘Did you know that Archer was a physician?’
‘No, sir. No idea. He kept that quiet, right enough.’
‘We’re damned lucky to have him, sarn’t. It’s not just the enemy who’ll benefit. We might all have to put that skill to good use before long.’
‘Yes, sir. Things are getting hotter, ain’t they? Them dragoons are close behind and half the French army with them.’
‘Not quite half, sarn’t, but certainly a good portion, according to our
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