Drums of War (26 page)

Emanuel
Janssen, the highwaymen would wreak their revenge. Amalia and Beatrix would be
raped. In all likelihood, the men would be brutally killed. The beautiful
tapestry woven at royal command would be in the hands of ruthless bandits.
Turning a woeful face to Daniel, Janssen spoke to him in Dutch.

'Is
there
nothing
we can do?'

Daniel
Rawson was concentrating hard. All that he had gained so far was a temporary respite.
Had he not distracted the highwaymen with the promise of ransom money, he,
Dopff and Janssen would almost certainly be dead now, leaving the women at the
mercy of their captors. As it was, there was only limited time before the other
two men returned to the barn to take their pleasure with Amalia and Beatrix.
That thought burnt inside his brain. The others were looking to him for
salvation. Powerless themselves, their only hope was that Daniel could somehow
come to their rescue. He could feel the intensity of their desperation. It
spurred him on.

There
was one small but significant advantage. Gustave had no interest in him.
Through his single, glinting eye, the only person that their guard wished to
look at was Amalia. Grinning inanely, he let his imagination roam, undressing,
fondling, biting, abusing her at will, sucking all the sweetness out of her
lips. Daniel had already been working to loosen the rope around his wrists. He
and Dopff were farthest away from Gustave, sitting side by side. Daniel wriggled
even closer so that he could reach behind Dopff's back. With his own bonds
slackened, he had enough freedom of movement to untie the other man's rope,
instructing him to return the favour. Dopff's hands were trembling as he
plucked at the rope holding Daniel's arms together but he managed to release
the knot eventually. Unseen by their captor, the two men shook hands behind
their backs. It was a start.

Daniel's
ankles were still tightly bound and it would be more difficult to untie them.
Gustave was sure to see him out of the corner of his eye. Somehow he had to be
distracted. The man's impatience came to Daniel's aid. Throbbing with lust and
dazzled by the beauty of the defenceless young woman sitting only yards away,
he hauled himself up to take a first kiss from Amalia. When she turned her head
away in horror, he grabbed her hair and forced her to face him.

'Leave
her alone!' yelled Janssen.

'Why?'
taunted Gustave, hitting him across the cheek. 'What are you going to do to
stop me?'

'I'll
tell the others.'

Gustave
laughed derisively and went back to Amalia.

'Wait!'
shouted Daniel.

'Be
quiet!' snarled Gustave, annoyed to be deprived of his kiss yet again. 'I'll
deal with you in a minute.'

'But
I've got some good news for you.'

The
highwayman glowered at him. 'What do you mean?'

'I
can tell you why these people didn't have much money with them,' said Daniel.
'They've hidden their valuables in the coach.'

Janssen
was outraged. 'Why tell him that?'

'One
of the seats lifts up,' Daniel continued. "There's money and jewellery
there along with some saddlebags.'

'Is
this true?' demanded Gustave.

'See
for yourself if you don't believe me.'

Spitting
on the floor, Gustave wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and went to
investigate. Janssen was appalled at what he saw as a betrayal and Amalia
stared at Daniel in disbelief. He ignored both of them. As soon as Gustave
opened the door of the coach to search inside, Daniel swiftly undid the rope
around his ankles then kept it in his hands as he leapt to his feet. Gustave,
meanwhile, had lifted the seat to discover the valuables. He held one of the
purses in his hand and felt its weight. His cry of triumph became an instant
gurgle of pain as Daniel slipped the rope over the man's head to use as a
garrotte. Taken completely by surprise, the Frenchman was slow to react. Daniel
was merciless. Using all of his considerable strength, he tightened the rope by
degrees and gradually squeezed the last vestiges of life out of the highwayman.
Gustave struggled, flailed his arms and even tried to kick his attacker's legs
from under him but Daniel was far too powerful. With a final twist of the rope,
he pulled Gustave's head backwards then released him. The dead body slumped to
the floor.

Amalia
was shocked, Beatrix horrified and Janssen ashamed that he'd misjudged Daniel.
Thrilled to have helped in the escape, Dopff held up his hands to show that
they were free then undid the rope around his ankles. The first person Daniel
released was Amalia, lifting her up to hug her. When the others were untied, he
retrieved Gustave's pistol from the floor and tucked it into his belt.

'We
must go,' he said, ushering them into the coach. 'The Bishop of Beauvais will
be waiting for his tapestry.'

Though
the cottage was largely derelict, the highwaymen had taken the trouble to make
part of it habitable so that it could be used from time to time as a place to
spend the night.

Upstairs
rooms had been allowed to decay but the parlour and kitchen had not. They'd
repaired doors, made new shutters and supported the main beam with a stout
timber upright. When the place had been swept clean and mattresses brought in,
it was a useful hiding place. The two men sat either side of a table in the
kitchen, drinking some of the wine they stored there. It had been a profitable
day and they had much to celebrate. After a long discussion about its contents,
Armand had penned a ransom demand in spidery handwriting.

The
leader of the little gang had then produced a pack of cards so that they could
decide who'd first have the privilege of an hour naked on one of the mattresses
with their lovely female captive. It added spice and incentive to the game. As
the cards were dealt, they were in high spirits. Their capture of the
travellers had been a stroke of good fortune. Money and pleasure had been
dropped into their laps and there was promise of a huge ransom. Armand picked
up his cards and smiled inwardly. With such a hand, he felt that he was bound
to win. It was the other man who heard the noise.

'What
was that?' said the leader, straining his ears.

'I
heard nothing.'

'It
sounded like hoof beats.'

'You
must be mistaken,' said Armand, drooling over the cards he held. 'All I can
hear is the sound of the wind.'

'Let's
go and see,' said the other, getting to his feet.

'Play
the game first. I want to win.'

'That
can wait, Armand. There was a definite noise.'

Opening
the rear door of the cottage, he went out into the rain and looked towards the
open door of the barn. The coach was no longer there and their own horses had
also disappeared.

'Armand!'
he cried. 'Come quickly!'

He
ran across to the barn and saw Gustave stretched out on the floor, his neck
bruised and his head twisted at an unnatural angle. Armand soon arrived to
stand over the dead body. The highwaymen were mystified. During their time in
the cottage, they'd lost everything.

'How
could they possibly have done it?' wondered Armand.

The
leader pondered. 'It was the coachman,' he decided.

They
rode for miles before they felt it was safe to stop. Dopff had driven the
coach, pulling along the horse tethered to it. Daniel had taken charge of the
other horses stolen from the highwaymen, riding one and leading the other by
the reins. Having spent all of his life in the army, he'd often been in
situations where he'd had to kill or be killed. He never harboured regrets. The
moment that Gustave had been strangled, Daniel had forgotten him but the death
could not be so easily dismissed by the others. Beatrix was still sickened by
what she'd witnessed, Dopff was dismayed and Janssen, though grateful to be
rescued by Daniel for the second time, was aghast at the cold efficiency with
which he'd taken a man's life.

Amalia
was caught up in a tangle of emotions. She felt relief, disgust, hope, fear and
remorse. Daniel had saved her from being raped and intense gratitude was thus
uppermost in her mind. But he'd done so by strangling someone to death in front
of her and it had been nauseating to watch. It made her look at Daniel in a
slightly different way. Loving him for his bravery, she was also wary of him
now. His strength was frightening. She'd only seen his kindness and tenderness
before. Watching him as a soldier, trained to kill, had been a chastening experience.
While accepting that it had been a necessary death, she was still very
disturbed by it.

The
storm had spent its force now and no longer battered them. As the others tried to
get their breath back, Daniel inspected the saddlebags on the three horses.
They were full of weapons and of plunder from previous ambushes. He gathered
all the money up and put it under the seat in the coach. Then he selected a
dagger and a pistol, glad that there was plenty of ammunition to go with it.
There was still enough light for him to study the map he'd kept hidden in his
coat. Amalia and her father came over to interrupt him.

'Where
are we going?' asked Janssen.

'Well,
it won't be to Beauvais,' replied Daniel, 'I can tell you that much. We need to
strike north-east. Since I'll ride one of the horses, the load will be
lightened somewhat. We can press on harder.'

'I
can ride as well, if need be, and Amalia is a very competent horsewoman. Riding
is one of the few things we did together.'

'I
enjoy it,' she confirmed. 'It was something I missed in Paris because Father
was too busy. I'll be glad to take one of the horses.'

'That
will speed us up considerably,' said Daniel. 'Kees will be our coachman and
Beatrix his only passenger. The coach will be much easier to pull.' He
indicated the three animals. 'Choose any horse you wish.'

Janssen
went off to do so but Amalia lingered beside Daniel.

'I
haven't been able to thank you properly,' she said. 'You saved me from that
awful man. I hated what you did but I admired your courage in doing it.'

'I'm
sorry you had to be there when it happened.'

'None
of us had any choice in the matter.'

'We'll
take care not to be caught like that again,' he said.

She
looked over her shoulder. 'What about those men?'

'They'll
never catch up with us on foot, Amalia.'

'They
might find other horses somehow,' she said, 'then they'd be certain to come
after us.'

'They'd
be very foolish to do so,' said Daniel. 'We have their weapons and ammunition.
In any case,' he added, folding up his map, 'they'll be riding in the wrong
direction altogether. They think we're going to Beauvais.'

Tom
Hillier was looking forward to the experience with an uneasy mixture of
timidity, excitement and trepidation. At first he tried to get out of it,
providing endless feeble excuses. Hugh Dobbs refused to accept any of them,
insisting that he joined the three of them who intended to visit the town that
night. Hillier was committed. He liked girls but had had very little to do with
them when working on the family farm. It was only at dances and harvest
festival celebrations that he spent any real time in female company and he'd
always felt awkward in doing so. It was one thing to share ribald jokes with
his new friends but quite another to go to bed with a woman. The possible fear
of failure tormented him.

Some
armies allowed prostitutes to travel with the troops or gave them ready access
wherever they pitched camp. The Duke of Marlborough had done his best to stamp
out such practices, believing that soldiers fought best when not distracted by
pleasures of the flesh. Women did accompany his army with the baggage wagons
but they were the actual or common-law wives of particular individuals and, as
such, were not seen as posing any threat. Marlborough had fought in armies
where venereal diseases had disabled some of the men and he didn't want his own
soldiers to be affected in that way. Lust, however, could never be wholly
controlled, especially in virile young men. Those eager for sexual passion
would always find it somewhere.

As
the hour for departure drew near, Hillier lay on his back in the tent with his
hands behind his head, wishing for a thunderstorm or some other obstacle to
prevent them from leaving. Dobbs rolled over and shook him by the arm.

'It
won't be long now, Tom,' he said.

'You'd
better go without me, Hugh. I don't feel well.'

'I
was as sick as a dog before my first time but she made it so easy for me. My
head was in the clouds for days.'

'What
if we're caught leaving the camp?' asked Hillier.

'We
won't be.'

'I
still think it's too risky.'

'The
only risk you take is of catching something nasty between the sheets and that
won't happen here. The women are as clean as can be. What you'll be getting is
healthy recreation.'