Drums of War (38 page)

'You
mistake us, Captain Rawson,' said the woman, producing her most charming smile.
'We have no reason to wish the Duke dead.'

'In
that case,' he said with an answering smile, 'we have no reason to execute you
but your execution will nevertheless take place.' He brandished his sword.
'Seize them!'

Mytens
was already being held by one of the soldiers. The other three each moved to
arrest one of the conspirators. Ketel gibbered wildly as he was grabbed and the
woman protested by trying to smack the soldier away. Loti had no intention of
being taken. From inside his coat, he pulled out a pistol and cocked it.

The
soldier trying to arrest him immediately moved away. The other soldiers also
took a cautious step backwards. Only Daniel had the courage to approach him.

'There's
no escape,' he told Loti. "The house is surrounded.'

Loti
aimed the pistol at him. 'Put your sword aside,' he ordered. When Daniel
obeyed, he found the gun jammed against his temple. 'Stand back, all of you,'
Loti went on, 'or the captain will have his brains blown out.'

'Do
as he says,' advised Daniel.

The
soldiers released their captives at once. The woman immediately moved across to
Loti's side. She was gloating.

'You
don't look quite so pleased with yourself now, Captain Rawson,' she said. 'I
should have poisoned
your
wine as well. Who came to
suspect me?'

'I
did,' replied Daniel, 'though I had significant help from a young lady named
Amalia Janssen. She happened to be in Paris some months ago and saw you
appearing in a play. Your performance was memorable, it seems. Because of that,
the life of our commander-in-chief was indirectly saved.'

'This
is no time for conversation,' said Loti, taking control. 'You are our means of
getting out of here, Captain Rawson. As long as we have you at our mercy,
nobody will dare to touch us.'

'What
about us?' bleated Ketel. 'We can't stay here now.'

'Let
us come with you,' said Mytens. 'We're in this together.'

'This
gentleman is going nowhere,' said Daniel, turning to face Loti. 'I'm refusing
to budge an inch.'

'Would
you rather I pull this trigger?' Loti threatened, pressing the barrel against
Daniel's forehead. 'Would you rather have your skull blown apart?'

Daniel
was calm. 'Yes,' he replied, levelly. 'When you're a soldier, you expect to die
at some stage. If my time has come, I'd much rather be dispatched with a
merciful bullet than by a more agonising means. Pull the trigger if you must,
sir,' he continued, 'but remember this. You can only kill
me.
As soon as you've done that, these soldiers will hack you to death with their
swords. An empty pistol will be no defence against excruciating pain.'

Loti's
eyelids fluttered and the corner of his mouth twitched. His confidence was
seeping away. Daniel held his gaze defiantly. He could see the doubt, fear and
hesitation in the Frenchman's eyes. While Loti was unsure what to do, the woman
made a positive decision.

'Shoot
him, Pierre!' she cried 'If we must die, take him with us.'

The
brief distraction was timely. In urging Loti to shoot Daniel, she'd inadvertently
rescued him. As the Frenchman looked at her, Daniel's hand came up in a flash
and knocked the weapon aside, causing it to go off with a bang and fire its
bullet harmlessly through a window. Before Loti could move, Daniel felled him
with a punch to the chin and stood over him. The soldiers took hold of the
other three prisoners. Having heard the gunshot and the noise of shattered
glass, other soldiers rushed into the house. Daniel motioned two of them over
to haul Loti to his feet. He then turned to the woman.

'You're
a fine actress,' he said with unfeigned sincerity, 'and it was a privilege to
watch you at work. I'll be interested to see what kind of performance you
manage to give on the scaffold.'

The
dinner in The Hague was only a short interruption to the more serious business
of conquest. Though the battle of Ramillies had draped the Allies in glory, the
French army had not surrendered. They were rapidly regrouping in order to
return to the fight. There were still months of campaigning ahead. Marlborough
was keen to get back to action. On the day after the dinner, therefore, he
gathered his party together. Daniel was allowed only a limited time to bid
farewell to Amalia Janssen.

'Where
will you go next?' she said.

'We'll
go wherever we can be of most use, Amalia.'

'You're
of most use when you're beside the Duke. Had it not been for you, Daniel, he
might now be lying in a coffin.'

'We
must both share the credit for that,' he said. 'It was only when you identified
that lady for me that I became suspicious. If you and your father had not
attended the theatre in Paris, then we'd all be grieving His Grace's death. The
worst part of it would be that those responsible would have got away with it.'

'They
reckoned without Captain Daniel Rawson.'

'We
were lucky this time, Amalia. I've no doubt whatsoever that there'll be other
attempts to assassinate His Grace. The more success we achieve on the
battlefield, the more danger he'll be in. We must heed the warning we had last
night and protect him carefully.'

'I
hope you'll remember to protect yourself as well.'

'I
will, Amalia.' The sound of horses made him glance across at Marlborough and
the others. 'It's time to go, alas. Seeing you again, if only for a fleeting
moment, has been an absolute delight.'

'The
feeling is mutual.'

'I've
no idea when we shall meet again. When the campaign is over for this year, I'll
be returning to England with His Grace.'

'Then
that's where we shall have to see each other.'

'How
can that be? You'll be with your father in Amsterdam.'

'Not
for the whole winter,' she explained. 'The Duke is a true connoisseur. He was
telling Father about this wonderful palace that's being built for him.'

'Blenheim
Palace will take years to complete.'

'I
know, Daniel. "We'll visit it when we're in England.'

'Why
should you do that?'

'The
Duke has kindly commissioned Father to weave a tapestry that celebrates the
battle of Ramillies. It will hang in a place of honour at the palace. Father
will need lots of advice, of course, from someone who actually took part in the
battle.' She smiled gleefully. 'The Duke suggested that you might be the ideal
person.'

Daniel
was thrilled. Needing to leave with the others, he had no time to tell her how
pleased he was. He simply enfolded Amalia in his arms and expressed his joy in
a long, sweet, succulent kiss.