Manfred slapped his two bodyguards on the back. 'I hope you're right. Typical Erik. He's got his girl, and now he's done more to hurt Emeric's siege cannon than ten cavalry charges could achieve. I just hope he didn't blow himself to glory. Saints! That was a huge explosion.'
'You know what is happening out there?' Tomaselli looked totally nonplussed.
'We've got a knight out there raising native resistance to Emeric,' said Falkenberg with obvious satisfaction. 'That'll be his work.'
Tomaselli shook his head. 'But . . . but you did not ask my permission to do so!
Under his breath, Manfred swore at himself for easing his vigilance over his tongue in front of this insecure ass. His happiness at seeing signs of Erik's handiwork had made him forget himself.
He stood on Von Gherens's foot again. 'Unfortunately, the knight was landed before we were able to consult with you, Captain-General. Actually, it would have been impossible to keep him here—he has a woman out there— so we just ensured he got out as safely as he could. To tell you the truth, I thought he'd probably be still hunting her—but evidently she was somewhere safe, and now he has nothing else to occupy him.'
Manfred shook his head, as if he regretted what he had to say. In reality, he was doing it to hide the shaking of his shoulders with repressed laughter. 'He's a headstrong fellow, with a very powerful idea of his duty, which includes doing all in his power to oppose Emeric. I'm afraid he's taken the bit in his teeth—independent action, which I certainly didn't order—and since there is no way to get beyond the walls now, I'm unfortunately not able to communicate with him.'
'What was this about a woman?'
Trust the fool to concentrate on the single irrelevant piece of information!
'He had an attachment to a Vinlander lass that was here on Corfu. We landed him early to see if he could find her.'
'I think we should go back to our quarters now,' grumbled Von Gherens. 'I don't think you should go and drink the captain-general's wine. You've had enough already. You keep standing on my toes.'
* * *
From up here, they could see all the way to the gulf, and even beyond to Epirus. The thin bronzed scythe- blade of moon rose from somewhere over mainland Greece, as Erik sat with Svanhild looking out into the star-salted heavens. Their fingers barely touched, but Erik was intensely conscious of the warmth of those fingers.
The tintinnabulation in his ears could still be from the explosion, he supposed. Then Svanhild turned her head, and smiled at him, the stars overhead reflected in her eyes, and he knew that it wasn't. It was the sound of his own heart.
* * *
Francesca cocked her head sideways. 'So why are two moles not better than one? It would seem logical to me. Does one never use more than one mole? I seem to recall that more than one mole was used in the siege of Acre, yes?'
Falkenberg assumed an oratorical stance. 'It does depend heavily on the position, the number of forces at your disposal, and the ability of the defenders and the attackers to provide sufficient artillery cover. For instance, if the defenders cannot split their resources and you have plenty of munitions and manpower, the more moles the better. But a mole is no small task under fire. Emeric no doubt thinks he will pincer any attempt to sally from the main gate and attack or destroy his moles. Here, however—well, there are sally ports on the northern and southern sides and Emeric has relatively few men for such a siege. Making concerted use of both moles would be difficult. Once his forces are on this side of the channel they're directly below the walls. Either they must get inside those walls, fast, or they're going to be killed, easily, from the wall tops. Emeric will need to provide his troops with heavy covering fire just to get them across the mole. And for that he needs more cannon than he's got—and lighter cannon. Those forty-eight-pound bombards are so inaccurate they're as likely to kill his own men if he tries to use them for that purpose.'
Falkenberg was now pacing back and forth slowly, like a lecturer. 'We've been counting his lighter field pieces. He hasn't got what I would judge was enough for a worthwhile two-pronged assault. Which means he's going to have to rely on arquebus fire; which, in turn, means he'll have to build forward revetments or trenches on the Spianada—that open area in front of the fortress—and those will be under the Citadel's guns. That, in turn, will take a substantial number of his men out of the attack force, which, in turn—'
'Stop, stop!' said Francesca laughingly. 'Enough. I'll never dare question Falkenberg's military assessment again.'
'Even if he's wrong,' said Von Gherens, sitting and rubbing his foot, 'it is easier to go ahead, do it his way, and die if need be rather than listen to him explain it all to you.'
He swiveled his head, transferring the sour gaze onto Manfred. 'Prince, I've met lighter carthorses than you. I understand, since you explained it me, that you want me to keep my mouth shut when you stand on my toes. But my toes would certainly prefer it if you just said 'Shut up, Von Gherens.' '
'I'll cough,' said Manfred. 'Or can I stand on Falkenberg's toes for you, my love?'
'He seems to have stopped, anyway.'
Falkenberg rubbed the scars above the empty eye socket. 'I was just getting into my stride,' he grumbled. 'I wish young Benito was back here. That boy had a positive talent for understanding siege-craft. Reminds me of me. I started younger than he was, you know.'
'I think you were born in armor, which must have made it damned uncomfortable on your mother,' Manfred replied. 'He's riding for Venice by now, to make this siege a thing of the past.'
'I hope so,' said Francesca, grimly. 'I think this fortress is far more likely to fall from within than from the effects of one, two or even three moles.'
Chapter 51
