obediently hurried back beneath the table and lay down. ‘I take it that you are volunteering for the position.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Even though you know the inevitable outcome? It will be a most desperate struggle, Colonel.’
‘It is what you pay me for.’ Mas gave one of his rare smiles. ‘And most generously, compared to some of my previous employers.’
‘I knew that I needed to recruit the best for this battle,’ La Valette replied with a gracious nod. ‘But I would not care to risk losing you so early in the struggle. I would rather you remain here where your experience will be needed. We can settle the matter of the command of the fort later.’
‘As you wish, sir.’
‘There is something that occurs to me, sir,’ Thomas intervened, immediately aware of the disdainful looks shot at him from Romegas and Stokely. He had soon grown used to their scorn for the junior member of the war council.
‘Well?’
‘We are assuming that the enemy will attack St Elmo first. What if they don’t? What is our plan if they decide to assault Birgu or Senglea first?’
Romegas half turned towards him. ‘That possibility was considered and discounted by Don Garcia when he inspected the defences and gave his advice to the Grand Master. The Turks will make it a priority to secure a safe anchorage in the Marsamxett harbour, and complete the encirclement of Birgu and Senglea. As I recall we all accepted his reasoning and have planned accordingly.’
‘That is so,’ Thomas conceded. ‘But the question remains, what do we do if the Turks strike at the fortifications on this side of the harbour first?’
‘And why would they do that?’ Romegas asked scathingly. ‘It makes sound tactical sense to take St Elmo first.’
Stokely cleared his throat and interjected, ‘Grand Master, this kind of comment is further proof of Sir Thomas’s ineptitude in military matters and, again, I question his fitness for membership of this council.’
‘I second that,’ Romegas added.
‘Enough!’ La Valette slapped his hand down on the table. ‘I will not have you question my decision over the inclusion of Sir Thomas. Do not raise the matter again.’
‘In any case, Sir Thomas is right,’ said Colonel Mas. ‘Just because it makes sense for your enemy to proceed in a certain manner does not mean that he will do so. We need to be ready to respond to any contingency, sir. However unlikely.’
La Valette thought for a moment and then nodded. ‘Very well, Colonel. Then I want you to draft a plan for us to meet such a threat. You can present it at tomorrow’s meeting.’
‘Yes, sir.’
The Grand Master turned to Stokely. ‘Which brings me to our final matter. The preparedness of the rest of the island.’
Stokely bowed his head in acknowledgement and quickly glanced over the list of notes on the sheet in his lap before he responded. ‘The Mdina garrison reports that all is prepared. Most of our cavalry has transferred into the stables of the citadel. There’s enough fodder for six months. The cisterns are almost full and the town is provisioned for the same period. The knight you appointed to take command, Pedro Mesquita, has moved into the citadel with his staff and has orders to use his cavalry to harry the Turks whenever the opportunity arises.’ Stokely looked at Thomas. ‘Assuming that the enemy does not decide to attack Mdina first, that is.’
‘They will be coming to take the harbour and destroy the Order,’ Thomas replied patiently. ‘Mdina lies in the heart of the island, It is irrelevant to the enemy’s main purpose.’
‘Sir Thomas is right,’ La Valette cut in. ‘Please continue.’
Stokely frowned briefly before he turned to his notes again. ‘I have managed to evacuate some of the population of Mdina but most refuse to leave their homes and farms. Some even within my own household have been adamant that they will not leave, even when encouraged in the strongest terms.’ He glanced quickly at Thomas. ‘Those that remain have yet to obey the directive to harvest their crops early and move their grain and animals into the city. The same is true of the farmers close to the harbours. And so far no steps have been taken to make the wells unusable.’
As he had been speaking, the Grand Master’s expression had darkened and now he raised a hand to stop Stokely.
‘This is not acceptable. The people mistake my instructions for advice. My directives are not to be flouted. This is your responsibility, Sir Oliver. See to it that those peasant fools are made to do as I command. I want the last of them safely billeted within our walls before the week is out. Then their farms are to be torched and their wells poisoned and not a living thing or a handful of grain is to be left in place to offer shelter or food to the Turks. Is that clear? Use force to ensure that it happens if that becomes necessary. I will have complete discipline over the islanders as well as my soldiers. It is the only way we shall all survive what is to come. Tell them that, and brook no protests. If you can’t enforce my orders then I shall have to find a knight who can.’
Stokely nodded, his face flushed with shame at having been so roundly criticised in front of the others. ‘I will do as you command, Grand Master. At once.’
La Valette’s stern expression gradually softened and when he spoke again his voice was gentle. ‘Sir Oliver, you are a fine administrator. I have known no equal in all my years in the service of the Order. But we are no longer waging war against the enemy’s trade routes — they are bringing the war to us. Your skills are needed as never before but the people you command will need a firm hand. They will look to you for orders and inspiration and you must assume a steadfast countenance. From now on, everyone is a combatant under my direct command, and military discipline will be applied. There are no longer any civilians on Malta. Every man, woman and child must play their part in defending the island. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, Grand Master. I apologise, sir. I will not disappoint you again.’
La Valette smiled warmly and was about to speak when the flat roar of a cannon sounded in the distance, then again, and a third time. Before the sound had died away, every man in the room was on his feet and hurried across to the window.
‘Where did the shots come from?’ La Valette demanded, straining his eyes as he looked towards the open sea. Beside him Thomas was also scanning the strip of horizon that was visible between Gallows Point and the tip of the Sciberras peninsula. As yet there was nothing to see, just the flat line separating the sea from the sky.
‘It came from beyond St Elmo,’ decided Colonel Mas. ‘The signal guns at one of the observation stations.’
Even as he spoke there was a flash from the keep of St Elmo, and a jet of smoke and flame ripped through the morning air. A second cannon was fired and a moment later the sound of the first echoed off the walls of St Angelo. As the third gun fired, there was no longer any doubt about the reason for the firing of the signal guns. La Valette drew a deep breath and continued to stare out across the harbour as he addressed the members of the war council. ‘The enemy has arrived . . .’
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
By the time the five men had climbed to the top of the signal tower of St Angelo, the streets of Birgu were filled with people running for the walls of the town and any natural vantage point to see the approach of the Turkish fleet for themselves. Thomas was the first to reach the platform and saw one of the younger knights in the company of an elderly-looking soldier staring intently towards the eastern horizon. A faint dawn haze still lingered out to sea, concealing the separation of sea from sky.
‘Do you see them?’ asked Thomas.
The two men looked round and then stood to attention as they spied the Grand Master and the other senior officers emerging from the staircase behind Thomas, breathing hard.
‘No, sir,’ the knight replied.
‘Then where did the signal fire come from? Which direction?’
‘Further up the coast, to the north.’
Thomas raised his hands to shield his eyes against the glare of the low sun and tried to pick out anything in the haze, but as yet there was nothing, just the dull gleam of a gentle swell and the specks of gulls swirling above
