from the open ground. He tottered on the edge, then lost his balance and pitched over the wall into the ditch. Another man fell before the other soldiers realised the danger and hurriedly ducked back behind cover. Now they began to hurl large rocks over the walls, and the boys who had been loading the guns joined in. The deluge of missiles split open skulls and crushed bones as they crashed on to the Turks.
Only one ladder was raised against the wall and as the Turks began to climb towards the battlements, Thomas saw the barrel of a cannon in the other bastion edge round, and then the muzzle disappeared behind a jet of flame and cloud of smoke and the ladder, and those on it, were obliterated into fragments of wood and flesh.
That was the turning point. For a moment the men in the ditch hesitated, and then the first of them turned away, and then more, and the urge to get clear of the slaughter in the ditch spread like a fierce contagion. Moments later the assault was broken as the Turks turned to stream back across the open ground towards the safety of their original positions. The defenders shouted with excitement, triumph and derision as they watched, while some kept firing until the last of the enemy was out of range. As the main assault fell back, so did the Janissaries engaged with Colonel Mas and his men. They pulled up the supports for their weapons and shouldering both they turned and hurriedly joined the retreat. A handful of Mas’s men threw down their arquebuses and drew their knives as they set off after the Janissaries. The colonel bellowed and they stopped and reluctantly returned to their line. The arquebusiers closed up and marched back towards the main gate and across the drawbridge into the shelter of Birgu’s defences.
Thomas stared out across the open ground, littered with the enemy’s dead and wounded, hundreds of them. In return only a few men had been lost along the wall and perhaps as many as thirty of the men Mas had led out to confront the Janissaries.
‘Very good.’ La Valette nodded. ‘The first round to us, gentlemen. Mustafa Pasha will think twice before he tries anything so rash again. ’
He turned to survey the men who were still cheering along the wall. The shouts of triumph were taken up by the civilians in the streets immediately behind the wall, and to the far end of the defences in front of Birgu. And shortly afterwards by the defenders of St Michael who had followed the action from their walls. The bells of the cathedral began to toll and flags were waving above the walls of St Elmo as all savoured the first, small victory over the invaders.
‘Let them cheer.’ La Valette smiled. ‘Indulge them. We will be sorely tested before long, so enjoy this moment. Then, while the Turks make their preparations for the siege, we can complete our defences. Come, we can return to St Angelo now.’ He was about to turn and leave the bastion when he stopped and pointed. ‘What’s happening there?’
Thomas saw that a group of Janissaries had stepped out in front of the shaken ranks of their comrades. They carried a stake with them and pounded it into the ground. When it was in position, two more men came out, dragging La Riviere between them. They tied his hands to an iron ring at the top of the post and then tore the ragged surcoat from his back so that he stood naked. Thomas and the others looked on helplessly.
‘What are they going to do to him?’ Stokely asked quietly.
The two men who had tied him to the stake took out slender canes tucked into their belts and slashed them through the air a few times before they approached the French knight.
‘Bastinado,’ said Thomas. ‘They’re going to beat him to death.’
‘With those sticks?’ Stokely scoffed.
‘Yes, with those sticks,’ Thomas replied flatly. ‘I’ve seen them used in the Balkans. A man can take several hours to die, his agony increasing with each stroke.’
The two Janissaries took up positions either side of La Riviere and began to take turns to lash him with their slender sticks. The knight lurched under the first blows and then hunched against the post and arched his back and endeavoured to keep still and endure his punishment stoically. The Turks sat down to watch the entertainment while those in Birgu looked on in despair and horror. After an hour, La Riviere’s knees buckled and he hung limply from the rope, his head lolled back, mouth open in a silent scream of torment.
‘Sir.’ Stokely turned to La Valette. ‘Can we bring one of the cannon to bear and put an end to his suffering?’
La Valette shook his head. ‘Look for yourself. They have chosen their ground well. There is no gun that we can aim in that direction. There’s nothing we can do - other than spare our men from witnessing it. Only those on sentry duty are to remain. Order all the others to return to their billets. At once.’
As the men filed away into the narrow streets of the town, it was clear from their quiet exchanges that the earlier euphoria had been extinguished by the spectacle of La Riviere’s torture. The afternoon wore on and the beating continued under the eyes of those defenders still on watch. On the bastion of Castille, Thomas remained, together with Stokely and Colonel Mas. The Grand Master and the others had retired to St Angelo. In front of Birgu, small parties of Turks gathered their dead for burial. The wounded were carried back to their camp for treatment. When they tried to retrieve those of their comrades who had fallen in the ditch, Thomas ordered one of the sentries to fire a warning shot to keep them away so that they could not examine the wall or bastions at close hand. The bulk of the forces that had made the morning attack had joined the procession of troop columns, wagons and artillery trains passing to the west of Senglea. A covering force remained, busy cutting trenches into the ground ringing Birgu and Senglea.
Despite all the enemy activity the attention of the defenders was irresistibly drawn to the ongoing execution of La Riviere. The first two Janissaries had been relieved early in the afternoon and their replacements continued the beating in a steady rhythm until dusk, when one of their officers strode up to examine the knight. Squatting down, he raised La Riviere’s head and examined his face briefly before he drew a dagger and cut the Frenchman’s throat.
‘At last.’ Stokely closed his eyes and bowed his head. ‘Poor soul.’ Mas shrugged. ‘He should not have allowed himself to be captured. I’ll not make the same mistake. Nor will any of our men. It is a lesson well learned and will surely harden the resolve of every man, woman and child on the island. As the Grand Master said, there are no civilians on Malta. And now they know one thing more — there is only victory or death.’ Mas stretched his back and turned away from the enemy. ‘I’ll do the rounds of our sentries before I let the Grand Master know that La Riviere’s suffering is over.’
‘Very well,’ said Stokely. ‘I’ll see you at the evening briefing.’ The colonel bowed his head and descended the stairs. Only four soldiers remained on the bastion apart from Thomas and Stokely, and they kept a respectful distance from the two knights. For a while neither man spoke as they stared at the naked body still tethered to the post. Then Stokely cleared his throat gently.
‘I understand that you have seen Maria.’
Thomas’s smile faded as he turned his gaze towards Stokely. ‘You’ve spoken to her?’
Stokely’s lips momentarily lifted in a mocking smile. ‘Oh yes. You gave her quite a surprise, but she has recovered now and come to her senses. She does not want to see you again, ever.’
Thomas felt a cold stab of anxiety in his heart, then it passed as he recalled her expression, her shock in seeing him and then the unmistakable stirrings of the old affection in her eyes. He felt certain that Stokely was lying. ‘I must confess, seeing her came as quite a surprise to me too after you told me she had died.’
‘I said she was dead to you.’
‘And now she is very much alive to me. And I am to her. Where is she?’
Stokely stared at him, then said, ‘Safe.’
‘Safe? From the enemy, or from me?’
‘None of us is safe from the enemy. But at least I can save her from you, Thomas. I can spare her that misery.’
‘Where is she?’ Thomas asked again, this time through gritted teeth. ‘Tell me.’
‘I will do no such thing. Seeing you again has disturbed her mind enough as it is. Fortunately I was able to talk sense into her and Maria accepts that it would be foolish to even set eyes on you again. As I said before, she is dead to you, Thomas. Do not try to find her.’
‘I will find her.’ Thomas spoke in a low growl, his hands clenched by his sides to keep him from grabbing Stokely by the throat. ‘I swear it. I shall see her again.’
Stokely stared at him for a moment before he spoke with a vehemence that Thomas had never seen in him before. ‘May God damn your soul to the eternal fires of hell, Thomas. I pray for that with every fibre of my being. It
