'It will be like finding a pin's head in a cart-load of hay.'
'I have a feeling it will be a lot easier than that, Henry.'
'We'll never see Will Curtis again.'
'He'll be back one day. If he's clever enough to get inside our camp the way he did, he won't give up. Sooner or later, he'll make a second attempt at killing me.'
'Why?'
Daniel smiled. 'I'll remember to ask him before I shoot him.'
'Take care, Dan,' said Welbeck with gruff affection. 'If anything happened to you, I'd miss you a lot. You're an ugly bugger but I'd still prefer to see your head staying on your shoulders.'
'Thank you.'
'I must go. Bear in mind what I said.'
'Do the same for me,' said Daniel. 'Remember what I said about imparting confidence to the men. Glow with optimism, Henry. We could be on the verge of a tremendous victory.'
'Oh, I agree,' said Welbeck gloomily. 'But will either of us still be alive to celebrate it?'
Daniel watched him go, knowing full well that his friend would not pass on his private fears to his men. Soldiers drilled by Sergeant Henry Welbeck were among the best-disciplined in the British army. Daniel knew they would acquit themselves well in combat. How the Dutch, Danish, Prussians, Italians, Austrians and other nationalities in the allied force would behave in action was an open question. As he considered it, Daniel's eye fell on the new arrivals. Like the main army, they had made the long and arduous journey from Holland. They looked exhausted and bedraggled.
Two wagons rolled in at the rear of the column and came to a halt. Daniel could not understand why they had sought out the British section of the camp instead of that of their countrymen. The answer came in the shape of two female figures who were helped down from the second wagon. One of them spotted Daniel immediately.
'Captain Rawson!' she called, waving joyfully.
It was Abigail Piper.
CHAPTER EIGHT
When she came hurrying towards him, Daniel Rawson did not know whether to be pleased or disturbed by her arrival. He was relieved to see that she was alive and apparently uninjured but troubled that she would expect much more from him than he was able to give. Her face was shining with such exultation that he could not resist giving her a warm smile in return and offering both his hands. Instead of seizing them in a gesture of greeting, however, she flung herself against him and forced him into a full embrace. Watching soldiers made ribald comments and Daniel felt self-conscious.
'How nice to see you again, Abigail,' he said, gently detaching himself from her. 'I'd heard that you sailed for Holland but I never imagined that you'd catch up with us.'
'I can do anything when I set my mind to it.'
'So I see.'
'Especially when I have someone like Emily to help me,' she said, turning to indicate her maid who stood beside the wagon. 'Emily has been a saint. When I asked her to come with me, she was afraid that Father would punish her for it but she came nevertheless. I think Father will praise her for the way she's looked after me.'
'You've caused Sir Nicholas a lot of heartache.'
'That couldn't be helped.'
'He wrote to the Duke of Marlborough to tell him what you'd done. That was how I got to hear of your little adventure.'
'Oh dear!' she exclaimed. 'I was hoping to surprise you.'
'You've certainly done that, Abigail,' he said. 'When I saw those troops riding up, the last thing I expected was for you to jump out of one of their wagons. Where have you been since you left England?'
'I've so much to tell you, Daniel. It's been extraordinary. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?'
'Yes, of course — we'll go to my tent.'
'Come and meet Emily first,' she insisted. 'She deserves thanks for getting me here in one piece.'
Daniel walked back to the wagon with her and was introduced to the maid. He had glimpsed her on his visit to the Piper household in London but had spared her no more than a cursory glance. Emily looked flushed and weary. When she shot Daniel a look of intense admiration, he realised how much Abigail had been singing his praises. Behind her deference and her blind loyalty to her mistress, he sensed that Emily was a resourceful young woman, brave enough to endure the vicissitudes of travel through foreign countries and robust enough to stand guard over Abigail.
Calling a man over, Daniel instructed him to escort Emily to the area where the camp followers were accommodated. The women who trailed the army in the baggage wagons were no longer the prostitutes and slatterns of former days. Because they caused distraction and spread disease, Marlborough had outlawed them from his army. In their place were the wives and women friends of the soldiers, willing to accompany their men into places of great danger and acting as washerwomen, cooks, seamstresses and, occasionally, as nurses on the way. Emily went off with the soldier, who carried what little luggage she and her mistress had brought.
As they walked together through the camp, Daniel collected many envious stares while Abigail harvested appreciative whistles and muttered words of wonder. He was grateful to take her into his tent and away from the public gaze. Abigail gazed lovingly up at him then she suddenly burst into tears.
'What's the matter?' he asked, enfolding her tenderly in his arms. 'You're safe now, Abigail. There's no need for you to cry.'
'I never thought we'd get here,' she said, biting her lip. 'Some terrible things happened to us on the way. It was dreadful. What frightened me most was that, even if we did manage to reach the army, you might not be here. Our journey would have been in vain.'
'Why not sit down and tell me all about it?'
'It's so wonderful to see you again, Daniel.'
'And it's wonderful to see you,' he said, guiding her to a stool and sitting beside her. 'Now dry your eyes and let me have a proper look at you.'
Abigail took a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at her tears. The exigencies of travel had left their signature on her. Some of her bloom had gone and her hair was matted and lacking its former sheen. Her cheeks had hollowed slightly, making her beauty a little ravaged. As he appraised her, Daniel could see all the things that had attracted him to her but he no longer regarded her through the eyes of a potential lover. What she now aroused were his paternal instincts. Instead of wanting her in his bed, he felt impelled to protect her by taking on the role of a father.
'It was your fault,' she said quietly. 'You were responsible for my decision to come here.'
'I gave you no encouragement to do such a thing, Abigail.'
'Yes, you did. It was when we met over dinner that night. Lord Godolphin asked you about some of your escapades and you said — I remember it clearly — that there were times when you had to act on impulse and follow your inner promptings.'
'I was talking about the heat of a battle,' he recalled, 'about decisions made in a time of crisis.'
'That was exactly my position,' she said earnestly. 'When I heard that you were leaving me, I was faced with a crisis. So I did what you advised, Daniel, and acted on impulse. I let my heart rule my actions.'
'But think of the consequences.'
'I reached you at long last and that's everything to me.'
'Didn't you consider how hurt and anxious your parents would be? They must be sick with worry — and so must your sister. The wonder is that Dorothy made no mention of your flight in her letter.'
Abigail was stung. 'Dorothy wrote to you?'
'Her letter caught up with me in the Netherlands.'
'But she told me that it would be wrong to write to you. In fact, she dissuaded me from doing do, saying that it would make you think less of me if I put pen to paper. Yet all the time,' she went on, anger reddening her cheeks,
