'my sister planned to send you a letter herself. That was vile treachery. What did she say?'
'She simply wrote to wish me good luck,' said Daniel, hiding the truth from her. 'I can only assume that her letter was sent before you decided to sail after me.'
'Has she written to you again?'
'No, Abigail.'
'Are you sure?'
'I had one short letter and that was that.'
'Have you kept it?'
'No,' said Daniel, 'and even if I had, I'd not have shown it to you. It's private correspondence, Abigail. It has no relevance to you.'
'It has great relevance,' she said, still enraged. 'It proves what a lying and deceitful sister I have. Dorothy is not content with having her own admirers, she's trying to steal you as well.'
'That won't happen,' he assured her.
'Do you give me your promise?'
'Yes, Abigail.'
'What Dorothy did was unpardonable.'
'On balance,' he said, 'I think that it might have been better for all concerned if your sister had not written to me and if you had not pursued me halfway across Europe.'
Her face crumpled. 'Aren't you pleased to see me, Daniel?'
'I'm always pleased to see you,' he replied gallantly, 'but I'd rather do so in the safety of an English house than in a theatre of war. You've seen the size of our army, Abigail. The French and Bavarians will throw just as many men into the field. It's simply not a place for a young lady like you to be.'
'I thought you'd be touched by my devotion.'
'I am — very touched. You've shown amazing courage.'
'Yet you wish I hadn't bothered to come.' 'I wish it for your sake,' said Daniel, squeezing her hand. 'If you stay with us, you'll witness the most appalling things. A lot of those soldiers we saw as we walked past just now will give their lives in battle before long. War is a cruel and repulsive business, Abigail. I want to shield you from all that.'
'But I feel perfectly safe now I'm with you.'
'We can't stay together for long. I have duties.'
'I understand that, Daniel. Knowing that we're in the same camp is enough for me.' Her eyes moistened again. 'That's all I want. Surely, it's not too much to ask.'
He was moved by her plea. Though he wanted to send her back home, he felt it would be too unkind to tell her so at that moment. Abigail deserved time to recover from her travails and a chance to enjoy some leisure, albeit briefly, with the man she adored. She would soon see how hard and unremitting life in an army camp could be for a woman. Harsh experience of the realities of warfare would be more persuasive than anything he could tell her.
'No,' he said softly, 'it's not too much to ask, Abigail. It was a treat to see your face when you recognised me.'
She brightened at once. 'I'd recognise you anywhere, Daniel.'
'You said that terrible things happened to you on the way here.' 'Did I?'
'Tell me all about them.'
'I just want to enjoy being alone with you, Daniel.'
'You can do both at the same time,' he said. 'If you had trouble or met with hindrance, I want to know about it and so will the Duke. Everything you've done in the last six or seven weeks is important to me, Abigail. Tell me the full story.'
Edward Marston
Soldier of Fortune
Bad news was a fact of life during a campaign and the Duke of Marlborough had long ago learnt to accept that. Outbreaks of disease among the troops, the late arrival of reinforcements, adverse weather conditions and a whole series of unforeseen hazards could throw the best-laid plans into disarray. Marlborough never fretted over bad tidings. He responded by taking prompt action.
'Word has come from Prince Eugene,' he said, waving the despatch. 'He doubts if he can hold the line against the French and that Marshal Tallard will out-manouevre him.'
'It was asking a lot of the Prince,' opined Adam Cardonnel.
'The task I set him was too formidable. Even with the Danish infantry to support him, he had insufficient men. He can pursue Tallard but lacks the troops to intercept his progress.'
Marlborough was in his quarters with his secretary and his brother, Charles Churchill, General of Foot and a very experienced soldier. A handsome man in his late forties, Churchill resembled his brother in appearance and manner. He was concerned by the news.
'Tallard will be here earlier than we anticipated,' he said.
'Yes,' agreed Marlborough. 'Even though he lost so many horses on the way, he's coming through the Black Forest at a steady pace. We can only hope he'll be delayed by bad weather in the mountains and by angry foresters who have no love for the French.'
'Prince Eugene will hound Tallard but be unable to stop him.'
'It means that we have to press on hard and establish supply depots at Donauworth. Once we cross the Danube and go deep into Bavaria, our depots at Nordlingen will be too far away.'
'And it would be possible for the enemy to cut us off from our supply line,' observed Cardonnel. 'That would be fatal.'
'Where are Marshal Marsin and the Elector?' asked Churchill.
'Snug and well-defended in Dillingen,' relied Marlborough. 'They realise that Donauworth is our most likely target. The latest reports say that the town and the Schellenberg above it are being fortified by Count d'Arco.'
'Do we know what resources D'Arco has at his disposal?'
'Yes, Charles — he has veteran French and Bavarian infantry at his command, together with dismounted dragoons and two batteries of guns. Bavarian militia and a French battalion have garrisoned the town.' Marlborough consulted another despatch. 'The latest estimate we have puts the force on the Schellenberg at over 12,000.'
'That's a substantial number,' remarked Cardonnel.
'The hill must nevertheless be stormed,' said Marlborough. 'If we take Donauworth, as we must, we can proceed with the next stage of our plan. I won't even entertain the notion of failure.'
'What role will the Margrave of Baden have?' said Churchill.
'We'll need him to give us close support, Charles. I had hoped that he could act independently of us but that would leave us with a shortage of troops.'
'There may be some benefit there.'
'In what way?'
'We can keep an eye on him, John.'
Marlborough gave an understanding nod. Prince Louis- William, the Margrave of Baden, was a fine soldier. He had been appointed commander-in-chief of the Imperial army in Hungary in 1689 when he was still in his mid- thirties. Victory against Ottoman forces with a two to one advantage over him had earned him the nickname of 'Turken-Louis'. He went on to take command of the Imperial armies on the Rhine. He was a valued ally, not least because of the success he had achieved against the French in the previous year. A question mark, however, remained over his loyalty. According to intelligence reports received by Marlborough, the Margrave of Baden was maintaining friendly correspondence with the Elector of Bavaria even though they were on opposite sides.
'Nobody can doubt his bravery and skill,' said Cardonnel.
'But can we trust him?' said Churchill. 'That's the point.'
'I believe that we can.'
'We have no choice,' said Marlborough, pursing his lips. 'If he's prepared to fight alongside us, it doesn't matter if he's sending billets-doux to Louis XIV. As long as he's not making secret deals with the enemy to betray us, we must rely on him.'
'The Emperor clearly does,' said Cardonnel.
'Yes, Adam, and he's a shrewd judge of character.'
