'I still think he needs to be watched,' advised Churchill.
'He will be,' said Marlborough. 'Well,' he added, striking his thigh with a hand. 'I think we know our course of action. We'll have an early night, rise at three and press on hard towards Donauworth. With luck, we'll reach the Schellenberg before they've had time to complete the fortifications. Battle will be joined at last, gentlemen.' He smiled at the prospect. 'It can't come soon enough for me.'
Edward Marston
Soldier of Fortune
Daniel Rawson was patient. As he listened to her long narrative, he did not interrupt Abigail Piper once. Her account was detailed and, from time to time, she referred to her diary so that she could give the correct sequence of events.
She told him about the terrifying voyage, about her journey through the Netherlands and how she and Emily had been cast adrift at one stage. They had been caught in heavy rain, chased by outlaws and forced to sleep in a barn more than once. They were on German soil when they were rescued by the detachment of Dutch soldiers who had eventually delivered them to the camp.
'I knew that we'd get here in the end,' she said, beaming at him.
'How could you be so sure?'
'Im lucky by nature, Daniel. That's how I came to meet you in the first place.'
'I certainly had good fortune when I met you,' he said fondly. 'My stay in London was brightened by our acquaintance.'
'It's more than an acquaintance, surely?'
'Yes, Abigail, it is. I look upon you as a dear friend.' She almost swooned with pleasure. 'But that doesn't stop me from being cross with you for putting your life at risk. I get paid to do that. You do not.'
She smiled dreamily. 'I simply had to come.'
'I accept that,' he said, speaking quickly before she could make a declaration that he felt would be embarrassing. 'However, the truth of it is that you and your maid acted in a way that could have proved suicidal.' He leant in closer. 'Have you told me everything, Abigail?'
'Yes, of course.'
'Are you certain about that?'
'I'd never lie to you, Daniel.'
He was not accusing her of lying but of suppressing some facts. Though she appeared to be telling him the full story of her travels, he had the impression that something was missing, some unpleasant detail that she had either pushed out of her mind or simply held back from him. Abigail Piper had been changed by the long trek. She looked at once younger and older than before, an innocent, defenceless girl with no knowledge of the darker aspects of human behaviour and a mature young woman who had entered adulthood somewhere between The Hague and the Rhine valley. Daniel was bound to wonder what she was hiding but he decided that it was not the moment to press her on the subject of painful memories.
'You must speak to the Duke,' he said.
'I'd prefer to stay here with you, Daniel.'
'He'll wish to see with his own eyes that you are safe and sound so that he can send word to your father to that effect.'
'There's no need for Father to worry about me.'
'I'd say there was every need. You left without warning.'
'I had to, Daniel,' she said. 'If I'd told my parents what I had in mind, they would have forbidden me to leave the house. Dorothy would have done everything in her power to stop me as well.'
'In some senses, they'd have been right to do so.'
'My parents might have been,' she conceded, 'but not my sister. Dorothy would have held me back out of sheer spite.'
'I'm sure that she cares for you, Abigail.'
'She does — when it suits her.'
'Well, I don't want to come between you and your sister. But she would need to have a very cold heart not to worry about you and pray for your safe return.' He crossed to the tent flap and opened it. 'Follow me. It's not far.'
'Shall I see you later on?'
'To be honest, I think it unlikely.'
'Just for a few minutes,' she pleaded.
'We'll see, Abigail,' he said, careful not to commit himself. 'Let me take you to the Duke's quarters. He'll be as thankful as I am that you came to no harm.'
She gave a strained smile and went out after him. On their way through the camp, Daniel exchanged a few niceties with her, ignoring the curious stares they attracted on the way. After introducing her to Marlborough, he left the two of them together and walked briskly towards the area where the baggage wagons had been parked. He soon found Abigail's maid, standing beside a tent as she sorted out items of clothing that needed to be washed.
'May I speak to you for a moment, Emily?' said Daniel.
'Yes, sir,' she replied, flustered by his sudden appearance.
'Your mistress is with His Grace, the Duke of Marlborough. She's been telling me about the adventures you had along the way.'
'Miss Abigail was very brave.'
'I fancy that you showed just as much bravery, Emily.'
'I did what I had to do, Captain Rawson.'
Emily Greene had lost weight during the many weeks they had been in transit. She still had the same homely appearance but her flabby cheeks and plump body had shrunk slightly. The maid had aged visibly as well. Abigail Piper had had a vision of her beloved to beckon her on. Emily had been driven by loyalty to her mistress. It was a loyalty that Daniel took into account. The woman would never volunteer information about Abigail that she felt was confidential. Daniel had to be tactful.
'What was the most enjoyable part of your journey?' he asked.
'Getting here alive, sir,' she replied.
'Yes, you had one or two uncomfortable moments, I hear.'
'They're all in the past now — thanks be to God.'
'Miss Abigail was telling me about an inn you left in the middle of the night. You must have been desperate to do that.'
'We could not stay there, sir.'
'So I gather,' said Daniel, who had not been told the real reason for their abrupt departure and felt it was one of the things that Abigail had deliberately kept from him. 'Miss Abigail told me all about it.'
'She talked about it for days afterwards.'
'That's understandable. It must have been a shock to her.'
'It was more than that, Captain Rawson,' said Emily, believing that he already knew the full details. 'The man had been so nice to us when he let us ride in his wagon. The last thing Miss Abigail expected was that he would come to her room at night and force himself upon her. I got to her just in time.'
'She's eternally grateful, Emily.'
'I couldn't believe what had happened.'
'Is this the man who was travelling with the body of his wife?'
'That's right, sir,' said Emily. 'His name was Otto but I called him a lot of other names that night — God forgive me! Miss Abigail is young and unused to the ways of the world. It frightened her that such people could exist. She said that she'd be too ashamed to tell her parents that she'd been molested like that.'
'I can imagine.'
'She's a devout Christian — and so am I. We know what the Good Book tells us, sir. Only one person ever has the right to such favours.' She smiled shyly. 'Miss Abigail is saving herself for her husband.'
Daniel swallowed hard. As a serving soldier, his duties took him all over Europe and he had never considered marriage because he would be away from a wife for long periods. Marriage would also inhibit his private life and he
