'This is all very heartening,' said Marlborough, taking the inventory from him so that he could inspect it. 'I've waited a long time to put a French army to flight.'
'I fancy that the Bavarians can run even faster.'
'Those who escaped will be back, Daniel. When they've licked their wounds, they'll join up with Marshal Tallard and seek revenge. Talking of wounds,' he added, peering closely at Daniel's bloodstained face, 'you look as if you've picked up a few of them yourself.'
'My injuries can wait for attention, Your Grace. I was not going to leave the fray until we'd taken both the hill and the town. Besides,' he went on, gritting his teeth, 'the surgeons have enough on their hands at the moment. Some of our men have crippling injuries.'
Marlborough nodded gravely. 'The worst cases will be taken back to our hospital at Nordlingen though many may not survive the journey. I don't relish passing on details of casualties to Parliament and to the States-General in Holland,' he confided. 'Public opinion in both countries will be outraged by the size of our losses.'
'Given the situation, they were unavoidable.'
'Politicians never understand a military situation, Daniel. They view everything in terms of numbers lost and costs incurred. I'll come in for sharp criticism, especially in Holland.'
'That may be so,' said Daniel, 'but the Emperor will have the sense to appreciate the importance of this victory. The Imperial capital is now protected from French and Bavarian advance.'
'That was a major objective of the enterprise. Emperor Leopold will also be pleased to hear how well Louis of Baden and his men conducted themselves. In scaling the hill and attacking the left flank, they did us good service.'
'Your strategy was sound, Your Grace. You struck when they least expected it. Had you postponed the assault by a day, the outcome might have been very different.'
'Either way, I would have been left with a lot of letters to write.'
'Of course,' said Daniel, taking the hint. 'I'll hold you up no longer but I felt that you might wish to include some of the details of that inventory in any correspondence.'
'I most certainly will. Before you go,' said Marlborough as his visitor was about to leave, 'I meant to ask you about Abigail Piper. Is she still resolved to stay?'
'I'm afraid that she is.'
'I did my best to persuade her to return home.'
'So did I, Your Grace, but she's an obstinate young lady.'
'Love can instil the most extraordinary tenacity.'
'True,' said Daniel, 'but even her tenacity might wilt if Abigail knew that I came very close to dying right beside her. It seems that I'm fighting a war on two fronts.'
He told Marlborough about his stroll along the bank of a stream with Abigail and how she had saved him from being shot by fainting in his arms at the critical moment. Marlborough was aghast.
'Why didn't you tell me this before?' he asked.
'You were preoccupied with other matters, Your Grace. I'm not vain enough to think that my personal problems take precedence over the storming of the Schellenberg and the capture of the town. When you are concerned with the deployment in battle of thousands of men, the troubles of one are immaterial. In any case,' he continued with a grin, 'I've long believed that I have a staunch friend in heaven. If I can survive that Forlorn Hope with only a few scratches, I have no worries about a lone assassin.'
'You should do, Daniel — he may strike again.'
'I hope that he will.'
'Have men about you at all times.'
'From now on, I'll have eyes in the back of my head.'
'Whoever he is, this man is clearly determined to kill you.'
'I'm equally determined to take his life first.'
'And you say that Abigail is not aware of this attack on you?'
'No, Your Grace,' said Daniel. 'And there's no reason why she should be. She's had to face enough shock and upset already. The ugly truth must be kept from her.'
Abigail Piper turned pale when she heard the news. She made Emily Greene repeat the details again. Abigail was dazed.
'Where did you learn all this?' she asked.
'I spoke to a woman whose husband was on sentry duty at the time,' said Emily. 'He heard the shot and ran to see who had fired it. He saw you lying on the grass beside Captain Rawson.'
'I fainted. It seems that Captain Rawson caught me.'
'At first, the sentries thought that you'd been shot,' said Emily, 'but the captain explained what had happened. He sent two men across the stream and ordered a search party on horseback.'
'Did they find anyone?'
'No, Miss Abigail.'
'Who could have done such a terrible thing?'
'They have no idea.'
'I could have been killed,' said Abigail, shuddering at the idea.
'I don't think the shot was aimed at you, Miss Abigail. The target was Captain Rawson. With respect, you would be no loss to the army but the captain would. According to the woman, her husband was certain that the attacker was trying to kill a British officer.'
Abigail gasped. 'That's even worse!' she cried. 'I'd rather have died myself than live without him. This is appalling, Emily. I knew nothing about any of this.'
'Perhaps the captain felt that it was better that way.'
'He should have told me.'
'He didn't wish to alarm you, Miss Abigail.'
The suggestion did not reassure Abigail. If anything, it made her feel even more distressed. She believed that Daniel
Rawson had kept the facts from her because he perceived her as too weak and fragile to cope with such grim tidings. Instead of sharing his worries with her, he had kept them to himself. Abigail had been deliberately kept in the dark and that hurt her. Daniel was under threat. Her pleasant stroll with him now took on a more sinister and disturbing aspect.
It was the morning after the battle and the two women were standing outside the tent in which they had spent the night. Most of the camp followers slept in the back of wagons or rigged up some rudimentary cover. Abigail and her maid were more fortunate because Marlborough had arranged for them to have a small tent. Though they were miles away from the battle, the women had heard all too clearly the booming of the cannon, the popping of musketry and the constant roll of drums. News of victory had been brought back but it was offset by reports of heavy losses. Abigail had lain awake all night, praying that Daniel Rawson was not among the fallen.
Already tired and distraught, she was close to despair when she was told about the attempt on Daniel's life. While she had been imploring him to withdraw from the Forlorn Hope, he had almost been killed by a sniper in the bushes. Clutching her hands tightly together, she walked up and down as she tried to absorb what she had been told. Emily took a more practical view.
'We shouldn't be here, Miss Abigail,' she said firmly.
'We have to be here, Emily.'
'If that's your wish, then I'll obey you as I've always done. But I've been talking to the others. They belong here. They know what to expect and are hardened by experience.'
'We, too, have shown endurance.'
'It's not the same,' said Emily. 'We're outsiders.'
'The other ladies have been very kind to us.'
'That's because they all pull together in adversity. They're used to supporting each other. I've been talking to some of them, Miss Abigail. Their stories are heart-breaking.'
'I know that army life can be testing.'
'It's an ordeal. You deserve better.'
'I still prefer to stay, Emily.'
