Authors: Iain Gale
‘I assure you, Miss Weber. It was not. We have caught the men who did this, the Dutchmen, and they are even now travelling under armed escort on their way to Donauwö rth to be tried under court martial. Be certain, they will be hanged.’
The girl looked at the floor.
‘I am sorry. I did not want them to die. The Captain seemed such a nice man. A real gentleman.’
‘My poor dear. How much you have to learn, particularly about soldiers. I shall teach you. We may some of us be officers but not all officers can be said to be gentlemen. You must understand that some men are not to be trusted. That man was no gentleman.’
He moved towards her, placing a hand upon her shoulder at the point where the cotton of her blouse met the tempting, downy softness of her pale skin. She flinched and then relaxed under the warmth of his touch. It had been so long since anyone had done that.
‘Dear Miss Weber. Louisa, if I may. You may trust an Englishman. You most certainly may trust me. Now come. Show me where I might rest tonight. I will pay of course and also for any food and wine you might be able to offer my men. We have had a long and arduous march in pursuit of your oppressors.’
* * *
Steel had inspected the Grenadiers’ bivouac for the night, a pasture to the rear of the church in the shade of a few apple trees. He left his own kit there with Slaughter and walked back towards the square. He had commended his gun into the particular care of the Sergeant, but the great sword still clanked at his side and in the ghostly stillness of the abandoned streets, he placed his hand on the scabbard. It seemed almost sacriligous to hear such a sound in a place so newly marked by war. At the edge of the square and down the length of the main road that led into the town from the north, the laden wagons stood in the late afternoon light with their drivers. Some of the wagoners had taken the dray teams out of their shafts and were watering them at a nearby trough. Steel had ordered Williams to position two sentries on permanent guard on the wagons and a picquet of three men at each of the roads leading into the town. That accounted for half of their entire force. The others he expected, as had been arranged, in the inn. They would have to be careful of course, he, Williams and Slaughter, that each man consumed only his allotted ration of ale. For while Steel’s plan could work well as a preventative measure, it could also all too easily, he realized, be turned against him.
He walked up to the inn and pushed open the door. It was a sizeable place which, before the late catastrophe, might have made a good profit from the pilgrim route which Hawkins had told him, ran through these hills. The interior reeked reassuringly of stale alcohol and pipe smoke. The room was quite empty and Steel made his way across to the open staircase which rose to the upper floors. He was contemplating whether he should ascend, when he heard a low groan from a half-open door at the rear of the room. Pushing it open, he peered in and saw the figure of an old man, tucked under a blanket in a large wooden chair. He appeared to be mumbling in his sleep.
‘He’s my father.’
The soft voice, in a gently accented English, startled him and, turning, Steel instinctively placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. The girl spoke again.
‘I’m sorry. I did not mean to alarm you.’
‘I’m not alarmed, Miss. You just took me by surprise.’
She was exquisitely beautiful, with piercing blue eyes and hair like spun straw. Steel was entranced.
‘You are English? Yes?’
‘Yes. That is, I’m from Scotland, Miss. But … yes. You might say I am.’
He was unsure as to whether she had understood him. It was really not important.
‘Captain, Lieutenant. Sir.’ She looked in vain for his badge of rank.
‘Lieutenant, Miss. Lieutenant Jack Steel of Farquharson’s Regiment, in the service of Queen Anne.’
He gave a short bow. Louisa smiled and again, he was frozen by her beauty.
‘My name is Louisa Weber, Lieutenant. You are welcome here. This is my father’s inn. Your other officer, Major … Jennings, told me that you have found the men who did this horrible thing to our town. That this is not your doing, but the work of the Dutch. I try to understand.’
Steel nodded and wondered exactly what Jennings had said to her. How he had explained that they had ‘found the men’.
Louisa knelt down on the floor beside her father and draped her arm lightly about his shoulders. She whispered something to him in German. Words of comfort on a day where none could help. She looked up at Steel, her beautiful eyes filled with despair.
‘My father is sick. We must throw ourselves on your mercy. My father has a cousin in England. Living in Harwich.
Perhaps you know it. It is a fishing town. His cousin is a merchant. A very rich man, I think. Perhaps, if we could get passage back to England, I could give you money, Lieutenant. I have already told this to Major Jennings. He says it will be fine. I told him my father’s cousin will pay. It is now the only thing to do, I think. We are ruined here now.’
Steel felt truly sorry for her. She was right. The town had ceased to exist. The dragoons had left only the inn and the church standing but what use was an inn with no prospect of customers?
‘Of course, Miss Weber. Of course we will do everything that we can to help you. And your father. And please, we will not take your money. Whatever Major Jennings might have said. Please.’
How very typical of Jennings, he thought, to have accepted her offer of payment. He extended his hand to help her to her feet and as he did so, the door on to the square opened and Slaughter entered. Clearing his throat, he called through to Steel who he could see through the door to the back room.
‘Mister Steel, Sir. I was wondering if now would be the right time for the men to get that ration of ale. We’re fair parched.’
Steel appeared. ‘Quite the right time, Sarn’t. Send them in.’
He turned to Louisa, who had followed.
‘Miss Weber. I take it that you can provide us with some ale? We have the money to pay for it. And whatever food you have to hand would be most welcome. If you could find a little wine, I would be very grateful.’
Happy for this semblance of normality, Louisa busied herself with attending to her guests.
The Grenadiers gradually filled the inn. They removed their caps as they entered and, piling their arms by the door, sat in groups at the tables. Within minutes the place was alive
with noise. Steel watched Louisa as she moved among the soldiers and saw the change in her. How animated she had become. How very much more alive. He kept a low profile, sitting on his own in a dark corner beside the inglenook fireplace, although happily acknowledging any of the men who passed. Louisa had found him a pitcher of good Moselle and, although he could have drained it within minutes, he was pacing himself, anxious to keep an eye on the men. Slaughter, although he had taken his place within a group of senior other ranks, was exercising similar prudence. But neither man need have worried. One table was engaged in a game of cards. Another singing a round-work, whose ancient folk lyrics they had replaced with something rather more ribald. Steel watched the men relax for the first time in days and guessed that his tactic might have paid off. Slaughter caught his eye from across the room and nodded discreetly. Now, being convinced he could relax himself, from his shadowy obscurity Steel indulged in glimpses of Louisa as she made her way through the fug, serving the tall steins of sweet, dark brown ale, Dunkel, which in this part of Bavaria was the staple beer. From nowhere, too, she had conjured up a stew – thin but hot and satisfying and there was good black bread to go with it and ham and slabs of cheese – without the customary weevils.
The men, conscious that an officer was present, and that he was paying the bill, made no attempt to molest Louisa. He saw her smile, her pretty face lit from within and wondered unexpectedly how convincingly Jennings had entranced her with his unctuous words and promises. Then, catching the thought, puzzled how he could be jealous of that man, and why. He had only known this girl less than an hour. Had hardly spoken to her. And yet there was something about her that felt somehow…comfortable.
He saw Williams enter the inn and look about the room. A table of Grenadiers looked up and grinned. As the new boy of the company, the Ensign was still an object of fun, even though he had won his spurs in the skirmish with the French. Steel called across to him.
‘Tom. Over here. Come and join me in a glass.’
Williams sat down and Steel filled two glasses.
‘Any sign of our friend the Major?’
‘None, Sir. I presumed that he might be in here.’
‘And Herr Kretzmer?’
‘No, Sir. Although he might be in his carriage.’
‘So, Tom. I promised that I would ask again after your first battle. How do you like soldiering now?’
‘I have not revised my opinion, Sir. Although, in truth, I must admit being unsettled by what we discovered at Sattelberg. Surely, Sir, that cannot be a true picture of war?’
‘No, Tom. War is not often like that. But the truth about war is that you can never be quite sure what will happen next. Sattelberg was bad. But take it from me, in your time as a soldier you will see worse. Far worse. And yet there are times, too, when you will know that there is nothing like it in all the world. It is the most exciting and the most tedious of lives. A challenge and a drudge. And if you stay with it I will guarantee that there will not be a day in which you will not encounter something that will either make your soul leap with joy or your spine shiver with dread apprehension.’
Three hours later Tom Williams was still lost in dreams of soldiering. Steel helped him to his feet. Tom had, Steel thought, perhaps indulged in just a little too much wine. Most of the Grenadiers had left the inn now, bound for the dubious comfort of their field bivouac. As the last few made
their way towards the door, one with the words of a song on his lips and the rest with muttered thanks to their officer, Steel called to Slaughter.
‘Sarn’t. Will you be so kind as to help Mister Williams to his quarters. Place him close by me. Not so close though that should he awake in the night he might make the mistake of taking my kit for a latrine.’
Slaughter laughed.
‘I thought he looked a bit groggy, Sir. Unused to the wine, I suppose, and there’s hardly anything to him. I’ll see to him, Mister Steel. You take your time.’
Slaughter had watched his officer all evening and had seen how he gazed at Louisa. He had known Steel long enough to understand what that look meant. Well, perhaps there would be time for love, if that was what he wanted. He recalled one drunken, desperate night in Flanders, after a day on which they had seen too many good men die, when Steel had told Slaughter about a girl called Arabella. About regrets and missed opportunities and what he had hoped life might hold for him. The following day of course, nothing more had been said. But the Sergeant had not forgotten his officer’s confidences. Maybe this girl would follow them now. Perhaps she would be the one to offer Steel the life he craved. Cradling Tom Williams’ comatose form in his great arms, Slaughter stepped from the inn and Steel found himself alone. He walked across to the door of the Webers’ private quarters and gave a gentle cough. Louisa turned and saw him.
‘I suppose that I should move Herr Kretzmer.’
Steel nodded in the direction of the Bavarian, who, having purchased a bottle of fine French brandy from Louisa, had crept away from the soldiers to occupy the chair lately vacated by her ailing father and proceeded to drink the contents. Louisa did not mind. Herr Kretzmer came from a
different world to the Grenadiers and he did not mix easily. She was happy to indulge her countryman. Together, she and Steel gazed on his sleeping form.
‘Leave him if you wish, Lieutenant. I will put a blanket over him and if he wakes up he will know which room to go to. Don’t worry. He’s as harmless as a puppy.’
Steel laughed.
‘Thank you, Miss Weber, for all your hospitality. May I settle our account in the morning? We rise early.’
‘As I do, Lieutenant. And please, call me Louisa. You are most welcome. It really felt as if the town were still … alive. I …’
She was suddenly lost for words. Instinctively Steel walked across to her. Gently placing an arm upon her shoulders, he looked into eyes which brimmed with tears.
‘Please. There is no need to worry. Tomorrow, you will come with us. Bring whatever is important to you but please, don’t worry. We will take care of you now. There is nothing more to fear. This is not an end, but a new beginning.’
She nodded, smiled, and for a moment Steel thought that he could detect in her eyes a spark of something more. Now though, he sensed, was not the moment. Steel withdrew his arm from her shoulder.
‘Now, you must get some sleep. Tomorrow we march north. And you start a new life.’
Jennings was looking for drink. Following Kretzmer’s departure, he had spent the best part of an hour in the church, deep in thought, if not in prayer. Then, feeling the pangs of hunger, he had sent Stringer into the inn to sniff him out what wine and food he could. He had chosen to eat his sparse supper alone, in the candle-lit gloom of the church, while his Sergeant sat outside on the steps. Now though, the man
had reported that the Grenadiers, Mister Steel included, had retired for the night to their bivouac. Now at last, thought Jennings, he could enjoy the comforts for which he had paid. A real bed with clean sheets and perhaps before that a little more sustenance. And then, of course, there was the girl.
Leaving the church he walked quietly into the street. Stringer was waiting outside, leaning against a wall of the basilica. Seeing Jennings he straightened up. Now, in the moonlight, the town presented a truly eerie prospect. The night was chill and even Jennings felt a sense of unnatural unease. He walked over to the Sergeant.
‘I want no one admitted to the inn on any account. No one. D’you take my meaning, Sarn’t?’
‘Sir. Yes, Sir.’
Quickly now, Jennings moved to the inn and eased the latch of the door. It was unlocked. Inside, the room stood empty and dark. All the candles but one had been extinguished and the tables cleared. A light from the door at the rear betrayed the fact that the house had not quite gone to bed. Doubtless there he would find his brandy. And the possibility of other pleasures.