Chapter Seven
Following the French company without being detected was easy as they left a trail of horse dung and dust. They rode their cavalry horses into the ground and so they also left the smell of suppurating saddle-sores behind them.
'Smith, when do you think they will look for somewhere to hide for the day?' They were riding boot to boot and he was able to pitch his voice so quietly it was barely audible.
'I reckon just before dawn. They'll not want to be on the track when the sun comes up. I ain't surprised they're travelling at night. I'm going ahead, I'll be back before light. We needs to be clear where they are.'
They continued for another hour and then he noticed that the route ahead was becoming clearer – it would be dawn soon. Beau guided his horses off the route and into a small stony area behind some scrubby trees. The air was full of the scent of herbs and he inhaled appreciatively.
He pulled the reins over the stallion's head and dropped them. This was sufficient to keep the animal close as he had been trained not to wander off when his reins were trailing. All that was left to do was tether the other animal. He waited behind a tree for his companion to return.
How long would it take Jenkins to bring a company of English cavalry? It couldn't be infantry, they couldn't be here soon enough even if they marched in double time. He tensed. There was more than one horseman approaching so it couldn't be Smith. He ducked down behind the trees and backed to his horse. 'Quiet, old fellow, don't make a sound.' He snatched the reins and rested his gloved hand on the animal's nose.
A group of about a dozen mounted men appeared around the corner. It was just light enough to see that Smith wasn't with them, but he was certain they were not French. He was going to let them pass but on closer inspection he was convinced by their fierce appearance and healthy horses that they must be partisans. Of course, not all of the guerrillas fighting the French were prepared to work with the English.
He stepped into full view and greeted them in Spanish. 'Good morning to you, I am Silchester, I have news that might be of interest to you.' He had their full attention. 'I'm also looking for my brother, Lord Peregrine Sheldon, he has been missing somewhere in these hills since July.'
Immediately a ripple of something he didn't recognise travelled through the group. They all dismounted and one man, presumably the leader, walked up to him smiling broadly. He replied in the same tongue. 'You are the Duke of Silchester? We have your brother, Lord Peregrine, living with us. It's God's will that we have met you in this extraordinary fashion. I am Carlos, son of Don Pablo, and leader of this band.'
Beau gripped the man's outstretched hand fiercely and then embraced him. His throat was thick, he blinked furiously to clear his eyes and sent up a prayer to the Almighty for granting him his dearest wish.
'I knew Perry wasn't dead. Is he badly injured?'
Carlos laughed, the sound echoing off the cliffs that surrounded them. 'He is healthy, sir, but blind. He doesn't know who he is and will be shocked to discover he's an aristocrat.'
'Then how did you know it is he that I was looking for?' As soon as he asked he knew the question to be ridiculous. There was hardly likely to be more than one Englishman wandering about the place.
'The one thing he did know was that his name was Perry – so mystery solved. What was it you wish to tell us?'
He quickly explained about the French. 'Your man hasn't returned and we didn't any see French on our patrol. Only God Almighty knows where they might be hiding.'
'If you would kindly direct me to your village, I should like to go there immediately and be reunited with my sibling.'
'I shall do better than that, I shall take you myself. My men will go in search of the missing company.' He gave his orders briskly and all but one of them remounted and rode off. The remaining partisan was to wait and bring the cavalry to join the others wherever they might be.
Beau was not a fighting man, although he would do so if the lives of any of his loved ones or himself was at stake. He rather thought he had disappointed Carlos by not insisting on going in search of the French and joining in the attack that would follow.
'Tell me exactly how my brother came to be with you.' He listened and at the end of the story he knew that he and his family would be forever indebted to this man and his family. He was intrigued by the mention of the English girl and her mother who were apparently living happily in their midst.
'Why have they not returned to England?'
'They have nothing to go back to. They prefer to make their life with us and they are now part of our town. The Señora Appleby is to marry my father, Don Pablo.' He hesitated and when he spoke again there was sadness in his voice. 'I had hoped to marry Sofia, but she has set her sights on your brother and has no time for me.'
This was not good news. For Perry to have become entangled with someone who might be totally unsuitable could be a problem – but he was sure the matter could be smoothed over if sufficient money was involved.
*
Sofia scarcely knew what she had eaten that night, but all of it was delicious. She had drifted, always with Perry at her side, from one group to the next and everyone had congratulated her and wished her well.
He insisted on walking her home although she was quite capable of completing the journey without his assistance. She rather feared this was his nature, that by marrying him she would spend the rest of her life being taken care of, protected from the slightest injury, and not allowed to make decisions for herself.
'Perry, this is happening too fast. It's entirely my fault but could I ask you if we could postpone our nuptials for a while until we have had time to adjust to the new circumstances?'
'Absolutely not. You could be carrying my child – we shall be married at the earliest possible opportunity and I'll brook no disagreement on this matter.'
They had now reached her front door. 'Then I must just pray our priest does not arrive for several weeks as by then it will be clear if I am in the family way. If I am not then there is no necessity for us to marry at all. Good night, my lord.'
She skipped inside before he could react to her inflammatory statement and quickly slid the bolt across so he could not barge his way in. She stood quivering behind the door waiting for his assault. To her chagrin she could definitely hear him whistling as he walked away.
He was infuriating but she wouldn't be coerced into becoming his wife unless she chose to marry him. She unbolted the door as her mother would have to come in at some point, and turned to dash up the stairs forgetting she was wearing a gown. Her foot went through the hem and she stumbled to her knees. She turned the air blue with her language.
'Sofia Appleby, do not use such words in this house. In fact, my girl, do not use them at all. I can assure you that your future husband will not tolerate such behaviour.'
Her mother had come in and overheard her tirade. Sofia carefully extracted her slipper from the rent in her pretty gown and pushed herself upright. 'I apologise, Mama, as you see I have ruined this dress.'
'It's not spoilt, I can repair it easily enough. It will be dawn in an hour or two so we had better retire and try and get some sleep.'
She couldn't sleep, she tossed and turned and eventually abandoned the attempt. She quickly dressed in her usual masculine garments and quietly let herself out into the square. Perry's house was in darkness, he was having no difficulty sleeping.
There was sufficient light for her to find her way to the coral and call for her gelding. She didn't bother to tack him up, she often rode him bareback and without even a halter to guide him. They were cantering across the vineyard when a grey shape arrived at her side.
'Good morning, Zorro, I should be glad of your company.'
She had been warned by Carlos several times not to go out alone at night – not every Spaniard could be trusted and the French certainly couldn't. No one could object to her riding at dawn now she had this enormous dog at her side.
She guided the horse with her knees and a hand on his neck. They hopped over the stone wall at the end of the vineyard and into the olive groves. Here she had to crouch over his neck in order to avoid being swept from his back. The terraces that surrounded the village were fertile and grew all the food they needed. These had been painstakingly built centuries ago but the retaining walls were still sound.
She spent an enjoyable hour or so wandering around the terraces and was now a considerable distance from the town. 'We shall go through here and then onto that track up there. It will be light enough to travel safely through the hills soon.'
Her mouth curved as she finished speaking. As if either animal would understand a word she said – but talking to them was how you built up a bond even if they didn't know exactly what you were saying.
The light was beginning to creep up the hills and soon they would be bathed in early morning sunlight. Perhaps she would be wiser to turn around and go home before the town was awake and her mother realised she had gone out. A faint flicker of unease ran through her as she thought there was someone else who might disapprove more strongly of her behaviour and possibly take stern action to prevent her doing so again.
Just ahead the track split, one half led up to the town and the other down towards the villages a few hours away in which the French had taken up residence. They had fortified them and the partisans no longer attempted to raid in that direction as it was too dangerous.
The English army would have to remove these clusters of French soldiers if they ever hoped to push on and into France itself. She was lost in her thoughts, not taking notice of her surroundings when suddenly Zorro snarled.
Too late she understood the danger. She wasn't alone as she had thought and it was too late to turn the horse and escape.
*
Perry was still smiling when he returned to his own home. Life with his darling girl was certainly not going to be dull and he would not have it any other way. He hoped for her sake she wasn't increasing as having a baby arrive several weeks before it's due date caused unpleasant speculation.
He'd told his staff to douse all the candles and lamps as he was comfortable walking around in the dark. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He might as well turn in, it was going to be a busy day tomorrow as he had heard from the Don that the priest would be arriving that afternoon. There were already three other weddings planned and his had been added to the list. The wedding breakfast would be held here, then he would set out in search of his missing friend and comrade, O'Reilly.
It was taking longer for his eyes to clear and give him back his perfect vision than he had hoped. He could see perfectly well when looking forwards but his peripheral vision was definitely impaired. He had to turn his head in order to see anything on either side of him.
If this didn't go then he would be no use as a soldier and would be obliged to resign his commission and return home – but to what? He had a substantial estate a few miles from Silchester Court but that wouldn't keep him occupied. Even being married to Sofia wouldn't be enough to prevent him from becoming bored. Perhaps when Aubrey returned, which he must do eventually, he would take his new bride on a world trip to visit exotic places like India and the Spice Islands.
They were not a family who stood on ceremony but even so his future bride was going to find it extremely difficult becoming the wife of an aristocrat, making morning calls and attending supper parties would seem tame after the life she had been living these past two years.
He slept well, a soldier learned to sleep when he could and he still had that facility. He was roused by a voice calling him from the bottom of the stairs. Why hadn't his dog barked?
He rolled out of bed and hastily pulled on his breeches as he didn't think his future mother-in-law would appreciate the sight of him buck naked. He was still pulling his shirt on over his head when he reached the head of the stairs.
'Perry, Sofia hasn't slept in her bed last night. Is she with you?'
A lump lodged in his stomach. 'No, she's not.' He was busy tucking in his shirt as he spoke. 'Give me a moment, ma'am, whilst I finish dressing and then I will be downstairs and you will have my full attention.'
Another thing a soldier could do was dress and be ready to fight in minutes – often lives depended on his speed. Only officers bothered to remove their outer garments, troops slept in what they had on. Small wonder the smell of unwashed bodies followed the army around.
'I'm ready. Have you checked her horse is there? I know that Sofia likes to ride at dawn. In fact, I'm certain she has gone out on her horse and taken my dog with her.'
He ran to the paddocks and checked the tack room then realised he didn't know which saddle and bridle belonged to her as he had never seen it. However, he didn't need to know as there were none missing from the pegs.
Mrs Appleby arrived puffing and red-faced. 'Does Sofia ever ride without tack? Do you know which of these horses belongs to her?'
'I don't know about riding bareback, I've certainly never seen her do so, but then I'm rarely down here as I am not overfond of horses. I couldn't tell you which one is hers as they all look the same to me. You need to ask one of the men.'
Perry raced back to the town and hammered on the door of Don Pablo. It was opened immediately by a serving maid. He ignored her and stepped in shouting for attention. Nobody got up early in Spain so he directed his yell up the stairs.
A few moments later the don appeared in his nightshirt with his hair unkempt. 'This had better be urgent, my lord, I do not take kindly to being disturbed so early in the morning.'
Once he had explained the urgency everything changed. 'I'll be with you in a moment, Perry, my son, I have a very bad feeling about this. She should have been back at first light as she never stays away so long that she worries her mother.'
'It's a damned nuisance the young men are already out as we could do with their help to search for her. Have there been reports of French activity nearby?'
'This is what my men have gone to investigate. The English army is moving forward and attempting to drive the enemy from our land as they did for the Portuguese. We are doing everything we can to assist. We have suffered enough over the past few years at the hands of those bastards and want our country back again.'
'I'll get our horses saddled. I have my pistol but I wish I had a sword.'
'Wait there, I can supply you with one. I shall be but a few minutes dressing, there is little point in you going ahead.'
Perry prowled around the entrance hall impatient to be off. Why was it that nothing happened for weeks and then everything changed? The priest would be here by lunchtime and they were supposed to be married soon after. His future mother-in-law was already in the process of arranging a second celebration. He had intended that he and Sofia would leave the following morning, hopefully with at least two or three of the fierce partisans if they had returned in time.
True to his word, Don Pablo clattered down the stairs a few minutes later. 'This way, my son, the armoury is at the rear of the house.'
He was handed a magnificent Toledo steel blade, the hilt beautifully engraved and the scabbard covered in emerald green leather. He held it reverently before buckling it around his waist.
'I thank you, sir, I shall take good care of it and return it in good order.'
'It is yours to keep, my wedding gift to you.'
Although his companion was twenty years his senior he appeared much younger and was able to move as fast as he was. Perry whistled for his horse and the animal cantered over.
'Now, that is a useful trick. I shall suggest that in future we train our animals to react in the same way.'
Marron was ready first but objected strenuously when he attempted to mount with his sword swinging at his waist. By the time he had calmed the beast and managed to scramble into the saddle the don was also mounted.
'It will be full light shortly, if anything untoward has taken place we need to have discovered it before then. Follow me, I know the route that she often takes on her dawn rides.'
They dodged and wove through the olives and the vines for what seemed like miles before eventually emerging onto a well-worn track.
'I am most concerned that we haven't seen any sign of her. I expected to find her injured somewhere with her horse beside her. This is where my land ends.' He pointed with his whip. 'If you continue in that direction it will eventually take you to the next town. In the other, if you travel far enough, you will come across the first of the villages the French have occupied and fortified.'
Perry stood in his stirrups and could see that the track divided a few hundred yards ahead in the direction that led to the French. 'Where does the other route go?'
'Eventually it will lead back to our town, but it climbs before it meanders in the right direction. I think we should investigate that before we try either of the other paths.'