Richard had the road dug up in several places south of Hansi. Then he gave the sepoys orders to fight a delaying action if the enemy crossed the border, falling back on the city as necessary.
In Hansi itself he was welcomed with no less delight. The commander of the garrison, Colonel Gopalan, had learned of the movements along the border with Scindhia, and had already sent messengers galloping north to recall Ship Sahib; he was very happy to hand over the responsibility of defending Hariana to General Bryant.
But Gopalan had some news which was extremely unpleasant. The eastern border guards had reported that amongst the forces gathering there was a contingent from Sardhana.
‘It is my opinion, General,’ he said, ‘that Monsieur Perron has induced the Begum Sombre to join him in the destruction of Hariana.’
‘By God,’ Richard said. ‘If that were true…’ could Aljai possibly have forgotten who had saved her from a fate quite literally worse than death?
There was nothing to do but prepare to meet that threat as well.
Tanna was overjoyed to see him, though she was distressed at the absence of Barbara. Her safety, and that of the children, was much on Richard’s mind, and he resolved to despatch them to the town of Georgegahr. Some sixty miles north-west of Hansi, the town had been founded by Thomas himself as an ultimate refuge; the fortress was virtually impregnable, being carved out of the side of a hill and of an elevation too great even for cannon, which must occupy the valley below.
‘Why do you not come with us, Richard Sahib?’ Tanna asked.
‘I have too much to do here.’ He smiled and kissed her. ‘I will join you, if by any chance we are defeated.’
*
A week later Thomas, hugely angry, rode into Hansi accompanied only by his staff. The main army, led by Colonels Hopkins and Hanif, was still trying to disengage from the Sikhs.
‘I had those fellows on the run,’ Thomas growled, drinking copious quantities of rum. ‘Lahore was but a few marches away when I got Gopalan’s message. God damn and blast Perron into eternity. I’ll do the bastard, that I will. Of course, the moment I commanded my people to turn about and retreat, the Sikhs were all over us. Good cavalry. Good infantry. Good fightin’ men. When I’ve done with Perron, I’ll go back. With the Punjab at me back, Dick lad, I could conquer all India.’
Unless you got too drunk to remember what you were about, Richard thought sombrely. He decided not to remind his friend that he had broken his word, or that it had been the utmost folly to embark upon the Punjab campaign without first dealing with the Scindhia. Now was not the time for recriminations, only for deeds.
He also did not immediately tell Thomas of his personal involvement. Ship Sahib had enough on his mind.
‘As for that Begum bitch,’ Thomas growled. ‘Rescuin’ her was one of the big mistakes of our lives. I always said women would be the death of ye. Well, by God, they’ll not be the death o’ George Thomas.’
But Perron had to be dealt with first. To deal with him, time had to be bought, to allow the army to concentrate. In fact, the news that Ship Sahib had returned called a halt to military activities on the border for some time.
During the following months the main part of the Hariana army trickled back into Hansi, and Richard was shocked to see the condition to which his magnificent fighting force had been reduced. Casualties had been severe in the battles with the hardy Sikhs, and the men were exhausted after long marching. A considerable body had had to be left to hold the line of the Sutlej against a Sikh counterattack. At least no guns had been lost.
Richard set to work immediately to restore his battalions to strength and fitness. But everything depended on time. The original force had been carefully trained and nurtured over several years. Now he had to attempt to raise raw recruits to that standard in a matter of months.
Worse, he had no real heart for his task. He wanted to go to war against Peyraud, now. Not a word had been heard of the fugitive from Seringapatam, but Richard had no doubt that he was with the Scindhia forces; there was nowhere else for him to go now. And Caty would surely be with him.
When he confessed the situation to Thomas, the big Irishman pulled his nose.
‘He’s led you a dance, that he has. Well, maybe the day of settlement is coming closer, Dick lad. But ye’ll understand that we don’t have the men to fight more than a defensive action against Scindhia.’
Richard understood that well enough; too many good men had been wasted in the adventure beyond the Sutlej. He could only pray for Perron to make his move.
Instead there came an envoy from Marshal Perron, suggesting a conference, at Bahadurgarh in the east, not far from Delhi, ‘for the settling of all differences between the Scindhia and Ship Sahib’.
‘We’d better go,’ Thomas decided. ‘And at least hear what the fellow has to say. Ye might even manage to discover something about the whereabouts of yer Caty, Dick lad.’
*
Thomas and Richard rode east to Bahadurgarh. Flags of truce were sent out, and the meeting was arranged.
Sutherland was still there. Gardiner had departed, but Pedron was also present, as well as a foul-mouthed ex-cook named Louis Bourquien, promoted to general by Perron according to his principles of fraternity and equality, and apparently now second-in-command of the army.
And of course, Perron himself, slight and dapper, his eyes gleaming as he gazed at his ancient rivals.
‘Ship Sahib,’ he said, giving a mock bow. ‘I had supposed you to be in Lahore.’
‘So that ye could come sneakin’ in me back door,’ Thomas remarked, making no effort to disguise his hostility. ‘I’ll be in Lahore when I’m ready.’
‘And the brigades?’
‘They’re waitin’ for ye, if ye’re rash enough to move west.’
Richard, meanwhile, was searching the ranks of the French officers behind Perron, seeking Peyraud. He was not among them.
‘Is it not agreed between us, that war between the Scindhia and Ship Sahib must be avoided if it is humanly possible?’ Perron asked, his eyes opaque.
‘Ye’ve an odd way of preserving the peace,’ Thomas commented. ‘Concentrating an army on me frontier.’
‘Ah, but there are great moves afoot, Ship Sahib.’ Suddenly he was entirely businesslike. ‘You must be aware that this new Governor-General of the East India Company, this Mornington, is bent upon the conquest of all India. His ambitions will destroy you as well as everyone else, if he is not stopped. When I think how my predecessor, Benoit de Boigne, allowed himself to be persuaded to take up arms with the Company against Tippoo Sahib, because Tippoo was represented as being a threat to our security, truly it reminds me of the Carthaginians summoning the Romans to aid them against Pyrrhus.’
Thomas snorted. He knew nothing of classical history.
‘It behoves us, therefore, to look to ourselves,’ Perron went on. ‘There is no more room for petty principalities. Nor is there room for a decrepit figurehead of an emperor. You will gather that Delhi is already in my possession. The Great Mughal salutes me whenever I enter his presence, and I bow to the floor, but this is merely a farce. It is the determination of Daulat Rao Scindhia to carry out his uncle’s plan, to depose the Emperor and unite all India beneath his aegis.’
‘That boy?’ Thomas inquired.
Perron gave a brief smile. ‘Suitably advised, even boys can behave like men, Monsieur Thomas.’
‘And the advice comes all the way from Paris and Bonaparte, I’ll be bound,’ Thomas suggested.
So he did possess some grasp of present-day politics, Richard realised.
Perron’s eyes narrowed. ‘Where the advice comes from is beside the point, Monsieur Thomas,’ he said. ‘It is sufficient that there is no other course of action open to us. And what we undertake must be done in haste, before this overweening Company can digest its swallowing of Mysore, and turn its greedy eyes to the north. I am empowered by the Scindhia, Monsieur Thomas, to offer you a remuneration of sixty thousand rupee
s a month, and continuing command of your ten battalions, if you will place your army and your viceroyalty under the rule of the Scindhia, and embark with him upon this great adventure.’
‘And what offer do ye make to General Bryant?’ Thomas asked smoothly.
Perron’s eyes were hooded. ‘General Bryant is not popular with all of my officers. He is like a thief in the night, who recently passed through the country of the Scindhia like a ghost, scarce daring to make his presence known. That is not the behaviour of an honest man. But as he is so dear to you, I will offer him a pension of twenty-five thousand rupees a month, to retire. He has fought for the Company. Let him go and live in Bombay with his wives, if he can manage them all.’
So, Peyraud is here, Richard thought.
Thomas snorted. ‘Ye mistake the situation, monsieur,’ he said. ‘Ye take yer directives from Bonaparte. I take them from no man. But I’ll tell ye this. If I fight for anyone save meself, it’ll be for King George, God bless him. That’s what I was born to do, and that’s what I’ll die doin’. And ye can tell Bonaparte I said so. As for General Bryant, where I ride, he rides, and if yer Froggy lieutenants don’t like it, they can lump it.
Perron’s face slowly contracted with anger at the Irishman’s words. But he still replied quietly. ‘You understand you leave me with very little alternative. The will of the Scindhia must be carried out.’
‘Over my dead body,’ Thomas swore.
Perron stood up, and bowed. ‘I am sure that can be arranged, Monsieur Thomas. I will bid you adieu.’
His staff prepared to leave, as did Thomas’s, but Richard managed to have a word with Sutherland.
‘Jacques Peyraud,’ the Englishman said contemptuously. ‘Yes, he is with the army. He came in flight from Seringapatam, with his women. Oh, he is treated with contempt by most of us. But Perron has given him a brigade.’
‘One of those women is my wife,’ Richard said.
Sutherland sighed. ‘Yes. I recognised her.’
Richard frowned: to his certain knowledge Sutherland had never met Caty.
‘I can only say that Mrs Bryant looks well,’ Sutherland went on. ‘I cannot doubt that she has been made to suffer, but she is a fine, strong woman. Who knows, when this war is over…’
A terrible suspicion was gripping Richard’s mind. ‘Has Peyraud another woman with him?’
‘Oh, indeed. As well as Mrs Bryant he has his wife, the Scotswoman, and a brood of children.’
‘By God!’ Richard said. ‘Those are both my wives!’
Sutherland stared at him.
‘You may believe it, Harry,’ Richard said. ‘That scoundrel has now abducted two of my wives.’
How in the name of God had Barbara fallen into his hands…she must have opted to return to Hansi rather than England. Oh, the loyal girl…but how incredibly foolish.
‘You’ll do something for me?’ Richard asked.
‘Willingly.’
‘When you regain your army, tell Peyraud that I challenge him to meet me, wherever he likes, with either sword or pistol in hand. Tell him I am aware of the subterfuge he practised at Agra. Tell him that if he now refuses me, he is the lowest coward who ever crawled upon this earth.’
Sutherland grinned. ‘As I said, willingly, Richard. Winner take all, eh? I will see what can be done. But he’ll not accept your challenge.’
‘Then tell him I mean to seek him out and destroy him, the moment this war is over.’
‘Oh, I’ll tell him that too. But your friend and master has chosen a rocky road. We must hope it does not end in disaster.’ He held out his hand. ‘Fare thee well, Richard. I suspect the next time we meet will be on the field of battle.’
*
Thomas left a line of skirmishers to observe the border, and he and Richard returned to Hansi.
There was little time to raise any more new recruits. Within the month messengers came galloping in from the frontier to say that the army of Scindhia had crossed the border, commanded by Bourquien. Perron had returned to Gwalior, apparently to acquaint Daulat Rao with the fact that war had begun.
‘You mean the beggar’s reluctant to risk his own reputation,’ Thomas remarked.
‘But General Bourquien is a famous warrior, sahib,’ said the lieutenant who had brought the despatch. ‘He has sworn…’ he hesitated.
‘Speak up, man.’
‘Well, Ship Sahib, he has sworn to make you eat your own privities.’
Thomas gave a shout of laughter. ‘He has, eh? We’ll have to see about that. What’s his force?’
‘General Bourquien commands not less than twenty thousand men, Ship Sahib, and forty guns.’
Richard gave a low whistle. ‘We muster eight thousand, George, with one battery.’
‘We’ve taken on longer odds,’ Thomas reminded him. ‘But we’ll play it carefully. I don’t reckon we can defend Hansi against such a force. What we must do is lure this cook into attacking us where conditions are in our favour. Ye’ll prepare to march out. We’ll take our stance before Georgegarh.’
*
Richard agreed that Hansi was probably indefensible, but he would have preferred to fight a series of delaying actions, rather than retreat to the stronghold and stake all upon one battle. However, Thomas was Viceroy, and gamblers’ throws were part of his nature. Orders were given immediately, and the army got on the move again. The people of Hansi were told to greet the advancing enemy with acclamation, and to offer not the slightest resistance. That way they should keep their lives and perhaps even most of their property.
‘They’re after me,’ Thomas told them. ‘But I’ll be back, when I’ve wiped this fellow Bourquien off me boots.’
The march to within sight of Georgegarh took a week; the men were so exhausted that when they bivouacked below the town they collapsed and slept where they lay. Richard rode up to the fortress to see Tanna and the children and explain what was happening, and to make sure that the fort was ready for a siege.
‘But you will fight the Frenchmen first?’ Tanna asked.
‘Aye. If we can defeat them here, so far from the border, they will be destroyed.’
Hanif and his cavalry had remained behind to check on the whereabouts of the Scindhia army. Now he came galloping in to say that Bourquien was only a day away.
‘He has not even attacked Hansi in his haste to catch up with you, Ship Sahib,’ Hanif said. ‘The city still flies your flag. But Bourquien is pushing too fast. His men are weary, and he has lost some of his cannon; the gun carriages became stuck in the ground and their axles are broken.’
Thomas snapped his fingers. ‘The fool is playin’ into our hands,’ he said happily.
Richard wondered if Peyraud was with him; he had heard nothing in reply to his challenge. But then, had he really expected to?
He had been so busy, had deliberately kept himself so busy, since his meeting with Sutherland, that he had not had time to think about this second catastrophe which had overtaken him and Barbara. He dared not consider Barbara’s fate as Peyraud’s captive. It would undoubtedly be even worse than Caty’s, all of these years. To think of it would drive him mad.
But if he and George could win the coming battle, at odds of more than two to one…Thomas’s instincts were as usual proving to be correct: with a blundering hothead like Bourquien opposed to them, it could be done.
*
Next morning he made his dispositions. Thomas was content to leave this to him; his sole desire was to get to close quarters with the enemy.
Richard arrayed his men in the valley below the fortress. He did not intend to accept a siege until he had fought a battle; Georgegarh was there for refuge should things go badly.
The position was a good one. The land rose in front of them, but at a distance and out of cannon range; Bourquien would have to come to them, and in so doing he would also come within range of the guns of the fortress itself.
He placed the two brigades of infantry, Birch on the right, Hearsey on the lef
t. Hopkins and the cannon were between them, and Hanif’s cavalry waited on the left wing for an opportunity to deliver a charge.
The valley floor was sufficiently uneven and wooded to provide a great deal of cover. Richard’s aim was to negate the superiority of Bourquien’s artillery, for even if the French-man had lost some of his guns on the march, they still represented his principal advantage.
The Hariana army slept in their positions, and awoke before dawn to the sound of tramping feet, stamping horses, and creaking caissons. Hanif’s scouts came galloping in to report that the enemy force had been on the march all night, had indeed scarcely paused for thirty hours. Even now it was advancing straight down into the valley.
‘He’s a fool,’ Thomas said. ‘What d’ye reckon, Dick lad?’
‘I reckon it might pay us to attack him, if his people really are exhausted.’
‘Just what I’ve been thinkin’. But let him close up first.’
The Scindhia’s army straggled down from the hills, horse, foot and guns in two long columns. Richard went up to the battlements to study them through his glass, made out the figures of Sutherland and Pedron and Bourquien…and Jacques Peyraud, commanding a brigade of infantry.
Oh, yes, he thought. We’ll attack them, before they can deploy.
He returned to the valley, sent gallopers to his brigade commanders, and set his army in motion. Birch’s and Hearsey’s brigades moved forward through the trees, while Hanif advanced his cavalry on more open ground.
As the Scindhia generals saw what was happening, they hastily began to deploy. Their cannon were unlimbered and hurried to the front, but only half of the army was in the valley, the rest being still in column on the slopes.
Thomas, in his chain-mail surcoat, a steel shield he had fashioned for himself strapped to his left arm, was already at the head of his infantry, waving his two-handed sword, a fearsome figure summoning them to the charge.
Thomas had dismounted—he was no great horseman—but Richard remained in the saddle the better to oversee what was going on.
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