JК
Sharpes Devil :: Корнуэлл Бернард
Страница: 201 из 209Three of Cochrane's sailors were searching the room's cupboards, but were evidently finding nothing of great value. Cochrane grinned as Sharpe came through the door. "You found me! Well done. Any news of Bautista?"
"He's dead. Blew his own head off."
"Cowardly way out. Found any treasure?"
"A whole room full of it. Top of the tower."
"Splendid! Go fetch, lads!" Cochrane snapped his fingers and his three men ran out into the corridor.
Sharpe walked to the table and leaned over Cochrane's two pieces of paper. One he had never seen before, but he recognized the other as the coded message that had been concealed in Bonaparte's portrait. Bautista must have kept the coded message, and Cochrane had found it. Sharpe suspected that the message was the most important thing in all the Citadel for Cochrane. The Scotsman talked of whores and gold, but really he had come for this scrap of paper that he was now translating by using the code that was written on the other sheet of paper. "Is there a Colonel Charles?" Sharpe asked.
"Oh, yes, but it wouldn't have done for anyone to think that Boney was writing to me, would it? So Charles was our go-between." Cochrane smiled happily, then copied another letter from the code's key.
"Where's Vivar?" Sharpe asked.
"He's safe. He's not a happy man, but he's safe."
"You made a bloody fool of me, didn't you?"
Cochrane heard the dangerous bite in Sharpe's voice, and leaned back. "No, I didn't. I don't think anyone could make a fool of you, Sharpe. I deceived you, yes, but I had to. I've deceived most people here. That doesn't make them fools."
"And Marcos? The soldier who told the story of Vivar being a prisoner in the Angel Tower? You put him up to it?"
Cochrane grinned. "Yes. Sorry. But it worked! I rather wanted your help during the assault."
Sharpe turned the coded message around so that it faced him. "So this was meant for you, then?"
"Yes."
Cochrane had only unlocked the first sentence of the Emperor's message. The words were in French, but Sharpe translated them into English as he read them aloud. "'I agree to your proposal, and urge haste. What proposal?"
Cochrane stood. An excited Major Miller had come to the door, but Cochrane waved him away. His Lordship lit a cigar, then walked to a window that looked down into the main courtyard where two hundred Spaniards had surrendered to a handful of rebels. "It was all the Emperor's fault," Cochrane said. "He thought Captain-General Vivar was the same Count of Mouromorto who had fought for him at the war's beginning.
"He's dead. Blew his own head off."
"Cowardly way out. Found any treasure?"
"A whole room full of it. Top of the tower."
"Splendid! Go fetch, lads!" Cochrane snapped his fingers and his three men ran out into the corridor.
Sharpe walked to the table and leaned over Cochrane's two pieces of paper. One he had never seen before, but he recognized the other as the coded message that had been concealed in Bonaparte's portrait. Bautista must have kept the coded message, and Cochrane had found it. Sharpe suspected that the message was the most important thing in all the Citadel for Cochrane. The Scotsman talked of whores and gold, but really he had come for this scrap of paper that he was now translating by using the code that was written on the other sheet of paper. "Is there a Colonel Charles?" Sharpe asked.
"Oh, yes, but it wouldn't have done for anyone to think that Boney was writing to me, would it? So Charles was our go-between." Cochrane smiled happily, then copied another letter from the code's key.
"Where's Vivar?" Sharpe asked.
"He's safe. He's not a happy man, but he's safe."
"You made a bloody fool of me, didn't you?"
Cochrane heard the dangerous bite in Sharpe's voice, and leaned back. "No, I didn't. I don't think anyone could make a fool of you, Sharpe. I deceived you, yes, but I had to. I've deceived most people here. That doesn't make them fools."
"And Marcos? The soldier who told the story of Vivar being a prisoner in the Angel Tower? You put him up to it?"
Cochrane grinned. "Yes. Sorry. But it worked! I rather wanted your help during the assault."
Sharpe turned the coded message around so that it faced him. "So this was meant for you, then?"
"Yes."
Cochrane had only unlocked the first sentence of the Emperor's message. The words were in French, but Sharpe translated them into English as he read them aloud. "'I agree to your proposal, and urge haste. What proposal?"
Cochrane stood. An excited Major Miller had come to the door, but Cochrane waved him away. His Lordship lit a cigar, then walked to a window that looked down into the main courtyard where two hundred Spaniards had surrendered to a handful of rebels. "It was all the Emperor's fault," Cochrane said. "He thought Captain-General Vivar was the same Count of Mouromorto who had fought for him at the war's beginning.