Sharpes Gold   ::   Корнуэлл Бернард

There was a brief silence. Wellington snorted. 'After food, I suppose?

'Yes, my lord.

'And round the town?

Another piece of paper. 'A loose ring, my lord. Mostly to the south where the artillery park is building. We know of just two battalions of foot and, of course, cavalry patrols.

'They're slow, Hogan, slow!

'Yes, sir.

Hogan waited. If the French were slow, all to the good, and the reports that filtered back from Partisans and exploring officers suggested that Massena was having problems assembling his transport, his siege materials, and, above all, his rations. There was also a rumour that he was with his mistress and reluctant to leave the comfort of her bedroom for the discomforts of the campaign. The General put his hand back on the map.

'Nothing from the KGL?

'Nothing, sir.

'Damn, damn, damn. The words were spoken softly, almost reflectively.

He picked up a letter, postmarked London, and read it aloud, though Hogan suspected the words were known by heart.

'"I write in confidence, trusting to your discretion that however precarious the position of the army it is matched by our own. An opposition rampant, a press malignant, an ailing monarch, and there can be no hopes for a further draft of monies before the autumn. We put our faith in your exertions." He put down the letter, dismissing the new government's fears, and looked at the map. 'I wonder where he is?

It was not like the General, Hogan reflected, to articulate his worries. 'If I know him, my lord, and I do, then I suspect he will be avoiding Almeida. Coming the direct way.

'He'd be better off in Almeida.

'He would, my lord, but no one could expect that. And in two days… Hogan shrugged. In two days the enemy would lock up the town as effectively as the countryside.

The General frowned, drummed the table with his fingers. 'Do I warn Cox?

The question was asked of himself, not Hogan, but the Irishman knew what was in Wellington's mind. The fewer people who knew of the gold, the better. The Spanish government, in impotent obscurity at Cadiz, would assume the gold to have been captured by the French when the armies collapsed in the north, and if they were to discover that their allies, the British, had purloined it? No. The General's fingers slapped down in finality; he would not burden Almeida's commander with another problem.

'If Sharpe is alive, Hogan, we'll assume he does what you say. Avoid Almeida. He dismissed the problem, looked up at the Irishman.