‘I want to know everything, Daniel.’

‘You’d only be bored,’ he said. ‘Let me just tell you about my time in France and about my brush with death on the way back.’

‘With death?’ she cried in alarm.

‘Don’t look so worried, Amalia. As you see, I survived.’

He reassured her with a smile then gave a brief account of his weeks in Paris, describing how he’d contrived to acquire secret information, though revealing none of its actual content. It was when he talked about his encounter with the French patrol that he went into more detail. She was horrified to hear about the grisly fate of the farmer and his family.

‘British soldiers killed them?’ she said in disbelief.

He nodded grimly. ‘That’s what I find hard to accept. It’s so untypical. There were no foraging parties out. His Grace, the Duke of Marlborough, always makes sure our army is fully provisioned so that it never has to be a burden on any farms nearby. More to the point,’ he went on, earnestly, ‘he’d never condone rape and pillage. I was shocked that anyone in a British uniform could behave like that.’

‘Could you find out who those soldiers were?’

‘I’ll make it my business to do so,’ he said. ‘I’ve made some enquiries already but nobody knows of any patrol that might have been in that area. I won’t stop looking,’ he vowed. ‘That farmer saved my life by putting his own in danger. However long it may take, what happened to him and his family needs to be avenged.’

‘It must have been a gruesome sight.’

‘It was, Amalia. I’ve been forced to see some hideous things in battle over the years and accepted them as the fortunes of war. This was very different — kind, innocent, defenceless people, left dead in the smoking ruins of their home. It’s preyed on my mind ever since.’

‘I’m not surprised,’ she said, touching his arm in sympathy.

‘However,’ he went on, brightening, ‘I didn’t come here to dwell on the miseries of warfare. You’ve seen enough of those for yourself at first hand. I came because I missed you so much.’